Philosophy Commons^™

Hear & Believe: Epistemic Humility And The Limits Of Human Reason, Elias Seeman

Philosophy Student Projects

There are few more hotly debated questions in philosophy than the capacity of human reason as it relates to knowing God. Both Immanuel Kant and G.W.F. Hegel dedicated a significant portion of their work to precisely this question. These thinkers, however, did not seek to understand the capabilities and limits of human reason from a distinctly Christian perspective. Their work, while containing real insights, has serious, problematic implications for Christian thinkers, making it imperative to chart a path toward a robustly Christian, Biblically-anchored, conception of reason.

Euthyphro & The Third Horn, Elias Seeman

Philosophy Student Projects

One of the most interesting questions in Christian ethics is known as the Euthyphro problem. Put simply, the question is "is something good just because God commands it, or does God command something because it is good." It is a question of the foundation of morals. Typically, there are two responses to this problem, both of which I find unsatisfying. In the paper, I propose a third way of understanding the dilemma.

Abortion: Analysis Of The Bioethical And Metaphysical Standpoint, Lauren Kovarick

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

The antagonistic relationship between a mother and their unborn child creates the controversial topic of abortion. With massive moral implications and consequences associated, education on the laws and reasoning is significant to determine the direction of society. To analyze the ethics of abortion, the bioethical and metaphysical debate must be considered. With the former, the four principles of bioethics are used in healthcare practice to break down an ethical concern. On the metaphysical side, the life-status and rights of the fetus are acknowledged. With this topic, it is important not to argue in favor of one position, but instead have …

Predictive Policing, Emily Musgrove

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Currently, machine learning and artificial intelligence are still somewhat new to the world of law enforcement, however, they appear to be rapidly gaining traction for their usefulness in a variety of manners. In this paper, I will examine how technically useful machine learning-based predictive policing is, the ethical conundrums that come with its practical uses, and how to mitigate the risks of its use.

Capital Punishment: Analyzing The Demise Of The Death Penalty's Usefulness, Emma Reyes

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

As there are evident flaws within the practice of capital punishment, I urge the United States federal government to question ways in which they should change how the death penalty is implemented into law. I propose that lawmakers consider fully abolishing the death penalty as a means of eliminating ethical and economic concerns within our judicial system. However, if this option does not seem possible, I instead propose the federal government act in revising the current practices used within the capital trial process. Previous research has found that the continued use of the death penalty can cause risk of economic …

Analyzing Substance Dualism From A Christian Perspective, Samuel J. Fulbright

Philosophy Senior Capstone

This paper seeks to analyze the Substance Dualist position from a Christian perspective. After looking briefly at the way in which the Christian Scriptures present the relationship between the body and the soul, the paper then turns to looking at the way in which the Substance Dualist position presents the relationship between the body and the soul. It ends by offering a Christian response to some of the most common and most popular objections raised against Substance Dualism.

“Making The Bed”: Challenging Ideologies Of Ownership, Nonlocality, And Romanticism In The Age Of The Anthropocene, Ainsley P. Foster

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

The current Age of the Anthropocene marks a recent and rapid transition into a period in climate history that is notably defined by human impact. Modern Western sentiments of grief, frustration, and romanticism as a result of the interplay between domestic and corporate spaces seem to culminate in an overall attitude of apathy and acceptance of the Age of the Anthropocene. Various art forms collaborate to create the current conversation of the causatory and reactionary relationship that humans have with the Anthropocene, offering interpretations of how individuals and corporations view ownership of and responsibilities to the environment. There is a …

Artificial Intelligence And Techno-Securitization In Border Control: A Philosophical Appraisal, Mohammad Rubaiyat Rahman

Grad Expo Poster Presentations

The study appraises the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and smart technologies in border control in the context of Philosophy of Immigration. Focusing on the United States-Mexico border region, the AI role is philosophically evaluated as one of the factors of algorithmic oppression on borderland gender and ecology. My study aims to orient philosophical approaches regarding smart border related AI technologies research to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs.

