Philosophy Commons^™

Allen D. Breck Award

Quidditas

The Breck Award recognizes the most distinguished paper given by a junior scholar at the annual conference.

Recipient of the Allen D. Breck Award for 2019

BRETTON RODRIGUEZ

Eroticism As A Metaphor For The Human-Divine Relationhip In Attar’S Conference Of The Birds, Or Mantiqu’T-Tair, Marisa Sikes

Quidditas

Farídu’d-Dín Ἁṭṭār’s The Speech of the Birds employs transgressive erotic imagery in multiple sub-tales in ways that both enhance the frame tale’s significance and suggest that persistent, discrete categories of love poetry and religious poetry are untenable as far as Ἁṭṭār’s works are concerned. Eroticism in Ἁṭṭār’s work paradoxically elicits shock and supports orthodoxy, sometimes simultaneously. In the narrative of Shaikh-i Sam’ān religious taboos are broken by a Muslim shaikh devoted to a Christian beloved who spurns him continuously. In “The Princess and the Beautiful Slave-Boy” eroticism is overtly presented as a metaphor for temporary, ecstatic union with the divine. …

Psychoanalysis, Dignity, And Life: An Introduction, David Metzger

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The New White Moderate: Bearing Witness To The Differend Of Race, Ethan T. Ashley

Honors Theses

As Frantz Fanon demonstrates in his text, Black Skin, White Masks, Sartrean existentialism fails to account for differences in racialized existence. Quite simply, the notion that “existence precedes essence” is reversed in the case of the black subject; he/she is living in a world that has rendered the black subject subservient to a predetermined essence. Ultimately, the fact that the white subject exists and may freely determine his/her essence while the black subject may not further demonstrates this gap or a chasm between black and white subjects that calls for further examination. In the first chapter, I will use …

Untitled Unknown, Taylor Simone Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

This article is the first of a series exploring domination culture through the ways narrative has been indoctrinated as reality and weaponized as a holding cell for captives. Within this exploration, the narrative of domination is placed in relation to higher dimensional realms of the unknown; this being the before and after of domination culture. This positioning will allow for the reality of a simultaneous existence within the labyrinth of domination and a higher dimensional unknown to be framed. Within this series of articles, I question the roll of the rogue characters shamanistic agents of resisting domination, the fear of …

Examining The Experience Of Nepotism In A Protestant Church, Monica L. Austin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research literature reveals a number of studies conducted on unethical behavior, including nepotism, within the broader nonprofit sector. However, the effect of faith community leadership nepotism on parishioners has not been studied. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to fill a gap in the literature by exploring parishioner perceptions of leadership nepotism through the lens of servant leadership. Specific to this study, it was unknown whether parishioners of a Protestant church view nepotism as having a positive, negative, or neutral impact related to leadership performance. Specifically, the study explored parishioner impacts related to 5 elements of servant leadership: …

Students’ Perspectives Regarding Their Emotional Engagement In Middle School Learning Environments, Brendan Joseph Mccormick

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines emotional engagement as a vital component of creating optimal learning environments for mid-adolescent students. Through a qualitative research design, seventh and eighth grade student volunteers from Cornfield Middle School shared perspectives on their emotional engagement experiences in middle school learning environments. Thirty-four students participated in three rounds of data collection—an open-ended survey about flow experiences, a homogeneous focus group discussion, and a follow-up survey. The results from each data collection procedure were coded and arranged into themes of positive and negative emotions experienced in certain academic contexts.

The results show that the CFMS students experienced a range …

The Life Of The Other: An Analysis Of Puerto Rico Within The United Nations, Angelica Roman

Honors College Theses

No abstract provided.

A Sense Of Being: The Art Of A Changing Human Experience, Wing Yung Ng

Honors College Theses

No abstract provided.

Missing The Apes Of The Trees For The Forest, Carlo Alvaro

Publications and Research

The debate over ape personhood is of great social and moral importance. For more than twenty-five years, attorney Steven Wise has been arguing that animals who have cognitive complexities similar to humans should be legally granted basic rights of au- tonomy. In my view, granting personhood status and other rights to great apes are at- tainable goals. But how should we go about it? My worry is that Thompson’s suggest- ed strategy relies on Kantian ethics, in particular on Kant’s notion of autonomy. In fact, I am worried about Kantian ethics in general because of its influence on morality and …

Volume 11, Jacob Carney, Ryan White, Joseph Hyman, Jenny Raven, Megan Garrett, Ibrahim Kante, Summer Meinhard, Lauren Johnson, William "Editha" Dean Howells, Laura Gottschalk, Christopher Siefke, Pink Powell, Natasha Woodmancy, Katharine Colley, Abbey Mays, Charlotte Potts

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Table of Contents:

Introduction, Dr. Roger A. Byrne, Dean

From the Editor, Dr. Larissa "Kat" Tracy

From the Designers, Rachel English, Rachel Hanson

Synthesis of 3,5-substituted Parabens and their Antimicrobial Properties, Jacob Coarney, Ryan White

Chernobyl: Putting "Perestroika" and "Glasnot" to the Test, Joseph Hyman

Art by Jenny Raven

Watering Down Accessibility: The Issue with Public Access to Alaska's Federal Waterways, Meagan Garrett

Why Has the Democratic Republic of the Congo outsourced its Responsibility to Educate its Citizens? Ibrahim Kante

