The current research inspired by Foucault’s concept of panopticon, analyzes within the novel The Mister President the power relationships as a manifestation of a speech ruled by a logocentric structure of surveillance and denunciation. The work also studies the relevance of this text considering the presence of the panopticon in the represented continental reality as a coercive mechanism of control capable of normalizing the identity of the individuals and determine the political and interpersonal relationships.

Experiments in cognitive neuroscience build a setup whose set of controlled stimuli and rules elicits a cognitive process in a participant. This setup requires researchers to decide the value of quite a few parameters along several dimensions. We call ‘’contextual factors’’ the parameters often assumed not to change the cognitive process elicited and are free to vary across the experiment’s repetitions. Against this assumption, empirical evidence shows that many of these contextual factors can significantly influence cognitive performance. Nevertheless, it is (...) not entirely clear what it means for a cognitive phenomenon to be context-sensitive and how to identify context-sensitivity experimentally. We claim that a phenomenon can be context-sensitive either because it is only triggered within a specific context or because different contexts change its manifestation conditions. Assessing which of these forms of context-sensitivity is present in a given phenomenon requires a criterion for individuating it across contextual variations. We argue that some inter-level experiments that, within the mechanistic approach to explanation, are required to identify relations of constitutive relevance between a phenomenon and a mechanism, are also necessary for individuating the phenomenon across its contextual variations. We articulate a criterion according to which behavioral variations across contexts indicate different phenomena if and only if the mechanistic activities, components and/or organizational properties recruited in each context are different. We support this approach by showing how it is applied in paradigmatic studies addressing cognitive performance differences resulting from contextual variations of task features, such as stimulus type and response modality. Finally, we address the challenge that a form of context-sensitivity possessed by the so-called ‘multifunctional mechanisms’ is incompatible with our proposal because it entails that the same mechanism can be recruited in different contexts to produce different phenomena. We examine key cases of multifunctionality and argue that they are consistent with our proposal because a single mechanism can have different components, activities and/or organizational properties in different contexts. Thus, these modifications may not affect the identity of a mechanism, and they could explain how it produced different phenomena in those contexts. (shrink)

El esclarecimiento y la determinación exacta de cuáles pueden haber sido las fuentes, autores o ideas que influyeron decisivamente el pensamiento de Friedrich Nietzsche y el modo como tales referencias teórico-conceptuales pudieron haber quedado incorporadas y expresadas luego en toda la extensión de su obra, constituye uno de los asuntos más complejos y difíciles de abordar para la investigación académica especializada. A materializar dicha tarea indagatoria se dirige este artículo, buscando con ello proveer una estrategia de lectura que permita visualizar (...) focalizadamente ciertos elementos centrales de la reflexión nietzscheana que no siempre son bien reconocidos en la investigación respectiva, cuando no quedan desatendidos por completo en el corpus interpretativo que se ha venido consagrando en relación con su quehacer filosófico. Apoyándose en la investigación especializada, este artículo busca precisar el impacto que pudo haber tenido el pensamiento del filósofo F. A. Lange en Nietzsche; sobre todo reconociendo ciertos elementos de la filosofía crítica de Kant que habiendo sido inicialmente recogidos por Lange, fueron luego heredados como remanentes por Nietzsche, aunque también modificados en su obra, fenómeno que hemos denominado “criticismo radical”. (shrink)

This paper is about the opposite of judgement and calculation. This opposition has been a traditional anchor of critiques concerned with the rise of AI decision making over human judgement. Contrary to these approaches, it is argued that human judgement is not and cannot be replaced by calculation, but that it is human judgement that contextualises computational structures and gives them meaning and purpose. The article focuses on the epistemic structure of algorithms and artificial neural networks to find that they (...) always depend on human judgement to be related to real life objects or purposes. By introducing the philosophical concept of judgement, it becomes clear that the property of judgement to provide meaning and purposiveness is based on the temporality of human life and the ambiguity of language, which quantitative processes lack. A juxtaposition shows that calculations and clustering can be used and referred to in more or less prejudiced and reflecting as well as opaque and transparent ways, but thereby always depend on human judgement. The paper clearly asserts that the transparency of AI is necessary for their autonomous use. This transparency requires the explicitness of the judgements that constitute these computational structures, thereby creating an awareness of the conditionality of such epistemic entities. (shrink)

En los escenarios universitarios cada vez resulta menos extraño toparse con investigaciones que indagan por la escritura filosófica proveniente de centros no hegemónicos de producción de conocimiento. Nosotros, que hemos tenido la oportunidad de acercarnos al pasado del ejercicio de la filosofía en el actual territorio colombiano, quisimos hacer una convocatoria pública de escritos dedicados a identificar temas, preguntas y formas en que la variopinta comunidad de la filosofía local está escribiendo su propia historia.

