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On Moral Grounds: The Art/Science Of Ethics, Daniel C. Maguire, A. Nicholas Fargnoli

Open-Access Books by Faculty

From the introduction:

Our age can lay claim to a unique moral chaos. Modernity badgers us with perplexing moral questions: Can good ethics and good business ever coincide? Should medical science do all the things that it now can do? Is truth-telling always a virtue? If it is, how can one maintain professional or personal confidentiality? Is honesty always the best policy? What are the proper criteria for the journalistic media when it comes to reporting the real news and avoiding sensationalism? Should there be an “ethics committee” in government, in business, in hospitals, in law firms, or in financial …

Television Technology And Moral Literacy, Clifford G. Christians

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society March 22, 1990.

The Last World Emperor And The Angelic Pope: Eschatological Figures As Representative Of The Medieval Struggle Of “Sacerdotium" And “Imperium”, Christopher Joseph Beiting

Masters Theses

In adopting the Christian faith, medieval people also obtained a tradition within Christianity, that of esehatology. Because of this tradition, there was a receptiveness among some for prophetic visions of the future, visions of widely varied nature. Two very popular themes running through this visionary tradition involved two eschatological figures, the Last World Emperor and the Angelic Pope, whose advent would right all wrongs and transform medieval society. This thesis will examine elements of medieval political theory as they developed out of contemporary events. It will also trace the growth and development of the figures of the Last World Emperor …

Higher-Order Discrimination, Adrian M. S. Piper

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society January 22, 1990.

Women's Dilemma: Is It Reasonable To Be Rational?, Harriet Baber

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Based on a presentation to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society February 17, 1990.

Knowing God In William Blake: A Study To Find Meaning In His Work Through Plato, Swedenborg, And Mystical Tradition, David B. Gabel

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This project takes a look into the philosophical and theological sources found in the work of William Blake as they culminate in his epic poem Jerusalem. This study includes an examination of the philosophies of Plato and Emanuel Swedenborg, the mystical pathway, the Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah, and finally an examination of the works of Blake himself. We work from a three-fold premise: 1) that mystical experience occurs, 2) that archetypes exist in the collective unconscious, and 3) that these archetypes can be known through intuition and mystical experience. The focus is on those elements which are characteristic …

Natural Law & Right Reason In The Moral Theory Of St. Thomas Aquinas, Craig Boyd

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A major problem with current discussions on the moral theory of St. Thomas Aquinas is the fact that many interpreters present Thomas's thought as a natural-law morality. While natural law is an element of Thomas's moral theory, it plays a subordinate role to the virtue of prudence.

The natural law interpreters of St. Thomas's moral theory hold that (1) natural law is the dominant element, (2) natural law can be treated in isolation from Thomas's account of virtue, and (3) the principles of natural law make Thomas's moral theory abstract and deontological. These interpretations rarely consider the virtue of prudence. …

Ethical Reasoning And Analysis: The Elements, Martin Benjamin

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society February 10, 1989.

Theological Voices. Pac Politics And The Abortion Debate: Abortion Politics And The Reagan Era, Kenneth W. Barber

Honors Theses

This investigation shall focus upon the issue of legalized abortion. I believe the complex controversy surrounding the issue of abortion, demonstrates more clearly than any other single contemporary issue the social, political, moral and religious forces working for change in a post-Reagan America. I shall examine in depth the theology, writings, strategies and activities of those Americans who seek to express themselves and their beliefs in religious, or religiously supported interest groups.

The current debate surrounding abortion legislation lends itself to several forms of analysis: religious, political, sociological, etc. I will write from the perspective of a student of religion. …

Creative Suffering: The Theme Of Mediation In Pascal's Pensées, Kathleen Merrow

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

The idea of mediation runs through Pascal’s Pensées and is an important part of his contribution to western thought. This paper traces the concept of mediation through the theme of creative suffering and the figure of Christ in Pensées. In addition, Pascal’s particular concept of mediation can be found as a supporting concept to the philosophies of such diverse early 20th century figures as Poincare, Blondel, and Bergson. In the end this paper traces a complicated and complex problem for Pascal, that of Mediation, and suggests that it ultimately had tragic consequences for him.

The Use Of Vergil's Aeneid In St. Augustine's Confessions, Jennifer S. Oberst

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

In his Confessions, St. Augustine draws a parallel between his own conversion to Christianity and Dido’s suicide in Vergil’s Aeneid. This paper traces the many connections between Dido’s suicide and Augustine’s conversion and suggests that his use of the conventions of her story would have appealed to pagans and thus furthered his effort to broaden the Christian faithful.

