CONTEXT A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH Drive your context response with IDEAS rather than examples. The types of conflict: Internal Interpersonal Societal 1
The roots of all conflict: Fear Courage Open Greed Justice Causes of Conflict CONFLICT CAN BE CAUSED BY FEAR OF AN OTHER SWIFT reactions EMOTIONAL responses Marginalisation of minorities Edward Said (orientalism) CONFLICT CAN BE CAUSED BY IGNORANCE [a lack of knowledge and an inability or unwillingness to recognise new views, facts or the need for change] Inability/unwillingness to recognise new views or need for change Locked into a sense of RIGHTEOUSNESS Feels SECURITY from not being challenged Jean Baudrillard (hyperreality) Friedrich Nietzsche (God is dead) CONFLICT CAN BE CAUSED BY GREED AND THE DESIRE FOR POWER Envy and desire Perpetual pursuit of POWER Relinquishing ETHICS and MORALS in pursuit of that power Samuel Huntington (Clash of Civilizations) Bertolt Brecht (Epic theatre) Responses to Conflict CONFLICT CAN BE RESOLVED BY JUSTICE AND STANDING UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE RIGHT Willing to STAND ASIDE from the majority. RESOLVE and CONVICTION. SELFLESS defence of RIGHTS. Henry Thoreau (majority of one) CONFLICT CAN BE RESOLVED BY OPEN MINDEDNESS Overcoming IGNORANCE and PRECONCEPTIONS. Being TOLERANT OF and OPEN TO new ideas. Deleuze and Guattari (rhizomatic and striated space) 2
How will this look in a paragraph? 1. Introduce an IDEA related to conflict (e.g. ignorance) 2. Discuss a PHILOSOPHER (e.g. Nietzsche) 3. Provide an illustrating TEXT EXAMPLE (e.g. ) How will this look in a paragraph? The roots of many conflicts can be traced to systematic ignorance and an inability or unwillingness to adapt past beliefs to respond to new ways of perceiving the world and the discovery of new evidence. The ignorant often become locked into an inviolable sense of righteousness, with security achieved only when their views are unchallenged, unquestioned and blindly accepted. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche explores this concept in his work The Gay Science, where he asserts that the strength of knowledge as historically been dependent upon age and the degree to which it has been incorporated into the fabric of human thought systems and societal norms. Seeing religion as central to this idea of knowledge stemming from authority instead of evidence, Nietzsche rejected unsubstantiated belief in authority as a basis for truth and morality, leading him to famously declare that God is dead. At its core, this statement objects to the illusion of a tangible and provable system that a belief in God offers, and hence rejects those actions, values and meanings that people subscribe to in the name of God. Instead, Nietzsche advocated for a Gay Science : a science of the self, which views truth as experiment. The effects of this ignorance and its role as a root cause of conflict is made clear in Bertolt Brecht s play. comes into conflict with the church through their different views of the proper authority for truth. Whereas the church vehemently believes that truth comes from the authority of Aristotle and the holy scriptures, instead advocates that truth is born of the times and must be based upon the evidence of their five senses. The church find comfort in its ignorance of the true state of the universe, choosing instead to cling to the notion that the creator s eye rests upon the Earth and the church alone. Ultimately both and Nietzsche reject such justifications that are based upon religious belief, and the result of this is an inescapable conflict that is incapable of resolution until either the ignorance of the aggressor is overcome by the triumph of reason, or the challenge to their authority is removed and the security of tradition and previous conditions of life are returned. How will this look in a paragraph? IDEA FEAR IGNORANCE GREED/ POWER OPEN MINDEDNESS JUSTICE TEXT EXAMPLE EVERY MAN IN THIS VILLAGE IS A LIAR EVERY MAN IN THIS VILLAGE EVERY MAN IN THIS VILLAGE EVERY MAN IN THIS VILLAGE I WILL NOT BE SILENCED PHILOSOPHER SAID NIETZSCHE BAUDRILLARD BRECHT HUNTINGTON DELEUZE AND GUATTARI THOREAU 3
What is missing from this plan? Time to have a look at those philosophers and see if we can link them to the texts... Philosophy! 4
