Philosophy Commons^™

The Incorrigible Social Meaning Of Video Game Imagery, Stephanie Patridge

Religion & Philosophy Faculty Scholarship

In this paper, I consider a particular amoralist challenge against those who would morally criticize our single-player video play, viz., 'come on, it's only a game!' The amoralist challenge with which I engage gains strength from two facts: the activities to which the amoralist lays claim are only those that do not involve interactions with other rational or sentient creatures, and the amoralist concedes that there may be extrinsic, consequentialist considerations that support legitimate moral criticisms. I argue that the amoralist is mistaken and that there are non-consequentialist resources for morally evaluating our single-player game play. On my view, some …

Huebner's Critical Encounter With The Philosophy Of Heidegger In Being And Time: Learning, Understanding, And The Authentic Unfolding Of History In The Curriculum, James Magrini

Philosophy Scholarship

This paper responds to the following question: "What are the issues concerned with potential educational reform that arise from Huebner's critical encounter with Heidegger and the tradition in education and curriculum theory?" In attempting a rejoinder, I revisit Huebner's groundbreaking essay, "Curriculum as Concern for Man's Temporality," which introduces the phenomenological method in education and curriculum studies, with the goal of examining in detail the underlying themes, issues, and concepts, which ground Huebner's reconceptualization of curriculum reform, as they emerge from Heidegger's philosophy. I show that Huebner's understanding of Being-in-the-world in terms of the design of the educational environment, not …

Animals-As-Patients: Improving The Practice Of Animal Experimentation, Jane Johnson, Christopher Degeling

Between the Species

In this paper we propose a new way of conceptualizing animals in experimentation – the animal-as-patient. Construing and treating animals as patients offers a way of successfully addressing some of the entrenched epistemological and ethical problems within a practice of animal experimentation directed to human clinical benefit. This approach is grounded in an epistemological insight and builds on work with so-called ‘pet models’. It relies upon the occurrence and characterization of analogous human and nonhuman animal diseases, where, if certain criteria of homology and mechanism are met, the animal simultaneously becomes a patient and a spontaneous model of the human …

Bell's Spaceships Problem And The Foundations Of Special Relativity, Francisco Fernflores

Philosophy

Recent ‘dynamical’ approaches to relativity by Harvey Brown and his colleagues have used John Bell’s own solution to a problem in relativity which has in the past sometimes been called ‘Bell’s spaceships paradox’, in a central way. This paper examines solutions to this problem in greater detail and from a broader philosophical perspective than Brown et al. offer. It also analyses the well-known analogy between special relativity and classical thermodynamics. This analysis leads to the sceptical conclusion that Bell’s solution yields neither new philosophical insights concerning the foundations of relativity nor differential support for a specific view concerning the existence …

Obstetricians And Violence Against Women, Sonya Charles

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

I argue that the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), as an organization and through its individual members, can and should be a far greater ally in the prevention of violence against women. Specifically, I argue that we need to pay attention to obstetrical practices that inadvertently contribute to the problem of violence against women. While intimate partner violence is a complex phenomenon, I focus on the coercive control of women and adherence to oppressive gender norms. Using physician response to alcohol use during pregnancy and court-ordered medical treatment as examples, I show how some obstetrical practices mirror the …

Teachers’ Perceptions Toward Enhancing Learning Through Multiple Intelligences Theory In Elementary School: A Mixed Methods Study, Nouf I. Al-Wadi

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of multiple intelligences theory on elementary students’ academic achievement and to investigate teacher perceptions of multiple intelligences theory. The multiple intelligences school that was chosen for this study was Edwin Rhodes Elementary School. The study examined Edwin Rhodes Elementary School performance via the California Academic Performance Index. Edwin Rhodes School scores were compared with similar traditional school scores and with gifted and talented scores. The study found that the multiple intelligences school performance was between traditional and gifted and talented school performances. The study also explored teachers’ perceptions at Edwin …

