Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons^™

In Defense Of The Ivory Tower: Why Philosophers Should Stay Out Of Politics, Bas Van Der Vossen

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

Many political theorists, philosophers, social scientists, and other academics engage in political activism. And many think this is how things ought to be. In this essay, I challenge the ideal of the politically engaged academic. I argue that, quite to the contrary, political theorists, philosophers, and other political thinkers have a prima facie duty to refrain from political activism. This argument is based on a commonsense moral principle, a claim about the point of political thought, and findings in cognitive psychology.

Ethics In Education, Rena Chan

Service-Learning | Student Scholarship

There are not many courses taken in college that can change your perspective of the world. After taking ethics at Dominican University of California that emphasized the social issues that run against the values of a democratic society, I realized that ethics was not as black and white as I had imagined. Every person has a different set of values and beliefs morphed by their parents, their peers, and the social and cultural environment they grew up in. Thus, the perspective each individual holds on what is right and wrong differs from one person to the next.

NGS is a …

Love As A Regulative Ideal In Surrogate Decision Making, Erica Stonestreet

Philosophy Faculty Publications

This discussion aims to give a normative theoretical basis for a “best judgment” model of surrogate decision making rooted in a regulative ideal of love. Currently, there are two basic models of surrogate decision making for incompetent patients: the “substituted judgment” model and the “best interests” model. The former draws on the value of autonomy and responds with respect; the latter draws on the value of welfare and responds with beneficence. It can be difficult to determine which of these two models is more appropriate for a given patient, and both approaches may seem inadequate for a surrogate who loves …

Theologies Of Word And State: Some Reflections On The Ottawa Shooting, Justin Kh Tse, Matt Sheedy

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The shooting in Ottawa on 22 October 2014 has uncovered the remarkable way that the Canadian state remains theologically constituted. In some ways, this is a relatively uncontroversial argument. The White House press conference immediately following the attacks made a link between the Canadian support for military action against the Islamic State and the deaths of both Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent on October 20 in Quebec and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders on the October 22. When one says that Ottawa shootings have a religious dimension, the gut response is that my argument will be about …

Democratic Teaching: An Incomplete Job Description, Rachel Bradshaw

Democracy & Education

The importance of public education in democratic states is almost beyond dispute. Too often, though, discussions of democratic education focus solely on policies and systems, forgetting the individual teachers who are ultimately responsible for educating future citizens. This paper attempts to illustrate just how complex and significant the role of teachers in a democratic republic can be.

Investigating The Anthropocene: A Critical Look At A New Geological Epoch, Christopher J. Preston

University Grant Program Reports

No abstract provided.

The Adversity Pop Culture Has Posed, Darel Joseph

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

I am a collage artist working with multiple mediums such as paint, photography, video, audio, and performance. As a New Orleans’ native, I have a unique history that is unflattering, for my history echoes that of America’s historical misdeeds. I make sociopolitical art because I am of a historically oppressed people. I make art that celebrates my diverse culture that is a collage of Native American, African, and New Orleans’ French Creole.

Political Obligation, Richard Dagger, David Lefkowitz

Political Science Faculty Publications

This essay begins, therefore, with a brief history of the problem of political obligation. It then turns, in Part II, to the conceptual questions raised by political obligation, such as what it means for an obligation to be political. In Part III the focus is on the skeptics, with particular attention to the self-proclaimed philosophical anarchists, who deny that political obligations exist yet do not want to abolish the state. Part IV surveys the leading contenders among the various theories of political obligation now on offer, and Part V concludes the essay with a brief consideration of recent proposals for …

Human Dependence On Nature: How To Help Solve The Environmental Crisis By Haydn Washington, Lorelei Hanson

The Goose

Review of Human Dependence on Nature: How to Help Solve the Environmental Crisis by Haydn Washington.

Critical Animal Studies: An Introduction By Dawne Mccance, Rosemary-Claire Collard

The Goose

Review of Critical Animal Studies: An Introduction by Dawne McCance.