BackgroundFollowing the increased presence of the Right-to-Die Movement, improved end-of-life options, and the political and legal status of aid-in-dying around the globe, suicide tourism has become a promising alternative for individuals who wish to end their lives. Yet, little is known about this from the perspective of those who engage in the phenomenon.MethodsThis study applied the qualitative research approach, following the grounded theory tradition. It includes 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews with Israeli members of the Swiss non-profit Dignitas who contemplated traveling (...) to Switzerland for aid-in-dying.ResultsSeven themes emerged from the data analysis, including health and functioning; feelings regarding survivorship and existence; interacting with the health sector; attitudes regarding death and dying; suicide; choosing death; and choosing suicide tourism. A significant portion of the participants had experienced suicidal thoughts and had even previously attempted suicide, some more than once. Most of them referred to chronic illnesses, functional disability, and social isolation. They understand suffering within the subjective dimension, namely only by the person who is actually subjected to the disease, ailments, and disability. Participants regarded aid-in-dying in Switzerland as positive thanks to its guaranteed outcome: "beautiful death", compared to "disadvantaged dying" which places a burden on the participants' loved ones throughout the prolonged dying. Most of them do not necessarily want to have their loved ones beside them when they die, and they see no significant meaning in dying in a foreign country to which they have no emotional or civil attachment.ConclusionThe desirable approval or tragic refusal by Dignitas to participants' requests for suicide tourism enhances the paradox between the perception of aid-in-dying as a mechanism for fulfilling controlled death and its bureaucratic and materialistic characteristics specifically reflected in a paid, formalized approach to aid-in-dying that cultivate dependency and collaboration. (shrink)

This review critically assesses Niko Kolodny’s theory of social hierarchy and its importance as articulated in _The Pecking Order_ ( 2023 ). After summarizing Kolodny’s argument, I raise two critical challenges. First, I ask whether Kolodny leaves us without adequate account of why social hierarchies are, in themselves, objectionable. Second, I query whether Kolodny’s defense of representative democracy is decisive, and suggest that egalitarians should be open to alternative ways of mitigating the threat of hierarchy posed by political rule.

This article critically assesses contemporary empirical educational research, directing attention toward overlooked facets of pedagogical practice. Here, Agnes Pfrang and Daniel Castner raise questions about predominant psychological approaches to empirical educational research, instead advocating for a holistic viewpoint that encompasses the subtleties of educational situations and experiences. They highlight the learning atmosphere and pedagogical relationships as crucial dimensions often neglected by researchers. By delving into the historical evolution of the relationship between educational research and empirical pedagogy, the article underscores (...) the ramifications of an increasing emphasis on evidence-based approaches. It contends that conventional control measures, focused on performance metrics and rankings, inadequately encapsulate the essence of pedagogy. Pfrang and Castner call for a paradigm shift, urging a more comprehensive and context-sensitive framework in both educational research and practice. This article serves as a rallying cry for a nuanced understanding that embraces the multifaceted nature of educational interactions, advocating for a move away from traditional metrics and toward more inclusive perspectives. (shrink)

Este trabalho parte da discussão sobre as diferentes traduções do termo alemão Trieb para evidenciar as relações entre o conceito de pulsão, originário da psicanálise, e o conceito de instinto, da psiquiatria. Para isso, aborda momentos da construção teórica do conceito de pulsão de Freud no primeiro dualismo pulsional e o trabalho de Foucault, quando tratou do instinto, destacando nessas construções o atributo de força e a teoria do apoio na psicanálise. A noção de força estava presente como integrante da (...) constituição desses dois conceitos em questão. Já a teoria do apoio evidencia a ligação da pulsão, desde sua origem, às funções corporais. Como o instinto, a pulsão tem uma relação importante com o corpo biológico, embora não se restrinja ao mesmo. Por fim, esta discussão teórica nos remete a pensar na posição da psicanálise na atualidade, particularmente em sua relação com a biologia e as neurociências. (shrink)

