Wrapping up AP Research

Content Overview

Through this research project, I learned the intricacies of desire as portrayed in Murakami's novels spanning three decades. One of the most fascinating parts included delving into the Stanford Philosophical Encyclopedia and its article on desire and breaking down each desire. The philosophical exploration section of this project inspired me to continue my journey in philosophy in college. Additionally, these desires in Haruki Murakami’s novels provided me with experience in reading for information and analysis. The ability to read provided a fun and entertaining component of an otherwise time-constrained and stressed project. The data depicted an Action-based theory of desire in the majority at 54.3%, reaffirming my initial hypothesis. The other 45.7% of desires were theories other than Action-based, which shows the nuances of desire in literature. I learned that not only over time but in total, action-based seems to be the most applicable theory in both literature and reality. I learned that the exploration of philosophy in literature not only enriched my understanding of desires portrayal in Murakami's works but also contributed to the broader discourse on desire in contemporary literature. It opened my understanding of the limits of philosophy and its existence in every aspect of life, including literature. By exploring desire within the framework of magical realism, I learned how to illuminate how characters navigate and act upon their desires, offering a nuanced perspective on human behavior.

This Image show the final data visualization for my project, showing that Action-based theory of Desire was the most prominent throughout all 10 of Haruki Murakami's bools.

Product

The final presentation provided an opportunity to learn how to condense information, a crucial asset for further presentations because researchers aim to educate viewers. Without overloading as much information on our project as possible, we learn how to provide information for the audience, not for ourselves. The oral defense provided similar skills in addition to the quick thinking needed to answer the questions in a concise and relevant manner. This efficient verbalization became crucial in the oral presentation and the research paper. The main learning curve included how to write the information and data collection while avoiding confusing terminology or syntax. Overall, a learning experience from both the presentation and the paper included the successful maneuvering of communicating information for comprehension.

Process

I learned that not only do I possess a passion for philosophy but a passion for reading. Although the process was stressful and much more than I anticipated, combining two of my passions allowed me to discover more of the future that I want to pursue. One of the biggest lessons I learned included looking for essential information. When bombarded with information, the necessary information gets lost. As I became more acclimated to the reading process, I successfully distinguished important texts from unimportant ones by using context clues and patterns which allowed for an efficient reading process. This provided a useful tool in the plethora of reading I will undoubtedly experience in my future Philosophy classes.

Acknowledgments/Future Goals

Two of the most crucial people who contributed to this project included my amazing teachers Mrs.Dobos and Mr.Mcbride. I truly appreciate all the support you extended throughout the research process, from the time when I struggled to finalize my research question to the time you gave outside of class to refine my presentation and paper. I cannot thank you enough for making this both a successful and exhilarating experience. Your classroom environment truly made this my favorite class. 

I couldn't have succeeded to the extent I desired without the aid of my Dad. He motivated me and provided me with the tools needed to perform a confident and clear presentation. I am eternally grateful for the tips and tricks he never fails to give me to ensure my success. Thank you so much, Appa!

My Mom stuck with me through the thick and thin of this research project. When there came times all I was doing was reading she would never fail to offer help with the other parts of my life to relieve some of the stress. I couldn't have finished the reading if she hadn't gone out of her way to help me despite her busy schedule. Thank you, Amma!

My friends played a substantial role in making the classroom environment entertaining but they motivated me to strive to complete my best work in this class. Meeting outside of school to practice presentations or working on calls to complete our blog posts, being together made me a more confident researcher and a happier person.

The next steps after graduation include pursuing a degree in Philosophy in CU Boulder while continuing my extracurriculars of art, music, and Boxing. Hopefully I will continue my application of AP research either through my classes or participation in research in college. I hope to pursue a degree in law following my undergrad degree in Philosophy. Thank you so much to those who have guided me through this amazing journey, I hope to carry the expriences I have gained in the exceptional class throughout my future endeavors.

The Research is Coming To a Conclusion!

3 Minute Presentation — Tvisha Hariharan

Context: 

Nature v Nurture is a well known genetic and psychological topic, describing the see-saw between how nature impacts us versus nurture. From the impact of nurture, our values, beliefs, personality, and who we are as a person are shaped by our eternal factors, like literature. Literature is a large apparatus for learning. What we read and what we are exposed to change the way we perceive certain subjects. That is why literature provides an unparalleled measurement for societal values. In this research project, the goal is to draw a line, a connection, between the literature's landscape to the uncharted course of human desires. “Understanding desires requires at least two things: first, to have a theory of desire itself, and second, to have some familiarity with the varieties of desires that there are. Once acquired, an understanding of desire can illuminate a number of controversies surrounding desire.” - Tim Schroeder. Thorough understanding the types of theories of desire and applying them to literary, it gives us an understanding of how frequently we see desire in a certain light, through one theory or another.

