Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Association Between Maternal Exposure To Traffic-Related Air Pollution And Neonatal Death, Low Birthweight, And Orofacial Clefts Among Newborns In New York State, Excluding New York City (1999-2019), Douglas Done

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The following dissertation describes three case-control studies designed to investigate the association between maternal exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and the following three outcomes in newborns: 1) neonatal death; 2) low birthweight; and 3) orofacial clefts. Exposure to TRAP will be assessed using distance-weighted traffic density (DWTD), measured in vehicles per day (VPD) that accounts for all roadways within 228.6-meter (750 ft) of the mother’s residence at the time of birth and the intensity of their average annual daily traffic (AADT) based on roadway and traffic data collected by the NYS Department of Transportation (NYS DOT) from 1995 to …

Mrs. Dalloway As A Window For Understanding Life, Kristen Venegas

English (MA) Theses

Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway may be dismissed as fiction, and fiction consequently is dismissed as fantasy. However, the novel enables readers to practice an intellectual exercise of meta-awareness that extends beyond the pages and onto real world phenomena. Under a cognitive neuroscience perspective, Mrs. Dalloway is a literary masterpiece due to its hyper- realistic execution of the intimacies of life. Through the narrative style of free-indirect discourse, Woolf illustrates what occurs in the minds of characters as they develop their own perceptions of reality and identity, exposes the fear and inadequacies of mankind’s distress in times of chaos and disorder …

Minority Reports: Registering Dissent In Science, Haixin Dang

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Consensus reporting is valuable for presenting unified scientific evidence to the public. When a consensus does not exist, I argue that scientists ought not to default to majority reporting in its place. Majority reporting has several epistemic drawbacks because it can obscure underlying justifications and lines of evidence, which may be in conflict or contested. I argue that minority reporting, in conjunction with majority reporting, is an epistemically superior mechanism for scientists to report on the full range of reasons and evidence available within a group. This paper addresses several objections, including worries over group cohesion, fringe reporting, and elite …

The Relationship Between Principal Perceptions On Leadership And Inclusive Education With Growth Model Outcomes For Students With Disabilities, Jason Bletzinger

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Now more than ever, school principals play a critical role in effective implementation of inclusive education programs in their schools, as inclusive practices are becoming tightly embedded in a school’s culture (Sailor, 2016; Shogren et al., 2015). The success of inclusive education programs has been primarily supported by school principals’ positive attitudes toward inclusion (Romanuck Murphy, 2018; Urton et al., 2014). With increasing pressure to provide legally compliant and quality inclusive special education services in schools, it has become more critical than ever that school principals not only recognize the roles and responsibilities they play in leading inclusive education programs …

Deontics And Time In Contracts: An Executable Semantics For The L4 Dsl, Seng Joe Watt, Oliver Goodenough, Meng Weng (Huang Mingrong) Wong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Existing approaches to modelling contracts often rely on deontic logic to reason about norms, and only treat time qualitatively. Using L4, a textual domain specific language (DSL) for the law, we offer a more operational interpretation of norms, based on states and transitions, that also accounts for the granular timing of events. In this paper, we present a higher-level rendering of the loan agreement from Flood & Goodenough in L4, and an accompanying operational semantics amenable to execution and static analysis. We also implement this semantics in Maude and show how this lets us visualize the execution of the loan …

How Is The Christian Virtue Of Detachment Epistemically Transformative?, Simon C. Summers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to understand how the Christian virtue of detachment, understood as the proper ordering of one’s desires toward God, contributes to epistemic transformation. In order to achieve this result, I rely on the work of the Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, beginning by mapping out his conception of detachment and demonstrating how it helps one to overcome competing desires and find their true self. Following this, I offer an account of the type of epistemic transformation required to access some theistic knowledge in order to connect Merton’s views on the topic with those of modern-day philosophers and show the …

Theistic Open Futurism: A Critical Philosophical Investigation, Elijah Hess

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I critically evaluate and develop a model of God I dub “theistic open futurism”—the view that an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent being exists but fails to know future contingent statements because such statements are not true. Contrary to what their free will critics have supposed, I argue that theistic open futurists do not subscribe to a metaphysical vision of the future that is logically or religiously incoherent. With respect to the latter, I suggest that while some open theists have overstated their case concerning the amount of providential control God could have given the reality of an …

