Browsing Philosophy by Subject "philosophy"
Now showing items 1-12 of 12
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All the World's a Stage: Fictionalism, Metaphysics, and Truth
(University of Waterloo, 2020-12-22)Fictionalism has been an appealing position for many philosophers seeking to avoid controversial ontological commitments implicit in certain kinds of discourses, while also trying to account for the usefulness of those ... -
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 ... -
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 ... -
The Depiction of Unwritten Law
(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 ... -
Education in the 21st Century: Human Rights and Individual Actions
(University of Waterloo, 2008-01-09)This dissertation has three goals. The first goal is to outline how twentieth century advocates qualify education as a human right. The second goal is to offer an integrative account which argues that, to defend a right ... -
The Ethics of Nuclear Waste in Canada: Risks, Harms and Unfairness.
(University of Waterloo, 2010-04-30)The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) --- the crown corporation responsible for the long-term storage of nuclear fuel waste in Canada --- seeks to bury our nuclear fuel waste deep in the Canadian Shield, with ... -
Explaining the Mind: The Embodied Cognition Challenge
(University of Waterloo, 2008-05-15)This thesis looks at a relatively new line of research in Cognitive Science – embodied cognition. Its relation to the computational-representational paradigm, primarily symbolicism, is extensively discussed. It is argued ... -
The Free Self: What Separates Us From Machines
(University of Waterloo, 2023-08-29)Could a machine ever achieve consciousness? Will it ever make sense to hold a machine morally responsible? In this thesis, I argue that the architecture of SPAUN - the largest WIP functioning brain model currently in ... -
Harm Reduction for Corporations
(University of Waterloo, 2020-09-04)When corporations set out to do good for the environment and society, they usually do so under the banner of corporate social responsibility. This approach has become commonplace among the public, in business schools, and ... -
A Multidimensional Model of Biological Sex
(University of Waterloo, 2012-01-10)This dissertation is about biological sex and how we ought to make sense of it. By biological sex I mean those elements of an individual’s body that are involved in reproduction of the individual’s species; by make sense ... -
The Philosophy of Bioinformatics
(University of Waterloo, 2007-01-22)The development of bioinformatics as an influential biological field should interest philosophers of biology and philosophers of science in general. Bioinformatics contributes significantly to the development of biological ... -
Semiosis and the Crisis of Meaning: Continuity and Play in Peirce and Derrida
(University of Waterloo, 2019-09-17)Semiosis and the Crisis of Meaning addresses the difference between continuity and play in Charles Peirce’s and Jacques Derrida’s theory of signs. The main aim is to offer a reply to Derrida’s reading of Peirce in Of ...