Class consciousness

Sigmund Freud, a world-renowned psychologist, best known for his work revolving around psychoanalytical psychology and the unconscious, came up with an idea called the “return of the repressed”. This idea details that individuals often lodge antisocial desires and impulses deep within our unconsciousness. Gail Hornstein calls these hidden desires and impulses “offending material”. In the case of Harlan Ellison’s short gothic story, “Shattered Like a Glass Goblin”, these materials are the…

In Thomas Nagel’s paper— “What Is It Like to Be a Bat”— the inconceivability of physicalism as “a position we cannot understand” is born out of a discussion of the mind-body problem, and in particular, a discussion of objective and subjective experiences. Rather than positioning physicalism as false, Nagel maintains that physicalism is that which is presently incomprehensible because of the “subjective character of experience”— the conscious experience— which not only clouds our understanding of…

In his book On the Plurality of Worlds, David Lewis introduces his counterpart theory. Lewis presents this as a solution to the concerns of possible world theory – namely the claims that possible worlds exist as concrete objects, “entering into spatiotemporal relations with each other and nothing else” – consequently making concrete possible worlds exist. However, one possible world cannot interact or affect another possible world, making them ‘spatiotemporally closed off’. This description is…

This week the episode of Star Trek, Commander Maddox wants to study Data. Data, an android learns that the dualism theory shows that the mind and the body are two different things. Overall, Data must contain both mind and body even though machines only contain the trait that is physical and not the mental traits within the body. It appears that Picard demonstrated the view of Emergentism and Maddox views the Dualism theory. According to Hasker (1983), in reference to Emergentism, “the human mind…

What is the self? There is an abundance of varying positions on what the self is. Although knowledge of the self dates back to the times of Ancient Greece, with Socrates and Plato, the context to support and prove each varying position of self-concept is certainly limited. As an example, the self can be described as the soul or the mind. There are also two opposing positions of what the self is – materialism and dualism. A materialistic approach is one that looks at the self as an unimportant…

In "Putnam's BIV and The Disjunctive Argument", Brueckner breaks down what Hilary Putnam was trying to communicate. Putnam first establishes the setting of the "brains in a vat" hypothesis, which is a world filled with envatted brains and computers that stimulate the brains, and it turns out that you are a brain inside a vat. These brains go by the name of BIV, and then she goes on to state that she is not a BIV due to the considerations pertaining to meaning, which concerns reference and truth.…

Antwone Fisher is a 25-year-old African American man. Furthermore, Antwone Fisher’s marital status is listed as single and looks to be struggling with anxiety and the inability to get close to people. In addition, throughout the movie we found out that Antwone Fisher first started living in foster care in Cleveland, Ohio, homeless and essentially later on joined the Navy. Before joining the Navy, Antwone was able to graduate from high school despite his haunting past. Firstly, in this movie…

the opportunity to convey themselves through their beliefs and behaviors. It is perceived as a crucial aspect to many people’s lives, as it regulates actions and teaches individuals to abide by specific rules and morals. An individual’s mode of consciousness grants his/her mind to be aware of perception, ideas, and feelings. Such a state is intrinsically tied to one’s behavior. An individual’s environment, including the people or objects in it, has the power to influence and change one’s…

The extended mind hypothesis argues that processes external to our physical brain can still constitute as part of our cognitive and mental practices, thereby breaking down the barriers which maintain that cognition is solely internal to our self. The main thrust of the extended mind hypothesis is that if the only distinction between two practices is that one is internal to the mind and the other is external, then they should be correlated as cognitively equivalent. This is because the…

Socrates is a notorious philosopher that was born in Athens, Greece. He dedicated his life to truly understanding the human mind and oneself. Despite being presumed as the 'wisest man on earth ' by the Oracle of Delphi, his aphorism was that he knew nothing, about anything. Having this mentality enabled his conscious mind to explore the unconscious and rationalize human intention. In this composition I am going to explore the sum and substance of Socrates theories in which he devoted his…