When making an assessment of animal welfare, it is important to take environmental (housing) or animal-based parameters into account. An alternative approach is to focus on the behavior and appearance of the animal, without making actual measurements or quantifying this. None of these tell the whole story. In this paper, we suggest that it is possible to find common ground between these (seemingly) diametrically opposed positions and argue that this may be the way to deal with the complexity of animal (...) welfare. The model will have to be acceptable for the different parties that will be affected by it and real benefits for the animal should result from it. This will be the basis of a practical ethical approach. All this can be condensed into a model that essentially is made up out of three basic elements: the classical welfare analysis with an existing welfare assessment tool, an assessment of the stockholder, and an implementation of the Free Choice Profiling technique. This new framework does not pretend to be a different or better animal welfare matrix; it is intended to integrate existing knowledge and to provide a practical tool to improve animal welfare. It identifies whether there are welfare problems on a farm, if present whether these problems are caused by the housing system or the stockholder, and what can be done to improve the situation. (shrink)

When making an assessment of animal welfare, it is important to take environmental (housing) or animal-based parameters into account. An alternative approach is to focus on the behavior and appearance of the animal, without making actual measurements or quantifying this. None of these tell the whole story. In this paper, we suggest that it is possible to find common ground between these (seemingly) diametrically opposed positions and argue that this may be the way to deal with the complexity of animal (...) welfare. The model will have to be acceptable for the different parties that will be affected by it and real benefits for the animal should result from it. This will be the basis of a practical ethical approach. All this can be condensed into a model that essentially is made up out of three basic elements: the classical welfare analysis with an existing welfare assessment tool, an assessment of the stockholder, and an implementation of the Free Choice Profiling technique. This new framework does not pretend to be a different or better animal welfare matrix; it is intended to integrate existing knowledge and to provide a practical tool to improve animal welfare. It identifies whether there are welfare problems on a farm, if present whether these problems are caused by the housing system or the stockholder, and what can be done to improve the situation. (shrink)

It has been argued that organizational structures (the way tasks are defined, allocated, and coordinated) can influence moral agency in organizations. In particular, low values on different structural parameters (functional concentration, specialization, separation, and formalization) are said to foster an organizational context (allowing for relating to the goals and output of the organization, moral deliberation, and social connectedness) that is conducive to moral agency. In this paper, we investigate the relation between the organizational structure and moral agency in the case (...) of a.s.r. (a large Dutch insurance company). While our empirical results fit the thesis that low values on structural parameters positively relate to moral agency, they also refine our understanding of the influence of structural parameters. In particular, our data suggest that the influence of functional concentration not only depends on whether it is low, but also on the type of criterion used for identifying business units; they suggest that the specific organizational context may put a limit to lowering design parameters and points at several non-structural factors that have an influence on the relation between structure and moral agency. In all, the paper contributes to a more detailed understanding of the conditions conducive to moral agency in organizations. (shrink)

We propose a characterization of mathematical experiments in terms of a setup, a process with an outcome, and an interpretation. Using a broad notion of process, this allows us to consider arithmetic calculations and geometric constructions as components of mathematical experiments. Moreover, we argue that mathematical experiments should be considered within a broader context of an experimental research project. Finally, we present a particular case study of the genesis of a geometric construction to illustrate the experimental use of hand drawings (...) and computers in mathematical practice. (shrink)

In "Plato's Ghost" Jeremy Gray presented many connections between mathematical practices in the nineteenth century and the rise of mathematical platonism in the context of more general developments, which he refers to as modernism. In this paper, I take up this theme and present a condensed discussion of some arguments put forward in favor of and against the view of mathematical platonism. In particular, I highlight some pressures that arose in the work of Frege, Cantor, and Gödel, which support adopting (...) a platonist position. The aim of this discussion is to provide an historically informed introduction to the philosophical position of mathematical platonism and to point at some of its mathematical and philosophical roots in the nineteenth century. (shrink)

