Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince has sparked controversy and debate since its release in the 16th century. Among the mixed reviews of his treatise, Machiavelli is classified as either the father of modern political thought or a benefactor to tyrants. By avoiding the reduction of his theoretical legacy to simplistic Machiavellianism, this project contends that The Prince postulates a perceptive analysis of the methods needed to maintain a state by promoting a universal and timeless portrayal of statecraft. In defense of this (...) argument, The Prince's critical insight will be juxtaposed with the circumstances surrounding the disintegration of Imperial Russia to illustrate the theoretical and pragmatic utility of Machiavellian principles within the modern world. (shrink)

Technological advancements, especially with regard to enhancements of human capacities and powers, have instigated a collision between opposing views of the human person. I begin with the premise that the predominant classical view of the human person attained its clearest and most cogent expression in the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas and can be termed the theory of the homo integralis. The human person is, for Thomas, the integrated being par excellence: he is a union of the material (body) and the (...) immaterial (soul); his freedom is guided by a normative nature; he is himself a product of and participant in nature; he is a member of a common species from which he draws his identity; and he balances the needs of his embodied state with a recognition that his existence is not limited to it. Due to the philosophical and technological revolutions of the modern period, themselves an outgrowth perhaps of earlier attitudes, a contrasting view of the human person emerged: the homo technologicus. Technological man, unlike his classical predecessor, is marked by fundamental disintegration: he is divided in himself, between mind and body; he is dissociated from a normative human nature; he is divided from nature itself as he sets himself against it through technological means; he is divided from the human community in radical, self-determining autonomy; and he is severed from any sense of transcendent purpose or value aside from that which can be attained through his own powers, technological or otherwise. By recovering a sense of the homo integralis as articulated by Thomas Aquinas, a fresh appraisal of contemporary issues regarding the human relationship to technology, human capacities and powers as evaluated by movements like transhumanism, and ultimately, human meaning and value, is made possible and is shown to provide a consistent and appealing rejoinder to the disintegrated vision of man that emerges in a technologized world. (shrink)

Lines of verse sometimes live in the shadows of societies, cherished for gracefully bending ears with melodic imagery. Yet, Somali poetry defiantly lived outside shadows for centuries. While pastoral communities customarily use oration for historiography and storytelling, purposeful and complex oral poetry coursed through the veins of each Somali, creating a silent, formless unity. This research pinpoints the inseparable existence of Somali people from Islam, clan identity, and poetic language by analyzing poetic action from the anti-colonial Dervish Movement of 1899-1920. (...) Using psychoanalyst and philosopher Julia Kristeva’s scholarship on poetic action, Somali poetry is used to attempt a pursuit of semiotic chora— the place where meaning is made. This research serves as an urgent acknowledgement and dialogue that Somali poetry holds keys to a reimagined polis.? (shrink)

This dissertation employed Ernest L. Boyer’s scholarship of integration by synthesizing Seligman, Aristotle, and Smith’s literature to discuss what constitutes happiness, a good life, and how to apply Martin Seligman’s framework to achieve these objectives. The dissertation will also discuss how happiness was defined during the Aristotle era and how happiness is measured in contemporary society and societal perspective toward individual economics and happiness. This integration is especially necessary for studying humanities, which I used to understand the past and its (...) influence on the present. Understanding our past encourages us to appreciate the present and work with others to establish productive and positive future systems. Thus, increasing our understanding of what it means to be human in the age of technology. (shrink)

This dissertation presents a new account of Thales based on the idea that Acheloios—a deity equated with water in the ancient Greek world and found in Miletos during Thales’ life—was the most important cultic deity influencing the thinker, profoundly shaping his philosophical worldview. In doing so, it also weighs in on the metaphysical and epistemological dichotomy that seemingly underlies all academia—the antithesis of the methodological postulate of Marxian dialectical materialism vis-à-vis the Platonic idea of fundamentally real transcendental forms. Unbeknownst to (...) many philosophers, there are various Neo-Marxian scholars that position the origin of coinage as the pivotal technological development giving rise to impersonal “metaphysical cosmology,” suggesting that the value of money was more-or-less projected back onto the cosmos in the form of “ideal substances.” While the arguments are incredibly sophisticated and persuasive, their conclusions (either stated or implied) are rather difficult to swallow: the self is merely an illusion, abstract ideas of an ultimate source of value, like God or the Good, are totally delusional (as is the soul), and essentially everything is reducible to mankind’s enslavement to commodities and the notion of our own objectified labor (the true source of all value according to Marx). Not only is this a dangerous belief that many philosophers (consciously or unconsciously) have adopted, since essentially any action could be “justified,” it is also demonstrably false, since it rests on a thorough misunderstanding of Thales and misconception of philosophy as such. My work rectifies that misunderstanding. In an important sense, it is an attempt at redefining philosophy as a “love of wisdom,” which I argue was accurate even in its Presocratic setting, and it uses the influence of Acheloios on Thales to do so. Throughout its pages I explore the etymology and historical uses of the word ὔδωρ, examine the archaeological context of 7th to 6th century Miletos, consider various aquatic myths Thales encountered, and highlight a hitherto overlooked tradition stemming from Thales and influencing such thinkers as Pythagoras, Empedokles, and Hippo, which culminates in a completely new reading of Plato’s Phaedrus. It is there that we find Socrates and Phaedrus engaging in dialogue while surrounded by the iconography of Acheloios and the nymphs, all while they lie reclined like river gods (the sinews of Acheloios) on the banks of the Ilisos. And it is in that dialogue that Plato defines philosophy as a love of wisdom—the beholding of a multiplicity of hermeneutical frameworks—and alludes to the fact that it began with the sacrifice of Acheloios, the initial philosophical maneuver which he attributes to Thales. I end with a threefold rejoinder to the Neo-Marxian school, corresponding to the λόγος, μῦθος, and ἔργον of Acheloios. It turns out that, (1) the λόγος of Acheloios contained the ideal preconditions conducive to an abstraction to a more refined philosophical worldview in which water operated as the One among the Many; (2) the μῦθος of Acheloios actually encouraged the application of the notion of sacrifice to Acheloios himself (thus revealing his essence as divine water); and, (3), the ἔργον of Acheloios, in which he kneels in assent to sacrifice, is found on a coin that was probably designed by Thales himself. In the final analysis, I suggested we have recourse to Acheloios yet again, and reorient ourselves toward the οὐσια ὄντως οὖσα. (shrink)

