Robinson brings to his defense of moral realism credentials in both philosophy and psychology, honed over a lifetime of learning. The former chairman of the Psychology Department and Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Georgetown University, he is currently a Member of the Philosophy Faculty, Oxford University, and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University. At once at home in classical antiquity and contemporary Anglo-American philosophy, Robinson has among his many published works books entitled Aristotle’s Psychology, Intellectual History of Psychology, Psychology (...) and Law: Can Justice Survive the Social Sciences, and Wild Beasts and Idle Humors: The Insanity Defense from Antiquity to the Present. (shrink)

Always stimulating, Robinson brings to his several topics a wealth of empirical data, philosophical insight, and plain common sense. His is an attempt to understand the nature of psychology from a philosophical perspective. There are chapters on scientific explanation, the use of models in psychological inquiry, the varieties of determinism, and the reciprocity between ethics and psychology. Though a psychologist, Robinson himself fits into no ready mold. This book and previous works, such as Psychology and Law: Can Justice (...) Survive Social Science, provide examples of a learned mind, one steeped in classical as well as modern and contemporary thought patterns, exploring pressing social problems as well as more removed and abstract professional issues. (shrink)

Published in 1982 by CUP (pb. 2009) it discusses the forms of materialism then current, including Davidson, early Rorty, but concentrating on Smart and Armstrong, and arguing that central state materialism fails to give a better 'occurrent' account of conscious states than does behaviourism/functionalism, as Armstrong claims. The book starts with a version of the 'knowledge argument' and ends with a chapter claiming that our conception of matter/the physical is more problematic than our conception of mind.

Epiphenomenalism is the view that mental events are caused by physical events in the brain, but have no effects upon any physical events. Behavior is caused by muscles that contract upon receiving neural impulses, and neural impulses are generated by input from other neurons or from sense organs. On the epiphenomenalist view, mental events play no causal role in this process. Huxley (1874), who held the view, compared mental events to a steam whistle that contributes nothing to the work of (...) a locomotive. James (1879), who rejected the view, characterized epiphenomenalists' mental events as not affecting the brain activity that produces them "any more than a shadow reacts upon the steps of the traveller whom it accompanies". (shrink)

Introduction -- The ethics of care and global politics -- Rethinking human security -- 'Women's work' : the global care and sex economies -- Humanitarian intervention and global security governance -- Peacebuilding and paternalism : reading care through postcolonialism -- Health and human security : gender, care and HIV/AIDS -- Gender, care, and the ethics of environmental security -- Conclusion. Security through care.

This chapter starts by restating the causal-hallucinatory argument against naive realism. This argument depends on the possibility of “philosophers' hallucinations.” It draws attention to the role of what the chapter refers to as the nonarbitrariness of philosophers' hallucinations in supporting this argument. The chapter then discusses three attempts to refute the argument. Two of them, those associated with John McDowell and with Michael Martin, are explicitly forms of disjunctivism. The third, exemplified by Mark Johnston, has, the chapter claims, disjunctivist features. (...) None of these responses to the argument is plausible. (shrink)

This paper addresses the past, present and future aspects of African leadership and organizational ethics that have, are and will be key for any organization to sustain its systems and structures. Organizational ethics revolves around written and/or unwritten guidelines, ethical values, principles, rules and standards, that are drawn from the harmonious coexistence with the biosphere and it is how these elements are applied that dictates the style of leadership and the ethical thinking of the leaders. Africa has a wide range (...) of complexities which are compounded by, inter alia, tribal divisiveness, selfish leadership, wealth inequality, and massive unemployment. Africans tend to draw their leadership and ethical practices and reflections from the events in the environment with which they have interacted for many years. However, in order to fully address and understand the African perspective in leadership and organizational ethics, a broad comprehension of the African diverse and complex landscape is needed through unravelling of the three dimensional existence of the people. African ethics, developed over time, unifies organizations and leadership since it is part of life and is practised, sub-consciously or unconsciously, by the people as they transform from one practice to the other, and during intergenerational transitions. Globalization, liberalization, technological changes and advancement, and market changes are rapidly transforming the environment in which organizations operate. In such a situation, an effective and true leader cannot be rigid but should be flexible, with the ability to use different leadership styles whenever the situation calls for it. Only those leaders with a three-dimensional perspective live inspiring lives, live with a cause and adopt organizational ethics and leadership styles that will stand the test of time. Despite Africa being the cradle of humankind, leadership and organizational ethics is still in its infancy and wanting, even with the new generation of young leaders. The future outlook of African organizational ethics and leadership is to be found in the intersection of changes in technology, life style, demographics and geopolitics with new trends emerging in global polity and economy. (shrink)

Introduction -- On human nature -- The strange history of altruism -- The Freudian self -- Thinking again.

