Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Evolving Machine Morality Strategies Through Multiagent Simulations, David Burke

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

There is a general consensus among robotics researchers that the world of the future will be filled with autonomous and semi-autonomous machines. There is less of a consensus, though, on the best approach to instilling a sense of 'machine morality' in these systems so that they will be able to have effective interactions with humans in an increasingly complex world. In my talk, we take a brief look at some existing approaches to computational ethics, and then describe work we've undertaken creating multiagent simulations involving moral decision-making during strategic interactions. In these simulations, agents make choices about whether to cooperate …

The Center For The Study Of Ethics In Society At Twenty-Five, Michael S. Pritchard

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society: Celebrating 25 Years - Presented November 15, 2010.

Values Education And The Future Of Our Colleges And Universities, Eric Bain-Selbo

Philosophy & Religion Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Poetry And The Multiple Drafts Model: The Functional Similarity Of Cole Swensen's Verse And Human Consciousness, Connor Ryan Kreimeyer Fisher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project compares the operational methods of three of Cole Swensen's books of poetry (Such Rich Hour, Try, and Goest) with ways in which the human mind and consciousness function. I use Daniel Dennett's Multiple Drafts Model of consciousness, as described in Consciousness Explained, alongside concepts presented in several other philosophical works (from both analytic and continental traditions), to demonstrate that significant similarities exist between the operations of poetry and consciousness in general, and that these operational similarities are especially noticeable in Swensen's work. This thesis examines several operational modes that are present within the …

Reflections On The Role Of The Ethics Center At Wmu, Shirley Bach

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society: Celebrating 25 Years - Presented November 15, 2010

Reflections On The 25Th Anniversary Of The Wmu Center For The Study Of Ethics In Society, Ronald Kramer

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society: Celebrating 25 Years - Presented November 15, 2010.

Center For The Study Of Ethics In Society: Celebrating 25 Years, Center For The Study Of Ethics In Society

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University.

Reflections On The Role Of The Ethics Center At Wmu, James A. Jaksa

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society: Celebrating 25 Years - Presented November 15,2010.

Cyprian And His Role As The Faithful Bishop In Response To The Lapsed, The Martyrs, And The Confessors Following The Decian Persecution, Gordon D. Harris

Liberty Theological Review

In 249 A.D., in an attempt to bring about a renewal in the devotion to Roman authority and the Roman gods, Roman Emperor Decian issued an edict. The edict called for Roman citizens to take part in a simple sacrifice to the Roman deities. Cyprian, the recently named bishop of Carthage, opted to flee the city and avoid the persecution. Upon his return to Carthage in 251 A.D., Cyprian was forced to deal with the results of the persecution among those who had given in to the edict and those who had resisted. He did so with his now famous …

Book Reviews

Liberty Theological Review

Review by Shane Kraeger of Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament: Colossians and Philemon. by Murray J. Harris. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2010. xxxii + 272 pp., $24.99.

Review by Joshua C. Stone of To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World by James Davison Hunter. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010, 358pp., $27.95.

Review by R. Lee Webb of Interpreting the Psalms for Teaching and Preaching. Eds. Herbert W. Bateman IV and D. Brent Sandy. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2010, 292 pp., $34.99.

Review by Roberto Rodriguez-Nunez of Augustine as …

Nanomaterials And The Precautionary Principle, Kevin C. Elliott Phd

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Experience Of Forgiving In The Marital Relationship, Kathleen M. Leo

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Arguments By Analogy, Matt Donner

Philosophy

This paper is an inquiry into the largely unexamined analysis of arguments by analogy (ABA). By exposing the degree of philosophical complexity, which ultimately renders evaluation of ABA subjective, we shall see that the most appropriate doxastic attitude to adopt, with respect to the conclusions drawn from these arguments, is often suspension of judgment. A critical examination of Copi’s criteria for evaluating ABA shows that while these criteria work well for simple arguments, they fail when considering more philosophically profound ABA. This paper supports these claims by using Cleanthes’ teleological argument for the existence of God from Hume’s Dialogues Concerning …

The Paradoxical Beauty Of The Cross: Theological Aesthetics And The Doctrine Of The Atonement In Athanasius’ Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio, Marcus Little

Liberty Theological Review

In his two-part treatise Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio, Athanasius offers an interesting apologetic for the Christian doctrine of the atonement by employing various aesthetic themes and forms of expression drawn from the classical notion of beauty found particularly in the Platonic and neo-Platonic traditions. Although Athanasius never mentions the term “beauty” in Contra Gentes-De Incarnatio, the concept certainly looms in the background. Writing against the Platonic, Epicurean, and Stoic systems of his day, Athanasius centers his apologetic on the philosophical tension evident in the doctrine of divine transcendence/immanence. This paper argues that Athanasius implicitly characterizes the tension of divine transcendence/ immanence …

