Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Purpose, Praxis, And Future Of Academia: Fichtean Approaches To Education, Eri Svenson

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

Following the publication of Schulze’s “Aenesidemus”, which detailed a skeptical critique of transcendental idealism, philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte found himself undergoing an “intellectual revolution”. Having agreed with many of Schulze’s arguments, he concluded that to preserve the spirit of Kantianism he would have to establish a foundationally reworked conceptualization of it. Fichte emerged from this process with a framework grounded upon the innovative claim that we should regard that there is nothing for us beyond our own consciousness, which creates both ourselves, and the world that we experience. Furthermore, because we create our own experiences, it is possible for us …

The Euthyphro Dilemma And Utilitarianism, Mark Taylor

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

In this paper I reexamine the Euthyphro dilemma to determine the principles underlying its critique of divine command theory. From this analysis, I claim that the Euthyphro dilemma can be fruitfully applied to other systems of ethics. As an example, I examine the Utility Principle which undergirds Utilitarianism. I argue that the Utility Principle is metaethically insufficient as the basis for our moral duties because it is good neither necessarily nor independently. The result is that Utilitarianism must be rejected as the definition of morality, though we may retain it as one of the good’s criteria.

Knowledge Is Knowing Frankenstein Isn’T The Monster, Wisdom Is Knowing Frankenstein Is The Monster: An Exploration On Mankind And Monstrosity, Alexandra Melnick

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

Humans construct their identity by constantly measuring themselves against and creating themselves around culturally ingrained systems of rules governing the social, the political, and perceptions of the physical. I call a system of rules a “syntax.” When a syntactical system is broken, a monster is born. Our monsters are the litmus and definition of our selves. Using Michel Foucault’s Abnormal lectures to inform my theory of the self as “syntax,” I posit that it is essential to understand the monster in order to exert social change and it is essential to understand what a monster is in order to understand …

Neutrality’S Much Needed Place In Dewey’S Two-Part Criterion For Democratic Education, Taylor Wisneski

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

This paper examines methods provided by both John Dewey and Amy Gutmann. Dewey’s method involves categorizing experiences and values amongst individuals. Gutmann’s method involves neutrality through equality of information and presentations. My question revolves around how to create a fairer democratic education system that allows individuals to critically analyze every-­‐day information. My analysis and conclusion combine the two methods to form a better method and solution. The solution is that values and experiences need to be learned through unbiased neutrality in order for individuals to form unbiased social groups that make up society. This implies that some of our current …

Folk Psychological Predictive Methods And Inductive Reasoning, Rachel Mccarthy

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

That we project the past onto our predictions of the future is a commonly accepted means of behavior prediction within folk psychology and everyday life. It is also a proposed method of behavior prediction given by Kristin Andrews in her piece, Do Apes Read Minds? By way of John Stuart Mill’s consideration of the dilemmas that arise from induction, supplementary pieces on induction and inference, and cognitive psychology as it pertains to memory perception, I will address:

1. Prediction from the past as it pertains to folk psychology, inductive reasoning and cognitive psychology.
2. Mill’s approach to David Hume’s problem …

On Sense Perception And Theory Of Recollection In Phaedo, Minji Jang

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

This paper addresses two challenges to the Theory of Recollection in Phaedo. First, it raises the concern of comparative perception, which claims that a newborn infant must possess the ability to comparatively perceive the object in order for the process of recollection to work, and proposes a limited solution for the concern. Second, it examines the compatibility between the two seemingly contradictory claims concerning the role of sense perception in acquiring true knowledge in Phaedo, in which Socrates claims both that we can never acquire true knowledge by relying on our physical senses, and that the only …

On The Logic Of Evolution And The Vanity Of Scientism, Thomas E. Elliott

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

The cultural debate about Creationism contra evolution by natural selection may be far from over, but the logic underlying it is settled. Creationism is ill-suited to take the place of methodological naturalism for the investigation of biology. In this paper, I survey how philosopher Elliott Sober uses some well-formed concepts from statistics and epistemology, including the nature of evidence, data, as well as the contemporary theory of evolution by natural selection to destroy Creationism as a viable theory once and for all. Creationism is a demonstrable logical fallacy, one that has no support biblically, or in science, but is a …

Fortunately, We May Not Have Time, Alexis Liston

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

Our perceptions and beliefs about reality do not always reflect the true nature of reality. Conceptions of time are one example of this. Many of us intuitively feel that time is its own distinct and external entity that somehow drives life forward. It may be natural to feel time in this way, as we experience regular cycles and seasons as we age, but we must make a conscious effort to recognize that this feeling is only a perspective of reality and not necessarily reality itself. So, are hours or years inherently real and do they pass by as we perceive? …