Art by Summer Meinhard

A Computational Study of Single Molecule Diodes, Lauren Johnson

Satire of …

Towards An Aristotelian Theory Of Care: A Comparison Of Neo-Aristotelian Virtue Ethics With Feminist Ethics Of Care, And The Fundaments Of A Virtue Ethical Theory Of Care, Steven Steyl

Theses

The intersection between virtue and care ethics is underexplored in contemporary moral philosophy. This thesis approaches care ethics from a neo-Aristotelian virtue ethical perspective, comparing the two frameworks and drawing on recent work on care to develop a theory thereof. It is split into seven substantive chapters serving three major argumentative purposes, namely the establishment of significant intertheoretical agreement, the compilation and analysis of extant and new distinctions between the two theories, and the synthesis of care ethical insights with neo-Aristotelianism to generate a virtue ethical theory of care. In the first two chapters, I outline virtue ethics and care …

The Kite And The String: Why Philosophy Needs More Storytellers, Mason James Voehl

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis seeks to explore the relationship between philosophy and storytelling as grounded in their shared task of instructing readers in how to live a rich and moral life. Using a combination of narratives and the philosophical theories of Martha Nussbaum, Edward Mooney, and Iris Murdoch, I claim that philosophy and storytelling ought to be natural allies rather than territorial enemies as each reveals and attends to separate but equally important aspects of the good life in community with others. I then extend this claim into the context of environmental philosophy, using the work of writer Jason Mark as an …

Models Dont Decompose That Way: A Holistic View Of Idealized Models, Collin Rice

Philosophy Faculty Research and Scholarship

Many (if not most) accounts of scientific modelling assume that models can be decomposed into the contributions made by their accurate and inaccurate parts. These accounts then argue that the inaccurate parts of the model can be justified by distorting only what is irrelevant. In this article, I argue that this decompositional strategy requires three assumptions that are not typically met by our best scientific models. In response, I propose an alternative view in which idealized models are characterized as holistically distorted representations that are justified by allowing for the application of various (mathematical) modelling techniques.

Book Review: Abortion Rights: For And Against, Michelle Oberman, Julia D. Hejduk

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Neuroethical Role Of Narrative Identity In Ethical Decision Making, Peter A. Depergola Ii

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

An increasingly blurred understanding of the moral significance of narrative identity for a robust perception of self, other, and community suggests a critical need to explore the inter-relationships shared between autobiographical memory, emotional rationality, and narrative identity, particularly as it bears on decision making. This essay argues that (i) the disintegration of autobiographical memory degenerates emotional rationality; (ii) the degeneration of emotional rationality decays narrative identity; and (iii) the decay of narrative identity disables one to seek, identify, and act on the good. After demonstrating that narrative identity is best understood as the product of autobiographical memory and emotional rationality, …

Towards A Practical And Empirically Grounded Account Of Útang-Na-Loób As A Filipino Virtue, Jacklyn A. Cleofas

Philosophy Department Faculty Publications

Although there are existing philosophical accounts of útang-na-loób (debt of good will) and the suggestion that this Filipino cultural practice can be considered a virtue is not new, questions remain about how morally desirable forms of útang-na-loób can be separated from its problematic involvement in nepotism, patronage politics, life-long servitude, corruption, and other forms of injustice. In this paper, I develop a practical and empirically grounded account of útang-na-loób as a Filipino virtue by using a neo-Aristotelian framework that allows for the incorporation of research from the social sciences into virtue-theoretic recommendations for action. I argue that útang-na-loób must be …

A Zhuangzian Ethic Of Openness And Hospitality For Contemporary Filipino Society, Joseph Emmanuel D. Sta. Maria

Philosophy Department Faculty Publications

In this article, I wish to show that Dr. Agustin Rodriguez's idea of how government institutions in Philippine society should practice hospitality towards the marginalized Other, resonates with and can be complemented by a personal ethic of openness and hospitality drawn from the Daoist work Zhuangzi. According to Rodriguez, poor Filipinos living in urban areas, tend to be misunderstood and marginalized by the rest of the well-to-do class. The reason for this is that these poor live out an alternative rationality or way of life as compared to that of the elite. This marginalized rationality finds it difficult to fit …

Sex(Edness) In The City: Reimagining Our Urban Spaces With Abraham Akkerman, Duane Allyson U. Gravador-Pancho

Philosophy Department Faculty Publications

In this essay, Duane Allyson U. Gravador-Pancho foregrounds the gendered origins of the cities that we build. Taking her cue from Akkerman, Gravador-Pancho outlines the predominantly masculine characteristics of most cities, which coincides with the privileging of Western rationality that emphasizes rigidity and predictability in urban design. Such a predominantly masculine conception and design of the city comes at the cost of setting aside characteristics that are feminine, such as the elements of surprise and eroticism. But how would a city look like if we allowed the feminine to also come into play? “In the context of urban planning and …

Artificial Intelligence And Utility : Deep Problems For A.I. Ethics, Trevor Howard Groves

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As technology advances further, new problems arise for us to contend with philosophically. Indeed, popular media has already begun presenting the possible issues our society must deal with. One of these is A.I., and how they will challenge old notions of subjects like identity, consciousness, and ethics. It is this third category that this paper is concerned with, namely how the existence of A.I. will affect our choice of ethical theory in regards to their treatment. It is my intention to demonstrate that one particular category of ethical theory, hedonistic consequentialist ones, will be ill equipped to handle these considerations. …