Hans-Georg Gadamer: His Philosophical Hermeneutics And Its Importance For Evangelical Biblical Hermeneutics, Russell Meek

Liberty Theological Review

Hans-Georg Gadamer’s influence on hermeneutics can hardly be understated.  This article offers an evangelical perspective on the importance of his work and how it can be used to interpret the biblical text more faithfully.  It discusses his influences and some of the major aspects of his work and offers suggestions for applying his work to biblical hermeneutics. The article concludes that his work is vitally important and should be utilized by the biblical interpreter, though not without caution.

Scholarship And Ministry In The Life And Thought Of Augustine, Anthony C. Thornhill

Liberty Theological Review

Augustine is frequently recognized as one of the greatest Christian theologians in all of church history. His influence extends to both Protestant and Catholic circles, and his numerous theological works are still referenced by today's students of theology. The context of his theological writings are often overlooked. While he did, on occasion, seek to write weighty and intricate theological works, his primary focus was upon better equipping himself to minister to the believers he served as the bishop of Hippo. This is clearly evidenced in his sermons and his letters, which provide an important window into his historical context.

Aphorism's Destructive Capacity Towards Logocentric Text In Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra, Joseph Van Der Naald

Anthós

The "spirit of gravity" and all of its connotations is central to the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche. In Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra, Zarathustra proclaims that the spirit of gravity is his devil and that it can only be vanquished through laughter. In this explication, I will show that Nietzsche uses intertextual allusion to place this laughter that destroys the spirit of gravity in relation to the words of the character Clytemnestra in Aeschylus' Agamemnon. I will also show that Nietzsche binds this allusion to aphoristic text, thus framing aphorism as a multivalent form of writing that destroys absolute, …

Videogames, Experiential Reality, Ethics, And Gamers, Sean Naubert

Senior Theses

“Videogames are a waste of time and rob people of a chance at a real life.” This has long been the status quo regarding videogames and gamers. Videogames, Experiential Reality, Ethics, and Gamers rallies against this by undermining the philosophical assumption that comes with the claims against gaming, namely that reality is solely and completely physically determined.

On this quest, “legends and philosophical clans” shall be called upon and united to besiege the conventional notion that there is a sole physical reality. This notion is cut down like so many orcs, leaving the Individual Champion as the lone warrior left …

Why The Greater Good Is Good: Lessons From Harry Potter, Maureen Zach

Tredway Library Prize for First-Year Research

For me, this paper was an opportunity to bring Harry Potter into academia by evaluating a serious moral and philosophical concept, the greater good, with J.K. Rowling’s beloved series. In the end, we see that society could do well to learn from Harry’s selflessness in working for the greater good.

The Quantum Dialectic, Logan Kelley

Pitzer Senior Theses

A philosophic account of quantum physics. The thesis is divided into two parts. Part I is dedicated to laying the groundwork of quantum physics, and explaining some of the primary difficulties. Subjects of interest will include the principle of locality, the quantum uncertainty principle, and Einstein's criterion for reality. Quantum dilemmas discussed include the double-slit experiment, observations of spin and polarization, EPR, and Bell's theorem. The first part will argue that mathematical-physical descriptions of the world fall short of explaining the experimental observations of quantum phenomenon. The problem, as will be argued, is framework of the physical descriptive schema. Part …

"We'll Make Our History": Israeli And Palestinian Youth As Poetic Agents, Caleb Hamman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This paper, in short, analyzes and argue for recognition of a particular form of political action as exercised by a particular type of political agent in the spatial and 3 symbolic context of "Israel-Palestine."

