35 found
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David K. Chan [33]David Kum-Wah Chan [2]David K. K. Chan [1]
  1. Non-Intentional Actions.David K. Chan - 1995 - American Philosophical Quarterly 32 (2):139 - 151.
    The aim of the paper is to show that there are actions which are non-intentional. An account is first given which links intentional and unintentional action to acting for a reason, or appropriate causation by an intention. Mannerisms and habitual actions are then presented as examples of behavior which are actions, but which are not done in the course of acting for a reason. This account has advantages over that of Hursthouse's "arational actions," which are allegedly intentional actions done for (...)
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  2. Beyond Just War: A Virtue Ethics Approach.David K. Chan - 2012 - Palgrave-Macmillan.
    Are today’s wars different from earlier wars? Or do we need a different ethics for old and new wars alike? Unlike most books on the morality of war, this book rejects the ‘just war’ tradition, proposing a virtue ethics of war to take its place. Like torture, war cannot be justified. This book asks and answers the question: “If war is a very great evil, would a leader with courage, justice, compassion, and all the other moral virtues ever choose to (...)
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  3. Are there extrinsic desires?David K. Chan - 2004 - Noûs 38 (2):326-50.
    An extrinsic desire is defined as a desire for something, not for its own sake, but for its supposed propensity to secure something else that one desires. I argue that the notion of ‘extrinsic desire’ is theoretically redundant. I begin by defining desire as a propositional attitude with a desirability characterization. The roles of desire and intention in practical reasoning are distinguished. I show that extrinsic desire does not have its own motivational role. I also show that extrinsic desire is (...)
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  4. Intention and responsibility in double effect cases.David K. Chan - 2000 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 3 (4):405-434.
    I argue that the moral distinction in double effect cases rests on a difference not in intention as traditionally stated in the Doctrine of Double Effect (DDE), but in desire. The traditional DDE has difficulty ensuring that an agent intends the bad effect just in those cases where what he does is morally objectionable. I show firstly that the mental state of a rational agent who is certain that a side-effect will occur satisfies Bratman's criteria for intending that effect. I (...)
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  5.  89
    A not-so-simple view of intentional action.David K. Chan - 1999 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 80 (1):1–16.
    The Simple View (SV) holds that for someone to intentionally A, he must intend to A. Critics of SV point to intentional actions which, due to belief-conditions or consistency constraints, agents cannot intend. By recognizing species of intention which vary according to the agent's confidence in acting, I argue that the stringency of consistency constraints depends on the agent's confidence. A more sophisticated SV holds that the species of intending is related to the degree of intentionality of the action. Finally, (...)
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  6.  37
    Reasoning without Comparing.David K. Chan - 2010 - American Philosophical Quarterly 47 (2):153-164.
    My paper critiques the comparability requirement that practical reason is limited by the possibility of comparing alternatives. I describe methods of reasoning that are compatible with choice between incomparable options, and discuss a mistake about intention that supports the view that comparing alternatives is the only way to choose rationally. I then explain how a model of rational choice that prescribes the comparison of alternatives invents unacceptable concepts to make comparability possible. Finally, I criticize the assumption of the unity of (...)
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  7.  75
    Virtue Ethics and Nonviolence.David K. Chan - 2018 - In Andrew Fiala (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Pacifism and Nonviolence. Routledge. pp. 168-178.
    In this paper, I discuss virtue ethics in relation to the rejection of the use of lethal violence. I argue that, given how I apply virtue ethics, a person of good character will have a very strong intrinsic desire to avoid the killing of another human being, so that only in rare circumstances where the alternative to violence is immensely evil would the use of violence to prevent the evil be the morally appropriate choice for the person to make. I (...)
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  8.  80
    Action Reconceptualized: Human Agency and its Sources.David K. Chan - 2016 - Lanham: Lexington Books.
    In re-examining the concepts of desire, intention, and trying, David K. Chan brings a fresh approach toward resolving many of the problems that have occupied philosophers of action for almost a century. This book not only presents a complete theory of human agency but also, by developing the conceptual tools needed to do moral philosophy, lays the groundwork for formulating an ethics that is rooted in a clear, intuitive, and coherent moral psychology.
