Tag: identity

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2011 Abstracts Stage 2

Do the Mass Media and the Cult of Celebrity Alienate Us from Our True Selves?

In my project I discuss the effect that celebrity culture has on modern day society. The mass media have a stranglehold on what we see, what we read and what we believe through television, newspapers and the internet. It is almost inescapable but the question is does the power of the mass media and the cult of celebrity alienate us from ourselves and stunt our true desires in life?

In order to philosophically deconstruct this phenomenon my methodology revolves around the examination of the theories of Guy Debord and his notion of the spectacle, Theodor Adorno’s attack on mass culture in The Culture Industry and Karl Marx’s critique of commodity fetishism in Das Kapital.

“The more he contemplates, the less he lives; the more he identifies with the dominant images of need, the less he understands his own life and his own desires” (Debord, Society of the spectacle 16: 2004)

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2011 Abstracts Stage 3

Identity on a Razor’s Edge: the Dialectic of Self-Hood in “Blade Runner”

A study in the dialectic existing between the master and the slave within the post-modern situation of Ridley Scott’s 1982 movie ‘Blade Runner’, in discussing the theories found within Hegel and Nietzsche.

In the fictional early 21st Century, mankind has developed technology to such an extent that artificial beings, replicants can now be produced; these are not to be employed for the emancipation and enlightenment of man, but as slaves. They are granted no freedom and are subject to death at the end of their service or upon their return to the birth place. They are the ultimate slave, and mankind has become the ultimate master.

Their very servitude grants these replicants an identity, which forms an aspect to the dialectic which constitutes mankind’s self-hood. Hegel informs us of the need for recognition in the formation of self-hood; the master requires the slave in order to be recognised as an individual, but relationship is unequal. The slave has a greater access to the needs to man and as a result grows in humaneness leading to the eventual overthrowing of the master. This process culminates in a replicant saving the life of the police ‘Blade Runner’ who has slaughtered his friends; the civilised slave has overcome the barbaric master.

The replicants and their motivation to overthrow the shackles of their servitude and forced deaths, act as an example of Nietzsche’s ‘will to power’, by which an individual affirms their existence by overcoming the obstacles which stand between him and autonomy. This occurs as throughout the movie, the replicants, the artificial human beings, show a greater degree of humaneness than the human masters.

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2010 Abstracts Stage 3

The Crisis of the Modern Subject

How has the pursuit of human knowledge brought about identity crises in the modern world? What is at stake when chasing ‘Space and Time’ eclipses the integrity of ‘Place’, for ‘where’ do we find ourselves? Does ‘architectural’ modification of our human environment respond to a need to cohere fragmented ‘place’? Will we never stop trying to pick up the ‘pieces’? Or are we beginning to appreciate that the fragmentation of experience characteristic of the contemporary, is something to which we always already belong. And to belong to an identity and a place, will not be found in ‘coherence’, but in our throwing ourselves headlong into the experience of fragmentation, as an affirmation of the accidental and random unfolding consequences that narrate each person into an unrepeatable individual existent. Is that affirmation, not ‘Place’…

Cavarero – Arendt – Harvey – Casey – Heidegger

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2010 Abstracts Stage 3

Do Social Interactions Demand the Abandonment of an Authentic Identity?

During encounters with the Other, one is prone to personality adaptations. Through this inquiry I will be looking at how one can be considered to have one identity as people adopt various personas, in addition to which, my non-philosophical territory will be exploring psychological insights into why these roles seem necessary.

In considering R.D. Laing, it seems that one creates a false self in order to survive in society, and it is distinct from an inner self. Lyotard and Taylor propose that discussions are essential in order to find a sense of self; something to distinguish the self from others, however if one creates a false self to engage with others, what is expressed may not always be a reflection of genuine personal beliefs, as such the authentic self is being ignored in the pursuit to ‘fit in’.

Sartre’s account offers an existentialist approach, and by simply being perceived by the Other one is being given an identity which will differ from person to person due to changes in roles. In which case we have further reason to believe that there is no one identity one can appeal to for an understanding of the self.

To solve this dilemma, I aim to explore Levinas’ notion of the Same as the economy of the Same may be adapted to include social adaptations necessary to relate to the world and others.

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2010 Abstracts Stage 3

What Are the Reasons Behind the Perceived Loss of Identity Prevalent in Today’s Society? Could this Loss of Identity Be the Reason Behind the Increase in Subcultures and Gangs?

