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Classical Liberalism, 2007.
An analysis of the history, development and threats to classical liberalism.
2,140 words (approx. 8.6 pages), 4 sources, MLA, AU$ 83.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses classical liberalism and the threats and challenges that it faces from other ideologies. It looks at the reasons that classical liberalism may be undermined to such a degree that some form of theocratic ideology replaces it. Additionally, the paper describes the history and development of classical liberalism and its influence in politics and society in general.
From the Paper
"Analyzing these issues in the context of classical liberalism's survival in the twenty-first century reveals that liberal doctrines of individual rights and citizenship are always threatened because of fundamental flaws in human nature, especially self-interest and self-righteousness. Most social, political, economic, and religious actions people engage in are self-serving. They rationalize this, and persuade themselves and others that they are acting in the best interests of society, but this is little more than self-delusion."
"Fortunately, classical liberalism has survived the tensions and challenges imposed by other ideologies, for as Churchill observed, despite its flaws and the flaws of its citizens, liberal societies are like a life raft. The raft may leak constantly, may be rocked by rough waters, and may be navigated by unscrupulous captains, but it rarely sinks because the bonds that hold it together are stronger than the currents pulling it apart."
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"What is an Author?", 2007.
An analysis of Michel Foucault's understanding of authorship, according to his essay, "What is an Author?".
2,180 words (approx. 8.7 pages), 4 sources, MLA, AU$ 84.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the famous French philosopher and writer, Michel Foucault and his understanding of authorship, according to one of his most well known and controversial essays, "What is an Author?". It discusses his argument that our current social understanding of authorship is fundamentally flawed. The paper then looks at the validity of his statements and suggests that his argument remains largely compelling.
From the Paper
"Altogether, Foucault determines that authorship has only manifested itself in artistic and intellectual expressions which possess the potential to threaten the basic power structures of our society. This is why it does not affect all forms of expression in the same manner or to the same degree. Since he has argued that it is essentially a worthless way to attempt to genuinely understand a piece of literature and even the individual human being who is responsible for producing it, he is left with the conclusion that it must be useful for limiting the spread of information and keeping power mechanisms within society properly functioning: "How can one reduce the great peril, the great danger with which fiction threatens our world? The answer is: one can reduce it with the author. The author allows a limitation of the cancerous and dangerous proliferation of significations within a world where one is thrifty not only with one's resources and riches, but also with one's discourses and their significations," (Foucault)."
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Nietzsche's Philosophy, 2007.
This paper examines Nietzsche's impact on literary modernism.
2,152 words (approx. 8.6 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 84.95
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Abstract
The paper discusses Friedrich Nietzsche and the founding of modernism. The paper describes the various aspects of this genre, as well as Nietzsche's philosophy. The paper explains his ideas that control over life no longer came from outside humanity but human beings had control over their own inner workings. The paper explores Nietzsche's belief that "God is dead", which was perhaps one of the most world-defining statements made in recent history.
Outline:
Modernism
Nietzsche and His Philosophy
Blending the Two
Conclusion
From the Paper
"Literary modernism is a movement that occurred roughly between 1890 and 1939, although these parameters are somewhat flexible. Modernism was a multi-faceted approach to literature, focusing not just on setting and symbolism, but also on language, time, perspective, characters' internal reality and ambiguous endings, as well as other characteristics. With the changes that modernism brought to literature, writers were able to more fully explore the characters that populated the stories, rather than focus on the meanings behind the stories themselves."
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Gramsci and Marx's Philosophy, 2007.
This paper explains Antoni Gramsci's philosophical ideas in relation to Marxism and historical ideology.
762 words (approx. 3.0 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 34.95
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Abstract
This paper defines the various differences and relationships with Marxist thought that Antoni Gramsci provides in his study of philosophy. The paper discusses Gramsci's spontaneous philosophy that revolves around the idea of common sense. The paper explains the inherent differences Gramsci finds in relation to Marxist issues of contradiction within society.
From the Paper
"The major difference between Marxism and "spontaneous philosophy' for Gramsci is that intellectual order do not include common sense ideology; while Marx seeks out the differing method of "contradictions" to evaluate economic and social infrastructures. The spontaneous element of thinking in Gramsci's (1971) theory is controlled through the process of historical negation, as "common sense" is only a trend within historical patterns."
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Descartes' Philosophy, 2007.
This paper examines the philosophy of Rene Descartes.
