Philosophy Commons^™

"Friend" Is A Verb, Dylan E. Wittkower

Philosophy Faculty Publications

An argument against the Aristotelian emphasis on formal and final causes in understanding friendship, and in favor of efficient and material causes. Attempts to establish that social media communications constitute a secondary literacy in the context of a shared asynchronous experience at a distance, and addresses "the sandwich problem:" how we can charitably account for the practice of photographing and sharing one's lunch.

Consuming Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Tests: The Role Of Genetic Literacy And Knowledge Calibration, Yvette E. Pearson, Yuping Liu-Thompkins

Philosophy Faculty Publications

As direct-to-consumer marketing of medical genetic tests grows in popularity, there is an increasing need to better understand the ethical and public policy implications of such products. The complexity of genetic tests raises serious concerns about whether consumers possess the knowledge to make sound decisions about their use. This research examines the effects of educational intervention and feedback on consumers' genetic literacy and calibration -- the gap between consumers' actual knowledge and how much they think they know. The authors find that consumers' genetic knowledge was generally low and that people tended to underestimate their knowledge level. Furthermore, consumers' perceived …

Between God And Man: Community's Place In Virtue, Practical Reason, And Transcendent Good, Jordan Herz Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Talbot Brewer's Retrieval of Ethics and Robert Adams's Finite and Infinite Goods present distinct theories in ethics and metaethics. Brewer begins with the fundamental ethical perspective of the practical deliberator who experiences his practical deliberations as a continuous, unified, and constantly revised activity which begins with inchoate intimations of goodness and proceeds better or worse to understand and pursue the goodness which pervades his evaluative outlook. From this Brewer aims to account for how we achieve excellence in practical deliberation and arrive at a more tenable and self-consistent evaluative outlook which informs our ethical deliberations. Alternately, Adams begins in the …

The Modern Ontological Argument: In Which The Position Of Alvin Plantinga Is Refuted, Zachary Green Crownover

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this work, I set out to accomplish three tasks. First, I hope to educate those who may be unfamiliar with the philosophy of religion, by presenting to them rough outlines of positions commonly assumed by logically minded spokespersons for atheism and theism, respectively. Second, I introduce and explicate the work of Alvin Plantinga—a prominent proponent of theistic belief—and in such a way that it may be clearly understood even by those without prior experience of modal logic. Finally, I adopt a polemical stance against Plantinga, and reach the following conclusion: Contrary to Plantinga's assertions, and given the modal framework …

Problems With Truth: Scope, Mixing, And Truth Pluralism, Christopher Dyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, I will be taking up the debate between monistic and pluralistic inflationary theories of truth. Truth monism claims that there is one explanatory story which accounts for the truth of all and only true propositions. There seem to be, however, certain domains of discourse wherein monistic theories fail. If monistic theories cannot provide an explanation for how all true propositions are true, then they would not be adequate theories of truth. Truth pluralism is motivated to avoid the scope problem. The pluralist sees that there are as many truth properties as there are domains of discourse. A …

Timelessly Present, Compassionately Impassible: A Defense Of Two Classical Divine Attributes, Philip R. Olsson

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This study articulates a God-concept in the tradition of classical Christian theism, contending with calls to modify significantly or revise classical constructions. Attention falls upon two closely related divine attributes that have, especially in recent decades, come under philosophical and theological attack – God’s timelessness and impassibility (inability to suffer). Is the “classical” Lord truly Immanuel, i.e. with us? This general question motivates the study.

The opening three chapters analyze aspects of the God-concepts put forth by Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin. Apparent tensions between a timeless transcendence and an affirming union of the Trinity with creation are countenanced, with an …

Covenant Nation: The Politics Of Grace In Early American Literature, Justin M. Scott-Coe

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The argument of this dissertation is that a critical reading of the concept of "covenant" in early American writings is instrumental to understanding the paradoxes in the American political concepts of freedom and equality. Following Slavoj Zizek's theoretical approach to theology, I trace the covenant concept in early American literature from the theological expressions and disputes in Puritan Massachusetts through Jonathan Edwards's Freedom of Will and the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson, showing how the covenant theology of colonial New England dispersed into more "secular" forms of what may be called an American political theology. The first chapter provides an …

