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Metaphysical Reduction Of Necessity : A Modified Account, Pak Him Lai

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

This thesis investigates the metaphysical nature of necessity. My study focuses primarily on the reduction of metaphysical necessity and the question of whether a necessary truth can be reductively defined. Theodore Sider (2011) develops a new reductive account of metaphysical necessity. Unfortunately, the multiple realizability problem posed by Jonathan Schaffer (2013) undermines the credibility of Sider’s account. This underlies my motivation to search for a revised Siderian account of necessity. On this basis, I propose a modified version of Sider’s account and argue that analytic, natural-kind and micro-reduction truths are necessary truths if and only if they express the same …

Expertise And Expression In Second Language Acquisition: An Embodied Perspective, Mia Burnett

Senior Theses

In directing our attention to mundane aspects of the human experience, we can discover new ways of interacting with and understanding the world. One such formative experience, regularly seen as mundane in much of the world, is learning a second language. It is no exaggeration to say that second language acquisition is one of the processes which most influences and drives our globalized world, and yet we understand and study this process relatively little.

Continuing the trends of naturalizing phenomenological inquiry, this project attempts to evaluate phenomenological approaches to skill acquisition alongside second language acquisition theory and research through an …

“To Be Men, Not Destroyers”: Developing Dabrowskian Personalities In Ezra Pound’S The Cantos And Neil Gaiman’S American Gods, Michelle A. Nicholson

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Kazimierz Dabrowski’s psychological theory of positive disintegration is a lesser known theory of personality development that offers an alternative critical perspective of literature. It provides a framework for the characterization of postmodern protagonists who move beyond heroic indoctrination to construct their own self-organized, autonomous identities. Ezra Pound’s The Cantos captures the speaker-poet’s extensive process of inner conflict, providing a unique opportunity to track the progress of the hero’s transformation into a personality, or a man. American Gods is a more fully realized portrayal of a character who undergoes the complete paradigmatic collapse of positive disintegration and deliberate self-derived self-revision …

Enclosures And Dichotomies: Coexistence Vs. Distance In The Poems Of John Clare, Jordan P. Finn

Theses and Dissertations

John Clare’s poetry emphasizes an affinity with environment by suspending the distinction between the inside (subject) and the outside (object). Clare’s identification with objects and perception rather than subjects and aesthetics renders his work as a prescient and radical example of ecological poetry in the Romantic period. Raymond Williams’ “green language” and Timothy Morton’s ambient poetics both cite Clare as an ideal figure for their above theories and evoke Clare as a writer who positions the environment as governing thought rather than thought governing the environment. This thesis especially relates Clare to Morton’s Ecology without Nature, a study of …

On Peter Olen's Wilfrid Sellars And The Foundations Of Normativity, David Beisecker

Philosophy Faculty Research

All contributions included in the present issue were originally prepared for an “Author Meets Critics” session organized by Carl Sachs for the Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association in Savannah, Georgia, on 5th January, 2018.

The Ethics Of Occultic Communication: An Invocation Of Joshua Gunn And Sissela Bok, James Thomas Begley Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Occultic rhetoric, according to Joshua Gunn, is a genre of discourse concerned with the study and practice of secret communications. The strategic sharing of secret messages involves a host of methods and conventions designed for the selective disclosure of hidden knowledge, thus controlling the boundaries of (and accessibility to power between) insider and outsider groups. Occultic rhetoric has its uses in everyday encounters, but the abuse of such manipulative strategies, especially by those in the academy and other positions of power and trust, calls for an ethical response. This dissertation submits occultic rhetoric to moral investigation by incorporating the works …

A New Theory Of Musical Semiosis, Matthew Stanley

Music ETDs

Musical semiotics is the study of the various ways in which musical structures become meaningful. This thesis is an attempt to create a logical, systematized, transformational theory of musical semiotics that can elucidate the various ways in which music conveys meaning. While the semiotic exploration of music is by no means novel, this thesis presents a unique, highly rigorous, and truly theoretical approach to musical semiotics that differs significantly from previous theories. By combining all aspects of the semiotic theory of Charles Sanders Peirce with the metaphor theories of George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, and Zoltan Kovecses, a theoretical apparatus is …

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Opening Statements In Trial: Reconsidering The Classical Canon Of Invention, Andrew Chandler

Undergraduate Theses

This analysis of 21 opening statements probes at current persuasive practices employed by trial attorneys through the lens of mainstream legal advice and an expanded definition of rhetorical invention – one which includes both discovery and creation. An evaluation of such practice reveals the utility, and furthermore the duty of the advocate, to draw upon an expanded realm of available arguments.