Investigation Of Public Trust In Science In Connection With Views About Tentative Nature Of Science And Epistemological Beliefs, Asghar Pervaiz Gill

Dissertations

Trust in science is contested in everyday discourse and decision-making. Science education research and instruction must delve into and contribute to enhancing public trust in science. In this context, nature of science (NOS), and epistemological beliefs (EBs) emerge as closely related research areas highlighting the tentative NOS and uncertain aspects of knowledge, which can potentially influence trust in science. In a series of three interrelated studies, this research explores the public trust in science in relation to NOS views and EBs.

The first study emphasizes the role of science education in building trust among undergraduate chemistry students. It assesses the …

Origins Of Great Traditions, Joseph J. Reidy

KSU Distinguished Course Repository

This course is a systematic examination of five centers of civilization in Afro-Eurasia during their defining moments. The course focuses on the historical contexts that gave rise to China’s classical philosophies, India’s transcendental world-view, the Judaeo-Christian-Islamic synthesis, African mythoreligious systems of thought, and Latin-European culture in the West. The course’s content emphasizes cross-cultural influences and connections.

Interviews In Global Catholic Studies: Dr. Judith Hahn, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

Interview with Judith Chair of Canon Law at the University of Bonn.

The Theology Of The Liturgical Seasons In The Syro-Malabar Church, Ann Mary Madavanakadu Cmc

Journal of Global Catholicism

This paper focuses on the theology of the liturgical seasons in the Syro-Malabar Church. The liturgical year with its liturgical cycles and seasons, is more than just a mere structural framework for the prayer life of the Church. It is a true locus of rich theology. The liturgical year is defined as the yearly plan of spiritual life by the Church, for her children, arranged in different seasons or periods to celebrate the mysteries of Christ in life together with feasts, fasts, and abstinence in order to make Christian life a successful pilgrimage to heaven for attaining salvation. This article …

Education And The Epistemological Crisis In The Age Of Chatgpt, Casandra Silva Sibilin

Publications and Research

The emergence of ChatGPT and its ability to imitate student work has precipitated a crisis in education. Responses range from practical efforts to detect or prevent ChatGPT use to existential reflection about learning and assessment. However, the crisis is also epistemological, with educators struggling to determine what students know and fearing that student knowledge is diminishing. The educational philosophies of Socrates, Dewey, and Freire suggest that recognition of ignorance of different kinds (inquisitive, predictive, and practical)on the part of educators is uncomfortable but essential for improving the aims and methods of education. In this way, ChatGPT and the philosophy of …

Optimism About Philosophical Progress, A Historical Case Study, Daniele Bruno Garancini

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

In this thesis I defend optimism about philosophical progress, which is a form of anti-exceptionalism about philosophy. Pessimists maintain that philosophy lacks the distinctive features that make science progressive. Optimism maintains that philosophy is like science, in this respect. My argumentative strategy is the following. I review the literature on philosophical progress to identify the feature that, according to pessimists, philosophy lacks. Then, I develop a historical case study to show that philosophy has these features. The goal is showing that philosophy makes progress by pessimistic standards.

My strategy is novel because other optimists, including Stoljar and Dellsén, Firing, and …

Gaston-Paul Effa, Moine-Pèlerin Et Flambeur Au Risque De La Forêt Camerounaise, Sylvie Kande

The Goose

Book review of Gaston-Paul Effa's 2019 novel, La vertical du Cri. The narrator finds salvation in wandering between nations and throughout the African rainforest.

Political Feasibility And A Global Climate Treaty, David Lefkowitz

Philosophy Faculty Publications

I contend that to be politically feasible a global climate treaty must satisfy the International Paretian principle (IP). I begin by defending IP as a principle of instrumental rationality that reflects the fact of extremely limited altruism vis-à-vis foreigners. I then address two objections to my thesis. One holds that an IP treaty is either economically infeasible or, contrary to its proponents’ claim, does not require side payments from poor states to rich ones. The other holds poor states will reject any climate treaty that requires such side payments because it ignores or exacerbates their unjust treatment by rich states.