Wittgenstein And Nietzsche On The Role Of Philosophy: Description, Creativity, Naturalism, And Possibility, Michael Charles Rodgers

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation places Wittgenstein and Nietzsche alongside one another in an attempt to deal with the question: "what is the role of the philosophy?" On the one hand Wittgenstein promotes a descriptive approach to philosophy, which insists that the philosopher should not meddle with practices but rather seek clarity and understanding as ends in themselves. On the other hand Nietzsche promotes a destructive and creative approach to philosophy, where the philosopher both dismantles values and offers a revaluation of values in their place. This work begins with a survey of remarks by the two philosophers and prominent interpretations of them …

From Positivism To ‘Anti-Positivism’ In Mexico: Some Notable Continuities, Alexander V. Stehn

Philosophy Faculty Publications

A general consensus has emerged in the scholarship on Latin American thought dating from the latter half of the nineteenth century through the first quarter of the twentieth. Latin American intellectuals widely adapted the European philosophy of positivism in keeping with the demands of their own social and political contexts, effectively making positivism the second most important philosophical tradition in the history of Latin America, after scholasticism. However, as thinkers across Latin America faced the challenges of the twentieth century, they grew increasingly disappointed with positivism, so that “anti-positivism” stands out as a defining feature of Latin American philosophy in …

When Should Philosophers Be Silent?, Jason Decker, Charles Taliaferro

Philosophy Faculty Work

Are there general precepts governing when philosophers should not conduct inquiry on a given topic? When, if ever, should a philosopher just be silent? In this paper we look at a number of practical, epistemic, and moral arguments for philosophical silence. Some are quite general, and suggest that it is best never to engage in philosophical inquiry, while others are more domain – or context – specific. We argue that these arguments fail to establish their conclusions. We do, however, try to identify and defend several substantive constraints on philosophical dialogue and inquiry. In practice, though, respecting these constraints needn’t …

Derrida, Lacan And Deconstruction, Taylor Konieczka

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Playing Fair With Prisoners, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

Oddness aside, however, I think there is much to recommend the attempt to restore rehabilitation to a central place in the practice of punishment. Nor do I think that rehabilitation must displace retribution in that practice. Properly understood, the two aims are not only compatible but also complementary. If we are to understand them properly, though, we shall need to see them as components of a theory of punishment that is grounded in considerations of fair play. Such a theory also has the advantage of offering guidance with regard to other controversial matters of penal policy, such as the question …

Social Cognition And The Allure Of The Second-Person Perspective: In Defense Of Empathy And Simulation, Karsten R. Stueber

Philosophy Department Faculty Scholarship

This essay serves as an evaluation of challenges to the orthodox way of conceiving "mindreading" abilities by defending a 2006 claim by the author that those abilities involve basic and reenactive empathy .

The Philosopher-Priest And The Mythology Of Reason, John Panteleimon Manoussakis

Philosophy Department Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Logic Of Divine-Human Reconciliation: A Critical Analysis Of Penal Substitution As An Explanatory Feature Of Atonement, Blaine Swen

Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to offer an analysis of the major conceptual and ethical problems facing penal substitution insofar as it is utilized as an explanatory feature of Christ's contribution to divine-human reconciliation. I present fourteen problems and argue that penal substitution can overcome these problems by embracing a "divine-manifest offering" approach to atonement. On this approach, God mercifully chooses to require satisfaction for sin through penal substitution in order to give God's Self the opportunity to meet this requirement by satisfaction through penal self-substitution. This divine self-substitution is intended by God to elicit a free human response …

Editors’ Introduction, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Spirituality And The Mmpi-2 Restructured Clinical Scales, Diana M. Mendez, Douglas A. Macdonald

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The present investigation examined the relation between spirituality, measured by the

Expressions of Spirituality Inventory (ESI; MacDonald, 2000); and the Minnesota

Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Clinical (MMPI-2 RC) scales (Tellegen et

al., 2003) using data from a previously published study (i.e., MacDonald & Holland, 2003).

