Digital Commons Network^™

Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered: Reflections On Art, Fundamentalism, And Democracy, Daniel R. Denicola

Philosophy Faculty Publications

This philosophical lecture explores the tension between art and morality, beginning with the opposing viewpoints—aestheticism and moralism—that one should trump the other. As exemplary case studies, several controversial art exhibits—works that fueled the culture wars of the 1980’s are examined to identify the concerns of advocates and critics. This leads to deeper reflections on the artistic assumptions of religious fundamentalism, the role of art in a democracy, and the possibility that artistic exploration can be a form of moral action.

Book Review: The Price Of A Dream: The Story Of The Grameen Bank And The Idea That Is Helping The Poor To Change Their Lives, Rory J. Conces

Philosophy Faculty Publications

A simple logo, a red and green arrow, is commonly found on buildings in villages and cities scattered across the South Asian country of Bangladesh. The logo, as unpretentious as its creator, signifies the presence of one of the many offices of the Grameen Bank, a credit institution founded in 1976 by the charismatic economist Muhammed Yunus. The history of the Grameen Bank, and of how the bank has worked to alleviate poverty through an innovative entrepreneurial approach to development in one of the poorest nations in the world, is the subject of David Borstein's readable and often entertaining book.

The Semblance Of Ideologies And Scientific Theories And The Constitution Of Facts, Rory J. Conces

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Responding to those who want to consign ideologies to the dustbin of history, I make what is perhaps an unexpected connection between ideologies and scientific theories to ward off what may amount to be an assault on the former's cognitive value. Although there are significant differences between ideologies and scientific theories, particularly in terms of objectivity and openness to innovation, I find that they are similar insofar as each is a cognitive fund which allows us to make sense of the world that we live in. Part of the sense-making quality of scientific theories is that they allow us to …

Ethics And Sovereignty, William L. Blizek, Rory J. Conces

Philosophy Faculty Publications

In the political arena, every nation is considered to be sovereign. That is, what happens within the legitimate borders of a nation, what docs not affect other nations, is to be decided by the people of that nation or the government of' that nation and no one else. If a nation wants to centralize economic decisions, that is its business. If a nation wants a free market economy, no other nation can interfere. If a nation wants to be represented by a new form of government, it has the right to change governments. And so on.

Outside or the political …

Textuality And Imagination: The Refracted Image Of Hegelian Dialectic, Frank Schalow

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Examines textuality and imagination with reference to the refracted image of Hegelian dialectical method. Attempts to modify, improve and revamp Hegel's dialectic; Suggestions made by Hegel in his discussion of the three realms of Absolute Sprit.

Gestalt Shifts In Moral Perception, Peggy Desautels

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Moral philosophers often assume that there are clear and unambiguous single descriptions of particular moral situations, and thus they view their primary task as that of determining the most moral action to take when in these situations. But surely there is less chance of there being a single and final way to describe a given moral situation than there is of there being a single and final way to organize and describe a visual display. Although we perceive many of our day-to-day moral experiences in an unreflective and even reflexive manner, it is also possible for us to (and we …

Descartes' Meditations - Trilingual Edition, David B. Manley, Charles S. Taylor

Philosophy Faculty Publications

The publication of this English-Latin-French edition of Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy is quite simply an experiment in electronic scholarship. We decided to make this edition available and to encourage its free distribution for scholarly purposes. The idea behind the experiment is to see how others involved in electronic scholarship might put these texts to use. We have no predetermined ideas of what such use may be when transformed from this origin. The texts have no hypertext annotations except for those used for navigation. We invite others to download this edition and to create their own hypertext annotated editions and …

Deep Ecology And Natural Resource Industries: Some Lessons From A Fishing Boat, Christopher J. Preston

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Commercial fishing is one natural resource industry that has so far almost escaped the attention of the deep ecology movement. In this paper I will bring fishing into the debate. However, rather than write as a supporter of the deep ecology platform making certain recommendations about how fishermen ought to behave, I write as a part-time Alaskan fisherman who is familiar with the platform but anticipates conflicts between the platform and his trade. By reversing the usual direction of critique I hope to emphasize that the practical task of changing the way the industrialized world does business can only be …