Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2023, Philosophy (Arts and Sciences)

In the meta-ethical debates about moral knowledge, there are many theoretical positions to consider. If one is to have an account of moral knowledge, that will inevitably be affected by how one thinks about knowledge in general. I will be transferring a general theory of knowledge and epistemic justification to the more specific domain of ethics, through the lens of epistemic fallibilism. My goal, in applying this epistemic framework to moral discourse, is to outline how moral fallibilism (my theory) can provide a unique and attractive account of moral knowledge. I will accomplish the application of epistemology to ethical theory by implementing Stewart Cohen's account of fallibilism (with its central notion of “relevance”), and by highlighting the aim and position of moral fallibilism by contrasting it with Mackie's error theory. Finally, I will illustrate moral fallibilism by applying it to contemporary moral concerns; the debate about abortion, in particular. Ultimately, I propose a fresh theory of moral knowledge that emphasizes the varying degrees of justification for our ethical beliefs while defending, at the same time, a moderate account of moral objectivity.

Committee: Christoph Hanisch (Advisor) Subjects: Epistemology; Ethics; Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Political Science

Liberalism has traditionally been suspicious of considering the concept of care as a political principle fit for the public realm. Against this current, I propose a Liberalism with Care (LWC) where liberalism and care ethics lie in a complementary relationship. A liberalism that ignores the place of care in political life falls victim to two immanent critiques, of liberal subjectivity and liberal understanding. I argue that liberalism can best respond to these critiques by incorporating a principle of care which is a synthesis of care ethics and Dewey's affective epistemology. To locate a latent commitment to care in the liberal canon, I present a novel reading of John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism and his collected works where I argue that a commitment to the cultivation of caring characters is a linchpin of his liberal utilitarianism. Mill's caring liberal utilitarianism also reveals the dangers of scaling up care to the public realm, and I consider reasons for why contemporary liberalism would rather prefer the concept of civic friendship than care as a political principle. I conclude that LWC dispels these concerns and better addresses the problems of liberalism than liberal skeptics often assume. Finally, I consider how our understanding of intersubjective boundaries can be reimagined into a caring view of boundaries. Considering two political events, one in South Korea and one in Nevada, I argue that the caring view of boundaries helps us avoid the unsatisfying features of existing accounts.

Committee: Eric MacGilvray (Advisor); Benjamin McKean (Committee Member); Michael Neblo (Committee Member) Subjects: Epistemology; Ethics; Philosophy; Political Science; Sociology; Theology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Philosophy, Applied

Global normative error theorists argue that there are no authoritative normative reasons of any kind. Thus, according to the error theory, the normative demands of law, prudence, morality, etc. are of no greater normative significance than the most absurd standards we can conceive of. Because the error theory is a radically revisionary view, theorists who accept it only do so because they maintain the view is supported by the best available arguments. In this dissertation, I argue that error theory entails that it is impossible that there are successful arguments for anything, thus defenses of error theory are in tension with the view, itself. My argument begins with the observation that it is natural to think a successful argument is one that gives us an authoritative normative reason to believe its conclusion. Error theory entails that there are no authoritative reasons to believe anything. What are arguments for error theory even supposed to accomplish? Error theorists may respond that their arguments are solely intended to get at the truth. I argue that this reply fails. One problem is that it cannot make sense of why in practice even error theorists still want evidence for the premises of sound arguments. Error theorists may try to capture the importance of evidence by appeal to our social norms or goals. I argue that this answer is indistinguishable from the view that our social practices or goals generate authoritative normative requirements. Thus, attempts to defend the coherence of arguing for error theory are either unacceptably revisionary or they are inconsistent with error theory. While this result is a problem for error theory, it seems consistent with highly relativistic accounts of normative authority. In the future, I plan to explore whether my core arguments can be extended to defend authoritative, universal scope normative requirements (e.g. of prudence and morality).

