Other Philosophy Commons^™

Apotheosis, Zekiel Betzer

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Zekiel Dirk Betzer’s oil paintings are a visual representation of transfiguration – the elevation of daily life into myth. He believes that if we defer to monolithic ideologies to narrativize our life, we are prescribed a relationship with the transcendent, rather than discovering it, leading us down the path of ideological possession. He is principally interested in how we, as both artist and audience, invent meaning and how this invention informs the way we engage with reality; especially how objects or memories become sacred.

Teacher Instructional Strategies Impacting Rural, High-Poverty Student Academic Outcomes, Erin Kinney Burt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an abundant amount of interest among educators surrounding what actions can be taken by the government, local representatives, school boards, administrators, and teachers to assist rural, high-poverty students flourish academically. An uninspiring truth related to this subject is many times, a student receives the education the state and local communities are able to provide based on the quality of teachers they are able to retain and the resources available. Instructional strategies teachers implement could influence the quality of education students receive and could leave a community in a constant cycle of dependency and hardship. The purpose of this …

Comparison Of Traditional To Hybrid Modality Of Instruction, Paul Michael Spadaro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruption in education across the United States. Prior to the pandemic, students in third grade struggled with low reading proficiency, a difficulty that predicts persistent academic struggles, school dropout, and even delinquency. Districts in South Carolina and around the United States adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways, and among these strategies were a traditional learning modality, where students attended school only in-person and when possible, and a hybrid learning modality, where students alternatively attended in-person and remotely. It is important to understand the potential impacts of these scheduling decisions on …

Why Every Person Should Strive To Become A Philosopher-King, Samuel Cobbs

Philosophy Undergraduate Honors Theses

In Book 3 of The Republic, Plato describes his perfect city, the kallipolis, ruled by select people with training in the liberal arts. The education of these few, whom Plato calls philosopher kings, is then explored in detail. The proper education of these philosopher king lasts until fifty years of age, and consists of basic education in the sciences at an early age, physical and musical training, years spent in dialectical discussion, and ultimately becoming a philosopher and finding what Plato calls ‘The Good.’ Plato believes that this complete liberal arts education should only be taken up by …

Comic-Based Characters As Moral Exemplars: An Ethical Examination, Jordan Vitiello

Philosophy Undergraduate Honors Theses

Comics and superheroes have long been a part of American culture. The narratives within these comics often focus on the battle between good and evil, which makes the works inherently philosophical. The aim of this paper was to discuss comic book narrative as philosophical thought experiments and characters within them as moral exemplars. For this paper, I used characters—superheroes, villains, and those in between—from Marvel and DC Comics. I begin by briefly discussing and defining fiction and fictional characters. Next, I apply the three branches of normative ethics to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. The following sections address characters as …

Artistic, Artworld, And Aesthetic Disobedience, Adam Burgos, Sheila Lintott

Faculty Journal Articles

Jonathan Neufeld proposes a concept of aesthetic disobedience that parallels the political concept of civil disobedience articulated by John Rawls in A Theory of Justice. The artistic transgressions he calls aesthetic disobedience are distinctive in being public and deliberative in their aim to bring about specific changes in accepted artworld norms. We argue that Neufeld has offered us valuable insight into the dynamic and potent nature of art and the artworld; however, we contend that Neufeld errs by constraining aesthetic disobedience to the artworld. Through a reconsideration of the parallel between aesthetic and civil disobedience, we illustrate how aesthetic disobedience …

The Well-Tempered Android: Philosophical Posthumanism In Science Fiction Cinema., Cody Gault

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines philosophical posthumanism as a means for critical analysis of the interaction between humans and nonhuman androids in select science fiction cinematic universes. The interaction is analyzed through several facets, notably the interactions between humans and nonhuman androids, particularly as interactions between the human and nonhuman are often sites of violence. Chapter one is an introduction. Chapter two describes the development of philosophical posthumanism from humanism, also including an analysis of philosophical posthumanism, and how it can be used as a critical lens. Chapter three begins an analysis of science fiction cinema by examining the Blade Runner films …

Part Of The Team: Effecting Change And Sharing Power In Healthcare Settings, Jessica Stanier, Rachel Purtell, Dave Thomas, William Murray

Patient Experience Journal

In 2019, we, as a group of patients and researchers, were invited to rethink how the executive board received and responded to patient stories at a specific NHS hospital trust in the UK. Through an iterative series of meetings, we were able to co-identify common concerns and together develop a distinctive narrative framework for effecting change by sharing patient experiences. This narrative framework is designed to help patients position themselves as ‘part of their healthcare team,’ emphasising roles and responsibilities between patients and health practitioners to compare ideals with reality in patient experiences. While the project was promising, several factors …

The Gladius And The Katana: Viewing The Seven Samurai Through The Lens Of Roman Stoicism, Joseph White

Honors College Theses

This paper examines the concepts of traditional Bushido and Roman Stoicism as they relate to the unique interpretation of Bushido by Akira Kurosawa in the movie the Seven Samurai. I explain the main concepts of Bushido and Roman Stoicism, focusing upon the virtues of each, and their connection to Kurosawa’s view on how Bushido should be practiced. I then draw similarities between these two ways of life. I examine how the genre of film dealing with samurai deals with this question.

Is Pain A Problem? J.J. Rousseau And C.S. Lewis On Suffering And Human Nature, Trevor Shelley, Jacob Siegler

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

What is meant here is whether the phenomenon of pain can be intellectually accounted for, in the sense of why it exists at all and how it relates to the nature of man. Or, to state matters differently: Can the problem of pain’s presence in the lives of human beings be theoretically solved? To approach this problem, this work will examine the thought of Jean Jacques Rousseau and C. S. Lewis on the problem of pain and happiness and on human nature more generally.

