Philosophy Commons^™

Globalization And Genocidalism: Fictional Discourse Without Borders (For Fun And Profit), Aleksandar Jokić, Tiphaine Dickson

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this essay we explore the relationship between globalization and genocidalism. “Globalization” is understood as “freedom and ability of individuals and firms to initiate voluntary economic transactions with residents of other countries,” while “genocidalism” is defined as “(i) the purposeful neglect to attribute responsibility for genocide in cases when overwhelming evidence exists, and as (ii) the energetic attributions of “genocide” in less then clear cases without considering available and convincing opposing evidence and argumentation.”

The hypothesis that we defend here as explanatory of globalization’s “surprising” failure to live up to its often repeated theoretical promise that it is not a …

Socratic Pedagogy, Critical Thinking, Moral Reasoning And Inmate Education: An Exploratory Study, Peter Boghossian

Dissertations and Theses

This exploratory study examines the hypothesis that Socratic pedagogy is a useful tool for imparting critical thinking and moral reasoning skills to inmates. The study explores the effectiveness of a new curriculum, Introducing Socrates, which relies on Socratic pedagogy to achieve its objectives. The curriculum draws from the effective criminal justice research on cognitive education to determine its objectives, and then looks to the Platonic dialogues to find broad philosophical questions that tie into those objectives. The program also evaluates salient criticisms of Socratic pedagogy that are found in the educational and philosophical literature, and then isolates and evaluates constructs …

Philosophy In The Wilderness, Jamie P. Ross

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

An analysis of the team-taught course, Knowledge, Art & Power: The Social Construction of Knowledge. It critically analyzes and rejects both of the following claims: 1. Knowledge consists of eternal truths, 2. Knowledge is relativistic. In so doing, we focus on an understanding that knowledge serves selective interests; knowledge has a teleology (purpose)- i.e. power.

In this course we examine and analyze the relationships among and between knowledge, power and art. That means we must first understand what counts as knowledge. One way of understanding what counts as knowledge is to understand the way in which power is defined …

Understanding Imperfection, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Because of their inherent abstraction, systems ideas are not themselves sufficient for gaining scientific knowledge or solving practical problems, but they can be a source of insights into the universality of imperfection, insights which can contribute to a new scientific world view. Systems theory offers a metaphysics, or more precisely an ontology, of imperfection. Through it, we can heed Spinoza's injunction, “Not to lament, not to curse, but to understand.”

The Reemergence Of Kantian Ethics: Have We Adequately Responded To Hegel's Objections?, Gwen C. Thompson

Dissertations and Theses

The philosophies of Kant and Hegel have experienced a renaissance for the past thirty years, and a debate continues as to whether Hegel's objections to Kant's moral philosophy are sound, and/or whether Hegel's ethics are an improvement on Kant's. This debate takes many forms, and most recently, theorists have been interested in measuring Hegel's objections against contemporary theories following in the Kantian tradition. 'Critics,' (theorists defending Hegel's moral point of view) suggests such reconstructed theories leave themselves open to identical criticisms Hegel wielded at Kant almost 200 years ago. 'Defenders,' (theorists supporting Kant's moral philosophy, or a revised version) reply …

The Language Of Transformation In A "Conversation For Possibility": A Metaphor Analysis, Deborah Jean Gabbert

Dissertations and Theses

Metaphor allows us to understand and experience "relatively abstract or unstructured subject matter in terms of more concrete, or at least more highly structured subject matter". Lakoff and Johnson's (1980) and Lakoff's (1993) contemporary theory of metaphor contends that: metaphor is fundamentally conceptual; metaphoric structuring is the basis for the organization and functioning of much of the ordinary human conceptual system; and metaphorical language found in everyday speech is a surface manifestation of underlying conceptual metaphors. The metaphors most salient in a culture's discourse will reveal something about what is thinkable, knowable, and doable in that culture. Metaphors have the …

Book Review Of, Friedrich Nietzsche, On The Genealogy Of Morality, R. Kevin Hill

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "On the Genealogy of Morality" by Friedrich Nietzsche, translated by Carol Diethe and edited by Keith Ansell-Pearson

Book Review Of, Nietzsche: Ethics Of An Immoralist, R. Kevin Hill

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Ethics of an Immoralist" by Peter Berkowitz

A Salinger-Ized Socrates, Jodi Geren

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

Throughout the Gorgias, Plato returns to irony to color the characters in their plights of ambiguity and inability. Present in nearly every layer and language form operating within the work, irony is perhaps the greatest contributing factor to the modernist and timeless tone of the dialogue. Using this technique, Plato is able to layer antagonism, infer implication, and make every character seem slightly out of his element, thus provoking an awkward, but seemingly necessary situation. This paper portrays Socrates as the anti-hero, the ancient Holden Caulfield.

