No description available.

Thesis advisor: Robert C. Bartlett / This dissertation investigates how Socrates understands his trial. It is a well-known fact that Socrates is accused of impiety and corruption of the young and is subsequently executed. Unlike an ordinary defendant who is supposed to make every effort to be acquitted, Socrates, behaving provocatively, seems even to induce the death penalty. By reading Plato's and Xenophon's works, this dissertation clarifies his thoughts on the trial that must be the basis of his conduct and explains how he achieves his aim. To deal with Socrates' view of the trial as a whole, this study examines three questions. First, does he believe in his own innocence? I argue that before and even at the trial, Socrates does not intend to prove his innocence effectively. He does not reveal his belief clearly, but at least it is clear that to be acquitted is not his primary purpose. Second, what does Socrates want to achieve at the trial? Socrates' primary purpose is to demonstrate his virtue in public. His speech that provocatively emphasizes his excellence as a benefactor of the city enables him to be convicted as a wise and noble man rather than as an impious corrupter of the young. Third, why does he refuse to escape from jail? I argue that by introducing the speech that defends the laws of the city, Socrates makes himself appear to be a supremely law-abiding citizen who is executed even when escape is possible. This study maintains that Socrates vindicates his philosophy before the ordinary people of Athens by making a strong impression of his moral excellence and utility to others. His presentation of philosophy makes it possible that being convicted and executed are compatible with appearing virtuous and being respected. Socrates promotes his posthumous reputation as a great philosopher, and thus secures the life of philosophy after his death by mitigating the popular hostility against him and philosophy as such. Socrates' understanding of his trial leads us to his idea of the nature of philosophy and the city, and of their ideal relationship. This dissertation is therefore an introduction to Socratic political philosophy. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science.

This paper compares Xenophon's Apology of Socrates to the Jury to Plato's Apology with the goal of showing the similarities of the accounts despite their rhetorical differences.

Despite wide acceptance of the stereotype that women apologize more readily than men, there is little systematic evidence to support this stereotype or its supposed bases. In the present research, I explored whether gender differences in apology behaviour occur and, if so, why they occur. In Study 1, I used daily diaries to assess everyday apologies and found that women indeed apologized more frequently than men did. I found no difference in the proportion of offenses for which men and women apologized, however, suggesting that women may apologize more often than men do because they have a lower threshold for what constitutes offensive behaviour. In Studies 2 and 5, I replicated a gender difference in apology behaviour using hypothetical offenses and obtained evidence that this difference is mediated by different judgments of offense severity. In Study 3, I adapted a signal detection paradigm and demonstrated that women exhibit a more liberal response bias in the direction of remembering an apology. In Study 4, I found that women and men similarly associate apologies with positive outcomes, and that only women endorse the stereotype that women apologize more often than men do. Finally, in Study 6, I conducted a daily diary study with romantic couples and found that, as in Study 1, women and men apologized for a similar proportion of the offenses they reported. Together, these studies suggest that a gender difference in apology frequency is caused by different judgments of severity rather than by a difference in willingness to apologize.

Despite wide acceptance of the stereotype that women apologize more readily than men, there is little systematic evidence to support this stereotype or its supposed bases. In the present research, I explored whether gender differences in apology behaviour occur and, if so, why they occur. In Study 1, I used daily diaries to assess everyday apologies and found that women indeed apologized more frequently than men did. I found no difference in the proportion of offenses for which men and women apologized, however, suggesting that women may apologize more often than men do because they have a lower threshold for what constitutes offensive behaviour. In Studies 2 and 5, I replicated a gender difference in apology behaviour using hypothetical offenses and obtained evidence that this difference is mediated by different judgments of offense severity. In Study 3, I adapted a signal detection paradigm and demonstrated that women exhibit a more liberal response bias in the direction of remembering an apology. In Study 4, I found that women and men similarly associate apologies with positive outcomes, and that only women endorse the stereotype that women apologize more often than men do. Finally, in Study 6, I conducted a daily diary study with romantic couples and found that, as in Study 1, women and men apologized for a similar proportion of the offenses they reported. Together, these studies suggest that a gender difference in apology frequency is caused by different judgments of severity rather than by a difference in willingness to apologize.

