Jackson, Alexis

Senior, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Majors: Philosophy, German Studies

Minor: Bioethics and Society

Thesis Director: Sean Kirkland, Department of Philosophy

Faculty Reader: Anna Souchuk, Department of Modern Languages

Bio: Lexi Jackson is a graduating senior at DePaul studying Philosophy and German Studies, with a minor in Bioethics and Society. In her thesis, she attempts to bring some of these interests together, using some of Schnitzler’s work to stage a conversation around illness and the good life. Outside of her coursework, she works at the Tutoring & Language Learning Center and the University Center for Writing-Based Learning here at DePaul.

Abstract: In the penultimate act of Schnitzler’s Anatol, the protagonist’s rejection of “strength” posits a singular good (here, health) with many deviations from it (illness). This paper considers the ability of existing philosophical tools to account for such a claim, focused on disparate approaches by Aristotle and Nietzsche in considering this problem. Whereas Aristotle suggests a singular orientation in pursuit of the good Nietzsche demands a radical “revaluation of values”. Though neither account alone appears to address the claim by Anatol fully, by considering these arguments alongside each other and contemporary work, Alexis works to create a fuller view of it.