While the consequences of mathematically-based software, algorithms and strategies have become ever wider and better appreciated, ethical reflection on mathematics has remained primitive. We review the somewhat disconnected suggestions of commentators in recent decades with a view to piecing together a coherent approach to ethics in mathematics. Calls for a Hippocratic Oath for mathematicians are examined and it is concluded that while lessons can be learned from the medical profession, the relation of mathematicians to those affected by their work is (...) significantly different. There is something to be learned also from the codes of conduct of cognate but professionalised quantitative disciplines such as engineering and accountancy, as well as from legal principles bearing on professional work. We conclude with recommendations that professional societies in mathematics should sponsor an (international) code of ethics, institutional mission statements for mathematicians and syllabuses of ethics courses for incorporation into mathematics degrees. (shrink)

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social/communicative difficulties and perseverative behaviours. While research on autism has flourished recently, few studies have been conducted on the disorder in non‐Western contexts. In low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), biomedical research on autism is required to better understand the needs of the population and to develop contextually appropriate interventions. However, autistic individuals are a vulnerable study population and LMICs present with various considerations. While the presentation of autism is heterogeneous, stigma (...) is a common social consequence affecting research. Drawing specifically on the South African context, the ethical intersections of these issues are discussed, along with the limitations of the current informed consent process. Community engagement is recommended as an adjunct to informed consent to ensure that biomedical research is conducted in a more inclusive way. Practical pointers are provided for implementing systematic support for conducting community engagement alongside biomedical research. (shrink)

Previous studies suggest that ancient threats capture attention because human beings possess an inborn module shaped by evolution and dedicated to their detection. An alternative account proposes that a key feature predicting whether a stimulus will capture attention is its relevance rather than its ontology. Within this framework, the present research deals with the attentional capture by threats commonly encountered in our urban environment. In two experiments, we investigate the attentional capture by modern threats. In Experiment 1, participants responded to (...) a target preceded by a cue, which was a weapon or a non-threatening stimulus. We found a larger cuing effect with weapons as compared with non-threatening cues. In Experiment 2, modern and ancient threats were pitted against one another as cues to determine which ones preferentially capture attention. Crucially, participants were faster to detect a target preceded by a modern as opposed to an ancient threat, providing initial evidence for a superiority of modern threat. Overall, the present findings appear more consistent with a relevance-based explanation rather than an evolutionary-based explanation of threat detection. (shrink)

The project of articulating a theological ethics on the basis of liturgical anthropology is bound to fail if the necessary consequence is that one has to quit the forum of critical modern rationality. The risk of Engelhardt's approach is to limit rationality to a narrow vision of reason. Sin is not to be understood as the negation of human holiness, but as the negation of divine holiness. The only way to renew theological ethics is to understand sin as the anthropological (...) and ethical expression of the biblical message of the justification by faith only. Sin is therefore a secondary category, which can only by interpreted in light of the positive manifestation of liberation, justification, and grace. The central issue of Christian ethics is not ritual purity or morality, but experience, confession and recognition of our own injustice in our dealing with God and men. (shrink)

Buson, Nardy, Muller & Chevrot (2018) report two experiments ‐ a repetition task and a judgment task ‐ based on the phenomenon of sociolinguistic restoration. When people repeat utterances mixing standard and non‐standard variants, they make them homogeneous. The results suggest that coherent cognitive representation of the sociolinguistic varieties influences the reconstruction of the mixed heard utterance during the repetition. Using the repetition task could help understanding how sociolinguistic cues are organized in memory.

In the history of Jewish, Christian and Muslim culture, religious identity was not only formed by historical claims, but also by the usage of certain images: “images of God”, “images of the others”, “images of the self.”This book includes a discussion of the role of these images in society and politics, in theology and liturgy, yesterday and today.

