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Title: Reason, will and responsibility.
Creator: Wiggins, Lee Manning
Date Issued: 1941
Identifier: 671325, CFDT671325, ucf:5541
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/671325

Title: Study of God and values.
Creator: Cobb,Whitfield
Date Issued: 1934
Identifier: 369314, CFDT369314, ucf:5414
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/369314

Title: A Thomistic Critique of the Ethics of Alasdair MacIntyre.
Creator: Otte, Marcus, Jones, Donald, Marien, Daniel, Strawser, Michael, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Alasdair MacIntyre argues in favor of a historicist Thomism in ethics and political philosophy. In his theory, sociological categories take up much of the space traditionally occupied by metaphysics. This peculiar feature of MacIntyre's Thomism, and its merits and demerits, is already a subject that has been taken up by many critics. In this thesis, these criticisms are supplemented and unified by identifying what is perhaps the most fundamental difficulty with MacIntyre's ethics: his version...
Show moreAlasdair MacIntyre argues in favor of a historicist Thomism in ethics and political philosophy. In his theory, sociological categories take up much of the space traditionally occupied by metaphysics. This peculiar feature of MacIntyre's Thomism, and its merits and demerits, is already a subject that has been taken up by many critics. In this thesis, these criticisms are supplemented and unified by identifying what is perhaps the most fundamental difficulty with MacIntyre's ethics: his version of Thomism is problematic because it treats epistemology as first philosophy. This misstep compromises MacIntyre's ability to provide a defense of moral objectivity, while also undermining his theory's usefulness in deriving moral rules. The result is an ethics of doubtful coherence. If Thomism is to offer a viable alternative to Enlightenment morality and Nietzschean genealogy, it must defend the priority of metaphysics with respect to epistemology.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005537, ucf:50322
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005537

Title: MARSILIO FICINO'S ASTRAL PSYCHOLOGY: THE INNER COSMOS OF CARDINAL ALESSANDRO FARNESE ON THE ASTRONOMICAL CEILING FRESCO OF SALA DEL MAPPAMONDO AT CAPRAROLA.
Creator: Nagy, Renata R, Zaho, Margaret, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis intends to explore the relationship between the Neoplatonist doctrines of the Renaissance philosopher, Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), and astrological images in the Renaissance. The astrological ceiling fresco located in the Room of Maps in the Villa Farnese at Caprarola is in the center of the argument, which I analyze based on the metaphysical works of Ficino, the Platonic Theology (1482) and the Three Books on Life (1492). Authors have examined the fresco decoration and Ficinian...
Show moreThis thesis intends to explore the relationship between the Neoplatonist doctrines of the Renaissance philosopher, Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), and astrological images in the Renaissance. The astrological ceiling fresco located in the Room of Maps in the Villa Farnese at Caprarola is in the center of the argument, which I analyze based on the metaphysical works of Ficino, the Platonic Theology (1482) and the Three Books on Life (1492). Authors have examined the fresco decoration and Ficinian philosophy individually, but never together. This study is the first to recognize Ficino's influence on Renaissance astrological images in its entirety.The present work synthesizes scholarship on Ficino and astrological image interpretations and provides a Neoplatonic reading of the fresco in question. The results demonstrate that the ceiling fresco at Caprarola is a visual manifestation of the principal Ficinian doctrines. The predominant decorative figures (Phaeton, Argo, Capella, and Jupiter) located at the four corners of the ceiling, communicate the importance of contemplation and introspection, the proper management of one's vices and virtues, and the immortality of the soul. Together, they comprise the microcosm of the patron, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (1520-1589). The decoration provides an insight into the inner world of Cardinal Farnese and represents his dominant personality traits. In the end, he triumphs over his sins, and his good deeds enable his soul to ascend to the divine sphere. The current study opens the door to conducting psychoanalyses of other historical figures, who were major patrons of the art and involved with Ficino's philosophy.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFH2000347, ucf:45739
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000347