From dogs to gods, the science of understanding mysterious minds--including your own. Nothing seems more real than the minds of other people. When you consider what your boss is thinking or whether your spouse is happy, you are admitting them into the "mind club." It's easy to assume other humans can think and feel, but what about a cow, a computer, a corporation? What kinds of mind do they have? Daniel M. Wegner and Kurt Gray are award-winning psychologists who (...) have discovered that minds--while incredibly important--are a matter of perception. Their research opens a trove of new findings, with insights into human behavior that are fascinating, frightening and funny. The Mind Club explains why we love some animals and eat others, why people debate the existence of God so intensely, how good people can be so cruel, and why robots make such poor lovers. By investigating the mind perception of extraordinary targets--animals, machines, comatose people, god--Wegner and Gray explain what it means to have a mind, and why it matters so much. Fusing cutting-edge research and personal anecdotes, The Mind Club explores the moral dimensions of mind perception with wit and compassion, revealing the surprisingly simple basis for what compels us to love and hate, to harm and to protect. (shrink)

Celem niniejszego artykułu jest wykładnia Jeana-Lu ca Mariona fenomenologii donacji jako swoistej filozoficznej teorii performansu. Inspiracje, kierunek oraz kontekst przedstawionej interpretacji wyznaczają istotne przeobrażenia współczesnej humanistyki, której krajobraz został ukształtowany przez liczne kontrtekstualne zwroty. Artykuł przedstawia główne motywy Marionowskiej fenomenologii donacji, takie jak kontrmetoda, dar, sakrament, objawienie, oddany, wydarzenie, przygodność, fenomen nasycony, świadek itp., doszukując się w nich performatywnych instrukcji. Artykuł kończy się wielowątkową krytyką Mariona fenomenologii donacji, pokazując dlaczego nie zdaje ona egzaminu i musi ustąpić fenomenologicznej zasadzie performancji.

Pro-diversity beliefs hold that greater diversity leads to better results in academia, business, politics and a variety of other contexts. This paper explores the possibility that pro-diversity beliefs can generate unfair expectations that marginalized people produce distinctive bonuses, a phenomenon we refer to as the “diverse person’s burden”. We suggest that a normic conception of diversity, according to which non-diversity entails social privilege, together with empirical research on psychological entitlement suggests an explanation of how the diverse person’s burden can arise (...) in many social settings. We also suggest structural and institutional remedies to address the diverse person’s burden, as well as an individual virtue we label positional awareness. (shrink)

A trenchant defense of hierarchy in different spheres of our lives, from the personal to the political All complex and large-scale societies are organized along certain hierarchies, but the concept of hierarchy has become almost taboo in the modern world. Just Hierarchy contends that this stigma is a mistake. In fact, as Daniel Bell and Wang Pei show, it is neither possible nor advisable to do away with social hierarchies. Drawing their arguments from Chinese thought and culture as well (...) as other philosophies and traditions, Bell and Wang ask which forms of hierarchy are justified and how these can serve morally desirable goals. They look at ways of promoting just forms of hierarchy while minimizing the influence of unjust ones, such as those based on race, sex, or caste. Which hierarchical relations are morally justified and why? Bell and Wang argue that it depends on the nature of the social relation and context. Different hierarchical principles ought to govern different kinds of social relations: what justifies hierarchy among intimates is different from what justifies hierarchy among citizens, countries, humans and animals, and humans and intelligent machines. Morally justified hierarchies can and should govern different spheres of our social lives, though these will be very different from the unjust hierarchies that have governed us in the past. A vigorous, systematic defense of hierarchy in the modern world, Just Hierarchy examines how hierarchical social relations can have a useful purpose, not only in personal domains but also in larger political realms. (shrink)

The law of contracts, at least in its orthodox expression, concerns voluntary, or chosen, legal obligations. When Brody accepts Susan’s offer to sell him a canoe for a set price, the parties’ choices alter their legal rights and duties. Their success at changing the legal landscape depends on a background system of rules that specify when and how contractual acts have legal effects, rules that give the offer and acceptance of a bargain-exchange a central role in generating obligations. Contract law (...) conceived as a body of rules empowering individuals to shape their own rights and responsibilities presents an object of philosophical study. The philosophy of contract includes two broad sets of projects. One set, the focus of the first part of this entry, targets the basic structure and normative justification of the law of contracts. The aim is to subsume a salient body of contract law rules under general principles in order to clarify contract law’s conceptual categories, distinguish it from other areas of law, and specify criteria relevant to its normative appraisal. This kind of philosophical work presupposes detailed knowledge of the law in existing legal regimes, and the entry begins by outlining the common law of contracts. A second set of projects draws on resources from the philosophy of language, philosophy of action, and moral and political philosophy to address debates within contract law. Questions about the nature of meaning and interpretation, intentionality, freedom in contract, and distributive justice drive contemporary legal debates concerning contract formation, interpretation, and enforcement. Philosophical work on these topics has attracted significant commentary which serves as the focus of the second part of this entry. (shrink)

