Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons^™

What Common Themes Are Challengers Trying To Silence And What Would Be Lost Without Them?, Corrine H. Martello

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

This research paper aims to analyze the controversies surrounding The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, three commonly challenged books that are often found in high school English classes, in order to answer the question “what themes in these books are challengers trying to silence, and what would be lost without them?”. It will be broken into four sections, Alienation, Mental Health Struggles & Trauma, The Loss of Innocence, and Exploring Identity, which are common themes presented in all three books. …

Justice, Autonomy, Beneficence, And Non-Maleficence: The Global Failure To Heed Ethical Mandates In Birth Spaces, Julia Dees

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Respectful and safe care in all birthing spaces has long been an ideal that global communities fail to meet. Birthing people are disrespected, physically or emotionally harmed, or left to completely fend for themselves during a period of extreme emotional and medical vulnerability. Historically, autonomy especially has been ignored in birthing spaces with medical trends like the twilight sleep, where women were drugged into a state of unconsciousness during birth (Taylor, 2023), demonstrating the desire of western medicine, in particular, to reduce birthing people to bystanders in their own birth. While birth trends and medical treatments have changed throughout time, …

Obscuring Vivian Maier, Caroline Yuratich

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Vivian Maier, despite being unknown during her lifetime, has undoubtedly become one of the most impactful photographers of the twentieth century. Her vast oeuvre has been shown worldwide, her bold and unconventional photographs rapidly capturing the attention of millions. Maier primarily photographed the streets of Chicago in the 1950s to 70s, snapping people and storefronts on her iconic Rolleiflex camera. Her most well-known works are perhaps her self-portraits, and her foreboding upward-shot street portraits have also taken the stage as some of her best work. However, people who knew her during her lifetime state that they knew almost nothing about …

Humanity, Monstrosity And Uniquity: A Stirnerian Theory Of Art-Horror, Moldwarp Delgado

Philosophy Honors Papers

This thesis explores the connections between Max Stirner's philosophy, particularly his concept of personalist egoism, and the genre of horror in cultural production, analyzing themes of humanity, monstrosity, and societal roles within art-horror narratives.

The Ethics Of Gene Editing Hereditary Deafness, Jasmine Borie

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Gene editing has been a hot topic of interest in the field of science, and many gene editing solutions for heritable diseases are in the works. In most cases, gene editing is done with good intentions, but there are some instances where it would not be favorable for reasons that may not be inherently obvious to everyone. Several forms of deafness and hearing loss can be inherited, meaning that it can be passed down from parent to offspring. Curing hereditary deafness using gene editing may seem like a good idea, but it can lead to unintentional discrimination and further stigmatization …

Doing More Good For Less: Salvaging Development Aid, Trey Dykeman

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

In stark contrast to its peak in the Marshall Plan era, professional sentiment towards international development aid has become increasingly pessimistic as its shortcomings have become apparent. Inter alia, leading thinkers charge development aid with enabling and sustaining economic dependency, governmental corruption, political power imbalances, and paternalism. Even so, there may be diamondlike programs in the development aid rough. Cash and voucher assistance (CVA) programs—a subset of development aid—have seen moderate success. In particular, as compared to other forms of aid, unconditional cash transfer programs (UCTs)—a specific type of CVA—appear economical and effective and avoid many of the above …

The Influence Of Institutional Barriers And Personality On Gendered Occupational Choice, Mia Sideris

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Men hold a disproportionate share of high-paying jobs, leading to an uneven distribution within the workforce. Possible rationalizations behind the formation of the occupational gap can be narrowed down to two factors: institutional barriers and personality differences. Accounts of prestigious organizations intentionally underrepresenting women in academic spheres, in addition to the persistence of societal norms can explain the observed distribution. Other perspectives insist that sex determines one’s behavior in selecting a life-long occupation, where a woman’s instinct to nurture and develop interpersonal connections leads them to choose fields that necessitate these characteristics. Compiling data from mainstream companies like Apple who …

