The Being-alone-in-the-world of Loneliness as Attunement: Being

7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Becoming-Animal and Becoming-Woman Explored

Through a Feminine Minor Literature

Maggie Hynes, Memorial University of Newfoundland 40

Being, World, and Loneliness:

Understanding Loneliness as Phenomenological Attunement

Christopher Chiasera, Trinity College 53

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 2 A Formal Definition of Loneliness in General: Loneliness as Opposed to Solitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 3 The Problem of Loneliness as Attunement or Mood (Stimmung) . . . 58 4 The Being-alone-in-the-world of Loneliness as Attunement: Beingalone-in-the-world as a Fleeing in the Face of Being . . . . . . . . . . 60 5 Conclusion and Considerations for Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Reconceptualizing the Free Will Debate as a

Metalinguistic Negotiation

Aubrey Dean Smith, University of Kentucky 67

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NO T E FR O M TH E ED I T O R-I N- CH I E F

I want to begin by expressing my gratitude to my editorial team and the supervisor for the journal, Dr. Dwayne Raymond, for all of their help throughout the semester to publish this edition of Aletheia. Without any of them, this would not have been possible. Special thanks are in order for Matthew Deane, the Executive Editor for this edition of Aletheia, for all of his hard work and editing to make this edition of Aletheia one of our best. It was an honor to serve as the Editor-in-Chief for Aletheia’s 2021-2022 year.

In particular, I also want to thank the previous Editor-in-Chief for Aletheia, Eric Nash, for his support and guidance throughout the year whenever we needed it. I know I speak for everyone when I say we are all grateful for your help. Moreover, I want to thank Dr. Robert Garcia, Dr. Roger Sansom, and Dr. Christopher Menzel all of whom have been superb professors of mine and edified me to find my passion for philosophy that I have today. My sincere gratitude is with you all.

This was a very interesting semester for all of us at Texas A&M and, for the most part, the rest of universities here in the United States. It was our first semester where everything was starting to get back to “normal” during the COVID-19 pandemic. We had in-person classes again and many, if not all, of the activities at the university resumed as before. Of course, this was after a two year hiatus of doing classes online and being isolated from one another; thus, being able to meet with people again face to face was a jovial experience. Something so quotidian will, or should, not be taken for granted anymore.

Finally, this journal would not have been possible without the brilliant scholars that attributed to this journal. Each one of them worked very hard to bring the final versions of the papers you will find in the forthcoming pages of this journal. It was an immense pleasure to work with each of them and to read their insightful papers. I hope you, the reader, will find them as enlightening and riveting as we did.

Daniel Lightsey B.A. Philosophy B.S. Physics Class of 2022

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NO T E FR O M TH E EX E C T U I V E ED I T O R

I would like to start by thanking Daniel Lightsey; from letting me on as an editor to making me executive editor as a freshman, he has been a huge support in furthering my love of philosophy. Every editor deserves a shout out for enduring the sometimes heavy and unequal workload that comes from getting rushes of submissions and selecting the papers that will be published. It can be a difficult process at times, but none of you faltered. Lastly, I would like to thank all of the fantastic scholars who submitted their work. It has been a joy to read through all of these papers that they have clearly poured themselves into. Aletheia as a whole has helped me to grow so much as a writer, critic, and as a person through the wonderful submissions that we get each edition. I hope that you, our readers, are touched by these wonderful students’ writing as much as we are.

Matthew Deane B.A. Society, Ethics, and Law (SEAL) Class of 2025

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ED I T O R S

Daniel Lightsey

Daniel Lightsey is a senior Physics and Philosophy double major. He is interested in metaphysics (particular in causation and dispositions), philosophy of mind, philosophy of action, and mathematical logic/philosophy of logic. He plans on taking a year off before going to graduate school to pursue a PhD in philosophy which will (hopefully!) lead him to teach philosophy one day.

Matthew Deane

Matthew Deane is a freshman Society, Ethics, and Law major with a double minor in philosophy and business from Cypress, Texas. He is interested in social philosophy, moral philosophy, and theology. Currently, he is doing research on aesthetics in China during the Ming and early Qing dynasties. He enjoys traveling and reading in his free time and plans on attending law school.

Emma Smith

Emma Smith is a rising sophomore pursuing a major in psychology and minors in philosophy and neuroscience. Her areas of philosophical interest include epistemology and aesthetics. Emma is involved in many activities in College Station including the Comparing Beauty research team, Ags REACH, MSC FLI, and Aggieland Humane Society. In her free time, she reads, draws, and plays video games with friends. She plans to pursue graduate school and become a psychologist.

America Jimenez

America Jimenez is a freshman Philosophy major from El Paso, Texas. She is curious about all areas of philosophy but has a particular interest in philosophy of law, philosophy of the mind, ethics, axiology, and human rights. She is a member of the freshman leaders establishing excellence organization, the Pre Law Society, and a women’s organization titled “Maggies.” In her free time she enjoys running, reading, painting, and spending time with friends. After graduating, America plans to attend law school and pursue a career in immigration law.

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Kate Girvin

Kate Girvin is a junior University and Departmental Honors philosophy pre-law student from El Paso, Texas. Girvin is a second-year editor for Aletheia and will be chairing Aletheia’s International Virtual Conference of Undergraduate Philosophy (IV-CUP) alongside her peer, Emma Smith in Spring 2022. Continental philosophy, decolonial feminist theory, and existentialism are her main philsophical interests. Girvin is currently drafting an Honors undergraduate thesis in decolonial feminist theory with Dr. Omar Rivera. Aside from academics, Girvin’s campus organizational involvement includes serving as a director for Sophomore Leaders Impacting, Developing, and Educating (SLIDE), in which she accompanies sophomores in mental health and sexual assault awareness advocacy in the Bryan College Station community. She is also a member of the Liberal Arts Student Council’s programs committee and TAMU Legacies, a women’s organization that strives to create a legacy of service and leadership through the empowerment of women. Girvin serves as the undergraduate apprentice at the Glasscock Center, fostering and celebrating humanities research among the community of scholars at Texas A&M University. After graduation, she plans to pursue a law degree and teach philosophy at the university level.

