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14 May 2026
Marching Band Experience
Charlee Sharpsteen is a Lindenwood student and St. Louis based digital illustrator who likes to create bold and bright works often playing with light and storytelling.
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Article14 May 2026The Purpose Of LIFE: An Analysis of The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty as a Cinematic Guide To Eudaimonia
This paper examines the moral formation of the protagonist of the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) through the framework of Aristotelian virtue ethics. Though extensive research has been conducted on the use of film as a vehicle for moral education and a tool for ethics pedagogy, there exists a demonstrable gap in research which applies the principles of virtue ethics to character analysis in film. This paper presents a scene-based, qualitative analysis comparing the actions of the main character to the model of habituation of virtue as presented in The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle. In observing the state of the protagonist's moral posture chronologically, it will be demonstrated that his character arc engages with familiar virtue ethics concepts such as habituation (ethos), disposition (hexis), practical wisdom (phronesis), friendship (philia), contemplation (theōria), and ultimately eudaimonia. The concluding arguments will present Walter Mitty’s moral development as a roadmap to understanding his personal journey to eudaimonia through habituation, supportive friendships, and engagement with reality. Finally, a film analysis framework constructed on the tenets of virtue ethics will be proposed using this film as a case study. The analysis in this paper is intended to contribute to evolving conversations surrounding film philosophy, ethics pedagogy, and narrative screenwriting by encouraging contemporary filmmakers to adopt similar patterns of character formation which can depict authentic human flourishing on screen.
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- Article14 May 2026
From your POV: Using narrative-focused methodology to study psychological correlates of sexual health behaviors
How far would you go (or not go) to protect yourself from risky sexual behaviors? Additionally, what influence does our gender identity and socialization have on these decisions? In the current series of studies, a story-driven safe-sex behavioral assessment was developed and administered to participants to assess the relationships amongst psychological indices, personal values, and sexual health. This research confirms the validity of an instrument that queries sensitive data while controlling for social desirability concerns. The applications of this research are especially pertinent to improving upon interpersonal communication, sexual health education, and women’s sexual health advocacy. - Article14 May 2026
Hammurabi’s Laws: Ancient Traditions of Violence
The tradition of enforcing private property through violence is truly ancient, and goes back thousands of years to the first civilizations. There exists a prevailing attitude that contemporary culture is more “civilized” than the first organized societies – and while it’s true in some ways, our laws are still remarkably similar to those practiced in antiquity. In the following essay, I analyze the Law Code of Hammurabi and examine its parallels to the way laws function today. First, I will provide context for the technological advances that made the first city-states possible, then give a cultural and economic overview of the Babylonian civilization of which Hammurabi was king. I will then look at specific laws and attempt to determine the values that guide them and their purpose within the functioning of the Babylonian state. The ethical analysis that follows will be through the lens of private property, the state’s monopoly on violence, and the moral dilemma of good and evil. - Article14 May 2026
Satire and Sentiment: Dickensian Characterization in Hard Times
Readers of Charles Dickens both celebrate and criticize his characters, who are paramount among the quintessential aspects of his writing. His industrial novel Hard Times bears particularly the weight of such criticism in its portrayal of Stephen Blackpool, one of the Coketown factory Hands. Scholars have complained that Blackpool exemplifies, in too boring or didactic a manner, the typical virtues of the Victorian era, such as saintliness, humility, and long-suffering (Spector 365), and that his character lacks the necessary traits to compel and inspire readers. Such a critique has prompted the following research and analysis. Using formalist observation of diction and semantic style within the novel, as well as historicist commentary on Dickens’s own authorial situation, my goal is to argue that Blackpool is neither a flat nor ineffective character. Instead, I suggest that the moral fable style of Hard Times lends itself to both realism and satire. In other words, by using this framework, Dickens effectively crafts complex, flawed human characters and connects them under a diagnostic rhetorical mission that critiques society and its reduction of humans to mere parts. My research is supported by analysis of Roman Jakobson and Kenneth Burke and their explanations of literary devices such as metonymy, which identifies a whole by one of its parts. I conclude that, by using metonymy himself, Dickens draws attention to, and therefore censures, a governmental and educational system that stifles human individuality - Article14 May 2026
The Purpose Of LIFE: An Analysis of The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty as a Cinematic Guide To Eudaimonia
This paper examines the moral formation of the protagonist of the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) through the framework of Aristotelian virtue ethics. Though extensive research has been conducted on the use of film as a vehicle for moral education and a tool for ethics pedagogy, there exists a demonstrable gap in research which applies the principles of virtue ethics to character analysis in film. This paper presents a scene-based, qualitative analysis comparing the actions of the main character to the model of habituation of virtue as presented in The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle. In observing the state of the protagonist's moral posture chronologically, it will be demonstrated that his character arc engages with familiar virtue ethics concepts such as habituation (ethos), disposition (hexis), practical wisdom (phronesis), friendship (philia), contemplation (theōria), and ultimately eudaimonia. The concluding arguments will present Walter Mitty’s moral development as a roadmap to understanding his personal journey to eudaimonia through habituation, supportive friendships, and engagement with reality. Finally, a film analysis framework constructed on the tenets of virtue ethics will be proposed using this film as a case study. The analysis in this paper is intended to contribute to evolving conversations surrounding film philosophy, ethics pedagogy, and narrative screenwriting by encouraging contemporary filmmakers to adopt similar patterns of character formation which can depict authentic human flourishing on screen. - Article14 May 2026
The Making of an Extremist: How Do We Become Someone Else’s Nightmare?
This article explores how ordinary people can be pulled into extremist movements and what psychological forces drive that process. It looks at three perspectives: social identity theory, which explains how group belonging shapes behavior, identity development, which shows how people searching for meaning may find it in extremist causes; and social neuroscience, which connects radicalization to brain activity linked to fear, loyalty, and moral judgement. Together, these approaches show that radicalization is not simply about ideology but about identity, emotion, and belonging. By understanding these dynamics, we can find better ways to prevent extremism and promote healthier, more inclusive communities.