The Myth Of Progress? Critical Theory And The Debate Over Progress,
2018
University of Windsor
The Myth Of Progress? Critical Theory And The Debate Over Progress, John Lundy
The Canadian Society for Study of Practical Ethics / Société Canadienne Pour L'étude De L'éthique Appliquée — SCEEA
Philosophy as a discipline has generally claimed that human beings have a capacity called practical reason that allows us to address moral-practical questions. Applied to historical change, this yields an account of progress as a process of rationalization. The 20th century has produced a long line of radical critiques of this idea of progress. My central aim is to defend contemporary critical theory’s reliance on the idea of progress as an emancipatory process of rationalization. Because she engages deeply and directly with the accounts of progress I seek to defend, my focus is on Amy Allen’s critique ...
Aboriginal Title Or Legal Personhood For Land?,
2018
Wilfred Laurier University
Aboriginal Title Or Legal Personhood For Land?, Melany Banks
The Canadian Society for Study of Practical Ethics / Société Canadienne Pour L'étude De L'éthique Appliquée — SCEEA
In 1983, British Columbia granted Carrier Lumber Ltd a license to engage in industrial logging within the territory of the Tsilhqot’in Nation. The Xeni Gwet’in First Nations government (part of Tsilhqot’in Nation) sought an injunction to halt Carrier. For the Xeni Gwent’in, the proposed logging would destroy the forest in which they lived and hunted. In order to gain the power to stop the proposed logging, the Xeni Gwet’in fought for a declaration of Aboriginal Title. After a lengthy trial, the Supreme Court granted their claim. This may sound like a story about victory for ...
Environmental Sustainability For Business Success,
2018
Ursinus College
Environmental Sustainability For Business Success, Kailyn Cohen
Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics
No abstract provided.
Ideology In Literature And Literature As Ideology: Totalitarian And Reactionary Appropriation Of Resistant Texts,
2018
Bucknell University
Ideology In Literature And Literature As Ideology: Totalitarian And Reactionary Appropriation Of Resistant Texts, Huntley Hughes
Master’s Theses
This thesis seeks to explore the means by which nominally or potentially resistant texts are appropriated into violent or exploitative political structures for propaganda and profit. In the first chapter two pre-soviet Russian novels closely associated with the radical tradition are examined, through the lens of literary analysis, in order to uncover the ways in which ideologically egalitarian revolutionary movements can degenerate into authoritarian regimes. The second chapter is concerned with a Welsh text, How Green Was My Valley, which, despite being concerned with the conditions of the Welsh mining class, utilizes the narrative form of childhood recollection to insidiously ...
Paul Piccone’S Providential Moment: Phenomenology, Subjectivity, And 20th Century Marxism In Telos,
2018
Virginia Commonwealth University
Paul Piccone’S Providential Moment: Phenomenology, Subjectivity, And 20th Century Marxism In Telos, Jacob A. Ulmschneider
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis explores the intellectual history of editor, writer, and philosopher, Paul Piccone and Telos, an independent journal of contemporary critical theory, which he founded in 1968. Born in Italy, Piccone lived most of his life in the United States, earning his Ph.D. in philosophy at SUNY-Buffalo in 1970. Piccone served as Telos’ editor and a major contributor from 1968 to 2004. This thesis follows the trajectory of his thought by contextualizing his writing within the broader world of Marxist, and eventually post-Marxist, political philosophy. Telos also concerned itself with modern interpretations of historical dialectics and early 20th ...
A Philosophical Analysis Of Otherness In Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra,
2018
Bucknell University
A Philosophical Analysis Of Otherness In Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Max W. Fathauer
Honors Theses
Bertrand Russell infamously characterizes Nietzsche as a philosopher concerned solely with the flourishing individual. Several crucial passages of Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, however, outline rich encounters Zarathustra has with the Other. In this paper, I argue that Russell’s characterization of Nietzsche is egregiously reductive. In order to demonstrate this, I offer an in-depth analysis of otherness in Thus Spoke Zarathustra by examining the many different kinds of relationships the individual can have with the Other. I then turn towards other works of Nietzsche to furnish the compelling, yet imprecise insight concerning otherness that Zarathustra gives us. Finally, I ...
