Philosophy Commons^™

How Racial Injustice Causes Ignorance, Eric Bayruns

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

According to a (Jones and Saad) 2016 Gallup poll 69% of US whites and 32% of US blacks believe that blacks and whites have equal opportunity in the US job market. Much ink has been spilt showing that this belief is false (Alcoff 2015; Anderson 2010; Bertrand and Mullainathan 2003; Fricker 2007; McConahay 1983; Mills 1997; Mills 2007; Stanley 2015). But if its falsity is well publicized, then why do so many people persist in believing this falsehood? In this dissertation, I argue that racial injustice and whites’ current dominant-group status explains why such a high percentage of people in …

The Origin Of Power In The Need To Cooperate: Parallels Between Political And Economic Power, David Nagy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this essay, I argue that the power structures in both states and firms should be the same—for example, if state authorities are chosen via a democratic process, the same should hold for authorities in firms. This is because the source of power is the same in both realms, namely, economic and political power derives from its ability to facilitate cooperation. Hence, there is no plausible reason to defend a different power structure for states and firms. To argue this, I start in Chapter 1 by arguing against the most common theory of state power, which is that it …

Signals In The Black Stack / Geometyr Design Manual, Jason T. Scaglione

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The following white paper provides a critical accompaniment to my capstone project: the GEOMEtyr Design Manual. GEOMEtyr is a virtual reality to be made accessible as a mobile and web platform for the visualization of certain systemic elements of a utopic world that parallels our own planet’s geographies, polities, and climates. As such, the GEOMEtyr virtualization is designed to derive utopian space from the informational structures of our own world. The operations by which this may be accomplished are broadly described within the accompanying GEOMEtyr manual. The white paper, Signals in the Black Stack, elaborates vital world-building characteristics of informational …

Caring Without Sharing: Philanthropy's Creation And Destruction Of The Common World, Amy B. Schiller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores multiple ways philanthropy builds and undermines the common world. Political science treatments of philanthropy have focused mainly on its role in the development of civil society, with a recent turn towards critiques of philanthropy as an instrument of elite power and tension between private wealth and democratic governance. In this dissertation, I examine how philanthropy can foster enduring spaces of human flourishing, or reduce beneficiaries to objects of pity, surveillance and domination. I trace philanthropy's evolution from ancient to contemporary contexts and propose a framework for philanthropy to, under certain conditions, build and care for the common …

Revolutionary Affinities: Democracy And Revolution In Hannah Arendt’S Portrait Of Rosa Luxemburg, Matthew P. Finck

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This work is an exploration of Hannah Arendt’s portrait of Rosa Luxemburg. Beginning with a few minor discussions of Luxemburg in her first major work Origins of Totalitarianism (1951), the socialist revolutionary’s place in the constellation of figures that appear in Arendt’s work grew over the course of her career. Arendt’s portrait of Luxemburg culminated in “A Heroine of Revolution,” which appeared in the New York Review of Books, and in Men in Dark Times (1968). Yet Arendt’s portrait of Luxemburg was notable for its excision of her revolutionary Marxism in the process of sculpting Luxemburg into …

Some Non-Human Languages Of Thought, Nicolas J. Porot

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

What might we learn if we take seriously the possibility of non-human Languages of Thought (LoT)? A LoT is a combinatorial set of mental representations. And, since mental representations and rules of combination vary in kind, there are many possible LoTs. Simple LoTs might lack familiar features of the putative human LoT, such as object representations, recursively defined rules of combination, sentential connectives, or predicate-argument structure. The most familiar arguments for the existence of LoTs, such as those from productivity, systematicity, concept learning, and perceptual computation, all fail when applied to non-human animals. But recent empirical evidence motivates attributing LoTs …

Exploring Political Action And Socialization Through Group Improvisation Within The Music Of Frederic Rzewski And Cornelius Cardew, Marcel Rominger

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the late 1960s, socialist composers, Cornelius Cardew and Frederic Rzewski, each established ensembles with the purpose of performing works consisting of experimental forms of improvisation. By employing group improvisation, and including untrained, non-musicians within their performances, they strove to use these ensembles as a model for society itself; this model includes a dissolution of the hierarchy among performers and the barrier between performer and audience. Improvisation helped music resist commodification by the culture industry or appropriation by authoritarian regimes for the purpose of propaganda. This dissertation aims to explore how Cardew and Rzewski constituted effective socialization and political action …

What Rome Really Adopted From Ancient Greece, Christian J. Vella

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Roman conquest of the Greek city-states and the appropriation of many aspects of its culture, especially architecture and art, is well known. But what of the many great philosophies that began in the various city-states of Ancient Greece? This piece is made in attempt to answer this question. The scope of these sources will start with the beginning of the Western Philosophical Tradition, with Thales of Miletus and the Milesian, all the way up to, but not including, the foundation of the Christian Philosophical Tradition. After the year 146 BC if a philosopher is born in a Greek-City state, …

