Philosophy Commons^™

Nothing Gets In The Way Of A Good Argument, Kai Fine

CMC Senior Theses

For much of Western history, the prevailing process of creating a proof for the existence of a thing (often suggested to be God) outside the causal chain was done by following that very causal chain. One of the most well known of these theories was created by Avicenna. Through following his classification of objects, one was thought to be able to “prove” the necessity for a thing that was necessary in and of itself, and separate from all other things. In this paper I outline the strongest section of Avicenna’s argument, illustrating his classifications. I then turn to Graham Priest’s …

Recognition And Domination: A Hegelian Approach To Evolving Gender And Technology Paradigms, Zachary Davis

CMC Senior Theses

This paper aims to develop a strong account of recognition. It begins with a Hegel-inspired account of recognition as a fundamental desire that drives humanity. This account establishes recognition as fundamental to the initial subject formation of independent self-consciousnesses as agents. I offer the lord-bondsman dualism to provide a critique of domination as oppositional to securing the means for recognition. This entails that, as history progresses the world ought to move towards universally adopting mutual recognition relationships without domination. I adopt this goal as an ideal form of recognition. In Chapter 2, I apply this recognitional framework to gender. Through …

The Standing Of Anger: Insights From The Debate(S) On Constructed Emotion, Andrew Holzer

CMC Senior Theses

In her book, Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice, Martha Nussbaum argues that anger is inherently flawed because it fundamentally contains the desire for payback. To support her argument, she posits specific metaphysical claims about the nature of emotions like anger. This thesis is an extended critique of her metaphysical foundation from the perspective of empirical research in the neuroscience of emotion. The first reason to dispute this picture is descriptive; this view of anger is based on an outdated version of cognitive appraisal theory, which sees emotions as triggered directly by static moments of cognitive appraisal. The second …

Nazism And Eric Voegelin’S Politische Religionen: An Approach To Exploring Nazism’S Roots In Modern Thought, Cody R. Babcock

CMC Senior Theses

The Holocaust shook the core assumptions many held regarding human progress and human nature. This paper seeks to track how the ideas of modernist philosophers may have laid the fundamental political and moral assumptions that allowed the Holocaust to occur. I will offer an analysis of 20th century German-American political scientist and philosopher Eric Voegelin’s theory of Political Religions to assess whether philosophy emerging from the Modern era led Germany to eschew Christianity, a world-transcendent religion as the source of the West’s “first principles,” and adopt the world-imminent religion of Nazism in its place. If this proves to be the …

Reconceiving Tort Law And The Role Of Insurance: Achieving Mutual Accountability, Grace Hong

CMC Senior Theses

Despite insurance being a deciding factor in whether liability is found in tort cases, it is not always reflected in tort theories and court opinions. In this paper, I offer a framework for reconceiving the role of insurance in tort law. To achieve this, I outline where insurance falls into instrumental and non-instrumental theories and why non-instrumental theories are more persuasive. After establishing this, I move to Goldberg and Zipursky’s civil recourse theory and delineate how similarities between the right to vote and right of action indicate parallel problems with failures to comprehend lack of access to the political process …

The Evolution Of Love: The Concept Of True Beauty In Plato’S Symposium And Phaedrus, Miranda Zhao

CMC Senior Theses

Love, a concept revered across cultures and time, holds multifaceted meanings and roles in human experience. Plato, in his dialogues Symposium and Phaedrus, offers profound insights into the nature of love. However, Plato’s conception of love has been subject to criticism, with many viewing it as selfish, objectifying, and lacking in interpersonal connections. Central to these criticisms is the question of whether the lover’s affection for the beloved persists after grasping the concept of true beauty. In this thesis, I delve into Plato’s idea of love as presented in the Symposium and Phaedrus, aiming to demonstrate that Platonic …

Between Self And Others: The Pursuit Of Legitimate Interests For Service-Based Identities, Joelle Min

CMC Senior Theses

American psychologist Carol Gilligan's work reveals that the socialization of women often emphasizes an ethics of care, which is largely overlooked in traditional theories of moral development that prioritize justice and universal moral principles. This gendered distinction in socialization not only enables women to develop a service-based identity—where their self-value is intertwined with serving others—but also exposes them to exploitation. Such identities risk subordinating personal needs to the needs of others, making individuals susceptible to neglecting their own legitimate interests. These individuals have a service-based identity, as they value service to others so highly that their personal needs are often …

Creating A Just System Of Civil Recourse – Articulating The Controlled Instrumentalist Approach For Marginalized People, Rukmini Banerjee