Friedrich NIETZSCHE God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. People invented lines, planes, causes and effects, motion and rest, form and content. However, just because humans have invented these conditions of life, this does not prove their existence and we need to be aware that the world we have created might include error. The death of god unchained the earth from the sun and means that it is now time to move beyond good and evil. Our notions of morality and truth, as far as they are based on religion and belief, are therefore false. What was needed instead was a Gay Science, a science of the self which views truth as experiment. Friedrich NIETZSCHE Nietzsche God is dead And we have killed him. God is a construct used to justify morality, subdue desires and maintain power: a construct invented by society. : Today mankind can write in its diary: Got rid of Heaven. p24 Sagredo: So were is God? : Within ourselves, or nowhere. p28 Barbarini: If God didn t exist then we would have to invent him. p61 The Pope: they have placed their faith in a brass ball they call a compass, not in God God anyhow is no longer necessary to them p92 Friedrich NIETZSCHE Nietzsche Throughout history, the strength of knowledge has not depended on its degree of truth but rather on its age and the degree to which it has been incorporated into the fabric of human through systems and societal norms. Unshackled from belief and blind adherence to authority, we need a Gay Science : a science of the self, which views truth as experiment. : to believe in the authority of Aristotle is one thing, tangible facts are another I ask you to go by the evidence of your eyes Truth is born of the times, not of authority Such people [tradesmen] showed me a lot of new approaches. They don t read much, but rely on the evidence of their five senses, without all that much fear as to where such evidence is going to lead them pp41 43 5
Henry THOREAU Justice Author of Civil Disobedience. Break the law if the law requires you to be an agent of injustice to another. Thoreau also argued that people who create change in society view themselves as having a majority of one a mindset that puts aside current injustices and peacefully but steadfastly fights for the greater good for all. At the heart of Thoreau s theories is how we treat each other and that what is right for me must also be right for others. Thoreau suggested that we should act as a counter friction to try to smooth or, in some cases, stop the machine. Henry THOREAU Justice Links to : Does stand up for justice? NO. In the end he does not he recants. ultimately recants because he was afraid of physical pain after being shown the instruments of torture used by the inquisition. It is because of this human weakness that he ultimately fails before the power of the church. (p107) Henry THOREAU Justice Links to : Does stand up for justice? NO. In the end he does not he recants. Ultimately those in control in the church do have the power to achieve their will (p95). Ethics and morality, on both sides, crumble before the onslaught of this greed and desire to maintain power. 6
Henry THOREAU Justice Links to : lacked the ability to follow through with his beliefs, and he worries about the effects. recognises in the end that he lacked the particular courage that the pursuit of science demands. (p108) Henry THOREAU Justice Links to : lacked the ability to follow through with his beliefs, and he worries about the effects. Instead of standing firm, which could have developed within scientists like the doctors Hippocratic oath, a vow to use their knowledge exclusively for mankind's benefit, instead believes that his capitulation has given birth to a race of inventive dwarves. (p109) Henry THOREAU Justice I Will Not Be Silenced Links to I will not be silenced: Sometimes, remaining silent is all that is needed for injustice to perpetuate. While she did not need to break the law, in many ways Campbell-Stephen needed to challenge existing legal structures and take on an inherently unjust system in order to overcome the accepted belief that no one wins rape cases in Kenya. Charlotte Campbell Stephen s seven and a half year journey, which saw her case restarted from scratch eight times, required her to maintain a steadfast adherence to justice and be willing to stand as a majority of one. Campbell Stephen s commitment to education and advocacy has resulted in tangible improvements, with police now trained in sensitisation towards gender based violence and how to collect evidence. 7
STRIATED SPACE RHIZOMATIC SPACE Deleuze and Guattari believe that we naturally exist in a rhizomatic space. A rhizome can be read starting anywhere and can be related to any other plateau and lacks a privileged centre. Discussed in their book A Thousand Plateaus. A rhizome has no beginning or end; it is always in the middle, between things The rhizome has no privileged centre Striated space is RIGID, FIXED, UNYIELDING and based on DICHOTOMIES. In a state of being. Rhizomatic space recognises change and is a state of becoming. 8
Deleuze and Guattari any point of a rhizome can be connected to any other Each plateau can be read starting from anywhere and can be related to an other plateau. A rhizome has no beginning or end; it is always in the middle, between things The rhizome has no privileged centre The universe has lost its centre overnight, and woken up to find it has countless centres. So that each one can now be seen as the centre, or none at all. Suddenly there is a lot of room. p8 Deleuze and Guattari any point of a rhizome can be connected to any other Each plateau can be read starting from anywhere and can be related to an other plateau. A rhizome has no beginning or end; it is always in the middle, between things The rhizome has no privileged centre Heaven and earth are no longer distinct Heaven because it is made of earth, and earth because it is just one more heavenly body. There is no more difference between top and bottom, between eternal and ephemeral. p52 Faced with the stars we are like dull eyed worms that hardly see at all. Those old constructions people have believed in for the last thousand years are hopelessly rickety: vast buildings most of whose wood is in the buttresses propping them up. p17 LoG Just like the striated spaces/ dichotomies that we have created! The dichotomous categories crumble when faced with the true chaotic nature of the world! 9
