Philosophy Commons^™

Lorax (1971) By Dr. Seuss, Megan Jane Laverty

Picture Books

Megan Jane Laverty interprets Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax (the 1971 book, the 1972 television cartoon, and the 2012 feature film) as a multi-layered philosophical fable. First, she examines how the story reveals the dangers of our enthusiastic but short-sighted pursuit of innovation, success, and wealth—ambitions that can lead to far-reaching and often tragic consequences. Secondly, she explores how the narrative vividly illustrates the environmental devastation that results when commercial enterprises treat nature as an inexhaustible resource for production and progress. Laverty proposes several ways for students to engage with the story’s philosophical themes, including the aesthetic exploration of their local …

Boy Named Isamu (2021) By James Yang, Maughn Rollins Gregory

Picture Books

Author-illustrator James Yang imagines a day in the life of the artist Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) as a young child whose curiosity and sensitivity lead him to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of his surroundings.

Owl Moon (1987) By Jane Yolen, Peter Shea

Picture Books

A father and daughter go out together at night to visit an owl. This simple story opens discussions about what fathers owe their children, about what humans owe to wild creatures, and about going outside our comfort zones – what we owe ourselves, as multi-dimensional beings enclosed in just one small life. The pictures take the reader along on this simple and astonishing adventure, a model perhaps for how adults can sometimes be helpful to children.

“Songs Of The Underground” – Crafting A Unique Gaming Experience Through Music, Megan Franklin

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The academic study of video game music, known as Ludomusicology, is a younger research area in the world of musicology, with the earliest works having been published in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Despite its young age, Ludomusicology is becoming a staple in the academic world, with scholars such as Melanie Fritsch, Andra Ivănescu, Michiel Kamp, Tim Summers, and Mark Sweeney dedicating their time to the subject. This thesis uses musical analysis as the basis of exploring the relationship between music and aspects of video game creation and player interaction. The case study for this project is the 2015 …

Leadership Strategies For Modeling Ethical Behavior In The Real Estate Industry, Lakecia Ann Reddrick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Real estate brokers face challenges in cultivating and supporting the ethical conduct oftheir agents. Developing ethical behavior and decision-making is crucial as it directly impacts the trust, satisfaction, and protection of clients, buyers, sellers, and other stakeholders in the real estate industry. Grounded in the theories of emotional intelligence and servant leadership, this qualitative multiple-case study aimed to explore strategies real estate brokers used in modeling ethical behavior and decision-making for their agents to influence performance and profitability positively. The participants were nine real estate brokers who modeled the ethical behavior and decision-making their agents must practice to impact performance …

The Effectiveness Of The Ethics Officer’S Influence: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Exploration, Cheryl K. Douthitt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The position of ethics officer was created to watch over corporate behavior. However, scandals have continued to demonstrate unethical leadership involving government officials, sports heroes, religious organizations, and corporate leaders. The research problem was that despite the adoption of corporate ethics programs and government oversight, there is a lack of understanding of ethics officers’ experiences, perceptions of effectiveness, and whether they effectively influence executive-level ethical conduct. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of ethics officers regarding their interactions with executives. Shaped by Brown and Treviño’s ethical leadership theory, the research question concerned the …

Qualitative Assessment Of Psychological Safety And Ethics In Corrections Officers, Gary Robert Breig

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIn this qualitative study, I explored psychological safety, team learning, and ethical and moral perception among correctional officers that worked in the prison industry. Former officers provided data by participating in an open-ended question interviews. I used a phenomenological approach to gather information from former officers about their psychological safety experience and their ethical and moral perceptions. Participants gave insight into their training and their work as individuals and as teams exploring individual and team psychological safety and ethical and moral perception while interacting with each other in the prison workplace. Research questions were about officer preparation, officer collaboration quality, …

Epistemological Insecurity In The Anthropocene, Dustin Purvis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation analyzes how increased mainstream awareness of climate change and other complex environmental phenomena transforms some of the basic tools we use to understand the world, including notions of agency, evidence, and causality. More specifically, this project highlights numerous contemporary literary and cultural narratives that formally and thematically depict impromptu systems of action and comprehension developed by humans confronting the unique forms of information overload that result from damaged and rapidly changing environments. Following critics like Ulrich Beck, Rob Nixon, and Stacy Alaimo, I suggest our current era of ecological instability and destructive environmental practices dictate what I refer …