Committee: Michael Weber Dr (Advisor); Verner Bingman Dr (Other); Christian Coons Dr (Committee Member); Molly Gardner Dr (Committee Member); Sara Worley (Committee Member) Subjects: Philosophy

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2019, Political Science (Arts and Sciences)

Imagination is used in the colloquial, everyday lives of people, where the concept functions as a detachment between the metaphysical and the physical. Imagination as a concept is therefore powerful, whereas Political Science and other fields use imagination more in the colloquial sense. This work seeks to illuminate the potential conceptual power of imagination in Political Science by analyzing the structure of imagination and its purpose, referring to imagination's temporal characteristic, its roots in experience, and as a pathway to the many futures and the process of becoming that challenge normative reiterations. This claim changes Political Science by emphasizing the performative intention of invoking imaginative power in revolutionizing and rendering future possibilities that extend beyond the realm of normative functional power.

Committee: Kirstine Taylor (Committee Chair); Vincent Jungkunz (Committee Member); Nukhet Sandal (Committee Member) Subjects: Black Studies; Caribbean Studies; Gender Studies; Hispanic American Studies; International Relations; Latin American Studies; Political Science

Doctor of Business Administration, Cleveland State University, 2017, Monte Ahuja College of Business

Signaling theory has improved our understanding of how the release of new private information signals by a firm insider can influence the decision-making processes of outsiders. While much research has focused on the influences of hard information signals (easy to codify unambiguous information; e.g., a new patent approval), we still know relatively little about soft information signals (hard to codify ambiguous information; e.g., a market orientation). This dissertation explores this gap in the literature by studying the soft signals of normative and economic orientations sent by top managers to the market in the context of quarterly earnings conference calls—a routine corporate practice wherein top managers inform shareholders about the firm's current and future strategy. The present dissertation makes an important distinction between normatively oriented soft signals (concerned with the creation of normative value) and economically oriented soft signals (concerned with the creation of economic value). The antecedents and consequences of these signals are studied, and the following research questions are asked: How do earnings for the quarter (met or missed) influence normative and economic signaling in a conference call? How does the market react to normative and economic signals, under different earnings conditions? These research questions are investigated through computer-assisted-text-analysis (CATA) methodology and event-study methodology with a multi-quarter longitudinal sample of 1,920 observations. Analysis of variance and fixed-effects regression analyses were performed to test this dissertation's hypotheses. Firms that missed their earnings were found to use more economic language than firms that met/beat their earnings, while normative language was not found to differ based on earnings conditions. When earnings were met/beat, both normative and economic orientation signals were found to positively influence market performance, but the latter had a grea (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Susan Storrud-Barnes Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Richard Reed Ph.D. (Committee Member); Rajshekhar Javalgi Ph.D. (Committee Member); William Schulze Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration

MA, Kent State University, 2016, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Sociology and Criminology

Identity theory has been well-tested, refined, and supported, but the empirical research tends to favor normative identities, or identities that are societally accepted and expected (e.g., parent, married). However, this tendency excludes counter-normative identities, or identities that deviate from normative pathways (e.g., childless, single). Using the vegan identity as a special case example of counter-normative identities, this project adds to the literature redressing the normative bias in identity theory. Using multigroup structural equation modeling techniques on survey data from an online and a panel sample of self-identified vegans, results show support for the full model among the panel sample where participation in vegan groups lead to more identity-consistent behavior (decreased likelihood of consuming non-vegan foods). While these results resolve contradictory findings in the vegan literature, they also add to the identity theory literature in three ways: first, they shed light on the scope of the structural identity model: face-to-face (and with slight modifications, to digital) interaction in identities that approximate normative identities along various criteria; second, they provide support for possible remedies to operational oversights in proximate social structure; and third, they further contextualize the measurement of role-related behaviors and other related identity measurements. With these improvements in mind, future directions for identity theory are discussed.

