This paper is a critique of cultural paradigms. It explores the notion of a cultural paradigm and what it might actually mean in two parts: first, paradigms as linguistic structures, and second,...Show moreThis paper is a critique of cultural paradigms. It explores the notion of a cultural paradigm and what it might actually mean in two parts: first, paradigms as linguistic structures, and second, paradigms as cultural laws. Both of these are shown to be incoherent. Paradigms as linguistic structures are shown to be incoherent with support of Davidson's arguments regarding the criterion of incommensurability. In section two, paradigms as cultural laws, the meaning of 'laws' is explicated with the help of Humean Supervenience and it is shown that laws don't have any causal force. This decoupling of causal force and paradigms dismantles the notion of paradigm and shows that cultural laws supervene on the actions of people within said culture.Show less
Nowadays a lot of people have existential crises. They ask themselves: Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? Why must I suffer this existence? Their question reflects an age old question:...Show moreNowadays a lot of people have existential crises. They ask themselves: Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? Why must I suffer this existence? Their question reflects an age old question: suffering for what? They fall prey to nihilistic tendencies, a loss of all meaning. A pain, a depression, a pessimism that they do not seem to be able to shake. They lack the strength of Atlas, who carried the world on his shoulders. The burdens of the earth too heavy for them to bear. Taking life serious is a massive mountain weighing upon one’s shoulders. I want to release these darkened souls of humanity from the anchor that keeps them from lifting up to the lightness of the clouds and teach them of the laughter of the child. By reading Nietzsche's 'Genealogy of Morality' through the 'metamorphosis of Zarathustra' I want to show how the metaphor of 'the Child' is able to combat and overcome the nihilism, that Nietzsche speaks of in the Genealogy, through the act of not-taking-serious, or even more so, making-fun-of any form of nihilism. When we understand the steps of the metamorphosis, the reading of the Genealogy of Morality will become clearer. Not only will this provide us with a deeper insight into the Genealogy, but it will also offer us the necessary tools to extend beyond the conclusion of the Genealogy of Morality. This conclusion being: “to conclude by saying what I said at the beginning: man still prefers to will nothingness, than not will at all. . .” It is in this conclusion that we find the importance of this thesis. The genealogy of morality ends up finding ‘the will to nothingness’, or ‘nihilism’, the conclusion that there is no meaning to be found in the universe. Yet, the genealogy offers no real salvation to overcoming this will to nothingness. It is through the metamorphosis that we can find this overcoming of the great danger to mankind, its most sublime temptation and seduction. It is through the metamorphosis that we can combat standstill, mankind looking back wearily, turning its will against life, and the onset of the final sickness becoming gently, sadly manifest. By reading the genealogy of morality through the metamorphosis of Zarathustra I will be able to go beyond Nietzsche’s teachings and show that the not-taking-serious, which I view as the most important aspect of the child, combats nihilism. To do this we first have to understand the three metamorphoses. In the second part, I will explain the genealogy of morality through the metamorphosis. In the last part, I will argue how the child is able to overcome the nihilism in the genealogy of morality.Show less
The objective of this paper is, then, to engage with the opposition between play and seriousness and the advantages of overcoming that opposition. The main question that will guide this inquiry is...Show moreThe objective of this paper is, then, to engage with the opposition between play and seriousness and the advantages of overcoming that opposition. The main question that will guide this inquiry is how and in what sense understanding reality as play and, thus, to live as players, is more advantageous over and above understanding reality in terms of seriousness. At first blush, this question is a question of hope inspired by the same aversion for violence that characterizes much of idealist seriousness. However, the question is fundamentally tragic, for it acknowledges that violence cannot be overcome. Therefore, the question is posed in terms of relative advantage, because the claim is not that the question of violence is resolved by play.Show less
In recent years, the philosophy of Iris Murdoch has seen a rise in attention, both from philosophers who seek to use elements from her philosophy for their ethical theories, and from those more...Show moreIn recent years, the philosophy of Iris Murdoch has seen a rise in attention, both from philosophers who seek to use elements from her philosophy for their ethical theories, and from those more directly interested in understanding her metaphysics. These latter authors have often either criticised or tried to solve the ambiguity of the metaphysical status of the idea of the Good in her writing. I, too, address the problems in her metaphysics: in what sense does Good exist for Murdoch, and is she able to offer a ‘sophisticated’ form of realism? My theses are, first, that Good, for Murdoch, is a transcendental element in consciousness, i.e., a condition of possibility for the experience of the world, and an ideal end point suggested by experience. To answer the second question I will argue that once Good is read as I argue for, and its role in knowing reality is understood, it becomes clear that Murdoch’s view does not fall into subjectivism or any other form of idealism. Important in this account is love, which, attracted by Good, motivates the work needed for a better grasp of the world.Show less