The Complex Legacy Of Martha Graham, Izabella Entrekin

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Second-generation modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham is, to this day, recognized as one of the art form's most influential figures. Her distinctive technique, which has been applauded as a momentous innovation by critics throughout her life and after, is a dynamic mixture of elements Graham plucked from various experiences and aesthetics. Many, throughout history and to this day, mark Graham as a primary developer and architect of modern dance movement. She has continuously been labeled a pioneer of angular movement, dramatic contractions, asymmetrical posing, and the incorporation of ritualistic elements into her emotional compositions. However, such identifications fail to …

The New Antebellum: A Sociological Interpretation Of Christian Nationalism And Its Danger To Both Christianity And American Democracy, Paige R. Dickerman

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Hate and fear have become the new American identity, plaguing social media platforms and legislation as it drips from the mouths of the citizenry. The nation has been torn apart by polarization in a continuation of the division and extremist ideology that has tormented generations of Americans since its founding. Today, Christian nationalism is at the forefront of division and extremism in its idea of a new America, defined by traditionalism, biblical law, and an end to our taken-for-granted democratic processes. Its proponents insist that America’s survival depends on Christian laws and national observance, a claim that hides the truth …

Classic Philosophers On Modern Issues: The Ethics Of Germline Editing, Grace O. Decostanza

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

The prospect of using CRISPR-Cas-9 technology to edit human embryos in a process called germline editing has the potential to irreparably change the world as we know it. Many pose the question: if you could save your child from having a disease, would you? But I argue that is not the only—or even, real—question we should be asking. Instead, I ask you, should we be changing humanity as we know it in ways that elude even our foremost scientists? Should we decide what disabilities make people not worth being people? Should we introduce a technology knowing full well that it …

The Actions Of A Lonely Woman And The Effects Of Online Incel Communities On Society, Antara Dabral

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

In recent years, the resistance to women’s rights movements has started to shift from only being based on gender roles and has started to take root in insecurity and anxiety surrounding a dating life. This phenomenon has been further exacerbated with the advent and growth of the internet, where ideas are allowed to spread across the world rapidly which has created online forums where people known as incels gather.

In this paper, I ascertain that these online forums have a broad incel culture and community founded on victimhood and frustration and how they were formed as a consequence of a …

Abortion: Analysis Of The Bioethical And Metaphysical Standpoint, Lauren Kovarick

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

The antagonistic relationship between a mother and their unborn child creates the controversial topic of abortion. With massive moral implications and consequences associated, education on the laws and reasoning is significant to determine the direction of society. To analyze the ethics of abortion, the bioethical and metaphysical debate must be considered. With the former, the four principles of bioethics are used in healthcare practice to break down an ethical concern. On the metaphysical side, the life-status and rights of the fetus are acknowledged. With this topic, it is important not to argue in favor of one position, but instead have …

Predictive Policing, Emily Musgrove

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Currently, machine learning and artificial intelligence are still somewhat new to the world of law enforcement, however, they appear to be rapidly gaining traction for their usefulness in a variety of manners. In this paper, I will examine how technically useful machine learning-based predictive policing is, the ethical conundrums that come with its practical uses, and how to mitigate the risks of its use.

Capital Punishment: Analyzing The Demise Of The Death Penalty's Usefulness, Emma Reyes

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

As there are evident flaws within the practice of capital punishment, I urge the United States federal government to question ways in which they should change how the death penalty is implemented into law. I propose that lawmakers consider fully abolishing the death penalty as a means of eliminating ethical and economic concerns within our judicial system. However, if this option does not seem possible, I instead propose the federal government act in revising the current practices used within the capital trial process. Previous research has found that the continued use of the death penalty can cause risk of economic …

Refugees And The Eu: A Study Of The Preferential Treatment Of Ukrainian Refugees, Madelyn Cooper