Organizing (Eternal) Identity And Identification: An Upward Glance Into Religious Institutions, Casey M. Stratton

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation disrupts at least two religious spaces: First, scholars religiously adhering to (social) scientific norms, and second, people identifying with religious organizations (i.e., churches). First, we begin constructing a theoretical lens using poststructural ideas offered by Foucault, Derrida, and Bakhtin to read and disrupt (religious) discourse. Second, we complicate organizational identification as a concept, deeming it fixed and fluid—a paradox within religious discourses that endorse Truth and Perfection. Here, we draw from the communication constitutes organization (CCO) approach. Third, we further curate the lens by applying poststructuralism, identification, and CCO in a specific context: The Church of Jesus Christ …

Thrown Into The World, Attached To Love: On The Forms Of World-Sharing And Mourning In Heidegger, Ahmet Aktas

Department of Philosophy Student Publications

How can we understand the phenomena of loss and mourning in the Heideggerian framework? There is no established interpretation of Heidegger that gives an elaborate account of the phenomena of loss and mourning, let alone gauges its importance for our understanding and assessment of authentic existence in Heidegger. This paper attempts to do both. First, I give a detailed exposition of Heidegger’s analysis of the phenomena of mourning and loss and show that Heidegger’s analysis of mourning in his early and late work is strikingly in line with his collectivist understanding of Being-with. This demonstrates, contrary to what some of …

Reconstructing The Kantian Ends Of Reason: Holiness Analytically Entailing Beatitude In An Eternal Highest Good, Anthony Gudwien

Dissertations

This dissertation argues that an eternal highest good is the final end of sensible, rational agents. This final end occurs in a noumenal world – what I have labelled World Four – that has holiness analytically entailing beatitude. However, before meritorious moral agents are incorporated into this final noumenal world, they will exist in three prior worlds. World One is our current phenomenal world where sensible, rational agents can adopt a maxim to resolutely pursue holiness. World Two, which is made possible by the immortal soul postulate, is where sensible, rational agents continue their resolute pursuit in order to become …

Educating For Good Thinking: Virtues, Skills, Or Both?, Jason Baehr

Philosophy Faculty Works

This paper explores the relationship between intellectual virtues and critical thinking, both as such and as educational ends worth pursuing. The first half of the paper examines the intersection of intellectual virtue and critical thinking. The second half addresses a recent argument to the effect that educating for intellectual virtues (in contrast to educating for critical thinking) is insufficiently action-guiding and therefore lacks a suitable pedagogy.

The Declaration Of Independence: Inalienable Rights, The Creator, And The Political Order., Christopher Kaczor

Philosophy Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Heidegger’S Legacy And The Need/Use Of Being, Christopher D. Merwin, Ian Alexander Moore

Philosophy Faculty Works

This article first retraces the history of Heidegger’s “The Argument against Need” and situates it in the context of extant notes from his never-completed introduction to the Gesamtausgabe titled “The Legacy of the Question of Being.” It then argues that, for the later Heidegger, Brauch (“need,” “use”) becomes another name – indeed one of the most important, albeit neglected, names – for being in its deepest sense. To appreciate Heidegger’s legacy and that of the question of being, it is crucial that we (1) critically assess the argument against Brauch qua “need” – i.e., the argument according to which the …

On The Integration Of Positive Psychology And The Psychology/Spirituality: Logical, Normative, And Methodological Questions, S.L. Porter, Jason Baehr, T. Porter, R. C. Roberts

Philosophy Faculty Works

When it comes to the integration of positive psychology and the psychology of religion/spirituality (R/S), there are three second-order, philosophical questions that need answering: Can these two fields be integrated? Should these two fields be integrated? And, if so, how is it best to integrate these two fields? Although this chapter touches on the logical and normative questions, it is the third, methodological question that receives the greatest attention. We argue that although, from a philosophical perspective, there are no methodological barriers to integrating these two subfields, there is a methodological bonanza in their integration. The golden opportunity is for …

Ethical Implications Of Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates, Nichaela Noebe

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will be looking at the ethical implications of the Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates. The paper will look at various ethical theories as well as different ethicists and apply it to the Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates. The project will come to the conclusion of whether the Vaccine Mandates were ethical or not given certain ethical ideas and views from the various ethicists.

