My project is an investigation into the ways in which the representation of women in politics by the media objectifies them and poses barriers to their success, this is explored through my key philosophers of Martha Nussbaum, Rae Langton and Kant who each propose a variety of forms of objectification. The way in which these notions of objectification impact the success of female politicians is demonstrated through empirical evidence of key political figures such as Jacinda Ardern and Angela Merkel. Through this investigation I reach the conclusion that the institutions of the government and the media are based on a patriarchal power imbalance and need to be reformed in order for women in politics to succeed without the harm of objectification.
Category: Stage 2
This essay explores and deconstructs the inner psyche of Anthony Soprano, the protagonist of the TV show ‘The Sopranos’ (1999-2007). This essay puts an explicit focus on the work of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan and their work on subjectivity and the formation of selfhood. The broader aim of this essay is to better understand how a personality is formed, and the ways in which our experiences – even the ones forgotten over time – have a permanent effect on our self-esteem, our behaviour and our response to certain situations. Tony Soprano was chosen for analysis because of the extreme dichotomy between the side of him that wants to be good and the side of him that is demonstrably bad. This essay also discusses whether or not Tony’s inner conflict can be resolved, coming to the conclusion that this is impossible for him. This essay also seeks to avoid an ethical discussion and look objectively at character-forming from a purely psychoanalytic perspective to avoid a discussion of moral relativism, instead hoping to understand the notion of morality as being formed through experience.
Through my research into pseudo-intellectualism as it is conceptualized by today’s society, I have identified two many features that make an argument pseudo-intellectual. The first being; a foundation in some sort of reasoning or logic, and the second being the use of faulty rhetorical appeals in order to make a claim. These arguments are usually made to provide the consumers of these philosophies with a sense of both meaning and purpose; this is done in order to combat a sense of meaningless and unfulfillment in today’s modern world.
What separates an intellectual from that of a pseudo-intellectuals, is how the latter will base their argument on facts and reasoning, but will then use faulty rhetoric in the formation of their arguments. Aristotle conceptualizes rhetoric as; ethos, pathos, and logos. These three forms of rhetoric are understood as; an appeal to credibility, emotion, and logic. All forms of arguing rely on a least one of these forms, and sound arguments can be built using these three rhetorical forms. Pseudo-intellectuals, on the other hand, attempt to use these rhetorical forms, in an unjust manner in order to fully persuade the listener of their point.
In today’s pop-culture the pseudo-intellectuals that often get the most attention are the ones that use these faulty methods of reasoning to evoke a sense of meaning and purpose in the audiences that listen to them. It may seem harmless, but because they do this, they are given a lot of unwarranted attention and authority when it comes to social and academic topics. This allows them to speak on things they aren’t fully qualified on, which can divert social discussion to that of semantics, which then dissolves social discussions to that of arguing for the sake of proving a point. This in turn, creates a divide in society.
It is important to be able to identify pseudo-intellectual arguments because they can be very enticing, due to the fact that they are based on reason, and promise the listener with a sense of meaning. But because they aren’t sound conclusive arguments, if ever placed under scrutiny by anyone knowledgeable, they will crumble along with what meaning they provided.
In 1967, French literary theorist and cultural critic Roland Barthes asserted The Death of the Author. Representing a call for a diminished heed in reviewing the backdrop of the author when interpreting a text, he states the reader as the only place where such meaning within a text can accumulate. It is through the Internet meme, “groups of items sharing common characteristics of content and form” (Williams, 2020, 4), we see this call met. Addressing Foucault’s “author-function” argument, we see the meme detach from the author’s stipulation — in its being propagated on the Internet, participation in the creation of work no longer holds regard to an author. Instead, we see memes created, propagated, spread, remixed, edited, actions integral to the digital experience, allowing the meme to standalone as a piece of work in its own utterance, it is not simply an original piece but woven in it lies countless threads of culture. In detailing Pepe, the Frog meme, we find memes represent a collective cultural experience: different groups rally over the Internet to depict meaning to a piece of work, presenting differing composition of cultures, none of which original. Thus, in the Internet age, the birth of the reader is in full stride, presenting the author as truly dead, in the context of the collective ownership of memes.
I Will Survive: Self-preservation and its practical application
Self-Preservation is a force endowed to all organic beings. Its innate nature means it is inescapable, leading to it being a definite presence among action in the world. As a concept it has been subject to interpretations, and my own will supplemented by Schopenhauer, Nietzche and Darwinism. Within the project I will attempt to offer a comprehensive story of the practical application, to understand how the will developed and changed in its environment. Within the project I wrestled with questions such as:
“Who runs the world?”
“Why did modern countries develop the way they did?”
“How do we fix societies for the better”?
