Spring 2021
To the Reader, 

Welcome to Issue VIII of Dianoia: The Undergraduate Philosophy Journal of Boston 
College! We hope that you have kept safe throughout the course of our fight against 
COVID-19, and it is our pleasure and pride to present yet another installment of our 
journal. We were humbled to receive over two-hundred submissions from ninety-
nine different undergraduate institutions around the world, and have published what 
we believe, after countless hours of reading, discussion, and editing, are the six best 
and most thought-provoking essays. The subject-matter of these works range from: 
normative education to Plutatch’s Lives; subjectivity in Kierkegaard to illusions and 
qualia; and virtue ethics to Seyla Benhabib’s work on discourse. Thus, Dianoia’s 
reputation as a diverse community of thinkers, committed to interinstitutional 
exchange, remains. Alongside these essays you will also find an interview with 
Professor Gregory Fried, who was kind enough to sit down with us last fall for a 
discussion over his book, Because It Is Wrong: Torture, Privacy, and Presidential Power 
in the Age of Terror.

This year, the managing board chose Henry Bacon’s Twilight in the Desert (1907) 
and Alexander Yakovlev’s In the desert of Afghanistan (1931) as the journal’s front 
and back covers, respectively. The union of these two pieces—from Bacon’s isolation 
to Yakovlev’s horizon of community—is a fitting image for our gradual return to 
a pre-COVID-19 lifestyle, and we enthusiastically look forward to holding future 
publication symposia in-person, to meetings on campus, and to seeing journal friends 
again, both old and new. 

In publishing the fruit of this year’s labor, I would be remiss if I did not thank 
the journal’s various patrons, advisors, and advocates for their support. With your 
generous aid and freely-given expertise, Dianoia has flourished over the course of 
its decade-long existence, and today boasts a premier spot amongst undergraduate 
philosophy journals. To my senior managing editor, Nicholas Arozarena, and to my 
managing editors, Brock Daylor, Melissa Mao, and Maxwell Vogliano, you all have 
been nothing short of spectacular, and I am grateful for both your time and talents 
in crafting this year’s issue. To our graduate advisor, Peter Klapes, your judgment and 
sagacious input have guided the journal more times than I can count; without your 
efforts, Dianoia would be nowhere close to the institutional endeavor that it is today. 
The Philosophy Department—in particular, Dermot Moran, Paula Perry, and Sarah 
Smith—deserves our heartfelt thanks for their assistance and hospitality; furthermore, 
we would also like to thank Gregory Fried both for his openness to an interview 
and for his insightful responses to our questions. To the Institute for the Liberal 
Arts, we treasure your continued financial and legal support, and thank you for the 
opportunity, once again, to print the culmination of this year’s review. To Arabella 
Adams, our graphic designer, we are in awe of your artistry and digital adroitness, 
and greatly appreciate your patience in turning six essays into a fully-fledged journal. 
Lastly, I would like to thank our general editorial board for their incisiveness, their 
philosophical acumen, and their persistence in creating this year’s issue. All of my 
gratitude goes out to you; the managing board and I are truly in your debt. 
 

5Issue VIII ◆ Spring 2021

A
 L

E
T

T
E

R
 F

R
O

M
 T

H
E

 E
D

IT
O

R



6

Dianoia: The Undergraduate Philosophy Journal of Boston College

As a senior, I will be leaving Dianoia after four years of service. My time on the journal has 
been the highlight of my undergraduate career, and to any future Editor-in-Chiefs, I hope 
that you find this publication’s work as fulfilling as I have. To our readers, our submitters, 
and all of our supporters not mentioned here, we wish you all the best and eagerly await 
your thoughts on our issue. Keep safe, stay in touch, and happy reading!
 
Sincerely,

Noah Valdez, Editor-in-Chief