Filosoofia osakonna magistritööd – Master's theses

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10062/35473

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The ethical design of sex robots
(Tartu Ülikool, 2024-08) Mizrak, Ezgi; Orsi, Francesco, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
This thesis examines ethical concerns arising from the development and use of sex robots, advocating for a harm reduction model rather than a complete ban or complete deregulation. The analysis compares ethical arguments for and against sex robots. According to the findings, it argued that sex robots can be more beneficial than harmful for women and disadvantaged groups through ethical design choices. In particular, this thesis argues that sex robots should be designed to include a consent module to mimic and teach users about morally appropriate consent negotiation. Finally, the thesis defends sexual technology by aiming to increase the visibility of female sexuality and desire by discussing how the right ethical design choices can be made to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm of sex robots.
How does psychotherapy work? A cognitive neuroscience-based framework for understanding therapeutic change
(Tartu Ülikool, 2024) Kabrel, Mykyta; Aru, Jaan, juhendaja; Mölder, Bruno, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
One of the key mechanisms by which psychotherapy facilitates positive change is by enhancing an individual's awareness of the internal and external factors that contribute to their problems. While this provides a conceptual understanding of psychotherapy, a more rigorous and precise mechanistic explanation is often lacking. In this thesis, I present a novel theoretical framework for understanding psychotherapy based on contemporary cognitive and computational neuroscience. I propose that enhancing awareness can be likened to mental navigation – the ability to navigate our representational space, which includes memories, concepts, ideas, images, etc. This navigation process involves exploring, identifying, and reconfiguring cognitive maps and schemas facilitated by neurobiological mechanisms similar to those involved in spatial navigation. The outcome of this thesis is an intuitively understandable conceptual framework and a biologically plausible mechanistic explanation of therapeutic change.
Collective responsibility in the anthropocene
(Tartu Ülikool, 2024) Luo, Yufeng; Kattago, Siobhan, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
Geoscientists have heralded the advent of a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. This new epoch highlights the unprecedented human power to influence the Earth system, thanks to the advancement of modern technology. As the most characteristic phenomenon of the new era, climate change, as well as the inadequacy of human action to address it, poses a challenge to previous moral and political theories. By examining the critiques of contemporary scholars, this thesis attempts to identify the reasons why past theories fall short in addressing the climate crisis, and proposes a theory of collective responsibility as the appropriate ethical framework in the Anthropocene. Inspired by the philosophical inquiry of Dipesh Chakrabarty, this thesis engages with the works of modern philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, Hannah Arendt, and Hans Jonas to construct the theory of collective responsibility. It argues that collective responsibility in the Anthropocene should transcend the boundaries of different communities and generations, and is capable of motivating people to take collective action to combat climate change.
The Arendtian problem of new beginnings: beginnings and foundations of freedom in revolution
(Tartu Ülikool, 2024) Zhu, Zhiyi; Kattago, Siobhan, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
This thesis explores the relationship between beginnings and foundations within the context of modern political revolutions. As Hannah Arend argued, the American Revolution, with its establishment of a federal republic and a Constitution inspired by ancient political traditions, provides a model for successful modern revolutions. Arendt's reinterpretation highlights the authentic unification between freedom and order through a mutual contract, where both elements reinforce each other. This unification is reflected in the constitution-making activity dominated by constituent power, bridging the gap between beginnings and established foundations. The processual nature of beginnings, as seen in the council system and revolutionary experiences, underscores that new political orders are extensions in time, seeking continuity by reconnecting with predecessors’ foundations. It means the beginning is the return to a previous beginning. Ultimately, this cyclical process transforms the new beginning into a stabilizing foundation, ensuring continuity and stability for future political structures.
