The principle of human moral equality is poorly understood. I criticize standard accounts and propose a mildly subversive alternative based in a certain view of the phenomenology of conceptual thought. First, a formulation of the principle: -/- (E) Every person has a basic moral worth equal to that of any other. -/- E is vague, as it should be. It is neutral regarding rival theories of the nature of the equalizing property or its value, or how we recognize either. But (...) I impose two constraints on the principle that seem to reflect a universal consensus among its proponents: E asserts a kind of worth (or status or value) that (i) is indifferent to ordinary moral judgments of character, merit, or desert and (ii) forbids political arrangements we intuitively judge to be at odds with the spirit of basic equality. The first constraint protects against absurdity or nihilism, the second against vacuity. (shrink)

Huemer defends phenomenal conservatism (PC) and also the further claim that belief in any rival theory is self-defeating (SD). Here I construct a dilemma for his position: either PC and SD are incompatible, or belief in PC is itself self-defeating. I take these considerations to suggest a better self-defeat argument for (belief in) PC and a strong form of internalism.

RÉSUMÉL’un des arguments communément avancé en faveur du relativisme repose sur l’apparente possibilité que des jugements non erronés puissent être divergents. Je cherche à montrer qu’une telle observation n’est possible qu’à des conditions qui la rendent inadmissible à titre de preuve: l’acceptation d’une grossière ignorance, de l’irrationalité, ou encore un attachement préalable à une forme peu plausible de relativisme particulièrement extrême.

_Critique of Violence_ is a highly original and lucid investigation of the heated controversy between poststructuralism and critical theory. Leading theorist Beatrice Hanssen uses Walter Benjamin's essay 'Critique of Violence' as a guide to analyse the contentious debate, shifting the emphasis from struggle to dialogue between the two parties. Regarding the questions of critique and violence as the major meeting points between both traditions, Hanssen positions herself _between_ the two in an effort to investigate what critical theory and poststructuralism have (...) to offer each other. In the course of doing so, she assembles imaginative new readings of Benjamin, Arendt, Fanon and Foucault, and incisively explores the politics of recognition, the violence of language, and the future of feminist theory. This groundbreaking book will be essential reading for all students of continental philosophy, political theory, social studies and comparative literature. Also available in this series: _Essays on Otherness_ Hb: 0-415-13107-3: £50.00 Pb: 0-415-13108-1: £15.99 _Hegel After Derrida_ Hb: 0-415-17104-4: £50.00 Pb: 0-415-17105-9: £15.99 _The Hypocritical Imagination_ Hb: 0-415-21361-4: £47.50 Pb: 0-415-21362-2: £15.99 _Philosophy and Tragedy_ Hb: 0-415-19141-6: £45.00 Pb: 0-415-19142-4: £14.99 _Textures of Light_ Hb: 0-415-14273-3: £42.50 Pb: 0-415-14274-1: £13.99 _Very Little... Almost Nothing_ Pb: 0-415-12821-8: £47.50 Pb: 0-415-12822-6: £15.99. (shrink)

"Kant and the Capacity to Judge" will prove to be an important and influential event in Kant studies and in philosophy.

Critique of Violence is a highly original and lucid investigation of the heated controversy between poststructuralism and critical theory. Leading theorist Beatrice Hanssen uses Walter Benjamin's essay 'Critique of Violence' as a guide to analyse the contentious debate, shifting the emphasis from struggle to dialogue between the two parties. Regarding the questions of critique and violence as the major meeting points between both traditions, Hanssen positions herself between the two in an effort to investigate what critical theory and poststructuralism have (...) to offer each other. In the course of doing so, she assembles imaginative new readings of Benjamin, Arendt, Fanon and Foucault, and incisively explores the politics of recognition, the violence of language, and the future of feminist theory. This groundbreaking book will be essential reading for all students of continental philosophy, political theory, social studies and comparative literature. Also available in this series: Essays on Otherness Hb: 0-415-13107-3: £50.00 Pb: 0-415-13108-1: £15.99 Hegel After Derrida Hb: 0-415-17104-4: £50.00 Pb: 0-415-17105-9: £15.99 The Hypocritical Imagination Hb: 0-415-21361-4: £47.50 Pb: 0-415-21362-2: £15.99 Philosophy and Tragedy Hb: 0-415-19141-6: £45.00 Pb: 0-415-19142-4: £14.99 Textures of Light Hb: 0-415-14273-3: £42.50 Pb: 0-415-14274-1: £13.99 Very Little ... Almost Nothing Pb: 0-415-12821-8: £47.50 Pb: 0-415-12822-6: £15.99. (shrink)