Villains, Morality, And Redemption: A Content Analysis Of Children’S Movies, Iqra Ishaq

Senior Honors Projects

Research on children’s movies has yielded important findings on messaging about gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, (dis)ability, mental illness, aging, and even death. All of this research has recognized the important role children’s movies play in children’s upbringing and informal education. Not only do children’s movies reflect the commonly-held values of the time, but they impart these values to their audience. Children, as the target audience of these movies, are extremely susceptible to absorbing these values and messages.

My research examines what messages children’s movies impart about villains. It includes a content-analysis of 80 full-length animated movies released by Disney, DreamWorks, …

On The Variations Of 'Occupatio' In "Richard Ii", William Kelly Reeder

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent scholarship of Shakespeare’s Richard II has been interested in or preoccupied with its historical relations. Particularly the plays association with the Essex Rising of 1601, and the censorship of the deposition scene, both of which seem to resonate for history with Elizabeth’s enigmatic comment expressing her identification with Shakespeare’s portrayal of Richard II.

This paper proposes to resolve the question of the play’s censorship by interpreting the deposition scene as a dramatization of transubstantiation, perhaps triggering Elizabethan censors.

Transubstantiation is the doctrine by which the Catholic Church interprets the Eucharist using the distinction between substance and accidens (eternal and …

Virtual Existence And Its Ambiguities: How Postphenomenology Of Technology Clarifies Our Situation In A Digital World., David Karlo King Ii

Honors Theses

For many contemporary western societies, digital technology has become a pervasive aspect of the day-to-day lives of many individuals, and a large philosophical conversation has resulted around how the use of such technologies changes our lives. Postphenomenology, a relatively recent philosophical development, offers a distinct approach to discussing technology from a practical, situated orientation. While this approach has roots in phenomenologists like Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, it attempts a more contingent and empirical project that more thoroughly discusses the existential implications of human/technology relationships. In this paper, I trace the roots of postphenomenology in the works of Heidegger and …

Neo-Daoism In Stanford Encyclopedia Of Philosophy, Alan Kam Leung Chan

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The term “Neo-Daoism” (or “Neo-Taoism”) seeks to capture the focal development in early medieval Chinese philosophy, roughly from the third to the sixth century C.E. Chinese sources generally identify this development as Xuanxue, or “Learning (xue) in the Profound (xuan).”

Will-Independent Mereological Trinity Monotheism: A Defense Of The Logical Coherence Of, A Priori Motivation For, And A Particular Model Concerning The Doctrine Of The Trinity, Andrew Kirschner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The doctrine posits that God is one being, but three persons. The orthodox parameters for affirming the Trinity are found in the early Ecumenical Creeds of Christendom, especially the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds. Four primary affirmations emerge as a summary of the essential content of the doctrine: (ONE): There is one God; (THREE): The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct divine persons; (FATHERSOURCE): The Father is the source of the Son and the Holy Spirit (perhaps with the Son, perhaps not); and (EQUALITY): The three persons in the Trinity are ontologically equal; none is greater than any of the …

Basic-Acceptance Teleosemantics, Esteban Withrington

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

I propose an approach to naturalize semantics that combines the use-theory of meaning with teleosemantics. More specifically, I combine Horwich’s claim that the meanings of words are engendered by the acceptance of basic sentences that govern their deployment with the teleosemantic model, developed by Millikan, Papineau and Neander, according to which the meanings of symbols are related to functions determined by the history of their use and of the underlying biological mechanisms responsible for it.

Horwich’s account is general enough to offer plausible explanations of the meanings of all kinds of words and provides a plausible explanation of how meanings …

How We Act Together, Matthew Rachar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation defends the higher-order interdependence theory of collective intention. I introduce three results from experimental research on judgments about acting together with others in the sense of collaboration or partnership, which give a description of the character of our collective actions. Building from the literature, I assume that collective action is explained by collective intention. I then show how current theories of collective intention have difficulties explaining these results and develop a theory that gives a better explanation. This theory of collective intention also contains a novel account of the source of interpersonal normativity in collective action. People who …

Queerness, Witchcraft, And Embodied Presence: Aesthetic Knowings Of What A Body Can Do, Megan Bigelow

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Taking as a point of entry the critique of representation and affirming the limitations of the cuts that language makes, this capstone project explores the imbrications and assemblages between Foucault’s concept of subjugated knowledges, witchcraft and other body-based ways of knowing and being, and the consciousness of non-human forms such as plants and through the framework of non-representational theory, process philosophies, aesthetics, queerness, and the concept of difference itself.