TÜ väitekirjade elektrooniline publitseerimine
(Tartu Ülikool, 2009) Bachmann, Signe; Leping, Vambola, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
Infoökoloogia rakendamine raamatukogus (Tartu O. Lutsu nim. Linnaraamatukogu näitel)
(Tartu Ülikool, 2007) Kozõreva, Tamara; Konsa, Kurmo, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
Õpikeskkond ja selle arenguperspektiivid TÜ Iuridicumi teabekeskuses
(Tartu Ülikool, 2007) Avalo, Sille; Plaksi, Sille; Must, Ülle, juhendaja; Must, Aadu, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
Perceptual stability in olfactory experiences
(Tartu Ülikool, 2024) Mattila, Linda; Barker, Simon, juhendaja; Tooming, Uku, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
Olfaction refers to our sense of smell and the act or process of smelling. Unlike in vision, perceptual experiences of the same object can vary considerably without one experience being obviously better than any other. In this thesis, I consider whether olfactory experiences can be perceptually stable where perceptual stability is a limiting factor on such variation. I first consider the ‘perceptual constancy model’ of perceptual stability. Examples of everyday peculiar experiences in olfaction demonstrate that the perceptual constancy model is not sensitive to the variation which is necessary in olfaction. I then introduce what I call the template matching model and argue that this model can provide a satisfactory account of perceptual stability. According to the template matching model , perceptually stable olfactory experiences have two core characteristics: appropriateness and consistency. This means that an olfactory experience is appropriate if there is a match of patterns between the current and previous instances when the odor molecule is being perceived, and if the current experience fits into an overall set of prior olfactory experiences.
Do atemporal theories of quantum gravity presuppose the notion of time? A critical analysis of Henrik Zinkernagel's arguments against quantum fundamentalism
(Tartu Ülikool, 2023) Lazutkina, Anastasiia; Mets, Ave, juhendaja; Kustassoo, Karin, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
This thesis is dedicated to examining three arguments against quantum fundamentalism (QF), the view that everything is fundamentally of a quantum nature and can be described exclusively in quantum theoretical terms. All three arguments rely on the timelessness of leading approaches to quantum gravity (QG), the successor theory of our two best physical theories, general relativity and quantum field theory. According to the first argument, by Svend Rugh and Henrik Zinkernagel, QF cannot explain how time emerges diachronically from a timeless quantum structure described by QG. I argue with Daniele Oriti that such a diachronic emergence is not strictly necessary, so the argument fails. According to the second argument, by Zinkernagel, timeless QG cannot be more fundamental than GR because its field of application is defined by a classical relativistic time concept. I propose two readings of the argument: the first fails, while the second is successful but requires accepting a broad set of epistemological commitments. The third argument adds that timeless QG does not imply that time is not fundamental, but instead that physics cannot describe it. I conclude that the last two arguments refute an epistemological but not ontological version of QF.
The concept of recognition in contemporary social philosophy: a critical perspective on the connection between the struggle for recognition and emancipation in Axel Honneth and Judith Butler
(Tartu Ülikool, 2023) Kozlova, Viktorija; Kattago, Siobhan, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
The concept of recognition has attracted wide-spread interest in social and political philosophy during the last decades. This thesis critically examines the notion of recognition in social and political theory concentrating on the works of Axel Honneth, the author who has, arguably, presented the most comprehensive social theory of recognition to date. The thesis reconstructs Honneth’s theory of recognition in light of the connection between recognition and social change, which, for him, is understood as driven by the struggle for recognition. Drawing from the works of Judith Butler, I emphasize the ambivalent character of recognition through its connection to subject formation. Following Butler, it is argued that before a person can enjoy recognition, they must first become recognizable, which in turn is conditioned by the existent dynamics of power. As a result, I conclude that particular expressions of the desire for recognition are significantly limited in their emancipatory potential.
