History of Philosophy Commons^™

Love And Ethics In The Works Of J. M. E. Mctaggart, Trevor J. Bieber

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation attempts to make contributions to normative ethics and to the history of philosophy. First, it contributes to the defense of consequentialist ethics against objections grounded upon the value of loving relationships. Secondly, it provides the first systematic account of John M. E. McTaggart’s (1866-1925) ethical theory and its relation to his philosophy of love.

According to (maximizing) consequentialist ethics, it is always morally wrong to knowingly do what will make the world worse-off than it could have been (i.e., had one chosen one of the other courses of action available to one at the time). Many consequentialists also …

Deleuze Through Wittgenstein: Essays In Transcendental Empiricism, M. Curtis Allen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis undertakes a comparative study of the philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Ludwig Wittgenstein to elaborate three related problems in what in Deleuze calls ‘transcendental empiricism’. The first chapter deals with the problematic of the dimension of sense in language, and culminates in a concept of the event. The second details the immanence of stupidity within thought and culminates in a practice of showing through silence. The third investigates the consequences of aesthetics for the theory of Ideas, and culminates in the concepts of ‘late intuition’ and of a form of life. Each argues for a new way of broaching …

William James' Theory Of Emotion, James Southworth

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

William James’ theory of emotion has had a profound impact within philosophy and psychology over the last 130 years. While his counterintuitive James-Lange theory has been widely criticized, it has also had its supporters over the years, including recently. In part one, I argue that critics and advocates alike have misinterpreted James due to a neglect of his overarching framework as developed in The Principles of Psychology. The James-Lange theory remains silent on a number of philosophical questions, including the relationship between emotion and consciousness and the nature of an emotional feeling. By considering James’ views on these and …

The Measure Of Wisdom: The Soul, Society And Justice, Travis A. Powers

M.A. in Philosophy of History Theses

Following the insights of Eric Voegelin, this paper attempts to articulate a measuring tool by which Western civilization could test its health. The paper is centered on Plato’s existential principle, tracing its formulation and development through Greek tragedy and Socratic thought, first. The existential principle in its basic formulation is that a societal order reflects the type of people by whom it is composed; stated more tersely, the spirit of the people weave together the spirit of the society. An understanding of the existential principle is given by the example of when Socrates and Plato used the authority of the …

The Virtuous State: Polybius, Machiavelli, And The Idea Of Roman Virtue, Geoffrey Graham

M.A. in Philosophy of History Theses

I will consider the writings of Polybius of Megalopolis (c. 200 BC – c. 118 BC) and those of Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 – 1527) on the subject of Roman virtue, discussing the concept of virtue, highlighting the conduct of specific Roman citizens, as well as analyzing the Roman constitution and the wider culture from which it arose. Examining the life and historical milieu of Polybius, I'll outline his major contributions to history, and end with a discussion of his conception of virtue in the Republican Roman context. Secondly, after a brief biographical sketch of Machiavelli and listing his significant works, …

Hypothetical Necessity And The Laws Of Nature: John Locke On God's Legislative Power, Elliot Rossiter

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The focus of my dissertation is a general and comprehensive examination of Locke’s view of divine power. My basic argument is that John Locke is a theological voluntarist in his understanding of God’s creative and providential relationship with the world, including both the natural and moral order. As a voluntarist, Locke holds that God freely imposes both the physical and moral laws of nature onto creation by means of his will: this contrasts with the intellectualist perspective in which the laws of nature emerge from the essences of things. For Locke, there are no intrinsically necessary laws in the created …

Merging The Principles Of Occultism And Anarchism, Kevin Todd Mclaren

History

"Merging the Principles of Occultism and Anarchism" is an attempt to pinpoint the correlations between occult and/or esoteric belief systems and political anarchist philosophy. The paper analyzes the works, belief systems and philosophies of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Aleister Crowley and extracts the underlying anarchist principles that are embedded within them. This established connection to anarchism through occultism is reinforced by referencing various anarchist works, particularly the works of William Godwin.

Augustine, Wannabe Philosopher: The Search For Otium Honestum, Allen G. Wilson

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Resourcing The Postmodern Pastor: An Examination Of Young Pastors’ Attitudes And The Implications For Denominational Publishers, Bonnie J. Perry

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study explored the influence of postmodernity on the changing attitudes of young pastors regarding spirituality and discipleship in their adult congregants. The purpose of this study was to educate and equip Christian publishers to resource young pastors who are ministering in a postmodern culture. The study focused on Church of the Nazarene pastors 35 years old or younger in the calendar year 2012, exploring their attitudes toward Christian faith, spirituality, and discipleship. At certain junctures in the study, the young pastors’ attitudes were compared to those of pastors who were 36 years or older in order to determine what …

Know Yourself And You Will Be Known: The Gospel Of Thomas And Middle Platonism, Seth A. Clark

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus and is primarily composed of rhetorical statements that were used to preserve the teachings of itinerant Greek philosophers. These collections were used to persuade individuals to join the philosophical schools represented, much like the early followers of the Jesus movement would use his teachings to convince others to join them as well. However, the theological background for the text is still debated because it contains esoteric and enigmatic references not fully understood by most scholars. This work argues that the theological and philosophical background for the Gospel …

Truth And Falsehood In Plato's Sophist, Michael Oliver Wiitala

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

This dissertation is a study of the ontological foundations of true and false speech in Plato’s Sophist. Unlike most contemporary scholarship on the Sophist, my dissertation offers a wholistic account of the dialogue, demonstrating that the ontological theory of the “communing” of forms and the theory of true and false speech later in the dialogue entail one another.

As I interpret it, the account of true and false speech in the Sophist is primarily concerned with true and false speech about the forms. As Plato sees it, we can only make true statements about spatio-temporal beings if it …