My analysis began with ancient history, where self-preservation showcased itself in establishing systems of hierarchy as extension of the will’s desire to dominate. Following on from this I focused on Western society and how self-preservation inspired the actions of imperialism. Next, I explained how self-preservation transitioned into neo-liberalism as well as the resulting disguise from the new environment. Finally, I presented potential solutions to the harmful effects of self-perseveration that I encountered within the project.
The concept of death is one that philosophers have looked into since the ancient Greeks. Similarly to other topics, such as God, the soul and the universe, death and the afterlife is one that we will never fully understand. Both religious and non-religious ideas have formed relating to what different groups and thinkers believe happen after death, and this also intrudes on discussions relating to who we really are- whether we are only our body, only our mind, or a mixture of both. Certainly in the 21st Century, not only do we have the many writings of previous thinker’s opinions on death and the afterlife, but with medical advancements, we also have the experiences of some who have died and been resuscitated- many of whom speak about the overwhelming feeling of peace, welcomeness, support and even recall images of their past, calming settings and a bright light. However, there are previous philosophers, for instance Epicurus, who we will see later, doesn’t believe that death is something that we experience, thus we cannot ever truly know what happens after we die. Freud builds on this with his idea, asserting that humanity cannot imagine not existing as a thinking thing, therefore will fantasise attending their own funeral, which could also explain the experiences of those who have passed on and been resuscitated. Essentially, there is a suggestion that their beliefs about death could have an impact on what they believe they experience in the afterlife.
In this essay, I will discuss non-religious and religious views about the afterlife, as well as arguments for the possibility of reincarnation, from a range of different philosophical thinkers. I will explore this deeper through employing secondary sources that critically analyse these arguments and review how valid these arguments may be.
Was Harry Potter predetermined to be the chosen one? Or is it down to free will.. or more fate?
Although all forms of art have changed massively in the 21st century under the influence of digital technology, it is the forms of art that contained the aura in the 20th century that have changed the most as the aura that was once there, is no longer.
Contemporary treatment of specific crimes (miscarriages of justice) reveals that early forms of vendetta are still present in our supposedly rational society, which may therefore result in the destabilisation of hierarchical power relations. The project uses the subsequent cases; the Birmingham Six (1974-75), the Guildford Four (1975), and the Maguire Seven (1976), to highlight how such a system of our judiciary systems’ necessity to our society can fail. The project uses MacIntyre’s philosophy, regarding narrative alongside Poyser’s academics, to suggest that through improved case narratives due to media involvement, the judiciary system is provided with the opportunity to resurrect their mistakes and in doing so improve the structural innerworkings of society. Further philosophical analysis of the media’s narrative regarding MacIntyre perhaps reveals how the victims are condemned due to how they have been treated by the judiciary system and the miscarriage of justice that they been involved. In thinking about one’s selfhood in terms of narrative, it is possible to review how the victim’s lives are changed for the worse due to their mistreatment. Moreover, use of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right feasibly aids the removal of historical discordancy around the concept of justice, which in doing so provides a clearer understanding of how violence in the form of terror and vendetta still become pertinent issues for our society. Hence, the project sets itself to reviewing the claim that contemporary treatment of specific crimes in the form of miscarriages of justice may in fact provoke the destabilisation of hierarchical powers such as our judiciary system due to the presence of repeated acts of violence in the form of terror and vendetta.
The philosophical concept known as ‘The Death of the Author’ was first coined by Roland Barthes, in his 1967 essay of the same name. In short, it is the idea that all prestige bestowed upon an author should be removed, and that the figure of the author is no more important than anyone else.
Within my work I intend to argue that if this concept were to be applied within the modern world, it would either directly cause, or allow for, the oppression of minority authors.
My Object is Covid-19 mental health, as I believe that mental health has not had enough importance throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. I highlight this pressing issue using psychological studies that show the link between Lockdown and mental health.
Project Aim:
To use my philosophical concepts to offer solutions at mitigating the effects of Covid-19 mental health, I shall not be suggesting that the physical effects of the virus should be disregarded.
Within my project, I use two philosophical concepts – Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism and Ayn Rand’s rational egoism.
Sartre’s existentialism focuses on our own individual freedom as he claims that we do not have a general human essence to conform to. Sartre also has insights into why we experience anxiety which include factors such as abandonment and responsibility, all feelings exaggerated within a lockdown.
Ayn Rand’s rational egoism denies selfishness as an evil motive, and instead, Rand promotes placing oneself first in order to gain a clear conscience to make rationally informed decisions. Our integrity and values will ensure that making selfish decisions will not lead to immoral acts, and therefore we should be making more selfish decisions.
An application of Nietzschean and Bataillean philosophy to the music of Lana del Rey and The Stooges, in order to investigate whether music has the capacity to be transgressive. Specific use of Nietzsche’s concepts of the Apolline and Dionysiac with Bataille’s philosophy of transgression which includes erotism and expenditure.