Drawing on the philosophy of C. S. Peirce, Robinson develops a ‘semiotic model’ of the Trinity and proposes a new theology of nature according to which the evolving cosmos may be understood as bearing ‘vestiges of the Trinity in ...

How holographic patterns of information underlie our physical reality.

_Discusses philosophers Mencius and Aristotle as socio-ecological thinkers._ Mencius (385–303/302 BCE) and Aristotle (384–322 BCE) were contemporaries, but are often understood to represent opposite ends of the philosophical spectrum. Mencius is associated with the ecological, emergent, flowing, and connected; Artistotle with the rational, static, abstract, and binary. Douglas Robinson argues that in their conceptions of rhetoric, at least, Mencius and Aristotle are much more similar than different: both are powerfully socio-ecological, espousing and exploring collectivist thinking about the circulation of (...) energy and social value through groups. The agent performing the actions of _pistis_, “persuading-and-being-persuaded,” in Aristotle and _zhi_, “governing-and-being-governed,” in Mencius is, Robinson demonstrates, not so much the rhetor as an individual as it is the whole group. Robinson tracks this collectivistic thinking through a series of comparative considerations using a theory that draws impetus from Arne Naess’s “ecosophical” deep ecology and from work on rhetoric powered by affective ecologies, but with details of the theory drawn equally from Mencius and Aristotle. (shrink)

Now in its sixth edition, this highly popular text covers the range of ethical issues affecting nurses and other healthcare professionals. Authors Simon Robinson and Owen Doody take a holistic and practical approach, focused in the dialogue of ethical decision making and how this connects professional, leadership and governance ethics in the modern healthcare environment. This focuses on the responsibility of professionals and leaders, and the importance of shared responsibility in the practice of healthcare. With a foreword by the (...) eminent medical ethicist Alastair Campbell, the revised edition includes contemporary topics, such as the duty of candour, recent cases, such as the Mid Staffs scandal, and ethical perspectives on vulnerable groups, such as; persons with intellectual/learning disability, dementia and those with an enduring mental illness. It builds on professional identity and personal development as part of ongoing learning, individual and organizational, and provides interactive ways that helps the reader to develop reflective ethical practice. This text aims to enable ethical engagement with the ever changing healthcare environment, and is a must-have for anyone serious about ethics in healthcare. Holistic and practice relevant approach New perspectives on vulnerable groups, such as persons with intellectual/learning disability, dementia and those with an enduring mental illness Descriptive as well as normative ethical theory Promoting dialogue and engagement with practice, practitioners, patients and families Development of professional ethical skills Connecting professional ethics to leadership, governance and social ethics Highly accessible format Case studies/Scenarios presented within chapters and pause for thought exercises to promote dialogue and engagement? Suitable for pre/post registration nurses, students, health care professionals. (shrink)

Turkish Islamic leader Fethullah Gülen offers a distinctive view of responsibility, which is explored here for the first time. Simon Robinson shows how Gülen's writings, influenced by both orthodox Islam and the Sufi tradition, contribute a dynamic, holistic and interactive view of responsibility which locates personal identity, agency and freedom in plural relationships. The Spirituality of Responsibility also explores the practice of responsibility in Gülen's life and in the Hizmet movement which he founded. Gülen has been at the centre (...) of many controversies, including in his Movement's relationship with the Turkish government. Charting Gülen's response, from the Israeli Gaza blockade through to more recent crises, the book critiques aspects of both this practice and underlying ideas, and argues that responsibility, focused in dialogue and peace-building, is continuing to evolve in the leadership and practice of the movement, providing a challenge to conventional views of governance and responsibility. This book is an important contribution both to the theological and philosophical debate about responsibility but also to the practice of responsibility focused in creative action, debates in business and contemporary society about responsible governance and enterprise. (shrink)

The emotion of anger, when chronic, is especially problematic. Frequent and intense experiences of anger predict quite a few adverse health outcomes and are especially implicated in cardiovascular...

