Although performance pressure has desirable consequences, there is evidence that it can produce unintended outcomes as employees tend to engage in dysfunctional and unethical behaviors to meet performance goals. Thus, the process through which employees think and behave unethically under performance pressure deserves more research attention. This study goes beyond the stress-appraisal perspective and investigates whether and when performance pressure influences individual work mindsets and behaviors from a moral reasoning perspective. Specifically, we contend that performance pressure is related to employee (...) expediency through moral decoupling. We further hypothesize dialectical thinking and moral identity to be the boundary conditions of the proposed relationships. Analyses of data from a field study in three waves provide support for most of the hypotheses. In particular, we find that moral decoupling accounts for additional variance after we control for the stress-appraisal effect of performance pressure on employee expediency. The study offers several contributions to the literature on performance pressure and unethical behavior. (shrink)

The electron-optical phase shift induced in the electron beam due to the interaction with the electromagnetic field of magnetized nanoparticles of defined shape and arbitrary dimensions is calculated, presented and discussed. Together with the computable knowledge of vector potential and magnetic induction, including the demagnetizing field, and with the extension to more realistic geometries which will be presented in part II, this theoretical framework can be employed for the interpretation of transmission electron microscopy experiments on magnetic particles on the nanometre (...) scale. (shrink)

A method is presented to compute the electron-optical phase shift for a magnetized polyhedral nanoparticle, with either a uniform magnetization or a closure domain . The method relies on an analytical expression for the shape amplitude, combined with a reciprocal-space description of the magnetic vector potential. The model is used to construct two building blocks from which more complex structures can be generated. Phase computations are also presented for the five Platonic and 13 Archimedean solids. Fresnel and Foucault imaging mode (...) simulations are presented for a range of particle shapes and microscope imaging conditions. (shrink)

The microstructures of cryogenically ball-milled Cu were investigated by high-resolution electron microscopy. It was found that the grain-size reduction is a dislocation-controlled continuous process which consists of the formation of small-angle grain boundaries , a gradual increase in misorientations as a result of accumulation of more dislocations and, finally, the formation of large-angle GBs. The GBs were generally curved, wavy or faceted, and heavily strained, which are typical characteristics of nanostructured materials. In addition, extrinsic dislocations were found in many GBs, (...) indicating that most are in a high-energy non-equilibrium configuration, which is consistent with observations in equal-channel angular pressing processed Cu, Ni, and Al-Mg, repetitive corrugation and straightening processed Cu and room-temperature ball-milled Cu. These results support a still-disputed concept that GBs in nanostructured metals processed by severe plastic deformation are mostly in non-equilibrium states. (shrink)

The recent wave of same-sex marriage legalization marks the most significant human rights progress in decades. Nevertheless, the valuation effects on corporate America are unclear. While the arguments supporting marriage equality are largely in the domain of law and sociology, many prominent business leaders are actively engaged in campaigns advocating marriage equality. This suggests that the LGBT civil rights movement of our generation might have valuation implications for corporate America beyond human rights equality. This paper investigates the market perception of (...) state-level same-sex marriage legalization by examining the short-window market reactions to firms headquartered in a state. We find positive market reactions to firms headquartered in states that legally recognize marriage equality. Further, we find that the market views companies more favorably in: first-mover states before the Supreme Court ruling of United States v. Windsor, and states that have stronger anti-discrimination laws for the LGBT community. Our findings complement prior research that focuses on the economic consequences of firm-level LGBT human rights policies by examining the state/nation-level legal impact, adding a new dimension to ethical practices that can have economic consequences. (shrink)

Since at least Hume and Kant, philosophers working on the nature of aesthetic judgment have generally agreed that common sense does not treat aesthetic judgments in the same way as typical expressions of subjective preferences—rather, it endows them with intersubjective validity, the property of being right or wrong regardless of disagreement. Moreover, this apparent intersubjective validity has been taken to constitute one of the main explananda for philosophical accounts of aesthetic judgment. But is it really the case that most people (...) spontaneously treat aesthetic judgments as having intersubjective validity? In this paper, we report the results of a cross‐cultural study with over 2,000 respondents spanning 19 countries. Despite significant geographical variations, these results suggest that most people do not treat their own aesthetic judgments as having intersubjective validity. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for theories of aesthetic judgment and the purpose of aesthetics in general. (shrink)