This study interrogates the use of technology by an artist, Chawne Kimber, to examine the incorporation of technology and its impact on artistic processes, identity affirmation, and authenticity. With Heideggerian theory serving as a methodological framework, a thorough survey of Kimber’s social media accounts combined with critical analysis of the artwork she exhibited online was conducted in the course of analyzing her use of technology to document artistic practices, engage with and establish artistic communities, and share and display art. Qualitative (...) analysis of Kimber’s social media accounts and her use of social media suggest there is a strong relation between mindful incorporation of technology into an artist’s process and practice and the creation of meaningful work. Based on the results of the evidentiary analysis of Kimber’s thoughts and artistic processes shared on social media, I argue that it is possible to incorporate technology into artistic activity in the endeavor to live a good life as well as a life of authenticity. Furthermore, the intentional integration of technology into artistic activity and focal practices can heighten an artist’s engagement with art while serving as a basis for reconsideration of technology and one’s relationship to it. (shrink)

This dissertation contributes to the discourse about emerging disruptive technology. It examines techniques that may foster a meaningful and honest discussion, within the Department of Defense (DoD), about the development and diffusion of transformational technology. The dissertation presents recent discoveries in brain-computer interface technology and neurocognitive augmentation as a lens through which to view a new era in scientific research. As technology starts to manipulate the human mind and body, it is imperative that the research community be aware and take (...) notice of the implications that will shape humanity. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and other components of the DoD hold prominence in advancing some of the most exciting research in brain-computer interaction and neurocognition. While this research is essential for national security, it can be alarming to those unfamiliar with the research agenda, and therefore must be discussed and debated during its early stages to construct a well-informed national vision. To help frame such a vision, the research presented in this dissertation examines signals, indicators, and trends in emerging technology to articulate the key influences that drive strategic decisions. Professional forecasters use trend data to resolve ambiguity and to stimulate negotiation over a range of plausible futures. Nurturing foresight skills within the DoD, including an interdisciplinary appreciation of the human narrative, may foster deeper reflection to maximize success in a burgeoning global intelligence race. Including the scientific community in the discourse over emerging disruptive technology offers an opportunity to shape the future with resilience, mindfulness, and determination. (shrink)

This dissertation focuses on an analysis of the works of James Turner Johnson, Jean Bethke Elsthain, and Eric Patterson through a Kantian lens to determine a set of normative guidelines for jus post bellum. The guidelines for jus post bellum were garnered from this analysis as well as other just war scholars including Brian Orend and Michael Walzer. Kant offers a deontological-based look at jus post bellum offering a guide to twenty-first century challenges facing the international community. The guidelines are (...) presented as well as recommendations for areas outside the scope of this dissertation that are pertinent to jus post bellum and the just war tradition and to make the guidelines manageable and effective. (shrink)

This dissertation argues that a significant factor contributing to the successes of the American colonial militia against British regulars during the American Revolution was technological: the fusion of adaptive hybrid tactics acquired through contact with the Indians, combined with the superior accuracy and range of the Pennsylvania rifle. Each of these two technologies represent a unique and singular advance, however each by itself did not provide the advantages necessary for American militiamen to achieve tactical parity with British professional soldiers. The (...) fluid maneuver and non-linear aspects of adaptive hybrid tactics were not sufficient to counter the shock effects of British regimental linear infantry tactics absent the long range accuracy and stand-off distances made possible by rifles. Likewise, the significant improvements of the Pennsylvania rifle over contemporary smoothbore muskets in range and accuracy were negated by its unsuitability for conventional infantry tactics. Only when both the technologies of adaptive hybrid tactics and the Pennsylvania rifle were combined would they provide a means for American militiamen to reach tactical parity. The original research presented here focuses on the experience of the Pennsylvania militia formations established and evolving over the course of the French and Indian War, and during the subsequent years of Pontiac’s War, from 1754 to 1765. In particular, the “Black Boys Uprising” of 1765 in the Conococheague Region of Pennsylvania serves as the index case, the first time American militiamen successfully defeated British regulars by employing adaptive hybrid tactics combined with accurate long-range rifle fires. This event demonstrates the means by which American militia might achieve tactical parity with British regulars. (shrink)

