PROGRAM OF STUDY Amy Gordon
Graduate Studies
I would like to pursue graduate studies in philosophy both for my own interest and to be able to help others to understand themselves and `to live well.` Philosophy exercises and increases the human capacity to think independently and objectively; it also provides perspective and judgment in practical affairs. Philosophy aids in the universal task of discovering what it means to be human in the midst of many complex relationships with others and with the world. It is the responsibility of philosophy to take in the multiplicity of information which experience and the specialized sciences offer to human understanding, to critically analyze it, and to unify it to apply it to the questions of human existence.

Degree Program
I will pursue an MA in philosophy at Dominican University College in Ottawa, Ontario beginning September 2007. The main focuses of research at DUC are based in the following fields: history of philosophy, theory of the history of philosophy, metaphysics, theory of values and philosophical anthropology. The requirements of the master’s program include four research seminars and a master’s thesis, undertaken with the direction of a supervisor. The thesis may be accepted, conditionally accepted, or rejected by a committee of examiners. Following the successful acceptance of a written thesis, an oral defense is scheduled with three members of the faculty. The thesis consists of a scholarly study of one hundred pages and may be analytical, exegetical, or expository in nature.

Research Proposal: Question
My research question will be to conduct a philosophical analysis of sorrow. I intend to incorporate elements from Thomas Aquinas, Rene Descartes, Benedict de Spinoza, Adam Smith, and Martha Nussbaum, who have treated of sorrow or similar concepts in their respective works. In drawing on these five authors, I will structure a positive discourse on sorrow, i.e., look at sorrow from the aspect of a rational consciousness or reflexivity of the subject, and as presupposing an already desiring or appetitive subject. I will then look at how this understanding of sorrow applies in the practical considerations of ethics.

Context
Sorrow is a fundamental and recurring problem of human existence. Sorrow, in the broad sense which I propose, can be defined as a subject’s consciousness of an enemy or threat to its existence or well-being, together with the subject’s consciousness of its own lack of power to overcome the inimical “reality”. I will distinguish suffering or pain from sorrow as not necessarily involving the aspect of rational cognition or reflexivity. Sorrow can include suffering, but its object is much more universal. Sorrow can be caused by the affliction of past or anticipated evils; it can consider the evils that afflict others as well as the subject. It includes anxiety, fear, regret, grief, guilt, animosity, jealousy, anger. In fact, in its universal aspect, it is the principle of every negative emotion.
Sorrow is thus a very relevant philosophical problem. However, the problem of sorrow in itself is rarely analyzed from a purely philosophical perspective. The more particular problem of suffering, on the other hand, preoccupies philosophy and many other fields. Most often,
Amy Gordon
endeavors to explain or understand suffering have always focused on particular extrinsic aspects of suffering, such as its causes and effects, remedies, solutions, or on specific forms of suffering such as anxiety and grief. Most frequently they have been concerned with providing some kind of extrinsic meaning to suffering.
Philosophers have focused on suffering from ancient times, such as the Stoic school, which aimed at overcoming or enduring sorrow, to the existentialists, who were concerned with sorrow as related to authenticity and meaning, and who also addressed particular forms of sorrow such as anxiety and despair. More contemporary philosophers have emphasized a radical individuality of suffering, such as Wittgenstein and certain post-modern philosophers.
Melancholia and depression (melancholia’s modern day counterpart) have also attracted much serious research. The ancient Greeks were interested in melancholy as a chronic condition, viewing melancholia as a physiological ‘temperament’. Post-Renaissance thought focused more on the psychological aspect of melancholy as a source of creativity and an exceptional capacity for rational speculation. Today, following the tradition of the ancient Greeks, melancholy is treated as a physiological condition by science. There are limitations to this approach, however, as can be seen in cases where medical remedies are insufficient for relieving some depressions, or in problems such as continued dependency on drugs. These difficulties point towards the necessity of other means, such as counseling or psychological therapy.

Objectives
It is unfortunate that the problem of sorrow has not been adequately addressed by philosophy because sorrow is the fundamental reality underlying these forms of mental or psychological suffering. It is appropriate for philosophy to conduct a serious investigation of sorrow. If philosophy achieves a universal and positive discourse on sorrow, it could prove to the great advantage of the practical sciences which aim at relieving excessive or unusual sorrow, such as psychiatry, psychotherapy, philosophical therapy, and related fields. A systematic treatment of the concept of sorrow could theoretically help us to understand the prevalent modern problem of depression. A thorough philosophical investigation of sorrow would certainly bring relevant results to the endeavors of psychiatry, aesthetics, sociology, politics, and especially to ethics.

Methodology and Contribution
For my research project, I will use a historical methodology, i.e., a study of the history of the ideas of suffering, passions, and emotions from the thought of the ancient Greeks to the contributions of contemporary philosophy and science, in order to be able to refer to a broad background of philosophical and scientific discussion in the course of my thesis. However, for the thesis project itself, as mentioned above, I will be focusing primarily on five texts as sources. My methodology will closely follow the treatment of these five authors on sorrow. I will also combine various features of their researches in an attempt to unite common elements as well as to draw out new or unique perspectives which these authors propose.
A serious treatment of the question of sorrow is long overdue and especially timely today. By beginning this inquiry into sorrow from a purely philosophical perspective, I hope to inspire efforts and to provide a direction for further research into this important subject.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Amy Gordon
Books
Aquinas, Thomas, Summa Theologiae (vol. I of III), Benziger Brothers, New York, 1947
Aristotle, Rhetoric, Poetics (Basic Works of Aristotle) Random House, New York, 1941, 1487 p.
Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Oxford University Press, New York, 1991, 352 p.
Burton, Robert, The Anatomy of Melancholy, NYRB, NewYork, 2001, 547 p.
Descartes, René, Passions of the Soul, Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, 1989, 165 p.
Dixon, Thomas From Passions to Emotions: The Creation of a Secular Psychological Category, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003, 300 p.
Freud, Sigmund, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Bantam Books, New York, 1954, 121 p.
Nussbaum, Martha, The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics, Princeton University Press, Princeton,1994, 576 p.
Nussbaum, Martha, Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2001, 766 p.
Sartre, Jean-Paul, Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions, Routledge Classics, London, 2002, 80 p
Schopenhauer, Arthur(and T. Bailey Saunders) Suffering, Suicide and Immortality: Eight Essays from The Parerga, Dover Publications, 2006, 112 p.
Sihvola, Juha & Troels Engberg-Pedersen (eds), The Emotions in Hellenistic Philosophy, Springer, New York, 2003, 400 p.
Smith, Adam, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Liberty Classics, Indianapolis, 1982, 412 p.
Spinoza, Benedict, Ethics, Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, 1991, 296 p.
Taylor, Charles, Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1989, 601 p.
Articles
Jollimore, Troy, ``Meaningless Happiness and Meaningful Suffering``, Southern Journal of Philosophy, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 333-347, Fall 2004
Woolfolk, Robert L, ``The Power of Negative Thinking: Truth, Melancholia, and the Tragic Sense of Life``, Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, vol.22, no.1, pp.19-27, Spring 2002