Was sind systematische Metaphern? Wie intelligent ist die Buchstabenschrift? Müssen Wahrheitstheorien wahr sein? Wie ist das Verhältnis von Sachen (i.e. kulturellen Gegenständen) und Sätzen (d.h. sprachlichen Einheiten) zu beschreiben? Dirk Westerkamps grundlegende Untersuchung widmet sich dem noch kaum systematisch behandelten Verhältnis von Sprach- und Kulturphilosophie. - Die Aufgabe der Kulturphilosophie besteht in der theoretischen Reflexion kultureller Tatsachen. Sprache wird ihr dabei nicht nur als Medium des kulturellen Gedächtnisses zum Thema: Die Sprache ist sowohl selbst eine kulturelle Tatsache als auch (...) Bedingung der Möglichkeit kultureller Faktizität überhaupt. Die Kulturphilosophie muss sich daher der Sprachanalyse bedienen, um ihren Gegenstand, das sich ständig neu anordnende Ensemble kultureller Tatsachen, angemessen bestimmen zu können. In einer Reihe von gründlichen Einzelstudien untersucht Dirk Westerkamp das Verhältnis von Sachen und Sätzen als systematisches Problem, das die Formen der symbolischen Reflexivität der Sprache in zwei ihrer wichtigsten philosophischen Facetten zu diskutieren erlaubt: in sowohl sprachphilosophischer wie wahrheitstheoretischer Hinsicht. Sprache und Schrift werden damit auf doppelte Weise thematisch: einmal als symbolische Ordnung kultureller Tatsachen und zweitens als Medien unseres Wahrheitsverständnisses. Entsprechend geht es im ersten Teil des Buches anhand des Leitbegriffs der symbolischen Reflexion um Verstehen und Nichtverstehen, Metaphern und Schrifttheorie und im zweiten um die Problematik einer sprachpragmatischen Wahrheitstheorie kultureller Tatsachen. In der hierfür gewählten Perspektive wechseln nicht nur historische und systematische, sondern auch methodische Zugänge: Sprachanalyse, Hermeneutik und Kulturphilosophie gehen eine ebenso spannungsreiche wie produktive Verbindung ein. (shrink)

Typisierungsleistungen der Massenkultur treten exemplarisch im Film hervor. Filme sind Formen, mit denen die Gesellschaft sich in ihren eigenen Wirklichkeiten und Möglichkeiten für die Augen eines Massenpublikums beschreibt. Sie richten die Wahrnehmung und die Kommunikation auf die Beobachtung kohärenter Möglichkeitsräume aus. Ihr Publikum laden sie dazu ein, sein Leben mit dem Leben in den Filmwelten zu vergleichen, denn die Differenz zwischen Leben und Kino steht nicht in Frage. Filme besitzen dieses Potential dank ihrer diagrammatischen Form. Bilder, Worte und Musik verschränken (...) sich in ihnen zu einer komplexen Einheit, deren Prägnanz und sinn-liche Wucht Erfahrungen innerweltlicher Transzendenz erlauben. Dieses Buch plädiert dafür, mit zeichenphilosophischen Mitteln zur Einheit der Differenz von Metaphysik, Religionsphilosophie und politischer Philosophie zurückzukehren. Aus der Beobachtung der modernen Kultur heraus entfaltet es einen systematischen philosophischen Anspruch. Exemplarisch werden”starke“Bilder analysiert, die scheinbar so weit Auseinanderliegendes wie Metaphysik, Religion und Politik in ihrer semiotischen Funktion verschränken. In seiner Darstellung hebt Rustemeyer charakteristische Züge der modernen westlichen Kultur hervor, indem er sie in den Horizont abendlän-discher Sinnformen stellt. Vorstellungen von Gott, Staat und Vernunft, von Individuum und Gesellschaft oder vom guten Leben, die uns in Filmen begegnen, sind in einer abendländischen Tradition verwurzelt, die Religion, Metaphysik und Politik in einen engen Zusammenhang rückt. (shrink)

Gesprekken tussen filosoof en ecoloog Johan Braeckman en moraalfilosoof Dirk Verhofstadt over de evolutietheorie van Darwin, religie, irrationalieit, humanisme en atheïsme."--Publisher information.

