The British Avant-Garde: A Philosophical Analysis ABSTRACT: British Avant-Garde art, poses a challenge to traditional aesthetic analysis. This paper will argue that such art is best understood in terms of Wittgenstein¡¦s concept of "seeing-as," and will point out that the artists often use this concept in describing their work. This is significant in that if we are to understand art in terms of cultural practice, then we must actually look at the practice. We will discuss initiatives such as the
motivated when philosophical problems have personal significance. Take the topic of 'selfhood.' Introductory textbooks generally begin with the oracle at Delphi: "Know thyself!" But this motto is usually treated as the search for general knowledge of the individual or of human nature. Is it possible for a student to acquire some knowledge about him or herself during this course and reflect on it in a philosophically relevant way? Can personal experience help in understanding philosophical concepts such
encountered, John Keats’s Ode on a Grecian Urn is a particularly compelling subject for philosophical analysis. The major explications of this most contentiously debated ode in the language have largely focused, however, on various combinations of the poem’s stylistic, structural, linguistic, psychological, aesthetic, historical, symbolic, and intellectual-biographical elements. My paper articulates a bona fide philosophical approach to the ode’s famously controversial fifth stanza (the one containing the
The non-philosophical stimulus chosen is the somewhat infamous picture of The Falling Man. Taken on the morning of September 11th, 2001 following the terrorist attacks on the United States, The Falling Man captures the headlong fall of one of the individuals trapped at the top of the World Trade Centre after he chose to, rather than await being burnt alive by the flames, take his own life by jumping from the top of one of the towers. Similar actions were taken by as many as two hundred other people
History and Truth (1995). The article is a chapter from his book titled Philosophical Arguments. He began the chapter by discussing what he called “Zones of Puzzlements.” There are four of them. After describing these four types, the author discussed his point of view in the subject matter. Below, there will be an extensive analysis of what Taylor’s goal was when writing the chapter. As the author chose to do so, the analysis of his work below will begin from his third and fourth Zones of Puzzlement
genetic identity in exchange for companionship and free alcohol. As Jerome, Vincent is quickly hired and becomes a celebrated success at Gattaca, America’s leading space station. Poignant and triumphant, Gattaca provides the discerning viewer with a philosophical perspective of the ethics, politics, and realities involved in the lives of both the genetically superior and the naturally conceived. In Gattaca, the metaphysical reality of human free will is articulated through Vincent’s unpredicted achievement
Part One: The purpose and meaning of my life is…to fulfill my life as a child of God. I have always been a religious person. My decisions and actions are guided by a moral compass and by the Ten Commandments. I believe in an ultimate and absolute truth that governs all humans. This is my meaningful philosophy of life that has been encouraged by my parents. After being confirmed, I took it upon myself to try to make this philosophy more guided by my own internal beliefs, and less to do with my parent’s
Consider this argument: 'If the future is already determined, then it must be possible to know in advance what will happen. But, if that is so, then free will is impossible.' Do you agree? Is there any satisfactory way of acting freely if determinism is true? The connection between free will and moral responsibility has been a heavily debated topic by early philosophers with many ancient thinkers trying to demonstrate that humans either do have ultimate control over our actions and are not made
Moving a society forward requires a goal for all to work towards. Philosophers like Smith and Hegel believe that progress in society comes from conflict. While the conflict is not necessarily the primary goal, progress comes from an invisible hand. However, Marx will argue that class conflict should be eliminated to allow for the free development of all. All three try to explain societal progress, the only difference is in execution. So, it must be asked; Is conflict beneficial for progress? Is progress
and Psychiatry ABSTRACT: Can there be scientific theories in psychology, medicine or psychiatry? I approach this question through an in-depth analysis of a typical experiment for clinical depression involving the monoamine hypothesis, drug action, and placebos. I begin my discussion with a reconstruction of Adolph Grünbaum's conceptual analysis of 'placebo,' and then use his notion of "intentional placebo" to discuss a typical experiment using the monoamine hypothesis, two drugs and a placebo
