The Altruistic Self, 2017 Abilene Christian University
The Altruistic Self, Nathan Dougherty
Dialogue & Nexus
Altruism as a purely naturalistic phenomenon self-defeats the term altogether; however, theology also makes unsubstantiated claims that some behaviors are purely selfless. I will first define various conceptual forms of altruism and then offer explanations of the term from neurological, evolutionary and psychological investigations. Despite the position that altruism can be reduced to a fantastical impossibility bearing neither the arms of science nor theology, it is also a fallacy to separate it from a religiously derived supernatural altruism that carries no implications for the realm of morality.
A New Taxonomy Of Altruism In Terms Of Prosocial Behaviors, 2017 Abilene Christian University
A New Taxonomy Of Altruism In Terms Of Prosocial Behaviors, Kristin Kaiser
Dialogue & Nexus
The definition of altruism has been studied, explained, and even confused by many scholars in various fields. The term itself has been inappropriately used to describe prosocial behaviors that do not fall within the definition of altruism. An evaluation of Grant Ramsey’s taxonomy of altruism, which includes biological altruism, psychological altruism, and helping altruism, proves that it is not adequate in categorizing organism’s behaviors. A new taxonomy, with the branches of kin selection, reciprocity, and aesthetic altruism, is presented and explained to clarify the definition of altruism and alleviate confusion about how to describe prosocial behaviors. Both naming systems are …
The Evolutionary Theodicy Problem, 2017 Abilene Christian University
The Evolutionary Theodicy Problem, Houston Schoonmaker
Dialogue & Nexus
Evolutionary theodicies attempt to explain how innocent suffering, death, and extinction seen throughout the evolutionary process of evolution can coincide with believing in a loving God. Since Darwin, scholars have questioned the importance of studying natural selection at such an intricate level. With the knowledge of natural selection, the fact that great suffering is witnessed across nature permits doubts in discussions regarding a benevolent God that created the universe. In this paper, I begin with background information about evolution, theodicy, and how they are related. I look at two major perspectives: the belief that evolution ameliorates the theodicy problem or …
Intelligent Design: Should We Teach It?, 2017 Abilene Christian University
Intelligent Design: Should We Teach It?, Sarah-Kate Oliver
Dialogue & Nexus
Belief about the origins of the universe and mankind is an important aspect of most world religions. While many ‘progressive’ Christians view the Genesis accounts of creation as mythical or allegorical, some ‘fundamentalist’ Christians claim it is a literal and historical account of the origins of life. The scientific community, on the other hand, views Darwin’s Theory of Evolution as the definitive explanation of the origin of all species on Earth including humans. As science has continued to line up behind evolution, it has been integrated into the public school curriculum. The question examined by this paper is: should the …
For Legal Principles, 2017 University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
For Legal Principles, Mitchell N. Berman
All Faculty Scholarship
Most legal thinkers believe that legal rules and legal principles are meaningfully distinguished. Many jurists may have no very precise distinction in mind, and those who do might not all agree. But it is widely believed that legal norms come in different logical types, and that one difference is reasonably well captured by a nomenclature that distinguishes “rules” from “principles.” Larry Alexander is the foremost challenger to this bit of legal-theoretic orthodoxy. In several articles, but especially in “Against Legal Principles,” an influential article co-authored with Ken Kress two decades ago, Alexander has argued that legal principles cannot exist.
