On The Possibility Of Secular Morality,
2024
University of South Florida
On The Possibility Of Secular Morality, Zachary R. Alonso
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Is something like a transcendent God necessary to have a coherent moral system, or at the very least, necessary for one to have personal ethical guidelines to live by that are not entirely subjective? This paper explores the claims of two Christian thinkers, David Bentley Hart and D. C. Schindler, as well as some alternatives to their thinking in the ethics of Alasdair MacIntyre and Jeffrey Stout. Hart and Schindler portray society as downcast, riddled with moral decay, and the only solution to this decay is to turn toward God, thereby recognizing a hierarchical, cosmological worldview. While MacIntyre believes that …
Role Of Glia In Diurnal Rhythms In Neuroinflammation And Blood-Brain Barrier Breakdown,
2024
Washington University in St. Louis
Role Of Glia In Diurnal Rhythms In Neuroinflammation And Blood-Brain Barrier Breakdown, Jennifer Hoi-Ping Lawrence
Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations
While inflammation is an important mechanism for the return to homeostasis post insult or injury, inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS) can lead to irreparable damage. To mitigate this process, the brain is protected from circulating neurotoxic molecules as well as peripheral immune cells through the tightly regulated blood-brain barrier (BBB). The balance between pro- and anti- inflammation in the CNS rapidly shifts towards a neurotoxic proinflammatory state during acute bacterial or viral infections or chronic neuroinflammatory diseases. Excessive inflammatory responses are also coupled with extensive BBB leakage and breakdown, allowing rampant entry of peripheral inflammatory cells and mediators …
It Ain’T Necessarily So: Ludwig Boltzmann’S Darwinian Notion Of Entropy,
2024
Gettysburg College
It Ain’T Necessarily So: Ludwig Boltzmann’S Darwinian Notion Of Entropy, Steven Gimbel
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Ludwig Boltzmann's move in his seminal paper of 1877, introducing a statistical understanding of entropy, was a watershed moment in the history of physics. The work not only introduced quantization and provided a new understanding of entropy, it challenged the understanding of what a law of nature could be. Traditionally, nomological necessity, that is, specifying the way in which a system must develop, was considered an essential element of proposed physical laws. Yet, here was a new understanding of the Second Law of Thermodynamics that no longer possessed this property. While it was a new direction in physics, in other …
Western Science And Eastern Zen To Seek The Origin Of Truth: Philosophical Background Of Scale Modeling,
2024
University of Kentucky
Western Science And Eastern Zen To Seek The Origin Of Truth: Philosophical Background Of Scale Modeling, Kozo Saito
Progress in Scale Modeling, an International Journal
This article was written to introduce philosophical background of scale modeling, where Zen philosophy was applied to overcome the limitation of logical thinking and hypotheses-driven deductive science. Three specific reasons are as follows. The first is related to the law approach in scale modeling; it uses the kufu principle, originated in Zen Buddhism, together with the other three scientific methods: experimental, theoretical, and computational. The second reason is because scale modeling seeks relativistic understanding by attempting to realize similarity; the concept is closer to Eastern philosophy rather than absolute understanding cultivated by deductive science. The third is in the educational …
Sauron: Weirdly Sexy,
2024
Texas State University
Sauron: Weirdly Sexy, Robert T. Tally Jr.
