Literature and Philosophy
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Self and Other
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Responsibility and Freedom
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Being and Essence
Motive and Consequence
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Rene Descartes - Meditations on First Philosophy
Descartes concerns himself with the study of knowledge and what it means to exist. He starts by breaking ideas down to their roots by deciding that the only thing that one is capable of knowing is real is the consciousness of the self. We must doubt all things and reject all opinions that give some reason for doubt. Except, in Descartes' opinion, God - who we are born with the innate knowledge that we have been created by a being that not not want to deceive us.
Jean Paul Sartre - Existentialism is a Humanism
Sartre discusses the idea that existence precedes essence and argues that the human is nothing but what they make of themselves. This links to Butler's idea's about the performance of gender, and Locke's ideas about identity. It also has ties to the position Gregor finds himself in when he changes forms, and how Marcel's childhood memories constitute his being. This text also links to freedom and responsibility, as we did not choose to be born but we may chose to rejoice in being born.
John Locke - An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Locke's text is fundamental in establishing the foundations of empiricism. The essay's primary hypothesis is that people begin as blank slates upon which their experiences are mapped, culminating in differences in how idea are formed in the mind. He attacks Descartes' doctrine of innate ideas. Interrogating the notion that there are 'universal principles', Locke denies Descartes' suggestion that man is born with ideas, instead identifying that beings acquire definition over the course of experience.
Being and Essence
What constitutes a person in terms of being and essence? How can you know you exist? The discussion of consciousness is significant with regards to this as it is an indicator of being. Is this being fixed or fluid and how does it relate to the physical form it holds?
Self and Other
The relationship between the self and the other is significant because of perceptions. The ability to distinguish between the self and the other is due to not only physical but also links to the idea if being and essence. How are other beings separated and stigmatised when they are perceived as 'the other'? Perception of the other in relation to the self is important because these perceptions can influence the being an essence of a person
Judith Butler - Performative Acts and Gender Constitution
Judith Butler's text plays a central role within the delineation between Queer Theory and Feminism. Her suggestion that gender, being defined as an external 'performance' as opposed to inherently associated with biological sex is, is crucial. Whilst Queer Theory then goes a step further to postulate that biological sex is also unassigned, Butler's theory places gender as a construction. Gender performance produces a series of effects infinitely; gender is always being constructed, externally and from the individual's autonomy. Butler sees gender as constructed through acts which comply with presiding social norms. This becomes particularly relevant when discussing Butler's criticism of the social labels as binary; gender is predicated upon social standard, but also seeks to distance itself from the constraints this can hold. This texts relates to the ideas of creation of self identity and how this is effected by other people's perceptions of you, like in Metamorphoses. It also links to the idea of freedom, as one should be free to express their gender through performance.
Marcel Proust - Swann's Way
Proust's text engages with a number of psychoanalytical and philosophical questions through the interwoven narratives of Marcel, and the love affair between Swann and Odette. The former of these protagonists, Marcel, takes on an autobiographical element - he has aspirations of being a writer, and shares a name with Proust. Marcel echoes Freudian notes in his fear of sleeping alone; his eager anticipation of company when his mother kisses him goodnight is clouded by his fear of her appearance marking another bout of insomnia. Marcel's story also centers around his immediate infatuation with Gilberte, the daughter of Odette, but the reader is exposed to his hyperbolic obsession when he mistakes her black eyes for blue. Converseley, the second narrative pathway of the text follows Odette and Swann; a comparable romantic, Swann like Marcel obsesses over Odette to the point of isolation. This links into the idea of the self and the other as this text is heavily dependent on perceptions and memory with regards to creating the self and how other's perceive this.
Franz Kafka - Metamorphoses
This text details the experience of Gregor Samsa waking up in the body of an insect. It consistently avoids explanation and eludes meaning; the reader, like Gregor, is simply forced into the situation and made to accept a new normality. Gregor's concerns are not his transformation, but how this will effect the established norms around him - his family, his job, his society. Gregor's existence becomes a terrible burden upon his family; his father views him with disgust, seeing his transformation as one of body and person, while his sister pities the changed Gregor, caring for him and bringing him food. The text interrogates questions of physicality and normality, abd to what extent relationships balance upon the thin veneer of social conformity. The boundary between interiority and exteriority is materialised, and the text explicitly, yet without conlusion, probes how identity is formed by the self and the external 'other'. This links to other texts such as Descartes and Lock with the understanding of being and conciousness, and further connects to Butler and Beauvoir with questions of the body.