The Gospel According To Augustine: Augustine's Use Of The Gospels In The Confessions, Nikki Goodrick

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

St. Augustine makes use of many predecessors and precursors throughout his work, the Confessions. Among the most prominent of these predecessors are the writings of the early Christian church, in particular the Gospels. Augustine makes extensive use of the Gospels throughout his work but it is quite obvious that he does not view them to be a homogenous group but four distinctly different books. Augustine approaches each book in a markedly different manner and uses them for distinctly different purposes in the Confessions. He pays special attention to the Gospel of John and from this book he derives the most …

Plato's Phaedo, Adam Coberley

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

Plato's Phaedo is a work in which five complex language forms are used in an intertwining manner in order to form complex ideas. These five language forms are responsible for creating everything that comes out of the Phaedo and are responsible for the formation of any ideas that the reader might make. These forms, narrative frame, periods of debate and interlocution, long speeches, mythopoeisis, and allusions to the cultural corpus join together in order to form the Phaedo. This paper focuses on these concepts but makes more explicit use of the narrative frame to show how all five interact in …

The Consolation Of Philosophy, Shawna Purcell

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

As twentieth century readers we can understand earlier works such as the Consolation of Philosophy by reading it against a traditional background and applying the four fold scheme of interpretation. This paper shows how Boethius has deeply woven into his poems the philosophies and writing styles of his predecessors Homer, Seneca, Ovid and Plato, including the Stoics. In addition, this paper shows that, like the planets, each unique, but made of similar elements, Boethius attained his own notoriety by building on the works of his predecessors.

A Hermeneutic Reading Of Natalie Barney And Renee Vivien, Antoinette Sherman

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

Traditional representational discourses have constructed others within Europe-women, homosexuals, the insane-as well as others external to Europe. As two lesbian women born at the turn of the century, Natalie Barney and Renee Vivien were the traditional other to their native land. In response to this, each chose expatriation and made France her permanent home, where they created a working and living relationship that would last for nearly fifteen years. Leaving one's world and culture behind, voluntarily or involuntarily, means engaging oneself in a complex process of composing one's identity and otherness. For Natalie Barney and Renee Vivien, French language and …

Confessions, Rachel Duvack

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

Augustine of Hippo was a man who wanted two inharmonious states. He wanted to have the security of an absolute and sustaining faith in God, a faith that would have proscribed and clear definitions of what he should believe. At the same time, he was quite unable to control the roaming of his restless, seeking mind. Written 10 years after his conversion, the Confessions is both an exploration of his changed thinking since his conversion and a message from the Bishop of Hippo to his congregants. It is his attempt to reconcile his need for faith with his consuming doubts …

The Protagoras, Rebecca Sparks

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

In the Protagoras Plato points out the reasons Socrates was allowed to be tried and condemned to die even though this was against everything the city stood for. By being at conflict with the society and those around him, and in no small part, because he was a Sophist, Socrates ends up doing himself in. As Socrates moves from one narrative frame to another, he not only shows what it is he cares about, but also how he manages to annoy just about everyone. This paper traces just how Plato illustrates Socrates’s Sophist traits.

The Consolation Of Philosophy, Heather Springgay

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

The general situation and theme within Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, and the Phaedo, contain striking similarities, but even more striking are the differences that redefine Boethius' work. The Consolation presents a work that in its basic text describes the time before Boethius' execution, while the Phaedo examines Socrates before he is put to death. In each work similar discussions on death and dying are presented. These aspects of the works, however, are where the similarities end. Instead, by placing Lady Philosophy in Socrates' position, the reader is able to examine the Phaedo as a dialogue on the life, death and …

Book Review Of, Schopenhauer, R. Kevin Hill

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Schopenhauer" by Christopher Janaway

Book Review Of, Nietzsche's Philosophy Of Science: Reflecting Science On The Ground Of Art And Life, R. Kevin Hill

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Nietzsche's Philosophy of Science: Reflecting Science on the Ground of Art and Life" by Babette Babich

Socrates' Embassy To Cratylus, Jason Lohr

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

Plato, in the Cratylus, promotes truth as the principal men should aspire to. Socrates beckons us to, by example, smash the dialogue in search for meaning. In doing so; one cannot be sure if one has exited through the same door one has entered or not. It is certain, however, that Socrates would have approved of the search for Plato's truth.