CMC Senior Theses

A system of civil recourse is a precondition for a just society. In this paper, I outline the ideal version of a system of civil recourse and analyze the accounts of various liberal philosophers to explain how a non-instrumental and mutual accountability theory of civil recourse best encapsulates its stated purpose. I analyze the American system of civil recourse, specifically tort law, and argue that it bypasses the threshold of tolerable injustice for marginalized people in the United States. Using Tommie Shelby’s framework in Dark Ghettos: Injustice, Dissent, and Reform, I argue that marginalized people are not obligated by …

Unselfing Love: An Analytical Account Of Personal Love And Its Compatibility With Other-Regarding Love, Fangyi(Steve) Wang

CMC Senior Theses

There is a wealth of philosophical literature on love. The two main camps of literature are descriptive and analytical. The former aims to best synthesize and describe how people manifest love in real life, while the latter takes the normative position of evaluating how people should be loving, which normally blends love with a hint of ethical or justice related principles.

One hidden theme that underlies many of the debates on love is the relation to the lover’s self. As this paper will gradually unfold, there are many self-interested reasons disguised behind the philosophical definition of love and the reason …

For Richer Or Poorer: The Warren Court's Relationship To Socioeconomic Class, Nicole Jonassen

CMC Senior Theses

The U.S. Constitution does not enshrine socioeconomic rights. Why does this matter? Many argue that socioeconomic rights have value in and of themselves because they secure certain minimum conditions of human dignity, but socioeconomic rights also have instrumental value because abject material deprivation often makes traditional political and civil rights meaningless. In this thesis, I explore the relationship between U.S. constitutional law and socioeconomic rights through an analysis of the Warren Court’s decisions regarding socioeconomic class. In Chapter 1, I present existing literature on socioeconomic rights, socioeconomic rights in the American context, and what many scholars see as the Warren …

Your Anonymous Words Matter: The Harms Of Internet Anonymity And Its Inhibiting Effects On Producing Knowledge, Sena Selby

CMC Senior Theses

In this paper, I will argue against Karen Frost-Arnold’s claim that internet anonymity has more epistemic benefit than epistemic harm for online communities. I will first outline her arguments that anonymity poses epistemic benefits for speakers of marginalized communities, who often rely on anonymity to share their experience and testimony without fear of repercussions, such as testimonial injustice, backlash, and even physical harm. I will then consider objections to Frost-Arnold’s account made by others, including the idea that anonymous testimony is not reliable. I will show how this objection alone is insufficient against Frost-Arnold’s claim. Then, I will offer my …

Preservation Through Transformation: An Interpretive Analysis Of Title Vii’S Failure To Secure Remedy For The Wrongs Of Workplace Sexual Harassment, Halle Rudman

CMC Senior Theses

The establishment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as federal law was a pivotal moment in the pursuit of workplace equality and eradication of discrimination. Unfortunately, the application of Title VII in sexual harassment cases has fallen short of the statute’s noble intentions. In this paper, I argue that the judicial treatment of Title VII has been disloyal to its original purpose, perpetuating systemic inequalities and hindering progress towards gender equality in the workplace. I first establish a framework for the reasonable construction of a statute, drawing on work from various legal theorists to establish three …

Auden: Body/Mind, Basil Lloyd-Moffett

CMC Senior Theses

On one hand Auden appears the most cerebral of poets. It is said that when he arrived at school, aged eight, he professed himself excited to study the different psychological types, and the cryptic verse that was to emerge over a decade later bears the scars of his reading, psychological or otherwise, as clearly as the relentlessly analytical Dichtung und Wahrheit and other late works.Absorbing and repurposing philosophical, psychological, religious, and scientific works was an essential part of his artistic strategy, and led to credible accusations of plagiarism on a number of occasions.And just as his collaborators and friends mocked …

Unveiling The Unseen: A Feminist Exploration Of Consciousness And Empowerment Among Homeless Women Through Consciousness-Raising, Scarlett Liu

CMC Senior Theses

Homeless women have been forgotten subject matter in the study and practice of feminist consciousness and consciousness-raising efforts. However, they grapple with the compounded challenges of both gender and homelessness within an oppressive societal structure. This thesis therefore seeks to conceptualize the consciousness of women, and particularly homeless women, in a feminist lens. Specifically, this thesis explores the Othering of women’s consciousness through the intellectual lineage of Simone de Beauvoir and Hegel, and emphasizes the role of material circumstances in shaping consciousness-raising efforts. Then, this thesis examines two unique struggles faced by homeless women – survival sex and homeless motherhood. …

Comedy Is Manipulative And I Can Prove It: Laugh, Now!, Eleanor Henderson

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper examines whether comedy is a manipulative form of interaction. Through defining manipulation and establishing a practical definition of how jokes function, it applies the definition of manipulation to the performance and experience of comedy by assessing a joke's deliberate and powerful verbal structure. It closes with a brief discussion of the ethics of comedy, within context of it being a manipulative influence.