Gap:

The philosophy of Desire has been an extremely desolate topic in terms of researchers interest, making the gap of this project quite wide. The extent of observations of desire are limited to ‘real life’ situations and observation as seen with Schroders research on the variations of desire. Thus this research provides a new perspective, how theories of desire are depicted in literature. To narrow this scope to allow for ample time to research I have limited my research to theory observation through literary analysis for 10 books by Haruki Murakami. By understanding how desire is depicted in literature, or in this case Mrakami’s books, we get insight into how we perceive desire, how literature impacts our perception of desire. 

Process: 

My methodology overall has remained consistent as my main objective is to observe which theories of desire remain most prominent throughout the novels though a process of literary analysis based on Stanford’s philosophical encyclopedia. Surprisingly enough, research has gone smoothly because Haruki’s book focuses on desires and the human impulses, allowing me multiple well defined desires through the book. However there have been a few changes, for example, my initial reading schedule changed multiple times because of the substantial reading I had committed myself to. 

Progress in data collection: 

At this point I have finished reading all 10 books and coded for each desire. However, now I have to go back into a chart and log the page number and the reasoning in order to back up why I chose to code something as, for example, action or pleasure. Once I finish login each notation and the reasoning behind it I will need to log my data into a stacked bar graph to visualize the most prominent theories throughout the book 

Roadblocks: 

I haven't faced any major roadblocks besides time. Reading 10 books and annotating them in such a small window was strenuous, but keeping a positive mind, enjoying the reading, and keeping a steady schedule provided me the perfect motivation to successfully complete data collection.

Results:

As of now I have not visualized anything because I am still in the process of going through each book and double checking the coding and the reasoning behind it in order to verify my data, however I have perceived certain trends as I finished data collection. 

The sentiment in the philosophical community regarding desire is that action based and pleasure based are the most applicable theories to everyday life. This theory was constant throughout my books, however, as I continued to endeavor through Muraksami’s literature, I came across a surprising trend of less well known theories such as attention and good base. Overall, it seems that Murakami's  literature expresses desire in a similar structure to philosophical principles in addition to also including several other theories through his writing. 

Discussion: 

My research question is: How does Haruki Murakami depict Desire Based on Stanford's Philosophical Theories Regarding Desire? The hypothesized results are most likely going to be action based and pleasure/attention based in the top 2 categories when visualization is finished. At that point, the data will provide a potential base unit to draw a connection between Stanfords well rounded philosophy of desire to literature. However, I do understand there are limitations, the biggest being my own bias. In literary analysis and my coding process I have tried my very best to limit external influences through randomization of books, extending data visualization till after collection, etc. However, there is still the coding process which may contain some bias as I am making a conclusion based on a set of definitions and examples provided by Stanford’s philosophical encyclopedia. Unfortunately, I have not been able to limit this potential roadblock, however, I hope in future studies, a larger group would be able to discuss the decisions made for each coded phrase. In the conclusion of this project, the results will present a possible answer to a depiction of desire in Murakami's books, allowing viewers to understand a small projection of how literature shapes our own views on desire through a structure given by a reputable philosophical department at Stanford. 

Conclusion: 

Do we act on our desires or do we desire something because it occupies our every thought? Or do we desire something because it is in our very nature? These questions drive for a future of literary analysis and its connection to philosophy. My hope is that this research provides a base for a wider scope of research in understanding literature's perception and its effect on our perception. This research will allow a coding process that is designed to observe what writers imply desire as, and how characters that we share our lives with deal with human impulses and desires. This structure will hopefully expand research in the connections between desire depicted in literature versus real life. Understanding what is written about desire allows us to understand how we preserve desire. That is why we should care, to understand why we are driven.

A Philosophical Odyssey through Murakami's Magical Realism

"South of the Border, West of the Sun" by Haruki Murakami entered my life during my freshman year of high school, leaving a lasting impression as a magical, descriptive, and transformative read. However, as time passed, the details faded from memory, only to resurface in my senior year, presenting the perfect opportunity to re-engage with Murakami's enchanting literature.

Initially drawn to incorporating elements of philosophy or psychology into my research project, I explored philosophical literature and theories. A chance moment involving a quiz question about my favorite book—Murakami's work—led to a surprising revelation. Murakami's writing, with its specific themes, particularly the exploration of human desires, became the focal point of my research on the philosophy of desire.

Having defined the broad scope of my project, the next challenge was establishing the methodology. Given the limited application of desire theories to literature, I turned to the established practice of applying other philosophical principles to novels. Thus, my primary methodology revolves around previous approaches of integrating philosophy into literature.

With a structured methodology in place, I sought to define the purpose of my project. Applying the theory of desire, I aimed to gain insights into relevant types of desire theories, particularly magical realism that could be applied to our lives. Additionally, I aimed to explore whether these theories of desire might evolve over time. By examining a specific case study of an author, Murakami, known for his primary genre of magical realism and frequent exploration of desire, my research could be extended to other works. After identifying these elements of connections between desires and Murakami's works, methodology, and significance, I was able to gain approval to pursue this literature driven project.

This study seeks to understand how magical realism literature promotes the confrontation of desire, offering insights into how fictional novels influence our perception of desire within the rich tapestry of storytelling.