Category: Abstracts

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

“Madness. Death. Passion. Perfection.” A Philosophical Commentary of Black Swan and The Red Shoes

Is madness a symptom of a quest for perfection, or is madness a social failure? Is it passion that kills us, or does death consume us once our passion is achieved? These are the territories I will explore in response to my concept of Black Swan and The Red Shoes.

Black Swan and The Red Shoes are cinematic experiences of the ballet world, and of a passion that leads to madness and death. One protagonist is trapped by a perfection that makes her envy her lucid alter ego, and the other protagonist is torn between the love of her work and the love of her life. Both are alike in a tragic finale of death. But it must be asked – was it the ballet that led to their downfall, or were they in themselves a destructive force?

Apollonian + Dionysian ≠ A Beautiful Soul

Nietzsche’s Apollonian and Dionysian from The Birth of Tragedy, proved that the ballerinas were tormented. The Apollonian was the “ethical deity” of the innocent white swan, and the “self knowledge” of outstanding ballet ability. The “chaotic” Dionysian was the seducing black swan, and despairing romance. In being torn between two passions, and two perfections, the ballerinas became mad.

Schiller’s notion of the “Beautiful Soul” reveals why. There must be inner harmony between the formal and sense drives in order to have a beautiful soul. In always allowing the Dionysian to devour the Apollonian, the ballerinas could never have harmony. Real perfection was in the culmination of both passions.

A Tragic Finale

Nietzsche enforced that “the continuing development of art is tied to the duality of the Apollonian and the Dionysian” , whilst Freud warned that satisfying dreams could hide “painful ideas”. The ballerinas could not equate their two passions, and so their art could not continue. Death became inevitable. Their aspirations were not pleasurable, they were painful.

Foucault’s Madness and Civilisation discusses madness a symbol of passion verses madness a social fault. It allows the conclusion that the ballerinas cause their own downfall. And death became a necessity. Madness and torment was seeping into their art. It was slowly destroying their inability. And so they had to die, because it was the only way to preserve the legacy of their passion.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

An Attempted Analysis of the Rationality of Ted Bundy

My Project is based upon the serial killer Ted Bundy who murdered and raped at least 30 women.

The initial preconception is that there is something ‘evil’ about Bundy.

My aim is to look beyond these initial preconceived ideas and understand the mind of Bundy by focusing on his rationality.

The philosophical concepts I will use include:

Freud’s notion of the unconscious: Investigating Bundy’s childhood in relation to the Oedipus complex. Looking at the Id, Ego, and Superego and the possible variations in neurosis and psychosis.

Kantian rationality: Transcendental rationality in the moral law vs. Instrumental rationality in the sensible world. The need for duty as opposed to inclinations. The Categorical Imperative vs. The Hypothetical Imperative and the notion of Radical Evil.

Durkheim’s social thesis: The need for serial killing in deviant behaviour. The Division of Labour on modern society. The impact of capitalism on the rise of serial killing and the concept of organic solidarity.

Each theory will give a different perspective determining to what extent Bundy is rational; the inference of this will be an evaluation of whether the initial preconceived ideas of Bundy being ‘evil’ is credible.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

The Punishment of a Serial Killer. Is Utility Morality?

CONCEPT: The mind behind serial murder and the influence of mental illness on our judgement of correct punishment.

PHILOSOPHY: Mill’s Utilitarianism and Mill’s Speech in Favour of Capital Punishment; exploring contradictions, claims of morality and the influence of human nature.

SOURCES: newspaper reports, true story based films along with texts on Capital Punishment by Hodgkinson and Schabas and secondary texts on utilitarianism such as Utilitarian ethics by A. Quinton.

It was the relationship between mental illness and crimes of murder that first inspired my investigation into the punishment of a serial killer. I began to question what evidence of mental illness meant for the responsibility of the crime and how the law ought to respond to this. My initial intuition is that regardless of this, murder rates MUST be reduced, and so the introduction of a harsher punishment is necessary. Although, I am aware this causes problems when bringing up any causes that may have influenced the murder.

