Philosophy Commons^™

Reply To Comstock, Joseph J. Lynch

Between the Species

No abstract provided.

Response To Lynch, Gary Comstock

Between the Species

No abstract provided.

The Geocentric Universe: The Making Of A Cultural Symbol, Kathleen M. Isaacson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1980s, cultural history has applied the analysis of symbols to explain historical problems. Cultural historians such as Robert Darnton, Roger Chartier, and Dominick LaCapra have completed significant work in this area. Using their models, this study defines a cultural symbol within the history of science: the geocentric universe. It examines the symbol's origin and evolution from a mere idea to that of a symbol of significance. Beginning with the ancient Greece of Aristotle and Plato through the Middle Ages of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Dante Alighieri, the symbol's potent influence expanded via powerful narratives and beautiful works of …

The Illusion Of Realism In Film, Andrew Kania

Philosophy Faculty Research

Gregory Currie, arguing against recent psychoanalytic and semiotic film theory, has defended various realist theses about film. The strongest of these is that ‘weak illusionism’—the view that the motion of film images is an illusion—is false. That is, Currie believes film images really do move. In this paper I defend the common-sense position of weak illusionism, firstly by showing that Currie underestimates the power of some arguments for it, especially one based on the mechanics of projection, and secondly by showing that film images exhibit neither garden-variety motion, nor a special response-dependent kind.

John Cotton And The Work Ethic, Lois M. Eveleth

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

The Protestant work ethic, as identified by Max Weber, has its first and, arguably, best American articulation in the work of the Reverend John Cotton (1584-1652). Revisiting key writings of this Boston minister-scholar, we see the origin of American valuation of wealth, work, and success.

The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation Of An Ancient Tradition, Daniel S. Capper

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Superman, Wittgenstein And The Disappearance Of Moorean Absurdity, John N. Williams

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

'You have known me for years, Lois' explains Superman, as I lay aside my copy of Crimmins’s example (1992). 'But there is something you have not yet discovered. You also know me under a disguise. You have not yet realized that this person is I in disguise. On that way of thinking about me, you have different opinions of me. In fact you think me an idiot.' I've just informed Superman that I accept his testimony on the strength of his intelligence. But I confess I don’t quite know how to acknowledge my acceptance of his final remark.

Orwell And Huxley: Making Dissent Unthinkable, John N. Williams

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper I compare the fictional world depicted by Orwell’s 1984 with that of Huxley’s Brave New World from the point of view of an analytic philosopher. Neither novel should be read as predictions, the accuracy of which can be used to judge them. Rather, both attempt to portray what humanity could conceivably become. The authenticity of this conceivability is a necessary condition of the power of both works to raise central philosophical questions about the human condition. What is ethically wrong with control? How far can Man go in recreating himself? In what sense are these worlds anti-utopian? …

Moorean Absurdities And Higher Order Beliefs, John N. Williams

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Untimely Punishment And Dubious Desert, John N. Williams

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Discussions of punishment have always assumed (e.g.[4, pp. 80-5]) that there are no circumstances in which someone can be justifiably punished for a crime that he will commit. This assumption has been directly challenged by Christopher New’s apparent example of morally justified ‘prepunishment’ [7]. In a recent paper, Fred Feldman rejects the ‘received wisdom’1 that desert cannot precede its basis by giving apparent examples of ‘predeserved’ charity, reward and apology [3, pp. 71-75]. If there can be cases of predeserved punishment as well, then anyone who holds that it is morally justifiable to punish an offender if and only if …

Hegel, Nietzsche, And The Postmodern Teleological Impasse, Michael P. Tarpey

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Our postmodern intellectual climate is characterized by two apparently contradictory impulses. One seeks to undermine, unmask, and deflate the pretenses of philosophy as traditionally conceived. The result is a focus on difference, surfaces, and fragmentation. The competing impulse seeks to reconcile, integrate, and synthesize. The result is a holistic focus on deeper similarities behind surface differences. I argue that these competing impulses can be traced back to Hegel and Nietzsche. Thus, an understanding of the relationship between these two thinkers can illuminate our current postmodern condition. I argue that Nietzsche and Hegel are remarkably similar in their approach to many …

Humanizing Mathematics: The Humanistic Impression In The Course For Mathematics Teaching, Ada Katsap

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

History Of Mathematics, An Intuitive Approach, Alejandro R. Garciadiego

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

The main goal of this essay is to discuss, informally, an intuitive approach to the history of mathematics as an academic discipline. The initial point of departure includes the analysis of some traditional definitions of the concept of 'history' taken from standard dictionaries. This concise dissection attempts to suggest the complexity of the discipline.

A Brief Look At Mathematics And Theology, Philip J. Davis

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Notes On Formal Constructivism, D. Joyner, P. Lejarraga

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

Our aim is to sketch some ideas related to how we (as in, we two) think we (as in, we humans) think. "That theory is useless. It isn't even wrong." - Wolfgang Pauli. Our hope in this paper is to provide a theory, admittedly somewhat vague, of how we think about mathematics. We also hope our ideas do not cause the reader to be reminded of Pauli's quote above. These notes were motivated by the interesting book by Changeaux and Connes.

