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Revisiting Modal Imagination
Get PDFConceivability arguments are quite common in philosophy. Given the continued prevalence of such arguments, the philosopher would do well to consider whether the inference from conceivability to possibility is in fact justified. In this paper, I reject Alex Byrne’s skeptical arguments against David Chalmers’s account of modal imagination. I suggest that, in regard to mental imagery, Byrne’s account of sensuous imagination is committed to the dubious claim that mental images are sufficient to individuate imaginings, whereas Chalmers’s account is not. On the contrary, in order to be successful, some imaginings must involve or co-occur with further, non-imagistic features or faculties that are necessary for their individuation. I briefly consider some such possible features and conclude that modal imagination as conceived of by Chalmers does not reduce to sensuous imagination. Consequently, the reliability of modal imagination as a guide to possibility is not necessarily undermined by Byrne’s broader critique of sensuous imagination
Trans* Rights Under Egalitarianism
Get PDFTrans* rights have only come to the forefront of social, political, and philosophical discourse in recent years. Many of the issues afflicting the trans* community have yet to be properly addressed. This essay discusses trans* reassignments, including gender confirmation surgery and hormones, and makes a case for the government subsidization thereof. Ronald Dworkin and Phillip Pettit’s works regarding egalitarianism are used as supporting evidence. The essay delves into their notions of victimization, domination, equality of resources, the ability to pass the “eyeball test”, and liberal civic republicanism and applies these concepts to the real life issues of the trans* struggle, resulting in a clear call for action
Animal Activism and the Ethics of Terrorism
Get PDFTerrorism is a subject deeply connected to the issue of animal welfare. This has not always been the case. Whereas it is definitely true that some criminal activity has been justified in the name of animal welfare, misdemeanors and even felonies are of a very different order than terrorism. The charge of terrorism can strip a person off their most fundamental rights, even without trial. Animal terrorism has not witnessed quite such a situation, although a number of animal activists who have committed direct action have been convicted for a range of crimes, and some have had the terrorism enhancement applied to them. For these activists, this has resulted in a terrorist listing and the possibility of serving (part of) their sentence in a special prison called a Communication Management Unit. The extreme reality of the situation raises a lot of questions about what exactly terrorism entails, why this type of activity is labeled terrorism, and if the pursuit of animal activists as terrorist is morally justified. It also pushes us to ask whether, in light of the extreme suffering endured by animals for the sake of profit, there are forms of terrorism that are ethically permissible. This paper, first, looks at the meaning of particular types of action and their role in animal activism. These include direct action, civil disobedience, and violence. Secondly, it offers a discussion of terrorism by looking at its most recent iterations as well as an alternative definition. Thirdly, it reviews past and current legislation pertaining to animal activism and terrorism, including the Animal Enterprise Protection Act. This section will also take note of a number of prosecutions of animal activists under these laws, including the SHAC7 case. Finally, it offers a discussion of the ethics of animal terrorism, in which I argue for the ethical permissibility of animal terrorism, and the necessary conditions that need to obtain in order for this to hold
Duality Unresolved and Darwinian Dilemmas
Get PDFBy using Sharon Street’s Darwinian Dilemma, Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek and Peter Singer attempt to show that Sidgwick’s duality of practical reason, whereby an agent has equal reason to act in their own interests or act impartially for the benefit of all, is not actually a duality, rather, reasons for action are solely impartial due to the unreliability of intuitions favoring self-interested behavior. My contention is that the author’s fail to accomplish their goal. To show this, I argue that the authors are inconsistent, that Singer has previously provided an account of impartiality that makes it just as unreliable on the same grounds as self-interested tendencies. By showing that the authors fail to address the actual target of Street’s dilemma, their argument and conclusion are overstated and that Sidgwick’s duality remains unresolved
Gender Differences in Rough and Tumble Play Behaviors
Get PDFI conducted 10 one-hour observations in a Kindergarten classroom to determine if there were gender differences in the types of Rough and Tumble play (RTP) that children engaged in. Previous research reported that (a) boys were more likely than girls to engage in RTP, (b) boys were more likely than girls to engage in solitary forms of RTP, (c) girls were more likely than boys to engage in collaborative forms of RTP, and (d) boys were more likely than girls to engage in aggressive forms of RTP. My findings were similar to those of previous research. I found that boys participated in RTP more than girls and the forms of RTP engaged in by boys were more aggressive. I also found that boys engaged in more solitary RTP than girls, although both boys and girls engaged in more solitary than collaborative RTP. Unlike previous research findings, boys and girls in my study engaged in similar rates of collaborative RTP. I also found that the presence of one particular girl influenced the occurrence of collaborative mixed-gender RTP, which I refer to as the Amber Effect. The influence of one player on the likelihood of RTP occurring has not been reported in previous research. Pseudonyms are used throughout this article to maintain the confidentiality of the site and participants in this study.Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Julia Wilkin