1,174 words (approx. 4.7 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 50.95
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Abstract
The paper discusses the philosophical investigations of Descartes in his "Discourse on Method and the Meditations" and "Meditations on First Philosophy". The paper explains his ideas of senses and perception, the mind-body dualism, the nature of reality and the materials and methods of philosophy as a discipline.
From the Paper
"In the Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes presents what has come to be called the Cartesian dualism, referring to the idea that the mind and body are separate and that the mind is incorporeal. The senses are part of the body, presenting images and sensations to the mind. The fact that the senses may deceive creates doubt as to the nature of reality and the nature and utility of knowledge. For Descartes, the one thing that cannot be doubted and that is true each time it is expressed by a person is that the person knows that he or she exists. Descartes says he might doubt everything else because his senses may deceive him, and he may thus deny that he has a body and senses because he perceives these things only through what he has called the senses, and all this data might be false."
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Argument against Cloning, 2007.
This paper looks at the issue of stem cell research and provides an argument against cloning.
3,153 words (approx. 12.6 pages), 16 sources, MLA, AU$ 114.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1996, cloning has been a controversial issue in contemporary medical ethics and biomedical research. The writer notes that cloning has many advocates, as it seems to offer the prospect of cures for diseases and illnesses that are currently incurable. However, the writer points out that it also has vociferous opponents, many of whom believe that scientists have no business interfering with sacred human life processes and beliefs. The writer maintains that the media furor generated by this admission highlights the importance of this issue. Moreover, the writer discusses that there is the ongoing problem that few scientific successes have been achieved in cloning. It remains unknown whether cloning will be utilized to cure diseases in our lifetime. This essay attempts to find the facts beneath the sensationalism, and argues that cloning is undesirable.
Outline:
Introduction
Background Information
Therapeutic Cloning
Reproductive Cloning
Benefits of Cloning
The Potential Benefits of Therapeutic Cloning
Limitations of Therapeutic Cloning
Limitations of Reproductive Cloning
The Arguments against Cloning
Arguments against Therapeutic Cloning
Arguments against Reproductive Cloning
Conclusion
From the Paper
"As mentioned above, the first reported successful clone was that of Dolly the sheep. This was an example of reproductive cloning, in which an embryo is created in order to grow it into a replica of the creature from which it is cloned. This is the most controversial application, as it involves creating life - and potentially, even creating human life. The process is the same as the beginning stages of therapeutic cloning, described above. However, instead of killing the embryo by harvesting stem cells, scientists allow it to continue growing, and then implant it into a womb. In the rare cases when this is successful, the embryo then grows to term and is born - an exact, new-born copy of the donor from whom the nucleus was taken."
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Redefining Marxist Ideology, 2007.
A summary and analysis of the article "Contradiction and Overdetermination" by Louis Althusser.
1,149 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 49.95
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Abstract
The paper examines the article "Contradiction and Overdetermination" by Louis Althusser where Althusser imparts a complex and insightful evaluation of Marxist thought and ideology. The paper discusses how Althusser sought to reveal that there was a complex set of principles behind Marxist theoretical applications. The paper explains his belief that this complexity causes more empirical factors to be needed for analysis, rather than merely conflicting ideas that existed within single events.
From the Paper
"The article "Contradiction and Overdetermination" by Louis Althusser represents a redefining of Marxist ideology within the construct of theories on political and governmental influences on the economy. In many ways, Althusser often disagrees with Marxist theory being used to understand a single event within society as being a casual factor in determining the rise or fall of any particular economic infrastructure. The word "contradiction" was often used to reveal contradicting facets of any particular society that was slowly to erode because of various problems within a purely economic status quo amongst Marxist theoreticians. Althusser sought to reveal that there was a complex set of principles behind Marxist theoretical applications, which had to be considered."
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The Democratic Polis, 2007.
This paper examines Socrates' "Republic" and his ideas of democracy.
1,326 words (approx. 5.3 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 55.95
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Abstract
The paper attempts to uncover the reasons behind Socrates' disapproval of democracy. The paper examines the characteristics of the degenerate polises; timocracy, oligarchy and democracy. The paper focuses on the human desires that a polis' inhabitants may experience, namely appetitive, spirited and rational. The paper looks at the kallipolis, the most effective and the favoured city of Socrates.
From the Paper
"In The Republic, Socrates understood that there were four corrupt polises or cities, that of the timocracy which emphasizes the virtues of honour and reputation; then oligarchy, which places individuals in government on the basis of property assessment; following this, democracy emerges, underlining legal equality and freedom to all; and finally comes the tyrannical constitution, whose characteristics of slavery are an adverse reaction of the freedom that the democratic constitution enjoyed."