Was sind systematische Metaphern? Wie intelligent ist die Buchstabenschrift? Müssen Wahrheitstheorien wahr sein? Wie ist das Verhältnis von Sachen (i.e. kulturellen Gegenständen) und Sätzen (d.h. sprachlichen Einheiten) zu beschreiben? Dirk Westerkamps grundlegende Untersuchung widmet sich dem noch kaum systematisch behandelten Verhältnis von Sprach- und Kulturphilosophie. - Die Aufgabe der Kulturphilosophie besteht in der theoretischen Reflexion kultureller Tatsachen. Sprache wird ihr dabei nicht nur als Medium des kulturellen Gedächtnisses zum Thema: Die Sprache ist sowohl selbst eine kulturelle Tatsache als auch (...) Bedingung der Möglichkeit kultureller Faktizität überhaupt. Die Kulturphilosophie muss sich daher der Sprachanalyse bedienen, um ihren Gegenstand, das sich ständig neu anordnende Ensemble kultureller Tatsachen, angemessen bestimmen zu können. In einer Reihe von gründlichen Einzelstudien untersucht Dirk Westerkamp das Verhältnis von Sachen und Sätzen als systematisches Problem, das die Formen der symbolischen Reflexivität der Sprache in zwei ihrer wichtigsten philosophischen Facetten zu diskutieren erlaubt: in sowohl sprachphilosophischer wie wahrheitstheoretischer Hinsicht. Sprache und Schrift werden damit auf doppelte Weise thematisch: einmal als symbolische Ordnung kultureller Tatsachen und zweitens als Medien unseres Wahrheitsverständnisses. Entsprechend geht es im ersten Teil des Buches anhand des Leitbegriffs der symbolischen Reflexion um Verstehen und Nichtverstehen, Metaphern und Schrifttheorie und im zweiten um die Problematik einer sprachpragmatischen Wahrheitstheorie kultureller Tatsachen. In der hierfür gewählten Perspektive wechseln nicht nur historische und systematische, sondern auch methodische Zugänge: Sprachanalyse, Hermeneutik und Kulturphilosophie gehen eine ebenso spannungsreiche wie produktive Verbindung ein. (shrink)

We show that it is impossible in quantum mechanics to describe two separated physical systems. This is due to the mathematical structure of quantum mechanics. It is possible to give a description of two separated systems in a theory which is a generalization of quantum mechanics and of classical mechanics, in the sense that this theory contains both theories as special cases. We identify the axioms of quantum mechanics that make it impossible to describe separated systems. One of these axioms (...) is equivalent to the superposition principle. We show how these findings throw a different light on the paradox of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen. (shrink)

The present study extends the meaningful work and ethics literature by comparing three ethics-related antecedents. The second contribution of this paper is that in using a multi-dimensional MFW construct we offer a more fine-tuned understanding of the impact of ethical antecedents on different dimensions of MFW, such as expressing full potential and integrity with self. Using an international data set from 879 employees and structural equation modelling, we confirmed an updated seven-dimension Comprehensive Meaningful Work Scale. The structural model found that (...) fairness, responsible leadership and worthy work are all significant and positively related to the majority of meaningfulness dimensions. However, different antecedents are related to different dimensions of MFW, showing that a complex and multi-level combination of ethics-related practices are required to cultivate MFW. All relationships were in the expected positive direction except responsible leadership, which was negatively related to the MFW dimension of integrity with self. Across the seven dimensions of MFW, only the dimension ‘Service to Others’ was uniformly not predicted by any antecedent. However, all three antecedents significantly related to important dimensions of MFW not usually measured in the ethics literature, such as ‘Unity with Others’ and ‘Expressing Full Potential’. In addition, we conducted dominance analysis to test the relative importance of the three antecedent across the MFW dimensions, and found that worthy work is the most dominant antecedent, although all three antecedents are the most dominant for at least one MFW dimension—further highlighting the importance of exploring MFW as a multi-dimensional construct. We discuss the implications for MFW theory and practice. (shrink)

