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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

This Strange Creature: Plato And Conversion Experiences, Joe Cimakasky, Joseph J. Romano, Kristian Sheeley Oct 2021

This Strange Creature: Plato And Conversion Experiences, Joe Cimakasky, Joseph J. Romano, Kristian Sheeley

Philosophy Graduate Research

In Plato’s corpus, the Greek word ἐξαίφνης appears precisely thirty-six times. Translated generally as “all of a sudden” or “the instant” in his Parmenides, ἐξαίφνης emerges in some of the most significant passages of Plato’s dialogues. Put simply, ἐξαίφνης connotes illumination of the highest realities and philosophical conversion experience. In addition to providing a review of Plato’s conception and use of ἐξαίφνης in Parmenides, Republic, Symposium, and the Seventh Letter, our paper brings an ancillary link to light. Namely, the appearance of ἐξαίφνης as a mark for conversion experiences in the New Testament’s Acts …


Moral Virtue As A Requisite For Illumination In The Platonic Tradition, Kristian Sheeley Oct 2021

Moral Virtue As A Requisite For Illumination In The Platonic Tradition, Kristian Sheeley

Philosophy Graduate Research

This paper traces the development of the idea that we must cultivate moral virtue in order to attain some degree of illumination regarding the nature of reality. I use the term “illumination” to cover a range of meanings intended by the philosophers I discuss, such as the “acquisition of wisdom” (Phaedo, 65a), the “sight” of divine beauty (Symposium, 210d–212b), or a mystical experience involving God or divine reality. Although this theme appears in many texts from the Platonic tradition, I focus on three major stages of its development. First, I show how Plato provides the basic …


Monetary Incentives For Producing Counterfeit, Adulterated, And Misbranded Medicine: Case Studies And Examples, Heather R. Campbell, Robert A. Lodder Jul 2021

Monetary Incentives For Producing Counterfeit, Adulterated, And Misbranded Medicine: Case Studies And Examples, Heather R. Campbell, Robert A. Lodder

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Pharmaceutical fraud can be very profitable. Those working in pharmaceuticals are in a tempting position as the nature of the product and supply is complex, making detection of fraud difficult and expensive. However, a reliable pharmaceutical supply can often be a life-or-death situation for patients. Thus, when detection of fraud occurs, a Regulator's Dilemma often emerges (recall a drug for which a supplier is the sole source, or allow a substandard product to be sold)—generally resulting in pharmaceutical companies receiving minimal penalties even for the worst acts. Despite pharmaceutical companies' unique leverage over regulators and profitability, studies are rare …


The Function Of Boundary Conditions In The Physical Sciences, Julia R. S. Bursten Apr 2021

The Function Of Boundary Conditions In The Physical Sciences, Julia R. S. Bursten

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Early philosophical accounts of explanation mistook the function of boundary conditions for that of contingent facts. I diagnose where this misunderstanding arose and establish that it persists. I disambiguate between two uses of the term “boundary conditions” and argue that boundary conditions are explanatory via their roles as components of models. Using case studies from fluid mechanics and the physics of waves, I articulate four explanatory functions for boundary conditions in physics: specifying the scope of a model, enabling stable descriptions of phenomena in a model, generating descriptions of novel phenomena, and connecting models from differing theoretical backgrounds.


What Documents Cannot Do: Revisiting Michael Polanyi And The Tacit Knowledge Dilemma, C. Sean Burns Mar 2021

What Documents Cannot Do: Revisiting Michael Polanyi And The Tacit Knowledge Dilemma, C. Sean Burns

Information Science Faculty Publications

Our culture is dominated by digital documents in ways that are easy to overlook. These documents have changed our worldviews about science and have raised our expectations of them as tools for knowledge justification. This article explores the complexities surrounding the digital document by revisiting Michael Polanyi’s theory of tacit knowledge—the idea that “we can know more than we can tell.” The theory presents to us a dilemma: if we can know more than we can tell, then this means that the communication of science via the document as a primary form of telling will always be incomplete. This dilemma …


Making Sense Of The Divinely Beautiful: Essays On Friendship, Love, And Attraction, Michelle Catlin Jan 2021

Making Sense Of The Divinely Beautiful: Essays On Friendship, Love, And Attraction, Michelle Catlin

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

Essay 1: As interpersonal communication has changed with the proliferation of technology-based forms of meeting and interacting with others, philosophers have begun considering ways in which these new types of communication have altered the landscape of our relationships. Although philosophers are split on whether online friendships can measure up to the Aristotelean standard of virtue friendship, none have questioned the importance of truth telling or accurate representation of oneself in the context of online sharing. The underlying assumption is that in a virtuous friendship, there is no role whatsoever for anything other than strict honestly. I disagree with this …


Metaphor And The Struggle Between Populism And Liberal Democracy, Daniel Cole Jan 2021

Metaphor And The Struggle Between Populism And Liberal Democracy, Daniel Cole

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

Populist movements have emerged the world over, appearing even in countries in which it had long been assumed that liberal democracy was unassailable. Scholars have been grappling with the concept of populism for decades, but as populists have won victories close to home, the research has taken on a heightened sense of urgency. Two of the common theses that have appeared in the recent literature are, (a) populism is opposed to liberal democracy, and (b) populism is linked to a democratic tradition of thought that originates with Rousseau. While I am willing to grant (a), I argue in this dissertation …


Spinoza's Methodology: A Genetic Account Of Fundamental Concepts In His Early Writings, Clay Graham Jan 2021

Spinoza's Methodology: A Genetic Account Of Fundamental Concepts In His Early Writings, Clay Graham

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

Spinoza’s magnum opus, the Ethics, is written in a very peculiar, “geometrical” style, one that builds metaphysical and ethical doctrines out of mathematical, deductive proofs. These proofs rely on a series of definitions, axioms, propositions, and demonstrations. Nowhere in the Ethics does Spinoza explain his fundamental definitions and axioms, nor does he proffer a defense of his manner of presentation. I claim that by a thorough and systematic investigation of his earliest writings we can peel back the mystery of this geometrical garb and grasp why Spinoza presents his philosophy with formal, mathematical structure. I argue for the view …


Care Working Conditions: The Ethics And Politics Of Social Reproductive Labor From Aristotle To Marxist Feminism, Andrew R. Van't Land Jan 2021

Care Working Conditions: The Ethics And Politics Of Social Reproductive Labor From Aristotle To Marxist Feminism, Andrew R. Van't Land

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

The spectre of an inescapably divided working class has haunted every generation of marxist theorists, including the latest wave of marxist feminists engaged in the research programme known as Social Reproduction Theory (SRT). In this dissertation, I will explain how Marx’s clear theoretical debt to Aristotle extends into the marxist feminist analysis of social reproductive labor and of the exploitation, class interests, and normative demands which condition such care workers. I will demonstrate how SRT can follow Marx’s own example in reading Aristotle, critically yet charitably, in order to resolve three problems. First, Aristotle’s original concept of use value (built …