Simone de Beavoir - the Second Sex
This text discusses how the female sex is defined in relation to man. Women are put in the position of the absolute other as they have always been subordinate to men. This links to ideas discussed by Butler about gender, but also about race as discussed by Mills and shown by Peele. It also raises the problem of how much freedom a person has as a woman, due to their othering and the perception others have of them. This also links to the feminine condition where one is not recognised as an autonomous being which links to Antigone.
Jordan Peele - Get Out
This film looks at the theme of racism in the form of white Americans' perceptions of African Americans. The white characters want to feel superior in what they deem to be superior bodies and thus transfer their consciousness to present themselves physically as black. This links to performativity discussed by Butler, but also to double consciousness as discussed by DuBois and the struggles of having the slave and the master in the same body. Consciousness is significant as the black characters are suppressed by white consciousness, linking to themes of othering as well as the ideas discussed by Locke and Descartes about what constitutes a person's being.
Responsibility and Freedom
This discussion regards the ideas of our freedom to act and whether or not we are responsible for our actions. Some may argue that we have a duty to act in a certain way in order to be moral and this may either limit our freedom or allow us to be free depending on who our actions affect and how. If we have a duty to act in a certain way, which set of rules are we meant to follow and who decides this? Do other factors limit our autonomy or our ability to act?
WEB DuBois - The Souls of Black Folk
DuBois discusses the idea of the double consciousness and hoe black folk may perform differently around white folk due to the social stigma regarding perceptions of race and how people behave. They are always seeing themselves through the eyes of others. He also discusses the biology of race and othering due to this, which links to the othering that Beauvoir discusses.
Charles W. Mills - Blackness Visible
Mills discusses the metaphysics of race and how it is both constructed but also real. It is produced by perceptions as if it matters. This links to ideas shown by Peele on how perceptions of race construct race. This also links to ideas of fredom, as racial constructs may limit people's autonomy.
Motive and Consequence
Different values are placed on the motivation behind actions and the outcomes they produce. Sometimes moral worth is placed on values due to one or the other and it can be ambiguous as to which is more important. Does the intent behind an action make it morally good, even if the outcome has a negative effect; or can morality be disregarded when the consequences of something have a positive impact? How can the goodness of an action be judged or rated and who by?
Sophocles - Antigone
In this play, the morals and ethics of Kant can be applied when looking at the motives behind the way in which Antigone and Creon act. They both feel a duty to different laws and to the state and while Antigone answers to the las of Gods, Creon takes a Kantian approach and answers to the laws he makes himself.
Immanuel Kant - Groundwork for the Mataphysics of Morals
Kant discusses the categorical imperitive of how morality is a system of rules placed on ones self. He discusses how everyone should act is if by their will all universal laws would be written, linking to the way in which Creon believes he has the power to create universal laws, which then get warped as they are immoral. Kant also discusses the good will as the one true moral motivator for actions.
Oppenheimer - The Act of Killing
In this documentary, the question is raised of who is responsible for the violence that took place during the Indonesian Genocide. It links to themes of the other as millions of ethnic minorities and communists were killed due to who they were and the values they held. the question is raised as to if the motives and consequences were just which links to Mill and Kant with.
John Stuart Mill - Utilitarianism
Mill is concerned with refuting Kant and begins by observing how we value things and take happiness to be, so it is. He looks at what we value in order to see how we value thus morality is deduced from moral principles. To Mill, the pursuit of human pleasure is important and this utilitarian approach to morality measures morality in how great happiness is for the greatest amount of people.
Hannah Arendt - Eichman in Jerusalem
Arendt discusses the banality of evil and the crime of thoughtlessness.This opposes some of Kant's thinking and links to some of Mill's values, as well as a good framework for judging the events that are documented by Oppenheimer.
Friedrich Nietzsche - Beyond Good and Evil
Nietzsche pushes the importance of "the free spirit" who is not caught up in a particular point of view. He denounces previous philosophers such as Descartes and expresses will for a philospher who is able to break away from old schools of thought and who is able to create meaning and values, rather than simply facts. This links to some of Kant's thinking with regards to creating universal moral laws, and has ties with Le Guin's text, as the ones who leave the city have chosen a different path for themselves.
Ursula Le Guin - The Ones Wo Walked Away from Omelas
This short story depicts a seemingly Utopian society where utilitarianism seems to rule. Everything is perfect as long as the citizens of Omelas agree to torture one innocent child. It raises the question of whose happiness is more valuable: the whole population of the city or the one tortured child? Are the citizens responsible for the misery of this child and should they help him, or are none of them truly free to help, as it would topple the foundations of their utilitarian utopia. This links to ideas about morality put forward by Kant and Mill, and ideas about freedom that Nietzche put forward with regards to those who choose not to stay.