The present study extends the meaningful work and ethics literature by comparing three ethics-related antecedents. The second contribution of this paper is that in using a multi-dimensional MFW construct we offer a more fine-tuned understanding of the impact of ethical antecedents on different dimensions of MFW, such as expressing full potential and integrity with self. Using an international data set from 879 employees and structural equation modelling, we confirmed an updated seven-dimension Comprehensive Meaningful Work Scale. The structural model found that (...) fairness, responsible leadership and worthy work are all significant and positively related to the majority of meaningfulness dimensions. However, different antecedents are related to different dimensions of MFW, showing that a complex and multi-level combination of ethics-related practices are required to cultivate MFW. All relationships were in the expected positive direction except responsible leadership, which was negatively related to the MFW dimension of integrity with self. Across the seven dimensions of MFW, only the dimension ‘Service to Others’ was uniformly not predicted by any antecedent. However, all three antecedents significantly related to important dimensions of MFW not usually measured in the ethics literature, such as ‘Unity with Others’ and ‘Expressing Full Potential’. In addition, we conducted dominance analysis to test the relative importance of the three antecedent across the MFW dimensions, and found that worthy work is the most dominant antecedent, although all three antecedents are the most dominant for at least one MFW dimension—further highlighting the importance of exploring MFW as a multi-dimensional construct. We discuss the implications for MFW theory and practice. (shrink)

Dirk Westerkamp fragt nach der ästhetischen Erfahrung des Verweilens an Kunstwerken. Verweilen, Kontemplation und Muße stiften einen besonderen Umgang mit Gegenständen und einen besonderen Zugang zur Zeit. Wer sich in die Betrachtung von Kunstwerken versenkt, entrückt gewohnten Zeitbezügen. Im ästhetischen Verweilen geben wir uns Zeit für Erfahrungen mit natürlich und künstlich Hervorgebrachtem. Verweilen entfaltet sich in der Freiheit von Zeit. Als Kontemplation zielt eine solche Erfahrung allerdings nicht nur auf die Freiheit von der Herrschaft der Zeit. Gewonnen wird sie (...) auch in der Erfahrung von Zeitlichkeit selbst. In den Bildkünsten wird diese Kontemplationserfahrung durch unterschiedliche Techniken des Zeitigens bewirkt. Zu diesem Zweck gestalten ihre werkspezifischen Formen des räumlich-flächigen Zeigens ikonisch prägnante Momente. Eröffnet möglicherweise die Versenkung in die Zeitbezüge von Kunstwerken eine eigene Erfahrung ästhetischen Verweilens? Nach allgemeinen Überlegungen zu den Formen der Zeitlichkeit des Verweilens entwirft Dirk Westerkamp im ersten Teil seiner Untersuchung eine allgemeine Theorie künstlerischer Abstraktion und stellt ein relationales Bildmodell zur Diskussion. Anschließend rückt er die theoretischen Überlegungen in die umfassendere zeitgeschichtliche Perspektive ästhetischer Modernität und deutet das ästhetische Verweilen als Form einer modern verwandelten symbolischen Einbildungskraft. (shrink)

