We notice a number of interesting overlaps between the views on personhood of Ifeanyi Menkiti and Marya Schechtman. Both philosophers distance their views from the individualistic ones standard in western thought and foreground the importance of extrinsic or relational features to personhood. For Menkiti, it is ‘the community which defines the person as person’; for Schechtman, being a person is to have a place in person-space, which involves being seen as a person by others. But there are also striking differences. (...) Schechtman sees this aspect as expanding the scope of personhood to infants and those who are severely mentally disabled. Menkiti thinks that there is a line to be drawn at some point between those humans that are persons and those who are not. We consider the cases offered in questioning how the dispute between the two views should be resolved. (shrink)

The anti-exceptionalist debate brought into play the problem of what are the relevant data for logical theories and how such data affects the validities accepted by a logical theory. In the present paper, I depart from Laudan's reticulated model of science to analyze one aspect of this problem, namely of the role of logical data within the process of revision of logical theories. For this, I argue that the ubiquitous nature of logical data is responsible for the proliferation of several (...) distinct methodologies for logical theories. The resulting picture is coherent with the Laudanean view that agreement and disagreement between scientific theories take place at different levels. From this perspective, one is able to articulate other kinds of divergence that considers not only the inferential aspects of a given logical theory, but also the epistemic aims and the methodological choices that drive its development. (shrink)

This book discusses theories in economics and ethics to help the reader understand all points of view regarding the crossroads between economic systems and individual and social values. Easily accessible to non-specialists, the book also provides numerous insights for specialists in economics, philosophical ethics, or both.

The discourse on climate politics so far is an expert and elitist discourse in which peoples, societies, citizens, workers, voters and their interests, views and voices are very much neglected. So, in order to turn climate change politics from its head onto its feet you have to take sociology into account. There is an important background assumption which shares in the general ignorance concerning environmental issues and, paradoxically, this is in corporated in the specialism of environmental sociology itself — this (...) is the category of ‘the environment’. If ‘the environment’ only includes everything which is not human, not social, then the concept is sociologically empty. If the concept includes human action and society, then it is scientifically mistaken and politically suicidal. (shrink)

Heinrich Beck ist Jahrgang 1929, als o. Professor Inhaber des Lehrstuhls Philosophie I an der Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg bis 1997, Titular- und Honorarprofessor an sechs weiteren Universitäten in Europa und in Amerika, Dr. h.c. in Buenos Aires, Mitglied der Europäischen Akademie der Wissenschaften und Künste, Korrespondierendes Mitglied der Königlichen Spanischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Träger des deutschen Bundesverdienstkreuzes. Zentrum und Schlüssel seines philosophischen Denkens ist eine trinitarische Ontologie, die vor allem von Thomas von Aquin und Hegel inspiriert und zum christlichen Glauben (...) hin offen ist. Die von ihm in systematischen Analysen immer wieder aufgedeckte 3-gliedrige Bewegungsstruktur der Wirklichkeit unterscheidet und verbindet die einzelnen Bereiche des Seins. So gelangt er zu einer Seinsauffassung, die weder absoluten Monismus noch absoluten Pluralismus besagt, sondern vielmehr ein Mittleres zwischen beiden begründet, nämlich eine gestufte Ähnlichkeit (Analogie) in Wechselbeziehung und Auseinandersetzung (Dialog). Damit versucht er, zur Bewältigung von zentralen Problemen und Herausforderungen der aktuellen philosophischen Diskussion beizutragen. In diesen Zusammenhang fällt auch sein langjähriges, in weltweiter Zusammenarbeit betriebenes Forschungsprojekt: «Kreativer Friede durch Begegnung der Weltkulturen», das er durch die Erfahrung zahlreicher Forschungs- und Vortragsreisen konkretisiert hat; er gilt heute als einer der Begründer und Nestoren der interkulturellen Philosophie. Der vorliegende Band will durch die Auswahl von 30 Aufsätzen einen repräsentativen Überblick über seine akademische Lehr- und Forschungstätigkeit vermitteln. Dabei soll die Vielfalt seiner Arbeitsbereiche zum Ausdruck kommen. Sie sind hier nach drei thematischen Blöcken geordnet: 1. Erziehungsphilosophie und Anthropologie, 2. Erkenntnistheorie, Ontologie, Metaphysik und Religionsphilosophie und 3. Ethik, Geschichts- und Kulturphilosophie. (shrink)

Philosophers have traditionally used thought-experiments in their endeavours to find a satisfactory account of the self and personal identity. Yet there are considerations from empirical psychology as well as related ones from philosophy itself that appear to completely undermine the method of thought-experiment. This paper focuses on both sets of considerations and attempts a defence of the method.