This study investigated visual statistical learning (VSL) in 24 deaf signers and 24 hearing non‐signers. Previous research with hearing individuals suggests that SL mechanisms support literacy. Our first goal was to assess whether VSL was associated with reading ability in deaf individuals, and whether this relation was sustained by a link between VSL and sign language skill. Our second goal was to test the Auditory Scaffolding Hypothesis, which makes the prediction that deaf people should be impaired in sequential processing tasks. (...) For the VSL task, we adopted a modified version of the triplet learning paradigm, with stimuli presented sequentially across space and time. Results revealed that measures of sign language skill (sentence comprehension/repetition) did not correlate with VSL scores, possibly due to the sequential nature of our VSL task. Reading comprehension scores (PIAT‐R) were a significant predictor of VSL accuracy in hearing but not deaf people. This finding might be due to the sequential nature of the VSL task and to a less salient role of the sequential orthography‐to‐phonology mapping in deaf readers compared to hearing readers. The two groups did not differ in VSL scores. However, when reading ability was taken into account, VSL scores were higher for the deaf group than the hearing group. Overall, this evidence is inconsistent with the Auditory Scaffolding Hypothesis, suggesting that humans can develop efficient sequencing abilities even in the absence of sound. (shrink)

Les médias de communication numérique à distance et les créations logicielles de communication entre les individus qui ont émergé ces trente dernières années ont entrainé un développement sans précédent de nouvelles technologies de l’écrit et de l’écriture ainsi qu’une retextualisation des échanges concomitante à une dématérialisation du contexte. Or, la dématérialisation du contexte propre à ces environnements complexifie de manière exponentielle sa compréhension, multipliant les risques de malentendus, de décalages, d’incompréhension. Les personnes qui communiquent n’étant pas physiquement présentes l’une à (...) l’autre, leur rencontre s’effectue et se matérialise via un texte. La textualité devient dès lors un nouveau mode de rencontre, dont le texte est le lieu. Le fait que nous imaginions la communication comme si elle était instantanée développe une compréhension textuelle du message, dans l’instant où nous le lisons, qui est propre à la réception. Tous ces échanges reposent sur une faille identique : ils privent l’interaction des nombreuses possibilités de régulation que permet la présence et dont nous privent les écrans, alors que la communication ne repose que sur un pourcentage très faible de verbal. Je définis ainsi le décalage contextuel, qui s’insinue dans ce manque, comme étant d’abord un décalage énonciatif augmenté d’une constante et nécessaire recontextualisation. Après en avoir expliqué le processus, j’en illustre les manifestations à travers l’analyse d’un extrait de corpus, constitué par des réactions au texte la liberté d’importuner paru dans le Monde du 10 janvier 2018. (shrink)

Les médias de communication numérique à distance et les créations logicielles de communication entre les individus qui ont émergé ces trente dernières années ont entrainé un développement sans précédent de nouvelles technologies de l’écrit et de l’écriture ainsi qu’une retextualisation des échanges concomitante à une dématérialisation du contexte. Or, la dématérialisation du contexte propre à ces environnements complexifie de manière exponentielle sa compréhension, multipliant les risques de malentendus, de décalages, d’incompréhension. Les personnes qui communiquent n’étant pas physiquement présentes l’une à (...) l’autre, leur rencontre s’effectue et se matérialise _via_ un texte. La textualité devient dès lors un nouveau mode de rencontre, dont le texte est le lieu. Le fait que nous imaginions la communication comme si elle était instantanée développe une compréhension textuelle du message, dans l’instant où nous le lisons, qui est propre à la réception. Tous ces échanges reposent sur un... (shrink)

Of the many ethical corporate marketing practices, many firms use corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication to enhance their corporate image. Yet, consumers, overwhelmed by these more or less well-founded CSR claims, often have trouble identifying truly responsible firms. This confusion encourages ‘greenwashing’ and may make CSR initiatives less effective. On the basis of attribution theory, this study investigates the role of independent sustainability ratings on consumers’ responses to companies’ CSR communication. Experimental results indicate the negative effect of a poor sustainability (...) rating for corporate brand evaluations in the case of CSR communication, because consumers infer less intrinsic motives by the brand. Sustainability ratings thus could act to deter ‘greenwashing’ and encourage virtuous firms to persevere in their CSR practices. (shrink)