Facing The Wreck: Death, Optimism, And The Fragmented Form, Rachael Marie Schaffner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Walter Benjamin described history as a winged angel who faces backwards, staring perpetually into the past as the violent winds of destiny carry him into the future (Illuminations). Despite a western, post-enlightenment myth of eternal progress, the wreckage of human contributions to history is clearly evident in our 21st-century understanding of anthropogenic impact on global ecology. In the context of these ecological crises (and the resulting political and economic questions), postmodern novels reveal a powerful ability to imagine different ways of living and interacting with the world. This thesis traces the relationship between fragmentation, death, and liminal experiences …

Why We Should Stop Creating Pets With Lives Worth Living, Chelsea Haramia

Between the Species

Pedigreed breeding often leads to severe health problems for, say, those dogs who exist as a result of the practice. It is also the case that virtually all of those unhealthy animals would not exist at all if it were not for the practice of pedigreed breeding. If those animals have lives worth living, then it follows that they are not harmed by the practice—assuming that a life worth living is better than no life at all. It would seem, then, that the standard account of harm cannot account for the wrongness of our intentionally creating pets with lower welfare. …

Immigration And Self-Determination, Bas Van Der Vossen

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

This article asks whether states have a right to close their borders because of their right to self-determination, as proposed recently by Christopher Wellman, Michael Walzer, and others. It asks the fundamental question whether self-determination can, in even its most unrestricted form, support the exclusion of immigrants. I argue that the answer is no. To show this, I construct three different ways in which one might use the idea of self-determination to justify immigration restrictions and show that each of these arguments fails. My conclusion is that the nature and value of self-determination have to do with the conditions of …

Review Of "Truly Human Enhancement: A Philosophical Defense Of Limits ", James Mcbain

Faculty Submissions

Review of "Truly Human Enhancement: A Philosophical Defense of Limits" by Nicholas Agar.

Seno'o Giro: Life And Thought Of A Radical Buddhist, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Enframing The Flesh: Heidegger, Transhumanism, And The Body As "Standing Reserve", Jesse I. Bailey

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

I argue that Heidegger's account of technology as "enframing" is a helpful lens through which to understand the possible effects and dangers of transhumanism. Without resorting to nebulous concepts such as "dignity," Heidegger's analysis can help us understand how new technologies employed to modify the body, brain, and consciousness will enframe our own bodies and identities as something akin to "standing reserve." Under transhumanism, the body is enframed as an external, technologically modifiable product. I indicate some of the problems that might arise when our own bodies no longer appear as central to our identity as embodied beings. Further, I …

The Fair And Laissez-Faire Markets: From A Neoliberal Laissez-Faire Baseline To A Fair Market, Eric L. Dixon

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

The essay begins with a brief overview of the role of the neoliberal conception of the laissez-faire market in modern political economy. The essay then goes on to defend three claims: 1) the laissez-faire version of a market should not be considered the economic ideal or baseline version of a market because often the fundamental conditions required to reach a genuine equilibrium are unfulfilled under a laissez-faire environment, 2) a distribution resultant from a laissez-faire market should not be considered the ultima facie just distributive baseline because an unregulated market may allocate commodities according to morally arbitrary factors and requires …

Humanesis By David Cecchetto, Max Ritts

The Goose

Review of Humanesis by David Cecchetto.

Does End Of Life Terminology Influence Decisional Conflict In Surrogate Decision Makers?, Dawn Fairlie

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study investigated the relationship between end of life terminologies and decisional conflict in surrogate decision makers using a convenience sample of 234 adults age 50 and older at active adult communities, and senior centers in New Jersey. Participants were randomized into two groups, and each received a vignette that was personalized. The vignettes varied only in the use of the words "Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)" and "Allow Natural Death (AND)". The Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS) was administered.

There was no difference in total DCS score based on AND and DNR versions. However, AND respondents perceived their decision as a …

Moral Motivation And The Authority Of Morality: A Defense Of Naturalist Moral Realism, Lily Eva Frank

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Moral realism has been continuously accused of positing the existence of queer properties, facts, judgments, and beliefs. One of these queer features is supposed to be the normative force of morality-that is the way in which morality guides our actions. Critics of moral realism argue that nothing else in the world has this feature. This is a reason to doubt that moral facts and properties exist at all. This objection can be interpreted in at least two ways. One way to interpret it has to do with moral motivation, this is the internalism objection. The other has to do with …