The thesis deals with Tertullian's Apologeticum in contemporary context. The work is divided into four parts. The first part is dedicated to a brief description of author's time and life with emphasis on the difference between Apologeticum and his other works. The second part is about a complete interpretation of the text in which Tertullian defends Christian faith, argues with pagan accusations and suggests the role of Christians in a Roman society. This part also shows author's understanding of Christianity in relationship to paganism with an outcome that both groups are able to live together in peace. The third part is focused on current works of theologians and historians in which various aspects of Tertullian's work like innocence, grace or nature of true religion are depicted and discussed. Last but not least there are mentioned here the topics like question of God, his role for Roman emperors, pagans, but also for Christians who defend their way of life on principle of their belief. In the last part of the thesis I deal with the importance of Apologeticum for today's time. I concentrate mostly on the meaning we can derive from this work and how exactly we can transform his legacy into our daily life. My main findings in the evaluation of Tertullian's work in the context of today's times are...

On November 28, 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized to LGBTQ2+ persons within Canada for the oppression and criminalization of queer sexuality and diverse gender identities. Between the 1950s to early 1990s, thousands of Canadian civil servants and military personnel were systematically surveilled, interrogated, and ultimately “purged” because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The federal government’s heterosexism criminalized queer bodies and sex and it enforced heteronormativity and cisnormativity. These policies had disastrous effects on trans and queer persons and have contributed to ongoing systemic discrimination against LGBTQ2+ persons today. The 2017 apology and the associated process of redress have the potential to reconstitute the relationship between LGBTQ2+ communities and the government. Through an analysis of the apology’s affective and effective outcomes, this case study seeks to understand the origins, complexities, and implications of the apology for LGBTQ2+ equality and inclusion. It invokes Melissa Nobles’ membership theory to better understand the apology’s implications for LGBTQ2+ citizenship in Canada. Specifically, it is interested in better understanding the voices that were included in the pre-apology consultation process, and those that were not. Given the inherent diversity of LGBTQ2+ communities, such an effort had major implications for both the inclusivity of the apology and its ability to remedy past injustices. It finds that the consultations undertaken by the government were rushed, lacked transparency and openness, and consequently undermined the ameliorative potential of the apology. It then turns to an assessment of the apology’s “authenticity” through an invocation of political scientist Matt James’ criteria, and posits that the 2017 apology is best categorized as a robust quasi-apology. This thesis then considers the reactions of LGBTQ2+ persons to the apology itself and finds that the apology may serve as a rhetorical tool, which can be taken up by activists to demand additional reform. Further, to have lasting significance the apology must be substantiated by real action. To contextualize the apology’s equality effects, this thesis also engages in an analysis of the government’s substantive policy undertakings and failures in the post-apology period. This thesis asserts that while the government has moved forward with some significant reforms, its post-apology policy approach is characterized by profound shortcomings that have fallen short of the broad-based reforms demanded by LGBTQ2+ activists. These government failures evidence the continued predominance of what Miriam Smith terms “legal homophobia,” and the restrictive model of renegotiated citizenship proffered by the government. The citizenship lens invoked throughout this project leads to the theorization that there are two primary LGBTQ2+ factions with regard to the apology: one that seeks integration within the state and demands Canadian citizenship in spite of queerness and another that rejects the state’s homonationalist project and agitates for a Queered citizenship situated within an anti-oppressive, anti-racist framework. This thesis concludes by suggesting that the official apology can be used as a rhetorical tool to pursue the very Queered citizenship some activists desire. / Graduate

Following a transgression, interpersonal forgiveness is one strategy used to restore harmony between the victim and offender. Research also suggests that forgiveness can promote psychological and physical health. Research has shown that an apology from the offender may facilitate the forgiveness process. The majority of studies suggest that when a victim receives an apology, they experience higher levels of forgiveness toward their offender. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the association between apology and forgiveness in a sample of adults and undergraduate students (N = 803). The results are organized in three sections. First, I found a positive relationship between apology and forgiveness, replicating prior research. Second, I created a new measure of transgression severity, and provided evidence of internal consistency, construct validity, and criterion-related validity for this measure. Third, I tested two variables hypothesized to moderate the association between apology and forgiveness. First, there was some evidence that perceived offender humility moderated the association between simple apology and forgiveness. Offenders who were perceived as being more humble when providing a simple apology were granted more forgiveness than their less humble counterparts. Second, there was some evidence that transgression severity moderated the association between a complete apology and forgiveness, but the effect was in the opposite direction as hypothesized. For individuals who reported a transgression of high severity, there was a stronger association between the completeness of an apology and forgiveness than for individuals who reported a transgression of low severity. I conclude by discussing limitations, areas for future research, and implications for counseling.