Becoming Harmonious: What Can Confucius Contribute To Our Theory Of Rights, Edgar J. Vasquez

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

In the West, the core value that informs how we create and think about rights is autonomy, especially for the individual. For the ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius, the core value to be pursued is harmony or the well-being of society as a whole. In this paper I argue that the West should also make harmony our core value. To make my case, I take influence from Confucius to look at how his theory differs from typical Western political theory. I discuss Confucius’ emphasis on duties rather than rights, the idea of citizenship as a privilege rather than a right, and …

Resentment, Will, And Moral Identity, Nicole Reid

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

Our everyday personal interactions with others are nothing if not complex. Accidents happen, mistakes are made, and the seamless understanding of the attitudes and actions of others doesn’t always occur. At some point an apology will need to be offered. In this essay I intend to examine the work done by an apology after an accidental transgression in mitigating unfavorable reactive attitudes like anger and resentment. This important work, I’ll argue, is more than just a societal norm. The work of an apology not only helps others to hold us in our identity as morally responsible agents, but has the …

Hope, Contentment, And Shame: The Formulation Of Agency In Children, Niamh Quinnan

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

In this paper, I examine how agency develops in children and I evaluate where parents and guardians are responsible for facilitating this development. I explain how parental scaffolding allows children to be supported by their parents to learn to hope, both as it is relevant to their growth and development, and as they begin to acquire particular skills relevant to their agency. Through what I call collaborative agency, I express the importance of parental facilitation and nurturing of the moral agency of their child so that they may better develop complete agency by adulthood. I explain the roles that hope, …

"The Algorithm Decides": Unintentional Agency Laundering & Explanation, Carson Johnston

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

In this paper I explore a situation under-explored by AI researchers where those who deploy decision-making algorithms unintentionally launder their moral agency to algorithms through anthropomorphic ascriptions of their underlying architecture. Often, this kind of agency laundering occurs rather innocently, by attempting to render an otherwise opaque system transparent through simplified and analogous explanations intended to enhance the decision subject’s understanding. Consequently, when unintentional agency laundering happens, the decision subject’s agency to seek recourse for adverse outcomes is undermined in the process of laundering the data controller’s moral agency to a non-agent. This paper explores this situation as it pertains …

On Radical Moral Encroachment: Distancing Epistemology From Truth, Roshan Dahale

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

Rima Basu has described radical moral encroachment as a theory that detaches wronging from action and attaches it to the belief instead. Furthermore, the stakes are associated with the wrongness of the belief rather than the risk of being false. Basu believes that this form of encroachment accurately captures our modern intuition on how racism functions. However, this paper lays out objections to this form of thinking. The rebuttal includes making the distinction between assumptions, probabilities, and outright beliefs. Probabilities and assumptions cannot be equated with an outright belief. Next, there is the issue of making the wronging of another …

Letter From The Editors, Edgar J. Vasquez, John Milkovich

Acta Cogitata: An Undergraduate Journal in Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Becoming What One Is: Nietzsche And Buddhism - A Transcultural Perspective, Sarah Linda Jacob

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) prophetically called himself an untimely philosopher. But what inspired this untimely genius? In what follows, I argue that Nietzsche’s philosophical departure from the Western metaphysical and epistemological tradition marks a paradigm shift enabled by the European encounter with the East. My thought is that the “untimely” philosopher was very timely—timelier than his educators and philosophical compadres—because he recognized that the Western religious and philosophical system would be, and had to be, forever altered due to the confrontation with new ontological horizons enabled by new, wholly foreign, perspectives. My argument is founded upon the historical significance of India …

On Virtue Ethics Theory And Elementary Music Education, Joshua Burgos

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation uses virtue ethics theory, teacher research method, and self-study to examine how I perceive myself as contributing to cultivating virtuous persons. Virtue ethics theory, teacher research method, and self-study are empirical, using concrete methods of data generation and analysis, and conceptual, relating to studying philosophical research, ideas, and interpretations (Annas, 2007; Check & Schutt, 2012; Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988). The study aimed to discover how virtue is cultivated through music education and improve teaching practice using virtue ethics theory and empirical research to offer insight into how virtue is cultivated. The study was conducted in an elementary school …