Utilizing a postphenomenological lens, in this study, I analyze Human Security Era (1990s-2010s), techno-futurist films as case studies to explore how humans and technology can and do co-shape a more harmonious world, resulting in TechnoHumanity. To build a techno-humane world, humans must find a way to spur technological innovation and advancement, embedding ethics in design to avoid a dystopian path to dehumanization. Films, and specifically the content or text of the films, provide case studies for a postphenomenological analysis to explore (...) designed, in-design, and future technologies and their interrelationship with humanity. (shrink)

This dissertation explores the perennial link between religion and technology in Western culture. Specifically, I focus on a subset of transhumanism, known as Singularitarianism, as a modern representation of the historically close relationship between technology and religion in the West. To provide a genealogy of Singularitarianism, and the transhumanist movement out of which it emerged, I trace the history of Western techno-religious culture from Latin Christendom, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, all the way to modern transhumanism. Modern transhumanism is the result (...) of this philosophical framework combined with rapidly accelerating technology, resulting in the belief that humans should control their own material and spiritual evolution through technology. Today, the rapid advance of advanced technology is seen as capable of realizing the promises traditionally satisfied through traditional theistic religion in the West. In exploring these dynamics, I make the argument that religion adapts to technology at an ontological level. For the purposes of gaining insight to the fundamental question concerning what it means to be human in an age of technology, Singularitarianism serves as an example of how our technology facilitates ultimate concern by addressing the challenges of meaning in an age of accelerating change, and reveals where religion is going in the future. This represents, in the language of Charles Taylor, a kind of re-enchantment of the West. (shrink)

The emergence of radical biotechnological advances in food, science and medicine fundamentally challenge the relationships among individual humans, science and governance in the Western liberal democratic Nation-State. Both in concept and in practice, the post-Westhpalian Nation-State is poorly situated to deal with the scope, pace, diversity and linkages between individual choice, societal mores and norms, scientific potential, and the requirements of effective governing. The purpose of this research was to identify possible convergences – and collisions – of governmentality, medical science, (...) and individual agency, choice and liberty in the liberal democratic Nation-State. While much has been written on each of these three fields independently, few authors have grappled with the complex interplay of these three. This is a qualitative study with extensive research in the fields of philosophy, science, and theories of government. The findings indicate there is a Medical Renaissance in progress that has significant impact not only on individual lives, but in the living of life as part of societies and structures. This study advances our understanding of effective governance in an era of rapid biotechnological change and counters the belief of some that the Nation-State is an archaic construct. The findings provide insights into the challenges and opportunities for a new framework of governance. There is fertile ground for further research – this dissertation aims to illuminate the questions to guide that discourse of discovery. (shrink)

“Because, at our core, we are not rational beings who occasionally act emotionally. Rather, we are emotional beings who occasionally act rationally.” Consumer Neuroscience is an emerging market research method using both scientific analysis and neurotechnology that has created controversy and ethical discourse. The premise of this development is the merging of two disciplines; neuroscience and marketing. Consumer Neuroscience has found a timely entrance into the world of consumer research using neurotechnology, promising to study how customers unconsciously feel. Neuromarketers hope (...) to tap into the hidden emotional responses of human beings using devices such as fMRI’s or biometrics, typically reserved for medical doctors and neurological research. The object is to gauge consumer preferences and desires more succinctly and effectively. More importantly, to discover “buy buttons” or emotional triggers that drive customers to buy, uncovering their unconscious minds. Using neurotechnology and analysis, sample populations are examined to see how they react to various stimuli in real time while viewing movie trailers, commercials, websites and even product design options. Researchers then equate certain feelings with those reactions based on measured responses. While this may appear to be quite useful in the context of better understanding consumer emotions and strategic planning for a marketer, it has raised important ethical questions, such as: Who will control the process? How potentially harmful is the process? Does the approach cross critical ethical boundaries? In sum, this examination will gather the most significant topics found in leading academic and professional literature that deal with the ethics of consumer neuroscience and will point to areas where further study is needed. (shrink)

Portrayals of humanoid robots in television series draw heavily from the historical and cultural mythology of robots. This mythology is expressed in two contemporary television series, Almost Human and Humans, in which robots are depicted as closely resembling humans in physical appearance and behavior and as fulfilling social roles usually occupied by humans. The robots are imagined with characteristics associated with human consciousness, such as emotions, individuality, and free will. An analysis of the robots in these series, using Jean Paul (...) Sartre’s theories of consciousness and the Other, demonstrates that when the robots are depicted as conscious, the relationship between a human and robot is portrayed as one of human-to-human (or human-to-Other), not human-to-technology. Sartre’s philosophy helps describe the human characters’ fascination and fear of the robots as resulting from their perceptions of the Other’s shifting status of object and subject and the unpredictability associated with the Other’s freedom. Thus, it is not the machine aspects of the robot that are desired and feared, but the humanness within the machine. Viewed in this way, the humanoid robot as depicted these television series represents a continuing effort to define and describe the essence of humanity in a society where the boundaries between machines and humans are becomingly increasingly blurred. (shrink)