Transgression And Limits In Euripides' Alkestis, Leshu Torchin

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

This paper seeks to understand Euripides' Alkestis in the terms of the transgression described by both Michel Foucault and Longinus. The first section explores transgression as a process that erases the prior limits in order to reconstruct and redefine them. During this process, limits and boundaries are stripped away. A period of horror and liminality ensues in which the meaning of boundaries comes into question. The second section examines the positionality of death as the primary limit that frames the events of the tragedy. The third Section explores the deteriorating functionality of the gender roles held by Admetus and Alkestis. …

Stop Making Me Laugh, Can't You See I'M Dying Here?, Pam Parrish

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

The Phaedo comprises one speech. This speech is delivered in the form of a war; a war that wonders about and is fought over the existence of the soul after the death of the body. Does the soul here perish, or is it truly immortal? The life or death of the soul becomes in this sense the prize of the war-the underlying cause, the quest for knowledge of the Truth. Thus, the side that presents the prevailing theory of the soul receives, not only the honor of possessing the answer to this long and much-sought after question, but also the …

A Taxonomy Of Types Of Uncertainty, Byrne Elliot Lovell

Dissertations and Theses

This study considers an expanded meaning of "uncertainty" as it affects decision-makers. The definition adopted is based on a decision-maker who is uncertain, i.e. aware of the insufficiency of her knowledge for the purpose of rationally determining which option to choose. A taxonomy of uncertainties is developed from this definition. The first stage is a Generalized Decision Model, which expands on a standard decision model often assumed in technical works by allowing uncertainty over components of the model that are assumed to be perfectly known in the standard model. These additional potential "subjects" of uncertainty include the feasibility of options, …

Protean Aspects Of Change In Euripides' Medea, Phillip Wilson

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

By drawing on the Homeric tradition, Euripides creates an image of Medea as epic hero with aspects of both Achilles and Odysseus. But this is not enough. As this paper shows, ultimately the portrait that emerges of Medea is that of Proteus. In addition, this paper asserts that not only is Medea a protean figure, but the very shape of the drama that Euripides concocts is protean as well. He shapeshifts the traditional aspects of the tragedy he transforms the form.

The Cratylus: An Explication, Elizabeth Upham

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

In Plato’s Cratylus, Socrates, Hermogenes, and Cratylus attempt to discover if things are named with consideration to phusis or nomos. This paper traces these arguments throughout Plato’s dialogue. In the end, Plato is suggesting that Socrates is like a legislator with the power to bestow appropriate names to things, even as he hides Socrates behind a thin veil of uncertainty. Ultimately the reader must make up his or her own mind, why is Socrates so full of contradictions and why does Plato portray him this way.

Allusions To Homer In The Protagoras, Aaron Johnson

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

This paper traces Plato’s allusions to Homer in the Protagoras. What might seem to be surface details are, in fact, shown to both augment and support the dialogues underlying theme of the nature of virtue. By tracing these seemingly surface details, this paper shows just how Socrates goes about teaching virtue.

Alteration To Exaltation In Euripides' Medea, Jennifer Blakeslee

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

Euripides’s Medea keeps certain aspects of traditional Greek tragedy while radically altering others. This paper shows how he changes the character of Medea into a commentary against both the restrictions of the Greek tragic and epic norms and the ignorance of women upheld in these traditions. In the end, both Euripides and Medea saw the frailty of tradition as compared to the exaltation of individual experience.

Strategic Meaning: Words As Tools Or Traps, Debra Blankenship

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

Upon initial glance, Plato’s Cratylus appears to be a grand romp of words with Socrates’s wit front and center. But a closer examination of the text shows a deadly serious, carefully plotted battle by Socrates to establish his philosophical perspective as preeminent. Plato thus reveals, by the end of the dialogue, that the true battle that Socrates is waging is the struggle to establish what foundation knowledge shall be built upon.

The Importance Of Language In Plato's Cratylus, Jeffrey Tinnin

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

By suggesting that Plato’s Cratylus is in the form of a ring composition, this paper explores how this form plays out within the context of a dialogue on the nature of language. It traces the ring composition form as it applies to the issue of naming. In the end it argues that for Plato the development of language is essential for the growth and maintenance of the soul. The twin structures of the ring compositional form enable this understanding in interesting and complex ways.

Plato's Protagoras: Myth And Democracy On Trial, David Johnson

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

This paper traces how the use of a trial in Plato’s Protagoras serves to highlight the issues of Myth and Democracy; one might even say to put them on trial. While the Protagoras is a complicated work, some aspects of its underlying themes are quite clear. For Plato, democracy pales in comparison to the philosopher-king, and the Protagoras’s structure enables Plato to set up Socrates as just such a figure.

Explication Of Plato's Protagoras, Keri Mcmurry

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

In the Protagoras, Plato presents a view of the Classical Greek social and political structures, as well as personal attitudes and morals, by implying them through the narrative frame rather than explicitly stating them. The allusions to Homer throughout the Protagoras fuel this sense of the Classical Greek. Neither the structure nor the philosophical arguments, when taken alone, give a complete sense of the Protagoras. But when combined, a complex view of the Classical Greek world is achieved