The intention behind writing the present essay on the Difference Between Fichte’s and Schelling’s Systems of Philosophy was to find the guiding idea that, acting as a thread of Ariadne, could...Show moreThe intention behind writing the present essay on the Difference Between Fichte’s and Schelling’s Systems of Philosophy was to find the guiding idea that, acting as a thread of Ariadne, could connect Hegel’s early philosophical project with what across the following argument will be referred to as the paradox of temporality. Deliberately, the above title refers to ‘temporality’, and not to ‘Time’. Temporality is not a term employed by Hegel in his writings. In a strict sense, what Hegel explicitly refers to as Time is limited to natural Time, and any other sense that might be associated with a temporality beyond natural Time is understood by Hegel as History —not as temporality. In Hegel’s works, Time and History pertain to the different realms of Nature and Spirit. Nevertheless, at the same time, for Hegel Nature and Spirit constitute instances in the unfolding of the Absolute Idea. Far from being a merely pure or abstract form, the Absolute Idea exists and becomes concrete as both realms. Consequently, beyond the letter of Hegelian philosophy, there is a common element to ‘Time’ and ‘History’, in that they both are the existing logical figure of finitude, or of ‘that which has its negation out of itself’ . The central claim of the present essay is that, in Hegel’s philosophy, there is this larger and contradictory logic connecting ‘Time’ and ‘History’ (a paradox of temporality), and that the paradoxical nature of this logic can be explained by an early concept found in the Difference: the notion of absolute identity. Therefore, the following argument will consider two main questions. Firstly: what are the main aspects of the contradiction of temporality in Nature and in Spirit? Secondly: how does Hegel’s early notion of absolute identity account for this paradox of temporality?Show less
Today, the world faces one crisis after another affecting individuals on a global scale. To respond to these crises, Anglo-American ethical and political philosophy requires alternative conceptions...Show moreToday, the world faces one crisis after another affecting individuals on a global scale. To respond to these crises, Anglo-American ethical and political philosophy requires alternative conceptions of care. Moving beyond (neo)liberal care ethics, this thesis argues for a non-gendered Confucian care ethics, illustrating what it means to care democratically. The aim is to alter democratic deficits by embracing interrelated Confucian selfhood. This enables intergenerational care to adapt to contemporary social challenges to humanity, democracy, equality, and freedom. I expand the notion of Confucian interrelated selfhood – transforming dichotomous moral boundaries of identity, community, and society – to include non-gendered, non-dyadic relationships. To be relevant for future generations, Confucian care ethical democracy must offer a theory of justice that understands how to care for each other in society. Whilst facing numerous care crises, it is imperative to encourage people to explore what it means to care intergenerationally for the present and future world. A communal effort to flourish on this planet starts by understanding the complexity of raising oneself, each other, and a whole society.Show less
This thesis will focus on overcoming inconsistencies found in Nussbaum’s theory on animal ethics, with help from Carter’s work on opacity respect. It will contain six chapters with each its own...Show moreThis thesis will focus on overcoming inconsistencies found in Nussbaum’s theory on animal ethics, with help from Carter’s work on opacity respect. It will contain six chapters with each its own research question. First, I will elaborate on what Nussbaum’s work on animal ethics entails, after which I will go into detail as to why we have sufficient reason to believe that many mysteries on the animal mind have yet to be solved. Nussbaum claims humans have a duty to treat each species according to their wants and needs, but this proofs to be difficult when new aspects of the animal mind are discovered as we speak. The third chapter will contain the main problem with Nussbaum’s theory: she relies too heavily on scientific research about animal consciousness. After I have elaborated on what Carter’s theory on opacity respect entails, I will identify what modifications need to be made in order to apply Carter’s theory onto non-human species. Carter argues that we must look at a creature’s capabilities only at a superficial level; to treat them ‘opaque’ as to avoid unequal treatment. The last chapter will explain why Carter’s theory on opacity respect cannot solve the problem within Nussbaum’s theory, because the core idea of her work will be lost. We will face a difficult dilemma: either we keep Nussbaum’s theory and accept the inconsistency, or reject her theory fully. Other possibilities and further research will be explored additionally.Show less
This thesis examines the justifiability of violent climate disobedience, specifically focusing on the inclusion of property damage as a symbolic element of the wider climate movement. By analysing...Show moreThis thesis examines the justifiability of violent climate disobedience, specifically focusing on the inclusion of property damage as a symbolic element of the wider climate movement. By analysing the urgency and severity of the climate crisis, the research argues that limited and targeted property damage can serve as a catalyst for public debate and draw attention to the pressing need for immediate action. The research explores the ethical and strategic implications of different protest tactics, challenging negative perceptions and providing a clearer understanding of the moral boundaries surrounding climate activism. It highlights the need for more radical tactics in cases where nonviolent methods have been ignored by authorities. The implications of this research are challenging existing discourse and providing a framework for assessing the legitimacy and acceptability of property damage within the climate movement. However, the thesis acknowledges the need to consider the personal costs and consequences for protestors engaging in violent protest, as well as the broader impacts on their well-being and the regenerative culture of the climate movement. Future research should address these limitations and explore philosophical and legal perspectives to further understand the moral complexities and legal considerations associated with violent climate protest. By undertaking these lines of research, a comprehensive understanding of the ethical, legal, and practical dimensions of violent climate disobedience can be achieved, contributing to informed discussions and decision-making processes for activists, policymakers, and society at large.Show less
