This is the space in Rhube's Bar dedicated to the non-fiction writings of Rhube and her patrons. It is intended as a space both for accademic essays, and opinion pieces (although not inflamatory ones). If you would like your work displayed here, or you wish to respond to something in the essays below, email Rhube with your piece, and she will consider it.
	Motherhood, The Essentialism Debate, and Kinship Systems A discussion of the complex issues surrounding the essentialism debate, motherhood and psychoanalytical interpretations of how the social role of 'mothering' is generated. The subject deserves a much more in depth study then it gets here, but I hope this essay may provide a grounding of the issues, as well as a brief exposition of my own views. For a more detailed exploration I heartily recommend "The Traffic in Women" by Gale Rubin, or, indeed, any of the works cited in my bibliography. The Paradox of the Stone, and What Jenny and Adrian Failed To Do The logical puzzels of the Philosophy of Religion have always fascinated me, but none more so than that of omnipotence. This essay highlights the way that omnipotence as a concept is often poorly defined, and the extreme difficulties involved in finding a more accurate definition. Setting Identity Criteria For Events, and How Chewing Gum Did NOT Get Sebastian Across Bologna This was perhaps one of the most challenging topics I have ever looked into, but it was also one I had the least pre-judgements to overcome. When I was researching it I found it almost impossible to read any of the existing essays on the subject without a thorough knowledge of formal logic. By hook or by crook I got some of that knowledge, and have tried to avoid using such elitest gibberish in my own work without explaining what it means in real words too. I hope this makes the essay more readable, but in case you struggle with some of the words as I did, I heartily recommend dictionary.com On The Implications Of Names Being Rigid Designators, and Whether 'Hitler' Would Be Hitler If He Hadn't Been A Dictator Again, an essay on metaphysics that was very challenging to write at the time. A lot of intelligent people write about metaphysical issues like this one, but few of them have any real skill for clarity of writing. Whilst I know I'm not the most intelligent person to ever write on the topic, I hope I have at least maintained a readable writing style. And the essay itself isn't so bad - in fact, as with the preceeding essay, I got one of my best marks of my University career for it. Whilst I would recommend any of the articles listed in the bibliography to anyone who wants to investigate the topic for themselves, they aren't light reading. On Putnam's Proof That We Are Not Brains In A Vat Sceptical Hypotheses - aparently undefeatable suggestions that reality might be radically different to the way we perceive it to be - have fascinated me for years. It's very easy to get caught up in the difficulty of disproving them. So naturally, when I first read Putnam's argument I was very excited (despite its lack of general application). In the course of the module on Scepticism I did, Putnam's answer was the only one I found to be totally convincing. Its impact is, I think, limited, but I hope my essay shows that Putnam has at least taken some interesting and substantial steps in the right direction. Contextualism, and Reconciling Knowing That I Have Hands and Not Knowing That I Am Not A Brian In A Vat I initially found contextualism very appealing, and I know I'm not alone in that - in fact, many philosophers swear by it. Whilst I no longer think it is the answer, it is certainly interesting to explore just why it's appealing, and why it ultimately falls short.
		You still haven't answered my questions. This page is useless - take me back to the front page.