Browsing Philosophy by Title
Now showing items 7-26 of 134
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Beyond Considering Surrogates’ Reports at ‘Face Value’: Theorizing and Contextualizing the Autonomy-Related Threats of Surrogacy Arrangements
(University of Waterloo, 2022-09-08)As research on surrogacy in Canada is only emerging, this thesis seeks to incite discussion relating to the autonomy of surrogates by analyzing recent studies which capture the experiences of surrogates through surveys and ... -
Broadening the Scope of Engaged Philosophy of Science: An Empirical Analysis of Context-Dependent Barriers
(University of Waterloo, 2021-01-07)Philosophers of science have increasingly been discussing the social and scientific relevance of philosophy over the last decade. These discussions have included philosophy’s role in addressing scientific problems, clarifying ... -
Can Induction Strengthen Inference to the Best Explanation?
(University of Waterloo, 2008-08-28)In this paper I will argue that the controversial process of inferring to the best explanation (IBE) can be made more coherent if its formulation recognizes and includes a significant inductive component. To do so, I will ... -
Coercion, Authority, and Democracy
(University of Waterloo, 2009-04-27)As a classical liberal, or libertarian, I am concerned to advance liberty and minimize coercion. Indeed on this view liberty just is the absence of coercion or costs imposed on others. In order to better understand the ... -
Collaborative Scientific Knowledge and Testimonial Justification
(University of Waterloo, 2019-01-23)Is it possible to gain justified scientific knowledge from the testimony of a collective of scientists? In this thesis, I discuss whether or not it is possible to use current theories of testimonial justification for ... -
Commercial and Business Incorporation: Enhancing the notion of corporation to include an ethical statement
(University of Waterloo, 2008-01-22)Today’s modern, Canadian, business corporations are hugely influential in determining public policy and many aspects of people’s lives. Because this influence permeates so much of our social construct, we expect corporations ... -
Common Sense Within the Bounds of Philosophy: Reid’s Philosophy of Common Sense Defended
(University of Waterloo, 2009-10-02)I proffer a defense Reid’s Philosophy of Common Sense. I address the initial implausibility that greets most all of us when we stop to consider the prospects for common sense as guide to knowledge and inquiry. I argue that ... -
Communal Inferentialism: Charles S. Peirce’s Critique of Epistemic Individualism
(University of Waterloo, 2019-12-09)Charles S. Peirce’s critique of epistemic individualism, the attempt to make the individual the locus of knowledge, is a dominant theme in his writings. While scholars often mention this critique, there is, surprisingly, ... -
A Compatible Defense of Respect for Autonomy and Medical Paternalism in the Context of Mental Capacity on the Grounds of Authenticity
(University of Waterloo, 2009-09-30)Respect for autonomy has become the guiding principle at the forefront of health-care decision-making. In an attempt to preserve this principle, patients can be neglected to make decisions for themselves during times when ... -
Conceptual Change: Gods, Elements, and Water
(University of Waterloo, 2010-09-30)On what does the meaning of the concept of water depend? I consider three possible answers: the physical world, theory, or both the physical world and theory. Each answer supports a particular history. If the history ... -
Conservative Contractarianism
(University of Waterloo, 2004)Moral contractarianism, as demonstrated in the work of David Gauthier, is an attempt to derive moral principles from the non-moral premises of rational choice. However, this contractarian enterprise runs aground because ... -
A Constructive Critical Assessment of Feminist Evolutionary Psychology
(University of Waterloo, 2017-12-21)In this dissertation, I develop an approach to philosophical critique of morally relevant science and apply this approach to a new branch of evolutionary psychology called “feminist evolutionary psychology.” Morally relevant ... -
A Contemporary Examination of the A Fortiori Argument Involving Jewish Traditions
(University of Waterloo, 2010-02-22)This study proposes to clarify the a fortiori argument’s components, structure, definitions, formulations, and logical status, as well as the specific conditions under which it is to be employed, both generally and in a ... -
Contextualizing Science for Value-Conscious Communication
(University of Waterloo, 2019-07-15)Democracy hinges on the personal and civic decision-making capabilities of publics. In our increasingly technoscientific world, being well-informed requires an understanding of science. Despite acknowledging public ... -
The Continuity of Explanation: Peircean Pragmatism, Reason, and Developing Reasonable Behavior
(University of Waterloo, 2017-09-27)Charles Peirce, the founder of Pragmatism, is not known for having developed a normative and ethical theory. His remarks on ethics and normativity are scattered and sparse. There is nonetheless increasing interest in ... -
Controlling Cyberwarfare: International Laws of Armed Conflict and Human Rights in the Cyber Realm
(University of Waterloo, 2021-06-04)Cyberwarfare, military activities in cyberspace conducted by a state against another state and intended to disrupt or destroy computing or communication systems or data, is a recent addition to the warfaring arsenal. The ... -
Crime Prevention in a World without Free Will: Derk Pereboom’s Quarantine Analogy
(University of Waterloo, 2015-09-01)The purpose of this paper is to evaluate Pereboom’s attempt to use his quarantine analogy to justify his theory of crime prevention and the use of preventative detainment in place of punishment. Specifically, I will examine ... -
Deception in Data Visualization
(University of Waterloo, 2022-08-30)In recent years, there has been a great deal of public discussion of misleading graphs and statistics, but this phenomenon seems to have fallen outside the scope of philosophical analysis. The philosophy of language has ... -
A Defense of Semantic Conventionalism
(University of Waterloo, 2007-09-26)The purpose of this dissertation is to argue that semantic conventionalism of a, more or less, Dummettian variety is unjustly neglected in contemporary philosophy. The strategy for arguing this is to make a conjecture ... -
A Defense of the Public Health-Quarantine Model of Punishment in Light of Obligations of the State to the Wrongdoer
(University of Waterloo, 2017-02-22)Punishment is traditionally justified retributively or consequentially; that is, with respect to the desert of the wrongdoer or the positive consequences of the punishment. State-sanctioned punishment (the kind of punishment ...