Thomas Hobbes' Response To The Fool: Justice And Magnanimity, Andrew James Corsa

Philosophy - Dissertations

I focus on Thomas Hobbes' response to the moral skeptic - the Fool - who claims it is sometimes reasonable to break valid covenants (contracts). The Fool maintains that, in some circumstances, violating a covenant will be in a person's best self-interest, and it will be reasonable to violate when it is. I interpret Hobbes to respond that it will never be reasonable for anyone to break a valid covenant, even in the state of nature (prior to society). In fact, everyone is obliged to keep all of his valid covenants, and it is always both reasonable and in each …

Hear My Voice: An Examination Of The Views Of Parents Who Are Raising Children Of African American Descent, Chavez Maurice Phelps

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have demonstrated that children who attend early childhood education programs benefit academically and socially (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2003). However, other researchers have shown that African American students may still lag behind their counterparts when they enter school (National Center for Education Statistics ([NCES], 2004). To explain this phenomenon, scholars and practitioners have relied on deficit theories, such as Ruby Payne’s (2005) culture of poverty theory or John Ogbu’s (1992) oppositional culture identity theory, which shift the blame solely on the child or their parents. However, there are other researchers who have stressed the importance of examining …

A Nietzschean Account Of Human Flourishing: Affirming The Will To Power Inside The Contours Of Friendship, Christian Joshua Roos

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine Friedrich Nietzsche's notion of the will to power, his account of friendship and his understanding of human flourishing. Through textual analysis, I offer a new way of interpreting the will to power, as the achieving of self-realization. The process of achieving self-realization is undergirded by the satisfaction of seven existential needs that are rooted in the paradoxical human conflict between instincts and consciousness. The existential needs are the need for a frame of orientation, the need for devotion, the need for unity, the need for rootedness, the need for stimulation, the need for effectiveness and …

Two Conceptions Of The Mind, Benjamin J. Aguda

HIM 1990-2015

Since the cognitive revolution during the last century the mind has been conceived of as being computer-like. Like a computer, the brain was assumed to be a physical structure (hardware) upon which a computational mind (software) was built. The mind was seen as a collection of independent programs which each have their own specific tasks, or modules. These modules took sensory input "data" and transduced it into language-like representations which were used in mental computations. Recently, a new conception of the mind has developed, grounded cognition. According to this model, sensory stimulus is saved in the original format in which …

Effects Of Ectoparasites And Reproductive Class On Roost-Switching And Foraging Behavior Of Indiana Bats (Myotis Sodalis), Nicholas S. Gikas

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ectoparasites of bats have been known to cause harm to their hosts and to affect roost-switching. Little research exists on effects ectoparasites may have on roosting and foraging behavior of the federally endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). From 2008 through 2010, I collected ectoparasite data and documented roost-switching and foraging behavior of Indiana bats on habitat restoration lands owned by the Indianapolis International Airport (IND) in central Indiana. I tested for differences in roosting and foraging behavior between bats with varying ectoparasite loads, and for differences in ectoparasite load, roost-switching frequency, and foraging behavior between different reproductive classes of Indiana …

The Impact Of Regulating Social Science Research With Biomedical Regulations, Brenda Braxton Durosinmi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Impact of Regulating Social Science Research with Biomedical Regulations Since 1974 Federal regulations have governed the use of human subjects in biomedical and social science research. The regulations are known as the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, and often referred to as the "Common Rule" because 18 Federal agencies follow some form of the policy. The Common Rule defines basic policies for conducting biomedical and social science research. Almost from the inception of the Common Rule social scientists have expressed concerns of the policy's medical framework of regulations having its applicability also to human research in …

Including The Excluded: Communitarian Paths To Cosmopolitanism, Eduard Jordaan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Cosmopolitanism is frequently criticised for overlooking the situatedness of morality and the importance of solidarity in their aspiration to global justice. A number of thinkers take these criticisms seriously and pursue ‘a communitarian path to cosmopolitanism’. Four such approaches are considered. All four view morality and justice as grounded in a specific social setting and hold that justice is more likely to result if there is some ‘we-feeling’ among people, but are simultaneously committed to expanding the realm of justice and moral concern to beyond national boundaries. To enable the theorisation of an expanded realm of situated justice and moral …

