• Collaborative Scientific Knowledge and Testimonial Justification 

  Yamamoto, Angella (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 ...

• Evaluation and Value Management in Science 

  Silk, Matthew (University of Waterloo, 2018-12-17)

  The nature of values has been an ongoing topic of discussion in philosophy, particularly in ethics. However, as the issue of how values should play a role in science has become more prominent, the discussion has not always ...

• Skeptics and Unruly Connectives: A Defence of and Amendment to the Non-Factualist Justification of Logic 

  Oxton, Oliver (University of Waterloo, 2018-10-04)

  This thesis attempts to positively solve three problems in the foundations of logic. If logical connectives are defined by their introduction and elimination rules, then how might one prohibit the construction of dysfunctional ...

• The Phenomenological Origins of Property 

  Riaz, Haider (University of Waterloo, 2018-09-26)

  This thesis delineates the phenomenological basis of ownership and property. The phenomenological theory of property has three main elements: the minimal self, the relationship between the sense of agency and the sense of ...

• Sex, Dementia, and Consent 

  Bianchi, Andria (University of Waterloo, 2018-08-01)

  Sex and dementia is becoming an increasingly important topic in applied ethics. By the year 2030, more than 74.7 million people are expected to be diagnosed with dementia worldwide; many of these people may want to engage ...

• The Sense of Self and Sensorimotor Functions 

  Schettler, AubrieAnn (University of Waterloo, 2018-03-28)

  This thesis investigates whether biological sex and motor function have a role in the visual representation of the self. The principal contribution is a new virtual reality experiment that systematically varied an avatar’s ...

• A Constructive Critical Assessment of Feminist Evolutionary Psychology 

  Weaver, Sara (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 ...

• The Continuity of Explanation: Peircean Pragmatism, Reason, and Developing Reasonable Behavior 

  Haydon, Nathan (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 ...

• Ethical Pluralism and Informed Consent in Canadian Health Care: Exploring Accommodations and Limitations 

  Hershey, Samantha (University of Waterloo, 2017-09-26)

  Vibrant and evolving diversity has become an integral part of Canadian identity. Communities are experiencing an enrichment of new ideas, and unique opportunities to learn about those with whom we share the world. At the ...

• The Emergence of a New Human Superorganism After Organ Transplantation 

  Prasad, G V Ramesh (University of Waterloo, 2017-08-30)

  The biological human being is an emergent human superorganism consisting of the human organism physiologically integrated with other organisms. The persistence of a superorganism in space and time requires communication ...

• How Prejudice Affects the Study of Animal Minds 

  Keefner, Ashley (University of Waterloo, 2017-08-24)

  Humans share the planet with many wonderfully diverse animal species and human-animal interactions are part of our daily lives. An important part of understanding how humans do and should interact with other animals is ...

• Inferential Role Semantics for Natural Language 

  Blouw, Peter (University of Waterloo, 2017-08-22)

  The most general goal of semantic theory is to explain facts about language use. In keeping with this goal, I introduce a framework for thinking about linguistic expressions in terms of (a) the inferences they license, (b) ...

• A Defense of the Public Health-Quarantine Model of Punishment in Light of Obligations of the State to the Wrongdoer 

  Bohner, Eric Nicholas (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 ...

• Psychological and Phenomenological Perspectives on the Hard Problem of Consciousness 

  Simard, Jonathan (University of Waterloo, 2017-01-19)

  In reexamining the hard problem of consciousness through the history of the concept of mind, I argue that psychologists, cognitive scientists, and analytic philosophers of mind should return to the first-person perspective ...

• The Evolution of Reason 

  Abdallah, Sajad (University of Waterloo, 2017-01-17)

  Aristotle’s metaphysics bridges the gap between mind and nature explaining how their relationship constitutes development in life. Charles Sanders Peirce’s objective idealism similarly aims to investigate how the principles ...

• The Depiction of Unwritten Law 

  Nelson, Benjamin (University of Waterloo, 2016-12-14)

  Even though tacit legal norms are deeply important to our past, present, and future, the very idea of unwritten law has been difficult to pin down, and problematic in a range of ways. Existing discussions of the phenomenon ...

• Authenticity and Enhancement 

  Gee, Catherine (University of Waterloo, 2016-10-31)

  Wanting to change ourselves is nothing new; the means with which we are able to do so are. With our ever-advancing technology, the physical and mental aspects of ourselves that we can target and change are continually ...

• Ethical Leadership for Machiavellians in Business 

  Lam, Vanessa (University of Waterloo, 2016-10-13)

  Despite some progress in instilling ethics into business practice, businesses continue to make decisions that result in incredible harms to people and the environment around the world. Academics, the public, and the media ...

• White Paper: Measuring Research Outputs Through Bibliometrics 

  University of Waterloo Working Group on Bibliometrics; Byl, Lauren; Carson, Jana; Feltracco, Annamaria; Gooch, Susie; Gordon, Shannon; Kenyon, Tim; Muirhead, Bruce; Seskar-Hencic, Daniela; MacDonald, Kathy; Özsu, M. Tamer; Stirling, Peter (University of Waterloo, 2016)

  This White Paper provides a high-level review of issues relevant to understanding bibliometrics, and practical recommendations for how to appropriately use these measures. This is not a policy paper; instead, it defines ...

• THE PHILOSOPHICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF QUINE'S D-THESIS 

  Munro, Bradley (University of Waterloo, 2016-02-02)

  The philosophical significance of Quine's D-thesis is considered. The D-thesis - "Any statement can be held true come what may, if we make drastic enough adjustments elsewhere in the system? (W.V.0. Quine, From a Logical ...

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