Uncovering double standards: a critical assessment of radical enactivism’s treatment of basic minds and departure from relaxed naturalism : master's thesis in philosophy
(Tartu Ülikool, 2023) Yaryhina, Anastasiia; Bruno Mölder, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
In developing REC, Hutto & Myin commit to 'Relaxed Naturalism', a philosophical position very broadly concerned with "thinking about the natural world and our place in it" (Hutto 2023, 2). The articulation of the philosophical program of Relaxed Naturalism was itself an endeavor initiated by Hutto in collaboration with philosopher Glenda L. Satne (2015, 2017, 2018a, 2018b). They define Relaxed Naturalism in opposition to both 'scientific/strict naturalism,' which they deem to be too strict in its dedication to hard sciences, and 'liberal naturalism', which they deem to be too permissive in regards to ‘supernatural’ phenomena. Relaxed Naturalism aims to negotiate a moderate position between these two approaches to naturalism by "draw[ing] upon and harmoniously integrat[ing] the discoveries from a wide range of sciences and disciplines" (Hutto 2022, 165). I assert that a close examination of the treatment of 'basic minds' in radical enactivism undermines REC's proclaimed commitment to Relaxed naturalism. Moreover, I demonstrate how the three core notions utilized in REC's analysis of 'basic minds' — autopoiesis, adaptivity, and normativity — support REC's alignment with strict naturalism rather than relaxed naturalism, as they provide a comprehensive account of basic minds within the framework of natural sciences alone. Insofar as Hutto & Myin deem it unnecessary to employ the extended repertoire of concepts offered by relaxed naturalism, they betray their own argument for its methodological necessity. I demonstrate this by uncovering REC’s double standards that can be found in its treatment of basic minds. REC criticises rival theories for their strictly naturalistic purview of the mind, yet, applies the same perspective in its own treatment of basic minds, thus applying its principles rather unfairly. In my thesis I aim to demostrate how Radical Enactivism’s unfair application of its own principles undermine its commitment to Relaxed Naturalism, particularly regarding its perspective on "basic minds."
The charientic: a neglected normative category
(Tartu Ülikool, 2023) Bailie, Natasha Jade; Francesco Orsi, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
It is a standard problem of value theory, broadly construed, to identify, classify, and analyse evaluative judgements. In 1958, Peter Glassen argued that judgements regarding vulgarity or elegance, which he calls “charientic” judgements, are (i) properly evaluative judgements; and (ii) distinct from other types of universally recognised evaluative judgements, such as moral or aesthetic ones. The goals of the current work are firstly to defend and develop these claims to establish the charientic as a proper normative category, and secondly to show, using Christine Korsgaard’s theory of normativity from her 1996 book The Sources of Normativity, that there exist charientic obligations. Grounding obligations in practical identity, a conception of oneself under which one finds oneself valuable, is key to establishing the existence of charientic obligations.
Ihudevahelisus ja asendatavus. Derrida kriitika Merleau-Ponty intersubjektiivsuse käsitluse kohta
(Tartu Ülikool, 2023) Tärk, Mona; Eduard Parhomenko, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
Jacques Derrida ainus põhjalik vaade Maurice Merlreau-Ponty filosoofiale leiab aset teose Le Toucher, Jean-Luc Nancy peatükis „Tangente III”. Käesolevas magistritöös analüüsin Derrida esitatud kriitikat teise ja teisesuse kohta Merleau-Ponty ihulises intersubjektiivsuse mõtlemises ehk ihudevahelisuses. Uurimuse juhtiv küsimus on, kas ihudevahelisus võimaldab austada teise teisesust ja vältida teise omastamist. Selgitan Derrida kahtlusi ihulise lähenemise osas ning vastan küsimusele, kaitstes Merleau-Ponty seisukohti. Viimase fenomenoloogiaga kuuluvad lahutamatult kokku teisesust arvesse võtvad kriitilised elemendid — ise ärastumine, mitte-egokeskne ja vahendatud ligipääs teisele ja maailma mitmekülgsus — mis ei võimalda teise omastamist. Derrida tõlgendus vaatab olulistel kohtadel mööda neist aspektidest, mille tõttu on tema tõlgendus puudulik ja liialt hukkamõistev. Selles kriitikas on siiski ka paeluvaid tähelepanekuid Merleau-Ponty ihudevahelisuse kohta. Keskendun ise ja teise asendatavuse küsimusele, mille kaudu avaneb arutelu Merleau-Ponty filosoofias leiduvate paradoksaalsuste tarvilikkuse üle. Paradoksaalsus, mis teisesuhteid seletavatesse fenomenoloogilistesse struktuuridesse dünaamilisust loob, vastab teistega seotud pingelistele kogemustele meie elus. Merleau-Ponty ihudevahelisuses mõjutavad ja muudavad ise ja teine üksteist vastastikku. Seda võimaldab teise lähedus isele, milles aga ise ja teise vaheline distants ja erinevus ei kao.
