Philosophy Commons^™

Physis And Ktsis: Two Different Ways Of Thinking Of The World, John Panteleimon Manoussakis

Philosophy Department Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this paper is to offer some thoughts on a statement by Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon, a pioneer in environmental theology.

Primacy And Ecclesiology: The State Of The Question, John Panteleimon Manoussakis

Philosophy Department Faculty Scholarship

This paper addresses the question of whether the Orthodox Church needs a primus, especially at the universal level.

A Problem For Fine Individuation And Artist Essentialism, Jeffrey C. Goodman

Faculty Scholarship

Fine Individuation says it’s impossible for distinct people who are not collaborating on a work of art to produce one and same artwork.  This is an intra-world thesis, but is necessarily true, if true at all.  Author-Essentialism says it’s impossible for someone else to produce one and the same work of art produced by some actual artist.  This is an alleged necessary truth regarding cross-world relations.  Both theses have been vigorously defended.  I here argue that both are false, but for reasons that are entirely novel.

Review Of Peter Alward's "Empty Revelations", Jeffrey C. Goodman

Faculty Scholarship

I here review Peter Alward's monograph Empty Revelations

Ricoeur And Foucault: Between Ontology And Critique, Patrick Gamez

Arts, Languages and Philosophy Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, I trace some of Ricoeur’s criticisms of Foucault in his major works on historiography, and evaluate them. I find that Ricoeur’s criticisms of Foucault’s archaeological project in Time and Narrative are not particularly worrisome, and that Foucault’s “critical” project actually provides alternatives for enriching and expanding on some of Ricoeur’s later insights in Memory, History, Forgetting and – in particular – for troubling the distinction made between critique and ontology.

Inscriptions Of Power: An Argument Against Traditional Gender Roles In Contemporary Culture, Jamie K. Ayres

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the western culture, historically speaking, there are different ideas of what gives an individual authority or power. There is also historical evidence of an unequal balance between men and women and throughout this thesis I will argue that this is still the case in contemporary society. This unbalance is evident in the ways in which women make use of their bodies in acts such as dieting and pregnancy, how women take on the role of caregivers, and the view of women in leadership positions. I maintain that one of the biggest concerns and contributors to this problem is the …

Public Philosophy Of Technology, Dylan E. Wittkower, Evan Selinger, Lucinda Rush

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Philosophers of technology are not playing the public role which our own theoretical perspectives motivate us to take. A great variety of theories and perspectives within philosophy of technology, including those of Marcuse, Feenberg, Borgmann, Ihde, Michelfelder, Bush, Winner, Latour, and Verbeek, either support or directly call for various sorts of intervention—a call that we have failed to adequately heed. Barriers to such intervention are discussed, and three proposals for reform are advanced: (1) post-publication peer-reviewed reprinting of public philosophy, (2) increased emphasis on true open access publication, and (3) increased efforts to publicize and adapt traditional academic research.

To Live, By Grace, William Robert

Religion - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

How A Skeptical Foundationalist Might Respond To Peter Klein, Maximillian M. Muller

Global Tides

In this article I attack Peter Klein's argument for epistemic infinitism by showing that there is at least one foundational belief, and by rejecting his principle of avoiding arbitrariness.

For What I Hate, I Do: An Investigation Of Weakness Of Will, Craig B. Knepley

Global Tides

In this paper, I argue that Alfred Mele's account of weakness of will (externalism) is more philosophically defensible than R. M. Hare's account (internalism). I explain why the phenomenon of weakness of will is philosophically troubling, then go on to spell out Hare and Mele's respective views. I entertain Austin's psychological objection to Hare, as well as the objection that Hare ultimately overreaches. I argue that Hare might respond to the first but not the second of these objections. I consider the free will objection to Mele's schema, in addition to Bratman's objection that such a schema is counter-intuitive. I …

The Correspondence Theory Of Truth: The Root Cause Of Fundamentalism In America, Peyton Mclain Tune

Philosophy & Humanities Theses - Archive

Christian fundamentalism in America is alive and well and serves as an impediment to the progress of a democratic society because of its tendency to seek universal subordination of all truth to "Biblical truth". In this paper I argue the source of strength for the resilience of this religious movement comes from their implicit adherence to the correspondence theory of truth as they apply it to their interpretation of the Bible. Furthermore, I will argue Richard Rorty's attack on the correspondence theory of truth provides a challenge to fundamentalism and reveals an alternative to fundamentalists who might join him in …

Adaptation, Steven Luper

Philosophy Faculty Research

Some ways of dealing with a threatened evil will be self-defeating, in the sense that the response is no better for us, or even worse, than the evil it prevents. A way of adapting to death might be self-defeating in precisely the same way. Perhaps, however, we can adapt to death by suitably modifying our interests, and do so in a way that is not self-defeating. I will call this claim the adaptation thesis. Elsewhere, I have argued against it. In this chapter, I reinforce that conclusion.

