Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons^™

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 …

Righteousness Versus Yi: Two Senses Of Justice, Cuiting Chen

Comparative Philosophy

The narratives of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac in the Old Testament and Shun’s renunciation of the throne to save his father, who had committed a crime in Meng-Zi, have had a profound influence on Western and Chinese culture. The two stories are widely known and referenced due to their cultural significance, which is evident in various artistic, literary, religious, and philosophical forms. While the two narratives may be viewed as murder and corruption from a universal ethical standpoint, historical traditions interpret them differently. Abraham’s actions are revered as the epitome of righteousness, while Shun’s actions exemplify the most appropriate ( …

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.

Can Human Rights Be Reconciled With Citizenship: Reconsidering Marx's Zur Judenfrage Today, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay critically re-examines Marx’s youthful analysis of the separation of church and state and his complex views about the function of rights in the modern state. I argue that Marx’s condemnation of Christian nationalism and endorsement of citizenship for Jews is consistent with his view that the modern, secular state cannot emancipate itself entirely from religiosity, as evidenced by the continuing legacy of nationalism and cultural identity politics today. Although Marx correctly follows Hegel in identifying modernity with a structural differentiation between civil society and state, I argue that he misunderstands the nature of this separation and, along with …

Norms And Variance Fail To Predict Butterfly Effects On Social Dynamics By Idiosyncratic Individuals, Stephen F. Stringham, Lynn Rogers, Ann Bryant

Animal Sentience

Adaptations and adjustments to current environmental conditions are manifest in behavioral norms. Knowing norms facilitates population-level prediction, but doesn’t predict individual behavior where idiosyncrasies might trigger “butterfly effects." Knowledge of individual quirks is particularly important for risk assessment and management during close encounters between humans and potentially lethal wildlife, including bears (Ursus spp.). Innovative foraging techniques can alter population vigor and viability. Traits at the tails of a bell curve might hold the greatest potential for adapting to environmental change.

Kantian Reason & Epistemic Humility, Elias Seeman

Lux et Fides: A Journal for Undergraduate Christian Scholars

Immanuel Kant continues to be one of the most influential thinkers in the history of philosophy. His thought shapes much of contemporary culture and has dramatically influenced Christian philosophy and theology. While some of this influence is beneficial, there are components of Kantian thought – especially as it pertains to the capabilities of human reason to arrive at true knowledge of God – that are decidedly problematic. In this paper, two different readings on Kant’s work on this subject are presented, followed by a brief overview of key insights and shortcomings. The final section charts a positive way forward for …

Strategic Justice, Conventions, And Game Theory: Introduction To A Synthese Topical Collection, Michael Moehler, John Thrasher

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

Evolutionary, game-theoretic approaches to justice and the social contract have become increasingly popular in contemporary moral and political philosophy. (Vanderschraaf, Strategic justice: convention and problems of balancing divergent interests, Oxford University Press, 2019) theory of strategic justice represents the most recent contribution to this tradition and, in many ways, can be viewed as a culmination of it. This article discusses some of the central features of Vanderschraaf’s theory and relates them to the contributions in this collection. Some of the contributions directly address Vanderschraaf’s work, while others explore related topics in game theory, bargaining theory, formal philosophy, rationality, equality, justice, …

Echoes Of Eden In Proverbs: Towards A Biblical Theological Ethic, Armen Oganessian

Liberty Theological Review

Abstract:

This study argues for a biblical-theological approach to the ethics of Proverbs. It proposes that the ethical foundation for Proverbs lies in the principles established in Genesis 1-4 The argument unfolds as follows: Tracing the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, one sees Solomon, the author of Proverbs, as a partial fulfillment of the promised seed in Genesis 3:15. Furthermore, other biblical writers depict Solomon as an Adamic king ruling in an Eden-like context. Consequently, understanding Proverbs' position within redemptive history encourages readers to interpret it through an Edenic framework. In other words, a biblical-theological approach compels readers to interpret Proverbs …

Wildlife Conservation: The Importance Of Individual Personality Traits And Sentience, Karen A. Owens, Gosia Bryja, Marc Bekoff

Animal Sentience

Individual differences in personality types within the same species have been studied much less than differences between species and populations. Personality differences are related to risk-taking and exploration, which in turn correlate with individuals' daily responses, decisions, and fitness. Bold and shy personality types can have different advantages and disadvantages under different social or environmental pressures. Analyzing personality differences has helped clarify how elk habituate to a well-populated area and how management strategies can be adapted to them. For wolves newly repatriated to Colorado, individual personality factors are likely to prove important for adapting to their new homes as well …

Miradas Bioéticas: Antología De Reflexiones Para La Educación, Luisa Johana Lara Rodríguez

