In his text Viṃśikākārikā, translated as the Twenty Verses, Vasubandhu makes and defends the claim that the world is mind-only. What this means is however not directly clear, and many...Show moreIn his text Viṃśikākārikā, translated as the Twenty Verses, Vasubandhu makes and defends the claim that the world is mind-only. What this means is however not directly clear, and many interpretations of what it exactly entails exist. The common direction of interpretation is to read Vasubandhu as making some kind of idealist claim. In this thesis, I will explore the different interpretations and their viability, and argue for my claim that we can interpret Vasubandhu’s mind-only as a form of Mind substance monism.Show less
This thesis applies Isiah Berlin's theory on the inversion of positive liberty to the concept of negative liberty. Negative liberty, the freedom from coercion, has become a monistic doctrine...Show moreThis thesis applies Isiah Berlin's theory on the inversion of positive liberty to the concept of negative liberty. Negative liberty, the freedom from coercion, has become a monistic doctrine through the political philosophy of neo-liberalism. This inversion of negative has led to the forceful promotion of democracy, and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. While initial claims of searching for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) were proved false in Iraq, “spreading freedom and democracy” became a dominant part of the discourse. Using process tracing one will argue that, in Iraq, a massive project of social reengineering was attempted. The occupation authorities attempted to reorientate Iraqi society to the values of negative liberty. This engendered huge resistance among the people of Iraq. This led to a postmodern nightmare in Iraq, wherein the occupation forces were torturing, imprisoning, and killing, in the name of freedom from coercion and interference. This thesis argues that the project of democratic revolution in Iraq failed due to a narrow conception of freedom ignoring indigenous demands and culture.Show less