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  9.  76
    The Concept of Human Dignity in the Ethics of Genetic Research.David K. Chan - 2014 - Bioethics 29 (4):274-282.
    Despite criticism that dignity is a vague and slippery concept, a number of international guidelines on bioethics have cautioned against research that is contrary to human dignity, with reference specifically to genetic technology. What is the connection between genetic research and human dignity? In this article, I investigate the concept of human dignity in its various historical forms, and examine its status as a moral concept. Unlike Kant's ideal concept of human dignity, the empirical or relational concept takes human dignity (...)
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  10.  79
    Just war, noncombatant immunity, and the concept of supreme emergency.David K. Chan - 2012 - Journal of Military Ethics 11 (4):273-286.
    The supreme emergency exemption proposed by Michael Walzer has engendered controversy because it permits violations of the jus in bello principle of discrimination when a state is faced with imminent defeat at the hands of a very evil enemy. Traditionalists among just war theorists believe that noncombatants should never be deliberately targeted in war whether or not there is a supreme emergency. Pacifists on the other hand reject war as immoral even in a supreme emergency. Unlike Walzer, neither just war (...)
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  11.  15
    Cross-Cultural Biotechnology: A Reader.Stella Gonzalez Arnal, Donald Chalmers, David Kum-Wah Chan, Margaret Coffey, Jo Ann T. Croom, Mylène Deschênes, Henrich Ganthaler, Yuri Gariev, Ryuichi Ida, Jeffrey P. Kahn, Martin O. Makinde, Anna C. Mastroianni, Katharine R. Meacham, Bushra Mirza, Michael J. Morgan, Dianne Nicol, Edward Reichman, Susan E. Wallace & Larissa P. Zhiganova (eds.) - 2004 - Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
    This book is a rich blend of analyses by leading experts from various cultures and disciplines. A compact introduction to a complex field, it illustrates biotechnology's profound impact upon the environment and society. Moreover, it underscores the vital relevance of cultural values. This book empowers readers to more critically assess biotechnology's value and effectiveness within both specific cultural and global contexts.
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  12.  20
    After Anscombe.David K. Chan - 2008 - In Moral psychology today: essays on values, rational choice, and the will. Springer Verlag. pp. 141-154.
    In "After Anscombe," I argue that, although Bratman's account of intention "has provided a conceptual tool for many directions of research in philosophy and cognitive psychology," it cannot do the work in ethics that moral philosophers, especially Kantians, use it for. This can be shown by considering the problems in using intention to make a moral distinction in cases of double effect. If so, Bratman's is not the same concept of intention that Anscombe had in mind when she wrote her (...)
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  13.  37
    Autonomy, Humane Medicine, and Research Ethics: An East Asian Perspective.David K. Chan - 2004 - In Michael C. Brannigan (ed.), Cross-Cultural Biotechnology: A Reader. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 127-137.
    In Chinese Confucian medical ethics, the principle of autonomy has not been recognized. Instead, the basic values of medical practice are compassion and humaneness. Patient autonomy however lies at the foundation of Western medical ethics in general and research ethics in particular. In the modern world of biotechnology, what happens when medical research is carried out in an East Asian society? Should the society adopt principles of Western medical ethics? Or can resources to ensure ethical research be found in Confucian (...)
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  14.  59
    A Reappraisal of the Doctrine of Doing and Allowing.David K. Chan - 2010 - In Joseph Keim Campbell, Michael O'Rourke & Harry Silverstein (eds.), Action, Ethics, and Responsibility. Bradford. pp. 25-45.
    Warren Quinn and Philippa Foot have given versions of the Doctrine of Doing and Allowing justifying a moral distinction between doing something to bring about harm, and doing nothing to prevent harm. They argue that it is justified to allow one person to die so that one can save a larger number of people, but not to kill one person to achieve the same purpose. In this chapter, I show that the examples typically used to support the DDA do not (...)
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  15.  82
    Active Voluntary Euthanasia and the Problem of Intending Death.David K. Chan - 2005 - Journal of Philosophical Research 30 (9999):379-389.
    In this paper, I discuss an example from Buchanan of active voluntary euthanasia (AVE). I first refute objections to the intuitive permissibility of the killing described in the example. After explaining why the killing is intentional, I evaluate Buchanan's solution to the ‘problem of intending death’. According to Buchanan, what justifies a physician in intentionally bringing about a patient's death by AVE is a principle that embodies the values of patient self-determination and well-being. I argue that these two considerations are (...)