Journal of Tolkien Research
A popular meme depict Galadriel and Frodo admitting that Sauron is "weirdly sexy," a humorous allusion to The Rings of Power’s Halbrand. The show's controversial revelation of Halbrand as Sauron highlights the differences between Tolkien’s construction of Second and Third Age Sauron as an attractive or admirable leader compared to Peter Jackson’s portrayal of him as a monster or disembodied fiery eyeball. This, in turn, has implications for the geopolitical order of Middle-earth in which many people legitimately might wish to be on Sauron’s side. Acknowledging Sauron's "sexiness" may allow us to see Tolkien's world system in a new …
How Can Generative Ai (Genai) Enhance Or Hinder Qualitative Studies? A Critical Appraisal From South Asia, Nepal,
2024
Kathmandu University School of Education, Nepal
How Can Generative Ai (Genai) Enhance Or Hinder Qualitative Studies? A Critical Appraisal From South Asia, Nepal, Niroj Dahal
The Qualitative Report
Qualitative researchers can benefit from using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), such as different versions of ChatGPT—GPT-3.5 or GPT-4, Google Bard—now renamed as a Gemini, and Bing Chat—now renamed as a Copilot, in their studies. The scientific community has used artificial intelligence (AI) tools in various ways. However, using GenAI has generated concerns regarding potential research unreliability, bias, and unethical outcomes in GenAI-generated research results. Considering these concerns, the purpose of this commentary is to review the current use of GenAI in qualitative research, including its strengths, limitations, and ethical dilemmas from the perspective of critical appraisal from South Asia, Nepal. …
Ethical Implications Of Space Colonization,
2024
The University of Texas at El Paso
Ethical Implications Of Space Colonization, Anna K. Orta, Jose Lopez, Carlos Ontiveros
Young Scientists and Philosophers on the Border
No abstract provided.
The Future Of Robotics: An Advanced Ethical View Of Robotics Contributing To Elderly Care, Medicine, And Workforce Participation,
2024
The University of Texas at El Paso
The Future Of Robotics: An Advanced Ethical View Of Robotics Contributing To Elderly Care, Medicine, And Workforce Participation, Maximus A. Buckingham, Jerrica M. Foster, Ruta Grinceviciute
Young Scientists and Philosophers on the Border
No abstract provided.
Smart Cities And The Ethical Dilemma,
2024
The University of Texas at El Paso
Smart Cities And The Ethical Dilemma, Bruce Lomeli, Maria Grajeda, Stephanie Gutierrez
Young Scientists and Philosophers on the Border
No abstract provided.
Origami In The Mathematics, Education And Medical Fields,
2024
The University of Texas at El Paso
Origami In The Mathematics, Education And Medical Fields, At-Ziry Torres
Young Scientists and Philosophers on the Border
No abstract provided.
On The Manifold Wisdom Of Origami: Reconsidering Origami As A Natural Philosophy,
2024
The University of Texas at El Paso
On The Manifold Wisdom Of Origami: Reconsidering Origami As A Natural Philosophy, Joseph De Leon Flores
Young Scientists and Philosophers on the Border
No abstract provided.
Young Scientists And Philosophers On The Border,
2024
The University of Texas at El Paso
Young Scientists And Philosophers On The Border, Deepanwita Dasgupta, Jules Simon
Young Scientists and Philosophers on the Border
No abstract provided.
Deontic Meta-Rules,
2024
Griffith University
Deontic Meta-Rules, Francesco Olivieri, Guido Governatori, Matteo Cristani, Antonino Rotolo, Abdul Sattar
Centre for Computational Law (2022-2025)
The use of meta-rules in logic, i.e., rules whose content includes other rules, has recently gained attention in the setting of non-monotonic reasoning: a first logical formalisation and efficient algorithms to compute the (meta)-extensions of such theories were proposed in Olivieri et al. (2021, Computing defeasible meta-logic. In JELIA 2021, LNCS, vol. 12678, pp. 69-84. Springer.). This work extends such a logical framework by considering the deontic aspect. The resulting logic will not just be able to model policies but also tackle well-known aspects that occur in numerous legal systems. The use of Defeasible Logic to model meta-rules in the …
The Shared Values Society: On The Inability To Validate Beliefs And Its Effect On Pluralistic Governance,
2024
Liberty University
The Shared Values Society: On The Inability To Validate Beliefs And Its Effect On Pluralistic Governance, Tanner L. Smith
Masters Theses
The nature of truth affects beliefs in such a way that all worldviews are left on a level playing field, each with no more of an objective claim to truth than any other. As a result, no one worldview has an intrinsic right to dominate the government or, through it, other worldviews. Furthermore, philosophical secularism’s noble notion of protecting individual freedoms by limiting the influence of moral values in the government has led to a loss of intergroup bonding and a value vacuum in public life. At the same time, because beliefs constitute some of the most profound aspects of …
