https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/77399 2026-08-09T01:13:39Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89789 Title: Object-oriented philosophy and deconstruction : realism in the work of Graham Harman and Jacques Derrida Abstract: Twenty-first century continental philosophy has witnessed a rising interest in rekindling questions related to philosophical realism after a long period of being chastised as a dogmatic and outmoded philosophical position. This interest can be largely attributed to the emergence of a relatively recent and broad philosophical movement known as “Speculative Realism,” which includes Graham Harman’s “Object-Oriented Philosophy.” One of the principal targets of Harman’s philosophy is the work of Jacques Derrida, who he criticises for propagating a staunch antirealism framed in terms of a “linguistic idealism” which holds that there can be no possible access to extra-linguistic reality. In this dissertation, I analyse the issue of realism in the work of Harman’s Object-Oriented Philosophy and Derridean deconstruction, in order to offer the following twofold contribution to knowledge; first, I provide a novel analysis and reassessment of Harman’s philosophy framed in terms of two pairs of “negative” and “positive” theses pertaining to the nature of “objects” broadly construed. Second, I offer a Derridean rejoinder to the Harman’s anti-realist critique of deconstruction, and I argue for the claim that by using the resources internal to deconstruction, the former’s thought can be reconstituted as a novel and dynamic speculative form of realism. This dissertation is the first full-length work to analyse Jacques Derrida’s work in relation to Graham Harman’s, and calls for the revaluation of both philosophies. Description: Ph.D.(Melit.) 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/77446 Title: A phenomenological and existential approach to the dichotomy between reason and emotions Abstract: Throughout the history of philosophy, the dichotomy contrasting the faculty of rationality to the emotions has been consistently present and embraced. Reason, on the one hand, is associated with the role of guiding our actions towards our main goals and success. On the other hand, emotions are seen as forceful, passionate frenzies which lead us astray and into pure trouble. Because of this, the emotions have been shunned to the side and seen as mere distractions in the philosophers’ journey of achieving the Truth. By utilizing Heidegger’s phenomenological ideas, and Sartre’s existential thoughts, I will argue that this dichotomy is not only unfair towards the emotions, but also harmful towards our understanding of the human experience as a whole. I will thus be providing a reading of Heidegger’s philosophy of emotions in his text Being and Time and Sartre’s ideas in A Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions. Through looking at these two schools of thought, therefore, my aim is to dissolve this dichotomy and bring the emotions back to the forefront of philosophical discussion. Description: M.Phil.(Melit.) 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z