Territory- Gang culture

Aim- In my investigation I wanted to see how the change in individual identity has impacted society today. By analysing this change I found that identity today appears to be fragmented. This is due to the breakup of the tight nuclear family which was found in previous eras and the lack of moral rule systems available to the individual today. This has clearly impacted the youth of Britain and has resulted in the rise of gang violence.

I have used both Beck and Giddens to highlight the impact of modernity on society as well as to further discuss the implications of identity fragmentation. I used both of these philosophers to shed new light on my territory which is gang culture amongst the youth of the UK today. By using both of these philosophers I hope to have drawn a direct link between identity fragmentation and the increase in gang violence prevalent in modern day society. This certainly paints a bleak picture of the UK today.

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2010 Abstracts Stage 3

“I Just Want to Climb Rocks. Is That too much to Ask?”

Can my life be defined by a sport?

“Climbing is a rich enough experience that it can be a valid focus for your life…. you can say I’m a rock climber and that, if anybody understands it, has as much value as anything else you can spend a day doing.”-Todd Skinner.

Project Object and Aims
The object I have chosen for my project is the way in which I centre my life around rock climbing.
In contemporary society, life tends to be primarily focused on one’s job. Activities such as climbing are defined as pastimes. My project aims to ascertain whether I can, in contemporary society, define myself by my sport. This is relevant to a wide audience, since, in my conclusions, climbing can be replaced with whatever one wishes to orient oneself towards.

Philosophy
The key thinkers I will investigate in my work are:

Manuel Castells who writes explicitly on the idea of “resistance” and “project” identities as a means of constructing real identity

Michel Foucault who formulates a theory of power which affects choosing an identity in contemporary society.

Gianni Vattimo advances the position of weak nihilism as a means of viewing a society which has a plurality of worldviews.

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2009 Abstracts Stage 3

Is the Shaping of Self-Identity in the Post-Modern Era in a Crucial Sense a Body Project?

I cannot help feeling as though there is something seriously wrong with society at the moment if the way we look is the main concern for many individuals. There are a number of things that one must take into consideration as to why and how all of this possibly came about: internet, mass culture, mass consumption the list goes on, ultimately it seems there is a distinct relationship between the way in which we perceive ourselves today and modernity, and the ultimate question then is, are we autonomous subjects within modernity? And is this ultimately affecting our transcendence? I believe the most appropriate research methods for this particular topic will be mainly observational and qualitative. I am also interested in the historical context of identity thinking and the relationship it has with the body for instance the history of dieting, the fashion industry and investigating whether or not there is a specific source or reason as to why we think about our body shapes and physical appearances the way we do today. It becomes obvious that this particular topic is relevant to history and the attitudes people have on the subject matter are tied within the social situations at various times. In my project I will be making philosophical reference to Kant and the autonomy of the subject, discussing how in our present day there are various structures between subjects, for instance the internet, networking systems which mediate our relationships with others. Today bodily existence and spiritual existence are projected as the same…is this making it harder for subjects to know themselves? Are we fragmented selves? Jean Baudrillard points out in the Consumer in Society that the body has taken over the soul’s moral and ideological role as an object of salvation, and Oscar Wilde says “To be really medieval one should have no body. To be really modern one should have no soul.” We have become a society obsessed with the way we look, but does the way we look in such a superficial sense really tell us anything at all about us as individuals… and is this way of thinking pulling us further and further away from ourselves and the understanding of others. In the case of a traditional dualism between the soul and the body, as especially found in Platonic and Christian traditions, the identity of the body will be relatively unimportant, because identity will primarily have to do with the soul, not the body. Increasingly however, it is the body that has taken centre stage in connection with the shaping of identity.

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2009 Abstracts Stage 3

Identity Theft: an Investigation into the Repercussions of the Identity Card on the Identity and Existence of the Individual

Territory: Through the developments especially within recent years, the identity card has become a prominent part of modern life. The territory under examination is the identity card. The debate of protection over control and the amount of information that is held about each individual has become evermore important. The identity card suggests the ability to allow people to be recognised as the individual they are through the information contained on and within the card. The identity card therefore appears to present implications to the idea of identity presenting it as a fixed material idea which seems to do against the modern understanding of the self and the individual identity.

Aims: The primary aim of this project was to explore the extent to which identity cards impact the creation and development of the individual identity. Through the development in technology, particularly those within the area of the identity card it is possible to recognise a decline within the understanding of the individual and unique identity. The secondary aim of this project was to examine the effect that the restriction on the ability of the individual in the creation of the identity would have on the idea of existence that the self would have within the world. It is possible to suggest that existence is affirmed within the world through authentic experience and the projection of the identity in its individual being. Therefore if we are unable to create the self as we wish and perpetuate the individual identity this would seem to have a detrimental effect on projecting our existence.