Disarming “Nature” As A Weapon: A Queer Ecosemiotic Reimagining Of Futurity And Environmental Ethics Through Memoir,
2018
Bucknell University
Disarming “Nature” As A Weapon: A Queer Ecosemiotic Reimagining Of Futurity And Environmental Ethics Through Memoir, Sam Lauer
Master’s Theses
In this thesis, I posit that the need for an active, conscious, and radical queering of ecocriticism as a literary and cultural theory has arisen in light of the postmodern problematization of “nature” and the “natural,” along with the queerness of society, culture, and science. The way we understand “nature” (in life and in texts), whether of physical environments, inherent selfhood, or normalcy, begs to be appropriately informed by discourses and realities of queerness in order for both social and environmental healing to take place. I have analyzed three works of queer creative nonfiction—memoirs—to illuminate the ways in ...
Corporations And Environmental Responsibility: Considering The Moral And Financial Implications Of Oil Spills, Fracking, And Controversial Pipelines,
2018
Ursinus College
Corporations And Environmental Responsibility: Considering The Moral And Financial Implications Of Oil Spills, Fracking, And Controversial Pipelines, Sarah Becker
Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics
No abstract provided.
Thinking Like A Fox: Individual Choice And The Unique Role Of Liberal Arts Colleges In Empowering America's Future Leaders,
2018
Ursinus College
Thinking Like A Fox: Individual Choice And The Unique Role Of Liberal Arts Colleges In Empowering America's Future Leaders, Christopher Tan
Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics
The dilemma faced by Dean Kelly Smith on whether to allow Chris Williams to graduate from her college challenges the current model of higher education in the United States from an economic and normative perspective. When considering the situation that Dean Smith faces, this paper aims to demonstrate how Chris Williams should not be allowed to graduate without first passing the Senior Seminar after: (1) exploring the role of liberal arts colleges in encouraging agency among their students; (2) assessing the qualitative value of a college education in diversifying students’ knowledge base and providing students with the resources and opportunities ...
An Exploratory Study Of A Nondenominational Church And Leadership Behaviors, Principles, Strategies, And Practices,
2018
Walden University
An Exploratory Study Of A Nondenominational Church And Leadership Behaviors, Principles, Strategies, And Practices, Celeste Beatrice Palmer-Atkins
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Leadership plays a significant role in the advancement of the church, the followers, and the community that the church serves. If the church fails to train leaders, growth within the church becomes hindered, and its mission becomes aborted. The problem researched in this study is the declining support church leaders are receiving from the community. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore church leadership effectiveness in meeting the expectations of followers, the local church community, and the church. The target population consisted of 3 nondenominational church leaders located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The conceptual framework for this study was ...
Genetic Discrimination, Life Insurance, And Justice As Fairness,
2018
Carleton University
Genetic Discrimination, Life Insurance, And Justice As Fairness, Ozan Gurcan
The Canadian Society for Study of Practical Ethics / Société Canadienne Pour L'étude De L'éthique Appliquée — SCEEA
In this paper, I use justice as fairness (JAF) to inquire whether any issues of liberal justice are raised by the practice of genetic discrimination in society, in particular from the standpoint of life insurance pricing in Canada. I present three ways in which JAF may apply. First and foremost, Rawls’ negative thesis can be interpreted to say that one’s genetic characteristics are morally arbitrary and therefore persons do not deserve to be advantaged or disadvantaged by the basic structure of society based on these characteristics. Second, as James W. Nickel observes, Rawls’ principle of equal basic liberties can ...
Painful Virtue, Marginalisation, And Resistance,
2018
University of British Columbia
Painful Virtue, Marginalisation, And Resistance, Jordan Joseph Wadden
The Canadian Society for Study of Practical Ethics / Société Canadienne Pour L'étude De L'éthique Appliquée — SCEEA
This paper argues a potentially controversial thesis in virtue ethics, i.e., in situations of oppression and marginalisation, it is better to be a person of atypical virtue, one who has struggled to resist oppressive circumstances, than it is to be a traditionally defined virtuous agent. As such, those who have been through a tragic dilemma (or several) are more important for successful resistance movements than their traditionally defined counterparts. This paper does not romanticise oppressive situations or their influence on some individuals developing virtuous actions and behaviours. Instead, it acknowledges that these are tragic circumstances that permanently affect some ...
