Academic Papers

American Gods: A Sociological Analysis

This paper examines the Starz show American Gods, based on Neil Gaiman’s best-selling 2001 novel of the same name, from a sociological perspective. It analyzes it through the lens of three social psychological theories: group polarization, deindividuation, and the Pygmalion Effect. Each theory has a dedicated section exploring the place it holds within American Gods, whether that involves a character’s personality, their development, a plot or storyline, or the many visual and descriptive elements of the show. While describing these theories and their relation to American Gods, I also introduce various fundamental components of the show itself in order to give the reader a proper understanding of it and allow them to correctly absorb the material provided within this paper.

This paper was written and cited in APA format.

Mind-Body Dualism and Neuroscience: How Descartes Created Modernity

This paper examines the doctrine of mind-body dualism as well as Descartes’ model of the mind as representing reality by means of ideas. It also touches on Atul Gawande’s “The Itch” and assesses Descartes’ doctrine of mind-body dualism and his model of mind as “representing” ideas to itself in relation to Gawande’s work. Lastly, this paper discusses whether or not introspection is sufficient for us to understand the reality of the mind, and its necessity. The goal of this paper is to educate the reader on Descartes’ concept of mind-body dualism in a unique way while simultaneously analyzing the relevance of introspection in a modern society regarding this axiom, as well as Descartes' influence on neuroscience and other ideas.

This paper was written and cited in APA format.

Westworld: A Psychoanalysis

This paper examines the HBO show Westworld from a psychological perspective. It analyzes it through the lens of three psychological theories: self-serving bias, behavioral confirmation theory, and self-affirmation theory. Each theory has a dedicated section exploring the place it holds within Westworld, whether that involves a character’s personality, their development, a plot or storyline, or the many visual and descriptive elements of the show. While describing these theories and their relation to Westworld, I also introduce various fundamental components of the show itself in order to give the reader a proper understanding of it and allow them to correctly absorb the material provided within this paper.

This paper was written and cited in APA format.

Lying: Evolution's Gift

This paper examines the concept of lying and how it relates to evolution from both an academic and personal standpoint. Throughout this paper, I discuss multiple theories and ideas in regards to lying from both an evolutionary perspective and a personal perspective. Using the works of authors and researchers such as David Livingstone Smith, Victoria Talwar, and Angela Crossman this paper explores the history of lying and why it seems to be one of the most prevalent behaviors in humans in both conscious and subconscious ways. However, as I stated earlier, I also examine this from a personal perspective. This gives the reader a bilateral view on lying from both aspects stated above. This paper’s goal is to provide the reader with an understanding of lying in both the conscious and unconscious mind in the landscape of evolutionary psychology as well as in the context of their own person.

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The Empirical and the Supernatural: Why Science’s Inability to Prove God Matters

This paper examines the relationship between the empirical (things verifiable by experiment) and the supernatural (that which relates to God or any other unearthly beings outside the natural realm) with regard to why science’s inability to prove God’s existence is in fact a great advantage to itself and atheism. Throughout this paper, I use excerpts from the works of Victor Stenger, Jerry Coyne, and William Lane Craig, among other renowned atheists, scientists, theologians, and philosophers, to further prove my point, as well as discussions on evolution and creationism. However, in order to grant the reader a proper perspective on the entire issue at hand, I discuss both sides of the issue, with the first half being the skeptic’s argument, and the latter examining the refutability of the former’s arguments with various forms of apologetics. This paper’s goal is to provide the reader with a bilateral understanding of the arguments both for and against science’s inability to prove God’s existence being anything but a hindrance to both atheism and science itself, along with insight into the incompatibility of science and religion, and the latter’s effect on science and the public.

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Privacy: Myth or Reality?

This paper examines privacy in a modern world and tries to figure out whether or not it truly exists or is just a figment of our collective imaginations. Citing sources such as military historian Matthew Aid and journalist/economist Kenneth Cukier, this paper offers a bilateral approach to the issue and tries to discern what privacy is in relation to complex issues such as "big data" and smaller ones such as social media. The idea of "big data" is disambiguated  and discussed in relation to the human genome, the Patriot Act, and data retention regarding various articles of information collected by the National Security Agency on American citizens absent of a terror threat. Most importantly, this paper seeks to educate its readers on the different kinds of privacy, how they relate to their own lives, and how to decide whether or not their lives are truly private in the sense of the word as it is commonly understood by the general populous.

This paper was written and cited in MLA format.

As Good as it Gets: An Analysis

This paper delves into the life of misanthropic obsessive-compulsive writer Melvin Udall, and explores how his condition not only affects him, but others around him, as shown in the movie As Good as It Gets. OCD stands for obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce irrational worry or fear, leading to many behaviors that are generally considered abnormal. Obsessive-compulsive disorder manifests itself in ways that can vary greatly depending on the individual case. This paper’s goal is to analyze the life of Melvin Udall and explore how his condition not only affects him, but those with whom he interacts.

This paper was written and cited in APA format.