This interdisciplinary, qualitative dissertation offers an exploration into possible intimate relationships between recently expanding, technology driven forms of centralization of our social institutions and a supposed decline in moral development and happiness among Americans today. According to Jacques Ellul, technology in itself is not the problem. Instead, he believes the tragedy is that the new idea or spirit of “technique”, technical efficiency and economic progress, which may have started with the Industrial revolution, and has become the western world’s new "religion", (...) the new salvation for humanity. Ellul and other thinkers suggest that the single-minded focus on material progress has made centralization of our institutions necessary. Within increasingly centralized systems human beings are being as means to the new end of efficiency for material progress. According to Ellul and others, our institutions have thereby become increasingly unfit for a certain uniquely human way of being, which facilitates moral development. The ideas of Aristotle and other theorists are used as lenses through which we can also look at the perennial question of human happiness and its possible relationship with moral development and the way we live within community. Aspects of life within centralized America today are being contrasted with features of Aristotle’s ideal state. Our highly centralized way of being in America today is also being compared to the less centralized way of being in America 50-60 years ago. (shrink)

What does religion, specifically Christian theology, contribute to scientific investigation and rational thought? Prior to the Enlightenment, theology was the repository of rational thought, namely, the domain of truth. Since the Scientific Revolution, religious thought has been challenged by the scientific community as composed only of abstract reasoning and dogmatic declarations. Thomas F. Torrance presents what he calls "Scientific Theology" as an approach that restores theology and science into the same arena of knowledge. Torrance offers some unique aspects to his (...) method by assessing both religion and science to evaluate a priori elements that hinder a rational, objective processing for truth. This research project evaluates Torrance's epistemological, hermeneutic and philosophical premises to assess his theological science method. (shrink)

Military unmanned aerial system technology, remote sensing systems, and artificial intelligence all play critical roles in creating the possibility for completely autonomous unmanned combat air systems. The integration of these technologies is significantly affecting the human-technology relationship on the battlefield. Not only are these technologies decreasing the level of direct human interaction in warfare, they are also significantly increasing the physical distance between humans and machines. This increased distance raises questions regarding the ability of humanity to maintain control over autonomous (...) weapons systems. The development of these autonomous technologies appears to validate the position of traditional technological determinists such as Martin Heidegger and Jacques Ellul, as well as contemporary thinkers such as Raymond Kurzweil, Stephen Hawking, and Elon Musk, who propose that artificial intelligence technology is not a thing that can be controlled, but rather an influence or force that transcends human ability to maintain control over, and that any sense of control is merely an illusion. This work defends the thesis that while integrated technologies are significantly contributing to the evolution of fully autonomous unmanned combat air systems, the existence and application of these technologies do not by default support the hard technological deterministic view that technology is a force or influence beyond human control, nor does the evolution of such technologies necessarily threaten humanity’s ability to maintain control. (shrink)

This dissertation examines the question of the ‘true’ or ‘essential’ self. It suggests two sets of interrelated propositions. The first set includes these following claims: 1) that all philosophical or scientific theories of the self are fundamentally driven by the personality type or temperament of the theorizer; 2) that the entire philosophical tradition has been dominated by two personality types or temperaments, what William James has called the ‘tender-minded and the ‘tough-minded’ temperaments; 3) that the question of the self, philosophically (...) speaking, only really became a proper topic of study after the Renaissance, and especially after the work of Rene Descartes in the seventeenth-century; 4) that only in the eighteenth century did a third philosophical temperament, what I call the ‘self-minded’ temperament, appear in the form of Jean Jacques Rousseau; 5) that the dominant contemporary theories of the self, which I identify as social constructionist (entwined) theory and the neuroscientific (embodied) theory, are the creations of individuals bearing the tough-minded temperament and, 6) that both the tender-minded and tough-minded thinker is not temperamentally suited to describing or understanding the nature of the true or essential self. The second set argues the following claims: 1) that the self-minded temperament is the philosophical temperament best suited to understanding the nature of the true self; 2) that the true self is paradoxically contingent and metaphysical in nature; 3) that there are occult or esoteric technologies, such as Vedic and Western astrology and the Enneagram, that offer a powerful set of tools for understanding the individual self; 4) that these tools have been rejected by most thinkers in the Western philosophical, scientific, and religious traditions because they challenge the fundamental beliefs of those traditions, especially the belief in free will and scientific progress; )5 that this ‘third’ realm of insight into the human self is the realm of the ‘enchanted’, and 6) that any complete theoretical model of the human self must include some serious consideration of these ‘enchanted’ technologies if they are to truly be complete. (shrink)

This qualitative analysis examines the effects of a growing environmental ethic on the electric power grid in southeastern New England from the late nineteenth century to the start of the new millennia. The increased awareness of the environment evolved into a new belief system of the population and altered the methods of construction, operation and maintenance of the advanced technology system of the electric power grid. The manner in which this occurred suggests that technological momentum is a better concept than (...) technological determinism with which to examine the development of technological systems in the modern world. This dissertation examines the trinity of actors affecting this process. The electric power companies, with the New England Electric System as the main protagonist, attempted to expand the electric power grid to meet expected consumer demand and economic opportunities. A devoted cadre of nascent environmentalists, dismissive of the commercial and technological requirements of the electric power grid, suggested to the population that the new idea of protecting the environment should instead take priority. The interaction of these two forces led to a governmental response that attempted to continue to meet the population’s demands while preventing the degradation of the environment. The resultant transformation of the population’s perception of the electric power grid, its regulation by the government, and its operation by the system members, suggest that advanced technology systems are influenced as much by philosophical concerns as any technical constraints. (shrink)

