Philosophy Commons^™

Gaston-Paul Effa, Moine-Pèlerin Et Flambeur Au Risque De La Forêt Camerounaise, Sylvie Kande

The Goose

Book review of Gaston-Paul Effa's 2019 novel, La vertical du Cri. The narrator finds salvation in wandering between nations and throughout the African rainforest.

The Dialectical Virtue Of Ideological Reduction, Keehyuk Nahm

Doctoral Dissertations

Many would agree that there is something generally appealing and attractive about reduction. By this, I do not mean that reductive theories are accepted across the board, nor do I mean that they should be. All I mean is that there is something recognizably “good” about the reductive method that may be outweighed by other considerations. For instance, it is extremely rare for one to reject the reductionist position of a given domain while conceding that the proposed reductive procedure is successful. Typically, the opposition consists in denying that the subject matter can be reduced. This suggests an unspoken rule …

Becoming Harmonious: What Can Confucius Contribute To Our Theory Of Rights, Edgar J. Vasquez

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

In the West, the core value that informs how we create and think about rights is autonomy, especially for the individual. For the ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius, the core value to be pursued is harmony or the well-being of society as a whole. In this paper I argue that the West should also make harmony our core value. To make my case, I take influence from Confucius to look at how his theory differs from typical Western political theory. I discuss Confucius’ emphasis on duties rather than rights, the idea of citizenship as a privilege rather than a right, and …

Resentment, Will, And Moral Identity, Nicole Reid

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

Our everyday personal interactions with others are nothing if not complex. Accidents happen, mistakes are made, and the seamless understanding of the attitudes and actions of others doesn’t always occur. At some point an apology will need to be offered. In this essay I intend to examine the work done by an apology after an accidental transgression in mitigating unfavorable reactive attitudes like anger and resentment. This important work, I’ll argue, is more than just a societal norm. The work of an apology not only helps others to hold us in our identity as morally responsible agents, but has the …

Hope, Contentment, And Shame: The Formulation Of Agency In Children, Niamh Quinnan

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

In this paper, I examine how agency develops in children and I evaluate where parents and guardians are responsible for facilitating this development. I explain how parental scaffolding allows children to be supported by their parents to learn to hope, both as it is relevant to their growth and development, and as they begin to acquire particular skills relevant to their agency. Through what I call collaborative agency, I express the importance of parental facilitation and nurturing of the moral agency of their child so that they may better develop complete agency by adulthood. I explain the roles that hope, …

"The Algorithm Decides": Unintentional Agency Laundering & Explanation, Carson Johnston

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

In this paper I explore a situation under-explored by AI researchers where those who deploy decision-making algorithms unintentionally launder their moral agency to algorithms through anthropomorphic ascriptions of their underlying architecture. Often, this kind of agency laundering occurs rather innocently, by attempting to render an otherwise opaque system transparent through simplified and analogous explanations intended to enhance the decision subject’s understanding. Consequently, when unintentional agency laundering happens, the decision subject’s agency to seek recourse for adverse outcomes is undermined in the process of laundering the data controller’s moral agency to a non-agent. This paper explores this situation as it pertains …

On Radical Moral Encroachment: Distancing Epistemology From Truth, Roshan Dahale

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

Rima Basu has described radical moral encroachment as a theory that detaches wronging from action and attaches it to the belief instead. Furthermore, the stakes are associated with the wrongness of the belief rather than the risk of being false. Basu believes that this form of encroachment accurately captures our modern intuition on how racism functions. However, this paper lays out objections to this form of thinking. The rebuttal includes making the distinction between assumptions, probabilities, and outright beliefs. Probabilities and assumptions cannot be equated with an outright belief. Next, there is the issue of making the wronging of another …

Letter From The Editors, Edgar J. Vasquez, John Milkovich

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

No abstract provided.

What Do We Owe The Other Animals In Health-Related Research?, Jessica A. Du Toit

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this dissertation, I provide an account of the protections to which most captive non-human animals are morally entitled when they participate in health-related research. At least in the animal ethics literature, it is uncontroversial that the protections currently afforded to captive research animals are inadequate. This has much to do with the fact that most animals who serve as research participants are 1) sentient and, thus, have important morally considerable interests; 2) unable to provide informed consent to their research participation; and 3) seriously harmed as a result of their participation.

Unsurprisingly, then, a number of authors have proposed …

On Virtue Ethics Theory And Elementary Music Education, Joshua Burgos

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation uses virtue ethics theory, teacher research method, and self-study to examine how I perceive myself as contributing to cultivating virtuous persons. Virtue ethics theory, teacher research method, and self-study are empirical, using concrete methods of data generation and analysis, and conceptual, relating to studying philosophical research, ideas, and interpretations (Annas, 2007; Check & Schutt, 2012; Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988). The study aimed to discover how virtue is cultivated through music education and improve teaching practice using virtue ethics theory and empirical research to offer insight into how virtue is cultivated. The study was conducted in an elementary school …

Self-Inflicted Frankfurt-Style Cases And Flickers Of Freedom, Michael Robinson

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

According to the most popular versions of the flicker defense, Frankfurt-style cases fail to undermine the Principle of Alternative Possibilities (PAP) because agents in these cases are (directly) morally responsible not for making the decisions they make but for making these decisions on their own, which is something they could have avoided doing. Frankfurt defenders have primarily focused on trying to show that the alternative possibility of refraining from making the relevant decisions on their own is not a robust alternative, while generally granting that this alternative cannot easily be eliminated from successful cases of this sort. In a …