In an analysis of three college lectures, Corts and Pollio found that figurative language and gesture often appeared together in ‘bursts’. These bursts were initially characterized as novel figurative expression that centered on the primary topic of the lecture. The current study is an attempt to provide clearer description of how and why figurative language and gesture so often appear together in academic discourse. In addition, this study extends earlier findings to additional speakers and academic disciplines to improve generalizability. In (...) accordance with Corts and Pollio, the bursts of figurative activity are predominately novel rather than cliched, coherent with a root metaphor, and centered around the main topics of the lecture. The present study adds that figures within bursts largely include analogies and metaphor that represent a concept whereas topical figures outside of bursts are descriptive phrases that often include other types of figures such as hyperbole, litote, etc. The regularity of such bursts suggests that they serve an important cognitive function independent of personal style of the lecturer or any demands of a particular academic field. (shrink)

Comment se caractérise la peinture abstraite contemporaine? Quelles relations entretient-elle avec celle des maîtres du début du XXe siècle? Pour l'auteur, des oeuvres comme celles de Shirley Jaffe, Jonathan Lasker, Philippe Richard et Diana Cooper se caractérisent par un refus de l'unité, de l'harmonie et de la pureté, c'est-à-dire d'une recherche de la perfection. L'hétérogénéité, constitutive de leurs oeuvres, est fondée sur la reprise d'images réelles et l'ouverture des oeuvres à l'espace qui les environne. Elle participe d'une position politique et (...) d'une vision désenchantée du monde contemporain. (shrink)

The essays gathered here recommend the work of Ernest Bloch as a challenge to older models of historical materialism and utopian emancipation and give specific examples of how Bloch's work can contribute to current debates about utopia, nationalism, collective memory, and the complex relationship between ideology and everyday life.

School Psychology Ethics in the Workplace introduces a pragmatic and user-friendly model that helps readers become proficient ethical decision-makers using the 2020 NASP ethical code and to critically engage the ethical standards and work through ethical dilemmas that often occur in school and clinical settings. This book provides an overview of the National Association of School Psychologists' (NASP) latest Principles for Professional Ethics. It introduces readers to various ethical codes related to psychology, the importance of having ethical codes, the limitations (...) of ethical codes, and an ethical decision-making model that accounts for multicultural and social justice issues. Over 100 ethical case studies are presented in the text that specifically relate to NASP's Principles for Professional Ethics. Readers are provided step-by-step directions on how to use the ethical decision-making model when problem solving each case scenario. School psychology graduate students and their instructors will find this guide invaluable for learning NASP's new ethical code and for being prepared for situations school psychologists are likely to experience in practice. (shrink)

Descartes divides his treatment of the theology of the Eucharist into two closely related questions: the problem of real accidents and the problem of real presence. Scholarly work has tended to focus on the first question. Its overrepresentation in the secondary literature is understandable in light of Descartes’s preoccupation with real accidents and his reluctance to take a position on the Eucharistic presence. Despite this imbalance, I take a closer look at Descartes’s views on the second question by collecting some (...) scattered evidence from his published and (in his lifetime) unpublished works. I argue for two related points. First, I show that, read against the theological requirements of his time, Descartes’s explanations of real presence were doomed to failure not because he was unable to cope with the miracle, but because his physics, hampered by necessitarian constraints, lacked the resources to deal with ordinary objects (such as bread and wine and human bodies). Second, Descartes’s sustained attempt to explain the problem of the Eucharist in the face of difficulties is indicative of an important facet of his philosophy. Rather than declaring, as many of his followers would cautiously do, that nothing is impossible for the Almighty, he endeavored to bridge the principles of his new physics with the ordinary perception of the world around us in our daily life. (shrink)