The interest in meaningful work has significantly increased over the last two decades. Much of the associated managerial research has focused on researching ways to 'provide and manage meaning' through leadership or organizational culture. This stands in sharp contrast with the literature of the humanities which suggests that meaningfulness does not need to be provided, as the distinct feature of a human being is that he or she has an intrinsic 'will to meaning'. The research that has been done based (...) on the humanistic paradigm has been quite fragmented. This article aims to address these gaps through an action research project that actively involved participants in the process of affirming and uncovering the meaningfulness of their work. Our findings contribute to current organizational scholarship and practice as they enable scholars to clearly distinguish 'meaningful work' from 'the management of meaning', bring together the various sources of meaningful work in one framework and show their relationship with each other, clearly show the importance of engaging with both the inspiration towards the ideal as well as the often less than perfect self and the organizational reality in which meaning gets expressed and contribute to our understanding of how to engage individuals in conversations about meaningful work that are not prescriptive or exclusive, but that also show where meanings are commonly held. (shrink)

'Risquons-Tout' is an ambitious, thematic group exhibition that explores the potential of transgression and unpredictability. It examines how art challenges the homogenisation of thought in the now infamous echo chambers of our overcrowded info-sphere. 'Risquons-Tout' presents some of the most innovative and influential artists and authors from the Eurocore region, which extends between Amsterdam, Paris, Cologne, Düsseldorf and London, with Brussels at its centre. The title is borrowed from a place located on the Belgian-French border, a real yet liminal space (...) of transition, passage and informal exchanges, notably smuggling. The invited artists negotiate different dynamics of bridging, passing, translating and transgressing. In doing so they burst the safe bubbles generated by prediction algorithms, designed to avoid any risk, whether intellectual, financial, emotional or physical. The exhibition's geographic and political scope addresses today's global connectivity, trans-national circulation and diasporic movements. 'Risquons-Tout' will occupy the entire WIELS building and range out into neighbouring exhibition and performance spaces. It will present the works of 38 internationally recognised or emerging artists. The exhibition proposes a rich array of practices that defy easy categorisation. 'Risquons-Tout' will also include a performative section and an Open School that will serve as a laboratory for artists and scholars to draw upon questions of risk, unpredictability and borders through a range of alternative methods for the transmission of knowledge. Exhibition: WIELS, Brussels, Belgium (12.09.2020 - 10.01.2021). (shrink)

Seit der frühen Aufklärung sind der Philosophie ihre außereuropäischen Traditionen zum Faszinosum geworden - aber auch zu einem historiographischen Problem. Denn sie mussten aus der Fülle der überlieferten Kenntnisse und Dokumente erst konstruiert werden. In diese Zeit fällt die Erfindung der Unterscheidungen von 'orientalischer', 'jüdischer' und 'abendländischer' Philosophie. 'Orientalismus' ist daher kein Streitbegriff postkolonialer Kulturwissenschaften, sondern stammt bereits aus den Kontroversen der Aufklärung, deren Philosophiegeschichtsschreibung das jüdische Denken als Schnittfläche orientalischer und europäischer Denkweisen begreift. Dabei rückt zunehmend eine Unterscheidung in (...) den Blick, die auf den jüdischen Platoniker Philo von Alexandrien zurückgeführt wird: die Differenz zwischen Gott und Logos, zwischen Substanz und Subjekt, zwischen Prinzip und Person im Absoluten selbst. (shrink)

The importance of digital technologies for social and economic developments and a growing focus on data collection and privacy concerns have made the Internet a salient and visible issue in global politics. Recent developments have increased the awareness that the current approach of governments and business to the governance of the Internet and the adjacent technological spaces raises a host of ethical issues. The significance and challenges of the digital age have been further accentuated by a string of highly exposed (...) cases of surveillance and a growing concern about issues of privacy and the power of this new industry. This special issue explores what some have referred to as the “Internet-industrial complex”—the intersections between business, states, and other actors in the shaping, development, and governance of the Internet. (shrink)

Über vierzig Jahre hat Schleiermacher regelmäßig gepredigt. Die dritte Abteilung der Kritischen Gesamtausgabe dokumentiert diese Tätigkeit in vierzehn Bänden. Der vorliegende Band enthält 84 Predigten aus den Jahren 1830 und 1831, von denen 31 hier zum ersten Mal überhaupt, 9 weitere in bislang nicht publizierten Textfassungen veröffentlicht werden.