Is There Really Anything Wrong With That? An Aristotelian Analysis Of Duty, Luke J. Mcgrath

Honors College Theses

In the iconic Seinfeld series finale, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer find themselves in a peculiar legal predicament when they mock a crime rather than intervene to help the victim. The show’s commitment to portraying reality, even in its finale, vividly demonstrates the potential consequences of a society lacking the legal obligation to aid others. This comical incident raises a thought-provoking question about the legitimacy of duty-to-act laws in the United States. This thesis examines the application of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics to the concept of duty-to-act laws and argues for the necessity and benefits of such laws in promoting a …

Are We Living In A Simulation?, Michell-Lee Graham

Student Research

If we are living inside of a simulation, what’s wrong with that? Nick Bostrom, a swedish philosopher has proposed the question of whether we are living in a simulation. Philosophers in the past have grappled with this concept, from Plato to George Berkeley. In this thesis, I intend to argue or prove that we may be living inside of a simulation or to my best ability find some approximation to the truth of the matter.

The Profits Of (The Critique Of) Patriarchy: On Toxic Masculinity, Feminism, & Corporate Capitalism In The Barbie Movie, Bryant W. Sculos

Class, Race and Corporate Power

This article explicates the political, social, economic, and cultural contribution of Barbie (2023). Through a critical and normative analysis of four different prominent reviews of the film, this essay explores the quality of discourse surrounding Barbie, with particular emphasis on its feminist critique of toxic masculinity and lack of a coherent criticism of capitalism.

Lighting The Way Of The Learner: Towards A Social Virtue Epistemology In Aḥmad Al-Ṣaghīr’S The Faqīh’S Lantern, Amani Khelifa

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis offers an original translation and analysis of a West African didactic poem in Islamic ethics and law, by the Mālikī-Ashʿarī Mauritanian scholar Aḥmad al-Ṣaghīr (d. 1272 AH/1856 CE) called The Faqīh’s Lantern (Miṣbāḥ al-Faqīh). In addition to the critical translation, I examine the poem thematically through the lens of social virtue epistemology. Chapter 1 sketches the background of the text and author, positioning the author historically as a product of a rich scholarly and pedagogical tradition while noting Mauritania’s contemporary place in the North American Muslim imagination. Chapter 2 is the translation of the text, making …

Educating With Empathy: Empowering Students To Build Bridges Across Difference, Sara Shady

Day of Scholarship

This project explores the powerful role empathy can play in helping us constructively navigate the significant differences that often divide us in the 21st century (politics, race/ethnicity, religion, etc.). I define empathy as an intellectual and moral virtue, and defend its importance within the larger context of virtue ethics. I also explore practical ways to help students develop empathy in curricular and co-curricular settings.

Just War Theory: Foundation From Philosophical Underpinnings To Theological Integration And Its Application To The Ukrainian Conflict, Sarah G. Beddingfield

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

On February 24th, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with the intent to annex the neighboring country into the Russian fold. This unprovoked action took the world by surprise bringing about a whirl of questions surrounding why and how this could occur. The concept of just war theory resurfaced as the global debate ensued over whether Russia was justified in its violent actions. This research aims to analyze the origins, Biblical integration, and modern form of just war theory. Following a foundational understanding of the theory itself, the research is then applied to the case study of the Russian invasion of Ukraine …

Ways In Which Indigenous People’S History In Canada Evince Epistemic Injustice And Resistance, Alisha Jacobs

Major Papers

When it comes to Western academia, Indigenous Peoples around the world have been and continue to be marginalized, especially in terms of representation within the literature. Therefore, this research paper will help remedy this issue by exploring epistemic injustice and the way in which epistemic injustice has and continues to harm Canada’s Indigenous Peoples. It will highlight four different lenses brought forward by Gaile Pohlhaus, Jr. as her framework allows for the representation of many different forms of epistemic injustice, while also acknowledging that no one approach is absolute. Resistance to epistemic injustice by the Indigenous Peoples will be addressed …

Darkness Leaping Out Of Light: Anti-Metaphysics And The Paradoxical Negative Affix In Moby-Dick, Bryce N. Wallace

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

This paper argues that the varied philosophical beliefs that are present in the discourse of Moby-Dick’s characters are met with discursive resistance at the level of the novel’s form. Though a range of metaphysical arguments are posited by the characters as they explore the unknown, Melville’s use of negative linguistic constructions refutes the entire range of metaphysical beliefs by displaying the paradoxical and impossible nature of the primary subject that metaphysicians ponder—the unknown. I propose that in trying to comprehend “the unknown” humans unavoidably create something out of nothing then deem it unknowable and therefore fail to grant it …

Kierkegaard And The Assumptions Of Philosophy, Ryan K. Shea

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis explores the philosophy of early existentialist Søren Kierkegaard as implicitly critiquing the assumed essence of objectivity both directly understood as Absolute Truth in a classically Hegelian sense, but also in a more oblique meta-textual fashion in the presence of his varied pseudonymity. The first chapter takes on classical readings of Kierkegaard as a philosophy of stages—sometimes as aesthetic-ethical-religious, or otherwise despairing-anxious-faithful—and offers the alternative comprehension of a philosophy of moods which encompasses all these same “stages” as existing in and through each other in subjective existence. In the second chapter, I take the traditional reading of stages and …