Philosophy Commons^™

Qin Chong - A Quest For Ars Veritas, Curtis Carter

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Potential For Ethics Without God Through Bertrand Russell's Authentic Notion Of Philosophical Inquiry, James Magrini

Philosophy Scholarship

Violence dominates the landscape of our present world. Prejudice and sectarianism threaten human rights, putting our hopes for the authentic possibility of humane ethical/moral interaction on a global scale in serious question. Ours is a world where epistemological and ethical relativism appear to rule the day. In these extremely “hard times,” as Nietzsche was fond of saying, it would benefit us, as philosophers, informed thinkers, and concerned human beings, to revisit with a discerning eye and charitable heart the philosophy of Bertrand Russell as it appears in The Problems of Philosophy (1912), wherein Russell reminds us in a powerfully persuasive …

Editors’ Introduction, Glenn Hartelius, Harris Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Beyond Mind Iii: Further Steps To A Metatranspersonal Philosophy And Psychology (Continuation Of The Discussion On The Three Best Known Transpersonal Paradigms, With A Focus On Washburn And Grof ), Elías Capriles

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This paper gives continuity to the criticism, undertaken in two papers previously published in this

journal, of transpersonal systems that fail to discriminate between nirvanic, samsaric, and neithernirvanic-

nor-samsaric transpersonal states, and which present the absolute sanity of Awakening

as a dualistic, conceptually-tainted condition. It also gives continuity to the denunciation of the

false disjunction between ontogenically ascending and descending paths, while showing the truly

significant disjunction to be between existentially ascending and metaexistentially descending paths.

However, whereas in the preceding paper the focus was on Wilber’s so-called integral system, in this

paper the focus of the main body is …

The Work Of Art And Truth Of Being As "Historical": Reading Being And Time, "The Origin Of The Work Of Art," And The "Turn" (Kehre) In Heidegger’S Philosophy Of The 1930s, James Magrini

Philosophy Scholarship

Reading Heidegger’s Being and Time, “The Origin of the Work of Art,” and the 1934-35 lecture courses Hölderlin’s Hymns“Germania” and “The Rhine,” the aim of this essay is twofold. First, the essay attempts to elucidate the manner in which the work of art functions as a superlative event of “truth-happening” (aletheia), which facilitates the movement of Dasein into the truth of Being as a legitimate member of a community, serving as, “the origin of a people’s authentic historical existence.”1 Second, it explains why this notion of art as the historical manifestation of Being is crucial to understanding the shift, or …

"Experience Does Not Err" (Leonardo Da Vinci) - Artwork As A Mirror Of Nature, Eva Maria Raepple

Philosophy Scholarship

The relation between seeing, knowledge, and language has concerned philosophers and artists throughout history. The current article examines the relation between word, image, and knowledge in some prominent Renaissance artworks. It is argued that the shift from revelatory truth in the word to evidence in “seeing the real” as Leonardo da Vinci (1452 -1519) argues in his writings, marks a moment in history in which the human being takes center stage as the interpreter of knowledge. In the search for perfect proportionality and beautiful harmony, Renaissance artists, therefore, did not just create an aesthetic dimension yet were central in a …

Feminist Perspectives On Rape, Rebecca Whisnant

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Although the proper definition of rape is itself a matter of some dispute, rape is generally understood to involve sexual penetration of a person by force and/or without that person's consent. Rape is committed overwhelmingly by men and boys, usually against women and girls, and sometimes against other men and boys. (For the most part, this entry will assume male perpetrators and female victims.)

Virtually all feminists agree that rape is a grave wrong, one too often ignored, mischaracterized, and legitimized. Feminists differ, however, about how the crime of rape is best understood, and about how rape should be combated …

Cooper's Green World: Adapting Ecosemiotics To The Mythic Eastern Woodlands, Paul Siewers

Faculty Contributions to Books

James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales situated in a Trans-Atlantic Green World tradition of Anglophone literature, related also to Native American culture.