Justice As Fairness Or As Inclusion: Putting Rawls In Conversation With The Bans On Transgender Athletes, Nicole Player

Pomona Senior Theses

The last decade has seen a flurry of anti-transgender bills introduced and passed in the United States, and the topic that has likely been the most hotly debated regards the dozens of state bans on transgender athletes. While most discussions of these bans go straight to a debate about physiology, this thesis centers instead on a question of justice. In the debate of whether to allow a transgender girl to compete in girls’ sports, is it more “just” to prioritize fairness in women’s sport, as these bans do, or is it more just to prioritize inclusion? This thesis, in finding …

Alternative Ontology For Ante Rem Structuralism Based On Huayan Buddhist Metaphysics, Chul Soon Hwang

CMC Senior Theses

Ante rem structuralism is a version of mathematical structuralism presented by Shapiro (1997) that asserts the existence of mathematical objects. It stands out amongst other structuralist views in that it secures a face value semantics for mathematical statements. In this paper, I propose an alternative ontology where structures are fully explained by relations. I argue that this alternative ontology avoids arguments against ante rem structuralism’s endorsement of indiscernible entities while retaining the convenience of a face value semantics for mathematical expressions.

This ontology is based on mereological nihilism and the Huayan Buddhist argument that an object can be fully described …

Shame Clogs The Arteries Of Love: How To Love In The Face Of Shame And Conditions Of Oppression, Theodore J.M. Siasat

CMC Senior Theses

Love and shame, on its face, are at odds with one another. Love tends to foster connection while shame makes one want to hide and isolate oneself. This thesis aims to resolve this tension, particularly in cases of mistaken shame, where the ashamed agent need not feel ashamed, such as in cases of internalized racism, sexism, etc. To do so, this thesis begins by exploring similar cases of love driving people away, looking at (1) love under conditions of oppression and (2) love as seen in Vida Yao’s “Grace and Alienation,” where she is also concerned with ashamed beloveds. …

Tarski And Bachmann In Regina: A Magical Connection, James T. Smith

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This is a personal account of an intersection of the schools of research in foundations of geometry founded by Alfred Tarski and Friedrich Bachmann. Their academic lineages and the origins of the schools are also described, as well as the mathematics that resulted from this intersection.

Entre Rêve Et Résignation – Références Intertextuelles Dans Les Chemins Qui Montent (1957) De Mouloud Feraoun, Inès Kremer

Journal of Amazigh Studies

Résumé :

Malgré la présence évidente et continue des références intertextuelles dans les romans de Mouloud Feraoun, celles-ci n’ont été que rarement étudiées. C’est notamment dans son troisième roman, Les chemins qui montent, que les renvois à la littérature orale de la Kabylie comme à l’œuvre romanesque et philosophique d’Albert Camus se prêtent particulièrement à une analyse approfondie. Ils révèlent la résignation profonde du protagoniste qui se refuse à la révolte métaphysique au sens camusien, révolte rendue impossible par la condition coloniale.

Mots clés : Feraoun, intertextualité, Camus, et littérature orale kabyle

Abstract:

Despite the importance of intertextual references …

Locked In Functions: A Short Poem For Robert Langlands, Virgilio A. Rivas

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This short poem is inspired by Robert Langlands, recipient of the 2018 Abel Prize. The poem tries to sum up in poetic language, as brief but substantial as it can be, the philosophical and rhetorical connotation of his contributions to mathematics, from automorphic forms to number theory, and the famous Langlands programme, among others. Also partly inspired by Edward Frenkel's tribute to Langlands, the book Love and Mathematics, the poem seeks to capture the philosophical beauty of mathematics that privileges the importance of 'functions' over 'passions', consistent with Langlands' purely mathematical side.

From A Doodle To A Theorem: A Case Study In Mathematical Discovery, Juan FernáNdez GonzáLez, Dirk Schlimm

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

We present some aspects of the genesis of a geometric construction, which can be carried out with compass and straightedge, from the original idea to the published version (Fernández González 2016). The Midpoint Path Construction makes it possible to multiply the length of a line segment by a rational number between 0 and 1 by constructing only midpoints and a straight line. In the form of an interview, we explore the context and narrative behind the discovery, with first-hand insights by its author. Finally, we discuss some general aspects of this case study in the context of philosophy of mathematical …

Simulacra And Simulation Hypothesis: How Real Is Our Reality?, Annika Larson

CMC Senior Theses

Metaphysical quandaries have plagued humans for centuries, beginning with Plato, who in his Allegory of the Cave, illustrated a world where people misinterpreted shadows on the wall as reality. This paper examines the notion that our reality is a simulation, either created by us or by external forces. The ontological theories presented in this paper are mainly derived from the work of media theorist Jean Baudrillard and his concept of hyperreality as well as Nick Bostrom’s argument for the simulation hypothesis. I also analyze Slavoj Zizek’s comments on media depictions of simulations in mainstream movies like The Matrix and The …

