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What Makes Us Moral? On the capacities and conditions for being moral
By Bert Musschenga, Anton Van Harskamp. 2012
This book addresses the question of what it means to be moral and which capacities one needs to be moral.…
It questions whether empathy is a cognitive or an affective capacity, or perhaps both. As most moral beings behave immorally from time to time, the authors ask which factors cause or motivate people to translate their moral beliefs into action? Specially addressed is the question of what is the role of internal factors such as willpower, commitment, character, and what is the role of external, situational and structural factors? The questions are considered from various (disciplinary) perspectives.Jan Patočka and the Heritage of Phenomenology
By Ivan Chvatík, Erika Abrams. 2010
Whereas for the wider public Jan Patocka is known mainly as a defender of human rights and one of the…
first spokespersons of Charter 77, who died in Prague several days after long interrogations by secret police of the Communist regime, the international philosophical community sees in him an important and inspiring thinker, who in an original way elaborated the great impulses of European thought - mainly Husserl's phenomenology and Heidegger's philosophy of existence. Patocka also reflected on history and the future of humanity in a globalized world and laid the foundations of an original philosophy of history. His work is a subject of lively philosophical discussion especially in French and German-speaking countries, and recently also in Spanish-speaking, in U.S.A., and in the Far East. Scholars from around the world who are interested in the philosophy of Jan Patocka gathered in Prague to commemorate his centenary and the thirtieth anniversary of his death. The conference explored the significance of his work and its continuing influence on contemporary philosophy. The volume presents selected papers from the conference in English language.Philosophy and Political Engagement
By Allyn Fives, Keith Breen. 2016
Dophilosophers have a responsibility to their society that is distinct from theirresponsibility to it as citizens? This edited volume explores…
both what type ofcontribution philosophy can make and what type of reasoning is appropriate whenaddressing public matters now. These questions are posed by leadinginternational scholars working in the fields of moral and political philosophy. Each contribution also investigates the central issue of how to combinecritical, rational analysis with a commitment to politically relevant publicengagement. The contributions to this volume analyse issues raised inpractical ethics, including abortion, embryology, and assisted suicide. Theyconsider the role of ethical commitment in the philosophical analysis ofcontemporary political issues, and engage with matters of public policy such aspoverty, the arts, meaningful work, as well as the evidence base for policy. They also examine the normative legitimacy of power, including the use ofviolence.Law, Order and Freedom
By J.R. de Ville, C. W. Maris, F.C.L.M. Jacobs. 2011
The central question in legal philosophy is the relationship between law and morality. The legal systems of many countries around…
the world have been influenced by the principles of the Enlightenment: freedom, equality and fraternity. The position is similar in relation to the accompanying state ideal of the democratic constitutional state as well as the notion of a welfare state. The foundation of these principles lies in the ideal of individual autonomy. The law must in this view guarantee a social order which secures the equal freedom of all. This freedom is moreover fundamental because in modern pluralistic societies a great diversity of views exist concerning the appropriate way of life. This freedom ideal is however also strongly contested. In Law, Order and Freedom, a historical overview is given pertaining to the question of the extent to which the modern Enlightenment values can serve as the universal foundation of law and society.Phenomenology in a New Key: Between Analysis and History
By Jeffrey Bloechl, Nicolas Warren. 2015
In this collection of essays, the sophistication and vibrancy of contemporary phenomenological research is documented, including both its engagement with…
key figures in the history of philosophy, and with critical problems defining future directions of philosophical investigations. It honors the writings of Richard Cobb-Stevens, whose work in phenomenological philosophy, analytic philosophy and the history of philosophy has served as model for generations of philosophers working between these three fields of research. The essays collected in this volume provide a unique window on the contemporary state of the art in phenomenological philosophy by leading scholars of international reputation from North America and Europe. Historical figures such as Aristotle and Hobbes are innovatively brought into dialogue with phenomenological thinking. Phenomenological thinking is brought to bear on a wide variety of problems, from the nature of artworks and photography to questions concerning consciousness and knowledge. Among the topics discussed in these specially commissioned essays: phenomenology and Aristotle; the nature of the primal ego; Hobbes and Husserl; intentionality and reference; Neo-Aristotelian ethics; Husserl and Wittgenstein; photography; the nature of artworks.Links Between Beliefs and Cognitive Flexibility
By Geraldine Clarebout, Elmar Stahl, Jan Elen, Rainer Bromme. 2010
With the world and its structures becoming ever more complex, and the nature of future employment becoming ever more unpredictable,…
the notion of 'cognitive flexibility' has a high profile in educational and psychological debate. The contributions in this volume analyze the nature of cognitive flexibility, as well as the impact of different types of beliefs on cognitive flexibility. Making adequate decisions requires considering input from a variety of continuously evolving sources rather than adhering to predetermined procedures. Adopting a position in a debate necessitates the critical evaluation of different alternatives, while solving a problem entails selecting appropriate problem-solving strategies. Meanwhile, studying requires students to integrate a range of interventions, and treating a patient involves making a differential diagnosis. The common factor, cognitive flexibility, lies at the core of effective functioning in complex, domain-specific environments. Cognitive flexibility can be described as the disposition to consider diverse information elements while deciding on how to solve a problem or to execute a learning-related task in a variety of domains. The concept of 'disposition' implies that individuals will not always demonstrate cognitive flexibility even if they are in principle able to act in a cognitively flexible way. The notion does not require that alternatives are always deliberately considered, which is why this volume's tandem discussion of beliefs is key element of the discussion. Beliefs play a central role in cognitive flexibility and relate to what individuals consider to be important, valid and/or true. Of specific interest is the relationship between epistemological beliefs and cognitive flexibility, especially as a particular subset of epistemological beliefs seems to be a prerequisite to a cognitively flexible disposition.Phenomenology in French Philosophy: Early Encounters
