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Naturalizing epistemology : reconsidering quine and nietzsche
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This dissertation argues for ways to construct a more viable normative epistemology--the part of epistemology that focuses on normative notions such ...
Resisting the nudge
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)
"Behavioral scientists have discovered that people predictably behave in ways unlike perfectly rational agents or utility maximizers. For example, it has been found that when people make choices, the degree to which they ...
Citizenship goes to the dogs
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)
The conclusion I defend is that "domestic animals" have a moral claim to what I refer to as "basic citizenship rights," and that they do so for the same reason that "non-autonomous humans" do. I define each of these key ...
Attending to our work : a framework for understanding and evaluating the division of labor
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2009)
The division of labor is a pervasive and long-standing feature of human life. Yet there is little consensus--either in philosophy or in other disciplines--regarding its status. Using a contemporary evaluation provided by ...
Home aestheticus : species being and the struggle for existence
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2007)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] In this paper, I argue for the homo aestheticus thesis - the claim that our species nature is that of artistic producer and consumer; that this nature ...
Standing and status : a dissertation on the necessary and sufficient conditions for moral standing and an analysis of moral status
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2023)
Moral standing is the property by which an entity is considered to be capable of being wronged or is morally considerable. For example, when I kick a rock, I do not do anything wrong, nor is the rock wronged. On the other ...
Authoritatively speaking : a speech pragmatic analysis of authority and power
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)
A speaker needs authority to perform some speech acts, such as giving orders. A paradigm example of this is when a manager orders their employee to take out the trash; ordinarily, these words will give the employee a ...
Defending an indirect normativity of belief
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
In this dissertation, I seek to answer the following questions: is there such a thing as deontic epistemic normativity -- obligations, permissions, and prohibitions to act in a certain way based on epistemic grounds -- and ...
Aristotle on happiness : a comparison with Confucius
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2006)
In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defines the highest good for humankind in terms of happiness. The nature of happiness includes intellectual activity, virtuous activity, and friendship; and certain external goods are ...