Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Tractatus As An Ethical Deed: Seeing And Feeling The World "Sub Specie Aeternitatis, Sam Matthew Von Mizener

Doctoral Dissertations

The Tractatus Logico Philosophicus is primarily the expression of a transcendental perspective with respect to language and the world - "viewing the world sub specie aeterni" (6.45) - that has an aesthetic-ethical aspect to it - "feeling the world" sub specie aeterni (6.54). Interpreting the Tractatus in this way enables me to explain, in a way that no other interpretation of his early work has (1) why Wittgenstein regarded the Tractatus as an "ethical deed" or as having an "ethical point"; (2) how his 'propositions' about the connection between language and the world are nonsense but at the same …

Virtues And Dying: Patient Virtues And Good Deaths, William Paul Kabasenche

Doctoral Dissertations

I argue that for most patients a good death involves more than contemporary medicine can or should be expected to provide and that virtues can secure goods not provided by medicine. Currently, medical care at the end of life focuses on addressing pain and suffering, supporting independent functioning and autonomy, providing aggressive care near death when desired, and preserving overall quality of life, among other aims. When bioethicists have discussed a good death, they have argued primarily for the provision of such services and for respect of patients’ autonomy. However, I argue that such circumstances are not sufficient by themselves …

The Tension And Coherence Of Love, Identification, And Detachment In Gandhi’S Thought, Sanjay Lal

Doctoral Dissertations

Mahatma Gandhi intended for the concepts of universal love and identification with all living beings to be seen as compatible with the traditional Hindu ideal of detachment (sannyasi). This is problematic given that love and identification entail very real degrees of psychological attachment.

After showing the significance my project has for the attempt to implement Gandhian principles in everyday, social, and political life, I give an overview of Gandhian thought in my first chapter. This overview demonstrates the plausibility of Gandhi’s ideas to philosophical Western readers. Then, in chapter 2, I explore the basis Gandhi saw for conjointly advocating love, …