An essential motif of the Western is the frontier in which people of European descent encounter American Indians as other. Indians were viewed as bloodthirsty savages, despite the fact that Europeans were the primary aggressors. The bloodthirsty savage stereotype finds intellectual support in the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. Governance in most traditional North American Indian communities isn't about ruling over subordinates, but about forging consent among equals. Indigenous government was often based on equal respect for the values and sovereignty (...) of each member of the community. The Federation embodies Star Trek's vision of multicultural liberalism. The history of Western philosophy has placed masculinity in dominance and control over femininity. This breeds a culture of violence and disharmony and people in need of healing. People of European descent are infected by this history in need of the thawing warmth of the South and a vision that harmonizes masculinity with femininity. (shrink)

This book analyzes the effect of John Locke's political thought on American political culture today. By analyzing nearly the entirety of Locke's political and philosophical writings, this book shows that Locke's thought has helped to cultivate the incivility seen in recent years in American politics.

Knowing God, Knowing Emptiness examines the viability of the epistemology proposed by Bernard Lonergan in his seminal work Insight, particularly with regard to its possible application in the field of interreligious dialogue. It applies Lonergan's epistemological categories to Karl Rahner's Foundations of Christian Faith, and Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

An in-depth examination of the work of this important medieval woman mystic.

Publication date: 11 June 2018 Source: Author: Jude Nwafor Eze, Umar Aliyu, Abdulmalik Alhaji-Baba, Muhammad Alfa This research evaluates the farmers’ vulnerability to climate change in Niger State. Strategies for reducing the effect of climate change have regularly been made without experimental foundations and adequate information on farmers’ vulnerability to climate change in the study area. Thus, integrated farmers’ vulnerability assessment approach was employed by classifying socioeconomic and biophysical indicators of vulnerability into adaptive capacity, sensitivity and exposure to determine (...) the farmers’ vulnerability to climate change. This is based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s definition of vulnerability. The study adopted a survey design and the method utilized for the study was questionnaire administered to 400 households in the study area. The results indicate that the farmers’ vulnerability was low in zone A with a mean index of 2.86, very low in zone B with a mean index of 3.74, and high in zone C with a mean index of 1.95. It is recommended that measures should be taken to integrate climate change adaptation into Niger State development process. These measures should include improvement in adoption of good agricultural practices. (shrink)

A critical study of the concept of form in Adorno’s writings on art and literature. Adorno’s Poetics of Form is the first book-length examination of the elusive deployment of the concept of form in Adorno’s writings on art and literature, and the first monograph to offer a comprehensive account of the relation of these writings to his broader philosophical project. It examines form within the constellation of concepts that exist around it, considering how it appears when seen in conjunction with (...) and in opposition to content, expression, genre, and material. Illuminated from these angles, form is revealed as the site of a complex web of dynamic conceptual interactions. The book thus offers a resolution to a problem in Adorno’s work that has remained unsolved for several decades, and in doing so sets out the consequences of Adorno’s poetics for literary and critical theory today. (shrink)

This book explores the role of integrity in business and discusses why all leaders seek to have it. The author argues that it is less about ‘having’ integrity as an attribute, and more about practising it. The Practice of Integrity in Business examines how taking responsibility for ideas, values and practices, as well as accountability and wider creative responsibility for sustaining business, all contribute to the perceived integrity of an organization or business leader. Providing methods through which integrity can be (...) learned, the author demonstrates the importance of practice, learning, dialogue and developing a narrative in forming the basis of trust. The book offers a view of integrity in which ideas, values and practice come together to make business and social sense, and to form the basis of mutual challenge and creativity. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: How to Read a Story What is Emotional Involvement? Processing a Narrative Interpretation as Reflection on Emotional Responses to a Text Why Be Emotionally Involved? Objections.

Ethics, religion, and spirituality -- Spirituality in care -- Spirituality and ethics -- Love -- The community of care : fit for purpose -- Values, virtues, and the patient -- Challenging faith -- Spirituality and the domain of justice.

How Journalists Engage: A theory of trustbuilding, identity, and care explores the ways journalists of different identities enact trusting relationships with their audiences according to divergent sets of principles. Drawing from case studies, community work, surveys, interviews and focus groups, this book documents the now-established "built environment" powered with engagement journalism that represents the first major paradigm shift of the press' core values in more than a century. A proliferation of media-trust programs, grants, foundations, companies, collaborations, networks, and money demands (...) that journalists take on four new roles-Relationship Builder, Content Collaborator, Community Conversation Facilitator, and Professional Network Builder-and be fluent in eight skillsets: radical transparency, power dynamic accounting, mediation, reciprocity, media literacies, community offline work, needs/assets/solution analyses, and collaborative production. These are in addition to the normative skills related to being a watchdog and storyteller. The author posits that this trust-building theory manifesting demands journalism be enacted with an "identity-aware care" through "listening and learning." This identity-aware ethic of care-a theory that comes from developmental psychology and nurtured in gender and women's studies-prioritizes communities over the propping up of problematic institutions that news media have traditionally protected in the name of objectivity. Instead, this theory asks journalists to acknowledge and incorporate their own identities-especially the privileges, biases, and marginalization attached to them-and those of their communities, resulting in a more intentional moral voice focused on justice and equity so that all news participants can feel cared for within information-exchange about public affairs. (shrink)