The analysis focuses on the centrality of the mind and the mental, and their relationship with the notion of discourse in International Relations theorizing. While many forms of discourse theory ar...

We identify a normative paradox of responsible management education. Business educators aim to promote social values and develop ethical habits and socially responsible mindsets through education, but they attempt to do so with theories that have normative underpinnings and create actual normative effects that counteract their intentions. We identify a limited conceptualization of freedom in economic theorizing as a cause of the paradox. Economic theory emphasizes individual freedom and understands this as the freedom to choose from available options. However, conceptualizing (...) individuals as profit-maximizing actors neglects their freedom to reflect on the purposes and goals of their actions. We build on the work of pragmatist philosopher John Dewey, who distinguishes between habitualized and creative problem-solving behaviors, conceptualizes knowledge construction as a process of interdependent scientific social inquiry, and understands actors as having the freedom to determine what kind of people they wish to be. We apply pragmatist theory to business education and suggest equipping students with a plurality of theories, supplementing neoclassical economics with other economic perspectives and views from other disciplines on economic behavior. Moreover, we suggest putting students into learning situations that require practical problem solution through interdependent social inquiry, encouraging ethical reflection. In doing so, we contribute by linking the problematic conceptions of freedom identified in economic theorizing to the debate on responsible management education. We conceptualize a pragmatist approach to management education that explicitly re-integrates the freedom to discursively reflect on the individual and societal purpose of business activity and thereby makes existing tools and pedagogies useful for bringing potential freedom back into business. (shrink)

To discuss moral behavior in organizations, a growing number of authors turn to a ‘virtue ethics’ approach. Central to this approach is the so-called moral character of individuals in organizations: a well-developed moral character enables organizational members to deal with the specific moral issues they encounter during their work. If a virtue ethics perspective is seen as relevant, one may ask how organizations can facilitate that their members can exercise and develop their moral character. In this paper, we argue that (...) the way tasks are defined and interlinked has a profound influence on “exercising and developing moral character”—it can enhance and frustrate it. In order to show how structures may support organizational members to exercise and develop their moral virtues, the paper first describes what it means to exercise and develop virtues in an organizational setting and what is required for it. Next, the paper sets out to explain how specific values on different structural parameters at different structural levels relate to exercising virtues in organizations. (shrink)

In the context of some criticism about social responsibility education in business schools, the paper reports findings from a survey of CSR education (teaching and research) in Europe. It analyses the extent of CSR education, the different ways in which it is defined and the levels at which it is taught. The paper provides an account of the efforts that are being made to mainstream CSR teaching and of the teaching methods deployed. It considers drivers of CSR courses, particularly the (...) historical role of motivated individuals and the anticipation of future success being dependent on more institutional drivers. Finally it considers main developments in CSR research both by business school faculty and PhD students, tomorrow''s researchers and the resources devoted to CSR research. The conclusion includes questions that arise and further research directions. (shrink)

In Miletus, about 550 B.C., together with our world-picture cosmology was born. This book tells the story. In Part One the reader is introduced in the archaic world-picture of a flat earth with the cupola of the celestial vault onto which the celestial bodies are attached. One of the subjects treated in that context is the riddle of the tilted celestial axis. This part also contains an extensive chapter on archaic astronomical instruments. Part Two shows how Anaximander (610-547 B.C.) blew (...) up this archaic world-picture and replaced it by a new one that is essentially still ours. He taught that the celestial bodies orbit at different distances and that the earth floats unsupported in space. This makes him the founding father of cosmology. Part Three discusses topics that completed the new picture described by Anaximander. Special attention is paid to the confrontation between Anaxagoras and Aristotle on the question whether the earth is flat or spherical, and on the battle between Aristotle and Heraclides Ponticus on the question whether the universe is finite or infinite. (shrink)

This volume contains the proceedings of a conference on the Presocratic philosophers Pythagoras and Heraclitus. Investigated by a team of international scholars are key problems in doxography, Pythagorean Communities, logos, harmony, psychology, flux, number theory, ethics, and theology. Designed for all students of ancient philosophy, this volume will spur further investigations into these cardinal concerns of early Greek scientific thinkers.

