Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1935, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2022, English

While Iris Murdoch scholars tend to focus pointedly on her moral quest for goodness, I plan to demonstrate that appreciating her unique brand of metaphysics is not possible without also deciphering her lesser-analyzed philosophy of evil. In “Against Dryness” (1961) Murdoch claims that modern literature “contains so few convincing pictures of evil” and that our inability to “imagine evil” is a consequence of our post-war perception of humanity, which she believed was far too optimistic given the human atrocities committed in the twentieth century. We are thus left with a dangerous fantasy that humans are “totally free and responsible, knowing everything we need to know for the important purposes of life,” which is a dry view because it fails to consider that humans are complex, contingent, and morally muddled. I will show how Murdoch's problem of dryness exists in today's pervasive social media practice of “cancel culture” which, like a dry novel, also paints an overly optimistic view of human nature and naively assumes that humans can readily choose acts of good over evil. I will do so by analyzing Murdoch's evil enchanters—particularly a chillingly demonic scene in The Flight From The Enchanter (1956) that involves a dry interpretation of the pornographic photograph surreptitiously taken of Rosa Keepe in which Calvin Blick exclaims: ‘This is my eye' . . . ‘This is the truthful eye that sees and remembers. The lens of my camera.' Just as Calvin's evil eye judges Rosa within the rigid confines of one snapshot in time, those who participate in cancel culture utilize similar reductive tactics to determine the moral value of a person based upon a sole photo, text, or event and purposefully do not make any space to consider the entire—invariably muddled, flawed, and complex— picture of the life of the individual they contemptuously excoriate and seek to cancel. The solutions to dryness that Murdoch's philosophy intimates are twofold: on the moral (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Fine David (Advisor) Subjects: Educational Theory; Literature; Social Research

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2019, Psychology-Industrial/Organizational

Prior literature shows that professionals who must, as part of their job, cause psychological or physical harm to another person for a perceived greater good sometimes complete the task without engaging in behavior in an interpersonally sensitive manner, which attends to other person's needs and feelings. The focus of this dissertation is to explore the extent to which victim's emotional displays in response to receiving bad news predict the tendency to deliver bad news in an interpersonally sensitive way. To test this theory, 103 students provided face-to-face feedback containing bad news to a confederate who expressed sad, anger, or no emotion by manipulating facial, auditory, and postural non-verbal expressions. Participants were video-recorded and the feedback was coded for interpersonally sensitive behaviors. Although the overall results did not support the mediation hypotheses, several significant relationships revealed that victim's emotional displays influenced the deliverer's interpersonally sensitive behavior. Individuals who observed sad, compared to anger (but not neutral), emotional displays treated victims with greater dignity and respect. Furthermore, supplemental analysis revealed that participants were more likely to sugarcoat bad news when speaking only with angry victims. Thus, victims were treated differently depending on the emotional displays they expressed during the necessary evil task. Future research on necessary evil should incorporate the interpersonal aspects of emotions in their model as it may influence the deliverer's behaviors towards the victims. Furthermore, employees should be trained in delivering necessary evil type tasks with interpersonally sensitive behaviors.

Committee: James Diefendorff (Advisor); Paul Levy (Committee Member); Dennis Doverspike (Committee Member); Jennifer Stanley (Committee Member); Rebecca Erickson (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2018, Philosophy (Arts and Sciences)

In this thesis, William Alston's influential defense of divine command theory is critically evaluated. It is argued that Alston, in positing evaluative particularism, undermines his defense because moral particularism, a rival theory of moral obligation, follows from evaluative particularism. Furthermore, the moral particularist need not deny that God has moral obligations. Even if evaluative particularism did not entail moral particularism, it fails to makes God's commands non-arbitrary, contrary to Alston's claims. On divine command theory, God does not make commands for moral reasons, which is a fundamental principle of moral agency, necessary for any moral action to be non-arbitrary. Also, the divine nature does not uniquely pick out particular good actions to be obligatory. It is also objected that Alston's evaluative particularism posits a God which is either conceptually incoherent or non-existent, demonstrated by an evidential argument from evil given in the paper.