Committee: Richard Serpe (Advisor); William Kalkhoff (Committee Member); Kristen Marcussen (Committee Member) Subjects: Social Psychology; Sociology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Psychology/Clinical

Youth aggression is a serious problem not only in terms of its immediate effects, but in its future consequences as well. In addition, whether children are aggressive or not, their proneness to aggressive behavior remains relatively stable throughout the lifespan (Huesmann, Dubow, & Boxer, 2009). For decades, researchers have been interested in how aggressive behavior is developed and maintained. The predominant theory in the field of developmental psychology is the social cognitive model. This thesis focuses on parental influences on childhood aggression. The data for this study come from a project on the development of aggression within and across generations (Columbia County Longitudinal Study; Dubow, Boxer, & Huesmann, 2009; Eron, Walder, & Lefkowitz, 1971; Lefkowitz, Eron, Walder, & Huesmann, 1977; Huesmann, Dubow, & Boxer, 2009). I examine the links among parental aggression, parents' and children's social cognitions, and children's own aggression. The degree to which parent variables (parent aggression, parent social cognitions, inter-parental aggression, and parental punishment) predict child aggressive behavior as mediated by child social cognitions supporting aggression (a composite of hostile attribution bias, normative beliefs about aggression, aggressive fantasy, and social problem solving) are investigated. Results support a mediational model in which parental aggressive punishment predicts their children developing more aggressive social cognitions, which in turn predicts children having higher aggression. Results suggest that parental punishment—specifically verbal punishment—plays a significant role in increasing childhood aggression.

Committee: Eric Dubow Ph.D. (Advisor); Marie Tisak Ph.D. (Committee Member); Carolyn Tompsett Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2013, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Sociology and Criminology

Research in identity theory has previously explored a number of identities. A majority of these, however, have been identities that are socially desired and expected. This research seeks to explore a different type of identity, those that are counter-normative. The aim of this thesis is to begin the exploration of how individuals with counter-normative identities fit into the identity processes posited by identity theory. Using a nationally representative web-based survey, three groups of identities are explored. Within each group are three specific identities with varying amounts of normalcy. In order to examine the identity process across the three identities and the three sets, group structural equation modeling is used. The results examine the similarities and differences between each of the three identities with regard to the model of identity processes proposed by the structural identity theory research program. In addition, a relatively understudied component of self-esteem, authenticity, is included as an outcome of the identity model. The findings show that those individuals who claim counter-normative identities do, in fact, differ from those who claim normative identities in their experience of the identity process. These results suggest that the structural identity theory model may not carry over from normative to counter-normative identities. Future work should examine counter-normative identities more closely to determine whether a separate model is required for counter-normative identities.

Committee: Richard Serpe Dr. (Committee Chair); William Kalkhoff Dr. (Committee Member); Kristen Marcussen Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Social Psychology; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, Accounting

A careful examination of accounting literature reveals the prospect for developing normative accounting theory that is capable of meeting society's needs at any given time. Despite the importance and the possibility of developing such a type of theory, research concerning normative theorization ceased in favor of the new empirical accounting research, which investigates the usefulness of accounting information to decision-making. Launching this line of research was a consequence of changing the objectives of financial accounting. This study empirically analyzes the shift in academic accounting research as proxied by The Accounting Review (TAR). TAR is the American Accounting Association's premier journal and the American oldest accounting journal devoted to the development of accounting theory. Coding of the articles published in TAR is the research method. Depending on whether or not an article possesses the characteristics of the four variables identified in this study, each article was coded as 0 or 1 under each variable. For each issue, the articles receiving a 1 were counted and summed up. Each issue became a unit of analysis. Samples came from issues published between 1926 and 2007. The years sampled were as follows: 1926-1930, 1952-1956, 1977-1981 and 2003-2007 respectively. This study found accounting theory declined while the use of the empirical archival method, the influence of economics and finance in academic accounting research, and the financial accounting topics appealing increased. This study also found that the use of the empirical archival method is positively associated with the influence of economics and finance. Further, this study found that the influence of economics and finance is positively associated with financial accounting topics. These three trends increased in academic accounting research at the expense of discussing accounting theory as a topic in academic accounting research. The emergence of the new “financial empirical paradigm (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Timothy Fogarty PhD (Committee Chair); Claudia Coulton PhD (Committee Member); Larry Parker PhD (Committee Member); Gary Previts PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Accounting