All living human beings have the moral right not to be denied reasonable help in life threatening situations. Disasters take on many forms, but their consequences for individuals may be prolonged and stretch into the next generation. We have a moral obligation to create a better life for people by speaking out and trying to prevent man-made disasters and their consequences. To do this the commitment to life and its value must be reinforced. A number of suggestions are made, particularly (...) in relation to the role of nurses. Toutes les personnes ont le droit moral de recevoir l'aide raisonable dans des situations menaceant à la vie. Des désastres se présentent sous multiples formes, mais leur conséquences peuvent être prolongées pour des individus jusqu'à la prochaine génération. Nous avons une obligation morale de créér une meilleure vie pour tous les peuples en parlant en faveur de la prévention de désastres et leur conséquences. Un engagement à la vie et ses valeurs doit donc être renforcé. Quelques suggestions concernant le rôle des infirmiers/eres sont faites ici. Alle lebenden Menschen haben das morlaische Recht, in lebensdrohenden Situationen angemessene Hilfe zu erhalten. Katastrophen sind vielseitig, aber ihre Konsequenzen können sich für einzelne Menschen verlängern bis in die nächste Generation. Wir haben eine moralische Verpflichtung, ein besseres Leben zu erarbeiten für alle Menschen, in dem wir eintreten um künstliche Katastrophen und deren Konsequenzen zu verhüten. Eine Verpflichtung zum Leben und seinen Werten muss deshalb verstärkt werden. Eine Anzahl von Vorschlagen, besonders was die Rolle des Krankenpflegepersonals anbetricht, sind hier gemacht. (shrink)

In this collection of essays Béatrice Longuenesse considers the three aspects of Kant's philosophy, his epistemology and metaphysics of nature, his moral philosophy and his aesthetic theory, under one unifying standpoint: Kant's conception of our capacity to form judgements. She argues that the elements which make up our cognitive access to the world - what Kant calls the 'human point of view' - have an equally important role to play in our moral evaluations and our aesthetic judgements. Her discussion (...) ranges over Kant's account of our representations of space and time, his conception of the logical forms of judgements, sufficient reason, causality, community, God, freedom, morality, and beauty in nature and art. Her book will appeal to all who are interested in Kant and his thought. (shrink)

Up to the present, there have not been any specific norms regarding medically assisted human reproduction in Romanian legislation. Due to this situation the general legislation regarding medical assistance, the Penal and Civil law and the provisions of the Code of Deontology of the Romanian College of Physicians are applied to the field of medically assisted human reproduction. By analysing the ethical and legal conflicts regarding medically assisted human reproduction in Romania, some characteristics cannot be set apart because they derive (...) from religious, cultural and socio-economic aspects. In this article the authors identify the development stages of medically assisted human reproduction in Romania, beginning from these characteristics and insisting upon the failure of the legal system in this specific field. The authors consider that the law regarding medically assisted human reproduction cannot be effective because it did not take into account the ethical and cultural aspects that might appear. Furthermore, in this framework of the legal process, no public debate involving the representatives of civil society was undertaken although the Council of Europe Oviedo Convention approved by our country according to law no. 17/2001 stipulated exactly this working method. Content Type Journal Article Pages 4-13 Authors Beatrice Ioan, PHD, MD, MA IN BIOETHICS, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, Romania Vasile Astarastoae, PHD, MD, JD, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, Romania Journal Human Reproduction & Genetic Ethics Online ISSN 2043-0469 Print ISSN 1028-7825 Journal Volume Volume 14 Journal Issue Volume 14, Number 2 / 2008. (shrink)

Abstract:Making works in isolation often in very remote or isolated environments, Jarvis's intimate series of landscape embodiment rituals raise the dichotomy of site-specific practice as potential platform for increased environmental awareness. Reviewing her recent environmental works in a framework of deconstructive ecopsychology, Beatrice will address through theoretical and practice based models how far the artist and landscape form a dynamic synthesis within the collaborative experience of landscape. Jarvis will debate how far site specific performance and the practice of long distance (...) walking offers an embodied landscape narrative. This paper raises the seminal question how can the body can become mirror to its surroundings, asking through embodied practice, photography, film and writing; how does the body become a living archive? (shrink)

Long considered to be an impenetrable, hermetic treatise, Walter Benjamin's The Origin of German Tragic Drama has rarely received the attention it deserves as a key text, central to a full understanding of his work. In this critically acclaimed study, distinguished Benjamin scholar Beatrice Hanssen unlocks the philosophical and ethical dimensions of his thought with great clarity and sophisitication.