René Descartes (1596-1650)?: un classique de la philosophie, père du rationalisme, disciple du dualisme platonicien et inventeur du cogito. 0Il existe pourtant un autre Descartes, méconnu?: l’observateur de ce qui, en l’homme, se situe à la limite du rationnel et de l’irrationnel. Bref, en cette partie qu’est, aux confins de l’âme et du corps, le non-rationnel?: la sensibilité ou, mieux, l’affectivité. D’où le sens du titre de ce livre?: le clair-obscur de la conscience, réunissant les idées claires et distinctes de (...) l’âme et les idées obscures et confuses du corps. 0C’est donc, chronologiquement, le troisième et dernier Descartes, le moins étudié mais le plus authentique, que l’on analysera ici?: après le savant du Discours de la Méthode, puis le métaphysicien des Méditations, le psychologue des Passions de l’âme. Ainsi est-ce un Descartes original et inédit, réévalué et actualisé à la lumière de la philosophie contemporaine, que le lecteur découvrira en ces pages. (shrink)

Business ethics has become a very important concern in global business and understanding the effects of various factors on ethical judgments continues to attract research and practitioner attention. Using the Multidimensional Ethics Scale with its five generally accepted philosophical constructs, and vignettes developed by Cohen et al., current study investigates the relationship between cultural values, personality, religiosity and the ethical sensitivity of business students. We focus on a rapidly emerging country, Turkey, whose economic environment is similar to that of the (...) most Western nations but with a significantly different background and cultural values. Data for the study is collected from a major university in the southeastern Turkey. Although some significant relationships are identified between ethical sensitivity and cultural values and personality, our study findings confirm that MES dimensions had the highest influence on ethical sensitivity levels of business students. (shrink)

This article introduces the notion of the directedness of a process, which underlies event causation as well as the persistence of things. Using this notion it investigates what happens in typical cases of active event causation. Causes never necessitate their effects because even non- probabilistic causes can be counteracted.

Partindo do tratamento da questão sobre a função social do filósofo, constroem-se os aportes teóricos para direcionar alguns apontamentos para uma temática semelhante: a função social do professor de filosofia. Serão propostas quatro funções sociais para o filósofo como aportes para a discussão a respeito do papel social do professor de filosofia. É para chegar a esses aportes que a investigação é dividida em dois momentos. No primeiro a função social do filósofo é discutida com amparo das reflexões de Franklin (...) Leopoldo e Silva. Serão extraídas quatro funções sociais do filósofo. No segundo momento é discutida a relação entre filosofia e educação. As quatro funções sociais do filósofo serão aplicadas no contexto da atividade do professor de filosofia. O artigo se encerra com as Considerações Finais. (shrink)

El presente artículo plantea que el canon y la tradición filosófica occidental siguen siendo la concepción dominante en el ámbito de la educación media y universitaria. Esta situación ha permitido que se impongan y perpetúen históricamente en la academia latinoamericana, reafirmando así la condición colonial del quehacer filosófico y, en consecuencia, incidir en los discursos, prácticas e instituciones. En esta dirección, en el primer apartado se propone una reflexión crítica acerca del concepto de normalidad filosófica y sus proyecciones en el (...) filosofar latinoamericano y en la enseñanza de la filosofía. En el segundo apartado se problematiza la naturalización de la colonialidad implicada en la aceptación de la normalidad filosófica, en términos de la imposición del eurocentrismo cultural y epistémico, en los procesos de la enseñanza actual de la filosofía. Este breve recorrido permitirá, finalmente, mostrar que la exclusión y el privilegio del filosofar europeo, resultan ser factores que limitarían la posibilidad de otorgar validez y legitimidad a otras formas de pensamiento. (shrink)

Law abidance is very important for effective leaders. Without law abidance, abuse of power and corruption would easily happen, which would eventually erode organizational health. To promote law abidance leadership in university students in Hong Kong, we developed a law abidance leadership program with 3 h of face-to-face lecture and 7 h of self-study of materials disturbed to students. To understand students’ perception of the 3-h lecture, we conducted a post-lecture evaluation study using a 26-item measure. Results showed that the (...) scale possessed good reliability and validity. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the assessment tool has three internally consistent and factorial invariant dimensions: program attributes, appreciation of law abidance, and teacher attributes. Regarding students’ perception of the program, students were generally satisfied with the lecture attributes, including design, content, lecture atmosphere, teaching quality, and benefits to students. In particular, students agreed that the lecture helped them understand the importance and value of law abidance and national security; over 95% of the students indicated that they would try their best to serve as law-abiding citizens and socially responsible leaders. Multiple regression analyses showed that program attributes, appreciation of law abidance, and teacher attributes predicted overall satisfaction with the lecture. Qualitative comments of the student echoed the quantitative findings, with most of the comments being positive in nature. The present study replicated the findings reported previously. Local and international contextual factors relevant to the interpretations of the findings are highlighted. (shrink)

