http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/ontology Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Fri, 05 Jun 2026 22:10:26 -0400 Fri, 05 Jun 2026 22:10:26 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1799/unification-of-mind-matter-and-consciousness-through-an-essence-of-relation By Jacob Bell - In contemporary philosophy, the mind-body problem and the problem of consciousness are often viewed through the lens of physicalism, which claims that all that exists is physical. Physicalism in general, and reductive physicalism specifically, remain inadequate in explaining, describing, or understanding consciousness and the mind because such things diverge in their ontological status and thus cannot be fully accounted for from within a physicalist worldview. Accounting for consciousness, for example, requires the acknowledgment that physical facts cannot describe everything, and that phenomenal... Fri, 18 Sep 2020 09:39 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1799/unification-of-mind-matter-and-consciousness-through-an-essence-of-relation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1638/divinity-in-the-disguise-of-mental-illness-in-william-faulkners-the-sound-and-the-fury By Rebecca Berezin - The character of Benjy Compson from William Faulkner’s 1929 novel The Sound and the Fury is a mythic and Christ-like figure with the divine gift of prophecy rather than the retarded man-child that the other characters in the novel view him to be. To see the world through Benjy’s eyes, you must be part of a very exclusive club with a two prong membership: that of autism and that of synesthesia. Autism is a developmental disorder most often characterized by impairments in forming normal social relationships and impairments in being able to communicate with others. Synesthesia itself... Mon, 01 May 2017 10:02 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1638/divinity-in-the-disguise-of-mental-illness-in-william-faulkners-the-sound-and-the-fury http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1629/theistic-explanations-of-the-ontology-of-consciousness By Rashad Rehman - Consciousness is a thought-provoking phenomenon. In recent decades, though, the philosophy of mind has revealed consciousness to be, in the words of Thomas Nagel, "what makes the mindbody problem intractable" (Nagel, 1979). Though consciousness has made the mind-body problem seemingly intractable, to some philosophers, fi nite and irreducibly subjective conscious experiences call for an explanation (Locke, 1959). It seems to some that a scientific explanation will not and cannot provide an adequate explanation for the existence of consciousness. Although this is controversial, the important natural... Sat, 01 Apr 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1629/theistic-explanations-of-the-ontology-of-consciousness http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1518/communicating-meaning-in-bioart-the-temporal-strength-of-living-media-and-the-impact-of-longevity By Alex J. Maben - BioArt is a modern art-form born from the marriage of biotechnology and human inspiration. I argue that the longevity of the art pieces, referred to as BioArtworks, plays an essential role in communicating meaning. As living, breathing creatures, humans are designed to best interpret messages that develop in real-time. BioArt is uniquely optimized for this fluid process. I discuss the temporal strength of living media by examining BioArt construction, maintenance, termination, and reincarnation, while also incorporating audience-level impacts throughout. In doing so, I interweave themes and techniques... Sun, 08 Jan 2017 10:51 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1518/communicating-meaning-in-bioart-the-temporal-strength-of-living-media-and-the-impact-of-longevity http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1499/was-spinoza-a-kabbalist-the-influence-of-jewish-mysticism-in-book-i-of-ethics By Rocco A. Astore - Throughout philosophy’s history, some of its most prominent thinkers have drawn inspiration from sources outside of its canon. It is of my opinion that one of these philosophers, Spinoza, in the first book of his Ethics, borrowed elements of the Kabbalah, to portray his image of God. The first purpose of this piece is to explicate Spinoza’s understanding of God, or Nature so that the reader can assess and become familiarized with his views. Next, by using Daniel C. Matt’s The Essential Kabbalah, the Heart of Jewish Mysticism, I will hope to convey a general idea of the Kabbalist... Wed, 23 Nov 2016 09:07 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1499/was-spinoza-a-kabbalist-the-influence-of-jewish-mysticism-in-book-i-of-ethics http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1435/addressing-shortcomings-in-afro-pessimism By Michael A. Barlow Jr. - Afro-Pessimism forwards a crucially important foundation with which anyone concerned with forming Black resistance