My aim is to use various reactions to the controversial issue of the death penalty to construct whether it is right to make judgements and decisions based purely on the ‘utility’ of the outcome.

Our reasons for and against capital punishment may not have an outcome of utility in mind but purely ‘what is right’. As well as the mental state of the criminal, many of us cannot but care for the right to life of the criminal, even for he who commits the worst crime imagin

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2011 Abstracts Stage 3

How Are Franz Kafka’s Novels Ethical?

Aim: I aim to demonstrate how Blanchot’s ethics can be found within literature. Specifically, in Kafka’s work.

Philosophy: death of a subject is, ultimately, Blanchot’s ethics. It is instigated by the interruption of the ‘Il y a’. Here, all former values (everydayness) is replaced by those of the other (otherness). This motion is mimicked in literature, particularly in Kafka’s work. My project will assess why.

Anti-thesis: Is Kafka’s work symbolic (stubbornly independent) or allegorical (autobiographical)? That is, is Kafka himself present throughout his work?

I will argue that Kafka’s work is allegorical; he is everywhere in his work.

Blanchot’s Texts: Reading Kafka, Kafka and Literature, The Language of Fiction Literature and the Right to Death, Death Sentence.
Heidegger’s Texts: Why Poets?, On the Essence of Truth, The Origin of the Work of Art, Way to Language.
Kafka’s texts: The Trial, The Castle, Metamorphosis.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

Capitalism, Fashion & Freedom: an Exploration into the Freedom of Choice in Modern Britain

– In this project I will be exploring the idea of liberty within a capitalist society… is the ‘free’ society we think we live in really that ‘free’?
– In terms of fashion: ideas of seasonal fashion change and the choice available in fashion outlets currently as well as the influence of the media, including social media.

Looking at the effect of the economical system of capitalism on society in modern Britain, I have chosen to look at philosophical ideas of Marx and Hegel to compare and contrast their views on it.

In light of the exploration into philosophical theory, I will further the study by using and applying the concepts to analyse the issue of capitalism, freedom and fashion. Using the arguments of Marx and Hegel applied to the idea of the freedom of fashion in society at the present time I will conclude by asking whether capitalism is working to the advantage or disadvantage of our liberty.E690

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

The Morality Behind WikiLeaks: is WikiLeaks Endangering Society or Saving it from Corruption?

Aim: To determine the morality behind WikiLeaks with reference to both Kant and Mill.

•WikiLeaks aims to publish secret, confidential and classified material so it becomes freely available to the public. Julian Assange, the key spokesperson, believes that WikiLeaks will help create a freer, less corrupted world.

•Mill believed no opinion should be silenced. In order to gain a true opinion of something it is necessary to know all the facts. Therefore Mill would have been pro WikiLeaks as long as the information released posed no legitimate harm to society.

•Kant argued that publicity is required in order to have peace within a society. No information should be kept secret as this involves lying and prevents individuals from understanding their situation. According to the categorical imperative lying is always wrong. Kant would have strongly supported WikiLeaks.

With regards to Mill, I will focus mainly on his text On Liberty. I will analyse Kant’s texts The Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals and Perpetual Peace. I will use various internet sources and secondary texts in order to gain the greatest understanding of my concept and territory.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

Nietzsche – Aesthetic Jesus?

How far can we know ‘truth’ From artistic works? Comparing Nietzsche’s thought that we are living in delusion with Ayn Rand’s bitter Objectivism. Can we know and reflect an external reality through painting? Using Nietzsche’s ‘On Truth and Lies in a non-moral sense’ and Rand’s ‘The Romantic Manifesto’. In essence, we cannot attain rigid truth, but there are degrees of truth which we can have access to through our senses, even if delusional, these hold some consistencies. With Euclidean geometry, traditional versus modern art, Adorno, and quantum art…

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2011 Abstracts Stage 3

New World Order: Atheism in Religion, Anarchy in Politics and No Property in the Economic Sphere, Possible or Improbable?