The Joy Of Difference: Foucault And Hadot On The Aesthetic And The Universal In Philosophy, Cory Wimberly

Philosophy Faculty Publications

The intersection of Foucault and Hadot's work in the philosophy of antiquity is a dense and fruitful meeting. Not only do each of the philosophers offer competing interpretations of antiquity, their differences also reflect on their opposing assessments of the contemporary situation and the continuing philosophical debate between the universal and the relative. Unpacking these two philosophers’ disagreements on antiquity sheds light on how Hadot’s commitment to the Universal and Foucault’s commitment to an aesthetics of existence stem from their diagnoses of the present and the persistent philosophical issue of universalism. This line of analysis is especially productive to pursue …

John Paul Ii And Christian Personalism Vs. Peter Singer And Utilitarianism: Two Radically Opposed Conceptions Of The Nature And Meaning Of Suffering, Peter J. Colosi

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

Although Christian ethics and contemporary utilitarianism both employ terms such as love and compassion, they are in fact polar opposite ethical views. This fact is not at all easy to discern. One key to perceiving the radical opposition between them lies in clarifying their respective concepts of suffering. In the Christian view, suffering is always understood as the suffering of individual persons, while in utilitarianism suffering is primarily understood as a quantifiable entity detached from the individuals who experience it. The paper attempts a primarily philosophical elucidation of this difference, including some theological points, by taking as its point of …

The Importance Of Group Moral Agency On Environmental Responsibility And Beyond, Joan Woolfrey

Philosophy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review: Portraits Of Grace: Images And Words From The Monastery Of The Holy Spirit, Tim Wojcik

Georgia Library Quarterly

Review of the non-fiction book "Portraits of Grace: Images and Words from the Monastery of the Holy Spirit," by James Stephen Behrens.

Philosophy And Theology: Notes On The Human Embryo Debates, Christopher Kaczor

Philosophy Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Meaning In History? The Young Hegelian's Battle For Historical Meaning And The Resurgence Of Nihilism, Angelo J. Letizia

History Theses & Dissertations

After the Reign of Terror, the German thinker J.H. Jacobi saw only two options for Europe: faith in God or nihilism, the belief in nothing. His ultimatum between faith and nihilism for the modern era called into question for some thinkers the entire revolutionary project and its ideals of reason and self government. Two answers to Jacobi's ultimatum were put forth by the German philosophers Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel who rejected both faith and nihilism, and instead crafted a vision of progress, and Arthur Schopenhauer who opted for nihilism. Jacobi's ultimatum, and Hegel and Schopenhauer's answers to it, opened up …

Jizi: A Bridge Between Chinese Traditional Art And The Present, Curtis Carter

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Greek Bronze: Holding A Mirror To Life, Expanded Reprint From The Irish Philosophical Yearbook 2006: In Memoriam John J. Cleary 1949-2009, Babette Babich

Articles and Chapters in Academic Book Collections

To explore the ethical and political role of life-sized bronzes in ancient Greece, as Pliny and others report between 3,000 and 73,000 such statues in a city like Rhodes, this article asks what these bronzes looked like. Using the resources of hermeneutic phenomenological reflection, as well as a review of the nature of bronze and casting techniques, it is argued that the ancient Greeks encountered such statues as images of themselves in agonistic tension in dynamic and political fashion. The Greek saw, and at the same time felt himself regarded by, the statue not as he believed the statue divine …

Truth, Art, And The "New Sensuousness": Understanding Heidegger's Metaphysical Reading Of Nietzsche, James Magrini

Philosophy Scholarship

This article takes a critical look into Heidegger’s reading of Nietzschean metaphysics in the context of art and finds certain discrepancies in Heidegger’s texts. Heidegger’s claim is that Nietzsche has had some difficulty in discussing the problem of truth, being, and becoming in terms of how the Western tradition of philosophy has understood it. In the context of art, Magrini traces the path that Heidegger took in understanding Nietzsche’s notion of nihilism and finds that Heidegger’s reading of Nietzsche is actually an attempt to elevate the latter as a timely philosophical force whose thought moves away from the rote and …

Was Moore A Moorean? On Moore And Scepticism, Peter Baumann

Philosophy Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Kant And The Metaphysics Of Causality By Eric Watkins, Konstantin Pollok

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“The Negro Speaks Of Rivers” An African Centered Historical Study Of The Selfethnic Liberatory Education Nature And Goals Of The Poetry Of Langston Hughes: The Impact On Adult Education, Sarah E. Howard

Dissertations

The purposes of this historical study were to 1) document the Selfethnic Liberatory adult education nature and goals of the poetry of Langston Hughes (from 1921 to 1933); and 2) to document the impact this poetry had on members of the African Diaspora. In addition, the goal of this research was to expand the historical knowledge base of the adult education field, so that it is more inclusive of the contributions of African Americans.