Toward An Inter-American Philosophy: Pragmatism And The Philosophy Of Liberation, Alexander V. Stehn

Philosophy Faculty Publications

This essay suggests that the U.S.-American Pragmatist tradition could be fruitfully reconstructed by way of a dialogue with Latin American Liberation Philosophy. More specifically, I work to establish a common ground for future comparative work by: 1) gathering and interpreting Enrique Dussel’s scattered comments on Pragmatism, 2) showing how the concept of liberation already functions in John Dewey’s Pragmatism, and 3) suggesting reasons for further developing this inter-American philosophical dialogue and debate.

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En este ensayo se sugiere que la tradición del pragmatismo estadounidense podría ser reconstruida de forma fructífera en un diálogo con la filosofía de la liberación latinoamericana. …

Kovesi And The Formal And Material Elements Of Concepts, T. Brian Mooney, Mark Nowacki, John N. Williams

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In his seminal work Moral Notions, Julius Kovesi presents a novel account of concept formation. At the heart of this account is a distinction between what he terms the material element and the formal element of concepts. This paper elucidates his distinction in detail and contrasts it with other distinctions such as form-matter, universal-particular, genus-difference, necessary-sufficient, and open texture-closed texture. We situate Kovesi’s distinction within his general philosophical method, outlining his views on concept formation in general and explain how his theory of concept formation is applied in moral philosophy.

Cognitive Agendas And Legal Epistemology, Danny Marrero

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The domain of legal epistemology is defined from two alternative perspectives: individual epistemology and Social epistemology. Since these perspectives have different objects of evaluation, their judgments privilege and exclude different sets of information. While methodological individualism is concerned with justified beliefs of individual knowers, the Social angle focuses on the institutional conditions of knowledge. I will show that the information that is respectively excluded by both the individual and the Social concepts of legal epistemology weaken their respective evaluations. With this in mind, I will explore one new option of defining legal epistemology. This alternative is more comprehensive, in the …

The Ins And Outs Of Prostitution: A Moral Analysis, Kathryn Alice Zawisza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prostitution is illegal in almost all parts of the United States. Regardless of whether one considers this to be positive or negative, prostitution is still a booming business and thrives despite the legal ramifications of the practice. The pervasiveness of prostitution despite its prohibition may lead one to question the point of the legislation if enforcement is so costly and ineffective. Is prostitution illegal because it harms the well being of society as a whole and the prostitute in particular? Or perhaps it is simply distasteful or worse, immoral and must be forbidden by the law. This, however, leads to …

Artificial Intelligence And Angelology, Howard P. Kainz

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Strategies Used To Communicate Sustainable Corporate Responsibility On Reputation Of A Major Airport, Benno D. Hoffmann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Self-presentation of a corporation as a citizen committed to sustainable corporate responsibility can, according to scholarly findings, help the organization improve its reputation among key stakeholders. The purpose of this case study was to explore the success of one major airport in aligning communication strategies to improve its reputation. The research question involved how effectively a major German airport communicated its commitment to sustainable corporate responsibility to its key stakeholders during 2005--2009. Of particular interest was how key stakeholders perceived the airport's stance towards the impacts of aircraft noise. Corporate documents, newspaper articles, and semistructured interviews comprised the data. Data …

The Problem Of Evil In Augustine's Confessions, Edward Matusek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Augustine, the fourth-century Christian philosopher, is perhaps best-known for his spiritual autobiography Confessions. Two aspects of the problem of evil are arguably critical for comprehending his life in Books 1 through 9 of the work. His search for the nature and origin of evil in the various philosophies that he encounters (the intellectual aspect) and his struggles with his own weaknesses (the experiential aspect) are windows for understanding the actual dynamics of his sojourn.

I defend the idea above by providing a fuller examination of the key role that both aspects play in his spiritual journey. Examining relevant events from …