The Binding Of Abraham: Inverting The Akedah In Fail-Safe And Wargames,
2015
University of Cambridge
The Binding Of Abraham: Inverting The Akedah In Fail-Safe And Wargames, Hunter B. Dukes
Journal of Religion & Film
This article draws upon Søren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling and Jacques Derrida's The Gift of Death to trace how two exemplars of atomic bomb cinema reinterpret the Binding of Isaac (Akedah). Released during the twin peaks of Cold War tension, Fail-Safe (1964) and WarGames (1983) invert the Akedah of Genesis 22. In both films, an act of sacrificial patricide accompanies or replaces the sacrifice of an Isaac-like son. When viewed in the context of Cold War cultural politics—events such as Norman Morrison’s Abrahamic self-immolation and Kent State’s rejection of George Segal’s sacrificial memorial— the inverted Akedah emerges as …
Knowledge, Virtue, And Onto-Theology: A Kierkegaardian (Self-)Critique,
2015
Hope College
Knowledge, Virtue, And Onto-Theology: A Kierkegaardian (Self-)Critique, Jack E. Mulder Jr.
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
A Formalization Of Topical Logic,
2015
Touro College
A Formalization Of Topical Logic, Aharon Grenadir
School for Lifelong Education Publications
The author discusses the history of topical logic.
Einstein: His Space And Times,
2015
Gettysburg College
Einstein: His Space And Times, Steven Gimbel
Gettysburg College Faculty Books
The commonly held view of Albert Einstein is of an eccentric genius for whom the pursuit of science was everything. But in actuality, the brilliant innovator whose Theory of Relativity forever reshaped our understanding of time was a man of his times, always politically engaged and driven by strong moral principles. An avowed pacifist, Einstein’s mistrust of authority and outspoken social and scientific views earned him death threats from Nazi sympathizers in the years preceding World War II. To him, science provided not only a means for understanding the behavior of the universe, but a foundation for considering the deeper …
What Fanon Said: A Philosophical Introduction To His Life And Thought,
2015
University of Connecticut, Storrs
What Fanon Said: A Philosophical Introduction To His Life And Thought, Lewis R. Gordon, Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun, Drucilla Cornell
Philosophy & Theory
Challenging the notion of theory as white and experience as black, Lewis Gordon here offers a philosophical portrait of the thought and life of the Martinican-turned-Algerian revolutionary psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon as an example of “living thought” against the legacies of colonialism and racism, and thereby shows the continued relevance and importance of his ideas.
Prudence And Executive Control: An Analysis Of The Decision-Making Processes Of The Christian And The Modern Man,
2015
Providence College
Prudence And Executive Control: An Analysis Of The Decision-Making Processes Of The Christian And The Modern Man, Ryan Frazier
Spring 2015, Faith and Science
Scientific research and Christian philosophy often appear to be at odds. These different perspectives sometimes offer different answers to the same question. In the light of these perspectives, however, we can gain a greater understanding of the human experience. Executive control, or how a person decides to do something, is unable to account for the greater question of why. St. Thomas Aquinas¹ explanation of prudence provides reasonable evidence in favor of this perspective. In order to understand the Christian intellectual virtue of prudence, a mastery of the classical, Thomistic account is required. Despite the gaps between science and religious thought, …
“In Pursuit Of Purified Persuasions”: Making (Some) Sense Of The Modern Mind,
2015
Providence College
“In Pursuit Of Purified Persuasions”: Making (Some) Sense Of The Modern Mind, John Emmet Clarke
Spring 2015, Faith and Science
What is more essential to the philosophical act, what we study or how we study? Taking its cue from a line by Thomas Aquinas on the corruptibility of the natural law, this essay seeks to make some sense of the ways in which our way of knowing and, consequently, of being, is affected by the sins of our philosophical forefathers. The essay advises against putting faith in any particular school of thought, be it the pensee d'jour or philosophia perennis, since our ability to comprehend and converse in their varying tenets is compromised by the very state of the post-modern …
The Algorithmic Self,
2015
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
The Ethiopian Student Movement: A Rejoinder To Bahru Zewde’S The Quest For Socialist Utopia,
2015
University of Dayton
