published_or_final_version / English / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this study was to examine the moral imagination of Kurt Vonnegut and attempt to determine its philosophical basis. This topic was previously only mentioned briefly in the course of other studies, and no one had ever attempted to examine the scope of Vonnegut’s moral vision. This moral vision was examined within the categories of government, technology, violence, economics, and religion. It was concluded that Vonnegut’s vision is based upon the philosophy of humanism: Man is sacred and must be preserved. To this end, Vonnegut advocates a more democratic and selfless form of government, the deemphasis of technology, a more moral scientific responsibility, global pacifism, a socialist economic system, a new religion based on humanism which emphasizes love for all people, and, finally, a return to large extended families. Although Vonnegut acknowledges that this moral vision is unlikely to be instituted on a large enough scale to really change anything due to complexity of an absurd, mechanized, and dehumanized society, he believes it is the moral responsibility of every individual to attempt it. He concludes that the future of mankind depends upon a return to humanistic values.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 53 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Inaug.-diss.--Greifswald. / Vita. Bibliographical foot-notes and index.

Based on the author's Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nottingham, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1996. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [196]-199).

Based on the author's thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nottingham, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

The novels of Iris Murdoch, Doris Lessing and V.S. Naipaul are studied in the light of statements they have made in essays and interviews regarding the ethical implications of writing fiction. The purpose of this research is to examine the nature of the problems they have identified in the creative process of writing and the strategies each has used to address the ethical problems they perceive, and to assess the relative success of their chosen methods. It can be seen that, although for each of them the quest for truth is their highest concern, they have each developed very different ways of dealing with the problems they believe are connected with writing truthfully, and in addition, they have defined the particulars of these problems in different ways. It is concluded that the more carefully examined and individually defined these problems are, the greater the internal consistency and credibility which is achieved by the strategies they have developed to address the problems, and the more their work has developed in the course of their careers.

In an attempt to describe the nature of recent journal literature revolving around the eleven core values of librarianship, as articulated by the American Library Association, this exploratory study analyzed 114 articles from four peer-reviewed library publications over the past five years (2002-2006): College & Research Libraries, Library Trends, Library Quarterly, and portal: Libraries and the Academy. This content analysis noted the levels of complexity with which the core values were discussed, the frequencies of the eleven core values (access, confidentiality/privacy, democracy, diversity, education and lifelong learning, intellectual freedom, preservation, public good, professionalism, service, and social responsibility), and the types of library environments found in the journal literature. The results are intended as a catalyst for the library profession to examine the way it discusses core values and uses them to guide and inform professional practice.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2000. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 308-319). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.