Papers by Nienke Ernstsen Schmidt
The Illusion of Human Makeability, 2018
In order to address the human appropriation of fate, I turn to Odo Marquard’s Farewell to Matters... more In order to address the human appropriation of fate, I turn to Odo Marquard’s Farewell to Matters of Principle, specifically its fourth chapter, in which he argues that this appropriation implies a certain philosophy of history. Marquard very clearly outlines how humans took fate to be in their own hands. In order to better understand the subjectivity that underlies this appropriation of fate, I will use Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age and Sources of the Self who supports Marquard’s argument and contributes to the details of the narrative of disembeddedness of mankind. Therefore, first an analysis of the depletion of fate will be carried out by means of Marquard and Taylor. Next, a section will be dedicated to show the effects of the illusion of makeability. Finally, the necessity of speculative philosophy of history will be outlined in order to understand the consequences of the depletion of fate. These analysis sections will be building towards the understanding of the gravity of our current situation, which will be finally addressed in the conclusion.
In this analysis, I will describe the structure of Subjective Spirit in order to gain insight in ... more In this analysis, I will describe the structure of Subjective Spirit in order to gain insight in the dialectical system of immersion and opposition that is considered as essential to understanding Hegel’s point of departure to understand the realm of Geist. Throughout this paper, the concepts of body and soul – and corporeity and Spirit for that matter – are conceptualised as two concepts for the sake of language differentiation. This does not imply however that they exclude each other per definition, as they imply one another in Hegel’s systematics. This position is a result of the development of the immediate relation and unity between Spirit and Nature. It is imperative to keep this in mind, as it constitutes the core to Hegel’s project in the Encyclopaedia, and in the section of Philosophy of Mind. The position Hegel develops is that the immediate unity of Spirit and Nature is made explicit, in order to reach a position wherein they are implicitly united. Specifically, this essay will be subdivided in the three dialectical parts that Hegel poses in his Philosophy of Mind to do justice to each section, and in order to see how each stage may allow for Nature to subdue in Spirit. It will provide an in-depth closed-reading of Anthropology and Phenomenology of Mind, and a short insight on Psychology. This is because the former two present a more accurate foundation on the relationship and contradictions present in Hegel’s system with regards to how Nature is involved in the realm of Mind. The latter is a dialectical union of the former two, and will thus be analysed more holistically. Finally, in the conclusion the main points will be gathered in order to portray the embeddedness of natural conditions in Hegel’s formulation of Subjective Spirit.
Unravelling Hegel's Ethical Life in 'Philosophy of Right', 2017
This paper attempts to deconstruct the idea of freedom and ethical life, and will look parts of t... more This paper attempts to deconstruct the idea of freedom and ethical life, and will look parts of the introduction and the first sixteen paragraphs (§ 142-157) of Part III of the Philosophy of Right. Guided by the following research question: to what extent does Hegel’s conception of ethical life (sittlichkeit) in his Philosophy of Right allow for subjective freedom?, this paper aims to analyse the extent to which ethical life leaves room for subjective freedom. In order to understand ethical life, we must first understand the concept of freedom in terms of positive and negative freedom, and objective and subjective will. This will be discussed in depth using the first and second part of Philosophy of Right, as well as how Part III is the dialectical synthesis of the former two parts and concretises the actuality of freedom in ethical life. Next, the paper will look into the influences of this concretisation of freedom, and how this contributes to an ethical life. Lastly, I will critically evaluate ethical life with the objective formulations of freedom as described by Hegel in order to see whether his normative project is idealistic.
Reconciling the Western European and Early Chinese Conceptions of Freedom, 2017
This thesis was written with the objective of redefining the notion of freedom in our network soc... more This thesis was written with the objective of redefining the notion of freedom in our network society through reconciling the Kantian and Taoist notions of freedom. Kant addresses the power of our reason and voice by advocating the universal moral law, and the importance of rationality in order to derive the moral law. Taoism on the other hand emphasises the importance of working with, instead of against, the environment by following the ‘Tao’ through harmonising with it through the Virtue of Wu Wei. This withholds that external conditions only become favourable once they are embodied. Combining such Taoist ethics and Kantian morality enabled the redefinition of freedom into a relational construct: as a level of consciousness, as well as a state of being, in which the subject embodies the network and the relations it finds itself in, as well as being able to act as an unconstrained subject in an environment absent of constraints.
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Papers by Nienke Ernstsen Schmidt