Showing 1 - 4 of 4 Items
Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't: A Logical Analysis of Moral Dilemmas
Date: 2018-05-01
Creator: Samuel Monkman
Access: Open access
- This project explores the logical structure of moral dilemmas. I introduce the notion of genuine contingent moral dilemmas, as well as basic topics in deontic logic. I then examine two formal arguments claiming that dilemmas are logically impossible. Each argument relies on certain principles of normative reasoning sometimes accepted as axioms of deontic logic. I argue that the principle of agglomeration and a statement of entailment of obligations are both not basic to ethical reasoning, concluding that dilemmas will be admissible under some logically consistent ethical theories. In the final chapter, I examine some consequences of admitting dilemmas into a theory, in particular how doing so complicates assignment of blame.
Being and Salvation: Environmental Implications of Martin Heidegger's Thought Access to this record is restricted to members of the Bowdoin community. Log in here to view.
- Restriction End Date: 2027-06-01
Date: 2024-01-01
Creator: Eleanor S. Huntington
Access: Access restricted to the Bowdoin Community
Chambers of Reflection: Rousseau, Tocqueville, and Self-Government in the Digital Age
Date: 2020-01-01
Creator: John Sweeney
Access: Open access
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Alexis de Tocqueville each warn that the dominant cultures of their days may hinder the project of self-government. Against the backdrop of advancing Enlightenment philosophy, Rousseau writes that as social visibility increases relative to intimate connection, the drive for recognition corrupts self-love. Following the American and French revolutions, Tocqueville explores the democratic erosion of social hierarchies. He writes that a rise in individualism may obscure “self-interest well-understood”—the perspective gained through collaboration with others, thoughtful reflection, and reverence for truths that lie beyond the dictates of cursory instincts. In this project, I apply these political theories to the Digital Age. I explain how the distinction between the physical world and the digital realm has actualized Rousseau’s depiction of double men, “always appearing to relate everything to others and never relating anything except to themselves alone.” In the era of social distancing, technological evolution threatens to induce regression in the sociability and reflective agency that promote our capacity for self-government. Accordingly, I argue that Rousseau’s theory of corrupted drive for recognition and Tocqueville’s theory of individualism inform a new danger to political freedom: digital tribalism.
Albert Camus: An Ethical Politics in the Absurd World Access to this record is restricted to members of the Bowdoin community. Log in here to view.
Date: 2015-05-01
Creator: Stephanie Lane
Access: Access restricted to the Bowdoin Community