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)

https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/av_root/1096/thumbnail.jpg.

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. There is little evidence, however, that suspensions improve the behavior of suspended students. Exclusionary discipline can negatively affect a student’s future. Students frequently suspended are less likely to graduate and more likely to be adjudicated. In addition to the risk of suspension, the Every Student Succeeds Act requires that all schools implement an alternative discipline plan aimed at managing behavior while minimizing exclusionary discipline. 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. Administrators, teachers, current students, and recent graduates 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 participated in a semi-structured interview; finally, document analysis of relevant district documents 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 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. It is critical for teacher preparation programs to promote curricula that prepares educators to work with the increasing diversity in their classrooms. Culture is central to learning. Culturally Responsive Teaching recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning. Helping teachers develop and strengthen their skills can foster learning experiences relevant to and (...) effective for today’s learners. Preparing teachers who are responsive to the racially diverse student population which schools have historically left behind is imperative. 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)

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)