Knowledge, Language, And Nonexistent Entities, Alex Hoffman

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

In this paper, I apply the necessary conditions for knowledge to three different theories within the philosophy of language and argue that only one of the three stands up to a problem of knowledge involving nonexistent entities. I begin by briefly covering three commonly held necessary conditions for knowledge of which I focus mostly on the condition that a proposition must be true in order to know it. Then I consider theories of language given by Russell, Strawson, and Salmon. To each theory, I test whether the theory can make sense of a person knowing a proposition such as “Sherlock …

America's Schools: Separate And Unequal, Christine Dickason

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

This paper explores how various philosophers contribute to the discussion of the racial integration of public schools. I assert that racial integration is a moral necessity, and the government should create policy to ensure the successful integration of our public schools. To support this claim, I will first expand upon the context of the issue. I will then address libertarians, who would counter my thesis with a focus on the freedom of individuals. I will use utilitarian ideas to demonstrate that racially diverse public schools maximize the good in society; however, utilitarianism fails to explain what I believe is the …

Defending Downward Causation Only To Bring It Back Down, Michael Pratt

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

The so-called bottom-up threat to free will assumes a bottom-up metaphysics: the view that atoms (or whatever the most basic and fundamental element of material substances is) at the microphysical level dictate the behavior and ontology of material substances at higher macrophysical levels of composition. More specifically, bottom-up metaphysics maintain that all macrophysical states of affairs supervene on their constituent microphysical properties, such that any macrophysical change requires a change at the microphysical level. This metaphysical picture implies that human persons—and consequently, human actions—supervene on what their constituent atoms do or are like. In Objects and Persons, Trenton Merricks argues …

The Claims Of States To Cultural Property, Zac Robbins

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

This paper will question whether States have a right to the antiquities unearthed within their borders. The property claims to these antiquities fall into two categories: (1) claims based on cultural identity and (2) a claim based on territory as found in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention. This paper argues that the cultural identity argument States make is usually inapplicable to cultural property and that territory based claims fail to provide good stewards and leave a puzzle as to what counts for the cultural heritage of states.

The Ethical Character From Plato To James: Strict And Stable To Flexible, Erga Lemish

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

In this paper I examine the historical direction taken in ethics in relation to one’s personality and character, from a stable and static view to one that incorporates movement and flexibility. I begin by examining Plato and Aristotle’s understandings of character, using such concepts as Virtue and the Good as abstract and static ideals towards which development should lead. I then briefly examine Augustine, Kant, and Mill’s theories of what defines an ethical character, showing that the strict view was applied to varied and even opposing views of the ethical. Finally, I examine three very different views, those of Kierkegaard, …

Queerness Without Binary, Jeffrey Davis

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

Under the tentative definition Maren Behrensen offers in “Born that Way? The Metaphysics of Queer Liberation,” “queer” refers to acts, practices, and identifications that stand in opposition to the prevailing ideology of sex dichotomy, gender dichotomy, and the primacy of heterosexuality. In this article, I will be arguing that this definition risks reifying these respective structures as necessary to the existence of queer identity. If “queer” is only defined by its relation to gender dichotomy, sex dichotomy, and the primacy of heterosexuality, then the term is dependent on the existence of these structures in order to make sense. I maintain …

A Neglected Argument In “The Will To Believe", Alexander M. Lawson

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

In “The Will to Believe,” William James develops two distinct arguments for the legitimacy of holding a belief on what he calls unintellectual grounds. The first of these arguments (which I call the ‘indeterminacy argument’) attempts to distinguish between intellectual and unintellectual grounds as objective epistemological categories. The second argument (which I call the ‘subjective argument’) abandons that attempt and instead distinguishes between public and private, and subjectively intellectual and unintellectual reasons. Although these arguments differ, and both are present in “The Will to Believe,” the indeterminacy argument has received far more critical attention than the subjective argument. This disparity …

Existential Phenomenology's Role In Understanding Minority Cynicism In The American Legal System, Layla Garcia-Brown

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

This paper will discuss the cynicism many people of color have toward the American legal system by using the intersections between existential philosophy, Africana philosophy, black existentialism and phenomenology. This paper will explore the cynicism and lack of trust held by many American minorities toward the American legal and judicial systems primarily through the lenses of philosophy, but additionally, the disciplines of: psychology, political science, criminology and sociology will also be discussed as they are vital and unavoidable disciplines to the discussion. Therefore, the methodology of this paper is intersectionality, meaning that all of the above systems as well as …

Best-Fit Bioethics: The Formation Of Ethical And Political Positions On Stem Cell Research, Emily Zehnder

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Few issues in bioethics inspire controversy and garner headlines like human embryonic stem cell research. This cutting-edge research can be at once confusing, exciting, and disturbing. Scientists eagerly tout the potentially life-saving therapies this research could produce, giving hope to the millions who suffer from debilitating diseases and to their loved ones. However, to obtain these longed-for miracles of modern science, human embryos must be destroyed. And many people object to this aspect of the research. Despite being sympathetic to those who suffer, these people do not believe that any benefits merit the large-scale destruction of what they consider to …