Environmental ethics can be cultivated in China and other Asian countries based on Chinese philosophical perspectives. Two major Chinese philosophies relevant to the issues of environmental ethics—Confucianism and Taoism—suggest certain approaches to developing environmental ethics. These approaches can complement each other in developing a Chinese or East Asian theory of environmental ethics. Drawing on these perspectives, China’s Wolong National Nature Reserve can face the challenge of protecting its pandas while developing the local economy. By adopting a set of strategies with (...) elements from both Confucianism and Taoism, Wolong has fared well in both protecting pandas and promoting environmental ethics. This case has implications for both managerial researchers and practitioners. (shrink)

In the remainder of this article, we will disarm an important motivation for epistemic contextualism and interest-relative invariantism. We will accomplish this by presenting a stringent test of whether there is a stakes effect on ordinary knowledge ascription. Having shown that, even on a stringent way of testing, stakes fail to impact ordinary knowledge ascription, we will conclude that we should take another look at classical invariantism. Here is how we will proceed. Section 1 lays out some limitations of previous (...) research on stakes. Section 2 presents our study and concludes that there is little evidence for a substantial stakes effect. Section 3 responds to objections. The conclusion clears the way for classical invariantism. (shrink)

Philosophers have long debated whether, if determinism is true, we should hold people morally responsible for their actions since in a deterministic universe, people are arguably not the ultimate source of their actions nor could they have done otherwise if initial conditions and the laws of nature are held fixed. To reveal how non-philosophers ordinarily reason about the conditions for free will, we conducted a cross-cultural and cross-linguistic survey (N = 5,268) spanning twenty countries and sixteen languages. Overall, participants tended (...) to ascribe moral responsibility whether the perpetrator lacked sourcehood or alternate possibilities. However, for American, European, and Middle Eastern participants, being the ultimate source of one’s actions promoted perceptions of free will and control as well as ascriptions of blame and punishment. By contrast, being the source of one’s actions was not particularly salient to Asian participants. Finally, across cultures, participants exhibiting greater cognitive reflection were more likely to view free will as incompatible with causal determinism. We discuss these findings in light of documented cultural differences in the tendency toward dispositional versus situational attributions. (shrink)

This article examines whether people share the Gettier intuition (viz. that someone who has a true justified belief that p may nonetheless fail to know that p) in 24 sites, located in 23 countries (counting Hong Kong as a distinct country) and across 17 languages. We also consider the possible influence of gender and personality on this intuition with a very large sample size. Finally, we examine whether the Gettier intuition varies across people as a function of their disposition to (...) engage in “reflective” thinking. (shrink)

Student–teacher relationships have been examined by many studies. However, an omission still exists, the existing scales are not appropriate for studying STRs in private colleges because of the special character of these schools. This paper presents the development and validation of Private-College Student–Teacher Relationship Scale, the first instrument to evaluate student–teacher relationships in private colleges. The PCSTRS has six dimensions: trust, interaction, intimacy, care, approval, and comfort. In our main study, the validity and reliability of the six-factor PCSTRS model were (...) demonstrated. The result of internal consistency coefficient indicated the high reliability of the scale, and the result of concurrent validity indicated the significant correlational relationships between the PCSTRS with other STR measures. In supplementary study, the PCSTRS was administered to 360 participants to confirm the applicability of PCSTRS and investigate the relation of STRs and students’ traits, performance, and wellbeing, as well as the differences between the private school and the public school in this relation; the analyses revealed that there were significant differences in trust, intimacy, and care between private and public colleges; positive correlations were found between STRs and self-esteem, self-efficacy, academic performance, extracurricular activity involvement, and subjective wellbeing. Present research firstly develops the PCSTRS, examined the reliability and validity, and provides the proposed nomological network among related constructs. (shrink)

Does the Ship of Theseus present a genuine puzzle about persistence due to conflicting intuitions based on “continuity of form” and “continuity of matter” pulling in opposite directions? Philosophers are divided. Some claim that it presents a genuine puzzle but disagree over whether there is a solution. Others claim that there is no puzzle at all since the case has an obvious solution. To assess these proposals, we conducted a cross-cultural study involving nearly 3,000 people across twenty-two countries, speaking eighteen (...) different languages. Our results speak against the proposal that there is no puzzle at all and against the proposal that there is a puzzle but one that has no solution. Our results suggest that there are two criteria—“continuity of form” and “continuity of matter”— that constitute our concept of persistence and these two criteria receive different weightings in settling matters concerning persistence. (shrink)