This book argues that organizations, corporations, and governments have the abilities and resources to drive deep systemic change, yet fail to evoke change strategies that can significantly improve the social fabric of our global environment. It actively engages the reader in a conversation that reviews, evaluates, and challenges these issues juxtaposed to current strategies and resulting positions regarding business ethics, social responsibility, our view towards humanity, and the role of leaders. Provocative in its voice and message, this book demonstrates how (...) more robust contributions can lead to effective change. The author includes a detailed change model designed to invoke significant global change that builds upon the current work of the United Nations' Global Compact, and incorporates the participation of all critical stakeholders including corporate leaders, civil society, government leaders, and the people who are challenged daily by ethical dilemmas and social responsibility initiatives. It speaks to academics and students of change management, social responsibility, and business ethics, as well as the organizations and communities who stand to make a positive difference in the world. (shrink)

Structural Injustice has become a hugely important concept in the field of political theory with the work of Iris Marion Young central to debates on what it is, what motivates it and how it should be addressed. In this article, I focus on a particular thread in Young’s account of structural injustice which I argue is all too often overlooked - the untraceability of structural injustice. This is not only a constant theme in Young’s account of structural injustice, it is, (...) in fact, a defining feature. By ‘untraceable’, Young means that structural injustice is distinct from other sorts of injustices for which there is a traceable agent at fault – these sorts of faut-based injustices fall under what Young calls the ‘liability model of injustice’. For the purposes of exploring the concept of structural injustice, I follow the logic of the claim that structural injustice is untraceable to see where it takes us in conversation with Young’s critics. I conclude that Young’s account is not only defensible with some clarification and development but vital politically. That said, I also find Young’s account of political responsibility for structural injustice wanting and accordingly I propose a way of understanding what I see as a dynamic transition from structural to fault-based injustices which I argue Young’s more ‘static’ account fails to accommodate. This is important, I suggest, for thinking about the ways in which responsibility for different forms of injustice operate and change. _Contemporary Political Theory_ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41296-023-00634-4. (shrink)

Chapter 1 The Author: Life and Works 1 . Historical and Cultural Background In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Jews of southern France (the Midi, ...

The system GLS, which is a modal sequent calculus system for the provability logic GL, was introduced by G. Sambin and S. Valentini in Journal of Philosophical Logic, 11, 311–342,, and in 12, 471–476,, the second author presented a syntactic cut-elimination proof for GLS. In this paper, we will use regress trees in order to present a simpler and more intuitive syntactic cut derivability proof for GLS1, which is a variant of GLS without the cut rule.

Edward Pols long ago established himself as a philosopher of first rank. His carefully wrought studies have succeeded each other with regularity, The Recognition of Reason, Whitehead’s Metaphysics, Meditation on a Prisoner: Towards Understanding Action and Mind, and The Acts of Our Being: A Reflection on Agency and Responsibility. While clearly within a tradition that can be traced through modernity to the middle ages and to classical philosophy, Pols is no slave to the past. He recognizes the perennial character of (...) fundamental philosophical problems, their complexity, and the challenge they offer to the contemporary investigator. This perspicacity does not lead him to deny the worth of past efforts, but positions him to frame old problems in a new way. His insight is rooted in a profound grasp of the processes of human knowing and in a rare metaphysical sense. (shrink)

What if philosophy, theology, and science spent a little more time together? These fields often seem at odds, butting metaphysical heads. Instead of talking at, how about talking with one another? This book engages three academic disciplines--distinct yet sharing much in common--in a slice of conversation and community in which participants have aimed at validating the other and the way the other sees the world. The result is a collection of essays united by a thread that can be hard to (...) find in academia. In bringing together a wide range of contributors on a project that at first seemed unlikely, Irreconcilable Differences? is also a testament to the spirit of cooperation and hard work--evidence that small acts and events can make a big difference, and that sometimes all you need in order to make something good happen is an idea with a little support along the way. The editors of this collection are hopeful that its contributors and readers will keep looking for ways to bridge academic, social, and political gaps. We need to forge relationships based on personal knowledge and proper confidence seeking to make meaningful claims in an increasingly complex world. (shrink)