The term information has become a universal and omnipresent keyword in almost all areas of our modern world—be it in science or society in general. This is not only obvious from the naming of whole scientific branches like Information Theory, Information Science or Informatics but even more from common speaking—characterising our present time and society as information age viz. information society. However, what information might mean, is by no means clear and there is a wide range of interpretations covering, among (...) others, its technical, communicational, educational, mental, and scientific aspects. But is the use of the same term justified when adopted in Biology, Physics, Archaeology, Law, Communication Technology, and Informatics (to list just a few of the involved scientific branches) or do its different uses at least have some common characteristics—some sort of common denominator? Is information natural, e.g. manifesting itself as a material phenomenon residing in organisms, stars, atoms, or genes, or is it just a cultural product of human communication, thinking, and interpretation? In this article, we try to clarify some of the most important interpretations, discuss and contrast them with the Informatics point of view. Interpretations range from taking information as material, transferable signals (following Shannon’s Information Theory or the genetic approaches), treating it as a sign (following a semiotic approach), as a commercial product (now common in Web-based Information Business) to considering it a pure mental phenomenon bound to humans or human-like individuals or even to groups and societies. Based on these interpretations, we shall throw a critical glance on current trends in human science and society—focusing on the now popular concept of information society —and then derive some theses and guidelines for further research escorting the growth and dispersal of information technology. As it will turn out, an information society which defines itself through the number of computers, internet connections and network links is based on a very narrow, techno-centric concept of information. However, a reflection on the educational and cultural aspects of information might lead to a better-qualified society consisting of responsible and critical citizens. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to analyse and to reconsider the role of theologians in the public sphere, especially within ethic commissions or committees. First, the author discusses origin and structures of the so-called bioethical paradigm. Then, he compares some theoretical models of how this challenge might be met: theological deduction of ethics, autonomy of ethics, and >re-theologisation decentration< or reformulation, and creative reconstruction.

Suite à une question initiale du théologien catholique Adrian Holderegger, l�auteur s�interroge sur la question du rôle de la raison en théologie et en éthique théologique. Il présente et discute la critique de la raison sourde proposée par Maurice Bellet. Les relations entre la rationalité athétique,athématique et amodale conduisent à se demander si une conception négative et critique de la rationalité ne serait pas la condition d�un redéploiement positif de la raison de l�être humain singulier comme capacité d�écoute attentive de (...) l�autre, du monde et de Dieu. (shrink)

Afin de saisir la portée du débat nord-américain sur les communautarismes pour l’éthique théologique chrétienne actuelle, il paraît nécessaire de faire le point sur la différence entre le communautarisme des traditions intellectuelles, morales et spirituelles partagées, ou communautarisme éthico-religieux et éthico-politique, et le communautarisme politique. Le second, pour autant qu’il postule l’existence de communautés séparées au sein du politique, en est selon nous réduit à échouer comme modèle politique, aussi bien en ce qui concerne la démocratie à l’intérieur des Etats-nations (...) qu’en ce qui touche les relations entre Etats-nations . D. Müller prête ici attention à la valeur herméneutique constructive des traditions intellectuelles, morales et ou spirituelles, et plaide pour la fécondité partielle d’une telle approche lorsqu’il est question de construire une éthique théologique à visée vraiment universelle.To understand the scope of the North American debate on the communitarianisms for Christian theological ethics today, it seems necessary to discuss the difference between the communitarism of shared intellectual, moral and spiritual traditions or ethical-religious and ethical-political communitarianism, and political communitarianism. The latter, insofar as it postulates the existence of separate communities within the political sphere is, in our view, bound to fail as a political model, both as regards democracy inside nation-states , and as regards relations between nation-states . D. Müller is calling attention here to the constructive hermeneutic value of intellectual, moral and spiritual traditions and arguing in favor of the partial fecundity of such an approach when it is a question of constructing a theological ethic with a truly universal outlook. (shrink)

A communication process can be described in terms of a sender transmitting information to a receiver. What happens if one of the two subject roles in this process is virtualised, i.e. substituted by a machine? Is it still appropriate to refer to this as an information transfer even if its source or target is missing? Can information originate from an unknown sender or be transmitted to a (completely) unknown receiver? Before examining these questions and answering them, one has to clarify (...) what is understood by information. As it turns out, different interpretations of this term lead to considerably different answers to the initially raised questions. We consider these questions particularly important since the continuing dissemination of so called information and virtualisation technologies changes the human communication processes fundamentally. These changes are part of the ongoing formation of an information society and may eventually lead to the formation of a new image of man. (shrink)

