Other Philosophy Commons^™

Disentangling Embodied Cognition: An Examination Of The State, Problems, And Possibilities Of Embodied Cognition, Cody Cash

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Embodied cognition has received a fair amount of attention in philosophical, neuroscientific, and robotic research during the past several decades, yet the precise nature of its goals, methods, and claims are unclear. This dissertation will ascertain and examine the primary themes in the field of embodied cognition as well as why, and if, they offer significant challenges to traditional cognitive science models. Though many theories believe they are providing accounts that should replace traditional models, to do so they will have to overcome the very difficult challenge of arguing that mental content and capabilities derived from sensorimotor activity can continue …

The Effect Of God On The Cogito: An Examination Of Descartes' Meditations On First Philosophy, Alex Valin

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

In Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, he claims on of his most enduring arguments, the Cogito: I think, I am. Following his argument for the Cogito, however, Descartes argues for the existence of an infinite, all powerful, all knowing God. Critiques of this argument fall into several different camps. First, that God remains a fundamental principle for Descartes’ epistemology and metaphysics. Secondly, that the inclusion of the argument for God was put in to please Church officials. Finally, that what Descartes’ terms God actually represents his own mind. In this essay, I examine Descartes’ argument for God as a fundamental …

Auctor In Fabula: Umberto Eco And The Intentio Of Foucault's Pendulum, Douglas Stephens Iv

Senior Honors Theses

Umberto Eco’s 1988 novel Foucault’s Pendulum weaves together a wide range of philosophical and literary threads. Many of these threads find their other ends in Eco’s nonfiction works, which focus primarily on the question of interpretation and the source of meaning. The novel, which follows three distinctly overinterpretive characters as they descend into ruin, has been read by some as a retraction or parody of Eco’s own position. However, if Foucault’s Pendulum is indeed polemical, it must be taken as an argument against the mindset which Eco has termed the “hermetic”. Through an examination of his larger theoretical body, including …

Dispersal: A Multidisciplinary Investigation Of Plant Life, Alexandra E. Arzt

Theses and Dissertations

Using plants as a basis for exploring the interstices between the human and nonhuman, this thesis investigates ideas of awareness, intelligence, deep time, animism, and the fluctuating human perception of the agency of Nature. It outlines environmental art practices since the 1950s involving vegetal life. In addition, the paper provides a critical analysis of plant perception of Jakob von Uexküll’s work and theories of vital materialism and “critical plant studies” while noting recent studies in plant neurobiology. In my work, plants become active participants via their movement, seeding, and smell. This study takes the form of imitation, purposeful symbiosis, anthropomorphism, …

Mitigated Skepticism Explanations And Why Its Valuable, Shane Crouch

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Skepticism is one of the oldest epistemological positions. Since the time of the Greeks, philosophers have been asking the question of is any knowledge possible. The Ancient skeptics of the time doubted everything while David Hume was skeptical of only some things. He further recognized that a global view was not viable for daily life. I argue in this paper that we should follow Hume’s approach in adopting a skepticism that begins with doubt and then examines the evidence for claims before coming to a conclusion. This will be markedly different from a priori assumptions of no knowledge which will …

Painting (And Photography), Gary Shapiro

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Two of Foucault's signature essays on painting are especially well known: the analysis of Velazquez's Las Meninas, and an essay on Rene Magritte that includes a striking account of how abstraction displaced representation in Western art. In addition, many of Foucault's texts are studded with acute descriptions of major painters from Breughel to Warhol; he gave lecture courses on quattrocento painting and Manet and published essays on several contemporary artists (Rebeyrolle, Fromanger, Michals). Since one of Foucault's major themes was the relation between visibility and discursivity, it is not surprising to find that painting is a favored site for …

States And Nomads: Hegel's World And Nietzsche Earth, Gary Shapiro

Philosophy Faculty Publications

What is Nietzsche's concept of the earth? While "earth" is often taken in a general way to refer to embodied life, to this world rather than to an imaginary and disastrous other world, I propose that the term and concept also have a significant political dimension-a geophilosophical dimension—which is closely related to the radical immanence so central to Nietzsche's thought. I shall argue that he often and pointedly replaces the very term "world" (Welt) with "earth" (Erde) because "world" is tied too closely to ideas of unity, eternity, and transcendence. "World" is a concept with theological …

