To get a taste of the profound reflections of our graduating students crystallized in their final Master Discourse Presentations, here is a brief synopsis of each paper. Once again, bravo to our keen-minded, eloquent Grade 12’s!
Salma ’24: Unraveling Twitter’s Political Web: Navigating Propaganda and Media Literacy
In her consideration of the power of social media, Salma spoke about how regular changes to apps facilitate propaganda and shape public opinion, making misinformation harder to combat and leading to distorted emotional responses. Tracing the history of brainwashing techniques back to the Salem Witch Trials, through World War I, and into recent elections, drawing comparisons with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, and pointing to Kierkegaard’s premise of the deception and untruth inherent in herd behaviour, Salma concluded with the crucial need for well-informed, wary, media-literate citizens.
Emma ’24: The Importance of Suffering
Reflecting on the universal, ineradicable reality of personal suffering, Emma took a lively look through the lense of her favourite animé to assert that, just as we feel physical pain to protect ourselves biologically, we also need psychological pain to become mentally and spiritually stronger. Her study led us to such truths as Aristotle’s timeless exhortation: “
Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind”.
Emilia ’24: The Death of Detail and the Curse of Minimalism
In her paper on the rise of minimalist architecture in contemporary society, Emilia studied the objective aspect of beauty in design. She posited that the current homogenization of buildings prioritizes functionality over beauty, resulting in a lack of character and individuality and affecting human psychology, overall well-being, and our sense of personal connection with our surroundings.
Sabrina ’24: Philosophical Analysis of the Axiom of Choice’s Acceptance in Mathematics
Sabrina’s essay explored the axiom of choice’s foundational role in mathematics, delving into the logical, philosophical, and practical dimensions that it encompasses. She purported that it plays a critical role in laying a stronger foundation for set theory, resonates with our mathematical intuition, and leads to significant results across various areas of pure mathematics and beyond, affecting applications in society and thus underscoring its broader significance.