The Aesthetically Engaging City: The Role Of Beauty And Play In Urbanism And Human Fulfilment, Amy Roser

Theses

This thesis argues that cities can only become better attuned to the complex human need for identity, meaning, understanding, and self-expression when urban decision-makers better understand the nature and significance of aesthetic engagement. When we strive toward aesthetic goals in building and city planning, we then nurture, more fully, essential human activities and needs. This thesis argues that the aesthetic of the urban environment profoundly influences the thoughts, emotions, and behaviours of those who dwell there and is therefore inseparable from culture, everyday life, and the cultivation of human fulfilment. By doing so, this thesis reconceptualises architecture, the urban environment, …

From Nihilation To Redemption: Profanations And Overlaps In Claudio Magris’ Danube, Nicola Mazzotti

Comparative Literature M.A. Essays

This essay analyzes the novel Danube by the Italian writer and scholar Claudio Magris and focuses on its depiction of the political potential inscribed in the Danubian territory. With his journey along the river, the narrator of the novel attempts to unveil the materiality of this territory and the agency of the river, thus deconstructing cultural and political claims aimed at their appropriation. First, the essay investigates the use and representation of 'sources' made by the narrator, both as origin of the river and cultural artifacts. It is shown how the narrator performatively traces the origin of the river back …

Middle Savannah River: An A/R/Tographic Ecopedagogical Ethnography Experimenting With Rhizomatic Perspectives, Lisa Augustine-Chizmar

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This research is an experiment in perspective. Using the four commonplaces (Schwab, 1978), I practiced letting the Savannah River teach me what there is to know about the water, the land, the people, and the other entities that depend on ki through artistic, ethnographic, and ecopedagogical lenses. The ethnographic findings describe the social actors that depend on ki and give a voice to the River. The a/r/tographic findings display the River on a canvas map through two hundred years using paint, clay, photography, video, abstract acrylics, and fabric. Together, these methods contribute to a unique ecopedagogical journey. This word cloud …

Art As Ritual: The Realm Between Identities, Haley Scarboro

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Ritualism is everywhere in the world and something that everyone takes part in, whether we acknowledge it or not. Rituals can be as simple as a morning routine or as monumental as memorializing a loved one. The works in this thesis are within the covenant of southern witchcraft and how it comes together in Ritual Art. Through documentation, memory-fueled found objects, and time-based installation I consider how growing up in Georgia and being a practicing witch played a role in my identity formation. Rituals are vital to the identities themselves and the history they hold. Symbolism plays a major role …

Civil Liability For Civil Disobedience, David Lefkowitz

Philosophy Faculty Publications

In January 2023, climate activists trespassed on the site of the German energy firm RWE’s Garzweiler coal mine to protest against its plans to expand operations there. The police eventually removed the protestors (including Greta Thunberg), many of whom were charged with committing criminal offenses. A few weeks after the occupation, RWE announced plans to seek compensation from the protestors for the injuries they inflicted on the firm, which included damage to vehicles and other equipment.[1] Should the law permit it to do so? More generally, should a liberal-democratic State hold civil disobedients legally liable to compensate the private …

The Gift Of Mourning, Harris B. Bechtol

All Faculty Scholarship (Archived)

Is mourning possible? Or impossible? And if impossible, in what sense impossible? What does this mean, in turn, for what we do as human beings in the face of the normal, natural experience of mourning the death of the other? How can we mourn? How should we mourn? For some, these questions arise on account of the death of a beloved pet, a friend, a child, a spouse, and/or a parent. Perhaps they arise even on account of the death of their own faith in God, others, humanity, and/or the universe. Yet since 2020, these questions have become especially emphatic …

The Use Of Field Philosophy In Conserving The World's Rarest Ape, The Hainan Gibbon (Nomascus Hainanus): A Philosophical Engagement With Researchers And Conservationists, Jocelyn Callahan

