This study examines the direct impact of three dimensions of the institutional environment on managerial attitudes toward the natural environment and the direct influence of the latter on the environmental sustainability orientation (ESO) of small firms. We contend that when the institutional environment is perceived by owner–managers as supportive of sound natural environment management practices, they are more likely to develop a positive attitude toward natural environment issues and concerns. Such owner–manager attitudes are likely to lead to a positive and (...) proactive orientation of their firms toward environmental sustainability. The study uses survey data from 166 small manufacturing firms located in three Philippine cities. First, the study develops and tests the measurement models to examine the validity of the constructs representing the firm’s institutional environment, managerial attitudes toward the natural environment and the ESO of firms. Second, the study develops and tests the structural models examining the institutional environment–managerial attitudes–ESO linkages. Multi-sample invariance structural model analysis shows the mediating role of managerial attitudes in the institutional environment–ESO nexus. The findings show that ESO is a construct comprising three dimensions: knowledge of environmental issues, sustainable practices and commitment toward environmental sustainability. The cognitive, regulatory and normative elements of the institutional environment are strongly linked to positive managerial attitudes toward environmental sustainability, which in turn, positively influences the firm’s overall ESO. Managerial attitudes play a mediating role in the institutional environment–ESO linkages. The managerial, practical, research and policy implications of the research findings are discussed. (shrink)

Alan Bailey offers a clear exposition and defence of the philosophy of Sextus Empiricus, one of the most influential of ancient thinkers, the father of philosophical scepticism.

In this case, it is noted that while DNA testing and methylation are being studied as biomarkers for high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in the anal canal, their efficacy is no...

This chapter examines the ways in which Rorty interprets Freud in order to bolster some of his views about the nature of the self. In the process, it identifies certain tensions between (a) the kind of “holism of the mental,” which Rorty largely derives from the work of Donald Davidson, and (b) some of the claims Freud and other psychoanalysts make about the identity and mental life of human beings.

‘Prince, lovelier than the flashing star’, says the Poet Laureate to his Emperor; ‘Leda would rather have produced thee than Castor, Thetis than Achilles; Delos prefers thee to Apollo, Lydia to Bacchus.’ Then follows a passage describing the effect on nature of the Emperor's going out to hunt: ‘the beasts will gladly fall to your spear, the lion will be proud to die at your sacred hand. Venus scorns Adonis returned to life, Diana Hippolytus’.

Carroll's uniqueness is to have allowed nothing to pass through sense, but to have played out everything in nonsense, since the diversity of nonsenses is enough to give an account of the entire uni...

Often identified as one of the more popular utopias of the twentieth century, Galt's Gulch, the name of the utopia in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, has not been analyzed as such. After the Gulch is located in the context of the book's larger story, the nature and structure of the utopia are described. This utopian vision is then critically analyzed and found wanting on two main criteria: its logical adequacy, completeness, and stability and in terms of the soundness of its (...) psychological and sociological underpinnings. Problems on all these dimensions are detailed. As it is a premier example of right-wing, libertarian dreams that inspire political action, it is argued that it is imperative that the accuracy of such utopias be examined. In addition, the philosophical and methodological errors found here can be instructive in how to critically evaluate utopian visions in general. (shrink)

K. Danziger, Marking the Mind: A History of Memory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 305 pp. £24.99. ISBN: 978-0-521-89815-7 (hdbk) and 978-0-521-72641-2 (pbk).

The purpose of this essay is to show how, on a wide variety of issues, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein broke new ground with the established Orthodox rabbinic consensus and blazed a new trail in Jewish medical ethics. Rabbi Feinstein took power away from the rabbis and let patients decide their treatment, he opened the door for a Jewish approach to palliative care, he supported the use of new technologies to aid in reproduction, he endorsed altruistic living organ donation and recognized brain (...) death (thus laying the groundwork for Orthodox Jewish acceptance of heart transplantation), he downplayed the value of social worth in triage decisions, and was a fierce defender of the rights of the fetus. I develop broader theological principles from Rabbi Feinstein's ethical positions and compare them to those of his Jewish and Christian contemporaries. (shrink)

In this paper I shall defend the thesis that differing concepts of human nature (or “personhood”) lead to different ideas about what “human rights” are, about what types there are, and how rights are to be ranked according to priority. Though some correlation is obvious, as evidenced in the literature, political forums, and in case studies of many nation-states, the question that we will consider is whether this correlation is a causal relationship or whether it is merely accidental and hence, (...) not worthy of any but passing notice. But if, as I believe, some definite causal connection, perhaps in combination with other factors does exist, we are quite right in focusing attention on the disparate “personhood” concepts or foundation level which lies uncovered and central to such disagreements about human rights. (shrink)

Resumo Embora se acredite amplamente que a atenção francesa a Nietzsche nos anos 1960 era uma resposta à publicação das lições de Heidegger sobre Nietzsche em 1961, defendo que o aparecimento de Nietzsche na lista de leitura do exame de agrégation de philosophie fornece a melhor explicação para a emergência do chamado “New Nietzsche” em sua associação com o pós-estruturalismo francês. Após uma breve explicação de como a agrégation funciona na cultura acadêmica francesa e sua influência nas atividades docentes e (...) publicações dos professores, analiso o aumento do interesse na obra de Nietzsche entre filósofos, desde o fim dos anos 1950, como consequência desse exame.While it is widely believed that the French attention to Nietzsche in the 1960s was a response to the publication of Heidegger’s Nietzsche lectures in 1961, I argue that the appearance of Nietzsche on the examination reading list for the agrégation de philosophie provides the best explanation for the emergence of the so-called “New Nietzsche” associated with French poststructuralism. Following a brief explanation of how the agrégation functions within French academic culture, and the influence it has on both the teaching and publishing activities of the professoriate, I analyze the rise in interest in Nietzsche’s work among philosophers beginning in the late 1950s as a consequence of this examination. (shrink)