“What Line Can’T Be Measured With A Ruler?” Riddles And Concept-Formation In Mathematics And Aesthetics, William H. Brenner, Samuel J. Wheeler

Philosophy Faculty Publications

We analyze two problems in mathematics – the first (stated in our title) is extracted from Wittgenstein’s “Philosophy for Mathematicians”; the second (“What set of numbers is non-denumerable?”) is taken from Cantor. We then consider, by way of comparison, a problem in musical aesthetics concerning a Brahms variation on a theme by Haydn. Our aim is twofold: first, to bring out and elucidate the essentially riddle-like character of these problems; second, to show that the comparison with riddles does not reduce their solution to an exercise in bare subjectivity

Refugees And The Eu: A Study Of The Preferential Treatment Of Ukrainian Refugees, Madelyn Cooper

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

The war in Ukraine created one of the largest refugee crises in the world today, and the European Union has played a significant role in accepting these individuals into various Member States. The protection of Ukrainian refugees, or any refugee for the record, is important. However, the European Union has been more accepting and welcoming to Ukrainian refugees compared to refugees coming from other places, indicating potential biases of European Union policies and the othering of non-Ukrainian refugees. To study this, this paper will utilize a comparative case study of Ukrainian and Syrian refugees. The paper will compare these two …

Bearing The Benefit: An Evolution Of Passing To Trespassing & How We Got Here, Kennedi J. Williams

Honors College Theses

In recent years, we have seen a shift in the social treatment of white people in America. The desire to be politically correct at all times, in hopes of avoiding becoming the next viral “Karen” or racist has become imperative. The following thesis will explore the latest trend of white women buying racial capital by producing mixed-race children. At first glance, this idea can be a bit problematic. How can we assume the reasoning behind a woman choosing to bear a child? With this in mind, I would like to emphasize that individuals do not have to consciously be racist …

Accounting For The Gift: Theology And Ethics In Accounting, Daniel Sebastian

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

Accounting is often assumed to be a neutral presentation of the facts of economic activities and actions. Its double-entry system means that it is always in balance and comports to the rigor of mathematical formulas, and it is taken to be a matter of empirical counting that lends it certainty as well. The dissertation argues that this description of accounting is inadequate. Accounting is better seen as a political tool and technology for producing trust that can help resolve social conflicts. As such, accounting is not value-neutral but carries within it a particular sociality that has moral implications. These moral …

Spirit Marches West: An Application Of Hegel’S Historical Methodology To The American Frontier, Magnus Imber

Masters Theses

The philosophy of history developed by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel incorporates the systematicity and speculative rationalizations that characterize his other major philosophical endeavors. Despite this, far less investigative work has been directed toward the contemporary applicability of Hegel’s philosophy of history than has been for his other major projects. Considering scholars’ much-diminished interest in speculative, overarching accounts of world history, this is not particularly surprising. Given, however, that the concept of rational historical progress is central to Hegel’s system, the contemporary applicability of the Hegelian conception of history seems to be a matter of significant importance. Can the methodology that …

A Third Way: Christian Philosophy Of Music, Eric S. Gardner

Senior Theses

Philosophers have posed many difficult-to-answer questions regarding music. For example, what counts as beautiful music? Can beauty be objectified, or is beauty in the eye of the beholder? What counts as a performance of a piece of music? Besides, what counts as music anyways? Where does the noise stop, and where does the music begin? In this thesis, I want to show that the Christian worldview offers the philosophical building blocks to answer these questions. By working with biblical truths and Christian presuppositions, I hope to show that the Christian worldview can offer satisfying answers to these philosophical questions.