Title: THE HISTORY OF INEQUALITY IN EDUCATION AND THE QUESTION OF EQUALITY VERSUS ADEQUACY.
Creator: Dominguez, Diana Carol, Stanlick, Nancy A., University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Although the U.S. Constitution espouses equality, it clearly is not practiced in all aspects of life with education being a significant outlier. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote about inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These two theories are related to education through educational adequacy and equality. Sufficientarianism, or educational adequacy, says that what is important is that everyone has "good enough" educational opportunities...
Show moreAlthough the U.S. Constitution espouses equality, it clearly is not practiced in all aspects of life with education being a significant outlier. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote about inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These two theories are related to education through educational adequacy and equality. Sufficientarianism, or educational adequacy, says that what is important is that everyone has "good enough" educational opportunities, but not the same ones. Egalitarianism, or educational equality, says that there is an intrinsic value in having the same educational opportunities and only having good enough opportunities misses something important, which causes problems for those who have not had the same opportunities. I will argue that the latter theory of egalitarianism, or educational equality is a better approach to the education system in America than sufficientarianism because every child deserves an excellent education and equal access to opportunities regardless of irrelevant factors.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFH2000143, ucf:45929
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000143

Title: UPBUILDING OPPOSITIONS: KIERKEGAARD, CAMUS, AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF LOVE.
Creator: Luzardo, Jesus, Strawser, Michael, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Despite the fact that they are both known as leading figures of existentialism, the relationship between 19th century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard and 20th century French philosopher and novelist Albert Camus has largely gone unexplored in secondary scholarship. In the few times that their relationship is discussed, focus is heavily placed on the most obvious difference between the two thinkers: their religious orientations, which tends to prevent any further analysis or discussion....
Show moreDespite the fact that they are both known as leading figures of existentialism, the relationship between 19th century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard and 20th century French philosopher and novelist Albert Camus has largely gone unexplored in secondary scholarship. In the few times that their relationship is discussed, focus is heavily placed on the most obvious difference between the two thinkers: their religious orientations, which tends to prevent any further analysis or discussion. Furthermore, popular conceptions of each thinker-largely informed by their most popular works, arguably Fear and Trembling and The Myth of Sisyphus, respectively-tend to depict them as pessimistic and individualistic figures, the former basing his philosophy on an irrational leap of faith and the latter basing his own on the world's meaninglessness and absurdity. The purpose of this thesis is to provide an alternative, or rather a corrective, to these aforementioned views on the two thinkers. Through literary and philosophical analyses, I will attempt to demonstrate not only that there is a concrete, fecund relationship between Kierkegaard and Camus, but furthermore that this relationship is grounded in a practical, duty-based philosophy of love. The thesis will look at three concepts that play a key role in both philosophies: the absurd, love, and aesthetic creation. As the analysis progresses, it is repeatedly shown that the thinkers' opposing views on theology do not prevent us from finding similar conceptions and practical manifestations of selfhood, neighborly and romantic love, and the social role of the artist. Thus, I shall argue that they are most properly understood as philosophers of love who saw themselves as social critics whose main goal was to help eradicate the corrupting and dangerous nihilism of their respective eras rather than as traditional philosophers.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFH0004410, ucf:45122
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004410

Title: Critical Programming: Toward a Philosophy of Computing.
Creator: Bork, John, Janz, Bruce, Grajeda, Anthony, McDaniel, Rudy, Hughes, Charles, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Beliefs about the relationship between human beings and computing machines and their destinies have alternated from heroic counterparts to conspirators of automated genocide, from apocalyptic extinction events to evolutionary cyborg convergences. Many fear that people are losing key intellectual and social abilities as tasks are offloaded to the everywhere of the built environment, which is developing a mind of its own. If digital technologies have contributed to forming a dumbest generation...
Show moreBeliefs about the relationship between human beings and computing machines and their destinies have alternated from heroic counterparts to conspirators of automated genocide, from apocalyptic extinction events to evolutionary cyborg convergences. Many fear that people are losing key intellectual and social abilities as tasks are offloaded to the everywhere of the built environment, which is developing a mind of its own. If digital technologies have contributed to forming a dumbest generation and ushering in a robotic moment, we all have a stake in addressing this collective intelligence problem. While digital humanities continue to flourish and introduce new uses for computer technologies, the basic modes of philosophical inquiry remain in the grip of print media, and default philosophies of computing prevail, or experimental ones propagate false hopes. I cast this as-is situation as the post-postmodern network dividual cyborg, recognizing that the rational enlightenment of modernism and regressive subjectivity of postmodernism now operate in an empire of extended mind cybernetics combined with techno-capitalist networks forming societies of control.Recent critical theorists identify a justificatory scheme foregrounding participation in projects, valorizing social network linkages over heroic individualism, and commending flexibility and adaptability through life long learning over stable career paths. It seems to reify one possible, contingent configuration of global capitalism as if it was the reflection of a deterministic evolution of commingled technogenesis and synaptogenesis. To counter this trend I offer a theoretical framework to focus on the phenomenology of software and code, joining social critiques with textuality and media studies, the former proposing that theory be done through practice, and the latter seeking to understand their schematism of perceptibility by taking into account engineering techniques like time axis manipulation. The social construction of technology makes additional theoretical contributions dispelling closed world, deterministic historical narratives and requiring voices be given to the engineers and technologists that best know their subject area. This theoretical slate has been recently deployed to produce rich histories of computing, networking, and software, inform the nascent disciplines of software studies and code studies, as well as guide ethnographers of software development communities.I call my syncretism of these approaches the procedural rhetoric of diachrony in synchrony, recognizing that multiple explanatory layers operating in their individual temporal and physical orders of magnitude simultaneously undergird post-postmodern network phenomena. Its touchstone is that the human-machine situation is best contemplated by doing, which as a methodology for digital humanities research I call critical programming. Philosophers of computing explore working code places by designing, coding, and executing complex software projects as an integral part of their intellectual activity, reflecting on how developing theoretical understanding necessitates iterative development of code as it does other texts, and how resolving coding dilemmas may clarify or modify provisional theories as our minds struggle to intuit the alien temporalities of machine processes.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005928, ucf:50843
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005928

