Matching Items (17)
Description
In this dissertation, I argue that the original development of Natural Law Theory (NLT) by the Stoics of the second and first centuries B.C. was not merely an outpouring or natural byproduct of an earlier philosophic achievement in Plato and Aristotle, but a reaction to it, specifically, an effort to correct certain problems that had surfaced as a result of discussion within and challenges to the broader eudaimonistic tradition. Prior to Cicero's writings in particular, the term "natural law" appears only occasionally in the philosophic texts, and never as a term signifying a coherent and developed moral theory. A central part of my argument will be to demonstrate the negative thesis that neither Plato nor Aristotle defended a version of NLT - a claim that current scholarship does not universally accept. The primary reason for my claim, I argue, is that neither Plato nor Aristotle accepted a conception of nature (physis) that contained a normative element that could be understood in terms of law (nomos) and its accompanying notions of command and obligation. This negative thesis is important because it clarifies the central modification the Stoics make on the eudaimonistic tradition, namely, the advancement of a distinct theory of nature, one in which they identify physis with "Divine Reason." The "theological conception" of physis, as I shall call it, entails a breakdown of the nomos-physis dichotomy that had been central to Greek thought for centuries prior and thereby makes possible the birth of NLT.
ContributorsVierra, Thomas (Author) / White, Michael J. (Thesis advisor) / Humphrey, Ted (Committee member) / Dagger, Richard (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Development throughout the course of history has traditionally resulted in the demise of biodiversity. As humans strive to develop their daily livelihoods, it is often at the expense of nearby wildlife and the environment. Conservation non-governmental organizations (NGOs), among other actors in the global agenda, have blossomed in the past century with the realization that there is an immediate need for conservation action. Unlike government agencies, conservation NGOs have an independent, potentially more objective outlook on procedures and policies that would benefit certain regions or certain species the most. They often have national and international government support, in addition to the credibility and influencing power to sway policy decisions and participate in international agendas. The key to their success lies in the ability to balance conservation efforts with socioeconomic development efforts. One cannot occur without the other, but they must work in coordination. This study looks at the example of African Great Apes. Eight ape-focused NGOs and three unique case studies will be examined in order to describe the impact that NGOs have. Most of these NGOs have been able to build the capacity from an initial conservation agenda, to incorporating socioeconomic factors that benefit the development of local communities in addition to the apes and habitat they set out to influence. This being the case, initiatives by conservation NGOs could be the key to a sustainable future in which humans and biodiversity coexist harmoniously.
ContributorsPrickett, Laura (Author) / Parmentier, Mary Jane (Thesis advisor) / Zachary, Gregg (Committee member) / Gerber, Leah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Popular Culture of today, particularly books and movies have begun to influence the way individ- uals and society as a whole, views specific concepts. In this case, the fairly recent phenomenon of the Sci- ence Fiction Drug Niche has produced significant thought among audiences as to both the benefits and costs of cognitive enhancers in our world. Through the use of both a thorough analysis of modern films and novels on the topic as well as focus groups of the average college students this study analyzes the influence that this niche has had on the perceptions that students have towards the use of such cognitive enhancements. Small groups of students were shown the same film: Limitless, and discussion after the film displayed the students thoughts and attitudes towards the ideas shown in the film. Limitless itself falls into this Science Fiction drug niche and discusses both benefits and harms of chemical cognitive enhancement. The study indicates that audiences have thought not only about the issues that may arise with the presence of cognitive enhancement in our world but also the possible benefits of this enhancement. The results go even further to preliminarily show that there are common thoughts that arise in such situations. These common ideas that arise show, at least on a very basic level, that the presence of these Science Fiction Drug-inspired works are influencing the way audiences perceive the use of cognitive enhancement as well as influencing what doubts, questions, hopes, and fears arise from these pharmaceuticals. This preliminary study could use further research to ana- lyze the effects of popular culture on perceptions of cognitive enhancement and pharmaceuticals to alter consciousness.
ContributorsSyed, Mariha Batool (Author) / Zachary, Gregg (Thesis director) / Hurlbut, Ben (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This honors thesis features a translation of Andrés Bello’s “Historia físicia y política de Chile por Claudio Gay” that had never before been reproduced in English, as well as a discussion of translation theories and a biographical sketch of Andrés Bello, a prolific Latin American author and philosopher. The goals of this thesis include promoting Latin American literature, bringing awareness to Bello’s contributions to Chile’s history, and promoting translation as a creative form of education.