When economists perform experiments, they do so typically in one of two traditions: cognitive psychology experiments in the heuristics and biases tradition (H&B-experiments) and experimental economics in the tradition of Vernon Smith. What sets these two traditions apart? In this paper, I offer a novel conceptualization of their pervasive disagreements. Focusing on how each camp approaches preferences, one of the most fundamental concepts in economics, I argue that experimental economics can be reconstructed as holding that the constituents of preferences can (...) be partially located in agents’ environments, while H&B-experiments implicitly assume that the constituents of preferences are entirely located within agents’ bodies. The paper (i) outlines how my reconstruction can account for the disagreement between the two paradigms, (ii) defends the plausibility of this reconstruction, and (iii) highlights its implications for the debate about the nature of preferences in economics. (shrink)

Der vorliegende Beitrag nimmt seinen Ausgangspunkt in der Beobachtung zunehmender Verweise auf Menschenbilder oder ein spezielles Menschenbild in öffentlichen und fachwissenschaftlichen Debatten um wissenschaftlichen und technologischen Wandel (1). Zunächst wird ein knapper Überblick über die Bedeutung, Funktion und Herkunft von Menschenbildern gegeben (2), gefolgt von einer Übersicht über die Fragestellungen und Methodik der noch jungen Disziplin einer Ethik der Ernährung (3). Daran anschließend wird der Zusammenhang zwischen lebensweltlichen Menschenbildern und Ernährungsweisen am Beispiel der öffentlichen und wissenschaftlichen Diskurse um Fleischkonsum expliziert (...) (4). Ein knappes Fazit fasst die Ergebnisse zusammen (5). (shrink)

Theodor W. Adornos Jargon der Eigentlichkeit (1963) gehört zu den umstrittensten Texten der Kritischen Theorie. Während der Titel inner- und außerhalb der akademischen Debatte längst zu einem geflügelten Wort mutiert ist, steht diesem die Kenntnis des Inhalts diametral gegenüber. Zumeist wird die Schrift als eine Polemik gegen Martin Heidegger abgehandelt, die zu einer 'philosophischen Kommunikationsverweigerung' Hermann Mörchen) zwischen Frankfurt und Freiburg geführt habe. Plattitüden dieser Art verkennen jedoch den ideologiekritischen Charakter der Streitschrift. Adornos Kritik am neudeutschen Jargon richtet sich keineswegs (...) primär gegen Heidegger, sondern bezieht sich auf ein breites gesellschaftliches Phänomen. Sie hat ihren Ursprung bereits in den 1920er-Jahren in der Kritik Siegfried Kracauers an der Bibel-Übersetzung von Martin Buber und Franz Rosenzweig. Ziel des Sammelbandes ist es, den Jargon der Eigentlichkeit jenseits akademischer Departementalisierungen zu erschließen und auf die Aktualität von Adornos Kritik hinzuweisen. (shrink)

Eric Olson argues in The Human Animal that thought-experiments involving body-swapping do not in the end offer any support to psychological continuity theories, nor do they pose any threat to his Biological View. I argue that he is mistaken in at least the second claim.

This article examines ancient depictions of the death of Troilus in art and literature and challenges the widespread belief that the Iliad implies an alternative version of the myth in which Troilus dies in battle. In particular, it argues that the death-in-battle interpretation is both insufficiently supported by the internal evidence and incompatible with the external evidence. Given the evident popularity of the story of Achilles’ ambush of Troilus in the Archaic period, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that (...) the poet of the Iliad knew the story of Troilus’ death by ambush. That the poem's only reference to Troilus does not contradict this story, and possibly even alludes to it, should persuade critics of the strong likelihood that the popular story of Troilus’ ambush at the fountain was also the one in the poet's mind. (shrink)