Title: Synaesthetics.
Creator: Turner, Samantha, Listengarten, Julia, Wood, Vandy, Weaver, Earl, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Synaesthetics is a new philosophy of the arts. Expanding on its predecessors, aesthetics and its many branches of thought, Synaesthetics bridges the long-standing explanatory gap across the disciplines of science, spirituality, and art. The arts become the vehicle of exploring new ways to synthesize and study their cognitive effects and implications on aesthetes, be they audience or creators. The examination of a synthesis in color and sound, inspired by research in synaesthesia, is a model...
Show moreSynaesthetics is a new philosophy of the arts. Expanding on its predecessors, aesthetics and its many branches of thought, Synaesthetics bridges the long-standing explanatory gap across the disciplines of science, spirituality, and art. The arts become the vehicle of exploring new ways to synthesize and study their cognitive effects and implications on aesthetes, be they audience or creators. The examination of a synthesis in color and sound, inspired by research in synaesthesia, is a model for explaining the new philosophy, as well as investigating its impact. Theatre is introduced as the most valuable art form with which to engage this area of thought, due to its inclusive nature of all sister artforms. Pulling from a strong philosophical background, quantum physics, psychology, neuroscience, and esotericism are compounded to create this new lens, with which to interpret, study, and evolve in a dialectical manner. The hypothesis posits a spiritually significant evolution, utilizing these elements of science and a framework of the arts; the methodological accomplishment ultimately reached through Synaesthetics.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006960, ucf:51640
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006960

Title: Giving Theatrical Life.
Creator: Darrington, Quentin, Boyd, Belinda, Shafer, John, McDonald, Holly, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: An experience, early in my life, at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center opened my eyes to the transformative power of Theatre - it would shape my ambitions for performance, inform the choices I made about my acting career, and impel my passions. That single moment had a profound and lasting effect on my soul, one that would ultimately point me to the purpose of (")me;(") but what exactly was it? What transaction occurred between the performers on stage, and myself, and others in attendance...
Show moreAn experience, early in my life, at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center opened my eyes to the transformative power of Theatre - it would shape my ambitions for performance, inform the choices I made about my acting career, and impel my passions. That single moment had a profound and lasting effect on my soul, one that would ultimately point me to the purpose of (")me;(") but what exactly was it? What transaction occurred between the performers on stage, and myself, and others in attendance that evening?My life as an actor has been an incredible journey of growth. Over forty-six U.S. states, and abroad, I have performed in Broadway musicals, stage plays, concerts, recordings, cabarets, as part of political campaigns and sporting events, and in universities, schools, and churches. Acting has fundamentally changed the way I see people, and challenges the way I learn, express and see myself. As my imagination, creativity, and craft has grown, I remain profoundly impacted by my experience in Tampa, and I have often wondered exactly what happened that evening? Did it have anything to do with the synesthetic elements of the performance (-) the lights, sounds, or scenery? Was it specifically the music, the voices, the amazing singers? Perhaps it was the daring acting and story. Did it depend on particular foreknowledge or familiarity of skill, or craft? Was it something that happened by chance, or by design? Was it because of me? Or did it, somehow, override everything I was at the time? Was it something intangible that is present at some, or all, theatrical events that enlivened the experience? This paper seeks to provide answers to some of these questions. My process in seeking answers will be to chronicle my own life experience as a person/artist. Having begun a script a couple of years ago, I decided to return to solo performance as a means to help me determine what made the experience I related so memorable. The attempt is to write and perform a solo performance piece that chronicles the foundation of this incredible journey of growth, while shedding light on the initial Tampa experience. My intention is to gain an understanding about something I believe contributes to (")theatrical spirituality.(") I believe that the unique blending of the script and the interpretation of these words through acting can impart life. The combined force of the power of story and the spoken word can cause something tangible, something good, meaningful and of intrinsic worth to happen in an individual or audience as a result of a performance. It is my belief that the formation, articulation and expression of that understanding represents, in part, my acting philosophy (-) what I do and why I do it. In a broader and more important sense, however, it also represents my understanding of who I am and why I am.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006094, ucf:51194
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006094