Vabariikluse mõtteloo mõju Eesti Vabariigi loomise aruteludele
(Tartu Ülikool, 2023) Laane, Karl Lembit; Pärtel Piirimäe, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
Käesoleva väitekiri analüüsib lääne vabariikluse mõtteloo mõjusid Eesti Vabariigi 1920. aasta põhiseaduse ja riigikorra kujundamisele Asutavas Kogus. Töö eesmärk on vastata küsimustele, missugused vabariikluse ja poliitilise mõtteloo autorid mõjutasid Asutava Kogu liikmete seisukohti, nendevahelisi arutelusid ning kuidas; missugused klassikalised vabariiklikud mudelid esinesid Eesti Vabariigi loomise aruteludes, missugune neist jäi peale ning miks otsustati lõpuks just sellise ning mitte teistsuguse vabariigi mudeli kasuks. Töö koosneb kahest osast. Esimene osa annab ülevaate lääne vabariiklikust mõtteloost või seda mõjutanud tüviautoritest Platonist ja Aristotelesest kuni 19. sajandi parlamentaristideni. Teine osa analüüsib selle põhjal Asutava Kogu kokkutulemisele eelnenud poliitilist ja intellektuaalset konteksti ning Asutava Kogu arutelusid vabariigi valitsemise ajutise korra (ajutise põhiseaduse) ja põhiseaduse enda üle. Kõige ulatuslikumat mõju avaldasid neile aruteludele Hobbes, Montesquieu, USA föderalistid, 19. sajandi parlamentaristid ning kohati ka jakobiinlik tõlgendus Rousseaust. Samas olid kõik peale viimase neist lähtekohaks rohkem parempoolsetele ning vasakpoolsed lükkasid tihti nende argumentatsiooni tagasi. Ajutise põhiseadusega kehtestati jakobiinlik-astilik tõlgendus Šveitsi riigikorrast, samas kui selle praktilise läbikukkumise tõttu liiguti põhiseaduse enda aruteludes juba (pool)parlamentaristliku mudeli juurde, mida eristas tüüpilisest parlamentarismist riigipea puudumine ning rahva otsustav roll valitsuse, parlamendi ja rahva tahte kooskõla tagamisel rahvaalgatuste ja -hääletuste kaudu.
I don't feel at home in this world anymore: on the detrimental nature of living 's-places' in late capitalist urban society
(Tartu Ülikool, 2023) Hochbaumer, Michaela; Siobhan Kattago, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
Our homes serve as the central hubs for our everyday lives and experiences. As such, we expect them to foster the regeneration of the self; provide for our safety and security; and serve as a reflection of our individual identities. However, technological advancements and the re-merging of home- and work environments, have resulted in a constant intrusion of our homes by the outside world, preventing us from finding solace within our four walls. Secondly, the distinction between the inside and the outside world has moved from a reciprocal sparing and preserving to a one-sided focus on self-preservation, in which our suspicion of the outside world leads us to use aggressive security measures that further alienate us from our surroundings. Lastly, our desire to personalise our homes so that they express our identities is thwarted by commodities that are only marginally different, which makes the pursuit of personal distinctiveness become an illusion that is perpetuated by a society in which alienation is total. In short, the home has become the source of every self-estrangement and alienation. Therefore, as this thesis shall argue, the late capitalist urban home is detrimental to the self as an individual and creative agent.
Medicalization, values and patient participation
(Tartu Ülikool, 2023) Kruusmaa, Mirt; Simon Reginald Barker, juhendaja; Jaana Eigi-Watkin, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
The question whether and how to define something as a disease has been contentious in practice. In the thesis, I argue that when deciding whether and how to define something as a disease, values must be relied upon. Against the value-free ideal of science, I use the argument from inductive risk to show that medicalization is inevitably value-laden. Instead of worrying about any value influence in medicalization, I propose that values interfere with medicine’s epistemic and ethical goals only when they are held dogmatically and/or contradict medicine’s ethical goals. To mitigate such pernicious influence of values, values should be managed through a negotiation between diverse actors. This includes sometimes patients who as outsiders are particularly well positioned to challenge values within medicine. In this way we improve the chances that disease definitions are epistemically and ethically acceptable. These are disease definitions that support medicine’s epistemic and ethical goals.