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  16.  50
    Editor's Introduction: War, Peace, and Ethics.David K. Chan - 2012 - Philosophy in the Contemporary World 19 (2):1-3.
    This is an introduction to a special volume of the journal, Philosophy in the Contemporary World, on "War, Peace, and Ethics" which contains ten original essays on a wide range of topics.
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  17.  64
    How War Affects People: Lessons from Euripides.David K. Chan - 2006 - Philosophy in the Contemporary World 13 (1):1-5.
    What do philosophers have to say about war beyond appeal to the just war doctrine? I suggest that they should concern themselves with the harmful consequences of war for the people who experience it. The ancient Greek tragedian Euripides was a moral philosopher of his time who wrote the plays Hecuba and The Trojan Women from the perspective of the losers in the Trojan War. There are striking parallels to the U.S. war in Iraq that began in 2003. Lessons that (...)
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  18.  53
    “Is Choice Good or Bad for Justice in Healthcare?”.David K. Chan - 2012 - American Philosophical Association Newsletter on Philosophy and Medicine 11 (2):21-25.
    In this paper, I examine the conflicts between autonomy and justice. The problem of justice in healthcare concerns both micro-allocation and macro-allocation. The latter has to do with distributive justice: who should get what healthcare resources at whose expense. The current debate about healthcare reform brings up two competing models of distributive justice from political philosophy. The libertarian theory holds to the ideal of individual responsibility and choice, viewing taxation for the purpose of providing goods to those who cannot afford (...)
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  19.  31
    Introduction: Moral Psychology Today.David K. Chan - 2008 - In Moral psychology today: essays on values, rational choice, and the will. Springer Verlag. pp. 1-13.
    This introduction by the editor to the essays in Moral Psychology Today describes what philosophy of action is about, followed by brief synopses of each essay in the volume.
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  20.  16
    In search of an ethical university: a proposed East–West integrative vision.David K. K. Chan - 2011 - Ethics and Education 6 (3):267 - 278.
    This article employs a sociological analysis of the changing role and mission of higher education from that of a ?public good? to that of a service industry. In this regard, the rise of modern universities as corporate enterprises in the recent decades has often neglected the important dimension of education as a process of enlightenment, with its ethical and moral dimensions. The author tries to put into perspective the relevance of searching for an ?ethical university? by proposing to integrate the (...)
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  21.  27
    Luck, Fairness, and Professional Mobility.David K. Chan - 2014 - Philosophy in the Contemporary World 21 (1):1-11.
    I compare the distribution of jobs and research opportunities in academic philosophy with how American society distributes economic rewards. In both cases, there is gross inequality and lack of upward mobility. Luck always plays a role in hiring decisions and the acceptance of papers by journals, but the entrenchment of luck has led to elitism which is unhealthy for the profession of philosophy, just as it is for the capitalist economy. I suggest some revolutionary steps to bridge the gap between (...)
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  22.  75
    Moral psychology today: essays on values, rational choice, and the will.David K. Chan (ed.) - 2008 - Springer Verlag.
    This book brings together in one volume some of the very latest developments in moral psychology that were presented at a major American conference in 2004. Moral psychology is a broad area at the intersection of moral philosophy and philosophy of mind and action. Essays in this collection deal with most of the central issues in moral psychology that are of interest to a large number of philosophers today, including important questions in normative ethical theory, meta-ethics, and applied ethics.
  23.  73
    Moral Reasoning and Decisions on the Ground.David K. Chan - 2012 - Philosophy in the Contemporary World 19 (2):15-25.
    In this paper, I examine the difference between decision-making by soldiers and commanders, compared with leaders of the nation. Decision-making in the armed forces is prudential reasoning concerned with the best means to achieve given military objectives. I argue that those in the military cannot rationally make the moral choice to risk the lives of their own soldiers or jeopardize their mission in order to protect the lives of enemy civilians. This does not vindicate the realists who deny that morality (...)
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  24.  56
    Should Human Genes Be Patented?David K. Chan - 2005 - Philosophy in the Contemporary World 12 (2):30-36.