Title: DIRECT REFERENCE AND EMPTY NAMES.
Creator: Cook, Benjamin, Jones, Donald, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of my thesis is to explore and assess recent efforts by Direct Reference Theorists to explain the phenomenon of empty names. Direct Reference theory is, roughly, the theory that the meaning of a singular term (proper name, demonstrative, etc.) is simply its referent. Certain sentences, such as negative existentials ("Santa does not exist"), and sentences in contexts of fiction ("Holmes lived on Baker Street"), present the following challenge to DR Theory: Given that the semantic...
Show moreThe purpose of my thesis is to explore and assess recent efforts by Direct Reference Theorists to explain the phenomenon of empty names. Direct Reference theory is, roughly, the theory that the meaning of a singular term (proper name, demonstrative, etc.) is simply its referent. Certain sentences, such as negative existentials ("Santa does not exist"), and sentences in contexts of fiction ("Holmes lived on Baker Street"), present the following challenge to DR Theory: Given that the semantic value of a name is simply its referent, how are we to explain the significance and truth-evaluability of such sentences? There have been various approaches DR Theorists have taken to address this problem, including the Pragmatic Strategy, Pretense Theory, Abstract Object Theory, and the Metalinguistic Strategy. All of these views are analyzed and assessed according to their various strengths and weaknesses. It is concluded that, overall, a Metalinguistic Strategy, supplemented by the notion of pretense, best deals with negative existentials and normal-subject predicate occurrences of empty names, Abstract Object Theory best deals with empty names in meta-fictional contexts, and Pretense Theory best deals with empty names in object-fictional contexts.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFH0004491, ucf:45063
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004491

Title: REASON IS KING AND SCIENCE IS HIS CROWN: A STUDY OF FRENCH SCIENCE-FICTION FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT.
Creator: Gandy, Lauren A, Trinquet du Lys, Charlotte, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The thesis seeks to explore the didactic application of French science-fiction during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the portrayal and dissemination of their respective philosophical theories. Studying science-fiction novels during these centuries will allow a comparison of seventeenth and eighteenth-century dissemination methods, to determine if the foundational seventeenth-century methods were retained or modified to more accurately represent the change in philosophical...
Show moreThe thesis seeks to explore the didactic application of French science-fiction during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the portrayal and dissemination of their respective philosophical theories. Studying science-fiction novels during these centuries will allow a comparison of seventeenth and eighteenth-century dissemination methods, to determine if the foundational seventeenth-century methods were retained or modified to more accurately represent the change in philosophical attitudes. Exploration of this topic will contribute to a greater understanding of French Enlightenment theory, analysis of relatively unstudied novels in the science-fiction genre, and a novel approach to "proto" science-fiction literature by connecting the previously separate genres of science-fiction and philosophy during the Enlightenment. The trends within the seventeenth century show dominant authoritative representations through analogical examples, authoritative ideological figures, and an emphasis on logically sustained arguments. The eighteenth-century trends focus on logical passionate attitudes, burlesque scenarios, and authoritative actions to exemplify the Enlightenment ideologies. Therefore, these five analyzed �uvres show conservation of didactic and authoritative dissemination methods during this philosophically evolutionary time period.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFH2000125, ucf:46054
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000125