Since such theories themselves are living, breathing entities, this capstone project explores the ideological split that has occurred between sacred and secular beliefs, moving through different figures such as nuns and …

Sexual Violation, Feminism, And Foucault: Against A Confessional Politics Of Truth, Amber M. Chiacchieri

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

After many decades of feminist struggle, victims of sexual violation finally have the (relative) freedom to speak about their experiences in different venues to diverse audiences; however, they continue to be silenced, spoken over, and spoken for. While scholars and activists maintain close attention to the content of what survivors say and the means by which their speech is suppressed, there is less interrogation into the power relationships that structure the conditions through which this speech is made possible. This approach, sometimes referred to as “Foucauldian discourse analysis,” is associated with the French post-structuralist philosopher Michel Foucault. Foucault argued that …

The Subject Of Jouissance: The Late Lacan And Gender And Queer Theories, Frederic C. Baitinger

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Subject of Jouissance argues that Lacan’s approach to psychoanalysis, far from being heteronormative, offers a notion of identity that deconstructs gender as a social norm, and opens onto a non-normative theory of the subject (of jouissance) that still remains to be fully explored by feminist, gender, and queer scholars. Drawing mostly on the later Lacan, The Subject of Jouissance shows that by locating the identity of the subject in the singularity of its bodily mode of enjoyment (that Lacan calls “jouissance”), and not in the Imaginary illusions of the ego, nor in the Symbolic social structures, Lacan fosters thinking …

Terjemahan Beranotasi Dongeng Le Fils À La Recherche De Sa Mère Ke Dalam Bahasa Indonesia, Elyan Wijaya

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Annotated translation is a study that provides annotations or notes on the chosen equivalents of a number of translated words as a form of translator’s accountability. Using a comparative model, this qualitative study aims to describe the problems that were encountered when translating the source text and finding the right translation strategy to be used for addressing the existing translation problems. In this research, the source text is a children literature (tale) titled Le Fils à la recherche de sa mère by Senegalese author. The problems that were encountered when translating this tale were issues related to language and culture, …

Hulu Ke Hilir: Jaringan Dan Sistem Perniagaan Sungai Kerajaan Srivijaya, Asyhadi Mufsi Sadzali

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

The Kedukan Bukit inscription was written in 682 AD. It is considered as the oldest inscription related to the kingdom of Srivijaya and an authentic proof of the advanced maritime culture of Srivijaya. This argument is supported by the fact that, geographically, Sumatra is endowed with hundreds of large and small rivers that have generated abundant natural resources from its upstream to downstream areas. Srivijaya must have utilized these natural conditions to facilitate the distribution of its trade commodities— pepper, camphor, resin, and gold—from the upstream regions (flowing through countless tributaries to the main rivers) to the coastal areas, and …

The Poetic Function Of Imagination: The Parallel Process Of Poiêsis, Angela Carlson

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In the advent of Postmodernism, modern approaches to understanding the nature of things is being put into question. As the gap between objective and subjective realms of experiences is narrowing, there is an increased need for a more artful approach to science. This paper serves as my attempt to promote the field of Expressive Arts Therapy (ExATh) as a mode of poetic science for understanding the experience of ‘Being’ in the world. Through a critical review of the semantic development of the ancient Greek concepts poiêsis, noêsis, and aisthêsis, the imagination is identified as a function of alêthaic revealing, …

Anugerah Sri Maharaja: Kumpulan Alihaksara Dan Alihbahasa Prasasti-Prasasti Jawa Kuna Dari Abad Viii–Xi., Nasha Bin Rodziadi Khaw

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

No abstract provided.

