Philosophy Commons^™

Collapsing The Philosophy/Rhetoric Disjunct: Nietzsche, Plato And The Perspectival Turn, Ned Vankevich

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Often overlooked within the standard views of academe lie hidden a number of tacit assumptions. Until the time of Nietzsche, the status of rhetoric as a discourse formation in Western intellectual history was often colored by the unflattering view generated by Plato in a number of his dialogues. In this thesis I present a case that revisits Plato and Nietzsche with an eye toward understanding the reasons why these two highly influential figures in contemporary philosophy adopt the views they advocate. In doing so, I attempt to illumine the reason Plato forms a fundamental split between philosophy and rhetoric and …

Nabokov And Bergson: An Influence Of Independence, Susan Leanne Shaevitz

English Theses & Dissertations

This thesis investigates the influence Henri Bergson's philosophy had on Vladimir Nabokov's writing. Bergson's major concerns, as espoused in Time and Free Will, Creative Evolution, and Matter and Memory, are recognized in Pale Fire, The Defense, and King, Queen, Knave, as well as in the various reworkings of the novelist's autobiography, Speak, Memory. These texts illustrate a shared concern with issues about time and space, aesthetic experience, instinct and analysis, and the importance of memory. At the heart of all of these matters rests a common concern for both writers--the primacy of lived experience and the necessity of free will. …

Searching For Zarathustra: A Nietzschean Critique Of Post-Traditional Ethical Theory, Joshua Knutsen

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Following Friedrich Nietzsche's critique of ethics, twentieth century philosophical investigations into ethics have attempted to abandon the universalist principles which guided the endeavors of Christianity, Kant and Bentham. The purpose of this work was to examine exactly how successful that endeavor has been. In order to represent the field of ethics as a whole given the limited space of the work I chose three distinct ethics, which in their formulations are representative of the current ethical clime. Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialism serves as a model for radical individualism and solipsism. Alasdair MacIntyre' s virtue based ethic demonstrates communitarian trends. And the …

Finding Godot: Postmodernism And Truth, Robert T. Gregory Jr.

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Postmodernism has enjoyed a wide range of influence as a critical enterprise, often being accused as nothing more than a method of critique. In addition, it is often objected that postmodernism advocates a radical relativism which is ultimately self-contradictory and lacks an overall sense of agency that can apply to concrete action. These issues are particularly significant when considering theories of truth. Given postmodernism criticizes traditional notions of truth and objectivity, it is appropriate to ask if postmodernism possesses a positive position on truth as an alternative. I argue in this work that while postmodernism has a significant critical enterprise, …

Wittgenstein On Freedom Of The Will, Grant Allen Marler

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This thesis is an exposition and clarification of two lectures on freedom of the will delivered by Ludwig Wittgenstein in 1939. Wittgenstein asks whether it makes sense to say that the "decision of a person was not free because it was determined by natural laws." I offer a brief explanation and defense of Wittgenstein's method of linguistic analysis, then proceed in its spirit. Associated with the words 'determined' and 'free' are certain pictures which, if misapplied, may lead us to misjudge their function. Among these are the picture of natural laws as "rails" that compel events, and that the meaning …

The Emperor Julian (A.D. 331-363): His Life And His Neoplatonic Philosophy, Anthony W. Nattania

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The Neoplatonism of the Emperor Julian (A.D. 331-363) is critically compared to the Neoplatonism of Plotinus (A.D. 205-270). This is done by analyzing their concepts of First Principles, Fate and Destiny, Existence of the Divine Being, the Human Soul, Matter, Time and Eternity, the Contemplation of "The One," and "The One" itself. Julian's psychology is analyzed in light of his Neoplatonism, Mithrasism, and tragic life history. The historical aspects of the attempted pagan reformation during the reign of Julian (A.D. 360-363) is assessed for its historical effects on the Later Roman Empire and its successive generations, while the history of …

The Appropriation Of Nietzschean Thought By Donald Kuspit In The Critic Is Artist: The Intentionality Of Art And The Existential Activist Painter: The Example Of Leon Golub, Frederic S. Bayersdorfer

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The prolific scholar and art critic, Donald Kuspit has frequently cited the works of Friedrich Nietzsche as a means to elucidate his art critical theories. This paper is an investigation of these citations in two of his most important works, The Critic is Artist: The Intentionality of Art, published in 1984, and The Existential Activist Painter: The Example of Leon Golub, published in 1986. In each of these two works many citations revolve around two Nietzschean concepts, the will to power and ressentiment. This paper first explores the relevance of using the philosophical work of Nietzsche as a point of …

The Role Of Laughter In The Thought Of Friedrich Nietzsche, Paul D. Gerdes

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The objective of this thesis is an analysis of the role of laughter in the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), by which I mean both its influence on his intellectual development, and the incorporation of it in his philosophy. Such an undertaking is important because, while it might seem somewhat odd for a philosopher, and particularly a German philosopher, to consider laughter fundamental to his thought, laughter does play an essential role in all of Nietzsche's writing.

