Philosophy Commons^™

“I Said, You Are Gods”: Pastoral Motives Manifest In Patristic Citations Of Psalm 82:6, Charles Schulz

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The early church fathers frequently cited Ps. 82:6 (LXX 81:6), “I said, You are gods and all sons of the Most High,” a passage Jesus himself quoted (John 10:34) to defend his own title as the Son of God. Scholars agree that the patristic use of verse underwrote the developing doctrine of deification, which promised that Christians would become “gods” in some sense by bearing God’s image and likeness and participating in Christ and his saving work. In order to deepen and focus our understanding of the significance and role of this passage for patristic theology—and particularly for pastoral practice—this …

Concerning Mostly Nonacademic Aspects Of My July 2006 Visit To Salzburg, Austria For The 6th International Whitehead Conference At Salzburg University, Theodore Walker

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

Here are travel notes concerning mostly nonacademic aspects of my July 2006 visit to Salzburg, Austria for the 6th International Whitehead Conference at Salzburg University. These travel notes supplement the book Whiteheadian Ethics: Abstracts and Papers from the Ethics Section of the Philosophy Group at the 6th International Whitehead Conference at the University of Salzburg, July 2006 (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008) edited by Theodore Walker Jr. and Mihály Toth.

A Theodical Invitation, Joseph Carson

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

While analytic philosophy has led the charge in answering the problem of evil (i.e., POE), postmodern theology and movements like radical orthodoxy incite a response to POE from a postmodern perspective. With skepticism toward purely metaphysical answers to evil, this essay relies on the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and James K.A. Smith in order to offer a social, ecclesial, and non-rational response to the POE; furthermore, continental philosophy, postmodern theology, and social theory play a significant role in this paper. Supporting the conclusion that the Church is a heuristic, embodied answer to the POE, three contentions form the backbone of …

Business Ethics As A Form Of Practical Reasoning: What Philosophers Can Learn From Patagonia, Mark Ryan

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

As with other fields of applied ethics, philosophers engaged in business ethics struggle to carry out substantive philosophical reflection in a way that mirrors the practical reasoning that goes on within business management itself. One manifestation of the philosopher’s struggle is the field’s division into approaches that emphasize moral philosophy and those grounded in the methods of social science. I claim here that the task, at least for those with philosophical training, is to avoid unintentionally widening the gap between philosophical theory and those engaged in business management by emphasizing the centrality of practical wisdom (phronesis) to the moral life. …

German Non-Classical Philosophical Concepts Of Religion And Islamic Culture, Asliddin Sultonov

The Light of Islam

A number of works are being carried out on the formation of high spirituality, ensuring freedom of conscience, and applying the principle of religious tolerance in Uzbekistan. The study and promotion of the rich religious and philosophical heritage created by our great ancestors, as well as the works of the world philosophy of religion, have become widespread. Teaching students the basics of religious studies, the history of world religions, and the philosophy of world religions is an important factor in forming a scientifc worldview in society and fostering a spirit of respect for religious feelings. In the speech of the …

Moral Continuity Is A Social-Philosophical, Historical Phenomenon, Matlyuba Qaxxarova, Mavluda Raximshikova

The Light of Islam

The purpose of the article is to study specifc aspects of the pattern of continuity, its place and role in the formation of moral values and social development, as well as to determine the importance of the continuity of moral values in the life of modern society based on spiritual and moral heritage. The issues of social development and continuity, dialectical and synergetic development according to inheritance law are covered. One of the main types of inheritance is the inheritance of moral values; on the basis of the spiritual and moral heritage, its essence, patterns of development and signifcance in …

National Education System In The Educational Ideas Of Jadidism, Yulduz Namazova

The Light of Islam

The philosophy of education, which was formed in Turkestan in the late 19th - early 20 th centuries, is interpreted as an area of research that analyzes the national pedagogical activity and educational foundations of these modern educators, its goals and ideals, the methodology of pedagogical knowledge, methods of creating a new Russian school system. Thus, it can be said with confidence that the philosophy of education, as an area that has a socio-institutional form during this period, reflected the goals and objectives of the educational program of the Jadids. We know that during the formation of the Jadid Enlightenment, …