Komunikasi Interpersonal Pustakawan Bagian Layanan Sirkulasi Perpustakaan Umum Kota Depok, Hadyan Aldio Galih, Kiki Fauziah

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This study discusses the interpersonal communication between librarians in the circulation service unit of Depok Public Library. The purpose of this research is to identify the quality of interpersonal communication between librarians in the circulation services unit. This research used qualitative approach with case study method. The results of this study indicate that the interpersonal communication between librarians in Depok Public Library when serving the library users was done properly and in a good manner, in general. However, research findings also indicate that the librarians tended to show a rather superior attitude toward the users. Such attitude made the librarians …

Neoliberalism And Reconfiguration Of The Diaspora In Contemporary Indonesia, Inditian Latifa

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

In most studies on globalization and transnationalism, diaspora is positioned in a conflicting and antagonistic relationship with the nation-state regime. Nevertheless, the global ascendancy of neoliberalism as a market-based mode of governing populations has brought certain changes to the relationship between the diaspora and home countries which call for further research. This essay investigates the implications of neoliberalism for diasporic kinship ties by examining emergent discourses in contemporary Indonesia that constitute an elite-led project on diasporas known as the Indonesian Diaspora Network (IDN) Global. Based on a social constructionist analysis of data gathered from activities, media reporting, and promotional materials …

Kebijakan Pembangunan Tol Laut Dan Potensi Dampaknya Pada Tinggalan Kapal Asing Bersejarah Yang Karam Di Wilayah Perairan Indonesia, Hutomo Putra

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

The construction of sea toll roads is one of the manifestations of President Jokowi’s superior program for strengthening Indonesia’s identity as a maritime country and to develop Indonesia as a whole from west to east. The necessity for sea toll road construction aims to improve the distribution of goods and trade commodities, particularly for the purpose of balancing the economic gap between the western and eastern regions of Indonesia. On the other hand, the construction of sea toll roads could possibly have an impact on archaeological objects, especially the remains of historic shipwrecks that have sunk and spread in several …

Why Study Language? Discussing Language And Its Influence On Gender Discrimination, Katelyn Eisenmann

Honors Projects

An applied research project, with the culminating piece being a panel discussion that focused on the ways in which language use and structure contribute to attitudes and perceptions of gender within our society, and the politics that surround concepts of gender.

A Thinker-Based Perspective On Free Speech And Fake News, Geoffroi G. Castro

Honors Projects

Since the 2016 US Presidential election, the topic of fake news has become extremely prevalent on a global scale. However, the recent issue of disinformation manufactured by malevolent agents has given rise to new potential problems that have led to harmful consequences. Such problematic consequences have led various government institutions to responds in a variety of ways. Given the problematic consequences of these types of actions, should governments intervene by regulating or prohibiting fake news? To answer this question, I present Seana Shiffrin’s unique theory regarding the value of free speech. Within this account, Shiffrin’s follows an autonomy type theory …

North Sea Poems: Birds Of The North Sea, Caa'in, Summer Ferry, Lesley Harrison

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

These poems reflect the practical, human, immersive processes of self-orientation and self-location within the coastal and island landscapes round the North Sea. In both recording and bringing about this process, the poet maps herself onto her surroundings and brings her surroundings to bear on herself. The interplay of graphic, linguistic and other forms of description are destabilised by the contingency of their usefulness, and by their meaningless to each other. In the end, the generative poetic voice is the principle by which the 'map' is made.

Lab Practicum For Bias In Algorithms, Ameet Soni, Krista Karbowski Thomason

Digital Humanities Curricular Development

This is a course assignment to demonstrate potential biases encoded in algorithms (this can be linked more specifically to natural language processing, machine learning, or artificial intelligence) using the Word Embedding Association Test. In lab, students will work with programs that demonstrate the usefulness of word embedding algorithms in finding relationships between words. Then, students will use an implementation of the algorithm in "Semantics derived automatically from language corpora contain human-like biases" by Caliskan et al. to detect gender and racial bias encoded in word embeddings. The assignment has students design and run an experiment using the WEAT algorithm to …

Humor, Power And Culture: A New Theory On The Experience And Ethics Of Humor, Jennifer Marra

Dissertations (1934 -)

The aim of this dissertation is to offer a new theory of humor that takes seriously both the universality and power of humor in culture. In the first chapter, I summarize historical and contemporary theories, and show how each either 1) fails to give any definition of humor, 2) fails as a theory of humor, and/or 3) underappreciates, dismisses, or does not consider the power of humor in experience. The second chapter explains the failures of prior theories by understanding the problem in terms of Ernst Cassirer’s philosophy of symbolic forms. These forms of culture are perspectives through which we …