ContributorsDominick, Alicia Lorae (Author) / Humphrey, Ted (Thesis director) / Martinez, Maria Teresa (Committee member) / Burke, Janet (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The purpose of this study was to identify attitudes and perceptions regarding bone marrow donation among the college-aged population. This was examined by distributing an online survey via ASU e-mail list-servs. The survey was designed to measure motivations and barriers to bone marrow donation and involved a demographics questionnaire, a participant motivation survey, an incentives questionnaire, and paired comparisons between bone marrow and other forms of medical donation. The results were analyzed using one way ANOVAs, chi-square analysis, and presence or absence coding using SPSS v. 22. Significant differences were found in the way that the sexes answered parts of the participant motivation questionnaire. Significant differences were also found in the responses of participants who planned to donate bone marrow and those that did not. The main differences between those planning to donate bone marrow and those who were not planning on are as follows. Those planning to donate bone marrow or something other than bone marrow were more likely to be curious about what bone marrow donation is like and feel good about themselves for donating marrow than participants who were not planning on donating anything. Those planning to donate bone marrow were more likely to have a friend group that would be supportive than those were were not planning to donate bone marrow. Those who were not planning to donate bone marrow had more concerns regarding the risks and health effects of the act of donation itself.
ContributorsPiechowicz, Mariel Elizabeth (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Zachary, Gregg (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Joseph Rotblat (1908-2005) was the only physicist to leave the Manhattan Project for moral reasons before its completion. He would spend the rest of his life advocating for nuclear disarmament. His activities for disarmament resulted in the formation, in 1957, of the Pugwash conferences, which emerged as the leading global forum to advance limits on nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Rotblat's efforts, and the activities of Pugwash, resulted in both being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995. Rotblat is a central figure in the global history of resistance to the spread of nuclear weapons. He also was an important figure in the emergence, after World War II, of a counter-movement to introduce new social justifications for scientific research and new models for ethics and professionalism among scientists. Rotblat embodies the power of the individual scientist to say "no" and thus, at least individually, put limits of conscience on his or her scientific activity. This paper explores the political and ethical choices scientists make as part of their effort to behave responsibly and to influence the outcomes of their work. By analyzing three phases of Rotblat's life, I demonstrate how he pursued his ideal of beneficial science, or science that appears to benefit humanity. The three phases are: (1) his decision to leave the Manhattan Project in 1944, (2) his role in the creation of Pugwash in 1957 and his role in the rise of the organization into international prominence and (3) his winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995. These three phases of Rotblat's life provide a singular window of the history of nuclear weapons and the international movement for scientific responsibility in the 50 years since the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. While this paper does not provide a complete picture of Rotblat's life and times, I argue that his experiences shed important light on the difficult question of the individual responsibility of scientists.
ContributorsEvans, Alison Dawn (Author) / Zachary, Gregg (Thesis director) / Hurlbut, Ben (Committee member) / Francis, Sybil (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper uses Facebook as a case study for other technological and social media companies given factors presented by the Digital Age. Three different pillars are used to analyze the company. First an examination of the manipulation of users on Facebook by Russian actors is presented. Next, the paper examines whether Facebook is promoting civic participation for good. Lastly, an analyzation of the rising trend of hate speech and extremists using the site is presented. This examination of Facebook then posed three questions regarding companies in the Digital Age as a whole. The first was "What is the extent of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Age?" The second was, "What special obligations do for-profit companies have when it comes to safeguarding the privacy of individuals, or at least insuring that their stored information does not harm them?". The last question presented was, "How Can the Profit Motive and Corporate Morality Co-Exist in the Digital Age?" The findings of this case study showed that due to different factors that are presented in the Digital Age, these ideals of Corporate Social Responsibility, Privacy and Corporate Morality may be even more challenging to uphold during this Age of Information. Due to this fact, companies such as Facebook have an even greater responsibility to abide by these ideals of Corporate Social Responsibility, Privacy and Corporate Morality. This is because of an even larger potential for negative effects due to technological change. Regardless of the possibility for regulation by government, third-party organization or by the organizations themselves, Digital Age Corporations have the duty to protect their users from harm and maintain these three ideals.