But wait! There s more! Deleuze and Guattari will fit with pretty much EVERYTHING! Deleuze and Guattari An open minded person is aware of the striated space that we have created and is able to move beyond it into the rhizomatic space that reflects our true existence: chaotic, without a privileged core and where everything is always in the middle, between things and connected to everything else. People need to accept that truth is ever changing, does not fit into simple dichotomies, and that we need to question existing structures and be open to new ideas and ways of seeing the world. in this Village is a Liar You can survive and not survive, both at the same time. p.4 Things are not mutually exclusive. Very little in Afghanistan is mutually exclusive. p.27 Deleuze and Guattari An open minded person is aware of the striated space that we have created and is able to move beyond it into the rhizomatic space that reflects our true existence: chaotic, without a privileged core and where everything is always in the middle, between things and connected to everything else. People need to accept that truth is ever changing, does not fit into simple dichotomies, and that we need to question existing structures and be open to new ideas and ways of seeing the world. in this Village is a Liar Stack sees two mujahedeen with fingers intertwined, plastic flowers glowing in black hair, winking and fluttering like two besotted lovers. She is struck by these strange peacocks, stunned by the magenta homoeroticism of this dry, pious land. p9 Afghanistan was meaning washed away in floods of colour, in drugs, guns, sexual ambiguity, and Islam. p.9 10
Edward SAID Fear Wrote a book called Orientalism. He argues that European culture gained in strength and identity by setting itself off against the Orient as a sort of surrogate and even underground self. A line is drawn between two continents. Europe is powerful and articulate; Asia is defeated and distant. Orientalism became a code by which Europe could interpret both itself and the Orient to itself. There is a profound difference between the will to understand for purposes of co existence and humanistic enlargement of horizons, and the will to dominate for the purposes of control and external dominion. the terrible reductive conflicts that herd people under falsely unifying rubrics like "America," "The West" or "Islam" and invent collective identities for large numbers of individuals who are actually quite diverse Key terms: Oriental = the East (e.g. Iraq, Afghanistan) Occidental = the West (e.g. Australia, USA) Edward SAID Fear Orientalism Without a wellorganized sense that these people over there were not like "us" and didn't appreciate "our" values, the very core of traditional Orientalist dogma, there would have been no war. in this Village is a Liar Stack s American friend Duc reflects these views, seeing Afghans as a dehumanised other, where those people deserve whatever happens to them. Duc s mind is closed to any attempts by Stack to highlight the difference between Afghan civilians and al Qaeda. Edward SAID Fear Orientalism the terrible reductive conflicts that herd people under falsely unifying rubrics like "America," "The West" or "Islam" and invent collective identities for large numbers of individuals who are actually quite diverse in this Village is a Liar A rift is seen in the views held by Americans towards Saudi Arabians, who are described as being fanatic, brutal, sexist, materialistic, modernday slave owners. Likewise, Saudis view the USA as a nation of whores, drugs, broken families and guns. By focussing on the most extreme differences, each culture reduces the others to stereotypes, and is perpetuated as they don t even try to understand one another and reduces the other to that which provokes visceral disgust in the observer. 11