By working with underserved communities, anthropologists may play a larger role in democratizing society. The growth of disparities challenges anthropology to be used for social justice. This engaged stance moves the application of anthropological theory, methods, and practice toward action and activism. However, this engagement also moves anthropologists away from traditional roles of observation toward participatory roles that become increasingly involved with those communities or social groupings being studied. The chapters in this book suggest the roles anthropologists are able to (...) play to bring us closer to a public anthropology characterized as engagement. Sam Beck is Senior Lecturer in the College of Human Ecology and Director of the Urban Semester Program of Cornell University. His publications include Ethnicity and Nationalism in Southeastern Europe (1981, ed with John W. Cole) and Manny Almeida's Ringside Lounge: The Cape Verdean Struggle for their Neighborhood (1992). Carl A. Maida is Professor in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles. His publications include Sustainability and Communities of Place (2007), Pathways through Crisis: Urban Risk and Public Culture (2008), Children and Disasters (1999), and The Crisis of Competence: Transitional Stress and the Displaced Worker (1990). (shrink)

Embryonale Stammzellen, Klonen, Präimplantationsdiagnostik, Gendiagnose, Euthanasie - das sind Stichworte einer Medizin im Umbruch, die mit ihrem Menschenbild und ihrer ethischen Fundierung in eine Sackgasse geraten ist. Wir stehen am Beginn einer Epoche, die dabei ist, den Menschen in seinen frühesten Stadien zum Material zu machen, zum Material für Medikamente für andere Menschen. Mit der Invitro-Fertilisation hat die Herstellung von menschlichem Leben ausserhalb des mütterlichen Organismus begonnen. Es ist frei verfügbar geworden. Wohin führt uns diese Entwicklung der modernen naturwissenschaftlichen Medizin? (...) Beck gibt Denkanstösse, wie die moderne Medizin über ihre Sicht auf die materielle (vielleicht noch psychosomatische) Verfasstheit des Menschen hinaus noch philosophisch-theologische Zugänge zum Menschen und existentiellen Fragen nach dem Dasein einbeziehen kann. (Quelle: www.buch.ch). (shrink)

Phenomenology is a challenging method for many students to understand and apply. Introduction to Phenomenology: Focus on Methodology breaks down the history, methodology, and application so students can more easily write proposals and conduct phenomenological research. Author Cheryl Tatano Beck draws on her depth of experience in applying and teaching phenomenological methods to distill the method into a single guidebook for students and new researchers alike. This introductory book provides a clearer picture of phenomenology as method and its applications (...) to social, behavioral, and health sciences, covering both interpretive and descriptive phenomenology from research design through analysis. (shrink)

This is a fluently written history of ancient Greece seen from the perspective of localism and the origins of the Greek City-State. Much like our own time, from the 8th century BCE until and even beyond its imperial end, the Greek world was constantly expanding and experiencing growing connectivity with the world at large. Conquest, exploration and exchange all grew Greece's global presence and helped develop an expanded world where a need to define and cherish the local would inevitably arise. (...) Beck draws on a breathtaking range of materials: texts, some of them rare, by both well-known and obscure writers; numismatics, visual culture, pottery analysis, landscape and traditional field archaeology. He brings all this together in developing fine-grained case studies about tensions between metropolis and local communities such as Miletus, Ithaca, and rural Attica in relation to Athens and other major centers. (shrink)

I desire mercy, not sacrifice." Echoing Hosea, Jesus defends his embrace of the "unclean" in the Gospel of Matthew, seeming to privilege the prophetic call to justice over the Levitical pursuit of purity. And yet, as missional faith communities are well aware, the tensions and conflicts between holiness and mercy are not so easily resolved. At every turn, it seems that the psychological pull of purity and holiness tempts the church into practices of social exclusion and a Gnostic "flight" from (...) the world into a "too spiritual" spirituality. In an unprecedented fusion of psychological science and theological scholarship, Richard Beck describes the pernicious (and largely unnoticed) effects of the psychology of purity upon the life and mission of the church. (shrink)