This thesis delves into the moral dimensions of political authority, particularly focusing on the absence of political obligation and state illegitimacy as proposed by Alan John Simmons, a...Show moreThis thesis delves into the moral dimensions of political authority, particularly focusing on the absence of political obligation and state illegitimacy as proposed by Alan John Simmons, a prominent advocate of philosophical anarchism. It inquires whether Simmons' philosophical anarchism implies political anarchism— involving a duty to oppose and undermine the state. The thesis critically examines Simmons' arguments and counterarguments against critics Joseph Wellman and Thomas Senor, who assert that Simmons' position results in justified disobedience and a moral duty to resist the state. By viewing the moral implications of state illegitimacy within Simmons' 'balance-of-reasons' approach, this thesis contends that Simmons fails to defend his framework against implying political anarchism. Additionally, it proposes the concept of an 'adaptive duty to oppose and undermine the state,' a nuanced approach in response to non-consensual state coercion that acknowledges moral concerns while striving for peaceful yet effective political reform.Show less
The thesis will defend the idea that experiencing meaning can only ensue as a consequence of assuming full responsibility for one’s identity as a person. Frankl’s logotherapy establishes how humans...Show moreThe thesis will defend the idea that experiencing meaning can only ensue as a consequence of assuming full responsibility for one’s identity as a person. Frankl’s logotherapy establishes how humans are capable of being free. As I think there are valid parallels to be made with Kantian moral philosophy, I will show how Kantian-inspired concepts can help us understand in what way human beings carry responsibilities for their identity as persons. However, logotherapy’s ambiguous account of meaning will be re-interpreted to accommodate the subjectivist notion of wilfully striving into a hybrid notion in line with Susan Wolf. Objective formulae of evaluative standards of value constrain and inform the subjectively motivated grounds for actions that are a necessary part of being a person. I will opt for a Kantian formula of value because of its conduciveness to logotherapy’s assumption of human freedom and humanity as an end in itself. As for the notion of subjective striving, I will argue along the lines of Christine Korsgaard that being a person means acting in a way that endorses on what grounds we wish to define ourselves as persons. As such, meaning comes as a by-product of an agent taking responsibility for acting to constitute himself into a particular identity.Show less
In this thesis I aspire to contribute to the existing literature on Schelling's 1809 Freedom Essay by providing an interpretation that explicitly focusses on the resulting view on freedom in...Show moreIn this thesis I aspire to contribute to the existing literature on Schelling's 1809 Freedom Essay by providing an interpretation that explicitly focusses on the resulting view on freedom in connection with Schelling’s overarching attempt at a system of freedom. To this end, the thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter aims to bring out the way in which the central problem of Schelling’s Freedom Essay – that is, the task of thinking freedom systematically – is not an isolated phenomenon but rather gradually emerges as the fundamental problem of the philosophical context to which Schelling belongs, that is, of German Idealism. The second chapter aims to introduce the essential elements of Schelling’s attempt at thinking a system of freedom through the lens of the question of a living, as opposed to a dead, philosophy. The third chapter aims to defend the central claim of the thesis, namely that Schelling’s attempt to think freedom systematically transforms the very meaning of system, freedom and necessity. On my interpretation, as developed in this thesis, the meaning of system is not to be understood as a closed totality, springing from a self-evident first principle from which everything follows with mechanical necessity. Rather, Schelling’s system is the whole, a whole within which every part is connected to every other part, grounded by the elusive groundless ground of grounds: the Ungrund. Within this system, human freedom is not merely freedom of choice, that is, the capacity to choose without a determining ground, merely because it is willed, between either A or B. Rather, human freedom is the capacity for good and evil. Each and every individual self-determines her own essence through an eternal act independent from temporal and causal relations. On such a view, freedom and necessity are one. We freely determine ourselves to be the kind of individual that we are, that is, must be. As such, it is not an estranged mathematical necessity that rules Schelling’s system. Rather, the contradiction between freedom and necessity, groundlessly grounded by a fundamental willing, forms the beating heart of Schelling’s living system.Show less