Understanding NWO is a giant geo-cycle political picture. Things are happening with the use of subliminal indirect and reversed psychological propaganda Some say it is made to be confusing. It is theorised that the Illuminati, the ones who call themselves the enlightened ones, had gained positions of power; through means such as controlling the banking system.

The coined phase ‘New World Order’ is the term used to describe a unity of the world’s superpowers to rule, secure, and maintain the principle of “global peace.” The concept is to bring the world under submission to one supreme government, enforce one controlled common religion and one worldwide economic system. (The EU has already instituted this with the ‘Euro’ currency.) The common conspiracy theory about the New World Order is that there is secret power elite with a globalist agenda that is conspiring to eventually rule the world with an authoritarian government. Absolute Obedience. In actuality, it is a move towards a socialistic, controlled, and godless world.

Preliminarily, this dissertation is focused on the concept of emancipation and capitalism and how the New World Order is apparently attempting to overcome such issues. Involvement of the banking system and especially the role of power in relation to money has been considered as the state of the economic society can tell us a lot about the New World Order regime. It has referred predominately to the work of Karl Marx ‘father of communism’ and his work on Capitalism. Throughout this work on capitalism, the concept of religion and attack on society will come into play as the New World Order presents us with a new atheistic view on religion. The main material to be used and referred to throughout this dissertation is that by A. Ralph Epperson “The New World Order” and Marx’s “Capital and other writings”. Hegel also shows us the importance of his Dialectic theories in relation to the new World Order by presenting us with a thesis, antithesis and synthesis that can be applied to conflict throughout history.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

Has our Society Been Changed by the Increasing Influence of the Television?

– “Television is by now so inextricably part of all our domestic lives that it resists analysis.” (Fred Inglis) 
– In this project my aim is to examine how the television has affected our lives in the last fifty years.

Guy Debord
– In this project I will discuss Debord’s theory of mass media 
– I apply his theory to contemporary television to discuss the extent to which his argument is valid.

“A Short History of Celebrity” by Fred Inglis
– Through looking at this book I have examined how the television has affected the celebrity 
– I have compared David Beckham to Stanley Matthews to see how the television has affected the footballer as the celebrity

Political Affect
– I have examined the different propagandas used by politicians 
– I have looked at the first televised debates in 1960 between Nixon and Kennedy 
– I have discussed the extent to which the television has influenced votes.

Paris Hilton
– I have chosen Paris Hilton as a case study 
– Paris has used the media and the television to create herself as a brand which she sells

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2011 Abstracts Stage 3

Féiniúlacht, Teanga agus Cultúr: Identity, Language and Culture in Ireland

The trinity of identity, language and culture have always been one of my fascinations. This interest stems from the fact I myself am descended from bilingual Gaelic speaking Irish immigrants, and growing up in North-East England, I am fully familiar with an English dialect barely comprehensible by most native English speakers taken in its purest form.

Ireland, with its rich shifting linguistic and cultural history is an ideal backdrop for these concepts to be given a concrete context. Therefore using the linguistic situation in Ireland I aim to:

1. Examine the extent of the relationship between language and identity of both the individual and the collective culture which the individual ascribes to;
2. Examine the evolution of the meaning of language from a pre-modern to a modern globalising world;
3. In doing so identify the causes and implications of language shift.