strategy should navigate. It accurately understands that Black life exists outside of the traditional humanist metric, and Blackness is rather an ontological condition that is relegated to the level of the non-human. While Afro-Pessimism is a vital starting point, there are needed revisions to some theoretical applications within the field. Pessimists go too far in their understanding of how internal Black liberation interacts with its own ontology. This paper provides insight to... Thu, 01 Sep 2016 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1435/addressing-shortcomings-in-afro-pessimism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1387/plotinus-ontology-and-the-problem-of-matter By Rocco A. Astore - Within The Enneads, Plotinus claims all existence derives from an entirely immaterial and benevolent source which he calls the One.[1] At the same time, he also states matter corrupts that which is immaterial, and one should not understand it as being good.[2] Therefore, how can one state that Plotinus is being consistent when he claims that all things derive from an all-good One, yet bodies are defective in nature? With this piece, I will first describe Plotinus’ understanding of the One. Next, I will state his notions concerning the nature of souls and bodies. I will then state his views... Wed, 30 Mar 2016 04:14 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1387/plotinus-ontology-and-the-problem-of-matter http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1367/problematising-the-critical-realist-positional-approach-to-intersectionality By Ioana Cerasella Chis - Intersectionality is a much contested term which has been considered ‘a theory, a paradigm, a framework, a method, a perspective, or a lens’ (449; see Carbin and Edenheim 2013; Davis 2008). Academically, it offers a bridge for both generalist and specialist theorists to discuss the inter-relatedness of oppressive structures, identities, and experiences (Davis 2008:74-76). Hancock wonders whether intersectionality ‘can be the intellectual property of a single demographic group or whether it is in fact a meme’ (2015:624), while Carbin and Edenheim assert that intersectionality... Sun, 21 Feb 2016 02:29 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1367/problematising-the-critical-realist-positional-approach-to-intersectionality http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1354/examining-free-will-through-spinoza-and-descartes By Rocco A. Astore - According to Spinoza, for something to be entirely free it must be uncompelled in all ways and also the cause of itself.[1] Furthermore, because he believes that there is only one substance that causes itself, which is God, or Nature, and since he states it is uncompelled due to its existence being identical to its essence, it follows that due to its essence being of a self-determined nature, it by necessity exists without being dependent on any other being.[2] Also, since God is uncompelled, all things that derive from it are modes of its attributes and are not to be understood as being at the... Sun, 14 Feb 2016 03:53 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1354/examining-free-will-through-spinoza-and-descartes http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1327/hans-jonas-critique-of-the-modern-concept-of-causality By Joao B. Farias Jr - Hans Jonas main objective in his book The phenomenon of life is to offer an interpretation of the phenomenon of Being that is neither conditioned to dualism nor to a partial conception of being, such as those developed by idealism and by materialism. This essay presents some considerations concerning the Jonasian critique of the concept of causality as formulated by Kant and by Hume. After all, Jonas maintains that, because his ontology is based in the organic phenomenon of life, it requires a revision of what one understands as causality. The senses, or rather, the body that senses itself, is... Fri, 15 Jan 2016 02:36 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1327/hans-jonas-critique-of-the-modern-concept-of-causality http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/710/how-everything-fits-together-on-knowledge-and-ancient-understanding By Gregory T. Groppoli - That is, all matter that exists is derived from one thing: water. The earth is made mostly of water, everything contains some water in some form, and everything needs water in order to survive. Heraclitus had a similar view for a much different reason. He believed fire to be the physis. He saw the world as ever changing much like a fire transforms fuel into heat, color, and smoke (Hergenhahn, 2009). Since everything was in constant motion, nothing could truly be understood for certain. This is the basis to his famous statement: “It is impossible to step into the same river twice” (... Fri, 26 Oct 2012 11:39 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/710/how-everything-fits-together-on-knowledge-and-ancient-understanding