In this thesis, I will discuss what the self-image is and what it can tell us about the position of the self in intersubjective relations. I will do this by answering the question: What is the self...Show moreIn this thesis, I will discuss what the self-image is and what it can tell us about the position of the self in intersubjective relations. I will do this by answering the question: What is the self-image? It is by its very definition, not an individualising image, which means it is a process that puts the self as being opposed to its surroundings but is a connecting and inherently harmonising mental process. It is inherently an image both of, and formed by, the horizon of the self. To explain this, I will use the understanding of a horizon given to us by Edmund Husserl. Even though this concept is found in a theory that gives us an individualising understanding of the self-image, it will show us that it is indeed not individualising but harmonising. By individualising I mean the affirmation of the identity of the self as a being moving through a space full of Others and objects alien to him. As such the self-experiences themselves as being opposed to them and in some cases clearly in a power struggle with the Other. Harmonising means that the world within the horizon appears as being inherently part of the identity of the self. As such it shows the self as not being surrounded by foreign things but by things that are already a part of it.Show less
In 'The Man Without Content' (1994), an essay on aesthetics written by Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, the author asks wether works of the imagination will ever regain the existential power...Show moreIn 'The Man Without Content' (1994), an essay on aesthetics written by Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, the author asks wether works of the imagination will ever regain the existential power they once held. And if so, what conditions will enable this transformation in a way that accounts for the historic changes that shaped the face of art as we see it today. What is useful in Agamben’s essay, often wanting in the works of like-minded thinkers sharing a similar dissatisfaction with contemporary art, is the schematised overview he gives of the various internal scissions that befell the production and reception of art since the Renaissance. The former unity of the work of art has been lost, fragmenting into polarised coordinates of artist versus spectator, taste versus genius, form versus content. This disunity, Agamben maintains, finds its beginnings in the loss of tradition. We can no longer identify with the content of the work of art, for the content which made up traditional societies is no longer transmissible. As such, we are left with the free creative principle of the artist on the one hand, and the passive role of the spectator on the other. The work of art is no longer a shared space and has lost its original power. Agamben finds the solution to this impasse in an abstraction: the work of art is to transmit the 'untransmissibility' of tradition (content) and in so doing regains its 'poietic' power. Although Agamben touches upon fundamental issues that do help to make sense of our current artistic landscape, I argue that his diagnosis of modernity is too radical, that the implications for the work of art are untenable, and that the solution offered requires a price much too high to pay. Instead, we can take what is useful in Agamben’s essay and supplement it with a view that offers a more fruitful solution for re-imagining our relationship to the work of art and its value. This supplementation will come from Hamann’s Aesthetica in Nuce.Show less
The thesis discusses the importance of political institutions in a democratic country and the challenges of fulfilling the criteria for a sound democratic process. Focused on the notion of...Show moreThe thesis discusses the importance of political institutions in a democratic country and the challenges of fulfilling the criteria for a sound democratic process. Focused on the notion of enlightened understanding, it emphasizes the need for democratic institutions to support the development of all democratic citizens while acknowledging intellectual differences among citizens. This thesis identifies an erosion of institutions responsible for the task of bringing about enlightened understanding. From here, this thesis delves into the recent emergence of Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) as a tool to assist voters in decision-making and discusses its potential and the potential of incorporating conversational agents within VAAs to enhance citizens' enlightened understanding. Moreover, this thesis argues for the integration of (CA)VAAs as an essential part of the institutional structure of modern democracies, given the ongoing corroding of traditional institutions. The thesis explores the concept of democracy, address potential issues, examine various institutional approaches, analyze technological advancements, and assess the implementation of (CA)VAAs.Show less
Unbeknownst to many today, world-renowned physicist Erwin Schrödinger not only engaged in physics and mathematics but was deeply committed to the Indian philosophical school of Advaita Vedānta. In...Show moreUnbeknownst to many today, world-renowned physicist Erwin Schrödinger not only engaged in physics and mathematics but was deeply committed to the Indian philosophical school of Advaita Vedānta. In this study, I aim to understand the relation between Schrödinger’s physics and his embrace of Indian philosophy. By showing how Schrödinger embedded his physics in his overarching philosophical worldview, I argue that Indian philosophy takes up a seemingly modest yet ever-so-important role in Schrödinger’s life and work. I show in this thesis how Advaita Vedāntin insights on monism and the illusory character of distinct phenomena form the core of Schrödinger’s metaphysics. In turn, this worldview serves as a guiding framework in his life, thought, and professional work, including his physics. This thesis clarifies the existing confusion in current scholarship on Schrödinger’s use of Indian thought. Furthermore, as an interdisciplinary and intercultural case-study, this thesis sheds light on debates on the role of philosophy in physics, specifically the role of Indian and intercultural philosophy in contemporary thought.Show less