This study addressed the problem that the historical and philosophical literature of the field does not to any significant degree include the intellectual and adult education …

Putting Unity In Its Place: Organic Unity In Plato’S Phaedrus, Franco Trivigno

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Justifying Circumstances And Moore-Paradoxical Beliefs: A Response To Brueckner, John N. Williams

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In 2004, I explained the absurdity of Moore-paradoxical belief via the syllogism (Williams 2004): (1) All circumstances that justify me in believing that p are circumstances that tend to make me believe that p. (2) All circumstances that tend to make me believe that p are circumstances that justify me in believing that I believe that p. (3) All circumstances that justify me in believing that p are circumstances that justify me in believing that I believe that p.

The Constitution Of Equality: Democratic Authority And Its Limits By Thomas Christiano (Book Review), David Lefkowitz

Philosophy Faculty Publications

In this carefully argued and thought provoking new book, Thomas Christiano offers a novel defense of democracy's intrinsic value, its morally justifiable claim to authority, and the limits thereof, as well as for liberal rights. Central to Christiano's argument for each of these conclusions is the claim that in a moderately complex and pluralist society, social justice requires that people be treated publicly as equals. That is, ordinary agents must be able to see that the institutions and practices that provide the basic structure of the society in which they live treat them as equals, or what is the same, …

Horror, Philip J. Kain

Philosophy

Nietzsche's stature as a philosopher has risen dramatically since his death. His writings increasingly captivate philosophical readers. There are many reasons for this. One reason is the depth of his thought. Philosophers like Aristotle, Kant, or Hegel impress us with the scope and breadth of their thinking. Philosophers like Plato, Descartes, or Berkeley impress us with an original insight that they unfold and elaborate. Nietzsche is different. He thinks deeply. He digs beneath other philosophies. He forces us to look at traditional philosophical assumptions from a different angle. He undermines and subverts them. He opens up the possibility of thinking …

Revisionism About Free Will: A Statement And Defense, Manuel R. Vargas

Philosophy

This article summarizes and extends the moderate revisionist position I put forth in Four Views on Free Will and responds to objections to it from Robert Kane, John Martin Fischer, Derk Pereboom, and Michael McKenna. Among the principle topics of the article are (1) motivations for revisionism, what it is, and how it is different from compatibilism and hard incompatibilism, (2) an objection to libertarianism based on the moral costs of its current epistemic status, (3) an objection to the distinctiveness of semicompatibilism against conventional forms of compatibilism and (4) whether moderate revisionism is committed to realism about moral responsibility.

Disarming Affirmative Action: Why The Concept As We Know It, Cannot Solve The Racial Issue, Daniel J. Cianchetta

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The following is a study on the use of affirmative action in higher education, particularly with respect to race. Because admission into institutions of higher education has traditionally been perceived as a reflection on one’s merit, the application of race-conscious affirmative action programs has undermined the meritorious prestige of a college education for graduates of all races alike. The use of an uncontrollable trait determined at birth as a factor in gaining admission to one of these institutions raised questions of fairness, legality, and purpose. The consequences of such a policy’s application raised further questions regarding fairness, its success, and …

Quest For Quotidian: A National Survey Of Non-Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Marriage, Troy A. Mcginnis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Marriage equality remains a legal impossibility for same-sex couples in most states, and opponents are concerned that expansion of marriage to include gays and lesbians would radically redefine the institution. Findings from an online survey of lesbians, gays and bisexuals— a non-random sample of 466 adult men and women age 18 to 74 in 37 states— strongly suggest that many non-heterosexuals' attitudes reflect neither a radical departure from core definitions of marriage, nor a rejection of traditional "family values," but instead signal an assimilationist position favorable to traditional marriage norms rather than a liberationist position critical of the institution.

Nelson Goodman's Hockey Seen: A Philosopher's Approach To Performance, Curtis Carter

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Hesitation: An Analysis Of Candide, Jared T. Mink

Masters Theses

Candide calls into question its merit as literature or philosophy because it draws its reader into eisegesis. The act of interpreting Candide is never a cool judgment. The enigmatic ending forces the reader to see that acts of judgment are appetitive: Desires shape judgment; judgment plies desire. Candide's behavior reveals eighteenth century interest in "the body," which was the scientist's chief tool in entering "the void" to explore the integrity of new knowledge. We see this body interest in Locke's Essay and, through a concept of "hesitation," we can see that Voltaire absorbed Lock's view of the interconnection between judgment …

Watch Without A Watchmaker: Philosophical Questions Of Non-Believing, Philosophical Discussion Group, Armstrong State University

The Philosopher's Stone

No abstract provided.