In Hawaiian History: The Dispossession of Native Hawaiians’ Identity and Their Struggle for Sovereignty, three of the Western constructed narratives of Hawai’i are identified and juxtaposed with Hawai’i’s historical facts taken primarily from the late 1800s through the mid 1900s. These Western narratives contribute to an identity crisis experienced by Native Hawaiians during a time when their culture was almost lost, due to the colonial powers assimilating Hawai’i to America. An account of the historical events of the Kingdom of Hawai’i is then reviewed, which includes the diplomatic moves of the Hawaiian monarchs, the changes in the statuses of the Kingdom, and the overthrow of Queen Lili’uokalani. Evidence explored throughout “The Hawaiian Kingdom” section, proves the native Hawaiians adjusted swiftly to a diplomatic means of resolving issues, which refute a frequently taught Western constructed narrative that the “savage native Hawaiian political leaders” needed Americas aid in governance. The Hawaiian sovereignty movement’s history is reviewed, leading up to the creation of U.S. Public Law 103-150. This resolution was made in response to the demand from Hawaiian sovereignty movements for the United States to acknowledge its role in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai’i. The U.S. political agenda found in this resolution is so deeply embedded and disguised in the diplomatic language used, that without careful examination could go completely undetected by the reader. At the surface level, the Apology Resolution acknowledges the historical injustices faced by the native Hawaiians, apologizes for the events, and seeks reconciliation with the native Hawaiians. Concealed in the U.S. Public Law 103-150, is the manipulation of language as means to use the apology as a disclaimer, which allows the United States to continue to suppress the inherent sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawai’i and nullifies any claims to rights, titles, and possessions against the United States.

This thesis investigates the impact of apology hesitance on medical relationships after an error occurs. Literature suggests that medical personnel are reluctant to apologize because an apology suggests legal liability, violates the drive to provide perfect care that is expected of medical personnel and reinforced during medical education, and violates the certainty over bodies and maladies expected of medical personnel. I suggest that a culture of silence, a pattern of conduct embedded in medical culture, encourages apprehensiveness towards apology and responsibility in the face of error. Despite the fear of litigation, ‘Apology Act’ legislation shields apologizers from having their apology used against them in court, and literature suggests that apologizing following an error benefits doctors by restoring conscience and confidence, assists in the healing of patients and families and restores trust in their relationship with their health care provider, and refines the practice of medicine by addressing how the error occurred. I present two arguments in this thesis. First, I argue that a culture of silence has serious negative impacts on medical relationships and the safe provision of medical care as a whole by obstructing responsibility, apology, and preventing the discussion and correction of conduct that led to the error. Medical personnel who refuse to apologize, or provide an apology that is conditional, instrumental or otherwise of poor-quality leaves their relationship with patients and families in jeopardy. Further, by not apologizing, medical personnel obstruct their own ethical and moral development and obscure the origin and conditions surrounding the error, potentially jeopardizing the safety of future patients. Second, I argue that the medical culture of silence should be replaced by a culture that embraces apology. Doing so would permit medical culture to draw from care ethics, the principles of which are appropriate to responding to, maintaining, and repairing relationships that have experienced damage. The emphasis that care ethics places on maintaining and repairing relationships is especially coherent with apologies that seek to morally engage with the victim, promise non-repetition, and establish a proper record of events. Further, care ethics offers normative recommendations for conduct to respond to and repair relationships, provides inroads to refining notions of human security and safety, and is particularly attuned to interrogating dynamics of power within relationships, dynamics that can limit the potential for and impact of apology. This thesis offers the Tainted Blood Scandal of the 1980s and 90s as a case study. The provision of contaminated blood and blood product resulted in thousands of Canadians becoming infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis C. Through this case, I show that the actions of public health officials, the Red Cross, and healthcare providers reflected a culture of silence that sought to avoid and dispute attributions of responsibility by victims, blood activists, and the public. This is the culture that this thesis in its advocacy of apology seeks to challenge. / Graduate