This project is about the topic of sports washing, in particular, sports washing in the area of Football. It aims to provide an answer to whether the practice of it may be justifiable or not. The project shall argue against it being justified using Kantian ethics vs utilitarianism argument whereas the essay shall side with Kant. The philosophers against Kant are Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. some keywords to describe this are Utilitarianism, Sports washing, Kantian Ethics, Human Rights, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Football.
I have investigated the potential for authenticity in works of art and fiction created by fans of various media. I have examined whether or not fan artists themselves may be considered as living authentically when producing works of art which are inspired by and dependant on another source of art. I have looked at the concept of authenticity from both an aesthetic and existential perspective, examining the philosophies of Benjamin, Barthes, Sartre and Heidegger.
Girls and Social Media
The Object of my project is how social media contributes towards and perpetuates the damaging social construct of femininity.
Control.
Control is the overarching force at play in this project. It refers both to capitalist and patriarchal control. Foucault explains how social media acts as a form of surveillance, policing and governing girls’ behaviour online and prohibiting their freedom.
Identity.
Identity is relevant to this project because of the identities girls form on social media. Girls internalise the sexually objectifying media content they consume on social media, which causes the development of a patriarchal construction of identity. Tiqqun is used to demonstrate how this prohibits girls from experiencing true value in a number of ways, such as the values of liberation, introspective intimacy and identity.
This essay examines the concept of madness and discusses whether madness should have a place in our metaphysical framework. It begins by exploring Nietzsche’s presentation of madness in his text The Gay Science, and concludes that madness ought to be included within philosophy. It then goes on to examine Foucault’s historical analysis of madness in his text, Madness and Civilisation, which demonstrates how the voice of madness has gradually been reduced to silence as the language of reason takes over. This essay concludes that the voice of madness ought to be included within philosophy for at times it is only the authoritative voice of madness that can lead us to new truths.
This is an analysis of the collapse in morality that was seen throughout Germany in the 1940s under Nazi rule. I have taken the perspective of looking at Nazi evil through the actions of Josef Mengele throughout his time at Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. Throughout my dissertation, I have explained exactly what it is that Mengele, nicknamed the Angel of Death, is renowned for; essentially beginning with his passion for eugenics – the beginning of his Nazi career at least
The barbarity of his actions is something that is analysed throughout my dissertation using Hannah Arendt’s report on the trial of Adolf Eichmann to evaluate the gravity of Mengele’s attitude and by extension the actions of leading Nazi superiors; for though I have focused on some of Mengele’s actions more specifically, I mean the purpose of this to be ultimately reflective of all Nazi figures that held any part in the systematic persecution and murder of millions of European Jews in the 1940s.
• My project shows the fundamental racism in the American judicial system that mirrors the attitudes of colonial times.
• Primarily using philosopher and psychiatrist Frantz Fanon and his book, The Wretched of the Earth, I show the link between colonial and judicial racism and how prejudice from the past is still alive today, and how this could have happened.
• The wrongful conviction of the ‘Central Park Five’ is my key case study as it reflects the broken system that colonialism upheld.
• I also address other matters of judicial racism in different countries as it is a worldwide problem, with reference to some other philosophical views and relations to Fanon.
• In exposing the issue, I address the changes, Movements, and positive progression that continues to eliminate racism from the world.
• However, I also highlight the remaining systemic and societal racism and how much more needs to be done to cure the sickness that it is.
• I found Fanon’s philosophy truly engaging, the more informed about the horrors and persecution of colonialism I became, the more my interest in its history grew as I still wonder how humanity can be so inhumane.
Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) was a French existentialist philosopher and a leading figure in the second-wave feminism movement. Beauvoir’s seminal book The Second Sex (1949) is widely considered as the first major study of women’s oppression in contemporary western feminist theory. The aim of my project is to examine Beauvoir’s central ideas in The Second Sex and subsequently demonstrate the topicality of Beauvoir’s manifesto on the feminist movement today.
By using the feminist philosophy of Judith Butler and Susan Bordo, explain why so many women suffer from eating disorders. The project refers to the role of women in society and the aesthetic expectations that are placed upon them with the advancement of social media.
By using the feminist philosophy of Judith Butler and Susan Bordo, explain why so many women suffer from eating disorders. The project refers to the role of women in society and the aesthetic expectations that are placed upon them with the advancement of social media.
The project chose to focus on eating disorders as they are a phenomenon which can cause serious damage to the mental and physical health of an individual. Specifically, the project analysed the relationship that females have with food. Alongside this, the project considered the effects of social media. Certainly, social media is something which has increased over the past few years. With this in mind, my aim was to uncover the negative impact it can have on female body image.