In this paper, I will argue that epistemically damaged privileged individuals are usually not blameworthy for the harm they cause to non-privileged individuals as a result of that privilege Insofar as a person is privileged, s/he is likely epistemically damaged in the sense that s/he has internalized a social form of biased perception that does not allow her/him to realize that s/h causing harm. I believe individuals are not blameworthy for their privileged acts when they fail to satisfy the epistemic (...) condition for blameworthiness. Recognizing that typically the right place to focus energies is on restoring the harmed party, I will claim that because a function of oppressive systems is to maintain privilege-protecting ignorance, most privileged individuals do not meet the epistemic control condition and are therefore not blameworthy. (shrink)

For nearly a century the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been constituted by violence. There have, however, been periods of nonviolent action, the most significant being the First Intifada of the late 1980s. The primary intellectual influence behind the Intifada's nonviolent movement was Palestinian Christian Mubarak Awad, sometimes referred to as "the Gandhi of Palestine". This title is not without merit. In many ways, Awad resembles Gandhi in his personal nonviolent philosophy. However, in both his actions and writings during the Intifada, Awad (...) a pragmatic approach to nonviolence, more reminiscent of pragmatic nonviolence scholar Gene Sharp that principled nonviolence leader Mahatma Gandhi. In this paper, I aargue that Awad's synthesis of Gandhi and Sharp's brands of nonviolence, first, demonstrates the principled and pragmatic approaches can be compatible in the field of nonviolent sturggle, and second, that contextual factors in the Occupied Territories may require a synthesis like Awad's in order for nonviolence to work in Palestine. (shrink)

The Philosophy Outreach Project gets high school students across Indiana thinking. POP creates alternative spaces for learning in classrooms, clubs, online, and conference settings. By curating philosophical content and fostering philosophical discussion, POP provides high school students with tools and a platform to engage with each other and the world. POP is run by three teams of Ball State students with a variety of different interests and backgrounds. POP's team includes students studying philosophy, psychology, English, communications, criminal justice, and more. (...) This diversity of interests and knowledge allows for an impressive level of collaboration, which is ultimately what makes POP successful in promoting and facilitating pre-college philosophy. (shrink)

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

Traditional formalism of planting design within landscape architecture has two central faults; the objectification of plants and a focus on visual perception. This thesis proposes the correct appreciation of planting design is an aesthetic of engagement founded on interaction with the sublime in nature. Plants are the materiality of nature and design seeks to engender a phenomenological experience of landscape perceived through a series of events or encounters with the sublime. The aesthetic of engagement in planting design is articulated in (...) four ways; direct engagement, indirect engagement, ethical engagement, and therapeutic engagement. Examples from contemporary projects verify an aesthetic of engagement for planting design. This thesis fills a gap in knowledge by providing a philosophical conceptualization of the aesthetics of planting design and a language through which to carry on dialogue over its presence. (shrink)

Brummett’s ontological view of epistemic rhetoric frames a world in which reality is truly only shaped once it is communicated. This reality creation is uniquely performed within online spaces that are separated from the physical world by means of programming code and internal culture. These spaces are constructed of language and constitute new realities which are fundamentally rhetorical. However, the study of these tools lack shared terminology with which to classify and understand their potential as educational spaces. This study explores (...) connections between communication mechanics of multi-user social technologies and their effectiveness as teaching tools. The study focuses on virtual worlds, such as Second Life and World of Warcraft, as examples of multi-user social technologies because these tools converge mechanics and communication tools found separately elsewhere. Communication mechanics are operationalized as facets found through the application of Shiyali Ranganathan’s Faceted Classification method. The facets of seventy worlds are first identified. These facets are then used to describe typical uses of the facets through Activity Theory and Genre Ecology Models. Finally, a framework is suggested for selecting virtual worlds and the most effective activities within them by ensuring coordination among the strategic, tactical, and operational goals and activities of the tool, the course/instructor, and student. (shrink)

Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only.