Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Aristotle's Analytic Tools, Mary Mulhern

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Aristotle developed analytic tools to deal with conceptual difficulties that were important in his time. Some of these tools are his explicit analysis of homonymy, his eightfold classification of subjects and predicates and its elaboration into the predicaments and predicables, his syntactical analysis of ordinary language sentences, and his construction of a formal language for deductive and demonstrative syllogistic. Some of these conceptual difficulties are traceable to theories of Ideas, in which definitory predicates were not distinguished from non-definitory ones, as for instance in Hypothesis V of the Parmenides, where it is argued that the (non-existent) one is not equal …

Studying Mathematics For The Sake Of The Good, Andrew Payne

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

In the Republic, Socrates describes the good as the end of all human action: “Every soul pursues the good and does what it does for its sake. It divines that the good is something but it is perplexed and cannot adequately grasp what it is or acquire the sort of stable beliefs it has about other things, and so it misses the benefits, if any, that even those other things may give.” I wish to examine how humans act for the sake of the good in the sections of the Republic following this passage. Human action is oriented toward the …

The Stem Cell Debate Continues: The Buying And Selling Of Eggs For Research, Françoise Baylis, Carolyn Mcleod

Philosophy Publications

Now that stem cell scientists are clamouring for human eggs for cloning-based stem cell research, there is vigorous debate about the ethics of paying women for their eggs. Generally speaking, some claim that women should be paid a fair wage for their reproductive labour or tissues, while others argue against the further commodification of reproductive labour or tissues and worry about voluntariness among potential egg providers. Siding mainly with those who believe that women should be financially compensated for providing eggs for research, the new stem cell guidelines of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) legitimise both reimbursement …

Sagp Newsletter 2007/8.1 (December), Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Includes the SAGP Programs with the Eastern Division (December 28, 2007) in Baltimore, with the American Philological Association (January 4, 2008) in Chicago, with the Pacific Division (March 2008) in Pasadena, and with the Central Division (April 2008) in Chicago.

Putting Expectations In Order, Alan Richard Baker

Philosophy Faculty Works

In their paper, “Vexing Expectations,” Nover and Hájek (2004) present an allegedly paradoxical betting scenario which they call the Pasadena Game (PG). They argue that the silence of standard decision theory concerning the value of playing PG poses a serious problem. This paper provides a threefold response. First, I argue that the real problem is not that decision theory is “silent” concerning PG, but that it delivers multiple conflicting verdicts. Second, I offer a diagnosis of the problem based on the insight that standard decision theory is, rightly, sensitive to order. Third, I describe a new betting scenario—the Alternating St. …

Britain's Bomb: What's Next? (Book Review), Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Book review by Brian Stiltner.

Wicker, Brian and Hugh Beach, eds. Britain's Bomb: What Next? London: SCM Press, 2006.

ISBN 9780334040965

By the time this review is published, Tony Blair will no longer be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He pushed for a decision to be taken by the next general election: he wanted the UK to commit to replacing the current Trident system (a stock of 58 missiles and under 200 warheads, some of these housed on four nuclear submarines) with a new generation of nuclear weapons and submarines. The British Trident submarines are scheduled for retirement between …

Kerr, William Bugg, 1894-1993 (Sc 1317), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1317. William Bugg Kerr, a Bowling Green, Kentucky educator, businessman and farmer, records his philosophy and his reminiscences, for his family, in his paper titled "The High Road."

Donating Fresh Versus Frozen Embryos To Stem Cell Research: In Whose Interests?, Carolyn Mcleod, Françoise Baylis

Philosophy Publications

Some stem cell researchers believe that it is easier to derive human embryonic stem cells from fresh rather than frozen embryos and they have had in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinicians invite their infertility patients to donate their fresh embryos for research use. These embryos include those that are deemed 'suitable for transfer' (i.e. to the woman's uterus) and those deemed unsuitable in this regard. This paper focuses on fresh embryos deemed suitable for transfer - hereafter 'fresh embryos'- which IVF patients have good reason not to donate. We explain why donating them to research is not in the self-interests specifically …

The New Bureaucracies Of Virtue: Introduction, Marie-Andree Jacob, Annelise Riles