Is behavioral integration a necessary feature of belief in folk psychology? Our data from over 5,000 people across 26 samples, spanning 22 countries suggests that it is not. Given the surprising cross-cultural robustness of our findings, we argue that the types of evidence for the ascription of a belief are, at least in some circumstances, lexicographically ordered: assertions are first taken into account, and when an agent sincerely asserts that p, nonlinguistic behavioral evidence is disregarded. In light of this, we (...) take ourselves to have discovered a universal principle governing the ascription of beliefs in folk psychology. (shrink)

Cranial electrical stimulation has been applied at various current levels in both adults and children with neurological conditions with seemingly promising but somewhat inconsistent results. Stimulation-induced spatial electric fields within a specific brain region are likely a significant contributing factor for the biological effects. Although several simulation models have been used to predict EF distributions in the brain, these models actually have not been validated by in vivo CES-induced EF measurements in the live human brain. This study directly measured the (...) CES-induced voltage changes with implanted stereotactic-electroencephalographic electrodes in twenty-one epilepsy participants and then compared these measured values with the simulated ones obtained from the personalized models. In addition, we further investigated the influence of stimulation frequency, intensity, electrode montage and age on EFs in parts of participants. We found both measured voltages and EFs obtained in vivo are highly correlated with the predicted ones in our cohort. In white matter and gray matter, the measured voltages linearly increased when the stimulation intensity increased from 5 to 500 μA but showed no significant changes with changing stimulation frequency from 0.5 to 200 Hz. Electrode montage, but not age, significantly affects the distribution of the EFs. Our in vivo measurements demonstrate that the individualized simulation model can reliably predict the CES-induced EFs in both adults and children. It also confirms that the CES-induced EFs highly depend on the electrode montages and individual anatomical features. (shrink)

Employees perceive illegitimate tasks as inappropriate assignments because such tasks are beyond what they expect to do in any given job position. Extant literature indicates that, in addition to creating psychological strain and reducing well-being, illegitimate task assignments can result in counterproductive work behavior. This study extends the literature by examining whether illegitimate tasks may lead to two specific forms of CWB targeting organizations: destructive voice and time theft. To understand how and when this happens, we investigate the mediating role (...) of moral disengagement and the moderating role of psychological entitlement. Survey results based on 258 supervisor–subordinate dyads in China reveal that illegitimate tasks are positively related to destructive voice and time theft through moral disengagement. Furthermore, psychological entitlement strengthens the positive relationship between illegitimate tasks and moral disengagement and the indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on destructive voice and time theft. Overall, the findings provide insightful theoretical and managerial implications for research related to illegitimate tasks and CWB. (shrink)

En el centro de los debates sobre la desaparición y el resurgimiento del espacio público se encuentra el concepto de lo público, que a menudo se utiliza para definir las cualidades más deseables que desde el punto de vista normativo y prescriptivo debe poseer un espacio público. Este artículo, en lugar de proponer un ideal abstracto y normativo universalmente aplicable a lo público, aboga por su desnormalización, abordando este concepto como un estado del espacio que es público de una determinada (...) manera y en un contexto determinado. Para ilustrar las múltiples capas posibles de lo público, el artículo utiliza como estudio de caso la regeneración del espacio público de la ribera del río Huangpu en Shanghai. Examinando la transformación de esta ribera en las dos últimas décadas y centrados en el reciente proyecto de conexión del espacio público, el artículo muestra las diferentes formas en las que el diseño y el desarrollo del espacio público se entrelazan con el ideal de metrópolis orientada a las personas, propuesto como la clave de la pretensión ambiciosa de que Shanghái se convierta en una «excellent global city». A partir del análisis de la retórica y de la realidad del desarrollo del espacio público en la ribera en Shanghái orientado a las personas, este artículo muestra tres capas diferentes de lo público: lo público localizado, lo público procedimental y lo público simbólico, que se refieren no solo a la calidad material sino también a los procesos de distribución y construcción discursiva del espacio público. Este debate sobre las múltiples caras posibles de lo público servirá de punto de partida para seguir investigando cómo abordar lo público más allá del confinamiento de los límites espaciales como parte de la amplia y compleja dinámica de poder de las ciudades contemporáneas. (shrink)