This book is a sequel to Heaven and Earth in Ancient Greek Cosmology. With the help of many pictures, the reader is introduced into the way of thinking of ancient believers in a flat earth. The first part offers new interpretations of several Presocratic cosmologists and a critical discussion of Aristotle’s proofs that the earth is spherical. The second part explains and discusses the ancient Chinese system called gai tian. The last chapter shows that, inadvertently, ancient arguments and ideas return (...) in the curious modern flat earth cosmologies. (shrink)

This text provides an introduction to the history and current state of theories of word meanings.

Since existentialism lost its influence in philosophy in the 1960s, postmodern theory has taken over criticizing basic concepts of western thought. From a postmodern point of view, the main shortcomings of existentialism is that it criticizes traditional unitarian concepts, while re-inventing new unitarian models. Against these unitarian approaches postmodernism holds that the world can only be described in terms of difference. In this article the postmodern program and its differences from existentialism are explained in reference to three concepts of western (...) philosophy: subject, truth, and ethics. Applying these concepts, the relevance of postmodernism for medical theory is illustrated. (shrink)

Friedrich Nietzsche's complex connection to Charles Darwin has been much explored, and both scholarly and popular opinions have tended to assume a convergence in their thinking. In this study, Dirk Johnson challenges that assumption and takes seriously Nietzsche's own explicitly stated 'anti-Darwinism'. He argues for the importance of Darwin for the development of Nietzsche's philosophy, but he places emphasis on the antagonistic character of their relationship and suggests that Nietzsche's mature critique against Darwin represents the key to understanding his (...) broader Darwinian position. He also offers an original reinterpretation of the Genealogy of Morals, a text long considered sympathetic to Darwinian naturalism, but which he argues should be taken as Nietzsche's most sophisticated critique of both Darwin and his followers. His book will appeal to all who are interested in the philosophy of Nietzsche and its cultural context. (shrink)

Stoicism was one of the new philosophical movements of the Hellenistic period. The name derives from the porch (stoa poikilê) in the Agora at Athens decorated with mural paintings, where the members of the school congregated, and their lectures were held. Unlike ‘epicurean,’ the sense of the English adjective ‘stoical’ is not utterly misleading with regard to its philosophical origins. The Stoics did, in fact, hold that emotions like fear or envy (or impassioned sexual attachments, or passionate love of anything (...) whatsoever) either were, or arose from, false judgements and that the sage—a person who had attained moral and intellectual perfection—would not undergo them. The later Stoics of Roman Imperial times, Seneca and Epictetus, emphasise the doctrines (already central to the early Stoics' teachings) that the sage is utterly immune to misfortune and that virtue is sufficient for happiness. Our phrase ‘stoic calm’ perhaps encapsulates the general drift of these claims. It does not, however, hint at the even more radical ethical views which the Stoics defended, e.g. that only the sage is free while all others are slaves, or that all those who are morally vicious are equally so. Though it seems clear that some Stoics took a kind of perverse joy in advocating views which seem so at odds with common sense, they did not do so simply to shock. Stoic ethics achieves a certain plausibility within the context of their physical theory and psychology, and within the framework of Greek ethical theory as that was handed down to them from Plato and Aristotle. It seems that they were well aware of the mutually interdependent nature of their philosophical views, likening philosophy itself to a living animal in which logic is bones and sinews; ethics and physics, the flesh and the soul respectively (another version reverses this assignment, making ethics the.. (shrink)