This dissertation poses the question: "What was the impact of new technology on President Abraham Lincoln's military leadership during the Civil War?" It describes the new technology used during the Civil War, defines leadership, and then analyzes the impact of this new technology on the military leadership of President Lincoln. During the Civil War (1861-1865), President Lincoln faced a crisis of cataclysmic dimensions. Lincoln's leadership skills and abilities, as well as the technology present at the time, were elements essential to (...) saving the Union. Technology affected the life, the thought process and the leadership capacity of Lincoln. I will explore how new technology affected President Lincoln's military leadership capacity and abilities, focusing primarily on his decision-making process and his mindset during the Civil War. (shrink)

While inclusive pedagogy has been increasingly embraced in teacher education, inclusive assessment of student learning remains an area that has received limited attention. A critical friend (Ateh) from an outside institution encouraged Yao to examine how he approached inclusive assessment in a course on assessment strategies for preservice teachers. The collaborative self-study showed that his initial understanding of inclusivity was limited when he taught and practiced inclusive strategies in the assessment course. Yao’s reflections came upon moments of tensions as he (...) navigated through barriers for conceptualizing and implementing inclusive assessment strategies. The weekly interactions with his critical friend, helped Yao develop a more nuanced understanding of inclusive assessment and engage in epistemic reflexivity regarding some of his most deeply rooted beliefs about learning and assessment of learning. Implications for both individual teacher educators and for the assessment field are discussed. (shrink)

Two journals reflecting the interests and concerns of music educators are Music Educators Journal (MEJ) and Philosophy of Music Education Review (PMER). The purpose of this study was to explore the interests of P–12 music teachers and university faculty as represented by the topics of articles in MEJ and PMER from 1993 to 2012. After identifying the primary topic of articles at least two pages in length (N = 889), we determined the number of articles and pages published in each (...) topic area within each journal. A chi-square analysis indicated topics within journals did not occur with equal probability (p <.001). The most frequently occurring topics in MEJ were curriculum (21.15%), performance (15.86%), and fieldwork (9.02%). The most frequently occurring topics in PMER were interview (15.45%), philosophy to school (11.79%), and performance (10.57%). Performance was the only topic common to both journals for their five most frequently occurring topics. Topics also were examined in 5-year increments, showing topic frequency was more consistent across time for MEJ than for PMER. In MEJ, the topics creativity and technology appeared less frequently over time, while performance and social justice increased. In PMER, marginalization articles decreased, while creativity, research/critical inquiry, and performance increased. (shrink)

This paper delineates the thrust of Augustine's theodicy against the broader background of his Christian Neoplatonic outlook. We examine Augustine's initial Manichean influences and see how these beliefs carry over to his mature thought, which is evident in the seventh book of the Confessions. After Augustine's time with the Manicheans, we look at how he was so influenced by the books of the Platonists (libri platonicorum). Although Augustine's position regarding the problem of evil shifts, his idea of the primacy of (...) the soul is still evident in his thought process. To wit, Augustine posits that evil must be considered a privation of the Good, so much so as to reach the point of complete nonentity. Human beings' ability to be corrupted by evils rests in their position as being created ex-nihilo by God. With this creation also comes an inherent mutability. Due to human mutability, Augustine believes that God is not responsible for such evil actions. This paper also contrasts this belief with modern empiricist David Hume's idea regarding God's responsibility for human actions. Hume argues that the volition of all human actions rests in God as Creator of the world. As creator, Hume claims that God places human beings in a position to act. If humans are predisposed to perform evil actions, they cannot be faulted. Augustine would counter that argument by claiming that evil is not a substance. Not being a substance, evil is there not ascribable to God. Ultimately, Augustine's theodicy is based upon the goodness of God. (shrink)

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The development of ectogenesis or artificial womb technology is currently ongoing and likely to be in use in the near future. This qualitative study analyzes the potential individual, social and spiritual implications of ectogenesis. It argues that while there may be therapeutic benefits to the artificial womb, it will ultimately result in dehumanization and alienation from the body. While much of the current conversation about this technology addresses the health implications to the fetus and neonate, this dissertation investigates the possible (...) impact of artificial wombs on women. It employs Martin Heidegger’s philosophy of technology as a model to assist in understanding and engaging with ectogenesis. It further exhibits how modern obstetrical practices and technologies are part of a larger historical epoch that seeks ultimate efficiency, control, and reduction of uncertainty. Extra-uterine destining is a novel term coined here to describe this long and varied manipulation of reproduction. Synthetic wombs represent the zenith of such thinking and technological acceptance and influence. This study evaluates the importance of pregnancy and childbirth as valuable life events that can evoke awe. It contends that in order to live a fully human life, people should prioritize phenomenological, peak experiences such as childbirth. Maternal experiences are foundational to society and provide all people a common link—shared natality and birth. It is incumbent on us to address the reality of ectogenesis. If not, homo sapiens will likely enter the ultimate unknown-- that of not being of woman born. (shrink)

Plato treats of the topic justice in the Republic, offering the concept of harmony as a perspective from which to examine this difficult concept. An ideal existing in a realm that is separate from the human and physical cosmos, justice is difficult to explain and even more so to achieve. Plato's disenchantment with his beloved city urges him on in this difficult task, especially difficult because the word harmony refers to tuning patterns for lyres and not to agreeable blending of (...) musical notes. Does he achieve his goal? (shrink)