Existential roots of anxiety in the political
(Tartu Ülikool, 2023-01) Starkova, Anna-Liza; Kattago, Siobhan, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
The thesis focuses on the existential perspective of anxiety suggested by Søren Kierkegaard and Martin Heidegger and its creative potentiality that allows access to the self and the ontological structure of existence. Furthermore, it argues in favour of Hannah Arendt's concept of the political where such potentiality can be actualized. The thesis reveals the influence of both philosophers on Arendt regarding individual existence and the question of truth; at the same time, her disagreement with them concerning the collective space as a place for the realization of the uniqueness of the individual in its potentialities. Influenced by Arendt, the thesis argues for two possible ways out of anxiety. First, through the social where individual anxiety is realized in mass society. Second, through the public space of the political, where an individual realizes himself through action and spontaneity, with the possibility to resist a violent order. Therefore, according to Arendt, public space is a necessary condition for actualizing the individual.
Law statements and generic generalizations
(Tartu Ülikool, 2022) Rashtipour, Mani; Davies, Alex Stewart, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
Many philosophers and scientists believe that the statements of laws of nature can be given a unified analysis. Law statements are thought to be true lawlike generalizations, where to be a lawlike generalization is to be a universal, spatiotemporally unrestricted, and modally robust generalization. It is the legacy of logical empiricists that such generalization can be analyzed as a universal generalization of the form ∀x.(Fx→Gx). Since the logical empiricists, this analysis has been criticized and various alternatives have been proposed. One proposed analysis is that lawlike generalizations, and hence law statements, should be analyzed as generic generalizations (e.g. Drewery 1998, 2005; Nickel 2010; Claveau & Girard 2019). These accounts, however, endorse the assumption that law statements can be given a unified analysis and attempt to analyze law statements as generic generalizations in unified manner. In this thesis, while endorsing the suggestion that law statements are generic generalizations, I will challenge this assumption arguing that law statements should be divided into two distinct groups, the definitional laws and descriptive laws, which require distinct analyses. I will, then, provide an analysis of law statements on the basis of the works of Manfred Krifka and Yael Greenberg on definitional and descriptive generic generalizations.
On how God became pocket-sized: digital machination's challenge to active nihilism
(Tartu Ülikool, 2022) Smith, Jared; Kattago, Siobhan, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
This thesis examines how digital technology has created an individualized environment of understanding which threatens genuine value creation in an individual and collective. Whereas television, through machination of information mediums in the 1960s, created a hyperreality of understanding at the macro level, society, digital technology operates on the micro level, the individual. The development and use of digital technology, such as social media or online entertainment content, has created an understanding in users which appears to be active nihilism, but is in actuality passive nihilism, and perhaps even creating Digital Last Men.
A taxonomy of testimonial smothering
(Tartu Ülikool, 2022) Mohamed, Nada Abdalla Hassan Abdelazim; Barker, Simon Reginald, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Filosoofia osakond
Kristie Dotson formulates testimonial smothering as a form of testimonial oppression where a speaker truncates or removes the content of her testimony leaving the testimony empty from any content for which the hearers demonstrated testimonial incompetence. On Dotson’s account of smothering, the speaker empties her testimony from all content relevant to the domain of exchange. However, Dotson’s account does not include or cover instances where a speaker smothers her testimony, yet her smothered testimony contains some content relevant to the domain of exchange. In this thesis, I present a more detailed analysis of testimonial smothering to showcase different ways in which oppressed speakers interact in exchanges in which they are oppressed. I take Dotson’s notion of smothering to be one form of testimonial smothering, which I call smothering via emptying. I introduce two other types of smothering, smothering via altering and smothering via echoing, to encompass cases where a speaker’s smothered testimony is not empty from content relevant to the domain of exchange. Then I use the taxonomy of testimonial smothering to showcase ways in which oppressed speakers can contribute to conversations in which they are oppressed.

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