Since Aristotle it is recognised that a valid syllogism cannot have two particular premises. However, that is not how a lay person sees it; at least as long as the premises read many, most etc, instead of a plain some. The lay people are right if one considers that these syllogisms do not have strict but approximate (Zadeh) validity. Typically there are only particular premises available in everyday life and one is dependent on such syllogisms. – Some rules on the (...) usage of particular premises are given below. (shrink)

The article investigates the interplay of moral rules in computer simulation. The investigation is based on two situations which are well-known to game theory: the prisoner''s dilemma and the game of Chicken. The prisoner''s dilemma can be taken to represent contractual situations, the game of Chicken represents a competitive situation on the one hand and the provision for a common good on the other. Unlike the rules usually used in game theory, each player knows the other''s strategy. In that way, (...) ever higher levels of reflection are reached reciprocally. Such strategies can be interpreted as moral rules.Artificial morality is related to the discipline of Artificial Life. As in artificial life, the use of genetic algorithms suggests itself. Rules of behaviour split and reunite as chromosome strings do. (shrink)

Computational approaches to the law have frequently been characterized as being formalistic implementations of the syllogistic model of legal cognition: using insufficient or contradictory data, making analogies, learning through examples and experiences, applying vague and imprecise standards. We argue that, on the contrary, studies on neural networks and fuzzy reasoning show how AI & law research can go beyond syllogism, and, in doing that, can provide substantial contributions to the law.

Academic publications of empirical public health research often entail recommendations for moral action that address practitioners and policy makers. These recommendations are regularly based on implicit moral judgments with the underlying reasons not explicitly stated. In this paper, we elaborate on the moral relevance of such judgments and the need to explain them in order to account for academic argumentation. We argue for an explicit reporting of bridge principles to increase the transparency of the reporting of public health research. The (...) reporting of bridge principles can inform readers, support them in understanding the relationship between empirical and normative claims in a specific paper, and may pave new ways for the rigorous reporting of empirical research that has moral implications. Furthermore, it can be used to classify studies to systematically address the justification for their argumentation. (shrink)

Socially assistive devices such as care robots or companions have been advocated as a promising tool in elderly care in Western healthcare systems. Ethical debates indicate various challenges. An important part of the ethical evaluation is to understand how users interact with these devices and how interaction influences users’ perceptions and their ability to express themselves. In this review, we report and critically appraise findings of non-comparative empirical studies with regard to these effects from an ethical perspective.Electronic databases and other (...) sources were queried using a comprehensive search strategy generating 9851 records. Studies were screened independently by two authors. Methodological quality of studies was assessed. For 22 reports on 21 datasets using a non-comparative design a narrative synthesis was performed.Data shows positive findings in regard to attitudes and emotional reactions of users. Varying perception of a social relation and social presence are the most commonly observed traits of interaction. Users struggle with understanding technical complexities while functionality of the devices is limited. This leads to a behavioral alignment of users towards the requirements of the devices to be able to make use of them.This evidence adds to three important ethical debates on the use of socially assistive devices in healthcare in regard to (1) reliability of existing empirical evidence to inform normative judgements, (2) ethical significance of the social presence of devices and (3) user autonomy in regard to behavioral alignment. (shrink)