This paper analyzes international heritage conservation charters through the post-structuralist lens of relative and perspective-driven “truths,” fragmentation, and dramatic settings. The “SPAB Manifesto,” the Athens Charter, the Venice Charter, the Burra Charter, and the Nara Document on Authenticity are evaluated within the framework of discursive theories established by Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jürgen Habermas, and Gilles Deleuze in regard to cultural meanings and absolute and relative truths. Preservation doctrine through the Venice Charter engages in a positivist truth based on the (...) substantiation of material fetishes. These early doctrines imbue the materiality of the object with truth as an absolute rather than relative truths existing in the realm of cultural meanings and values. In other words, the object communicates the one, single reality in which it should exist. Beginning with the Burra Charter in 1979, there was an unselfconscious shift toward post-modern relativism. The Nara Document built on the ideas of cultural relativism, expressing a strong desire to respect diversity as embodied in the discursive act of semiotic communication. It eschewed judging the authenticity of heritage as a fixed concept and instead encouraged an evaluative process within the context of individual cultures. The question of future interpretive acts within the dramatic scene of cultural heritage must reconcile the positivist past of pre-Burra Charter documents with the relativism of later documents. At some point the material fetish of the Venice Charter must give way to the pluralism of truth rooted in cultural and not material contexts. (shrink)

Analyzes how Nietzsche's philosophy of the Ubermensch and Baudrillard's ideas about simulation and hyperreality apply to the journeys undertaken by the protagonists of the films, Blade Runner, Fight Club, and Miami Vice. Explores how the protagonists adapt and master their unique worlds through self-awareness, self-reliance, and strength resulting from radical self-exposure to hardship.

Although U.S. colleges and universities continue to discuss creative ways to increase the number of African American collegians participating in study abroad, this research is limited when revealing the unique perspectives of African American collegians who have studied abroad. Traditionally an emphasis on program success has been placed on the quantity of study abroad participants rather than the quality of African American student support and engagement; the personal reflections through the lens of African American race and identity are often overlooked. (...) A series of culturally responsive, guided interviews were conducted with African American collegians from a variety of institutions across the United States, to learn their perspectives on their study abroad experiences. This research reveals that culturally responsive mentoring and guidance are valuable in helping African American collegians deconstruct or make sense out of their study abroad experiences, both during and upon reentry. Also, African American collegians use the method of finding "home abroad" as an important coping tool for support, social adjustment, and cultural validation. Combined, these findings suggest that African American collegians who have studied abroad benefit from culturally guided reflection and learning experiences in which their race and identity are taken into consideration. (shrink)

Employing grounded theory methodology informed by microethnographic discourse analysis, studies the classroom conversations, interviews with students and teachers, and students' written texts in a high stakes test preparation program for tenth graders to determine the effects students and teachers have upon one another's epistemological beliefs concerning the source of knowledge. Students were preparing for the Connecticut Academic Performance Test.

This dissertation employed Ernest L. Boyer's scholarship of integration by synthesizing Seligman, Aristotle, and Smith's literature to discuss what constitutes happiness, a good life, and how to apply Martin Seligman's framework to achieve these objectives. The dissertation will also discuss how happiness was defined during the Aristotle era and how happiness is measured in contemporary society and societal perspective toward individual economics and happiness. This integration is especially necessary for studying humanities, which I used to understand the past and its (...) influence on the present. Understanding our past encourages us to appreciate the present and work with others to establish productive and positive future systems. Thus, increasing our understanding of what it means to be human in the age of technology. (shrink)

Michaela Hunt, in her Thesis titled, The Importance of Properly Addressing Mental Health on College Campuses, discusses an array of factors that contribute to the conversation around mental health relative to diagnosis, treatment, and adequate patient care. In Section III titled Proposal Paper, Michaela utilizes 10 peer-reviewed sources from her comprehensive literature review to dive into four major themes regarding appropriate ways to address mental illnesses. She discusses the climate of mental health on college campuses by studying trends in help-seeking (...) behaviors and mental health literacy. She also delves into barriers to treatment, such as racial disparities, low socio-economic statuses, and stigma. She then continues to unpack the ways in which stigma impacts an individual’s ability to receive adequate care by considering the effect of labels, severity of illnesses, public stigma, internalized stigma, and gender differences. Lastly, she compares the Providence College Personal Counseling Center to three local universities and dissects the ways in which the Providence College has changed throughout the years in providing students with the level of care that they need. (shrink)

The purpose of Hope: The Core of Social Justice, is to defend the role of hope in social justice movements. For those who are aware of or who face systematic oppression, the idea of having hope can seem ineffective or even detrimental to any progress in overcoming such systems. But, by clearly defining hope and analyzing its characteristics, one may find that the goal of hope and the goal of any social movement are nearly identical. Philosophical, theological, psychological, and historical (...) references help to shine light on the limited conceptions many have of hope and to support the idea that social justice, and life itself, cannot be achieved without it. A true hope protects and motivates social progress and is therefore an integral component of every social justice movement. (shrink)

