This dissertation is arranged in three parts which address issues concerning death and immortality. These issues all revolve around the temporal limit imposed by death. I have endeavoured to pose some questions which have relevance to a society clutching onto traditional notions of an afterlife despite its headlong thrust into a technologically advanced future where ethical confusions abound. In the first chapter I examine the metaphysics of the soul because postulating an afterlife is the conventional response to death anxiety. I have noticed that many people cling to hope of immortality without having any understanding of the metaphysical architecture of this hope. Consequently, from a philosophical perspective, I contrast arguments on the soul by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas and Descartes. The second chapter emerges from a fascination with Epicurus's theory of living and, derivatively, of dying. It involves a comparison with (1) Aristotle's distinction between energeia (actuality) and kinesis (movement), and (2) the sybaritic hedonism of the Cyrenaics. Although the theme of this chapter is pleasure, it will be seen that pleasure lies embedded in the living project and is an important component in the drive for survival. In the third chapter I reflect on the meaning of life in conjunction with length of time lived. Here I compare the meaninglessness experienced by Leo Tolstoy (because his life is too short) and the meaninglessness experienced by the fictional character Elena Makropulos (because her life is too long). The Makropulos "case", both a play by Karel Capek and an opera by Leos Janacek, was introduced into the philosophical world by Bernard Williams.

This dissertation is arranged in three parts which address issues concerning death and immortality. These issues all revolve around the temporal limit imposed by death. I have endeavoured to pose some questions which have relevance to a society clutching onto traditional notions of an afterlife despite its headlong thrust into a technologically advanced future where ethical confusions abound. In the first chapter I examine the metaphysics of the soul because postulating an afterlife is the conventional response to death anxiety. I have noticed that many people cling to hope of immortality without having any understanding of the metaphysical architecture of this hope. Consequently, from a philosophical perspective, I contrast arguments on the soul by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas and Descartes. The second chapter emerges from a fascination with Epicurus's theory of living and, derivatively, of dying. It involves a comparison with (1) Aristotle's distinction between energeia (actuality) and kinesis (movement), and (2) the sybaritic hedonism of the Cyrenaics. Although the theme of this chapter is pleasure, it will be seen that pleasure lies embedded in the living project and is an important component in the drive for survival. In the third chapter I reflect on the meaning of life in conjunction with length of time lived. Here I compare the meaninglessness experienced by Leo Tolstoy (because his life is too short) and the meaninglessness experienced by the fictional character Elena Makropulos (because her life is too long). The Makropulos "case", both a play by Karel Capek and an opera by Leos Janacek, was introduced into the philosophical world by Bernard Williams.

Thesis (S.T.D.)--Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 277-292).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2008. / Thesis directed by Michael R. DePaul for the Department of Philosophy. "December 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-225).

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-65). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Title from title screen. Andrew Altman, committee chair; Peter Lindsay, Dr George Rainbolt, committee members. Electronic text (70 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed May 7, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-70).

The Norwegian government has submitted a report to the Norwegian parliament, concluding that raw oil export can no longer sustain economic growth. Norway is therefore seeking other industries to minimize the economic loss this is causing. Norway is already the largest exporter of salmon and trout in the world. The report states that the government's goal is to increase production to five times today's production by 2050. The ability and desire to grow has its backing from a handful of large companies dominating the aquaculture business and a newly recognized right-wing government eager to make the playroom larger for the aquaculture industry. This paper analyzes the report, using an ethical matrix, looking for ethical arguments from the government as well as defining the stakeholders affected by the government's goal. This thesis' aim is to analyze and discuss the broad range of ethical concerns, based on an ethical matrix, so that a variety of ethical perspectives can be included in an evaluative discussion.

The aim of this thesis is to examine advertising from the point of view of Christian ethics: how it works, what is wrong with it and how it might go right as a practice. It argues that much existing criticism of advertising is justified, but that its power to create desire might be turned towards serving the good of the education of desire, leading us towards, or strengthening, a love of God, and helping us relate to products and services based on this love. This is significant because learning to desire well is central to living a Christian life, and because advertising influences how many people desire today. In contrast to authors who simply criticise advertising, often as part of a general critique of consumer culture, this thesis offers a constructive and detailed examination of the practice itself, looking at how its techniques work and how they might be reformed into an 'art of advertising'. In making this argument the thesis draws primarily on Augustine, in addition to Plato, and modern critics of advertising. First, it describes desire, before examining how advertisements create desire, followed by an assessment of existing criticisms of this process. It then develops an account of the education of desire, identifying what an art of advertising should aim to achieve, before examining the techniques by which an advertisement might achieve this. The argument is intended to contribute to a project within Christian ethics of critiquing advertising, and presenting a workable ethical vision for the future of the industry.

No description available.

Academic Integrity is central to the security of higher education academic standards and qualifications. However in recent years threats to integrity and educational quality have increased throughout the world because of high rates of academic misconduct. The author of the portfolio was Principal Investigator and project leader for the EU funded project Impact of Policies for Plagiarism in Higher Education Across Europe (IPPHEAE, 2010-2013) and has continued to build on the findings from the research since the project ended. Over 5000 survey responses were collected from over 200 institutions across 27 European Union (EU) countries, through on-line questionnaires, interviews and focus groups, involving higher education students, academics, managers, researchers and people concerned with HE nationally. The portfolio draws on the authors significant contributions to the IPPHEAE research which explored the nature and efficacy of institutional policies designed to address these threats and promote ethical and scholarly academic conduct. Although some effective policies were evident, for example in UK, Sweden, Austria and Slovakia, the findings indicated that much more could be done in every country studied to improve guidance and support given to both students and teachers. Great disparities were evident across Europe in what was perceived as acceptable academic conduct, procedures to investigate allegations of student cheating and penalties applied for different offences. This initial research highlighted inherent inconsistencies, lack of transparency and unfairness in student outcomes. It is remarkable that such major policy and conceptual differences should exist despite moves to harmonise educational systems across the EU. There was a perception among survey respondents that outcomes and penalties for students found to be cheating would vary within an institution according to which lecturer found the problem. The author’s contributions to the body of knowledge include a unique insight into how well HEIs in different part of Europe appreciate current challenges to academic integrity and how their perceptions are driving national and institutional policies. Key outputs from the authors’ own research include the Academic Integrity Maturity Model (AIMM), which calculates a maturity profile for each country studies based on nine metrics, calculated from the survey data. AIMM was applied in the country-bycountry report comparing policies across the 27 EU countries. AIMM has since been repurposed as an institutional evaluation and benchmarking tool and forms the basis for the Scorecard for Academic Integrity Development (SAID). The portfolio contains five different publications that cover the main elements of the authors’ research in this specific field: a journal paper, a conference paper, a book chapter, the EU-wide comparison report and an expert witness report presented to an international forum. All the publications have been subject to peer review. Given the vast scale and scope of this research, the author has collaborated with many other researchers in the course of the underlying research and developments. Eight main co-researchers were given access to the portfolio and draft thesis and each has provided a statement about their view of the research. The author is now building on earlier research, in conjunction with the global research community. Further funding has just been provided to extend IPPHEAE to the Balkan region (Council of Europe) and to create a European Network for Academic Integrity (Erasmus+). The long-term goal is to improve the security and integrity of qualifications and systems in education and research throughout the world. Only if the future leaders of government, business, education and commerce become convinced of the need for ethical values and integrity, will we begin to see long-term positive changes to cultural values affecting wider society.