Mahmudkhuja Behbudiy As A Leader Of Jadid Reforms, Muminjon Xujaev

The Light of Islam

We are witnessing that the ideas of our Jadids, who tried to raise Turkestan through enlightenment to the level of world civilization at the beginning of the 20th century, and who showed modern education as a solution to the problems of that period, have not lost their signifcance today. In this sense, the study of the works of the famous orientalist Mahmudkhodja Behbudi based on new scientifc criteria plays an important role in the study of issues of interethnic communication, peaceful coexistence, education, culture, and religious tolerance. M. Behbudi in the late 19th and early 20th centuries began a systematic …

ポスト汎神論から超物質主義へ―鈴木大拙と新仏教―, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

In modern Western thought, pantheism remains a powerful if controversial undercurrent. Recent re-evaluations of the work of Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) point to pantheism’s radical implications for metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and politics. Pantheism (Jp. hanshinron 汎神論) also has significant valence within Japanese Buddhist modernism, particularly in the work of scholars and lay activists who articulated the outlines of a New Buddhism (shin bukkyō 新仏教) from the 1880s through the 1940s. For these thinkers, pantheism provided a “middle way” between materialism and idealism, as well as between theism and atheism. In the postwar period, lapsed radical turned Buddhist Sano Manabu …

Skeptical Buddhism As Provenance And Project, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

The past century and a half has seen various attempts in both Asia and the West to reform or re-conceptualize Buddhism by adding a simple, often provocative, qualifier. This paper examines some of the links between “secular,” “critical,” “sceptical,” and “radical” Buddhism in order to ascertain possibilities in thinking Buddhism anew as a 21st-century “project” with philosophical, ethical, and political resonance. In particular, I am motivated by the question of whether “sceptical” Buddhism can coexist with Buddhist praxis, conceived as an engaged response to the suffering of sentient beings in a globalized and neoliberal industrial capitalist world order. Let …

Digital Occult Library, Alexis Brandkamp

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project is a website, titled Digital Occult Library, hosted by the CUNY Commons and built with WordPress. The site address is:

digitaloccultlibrary.commons.gc.cuny.edu

It features (in this iteration) twenty-five unique pages with information on and discussion of occult and esoteric topics. It also hosts a forum that can be accessed and utilized by anyone, not just those registered on the Commons. The purpose of the site is to inform three types of interested parties on the highlighted topics: a general audience with no current knowledge of the occult, practitioners of esoteric traditions, and academics. Not only is the …

The Influence Of Thomas Aquinas’ Concept Of Createdness On Josef Pieper’S Moral Philosophy, Sarah Slater

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Josef Pieper’s practical moral philosophy can be best understood by reference to the theology of Thomas Aquinas, and specifically Aquinas’ concept of the created human person. Pieper uses Aquinas’ theological anthropology to argue for three actions which respond to the reality of being created: giving assent to having been brought into existence by God, perceiving God and created reality, and pursuing of the end of human life through the practice of the virtues in order to receive beatitude. Pieper’s well-known works on the seven virtues, on leisure, and on festivity rely on the same concepts from Aquinas which Pieper examines …

Do Muslims And Christians Worship The Same God: A Philosophical Approach, Zachary W. Casey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I probe the question of whether Muslims and Christians worship the same God primarily through the discipline of philosophy of language. Though a multifaceted question at its core (e.g., theological, historical), the question directly ties into how language operates in relation to God. That is, the ways in which Muslims and Christians make predications of God have a significant role in delineating whether they worship the same God. By working from the perspective of predication, I argue that Muslims and Christians refer to but do not worship the same God. In this sense, Muslims and Christians refer …

Interiority, Traslación, And The Devotion To The Black Nazarene, Mark Joesph T. Calano

Philosophy Department Faculty Publications

The play in the performance of panatà to the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, demonstrates an authentic religiosity that is manifested in materiality, and a modernity that is indigenous. The paper operates within the framework of a panatà (devotion) as: (1) a personal (even inherited) secret vow; (2) that is performed publicly; and (3) is directed towards touching and being touched by God. The first part discusses the dynamics of how petition and thanksgiving are interior movements that reflect útang-na-loób (debt of gratitude) as dasál (prayer). But this movement, although essentially personal and secret, can only be expressed in the …

Capitalism And Biblical Ethics, Sarah D. Stewart

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

There has been a growing trend in some expressions of Christianity to view Capitalism as fundamentally incompatible with the Christian faith. This article looked to a variety of sources to argue that Christianity and Capitalism are not fundamentally incompatible. Rather, Capitalism developed alongside developments in Christian theology during the Middle Ages. This traditional form of Capitalism is defined and argued for in this article. The article attempts to demonstrate that the elements that allow Capitalism to thrive are compatible with Christian ethics. The case is made by first examining the historical development of Capitalism and its relationship to Christianity. From …