After a crisis, broad and sweeping reforms are enacted to restore trust. Following the 2007-2008 Great Financial Crisis, the European Union has engaged in an ambitious overhaul of banking regulation. One of its centerpieces, the 2013 Fourth Capital Requirements Directive, tackles, amongst other things, the perceived pre-crisis failings in the governance of banks. We focus on the provisions that are aimed at reshaping bank boards’ composition, functioning, and their members’ liabilities, and argue that they are unlikely to improve bank boards’ (...) effectiveness or prevent excessive risk-taking. We criticize some of them for mandating solutions, like board diversity and the separation of chairman and CEO, that may be good for some banks but are bad for others, in the absence of any convincing argument that their overall effect is positive. We also criticize enhanced board liability by showing that it may increase the risk of herd behavior and lead to more serious harm in the event of managerial mistakes. We also highlight that the push towards unfriendly boards will negatively affect board dynamics and make boards as dysfunctional as when the CEO dominates them. We further argue that limits on directorships and diversity requirements will worsen the shortage of bank directors, while requirements for induction and training and board evaluation exercises will more likely lead to tick-the-box exercises than under the current situation in which they are just best practices. We conclude that European policymakers and supervisors should avoid using a heavy hand, respectively, when issuing rules implementing CRD IV provisions with regard to bank boards and when enforcing them. (shrink)

ABSTRACT:Based on theoretical insights of discourse ethics as developed by Jürgen Habermas, we delineate a proposal to further develop the institutionalization of social accounting in multinational corporations (MNCs) by means of “Social Accountability 8000” (SA 8000). First, we discuss the cornerstones of Habermas's discourse ethics and elucidate how and why this concept can provide a theoretical justification of the moral point of view in MNCs. Second, the basic conception, main purpose, and implementation procedure of SA 8000 are presented. Third, we (...) critically examine SA 8000 from a Habermasian perspective, and discuss advantages and drawbacks of the initiative. Fourth, to address the drawbacks, we introduce a “discourse-ethically” extended version of SA 8000. We show that this approach is theoretically well-founded and able to overcome some of the current deficits of the certification initiative. We demonstrate that the extended version of SA 8000 can be successfully applied on a cross-cultural basis, and that our findings have significant implications for other international ethics initiatives. (shrink)

ABSTRACT:Based on theoretical insights of discourse ethics as developed by Jürgen Habermas, we delineate a proposal to further develop the institutionalization of social accounting in multinational corporations (MNCs) by means of “Social Accountability 8000” (SA 8000). First, we discuss the cornerstones of Habermas's discourse ethics and elucidate how and why this concept can provide a theoretical justification of the moral point of view in MNCs. Second, the basic conception, main purpose, and implementation procedure of SA 8000 are presented. Third, we (...) critically examine SA 8000 from a Habermasian perspective, and discuss advantages and drawbacks of the initiative. Fourth, to address the drawbacks, we introduce a “discourse-ethically” extended version of SA 8000. We show that this approach is theoretically well-founded and able to overcome some of the current deficits of the certification initiative. We demonstrate that the extended version of SA 8000 can be successfully applied on a cross-cultural basis, and that our findings have significant implications for other international ethics initiatives. (shrink)

Friedrich Nietzsche's complex connection to Charles Darwin has been much explored, and both scholarly and popular opinions have tended to assume a convergence in their thinking. In this study, Dirk Johnson challenges that assumption and takes seriously Nietzsche's own explicitly stated 'anti-Darwinism'. He argues for the importance of Darwin for the development of Nietzsche's philosophy, but he places emphasis on the antagonistic character of their relationship and suggests that Nietzsche's mature critique against Darwin represents the key to understanding his (...) broader Darwinian position. He also offers an original reinterpretation of the Genealogy of Morals, a text long considered sympathetic to Darwinian naturalism, but which he argues should be taken as Nietzsche's most sophisticated critique of both Darwin and his followers. His book will appeal to all who are interested in the philosophy of Nietzsche and its cultural context. (shrink)