Plath Fostered It, Women Are Nurturing It: Cycles Of Existential And Confessional Women's Writing In The Mid-20th Century And Beyond, Sophie Elisabeth Conrad

Senior Theses

During the mid-20th century, a wide-ranging yet topically focused genre of women’s writing began to emerge in earnest, currently categorized as existential and confessional. Works like Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) and Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963) offer explanations of why an ineffable feeling of malaise permeated the lives of 20th-century women and led them to adopt these methods of writing and thinking. However, existential feelings akin to that of the 20th-century female malaise have returned to stake their claim on the minds of 21st-century women, evidenced in popular contemporary works such as Otessa Moshfegh’s My Year …

The Lawgiver And "The Progress Of Evil", Andre Chang

Senior Theses

The study advances a reinterpretation of Madison’s concept of “constitutional liquidation,” presenting it not merely as a theory of legal interpretation but as a broader political strategy for preserving republican government amid recurring crises. Through an analysis of Madison’s responses to the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, and the nullification controversy, the thesis demonstrates how Madison sought to balance constitutional stability with principled conflict, allowing fundamental questions of authority, justice, and union to be resolved through disciplined public deliberation rather than force or procedural formalism.

Finally, the thesis contends that Madison’s commitment to national supremacy and …

Digital Frontiers In Aesthetics: Applying Dewey's Insights To Generative Ai, Malcolm F. Lathrop-Allen

Student Publications

The last few years have seen the emergence of ‘artificially intelligent’ systems en masse, which perform tasks which had previously only been possible by human intelligence. Arguably, the impact of ‘AI 2.0’ has been felt most prominently in the art world — artists have panicked as DALL-E, Midjourney, and other image generation algorithms manufacture pieces which previously required weeks of painstaking labor to create. This project seeks to develop a more critical framework for this novel mode of artistic creation and propose better ways of thinking about, using, and “becoming with” artificial intelligence in the domain of artistry. The first …

Marie Curie: The Quantum Matriarch, Diptiman Das

Student Publications

Entitled “Marie Curie: The Quantum Matriarch,” this paper illuminates the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of Marie Curie, whose groundbreaking work in radioactivity revolutionized the scientific landscape. Born as Maria Skłodowska in the heart of Warsaw, Curie’s odyssey from Poland’s clandestine Flying University to the hallowed halls of Paris’ Sorbonne epitomizes her tenacious quest for enlightenment amidst the shackles of societal norms. In collaboration with her spouse, Pierre Curie, she discovered the elements polonium and radium, thereby introducing the concept of “radioactivity” to the world and securing Nobel accolades in both Physics and Chemistry. This paper ventures into her intimate …

Quantum Realities: A Comparative Analysis Of Interpretations Addressing The Measurement Problem In Quantum Mechanics, Adib Kabir

Student Publications

This paper examines the measurement problem in quantum mechanics and evaluates three major interpretations: the Copenhagen interpretation, the Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI), and the Pilot-Wave theory. The Copenhagen interpretation posits that particles exist in superposition until measured, at which point their wave functions collapse. MWI suggests that all possible outcomes occur in separate, non-interacting branches of the universe, eliminating wave function collapse but introducing an infinite number of unobservable universes. The Pilot-Wave theory reintroduces determinism through hidden variables, guiding particles along definite paths. The paper concludes that the Copenhagen interpretation is the most plausible, balancing empirical adequacy, ontological clarity, and simplicity.

Mythos And Logos: Foucauldian Subjectivities Of Virginia Woolf's Orlando, Hayley R. Cisney

Student Publications

Virginia Woolf’s Orlando: A Biography details a centuries-long battle between Orlando and the sexual structures of repressive power in England. The biographical framework of the novel implies its contribution to objective, historical fact, while the miraculous nature of Orlando’s sexual transformation directly conflicts with constituted epistemologies of being. This paper examines these contrasting forces through Michel Foucault’s post-structuralist considerations of knowledge, power, and sexuality, in addition to the incorporation of other scholarship on Woolf’s conceptions of gender. I specifically follow the timeline of Foucault’s interpretation of the repressive hypothesis as it unfolds throughout the course of Woolf’s novel. By establishing …