En 1986, H.T. Engelhardt justifiait l'autonomie de la bioéthique à l'égard des éthiques religieuses en partant du fait que les hommes de notre temps sont « moralement des étrangers », les uns pour les autres. En 1991, il entreprit de mieux discerner les relations entre éthiques séculière et religieuse, en gardant la même orientation de pensée, mais en s'attaquant à l'idéologie d'un humanisme athée. Il cherche à établir sur les bases d'une rationalité universelle un « cadre de référence neutre », (...) commun à l'ensemble des partenaires du débat éthique contemporain, mais qui laisserait la place à une pluralité de visions philosophiques, religieuses et morales. Car ce serait ruiner toute éthique que de vouloir fonder la bioéthique sur le seul recours au consentement libre et éclairé du malade et sur le respect de son autonomie, à l'exclusion de toute recherche de « buts transcendants ». – La pensée d'Engelhardt n'est pas exempte d'ambiguïtés sinon de contradictions : il ne dit pas comment son humanisme séculier donnera satisfaction aux partisans des éthiques religieuses ni quel sera le statut institutionnel de ce cadre de référence commun ni quelle issue il propose entre le nihilisme et le relativisme moral ni sur quelle base pourrait se faire une hiérarchisation des valeurs dans une bioéthique séculière. Sa pensée devrait se prolonger en direction des droits de l'homme, mieux distinguer entre principes premiers et principes dérivés, creuser davantage le concept de subjectivité.In 1986 H. T Engelhardt justified the autonomy of bioethics as regards religious ethics by starting with the fact that people in our day are “moral strangers” in regard to each other. In 1991 he studied further the relations between secular and religious ethics while keeping the same line of thougbt, but in attacking the ideology of atheistic humanism. He is trying to establish, on the basis of a universal rationality, a “neutral framework “ that would be shared by all those debating contemporaneous ethics. It would leave room for a plurality of philosophical, religious, and moral visions, For it would destroy all ethics if one wished to base bioethics only on trying to get a free and enlightened agreement from the patient and on the respect of his autonomy, in exclusion of every search.for « transcendental ends ». The thougbt of Engelhardt is not free from ambiguities, if not contradictions: he doesn't say how his secular humanism will give satisfaction to the supporters of religious ethics; nor what the institutional status of tbis common framework would be; nor what he proposes as the way out between nihilism and moral relativism; nor on what basis a hierarchy of values could be created in secular bioethics. His ideas call for further reflection : found etbics on the rights of man; distinguish more clearly between first principles and principles that are derived ; and dig deeper into the concept of subjectivity. (shrink)

Résumé L’auteur s’interroge sur la situation nouvelle de l’éthique théologique, laquelle semble écartelée entre des visions purement séculières de l’éthique et des velléités de réaffirmation théologique forte. Afin de dépasser ces oppositions stériles, il propose une dialectique de l’immanence et de la transcendance, dans l’espoir qu’elle puisse conduire à une libération de l’agir humain et à davantage de justice.The author analyses and discusses the new situation of theological ethics, divided between purely secular approaches of ethics and hints of massive theological (...) reaffirmations. In order to overcome such sterile oppositions, he proposes a dialectical interpretation of immanence and transcendence, in the hope that it might lead to a liberation of human behaviour and to a greater sense of justice. (shrink)

L’auteur revisite certains textes de Paul Ricœur publiés entre 1960 et 1992, afin d’exposer le rapport de cette philosophie avec la théologie chrétienne. Il interroge le statut de la théologie spéculative, dévolu par cette pensée, qui accorde un certain privilège à la théologie herméneutique et à la théologie politique.

L’auteur revisite certains textes de Paul Ricœur publiés entre 1960 et 1992, afin d’exposer le rapport de cette philosophie avec la théologie chrétienne. Il interroge le statut de la théologie spéculative, dévolu par cette pensée, qui accorde un certain privilège à la théologie herméneutique et à la théologie politique.

Long description: Trotz ”Spatial Turn“ in den Kulturwissenschaften bildet die Verknüpfung von Raum, Wissen und Medien noch immer ein Forschungsdesiderat. Dem begegnet dieser Band, indem er die Wechselverhältnisse von räumlichen Zusammenhängen, medialen Konstellationen und Wissenskonstitution untersucht. Die medien- und geschichtswissenschaftlichen Beiträge analysieren sowohl räumliche und mediale Bedingungen wissenschaftlicher Praxis als auch Räume und Räumlichkeiten von Medien. Dabei richten sie den Blick vornehmlich auf die Konstruktionsweisen von Wissensräumen durch analoge und digitale Medien und fragen aus einer topologischen Perspektive nach der epistemischen (...) Relevanz medialer Anordnungen. (shrink)

En réponse aux questions de Philippe Cardon, et indépendamment de remarques de détail, brièvement discutées, l�auteur se réjouit de se voir décerner un certificat de non barthisme. Il s�étonne par contre de la grande naïveté de Philippe Cardon, dont le projet théologique lui semble s�apparenter à un retour massif à Barth, traité de manière littérale et orthodoxe. L�auteur demeure attaché, au contraire, à une reconstruction critique non seulement de la pensée de Barth, mais de l�ensemble de la théologie contemporaine, d�où (...) quelques observations sur les débats actuels au sujet de l�avenir de la théologie académique. (shrink)

This article presents and discusses the meaning of a possible foundation of ethics, both from a philosophical perspective and with regard to religious representations. It proposes to enlarge the conception of rationality in order to take into account the critical contribution of cultures, traditions and religions to an ethics of reconstruction. This also entails rethinking the role of theological ethics and seeking to make more explicit the cultural plausibility and the practical credibility of Christianity in public ethics today.