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

The war in Ukraine created one of the largest refugee crises in the world today, and the European Union has played a significant role in accepting these individuals into various Member States. The protection of Ukrainian refugees, or any refugee for the record, is important. However, the European Union has been more accepting and welcoming to Ukrainian refugees compared to refugees coming from other places, indicating potential biases of European Union policies and the othering of non-Ukrainian refugees. To study this, this paper will utilize a comparative case study of Ukrainian and Syrian refugees. The paper will compare these two …

The Hidden Victims Of War, Drishti Khandelwal

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

This essay explores how the rights of women have been eroded by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Surrogacy As A Means Of Survival, Emma Reyes

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Surrogacy is an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry a baby on behalf of a couple, typically because they cannot have the baby on their own. This has especially become an increasingly common option for many same-sex couples to have a child. However, many countries have discriminative laws set in place that prohibit surrogates from conceiving a child for same-sex couples. As a result of this, different surrogate agencies have found loopholes to go around these laws. In the Radiolab podcast episode titled “Birthstory '', an Israeli couple who were forbade from hiring a surrogate in their own country, …

Persistence In The North Pacific: The Makah People And Their Fight To Protect Their Cultural Heritage, Jeff Cocci

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

In the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of North America a whale swims blissfully unaware of its own significance. It is a Gray Whale; scientists would call it Eschrichtius robustus and at nearly forty feet long, it is large enough that it does not have to worry about sharks or other carnivorous animals. Yet there are those that are brave enough to hunt the whale. They are the Makah People of the Olympian Peninsula, in upper Washington state. By doing so, they place themselves at the center of a complex ethical debate amongst activists, scientists, and the general public. …

Uneasy Is The Head That Imagines The Burden, Michael Adelson

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

This paper deconstructs and criticizes the very notion of “an obligation to help humanity.” I argue that such an idea of an obligation is an evolution of the ideas that emerged in the 19^th century regarding the “white man’s burden.” Referencing historical allusions to the 19^th and 20^th century European ideas of the white man’s burden, the concept of a greater obligation to help others can be demeaning and self-aggrandizing, creating a modern, updated “new white man’s burden.” As dispositively confirmed through my own anecdotal experiences in higher education, an obligation to help humanity, specifically non-white peoples, …

Unlovable Labour: Rejecting The "Do What You Love" Ideology, Trey Dykeman

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Miya Tokumitsu’s article ‘In the Name of Love’ is polemic against what she refers to as the DWYL (Do What You Love) movement that has been most recognisably popularised and transformed by Steve Jobs. She denounces this movement as an insidious ideology cleverly disguised as an uplifting lifestyle which has as its tenets labour, profit, and individualism; through her analysis of these tenets, she unveils them as alienation, erasure, and precarity, respectively. Her insights aid her in her aim to demonstrate that these ideological pillars do not support the wellbeing of the proletariat but rather reinforce the rugged structure of …

The Blacker The Berry, The Sweeter The Juice?, Abigail Coachi

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

This essay recounts the origins of colorism in slavery practices in the United States and examines how skin tone is still a factor today in the media and film industry - perpetuating stereotypes and harming self-esteem.

The Ethics Surrounding Do-It-Yourself Hormone Replacement Therapy, Ted Studt

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Healthcare is often a complicated issue to navigate, and sadly it gets no easier for those who are transgender. Gender-affirming healthcare can be incredibly tough to attain, both within and outside the United States. Research found that trans citizens in the US were less likely to be insured and more likely to experience barriers to access than cis citizens. In April and May 2021, laws were signed into effect in Arkansas and Tennessee targeting hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and puberty blockers, specifically banning such medicines being given to individuals under 18. As a result, many transgender citizens turn to online …

The Role Of The Filmmaker: Truth And Awareness, Amy Litofsky

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Documentary can be defined as motion picture that shapes and interprets factual material for purposes of education or entertainment. The problem with most documentary films, though, is that the filmmaker never does enough in their film. Filmmakers are too focused on simply exposing the truth on the issues being filmed and not focused enough on providing solutions for these issues. This is something apparent in all genres of documentary, from cinema verité, which Bill Nichols explains, “seldom offered the sense of history, context, or perspective that viewers seek” (640), to observational film, which “appears to leave the driving to us. …