Entering The Forbidden City: Milwaukee Art Museum Offers Rare Glimpse Of Treasures From China, Curtis Carter

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Holism And Non-Separability Applied To Quantum Mechanics, Catherine E. Nisson

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Einstein was never satisfied with quantum mechanics. He argued that quantum mechanics was incomplete for two main reasons; it violated the locality principle and the separability principle. The violation of separability is an unavoidable consequence of quantum interactions. Non-separability can be seen in quantum entanglement. Non-locality, however, is more controversial. Einstein and his associates published the EPR paper in order to argue for the incompleteness of quantum mechanics. Years later, John Bell formulated what became known as the Bell Inequalities in response to the EPR paper. The Bell Inequalities are seen as a major obstacle for quantum locality. I will …

Opposites Attract: The Fusion Of Confucianism And The Qin Dynasty’S Legalism In The People’S Republic Of China Today, Elyse Tompkins

Honors Senior Capstones and Theses

The aim of this research is to examine the seemingly opposite Legalist outlook of the Qin dynasty against the philosophy of Confucianism, and determine the extent to which they have impacted the government and society of the People’s Republic of China today. It is common in Eastern cultures to blend two seemingly opposite ideas, which is partially how this mixture of Legalism and Confucianism works in the current government. The Qin dynasty employed the legalist governmental philosophy, which allowed one ruler to effectively control all of China. This set up the principle of a concentrated government over the vast Chinese …

The Perpetual Creation And Provocation Of The Self, Krista Damico

Senior Honors Projects

The Perpetual Creation and Provocation of the Self

Krista D’Amico

Faculty Sponsor: Stephen Barber, English

This project consists of four related parts. The first part is a critical and creative work of prose in which I converse with the thought of two philosophers, namely Spinoza and Gilles Deleuze. This conversation enables me to present my own thought and subjectivity in relationship to a very important aspect of my life: music-making. The second part of my project is a critical essay in which I contemplate the work of another artist, Virginia Woolf, and the way that her credo Three Guineas (1938) …

Marcuse On The Two Dimensions Of Advanced Industrial Society And The Significance Of His Thought Today, Michael C. Hartley Mr.

Senior Honors Projects

Herbert Marcuse was a philosopher and social theorist who wrote extensively about the dynamics of social change in the technologically advanced societies of the Western world. Motivated by the desire to see humanity develop societies that would allow for individuals to live a free and happy existence, Marcuse critiqued the existing societies of his time. Although Marcuse’s main work, One-Dimensional Man, is over forty years old, it can continue to offer us new insights today. I believe that Marcuse’s thought offers a powerful framework for analyzing our contemporary society. In this project I distill this framework, what could be …

Wrench Yourself, Luca W. Cintolo

Senior Honors Projects

Wrench Yourself

Luca Cintolo

Faculty Sponsor: Cheryl Foster, Philosophy

Wrench Yourself was originally conceived as a three part project. Part one, learning about the writing life, came to fruition through reading books on the craft. Part two involved producing a body of original, creative, non-fiction. Part three culminated in binding the polished pieces of writing in limited production, hand made, leather bound books.

At the completion of this project I have created a hand-made book containing two essays. The first essay, Driven to Distraction, focuses on inattention behind the wheel and the pervasiveness of multi-tasking as a societal norm. …

Healthcare Issues In The United States And Beyond With Existentialist Philosophy, Kristen D'Entremont

Senior Honors Projects

Healthcare Issues in the United States and Beyond with Existentialist Philosophy

Kristen D’Entremont
Faculty Sponsor: Gail Faris, Women’s Center

The importance of quality healthcare is a personal matter for each and every individual across the globe. We cannot go a day without considering the impact that proper health through good nutrition, disease prevention, and access to care has on our bodies. The topic of medical care has interested me for many years and has lead me to the major and position that I am in today. As a senior, majoring in Biology with a pre-medical focus, I will begin the …

Scandinavian Dream: A Region’S Common Philosophical Principles Resulting In Equality, Prosperity, And Social Justice, Remy Christopher Ansiello

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Common philosophical principles formed by the three Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden developed through a shared past. Over the centuries this region’s historical, social, economic, and religious ties paved the way for a belief-system based on egalitarian ideals. By the beginning of the 20th century these egalitarian ideals formed the unique social welfare system Scandinavia has in place, benefiting citizens from the day they are born throughout their entire lives. This welfare system centers on the principle that both men and women are fully equal; furthermore society has a moral and legal obligation to remove all barriers preventing …

Towards A Philosophy Of Woodworking: Re-Embracing Community And Quality Craftsmanship In Contemporary America, Patrick J. Szymanski

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Since the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth-century, humanity has appropriated the natural world for its uses, and only recently have we begun to understand the consequences of our actions. This misuse of the natural world has manifested itself thoroughly in all industries, including the woodworking field. To counteract this problem, I investigate its Cartesian philosophical underpinnings and propose a solution based upon the interconnected philosophy of the German Existentialist Martin Heidegger. Equipped with both the philosophy of Heidegger and concepts from the Deep Ecology movement (which insists upon the intrinsic value of all life on earth), I work to reformulate …