Academic studies of nonduality tend to focus on the phenomenology of what is called “nondual experience” or “nondual awareness” that is universal to a wide range of diverse spiritual traditions...Show moreAcademic studies of nonduality tend to focus on the phenomenology of what is called “nondual experience” or “nondual awareness” that is universal to a wide range of diverse spiritual traditions such as Mahāyāna Buddhism, Advaita Vedānta, Daoism, as well as Christianity and Sufism among others. A popular way of approaching nonduality from a philosophical perspective is to assume or argue that these contradictory metaphysical systems are grounded in the same or similar phenomenological experience, which is then taken as a basis for the resolution of ontological differences between these diverse systems to arrive at a conclusion proclaiming a single absolute truth or reality revealed by all of them. This work challenges such an understanding of nonduality by engaging with an influential study in the field of intercultural comparative philosophy authored by David Loy and showing how this type of interpretation leads to epistemologically dualistic consequences, which render it untenable. What follows is a presentation of an alternative way of approaching nonduality based on the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Dzogchen. By tracing its origins in the Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thought, this work presents how two fundamental kinds of nonduality are understood in Dzogchen: the relative-ultimate nonduality, based on Madhyamaka, and the subject-object nonduality, based on Yogācāra. The conclusion this study aims to establish is that the most philosophically cogent presentation of nonduality is one where the negations of duality are understood to be nonimplicative, revealing the inseparable identity of any two poles under consideration. Nonduality as inseparability means that neither of the given two poles is reducible to the other, as a negation of duality is not seen to imply a unified or singular absolute reality.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
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
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
This thesis challenges both Michael Huemer’s claim that political authority is a moral illusion and his suspicion that such authority cannot be justified. It argues that Huemer’s arguments against...Show moreThis thesis challenges both Michael Huemer’s claim that political authority is a moral illusion and his suspicion that such authority cannot be justified. It argues that Huemer’s arguments against two prominent elements of the traditional social contract theory fail, and that political authority based on both explicit and implicit agreement is possible in a valid manner. It furthermore rejects Huemer’s criticism of consequentialism as a justification for political authority, and defends the possibility of a plausible rule consequentialist account of political authority. Additionally, it criticises Huemer’s claim that government is not necessary for the provision of the vital good of limiting dangerous climate change. It suggests that it is plausible that many people currently live under political authority on a climate policy-based consequentialist account of political authority.Show less
With the grounding of Cartesian mind-body dualism in modern European philosophy the mind has been granted a pivotal place in the field of epistemology. As a result, knowledge production is...Show moreWith the grounding of Cartesian mind-body dualism in modern European philosophy the mind has been granted a pivotal place in the field of epistemology. As a result, knowledge production is predominantly considered a disembodied enterprise. Over the last century critiques have been formulated against placing knowledge within the perimeters of the mind. For one, the phenomenological tradition offered an influential critique against the separability of mind, body as well as the external world in which the cognisant being finds oneself. Despite providing a powerful argument against disembodied theories of knowledge it appears the applicability of such a phenomenological theory falls short when transcending knowledge on the level of individual experience. This research takes a different approach in critiquing a disembodied understanding of knowledge. Through findings in ethnography and material culture studies it becomes clear knowledge cannot be confined to the internal mental processes of individual subjects. These two research fields bring special attention to firstly, the distributive nature of knowledge amongst collectivities and secondly, the shared epistemological and ontological aspects of knowledge amongst groups of people/cultures required to produce knowledge. Knowledge is considered something that is constructed intersubjectively and in direct relation to the physical world and power discourse in which it is used. Through case studies in material culture currently housed at the Pitt Rivers Museum, an ethnographic and anthropology institute in Oxford, UK, it is argued that mind, body and external world properties play inseparable roles in the way knowledge is produced. In addition it becomes clear that a traditional Cartesian understanding of knowledge has consistently been used in interpreting the knowledge systems of other cultures. Such projection of a traditional Cartesian understanding of knowledge on the knowledge systems of other cultures has left an often distorted view of other modes of knowing, being and understanding, and attests to the colonial conditions under which the objects examined here were acquired. Study of material objects expose the fallacy in mind-body dualism and ought to be considered the missing links regarding knowledge systems obscured as result of the universalisation of the traditional Cartesian understanding of knowledge.Show less
Philosophical vegetarianism is a phoenixlike presence as it has risen from ancient ashes; and its current controversy is not a new one, but rather a rekindling of an old one. Correspondingly,...Show morePhilosophical vegetarianism is a phoenixlike presence as it has risen from ancient ashes; and its current controversy is not a new one, but rather a rekindling of an old one. Correspondingly, Porphyry was not ahead of his time by morally advocating for vegetarianism; the modern animal emancipation movement is merely playing catch-up. I argue that a proper understanding of these ancient ashes is required to make the phoenix that is animal emancipation fly high.Show less
I aim to explore the possible answers to the question; what makes institutional corruption wrong? In particular, I provide an account of corruption based on institutional virtue theory. I come up...Show moreI aim to explore the possible answers to the question; what makes institutional corruption wrong? In particular, I provide an account of corruption based on institutional virtue theory. I come up with three conditions for corruption; viciousness, knowing an act could have particular effects, and the benefits one receives from it. These conditions are applicable on an individual and institutional level. I suggest my account benefits from avoiding the criticism directed at its alternatives (deontic and teleological views on the wrongness of corruption). It cannot overexplain the central concept of the text because it distinguishes corrupt acts from breaches of fiduciary duty through the third condition for corruption. With that, it avoids the charge of underexplaining, as it claims one-off acts are corrupt independent of their effect on an institution.Show less