Title: ARISTOTLE ON MIND.
Creator: Adams, Rachel, Jones, Don, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The mind as it is found in Aristotle's great work De Anima is a special capacity of the soul. It has both active and passive properties that work together to allow discursive thinking and moral ethical behavior to emerge. This work will look at Aristotle's philosophy of mind, and I will forward a new interpretation of the mind as he understood it: what I call the active and passive mind property dualism. Aristotle's four causes allow for a unique application of a form of dualism that accounts...
Show moreThe mind as it is found in Aristotle's great work De Anima is a special capacity of the soul. It has both active and passive properties that work together to allow discursive thinking and moral ethical behavior to emerge. This work will look at Aristotle's philosophy of mind, and I will forward a new interpretation of the mind as he understood it: what I call the active and passive mind property dualism. Aristotle's four causes allow for a unique application of a form of dualism that accounts for the ontological status of the mind and the emergence of rational thinking. The importance of potentiality and actuality in Aristotle's metaphysics gives a different sort of formulation of the mind-body problem than is traditionally understood in the philosophy of mind. The first section of this paper will look at the terms used, especially actuality and potentiality. A comparison to Plato's tripartite soul will be given. Next, Aristotle's different kinds of soul and their varied capacities will be explored. Finally, the active mind will be explained as it appears in Book III, chapter 5.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFH0003846, ucf:44696
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003846

Title: NAVIGATING AUTHENTICITY IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF THE EXISTENTIAL EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA.
Creator: Zimmerman, Douglas, Strawser, Michael, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Our world is a world of technology, and technology is part of what has made human beings so adept at survival. Yet, the 21st century has seen a new type of technology that is unlike anything ever seen before. This new information technology is known as social media (including such things as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.), and it has the power to influence our very being. However, we are seemingly uncritical and unconcerned about social media in relation to society. This project attempts to...
Show moreOur world is a world of technology, and technology is part of what has made human beings so adept at survival. Yet, the 21st century has seen a new type of technology that is unlike anything ever seen before. This new information technology is known as social media (including such things as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.), and it has the power to influence our very being. However, we are seemingly uncritical and unconcerned about social media in relation to society. This project attempts to analyze social media and its relationship to human beings from an ontological standpoint. I do so by exploring both the ontic and the ontological aspects of social media. In order to do so, I use a method of hermeneutical inquiry and phenomenological exploration. By using the works of several different thinkers, I attempt to get at the essence of the relationship between humans and social media. First, using the works of Martin Heidegger, I argue that there is an ethical dimension contained within the concept of authenticity. Then, using the works of psychologists, phenomenologists, and cognitive scientists, I show that social media has just as much control over us as we think we have over it. Lastly, I return to Heidegger's work in order to understand what the very essence of social media is, and I then explain what our relationship to social media ought to be in order to live authentically. In doing so, I attempt to explain how we can gain a free relation to social media in order to establish the ways in which it can be most helpful to us.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFH0004303, ucf:45047
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004303

Title: "'The Bane of Liberty': Opposition to Standing Armies as the Basis of Antifederalist Thought".
Creator: Brand, Charles, Sacher, John, Crepeau, Richard, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The severely neglected subject of Antifederalism is the focal point of this project. As the framing ideology opposed to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Antifederalism has not been treated with the same historical care as Federalism, the successful and currently operational ideology. This is both an intellectual and ethical mistake that ignores the role that Antifederalism played in procuring the Bill of Rights, and still plays in the sphere of political dissent. The de facto...
Show moreThe severely neglected subject of Antifederalism is the focal point of this project. As the framing ideology opposed to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Antifederalism has not been treated with the same historical care as Federalism, the successful and currently operational ideology. This is both an intellectual and ethical mistake that ignores the role that Antifederalism played in procuring the Bill of Rights, and still plays in the sphere of political dissent. The de facto successors to the Revolutionary mentality, Antifederalists took it upon themselves to conclusively secure the American conception of liberty, already wrested from British hands, from a growing threat(-)those whom they deemed domestic imperialists. Even Thomas Jefferson, architect of the Declaration of Independence, espoused the principles behind Antifederalism, especially when confronted with those of Hamiltonian Federalism. Moreover, Jefferson's Revolution of 1800, which gave rise to the Democratic-Republicans, consisted of many former Antifederalists. While wholly relevant and increasingly indispensible, the few studies that do examine Antifederalism fall short of finding or acknowledging its lasting significance, owing to supposed internal dissension, socioeconomic in nature. However, Antifederalists featured ideological unanimity in at least one area: opposition to standing armies. This opposition is evident in both the theoretical (why they were against standing armies) and practical (what to do about it) areas. The imperial legacy of hostility, a historical and lived experience for Americans of the time, drove Antifederalists to make their objections to ratification obvious, of which the standing army issue played the most elemental part. Informed and inspired by this lengthy history of distrust for military forces maintained in time of peace, which included their own Revolution, Antifederalists sought to safeguard their liberties from future encroachments, for future generations. By arguing that Antifederalists, regardless of region or class, objected to standing armies, this thesis seeks to elevate Antifederalism to its rightful place in the contexts of political history and the encompassing American tale.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004978, ucf:49575
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004978