Feminist Themes in Philip Roth’s \u3ci\u3eGoodbye, Columbus\u3c/i\u3e
Get PDFThe current article presents evidence that, in his novella Goodbye, Columbus, Philip Roth should be commended for illustrating the limitations placed on women in Jewish-American culture during the 1950s, rather than criticized for exhibiting the misogynistic viewpoints of that era. Roth uses a combination of male narration and female characterization to show the limited opportunities available to women. Brenda, the primary female protagonist, is presented from the perspective of the male narrator, Neil, as frustrating and incomprehensible. This characterization demonstrates the difference between Neil’s way of thinking, as a male, and Brenda’s as a female. Brenda is an affluent character who demonstrates that wealth alone cannot provide a woman with opportunities and freedoms that equal even those available to males of lesser status. Brenda lacks freedom, financially because of her lack of options as a woman, within her own skin because of a lack of autonomy over her body within sexual relationships, and over her self-image because of the criticism she experiences from her mother and the expectations placed upon her by her parents as a Jewish woman in 1950s society. The current article, therefore, argues that what is often misinterpreted as misogyny in Roth’s use of criticism of Brenda’s character by Neil is, in fact, a vivid demonstration of the lack of options and autonomy available to women in that era.Faculty Sponsor: Dr. David Salomo
Climate Discourse and the Ontology of the Citizen
Get PDFDeliberative mechanisms surrounding climate change politics in advanced democracies have, for some time, been at the mercy of ideological and political economic commitments. One need only to look at the banning of protests and marches during the 2015 COP21 international climate talks in Paris, or the historical risk assessments of violent international conflict linked to climate concerns by Germany and the US to see that the political institutionalization of climate change is pervasive. On the other hand, the discursive demarcation by climate science has consistently taken up two arguments in opposition to climate politics: (a) the view that political discourses on climate variability should rest on climatological models and the research of climate experts, and (b) that the climatological data itself serves as the impartial intermediary through which we can provide an empirical refutation to ideological rhetoric and economic influences on climate change politics. I contend that in the attempt to bridge the political and scientific camps we transpose a central feature in democratic climate deliberation—namely, the ontology of the citizen; who in the discursive bridge is relegated to a medium of exchange for both camps, rather than a commensurate party in the climatological discussion
Rape Myth Acceptance and Willingness to Intervene: A Comparison of Greek-Affiliated and Non-Affiliated College Students by Gender
Get PDFFraternity and sorority members are overrepresented as perpetrators and victims of sexual assault, respectively. The current study examined rape myth acceptance, bystander attitudes, and bystander efficacy across four groups: sorority women, fraternity men, non-affiliated women, and non-affiliated men. Data were collected from 912 college undergraduates. Greek affiliated students were more accepting of rape myths than non-affiliated students. There were no differences in bystander attitudes based on Greek affiliation; however, Greek affiliated students did report significantly lower bystander efficacy than non-affiliated students. Sorority women and fraternity men reported no differences in their acceptance of rape myths or bystander efficacy; however, sorority women did report higher bystander attitudes than fraternity men. Based on the findings, it is recommended that prevention practitioners work to change norms within fraternities and sororities to promote a social identity that is associated with gender equality and a willingness, perhaps even an obligation, to intervene in risky situations.Faculty Sponsor: Amber Paulk; Andrea Hunt; Yaschica Williams; Ryan Zaya
Two Objections to the Eliminativist Research Program
Get PDFEliminative materialist philosophers, like Paul and Patricia Churchland, argue that the common use of mental state language is confused. They hold that neurological descriptions of mental states, more accurate and scientifically rigorous than “folk psychology”, should replace mental state language in a serious research program. In this paper, I argue that eliminative materialism instead poses an awkward and unwieldy research program. I take a computational functionalist position in order to demonstrate the way that mathematical descriptions of natural phenomena are useful in a scientific research program, and that mental states are in principle amenable to mathematical descriptions and modeling. I then argue that the eliminativist cannot avail herself of the same resources
Unpacking the City-Soul Analogy
Get PDFIn the Republic, the city-soul analogy made by Plato paves the way for the entire dialogue. The main interlocutors use the analogy to show the nature of justice and aim to prove that just people live better and are happier than unjust people, by establishing a city to which justice, as defined by them, is applied. Scholars have recently been debating the validity of this analogy. Some critics assert that there are several significant structural inconsistencies and logical misconceptions, thus making the analogy fallacious; at the same time, there are proponents who write extensively in favor of this analogy and defend it against the objections raised. In this paper, I will re-examine passages in the Republic where the analogy first occurs, evaluate the critique made by Bernard Williams, and present arguments defending Plato’ strategy. Ultimately, I will show that Plato’ city-soul analogy is not as far-fetched as Williams argues and this analogy – as a crucial strategy of Plato’s – is efficient and powerful enough in showing the similarities between the city and the soul, for the interlocutors to justifiably and reasonably reach the conclusion that the justice of the individual is the same as that of the city