Laura Stoicoviciu

Laura Stoicoviciu is a Senior philosophy major from South Austin. Her particular philosophical interests are in social political theory, existentialism and Eastern philosophies. After graduating in May, Laura plans on attending law school in the fall to study intellectual property. While she aspires a career in law, she intends on continuing to study, read, and write philosophy. Her interests include rowing, hiking, and going to concerts. In her spare time, Laura hosts a radio show for KANM which focuses on the intersection between philosophical schools of thought and the messages behind musical albums.

Alexis Roa

Alexis Roa is a senior Society, Ethics, and Law major with minors in Philosophy and Sports Management. His philosophy interests include political philosophy, philosophy of law, and ethics. After graduation he plans on attending law school and pursuing a career in criminal or contract law. In his spare time, he enjoys watching science fiction movies and training in various martial arts.

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Kathryn Payne

Katie Payne is a Texas A&M senior from Austin, Texas. She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in University Studies: Society, Ethics and Law and minors in both Philosophy and Leadership. She is interested in philosophy of jurisprudence, philosophy of the mind, and ethical theory. In addition to serving as an editor for Aletheia, Katie is currently the Director of External Communication on Texas A&M’s Panhellenic Executive Board. She is a member of Pre-Law Society and Delta Delta Delta at Texas A&M. Katie has also worked as a legal intern at both Eastman Meyler, PC and Walters Balido and Crain, LLP. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, playing with her dog, and cooking. After graduation, Katie plans to attend law school to pursue a career in civil or criminal law.

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AU T H O R S

Aidan Farmer

My name is Aidan Farmer, I’m a senior in Philosophy and History at North Carolina State University. My primary areas of interest are in the history of philosophy and the philosophy of law, with additional coursework in ethics and metamathematics. My proudest academic achievements at NC State are the Robert S. Bryan prize in philosophy and the history honors college. I plan on attending law school in the future and pursuing a career as a lawyer and academic.

Oliver Bates

My name is Oliver Bates and I am a philosophy major, international studies minor. My hometown is Washington DC and I am class of 2022. My interests mainly focus on metaphysics and ontology– trying to understand who and how we are in the world. In terms of future aspirations, I view them as trying to drain the ocean with a sieve. My goal in life is to do the best I can with what I have– and make a few people smile along the way.

Maggie Hynes

Maggie Hynes is a 4th-year undergraduate student at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. She is currently pursuing a major in Philosophy and a minor in Communications Studies, with a philosophical focus on feminist philosophy, phenomenology, and social and political philosophy. In 2019 and 2020 she received the Joseph and Joyce Dawson Memorial Bursary in Philosophy and in 2020, she won the Peter Harris Essay Prize in Metaphysics, the Peter Harris Essay Prize in Medieval Philosophy, and the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Book Prize. After graduating she plans on continuing her studies at the graduate-level.

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Christopher Chiasera

Christopher Chiasera is a junior (Class of 2024) currently enrolled at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and originally from Long Island, New York. He is a double major in Philosophy and Political Science, 2020 recipient of the 1823 Scholarship, 2022 recipient of the Blanchard W. Means Prize in Philosophy, and leading member/social media coordinator of the Trinity College Philosophy Club. His philosophical interests include phenomenology (particularly that of Martin Heidegger), epistemology, and Marxism. This summer, he plans to work closely with Trinity College faculty to conduct research on the philosophy of color perception and relevant phenomenological insights. In the future, he hopes to attend graduate school for Philosophy and someday teach the subject at the college level.

Aubrey Dean Smith

My name is Aubrey Dean Smith and I am a philosophy major and English minor going into my Senior year at the University of Kentucky. My main areas of interest are free will, conceptual ethics, feminist philosophy, and the philosophy of punishment. I was awarded the UKY Philosophy Department Undergraduate Award for the 2020-2021 academic year, featured in the 2022 Undergraduate English Showcase, and am a member of the Philosophy Club leadership committee. I plan on attending law school following graduation to work as a prison-reform advocate.

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The Best of All Possible Histories: Hegel’s Racism and his Philosophy of Right

Aidan Farmer North Carolina State University

AB S T R A C T

This paper is a textual analysis of racism in Hegel’s published lectures. The foundations of Hegel’s racism are explored in both his Lectures on the Philosophy of World History and the “Anthropology” section of his Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences. Textual analysis reveals that Hegel’s racial framework divides human beings along geographic lines. Each geographic region is correlated with distinct psychological features that form his core judgments about each race. Core principles guiding Hegel’s treatment of each presupposed race are identified as cultural essentialism, genocide, slavery, and Orientalism. In light of Hegel’s systematic approach to philosophy, each of these issues are traced to his Philosophy of Right, and it is argued that while the text is mostly lacking in overtly racist claims, the principles that lead Hegel to his objectionable conclusions are nonetheless present in his legal and political philosophy. This analysis of the Philosophy of Right is used to generate more wholistic critiques of Hegel’s philosophy. Specific criticisms include an exclusionary conception of personality, overly rigid dialectical logic, and Eurocentric conceptions of family and the state

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