Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Is There An Animal Consciousness? A Phenomenological Approach, Matt Mazur

2014 Honors Council of the Illinois Region Papers

The notion of consciousness, animal or otherwise, has been often discussed throughout the history of human thought. More recently it has become a topic for debate in philosophy with many competing ideas emerging. This paper is an attempt to discuss the nature of animal consciousness using a phenomenological approach. Phenomenology is a branch of philosophy with the goal of discovering and describing the true nature of phenomena beyond the human subjective experience of them. Using the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s work on perception, this paper argues for the acceptance of a form of consciousness in many animals while also seeking …

The Other, Derrida, James K.A. Smith

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Review of Benoît Peeters' Derrida: A Biography

Sagp Newsletter 2013/14.2 Central, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Understanding Of Computers And Procrastination: A Philosophical Approach, Nick Breems, Andrew Basden

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Computer procrastination is a complex problem that is under-researched. After identifying a number of key characteristics of it, we survey five existing fields of research that may contribute insights into this interdisciplinary problem, and demonstrate that none of these areas can provide satisfactory insight on their own. A philosophical framework for understanding computer use is introduced, and applied to a case study to demonstrate its potential in understanding the richness of computer procrastination. We then show how this framework can reveal the ways in which each of the existing fields is limited in its ability. The result is both an …

"The Harmony Of All Things": Music, Soul, And Cosmos In The Writings Of John Scottus Eriugena, John Macinnis

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

In his prodigious philosophical work Periphyseon, the foremost intellectual of the ninth century, John Scottus Eriugena (ca. 800–877 CE), defined musica broadly and in a way that solicits interdisciplinary applications: “Music is the discipline discerning by the light of reason the harmony of all things in natural proportions which are either in motion or at rest.” In this dissertation, I trace resonances of the ars musica in Eriugena’s writings using selections from his three greatest works: Periphyseon, his glosses on Martianus Capella’s textbook De Nuptiis, and his commentary over Pseudo-Dionysius’s treatise on the Celestial Hierarchy of Angels. …

A Psychoanalytic Exploration Into The Memory And Aesthetics Of Everyday Life: Photographs, Recollections, And Encounters With Loss, Dimitrios Mellos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The project at hand explores some of the psychological functions of photography as both an everyday and an artistic cultural practice from a psychoanalytic perspective. It is proposed that, contrary to commonsensical opinion, photographs are not accurate depositories of memory, but rather function as a functional equivalent of screen memories, thus channeling the subject's memory in ways that are objectively distorted and distorting, but psychologically meaningful and important; moreover, they are a special kind of screen memory in that they are often created pre-emptively and are physically instantiated.

Additionally, it is suggested that, by dint of their materiality, photographs achieve …

Nature's Goodness: An Aristotelian Account, Nathan K. Metzger

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Neo-Aristotelians have made major headway in moral theory, and it is now commonplace to find philosophers defending the reality of goodness through a teleological analysis of human being. Whatever the merits of this approach, it has suffered from a lack of a sustained defense of its pre-modern metaphysical panorama: the Aristotelian conception of the human good gets traction only if its decidedly pre-modern and `robust' philosophy of nature is defensible in its own right. In this dissertation, I aim to give a partial breakdown of the particular sort of metaphysical project that the Aristotelian moral theorist assumes, but does not …

Acting Wide Awake: Attention And The Ethics Of Emotion, Jacob Davis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In cases where two human cultures disagree over fundamental ethical values, metaethical questions about what could make one or the other position correct arise with great force. Philosophers committed to naturalistically plausible accounts of ethics have offered little hope of adjudicating such conflicts, leading some to embrace moral relativism. In my dissertation, I develop an empirically grounded response to moral relativism by turning away from debates over which action types are right and wrong and focusing instead on shared features of human emotional motivation. On my account, being motivated by ill-will is ethically bad (if it is), just because human …

Albert Camus' Political Thought: From Passion To Compassion, Angel López-Santiago

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present work analyzes the political thought of Albert Camus, specifically the challenges of the justice ideal, and Camus' prioritization of the concepts of limits and compassion. Although Camus is not usually considered part of the traditional canon of political philosophy, I organized his thought into three major areas: a sub-theory of the human being, a sub-theory of institutions, and a sub-theory of political change. This method, I demonstrate, is ideal for extracting and organizing the political ideas of non-traditional political writers. In the case of Camus, he advocates for an international and democratic `civilization of dialogue' as part of …