De Libero Conscientia: Martin Luther’S Rediscovery Of Liberty Of Conscience And Its Synthesis Of The Ancients And The Influence Of The Moderns, Bessie S. Blackburn

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

One fateful day on March 26, 1521, a lowly Augustinian monk was cited to appear before the Diet of Worms.[1] His habit trailed behind him as he braced for the questioning. He was firm, yet troubled. He boldly proclaimed: “If I am not convinced by proofs from Scripture, or clear theological reasons, I remain convinced by the passages which I have quoted from Scripture, and my conscience is held captive by the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract, for it is neither prudent nor right to go against one’s conscience. So help me God, …

Humanism In The Americas, Carol W. White

Faculty Contributions to Books

This chapter provides an overview of select trends, ideas, themes, and figures associated with humanism in the Americas, which comprises a diversified set of peoples, cultural traditions, religious orientations, and socio-economic groups. In acknowledging this rich tapestry of human life, the chapter emphasizes the impressive variety of developments in philosophy, the natural sciences, literature, religion, art, social science, and political thought that have contributed to the development of humanism in the Americas. The chapter also features modern usages of humanism that originated in the English-speaking world in the nineteenth century. In this context, humanism is best viewed as a contested …

The Strategy Of The Object Conditions And Sub-Factors In The Development Of Civil Society In Uzbekistan, Mirsulton Kadirov

The Light of Islam

The article analyzes the factors of free civil society, restoration of the secular state in Uzbekistan. To date, the principles, legal foundations of the state and civil society of legal democracy, which are being restored in our country, have been developed and studied in support of our people. Local and foreign non-governmental, non-profit organizations and other institutions of civil society operating in our country today are shown in the discrete manner of trying to conduct business in accordance with new needs and requirements.

The article also draws conclusions about the fact that the impact of non-profit organizations and other institutions …

Contrasting Two Ideas Of The Human Person, Social Constructionism And Realism, By Their Similarities In Idolatry And Iconography, Mary Daher

Aristos

This essay will seek to contrast two ideas of human person, social constructionism and realism, through assessing similarities found in their aesthetic notions of idolatry and iconography, respectively.

The essay will explore Michel Foucault’s social constructionism and Aristotle’s realism; in particular, how their ontological conclusion stems from their epistemological framework. The essay will consider what is meant by iconography and idolatry, relying on Jean-Luc Marion’s God Without Being[1] to show how idolatry mirrors social constructionism and how iconography mirrors realism, evincing the contrast between them.

In Defence Of Moral Realism: Examining Harry J. Gensler’S Critique Of Cultural Relativism And Subjectivism, Anja Yousif

Aristos

This paper will explore the nature of morality by providing a critique of cultural relativism and subjectivism and then arguing that moral realism provides a more coherent account of the nature of morality.

The claim that moral realism provides a more coherent account of the nature of morality than cultural relativism or subjectivism is based on the arguments from moral progress, moral disagreement and moral semantics; and moral experience.

The Taste And Perfume Of The Virgin: Mary And The Nuptial Meaning Of Eucharistic Sacramentality, Noel Custodio

Aristos

If we are to understand the Eucharist as the Body of Christ, it is necessary to explore how Mary’s own body participates in the Eucharistic mystery. Such a discussion was prominent during the Middle Ages, but today there is very little attention given to the relationship between Mary and the the Eucharist.

This paper will explore this subject through the lens of a theology of the sacramental principle. By examining recent papal documents as well as John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, this paper will argue that Mary is the perfect fulfilment of the sacramental principle. The sacramental principle …

Why Is Love Considered The Greatest Of The Theological Virtues?, Harry Mcclifty

Aristos

This paper will, after providing a succinct yet necessary definition of Christian caritas, offer three reasons for why love is considered to be the greatest of the theological virtues. First, upon attainment of eternal beatitude in heaven, caritas is not abandoned like faith and hope, but finds it fulfillment. Secondly, caritas is the only theological virtue which is chiefly concerned with the salvation of one’s neighbour. And thirdly, caritas enables man to live out the commandments of God in their fullness, thereby beginning the process of his divinization.

Kuhn The Contextualist?, Iñaki Xavier Larrauri Pertierra

Aristos

According to Kuhn’s account of the nature of scientific paradigms, how one experiences the world varies drastically from one context to another depending on the accepted paradigm of the context in question. In other words, one’s pre-existing conceptual structure concerning the world not only acts as an epistemological framework for its possible understanding, but also fundamentally affects the phenomenological observations of the world as something; this latter function of the conceptual structure motivates the view that mature scientific paradigms/theories and the data of scientific observation/experimentation are essentially two sides of the same coin.