The true essence, spirit, energy or whatever you choose to call it can be copied and we can relate the essence and iconography to the copy whether it is a painting, sculpture or other art work even though we know it is obviously not the real thing. There is only one original of anything that can contain the absolute true essence. It can be likened to the difference between the body and the soul. To me the only way I can describe Neo- Platonic theory is the human spirit reaching Nirvana, heaven or
After The Dark Philosophical Analysis The film After the Dark poses many different philosophical scenarios that aren’t so easily solved. The film starts off with Mr. Zimit essentially creating an end of the world scenario in which limited numbers of students will be able to survive. This hypothetical scenario is very unique because of how complex it is. The students have to decide which ten of group will be most beneficial to staying in a bunker to help repopulate and save the human race based on
Philosophical Anthropology ABSTRACT: Philosophers cannot avoid addressing the question of whether philosophical anthropology (that is, specifically philosophical inquiry about human nature and human phenomenon) is possible. Any answer must be articulated in the context of the nature and function of philosophy. In other words, philosophical anthropology must be defined as an account of the nature of the subject of philosophical thinking. I argue that if philosophical thinkers admit that they
Philosophical Anthropology, Human Nature and the Digital Culture ABSTRACT: Within contemporary Western philosophy, the issues of human nature and our place in the cosmos have largely been ignored. In the resulting vacuum, the various subcultures that have grown up around the digital computer (the so-called "digital culture") have been actively defining and shaping popular conceptions of what it means to be human and the place of humanity in the digital era. Here one finds an implicit view of
A Philosophical Discussion in Contemporary Music: Jane's Addiction and Bush The purpose of this paper is to examine philosophical and theological themes in the work of two modern musical groups. The alternative rock bands Jane’s Addiction and Bush will be the focus of this study. I have chosen these two artists since I have observed what I believe to be contrasting ideas in their work. Perry Farrell was the songwriter for Jane’s Addiction. His band’s release in 1988, titled Nothing’s Shocking
Philosophy of Money This article is an attempt to sketch a philosophical view of money as a social phenomenon. I show that the way to understand the substance of money is to analyze its meaning as a medium of exchange in connection with its meaning as a purpose of exchange, thereby providing an investigation of its social value. This approach has been used by many of the great philosophers and economists of the past, but not today. Modern economics is a policy oriented theoretical discipline and
argument is not in fact against Fodor’s theory, and ii) Wittgenstein’s private language argument “isn’t really any good” (70). In this paper I hope to show that Fodor’s second claim is patently false. In aid of this I will consider Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations (243-363), Jerry Fodor's The Language of Thought (55-97), as well as Anthony Kenny’s Wittgenstein (178-202). First I shall summarize Wittgenstein’s argument; then I will examine Fodor’s response and explain why it is fallacious
their wisdom, both in Africa and around the world. I also suggest that the title ‘sage’ has to be problematized. While there were good reasons to focus earlier on rural elders as overlooked wise philosophers, the emphasis now should be on admiring philosophical thought wherever it may be found—in women, youth, and urban Africans as well. In such a way, philosophy will be further relevant to people’s lives, and further light will be shed and shared regarding the lived experience in Africa. Odera Oruka’s
descriptions. So-called performative contradictions (e.g., "I do not exist") make up another kind, but there are at least two more such kinds: negating affirmations and performatives which cannot be explained within the philosophy of language. Only philosophical anthropology can explain their feature of "impossibleness," and a distinction between unreflective and reflective consciousness is central to the explanation. Particularly important here is G. H. Mead's distinction between two aspects of the self:
In The Rhetorical Situation, Lloyd F. Bitzer argues that what makes a situation rhetorical is similar to that which constitutes a moral action as he writes that, “an act is moral because it is an act performed in a situation of a certain kind; similarly, a work is rhetorical because it is a response to a situation of a certain kind”.(3) By defining the rhetorical situation in this way, Bitzer further contends that rhetoric is a means to altering reality. (4) It is through the use of discourse that