Philosophy Commons^™

Intention And Interpretation In Art: A Semiotic Analysis, Gary Shapiro

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Kant was perhaps the first philosopher to note the distinctive puzzle, verging on paradox, which marks our dealings with art. Works of art seem to place us under an obligation to interpret them and yet we are convinced that our interpretations will never be exhaustive. Kant attempts to account for this peculiar phenomenon by talking of "purposiveness without purpose" or of the aesthetic idea as "a representation of the imagination to which no concept is adequate." We are constrained to see some pattern or organization in a work of art and this is typically understood as a teleological or purposive …

Choice And Universality In Sartre's Ethics, Gary Shapiro

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Does Sartre have a coherent ethical position? At the end of Being and Nothingness he raises questions about the ethical implications of his ontology but refers them to a promised future work. For the student of existentialism it is an interesting question whether any of Sartre's later works offer this anticipated and definitive statement. Yet in the controversy over whether Saint-Genet or the Critique of Dialectical Reason fills the gap in Sartre's thought, the one concise presentation of his ethics in Existentialism Is a Humanism has been generally neglected. This neglect has not been groundless, for the essay, originally delivered …

Habit And Meaning In Peirce's Pragmatism, Gary Shapiro

Philosophy Faculty Publications

The pragmatic movement has often been misunderstood; the most frequent misconceptions, which assimilated the philosophies of Peirce and James in particular to forms of positivism, reductionism, or crude voluntarism seem to be on the wane. Peirce's scholastic realism, his doctrine of signs, and his conception of truth as the unique and destined goal of inquiry now tend to receive the attention that was formerly reserved for his empiricism and pragmatism. A similar change in the estimation of James seems to be taking place insofar as his theory of truth is seen as much less simplistic than was formerly supposed; and …

Existentialism As Reflected In The Imagery Of William Styron's Work, Sally Yates Wood

Master's Theses

In Lie Down in Darkness, The Long March and Set This House on Fire. William Styron studies the modern condition of man and his world. Styron describes this situation according to an existential definition of existence. The world of his novels is depicted as a lonely and bleak realm where man finds no external means of support. As a result of these conditions, man flounders aimlessly. The reason for this erratic behavior is that man relies too heavily on finding guidance from the outside world. Styron contends that man will continue to stumble so miserably, until he realizes that he …

A Study Of The Mysticism Of Plotinus And Augustine, R. Baine Harris

Master's Theses

Three major subjects are the concern of this study: Mysticism, Plotinus, and St. Augustine, any one of which would allow elaborate investigation. Here, we have made no attempt to deal with any one of these comprehensively, but have been concerned only to make a comparative analysis of the mysticisms of Plotinus and Augustine.

The writer's interest in Plotinus stems from the fact that Plotinus is both a first-rate philosopher and a mystic, being generally regarded as "the father of Western mysticism." The significance of Augustine in the history of Western Civilization and the fact that he is both a convert …

A Comparative Investigation Of Personality Characteristics Among Crippled And Non-Crippled Children, James Gustav Plackis

Master's Theses

It was the purpose ot this study to determine, by means of two different objective personality inventories, what significant differences, it any, exist in certain specific areas of personality adjustment between an experimental group of twenty-tour crippled children and an equated, non-crippled control group. The areas of personality integration studied were social maladjustment, personal inferiority, family maladjustment, insecurity, irritability, and daydreaming.

A Study Of The Metaphysical Categories Of Charles Sanders Peirce, Oscar Edwyn Luttrell

Master's Theses

Little is known about the life of Charles Sanders Peirce and perhaps even less about his system and place in the history of American philosophical thought. Somewhat superficially we recognize that he influenced the pragmatism of William James, but even here, were the facts known, the influence would be exceedingly remote, owing to James's own misinterpretation of' Peirce's leading ideas. Prof. Perry says that: "Perhaps it would be correct, and just to all parties, to say that the modern movement known as pragmatism is largely the result of James's misunderstanding of Peirce." James himself at one time stated that Peirce …

Lloyd Morgan's Interpretation Of Emergent Evolution, John Moody Presley

Master's Theses

This thesis represents research in the general field of emergent evolution. The works of Lloyd Morgan and s. Alexander were studied in particular and the works of others in allied fields were used in a supplementary capacity. It maintains that Morgan offers a unique personal interpretation or the universe. Its purpose is to give an understanding of Morgan'e scheme and to call attention to certain problems within the limits of his theory.