Committee: James Petrik Dr. (Committee Chair); Alyssa Bernstein Dr. (Committee Member); Alfred Lent Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Philosophy; Religion

Master of Arts, Oberlin College, 1939, English

It is the purpose of this paper to estimate the influence of Archbishop King's Origin of Evil on Pope's Essay, and then to determine the relative influence of King and Bolingbroke upon the Essay.

Committee: J.F. Mack (Advisor) Subjects: Literature

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1986, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Folklore

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1971, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Literature

MA, Kent State University, 2016, College of the Arts / School of Art

Throughout history, the story of Adam and Eve and the lost land of Eden has played a major role in the West on attitudes towards gender, sexuality, temptation and deceit. Visual spectacles of Adam and Eve could be found in nearly every cathedral by the 15th and 16th centuries across western Europe. The events from Genesis 1-3 were displayed within several illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages and even commissioned narratives for personal art during the latter half of the Renaissance. The works discussed in this thesis span from mosaics, painting, sculpture, and relief, to woodcuts and engravings. The artists and works mentioned have been examined and appropriated to the conventions and exegeses of the early Church fathers as well as the viewpoints of several western theologians. Through careful analysis, this study focuses on the detail, placement, and activeness of Adam, Eve, God and the evil serpent found within the images discussed. By taking a closer look at these powerful images from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the attitudes of the Church, patron and artist can be observed and interpreted.

Committee: Gustav Medicus PhD (Advisor); Diane Scillia PhD (Committee Member); John-Michael Warner PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Art History

MA, Kent State University, 2015, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Philosophy

My project is to establish a secularized concept of evil by filtering F.W.J. Schelling's philosophy through that of Martin Heidegger. Schelling's philosophy is essential to my project, because he seeks to claim a positive ontological status for evil, as do I. Schelling's evil, despite its religious context, is not mired in concepts of malformation, or even original sin, as is the evil of his predecessors. I offer Aristotle and Immanuel Kant as Schelling's key secular predecessors, in whose philosophies we find the beginnings of Schelling's free-will theodicy. Similarly, Schelling stands apart from modern theodicy—that is, from G.W. Leibniz, who coined the term “theodicy”—in three key ways: Schelling focuses on human beings, rather than on God; he embraces nature, rather than seeking to overcome it, which requires that he also embrace chaos; and he insists that evil has a positive ontological status, rather than a negative one. These departures show the influence of both Kant and Aristotle on Schelling's conception of evil. Over the course of this project, we will find that when we uncover evil's positive ontology and lay bare its actualization by humans, we ground an approach to evil suited to the political necessities of the twenty-first century. That is, we see that a proper philosophical understanding of evil necessarily calls us to a political address of the same. What the evils of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have shown us, especially, is that a stronger, positive conception of evil enables us to assign accountability more effectively to those who commit evil acts. Hence, crafting a positive conception of evil outside of a theological framework will necessitate a moral framework. To that end, I engage the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche and Hannah Arendt in order to make clear the implications of an ontologically positive evil and draw conclusions regarding the best concept of evil for a contemporary context. My view is that the best concept of (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Gina Zavota PhD (Advisor); Kim Garchar PhD (Committee Member); Michael Byron PhD (Committee Member); Tammy Clewell PhD (Other) Subjects: Philosophy

Master of Humanities (MHum), Wright State University, 2007, Humanities

J.K. Rowling, best selling author of the Harry Potter series, uses mythology to add layers of meaning to her own creative storylines, to provide insight into the characters and plot, and to subtly foreshadow events to come. Rowling reinvents the old myths referred to in her text by creating surprise twists that are a reversal of the reader's expectations. Ultimately, Rowling's reworking of established mythology reveals the author's own modern perspective about what makes a hero, the power of choice, and the nature of evil. Although Rowling draws from a variety of mythologies, including Arthurian legend, ancient Egyptian mythology and European folk lore, this thesis is focused largely upon her use of ancient Greek and Roman myths. The thesis examines Rowling's inclusion of mythic elements within the names of her characters, as well as within the characters themselves. The thesis further explores the role of myth within the storylines and overarching themes of the series. A historical survey of literary mythic motifs, such as werewolves, heroes, sirens and mermaids is included for comparison to Rowling's treatment of such characters. The author's use of myth to reflect contemporary concerns is explored, highlighting specific social and ethical issues that Rowling addresses.