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Marx and Weber, 2007.
This paper examines the differences in Max Weber and Karl Marx's ideas about the economic structure of modern capitalism.
720 words (approx. 2.9 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 31.95
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Abstract
The paper discusses how Max Weber and Karl Marx disagreed in basic ways with regard to the origins, dynamics and future of capitalism. The paper explains that Karl Marx saw capitalism and all of human history in primarily economic terms. The paper compares this to Weber who saw the origins of capitalism as lying in particular cultural attributes of Calvinism and Puritanism.
From the Paper
"Karl Marx saw capitalism, and all of human history, in primarily economic terms. From this perspective, the origins of capitalism lay in a process of conflict and economic progress that spanned all of human history. As Marx saw it: "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle" (Marx 473). This did not mean, however, that capitalism had existed throughout all of history. Marx saw capitalism as a relatively recent stage of development in human economic history that was associated with the rise of the bourgeois class as the dominant ruling class in society. Capitalism came about as the bourgeois class began accumulating more and more capital and, with it, control over the means of production society. As an inevitable result of this process, Marx saw that the bourgeois were reducing all other classes in society that had previously existed into one proletariat which was subjugated and control by the bourgeois (Marx 475)."
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Marx, Weber and Capitalism, 2007.
This paper critically examines Karl Marx and Max Weber's differing views on capitalism.
1,298 words (approx. 5.2 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 54.95
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Abstract
The paper discusses how Karl Marx and Max Weber differ significantly in their views upon the origins, dynamics and future of capitalism. The paper relates that while Marx's and Weber's views on capitalism contain some points of general similarity, Marx is exclusively economic in his analysis, while Weber is willing to balance economics with culture.
From the Paper
"It should be noted that while Marx and Weber disagree about many of aspects of capitalism, they are in agreement with respect to a few main points. For example, it is clear that both regard capitalism - as least within their own periods of writing - as a modern European phenomenon. However, their explanations for this are very different. Marx views capitalism purely in economic terms, and regards it as being predominantly a European phenomenon because Europe was the most economically advanced society of his time. In Marx's The Class Struggles in France he even indicates how national and regional differences in economic development necessarily determine the rate at which European societies are progressing towards revolutionary conditions (Marx 593)."
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Philosophy of Mathematics, 2007.
An analysis of the universal nature of mathematics and developments in the philosophy of mathematics.
1,899 words (approx. 7.6 pages), 6 sources, APA, AU$ 75.95
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Abstract
This paper considers some of the major developments in the philosophy of mathematics regarding the capacity of mathematics to be universally valid and applicable. It presents some of the basic arguments and schools of thought of the philosophy of mathematics. The paper then analyzes whether, at its foundation, mathematics can have a legitimate claim to be universal.
Table of Contents:
The Problem Of The Ideal And The Real
Math As Logic
Math As Structure
Application And Universality
From the Paper
"This problem, Russell's paradox, proved to be an intractable problem for Frege which, after it was pointed out to him, he could not overcome. The impact upon the philosophy of math was major. An important attempt to boil math down to logical principles had proven unsuccessfully, and eventual efforts to rescue the project by Russell and others were unable to develop a logicism that showed math as both consistent and complete. Therefore math cannot be said to be universal by appeal to logic alone."
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The Existence of God, 2007.
A look at the arguments for and against the existence of God.
1,101 words (approx. 4.4 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 48.95
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Abstract
Many philosophers have attempted to prove rationally that God exists. Other philosophers have reacted to this by trying to prove that it is not possible to prove that God exists. This paper critically discusses the evidence for and against the existence of God, referring to the traditional arguments: ontological, cosmological, and teleological.
From the Paper
"Another common argument for the existence of God is the teleological argument - also called the Design Argument. This argument essentially states that it is rational to believe that God exists, based on the evidence of the complex world we see around us. It is surely more logical to deduce from this world that an intelligent being designed it, than to think that it somehow managed to accidentally make itself. "
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Transcendence and Immanence, 2007.
An analysis of the concepts of transcendence and immanence in terms of Simone de Beauvoir's feminist analysis.
1,389 words (approx. 5.6 pages), 4 sources, APA, AU$ 58.95
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Abstract
This paper explores the concepts of transcendence and immanence in terms of Simone de Beauvoir's feminist analysis. In this context, it argues that Beauvoir's use of these concepts to describe how the lives of women and men in society are distinctly culturally gendered, is not only substantiated when considered in its own historical context, but also illuminates our understanding of gender roles in Western society in the early 21st century.