Valuing The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: A Defense Of Countercultural Environmentalism, Mae Manupipatpong

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

For What I Hate, I Do: An Investigation Of Weakness Of Will, Craig B. Knepley

Global Tides

In this paper, I argue that Alfred Mele's account of weakness of will (externalism) is more philosophically defensible than R. M. Hare's account (internalism). I explain why the phenomenon of weakness of will is philosophically troubling, then go on to spell out Hare and Mele's respective views. I entertain Austin's psychological objection to Hare, as well as the objection that Hare ultimately overreaches. I argue that Hare might respond to the first but not the second of these objections. I consider the free will objection to Mele's schema, in addition to Bratman's objection that such a schema is counter-intuitive. I …

The Philosophy Of Sex And The Morality Of Homosexual Conduct, Kyle C. Hansen

CMC Senior Theses

Homosexuality is an important and controversial topic in political, philosophical, ethical and religious spheres. We are exposed to the debate of homosexuality in the media on a regular basis and issues related to homosexuality have been taken up by the Supreme Court, politicians and religious institutions. Needless to say, the debate surrounding homosexuality has captured the attention of almost everyone in society to some degree. It is my goal in this thesis to give a candid overview and analysis of the arguments surrounding homosexual sexual conduct. First, I will present an argument by John Corvino, who posits that homosexual conduct …

Special Obligations: The Structural Risks Of Friendship, Anna B. Myavec

Student Publications

Friendship is often conceived of as a freely chosen intrinsic good, yet friendship gives rise to special obligations that can act against ethical regard for others. Philosophers who recognize the significance of special obligations, such as Diane Jeske in Rationality and Moral Theory: How Intimacy Creates Reason, argue that special obligations are an undeniable feature of friendship and give rise to conflicts between friends and others to whom one has responsibilities. I argue that friendship can pose insoluble problems of special obligation, not just because obligations to friends can conflict with other obligations we have, but because friendship can challenge …

Aesthetics And Art Of Friendship, Sheila Lintott

Faculty Contributions to Books

In the spirit of exploring fresh perspectives, I offer this investigation into the aesthetic aspects of personal relationships with a focus on friendship.1 Glossing the aesthetic aspects of friendship, as we too often do, impoverishes our understanding of the value and meaning of friendships, relationships which give shape and content to our lives, which animate our lives or, as Nancy Sherman (1993) puts it, relationships which structure the good life. The friendships we forge and those we forgo, the loves we cultivate and those we lose, these varying and variable relations broaden (or impoverish) our experiences, intensify (or diminish) our …

Up In Smoke: The Place Of The Modern American Cigarette, Hannah B. Grose

Student Publications

Since its discovery, the use of tobacco products has acted as a form of meditation, social engagement, and reprieve. In the era following the late 1950’s, designated “smoking areas,” whether sequestered informally by social constraints or formally by the law, have led to a culture of very “implaced” cigarette smoking. These have become places of escape, places of exile, and places of compromise. This paper explores what it means to belong, and not to belong, to these places, and the role of designated smoking areas in the formation of our culture.

Philosophical Concerns: Implications For Art Therapy, Anzhela Akbarova

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Throughout centuries, philosophers have asked and attempted to answer questions that address human concerns: identity establishment, search for purpose in life, fear of nonexistence, spirituality, and relationships with other people in the world. Some psychologists and arts therapists have also acknowledged the existence of these concerns. This thesis is a comparative analysis of philosophical literature and concludes that art therapists should acknowledge human concerns in their theory and practice.

Ciis Today, Fall 2008 Issue, Ciis

CIIS Today

This volume is the Fall 2008 issue of CIIS Today, the Magazine of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Adam Smith And His Sources: The Evil Of Independence, Sandra J. Peart, David M. Levy

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This paper explores the foundations of Adam Smith’s view that the philosopher is the same as the street porter. Despite their innate similarity, Smith recognized that the role of the philosopher, someone who provides useful instruction to fellow humans, is not that of the street porter (Pear and Levy 2005; Schliesser 2005, 2006). He also saw that this potentially useful employment may entail a biased perspective on human conduct. Motivated by matters too distant for ordinary people to notice, the philosopher may come to believe that he is better than those he studies and to regard himself as independent form …

In Love With Life: An American Dream Of A Luxembourger, Edmond Israel, Raymond Flammant, Center For Christian Jewish Understanding

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Based on the author's La vie, passionnément. French edition published in 2004 by Editions Saint Paul, Luxembourg.