The study of Joseon 朝鮮 Neo-Confucianism has recently given some attention to an inclination toward the Learning of the Mind-Heart, and Yi Gan 李柬 is at the center of this research. He was an outstanding disciple of Gwon Sang-ha 權尙夏 and a successor to the philosophical spirit of the Yulgok 栗谷 School; he is renowned for initiating the Horak 湖洛 Debate through his controversies with Han Won-jin 韓元震. In “A Thesis on the Not-Yet-Aroused State,” Yi asserted that the mind-heart is (...) purely good, basing his argument on the doctrine that “li 理 and qi 氣 are actualized as the same entity, and the mind-heart and nature are united as one.” Han Won-jin criticized this assertion as belonging to the Lu-Wang 陸王 School of Neo-Confucianism, and in fact, Yi Gan’s arguments were, in some aspects, consistent with Wang Yangming’s 王陽明 philosophy of the mind-heart. Indisputably, however, Yi Gan was an ardent follower of Zhu Xi’s 朱熹 philosophy. In this case, Yi Gan’s inclination toward the Learning of the Mind-Heart may perhaps be viewed in the tradition of the Learning of the Way, which emphasized self-cultivation and practice, a distinct feature of Joseon Neo-Confucianism. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:The Great Synthesis of Wang Yang Ming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonŏn (Testament) by Chŏng Chedu (Hagok) by Edward Y.J. ChungMaria Hasfeldt Long (bio)The Great Synthesis of Wang Yang Ming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonŏn (Testament) by Chŏng Chedu (Hagok). By Edward Y.J. Chung. Landham: Lexington Books, 2020. Pp. vii+ 351. Hardcover $137.00, isbn 978-1-7936-1469-8. The Korean Neo-Confucian tradition during the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910) was dominated by the (...) orthodox Sŏngnihak (School of Human Nature and Principle), which is also known as the Chŏngjuhak (Cheng–Zhu School). This school of Neo-Confucianism followed the doctrines and teachings of the Great Synthesizer Zhu Xi (1130–1200) to such a point that other Neo-Confucian schools were labeled as wrong and even persecuted until the late nineteenth century. One of these schools was Simhak (School of the Mind/Heart) established by the Chinese scholar Wang Yangming (1472–1529), which during the Ming dynasty (1382–1644) had grown to rival the Cheng–Zhu school. However, the academic-political power of the Cheng–Zhu school in Korea managed to suppress Yangming scholarship and maintain dominance throughout the dynasty. Despite that, a few scholars did take up the scholarship of Simhak in Korea, with the most influential being Chŏng Chedu, also known as Hagok (1649–1736) (p. 4). In his book, The Great Synthesis of Wang Yang Ming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonŏn (Testament) by Chŏng Chedu (Hagok), Edward Y.J. Chung presents not only an annotated translation of Hagok's main writings but also a look into intellectual scholarship that opposed the orthodoxy of the Cheng–Zhu school of Korea. This in-depth study and translation of Hagok into English was motivated by the lack of attention in Western scholarship on Korean Neo-Confucianism. It presents a study that goes beyond the three most famous scholars, Yi Hwang T'oegye (1501–1570), Yi I Yulgok (1536–1584), and Chŏng Yagyong Tasan (1762–1836), who founded the three mainstream schools of the Chosŏn dynasty. According to Chung, Hagok's writing not only represents important aspects of intellectual history but also serves as a fourth and lesser-known school of Korean Neo-Confucian thinking that should be placed on the same level as the other three. Unlike other Korean scholars who tried to take up the Yangming doctrine, Hagok did not care that the doctrine was prohibited. This set him apart from other scholars. Despite the Cheng–Zhu school being the "right learning," Hagok did not agree with the majority of it and based his theories on the Yangming doctrine. Although Hagok openly followed the Yangming doctrine, he did not do so blindly. [End Page 1] Hagok was aware that Yangming's theories had their flaws and he agreed with some theories of the Cheng–Zhu school (p. 7–8). This resulted in him trying to synthesize the two schools into one harmonious doctrine, which is why Chung believes Hagok to be important and has undertaken the task of bringing attention to this Korean scholar. Consisting of two distinct parts, Chung gives the reader a solid introduction to Hagok and his main theories via the selected translations from his most influential text, Chonŏn, which can be translated into "testament" or "living words." The first part of the book is divided into notes on the translation itself, such as transliteration, citation style, abbreviations, and, more importantly, how and why Chung selected the sections of the Chonŏn that have been translated. Through the selection, translation, annotation, and discussion of forty-one important essays from Chonŏn's three parts, Chung wishes to show the heart of Hagok's Neo-Confucian thought (p. x). The Chonŏn is not organized according to any thematic system and consists of different paragraphs, notes, and comments. Chung has, therefore, chosen which parts to translate in order to best portray Hagok's interpretation of the key concepts, the theories found in the Yangming Neo-Confucianism, and Hagok's criticism of Zhu Xi and T'oegye. All of this is properly introduced and explained in... (shrink)