Self-Inflicted Frankfurt-Style Cases And Flickers Of Freedom, Michael Robinson

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

According to the most popular versions of the flicker defense, Frankfurt-style cases fail to undermine the Principle of Alternative Possibilities (PAP) because agents in these cases are (directly) morally responsible not for making the decisions they make but for making these decisions on their own, which is something they could have avoided doing. Frankfurt defenders have primarily focused on trying to show that the alternative possibility of refraining from making the relevant decisions on their own is not a robust alternative, while generally granting that this alternative cannot easily be eliminated from successful cases of this sort. In a …

The Basic Dualism In The World, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Graham Harman writes that the “basic dualism in the world lies…between things in their intimate reality and things as confronted by other things.” This paper supports Harman’s assertion from a systems theoretic perspective and illustrates it with some examples, including conceptions about truth, ethics, value, and intelligence. But dualism implies irreconcilable difference; what Harman points to is better expressed as a dyad, where the two components not only imply one another but are related, and where this spatial dyad is usefully augmented with a temporal dimension, expressed in a third component or an additional orthogonal dyad.

Bloody Rationality: The Dialectic Of Modern Reason And Sacrifice In Hegel, Adorno, And Horkheimer, Cara S. Greene

Philosophy ETDs

In my dissertation, I argue that Hegel, Adorno, and Horkheimer develop theories of modern sacrifice grounded in their critiques of modern reason—what Hegel calls “the Understanding” and Adorno and Horkheimer call “instrumental reason.” I contend that these thinkers recognize the process of rational cognition, which abstracts conceptual data from empirical reality and establishes the dominance of the universal over particular phenomena, as a sacrificial process—a view supported by their routine description of this process using the language of violence and death. However, this sacrificial conception of modern reason isn’t metaphorical: when read alongside their analyses of discursive cunning, an instrumental …

Encounter-Oriented Subjectivity In Levinas And Barth: Conditioned Freedom In Resistance To Ethnonationalism, Michael Laminack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines philosophical and political subjectivity, or how an individual knows the world and relates to society, through a comparative analysis of the phenomenologist Emmanuel Levinas and the Christian theologian Karl Barth. Levinas and Barth share a deep structure of “encounter-oriented subjectivity,” meaning subjectivity oriented by encounter with the Other that calls into question the subject’s freedom and, in this same moment, calls the subject to concrete response. Encounter-oriented subjectivity is critical of the “unconditioned freedom” that orients liberal subjectivity and offers an alternative sense of a “passively conditioned” freedom, or a freedom always already called into question by …

How To Save Pascal (And Ourselves) From The Mugger, Avram Hiller, Ali Hasan

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this article, we re-examine Pascal's Mugging, and argue that it is a deeper problem than the St. Petersburg paradox. We offer a way out that is consistent with classical decision theory. Specifically, we propose a “many muggers” response analogous to the “many gods” objection to Pascal's Wager. When a very tiny probability of a great reward becomes a salient outcome of a choice, such as in the offer of the mugger, it can be discounted on the condition that there are many other symmetric, non-salient rewards that one may receive if one chooses otherwise.

Are We Living In A Simulation?, Michell-Lee Graham

Student Research

If we are living inside of a simulation, what’s wrong with that? Nick Bostrom, a swedish philosopher has proposed the question of whether we are living in a simulation. Philosophers in the past have grappled with this concept, from Plato to George Berkeley. In this thesis, I intend to argue or prove that we may be living inside of a simulation or to my best ability find some approximation to the truth of the matter.

Is There Really Anything Wrong With That? An Aristotelian Analysis Of Duty, Luke J. Mcgrath

Honors College Theses

In the iconic Seinfeld series finale, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer find themselves in a peculiar legal predicament when they mock a crime rather than intervene to help the victim. The show’s commitment to portraying reality, even in its finale, vividly demonstrates the potential consequences of a society lacking the legal obligation to aid others. This comical incident raises a thought-provoking question about the legitimacy of duty-to-act laws in the United States. This thesis examines the application of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics to the concept of duty-to-act laws and argues for the necessity and benefits of such laws in promoting a …