This thesis offers a systematic analysis of Nietzsche's critique of pity by demonstrating that for Nietzsche, pity leads to life-negation understood as the illegitimate and forcible interruption of...Show moreThis thesis offers a systematic analysis of Nietzsche's critique of pity by demonstrating that for Nietzsche, pity leads to life-negation understood as the illegitimate and forcible interruption of becoming.Show less
This thesis compares the ethics and phenomenology of Nietzsche and Levinas. It begins from a Levinasian critique of Nietzsche, made up of remarks Levinas made on Nietzsche's thought throughout his...Show moreThis thesis compares the ethics and phenomenology of Nietzsche and Levinas. It begins from a Levinasian critique of Nietzsche, made up of remarks Levinas made on Nietzsche's thought throughout his career. This critique is then systematized, before being rebutted by a Nietzschean response, focusing on the question of responsibility. The thesis argues that insofar as there is a disagreement between Nietzsche and Levinas, it is fundamentally a phenomenological disagreement.Show less
In this essay I investigate the relation between emotions and atmospheres in Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception. Our existence is a dialectic between a pre-personal anchorage in...Show moreIn this essay I investigate the relation between emotions and atmospheres in Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception. Our existence is a dialectic between a pre-personal anchorage in the world and the personal act of taking it up. Because of this pre-personal anchorage in the world, this dialectic is fundamentally affective. There are two notions of freedom at play in the relation between emotions and atmospheres. One is a conditional freedom implied in the personal act of taking up the world. The second is a questionable power that is implied in atmospheres. Atmospheres are possible harmonies of sense that pre-personally motivate us to take up the world in the particular manner that affirms them and that opposes everything that does not suit this manner of taking up the world. The relation between personal emotions and atmospheres is a dialectic between a conditional freedom and a questionable power in a fundamentally affective existence.Show less
This thesis explores cultural paradigms. Part I accepts and expands upon Arditi's base definition of cultural paradigms as being inextricably linked with our understanding of cultural roles. Part...Show moreThis thesis explores cultural paradigms. Part I accepts and expands upon Arditi's base definition of cultural paradigms as being inextricably linked with our understanding of cultural roles. Part II applies Foucauldian theories on 'discursive forms of knowledge' to understand the relationship between 'knowledge' and 'being' that is exemplified by cultural paradigms. Part III focuses on other discursive aspects of cultural paradigms regarding the enunciations of knowledge and being, namely 'bias' and 'style'. While cultural paradigms might be colloquially generalized, that generalization is made up of a web of subject-based breaks and modifications of shared cultural paradigms by way of enunciations of knowledge and being. In conclusion, this thesis establishes that cultural paradigms are themselves indeterminate and that subjectivity ultimately can arise to edit cultural paradigms and alter the contours of their evolution.Show less
What ontological changes does commercialization make to the relation of the crowd and the game played on the field? In chapter 1, I will use Johan Huizinga's ideas on sport and play from Homo...Show moreWhat ontological changes does commercialization make to the relation of the crowd and the game played on the field? In chapter 1, I will use Johan Huizinga's ideas on sport and play from Homo Ludens to prove that before we can speak of any changes brought about by commercialization, this relation must be accounted for nondualistically. In chapter 2, I will use Gadamer’s non-dualistic ontology of play and spectator that he develops in Truth and Method to prove that the spectator opens a possibility for play to transform into art, where, when the transformation is fully realized, the relation between play and spectator becomes one of “aesthetic non-differentiation”. I will also show that the proof of such a transformation having taken place in the case of football, hinges on a “perception of a meaningful whole” on the part of the spectator. In chapter 3, I will prove the existence of such a perception, by looking at the language of 'justice' surrounding football and I will prove also that these utterances point to a blockage in the transformation. In chapter 4, I will find the source of this blockage in commodification of football and its transformation into a spectacle.Show less
This thesis considers the statement made by Spinoza in his Ethics (E2d6) where he states "By reality and perfection I understand the same". Commentators have considered this statement to be...Show moreThis thesis considers the statement made by Spinoza in his Ethics (E2d6) where he states "By reality and perfection I understand the same". Commentators have considered this statement to be puzzling and problematic. The main problem for Spinoza scholars is that he goes too far in the direction of identity and therefore becomes unable to account for difference. In what follows I argue that this is only the case if one reads the identity of reality and perfection superficially. A more careful reading suggests that the statement is not a contradiction because Spinoza does elaborate a theory of becoming, with the notions of perfection and power of action as its core. In the light of this interpretation, my argument is that E2d6 is not contradictory because Spinoza's notions of perfection and reality are both identified with becoming.Show less
In this thesis I asked the question: how can Merleau-Ponty’s political work reveal essentialism in feminist thought and thereby contribute to feminist philosophy?