Philosophers: Through the work of Sartre I have explored the way in which we strive to live an authentic life and the importance that Sartre places on this. I have explored the manner in which the identity card restricts the possibility for the individual to live this authentic life and create the self as they wish. The writings of Sartre were also used in the exploration of the idea of affirming our existence within the world, in that we are only an identity within our action, and through our action we are able to have existence within the world. The work of Heidegger was also important to this idea and his understanding of being. If we identify ourselves as a certain idea we are conforming and reducing the self to something that is less than the existence that we have. The idea that we are much more than we understand ourselves as being was important for Heidegger. We must not reduce our identities and our ability to exist by taking the identity card to be all that we are.

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2009 Abstracts Stage 3

How Far do we have to Travel before we ‘Find Ourselves’?

When discussing travelling, it is very common for people to say they are going to ‘find themselves’, this idea has inspired me to philosophically explore the extent to which we discover more about ourselves when we go travelling. To supplement my discussion I have drawn upon my own experiences of travelling, especially my recent University Exchange trip to the University of Vermont, America.

One of the books I have studied is “The Art of Travel” by Alain de Botton, he explains several aspects of travelling such as the curiosity and expectations we have of somewhere and the feeling of surprise or disappointment we get when we arrive. He also finds interest in the ways we travel, such as the mystery of aeroplanes flying, or the “poetry” of a service station on the M25. He suggests that the reason we travel and have a desire to wander the earth without reference to a particular destination, is because we want to escape the confinement of the ordinary, rooted world.

To accompany Alain De Botton’s theory, I’ve also had a look at Sartre’s phenomenology, as he argues that our consciousness constructs our ego. He explains that our experiences are transparent and are shaped by the state we are in and our disposition at the time. The ego is the last factor in our consciousness, and we only really acknowledge it when we reflect on things.

This means that essentially our consciousness is really free, and I think this is the key to understanding how and why our experiences change us. New experiences challenge our preconceptions about things, and therefore affect our ego. Sartre explains that a conception of something is given as a whole idea, where as when we perceive something it is given in profiles, it is broken down into individual aspects. If you apply this to travelling, we can have a conception of a place, and a general idea of what it might be like, but when we arrive we are often surprised by the many different things we observe. As our understanding of a place changes, our perception of ourselves changes too.

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2009 Abstracts Stage 2

Acting-analysis: “Emotional Memory” as a Theatrical Interpretation of Psychoanalysis

In my project, I will examine the process of acting, and the emotional experience of becoming a character. Physically looking the part is very different to mentally becoming the part. Stanislavski’s ‘Emotional Memory’ encourages an actor to recall their own memories in order to create a realistic interpretation of a role. Therefore, one must remove themselves from their ‘true self’ in order to create a ‘new self’. From this, I believe an actor must consciously explore their subconscious. Therefore, this concept can be associated with Freud’s examination of the human psyche. Thus, I will compare Emotional Memory with Psychoanalysis. Like actors, Freud’s patients must explore their unconscious. I will examine Psychoanalysis, whereby the relationship between the patient and analyst is crucial for an effective treatment. From this, I will examine ‘free association’ and ‘unconscious formations’: both central features of this Freudian system, aiding the patient on a laborious journey of recovery. Whether in theatre or film, I believe there is a danger in acting. One must be extremely careful in adapting their mentality when becoming a character, in order to remain secure in their ‘true self’. Occasionally, an actor’s addiction to his role can become detrimental, as seen through Heath Ledger’s tragic death in 2008. It is argued that the extreme depth of his role of The Joker in The Dark Knight, combined with his perfect interpretation, led him towards self-destruction. Through acting, one must Psychoanalyse your ‘own self’, when creating a ‘new self’. However, one must be consciously aware of the complexity of the process, and thus intentionally maintain your own mentality.

