This thesis studies the connection between suffering and sentience in Karel Capek’s R.U.R. (1921) and the first season of Westworld (HBO, 2016). Both R.U.R. and Westworld present suffering as a...Show moreThis thesis studies the connection between suffering and sentience in Karel Capek’s R.U.R. (1921) and the first season of Westworld (HBO, 2016). Both R.U.R. and Westworld present suffering as a catalyst for the emergence of a human form of consciousness in artificial people. Initially, however, organic human characters in both texts are convinced that artificial people feel no pain and are unable to suffer. The organic human characters use this supposed inability to justify the inhumane treatment of the artificial characters. This thesis demonstrates how R.U.R. and Westworld reflect on the ways that theories about differences in sensitivity to pain were and continue to be used to justify the mistreatment of Others in real life. Additionally, the thesis shows how R.U.R. and Westworld offer illustrations of the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, in which one’s suffering in response to the Other’s suffering is the foundation of becoming a fully human subject. The thesis shows how R.U.R. and Westworld interweave these opposite ways of responding to the suffering Other, and thereby contribute to a better understanding of the role of suffering in the ongoing negation of what it means to be human.Show less
After Thomas Nagel publicised Mind and Cosmos in 2012, the response was overwhelmingly negative. Nagel criticises the Neo-Darwinian conception of nature and its apparent materialist naturalist...Show moreAfter Thomas Nagel publicised Mind and Cosmos in 2012, the response was overwhelmingly negative. Nagel criticises the Neo-Darwinian conception of nature and its apparent materialist naturalist orthodoxy in this book. I respond to James DiFrisco’s criticism of Nagel’s Mind and Cosmos in this thesis. I defend Mind and Cosmos against the two core criticisms put forward by DiFrisco. In the first chapter, I will explain Nagel’s criticism of physicalism in the philosophy of mind, the physical sciences and NeoDarwinist evolutionary theory in particular. In chapter two, I will elaborate on DiFrisco’s two core criticisms. These are Nagel's alleged confusion of Neo-Darwinist evolutionary theory as a theory of everything and an accusation that Nagel paints a false opponent in biology. I will refute DiFrisco’s two core criticisms in the third and final chapter.Show less
The focus of this essay lies on analysing the relationship of hypnosis and consciousness. It is my claim that modernly held theories of hypnosis do not manage to fully account for all facets of...Show moreThe focus of this essay lies on analysing the relationship of hypnosis and consciousness. It is my claim that modernly held theories of hypnosis do not manage to fully account for all facets of this seeming psychological anomaly because they may be based on a faulty notion of consciousness. I will attempt to show what this notion of consciousness is and how the phenomenon of hypnosis challenges this notion. I will then propose the use of a radically different notion of consciousness by Julian Jaynes and show what a more successful theory of hypnosis based on this notion of consciousness might look like. I will briefly lay out the origins of hypnosis and why this phenomenon seems to carry with it a less than favourable image. I will isolate recurring classes of hypnotic phenomena and discuss what makes these phenomena so seemingly inexplicable (chapter 2). I will then move on to a discussion of our commonly held notion of consciousness and how it relates to hypnosis (chapter 3). The next step will be a discussion of different attempts at explaining hypnosis (chapter 4). Here I will point out the advantages as well as challenges of each of the theories presented, concluding that they all face difficulties based on their underlying notion of consciousness. Following this will be a discussion of Jaynes’s concept of consciousness, shedding light on the differences between his notion and the formerly discussed commonly held understanding of consciousness, as well as presenting potential criticisms of Jaynes’ idea (chapter 5). I will then present Jaynes’ theory of hypnosis, hoping to further flesh out, clarify and develop the different parts of his theory. This theory will then be shown to integrate the advantages of modern models of hypnosis while doing away with their formerly discussed challenges (chapter 6). Lastly, a brief conclusion with suggestions for further research is presented (chapter 7), followed by this essay’s bibliography (chapter 8).Show less
Articulating child consciousness poses authors with a double bind. Can children’s language be applied by adult authors to grasp the consciousness of a child? And can an adult still grasp and...Show moreArticulating child consciousness poses authors with a double bind. Can children’s language be applied by adult authors to grasp the consciousness of a child? And can an adult still grasp and emulate a consciousness that he himself has evolved beyond? This thesis analyses whether the portrayal of child consciousness in a selection of English Modernist fictional works is successful.Show less
