









































Dianoia Philosophy Journal Issue V Spr 18 FINAL PDF NO CROP MARKS.pdf


5Issue V � Spring 2018

Spring 2018

Dear Reader, 

In your hands is Issue V of Dianoia: The Undergraduate Philosophy Journal of Boston 
College. This year, we were pleased to receive a record eighty submissions from North 
and South America, Europe, and Asia. After a lengthy review process, we selected for 
publication seven truly impressive philosophical works which present a diverse array 
of philosophical themes. Our journal begins with two papers—one on Spinoza and 
Hinduism; another on Heidegger and the Kyoto School—that consider the perennial 
dichotomy of East and West. Our next paper, the “Praxis of the Soviet Avant-Garde,” 
employs the thought of such philosophers as Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer 
to investigate the cultural and economic foundations of Soviet-era Avant-Garde art. 
From there, our authors bring us on an engaging journey, from a consideration of 
the representational fallacy and the philosophy of time, to a reflection on the work of 
Walter Benjamin and Jürgen Habermas, to a reading of the Myth of Er, and, finally, an 
explication of Martin Heidegger’s What is Called Thinking?.  

You will find, on our front and back covers, Arkady Rylov’s In the Blue Expanse. Its 
Russian artist calls to mind our paper on the "Praxis of the Soviet Avant-Garde." On 
our journal’s back cover, we overlay Rylov’s contemplative, serene masterpiece with 
the image of the Enso, a sacred image of the Zen school of Buddhism and a common 
subject of Japanese calligraphy. The synergy of these two images, on the front and 
back—alpha and omega—of our journal articulates the bridging of culture and ideas 
that serves as a great impetus for, and cornerstone of, our publication. 

Before we close, we want to express our most sincere gratitude to our journal’s friends, 
supporters, and advocates. First and foremost, we would like to thank publicly our 
editorial board—of sixteen talented undergraduates—for their keen philosophical 
and editorial insights. We are also greatly indebted to our faculty advisor, Fr. Ronald 
Tacelli, S.J., for his words of encouragement and expert advice, and to our graduate 
advisor, Myles Casey, who constantly made sure that we would have a product to 
show for our late-night hours of editing and reviewing. We thank Paula Perry of 
the Philosophy department for her constant support, advocacy, and organizational 
assistance. And, ultimately, without the generosity of Boston College’s Institute for the 
Liberal Arts, directed by Dr. Mary Crane, the Center for Centers, the Boston College 
Philosophy Department, and the Undergraduate Committee of the Philosophy 
Department, our vision for an international review of undergraduate philosophical 
work would never become the reality that it is today. 

Happy reading! 
 
Sincerely, 

Peter Klapes, Editor-in-Chief 
      
 

Tristan St. Germain, Managing Editor  Noah Valdez, Managing Editor 

A 
LE

TT
ER

 F
RO

M
 T

H
E 

ED
IT

O
RS