BackgroundSocially assistive devices (care robots, companions, smart screen assistants) have been advocated as a promising tool in elderly care in Western healthcare systems. Ethical debates indicate various challenges. One of the most prevalent arguments in the debate is the double-benefit argument claiming that socially assistive devices may not only provide benefits for autonomy and well-being of their users but might also be more efficient than other caring practices and might help to mitigate scarce resources in healthcare. Against this background, we (...) used a subset of comparative empirical studies from a comprehensive systematic review on effects and perceptions of human-machine interaction with socially assistive devices to gather and appraise all available evidence supporting this argument from the empirical side.MethodsElectronic databases and additional sources were queried using a comprehensive search strategy which generated 9851 records. Studies were screened independently by two authors. Methodological quality of studies was assessed. For 39 reports using a comparative study design, a narrative synthesis was performed.ResultsThe data shows positive evidential support to claim that some socially assistive devices (Paro) might be able to contribute to the well-being and autonomy of their users. However, results also indicate that these positive findings may be heavily dependent on the context of use and the population. In addition, we found evidence that socially assistive devices can have negative effects on certain populations. Evidence regarding the claim of efficiency is scarce. Existing results indicate that socially assistive devices can be more effective than standard of care but are far less effective than plush toys or placebo devices.DiscussionWe suggest using the double-benefit argument with great caution as it is not supported by the currently available evidence. The occurrence of potentially negative effects of socially assistive devices requires more research and indicates a more complex ethical calculus than suggested by the double-benefit argument. (shrink)

Evaluation of clinical ethical case consultations has been discussed as an important research task in recent decades. A rigid framework of evaluation is essential to improve quality of consultations and, thus, quality of patient care. Different approaches to evaluate those services appropriately and to determine adequate empirical endpoints have been proposed. A key challenge is to provide an answer to the question as to which empirical endpoints—and for what reasons—should be considered when evaluating the quality of a service. In this (...) paper, we argue for an approach that adopts the role of ethics consultants as its point of departure. In a first step, we describe empirical and ethical characteristics of evaluating clinical ethical case. We show that the mode of action and the explicit normative character of the interventions constitute two characteristics which pose challenges to the selection of appropriate quality criteria and require special attention. In a second step, we outline the way in which an analysis of the role of ethics consultants in the context of a clinical ethical case consultation services can account for the existing challenges by linking empirically measurable endpoints with normative theory. Finally, we discuss practical implications of our model for evaluation research. (shrink)

Background: Clinical ethics support services have been advocated in recent decades. In clinical practice, clinical ethics support services are often requested for difficult decisions near the end of life. However, their contribution to improving healthcare has been questioned and demands for evaluation have been put forward. Research indicates that there are considerable challenges associated with defining adequate outcomes for clinical ethics support services. In this systematic review, we report findings of qualitative studies and surveys, which have been conducted to evaluate (...) clinical ethics support services near the end of life. Methods: Electronic databases and other sources were queried from 1970 to May 2018. Two authors screened studies independently. Methodological quality of studies was assessed. For each arm of the review, an individual synthesis was performed. Prospero ID: CRD42016036241. Ethical Considerations: Ethical approval is not needed as it is a systematic review of published literature. Results: In all, 2088 hits on surveys and 2786 on qualitative studies were found. After screening, nine surveys and four qualitative studies were included. Survey studies report overall positive findings using a very wide and heterogeneous range of outcomes. Negative results were reported only occasionally. However, methodological quality and conceptual justification of used outcomes was often weak and limits generalizability of results. Conclusion: Evidence points to positive outcomes of clinical ethics support services. However, methodological quality needs to be improved. Further qualitative or mixed-method research on evaluating clinical ethics support services may contribute to the development of evaluating outcomes of clinical ethics support services by means of broaden the range of appropriate (process-oriented) outcomes of (different types of) clinical ethics support services. (shrink)

2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title In this book, Philipp von Wussow argues that the philosophical project of Leo Strauss must be located in the intersection of culture, religion, and the political. Based on archival research on the philosophy of Strauss, von Wussow provides in-depth interpretations of key texts and their larger theoretical contexts. Presenting the necessary background in German-Jewish philosophy of the interwar period, von Wussow then offers detailed accounts and comprehensive interpretations of Strauss's early masterwork, Philosophy and Law, his (...) wartime lecture "German Nihilism," the sources and the scope of Strauss's critique of modern "relativism," and a close commentary on the late text "Jerusalem and Athens." With its rare blend of close reading and larger perspectives, this book is valuable for students of political philosophy, continental thought, and twentieth-century Jewish philosophy alike. It is indispensable as a guide to Strauss's philosophical project, as well as to some of the most intricate details of his writings. (shrink)