Quel est le mot chinois qui exprime la notion occidentale de pouvoir? Evidemment le mot zhu (maître), dont la polysémie recouvre quasi exactement celle de la racine indo-européenne pot- (de potestas) avec les sens de maître de maison pour l'hôte, d'époux pour la femme, de chef de clan, de possesseur... La bonne traduction du concept occidental moderne importé au Japon au XIXe siècle aurait du être zhuli (force du maître) ou, pour éviter l'amphibologie avec force principale, zhubing (poigne du maître). (...) Un traducteur japonais, Nishi Amane, envoyé par le shogunat à Leiden, pour y étudier, de 1862 à 1865, les sciences politiques et la philosophie occidentales, a pourtant choisi le mot quan (poids). Pourquoi? L.V. (shrink)

ABSTRACT:In the expanding field of ethical leadership research, little attention has been paid to the association between ethical leaders’ ethical characteristics and perceived ethical leadership, and, more importantly, the potential influence of ethical leadership on followers’ ethical characteristics. In this study, we tested a theoretical model based upon social cognitive theory to examine leaders’ moral identity and moral attentiveness as antecedents of perceived ethical leadership, and follower moral identity and moral attentiveness as outcomes of ethical leadership. Based upon data from (...) 89 leaders and 460 followers in China, collected at two points in time, we found that leaders’ moral identity and moral attentiveness are associated with follower’s perceptions of ethical leadership. Ethical leadership is, in turn, associated with their followers’ moral identity and moral attentiveness. We found furthermore that ethical leadership mediates the effect of leaders’ moral identity on followers’ moral identity, but not the effect of leaders’ moral attentiveness on followers’ moral attentiveness. We discuss the findings, theoretical contributions, practical implications, and future research. (shrink)

While philosophers have highlighted important reasons to resist one’s own oppression, they tend to overlook the phenomenon of complacency about one’s own oppression. This article addresses this gap by arguing that some oppressed agents are obligated to resist complacency about their own oppression because failing to do so would significantly harm themselves and others. Complacent members of oppressed groups fail to resist meaningfully, are self-satisfied, and are epistemically culpable. I contend that focusing on the obligation to combat complacency is useful (...) for at least two reasons. First, complacency about one’s own oppression is a distinctive phenomenon that warrants separate philosophical attention. Second, focusing on the obligation to resist complacency helps analyze an undertheorized group of oppressed agents by challenging the binary understanding of power prevalent in the literature on the duty to resist, thereby sharpening philosophical accounts of resistance and filling a gap in a prominent well-being-based theory of resistance. (shrink)

Higher education with Chinese characteristics is inherently embedded in both Chinese traditional culture and Chinese modern political culture. This article examines the ontological conception of higher education with Chinese characteristics from both conceptual and political perspectives. First, by illustrating the Government agenda and politics for the construction of higher education with Chinese characteristics, this article explains the particular roles played by individual universities and colleges. The article then moves on to describe the ontological conceptual framework used in identifying higher education (...) with Chinese characteristics for the purpose of showing how higher education with Chinese characteristics differs from Western dominated higher education concepts and models. Both the distinction between the Eastern and Western contexts and the integration of the globalization and localization are involved in construction of the concept of higher education with Chinese characteristic. The final section considers the policy implications for the developing higher education with Chinese characteristics. (shrink)

Although previous research has examined the effectiveness of various levels of punitive reactions to misconduct, researchers have given leader leniency relatively inadequate attention. Prior studies consistently suggest the beneficial effects of reacting less punitively toward misconduct. The current research challenges this notion by delineating a mixed effect of leader leniency on subordinate psychological and behavioral reactions. Building on social exchange theory (i.e., reciprocity norm and rank equilibration norm) and motive attribution literature, the authors argue that when subordinates hold high levels (...) of instrumental motive attribution, leader leniency relates positively to subordinate psychological entitlement, which in turn leads to workplace deviance. In contrast, when subordinates develop high levels of value-expressive motive attribution, leader leniency is positively associated with their felt obligation toward leaders, which positively influences their subsequent organizational citizenship behavior. The results of a field study, a scenario experiment, and a recall experiment conducted to test these hypotheses confirm the double-edged effects of leader leniency. These findings have important implications for theory and practice. (shrink)