In …
Introduction To The Ethics Of Clothing And Clothing Production, 2017 Kennesaw State University
Introduction To The Ethics Of Clothing And Clothing Production, Linda M. Johnston
Siegel Institute Ethics Research Scholars
Introduction to the Ethics of Clothing and Clothing Production
Providential Capitalism: Heavenly Intervention And The Atlantic’S Divine Economist, 2017 The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Providential Capitalism: Heavenly Intervention And The Atlantic’S Divine Economist, Ian F.P. Green
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Providential capitalism names the marriage of providential Christian values and market-oriented capitalist ideology in the post-revolutionary Atlantic through the mid nineteenth century. This is a process by which individuals permitted themselves to be used by a so-called “divine economist” at work in the Atlantic market economy. Backed by a slave market, capital transactions were rendered as often violent ecstatic individual and cultural experiences. Those experiences also formed the bases for national, racial, and classed identification and negotiation among the constellated communities of the Atlantic. With this in mind, writers like Benjamin Franklin, Olaudah Equiano, and Ukawsaw Gronniosaw presented market success …
Review Of "Ignorance And Moral Obligation", By Michael J. Zimmerman, 2017 Ohio Northern University
Review Of "Ignorance And Moral Obligation", By Michael J. Zimmerman, Jonathan Spelman
Philosophy and Religion Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
The Inevitability And Ubiquity Of Cycling In All Feasible Legal Regimes: A Formal Proof, 2017 University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
The Inevitability And Ubiquity Of Cycling In All Feasible Legal Regimes: A Formal Proof, Leo Katz, Alvaro Sandroni
All Faculty Scholarship
Intransitive choices, or cycling, are generally held to be the mark of irrationality. When a set of rules engenders such choices, it is usually held to be irrational and in need of reform. In this article, we prove a series of theorems, demonstrating that all feasible legal regimes are going to be rife with cycling. Our first result, the legal cycling theorem, shows that unless a legal system meets some extremely restrictive conditions, it will lead to cycling. The discussion that follows, along with our second result, the combination theorem, shows exactly why these conditions are almost impossible to meet. …
Banksy, Rhetoric, And Revolution, 2017 California State University - San Bernardino
Banksy, Rhetoric, And Revolution, Derek Tanios Imad Mkhaiel
Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations
This thesis examines the projects outlined by the Situationist philosophers and their impact on revolutionizing consciousness. Alongside of this examination this thesis demonstrates how the appropriate rhetorical means in conjunction with street art—specifically the work of Banksy—may lead to the successful implementation and execution of the Situationist's projects. This thesis examines the concept of the spectacle as developed by the Situationists as its object of critique and the concepts of culture, unitary urbanism, psychogeography, détournement and dérive as the framework in which the spectacle can be successfully critiqued in order to foster a more critical consciousness. In addition to this …
Beginner's Mind, 2017 University of New Orleans, New Orleans
Beginner's Mind, Martin L. Benson
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
My art distills my relationship to spirituality, digital culture, and the practices and side-effects therein, into a simplified visual language. The work manifests in the form of paintings, drawings, and light sculptures. Meditation and mindfulness training are a large part of my influence and interests. I often wonder how mindfulness practice can be mirrored in my artwork, not only in my process for creating the work, but also with what the resulting imagery does for the viewer. My intention is to provide an art form that invites one to look and experience one’s own capacity to observe, without the need …
Human Evolution And Divine Agency, 2017 Abilene Christian University
Human Evolution And Divine Agency, Alexandra Rakestraw
Dialogue & Nexus
Modern Christians often find themselves at a crossroads when confronted with the two predominant understandings of human and universal origins. Plain sense readings of Genesis lead many to believe in a historical six-day creation that occurred in the past ten thousand years while proponents on the other side of the spectrum use current scientific understanding to support a creation that occurs through evolutionary means. How one views human origins has a profound impact on one’s concept of how God works in the cosmos. In this paper, I will lay out a background to better understand the characters of Adam and …
Deism Revisited: A Modern Approach, 2017 Abilene Christian University
Deism Revisited: A Modern Approach, Tina Johnson
Dialogue & Nexus
An evaluation of the history of Deism and its modern counterpart, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, in light of Theistic Naturalism is done in order to place the several forms of deism into a proper context in modern society. My hoped for outcome is that perhaps we can view Deism as a progressive rather than an archaic belief system that still has a purpose in American religious culture.