Foscolo, Dante And The Papacy, Peter Iver Kaufman

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

Of the many interpretations of cantos and characters in Dante's Divine Comedy, few rival the wordplay in Gabriele Rossetti's commentary (1826-27). None that I know rivals its imaginative recreation of fourteenth-century literary and political history. According to Rossetti, Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio and a nest of Cathari were members of an underground network. Dissident poets, politicians, and church reformers therein camouflaged their attacks against the papacy to prevent detection and reprisal.

Morality Versus Slogans, Bernard Gert

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, April 1, 1988.

Surrogate Parenting Legislation In Michigan: Background And Review, Lucille S. Taylor

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

This essay originated in symposium presentations made to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, January 20, 1989.

Lonergan On The Catholic University, Richard Liddy

Department of Religion Publications

No abstract provided.

Surrogate Parenting And Fundamental Rights, Paul J. Denenfeld

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

This essaya originated in symposium presentations made to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, January 20, 1989.

Surrogate Parenting: The Michigan Legislation, Lucille Taylor, Paul Denenfeld

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Surrogate Parenting: The Michigan Legislation essays by: Lucille Taylor Paul Denenfeld. These essays originated in symposium presentations made to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, January 20, 1989. Lucille Taylor is Majority Counsel, Michigan State Senate Paul Denenfeld is Legal Director, ACLU Fund of Michigan

Should I (Legally) Be My Brother's Keeper?, Gilbert Geis

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, October 27, 1987.

Codes Of Ethics In Business, Michael Davis

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, October 26, 1988.

Do Professors Need Professional Ethics As Much As Doctors And Lawyers?, James W. Nickel

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers Published by the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, Western Michigan University.

Sumptuary Guidelines In Clement Of Alexandria's Paedagogus And Seneca's Epistulae Morales, Stephen Crump

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis, Sumptuary Guidelines in Clement of Alexandria's Paedagogus and Seneca's Epistulae Morales, explores the similarities between the ethical outlooks of Clement of Alexandria and Seneca, as well as peculiar emphases of each writer. The thesis is introduced with a discussion of the Christian search for identity within the Roman world, and the influence of Stoicism in formulating this identity. The next two chapters provide the social and intellectual context within which Clement and Seneca respectively wrote. In establishing Clement's backdrop, the cultural, intellectual, and economic settings of Alexandria are examined. The argument is put forth that these various settings …

Of Pendulums, Eclectics, And Identity: An Essay On Method And Worldview, John H. Kok

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Biomedical Ethics In The Soviet Union, Richard T. De George

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

*This is an abbreviated version of a paper presented first at a joint MIT-Harvard Faculty Seminar on the humanistic dimensions of Soviet Science on November 20, 1987, and then at the Western Michigan University Ethics Center on February 10, 1988. An expanded, fully documented version, under the title "Soviet Biomedical Ethics" will appear in a volume edited by Loren Graham, and tentatively entitled The Human Side of Soviet Science, Harvard University Press, 1989.

Affirmative Action Defended, Laurence Thomas

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

This paper is based on a presentation made to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society October 14, 1987.

Kierkegaard & Natural Religion, William Stewart

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

According to Kierkegaard, the knowledge of God begins with the recognition of various truths about oneself. Every individual, just by virtue of being human, has the capacity to develop an intuitive awareness of God. In this thesis, I explore the nature of this knowledge. In chapter one, I introduce a number of ideas important for understanding Kierkegaard's phenomenology of religious belief, including his distinction between objective and subjective reflection, his method (indirect communication), and his psychology. The first chapter concludes with a description of the range or domain of "natural religion." In the next chapter, I analyze the structural or …

Thoughts On Keeping My Mouth Shut, David H. Smith

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

This paper is based on a presentation made to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, April 4, 1986.

Ethics In Academia, Diether H. Haenicke

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

This paper is based on a presentation made to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, April 4, 1986.

Can Belief In God Be Confirmed?, Mark S. Mcleod-Harrison

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

A basic thrust behind Alvin Plantinga's position that belief in God is properly basic is an analogy between certain non-religious (and presumably justified) beliefs such as ' I see a tree' and theistic beliefs such as 'God made this flower'.1 Each kind of belief is justified for a believer, argues Plantinga, when she finds herself in a certain set of conditions. Richard Grigg challenges this claim by arguing that while the non-religious beliefs are confirmed, beliefs about God are not. I wish to explore this challenge, clarify it and suggest that on one understanding it is irrelevant and on another …

Schubert Ogden On Truth, Meaningfulness, And Religious Language, Mark S. Mcleod-Harrison

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Ethical Norms In Science, Rachelle D. Hollander

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers Presented to the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, Western Michigan University.