Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Writing An Existential Novel: An Environmental And Philosophical Exploration, Julia Whinston

Honors College

Halfway Through the Wood is a creative project guided by the question, does nature have intrinsic ethical, philosophical, and/or spiritual value, or do we project it there? As a subsidiary question, is our relationship with nature akin to our relationship with ourselves? The novel begins with a “man versus nature” conflict, exploring human relationships to land, then moves on to a conversation about self, which ultimately leads to an incredulous/existential discourse about interconnectedness. The novel explores the implications of experiencing grief alongside natural systems, and concludes that enmeshing oneself within a natural system is vital for discovering meaning after experiencing …

The Multidimensional Unity Of Life, Theology, Ecology, And Covid-19, Derek A. Michaud

Philosophy Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Returning To Reality: Christian Platonism For Our Times, Paul Tyson, Derek A. Michaud

Philosophy Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Kant On The Beautiful, Justin P. Amoroso

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis looks at Kant’s question about the antagonism between freedom and determinism and how he tried to reconcile them through aesthetics. I begin the thesis by sketching the influences on Kant’s aesthetics, by looking at the problem that arose after he completed his first two critiques, and by defining his three faculties. From there I examine his four moments of beauty. Next, I ask how beauty symbolizes morality. In the conclusion I submit a possible answer how beauty can resolve the antagonism between freedom and determinism. The tentative answer is as follows.

According to Kant, beauty doesn’t require us …

Illiteracy As Immanent: The (Re)Writing Of Rhetoric's Nature, Michael Kennedy

Honors College

Literacy is often thought of as a skill-set, that is, an ability to read and write in the dominant language of one’s socio-historical milieu. Illiteracy, on the other hand, is often thought of as a lack – an absence of a necessary skill-set that influences how well one can work and communicate (via reading and writing) within their dominant language and their society. In other words, illiteracy seems to have been defined by its relationship to the definition of literacy, that is, as a “negative-literacy” or a “not-literacy” that creates a lacuna of meaning when attempting to define illiteracy as …

Communicating Who Knows What In Sustainability Science: Investigating The Role Of Epistemology In Science Communication And Engagement, Brianne M. Suldovsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The complex socio-ecological problems we face today often require that researchers collaborate with individuals and organizations outside of their own disciplines and, oftentimes, outside of academia entirely. This sustainability science model encourages university researchers to engage in participatory models of engagement, where nonscientific publics and scientists working outside of academe are invited to co-produce knowledge and, through collaboration, arrive at solutions for sustainability. Despite the popularity of participatory models of engagement in sustainability science, very little research has examined sustainability science researchers’ perceptions of epistemic authority in conjunction with their engagement behavior. This kind of work is important given that …

Department Of Philosophy Colloquium Series, University Of Maine Department Of Philosophy

Cultural Affairs Distinguished Lecture Series

The Department of Philosophy Colloquium Series exposes students and other attendees to discussions of different philosophical topics and viewpoints. Two of the speakers this year will address environmental themes.

Philosophy Across The Ages, Kirsten Jacobson

Maine Policy Review

This article describes an outreach program called Philosophy Across the Ages (PAA). PAA connects a University of Maine philosophy professor and her undergraduate students with Orono High School students through exciting biweekly seminar-style discussions of philosophical texts from ancient to contemporary times.