Ciencias Administrativas, Económicas y Contables

El libro "Miradas bioéticas: antología de reflexiones para la educación" es un proyecto de varios años que invita al lector a reflexionar sobre temas educativos desde la perspectiva de la bioética. Esta antología recopila ensayos y reflexiones que exploran cuestiones fundamentales como la vida, la salud y la dignidad humana en un contexto de avances científicos y tecnológicos. Cada contribución ofrece una ventana a debates que moldean nuestra comprensión de la bioética en un mundo complejo y tecnológicamente avanzado. El libro subraya el papel crucial de la educación para fomentar un pensamiento crítico y ético, esencial para abordar dilemas éticos …

Inciting Peace From The Inside Out, Stephen G. Adubato, Ebere Bosco Amakwe, Katherine Hinic, Sarita Maldjian, Forrest Pritchett, Jon Radwan, Nicholas Sooy, Chad Thralls

Conferences

Violence and war can be incited, and so can peace. This volume shares select addresses and responses from Seton Hall University’s 2/7/23 conference “Inciting Peace From The Inside Out.” A multi-disciplinary range of scholars each addresses how reconciliation processes grow from spiritual dynamics. Multiple religious traditions teach contemplative praxes that prioritize and nurture personal reflection oriented toward peace. Social conflicts divide, so engaging them with a partisan orientation only serves to escalate harmful rifts. In contrast, bringing personal awareness and sensitivity, spiritual balance, and holistic integral perspective to conflict can transcend divisions and work toward unity. This volume is supported …

“Women And Lockean Theory: John Locke, Rachel Speght, And Egalitarian Personhood, Katherine Gillespie, Bas Van Der Vossen

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

Liberal political thought affirms the moral equality of all persons. The Lockean tradition within liberalism captures this equality by endowing people with equal natural rights. However, a powerful line of criticism holds that the theory fails to live up to its egalitarian billing by treating men and women differently. This article offers a rational reconstruction of the Lockean position on gender equality, and the rights of women in particular. We propose a novel interpretative method which puts Locke into conversation with a contemporary female author, Rachel Speght. In Speght, we find an interesting argument supporting an egalitarian Lockean view, grounded …

Language, Legitimacy, And The Law: The Social Roots Of Legal Obligation, Joshua Keton

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In a recent turn, both legal scholarship and judicial practice in the United States have converged on the idea that the content of the law is grounded on moral facts—especially facts about democracy. Leveraging insights from the philosophy of language, especially the underdetermination of meaning by syntax and semantics, I argue that textualism can only be reconstructed as a small part of a complete theory of legal interpretation. I then consider a more serious claim to the necessity of moral facts in metaphysically grounding the content of the law. As Mark Greenberg’s anti-positivist theory would have it, the content of …

Extractivism And The Defense Of Life And Territories: An Account Of Latin American Environmental Thought, Pedro Monque

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

We are living today through an environmental crisis of planetary proportions. Recent decades have seen the proliferation of distinct environmentalisms around the world. In Latin America, a unique environmental vocabulary is being born out of resistance to northern framings of the environmental crisis whose proposed solutions often deepen environmental injustice vis-à-vis the global south.In this dissertation, I provide an account of the key themes in this lively but undertheorized tradition that I call Latin American environmental thought.

The conceptual core of Latin American environmental thought, I argue, are the concepts of extractivism, the defense of life and territories, and alternatives. …

Wuwei Praxis, Zachary L. Gelnaw-Rubin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The question of how to change the world is answered in the concept of praxis. For structural change to occur a “revolution in motivation or feeling,” - a paradigm shift - is needed. I argue that this requires the adoption of feminist liberation praxis, which involves a negativistic political stance, nonideal theorizing, and an openness to self-transformation. This entails a transformation of the concept of praxis itself within the Leftist idiom, a transformation which could be the linchpin of the needed paradigm shift in the larger culture.

The three parts of this thesis elaborate upon the different aspects of this …

Towards An Ethics Of Difference: Constructing A Post-Structuralist Ethics, Cameron H. Carsten

Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …

Liberation Chronicles: Reformulating Black Liberation In The Face Of Persistent Oppression, Nia P. Gadson

Honors College Theses

Liberation movements for Black people have been prominent throughout American history. Chattel slavery and Jim Crow laws caused centuries of anti-black oppression. They continuously evolved into other anti-black structures – mass incarceration, predatory loan companies, and healthcare inequalities, to name a few – that require us to address these issues still today. The most recent Black liberation movement, Black Lives Matter, experienced a brief uptick in support after George Floyd’s murder but, overall, failed to address these issues. This thesis outlines three approaches to Black liberation in the U.S. to determine the most effective. First, drawing on Frederick Douglass’ autobiographies, …

Powering Justice: Sketches For A New Ethos In Energy Policy, Erin Rizzato Devlin

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

Energy politics lie at the heart of human activity. In a time of ecological and energy crisis, it is fundamental to realise that our reality systems are always open to change and that, in order to respond to the challenges of a changing energy landscape, we must explore the full possibilities of technology in a radical way. This research aims to consider the ethical implications of energy and technology, presenting an urgent case for cosmotechnical pluralism, that is the diversification of world-views, knowledges, technologies in the pursuit of energy justice in global politics. To reconstruct the world and its politics …