The thinkers I will employ are firstly; Pierre Bourdieu, with his ideas of habitus, and social and cultural capital to help explain how language and culture shifts due to market forces. Secondly I will look at Karl Marx’s notion of commodity fetishism and see the implications of extending commodity fetishism to the cultural and social market. Finally I will take Deleuze & Guattari’s concept of minor language and minor literature and apply it to the Irish Literary Revival, in the process showing how novel discourses and identities can be formed from the deterritorialization of post-colonial Ireland.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

Crimes of Passion: the Human Limits of Moral Convention

Could human natural intuitions ever be fully repressed by moral convention? Could our emotions ever be fully rationalized? Are we indeed rational beings? Is it necessary for us to be rational? What do our emotions mean? How do we direct them? In this project I will try to challenge conventional morality towards the feeling we have for something that is considered to be wrong, namely murder. I will use the method of reflective equilibrium in order to test moral philosophy and convention with the authentic human intuitions. Human life is indeed valuable but the main point is that human impulses cannot (or maybe, should not) be fully rationalized.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

Madness: Social Construct or State of Affairs

Madness is instantly an attractive subject to investigate because of the alien nature of ‘mad’ behaviour to the ‘sane’ majority. In investigating something so mysterious the line of enquiry I am following is not political or ethical, as I am not intending to investigate the ethical considerations when it comes to confinement or treatment of the mentally ill. Although ethics surrounding the treatment of the mentally ill would no doubt be fascinating, it has been talked about throughout history and well documented. It is easy to question what is right and wrong in the treatment of the mentally ill however what I think is more important and interesting is the nature of madness, what it is and where it comes from. Although it has been long discussed there has been no definite conclusions as to what defines madness, whether it be nature, nurture or something else. It is therefore my task to investigate madness in this manner as it interests me most, and it will, in my opinion, offer a more worthwhile conclusion.

As I previously stated I am going to discuss madness in reference to Michel Foucault and Sigmund Freud. Foucault’s Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason will be my main focus but I will also use his work The Order of Things: An Archaeology of The Human Sciences and The Archaeology of Knowledge. In discussing Freud I will primarily reference The Ego and the Id and Civilization and Its Discontents. Throughout Madness and Civilization Foucault describes what society perceived to be ‘mad’ at certain points in history and how the ‘mad’ have been treated. He works from the Middle Ages up to the his present day (Madness and Civilization was published in 1961.) Foucault sees psychoanalysis to be the most modern method of treatment and the new medical approach that deals with attempting to find a cure for madness. Psychoanalysis is a Freudian method of psychological treatment and Foucault deals with Freud’s teachings to a certain extent. In analysing Foucault I will discuss what he claims modern society’s perception of the essence of madness to be. I will contrast these claims with those of Freud. Freud’s claims are of a scientific nature whereas Foucault’s point to a changing social discourse and therefore changing opinions of madness. I will argue that Freud’s argument is currently relevant and grounded in relatively logical thought that makes sense in our current method of thinking in the western world. Foucault’s arguments undermine the whole nature of the way the human sciences operate and that because of certain assumptions made upon apparent scientific truths, social discourse is affected. Considering this I will argue that Freud’s argument is the most useful as far as a timely and useful definition is concerned but Foucault’s argument attempts to invalidate human sciences and brings Freud’s ideas into question but does not supply a useful definition of madness and is largely a bitter critique of psychiatry.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

Is Depression a Disease and/or a Philosophical Undertaking?

Depression is often negatively viewed by society. I aim to assess whether it is accurate that we simply class depression as a medical mental disorder or whether it should be given a new definition that gives depression a positive outlook. Depression can allow the suffering individual to undertake a philosophical journey where they are able to question, analyse and possibly reassess their lives and morals.

Questioning whether depression is just a disease or a philosophical undertaking (or both) is contemporarily relevant and relevant in history for it has affected some great thinkers who have gone on to produce major works, such as John Stuart Mill’s ‘On liberty’ that was written out of his depression, that have helped form modern society. When I question whether depression is a philosophical undertaking, what I mean by this is whether a depression can promote types of innovative thoughts (political, social and individual thoughts) that can be acted upon or written about that would not have occurred in a person who has not suffered a period of depression, like a ‘phoenix from the flame’. It is relevant to study due to the increase of diagnosed sufferers and the effects it can have on the individual and on society. I want to assess what depression is, whether it can produce innovation within the individual and, if it does cause innovative genius, whether it should, in some cases, be encouraged.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 3

Can We Ever Connect? An Investigation into the Relationship between the Human Being and the Natural World, with particular reference to Heidegger and the Akie Hunter-Gatherers of Tanzania

The investigation aims to establish the relationship between human beings and their natural environment; contrasting the views of the Western world and the Akie hunter-gatherers of Tanzania. Through an examination of the Akie lifestyle there is an attempt to understand the complex relationship they have with nature. Contrastingly there is a study into how the Western World considers nature, particularly in a society dominated by science and technology.

