Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2018, Philosophy

In his polemic novel 'Demons' Fyodor Dostoevsky noted the destructive power of political actors 'possessed' by the righteousness of ideas over concern for actually existing people. The ideologies of the 20th century, Liberalism, Fascism and Socialism contain within them absolute statements of ontology, teleology and broad human purpose that allow them to incorporate any and all aspects of human social existence into their state projects. The absolute and universal nature of the claims made by these ideologies causes a state of incommensurability in dialougue with other systems that can lead to violent action as political disagreement is translated into ontological incompatibility leading to demonization and dehumanization. This project aims to propose a system based on a modified form of Burkean conservatism that allows for a recognizes the importance of universal beliefs in the context of humility. A humility rooted in the knowledge of the historical contingency of political situations and the inevitability of philosophical change leading to an epistemological skepticism as to the absolute validity of ideological claims. Instead of locating the need for community on shared convictions, political action is rooted in a shared sense of suffering and responsibility interpreted through the Russian Orthodox concept of Sobornost- where each person is responsible for the suffering of others and has an obligation to relieve the suffering of the world in shared humility.

Committee: Julie White PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Philosophy

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2017, Bioethics

Since the 1990s, medical educators have endeavored to integrate traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) into medical school curriculums in the United States. Motivated by National Institute of Health recommendations, approximately half of American programs have implemented coursework in TCAM to supplement the biomedical model of health. Curriculums vary in how this coursework is integrated, from teaching students on how to incorporate TCAM practitioners into care plans to providing student self-care sessions. This education has come under scrutiny due to questions regarding its effectiveness in promoting health, as well as to recognize the historical religions from whence therapies originate. As examples, yogic and mindfulness practices will be examined here to elucidate whether (and if so, how) such practices ought to be integrated into medical education. Yoga and mindfulness are historically linked to the religious practices of Hinduism and Buddhism. Yoga integrates body posturing with simple meditations in efforts to achieve harmony of body and mind, and of self, with Brahman. Practitioners introduced yoga to Europe and the Americas in the late nineteenth century, with subsequent popularization in the late twentieth century. Drawing primarily from the physical postures in hatha yoga, contemporary practices have been used to complement treatment of physical and mental health conditions of both medical practitioners and patients. Mindfulness derives from the Pali term sati, which refers to recollection and acquisition of insight regarding the value of objects or ideas, and constitutes one element of the Buddhist noble eightfold path. Its modern medicalization can be traced to Jon Kabat-Zinn's opening of Stress Reduction Program in the mid-twentieth century, which supported the spread of mindfulness to other hospital systems. Applications of mindfulness have included treatment of psychiatric conditions and burnout prevention among professionals (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ryan Nash (Advisor); Matthew Vest (Committee Member); Courtney Thiele (Committee Member) Subjects: Alternative Medicine; Medical Ethics; Medicine; Religion

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2015, Theology

This dissertation argues that the cultivation of a non-dual, Christian theological imagination can profitably be resourced by attending to the convergence between the linguistic non-dualism of Wittgensteinian philosophy and the theological-imaginative non-dualism of ancient Jewish and Christian mysticism (subsequently reflected in Eastern Orthodox theology, liturgy and iconography). I frame this convergence using the writings of Rowan Williams, whose engagement with both traditions witnesses to the fruitfulness of their further mutual encounter. First, as a matter of exposition, chapter one contends that Williams's thought has been profoundly influenced by Orthodox theology, particularly in the "kenotic personalism" that inflects his Trinitarian theology, pneumatology and theological anthropology. Second, as a matter of interpretation, chapters two through four trace the trajectory of Williams's thought from an overly formal notion of "intentional" union toward a much "thicker" notion of participation animated by his aesthetic reflection and by the fruitful interaction between the "vocabularies" of the divine energies and Thomistic participation. Finally, in a more constructive mode, chapters five through eight pursue a programme of mutually illuminating dialogue between the two non-dualisms, making further connections between the traditions with respect to theology proper, philosophy of language and the cultivation of a liturgical-theological imagination. The dissertation culminates with an examination of Williams's reflections on the Orthodox liturgy, highlighting both the link between liturgy and poetry and the importance for theology of attending to the formation of a "liturgical humanity" capable of inhabiting a posture of "unselfing attention"—a patient attending to what is given—open to an astonished wonder at the world lit by the divine love. On this reading, the "manifest wonder" of the Eucharist distills a spiritual pedagogy in which both the cause and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brad Kallenberg PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Silviu Bunta PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Kelly Johnson PhD (Committee Member); William Portier PhD (Committee Member); Alexander Golitzin PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biblical Studies; Philosophy; Religion; Theology

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2011, Comparative Religion

Through comparing the use of emotion, theology and philosophy in the moral pedagogies of Eastern Orthodoxy and Mahayana Buddhism, this thesis elucidates both the substantive and methodological issues involved in comparing disparate religious traditions. Through the application of a modified set of comparative principles derived from the Comparative Religious Ideas Project, the study shows that such a methodology can provide a partial explanation for the “same-yet-different” or Jonathan Z. Smith's “deja vu” phenomenon. It is argued that the knowledge gained from this form of comparison is not merely an epistemologically dubious construct of western scholarship which is artificially imposed upon the traditions. Rather, this comparative method reveals a process of “concept simplification” which occurs when a religious tradition shifts from the act of philosophizing and theologizing to the act of moral education. This shift results in the alignment of previously disparate concepts, thus contributing to the “same-yet-different” phenomenon.

Committee: Elizabeth Wilson PhD (Committee Chair); Julie Gifford PhD (Committee Member); Scott Kenworthy PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Regional Studies