A sociedade moderna weiliana se caracteriza entre outras coisas pela sua sua concepção de ciência. Ambas fundadas no princípio do cálculo eficaz, a compreensão de seu funcionamento e de suas limitações caminham juntas. Assim, analisar a sociedade moderna contempla uma discussão da instância que funciona como sua autoconsciência: a concepção de ciência que lhe é própria, as ciências sociais, cuja matriz é a ciência da natureza. Ciência e sociedade moderna são compreendidas no âmbito da categoria weiliana da condição. Aqui não (...) existe apelo a um princípio incondicionado. Desse modo, a questão do sentido não pode ser feita. Não se trata com isso de renunciar às conquistas da ciência moderna. Na visão de Weil, entretanto, deve-se reconhecer que a questão do sentido pode ser feita adequadamente. Isso porque ela deve ser posta pela filosofia. Nosso objetivo no presente trabalho é discutir a relação entre sociedade moderna, ciência moderna e o sentido. Isso porque se existe uma ciência de uma sociedade eficaz também existe uma ciência do sentido: essa é a filosofia. (shrink)

Entendendo a violência como a negação do sentido e da razão, bem como a recusa daquilo que compõe a essência do mundo do homem que vive em uma determinada atitude, nosso objetivo no presente trabalho é analisar esse conceito na Lógica da Filosofia de Eric Weil, que apresenta o conjunto dos discursos filosóficos no seu itinerário na forma de categorias, nos detendo naquelas nas quais a violência aparece na forma de mal. Tenciona-se tratar do mal na sua especificidade conforme ele (...) é apresentado pelo autor nas categorias selecionadas, constituindo assim um panorama segundo as variadas possibilidades discursivas. Levamos em conta para isso tanto a sucessão das várias categorias bem como a relação das mesmas com as suas respectivas atitudes. Finalmente, procuramos entender o mal não como um falso problema, mas como uma dificuldade real que se apresenta para a elaboração de um sentido para o mundo do homem. (shrink)

In the perceptual model of mystical experience, the mystics are said to “perceive” God much like ordinary people perceive physical objects. The model has been used to defend the epistemic value of mysticism, and it has been championed most vigorously by William Alston in his work Perceiving God. This paper is a critique of the model from a phenomenological perspective. Utilizing insights from Husserl and Merleau-Ponty, I show that models like Alston’s are based on an inadequate notion of perception, which (...) fails to distinguish perception from other modes of intentionality; the result is that even if we assume the mystics have directly experienced God, it is not clear why we should say they have “perceived” God. Then, using a better and richer concept of perception, I show that the mystical experiences under discussion cannot be truly perceptual, because they lack some salient features of perception. The conclusion is that talks of “perceiving God” can only be analogical or metaphorical, but not literal. (shrink)

When the Ottoman Empire defaulted on its public debt in 1875, British bondholders launched a campaign to win government intervention on their behalf. This article interprets the unprecedented success of this campaign as a matter of knowledge production. Mobilizing the newly established Corporation of Foreign Bondholders as a kind of ‘centre of calculation’, bondholders argued that they deserved assistance because of the unique size of the Ottoman default and the proportion of it that was held by British subjects. Yet neither (...) of these numbers was easily calculated. In fact, influential bondholders worked closely with accountants and members of the Statistical Society to devise an accurate method for quantifying the Ottoman debt – and concluded that such a method did not exist. Historians of quantification and accounting have argued that the scientific status of nineteenth-century accounting depended on its disinterestedness. In the case of the Ottoman default, however, calculation was understood to be inseparable from material interest and political debate. (shrink)

Edmund Burke, long considered modern conservatism's founding father, is also widely believed to be an opponent of empire. However, Daniel O'Neill turns that latter belief on its head. This fresh and innovative book shows that Burke was a passionate supporter and staunch defender of the British Empire in the eighteenth century, whether in the New World, India, or Ireland. Moreover--and against a growing body of contemporary scholarship that rejects the very notion that Burke was an exemplar of conservatism--O'Neill demonstrates (...) that Burke's defense of empire was in fact ideologically consistent with his conservative opposition to the French Revolution. Burke's logic of empire relied on two opposing but complementary theoretical strategies: Ornamentalism, which stressed cultural similarities between "civilized" societies, as he understood them, and Orientalism, which stressed the putative cultural differences distinguishing "savage" societies from their "civilized" counterparts. This incisive book also shows that Burke's argument had lasting implications, as his development of these two justifications for empire prefigured later intellectual defenses of British imperialism"--Provided by publisher. (shrink)