Heidegger’s original texts are referred to, along with ideas from Kierkegaard and Gadamer also. Several secondary sources and the BBC’s Tribe on the Akie (with Bruce Parry) will additionally be examined to develop a thorough understanding of the matter at hand.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

What is True Beauty and How Does the Media Effect this View?

What is beauty in today’s society? Beauty should not be based purely on physical attributes. Essentially, my project argues that the media is wrong for constantly portraying unattainable body images of young men and women. The media persistently tells us what we should wear, how we should look, what size we should be; giving us a normative dimension that is not beauty as a fact, but as a value; something we want it to be.

We need to set ourselves free from the media’s conception of beauty and perfection. We need to use our philosophy to understand and discover what beauty really is; for it is more than what we presented in the media. If we disregard the media’s perfectionist views on beauty, we will be happier. A better understanding of what beauty is can liberate us from the obligation to look ‘perfect’. In the same way that when I do not believe in God, the Priest ceases to have power over me; when I do not believe in the media’s representation of beauty, the images cease to have power over me.

I aim to conclude my project firstly by agreeing that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I certainly agree that beauty can be many different things to many different people. I shall use Plato, Kant and Hume to support my view.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

Nietzsche & Models of Self-Help in Contemporary Britain

The aim: To develop a project that looked at why Britain’s happiness on the whole is in decline.

Methodology: To compare contemporary attitudes with those of the 1950’s. Is the definition of depression still the same? An examination of self-help guides. What do these manuals claim will make us happier?

Thinkers: Oliver James – A clinical psychologist and writer. His primary thoughts indicate that our relatively new ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ attitude is what is leading us to emotional distress. Nietzsche – Christianity only provides us with a sense of guilt; Buddhism is a better religion to follow.

Conclusion: Guides can provide us with a renewed sense of cheerfulness on the whole. Yet, it is important to be aware that although they have the ability to make us happy for a short period of time, they most certainly cannot cure us from anything more serious than an episode of the blues.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 3

Leadership

The aim of this project is to explore different styles of leadership. To discuss the legitimacy, efficiency and value of different styles that are employed by leaders.

The theories of psychologist Daniel Goleman will be explored throughout this project as he clearly identifies six main styles of leadership: Coercive, Authoritative, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting and Coaching. The different styles outlined by Goleman, will be legitimated against the arguments for legitimate authority laid out by Max Weber.

Christopher Hodgkinson’s work on leadership theory will have a major role in the discussion of Goleman’s leadership styles as Hodgkinson lays out his own leadership archetypes: The Careerist, The Politician, The Technician and The Poet.

In Goleman’s theory the ability to learn and develop leadership through growth and development is explored. This will be an interesting contrast to Hodgkinson’s ideas concerning The Poet archetype, an almost mystical character who weaves spells over his subordinates, a true charismatic leader.

Main sources:
Goleman. D Leadership that gets Results, Harvard Business Review, the President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2000

Hodgkinson. C, The Philosophy of Leadership, Basil Blackwell Publisher Ltd, Oxford, 1983

Weber. M . The Theory of Social and Economic Organization, trans. Henderson A.M, Parsons. T, Oxford University Press, New York, 1947

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

“WikiLeaks could become as important a journalistic tool as the Freedom of Information Act” (Time Magazine). … Truth or Fallacy?

