Philosophy Commons^™

Sifting The Commonplace: Topoi And The Grounds For Argument In Classical And Modern Rhetoric, Daniel Verlo Cutshaw

English Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is a reminder that how we consider reasoning to work and its end is very much bound up with how we think about people, what they are, what they can be, and how they do and should live together. Part of the end of the human being is to understand, to understand the Good or God and thus understand herself and her relation to others and her obligation to others; this is something we see in Aristotle's somewhat-spiritual understanding of Ethics and the Human Being. Focusing on reasoning (and its connection to being) in general, instead of accenting …

Philosophy And Theology: What Justifies The Right To Live?, Christopher Kaczor

Philosophy Faculty Works

In this article, the author presents his views on various articles related to the research on philosophy and theology which was published in the previous issues of several periodicals. He informs about the definitions of potentiality and capacity. He further highlights a book "Embryo: A Defense of Human Life" by Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen.

Behind The Seams: Individual Responsibility & Global Poverty, Annette Denton

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Finishing Well: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Spiritual Transformation In Retirement-Age Evangelical Men, Johnny Justin Baker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The baby boomers comprise a large segment of the United States population (78 million) but many of them are without spiritual resources to finish well in life. However, there are a few Evangelical men who have experienced spiritual transformation in retirement-age and have discovered the resources for security and significance in the spiritual dimension. Through a qualitative research design the stories of eight participants gave richness and depth to this study. These men described how they and others were impacted by the transformation experience. They discarded superficial forms of cultural Christianity to embrace authentic intrinsic change. The spiritual transformation experience, …

Sacrée Et Inviolable: The Hiv+ Mother In Ivoirian Health Policy, Amber Alaniz

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

« La personne humaine est sacrée (2)… Le domicile est inviolable. Les atteintes ou restrictions ne peuvent y être apportées que par la loi. (4) La famille constitue la cellule de base de la société. L'État assure sa protection. (5)» Constitution of La Côte d’Ivoire, Articles 2,4,5[1]

The Ivoirian national constitution, authored and enacted in July of 2000, while expressing a devotion to democratic thought (Preamble) and to the sovereignty of the individual (Article 2), also acknowledges the primacy of the Ivoirian family and collective identity as the basis of society and advances a moral duty on the part …

Comparing Suffering Across Species, John Nolt

Between the Species

Moral life often presents us with trade-offs between the sufferings of some individuals and the sufferings of others. Researchers may need to consider, for example, whether the suffering imposed on animals by a certain line of medical experimentation justifies the relief that the resulting discoveries may bring to (human or non-human) others. Often in such cases, the suffering of some individuals is incomparable with—that is neither greater than nor less than nor equal to—the suffering of others. While this complicates moral decision-making across species, it does not undermine it.

The Dialectic Of American Humanism: The Lecture Script, H. Vernon Leighton

Library Faculty Works

This document is the script from a lecture given at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota on March 28, 2012. The lecture described the scholarly discovery process for the peer-reviewed article “The Dialectic of American Humanism,” which was published in the journal Renascence also in 2012.

The Purpose Of Personal Value, Erica Stonestreet

Philosophy Faculty Publications

It seems as if there are things that have what we might call personal value—special objects, artwork by our children, etc. This term is meant to mark a difference between things whose value seems tied to a particular person, as opposed to things (like the Mona Lisa) that are valuable, period. The concept of personal value hasn’t received much focused attention, but I believe that it is of not only theoretical, but practical importance. In this paper, I explore the practical angle, arguing that personal value is important to our ability to make sense of ourselves. I give …

A Philosophical Analysis Of Intellectual Property: In Defense Of Instrumentalism, Michael A. Kanning

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues in favor of an instrumental approach to Intellectual Property (IP). I begin by reviewing justifications for IP that have been offered in recent literature, including Lockean labor theory, Hegelian personality theory, Kantian property theory and utilitarianism. Upon a close and careful analysis, I argue that none of these justifications suffice to ground contemporary IP practice. I review some recent works that offer `pluralist' justifications for IP, which draw from multiple theories in order to account for the diverse field of IP-related laws and practices in existence. I argue that these pluralist theories are also insufficient, because there …

Misunderstanding & Misdirecting The Liberal Arts, John Thorp

Research Day (Arts & Humanities, FIMS, and Education)

No abstract provided.