Intentional Passing And Closeted Agency, Logan Bohlinger

Theses

It is characteristic of closeted queer agents that they behave so as to pass as heterosexual, cisgender, or otherwise as non-queer. Thus, I take it that an action-theoretic account of the phenomenon of straight-passing is essential to developing an action-theoretic account of the practical disposition of being “in the closet.” To progress towards a broader account of closeted queer agency, I endeavor in this thesis to clarify the patterns of practical reasoning involved in straight-passing with an aim to demonstrate that straight-passing, in all its forms, is something that a queer agent can intentionally do. However, a queer agent often …

"Between Too Much & Not Enough," A Meta-Analysis Of The 1619 Project, Nathan Pipes

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

When the New York Times released the 1619 Project in August 2019 it was met with enthusiasm and critical review. The outcome of the public debate, as of now, is mixed. Research is also mixed. Education findings suggests the project has the power to heal. Case study evidence indicates culturally centered approaches positively impact academic outcomes and mental health of historically oppressed peoples. By emphasizing and affirming African American experiences 1619 has potential to narrow the achievement gap and disrupt rising suicide rates. However, philosophy and psychology warn against overemphasizing culture. Excessive affirmation can cause groupthink. Continual praise aggrandizes the …

Martha C. Nussbaum, Justice For Animals: Our Collective Responsibility, Terence C. Burnham

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

A review of Martha Nussbaum's Justice for Animals.

A Peculiar Home: A Phenomenology Of Place, Gabriela Sanchez

Graduate Student Research Symposium

There are places where individuals may feel more ‘at home’ in than others. Home is often this place for people; both meaningful and familiar, with a sense of belonging. Often, there are other places that make, or have made, one feel uncomfortable or alienated: like a turn down an unfamiliar dark street or waiting in an airport terminal line. Then, there are places that may just feel indifferent; neither comfortable nor alienating, somewhat unimportant: like driving down the road to a frequent grocer. A subject experiences places and objects in context: in relation to meaning, familiarity, or alienation and in …

Spatial Pattern And Environmental And Social Factors Of Monkeypox In The Contiguous United States, Linbo Han

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that is usually transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals, such as rodents or primates. Although its symptoms are similar to those of smallpox, monkeypox is generally less severe and rarely fatal. In recent years, however, there has been an uptick in the number of reported cases, with a large outbreak occurring in several parts of the world in May 2022. This has raised concerns among public health officials and researchers, who are working to better understand the factors that contribute to the spread of the disease. One promising approach to studying the …

Keeping Promises To Supererogate, Michael Robinson

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

Promises to perform supererogatory actions present an interesting puzzle. On the one hand, this seems like a promise that one should be able to keep simply by performing some good deed or other. On the other hand, the only way to keep it is to do something that exceeds one’s duties. But any good deed that one performs, which might otherwise have been supererogatory, will not go above and beyond what one is morally required to do in such a case because one has an obligation that one does not normally have—namely, an obligation to do something supererogatory. Thus, some …

Being And Trauma: A Theory Of Listening As A Dis/Appropriation Of The Listener To The Call Of The Unspeakable In Trauma, Kathleen M. Douglass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What is it to have a voice, to be heard? And how is this connected to the need to have someone listen? Through a close reading of Heidegger’s later works woven together with readings of Judith Butler, Jean Luc Marion, Michel Foucault, and Shoshana Felman, I explore a concept of Listening as it is connected to the event of our being, creating a theory of Listening that emphasizes what happens in the Listener as she Listens.

The concept of Listening is relied on, but under-considered, in both clinical and philosophical theories. In order to understand what it means to have …

Have Underground Radiation Measurements Refuted The Orch Or Theory?: Comment On “At The Crossroad Of The Search For Spontaneous Radiation And The Orch Or Consciousness Theory”, Kelvin J. Mcqueen

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

"In [1] it is claimed that, based on radiation emission measurements described in [2], a certain 'variant' of the Orch OR theory has been refuted. I agree with this claim. However, the significance of this result for Orch OR per se is unclear. After all, the refuted 'variant' was never advocated by anyone, and it contradicts the views of Hameroff and Penrose (hereafter: HP) who invented Orch OR [3].

My aim is to get clear on this situation. I argue that it is indeed reasonable to speak of 'variants' here. Orch OR is not a complete model of reality but …

Permission, Prohibition, And Dynamism, John Thrasher

Philosophy Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Modern, open societies are characterized by growth and dynamism. To many environmentalists, however, it is this very commitment to growth and change that put modern societies at odds with the values of environmental protection. Many argue that the uncertainty that comes from growth endangers the environment, with the implication being that we should adopt general prohibitions rules like the “Precautionary Principle,” which prohibits economic activity unless it can be proven to have no substantial environmental impact. I argue that this conclusion is largely mistaken. Dynamism is so important and in opposition to general prohibition rules that we should avoid them …

Mexica Monism And Daoist Ethics In The Philosophy Of Gloria Anzaldúa, Saraliza Anzaldúa

Comparative Philosophy

Critical scholarship regarding the philosophy of Gloria Anzaldúa has proliferated in recent decades, especially in the fields of feminist theory, phenomenology, and epistemology. However, there is little analysis of the metaphysics which undergird their work and make possible their views on identity, experience, and community politics. First, this article will explore the significance of Anzaldúa’s ‘nos/otras’ and its relation to Mexica (Aztec) monistic metaphysics. Such a concept resists an us/them construction of the world because it situates the other as us: the Spanish word for ‘we’ is ‘nosotros’ and holds the ‘other/otros’ as its …