This project was an exploration into the effect of WikiLeaks on our society, weighing up the benefits and disadvantages in order to come to a rational conclusion about the function of WikiLeaks and how freedom of speech and expression can be justifiably curtailed by the government. The philosophers I included were John Stuart Mill, I looked at his work in On Liberty surrounding his argument for freedom of expression regulated by the Harm Principle and also Immanuel Kant’s work in Critique of Pure Reason, where he gives his argument for the existence of the public sphere of discussion and just how important this is to society. Both advocate free speech in society, however both also give justifiable reasons for limiting it some extent. Mill gives a consequentialist theory based upon his Utilitarianism and Kant gives a duty based response.

I also looked at what different types of speech should be regulated, i.e. hate speech, controversial political parties such as the BNP and the benefits we experience through giving these extremists a platform of free speech. To give a comparison between the restrictions we face here in the UK I looked at Chinese censorship and how the dictatorial regime interferes in every aspect of Chinese open discussion, to remind us that this is not what we want to slide into.

Philosophers
– John Stuart Mill
– Immanuel Kant

Main Points
– Freedom of speech – to what extent do we have this right? If at all, when can this be rightfully curtailed? Why is it so important to protect?
– Freedom of media and press – censorship, Wikileaks’ effect on society
– Government control and interference – why should the government be allowed to control our access to information? What are the benefits of a limited government with free sphere for expression?

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2011 Abstracts Stage 3

Violence Vindicated: Can Violence as a Means of Protest Be Justified?

The recent surge in protest activity both nationally and internationally and the inclusion of violent means within these protests opens up a debate as to whether a violent protest can ever be justified. The aim of my project is to explore the possibility of a justification of violence; my context is therefore that of ethics, politics and law. Through the method of axiological critique, I intend to consider the value of violence and whether it is applicable in a protest situation. As protest is generally a part of the political realm it is a political justification of violence that I aim to find. The main philosophical theories that are engaged with in the project are theories which closely explore the notions of protest and violence and are therefore extremely relevant. They are:

– The Just War Theory 
– John Rawls’ Theory of Civil Disobedience 
– Sartre’s discussion of violence 
– Foucault’s discussion of resistance

With regards to the Just War theory, I aim to establish whether the principles which already justify violence in war can justify violence in a protest. An exploration of John Rawls’ Civil Disobedience argues the case for non-violent means of protest. In contrast, Sartre’s discussion of violence considers the necessity of violence as a form of protest. Exploring violent protest in relation to Foucault means considering his views on resistance and power.

Ultimately, I hope to reach a credible conclusion as to whether violence can be proven to be a justified means of protest using the support of political philosophical theories.

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

The Camera Never Lies: Exploring Interactions of the Real, the Human, and the Photographic

The cultural dominance and ubiquity of the photographic image invites an uncritical acceptance of its impact and our unconscious absorption of its information.

Knowing that it is literally a ‘trick of the light’ does little to dent our sense of its veracity – after all, our vision functions by a similar trick. The traditional problems of sense-belief apply doubly to photographs, reality is dimensionally translated and reduced, then extrapolated from the photograph by our visual and imaginative conception.

We read and imbue significance in an image, in order to make emotional and visual statements for it, without being quite aware of how we do so. Neither are we aware of what we do when we create images- selected representations of our world, isolated outside time and space – or of their violence upon us – capturing and reproducing a part of ourselves that acts as a whole, suspended in limbo; changing the way we react and perform, changing the world they are meant to mirror.

Vilém Flusser’s ‘Philosophy of Photography’, Susan Sontag’s ‘On Photography’, Roland Barthes’ ‘Camera Lucida’, and various works by Tagg, Elkins, Benjamin and others, explore the truth and utility of the semiotic and ontological interrelation, and the effect of its assumption, as well as the processes of communication of abstract meaning and emotion. By these processes, the apparatus of photography can become a social power without a master, which we feed and sacrifice for, forgetting that such systems, as with money, information, or legislation, are self-interested powers that ought to act for us.