ContributorsBrandt, Madeline (Author) / Zachary, Gregg (Thesis director) / Wetmore, Jameson (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Abstract
The Shining Path, or Sendero Luminoso, is peculiar among Latin American revolutions for a multitude of reasons, ranging from the intensity of its violent tactics to the group’s muddled Maoist ideology. Analyses of the group tend to label it a mystery or an enigma. The purpose of this thesis is to offer the charismatic nature of the authority wielded by Abimael Guzmán, the energetic leader of the group also known as Presidente Gonzalo, as an explanation for some of the Shining Path’s idiosyncrasies, particularly their relentlessly bloodthirsty rise and sharp decline. Although much of the previous literature on the Shining Path uses the word “charismatic” to describe Guzmán, very little work has analyzed the particular implications of the successful creation of a charismatic leader-follower dynamic as a key part of senderismo. Using the framework established by German sociologist Max Weber, this paper analyzes a number of major characteristics of charismatic leaders and applies them to Guzmán. Not only did he exhibit many of the typical features of a charismatic leader, but it may have been is successful development of this particular style of authority which led to both the bloodthirstiness of Sendero’s military arm and the group’s struggle to find an identity after Guzmán’s capture. The Shining Path followed the power arc expected of a charismatic leader-follower relationship, allowing Guzmán to exploit the peasant population to create chaos and fear in the Andes in his effort to bring about a “popular revolution.” The purpose of this paper is not to discredit other theories regarding Sendero, as it was largely a sui generis movement, but to argue several of its particular qualities can be attributed to the charismatic nature of Presidente Gonzalo’s authority.
The Shining Path, or Sendero Luminoso, is peculiar among Latin American revolutions for a multitude of reasons, ranging from the intensity of its violent tactics to the group’s muddled Maoist ideology. Analyses of the group tend to label it a mystery or an enigma. The purpose of this thesis is to offer the charismatic nature of the authority wielded by Abimael Guzmán, the energetic leader of the group also known as Presidente Gonzalo, as an explanation for some of the Shining Path’s idiosyncrasies, particularly their relentlessly bloodthirsty rise and sharp decline. Although much of the previous literature on the Shining Path uses the word “charismatic” to describe Guzmán, very little work has analyzed the particular implications of the successful creation of a charismatic leader-follower dynamic as a key part of senderismo. Using the framework established by German sociologist Max Weber, this paper analyzes a number of major characteristics of charismatic leaders and applies them to Guzmán. Not only did he exhibit many of the typical features of a charismatic leader, but it may have been is successful development of this particular style of authority which led to both the bloodthirstiness of Sendero’s military arm and the group’s struggle to find an identity after Guzmán’s capture. The Shining Path followed the power arc expected of a charismatic leader-follower relationship, allowing Guzmán to exploit the peasant population to create chaos and fear in the Andes in his effort to bring about a “popular revolution.” The purpose of this paper is not to discredit other theories regarding Sendero, as it was largely a sui generis movement, but to argue several of its particular qualities can be attributed to the charismatic nature of Presidente Gonzalo’s authority.
ContributorsEnglese, Daniel James (Author) / Hinojosa, Magda (Thesis director) / Humphrey, Ted (Committee member) / Wood, Reed (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Journalism, by its very nature, is limited, often adhering to a repetitive format and narration style. Consequently, the depth of journalistic stories will always hit a barrier. Fiction, on the other hand, provides an elegant solution by exploring the world through a myriad point of views including complete omniscience. This thesis explores the link between journalism and fiction by taking real-world scenarios and exploring them without journalism's limitations. It includes three novellas totaling 25,000 words drawn from true-to-life research papers, news stories and manifestos to paint a realistic picture of a technological reality in the near future, a style of writing one might call futurecasting. The thesis also contains an analysis of the techniques used in contemporary fiction and an analysis of their implementation within the novellas. The goal of the novellas is to let researchers to explore the impact of their work before its mass dissemination in order to shape societal, national and international policy responsibly. Similarly, novellas like this and others similar allow society to discover the beauty of science through fiction. These are some of fiction's greatest roles in science and society.
ContributorsPacini, Jason Daniel (Author) / Zachary, Gregg (Thesis director) / Russell, Dennis (Committee member) / Giarrusso, Theresa Walsh (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The experiences of 14 groups of 2-8 players in a local escape room were observed through the lens of small-group teamwork and goal-based communication. Their interactions were used to explore how escape rooms could be used as a tool to improve the retention of knowledge using experiential learning and to develop substantial interpersonal relationships between teams of strangers. These observations were used to develop an ASU-themed escape room for educating prospective students about ASU's culture and campus with a focus on total inclusion and enthusiastic participation.
ContributorsBailey, Jarrod Eli (Author) / LePore, Paul (Thesis director) / Zachary, Gregg (Committee member) / Rogers, Mark (Committee member) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05