This thesis is an investigation into the ontological basis of pessimism. I develop a Nietzschean interpretive framework of pessimism, based on a distinction Nietzsche makes between two types of...Show moreThis thesis is an investigation into the ontological basis of pessimism. I develop a Nietzschean interpretive framework of pessimism, based on a distinction Nietzsche makes between two types of pessimism in The Gay Science 370: romantic and Dionysian pessimism. According to Nietzsche, this distinction is based on a dynamic articulated using the language of physiology. This dynamic is either expanding or degenerating. The thesis relates this distinction to Schopenhauer's and Nietzsche's notions of a 'world of appearance' to test if their ontology testifies to a romantic or Dionysian pessimism. Their ontologies are interpreted as either a transfiguration of romantic or Dionysian pessimism. I then develop a reading of Schopenhauer’s pessimistic philosophy. I argue that Schopenhauer’s notion of representation or appearance is central to his metaphysics. I then interpret his punctum pruriens of philosophy as a priori pessimism permeating the whole of Schopenhauer’s philosophy resulting in an ethics of renunciation. I then lay out Nietzsche’s critique of Schopenhauer in the Genealogy, based on the aforementioned physiological dynamic. In the last chapter, I investigate Nietzsche’s world of appearance, characterized as semblance or ‘Schein’. I relate this to Nietzsche’s aesthetics and art as a transfiguration of Dionysian pessimism. However, the question is whether Nietzsche’s philosophy itself is the transfiguration of Dionysian pessimism. I then explain how Nietzsche does this by means of a project of life affirmation through the notions of perspectivism and the will to power.Show less
The central thesis of this paper is that something exists if and only if it is causally connected to me. Using this as a means to find an answer to the question of what it means to exist, the...Show moreThe central thesis of this paper is that something exists if and only if it is causally connected to me. Using this as a means to find an answer to the question of what it means to exist, the thesis is treated as a principle, which sets up a specific, unorthodox kind of defense. Following a Kantian line of thinking, this principle is first interpreted, then and compared to alternatives, upon which finally the specific, concrete implications of its truth are explained. This leads not only to a clear understanding of existence as defined by a causal connection to us, but also a specific understanding of the nature of principles and their proper philosophical application.Show less
The following dissertation discusses the concept of Dualism in Avicenna’s philosophy of the self. This discussion is divided in an attempt to question the self, the self in regards to materiality,...Show moreThe following dissertation discusses the concept of Dualism in Avicenna’s philosophy of the self. This discussion is divided in an attempt to question the self, the self in regards to materiality, and the position of the self in the cosmos. More significantly, the dissertation attempts to develop these concepts by explaining the concept of awareness. In this dissertation, it is found that self-awareness is a universal concept however limited by the human mind. Yet, humans can be enlightened when they understand the dualistic relationship between extramental objects and the self. The dissertation further investigates this complex structure and the relevance thereof in current times.Show less
The thesis proposes a perspective on contemporary visual arts through the viewpoint of Plato’s notion of χώρα (chôra) – a concept, which in Plato’s philosophy is defined as a third kind of being...Show moreThe thesis proposes a perspective on contemporary visual arts through the viewpoint of Plato’s notion of χώρα (chôra) – a concept, which in Plato’s philosophy is defined as a third kind of being and is designated as a space between the World of Being and the World of Becoming, necessary for the world to originate and become manifested. The text engages with the idea of χώρα in Plato’s dialogue Timaeus, the understanding of the concept in contemporary thought in the work of the philosophers Jacques Derrida and Julia Kristeva, and investigates two distinct yet interconnected artworks – HAEM Blood Bound (2016) by Cecilia Jonsson and Cracks in Time (2009) by Michal Rovner, through the viewpoint of χώρα. In the text, art is considered equal to χώρα, as, it is argued, approaching the main features of Plato’s receptacle – the crucial aspects of ontology, motility and ‘in-betweenness’ as art characteristics could enable a rediscovery of the significance of the messages it implies for contemporary society. In this manner the research offers a different approach towards art, a prospect for widening its understanding, which, in turn, would allow examining its role and disclosing what it can contribute to the societal issues of the present-day world.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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This thesis focuses on the interpretation of pages 29 to 46 of the Codex Borgia. This sequence of pages is unique in the corpus of Mexican manuscripts, and it contain very complex imagery. Because...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the interpretation of pages 29 to 46 of the Codex Borgia. This sequence of pages is unique in the corpus of Mexican manuscripts, and it contain very complex imagery. Because of this, these pages have been the centre of many interpretation efforts for already more than a decade. To this day no consensus has been reached about the meaning of the pages. To aid in this matter, this thesis contains three aims: (1) to give an overview of the interpretations made thus far, (2) to identify the specific problems in the interpretation process in order to recommend future lines of research, and (3) to expand upon the knowledge of the imagery through a structural analysis of them from the perspective of narratology. First, an overview of eight interpretations has been created. Secondly, these interpretations have been evaluated on the basis of the analogies that have been drawn in order to identify the problems in the interpretation process. Third and lastly, the narratological aspects time, space, events, actors, and focalization have been selected to analyse the structure (and thereby function) of the pages. It is concluded that that the pages represent various separate rituals in a ceremonial centre, and that the pages are of some kind of descriptive or prescriptive nature. It is very likely that the pages were used as a sort of guide for a variety rituals performed by a group of priests that was closely related to a Temple of Dark Wind, and in which hallucinations play a role.Show less