Defining the purposes of engineering ethics education (EEE) is paramount for the engineering education community, and understanding the purposes of EEE can be a catalyst for actively involving students in the learning process. This chapter presents a conceptual framework for systematically describing and comparing various approaches to the purposes of EEE. Such a framework is inherently embedded with a tension between a normative approach and a pragmatic approach regarding the purposes of EEE. The normative approach focuses on what the purposes (...) of EEE should be, an ‘ideal world’ scenario, given the needs of the engineering profession and of society at large. Conversely, the pragmatic approach starts from the question ‘What can be achieved through educational practice?‘ and results from ‘actual world’ situated outcomes of stakeholder negotiations. The authors’ framework balances these. They – scholars from diverse cultural backgrounds – assert that the purposes of EEE are socially constructed and vary from country to country based on unique historical, political, and cultural contexts. Their framework embraces both the individualistic and holistic aspects of EEE, incorporating perspectives from both Western and non-Western traditions. It identifies six purposes of EEE (knowledge, actions, personal traits, relationships, etc.), aligning these with examples (e.g., moral knowledge, desirable actions, ethical skills or competencies, care ethics, etc.) and theoretical frameworks (moral epistemology, moral psychology, virtue ethics, objects or qualities of relations, etc.). It is problematic and potentially dangerous when engineering educators design ethics-learning activities without critically examining the purposes of these activities and assessing whether these purposes are justified for educating ethically and professionally competent engineers. This chapter provides tools to help avoid such pitfalls. (shrink)

Introduction : towards philosophy of scientific practice -- The origin of the concept of practice -- Scientific practice: significance, types and scopes -- The nature of scientific practice -- The nature of knowledge : the local knowledge -- Knowledge and power -- The contextual normativity of scientific practice -- Philosophy of scientific practice and naturalism (I) -- Philosophy of scientific practices and naturalism (II) -- Philosophy of scientific practice and relativism -- Partner of philosophy of scientific practice : philosophy of (...) scientific experimentation -- New empiricism : close relative of philosophy of scientific practice -- The starting point of scientific research: opportunity, question, or observation? -- New solution for the old problem : the relationship among observation, experiment and theory -- New studies on replicability of scientific experiment -- Local knowledge (I) : traditional chinese medicine (TCM) -- Local knowledge (II) : chinese theory of fengshui -- Local knowledge (III) : ethnobotany -- Conclusion : scientific practice in ongoing and unlimited process. (shrink)

The intellectual debates on wise entrepreneurship behavior such as decision making tend to focus on the relationship between economic rationality and morality, while overlooking the important role affect plays. To fill in this gap, this paper proposes a theoretical framework based on the Confucian concepts of ren and yi and studies their practical manifestation in qing and li 1 for decision making. Drawing from 32 in-depth interviews and 52 vignettes with Chinese SME entrepreneurs, this study has found that qing plays (...) an essential role in decision making. Chinese entrepreneurs had to deal with the dilemma relating to qing and li 1 holistically to reach a balanced outcome in their everyday business practices. As a major contribution, this study extends the study of Confucian ethics by highlighting ren-yi as an important perspective for understanding Chinese entrepreneurial decision making and also for promoting the affective dimensions for entrepreneurial ethical decision making in general. (shrink)

Engineering is a social enterprise. A successful engineering career depends on how engineers manage their relationships with diverse stakeholders including managers, clients, contractors, and the p...

Based on his experimental studies, Libet claims that voluntary actions are initiated by unconscious brain activities well before intentions or decisions to act are consciously experienced by people. This account conflicts with our common-sense conception of human agency, in which people consciously and intentionally exert volitions or acts of will to initiate voluntary actions. This paper offers an alternative interpretation of Libet's experiment. The cause of the intentional acts performed by the subjects in Libet's experiment should not be exclusively attributed (...) to special cerebral processes; conscious intentions formed at the beginning of the experiment, when the subjects received experimental instructions, must be taken into account. In addition, what the subjects were required to report was not a conscious intention or decision to act that conventionally figures in the etiology of voluntary action, but rather a perceived effective urge to move induced by specific experimental instructions. According to the alternative interpretation, the most suitable mental term correlated with the specific brain activity that precedes conscious, self-initiated voluntary bodily movements is volition. This account is supported by recent theories of function of the supplementary motor area . Therefore, the notion that we are the authors or originators of our own actions, which is fundamental to our common understanding of free will, moral responsibility and human dignity, can be preserved. (shrink)