Animal Suicide: Evolutionary Continuity Or Anthropomorphism?,
2018
Centro Medico Genneruxi
Animal Suicide: Evolutionary Continuity Or Anthropomorphism?, Antonio Preti
Animal Sentience
Evolutionary processes are characterized by both continuity and discontinuity. Evidence on suicide in nonhuman animals is faint and often rests on the metaphorical or anthropomorphic use of the term. Suicidal behavior might be an evolutionary jump relatively recent in our species: a byproduct of living in groups of people who are not as closely related genetically as in social groups of nonhuman mammals.
Post-Darwin Skepticism And Run-Of-The-Mill Suicide,
2018
Western Sydney University
Post-Darwin Skepticism And Run-Of-The-Mill Suicide, John Hadley
Animal Sentience
Peña-Guzmán’s depiction of the opponent of animal suicide as a conservative is a straw man. It is possible to accept that animals are self-conscious and reflexive yet still reject the view that they have the mental wherewithal to commit run-of-the-mill suicide. That animal behaviour can be positioned on a continuum of self-destructive behaviour does not establish that animals can intentionally kill themselves.
Denialism And Muddying The Water Or Organized Skepticism And Clarity? That Is The Question,
2018
DigsFish Services
Denialism And Muddying The Water Or Organized Skepticism And Clarity? That Is The Question, Ben Diggles, Howard I. Browman
Animal Sentience
The research being commented on here has been criticized and defended in journals. Sneddon et al. (2018) add nothing substantive. We have nothing further to add. Readers are referred to Diggles (2018) and to Browman et al. (2018) for a detailed assessment.
Researchers, Not Dogs, Lack Control In An Experiment On Jealousy,
2018
Oakland University
Researchers, Not Dogs, Lack Control In An Experiment On Jealousy, Jennifer Vonk
Animal Sentience
Cook and colleagues (2018) have developed a clever method to measure fMRI in awake dogs in response to a number of interesting stimuli. As a result, they are able to determine neural correlates of observable behavior. They report that dogs may experience something akin to jealousy because they show greater amygdala activation in response to food being given to a fake dog versus food being placed in a bucket. However, several critical controls are missing which prevent the authors from being able to speak of jealousy.
Lessons From Behaviour For Brain Imaging,
2018
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Lessons From Behaviour For Brain Imaging, Carolyn J. Walsh
Animal Sentience
Integrating physiological and behavioural arousal with social context is fundamental to understanding affect in dogs. Cook et al. (2018) have made a worthy start towards illuminating the neural basis of dog affect underlying resource loss. However, their study depends on retrospective behaviour reports versus direct testing, and an interpretation of differential neural activation that is based on too few dogs. Research groups conducting canine brain-imaging work might: (1) consider collaborative approaches to augment sample sizes and replicability, and (2) take a recent lesson from dog behavioural research regarding a more cautious approach to applying functional labels to physiological and/or ...
Fish Sentience, Consciousness, And Ai,
2018
independent ethologist
Fish Sentience, Consciousness, And Ai, Ila France Porcher
Animal Sentience
The systematic criticism of articles providing evidence that fish and invertebrates can feel pain is discussed. Beliefs are known to be stronger than evidence in the human mind, and could generate this outcry, while from another perspective, the criticisms appear as a territorial move by fishermen against a perceived threat to their domain. The scientific inconsistency in which consciousness is granted to machines but not to fish and invertebrates, purely due to political bias, is pointed out. No basis exists for denying sentience to any life form as long as science is ignorant of the nature and source of consciousness.
What Would We Like To Know By Imaging The Brains Of Dogs?,
2018
California Institute of Technology
What Would We Like To Know By Imaging The Brains Of Dogs?, Ralph Adolphs
Animal Sentience
Using fMRI to study emotions in animals is important, fascinating, and fraught with methodological and conceptual problems. Cook et al. are doing it, and there is no question that they and others will be doing it better and better as time goes on. Where will this lead us? What could fMRI in principle tell us about the minds of nonhuman animals?
Pain In Fish: Evidence From Peripheral Nociceptors To Pallial Processing,
2018
East Tennessee State University
Pain In Fish: Evidence From Peripheral Nociceptors To Pallial Processing, Michael L. Woodruff
Animal Sentience
The target article by Sneddon et al. (2018) presents convincing behavioral and pharmacological evidence that ray-finned fish consciously perceive noxious stimuli as painful. One objection to this interpretation of the evidence is that the fish nervous system is not complex enough to support the conscious experience of pain. Data that contradict this objection are presented in this commentary. The neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the fish nervous system from the peripheral nerves to the pallium is able to support the sentient appreciation of pain.