The Influence Of Plato On Philo, Ephraim Shimoff

Master's Theses

Very little is known about the life of Philo-Judaeus of Alexandria, but from his writings we see that he was one of the most spiritually-minded thinkers of his time. He came from an influencial Jewish family and was trained in Greek as well as in Jewish learning. A citizen of the place which was at once the chief heme of the Jewish Dispersion and the chief censer of Hellenistic culture, he owes his position in the history of religious thought which we find in his voluminous writings, to that remarkable fusion of Judaism and Hellenism. He sought to bring harmony …

The Logico-Mathematical Philosophy Of Bertrand Arthur Russell, Elie Maynard Adams

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to give a critical exposition of Bertrand Arthur Russell’s logico-mathematical philosophy. The thesis, which is the core of all his work on this subject, is the contention that logic and pure mathematics form a continuous whole, or as Russell himself states it : “They differ as boy and man: logic is the youth of mathematics and mathematics is the manhood of logic."

Kant's Idea Of The Origin Of Evil And Its Influence On Recent Theology, Wade Hamilton Boggs Jr.

Master's Theses

Our problem is rather clearly and brlefly suggested in the title of this thesis. It is to ascertain and set forth Kant's idea of the origin of evil, and then to trace its influence upon recent theology. The problem is complicated by the act that there are contradictory positions set forth by Kant in different ones of his works. The problem is further complicated by the fact that while certain recent theologians of great contemporary influence have undoubtedly been influenced by Kant, they have been influenced only in certain particulars of their theology and not in others. lt is also …

The Analogy Of The Macrocosm And The Microcosm In The Though Of John Calvin, John Osman

Master's Theses

This thesis is offered as an original investigation into the thought of John Calvin. It maintains that the doctrine of the macrocosm and microcosm furnished Calvin's mind with his metaphysics. It contends that the doctrine is the architecture principle upon which Calvin built his system of thought.

The Ugly In Aesthetics, Francis G. Wilson

Master's Theses

First we must admit representative ugliness tor purposes of realism, truth, and in connection with the significant the characteristic and such types. Also, we must admit distortion tor purposes of power, emotional strength, logical and organic consistency, and so forth. Possibly the ugly may be admitted to heighten beauty; and certain other forms of the ugly will be admitted artistically so long as comedy and tragedy are called art-forms.

So far, then, as beauty in the wide sense is concerned, the first category or ugliness cannot be anti-thetical to beauty because it is included in, beauty, and is a positive …

The Problem Of Evil, Clyde T. Francisco

Honors Theses

The problem presented in this paper is one that was first brought emphatically to my mind on a Wednesday night, four years ago. The pastor of a Baptist Church was discoursing upon the foreknowledge of God. "God knows everything we are going to do", he said, "but does not in any way interfere with our actions." It started me upon a long train of thought as to the relation between God and the free will and hence, between God and evil. The discussion that follows is the outcome of my research.

The Relation Of Eternity And Time To Reality, Thomas English Hill

Master's Theses

In the following pages we shall undertake, first, to trace the history of our problem, sketching in order the presentation of each of the above theories and, second, to summarize what seem to be the major contributions and defects of each.

Immortality In Recent Philosophies, Paul Harold Kubik

Master's Theses

The problem of immortality has challenged man­ kind from the earliest dawn of civilization.A belief in some sort of immortality has had, with but few exceptions, a universal adherence.Even modern man, having the know­ ledge of multitudinous contributions of preceding generations concerning immortality, continues to ponder over the problem as much as ever. Much discussion has concerned itself with a life beyond death, and the diverse beliefs ensuing indicate that the problem is truly a riddle of immense depth and complexity.It has aroused the thought or both great and small men; it has challenged their way of living, enabling them …

The Development Of Dr. Alfred North Whitehead's Philosophy, Frederick Joseph Parker

Master's Theses

Professor Whitehead is a Realist. Realism holds that some or all known objects do not depend on the mind for existence. It ls possible that objects exist without being known. Space and time, energy, matter, plant world, and values may exist independent of a mind. He is not a materialist nor an idealist. Not a materialist for he has thrown away the Newtonian physics nor an idealist for he states that minds are concrete events existing in space and time. There is much of Plato and Aristotle in his philosophy. He has also been greatly influenced by Bertrand Russell, who …