Surveys were conducted at two metta meditation retreats in order to examine the psychological effects of metta meditation. Participants were invited to complete the survey at the beginning of the retreat, at the end of the retreat, and two weeks after the end of the retreat. Participants completed the same scales at each time phase, which included measures of happiness, compassionate love, revenge and avoidance motivation, gratitude, and a depression, anxiety and stress scale. Significant increases were found in happiness and (...) compassionate love, reductions in avoidance and revenge, and reductions on the depression, anxiety and stress subscales. (shrink)

The article examines an experimental survey that was conducted by Wassily Kandinsky and his students of the wall painting workshop at the Bauhaus Weimar in 1923. In his theoretical writings on art, Kandinsky had assumed there to be direct correspondences between basic colors (yellow, red, blue) and forms (triangle, square, circle), and he operationalized this assumption in the survey. The recent discovery of twenty-six completed questionnaires offers new insights into the scope of Kandinsky’s doctrine of color-form correspondence, and forces us (...) to reevaluate his position regarding scientific research. Against the background of perceptual sensitization as a Bauhaus teaching method, and through a qualitative analysis of the answers that participants gave in the survey, we show that Kandinsky’s empirical investigation of color-form correspondences was an analytical tool in his attempt to foster an artistic sensibility as regards the aesthetic effects of basic artistic means. (shrink)

Medical science is advancing all the time. Researchers are constantly trying to find new ways to help people to have long and healthy lives. Thanks to their work, doctors today can cure diseases, lessen pain, replace unhealthy limbs or organs, and help infertile couples have children. Doctors can even keep seriously ill people alive against all odds. But not everyone is enamored with advances in medicine. They question whether it is appropriate to prolong life in all cases, or believe that (...) certain treatments have been developed unethically. This book looks at how the ways that doctors treat the sick are developed, and examines some of the questions that are raised by advances in medical science. (shrink)

Der Teppich der Kultur und Sprache, der Praxen und Normen, der Ideen, Geschichte und Wissenschaften, der den Hintergrund unserer Gegenwart bildet, ist an vielen Stellen zerschlissen und in einem Zustand der Auflösung begriffen. Unser ganzes Handeln ist darauf gerichtet, diesen Teppich zu restaurieren. Vor welchem Hintergrund ist Handeln uns möglich und wie ist dieser Handlungshintergrund offen für unsere handelnde Einflussnahme? Dieses Buch untersucht Als-ob-Strukturen nach Hans Vaihinger und fügt sie ein in die Rekonstruktion gesellschaftlicher Wirklichkeit nach John R. Searle, denn (...) ein heuristischer Fiktionsbegriff ist zur Erklärung des Handlungshintergrundes unerlässlich. (shrink)

The article reconstructs three key concepts of Hans Vaihinger: the idea of mental fictions as self-contradictory, provisory, conscious, and purposeful; the law of the devolution of ideas stating that an idea oscillates between dogma, hypothesis, or fiction; and the underlying assumption about human consciousness that the psyche constructs thoughts around perceptions like an oyster produces a pearl. In a second, constructive part, these concepts are applied in a discussion of John Searle’s social ontologically extended theory of speech acts. The article (...) introduces the Vaihingerian as-if to Searle’s account of declarations. The explanatory work in a model of social reality as Searle has proposed it rests on the ability to show a necessary connection between collective and individual intentionality facilitated through linguistic structure. The methodological individualism of the model requires that motivational assumptions about collective structures be realized in individual brains. The as-if stance of the declarer provides just this connection. (shrink)

Desde los primeros años de su reflexión, Agustín entiende la "memoria" como una potencia operativa del alma. No la concibe simplemente como "almacén" de datos pasados, sino que, más bien, la presenta como centro "ordenador" y "coordinador" de los procesos psíquicos. En los escritos primeros, Agustín resalta la capacidad de la memoria para contraer y dilatar, tanto en relación con la "actio" con la que el alma mueve al cuerpo ("De immortalitate animae), cuanto en relación con la percepción como actividad (...) cognitiva ("De musica"). A partir de aquellos, la memoria viene presentada como una potencia implicada en actividades múltiples: en la formación de las imágenes de objetos percibidos ("phantasiai"), en su fijación, en la reevocación de objetos percibidos en el pasado (recordatio) y en la creación de imágenes de cosas jamás percibidas, sobre la base de recuerdos genéricos (phantasmata). En el curso de su reflexión, Agustín delinea progresivamente el carácter plurifuncional de la memoria, llegando a definirla en el "De Trinitate" como "cogitandi modus". (shrink)