This comprehensive volume details the variety of constitutions and types of governing bodies in the ancient Greek world. A collection of original scholarship on ancient Greek governing structures and institutions Explores the multiple manifestations of state action throughout the Greek world Discusses the evolution of government from the Archaic Age to the Hellenistic period, ancient typologies of government, its various branches, principles and procedures and realms of governance Creates a unique synthesis on the spatial and memorial connotations of government by (...) combining the latest institutional research with more recent trends in cultural scholarship. (shrink)

According to Hebrews, the Son of God appeared to "break the power of him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." What does it mean to be enslaved, all our lives, to the fear of death? And why is this fear described as "the power of the devil"? And most importantly, how are we--as individuals and as faith communities--to be set free from this (...) slavery to death?In another creative interdisciplinary fusion, Richard Beck blends Eastern Orthodox perspectives, biblical text, existential psychology, and contemporary theology to describe our slavery to the fear of death, a slavery rooted in the basic anxieties of self-preservation and the neurotic anxieties at the root of our self-esteem. Driven by anxiety--enslaved to the fear of death--we are revealed to be morally and spiritually vulnerable as "the sting of death is sin." Beck argues that in the face of this predicament, resurrection is experienced as liberation from the slavery of death in the martyrological, eccentric, cruciform, and communal capacity to overcome fear in living fully and sacrificially for others. (shrink)

This paper is a re-reading of Colin Radford's paper 'The Umpire's Dilemma', published in Analysis in 1985. It argues that Radford's dilemma has been unjustly ignored and has interesting (and problematic) implications for both intuitionism and Ronald Dworkin's constructive interpretationist jurisprudence.

Der isländische Historiker, Dichter und Politiker Snorri Sturluson war eine Ausnahmegestalt des nordischen Mittelalters. Die Beiträge international renommierter Forscher diskutieren den aktuellen Stand der Forschung und bringen selbst neue Ansätze ein. Dabei werden neben religionshistorischen und historischen Themen auch Fragen der Biographie, der Wissenschaftsgeschichte und der Textüberlieferung behandelt.

This book provides a detailed biography of James Frederick Ferrier, the influential Scottish philosopher and author. It explores his background, his intellectual influences, and his contributions to the field of philosophy. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and (...) distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

This book, first published in 1938, is based upon the Muirhead lectures on political philosophy delivered in the University of Birmingham in January and February of 1938. This title was intended to be of interest to students and scientific workers in the belief that Marxism will prove valuable to them in their scientific work, as well as to a wider audience.

The concept of moral distress comes from nursing ethics, and was initially defined as ‘…when one knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action’. There is a large body of literature associated with moral distress, yet multiple definitions now exist, significantly limiting its usefulness. We undertook a systematic review of the argument-based bioethics literature on this topic as the basis for a critical appraisal, identifying 55 papers for analysis. (...) We found that moral distress is most frequently framed around individual experiences of distress in relation to local practices and constraints, and understood in terms of power relations and workplace hierarchies. This understanding is directly derived from, and often still seen as specific to, nursing. Frequently the perspective of the morally distressed individual is privileged. Understandings of moral distress have evolved towards an ‘occupational health approach’, with the assumption that moral distress should be measured and prevented. Counter-perspectives were identified, highlighting conceptual problems. Based on our review, we propose a redefinition of moral distress: ‘Ethical unease or disquiet resulting from a situation where a clinician believes they have contributed to avoidable patient or community harm through their involvement in an action, inaction or decision that conflicts with their own values’. This definition is specific enough for research use, anchored in clinicians’ professional responsibilities and concerns about harms to patients, framed relationally rather than hierarchically, and amenable to multiple perspectives on any given morally distressing situation. (shrink)

Fatherly love should be evident in caring for the health and good of one's children, seeking to safeguard them from harm and to encourage their integrity. However, in Star Wars, Darth Vader promises his son's survival only on the condition that Luke Skywalker will serve his own monstrous, tyrannical master. Utilizing a philosophy of love and goodness to show how the parent–child relationship may be lost or regained, this chapter examines the transition in Anakin's life from a natural love of (...) others to a distorted, toxic caricature of love. The drama and trauma displayed in Star Wars allow us to recognize how an admirable love can lose its value, and in fact can become what motivates people to outrageously wicked acts. The chapter highlights that the good of the love in such relationships needs to be tempered by humility and wisdom. (shrink)