Committee: Carol Nathanson (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2010, History (Arts and Sciences)

This project examines the origins, drafting, and effects of Ronald Reagan's Evil Empire speech. My dissertation introduces this important address by exploring Reagan's political ideology during his pre-presidential years. His ideological polemics coexisted with his pragmatic governing style. I subsequently explain how ending the foreign policy of detente with the Soviet Union led to the rise of the Nuclear Freeze movement, a broad-based, bipartisan, interfaith, international peace group. The dissertation centers on the reaction by peace activists, evangelical Christians, the Kremlin, and the mainstream news media to rhetorical rearmament, Reagan's Manichean and moralistic characterization of his foreign policy ideology. My project concludes by studying the political phenomenon of “evil empire” over the past quarter century. The importance of the study derives from the political mobilization of the White House against this incarnation of the peace movement among religious voters, in the news media, and from the bully pulpit. My dissertation examines the varying levels of support the Nuclear Freeze movement received from peace activists, the mainstream news media, and religious organizations. The president needed to counteract the movement's popularity by creating a favorable national discourse on behalf of his military rearmament. Instead, Reagan's oratory exacerbated the Cold War tensions by deeming the Soviet Union “an evil empire” and “the focus of evil in the modern world.” The president found himself caught between his desire for nuclear arms reductions and his unyielding belief in the inherent evil of Soviet Communism. Throughout his presidency, Reagan alternated between ideological and pragmatic approaches toward the Soviet Union. The Evil Empire speech was the height of ideology. Yet, soon after the address the president came to favor pragmatism than ideology. He embraced Mikhail Gorbachev and created the conditions necessary to end the Cold War. Rhetorical (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Chester Pach Jr. (Committee Chair); Kevin Mattson (Committee Member); Alonzo Hamby (Committee Member); Maria Fanis (Committee Member) Subjects: History

Bachelor of Arts, Miami University, 2005, College of Arts and Sciences - English

This project examined two series of children's fantasy literature: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The process of maturation in each series, and especially the structure of character growth in children, is similar enough to warrant exploration and research. Different elements that contribute to maturation are discussed in this paper, including the expectations our society places on children, reward and punishment, the relationship between children and adults, the importance of role models, and the influence of the external power structure. Despite the decades that separate Lewis and Rowling, each writer seems to be communicating similar values to young readers. Because each series is so widely read, it is worth our time to discover what those values are, and what each author might be communicating to young people. The starting point for character growth in every child is the choice between good and evil. Every subsequent choice or action by the child stems from this basic allegiance. The children who ally themselves with the good side possess similar characteristics in both series, including humility, imagination, loyalty and selflessness. These children accept the fact that bad things happen and admit to making mistakes. Children who choose evil also possess a common set of traits that include arrogance, pride and selfishness.

Committee: Anita Wilson (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Popular Culture

Gender and video games has become a hot topic for scholars and lay people a like in recent years. Despite this universal interest in the subject, little has been done to document the way in which formal features of video games affect the ways in which women are represented in-games or situate video games in the current gender politics of both third-wave feminist and post-feminism. This thesis examines the prevalence of post-feminist in the narrative and bodily depictions of female protagonists, by focusing on some of the unique formal features of video games. Secondly, it examines the ways that the repetition of specific images of women create a gendered discourse in the imagined video game community which in turn constructs and disciplines the woman gamer subject in specific ways.

Committee: Becca Cragin Dr. (Committee Chair); Jeffrey Brown Dr. (Committee Member); Jeremy Wallach Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Film Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; Glbt Studies; Mass Media; Womens Studies