'Abdolkarim Soroush, Sayeh Meisami

Philosophy Faculty Publications

‘Abdolkarim Soroush is the penname for Hossein Haj Faraj Dabbᾱgh (1945–). He is one of the most controversial figures in the religious and political polemics of postrevolutionary Iran. This is owing to his early adherence to the Islamic revolutionary values, his polemics against Marxism, later departure from the conservative Islam toward a reformist stand based on the philosophy of science and modern hermeneutics, and his current role as an uncompromising and outspoken opposition voice, as well as a fervent supporter of the Green Movement. Soroush’s ideas should be categorized under religious reformism in general, which goes beyond Iranian politics. Due …

The Ethiopian Conception Of Time And Modernity, Messay Kebede

Philosophy Faculty Publications

If there is one thing that philosophers agree upon, it is that the meaning of time is a central philosophical question. If we take the Western world as an example, there is no famous philosopher who has not investigated time. The German philosopher Martin Heidegger, to indicate the centrality of time, writes: “all ontology is rooted in the phenomenon of time correctly viewed and correctly explained.”

Likewise, according to the French philosopher Henri Bergson, the main reason that philosophical questions are difficult is because “we do not think about real time.” The fact that the question of time is very …

The Ethiopian Conception Of Time And Modernity: Amharic Version, Messay Kebede

Philosophy Faculty Publications

If there is one thing that philosophers agree upon, it is that the meaning of time is a central philosophical question. If we take the Western world as an example, there is no famous philosopher who has not investigated time. The German philosopher Martin Heidegger, to indicate the centrality of time, writes: “all ontology is rooted in the phenomenon of time correctly viewed and correctly explained.”

Likewise, according to the French philosopher Henri Bergson, the main reason that philosophical questions are difficult is because “we do not think about real time.” The fact that the question of time is very …

Mothering Against Norms: Diane Wilson And Environmental Activism, Danielle Poe

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Diane Wilson is a mother and an environmental activist, two roles that challenge:

• Common perceptions about what a mother is and what her obligations to her children are.
• Common stereotypes about environmental activists and the focus of their acts.

Her story reveals the ways in which mothering is always practiced in a context, and sometimes in order to work toward a society in which her children can thrive, a mother may have to challenge the context itself and take time away from her children.

When Wilson engages in questioning, challenging, and changing the world, she faces pressure from local and …

Critical Thinking: Primary Concepts, James Digiovanna

Open Educational Resources

I’ve been teaching critical thinking for many years, and I’ve developed a short, free, Creative Commons-licensed text that’s useful for a brief (maybe 3 week?) critical thinking section in any intro philosophy or composition course (or really, just about any course; it’s been used at my college by professors from a number of departments.)

Comparing Consequentialist Solutions To The Nonidentity Problem, Emily K. Ott

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores the nonidentity problem, an influential puzzle in modern ethics which addresses the nature of our moral responsibilities towards future generations. I begin by laying out the two conflicting intuitions comprising the problem and providing several examples to illustrate how we conceive of the moral status of future people. I then examine two versions of consequentialism, averagism and totalism, which circumvent the nonidentity problem. However, these two solutions each pose their own respective problems; thus, I argue that a modification of totalism – the critical level view – is the most viable consequentialist answer to the nonidentity problem.

The Philosophy Of Sex And The Morality Of Homosexual Conduct, Kyle C. Hansen

CMC Senior Theses

Homosexuality is an important and controversial topic in political, philosophical, ethical and religious spheres. We are exposed to the debate of homosexuality in the media on a regular basis and issues related to homosexuality have been taken up by the Supreme Court, politicians and religious institutions. Needless to say, the debate surrounding homosexuality has captured the attention of almost everyone in society to some degree. It is my goal in this thesis to give a candid overview and analysis of the arguments surrounding homosexual sexual conduct. First, I will present an argument by John Corvino, who posits that homosexual conduct …

A Question Of Values: Overpopulation And Our Choice Between Procreative Rights And Security-Survival, Megan T. Latta

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the beliefs of population theorist Julian L. Simon through the creation of a harm principle. It specifically analyzes his argument that we value our freedom to choose how many children we want above all other values in the context of overpopulation and environmental destruction. The developed harm principle is meant to give us a method to decide how to balance our personal freedom with our security-survival. I begin with an overview of Simon’s work, as well as an exposition of other prominent population theorists. I then propose a principle that is a utilitarian alternative to John Stuart …