Husserl's Phenomenological Epoché and Theory of Intentionality

• December 16, 2002
• James Skemp

Edmund Husserl, in his Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology and to a Phenomenological Philosophy, begins by discussing natural cognition and experience. Husserl explores experience, believing that experience is how we view the world around us. However, it is not enough to know that experience gives us insight. According to Husserl, we must, primarily, know how we are conscious of the world around us, before we can talk about the actuality of what we see.

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The Increase of the Power of Man and Science as the Main Theme of the Nineteenth Century

• December 15, 2002
• James Skemp

The nineteenth century could be described as containing three major movements; Romanticism, Realism, and Modernism. Each movement has its own important features and major themes that have had an effect on the present day world. If I had to state one of the major themes of the entire nineteenth century, it would be the increase of the power of man and science. The beginning of the nineteenth century saw writers such as Mary Shelley, with her work Frankenstein.

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Science and Human Values Final: What makes an experiment ethical?

• December 8, 2002
• James Skemp

Part I The question of what it is that makes one particular experiment ethical while another is unethical is a troublesome question. Is the ethicalness of a scientific experiment based upon whether the subject is harmed, whether the subject's rights have been in some way infringed upon, or is it based upon some other criteria? In this paper, I will take the position that it is not whether the subject was harmed, or whether their rights were infringed upon, but rather that it is ultimately power that determines the ethicalness of an experiment (position IV).

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Can Man and Society Exist Without Religion?

• November 27, 2002
• James Skemp

One of the most prevalent themes in the readings for this class has been religion, or mysticism, and its influence on and necessity for both man and society. The question that keeps arising is, however, can man and society live do without religion, or something similar? The modern man has more trust, for the most part, in science then he has in religion. However, what does this mean? First, I would like to take a look at what religion has done for man, in relation to the readings in general.

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Philosophy, Politics, and Law Final Prospectus

• November 27, 2002
• James Skemp

See also my paper tiled: Philosophy, Politics, and Law Final Regarding Justice and Various Philosophers. For my paper, I was going to attempt to answer what justice is. Obviously, Plato's Republic will be of use for this topic. Particularly his discussion with others, as well as how he thinks the state should be setup. I'm not going to put any of Machiavelli's The Prince in my paper, because I wasn't too much of a fan of him, and he doesn't really go into what justice 'really' is.

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The Three Kinds of Inference

• November 12, 2002
• James Skemp

Recently, while listening to a philosophical discussion, I came to hear that there were not two kinds of inference (deductive and inductive), as I thought before, but instead that there were three kinds; deductive, inductive, and abductive. Wanting to know more about abductive reasoning, I did a little search, finding the following information.

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Downloading Stuff From Other People Using WinMX

• November 11, 2002
• James Skemp

This is meant to help people understand the various things that you see when you download something off of someone else. If you have any questions, ask :)

Note: I no longer support WinMX. I merely post this in the hope that it's still of some benefit. Remember, P2P sharing is not, in itself, wrong - it's all about how you use it. Be responsible.

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Dostoevsky's Underground Man as the Creation of Society

• October 31, 2002
• James Skemp

In his Notes from Underground, Fyodor Dostoevsky asks what it is that civilization, or society in general, gives to the individual. In essence, the question concerns where the individual resides in society; what can be learned from man's place in a society? Dostoevsky presents to the reader a conflicted, sickly individual, and explores why the individual is the way he is, as well as whether society could do anything to help him from his lowly state.

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Rules for Sentential Logic

• October 29, 2002
• James Skemp

It is important to mention what sentential logic is. While my guide has been out for almost two years now, I’ve yet to discuss what these rules are for. Sentential logic is one logical system, by which conclusions can be reached via premises, which may or may not be true. The truth of the premises does not concern sentential logic. Rather, sentential logic will tell you what conclusions necessarily come from the premises posited.

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Searching for a Friend: The Quest for a Definition of 'Friend' -or- What is a Friend? -or- Relationships with Others

• October 29, 2002
• James Skemp

The Problem

What exactly is it that makes an individual a ‘friend’? Why is one person a ‘friend’, another not, and yet another your ‘best friend’?

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