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Alfred North Whitehead And Yi Yulgok: Toward A Process-Confucian Spirituality In Korea, Brian G. Henning

Philosophy Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Face To Face With “It”: And Other Neglected Contexts Of Health Privacy, Anita L. Allen

All Faculty Scholarship

“Illness has recently emerged from the obscurity of medical treatises and private diaries to acquire something like celebrity status,” Professor David Morris astutely observes. Great plagues and epidemics throughout history have won notoriety as collective disasters; and the Western world has made curiosities of an occasional “Elephant Man,” “Wild Boy,” or pair of enterprising “Siamese Twins.” People now reveal their illnesses and medical procedures in conversation, at work and on the internet. This paper explores the reasons why, despite the celebrity of disease and a new openness about health problems, privacy and confidentiality are still values in medicine.

Review Of G. W. F. Hegel, Philosophy Of Mind, W. Wallace And A. V. Miller (Trans.), Michael Inwood (Introduction And Commentary), Oxford University Press, 2007, Sebastian Rand

Philosophy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review: Exploring Protestant Traditions: An Invitation To Hospitality, James A. Borland

SOR Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Are Government Laws Consistent With The Laws Of Supply And Demand, Thomas Power

Other Resources

Government laws are not always consistent with the laws of supply and demand and when enacted have unintended consequences. Three real world examples provide illustrations of policy makers implementing policies that have unintended consequences. When households and firms look at prices when deciding what to buy and sell, they unknowingly take into account the social benefits and costs of their actions. As a result, prices guide these individual decision makers to reach outcomes that maximize the welfare of society as a whole.

Against Them, Too: A Reply To Alward, Andrew Kania

Philosophy Faculty Research

In his defense of a version of what I have called “the ubiquity thesis”—the idea that every narrative fiction contains an overarching fictional narrator—Peter Alward gives a helpful reconstruction of some of my arguments against that thesis and clearly lays out a part of the theoretical terrain on which this debate takes place. However, by the end of the piece he is offering solace to both me and those I was arguing against, which is about as close as philosophers come to fightin’ words.

Zeno Of Elea: Where Space, Time, Physics, And Philosophy Converge An Everyman’S Introduction To An Unsung Hero Of Philosophy, William Turner

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Zeno of Elea, despite being among the most important of the Pre-Socratic philosophers, is frequently overlooked by philosophers and scientists alike in modern times. Zeno of Elea’s arguments on have not only been an impetus for the most important scientific and mathematical theories in human history, his arguments still serve as a basis for modern problems and theoretical speculations. This is a study of his arguments on motion, the purpose they have served in the history of science, and modern applications of Zeno of Elea’s arguments on motion.

Sagp/Ssips 2007 Abstract Collection, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

This is a collection of abstracts from the 2007 SAGP/SSIPS conference, in alphabetical order by name of author.

Writing The World: Ursula K. Le Guin And Margaret Atwood’S Literary Contributions To Ecofeminism, Melissa Messer

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Along with the philosophical writings of ecofeminism’s greatest proponents and critics, the growth of ecofeminist philosophy has relied heavily on fiction writers. The term ecofeminism was coined in 1975, and the following year ecofeminism found fertile ground for exploration and growth in March Peircy’s science fiction novel, Woman on the Edge of Time (1976). The social, academic, and literary trends leading up to the emergence of ecofeminism, however, began well before 1975. Both Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Atwood are speculative fiction authors whose work before and after 1975 examines important ecofeminist topics and contributes to the growth of …

Philosophy And Theology: Notes On Reponses To The Papal Allocution On Life-Sustaining Treatments And Vegetative State, Christopher Kaczor

Philosophy Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Cultural Imperialism [Encyclopedia Entry], Theresa Tobin

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Computing Mechanisms, Gualtiero Piccinini

Philosophy Faculty Works

This paper offers an account of what it is for a physical system to be a computing mechanism—a system that performs computations. A computing mechanism is a mechanism whose function is to generate output strings from input strings and (possibly) internal states, in accordance with a general rule that applies to all relevant strings and depends on the input strings and (possibly) internal states for its application. This account is motivated by reasons endogenous to the philosophy of computing, namely, doing justice to the practices of computer scientists and computability theorists. It is also an application of recent literature on …