On cover and title page: Pampered child, Refugee, Factory Worker, International Banker: New Thinking.

The unprecedented problems that challenge most of our major institutions and our traditional ways of doing things are so new that few of us have the courage or even the capacity to consider them. Yet Edmond Israel enthusiastically relishes the opportunity to think differently and boldly about how to hold our problems together in creative tension and wrestle with them until moral and efficient solutions can be found. …

Lifeworld And Cartography: Echoes, Footprints, And Other Guideposts To The Self, John E. Jalbert

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter considers what it means to be in the "fullness of life," but for now I want to clarify the perspective from which the present essay is written. Although the essay follows the general contours of Thoreau's thinking, it is not primarily intended as yet another contribution to the already significant body of secondary literature on Thoreau. Instead, the essay reflects my own relationship with wild nature and how the latter has shaped who I am and who I want to be. In other words, the observations and reflections contained herein are not intended as mere "wissenschaftlich" re-presentations of …

Consumer Subjectivity In The Age Of Internet: The Radical Concept Of Marketing Control Through Customer Relationship Management, Detlev Zwick, Nikhilesh Dholakia

College of Business Faculty Publications

In this paper, we present a poststructuralist analysis of customer database technology. This approach allows us to regard customer databases as configurations of language that produce new and significant discursive effects. In particular, we focus on the role of databases and related technologies such as customer relationship management (CRM) in the discursive construction of both customers and customer relationships. First, we argue that organizations become the authors of customer identities, using the language of the database to configure customer representation. From this perspective, we can see the radical innovation that the customer database brings to the organizational construction of its …

La Psicología Moral De Sócrates, Daniel Graham

Faculty Publications

Os estimo y os amo, hombres de Atenas, pero obedeceré al dios en vez de [obedeceros] a vosotros, y mientras respire y tenga vida, no dejaré de filosofar, exhortando y desafiando a cualquiera de vosotros con quien me encuentre, diciéndole de la manera que acostumbro: “Hombre excelente, tú que eres ciudadano de Atenas, la ciudad más grande y la más famosa por su sabiduría y su poder, ¿no te avergüenzas de dedicarte a amontonar dinero, gloria y poder, sin prestarle ninguna atención a la sabiduría, a la verdad y al mejoramiento de tu alma?” Y si alguien protesta y dice …

Irrelevancy Of God: Criticism Of The Rational Religious Paradigm, Boaz Ahad Ha'am

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

The author looks at works that call for the assimilation of philosophy with religion. The capstone questioned the rationality of this logic by taking a closer look at the Real Religious Paradigm. It is argued that one cannot claim to be Rational and Religious at the same time without compromising either position, therefore no person can be RRP unless they are nonsensical.

Book Review Of, Nietzsche: Ethics Of An Immoralist, R. Kevin Hill

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Ethics of an Immoralist" by Peter Berkowitz

Law And Philosophy, Philosophy And Law, Francis J. Mootz Iii

Scholarly Works

A roundtable discussion about the relevance of contemporary hermeneutical philosophy for legal theory raises a foundational question often neglected in interdisciplinary articles: What is the relationship between law and philosophy? The burgeoning scholarship drawing connections between legal theory and philosophy increasingly has come under attack for displaying a naive view about the potential legitimate exchanges between philosophers and legal academics. I have written elsewhere at length about the important insights that philosophical hermeneutics can lend to jurisprudential discussions of the rule of law. In this essay, I develop my argument by stepping back and attending more generally to the connections …

"A Philosophy For Complexity", Charles West Churchman

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.

Dialectic As A Philosophical Method, Pierre Grimes

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Philosophy is the quest for wisdom and hence it may share a common end with religion. Not all philosophies are, however, concerned with this end, nor, again are all religions involved with a quest for wisdom. There may be different techniques and tools employed in the accomplishment of wisdom, but this dissertation is concerned only with the study of the nature and use of reason. In the philosophy of Plato reason is employed in diverse fields including mathematics, myths, and elaborate analogies, but when he turns to reason itself, then it becomes important to this analysis. Reason may be utilized …