    The ethics of gene patenting is concerned with whether human genes are the kind of thing that is appropriate for patenting, and whether it is ethical to do so. Is genetic technology a special case compared to other medical technology that have been patented? Much of the debate has revolved around the benefits and harms of allowing gene sequences to be patented. In this paper, I am concerned with a non-consequential consideration: Can someone patent my genes? If genes are the (...)
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  25.  25
    The Ethics of War and Law Enforcement in Defending Against Terrorism.David K. Chan - 2012 - Social Philosophy Today 28:101-114.
    There are two contrasting paradigms for dealing with terrorists: war and law enforcement. In this paper, I first discuss how the just war theory assesses the military response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. I argue that the ethical problems with the U.S. attack on Afghanistan in response to 9/11 concern principles of jus ad bellum besides just cause. I show that the principles of right intention, last resort, proportionality and likelihood of success were violated. Furthermore, both (...)
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  26.  27
    The Use of Lethal Drones in the War on Terror.David K. Chan - 2018 - In David Boonin (ed.), Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Public Policy. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 135-145.
    I evaluate one intuitive argument for, and one against, the use of lethal drones by the United States in its War on Terror. The Lesser Evil Argument appeals to those who think it perverse to reject weapons that enable a more limited use of force. But if harms on all sides and longer-term consequences are considered, the argument is much less persuasive. The Targeted Killing Argument is intuitive to those who consider drone strikes against terrorist suspects named in intelligence reports (...)
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  27.  41
    Values, Rational Choice and the Will.David K. Chan (ed.) - 2008 - Springer.
    This book brings together in one volume some of the very latest developments in moral psychology that were presented at a major American conference in 2004. Moral psychology is a broad area at the intersection of moral philosophy and philosophy of mind and action. Essays in this collection deal with most of the central issues in moral psychology that are of interest to a large number of philosophers today, including important questions in normative ethical theory, meta-ethics, and applied ethics.
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  28.  70
    Wrongful Life, Wrongful Disability, and the Argument against Cloning.David K. Chan - 2007 - Journal of Philosophical Research 32 (9999):257-272.
    Philosophical problems with the concept of wronging someone in bringing the person into existence, especially the non-identity problem, have been much discussed in connection with forms of assisted reproduction that carry risks of harms either greater than or not otherwise present in natural reproduction. In this essay, I discuss the meaning of claims of wrongful life, distinguishing them from claims of wrongful disability. Attempts to conceptualize wrongful disability in terms of either the harmed existence of the offspring, or the possibility (...)
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  29.  15
    In Memoriam.Charles Harvey, Janet Donohoe, David K. Chan, Joseph Orosco & Andrew Fiala - 2021 - Philosophy in the Contemporary World 27 (2):100-105.
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  30.  17
    Correction to: John Schwenkler, Anscombe’s Intention: A Guide. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. ISBN978-0-19-005203-4, $24.95, Pbk. [REVIEW]David K. Chan - 2022 - Journal of Value Inquiry 56 (4):701-701.
    In the original publication of this article, the title of the article has been publihsed incorrectly. Now the same has been corrected and publihsed in this Correction.
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  31.  20
    John Schwenkler, Anscombe’s Intention: A Guide. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. ISBN978-0-19-005203-4, $24.95, Pbk. [REVIEW]David K. Chan - 2022 - Journal of Value Inquiry 56 (4):679-685.
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  32.  34
    Review of “Forgiveness and Revenge”. [REVIEW]David K. Chan - 2003 - Essays in Philosophy 4 (2):13.
    This is a book review of Forgiveness and Revenge by Trudy Govier.
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  33.  8
    Review of Forgiveness and Revenge, by Trudy Govier. [REVIEW]David K. Chan - 2003 - Essays in Philosophy 4 (2):187-190.
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  34. Review of "Who’s Afraid of Human Cloning?". [REVIEW]David K. Chan - 1999 - Bioethics 13:440-443.
    This is a book review of "Who’s Afraid of Human Cloning?" by Gregory Pence.
     
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  35. Review of "The Ethics of War and Peace". [REVIEW]David K. Chan - 2008-09 - Journal for the Study of Peace and Conflict:137-138.
    This is a book review of "The Ethics of War and Peace" by Nigel Dower.
     
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