Thomas Aquinas On Non-Theological Faith,
2024
Loyola Marymount University
Thomas Aquinas On Non-Theological Faith, Catherine Peters
Philosophy Faculty Works
The majority of studies on ‘faith’ (fides) in the thought of Thomas Aquinas consider it in a religious or theological context: fides as the theological virtue by which one assents to the truths of divine revelation. The focus on theological faith is appropriate, given its central importance as a theological virtue, but this is not the only sense of fides that Thomas identifies. The present study investigates two non-theological senses formulated in his commentary on the De Trinitate of Boethius: first, fides as the proximate cause of assenting to principles within a given science (‘epistemic faith’) and, second, fides as …
Structuralism In Differential Equations,
2024
Case Western Reserve University
Structuralism In Differential Equations, Colin Mclarty
Faculty Scholarship
Structuralism in philosophy of mathematics has largely focused on arithmetic, algebra, and basic analysis. Some have doubted whether distinctively structural working methods have any impact in other fields such as differential equations. We show narrowly construed structuralism as offered by Benacerraf has no practical role in differential equations. But Dedekind’s approach to the continuum already did not fit that narrow sense, and little of mathematics today does. We draw on one calculus textbook, one celebrated analysis textbook, and a monograph on the Navier–Stokes equation to show structural methods like Dedekind’s have long been central to differential equations, and have philosophically …
Teaching Philosophy Classes In Spanish Or Bilingually In The South Texas Borderlands,
2024
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Teaching Philosophy Classes In Spanish Or Bilingually In The South Texas Borderlands, Alex Stehn, Cynthia Paccacerqua, Danny Marrero, Christopher Gomez, Dania López García, Katherine Christoffersen
11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language (Archived)
Situated in the deep south Texas borderlands, over 90% of our students are Hispanic or Latino/a/x and the majority are bilingual. That is, most students enrolled across every course at our university are heritage speakers of Spanish. As professional philosophers, we believe that teaching these students should involve engaging them as the bilingual and bicultural students they are while helping them develop philosophical biliteracy. Our panelists are from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds (native speaker, heritage speaker, L2 speaker) but all of us are bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate faculty who have been working together as a team to design and …
Anchoring The Aaa Model,
2024
Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois
Anchoring The Aaa Model, Luca James Barba
Philosophy: Student Scholarship & Creative Works
My goal in this paper is to expose two—but resolve one—major issues facing one of the foremost endeavors in the theory of knowledge: Virtue Epistemology. In Part 1 of this paper, I propose the epistemic criterion of "anchoring” as an addition to Ernest Sosa's AAA model of knowledge. It is a solution to an internal inconsistency that arises from Sosa's response to Duncan Pritchard's (2009) environmentalist luck critique of the AAA model that allows performances to spatiotemporally extend beyond their performers. By modifying the AAA model to the A4 (AAA + Anchoring) model, I can address Pritchard’s critique without disturbing …
Notes From The Cosmic Sea,
2024
Calvin University
Notes From The Cosmic Sea, James K.A. Smith
University Faculty Publications and Creative Works
No abstract provided.
Living Well With Ai: Virtue, Education, And Artificial Intelligence,
2024
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University
Living Well With Ai: Virtue, Education, And Artificial Intelligence, Nicholas Smith, Darby Vickers
Philosophy: Faculty Scholarship
Artificial intelligence technologies have become a ubiquitous part of human life. This prompts us to ask, ‘how should we live well with artificial intelligence?’ Currently, the most prominent candidate answers to this question are principlist. According to these approaches, if you teach people some finite set of principles or convince them to adopt the right rules, people will be able to live and act well with artificial intelligence, even in an evolving and opaque moral world. We find the dominant principlist approaches to be ill-suited to providing forward-looking moral guidance regarding living well with artificial intelligence. We analyze some of …