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2008 Abstracts Stage 3

A Philosophical Investigation into the Loss of the Individual within the Modern Identity

Territory: I have chosen to consider the individual through the concept of identity within contemporary society in order to ascertain whether it has truly been ‘lost.’ I also want to consider through this that if it has been lost, what has caused this, and is this necessarily a bad thing? What does it mean to be individual today? Areas of Investigation: I will explore the relationship between the individual and society by looking at the evolution of the individual and what it has meant to be individual. Change: I will compare my territory to the Elizabethan period in the 1600s, as the affect religion and the monarchy had on the individual and on shaping identity compared to nowadays will provide an interesting point of difference. I will also explore why this has changed, and the effects of this change. Philosophical Ideas and Concepts: I will use the work of both Adorno and Levinas to explore my territory within the concept of identity. Adorno focused upon critiquing the concept of identity thinking by exploring it through the way individuals and objects can be subsumed under cover concepts. I will use this to explore what enables this to occur and what in fact happens when people are subsumed, such that it will provide information about what constitutes the individual, and how it could be lost. I will specifically look at his work regarding the Holocaust, where people were subsumed under the concepts of vermin or as merely scientific tools I will also consider Levinas’ work in regards to the Other in order to explore my territory in opposition to Adorno’s ideas. Levinas’ Other will demonstrate the importance of defining the individual in relation to society through the Other. Conclusions: I seek to show that identity can be both fixed and fluid such is the nature of society, our modern identity and our relationship to it.

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2008 Abstracts Stage 2

The Contemporary Mass Culture of Escapism: the Individual and Society, a Study in Parallel to the Film Being John Malkovich

Territory: Escapism, our obsession, need for it. What I will use to do this: My mind, Psychology, Fromm, Sociology. We are the only species on this planet that routinely, and necessarily require some form of detachment from our existence. I want to explore this need of ours to escape from the perspective of the protagonist Craig Schwartz in the film ‘Being John Malkovich’. As well as using an individual’s perspective I hope to look at society as a whole, the way it is driven by a mainstream commercialist economy and how this affects our need to subvert our reality from time to time.

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2008 Abstracts Stage 3

Who am I? The Problem with Personhood

What happens when personhood is threatened by a disease such as Dementia? In this project I intend to examine what exactly determines personhood, identity and the self in the elderly when threatened by Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. How can attitudes and care make a difference in our consideration of what exactly it means to be a person? Philosophy offers an account of personhood that science cannot entirely explain. Using thinkers such as Locke and Damasio this project will look at some of the prevailing theories of identity in dementia and what steps we can take to preserve personhood.

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2008 Abstracts Stage 3

To what extent does the consumer society we live in today affect our self identity?

Territory: The territory I have considered in this project in order to understand the changing nature of identity is that of advertising in contemporary society. I have explored the history of advertising, the psychology of advertising and some advertising techniques that are used by companies to persuade. Concepts: The key concepts I have engaged with in this project are: – Loss of agency -Fragile nature of identity -Identity given by society -Identity in flux. Key questions I have engaged with are: -How is our identity formed in modern society? -How has it changed over time? -What are the influential factors on identity? -How do advertising agencies target individuals? -What methods do they use?

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2007 Abstracts Stage 2

Individualism vs Socialism: explored through the institution of football

Territory‐ Football, the supporters, the industry and its change in relation to society. Questions and Objectives‐ Explore why we wish to be part of a group, Is identity simply an external concept? To show the social importance of sport, football in particular and how it integrates but also divides us in society. It is a Working‐class game; does the team give males another source of pride in their identity? rather than in work for example. Is it more important to be a valuable part of society and ‘fit in’ or should you aim to be an individual? Ideas involving freedom, does it exist? Key sources: Sartre, Being and Nothingness; Freud, on individualism, psychoanalysis, Massenpsychologie und Ich‐Analyse; Nietzsche, various texts on individualism and socialism; Durkheim, Sociology, Institutional Analysis; Hargreaves, Sport, Power and Culture.

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2007 Abstracts Stage 2

Fight Club: what effect has consumerism had on personal identity?

Insomnia/Society of the Spectacle. The narrator suffers from insomnia, he describes this feeling as being ‘never really asleep and never really awake…everything is a copy of a copy of a copy.‘ This, Guy Debord says, is caused by a veil that has emerged between us and society, where nothing is real. We have moved from Being into Having. What we ARE is no longer important; what we HAVE is. The expanse of mass corporations has created a society controlled and driven by consumerism. People have forgotten their aims and goals and have become obsessed with material possessions. Masculinity has hit a crisis point as the dynamics of society life have changed, namely by the increasingly common absence of the father figure. These men are in search of validation as men, something which they will not find in the consumerist society. Men have become servants to large corporations and through fighting each other they are able to feel something real, and therefore are able to catch a glimpse of the reality they seek. This has caused identity to be something elusive and missing, due to the subduing effect of consumerism. Nietzsche’s Herd/Nihilists/Free Spirits analogy. Modern society has become what Nietzsche would describe as the Herd, a majority of people who are preoccupied with their own ‘game’ and the never-ending pursuit of owning better objects. The narrator undergoes a journey from Herd to Nihilist when he splits his personality, to Free Spirit when he kills Tyler in the final scene of the film.