Why Should One Reproduce? The Rationality And Morality Of Human Reproduction, Lantz Fleming Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Human reproduction has long been assumed to be an act of the blind force of nature, to which humans were subject, like the weather. However, with recent concerns about the environmental impact of human population, particularly resource depletion, human reproduction has come to be seen as a moral issue. That is, in general, it may be moral or immoral for people to continue propagating their species. The past decade's philosophical discussions of the question have yielded varying results. This dissertation takes on the issue in a broader moral perspective and asks not only whether it is moral to reproduce but …

Existence: An Unholy Trinity. An Account Of Indeterminate Existence, Salas Sanchez-Bennasar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

What is it for something to exist? This dissertation provides an answer to this question by giving a philosophical theory of existence in which the concept of existence in understood as a complex tri-partite notion. The account of existence defended here is arrived at by taking into consideration past philosophical theories of existence, the everyday and scientific uses of the notion, and also philosophical considerations about the nature of reality.

There are three conditions that are central to existence: spatiotemporality, mind-independence, and being a member of the quantificational domain of a true and complete scientific description about the world. To …

Common Knowledge: The Epistemology Of American Realism, Mark Sussman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

My dissertation, Common Knowledge: The Epistemology of American Realism, focuses on realist fiction (primarily the novel) at the end of the nineteenth century. Its motivating claim is that the central descriptive and thematic imperative of realism--to depict life "as it is" rather than in some idealized form--emerged in response to crises in the status of knowledge that resulted from an attempt by writers and readers to come to a common understanding of the relationship between private experience and an increasingly fragmented social world. While William Dean Howells's definition of realism as a form of writing that displays "fidelity to experience …

Coming Of Age During The Sixties: A Narration Of Lives Through Music And Battle, Jennifer L. Oliveri

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis has been written based on my retrieved memory, as it concentrates on autobiographical memories and the lives of two politically opposing men, from the American sixties. I discuss the effect of music and the war in Vietnam as it was experienced by these men--a moderately angry veteran and a "hippie." I examine how their stories were "retold" to me, which in turn created new memories. This is a study in the memory of memories.

Partir Marron: Un Parcours Sémantique À Travers Les Trous De La Mémoire Collective Haïtienne, Lucie Carmel Paul

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The word "marron " represents both a totality, and a specificity. Totalizing, the term refers to the slave who fled from the plantation, against the colonial order, that is, the fugitive slave. Specific, in the Haitian lexicography, it stands for a shifty and cunning individual, particularily a " Woule m debò "1. One has to recognize that there is a double meaning associated with the word, and at the same time, the syntagmatic locution "partir marron " reflects the individual's dependency on phenomenology. The moment of crisis is one of an explosion, through which one can only be …

The Deification Of Man In Early Christianity, William Laduke, Dr. James L. Siebach

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although I have not yet researched the subject as thoroughly as I had planned, I have discovered some interesting things about the deification of man in early Christianity. I began by searching the secondary literature and found that there was much more written on the subject than I had expected. The idea of deification was commonplace; for many, it was synonymous with salvation.

Popular Culture And Philosophy: Rules Of Engagement, John E. Huss

Philosophy Faculty Research

The exploration of popular culture topics by academic philosophers for non-academic audiences has given rise to a distinctive genre of philosophical writing. Edited volumes with titles such as Black Sabbath and Philosophy or Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy contain chapters by multiple philosophical authors that attempt to bring philosophy to popular audiences. Two dominant models have emerged in the genre. On the pedagogical model, authors use popular culture examples to teach the reader philosophy. The end is to promote philosophical literacy, defined as acquaintance with the key problems, ideas, and figures in the history of philosophy. In contrast, on …

The Art Of Healing: An Inquiry Into And The Implications Of Practical Knowledge Grounded In Morality, Dennis Packard, Dr. Jared Inouye

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I proposed to articulate the art of healing by examining the relationship between morality and practical knowledge. I proposed to examine this relationship by extensively interviewing and working with a local neurosurgeon. I hypothesized that his reputation as an excellent surgeon—a healer—was grounded in his moral way of being. One of the practical applications of my project was to show that if doctors are to be healers, then a doctor’s formal education usually isn’t sufficient and that measures to morally educate doctors ought to be taken. Another one of the practical applications was to show that the education doctors receive …

Film Music Aesthetic Foundations, James Guymon, Dr. Dennis Packard

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Since its earliest beginnings film has been the subject of intense philosophic study. It has naturally followed that the industry has become a playground/battlefield for the creatively thoughtful, where a person’s rationale is often more important than her finished product. It is this environment that has nurtured a subculture wherein every successful director is a philosopher of sorts.

