Philosophy Essay Examples

The notion of dissatisfaction is echoed in the lives of Raskolnikov and Siddhartha, the protagonists of ‘Crime and Punishment’ and ‘Siddhartha’. An impoverished student, Raskolnikov thought he was part of some elite Superman echelon. He thought he could revolutionize society but poverty constrained his goals. This led to discontent. Ultimately, he vented his frustrations by […]

We are presented with an extract from Brian Doyle’s essay “Joyas Voladoras”, which concentrates on the different aspects of the “heart”, be it animal or human. Throughout the passage the author focuses on illustrating the importance of the role of the heart for any living being, creating clear images with the persistent use of metaphors […]

“Works of art . .. are not closed, self-contained and transcendent entities, but are the product of specific historical practices on the part of identifiable groups in given conditions, and therefore bear the imprint of the ideas, values and conditions of existence of those groups, and their representatives in particular artists. [Janet Wolff, The Social […]

In order to make a good hypnotic suggestion the therapist should understand the workings of the conscious and the subconscious mind. They need to be aware of the role of the Conscious Critical Faculty (CCF) and the importance of recognising a client’s beliefs.They must have a congruent belief in what they are saying in order […]

For many years, anthropologists and philosophers have tried to find a definition to the word ‘morality’ which can satisfy all different perceptions that are believed by different people all around the world. It was found that there are two ways to use the term ‘morality’: descriptively and normatively. Descriptively refers to ” a code of […]

There is a distinct contrast between the appreciation of art in African culture and in Western society; the Western concern with the conservation, preservation and appreciation of art within a home, museum or gallery setting, compared to the African sub-cultural concept of its relative use in everyday life. This is perhaps the primary reasons that […]

Torture as defined by the United Nations Convention against Torture (UNCAT) is described as the purposeful infliction of extreme physical suffering on a non-consenting and defenceless human being. 1 The reference to torture at an international level is only when torture is committed by a state or an agent of the state. Torture is banned […]

The measure of happiness has so many underlying factors that some psychologists can’t really account for in their studies. The study of happiness has many influences and is a highly subjective topic. Because the study of what really makes one happy has so many varying factors the methods used to conduct these studies are relatively […]

While reading both Plato’s Republic and John Locke’s A Letter Concerning Toleration, it is impossible not to notice the frustrations that each writer has experienced within their respective societies. Both are clearly aggravated with the way religion and religious ideals affect their governments. Although their works are hundreds of years apart, similarities can be found […]

LA Confidential (1997) is a film set in the 1950s, in the suburb of Hollywood and is focused around a particular police station. All these aspects of the film have attached connotations and signifiers. Charles Peirce (as cited in Branston 2003:17) identified three different types of signifiers; indexical, iconic and symbolic, all of which can […]

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were a time of growth in thinking, science, art and religious freedom. The Renaissance was a time of rebirth for all of Europe. New thinkers include Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Bacon, and Luther. Many of these great thinkers were beginning to ask questions of what the majority of people had taken […]

Therapy was the primary profession of both Freud and Rogers, which explains why their perspectives on behaviour, motivation, and thought are based on insights gained through therapeutic experience. Both relied on the analysis of their patients to form assumptions and shape their ideas. Although these theories lack scientific process and rely on the patient’s own […]

This essay will first explain the meaning of bureaucracy, what it means today for society, bringing in ideas from Max Weber and what he understood bureaucracy meant for social development. A little background of Max Weber will be described to perhaps understand where his views originated. These views will be explored, including Weber’s interpretations on […]

Using examples, differentiate between Weber’s concepts of ‘Value rational’ and ‘Goal rational’ actions. Max Weber argued that in the field of social sciences, one cannot simply understand the significance of individual or societal actions through observation alone, unlike in natural sciences where observation is a fundamental method of understanding. Weber emphasized that by comprehending social […]

Pragmatics faced challenges in proving its relevance thirty years ago, but in the early 21st century, it has become a well-established field that draws many linguists and philosophers of language. Despite being an interdisciplinary and open area, some of its core concepts remain contentious, with implicature being a particularly debated term. Coined by Grice during […]

The origins of critical theory can be traced back to the Enlightenment era and were influenced by Hegel, Kant, and Marx. The Frankfurt School, led by Adorno, Horkheimer, and Jurgen Habermas in more recent times, further developed this mode of thought during the 20th century. Critical theory’s central aim is to promote human liberation by […]

Free time is the time spent on tasks that are not official. However, this is not always the case as most people do not have the boundary between personal tasks and officials tasks. When presenting his views, the author navigates his arguments around the sociological view, political view and philosophical view. The paper, therefore, critiques […]

Auteurism, or ‘authorship’ is an important concept in film studies. It involves rating directors based on their skills, considering them to be the ultimate creators of a film. The purpose of an author, or auteur, is to attribute a specific person to the creation of art. According to Roland Barthes in his text “The Death […]

‘The nature of the human mind, and how it is known better than the body’1 is the basis for Descartes argument “The Cogito” in his second of his Meditations. This argument stems from Descartes being left in the grips of doubt at the end Meditation One, where he calls all knowledge into question and that […]

St. Thomas Aquinas was an Italian philosopher of the mid-thirteenth century. He was sometimes referred to as the “Angelic Doctor”; he was a Dominican friar and believed to be the greatest medieval philosopher. One of his most famous works was the ‘Summa Theologica`, Which was sadly only half completed due to a religious experience, involving […]

In 50 First Dates, Adam Sandler plays the part of Henry Roth, a womanizer who has fallen in love with Lucy. Lucy (Drew Barrymore) was injured in a car crash and loses her short-term memory every time she falls asleep. When she awakens, she can remember nothing since the day of her accident. Henry pursues […]

In this essay I shall consider the cinematic techniques used in Lacombe, Lucien that best contribute to the overall intention of the film. Firstly, I shall consider how faces are lingered upon by the camera to involve the audience in the film, stopping them from making a pre-judgement of the situation, the occupation of France, […]