What makes someone the same person after a period of time in which they have changed, both bodily and psychologically? In answering this question, Locke involves himself in asking three questions. What constitutes sameness of substance? What makes someone at a later date the same man? And finally, what makes someone at a later date … Read moreMy View of Locke's View of the Concept of "Sameness"
Any attempt to understand knowledge inevitably leads to a series of inquiries into the nature of those things that we know and their relationships to those means by which we purport to know of things. Are there objects which are distinct from the thinker? If there are external objects, how can the individual assure herself … Read moreKant Revisited: Synthetic a priori Knowledge
Immanuel Kant has often been described as the philosopher’s philosopher. Famous for his verbose philosophical texts but logical arguments, he was concerned with reason and its relationship with human experience and knowledge. Kant used synthetic a priori judgments in order to develop a logical argument which was completely original in the sense that it … Read moreIntro to Immanuel Kant from a Young and Dumb Me
This paper is over Sartre’s theory of “Existence precedes essence.” I would have to agree with Sartre on certain points concerning existentialism in general, that being we are all responsible for how we act and what we are in life. Although I believe his argument involving children having no essence is shaky at best, … Read moreSartre and Star Trek: Existence Precedes Essence (i.e., Beam me up Scotty)
I believe Originalism, wherein you find the original intent of the author of any document, is not the right way to approach hermeneutics in regards to the United States Constitution. Rather, me must study the context of the text and the surrounding sociocultural issues at had. A prime example of a case leading to … Read moreHermeneutics and Constitutional Law: Orignialism v. Status Quo
We all think that when we wake up in the morning we can do pretty much whatever we want. We can choose to go to work. We can choose to stay home and watch “Oprah.” We can get in the car and drive to Taos. We can chop off our pinky fingers with a pair … Read moreTheoretical Paper From Determinism to Single Space Theory
Since 1974, medical work against torture has been undertaken in Copenhagen, Denmark. It started with four volunteer doctors, and now extends to nearly 200 rehabilitation centers for torture victims worldwide: ‘wonderful that it exists’. The anti-torture movement provides rehabilitation to the victims of torture, and itstrives to put the problem of torture on the … Read moreTorture Speech from PoliSci
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries sheWith silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door” (Lazarus line 9-14)! Majestic words for a majestic ideal. However, our ideals have … Read moreArguing to Mediate
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.– Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde equated sentimentality with emotional dishonesty. “A sentimentalist is one who desires to have the luxury of an emotion without paying for it.” He was quoted in saying. We are sentimental about a lot of things, not all of them obvious. It’s not just … Read morePaper Two; Pointless Ramblings I Decided (much too late at night) to Upload!
If you are like me, you wonder: “How can happiness be considered wrong?” Upon reading the two articles; I found myself strangely detached. Are they right? Is happiness, as defined by our modern society, an empty gesture? To answer these questions I am forced to invoke the oldest theme known to mankind and to … Read moreArguing to Convince