Philosophy Commons^™

The Catholic Intellectual Tradition’S Riposte To Nihilism, Ed Walsh

Sacred Heart University Scholar

The greatest philosophical conundrum to face modern thinkers has been that of determining meaning in a world that is seemingly indifferent to our existence and sufferings. The Catholic intellectual tradition (CIT) has mustered some voices to the aid of the meaning-seeking descendants of apes in their quest to overcome the gloom. They don’t speak with one voice and emphasize different components, but the fault line that runs through them is mainly consistent. To live a meaningful and purposeful life requires a relationship with other human beings and with God.

A Literary Analysis Of The Origin Of Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Its Advancements, Philosophical, Ethical, Sociocultural, And Political Aspects; An Investigation Of The Underlying Attributes That Affect One’S Views On Hesc Research To Resolve Turkey And Brazil’S Hesc Policy, Religious, And Cultural Conflicts, Haleema Shamsuddin

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are cells derived from 5-day human embryos and are self-renewing cell lines that change into any type of cell in the body, a trait called pluripotency. hESCs have almost unlimited clinical and medical research potential. Despite the great therapeutic promise of hESC research, it comes with a controversial ethical debate due to its involvement with the destruction of the human embryo. The central argument revolves around the question of whether or not these human embryos should be ascribed equal moral status to fully developed humans. This thesis aims to analyze the origin and advancements of …

Honor: A Philosophically Parsed Assessment Of Honor And Arguments Concerning Its Moral Functions, Rianna S. Ramsey

Classical Conversations

Honor is a concept familiar to many, yet it can be difficult to articulate. In this thesis, the topic of honor is first explored as a philosophical and social structure. Then, using this structure, an ideal conception of honor is argued. For the formation and support of a functional honor theory, major components of honor are defined by examining and integrating the opinions of philosophers past and present. Terms defined include Individual and Group, as well as Internal behavior and External behavior. These establish honor as a mechanism for social motivation, because moral values that are idealized in a code …

Folklore, Reflecting And Influencing Culture, Sumlin Pate

Classical Conversations

Folklore is a unique form of storytelling that is culturally specific. This thesis argues that folklore has a dual role as it reflects a given culture and also actively shapes culture. To support this argument, opinions of various writers and fol klorists are considered as well as folk ideas from various societies. Two folktales are taken from two different countries Saudi Arabia and Estonia. In these folktales three things are considered: the qualities of the characters, the overall themes, and the morals of the folktale. This is then compared to the modern society of each culture, to see if these …

Generosity, Mallory K. Pierce

Classical Conversations

Generosity is a vague term and can mean a variety of different things across different cultures and generations. This essay seeks to delve deeper into what generosity really is. A few different definitions are presented and synthesized. Following that is a discussion of how generosity’s root is found in religion. This claim is based on scientific research and is not exclusive of any religion. Because of this connection, generosity is not contingent on material wealth and can still be expressed even amidst poverty. Generosity is also found to have a direct correlation with mental and physical health based on scientific …

Technological Tethereds: Potential Impact Of Untrustworthy Artificial Intelligence In Criminal Justice Risk Assessment Instruments, Sonia M. Gipson Rankin

Faculty Scholarship

Issues of racial inequality and violence are front and center in today’s society, as are issues surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). This Article, written by a law professor who is also a computer scientist, takes a deep dive into understanding how and why hacked and rogue AI creates unlawful and unfair outcomes, particularly for persons of color.

Black Americans are disproportionally featured in criminal justice, and their stories are obfuscated. The seemingly endless back-to-back murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and heartbreakingly countless others have finally shaken the United States from its slumbering journey towards intentional criminal justice …

Concerning Aristotelian Animal Essences, Damon Andrew Watson

Dissertations (1934 -)

In this dissertation I attempt to clarify Aristotle’s notion of essence. In particular, I focus on the essence of animal substances. When looking at Aristotle’s biological works and works like the Metaphysics it becomes perplexing how the accounts of animal essences in both are to constitute a unified view. In Parts of Animals the emphasis seems to be on definitions of animals that are rich enough to further explanatory aims. It is hard to see how such rich but messy definitions will be amenable to the strategies for a definition’s unity as are given in the Metaphysics. I argue that …

Makeshift Memory: Nostalgia As Collective Solidarity In The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood And Post-Imperial England, Catherine White

Senior Theses

It is a deeply human experience to long for times, people, and places of the past, even pasts we ourselves did not experience. This feeling, which we most often call nostalgia (but has earned many names throughout history) has profound influence especially in how we perceive our collective histories and use these histories to guide us forward. This experience of nostalgia is the underpinning for many of our sources of solidarity (or who we feel loyal or obligated to). However, when we feel these profound connections to the distant past, we often lose the reality of that past in the …

The Function Of Boundary Conditions In The Physical Sciences, Julia R. S. Bursten

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Early philosophical accounts of explanation mistook the function of boundary conditions for that of contingent facts. I diagnose where this misunderstanding arose and establish that it persists. I disambiguate between two uses of the term “boundary conditions” and argue that boundary conditions are explanatory via their roles as components of models. Using case studies from fluid mechanics and the physics of waves, I articulate four explanatory functions for boundary conditions in physics: specifying the scope of a model, enabling stable descriptions of phenomena in a model, generating descriptions of novel phenomena, and connecting models from differing theoretical backgrounds.