Title: Neurophenomenological Methods: Experiences of Earth and Space in Simulation.
Creator: Morrow, Patricia, Reinerman, Lauren, Cash, Mason, Janz, Bruce, Gallagher, Shaun, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The present study explores the nature and structure of spiritual and aesthetic experiences through the interdisciplinary application of neurophenomenology (NP). This approach merges aspects of psychology, neurophysiology, and phenomenology into a unified methodology. The study is nested within a larger project, Space, Science, and Spirituality, and as such, it carries a common goal to use simulation to evoke spiritual and aesthetic responses similar to those expressed by astronauts and...
Show moreThe present study explores the nature and structure of spiritual and aesthetic experiences through the interdisciplinary application of neurophenomenology (NP). This approach merges aspects of psychology, neurophysiology, and phenomenology into a unified methodology. The study is nested within a larger project, Space, Science, and Spirituality, and as such, it carries a common goal to use simulation to evoke spiritual and aesthetic responses similar to those expressed by astronauts and cosmonauts. Careful analysis of previous work in NP provided methodological (")lessons learned("), which guided the experimental design, execution, and analysis of the present study. The data collected provides support for experience as a phenomenon that can be studied through empirical means. Further, the articulation of spiritual and aesthetic experiences akin to astronaut experiences corresponds to specific neurological and psychological indicators. Among those indicators are differences in EEG measures during simulation time relative to expressions of spiritual experience following the simulation and changes in visual processing across theta, alpha, and beta signals as correlated with self-identification. These findings support an embodied theory of experience that incorporates memory, executive function, perception, and consciousness. In addition to its academic contribution, this research holds implications for commercial space flight, long-term space missions, post-traumatic stress disorder therapies, and the entertainment industry.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0005035, ucf:50018
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005035

Title: SITUATING POLITICAL OBLIGATION IN POLITICAL ONTOLOGY: ETHICAL MARXISM AND THE EMBEDDED SELF.
Creator: Chambers, Chris A, Strawser, Michael, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Though various obligations typically affect our behavior without being recognized, they have a substantial impact on how we operate as human beings. The relationships we have between, say, our parents when in their household obligate us to take out the trash at certain times and wash the dishes after dinner. The relationships we have between our closest friends often oblige us to hear them out when they have undergone a traumatic experience. Upon reflection, it may be easy to point out a...
Show moreThough various obligations typically affect our behavior without being recognized, they have a substantial impact on how we operate as human beings. The relationships we have between, say, our parents when in their household obligate us to take out the trash at certain times and wash the dishes after dinner. The relationships we have between our closest friends often oblige us to hear them out when they have undergone a traumatic experience. Upon reflection, it may be easy to point out a number of the obligations which inform our social behavior. What is not so easy, however, is pointing out the foundation for such obligations. In this project I will explore the foundation of obligation, specifically political obligation. Through this exploration I will attempt to situation political obligation in the ontology of political actors. In particular, an analysis of liberal democracy and social democracy, and their ontological backgrounds, liberalism and communitarianism, will be utilized in order to elucidate both the usefulness and the location of political obligation. Ultimately, I will show how recourse to Marxism provides for a more robust account of political obligation.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFH2000064, ucf:45568
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000064