Skorupskian Allyship: Human Rights Reconstructed Through Efficacious Enforcement And Social Relativism, Chase Opperman

Philosophy Honors Papers

This project aims to take the subject of Human Rights and attempt to wrestle with its clarity. The concept has been, since its more modern manifestation, as represented by the United Nations’ Uniform Declaration of Human Rights, heavily criticized for its being indeterminate, unclear, ambiguous, or somehow not fully understood. Despite the concept’s incredible moral potential, the extent to which this potential can be realized is determined by the concept’s intelligibility and defensibility—both of which are affected by the concept’s being understood to a sufficient point. Given Human Rights’ moral potential to challenge the forces of evil in the world, …

Intellectual Access And Spirituality: The Twin Urgencies Of Responsible American Education, Matthew Schmitz

Educational Studies Honors Papers

America is increasingly, and perhaps overwhelmingly, becoming a society characterized by political divisiveness. At its most extreme form, Hannah Arendt argues such a division can make us vulnerable to a loneliness that destroys our confidence and leaves us dependent on ideologies. A renewed sense of spirituality and intellect are prime candidates for helping us develop a healthy relationship with ourselves that can help counteract this loneliness. Not only that, but fully accessing our intellectual and spiritual sides can give us the confidence to tackle democratic republican citizenship the way Thomas Jefferson envisioned it. Here, Jacques Rancière helps us to construct …

Community Psychology's Impact On Public Health And The Experience Of Marginalization, Katie Hudick

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Vulnerable and marginalized populations face a series of risks and dangers throughout their daily lives. This is not simply limited to explicit forms of discrimination and hatred, but systemic forms of oppression and discrimination which limit those not belonging to more privileged and affluent socioeconomic or sociocultural groups. Community psychology operates as a means of analyzing how environmental and social factors impact specific demographic groups within a larger population and by extension the experience of mental health specific to these groups (Townley, Brown, & Sylvestre, 2018). In the application of this field, it is critical to understand the dynamics of …

Ethical Considerations Regarding Paternalism In Medicine, Lola Holcomb

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Paternalism and autonomy are typically conceptualized as opposing theoretical frameworks. With respect to medical ethics, autonomy is practiced by the patient when he/she has liberty and control over his/her own medical matters, and his/her opinions supersede those of the physician. Paternalism is practiced by the physician when he/she restricts the patient’s autonomy (sometimes against the patient’s will) to promote health and well-being while discouraging undesirable behaviors. This paper details and analyzes a number of cases of medical paternalism in practice, both from the past and in the present day, with the purpose of examining associated ethical considerations. Attention is given …

Defending The Genetic Selection Of Intelligence: A Moral Exploration Of Principle, Chase Opperman

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

This paper assumes a basic understanding of Aristotelian philosophy, but that which I draw from is both explicated and articulated in the paper in a way which makes the philosophy salient. One can look to Book II of The Nicomachean Ethics, the edition to which I referred is listed in the works cited, to further their understanding of the philosophy from which I am drawing, but to do so is not necessary. In what follows, I wrestle with the ethical issues related to the subject of the genetic selection of intelligence, both in its positive and negative forms, and offer …

Filling The Gap: Assessing Moral Permissibility Of Rejections In Dental Practices And Promoting Pro Bono Dental Work Through A Non-Profit Organization, Min Son

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

While the level of urgency in dentistry cannot compare to that in an emergency room, oral healthcare is a crucial part of overall health. Poor oral health can lead to systemic health conditions, such as heart and respiratory diseases, oral cancer, and diabetes. Therefore, the solution to health disparities may lie in addressing oral health disparities first. Nonetheless, most dentists are business owners of their own dental practices. Hence, they work in between business and patient care, sometimes facing associated conflicts. But they are obligated to make ethical decisions when the values between the two fields clash. The dental community …

Us Too? The #Metoo Movement And Its Critics, Thea Pastras

CIE Essay Writing Contest

No abstract provided.