Agustín atribuye a la memoria un valor tan amplio que le reserva una función incluso en el alma de los bienaventurados. Analizando un puñado de pasajes en los que se trata el tema (trin. 14,5; ciu, 10,30; 22,30; s.240, 4; 241, 4-5), el artículo se centra en la polémica agustiniana contra los filósofos platónicos (los "sapientes gentium"), que sostenían una "vita beata" solo transitoria _el alma, olvidada de la vida pasada, está destinada a descender de nuevo y a reencarnarse en (...) un cuerpo_, y se pregunta por las fuentes a las que Agustín se refiere: Porfirio (regr. an.) o, más probablemente, Plotino (Enn. 4, 3 [27]; 4, 4 [28]. (shrink)

The present contribution engages with two representative examples of middle-Byzantine ekphraseis, Photios’ description of the Virgin of the Pharos and Leo VI’s account of the church founded by Stylianos Zautzes. It aims at showing how these texts suggest modes of viewing the sacred space and decoration that pose, more than settle, questions about images and pictures, their intended function, significance and impact within their specific cultural frames of reference. Far from being neutral and disengaged, these verbal representations have a specific (...) agenda, which inflects the audience’s perception and interpretation of the decorated church space. Comparisons with coeval monumental evidence are also offered, in order to analyze textual and visual developments in parallel. (shrink)

In this post‐sequencing era, geneticists can focus on functional genomics on a much larger scale than ever before. One goal is the discovery and elucidation of the intricate genetic networks that co‐ordinate transcriptional activation in different regulatory circuitries. High‐throughput gene expression measurement using DNA arrays has thus become routine strategy. This approach, however, does not directly identify gene loci that belong to the same regulatory group; e.g., those that are bound by a common (set of) transcription factor(s). Working in yeast, (...) two groups have recently published an elegant method that could circumvent this problem, by combining chromatin immunoprecipitation and DNA microarrays.(1,2) The method is likely to provide a powerful tool for the dissection of global regulatory networks in eukaryotic cells. BioEssays 23:473–476, 2001. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

The portrayal of sexuality in folktale course-books that are prescribed for secondary school learners in Zimbabwe is indeed a cause for concern. Not much attention, if any, has been given to exploring the portrayal of ‘sexuality’ especially in ChiShona prescribed course-books. This article qualitatively explored through content and discourse analysis the portrayal of ‘sexuality’ in folktales prescribed course-books based on an Afrocentric perspective of Unhu and Ubuntu. The study sought to determine whether course-books are an asset or a liability for (...) the socialisation of learners of both genders especially at the critical adolescence stage of development. This undertaking assessed gender attributes, norms, values, and behaviour patterns proffered in school course-books. The examination of the ‘sexuality’ portrayed in these course-books was based on the assumption that education is value-laden. The gender value inherent in these course-books being a vaccine for the social ills like gender inequalities bedevilling Shona communities. The major finding was that the portrayal of ‘sexuality’ in the course-books analysed in this study shows that they are more of a liability. The article recommended a gender discourse that evaluates and critically analyses the gender portrayals in the course-books to avoid losing the gender equality milestones achieved so far in Zimbabwe.Contribution: The study examined sexuality sensibilities secondary school learners are exposed to through the authority of folktale prescribed course-books: Hodza’s (1983) Ngano Dzamatambidzanwa and Fortune’s (ed. 1983) Ngano Volume 4. It adopted the Afrocentric perspective of Unhu and Ubuntu to assess the impact of these instructional materials on the learners’ socialisation processes. (shrink)

There are striking structural similarities between Freud's ego and Kant's transcendental unity of apperception, which for Kant grounds our use of ‘I’ in ‘I think’. There are also striking similarities between Freud's superego and Kant's account of the mental structure that grounds our use of ‘I’ in the moral ‘I ought to’. The paper explores these similarities on three main points: the conflict of motivations internal to the mind, the relation between discursive and pre‐discursive representation of moral motivation, and the (...) unconscious character of moral motivation. The suggestion is that Freud offers resources for a naturalized account of just those features of our moral motivation that, according to Kant, seem to make it least amenable to a naturalistic explanation. How much of a revision of Kant's analysis of moral justification is thereby entailed is beyond the purview of the paper. (shrink)