Philosophy Commons^™

An Application Of Philosophical Theories Regarding Animals And An Argument For The Replacement Of Zoos, Kailey Houck

Senior Theses

Animal ethics has emerged as a thoughtful discipline in philosophy over the last century. Animals were occasionally mentioned by thinkers such as Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham in the scope of deontology and utilitarianism. More recently, animal ethicists such as Peter Singer, Tom Regan, and Gary Francione have constructed arguments specific to animal interests in the hopes of determining just where they fall in discussions of ethics. Other contemporary schools of thoughts such as Christine Korsgaard’s Kantian approach and the environmental ethics discipline consider animals.

Zoos have entered the realm of controversy quite recently as well. Zoos today have evolved …

The Vector Of Scientific Disciplinarity: An Exploration Of Scientific Disciplines And The Future Of Interdisciplinary Research, Emma K. Garrison

Senior Theses

The disciplinarity of science and the future of interdisciplinarity in science is deeply connected with understanding the scope of scientific practice as well as the demarcation and organization of scientific disciplines. These topics, explored through the structure of their subjects, theories, methods, and interpretation, lead to the conclusion that science and its disciplines are largely defined by the integration of philosophical principles into the ethos of the practices rather than by any specific criteria. The ways in which different disciplines behave and interpret philosophies impact how those disciplines are organized and categorized, resulting in deep philosophical and perspective divides between …

Paul Ricoeur And Biblical Hermeneutics: Narrative, Genre, And Self, Collin Angell

Senior Theses

In short, this thesis seeks to develop a biblical hermeneutic centered on one central axis, based on the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur. That central axis is narrative. The Bible is written in various genres, ranging from prophecy to wisdom to hymn. The goal of this thesis is first to show how a biblical hermeneutic that treats narrative as the central mode of discourse informs a better understanding of the other biblical genres of discourse, and thus of the Bible as a whole. Furthermore, this thesis takes an existentialist direction by taking the narrative-centered biblical hermeneutic and deriving from it a …

The (Un)Holy Bible: Slavery, Female Objectification, And Harm, Natalia A. D. Martins

Senior Theses

This project further elucidates the ability that the Biblical text has of being used as a justification for immoral actions. By using a textualist approach, we find that analyzing the effects that the literal text could have if used to justify action, allows us to see what Scriptural-based morality is subject to at all times. We approach this matter by classifying Scriptural interpretations under a spectrum that varies by degree. This is useful to see that the lowest bar for an action to be theologically justifiable, is whether it is in accordance with a literal reading of the Biblical text. …

Quasi-Dogwhistles: A Case Study Of Creating Meaning, Clyde Lemoine

Senior Theses

In 2017, a group of users on the website 4chan attempted to establish a new meaning of the common “OK” hand gesture. Claiming the sign meant “white power” the intention of this act was to trick left-leaning internet users and the media that an innocuous sign was racist, hence turning everyone unaware against them. A common narrative surrounding the situation was that the new meaning for the gesture as established by this group was a “hoax”. This situation serves as an interesting case study into understanding how we mean things by the use of signs. I will argue that the …

American Absurdity: Reconciling Conceptions Of The Absurd In European And American Literature, Benjamin Spencer

Senior Theses

This thesis aims to examine the development of the concept of the absurd in literature across different time periods and cultural contexts. The absurd, as defined by Camus, is the gap between humanity’s desire to understand the world and the impossibility of doing so.

However, the ways in which the absurd is recognized as an aspect of existence depends heavily on the sociological contexts in which an individual lives. By analyzing the works of absurdist authors, filmmakers, and artists across time, we can track the development of these absurdist conceptions in both Europe and American literary movements.

Looking at these …

Makeshift Memory: Nostalgia As Collective Solidarity In The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood And Post-Imperial England, Catherine White

Senior Theses

It is a deeply human experience to long for times, people, and places of the past, even pasts we ourselves did not experience. This feeling, which we most often call nostalgia (but has earned many names throughout history) has profound influence especially in how we perceive our collective histories and use these histories to guide us forward. This experience of nostalgia is the underpinning for many of our sources of solidarity (or who we feel loyal or obligated to). However, when we feel these profound connections to the distant past, we often lose the reality of that past in the …