Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
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Major
Spanish
Minor
Criminal Justice
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Robert Fritz; Dr. Roxane Riegler
Presentation Format
Event
Abstract/Description
Natalia Vaidyanathan García
Natalia Vaidyanathan García is a Spanish major with a Criminal Justice minor. She is originally from Valencia, Spain, and came to the U. S. to attend Murray State University. Passionate about traveling and learning other cultures, Natalia also loves literature. Here at MSU she was president of the International Student Organization during her sophomore year, a member of the National Society of leadership and success, and an international student orientation leader. During these four years, she organized several trips with international students to New Orleans, New York, D.C., Chicago, ect, to be able to travel during each break. After graduation Natalia hopes to find a job to gain more work experience before attending graduate school.
Reality of freedom when life is a dream
The question of the duality between free will and predestination has been widely debated in the philosophical, theological, and social fields. This paper focuses on the duality between free will and predestination, with special attention to 17th century Spain. According to the Catholic Church’s encyclopedia definition, and the point of view of scholars and philosophers such as Augustine of Hippo and Saint Thomas Aquinas, free will is based on the idea of the merit in one’s actions or decisions. But they also argue that God has an absolute mandate over men’s will due to His omnipotence and omniscience. In my study I explore how free will and predestination are reflected in Calderón de la Barca’s play Life is a Dream, characterized by the deprivation of prince Segismundo’s freedom by his father’s hand, King Basilio, who has locked him in a tower since birth because he is afraid of the potential fulfillment of an oracle (a higher power). Calderón de la Barca demonstrates through his play how protecting the established order is one of the most important values for a head of state to remain in power, and that the doctrine of predestination and free will serves to justify the monarchical ideological foundations. By examining the many conflicts that Spain (and Europe) was undergoing during the 17th century, such as the Protestant reformation, the Counter-Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution, and through an in-depth analysis of Calderon de la Barca’s Life is a Dream, I shed light on the importance of both concepts (free will and predestination) as means of the monarchy to justify decisions in the king’s favor. This also demonstrates how religion, politics, and ideology are intrinsically intertwined.
Faculty advisor: Dr. Robert Fritz
Reality of freedom when life is a dream
Natalia Vaidyanathan García
Natalia Vaidyanathan García is a Spanish major with a Criminal Justice minor. She is originally from Valencia, Spain, and came to the U. S. to attend Murray State University. Passionate about traveling and learning other cultures, Natalia also loves literature. Here at MSU she was president of the International Student Organization during her sophomore year, a member of the National Society of leadership and success, and an international student orientation leader. During these four years, she organized several trips with international students to New Orleans, New York, D.C., Chicago, ect, to be able to travel during each break. After graduation Natalia hopes to find a job to gain more work experience before attending graduate school.
Reality of freedom when life is a dream
The question of the duality between free will and predestination has been widely debated in the philosophical, theological, and social fields. This paper focuses on the duality between free will and predestination, with special attention to 17th century Spain. According to the Catholic Church’s encyclopedia definition, and the point of view of scholars and philosophers such as Augustine of Hippo and Saint Thomas Aquinas, free will is based on the idea of the merit in one’s actions or decisions. But they also argue that God has an absolute mandate over men’s will due to His omnipotence and omniscience. In my study I explore how free will and predestination are reflected in Calderón de la Barca’s play Life is a Dream, characterized by the deprivation of prince Segismundo’s freedom by his father’s hand, King Basilio, who has locked him in a tower since birth because he is afraid of the potential fulfillment of an oracle (a higher power). Calderón de la Barca demonstrates through his play how protecting the established order is one of the most important values for a head of state to remain in power, and that the doctrine of predestination and free will serves to justify the monarchical ideological foundations. By examining the many conflicts that Spain (and Europe) was undergoing during the 17th century, such as the Protestant reformation, the Counter-Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution, and through an in-depth analysis of Calderon de la Barca’s Life is a Dream, I shed light on the importance of both concepts (free will and predestination) as means of the monarchy to justify decisions in the king’s favor. This also demonstrates how religion, politics, and ideology are intrinsically intertwined.
Faculty advisor: Dr. Robert Fritz