Endorsement, Worth And Well-Being: What Is It For A Life To Go Well?, Michel Hébert

Research Day (Arts & Humanities, FIMS, and Education)

Theories of well-being give an account of what it is for persons to fare well. They state the general features that make a life good for the person who lives it.

The Mechanistic Roots Of Occasionalism: Stage One, Benjamin Hill, Henrik Lagerlund, Todd Ryan, Elliot Rossiter

Research Day (Arts & Humanities, FIMS, and Education)

What is Occasionalism?

Occasionalism is the doctrine about causal efficacy that exploits the non-observational nature of causation. We observe a prior and a posterior state of the universe, and discern the difference between them. But we cannot observe the force or power causally necessitating the change.

Henry David Thoreau And Health In Nature (Flyer), James Engell

The Idea of Nature Public Lecture Series

As if he had always been looking to the future, Thoreau’s idea of health remains astonishingly relevant. He senses the danger of environmentally-linked and environmentally-caused illness. He promotes wellness of body, mind, and spirit together, which achieves harmony with nature through diet, exercise, sensory contact, and ethical self-reflection. The idea of human health in relation to nature informs all that he wrote and appears repeatedly for two decades throughout his Journal. Yet, he doesn’t devote a whole book, single chapter, or complete essay to it exclusively, perhaps because health and nature connect to so many other concerns. Instead, health linked …

Towards A Coherent Theory Of Animal Equality, Stijn Bruers

Between the Species

In this article I want to construct in a simple and systematic way an ethical theory of animal equality. The goal is a consistent theory, containing a set of clear and coherent universalized ethical principles that best fits our strongest moral intuitions in all possible morally relevant situations that we can think of, without too many arbitrary elements. I demonstrate that impartiality with a level of risk aversion and empathy with a need for efficiency are two different approaches that both result in the same consequentialist principle of prioritarianism. Next, I discuss that this principle can be trumped by an …

Reconciling Justice And Pleasure In Epicurean Contractarianism, John Thrasher

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

Epicurean contractarianism is an attempt to reconcile individualistic hedonism with a robust account of justice. The pursuit of pleasure and the requirements of justice, however, have seemed to be incompatible to many commentators, both ancient and modern. It is not clear how it is possible to reconcile hedonism with the demands of justice. Furthermore, it is not clear why, even if Epicurean contractarianism is possible, why it would be necessary for Epicureans to endorse a social contract. I argue here that Epicurean contractarianism is both possible and necessary once we understand Epicurean practical rationality in a new way. We are …

Trust And The Trickster Problem, Zac Cogley

Publication

In this paper, I articulate and defend a conception of trust that solves what I call “the trickster problem.” The problem results from the fact that many accounts of trust treat it similar to, or identical with, relying on someone’s good will. But a trickster could rely on your good will to get you to go along with his scheme, without trusting you to do so. Recent philosophical accounts of trust aim to characterize what it is for one person to trust another so as to avoid this problem, but no extant account successfully does so.

I argue that connecting …

Knowledge, Wisdom, And Service: The Meaning And Teaching Of Professionalism In Medicine, Matthew K. Wynia

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University. Presented September 29, 2011.

Sagp Newsletter 2011/12.4 Pacific, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Life, Transferable: Questioning The Commodity-Based Approach To Transplantation Ethics, David Dillard-Wright

Faculty Publications

Some bioethicists have proposed a legalized market in human organs as a solution to transplant waiting lists and global poverty. Solutions to organ procurement problems that are solely market-based would unfairly shift the burdens of medical procedures onto developing nations. Market advocates base their claims on the understanding of organs as property, a position that should be problematized. Instrumentalizing people in this way is made part of the broader commodification of animals and the environment. Combating the market mentality requires a return to the holistic view of bioethics that led to the founding of the field.

Milwaukee's King Of Comix: The Underground Art Of Jim Mitchell, Curtis Carter

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.