The Ethiopian Student Movement: A Rejoinder To Bahru Zewde’S The Quest For Socialist Utopia, Messay Kebede
Philosophy Faculty Publications
My intention is not to defend the right of philosophers to theorize on social movements and changes; nor is it to defend the value of my work against Bahru’s attacks. Rather, I want to show that his criticisms of my book are either contradictory or express an inability to analyze from a level surpassing mere narration. In thus exposing the theoretical poverty of Bahru’s book, as well as the inconsistency of his project of shielding the student movement from criticism, I will explicate how and why Bahru intentionally misreads my book. I add that what Bahru calls “dismissive” is actually …
Review: 'Gendered Readings Of Change',
2015
University of Dayton
Review: 'Gendered Readings Of Change', Marilyn Fischer
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Clara Fischer casts a wide net in seeking a conception of change with which to understand feminist transformation of both self and social institutions. She explores metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, and political theories of change in developing a feminist-pragmatist approach. Writing clearly and carefully, Fischer employs her knowledge of relevant primary and secondary texts deftly. She has a particularly admirable ability to appreciate what various philosophers have to offer while honestly appraising and seeking remedies for weaknesses in their theories.
The Stakes Of Spinoza’S Language: A Moderate Necessitarian Understanding Of 'Ethics' And Spinoza’S Conception Of Freedom As Both Positive And Negative Liberty,
2015
Gettysburg College
The Stakes Of Spinoza’S Language: A Moderate Necessitarian Understanding Of 'Ethics' And Spinoza’S Conception Of Freedom As Both Positive And Negative Liberty, Jeffrey J. Horvath
Student Publications
This paper explores different readings of Spinoza's "Ethics" with a specific focus on Spinoza's understanding of the relationship between infinite and finite modes in his constructed universe. These different readings suggest that Spinoza's conception of human freedom can be read both as examples of positive liberty and negative liberty.
Using Neuroscience To Create A Paradigm Shift In Addiction Treatment And Theory,
2015
George Washington University
Using Neuroscience To Create A Paradigm Shift In Addiction Treatment And Theory, Tabitha E.H. Moses
Student Works
Drug abuse has long fascinated philosophers and scientists. Many different models have attempted to elucidate the mechanism behind drug addiction and analyze whether an addict has a choice in his behavior. The problem with these models is that they seem to suggest only two ways of viewing addiction. These models suggest either that a person cannot control his addiction and is therefore deserving of treatment, or that suggest a person can control their addictions and is not deserving of treatment, and instead needs threats of punishment to stop their behavior. I believe these approaches are too simplistic and do not …
Facilitating An Ethical Disposition (Hexis) As “Care Of The Soul” In A Unique Ontological Vision Of Socratic Education,
2015
College of DuPage
Facilitating An Ethical Disposition (Hexis) As “Care Of The Soul” In A Unique Ontological Vision Of Socratic Education, James M. Magrini
Philosophy Scholarship
This essay adopts a Continental philosophical approach to reading Plato’s Socrates in terms of a “third way” that cuts a middle path between doctrinal and esoteric readings of the dialogues. It presents a portrait of Socratic education that is at odds with contemporary views in education and curriculum that view Plato’s Socrates as either the teacher of a truth-finding method or proto-fascist authoritarian. It argues that the crucial issue of attempting to foster an ethical disposition (hexis) is a unique form of education, in terms of “care of the soul,” that unfolds only within the context of sustained dialectic interrogation. …
Foucault, Kant, Deleuze, And The Problem Of Political Agency,
2015
Purdue University
Foucault, Kant, Deleuze, And The Problem Of Political Agency, Christopher S. Penfield
Open Access Dissertations
Political agency concerns the transformation of the conditions of social organization through collective action. In order to treat the set of necessary conditions for such agency, I develop a detailed reconstruction of Michel Foucault's political philosophy, placed in relation to the work of Immanuel Kant and Gilles Deleuze. I argue that the key to Foucault's political thought is contained in two crucial but neglected concepts, verticality andtransversality, and that the systematic exposition of these concepts yields an account of what must obtain for political agency to be possible, realizable, and sustainable.