What is interesting, then, is that even …

Divine Impassibility: A Comparison Of Weinandy's And Culpepper's Perspectives On Whether God Suffers, Elizabeth Flynn

Aristos

From being generally regarded as a philosophical and theological impossibility, since the late nineteenth century the idea that God suffers has become popular and attractive among a vast array of Christian theologians. Due to this shift, many theologians no longer see the need to argue for it and divine passibility has even been called the ‘new orthodoxy.’ The matter has not yet been laid to rest and is made more complex because the terms ‘suffering’ and ‘impassibility’ are used with a variety of connotations.

At the heart of the debate is the desire to assert God’s personalised love for all …

An Examination Of The Significance Of The Trinitarian Theology Of St. Augustine, Zolt Salontai

Aristos

Despite the noble efforts of modern Christian theologians in attempting to revive popular level interest in the classical Christian doctrine of the Trinity, there has been within the everyday praxis of the individual Christian a discernible neglect and ignorance of this cardinal doctrine. However, with the 20^th century advent of Freudian and Jungian psychology, a new opportunity has arisen for a Trinitarian revival in the popular consciousness of the faithful.

Due to an increasing level of interest in the notion of understanding the conscious and unconscious cognitive processes that govern the human psyche, there arose an indubitable opportunity for …

Two Prosōpa, One Prosōpon; The Christology Of Nestorius Of Constantinople, Danijel Uremovic

Aristos

This paper will outline the controversy of Nestorius versus Cyril concerning the enumeration of persons in the Incarnate Christ. Key terms of the debate will be identified with the aim of establishing their meaning according to Nestorius. It will then be argued that Nestorius of the Bazaar remained committed to the basic tenets of orthodox Christianity as his commitment to true and complete natures (fully God, fully man), a single unified subject (a single Person in Christ), and a mutual use of attributes formed the basis of his Christology, even if their theological reconciliation came short of a complete and …

Applying Deontology To Determine What Ought To Be Done, Thalia Raymond

Aristos

This paper will broadly outline the theory of deontology with a specific focus on how the categorical imperative can be applied in moral decision making.

The theory will then be applied to an issue to determine what course of action is consistent with the theory.

Two strengths and two weaknesses that can be found in the literature will be considered and how the theory of deontology can be applied in a future teaching career to make ethical decisions will be discussed.

Pluralism As A Social Practice: A Pragmatist Approach To Engaging Diversity In Public Life, Mary Leah Friedline

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation lays a theoretical framework for rethinking the ways in which political and moral philosophers conceive pluralism and diversity in public life. I argue that many philosophers who write on the topic do not have a sophisticated understanding of religion, are not sufficiently attentive to historically produced power differentials, and/or do not adequately recognize the intersectional dimensions of diversity. Building on Jeffrey Stout’s notion of democracy as a social practice, and supplemented with Cornel West’s understanding of democratic faith, I use my more complex account of diversity to argue that pluralism is best approached as a social practice, instead …

Living With Tiny Aliens: The Image Of God For The Anthropocene [Table Of Contents], Adam Pryor

Religion

Astrobiology is changing how we understand meaningful human existence. As astrobiologically aware human beings, we must confront our deepened anxiety arising in the face of our own contingency—realizing how deeply tethered we are to the moments this pale blue dot exists in the universe. At the same time, our astrobiological awareness is opening a horizon to the exciting possibility of understanding our humanity in relation not only to a planet burgeoning with life, but a cosmos pregnant with living-possibilities.

Touching upon both these issues, this work provides an approach to astrobiological humanities: helping figure expressive modes by which human beings …

An Actor's Process In Bridging The Gap Between First-Generation And Multi-Generational African-American Identities., Mutiyat Ade-Salu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reflects my process assimilating into the role of Chelle in the production of Detroit '67 at the University of Louisville. Although there have been instances of actors crossing lines of gender, nationality, race, and even sexuality, to perform roles in contemporary theatre, discussion about generational differences is almost non-existent. Through historical research, first-hand interviews, and conventional acting methods, I explore the world of my role, searching for spirituality, authenticity, and identity. Additionally, I explain my use of The WAY Method ®, a process I began creating in 2014 to help actors be clear with who they are before …