Since the end of the 198os, we have been witnessing a shift in the type of control that is exerted on salaried labor. The disciplinary control of Taylorist provenance has been giving way to a modular control which introduces a new freedom, the freedom of the salaried employee to modulate his or her laboring activity, and, in part, mobility and usage of tithe. But this new type of control is above all a control of the subjective commitment of the employee, (...) an evaluation of performance which tends to equate the employee with a form of micro-capital, entrusted with valorizing itself economically and justifying its continuing employment. But the positive aspect of this mutation should also be noted: the personal commitment of the employee is also a forma of initiative taken in real-life situations, a production of services for various audiences, which produce, in the strong sense of the term, an ethical investment in how labor activity is conducted, along with a new evaluation of productivity. The strictly personal perspective is not the whole picture, for it conceals the emergence - real or potential - of communities of commitment. It is in terms of this mutation that both the usage of time and the modalities of salaried wages need to be rethought. (shrink)

Telepsychiatry has long been discussed as a supplement to or substitute for face-to-face therapeutic consultations. The current pandemic crisis has fueled the development in an unprecedented way. More and more psychiatric consultations are now carried out online as video-based consultations. Treatment results appear to be comparable with those of face-to-face care in terms of clinical outcome, acceptance, adherence and patient satisfaction. However, evidence on videoconferencing in a variety of different fields indicates that there are extensive changes in the communication behaviour (...) in online conversations. We hypothesise that this might impact ethically relevant aspects of the therapeutic relationship, which plays a prominent role in psychiatry. In this paper, we review effects of video-based consultations on communication between therapists and patients in psychiatry. Based on a common understanding of video-based consultations as changing the lived experience of communication, we categorise these effects according to sensory, spatial and technical aspects. Departing from a power-based model of therapeutic relationships, we then discuss the ethical significance of this changed communication situation, based on dimensions of respect for autonomy, lucidity, fidelity, justice and humanity. We conclude that there is evidence for ethically relevant changes of the therapeutic relationship in video-based telepsychiatric consultations. These changes need to be more carefully considered in psychiatric practice and future studies. (shrink)

O texto aqui traduzido foi publicado originalmente na Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale, em janeiro de 1901. Trata-se de um dos artigos publicados por Alain, pseudônimo utilizado por Émile Chartier. A tradução foi realizada pelo Grupo de Tradução do Departamento de Filosofia da Universidade de Brasília, coordenado pelo Professor Philippe Lacour. O grupo se propõe a traduzir regularmente obras de filosofia ainda inéditas em língua portuguesa e disponibilizá-las em periódicos de acesso livre. O trabalho de tradução é produzido de (...) maneira colaborativa através da plataforma digital TraduXio (https://traduxio.org/). (shrink)

Le texte traduit ici a été publié dans la Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale en janvier 1901. Il s’agit d’une chronique d’Alain, pseudonyme utilisé par Émile Chartier, dans lequel il cherche à affirmer que la Raison serait l’instrument le plus efficace d’un ordre social donné. La Raison serait donc le vrai Dieu et il serait juste de dire qu’on lui doit un Culte. La traduction a été réalisée par le Groupe de Traduction du Département de Philosophie de l’Université de (...) Brasilia, coordonné par le Professeur Philippe Lacour. Le groupe se propose de traduire régulièrement des ouvrages de philosophie encore inédits en langue portugaise et de les rendre disponibles dans des périodiques en accès libre. Le travail de traduction est produit de manière collaborative via la plate-forme numérique Traduxio (https://traduxio.org/). (shrink)