It's All Uphill From Here: Finding The Concept Of Joy In Existential Philosophy And Literature,
2015
Purdue University
It's All Uphill From Here: Finding The Concept Of Joy In Existential Philosophy And Literature, Richard F. Hamm Iii
Open Access Dissertations
Current readings of existentialism are overly negative. It is not without reason that existentialism has a reputation of pessimism preceding it, to the point that the uninitiated cannot help but picture beatnik poets chain-smoking by the first syllable of the name "Sartre." Existentialism, while a movement over one hundred and fifty years old, is often characterized in the light of the media popularity it was given in the decade following the Second World War--although much of the spirit of what is supposedly existentialism came more as a response to the First. The Great War brought with it devastation across Europe …
Extended Scaffolding: A More General Theory Of Scaffolded Cognition,
2015
Purdue University
Extended Scaffolding: A More General Theory Of Scaffolded Cognition, Zachary R. Murphy
Open Access Theses
New and emerging technologies called neuroprostheses are challenging our ideas about where one's mind ends and the environment begins. Cochlear implants, which completely replace the functioning of the inner ear, are now a common treatment for deafness. Berger et al. developed a device that replaces long-term memory in rats (2012), while Hampson et al. created a brain-machine interface that converts a desire to move one's arm into the motor neuron impulses required to achieve that movement (2013)--both offering promising treatments for dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and paralysis. Deep brain stimulation is now a common way of regulating neural activity to manage …
Just Desert,
2015
Pepperdine University
Just Desert, Onur Sahin
Featured Research
In this paper I examine the relevance of moral desert with regards to compatibilist accounts of moral responsibility. I look at two types of moral desert: (1) desert with relation to an agent and a moral community and (2) desert with relation to the moral worth of an agent or action. I begin by discussing Pereboom’s four cases and the problem that might arise for compatibilists given which view of moral desert they affirm. From there I explicate these two opposing conceptions of desert relevant to moral responsibility. I look at one example of the latter kind of desert: desert-as-merit. …
A Necessity Of Morals,
2015
Pepperdine University
A Necessity Of Morals, Austin Mcelrath
Featured Research
John Martin Fischer has stated that his initial motivation for his work The Metaphysics of Free Will was “to defend moral culpability from the threats of causal determinism and divine omniscience” while also asserting semi-compatibilism. Taking that a step further, the goal for my own work is to defend our need for moral culpability from a metaphysical standpoint. In this essay I will argue that ultimately there are only two possibilities when it comes to a moral-metaphysical framework, only one of which involves human culpability: either human existence has intrinsic meaning and worth, therefore giving weight to our moral decision …
The Curse Of Fortune; Responding To Luck Objections In An Uncooperative World,
2015
Pepperdine University
The Curse Of Fortune; Responding To Luck Objections In An Uncooperative World, Kyle Morgan
Featured Research
The consensus scientific view holds that our world is indeterministic at the micro level, but practically deterministic at all other levels. In an indeterministic world, live alternative possibilities at the moment of decision render it impossible for agents to guarantee what they will choose; regardless of their personality and deliberative processes. Critics of indeterminist free will argue that this lack of a necessary connection between mental state and choice makes the ultimate decision fundamentally a matter of luck. As such, indeterminism opens free will up to potential problems of present luck. Additionally, large-scale determinism opens up free will to a …
A Framework Of Responsibility And Absolution,
2015
Pepperdine University
A Framework Of Responsibility And Absolution, Tobin Wilson
Featured Research
Suppose we have a choice between A and B, and that both options are morally reprehensible. If we were forced or tricked into making a decision, would we still be responsible? The answer is usually quite easy to find, but the question of why we are responsible seems much harder to discern. In any discussion about moral responsibility, is seems there needs to be a system of necessary and sufficient conditions. However such requirements tend to exist in a hazy philosophical space, so it is not surprising that we often confuse them. Thus, my paper will attempt to create …