Intention And Interpretation In Law, Cosim J. Sayid

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

I provide a Gricean theory of communication to constitutively explain the basis of duties, immunities, powers, privileges, and rights – the legal profile– possessed by actors within a legal system in virtue of their legally authoritative communicative intentions. This allows me to clearly speak to what is communicated between legal agents and how to interpret – how to figure out – that content, using available evidence. That account is then applied to statutory interpretation and contract law. Using a notion I call creative interpretation, which I develop by analogy to some species of literary and musical interpretation, I …

Living Like A Dog: Can The Life Of Non-Human Animals Be Meaningful?, Michael Hauskeller

Between the Species

Most philosophers addressing the issue of meaning in life seem to think that non-human animals cannot have a meaningful life because only humans have what it takes to do so. In this paper, I discuss three prominent philosophical theories of meaning in life, all of which implicitly or explicitly deny non-human animals the possibility of living a meaningful life. I will argue that none of them is convincing and that we should embrace a more comprehensive and inclusive understanding of meaning in life that allows for non-human lives to be meaningful and in their own right worth living.

The 2006–2016 Translation Theory Development In Indonesian Universities: A Corpus-Based Study, Haru Deliana Dewi, Muhammad Ersan Pamungkas, Rahayu Surtiati Hidayat

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This paper reviews the theories used by new scholars in Translation Studies (TS) in Indonesia, to determine whether TS or translation theory there has followed the development of TS throughout the world. The study investigated the terms and authors/ scholars of TS found in the final papers of students at Universitas Indonesia and Universitas Negeri Jakarta between 2006 and 2016. Using a corpus tool, WordSmith Tools 6.0, keyword and cluster analyses were applied to search for terms and authors. Results show no significant progress in attainment of knowledge on TS. Indonesian students’ knowledge of translation theory seems to come primarily …

An Annotated Translation From English Into Indonesian: The Soul Of The Indian By Charles Alexander Eastman, Trias Noverdi

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This research is an annotated translation in which the researcher provides detailed explanation to account for his selection of translation equivalents. The data source in this research is The Soul of the Indian, a book by Charles Alexander Eastman. This study sought to identify problems encountered over the course of translation and offer the solutions thereto. The data for the study were derived from the problems thus identified and classified into categories of annotation. The qualitative method was employed using a comparative analysis translation model. The key findings of this research are twofold. First, out of 27 units of analysis, …

Global Eras And Language Diversity In Indonesia: Transdisciplinary Projects Towards Language Maintenance And Revitalization, James T. Collins

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Indonesia is immensely proud of its hundreds of regional languages. This amazing diversity occurs because of the social impact in the three global eras: ancient migration from Asian continent, trading intensification and colonial oppression five hundred years ago, and demographical and communication change in the 21st century. However, now we are witnessing the number decrease of the languages in Indonesia. The resistance and preservation of the inherited languages, which are local languages, in the Indonesian archipelago (Nusantara) language network that is indeed complex must be considered as important components in the Indonesia’s national identity. Along with the accelerated loss of …

A Cognitive Perspective On The Arabic Spatial Noun فوق /Fawqa /Applying The Principle Polysemy Model, Zaqiatul Mardiah, Afdol Tharik Wastono, Abdul Muta’Ali

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

The present paper provides a cognitive linguistics (CL) framework for analyzing the semantic structure of Arabic spatial noun fawqa based on Principled Polysemy Model (PPM) of Tyler and Evans (2003). PPM approach can broaden the narrow view of classical cognitive linguists regarding the semantic variation in the concept of physical- geometry of a preposition. As a polysemous lexeme, fawqa used by Arabian native to express a broad range of meanings, not only spatial relation but also non-spatial relation. The substantial sense of the lexeme is investigated using a large amount of corpus data (corpus.kacst.edu.sa) and applying the five steps of …

Changing Life Value And Demographic Change In Contemporary Japanese Society, Mikihiro Moriyama

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Japan has experienced a rapid decrease in population. The main reason for this distorted demography (called Shoushi Koureika in Japanese) has been caused by a reduction in the number of children. Another reason is the extension of human lifespan. This rapid demographic change has caused social issues such as lack of workforce, an increase in the social security revenue and a reduction in the number of schools. The Japanese government has tackled these social problems and its effort has had an effect to some extent, but the hard work needs to continue. In this article, I try to explore reasons …

The Early Tourist Guidebooks To The Dutch East Indies And Malaya In The Nineteenth And Twentieth Century, Achmad Sunjayadi

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

At the end of the nineteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth century, International tourists have begun visiting the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. Therefore, guidebooks about the Dutch East Indies and Malaya were published for travellers and tourists. Using the historical method, this article discusses which information, how and why the information presented in the early tourist guidebooks. The result shows that the guidebooks provide various information not only about the objects that can be visited, but also about natural scenery, peoples, culinary, flora, fauna, and customs in the regions. They presented in a long narrative and practical …

Terjemahan Beranotasi Buku Tokoh Tionghoa Dan Identitas Indonesia: Dari Tjoe Bou San Sampai Yap Thiam Hien (2010) Karya Leo Suryadinata Dari Bahasa Indonesia Ke Dalam Bahasa Tionghoa, Lu Xuanyi