All Master's Theses

The Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is the world’s rarest ape. Their position on the brink of extinction raises many questions about conservation, existence, and agency. To explore these issues and draw attention to this Critically Endangered primate, I considered the Hainan gibbon from the perspective of field philosophy (i.e., philosophy carried out in the field with non-philosophers). I conducted semi-structured interviews with eight researchers/conservationists and analyzed their creative works. I collected additional information through a systematic literature review. I asked four research questions: (1) Based on their lived experiences, how do researchers and conservationists understand the Hainan gibbon? …

Snail With The Right Heart (2021) By Maria Popova, Maughn Rollins Gregory

Picture Books

When a London scientist found a garden snail whose shell that spiraled left to right—opposite from others of its species—he sent it to the University of Nottingham for study. The snail’s internal organs were also arranged on the opposite side from other snails, including a heart on the right side of its body—a one-in-a-million condition known as situs inversus, which also occurs in humans. In explaining the snail’s story in terms of genetic evolution and biological reproduction, The Snail with the Right Heart also raises philosophical questions about the role of genetics, education, and personal choice in determining who …

Mis Dos Pueblos Fronterizos / My Two Border Towns (2021) By David Bowles, Amy Reed-Sandoval

Picture Books

When children talk about migration and displacement, they generally speak and inquire about people. Why are some people forced to leave their homes—or why was I forced to leave my home? Why won’t other countries let them in—or why won’t other countries let my family and me in? What does it feel like to live in a shelter, or in a refugee camp, or on a bridge between two countries—or why must my family live this way, while others do not? This picture book shows how philosophical questions about migration can be inspired by, and embedded in, communities and characters …

Secondary Traumatic Stress Is An Occupational Hazard For Pet Hospice Support Staff: Psychoeducational Support Groups Provide The Cure, Kari Hayden

DSW Capstone Projects

There are three separate yet interrelated products presented in this final capstone product. The completed product is focused on pet hospice veterinary support staff and the need for an evidence-based social work intervention to combat secondary traumatic stress. This capstone uses the andragogical approach to adult learning theory as the foundation to construct a psychoeducational peer support group specific to this population. Implications for clinical social work in veterinary medicine are presented within this project.

The first scholarly product presented is the Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The SLR utilizes a scoping review process in an attempt to locate prior research …

In Memoriam: James H. Forse, Ginger Smoak, Steven Hrdlicka, Jennifer Mcnabb, Charles Smith, Margaret Harp

Quidditas

This volume is dedicated to Professor James H. Forse who died at the age of 83 on April 24, 2023. He was a longtime member of the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association, and editor of Quidditas from 2003 to 2023.

Delno C. West Award Winner

Quidditas

The West Award recognizes the most distinguished paper given by a senior scholar at the annual conference.

Recipient of the West Award for 2023

Jane Foster Woodruff

William Jewell College, Emerita

From Heldris De Cornwall’S Le Roman De Silence To Gian Francesco Straparola’S Le Piacevoli Notti. New Insights Into A Significant Reception Process Across Centuries, Languages, And Genres, Albrecht Classen

Quidditas

Although we assume that the thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman romance Roman de Silence by Heldris de Cornwall experienced no reception at all apart from one manuscript containing the text, there is a considerable likelihood that the sixteenth-century Venetian author Gian Francesco Straparola somehow gained access to the medieval text and adapted it for one of the stories contained in his famous collection, Le Piacevoli Notti (1550 and 1553). Even though we cannot yet determine the exact process of reception, the strong similarities between both works go far beyond global archetypal themes. Straparola’s work hence demonstrates that Heldris’s work was known even long …

The Imperative Of Student Integration In Faculty Research Projects: A Pedagogical Case Study In Digital History, Roger L. Martinez-Davila, Fernando Feliu-Moggi, Sean Wybrant, Ian Torres, Spencer Miles

Quidditas

Traditional pedagogical models, at times, are inadequate for equipping students with real-world skills. A shift towards integrating students into faculty-led research is essential, as demonstrated by the Coronado Muster Roll project. In this project, students use virtual reality technologies to create immersive experiences that explore the complex relationships between Spanish and Indigenous communities during Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s 1540 expedition. A specific assignment within the course tasks students with developing digital narratives. The muster roll itself is revealed to be more than just a list; it serves as a snapshot capturing the depth and complexities often lost in grand narratives. …