This thesis investigated the concept ‘patriarchy’, its historical meanings and its political consequences. The main finding of surveying different uses of ‘patriarchy’ is that the two main uses are...Show moreThis thesis investigated the concept ‘patriarchy’, its historical meanings and its political consequences. The main finding of surveying different uses of ‘patriarchy’ is that the two main uses are (1) to describe a system of fatherly authority in the household and family and (2) to describe a system of structural male domination over women. Confusion and conceptual problems arise when (1) and (2) are used interchangeably. This thesis then proposes the understanding of ‘patriarchal power’ as bound up with the body and as a process of mastering the ‘power over life and death’ that is compatible with Foucault’s notion of ‘bio-power’ and which is more closely connected to (1). More precisely, ‘patriarchal power’ is parasitical to ‘geslacht’, which I suggest is a universal category that can be added to Christophe Bouton’s reading of Reinhart Koselleck’s existential dialectic. By turning to ‘geslacht’, a speculative philosophy of gender history that takes the body-as-situation becomes possible. This can provide the conceptual bedrock for a historical anthropology that takes human reproduction and bodies seriously without falling into essentialism.Show less
The term post-truth politics has become increasingly popular and more frequently used since 2016, a time that has also coincided with Donald Trump becoming the president of the United States of...Show moreThe term post-truth politics has become increasingly popular and more frequently used since 2016, a time that has also coincided with Donald Trump becoming the president of the United States of America and of the growing global popularity of populist politics. To properly understand post-truth politics an analysis of political truths, lies, and bullshit are necessary, as is a broader investigation and analysis of society in general, specifically it’s media. This thesis seeks to investigate and analyse what post-truth politics exactly is and also answer whether or not such a term is describing a new political phenomenon, because if post-truth politics is not describing a new political phenomenon then the use of the term seems to be unjustified.Show less
Vocalisation is formed in the inversion of the face, up until it reaches the face it is a sound akin to blowing through a blade of grass, it has pitch and intensity but little shape. The shape of...Show moreVocalisation is formed in the inversion of the face, up until it reaches the face it is a sound akin to blowing through a blade of grass, it has pitch and intensity but little shape. The shape of vocalisation is formed in the "mask", the resonant chamber at the front of the head, the inverted face. Thereby, vocalisation is the sonic manifestation of the shape of the face outside of the body. This creates an ambiguity as to the directionality of the face, in that, when someone vocalises visibly towards me, I cannot be sure which way the face, sonically captured in vocalization, is facing. It’s unclear if the other is just talking to themself or to me or are half in half out or are rotating. The chord of vocalisation, the fact that each and every vocalisation is heard/felt as sound in the face and the face captured in sonic form outside of the body simultaneously, suggests that the interaction may be a Narcissus' story, where the face is more often or than not reflected back towards the self. This thesis is supported further if we think about vocalisation as a form of self-pleasure, in the erotic experience of forming vocals and the enjoyment of hearing one's own voice, reflected in the story of Echo. This seems to point towards a social failure or at least ambiguity of the interaction between self and other, if the self is always talking to the self. The experience further still, starts to feel violent when we de-mute or make sonic vocalisation, rarely done in a philosophy of voice. Incorporating sound's intrusive quality on the body into this intersubjective interaction points towards a violent potentiality. The intrusion of the sound of the other on my soundscape, my extended body, is the sonic extension of the body of the other in vocalisation, commanding a piece of my hearing territory, thereby penetrating my body. The problem is that I cannot avoid this because that bodily intrusion has a face attached. In reference to Levinas’ ethics of the face, I am forced to partake in these socially unfulfilling interactions out of a sense of duty to the other's face. To not acknowledge the face in response, even though that inevitable involves an intrusion, is also to estrange the other. Hence, I agree to maintain these interactions in a conduct of consensual violence. The ambiguity of vocal presence leads to a situation where it is violent not to be violent, in my vocal intrusion upon the other.Show less
In this paper I will compare Arthur Koestler’s fictional character N. Rubashov to Soviet revolutionary N.I. Bukharin. This comparison allows me to show two different approaches, bourgeois and...Show moreIn this paper I will compare Arthur Koestler’s fictional character N. Rubashov to Soviet revolutionary N.I. Bukharin. This comparison allows me to show two different approaches, bourgeois and Marxist, to both guilt and history. Koestler’s Rubashov was criticized by Maurice Merleau-Ponty for giving an insincere confession because he argues that Rubashov had an inadequate understanding of the history surrounding him; as opposed to Bukharin. I shall argue that although Merleau-Ponty rightly argues that Rubashov has a different approach to history, I do not believe it is enough to disregard his confession as insincere. His understanding develops in the book and this allows Rubashov a solution to his apparent paradox of a bourgeois sense of history with a Marxist sense of guilt. He confesses to his crimes for different reasons than Bukharin, but his confession is of the same nature. This shows that Merleau-Ponty’s conception of guilt and history is flawed and needs revising.Show less
The thesis argues that the concept of landscape fails to do justice to the experience of it. Through an analysis of the concept and of its origins, it locates the presuppositions of the concept in...Show moreThe thesis argues that the concept of landscape fails to do justice to the experience of it. Through an analysis of the concept and of its origins, it locates the presuppositions of the concept in its understanding of self and world. A phenomenological approach reveals that current understanding of landscape perpetuates the distinction of subject and object, disabling the experience of being in a landscape. Drawing on the later works of Husserl and Heidegger, the concluding chapters works towards an understanding of landscape as awareness of earth.Show less