Aphorisms, Lee Goldstein

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Review Of Ivo Celho, Hermeneutics And Method: The "Universal Viewpoint" In Bernard Lonergan, Richard Liddy

Department of Religion Publications

No abstract provided.

Center For Professional Ethics, Volume 3, Issue 4, [2002], Case Western Reserve University

Center for Professional Ethics

Table of Contents:

• Theater and the Law: Periaktos Productions Unites Them Again
• Word of Mouth: A Workshop in Communication Ethics
• Quotable Quotes
• June 26, 2002, Cleveland Bar Association: A Panel Discussion on Ethics, Clarence Darrow and the Law
• From the Impeach Justice Douglas! Performance: Perspectives on Mr. Justice Douglas and the Constitution
• The CWRU Law-Medicine Center presents: Gaps and Inequity in America's Health Care System
• Director's Corner: Hard Questions for Dark Times by Robert P. Lawry

Nature And Nurture In Cognition, Muhammad Ali Khalidi

Publications and Research

This paper advocates a dispositional account of innate cognitive capacities, which has an illustrious history from Plato to Chomsky. The ‘triggering model’ of innateness, first made explicit by Stich ([1975]), explicates the notion in terms of the relative informational content of the stimulus (input) and the competence (output). The advantage of this model of innateness is that it does not make a problematic reference to normal conditions and avoids relativizing innate traits to specific populations, as biological models of innateness are forced to do. Relativization can be avoided in the case of cognitive capacities precisely because informational content is involved. …

Truth Serum And Terrorism, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes several epistemological--as opposed to ethical and moral--anxieties in administering drugs to individuals for the purpose of securing truths supporting the United States Government (USG)-declared war against terrorism with global research.

Limits Highlights From Over 2000 Years Of Developments In Calculus Limits, Lauri A. Nevalainen

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Sartre And Marxism: Bridging The Gap With Mediation Of The "Third", Shane Wahl

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Mixed Media May 2, 2002, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

Mixed Media began as the student publication Your Name Here. The May 2, 2002 issue includes articles on community at RISD, issues in Public Safety and an interview with Director Lucette Dunlop, Student Alliance updates, Carr House changes, additions to the campus Blue Light System, the Illustration show shunning digital artwork, Boston jazz bar Wally's, a recent RISD faculty meeting, a student's visit to the European Honors Program in Rome, a new laptop program in the Graphic Design department, questions to RISD President Roger Mandle from an FAV student, RISD janitor Melvin Bruins, film reviews, interviews with students who attend …

Sagp Newsletter 2002.4 (May), Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Immanuel Kant - Kritik Der Reinen Vernunft, Eds. Georg Mohr, Marcus Willaschek, Konstantin Pollok

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Postmodern Me: A Self Reflexive Discussion About Identity In Three Contemporary British Novels, Ryan Fong

Whittier Scholars Program

On a methodological level, this paper is one about literature – the work and novels of three authors: Hanif Kureishi’s The Black Album, Jackie Kay’s Trumpet as well as her poetry and short prose, and Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. This project engages with the texts themselves and integrates appropriate secondary sources. It is an attempt to understand and look at larger shifts in ways of thinking about identity.

Is Public Space Suited To Co-Operative Inquiry?, Sor-Hoon Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article questions the nature of the philosophical commitment to the problem of 'the public' in modernity. To what extent does the natural form of the public determine the use and value of the instruments of pragmatism in the public-private divide. In this interpretation, John Dewey's ideas about 'the public' are presented in terms of how to solve a specific problem through what he sees as 'co-operative inquiry'. The article also examines the role of public space in the process of democratization through the potential of co-operative inquiry. More often than not, it appears that the politics of public space …

On The Nature Of Heraclitus' Book, Herbert Granger

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Heraclitus is critical of book-learning, yet, unlike Pythagoras, he wrote a book, which presumably he intended to be read. Heraclitus may think himself justified in composing his book because in his composition he remains true to the nature of things, which ‘loves to hide’ (B123). He writes a book that is just as taxing as the nature of things and demands the reader’s careful attention and thorough engagement. Like the Lord in Delphi, and the nature of things, Heraclitus ‘neither speaks out nor conceals, but gives a sign’ (B93). What is more important, he informs his readership about subjects that …

Advising The Cosmopolis, Eric A. Brown

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Plutarch charges that Stoic theory is inconsistent with Stoic political engagement no matter what they decide to do, because the Stoics' endorsement of the political life is inconsistent with their cosmopolitan rejection of ordinary politics (Stoic.rep., ab init.). Drawing on evidence from Chrysippus and Seneca, I develop an argument that answers this charge, and I draw out two interesting implications of the argument. The first implication is for scholars of ancient Stoicism who like to say that Stoicism is apolitical. The argument I reconstruct turns on the political importance of the practice of giving and taking advice, and in this …

What Do You Mean?, Philosophical Discussion Group, Armstrong State University

The Philosopher's Stone

No abstract provided.