Applied Ethics Commons^™

The Integration Of Environmental Concerns And Philosophy Into Business Strategies, Johann Thorne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis focuses on how a business can better integrate environmental philosophies and principles into their business model without detracting from the business's primary objectives, specifically that of generating profit. However, this thesis also seeks to extend the business's objectives to include the environment using these environmental philosophies, arguing that the business should have some obligation to the environment in terms of morality, as well as social obligations. This is an evolution of some common ethical theories used within the business world, but I argue they do not suffice to protect the environment. Instead, I develop an ethical pluralist framework …

Supervenience And Non-Naturalism, Michael Hogan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Supervenience presents a problem for the moral non-naturalist. Supervenience states that one’s moral properties cannot differ without one’s natural properties differing. It, therefore, states a necessary connection between moral and natural properties. Moral properties for the moral non-naturalist are sui generis, which means they are not reducible to natural properties, but also they are utterly different in kind than natural properties and any other kind of property. How can these properties be necessarily connected? This requires an explanation. The challenge to the moral non-naturalist is to provide such an explanation. McPherson (2012) presents an explanatory challenge to the non-naturalist …

Human-Machine Relations And Relational Autonomy, Hendrik Kempt, Camilla Colombo, Saskia K. Nagel

Human-Machine Communication

The ever-growing use of interactive technologies and digitization processes in decisionmaking contexts raises key challenges to the conceptualization of autonomy. Starting from the shortcomings of individualistic models, we argue that relational accounts of autonomy provide a more adequate characterization of human beings as socially embedded and integrated. By introducing a decision-theoretic framework, and further theoretical elaboration, we suggest a substantial account of relational autonomy incorporating machines and technologies within the significant relations entertained by agents. Besides optimizing decision-making performances, human-machine interactions could genuinely support and enhance individual autonomy, by fostering human connections, expanding the individual’s social context with additional perspectives, …

Japanese-English Translation: Critical Consciousness In Crisis, By Miki Kiyoshi, December 1928 (Excerpt Of §1); Published In Kaizō, January 1929; Translated By Christopher Southward, November 2024: 「危機における理論的意識」、三木清著；1928年12月著作；『改造』1929年1月号発行； 2024年11月南方クリストファー訳, Christopher Southward

Comparative Literature Faculty and Student Scholarship

Critical Consciousness in Crisis, by Miki Kiyoshi, December 1928 (Excerpt of §1) Published in Kaizō, January 1929; Translated by Christopher Southward, November 2024

「危機における理論的意識」、三木清著；1928年12月著作；『改造』1929年1月号発行；2024年11月南方クリストファー訳

Food, Justice, And Animals: Feeding The World Respectfully, B.V.E. Hyde

Between the Species

[no abstract for reviews]

Navigating The Ethical Maze: Emerging Technologies And Pedagogies In Higher Education, Harika Rao

Faculty and Staff Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Ethical Responsibility In The Design Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Systems, David K. Mcgraw

International Journal on Responsibility

This article aims to provide an overview of the ethical questions surrounding the responsibilities of designers of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. First, the author delves into the philosophical underpinnings of this responsibility, examining various ethical theories to grasp the moral obligations individuals have towards others and society. The author contends that designers of technology bear the responsibility of considering the broader societal implications of their creations. Subsequently, the author scrutinizes the fundamental question of whether AI systems present unique ethical concerns compared to conventional technologies, pinpointing factors such as complexity, opacity, autonomy, unpredictability, uncertainty, and the potential for significant social …

L’Ia, Nouvelle Forme D’Aliénation Et De Déresponsabilisation De L’Homme ?, Lina Iskandar Hawat

Horizons et Conjonctures

Artificial intelligence represents a technology capable of transforming the world and humanity. Through it, human beings confront their nature and limits and assume ethical responsibility toward this innovation that carries both opportunities and risks. Its effects can be positive or negative on the human future, and it can modify human interactions through virtual environments susceptible to becoming sources of problems and isolation. AI can surpass humans in performance and rationality while remaining unpredictable, raising questions about trust and cooperation. The central question: how can human beings preserve their place as the ultimate end and avoid alienation in technological fascination? This …

Navigating Big Data Ethics: An Analysis Through Al-Attas's Islamic Worldview, Aldin Julian Azma, Saffana Lam’A Tazkiyah, Muhammad Yahya Abdurrahman

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

The term "Big Data" is used to describe a collection of data that is both vast in scale and highly complex, and which is expected to continue growing in size. The indication of a secular collection, processing, and use of big data makes it imperative to consider big data from a moral responsibility and ethical perspective. This article seeks to integrate Islamic values and principles from the perspective of Syed Naquib Al Attas, with a particular focus on ethics and morals in the context of big data. This research employs a literature review methodology with a descriptive-analytical approach, Al Attas …

It’S Worse If Superman Does It: Perceptions Of Moral Transgressions Committed By Superheroes And Supervillains, Justin F. Martin, Hansika Kapoor

Heroism Science

Superheroes are distinguished from supervillains due to their morally relevant behavior. However, what happens when they both engage in immoral behavior? This study examined how individuals perceive moral transgressions by their favorite superhero/villain in a quasi-experimental design. In line with Social Cognitive Domain Theory and Moral Foundations Theory, transgressions related to harm and justice were assessed. Specifically, participants (N = 363, predominantly White/Caucasian and South Asian) assessed characters’ likability, character traits, and moral evaluations. In line with hypotheses, results suggested that (a) superheroes were liked more than supervillains; (b) transgressions by superheroes were more morally impermissible than those by supervillains, …