Community Based Inquiry - An Exercise To Develop Student-Led Philosophical Inquiry, Andrew Lambert

Open Educational Resources

This exercise provides opportunity for open philosophical discussion in the classroom, and promotes collaborative inquiry among students. It gives students direct experience of using the basic intellectual tools of philosophical inquiry. These include: clarifying what is at issue, seeking definitions, questioning definitions, spotting assumptions, evaluating inferential reasoning or moral judgments, presenting and examining evidence or explicit arguments.

The Destructive Draw Of Historical Determinism, Jared Russell

Honors Projects

Historical determinism can be understood as the idea that future events are predestined, usually by an esoteric or economic force. This is accompanied by the belief that there is a certain group of enlightened people that know what this future outcome will be. These people are also often convinced that it is their duty to help bring about this historical synthesis. While there are different iterations of historical determinism that can be critiqued, this paper will be focusing on some of the most influential. Specifically, the connection between a historical determinism as imagined by Hegel which was then adapted into …

Phil 110: Critical Thinking, Cuny School Of Professional Studies

Open Educational Resources

Focuses on the techniques of rational inference and analytical judgment. These include the study of informal logic (arguing cogently and recognizing common informal fallacies), formal patterns of reasoning (syllogistic and propositional logic), and some distinctive analytical methods used in scientific and professional disciplines. Provides students with the competencies that are requisite to successful career growth and life-long learning.

Colonial/Modern Gender System & Femicides, Melanie Pangol

Student Publications

The research paper addresses how a decolonial feminism framework has been applied to the anti-femicides movement that are happening in Ciudad Juarez. Furthermore, the paper argues that due to the cheap and exploitative labor force status that has been imposed upon black and brown female bodies, such women have been disproportionately impacted by gender violence.

"Eugenics Is Euphemism”:The American Eugenics Movement, The Cultural Law Of Progress, And Its International Connections & Consequences, Bessie Sue Blackburn

Masters Theses

While often hidden under the guise of race betterment in both a scientific and even moral sense, eugenics was a bioethical movement that captivated many at the turn of the 19th century and through the Progressive Era—which was defined by a crisis of identity in the American mind. Sir Francis Galton, the coiner of the term "eugenics," predicted that this science would first infiltrate academia, then become a practical concern, and finally enter into the conscience as a new religion. This thesis examines this prophecy through the lens of the Scopes Monkey Trial, Carrie Buck's case, and the later horrors …

American Absurdity: Reconciling Conceptions Of The Absurd In European And American Literature, Benjamin Spencer

Senior Theses

This thesis aims to examine the development of the concept of the absurd in literature across different time periods and cultural contexts. The absurd, as defined by Camus, is the gap between humanity’s desire to understand the world and the impossibility of doing so.

However, the ways in which the absurd is recognized as an aspect of existence depends heavily on the sociological contexts in which an individual lives. By analyzing the works of absurdist authors, filmmakers, and artists across time, we can track the development of these absurdist conceptions in both Europe and American literary movements.

Looking at these …

The (Un)Holy Bible: Slavery, Female Objectification, And Harm, Natalia A. D. Martins

Senior Theses

This project further elucidates the ability that the Biblical text has of being used as a justification for immoral actions. By using a textualist approach, we find that analyzing the effects that the literal text could have if used to justify action, allows us to see what Scriptural-based morality is subject to at all times. We approach this matter by classifying Scriptural interpretations under a spectrum that varies by degree. This is useful to see that the lowest bar for an action to be theologically justifiable, is whether it is in accordance with a literal reading of the Biblical text. …

An Abductive Argument For Theism: A Comparative Analysis, Erich P. Reule

Masters Theses

A theistic ontological foundation and authority for moral obligations is an essential element of theism. And, any replacement of theism must provide an explanation for moral obligations. As such, the core claims of both theism and atheism depend heavily on the research question of this thesis - What is the foundation and authority of moral obligations?

Theism provides a better explanation for the foundation and authority of moral obligations than the atheist worldview, or the utilitarian and robust normative realist ethical systems. Furthermore, it seems that moral obligations are real, objective, universal and human, and as such are best explained …

Classical Education, Mythos, And Philosophy, Luke Hancock

Senior Honors Theses

Classical education offers a superior education K-12 because it is uniquely equipped to incorporate mythos and philosophy, two important parts of an education that are not included as well in other systems of education. Mythos, which has to do with narratives, story, and myth, has significant uses and benefits in many contexts, including religious, cultural, and academic. Philosophy is important in order for one to live the good life, and is lacking in today’s culture of education. These two concepts are emphasized in classical education. They fit into the classical canon and are best taught in a classical context. For …

Husserl And Merleau-Ponty: A Feminist Critique Of The Phenomenological Body, Jasmin M. Makhlouf

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the phenomenological notion of embodiment, to explain the objectification and coercion that women and their bodies experience on a daily basis. I build the philosophical foundation of this thesis on Husserlian and Merleau-Pontian phenomenology, as well as, their work’s receptions in feminist philosophy of the early 20th century, mainly Simone de Beauvoir, as well as, more contemporary thinkers like Luce Irigaray and Judith Butler. Moreover, the thesis argues for a return to the traditional phenomenological notion of embodiment while incorporating elements of sexuality and sexual difference.

Covid-19 Connections: An Existential View Of A Pandemic, Jacqueline Ebel 21

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.