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This thesis examines the relationship between Leibniz’s Principle of Identity of Indiscernibles and symmetry. In his 1717 correspondence with Samuel Clarke, Leibniz argued that “There is no such thing as a pair of individuals that are indiscernible from each other” (Leibniz 16). In other words, any objects sharing all their properties are in fact one and the same object. This is Leibniz’s Principle of Identity of Indiscernibles (the “PII”). The principle and its converse Leibniz’s Law express a conditional relationship between the identity of an object and its properties. Our investigation will use applications of Leibniz’s principles from the history of philosophy to examine this relationship and we’ll find that imperfect applications result in either perfect qualitative identity between multiple objects (“multiple indiscernibles”), imperfect qualitative identity between multiple objects (“incongruent counterparts”), or, finally, a relative identity between two facets of one object (a “singular discernible”). My project will also trace the historical thread leading from Leibniz to the development of symmetry groups in mathematics. Leibniz’s principles are embedded in science’s ability to distinguish the objective from the subjective, owing to their usefulness discerning an object’s intrinsic properties (properties belonging to the object itself) from extrinsic properties (properties based in relations the object is in with other objects). Symmetry is the relativity of identity, and the PII is an exploratory instrument illuminating this relationship: it injects structure into investigations of identity, but also affords the opportunity to capture pre-existing convictions about identity a thinker brings to the application.

Institutions of learning are discrete because of distinctive curricular and co-curricular programs, culture, history, and symbols. Thus, civic learning and identity development may differ across higher learning institutions, particularly in faith-based colleges and universities. This study sought to explore how Gethsemane College students make sense of their learning experiences in relation to civic identity development. I drew on relational developmental systems perspective to explore the mutual and bidirectional relationship between the participants and context. I collected documents and civic identity development narratives of eight graduating student sat Gethsemane College. Using qualitative content analysis and analysis of narratives in narrative inquiry, the findings revealed the mediating role of social identities, faith-learning integration, the influence of founding denomination, campus climate, civic contexts within Gethsemane College, institutional narratives, and pre-college civic experiences in the participants’ civic identity development. The participants civic identity development evolved in college. They transitioned from charitable actions to social change issues such as climate change and racial and environmental injustices. Global citizenship is an influential construct in how the participants think about their civic identities and citizenship. <br>

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Establishing a sense of identity is a central task in human development. This research pursued questions about how adult, self-identified feminist women conceptualize their identity, the role of feminism in that conceptualization, and the interaction of feminism with race and sexual orientation. Forty women in five geographic regions across the United States were interviewed. The participants were faculty, administrators, classified staff, and graduate students affiliated with a university in the region. The interviews were completed during a week-long visit to each location; each interview lasted from 45 to 75 minutes. Interviews followed a semi-structured format, using a standard protocol. Questions in the interviews asked about the importance of feminism, occupation, relationships, religion, politics, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation in the women's identities. The connection of feminism to each of the other identity areas was also asked of the participants. The women in this study conceptualized identity as consisting of multiple elements, organized in one of two ways: (a) a whole with multiple parts and (b) a collection of multiple parts. The first is an integrated identity, where all elements are connected to each of the other elements, and the second is a contextual identity, where the connection of elements can depend on situational variables. The multiple identities include traditional categories of occupation, relationships, religion, politics, race, and sexual orientation, but also add other areas such as age, socioeconomic class, avocational interests, and feminism. Women identify themselves as having multiple identities. The way participants in this study view feminism as an identity is organized in four categories: a set of values, a process to make meaning, a contextual identity, and an underlying construct. The categories of feminism vary in the degree to which feminism is connected with other identity elements. Women who view feminism as a set of values speak of it as a set of beliefs or an ideology that may or may not influence other identity areas. The participants who view feminism as a process to make meaning have either an interconnected or contextual view of feminism, with the added element of seeing feminism as a way to understand, interpret, and make decisions about experiences. Feminism as a contextual identity is connected with some parts of identity but not with all elements. For those whose view of feminism is as an underlying construct, feminism is interconnected and interactive with all of the other identity elements. This study adds to the literature about feminism and feminist identity in three ways. First, it suggests that for women who identify themselves as feminists, feminism is not only an ideology but also an important element of their identity. Second, it asserts that a shared definition of feminism is not critical to determining its role in identity. Third, this study's findings challenge the Downing and Roush (1985) model of feminist identity as the principal model. The Downing and Roush model focuses on feminist consciousness rather than identity; it employs a singular, liberal definition of feminism; it ignores multiple identities and their interactions; and it hinges its highest achievement on activist participation. Each of these assumptions of the Downing and Roush model are contradicted by the findings of this research. This study adds to the previous literature about identity in two ways. First, it expands the knowledge about adult women's identity by proposing a definition that takes into account the multiple identities that women have. Second, the findings challenge the limited areas by which identity has been traditionally defined. This study challenges the notion that identity is a singular, core construct based on traditional elements. Individuals must be allowed to identify the elements that make up their own identities. The results of this study also suggest that multiple identities, including race/ethnicity and sexual orientation, are mutually influencing and interconnected rather than independent or singular. Identity is constructed of multiple elements that must be examined together to understand the individual's own definition of self. / Ph. D.

This dissertation explores the origin of the idea that English food is inherently “bad” and demonstrates that this perception developed in the mid-nineteenth century. While it is commonly assumed that the poor quality of English cookery developed after the Second World War, this dissertation demonstrates that English cookery was perceived poorly beginning in the nineteenth century. This dissertation brings together an analysis of Victorian values, gender, food adulteration, food technologies, and nostalgia to establish how the English criticized themselves and created the belief that English cookery is “bad.” By examining cookbooks and newspaper articles, this investigation illustrates how the English criticized their own cooking and developed a sense of anxiety about their perceived flawed cookery. In the nineteenth century, cookery was evaluated based on emerging Victorian moral values rather than taste. The emphasis on being economical, efficient, and clean meant that traditional English dishes such as roast beef and plum pudding were no longer celebrated, but instead, considered wasteful and monotonous. Increasing imports through advances in shipping, refrigeration, and canning decreased the production of English goods at home. The adaptation and absorption of new imported ingredients and dishes into English cookbooks created a cosmopolitan cookery by the twentieth century, but, at the same time, deepened confusion over what an English food identity was. By studying cookbooks, this dissertation uses an untapped resource to explore the perception of English cookery. Cookbooks, especially mass publications, helped further the belief that English cookery was wasteful and unclean, and prescribed countless remedies for readers. Cookbooks also offered another perspective for exploring gender and cookery, as middle class women found themselves multitasking as housewives, educators, and cooks. More than just a collection of recipes, cookbooks provide historians with windows to view ideas of food identity, community, and culture. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)