Tradeoffs Of Generalization, Kyra M. Abrams, Peter T. Darch

I-GUIDE Forum

Models used in geospatial data science are often built and optimized for a specific local context, such as a particular location at a point in time. However, upon publication, these models may be generalized beyond this context, reused in research simulating or predicting other times and places. Without sufficient information or documentation, bias embedded in these models can in turn result in bias in the reuser’s research outputs. Drawing on a long-term qualitative case study of aging dams researchers and developers of models used by these researchers, we find significant documentation gaps. We combine a literature-based genealogy with interviews with …

Quantifying Ethics And Trust In Human-Ai Collaboration, Oliver Lane, Kevin Klave

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

As AI Chatbots continue to evolve in both prevalence and capability, their role in education is becoming increasingly prominent. With chatbots like ChatGPT becoming commonplace in higher education, there is an evident need to understand the ethics and trust dynamics of human-AI collaboration. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion on AI in education, highlighting the importance of trust when utilizing AI in academic settings. By conducting an empirical analysis, this research seeks to quantify trust in human-AI collaboration in higher education with the aim of offering actionable items for higher education institutions to follow to promote ethical and responsible …

Devices And Dining: A Cross-Cultural Analysis Of Mobile Device Use In Italian And American Restaurants, O'Malley Jenkins

Senior Theses

The field of technology ethics has seen increasing growth and interest over the years. Many have begun to consider the impacts of technology’s use and whether it is being employed in a healthy manner by users. However, there has been limited investigation into whether the ways in which technology use varies across cultures. This study begins to address this gap by researching Italian and American device usage in fast food settings. Non-participant naturalistic observations were used to record data for 89 Italian and 88 American customers of fast food restaurants. Analysis of the collected data indicates that Americans use their …

Complicity, Eliana Luxemburg-Peck

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

What does it mean to be complicit in diffuse collective wrongs like structural racism, gender-based oppression, or environmental damage, and what responsibilities are entailed by complicity? Moral philosophers have often understood complicity to consist in some degree of inherited culpability, arising from knowing or intentional contributions to the bad acts of a primary wrongdoer. But these theories fail to explain complicity in the foregoing contexts, and cannot justify needed efforts to hold individuals accountable for unwitting contributions to systemic wrongs and injustices. In response to this gap, my dissertation defends a novel reconceptualization of complicity as participation in collectively perpetrated …

Confucianism Embodied: An “Interdisciplinary” Approach To Comparative Political Theory, Qi Jing

Comparative Philosophy

This article articulates and defends an “interdisciplinary” approach to Confucian political theory and presents Confucianism as a living, dynamic entity rather than merely a reservoir of ideas contained within a set of texts. It argues for a methodology that transcends traditional textual analysis, advocating for an intersectional approach that melds normative, emancipatory, and practical dimensions. This approach seeks to capture the evolving essence of Confucianism as influenced by cultural, institutional, and individual interactions. It also promotes a “distant reading” to examine not only texts and historical debates but also institutional changes, power dynamics, and guiding principles within Confucianized societies. The …

Module: Ai And Value-Neutrality, Jonathan Auyer Ph.D., Department Of Philosophy

Artificial Intelligence, 2024-25

Artificial Intelligence is on the tips of everyone’s tongues these days – What exactly is it? What will can it be used for? What will it be used for in the future? What problems will it create or solve or exacerbate? This learning module aims to look at a specific facet of AI — the issue of value-neutrality — by having students look inward at capabilities necessary for human flourishing and then ask whether AI can cultivate (or inhibit) those capabilities. This will lead to a discussion of what values underlie AI and what this says about whether or not …

Using Ai In Higher Ed: Is It Cheating?, David Levy Associate Professor & Chair Of Philosophy

Artificial Intelligence, 2024-25

Students generate a course-based or college-wide policy regarding the use of Generative AI, based on assigned readings, discussion, practice using the tools on writing assignments.

Settler Colonialism And Refusal Through Indigenous Eyes, Charlie Amáyá Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The educational system within the united states has benefited and continues to benefit from the structures and systems of settler colonialism. Yet, despite such colonizing goals of displacement, removal, and genocide, Indigenous Peoples are still here. This critical Indigenous qualitative research study sought to understand descriptions and interpretations of settler colonialism from the perspectives of Indigenous undergraduate students and how they have, refused settler colonialism while navigating their undergraduate journeys. Indigenous ways of knowing and ways of being were centered and cited in a manner that made this dissertation more than just a research study; it became a home where …

What Is A Person? How Does One Become A Morally Good Person? The Intuitive View!, Tancredo Tivane

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis centers around two philosophical problems: the concept of a person and the process by which one becomes a morally good person. Drawing on the works of philosophers such as Harry Frankfurt, Strawson, and A.J. Ayer, it begins with an inquiry into what it means to be a person. It argues that while humanhood, with its rational capacities, is a contingent rather than a necessary condition, it can serve as an accurate predictor of personhood. The thesis posits that personhood is an achievement rather than an inherent state, facilitated by interactions within a social framework that refine these rational …

Will I Even Teach Writing Anymore? An Examination Of First-Year Writing Faculty’S Responsibility To Teach About Or With Chatgpt, Danielle Derise

International Journal on Responsibility

In late November of 2022, faculty continuing to navigate the considerable teaching and research challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic were confronted with another existential problem: the juggernaut known as ChatGPT. This article will examine the academy’s response to this sudden intrusion of Large Language Models (LLMs) into classrooms, workplaces, and daily life, with a focus on interrogating the responsibility of and to instructors of first-year composition. I argue that the breathless calls to reinvent courses, assignments, and syllabus policies to “accommodate” LLMs play into a normative system and may pose additional barriers to success for students, including those …