Respect For Persons And The Authority Of Morality, Matt Zwolinski

Philosophy: Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

"The End Of Faith?" Science And Theology As Process, Noreen L. Herzfeld

Theology Faculty Publications

A spate of recent books would claim that science’s only role vis a vis theology is to discredit it. Sam Harris, in The End of Faith, credits religious faith as the source of much of the violence in today’s world. Richard Dawkins, in The God Delusion, views religion as, at best, a profound misunderstanding, and at worst a form of madness. Both find an antidote to such irrationality in science. To Harris and Dawkins religion is a body of accumulated knowledge. However, religion can also be thought of as a process, one based on experience, questions, and results. …

Africana Philosophy: Globalizing The Diversity Curriculum, Michael Monahan

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

A Presuppositional Critique Of Constructivism, Paul R. Rickert

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Educational theories have roots. They have roots in broader philosophies, conceptions of the nature of reality, and the theories utilized in classrooms to teach have implications for broader society. Specifically, this paper discusses the problems of constructivist theory in the classroom. The author takes a presuppostitional view and shows that all systems have most basic beliefs which are un-provable. So at the heart of any form of interpretive schema is faith in that schema. The author discusses ontological and epistemological options and how shifts in philosophy change the order of the most basic beliefs, but not the fact that they …

Simmons’ Critique Of Natural Duty Approaches To The Duty To Obey The Law, David Lefkowitz

Philosophy Faculty Publications

In his most recent book on the moral duty to obey the law, A. John Simmons considers and rejects a number of natural duty approaches to justifying political authority. Among the targets of Simmons’ criticism is the account defended by the book’s co-author, Christopher Heath Wellman. In this essay, I evaluate the force of Simmons’ objections to Wellman’s account of political obligation. As will become clear below, I think Wellman’s defense of the duty to obey the law defective in certain ways—but not in all of the ways that Simmons argues it is. By rebutting some of Simmons’ criticisms and …

Should Economics Determine Our Personal Identities?, Philosophical Discussion Group, Armstrong State University

The Philosopher's Stone

No abstract provided.

Bribes V. Bombs: A Study In Coasean Warfare, Gideon Parchomovsky, Peter Siegelman

All Faculty Scholarship

The use of bribes to co-opt an enemy’s forces can be a more effective way to wage war than the conventional use of force: Relative to bombs, bribes can save lives and resources, and preserve civic institutions. This essay evaluates the efficacy and normative desirability of selectively substituting bribes for bombs as a means of warfare. We show how inter-country disparities in wealth, differences in military strength, the organization of the bribing and recipient forces, uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, and communications technology can contribute to the efficacy of bribes. We discuss methods for enforcing bargains struck between …

Sympathy And The Non-Human: Max Scheler’S Phenomenology Of Interrelation, David Dillard-Wright

Faculty Publications

German phenomenologist and sociologist Max Scheler accorded sympathy a central role in his philosophy, arguing that sympathy enables not only ethical behaviour, but also knowledge of animate and inanimate others. Influenced by Catholicism and especially St Francis, Scheler envisioned a broad, cosmic sympathy forming the hidden basis for all human values, with the “higher” religious, artistic, philosophic and other cultural values enabled by a more basic regard for non-human nature and insights gained from the human situation within the non-human world. Sympathy for the non-human is thus both integral and fundamental to the cultivation of other values in the development …

The Ethics Of Infection Control: Philosophical Frameworks, Charles S. Bryan, Theresa J. Call, Kevin Elliott

Faculty Publications

Recent developments that are relevant to the ethics of infection control include the patient safety movement, the appearance of new diseases (notably, severe acute respiratory syndrome) that pose threats to healthcare workers, data confirming the suspicion that infection control measures such as isolation may compromise patient care, and, in philosophy, renewed interest in virtue ethics and communitarianism. We review general ethical frameworks and relevant vocabulary for infection control practitioners and hospital epidemiologists. Frameworks for the ethics of infection control resemble those of public health more than those of clinical medicine but embrace elements of both. The optimum framework, we suggest, …