Edward SAID Fear in this Village is a Liar: Israeli Palestinian Conflict Stack recognises that the lack of recognition of a shared humanity is a core issue in the Israeli Palestinian conflict, which was become out of control with blood wash[ing] blood. When Stack writes about how the bodies of suicide bombers piling up in Israeli morgues, she is attacked for humanising suicide bombers by suggesting that they have corpses and families. Stack realises the need for truth and humanity in this narrative, and the need to recognise that Israelis and Palestinians were indeed one people after all, each one half of a whole. Until this is done, and people can see past their misconceptions and fear of the other, resolution to such engrained conflicts will remain elusive. Samuel HUNTINGTON Greed The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future. differences between civilizations are basic. Samuel HUNTINGTON Greed The West tends to view itself as a universal civilization, and ignores the fact that Western concepts differ fundamentally from those prevalent in other civilizations. The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion...but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non Westerners never do. 12
Samuel HUNTINGTON Greed Clash of Civilizations The very notion that there could be a universal civilization is a Western idea In the political realm these differences are most manifest in the efforts of the United States to induce other peoples to adopt Western ideas concerning democracy and human rights. Modern democratic government originated in the West. in this Village is a Liar Regarding Iraq: we heard that the war has been necessary because of our rigorous American ideology and morals. Saddam was an oppressor and a tyrant and so we deposed him. p79 Americans are the ones who always say that America is the model. p122 Samuel HUNTINGTON Greed Clash of Civilizations The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion...but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. in this Village is a Liar Regarding Iraq: But other Arab dictators still sat among their riches and their torture chambers. p79 This was the conclusion dawning on many Arab despots: that Saddam had been forced into hiding because he refused to play along, not because of democracy, human rights, political prisoners, or press repression. p84 Samuel HUNTINGTON Greed Clash of Civilizations religion provides a basis for identity that transcends national boundaries and unites civilizations. differences between civilizations are basic different views of the relative importance of rights and responsibilities, liberty and authority in this Village is a Liar A preacher in Jordan during the Iraq war: The Arab nation is being humiliated because we are not religious enough If we unite as Arabs we will win this war. p112 the complaints about America s basic moral unseemliness p116 Nora was an Arab and I was an American That distinction grew up like a wall, and we each sat on our separate sides p123 We will coexist but neither side will sacrifice its character. p128 13
Jean BAUDRILLARD given the principles of simulation which governs all information, even the most pious and objective, and given the structural unreality of images and their profound indifference to the truth, these cynics alone are right about information when they employ is as an unconditional simulacrum They alone are conscious of the profound immorality of images Information is not knowledge Television is not seeing We are no longer the direct agents of our acts and thoughts. Jean BAUDRILLARD Jean BAUDRILLARD The Gulf War did not take place Since this war was won in advance, we will never really know what it would have been like had it existed. But this is not a war, any more than 10,000 tonnes of bombs per day is sufficient to make it a war. For the Americans, the enemy does not exist as such. in this Village is a Liar The War on Terror was not a real thing. Not that the war on terror was flawed, not that it was cynical or self defeating, or likely to breed more resentment and violence. But that it was hollow, it was essentially nothing but a unifying myth for a complicated scramble of mixed Impulses and social theories and night terrors and cruelty and business interests, all overhung with the unassailable memory of falling skyscrapers. 14
Jean BAUDRILLARD The Gulf War did not take place the structural unreality of images and their profound indifference to the truth Information is not knowledge Television is not seeing in this Village is a Liar the first voice in this article was no longer that of an Afghan victim. Instead, it was a Pentagon official who said: This is a false story. News writers depend upon the world to organise itself into some kind of tale, a story that can be told in short, recognisable form. People rise and fall; murder and redeem; cheat and reconcile. In Afghanistan, I kept waiting for a narrative to assert itself Instead, events flickered, split, and rolled away like mercury. p28 And that is it! It s a lot to take in, so: Check the materials on STL Link Pick those examples/ideas that work for you Revise the relevant parts of the relevant texts Figure out which philosophers you want to use with which ideas Practise using these ideas in relation to prompts Context: A Philosophical Approach IDEA FEAR IGNORANCE GREED/ POWER OPEN MINDEDNESS JUSTICE TEXT EXAMPLE EVERY MAN IN THIS VILLAGE IS A LIAR EVERY MAN IN THIS VILLAGE EVERY MAN IN THIS VILLAGE EVERY MAN IN THIS VILLAGE I WILL NOT BE SILENCED PHILOSOPHER SAID NIETZSCHE BAUDRILLARD BRECHT HUNTINGTON DELEUZE AND GUATTARI THOREAU 15