Zero-order, multiple, and partial correlations were calculated to explore the association.

All multiple correlations, wherein the five ESI dimensions were used collectively to predict

MMPI-2 RC scales, emerged significant for all MMPI-2 RC scales. For zero-order correlations,

all RC scales were found to have a significant relation with at least one ESI dimension.

Existential Well-Being …

Connecting The Spiritual And Emotional Intelligences: Confirming An Intelligence Criterion And Assessing The Role Of Empathy, David B. King, Constance A. Mara, Teresa L. Decicco

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

A viable model and self-report measure of spiritual intelligence were previously proposed

and supported by King and DeCicco (2009). Despite such advances, evidence is needed

demonstrating significant associations with other intelligences. The current study sought to

test this criterion in relation to emotional intelligence. Among a sample of 420 Canadian

adults, results demonstrated significant associations between spiritual intelligence and two

self-report measures of emotional intelligence. Due to the suggestion by some theorists

that empathy be included in a model of spiritual intelligence, associations with empathy

were also investigated. Results bode well for the inclusion of a spiritual ability set in …

Introduction To Special Topic Section: Parapsychology, Sean Avila Saiter, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Trauma And Transformative Passage, Reed A. Morrison Private Practice

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The strategic introduction of stressors to intentionally produce targeted psychological states

has a long history among indigenous peoples. Rites of passage ceremonies commonly involve

subjecting individuals to controlled violence to attain desired transformative outcomes. In

this context, violence is held to be sacred and generative, ritually introducing distress in

the service of loosening orientation and preparing the individual for spiritual advancement

and the acquisition of a new identity. Traditional ritual initiation ceremonies are typically

tripartite and characterized by stages of Separation, Ordeal, and Return. This article suggests

that accounts of the experiences of initiates in Separation and Ordeal stages bear …

Transpersonal Psychology, Parapsychology, And Neurobiology: Clarifying Their Relations, Douglas A. Macdonald, Harris L. Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Neurobiological advances have resulted in growing interest in many psychological phenomena

heretofore resistant to scientific scrutiny, including within transpersonal psychology and

parapsychology. These advances perhaps can resolve longstanding tensions between these

two psychological subdisciplines, which have generally been treated as disparate. To

implement such a rapprochement requires more than just additional empirical findings,

as theoretical development is also needed. Consequently, we identify some important

theoretical problems, such as conventional assumptions about scientific naturalism and

materialism that potentially undermine substantive advances in further understanding

such phenomena through neurobiology. We also discuss links between parapsychology and

transpersonal psychology that can be forged …

The Scale For Existential Thinking, Blake A. Allan, Branton Shearer

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This study introduced the construct of existential thinking, which we defined as the tendency

to explore the fundamental concerns of human existence and the capacity to engage in a

meaning-making process that locates oneself in respect to these issues. We also assessed

the psychometric properties of the 11-item “Scale for Existential Thinking” (SET). In two

studies, we found the SET to have unidimensional factor structure and good reliability

diagnostics in both student and adult samples. Moreover, the SET showed construct validity

by correlating with meaning in life, curiosity, and other existential variables. Furthermore,

we found meaning in life to mediate …

Mental Health And The Paranormal, Simon Dein

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

To date, there has been a dearth of work examining the relationships between paranormal

experiences and mental health. After defining paranormal experience and its prevalence,

I examine a number of areas related to paranormal experience and psychopathology: psi

and the unconscious, dissociation and fantasy proneness, schizotypy, transliminality and

reality monitoring, child abuse, reasoning and information processing, and transpersonal

psychology. Finally, I discuss the clinical implications of these findings.

