Philosophy
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Philosophy Essays (& other stuff)
The Secret Sharer. “The Secret Sharer” is indeed full of suspense and is rich in symbolism. This essay will explain how this reader interprets these aspects of this story: how Joseph Conrad brings elements from his own life’s story to bear upon the narrative; from what point of view he tells the story; what the major themes are and how Conrad uses symbology and metaphor to advance those themes; why his use of psychological drama induces the reader’s sympathy for a “right” ending to the plot; and the moral Truth about Courage that Conrad discloses through the narrative of the captain’s personal journey. After Death, Then What? Humboldt’s Gift, by Saul Bellow, is a story of ideas, primarily dealing with the large philosophical questions about the human soul and death. Another major theme laments the state of culture, or lack thereof, particularly in America, and specifically in the big city. Alongside this theme, Bellow portrays the struggle necessary for an artist of principle to express his/her Art in the midst of living Life: Life is constantly getting in the way! How does Bellow carry out these themes? Does he resolve the mysteries of soul and death? This paper addresses these questions. Ibsen's Master Builder. In “The Master Builder,” Henrik Ibsen uses his characters, their dialogue, and subtle symbolism to explore the intricacies of human psychology and social mores. This sometimes comic play is overall a tragedy: a tragedy of unfulfilled, self-absorbed lives. This paper will explain how Ibsen weaves social and religious commentary throughout this play while his characters’ self-identities unfold and evolve, leading to the inevitable, but tragic, conclusion. Sylvia's Birthday Present. “A Birthday Present,” by Sylvia Plath, is a disturbing poem. If you wish to find serenity and beauty in poetry, you should not sit down to a helping of Plath’s poems; poems filled with her demons. Very early into this poem, you find out that this is not about a birthday present in any ordinary sense. Instead, you will find ghostly and ghastly apparitions: “Is this the elect one, the one with black eye-pits and a scar?” Her use of imagery formed strong impressions upon me about a dark soul in trouble. I surmised certain facts about the author, based on this often starkly direct prose; facts that were substantiated in research. I will first discuss the poem. Then we will take a brief look at Plath’s life as a way of understanding this particular poem within her own life’s journey. Philosophy's Quest. One can hardly open a newspaper without some lead story discussing controversial ethical and political issues regarding such topics as abortion, cloning, stem-cell research, environmentalism, defense budgets, welfare reform, etc. Also, the mass media contains information relating to plights of peoples from far away lands. In order to evaluate the relevance of these contemporary issues, one must go into some depth in the field of philosophy in order to form intelligent opinions on these matters and to decide what, if anything, one should do about them: how to vote, what causes are important to support, etc. Just how should one approach the study of philosophy? As Kant encouraged: “Have the courage to use your own reason! Is the slogan of Enlightenment." Before one can intelligently reason about issues, one must first understand the questions and examine what other thinkers have expressed regarding possible solutions. This paper will not provide any attempt at comment or solutions to specific problems, but rather, is merely an exposition about the kinds of major questions philosophy asks within its five major branches.
Pro-Life and Pro-Choice: Red Herrings or valid "never" and "always" positions?. This paper briefly explains the history of the abortion controversy; it explores different criteria for defining what counts as a human person, and why that is vital to this issue; and analyzes some of the more important arguments for and against abortion in certain types of cases. This analysis should demonstrate that proponents of neither side of this debate have a credible case to claim that this is a simple issue with the solution based on an inviolate right of either life or personal privacy and personal choice. In spite of the philosophical and ethical complexity of abortion, zealots on either side of the debate cloud the issue further with invalid arguments, some of which are exposed in this paper. With no attempt to provide a definitive solution as a guide in all cases of unwanted pregnancies, I will explain and support a broad solution that would assist in both groups’ goal to reduce a perceived need for abortions in the majority of cases. Democratic Socialism: an Oxymoron?. Since the demise of the former Soviet Union, one might think that the idea of a socialistic economic system is defunct. However, the socialistic ideal is still very much alive in the hearts of many: it lives on in the form of inflated notions of man’s rights. There is public sentiment in favor of granting more and more “rights” to a populace, without much thought about what and whose other fundamental rights may be trampled in the process of subverting capitalism in favor of socialism. This paper is a response to Kai Nielsen’s essay, “A Moral Case for Socialism." Through a discussion of Nielsen’s essay, and contrasting his ideas with other thinkers (from essays in the same reference book), I intend to demonstrate that Nielsen’s notion of democratic socialism is an oxymoron—at least the idea that a democratic government that protects individual liberty can thrive alongside economic socialism. Can There Be Mind Over Matter? This paper defends the proposition that the mind is a ‘further fact.” By further fact I mean something in addition to the physio-chemical processes in the brain. A further fact also means something in addition to psychological continuity in comprising the essence of personal identity. While expanding on the concept of what a further fact is, I intend to show that holding this view does not violate Occam’s razor in a causal explanation of human activity such as thinking. Also, holding this view does not necessarily support a dual nature view of the universe: one of matter and spirit. Finally, this view does not support the dichotomy of mind and body. I defend my proposition by guiding the reader through ideas expressed in most of the papers presented in the “Mind and Body” section of the Burr and Goldinger text (402-462). We will briefly review some tenets of materialism, interactionism, idealism, and Objectivism. Next, we will look at one instance of personal identity: that it is bound by the concept of surviving. Lastly, there will be a short discussion contrasting the nature of computers with that of human thinking. By exposing the weaknesses and strengths in these authors’ arguments, I intend to weave them together into a common theme to support the idea that the mind is a further fact. Greek Origins: Mythos, Polis and Logos. This paper briefly discusses the origins of Greek thought by analyzing the relationships among mythos, polis and logos. By comprehending the origins of early Greek thought within its cultural and historical settings we can better understand the individual early philosophers’ ideas in relationship to the Great Conversation carried on throughout succeeding eras. First, there will be a definition and brief background of the elusive terms, mythos and polis as used in this discussion. The bulk of this paper will focus on the progressive evolution of the even more elusive logos throughout the era before Socrates. Antigone, Jacosta, and Diotima. Greek Tragedies contain timeless themes, as exemplified in Antigone. In this paper, I focus on the role of women in ancient Greece. This paper contrasts the women in two of Sophocles’ plays, Antigone and Oedipus the King, and conclude with a discussion about women (or lack thereof) in Plato’s dialogue, the Symposium. Plato's Republic Versus Pericles' Democracy. Pericles, in his praise for Athenian democracy emphasized “what the form of government under which our greatness grew, what the national habits out of which it sprang. ." Plato, on the other hand, considers the ideal form of government to be either a monarchy or an oligarchy, as long as it holds to the structure as outlined in The Republic. Democracy, for Plato, is one of the four other “vicious” forms of government that come into being through an inevitable degeneration from one form of government control to another. Plato had lived through the Peloponnesian War in which Athens was soundly defeated; the subsequent “thirty tyrants” reign; and, after that, a civil war in which democracy was restored (Wedgwood “Apology”). He was no stranger to political upheaval. He may even have had some bias against a democracy that voted to kill Socrates. Nevertheless, Plato’s construction of the ideal state is grounded in his theories about human nature, making this Republic and no other kind ideal. This paper will examine Plato’s Republic by comparing and contrasting various aspects with those extolled by Pericles in praising Athenian democracy. aaa. bbb
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