Objetiva compreender elementos constituintes das fotografias como documentos arquivísticos de valor secundário, isso a partir da análise de práticas documentárias e culturais que incidem sobre produção do arquivo no âmbito do programa extensionista ´Entre Comunidades´. Os procedimentos metodológicos adotados correspondem à pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e arquivística para atender ao objetivo. Evidencia-se que os valores arquivísticos são elementos constituintes das fotografias como documentos arquivísticos de valor secundário, associando-os às práticas documentárias, de ativação da memória e de mediação cultural. Concluiu-se que a (...) fotografia possui valores culturais, notadamente valor estético ou formal, sendo objeto de mediação cultural. (shrink)

In their careful analysis of conversational artificial intelligence (CAI) in psychotherapy, Sedlakova and Trachsel (2023) propose a framework for the ethical evaluation of such technologies that lo...

Digital contact tracing is used in different countries to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic. It raises challenging empirical and ethical questions due to its complexity and widespread effects calling for a broader approach in ethical evaluation. However, existing approaches often fail to include all relevant value perspectives or lack reference to empirical data on the artifact in question. In this paper, we describe the development of an interdisciplinary framework to analyze digital contact tracing from an empirical and ethical perspective. Starting (...) with an analysis of methodological tensions in the attempt to analyze digital contact tracing, we, firstly, set out three methodological premises regarding (a) a specific view of technology, (b) a fruitful normative perspective, and (c) ways to gather empirical knowledge about the object under investigation. Secondly, we inspect consequences of these premises to develop our research methodology. In doing so, we argue for a postphenomenological perspective on technology, solidarity as an important concept to guide the ethical perspective, and an empirical approach based on qualitative social science research and the concept of affordances. We illustrate these considerations by referring to our analysis of the German Corona-Warn-App as an instance of contact tracing based on the Exposure Notification Framework by Google and Apple. We then discuss the implications of using such a framework, including considerations concerning future developments of technologies similar to or inspired by the current concepts of contact tracing. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungDieser Aufsatz zeigt anhand der Hamburger Anthropologie des 20. Jahrhunderts, wie historisch spezifische Aufschreibesysteme der anthropologischen Forschung die jeweiligen Vorstellungen davon, was „Rasse“ sei, prägten und diese für den politischen Zugriff operationalisierten. Es werden drei Paradigmen der Geschichte der deutschen Anthropologie – physische Anthropologie, „Erblehre“, Populationsgenetik – untersucht und die Frage gestellt, wie sich die ihnen jeweils zugrunde liegenden Medientechniken – Loseblattsammlung, Kartei, elektronische Datenverarbeitung – auf die Konstruktion und politische Mobilisierung von „Rasse“ auswirkten. Mit einer so konturierten Datengeschichte der (...) Rassifizierung lassen sich die ontologischen Fallstricke jüngerer Debatten um die Kategorie „Rasse“ umgehen. (shrink)

Definition of the problem The acquisition of technical and research skills can be promoted in particular in courses that confront students with complex problems. In this article, we present didactic reflections on learning through self-organized inquiry in empirical medical ethics. Arguments Based on the theory of pragmatism, we show how a specific form of research-based learning courses can be realized to promote medical ethical skills. We focus on projects in which students can experience the process of conducting empirical–ethical research. Conclusion (...) Research-based learning through self-organized inquiry courses offer great potential, especially with regard to expanding students’ reflexive and reflective competencies. We discuss the inclusion of such facultative courses in the medical ethics curriculum with regard to its contextual challenges. (shrink)