Volume 3 Editorial, 2017 Abilene Christian University
A Phenomenological Approach To The Later Films Of Terrence Malick, 2017 Washington University in St. Louis
A Phenomenological Approach To The Later Films Of Terrence Malick, Timothy Keeley
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The cinematic legacy of Terrence Malick, while not settled because the director still lives and makes films, is already a turbulent one. A reclusive philosophy student, Malick’s early output accumulated admiration when Malick disappeared from cinema for twenty years. Like so many great 20th-century artists, including J.D. Salinger and Thomas Pynchon, Malick’s absence grew his legend, so his return was welcomed with anticipation and acclaim. As Malick’s output becomes more frequent, though, some are growing cold to his work, asserting that it is repetitive and pretentious, and borders on self-parody. Still others charge that Malick was only regarded as a …
Adopting A Third Gender In The United States, 2017 Cleveland State University
Adopting A Third Gender In The United States, Anna K. Self
The Downtown Review
The United States should consider adopting a third gender in order accommodate all of its citizens comfortably. The concept of a third gender has existed in past societies such as the Inuit and the Yoruba, but has not been accepted in Western societal structures. By examining how the third gender was integrated into other societies, the United States will be able to learn how to properly adapt the idea for modern times including deciding which aspects are important for modern use. The United States must also consider how to classify its intersexed individuals, as they do not fit within either …
Material Poetics, 2017 James Madison University
Material Poetics, Ellen G. Reid
Masters Theses, 2010-2019
quench: /kwen(t)SH/
a : put out, extinguish
b : to put out the light or fire
c : to cool suddenly by immersion
d : to cause to lose heat or warmth
e : to bring to an end typically by satisfying, damping, cooling, or
decreasing
f : to relieve or satisfy with liquid
This is often how projects begin, a haunting idea, word, or experience inundates my consciousness and sub-consciousness. How could the body directly relate to an experience of quenching? This provoked the idea of the extreme sport: freediving. To adequately depict the definition of quenching, any …
On Craft, 2017 Kennesaw State University
On Craft, William Lentjes
Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year
Craft is a relationship - a dialogue - between craftsman, tool, and material. Craft begins with the intent of all of these loci, and all of these loci are rooted in Being.
Being is known through the consciousness, awareness, and perception of a subject. Being is the inherent existence and totality of "what is."
Being crafts us; Craft imbues Being.
This thesis re-examines the pedagogical approach of an architectural education. The focus is placed on craft through presuppositionless phenomenology.
In an age of endless mechanized production and spiritless materialism, the practice of craft can teach us to return to the …
The Beauty Of Understanding: Aesthetic Methods Of Theory Evaluation, 2017 University of Tennessee, Knoxville
The Beauty Of Understanding: Aesthetic Methods Of Theory Evaluation, Devon Craig Bryson
Doctoral Dissertations
Philosophers use a variety of methods to evaluate theories, theories that are sources of greater understanding. My dissertation argues that judgments of beauty are a justified part of how we evaluate theories. That is, I argue that beauty is part of what makes a philosophical theory better. I reach this conclusion by analyzing two powerful and popular methods of theory evaluation: reflective equilibrium and simplicity. The literatures on both reflective equilibrium and simplicity clarify how these methods work and why they are justified methods of theory evaluation. But I argue that the going accounts of reflective equilibrium and simplicity have …
The Problem Of Luck And Free Will : How Counterfactuals Can Help., 2017 University of Louisville
The Problem Of Luck And Free Will : How Counterfactuals Can Help., Zach Smith
College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses
For free will theorists, the problem of luck has been a constant source of consternation. Peter van Inwagen presents a version immune to even agent-causal conceptions of free will. However, van Inwagen’s version of the problem can be avoided if there are true propositions taking the form of counterfactuals of creaturely freedom. There are good reasons to think that there are, and no comparably good reasons to think that there are not. This defense is also resistant to common attacks based on foreknowledge and the grounding of the truth of these counterfactuals.