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2006 Abstracts Stage 2

Advertising and the ‘Ideal’ Self

In recent times the body has regained value, the body is now used to sell, and we see massive amounts of advertising projecting the ‘perfect body’ causing the individual to strive for the ‘ideal’ self. “‘Looking good’ not only becomes necessary to achieve social acceptability but can become the key to a more exciting lifestyle.” Featherstone (1992) The body regaining value shows a shift away from the valuation of soul over body, and the religious connotation which that implies. Popular society has caught up with the shift we saw in philosophy with Nietzsche’s innovative views. In this project I have taken the work of Descartes who professed the ‘I think therefore I am’ maxim, devalued the material world and even our own bodies through his belief that everything could be doubted except the thinking thing. I have then compared this theory to Nietzsche’s valuation of the body and the actual world, through his belief that the soul is a function of the body. I have taken the work of a Modern artist, Helen Chadwick into account to show a contemporary viewpoint on how the body and soul argument has developed outside the realms of philosophy, she expresses through various, sometimes shocking pieces of art that the combined nature of the human body and soul. Through various cultural advancements we have moved away from our quest to spiritual enlightenment and have began our quest for bodily perfection and satisfaction of our desires.

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2006 Abstracts Stage 2

MTV as a Producer of Identity in Contemporary Society

Territory: In my project I have chosen to focus on MTV as a producer of identity in contemporary society. I intend to focus mainly on the issues of identity in contemporary western culture and the possibilities of its manipulation for greater gains than mere financial profit through focusing on MTV. Objectives and questions: Can a coherent and stable sense of identity exist without a sense of history, and particularly a collective history and a feeling of belonging to a larger group, be it a nation, race, or more contemporary forms of groups (e.g. social groups defined by musical taste, class, political dispositions, etc.) Can there be such a thing as an “authentic” identity? One that isn’t shaped in any way by outside influences, even if we choose not to follow any parochial notions? Is there any possibility of such an endeavour being pursued by the majority of the population? And if not, what does this mean for an age fraught with identity crises and in which anyone with the know-how can take advantage of this fact? Key concepts: Identity, Alienation, Division of Labour, Authenticity, Myth, Identity Production, Synaesthesia. Main sources: Andrew Goodwin’s Dancing in the Factory of Distraction, Sartre’s Being and Nothingness, Burroughs, Erik Erikson’s work on identity and more.

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2006 Abstracts Stage 3

Identity and Postmodern Society: a Philosophical Investigation into the way Identities are Constructed in Contemporary Societies

Outline: I will be exploring the different factors that contribute to the formation of identity in a Postmodern society and the idea that too many choices/influences have induced a new desire for singular, primary identities i.e. those based around fundamental religious beliefs/ rooted in a particular locality etc. Aims: • To investigate what ‘identity’ means in the Postmodern age. • To explore how the influence of social institutions such as the Church, state, patriarchal family etc has been eroded by factors such as globalisation and contrast this with the ways in which people were influenced by these things in the past. • To examine the ways we try to construct identity on a daily basis i.e. through consumer culture and provide an exposition of the range of choices available to us. • To show that Postmodernism and the ‘Network Society’ in the ‘Information Age’ may leave the individual feeling detached from any kind of immediate society/community meaning that the chaos and pastiche of postmodernity has led to a need for direction and this is leading to a ‘regrouping’ around primary identities. • To provide an exposition of different types of primary identity such as the American Militia and religious fundamentalist groups. Sources: My key thinker will be Manuel Castells and I will be using his book: ‘The Power of Identity’. Further sources will include:- • David Harvey: The Condition of Postmodernity • Craig Calhoun: Social Theory & The Politics of Identity • Anthony Giddens: Modernity & Self Identity • Charles Lasch: The culture of Narcissism

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2006 Abstracts Stage 3

The Philosophy of Language

An examination of minor literature: the deterritorialization of language and how the use of language relates to the notion of différance in terms of identity. Aims: I aim to demonstrate within my investigation, how deterritorialization, as a central concept to minor literature, is affluent in the writings of the authors within my territory. I wish to further argue that within minor literature, Derrida’s concept of différance helps us to understand the position that identity has to play for the author. Territory: Works from Franz Kafka and Hunter.S.Thompson will be central within my territory of authors of minor literature and their works will be related to the philosophical concepts of Deleuze and Derrida. Philosophical concepts and thinkers: Deleuze: deterritorialization and the process of ‘becoming minor’ and Derrida: deconstruction and the concept of différance.