Loin du débat en France autour de la résurgence de « néo-réactionnaires » personnifiés par Éric Zemmour ou Alain Finkielkraut, entre autres, la question du conservatisme est de toute autre nature politique et philosophique. Qu'est-ce que le conservatisme au juste? Une doctrine? Un ensemble de pratiques? Cet ouvrage se propose de répondre à ces questions à travers la voix individuelle de quatorze observateurs qui ne nourrissent pas à son endroit un rejet de principe, comme c'est souvent le cas dans nos (...) sociétés captives d'un progressisme tout azimut. Issu de la modernité tout en étant critique et prudent à son égard, le conservatisme est de nos jours souvent mal compris, caricaturé et raillé. Paradoxalement, être conservateur de nos jours est souvent un acte d'anticonformisme, dans la mesure où c'est être contre l'idéologie dominante dans l'espace public comme au sein des cercles d'influence. D'abord anglo-saxon et non dogmatique, assez éloigné intellectuellement de la droite française, le conservatisme est en même temps aussi divers que le sont les contextes nationaux où il s'insère. Les entretiens réunis dans ce livre permettent d'en apprécier les modulations aussi bien que l'apport essentiel au dialogue social. Comme le souligne le titre, il ne s'agit pas ici de faire l'éloge du conservatisme, ni de le dénoncer mais bien plutôt de le comprendre. (shrink)

This concluding chapter provides an overview on the work of great theologians who commented upon the Book of Sentences. Indeed, it elaborates upon Peter Lombard's heritage by attempting to present a broad sketch of the history of the Sentences commentaries in the Middle Ages and beyond. There is no denying that there are loose ends, gaps, and even inconsistencies in Peter Lombard's account of the Christian faith. Most patently perhaps, Peter fails to develop a coherent theory of the central mystery (...) of Christianity—the Incarnation. It highlights some of the most notable inconsistencies in connection with its understanding of grace. Indeed, some of the inconsistencies of the Book of Sentences may hold out the chance for us to rethink our own answers to some of the great questions of life. The little research that exists on the Sentences literature of the 15th century indicates a fascinating reversal of this trend. (shrink)

Religious texts seem to share a significant characteristic. They possess a narrative structure, as opposed to presenting a rational argument. This chapter analyzes how traditions develop around texts that have acquired such authoritative status as to become foundational. The New Testament, while fundamentally narrative in structure, encourages theological reflection, and that means, in other words, the penetration of the faith by means of reason. The chapter gives an overview of the theological debates and reflections of Latin Fathers, Church Fathers, and (...) other religious thinkers in Christian history. The century in which Peter Lombard was born and wrote his theology has become a subject largely taught by masters in their own schools. It has been reasoned that Peter Lombard created a system that would render the faith as intelligible as humanly possible through comprehensive coverage of all its major themes in a methodical order and the application of dialectical procedures to several layers of authoritative texts. (shrink)

The chapter begins with a discussion on the place of medieval Christian thinker Peter Lombard in the intellectual history of Christianity. Lombard was born between 1095 and 1100 in the region of Novara in Lombardy and died in 1160 as a bishop of Paris. He was the author of a celebrated work entitled the Book of Sentences. This work severed for many centuries as the standard theological textbook in the Christian West. It was later replaced in the 16th century by (...) Thomas Aquinasɧs Summa theologiae. The chapter also highlights Lombard's organization of the theological material, his method of presentation, and the way in which he shaped doctrine in several major areas. (shrink)

This chapter depicts the life and works of medieval Christian thinker Peter Lombard. Historically speaking, almost nothing is known of his family and early years. The letter from St. Bernard to Gilduin, abbot of St. Victor, during the first months of 1136 contained the first mention of Peter Lombard in a historical document. This chapter recounts his reputation as a teacher of theology and his decisive role in his selection as the bishop of Paris in 1159. Peter Lombard's rising fame (...) is attested not only to his titles; he was frequently considered as an expert in theological matters. He had distinctly drawn a fine line between respect for the tradition and the courage to innovate. There are some contemporary reports of Peter Lombard's lectures that give a glimpse of his style of teaching—his written doctrines did not always constitute his last word on a given topic. (shrink)

