Comparative Philosophy Commons^™

The Evolution Of Defeaters: A Taxonomy, Erica Nicolas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It has been widely argued that reasons for a belief come in degrees but not much literature has focused on the idea that defeaters for justification toward those beliefs also come in degrees. The aim of this paper is to explore epistemic defeasibility and construct a taxonomy for epistemic defeaters. This paper argues that epistemic defeaters undergo an evolutionary process before becoming what they are commonly labeled, such as rebutting and undercutting. I argue that within some stages of this process, there can be different degrees of defeat. This paper focuses on defeaters for justification, expands on the account of …

The Emotional Illusion Of Music: Contemporary Western Musical Aesthetics In Dialogue With Ancient Eastern Philosophy, Yin Zhang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project aims to examine whether music has an emotional nature. I use the ancient Chinese text Music Has No Grief or Joy to construct three arguments for the illusion view, according to which music has no emotional nature and the emotional appearances of music are illusory. These arguments highlight representational inconstancy, expressive incapability, and evocative underdetermination as three ways to problematize the idea that music has an emotional nature. I draw on the Confucian tradition to formulate three responses to the illusion view from representational reliability, expressive sincerity, and evocative appropriateness. These responses are shown to be inadequate. To …

Nietzsche, Foucault, Power: A Study Of Paradox And Ontology In Nietzsche, Nicholas R. Ray

Honors Thesis

This thesis investigates a paradox at the heart of Nietzsche and utilizes Foucault as an instrument to understand this dilemma. The paradox is the synthesis of Nietzsche's doctrine of perspectivism and his ontological doctrine of the will to power. Put simply his doctrine of perspectivism says there can be no ontological facts yet Nietzsche articulates the will to power as an ontological matter of fact. This thesis explores the "First Essay" of Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals to demonstrate the existence of this paradox. Further, I will conduct a Foucauldian cross-examination to further flesh out this paradox, where and why it …

American Absurdity: Reconciling Conceptions Of The Absurd In European And American Literature, Benjamin Spencer

Senior Theses

This thesis aims to examine the development of the concept of the absurd in literature across different time periods and cultural contexts. The absurd, as defined by Camus, is the gap between humanity’s desire to understand the world and the impossibility of doing so.

However, the ways in which the absurd is recognized as an aspect of existence depends heavily on the sociological contexts in which an individual lives. By analyzing the works of absurdist authors, filmmakers, and artists across time, we can track the development of these absurdist conceptions in both Europe and American literary movements.

Looking at these …

Sobre El Amor Y La Alteridad Desde La Perspectiva De Santa Teresa De Jesús, Julián Isaí Guarnizo Solórzano

Filosofía y Letras

En la presente propuesta monográfica analizo algunas experiencias ascéticas y místicas narradas por santa Teresa de Jesús (2014) o de Ávila en la obra Castillo Interior, con el fin de entender qué es el amor para ella y cómo lo expresa con respecto a la alteridad. Mi interés no es exclusivamente racional, también es existencial al enfocarme en la forma en la que el concepto amor, derivado de la visión de mundo de la autora, solo es posible en la medida en que se crean vínculos con la alteridad. En ese orden de ideas y, a modo de hipótesis, planteo …

Difficult Paintings, Hao (Damien) Ding

Theses and Dissertations

The sublime as a concept has a fraught and racist history. However, it remains the single most helpful idea in describing the deeply felt state of being when one comes across something ineffably powerful. From an art-making perspective, this thesis, and the accompanying exhibition of installations and paintings, proposes an alternative construction of the concept of the sublime. Using Lacanian psychoanalysis as a conceptual point of departure, a painter can manipulate the relationship of the viewer and paintings to create paradoxical moments of simultaneous intimacy and distance, which interact to create an alternative path towards the sublime. Through descriptions of …

Eroticism, Intersubjectivity, And Dreaming: A Critique Of Liberal Consent, Niko Mbaye

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Tetralemma Of Nothingness, Samuel O. Sessions

Honors Theses

Grammatically, the question is rather simple. It is when we set out to answer the question that it suddenly becomes complex. What is nothing? Its very asking seems almost impossible because the ‘is’ within it brushes up against its meaning, producing paradox. How do we even begin to get at a something that is not a something? Immediately, you remark how similar this task is to a child chasing fairies in the forest or hunting for ghosts in the attic. Will we be doomed from the outset? If so, then what is the point? Our many predecessors have had varying …

Cyborg Y Androides: Detroit Become Human Y El Posthumanismo, Sebastián Andrés Villamil Cortes

Filosofía y Letras

No abstract provided.

A Process Conception Of Nature: A Comparative Study Of Hua-Yen Buddhism And Whiteheadian Thought, Kia Shahideh

West Chester University Master’s Theses

The primary motivation for this study will be to propose a nature ethic inspired by a belief of deep ecology, and nestled within an a metaphysical representation of the world as presented by process metaphysics and Mahayana Buddhist doctrine. This research will be exploring various applications of Whiteheadian process metaphysics, as well as Mahayana Buddhist ontology to establish a solidified metaphysical platform to further expand to include humans and the natural world on the same plane of being. Upon this platform, Hua-yen Buddhist thought, existing as a subset of Mahayana Buddhism, will be brought into dialogue with its interconnected cosmology …