Search Full Text
Now showing items 1-10 of 22
In Defense of Dependence on Moral Testimony
(Georgetown University, 2015)
In this dissertation, I defend dependence on moral testimony. To that end, against pessimistic views regarding dependence on moral testimony I argue that moral testimony can confer epistemic warrant and that dependence on ...
Owing it to Us
(Georgetown University, 2013)
Ethical theorists have traditionally analyzed duties, both individual and collective, into two categories: duties to others and duties to oneself. Reflection upon the moral domain, however, suggests cases in which an ...
Human Well-Being: The No Priority Theory
(Georgetown University, 2009)
Desire-fulfillment (DF) theories and objective list (OL) theories are the two dominant types of theories of human well-being. I argue that DF theories fail to capture the good part of `good for', and that OL theories fail ...
Mental Diversity and Meaningful Psychiatric Disabilities
(Georgetown University, 2017)
This dissertation provides a philosophical investigation of key claims arising from the psychiatric user/survivor movement. Users/survivors insist that psychiatric conditions do not necessarily diminish someone’s agency ...
What We Owe to Those We Make: A Causalist Account of Procreators' Parental Obligations
(Georgetown University, 2017)
Nearly everyone believes that we have special moral obligations to care for the children we create. Surprisingly, a satisfying philosophical justification of this belief has proved elusive. Causalist accounts ground these ...
On Reasons to Live Justifiably: In Support of a Humean Contractualist Account of Moral Reasons
(Georgetown University, 2014)
The goal of this dissertation is to explore a new answer to the very old question, "Why be moral?" Or, as the question is often phrased today, "What reason does one have to be moral?" I begin my investigation into this ...
On the Moral Significance of Conscience
(Georgetown University, 2015)
Moral reasons are considerations that count in favor of or against actions in light of a moral standard. They can be functionally defined as authoritative guides to morally right action. Embedded in this concept is a deep ...
Ties that Bind: Respect and Relationship-Based Responsibilities
(Georgetown University, 2012)
We commonly think we have special obligations to our friends and family members. For instance, if someone's brother were to move to town, we would likely think that she ought to at least offer her help, though we would ...
Agony and Integrity: An Erotic Psychology for Prefigurative Ethical Practice
(Georgetown University, 2012)
The goal of this dissertation is to clarify and address a problem of integrity understood as the question of how one ought to live out one's robustly motivating and normatively orienting attachments to persons, projects ...
Resolving the Ethical Challenges of Irregular War
(Georgetown University, 2012)
After more than ten years of war, the United States military is still trying to come to grips with the practical and ethical demands of combating irregular adversaries. This discussion will examine and attempt to resolve ...