For the purposes of this thesis, I will investigate three separate but interrelated aspects of Nietzsche's thought: the influence of the Dionysian tragic-comic …

Creativity Its Phenomenology In Man And Nature, Margaret L. Mccoy

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The phenomenal world comes into being. The act is an autonomous process weaving the abstract world and the concrete world into one reality. We name this process "Creativity." A journey into mind and matter, into the inner subjective realm and the outer objective realm, is required to observe Creativity's grand performance. Western thought may be revolutionized in finding that in exploring Creativity man is exploring himself; Nature has consciousness as he does, and barriers between mind and matter are non-existent in the womb of creation. As ancient philosophies and mystical ideas of the East once proposed: the Many is One. …

In The Shadow Of Oriental Culture: A Study Of The Impact Of Confucianism On Japan's Economic Development After World War Ii, Xuedong Xu

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Japan's fast economic growth after World War II can be ascribed to different factors. This study seeks to determine whether the cultural factor, more specifically Confucianism in Japanese version, has constituted the dynamism behind the success stories of Japan. The study approaches the problem by examining the Confucian doctrine and original works of important Japanese philosophers concerning the Confucian ethics and values, which are recrystallized into new organizational patterns in industrial corporation. While the period after World War II is the focus of the study, the unique features of Japanese industry like "Life-time Employment" and "Groupism" are reviewed to determine …

Overall Laughing One And The Experiences, Anina Porter Adams

Institute for the Humanities Theses

A fictional play based on the study of writings by psychotherapist Carl Gustav Jung. The action is set in the imaginary realm of archetypes, amoral personified energies which appear in tales from diverse cultures. In this play the mythical characters move in an ordered, ritualistic manner. They are dependent upon a geometrically centered black box for the provision of human forms through which they experience "being." A female is the human form provided in this instance and she combines her own energy with that of the other characters though she is not conscious of this fact. The archetypal energies focus …

Knowing God In William Blake: A Study To Find Meaning In His Work Through Plato, Swedenborg, And Mystical Tradition, David B. Gabel

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This project takes a look into the philosophical and theological sources found in the work of William Blake as they culminate in his epic poem Jerusalem. This study includes an examination of the philosophies of Plato and Emanuel Swedenborg, the mystical pathway, the Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah, and finally an examination of the works of Blake himself. We work from a three-fold premise: 1) that mystical experience occurs, 2) that archetypes exist in the collective unconscious, and 3) that these archetypes can be known through intuition and mystical experience. The focus is on those elements which are characteristic …

The Role Of Values In Personality Development, Joanne Peterson

Institute for the Humanities Theses

As an important element of human life, values play a distinctive role in structuring the developing personality. Considerations of this role are discussed from an objective, subjective, and situational perspective, recognized as three known value orientations incorporated into differing personality theories. Initial inquiries suggest that values are not as important as the degree to which an individual commits to a moral life and then employs this viewpoint in sorting through various alternatives to select those beliefs, attitudes and behaviors best reflecting this commitment.

Valuing In The Arts, Nonna B. Runner

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The topic of this thesis, valuing in the arts, involves the fine and performing arts, cultural values, kinds of education, and the quality of life. The purpose in talking about the value of the arts is to show how and why they have been valued throughout recorded history, to present an approach to art which fosters personal growth and enjoyment in the interaction with the arts, and to present arguments for the continued support by the present society for their encouragement and preservation. I will discuss false impressions about art which have limited the general public's enjoyment of arts, then …

Psyche And Time: The Phenomenology Of Time Consciousness, Sharon Fleet Hartman

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Time in its inward form may be able to provide a significance which sustains the human spirit. If this is true, it becomes unnecessary to seek an enduring significance for life in the transcendent.

Western man's attitudes toward time are a composite of religious, historical, and cultural assumptions. The Christian model of time supported man by its emphasis on God's interventions in the world. The scientific model of time left man adrift in an objective world. The ascendancy of the scientific model brought a devaluation of both time and human life.

Bergson, Husserl, and Merleau-Ponty all describe a type of …