Ever since zero-tolerance policies took effect in schools, suspensions have significantly increased (Losen & Skiba, 2010). There is little evidence, however, that suspensions improve the behavior of suspended students (Gregory, Clawson, Davis, & Gerewitz, 2016). Exclusionary discipline can negatively affect a student’s future. Students frequently suspended are less likely to graduate and more likely to be adjudicated (Losen & Martinez, 2013; Rosenbaum, 2018; Skiba et al., 2014). In addition to the risk of suspension, the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) requires (...) that all schools implement an alternative discipline plan aimed at managing behavior while minimizing exclusionary discipline (ESSA, 2015). Implementing restorative practices may be one alternative to address these challenges. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe stakeholder perceptions of restorative practices implementation in an urban school district. The overarching research question guiding this inquiry is: How do stakeholders in an urban school district describe the implementation of restorative practices as they contribute to climate and discipline in their school building communities? This research was conducted in an urban school district that employs the use of restorative practices, as defined by the International Institute for Restorative Practices (Wachtel, 2015). Administrators (N=5), teachers (N=7), current students (N=12), and recent graduates (N=4) from the district were selected using maximum variation purposeful sampling. Interviews were conducted with school administrators and students; focus groups were conducted with students and teachers; an expert informant (N=1) participated in a semi-structured interview; finally, document analysis of relevant district documents (N=17) supported and triangulated the primary data sources. Three themes emerged from converging the data sets: 1) Importance of Whole School Integration of Restorative Practices, 2) Stakeholder Perspectives on the Effects of Restorative Practices on School Climate, Discipline, and Outcomes for School Communities, and 3) Barriers to Implementation of Restorative Practices. Braithwaite’s (2003) Reintegrative Shaming Theory, in which shame is used to change behavior with the goal of reintegrating offenders into the community, framed the interpretation of the findings. The findings may provide important and actionable information about the implementation of restorative practices for urban school leaders, based on the perspectives of key stakeholders. (shrink)

America is expected to reflect a majority-minority population by 2044 but the teaching workforce does not reflect the changing racial makeup of America’s children (Fay, 2018). It is critical for teacher preparation programs (TPPs) to promote curricula that prepares educators to work with the increasing diversity in their classrooms (Chartock, 2010). Culture is central to learning. Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning (Ladson-Billings,1994). Helping teachers develop and strengthen their skills (...) can foster learning experiences relevant to and effective for today’s learners (Muñiz, 2019). Preparing teachers who are responsive to the racially diverse student population which schools have historically left behind is imperative (Villegas, 2007). Thus, the purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to assess the ways in which TPPs embed CRT pedagogy into their program outcomes. There was one overarching research question, supported by three subquestions which reflect each data source. The overarching research question guiding this study was: RQ1: In what ways do TPPs embed CRT outcomes in their curricula? This four-phase study included: Phase I document analysis of TPP outcomes; Phase II consisted of a CRT expert interview; Phase III consisted of teacher interviews; Phase IV administered reflective questionnaires. The researcher developed five instruments for data collection; findings from each phase informed subsequent phases. An expert’s view of CRT helped frame teachers’ descriptions of how they apply CRT in their classrooms. Three themes emerged from analysis: a lack of cultural awareness in teaching, insufficient support to empower educators, and the need for meaningful teaching strategies in teacher preparation programs. These findings suggest that TPPs are not effectively preparing teachers to be culturally responsive practitioners. Extant literature implies that preparing teachers to be culturally responsive requires a collaborative approach among states, TPPs, and school districts, which would require state and federal legislation to leverage new program support. (shrink)

One of the deepest problems in philosophical theology is that of divine causality and human freedom. The analogy between God and the author of a work of fiction can shed light on this and many other thorny problems in philosophical and dogmatic theology.

As part of his Easter Sunday homily last year, my friend Mitch—the rector of the Episcopal church I attend—told the story of Gladys, a lifelong pillar of her Congregational church, one of only three churches within a seventy-mile radius in her area of the rural Midwest; the other two were Lutheran and Roman Catholic. One fateful Easter morning, Gladys arrived with her three children in tow, ready for Easter festivities. The homily was given by a young man who, according to (...) Gladys, was “too smart for his own good.” The elements the sermon wove together included spring, new life, and baby rabbits, but nary a word was said about Jesus or the Resurrection. That was Gladys’ last time at the Congregational church; starting the next Sunday she and her family joined forces with the Lutherans down the road, a church where, according to Gladys, “they at least knew how to get Jesus out of the tomb!”. (shrink)

An ethnographic, descriptive research methodology was used to explore the service delivery of three U.S. charter schools in Southern New England, United States as they relate to grade nine mildly disabled special needs students. Field research was also conducted in Costa Rica and Japan focusing on special education. The United States charter schools are public schools that operate under a contract. Parents of students with disabilities are now seeking the charter school as a viable choice to the public school. By (...) comparison, the current policy in Liberia, Africa by the Ministry of Education is aimed at promoting the integration of children with disabilities into the regular schools at all levels. This holistic study includes multiple data-collection methods. Data are collected via field research, observations, and in-depth interviews. Interview participants were purposively sampled from each school to include parents, teachers and administrators. Primary sources of the data were persons working at the schools in the U.S., Costa Rica, and Japan. Secondary sources include original documents such as student IEP'S, testing reports, and student journals. Content and document analysis was also performed on personal documents, official documents, school memos and records, newspaper articles, and photographs. Findings from this research suggest that the U.S. charter school movement has gone through many transformations since its inception in 1991. Nevertheless, previous concerns echoed by charter school pundits regarding how mildly disabled students in U.S. charter school are serviced, still remain a central concern. These emerging research findings also suggest a shortage of special educators in charter school working mildly disabled students, uncertified core content educators in specialized areas, and in some cases administrators lack of compliance of IDEA mandates. Transferring these U.S. findings together with field research conducted in Japan and Costa Rica; produce two targets for a potential application of the "charter" school model to Liberia, Africa: basic literacy of "mainstreamed" children, and women's access to education. (shrink)