Kant On The Nature Of Geometry, James B. Gibson Jr., Dr. Michael Arts

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant develops an account of geometry which rests upon his central claim about metaphysics: that we see the world not as it may be independent of our perceiving it, but as an object of our sensible intuition. Thus, in order to understand our world, we must not only attempt to examine the world, but we must also examine the lens of our intuition, by which we perceive the world:

The Kierkegaardian Intervention: An Alternative Therapeutic Approach Emphasizing Agency, Brooke Bentley, Dr. C. Terry Warner

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Kierkegaard, the Danish, Christian, Existentialist of the 19th century is not only a philosopher, but also a psychologist. Kierkegaard’s interactions and responses to his audiences reveal a complex view of human freedom or agency that has far-reaching implications for psychotherapy. The assumptions about what it means to be a human being associated with this view differ radically from the traditionally naturalistic assumptions of psychology, which include ideas such as determinism and hedonism.1 Moreover, he does not restrict himself to writing about human conduct; he intends his writing to intervene therapeutically into the life of the reader in order to invite …

Quality-Space Theory In Olfaction, Benjamin D. Young, Andreas Keller, David Rosenthal

Publications and Research

Quality-space theory (QST) explains the nature of the mental qualities distinctive of perceptual states by appeal to their role in perceiving. QST is typically described in terms of the mental qualities that pertain to color. Here we apply QST to the olfactory modalities. Olfaction is in various respects more complex than vision, and so provides a useful test case for QST. To determine whether QST can deal with the challenges olfaction presents, we show how a quality space (QS) could be constructed relying on olfactory perceptible properties and the olfactory mental qualities then defined by appeal to that QS of …

Review Of Science And Ethics, Gregory L. Bock

Between the Species

No abstract provided.

Locke On Territorial Rights, Bas Van Der Vossen

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

Most treatments of territorial rights include a discussion (and rejection) of Locke. There is a remarkable consensus about what Locke's views were. For him, states obtain territorial rights as the result of partial transfers of people's property rights. In this article, I reject this reading. I argue that (a) for Locke, transfers of property rights were neither necessary nor sufficient for territorial rights and that (b) Locke in fact held a two-part theory of territorial rights. I support this reading by appealing to textual and contextual evidence. I conclude by drawing a lesson from Locke's views for current debates on …

Light And Affects From A Comparative Point Of View, Kyle Takaki

Comparative Philosophy

Light metaphors occurring in Chinese philosophy and Stoicism are of special interest for the unique ways they channel potentialities of the self. In this paper I apply ideas from cognitive linguistics to examine selected structural features of these metaphors. I also build on these ideas by presenting a framework regarding affects to assist in disclosing what is at stake for differing Chinese and Stoic technologies of the self. The paper adopts a high-level perspective to see these broad philosophical implications, interleaving discussions of Chinese philosophy (mainly views associated with Daoism), Stoicism (bringing into relief important differences from these views), and …

Book Review Of, Ethics Of Liberation: In The Age Of Globalization And Exclusion, Alexander Sager

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Alex Sager, Professor in Philosophy at Portland State University reviews Ethics of Liberation: in the Age of Globalization and Exclusion by Enrique Dussell.

A Reply To Vaidya, Michael Krausz

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

The Inclusive Dynamics Of Islamic Universalism: From The Vantage Point Of Sayyid Qutb's Critical Philosophy, Andrea Mura

Comparative Philosophy

This article pursues a topological reading of Milestones, one of the most influential books in the history of Islamism. Written by Muslim thinker Sayyid Qutb, the general interest in this crucial text has largely remained restricted to the fields of Islamic Studies and Security Studies. This article aims to make the case for assuming a philosophical standpoint, relocating its significance beyond the above-mentioned fields. A creative and topological reading of this text will allow the spatial complexity of Qutb’s eschatological vision to be fully exposed, while also unpacking the way in which antagonistic relations have variously been articulated by this …

Meditation On Relativism, Absolutism, And Beyond, Anand Vaidya

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Albert Camus And The Anticolonials: Why Camus Would Not Play The Zero Sum Game, James D. Le Sueur

Department of History: Faculty Publications

In 1994, I returned from Paris to Hyde Park just in time to catch a lecture about Albert Camus that an esteemed colleague, the late Tony Judt, was giving at the University of Chicago. I was much younger then, eager to engage in debate, and I had just spent most of the past two years turning over the recently opened pages of Camus’ private papers in Paris and trolling through the private papers of other prominent French intellectuals, as well as newly declassified state archives for what was to become my first book, Uncivil War.2 I had also done dozens …

Counterfactual Situations And Moral Worth, Kelly Sorensen

Philosophy and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

What is the relevance to praiseworthiness and blameworthiness of what one would have done in other, counterfactual circumstances? I defend a moderate form of actualism: what one would have done is important, but less so than what one actually does.