From the Paper
"In conclusion, while it may justly be said that Beauvoir is "biased" in her use of the concepts of "transcendence" and "immanence" as descriptive models of the structures that support the oppression of women in everyday life, and in her objectives to subvert this oppression and promote the liberty of women, it cannot be said that her work display "gender bias" in this area. This term implies a level of "prejudice" that potentially undermines the value of a work given the particular interests or agenda of the author. Given the extraordinary care and attention of Beauvoir in her use of these concepts to reinforce her arguments with respect to the oppression of women in Western society, and the fact that these arguments have withstood the text of time and the critique of leading authorities and scholars over the past half-century, Beauvoir's use of "transcendence" and "immanence" cannot be represented as displaying "gender bias"."
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Marx's Early Writings, 2007.
This paper analyzes Karl Marx's early thinking regarding the needs for a German revolution.
1,333 words (approx. 5.3 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 55.95
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Abstract
The paper examines Karl Marx's "Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right" where he developed his early thinking regarding the needs for and means of a specifically German revolution. The paper shows Marx's beliefs that would later be developed into his wider philosophy of political economy. The paper is of the opinion that Marx is stronger here in his critique of the historical reality of his era than he is in positing a positive argument for how society can right itself.
Outline:
The Illusion of Religion
The Truth of the World
The Work of Philosophy
Critical Analysis
From the Paper
"Marx begins his argument by analyzing the role that religion plays in modern society. He makes an initial presentation of his famous argument by claiming that religion is "the opium of the people" (1). This is because religion is a type of false conscience, based upon a set of lies that man has created for himself. Marx writes that "Man makes religion, religion does not make man" (1). Religion only has relevance, according to this argument, because humanity itself has not realized itself for what it is. And yet religion does hold sway over people, and Marx wants to apply criticism to it - to make man give up his illusions regarding it, but more importantly to make man "give up a condition that requires illusions" (1)."
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Epicurus, Nagel and Death, 2007.
This paper compares the views of Thomas Nagel and Epicurus about whether death should be feared.
1,144 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 4 sources, MLA, AU$ 49.95
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Abstract
The paper examines the Epicurean view that death should not be feared and comparesit to Thomas Nagel's view that death is indeed something to dread. The paper argues that Epicurus' view is a more compelling one simply because death is an inevitability and Nagel expects human beings to assume a despondent, hopeless approach to human existence that pushes aside getting the most one can out of life. The paper concludes that while Nagel and Epicurus both share a love of human life and what it offers, Epicurus is unwilling to allow that existence to be shaped by gloomy thoughts.
From the Paper
"To begin with, Nagel starts by pointing out that death would be an indifferent affair if people were simply to expire after a long, coma-like state. For Nagel, life is fundamentally about being "alive", about being ambulatory and able to do certain things that lie within our power to do; in effect (although Nagel does not say so explicitly) life is - or can be - essentially an expression of human autonomy, efficacy, and self-actualization. In a real sense, Nagel posits that human beings lose something or have something taken from them when they die. To put it another way, while a dead corpse is but a corpse, the real tragedy lies in the fact that the experiences, sensations, thoughts and feelings of life have been stripped from a deceased person."
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Computers as Clever as Humans?, 2007.
This paper opposes Marvin Minsky's argument that artificial intelligence can be compared to human intelligence.
912 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 40.95
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Abstract
The paper explains Minsky's argument, that artificial intelligence is essentially plausible and attainable because it is little understood in the same way that the human mind is, in certain respects, little understood. The paper agrees that, while perhaps humans must redefine the concept of intelligence as it applies to artificial intelligence, the basis of Minsky's rationale, when he argues that artificial intelligence might be comparable, now or in the future, to human intelligence, is flawed.
From the Paper
"Minsky's first dimension of human intelligence that is reexamined is creativity and what typically characterizes creativity. Minsky says that, "...we ought to be annoyed by our ignorance of how we get ideas - and not just our "creative" ones. We're so accustomed to the marvels of the unusual that we forget how little we know about the marvels of ordinary thinking" (par.7). What the author hopes to establish is that creativity is nothing more than a restructuring of qualities that everyone possesses relevant to the capacity to think. By extension, he hopes to establish the fact that artificial intelligence can be characterized and developed in the same manner; that is, by developing standardized process and procedures that redefine what characterize intelligence itself irrespective whether it is human or artificial."
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