During this Advent season, I am in a forward-looking and hopeful mood. But that also involves looking back to a point in my life, not that many years ago, when hope took on a new meaning for me. I was reminded of this point in my life over the past few weeks as I studied the notoriously difficult philosopher Immanuel Kant with several philosophy majors and minors. In a rare moment of clarity, Kant once wrote that all important human questions (...) can be boiled down to these three: WHAT CAN I KNOW? WHAT OUGHT I TO DO? and WHAT MAY I HOPE FOR? The Advent and Christmas seasons focus on the last of these three questions. A major figure in the seasons’ stories is John the Baptist, Jesus’ relative who, from a prison cell, once sent his disciples to ask his cousin a “What may I hope for?” question. “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”. (shrink)

In this article, the meeting of philosophers from all over the world in Newport in September of 1980 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the arrival of George Berkeley in Newport is described here. The meeting’s events and attendees are listed.

Oral History Interview with Dr. Lois Eveleth, Philosophy professor. The interview was conducted on 6/23/2017.

Oral History Interview with Dr. William J. "Jim" Hersh, professor of Philosphy at Salve from 1970-2010 and the founder of the VIA Program. The interview was conducted on 7-5-2017.

Iris Murdoch is a fascinating figure, an internationally respected philosopher who, at the height of her career, left academia to write novels full time. She ended up writing twenty-six of them, extraordinary investigations of the complexities and messiness of human relationships and commitments. Murdoch claimed to be an atheist, but she also believed that true moral commitment required belief in something greater than ourselves, something transcendent not subject to the vagaries and whims of human existence. In the midst of exploring (...) these matters in her philosophical essays and her novels, she crafted several memorable definitions of basic moral concepts. (shrink)

Analyzes the themes of grief and consolation in the Middle English poem, Pearl, and compares this work to Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy and Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess. Applies the five psychological stages of grieving identified by Kubler-Ross to the poem's Dreamer and concludes that, at the poem's end, the Dreamer has failed to finish the grieving process.

This book provides brief essays from people of a vast array of backgrounds, all taking death seriously and openly reflecting on how and where they find meaning in life. Many of these voices are from the smallest state, Rhode Island, which we feel serves as a microcosm of the diversity and insight of the larger country. This chance for a rare sharing of views on a truly profound subject has attracted commentators who are deeply religious and those who are not (...) religious, noted authors and people who have never published a word, people celebrated by the world and people ignored by the world. As they are all equal in their mortality, they are equal in striving for an authentic existence and an honest description of what for them constitutes fulfillment. (shrink)

Examines the function of the trope of the couterfeit death for two Shakespearean heroines, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Hero in Much Ado about Nothing. Using the plays, antecedents, analogues, and cultural materials, argues that the feigned death functions as a strategy for coping with the limitations and strictures of the heroines' cultural environment; it helps them achieve their particular goals, in both cases a desired marriage. Thus, the heroines become active players in the plots, exercising a measure of (...) agency by counterfeiting death, rather than passive victims of the patriarchal culture. (shrink)

I argue that we must read Alasdair MacIntyre’s mature work through a Marxist lens. I begin by discussing his argument that we must choose which God to worship on principles of justice, which, it turns out, are ones given to us by God. I contend that this argument entails that we must see Mac- Intyre’s early Marxist commitments as given to him by God, and, therefore, that he has never abandoned them in his turn to Thomistic-Aristotelianism. I examine his reading (...) of Marx, with its emphasis on the concept of alienation as a Christian concept, and explain how this reading differs from the dom- inant scientific-determinist reading of Marx. This examination then leads to a discussion of why MacIntyre abandoned both Marxism and Christian- ity in 1968. Finally, I turn to his more recent writing on Marx. I contend that if we view them through his argument about the principles of justice and which God to worship, we see MacIntyre’s mature philosophy as more Marxist than most people, perhaps even MacIntyre himself, would allow. (shrink)

An analysis of the character of Raskolnikov in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and his journey towards a truer understanding of freedom. This paper comments on 'freedom' as understood by St. Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle, and applies this view of freedom to the characters of Raskolnikov, Sonya, Svidrigailov and Porfiry. The paper shows how the Thomistic-Aristotelian view of freedom is prevalent in this work by Dostoevsky.

This essay examines the living context in which Jesus Christ was subject to a constant stream of questions, requests, pleadings, taunts and tests. Friendly or hostile, sincere or tricky, selfish or compassionate, those approaching Jesus do not fit any simple mold, do not follow any approved procedure, do not always get what they seek, do not always appear to know what they want or even understand Jesus’ answers to their enquiries. I am more interested in the give and take, the (...) unprepared dialogue, the inconclusive status of most of these encounters, than in any firm theological conclusions they entail. Theology has its place, but so does the casual superficial excursion through the day to day exchanges that confronted Jesus at every turn in the road. There is a truth worth considering in the confusion and befuddlement of those who encountered Jesus in so many different ways. There is much to be learned about them and about ourselves. (shrink)