To the modern reader, it might seem surprising that the Book of Sentences finds allusions to the Trinity in the Old Testament. Book 1 of the Sentence opens with the use/enjoyment distinction, with which we have already acquainted ourselves. There follows a section comprising several chapters in which Lombard examines the evidence for the existence of three persons in the one Godhead. This chapter also tries to reflect upon Peter Lombard's ambiguous attitude toward the theological debates of his time, or (...) at least toward certain aspects of these debates—he was taking up a question reluctantly, not because of its inherent value but only in order not to pass over a point which featured prominently in contemporary debates. It concludes that Lombard was well aware of the kind of counterarguments that his teaching on charity was likely to provoke; indeed, a lively controversy about it seemed to have started during his own lifetime. (shrink)

This chapter examines Book II of Peter Lombard's Book of Sentences. In Book II, Peter Lombard presented his ideas with his usual sense of humility, recognizing the limits of the human mind in coming to grasp why man was created as an incarnate spirit, how precisely the details of angelic nature are to be understood, or why God allowed the devil to tempt humanity, knowing as He did that we would fall. This chapter also looks at the divine nature and (...) the inner-Trinitarian mysteries and God's effects in creation. This chapter provides a complete structure of Book II. Distinction 1 opens the book with reflections on the concept of creation and its reasons. Distinctions 2 through 11 are devoted to the first elements of creation: the angels. Distinctions 12 to 15 offer a hexaemeron. Distinctions 16 to 18 focus more specifically on the creation of mankind, Distinction 18 being devoted exclusively to the creation of woman. (shrink)

This chapter examines Book III of the Peter Lombard's Book of Sentences. The purpose of this chapter is not a historical study of the controversies that surrounded the Book of Sentences before it became the standard textbook of theology in the Christian West, but to examine the strange doctrine that seemed to have marred the Christology of the Sentences. It explains how several contemporary authors have followed Baltzer in his judgment concerning the flawed structure of Book III of the Sentences. (...) It is especially the inclusion of the virtues in Christology that has met with the disapproval of historians of theology. Pope Alexander III condemned Peter's Christology by calling it vicious doctrine. Despite the condemnation, Lombard's Christology did not detract from the esteem in which the Lombard's theology was held. (shrink)

This chapter takes the conception of the sacraments as a sign of Lombard's theological system. Since the sacraments owe their salvific force directly to Christ's exemplary virtue and charity, Christology and the theology of the sacraments are considered closely related to each other. In Book IV, Peter reminds us of the structure of his work: “Having treated of those matters which pertain to the doctrine of things that are to be enjoyed [i.e., the Trinity], that are to be used [creation (...) in general], and that are to be used and enjoyed [man, the angels, the virtues, and even Christ].” The conception of sacraments as signs appropriately places them in the final part of the Lombard's theological system, governed as that is by the Augustinian distinction between things and signs. (shrink)

In the Christian tradition, there have always been those eager to paint the last judgment and the events leading up to it in sensational and lurid colors. Peter Lombard's simple strategy in providing a reliable account of Last Things is to stay close to the scriptural evidence. The structure of the treatise of the Sentences on Last Things is also given. Distinctions 43 and 44 address the resurrection of the dead, Distinction 44 being devoted, in particular, to the condition of (...) the bodies of the resurrected. Distinction 45 asks what prayers, alms, and burial ceremonies can accomplish on behalf of the deceased. This chapter looks at Peter's reference to the blessed and the damned, whose respective fates in the hereafter have formed the subject matter of Book IV of the Sentences. (shrink)

This is a study that investigated the extent of use of the three principles of ethics – utility, morality, and justice – in managerial ethical decision making, in addition to the personal attitude towards them. It involved undergraduate and graduate business students (total N=163) from the Olayan School of Business in the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Two kinds of measurements were done: self assessment, and testing with the Saschkin’ s Managerial Value Profile (1997). It showed that morality was the (...) overriding ethical principle used, especially in the graduate group (professionals). Business students still believed in the justice system despite the weakness of the country’s law. Utility was the least used, although males were found to be more utilitarian than females. Finally there was no relation between personal attitudes toward the three ethical principles, and the intentional behavior when faced with ethical dilemmas. The findings were discussed and recommendations were given. (shrink)