Acknowledging Intergenerational Moral Responsibility in the Aftermath of Genocide

This article argues for the claim that we are morally responsible (in the qualified sense proposed in the article) for the crimes of our ancestors if our ancestors, as a collectivity, were part of a community for whose sake and in whose name crimes were committed that meet the definition of the crime of genocide. This claim of ‘‘vicarious intergenerational moral responsibility’’ is supported by two arguments. The first counters the claim that one cannot have responsibilities for events in the past by arguing that this claim oversimplifies one’s relationship to one’s past and the collectivities in which people live. Such collectivities, both ethnic and religious, have identities across time; identification with these collectivities involves accepting certain moral obligations. The second argument is based on the following premise: the political, social, cultural, and educational institutions that mark all large collectivities, such as nations, provide a degree of moral reliability that is necessary for individuals to carry out their legitimate interests. We count on such institutions to exemplify the values that allow individuals to flourish in their life activities. These institutions are by their very nature intergenerational. The moral reliability of such institutions thus requires that we endeavor to acknowledge and repair the damage caused by the failure of these institutions in the past. Accordingly, their health engenders a moral obligation on our part. Vicarious intergenerational moral responsibility is a responsibility not to the past per se but to the past as it plays an active role in the present

The Moral Burden of Memory: The Role of National Narratives in Democracy Building

This essay is a meditation on memory and democracy. I will argue that democracy as a way of life is conditioned upon how well a community remembers its past. The concept of democracy as a way of life, as distinct from a particular form of governance, has its origins in the political philosophy of John Dewey. I will approach this issue in a somewhat roundabout manner. In the first part, I will examine a series of Dewey’s writings from the early 1920s that resulted from his visit of the newly established Republic of Turkey. I contend that the se­rious shortcomings in Dewey’s analysis of Turkish state nation-building highlight deficiencies in his otherwise laudable and nuanced democratic theory. In the second part, I provide a more sustained analysis of the role of collective memory within a community, especially one that aspires to a democratic way of life. I will then conclude with a few reflections upon issues arising from Turkish collective memory as it relates to the Armenian Genocide.</jats:p

The Eclipse and Rebirth of American Philosophical Pluralism: a History Lesson about His-tory

The 1950s and `60s saw a struggle in American academic philosophy between a philosophical tradition that maintained a central role for the history of philosophy along with an openness to diverse philosophical methods and an ascendant analytic approach that marginalized its own history and restricted the scope of philosophy to self-generated philosophical problems. Columbia University in this period, while marked by these tensions, still provided a fertile ground for generating teacher-philosophers whose pedagogy reflected a deep and serious respect for history and philosophical pluralism. John Herman Randall Jr. and Justus Buchler were two of the central figures who fostered such an environment in Columbia’s Philosophy Department. Joseph P. Fell was a product of this environment and brought these traits to his classroom at Bucknell University. Playing off of Hegel’s insights into history, this essay will reflect upon the philosophies of Randall and Buchler with an eye toward pedagogy, especially as recalled in classes taught by Fell. The subtext of these reflections will provide a commentary on trends within academic philosophy in America over the last 40 years.</jats:p

Comparative effectiveness of the industrial arts foundation at California State University in Los Angeles

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to ascertain the comparative effectiveness of the industrial arts undergraduate foundation program in the Department of Industrial Studies at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). The difference in means of GPA and achievement test scores were determined by comparing a group of enrolled native students who had completed the program at CSULA, with a group of CSULA enrolled transfer students who had completed and equivalent program at some community college. Procedure: A questionnaire was developed and distributed to determine the extent of the two populations. Stratified random sampling was applied to generate two student groups representative of each population. Educational Testing Service provided the National Teachers Examination in Industrial Arts, which was administered to 102 students for gathering the data. Results of the test instrument were utilized to assess the performance of native and transfer student groups on composite and sub-test scores of subject areas in industrial arts content. This study then compared the means between grade-point average, and achievement test scores on composite and sub-test areas of the two industrial arts student groups. ABSTRAC

Comparative effectiveness of the industrial arts foundation at California State University in Los Angeles

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to ascertain the comparative effectiveness of the industrial arts undergraduate foundation program in the Department of Industrial Studies at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). The difference in means of GPA and achievement test scores were determined by comparing a group of enrolled native students who had completed the program at CSULA, with a group of CSULA enrolled transfer students who had completed and equivalent program at some community college. Procedure: A questionnaire was developed and distributed to determine the extent of the two populations. Stratified random sampling was applied to generate two student groups representative of each population. Educational Testing Service provided the National Teachers Examination in Industrial Arts, which was administered to 102 students for gathering the data. Results of the test instrument were utilized to assess the performance of native and transfer student groups on composite and sub-test scores of subject areas in industrial arts content. This study then compared the means between grade-point average, and achievement test scores on composite and sub-test areas of the two industrial arts student groups. ABSTRAC