Philosophy Honors Theses

Sleepwalk, Dance, Repeat

Brittany S. Brown — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:55:14 PST

Sleepwalk, Dance, Repeat is a one-act play with existentialist themes such as absurdity, death, and authenticity. Existentialism deals with subjective human experience in a meaningless, incomprehensible world. We are condemned to label everything around us, but the world is such that we can never be satisfied with our labels because they do not capture individuality. Everyone, to some degree, feels the need to understand what's going on, but we are always missing some piece of the puzzle. Thus, absurdity is the normal state of affairs for us. It is the result of our trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. The protagonist, Rose, is an existentialist hero in that she gradually accepts the inability to comprehend. My goal in writing this play was to breathe new life into existentialist ideas and introduce them to others in a way that sparks significant introspection.

Nietzsche's Skepticism of Agency

Ben Lorentz — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:05:12 PST

Nietzsche’s view of the self and will seems to culminate in a naturalistic account of human agency. If we understand Nietzsche as primarily a naturalist who thinks philosophy should more or less be modeled on the sciences whose investigations are restricted to empirical observation and whose explanations, like causal explanation, are natural (rather than supernatural), then ascribing a naturalistic account of human agency to Nietzsche is appropriate. However, I argue that attributing a naturalistic account of agency, or any account of agency to Nietzsche, misunderstands Nietzsche’s skepticism. I attempt to demonstrate the primacy of Nietzsche’s skepticism by showing how “his” naturalistic “account” of agency is best understood as an instrument in the service of his purely critical and deflationary project. To show the instrumental character of his “account,” I show how the account is used to oppose traditional notions of agency without itself becoming Nietzsche’s theory of agency.

Normative Dualism and the Definition of Art

Isabela Quevedo — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:21:23 PDT

Defining art has been one of philosophy of art’s biggest projects. However, no definition offered has achieved to account for all objects we consider art. In this paper, I argue that normative dualism, an unjustifiable Western prejudice for the mental, plays a big part in this failure. The division between fine art and utilitarian and “low” art has been perpetuated because the former is associated with the mental processes involved in its appreciation and, thus, considered more valuable. Theories of art also tend to exclude production (a physical process), concentrating mostly on the appreciation of art (a mental process). Ridding theory of the bias of normative dualism, by abolishing the division that sets fine art apart as more valuable and writing theory that takes art production into consideration, is the only way art theory will succeed in accurately describing art objects.

Art, Gaut and Games: the Case for Why Some Video Games Are Art

Christopher J. Fidalgo — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:26:13 PST

In this paper, I argue that there are some video games which are art. I begin my paper by laying out several objections as to why video games could not be art. After laying out these objections, I present the theory of art I find most persuasive, Berys Gaut’s cluster concept of art. Because of the nature of Gaut’s cluster concept, I argue that video games, as a medium of expression, do not need to be defended as a whole. Rather, like all other media of expression, only certain works are worthy of the title art. I then introduce and defend several games as art. After, I return to the initial objections against video games and respond in light of my defended cases. I conclude that video games, as a medium of expression, are still growing, but every day there are more examples of video games as art.

Open Borders

Vicki Shana Horwitz — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:09:38 PST

This paper looks at the topic of immigration from a philosophical standpoint and concludes that an open border policy is morally obligatory. I first argue that immigration cannot act as a corrective to the problems of global poverty as many philosophers have suggested. I then look at two common defenses for restrictive borders, one resting on the cultural community and one on the political community, and conclude that these two defenses are inadequate. The fact that a restrictive policy is morally unjustifiable coupled with my argument that people ought to be able to enjoy a freedom of movement suggests that an open border policy is necessary.

Theory of International Law: Basic Human Rights Conception of the International Law

Elijah Owuor — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:09:37 PST

The incidents of human rights violations have increasingly captured the international attention. I think that part of the reasons for human rights violations is because of the foundational theories of the current international law. In this thesis project, I argue that basic human rights should be the moral foundation of the international law. I achieved my goal in several steps. In the first section, I introduced the thesis project; I also outline my objectives. In the second section, I briefly define human rights, basic human rights, and provided the scope of basic human rights. In the third section, I provided my argument that basic human rights should be the moral foundations of the international law; provide criterion of state legitimacy; I critiqued the United Nations in the context of my arguments. Finally, I concluded by formulating the international basic human rights law.

Emerson's Hidden Influence: What Can Spinoza Tell the Boy?

Adam Adler — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:09:37 PST

Scholarship on Emerson to date has not considered Spinoza’s influence upon his thought. Indeed, from his lifetime until the twentieth century, Emerson’s friends and disciples engaged in a concerted cover-up because of Spinoza’s hated name. However, Emerson mentioned his respect and admiration of Spinoza in his journals, letters, lectures, and essays, and Emerson’s thought clearly shows an importation of ideas central to Spinoza’s system of metaphysics, ethics, and biblical hermeneutics. In this essay, I undertake a biographical and philosophical study in order to show the extent of Spinoza’s influence on Emerson and how this changes the traditional understanding of Emerson’s thought.

The Divene Devotee Hierarchy in the Theology of Râmnuja: Where the Master Becomes the Servant

Sherry L. Morton — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:09:36 PST

In The Theology of Râmânuja, John Braisted Carman carefully examines the south Asian philosopher Râmânuja’s concepts of the Supreme Person, and the relational dynamics between the Supreme Person and the devotee. Carman sees in Râmânuja’s discussion of the master (úesî)/servant (úesa) relationship the most important understandings concerning the hierarchy between the Supreme Person and the devotee. Carmen argues that in this devotional relationship there is a point at which the distinction between the master and the servant is dissolved, and mutual dependence is revealed. This paper focuses on the point where the roles in the relationship between the divine and the devotee are reversed. In this reversal the master takes on the role of the servant and the servant the master. It is argued here that this role reversal is the action that illuminates the ultimate dissolution of the hierarchy that Râmânuja recognizes and results in spiritual empowerment for the devotee.