Title: AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY THINKERS: UNJUST WARS, LIMITED GOVERNMENT AND NATURAL RIGHTS.
Creator: Spera, Adam, Coverston, Harry, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The conceptual bases of this thesis include the philosophical constructs of Just War Theory, limited government, and natural rights as applied to foreign policy. Just War Theory was originally articulated by St. Augustine and represents the requirements a nation must satisfy to wage war justly. Building upon the basis of Just War Theory, I then split the discussion into two main categories. The first is a historical look at certain American thinkers and their reactions to what they saw as...
Show moreThe conceptual bases of this thesis include the philosophical constructs of Just War Theory, limited government, and natural rights as applied to foreign policy. Just War Theory was originally articulated by St. Augustine and represents the requirements a nation must satisfy to wage war justly. Building upon the basis of Just War Theory, I then split the discussion into two main categories. The first is a historical look at certain American thinkers and their reactions to what they saw as unjust wars based in their strong idealistic goals for humanity. The second is a critical examination of American foreign policy based upon the analytical model arising from these American thinkers. The thesis concludes with an examination of contemporary applications of this analysis with an examination of recent wars that have taken place in the Middle East and an assessment of their just or unjust nature. My historical research examines the arguments of Thomas Paine, Emma Goldman, Henry David Thoreau, and Martin Luther King, Jr. I will review each thinker to highlight their criticisms of the unjust wars in which America has been involved from the 18th Century to the 21st Century. A secondary goal of this research is to trace a pattern of idealistic thinking that is present in American Revolutionary thought. These ideals refer to notions of natural rights, social liberty, economic freedom, and the constant pursuit of justice. By using the established arguments put forth by these four American thinkers, I argue that another unjust war will only bring misery to America and any other nation involved. iii Finally, my contemporary research develops the CIA term "blowback" and its effect on American foreign policy. By applying the theory of blowback to the current military disputes in which the United States has been or could be involved, I attempt to persuade the reader to resist the notion of engaging in another war. Historically unjust wars have never improved the standard of living for the American citizen and have served to suppress the inherent natural rights of the human beings involved. In conclusion, I combine contemporary and historical arguments to highlight the continuing stream of injustice that exists in American foreign policy.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFH0004196, ucf:44854
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004196

Title: Measuring Player Perceptions of Freedom and Control in Modded and Unmodded Versions of Bethesda's Skyrim: A Qualitative Play Study.
Creator: Kretzschmar, Mark, Salter, Anastasia, Stanfill, Mel, Janz, Bruce, Postigo, Hector, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This interdisciplinary dissertation explores perceptions of control in modded and unmodded versions of Bethesda's sandbox video game Skyrim. Sandbox games are known for greater choice options that suggest greater perceptions of control for gamers. Sandbox games also generally encourage the use of user-generated creations called modifications (mods) that users can download to personalize their games. While we need philosophy to understand and define control as a concept, we also need...
Show moreThis interdisciplinary dissertation explores perceptions of control in modded and unmodded versions of Bethesda's sandbox video game Skyrim. Sandbox games are known for greater choice options that suggest greater perceptions of control for gamers. Sandbox games also generally encourage the use of user-generated creations called modifications (mods) that users can download to personalize their games. While we need philosophy to understand and define control as a concept, we also need psychology to understand how users perceive control in media studies. At present, qualitative academic research that measures gamer perceptions of control is non-existent as is research on how users articulate their experiences with mods. Interviews were conducted with twenty-seven individuals who identified as gamers to analyze these perceptions of control in a game like Skyrim. The first chapter is introductory and outlines key terms for the dissertation as well as the play study's methodology. The second chapter examines philosophical and psychological perceptions of control that correspond with negative freedom (freedom from) and positive freedom (freedom to). While no game can promise radical free will because they have been programmed in advance, the information here may be used to demonstrate how perceptions of control might influence game design. The third chapter continues this exploration of perceived control through genre analysis, revealing the relationship between greater perceptions of control and mod support in sandbox video games. The fourth chapter presents the first two findings from the play study that demonstrate how mods influence player perceptions of control. The fifth chapter reveals how gamers of the play study discuss their perceptions of control video games in their own words with an emphasis on positive and negative freedom and generic conventions. The final chapter provides challenges for game design and scholarly qualitative analysis for future research based on findings in the play study.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007479, ucf:52673
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007479