The Gay Science: Power On The Body, Population, And Psyche, Nicola Augustyn

CMC Senior Theses

Michel Foucault is a philosopher of power who left behind a legacy of ideas that continue to inspire scholars today. His conceptualization of power is not limited to the figures of kings, monarchs, or the sovereign state. Rather, he regards power as a productive force that shapes subjectivity, manufactures knowledge, and engenders the truth in a particular historical context. In this thesis, I aim to provide a comprehensive account of Foucault’s analysis of power, starting with his refutation of the “repressive hypothesis” that challenges the predominant view of centralized top-down power. Then, I present Foucault’s proposal for redefining power as …

Shaping Knowledge With Distortions: Museums As Oppressive Spaces And Hermeneutical Injustice, Fangzhangyi Chen

CMC Senior Theses

Museums are places where people come to make sense of their and others’ social experiences related to social identities. However, what if museums present a distorted picture containing prejudicial stereotypes that harm socially marginalized groups? In this thesis, I argue that museums are oppressive spaces that reinforce hermeneutical injustice as distorted hermeneutical resources shaped by the socially powerful to sustain the asymmetrical social dynamics at large. The primary objective of the thesis is to contribute to the existing literature of museums being oppressive spaces by offering a novel explanation utilizing Miranda Fricker’s framework of hermeneutical injustice. Hermeneutical injustice arises when …

From Building To Dwelling: Unfolding Infinity Through Bioregional Fulfillment, Sanjana Bhatnagar

Pitzer Senior Theses

The causes of anthropogenic climate change touch every feature of our modern-day existences. Approaches to sustainability tend to focus on material actions, but unsustainable practices are guided by an ontological orientation of individuality and human exceptionalism. This thesis provides an alternate account of being that decenters individuality through weaving the metaphysics of Fazang of the Huayan School of Mahayana Buddhism with the metaphysics of Martin Heidegger. To encompass the whole of the relational network that constitutes and conditionally defines our existence, I expand Heidegger’s account of locales as relational sites which are put forth solely by humans to an account …

Implications Of The Stoic Theory Of Emotions, Mustafa Hourani

CMC Senior Theses

After exploring Stoicism through the works of Epictetus, I was particularly intrigued by its implications on the role of emotions in human life. Although I saw benefits to living a Stoic life, I was concerned about how the Stoic theory of emotions could potentially cause negative effects on the wellness of humans. The purpose of my thesis was to conduct a study of this theory and explore the objections against it, evaluating if they are able to successfully demonstrate the contradictions in Stoicism. I do this by arguing and paraphrasing various credible primary and secondary sources which I cite in …

Using An Intersectional Historical Materialist Perspective To Understand And Propose A Solution To Caste And Gender Discrimination In India, Amanda Goldman

CMC Senior Theses

Caste and gender oppression are two systems of domination that continue to affect the lives of lower-caste women living in India. Both the caste system and the patriarchy were created to rationalize a hierarchical division of labor in which lower-caste women are subordinated. The best way to understand the reasoning behind these systems of oppression, as well as the impact of them, is through an intersectional historical materialist perspective. This perspective can be utilized when analyzing the evolution of caste and women’s rights in India, specifically focusing on the changes brought on by British Imperialism. This analysis reveals that decisions …

A Theory Of (In)Justice: The Failure Of Tort Law To Secure Equal Respect For Women And A Feminist Contractarian Framework For Reform, Eva Augst

CMC Senior Theses

Traditional approaches to philosophical theories of tort law have systematically undermined the individual worth and security interests of women. However, torts also provide a particularly powerful avenue for reform, in that they embody the public power of private law and offer individuals the opportunity to seek recourse and accountability for wrongs. In this paper, I offer a framework for such reformist approaches to tort philosophy, predominantly inspired by Jean Hampton’s “Feminist Contractarianism,” which requires that women be recognized as individuals with intrinsic worth who are deserving of respect. To accomplish this, I first note the particular relevance of social contract …

A Defense Of Empathy, Paige Sorgen

CMC Senior Theses

The goal of this thesis is to act as a defense of empathy in the face of critiques from both Jesse Prinz and Paul Bloom. They both hold the view that empathy is far too flawed to be held up in society the way that it is and that we should look to other strategies. We will look at their arguments against empathy and then move into the critique of them. Despite their arguments, and with other philosophers' input, I ultimately conclude that with some edits to how we use it and some changes to how we think about it, …