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This research is an annotated translation study. The author conducted an Indonesian- Chinese translation of two chapters of the biography named Tokoh Tionghoa & Identitas Indonesia: dari Tjoe Bou San sampai Yap Thiam Hien and gave annotations to important and necessary parts. The specific purposes of this research can be described as follows: (1) find the appropriate method to translate this source text; (2) find out proper translation techniques and provide reasons for choosing equivalence. In translating this biography, the author uses communicative translation (Newmark, 1988) and considers the dynamic equivalence theory of Nida and Taber (1982) as the main …

Theorizing About The Self In Panpsychism And The Extended Mind Using The Dao De Jing (道德經) And Zhuangzi (莊子), Ryan Lemasters

The Hilltop Review

In this paper, I begin by briefly showing how the problem of self has been understood and approached historically in Western philosophy. I follow this by focusing on some of the recent literature in the philosophy of mind that suggests that the self is extended, meaning it is not solely located within the boundaries of the brain (Clark and Chalmers 1998). It will be evident that this is in conflict with the traditional Western understanding of the self. Since it seems to be the case that there are strong arguments for endorsing the view that the self is extended (to …

Is Love A Ladder? Reading Plato With Leonard Bernstein, Joshua T. Parks

The Hilltop Review

This paper reads Leonard Bernstein's Serenade after Plato's "Symposium" as a careful interpretation of and commentary on Plato's text. While a straightforward reading of Diotima's speech in Plato's Symposium suggests that human relationships are merely an instrumental step toward higher loves, Bernstein's music emphasizes the intrinsic goodness of interpersonal love. The connections between the two works have been dismissed as superficial by critics, but Bernstein's piece is actually carefully engaged with the narrative structure of Plato's text. It therefore encourages a re-reading of Plato's dialogue in which its form shapes and complicates its meaning. By depicting in music the interpersonal …

Daoism, Flourishing, And Gene Editing, Richard Kim

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Given the potentially powerful effects of gene editing for human lives, it seems reasonable to reflect on the issue from a variety of scientific, moral, cultural, and religious perspectives to help us deploy this technology with a clear eye to all its possible implications. Given the global impact genetic modification will likely have, an inquiry seriously engaging with the values and ideals of non-Western cultures and societies will be helpful to achieve the sort of balanced understanding that will enable a proper evaluation. This chapter examines the account of well-being found in the Daoist classic, the Zhuangzi, and highlights some …

Is Ai Intelligent, Really?, Bruce D. Baker

SPU Works

The question of intelligence opens up a bouquet of interrelated questions:

Suppose that some future AGI systems (on-screen or robots) equaled human performance. Would they have real intelligence, real understanding, real creativity? Would they have selves, moral standing, free choice? Would they be conscious? And without consciousness, could they have any of those other properties?[1]

The only way out of the morass is to recognize that truth claims do not stand on their own, aloof and cut off from the sea of meaning which grants epistemic access. In other words, truth presumes access to: (1) a way of knowing, …

Ordinary Monsters: Ethical Criticism And The Lives Of Artists, Christopher Bartel

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

Should we take into account an artist’s personal moral failings when appreciating or evaluating the work? In this essay, I seek to expand Berys Gaut’s account of ethicism by showing how moral judgment of an artist’s private moral actions can figure in one’s overall evaluation of their work. To expand Gaut’s view, I argue that the artist’s personal morality is relevant to our evaluation of their work because we may only come to understand the point of view of the work, and therefore the work’s prescribed attitude, by examining the values, attitudes, and behaviors of the artist. This view is …

An Intercultural Dialogue Between Confucianism And Western Philosophies Concerning Approaches To Family: A Report From A Workshop, Muzi Marilyn Fang

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Replies To Laura Guerrero, Rachanna Kamtekar, And Jennifer Nagel, Ethan A. Mills

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Classical Indian Skepticism: Reforming Or Rejecting Philosophy, Jennifer Nagel

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

The Presuppositions Of A Skeptic, Rachana Kamtekar

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Don’T Stop Believing: An Argument Against Buddhist Skepticism, Laura Guerrero

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Overview, Ethan A. Mills

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

The Quest For Recognition: The Case Of Latin American Philosophy, Stephanie Rivera Berruz

Comparative Philosophy

Latin American philosophy has long been concerned with its philosophical identity. In this paper I argue that the search for Latin American philosophical identity is motivated by a desire for recognition that largely hinges on its relationship to European thought. Given that motivations are seldom easily accessible, the essay comparatively draws on Africana and Native American metaphilosophical reflections. Such juxtapositions serve as a means of establishing how philosophical exclusions have themselves motivated and structured how Latin American philosophy has understood its own quest for philosophical identity. In closing, I gesture toward the possibilities of shifting the conversation away from what …

Respect, Jing, And Person, Pengbo Liu

Comparative Philosophy

While respect for persons is fundamental to many moral and political theories, its nature and ground remain controversial. According to the standard model of respect, respect is primarily a response to certain inherent features of a person or an object. Importantly, it is in virtue of the value, status or authority of those features that respect is justified or owed. This model, however, faces many serious challenges. Drawing on the classical Confucian notion of jing (敬), I develop an alternative model of respect, which construes respect as an expression of agent’s sense of the self and its place in …