Experimental Writing in American Literature

American literature is mostly about social justice, voiceless people, and new literary forms that bring awareness. Historically, experimental writing does just that; it forces us to conceptualize new ways of thinking about text. This is necessary for literary progression or simply for the movement of writing in new directions. Exploring three significant kinds of literary […]

The Moral Factless Fabric of the Universe

I will attempt to answer the question of whether moral facts or properties are part of the fabric of our universe. In order to do this, I will provide accounts both for and against moral realism by focusing on the arguments of G.E. Moore and J.L. Mackie along with reactions to their positions. I will argue […]

Hay Ibn Yaqzan

In Ibn Tufayl’s philosophical tale Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, the main character Hayy realizes that in order to become his ideal self, he must complete a series of duties. These duties are imitations of assimilation. The journey of the three phases begins with the “inarticulate animal,” which then progresses to the “celestial body,” and then ends […]

Lucretius on Death

In Book Three (lines 38-86) of Lucretius’s Epicurean ode, On the Nature of Things, our author discusses death. The point of this section is to explain the fear of death and its affects to his audience. According to Lucretius, death and the afterlife are feared by all. He states that the soul is not immortal due […]

Aristotle's Physics

Aristotle begins Physics by explaining that certain things such as earth, fire, water, and air exist because of nature; they simply are. Things that are because of nature are not here accidentally. Meanwhile, certain other things exist because of other happenings or causes. To reiterate his point he claims that by saying “For no one of […]

Among The Many Maneki-nekos Of Things

The maneki-nekos sit on my shelf And stare At me when I brush Past They wave when provoked And claw At me when I crawl Near Unblinking they cry Out to anyone who Will listen To their silence High and violent They speak To me when I sit Unmoving And then the maneki-nekos Disappear And […]

Substance Dualism: Part I

Seventeenth century philosopher René Descartes set out to prove the truth. He was a skeptic and was devastated when he found out that truths he believed no longer proved true – a devastating epiphany. Consider what you would feel like after discovering that you lived in the matrix or had just found out that the […]

Equals Film Analysis

In a world that reminded me of Lois Lowry’s The Giver for its orderly utopia and symmetrical sociocultural structure I realized the value of emotion. Drake Doremus’s 2015 film Equals takes place in a utopian world where emotions are suppressed through medical evolution and productivity is at its highest peak with cures for cancer and even the common cold. […]

Pokémon Go: Augmented Reality?

The “Pokémon GO” app has been out for about a week now. The game reminds me a lot of my first true love: Pokémon Snap for N64; however, this “upgrade” brings the conversation to an all new level of virtual reality. We can only see Pokémon through the portals provided by our phones. Could this lead […]