Title: Narrative in Technical Communication.
Creator: Fenn, James, Applen, John, Cavanagh, Thomas, Jones, Daniel, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The focus of this research is on the involvement of narrative learning within technical communication and the benefits that such an involvement can bring to the field. I analyze literature from within technical communication to determine how narrative is perceived, as well as the traditions in technical communication that made the field resistant to the use of narrative in the past. These findings are considered with respect to the history and definition of narrative, as well as to how...
Show moreThe focus of this research is on the involvement of narrative learning within technical communication and the benefits that such an involvement can bring to the field. I analyze literature from within technical communication to determine how narrative is perceived, as well as the traditions in technical communication that made the field resistant to the use of narrative in the past. These findings are considered with respect to the history and definition of narrative, as well as to how narrative can improve learning outcomes when compared to expository learning approaches commonly used in technical documentation.While narrative is not a new concept to technical communication, this thesis offers new insights through a multidisciplinary approach that considers the work of philosophers and narratologists that are relatively unknown to the field. Philosophers Daniel Dennett and Jerome Bruner, as well as narratologists Gerard Genette, David Rudrum, and David Darby, show that narrative forms the basis for the construction of reality and that all human learning is based on the stories that we construct to give meaning to the world. Research studies conducted on the efficacy of narrative based learning are discussed in detail and an analysis of the areas where narrative use would most benefit technical communication is provided. Recommendations are made for the future use of narrative in technical documentation and for further research on the implementation and cost of narrative solutions.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005163, ucf:50687
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005163

Title: Reconciling Order and Progress: Auguste Comte, Gustave Le Bon, (&)#201;mile Durkheim, and the Development of Positivism in France, 1820-1914.
Creator: Navarro, Khali, Lyons, Amelia, Walker, Ezekiel, Crepeau, Richard, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis discusses the philosophy of positivism in nineteenth century France. Based on an empirical vision of society, positivism advocated values of rationality, progress, and secularization. In that way, it stood as one of the defining systems of thought of the modern era. I discuss, however, an undercurrent of anxiety about those same values. Positivism's founder, Auguste Comte, argued that all sciences would become unified and organized under universal principles and empirical...
Show moreThis thesis discusses the philosophy of positivism in nineteenth century France. Based on an empirical vision of society, positivism advocated values of rationality, progress, and secularization. In that way, it stood as one of the defining systems of thought of the modern era. I discuss, however, an undercurrent of anxiety about those same values. Positivism's founder, Auguste Comte, argued that all sciences would become unified and organized under universal principles and empirical standards. He viewed the human mind as becoming more rationalized throughout history. In his later career, however, he argued that rationalism was a destructive force and that a new form of secular religion as necessary to establish morality and order. I argue that this transition from science to religion represents an underlying anxiety of the nineteenth century. Intellectuals from different sides of the political spectrum viewed progress as positive, but also limited. They argued that something beyond science, in the realm of the religious, the metaphysical, or the subjective, was necessary for society. They expressed these concerns through the language of gender. Comte argued that women would be at the center of his religion. They would socialize and moralize men, making them part of a new unified, pacifist and orderly social whole.I also discuss two later intellectuals, social psychologist Gustave Le Bon and pioneering sociologist (&)#201;mile Durkheim. Le Bon represented the fin-de-si(&)#232;cle rejection of positivism. He began with positivist principles, but later argued that humanity was irrational and violent. He viewed the modern masses as a powerful force which threatened to destroy civilization. The other figure, Durkheim, rejected Le Bon's form of nationalist right-wing thought and formed theories of social harmony, altruism, and a solidarity. He sought to reconcile egalitarian republican principles with positivist science. Despite their diverging theories, however, Le Bon and Durkheim employed similar assumptions about modernity and gender. Le Bon argued that European men were superior, and that all other groups shared an undeveloped mentality. Durkheim argued that men were social while women were simpler and mentally limited.Their views, far from establishing an unproblematic hierarchy of gender and race, in fact expressed anxieties about the state of modernity. They identified women, the lower classes, and other societies with values of simplicity, unity, and tradition. They identified the modern, Western male individual with the problems of modern society: excessive rationalization, instability, and secularization. This sense of ambivalence about modernity reveals the central importance of positivism to understanding nineteenth century thought. Positivism sought to reconcile seemingly antithetical principles of order with progress, individualism with social unity, and morality with rationalization. In doing so, it established anxieties about the forces of change. Positivists advocated the most modern of principles, and sought to further the progress of civilization, but also identified those rationalized forces as problems in need of control. Positivism thus established its own undoing, which would come at the beginning of the twentieth century. In that era, intellectuals rejected purely scientific visions of the world in favor of subjective thought. I locate the origins of that rejection at the very foundations of positivist theory.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005220, ucf:50644
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005220

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