Is The Reincarnation Hypothesis Advanced By Stevenson For Spontaneous Past-Life Experiences Relevant For The Understanding Of The Ontology Of Past-Life Phenomena?, Sergei Slavoutski

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

A significant volume of scientific evidence, uncovered by reincarnation research in the last

50 years, supports the reincarnation hypothesis advanced by Ian Stevenson for spontaneous

past-life experiences (PLEs). However, at this time this evidence cannot provide an

unquestionable proof of the existence of past-life phenomena, nor can it assert that

reincarnation is not possible. This paper suggests that the reincarnation hypothesis, being

reasonably parsimonious and relatively exhaustive, may provide a plausible explanation for

spontaneous PLEs. Also, based on the probability of the same ontology of spontaneous and

hypnotic PLEs, it may be argued that this hypothesis might also be relevant …

How Should Therapists Respond To Client Accounts Of Out-Of-Body Experience?, Alexander De Foe

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

During an out-of-body experience (OBE) a person experiences their center of consciousness

from a spatial location that is distinctly different to their physical body. Prior research has

suggested that psychologists and psychotherapists may be reluctant to discuss the content

of their clients OBE accounts due to a lack of understanding about the nature of these

experiences. Yet, other research has highlighted the substantial value of discussing OBEs

in the therapeutic process. This paper examines the literature in order to assess the value of

utilizing person-centered dialogue and guided visualisation as counselling approaches for

working with clients who have had OBEs.

Psychoactive Substances And Paranormal Phenomena: A Comprehensive Review, David Luke

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This paper investigates the relationship between psychoactive substances and so-called paranormal

phenomena falling within the study of parapsychology. It is primarily concerned with extrasensory

perception (ESP)—telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance—as well as out-of-body experiences

(OBEs) and near-death experiences (NDEs). Psychokinesis (PK), aura vision, encounter experiences,

and sleep paralysis only make a very limited contribution to this review as they are seldom related

to psychoactive drugs within the parapsychological literature. The paper borrows widely, but by no

means exhaustively, from parapsychology as well as transpersonal studies, anthropology, ethnobotany,

phytochemistry, psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and neurobiology, particularly

neurochemistry. It is organized into neurochemical models …

How Porous Are The Walls That Separate Us?: Transformative Service-Learning, Women’S Incarceration, And The Unsettled Self, Coralynn V. Davis, Carol Wayne White

Faculty Journal Articles

In this article, we refine a politics of thinking from the margins by exploring a pedagogical model that advances transformative notions of service learning as social justice teaching. Drawing on a recent course we taught involving both incarcerated women and traditional college students, we contend that when communication among differentiated and stratified parties occurs, one possible result is not just a view of the other but also a transformation of the self and other. More specifically, we suggest that an engaged feminist praxis of teaching incarcerated women together with college students helps illuminate the porous nature of fixed markers that …

Research Methodologies: A Look At The Underlying Philosophical Foundations Of Research, Nathapon Siangchokyoo, Andres Sousa-Poza

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies have had their greatest share of debates dating back to the 1970s. Researchers have long argued over the underlying philosophical features between the two methodologies and their ability to derive knowledge (Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2005, Sale, Lohfeld, & Brazil, 2002; Powell, Mihalas, Onwuegbuzie, Suldo and Daley, 2008; Sechrest and Sidani, 1995). More recently, modern researchers have argued that the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods into a single methodology (known simply as mixed methods research) allows researchers to answer questions otherwise unobtainable (Carey, 1993). The emergence of mixed methods research has gained increasing popularities in …

Development Of Clinical Ethics Services In The Uk: A National Survey, Anne Marie Slowther, Leah Mcclimans, Charlotte Price

Faculty Publications

Background In 2001 a report on the provision of clinical ethics support in UK healthcare institutions identified 20 clinical ethics committees. Since then there has been no systematic evaluation or documentation of their work at a national level. Recent national surveys of clinical ethics services in other countries have identified wide variation in practice and scope of activities.

Objective To describe the current provision of ethics support in the UK and its development since 2001.

Method A postal/electronic questionnaire survey administered to the chairs of all 82 clinical ethics services registered with the UK Clinical Ethics Network in July 2010. …

Mystical Experience And Its Defense On The Mystical's Proper Understanding And Usage, Adrian Contreras

Philosophy & Humanities Theses - Archive

This document will closely examine the issue of mystical experience by reviewing its origins in sacred concepts and leading arguments in the field of philosophy of mysticism. Ultimately, this document will attempt to prove the manner by which it might most properly be understood, as well as the practical use of such experience for those who have lived & experienced it within his/her day-to-day life.