By Christian Dupont. 2014
This work investigates the early encounters of French philosophers and religious thinkers with the phenomenological philosophy of Edmund Husserl. Following…
an introductory chapter addressing context and methodology, Chapter 2 argues that Henri Bergson's insights into lived duration and intuition and Maurice Blondel's genetic description of action functioned as essential precursors to the French reception of phenomenology. Chapter 3 details the presentations of Husserl and his followers by three successive pairs of French academic philosophers: Léon Noël and Victor Delbos, Lev Shestov and Jean Hering, and Bernard Groethuysen and Georges Gurvitch. Chapter 4 then explores the appropriation of Bergsonian and Blondelian phenomenological insights by Catholic theologians Édouard Le Roy and Pierre Rousselot. Chapter 5 examines applications and critiques of phenomenology by French religious philosophers, including Jean Hering, Joseph Maréchal, and neo-Thomists like Jacques Maritain. A concluding chapter expounds the principal finding that philosophical and theological receptions of phenomenology in France prior to 1939 proceeded independently due to differences in how Bergson and Blondel were perceived by French philosophers and religious thinkers and their respective orientations to the Cartesian and Aristotelian/Thomist intellectual traditions.Engineering, Development and Philosophy
By Carl Mitcham, Steen Hyldgaard Christensen, Yanming An, Bocong Li. 2011
This inclusive, cross-cultural study rethinks the nexus between engineering, development, and culture. It offers diverse commentary from a range of…
disciplinary perspectives on how the philosophies of today's cultural triumvirate--American, European and Chinese--are shaped and given nuance by the cross-fertilization of engineering and development. Scholars from the humanities and social sciences as well as engineers themselves reflect on key questions that arise in this relational context, such as how international development work affects the professional views, identities, practice and ethics of engineers. The first volume to offer a systematic and collaborative study that cuts across continental boundaries, the book delineates the kinds of skills and competences that tomorrow's engineering success stories will require, and analyzes fascinating aspects of the interplay between engineering and philosophy, such as how traditionally Chinese ways of thinking can influence modern engineering practice in the world's most populous country. China's problematic mix of engineering woes and wonders, from the high-profile crash on its high-profile rail network to its 'bird's nest' Olympic stadium, adds to the urgency for reform, while Europe's Enlightenment-informed legal frameworks are contrasted with Chinese mechanisms in their governance of the field of nanotechnology, a crucial element of future technical evolution. Fascinating and compelling in equal measure, this volume addresses one of the topics at the leading edge of humanity's quest to survive, and to thrive.European Business Ethics Casebook
By Wim Dubbink, Henk Van Luijk, Luc Van Liedekerke. 2010
Business cases are at the heart of business ethics as a discipline. Analysis and reflection on the morality of business…
often is triggered by concrete cases. After four introductory chapters into recent developments within business ethics and the value of case analysis, the present volume offers extensive description of eight recent European cases, mainly stemming from The Netherlands and Belgium and all of them with a clear moral impact. Among them are the Lernout and Hauspie speech technology disaster, Heineken struggle with the promotion girls selling beer in Cambodia, cartels in the Dutch construction industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the Aids crisis, and Unilever allegedly making use of child labour in the cotton industry in India. The book will be of interest to researchers as well as teachers of undergraduate and graduate courses in Business Ethics, Business in Society, Management and Organisation Theory and Strategic Management. It will also be useful for business practitioners eager to learn about business ethics by means of cases.Feeling and Value, Willing and Action
By Marta Ubiali, Maren Wehrle. 2015
This volume explores the role and status of phenomena such as feelings, values, willing, and action in the domain of…
perception and (social) cognition, as well as the way in which they are related. In its exploration, the book takes Husserl's lifelong project Studien zur Struktur des Bewusstseins (1909-1930) as its point of departure, and investigates these phenomena with Husserl but also beyond Husserl. Divided into two parts, the volume brings together essays that address the topics from different phenomenological, philosophical, and psychological perspectives. They discuss Husserl's position in dialogue with historical and recent philosophical and psychological debates and develop phenomenological accounts and descriptions with the help of Geiger, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Plessner, Sartre, Scheler, Schopenhauer, and Reinach.Schutzian Phenomenology and Hermeneutic Traditions
By Michael Staudigl, George Berguno. 2013
Schutzian Phenomenology and Hermeneutic Traditions links Alfred Schutz to the larger hermeneutic tradition in Continental thought, illuminating the deep affinity…
between Schutzian phenomenology and hermeneutics. The essays collected here explore a broad spectrum of Schutzian themes and concerns, from Schutz's concrete affinities to hermeneutic traditions, his interpretationism and the pragmatist nature of Schutz's thought, to questions concerning the role of the media and music in our understanding of the life-world and intersubjectivity. The essays go on to explore the practical applicability of Schutz's thoughts on questions regarding economics, literature, ethics and the limits of human understanding. Given its emphasis on the application of Schutzian ideas and concepts, this book willbe of special interest to a wide range of readers in the social sciences and humanities, who are interested in the application of phenomenology to social, political, and cultural phenomena.Institutions, Emotions, and Group Agents
By Hans Bernhard Schmid, Anita Konzelmann Ziv. 2014
The contributions gathered in this volume present the state of the art in key areas of current social ontology. They…
focus on the role of collective intentional states in creating social facts, and on the nature of intentional properties of groups that allow characterizing them as responsible agents, or perhaps even as persons. Many of the essays are inspired by contemporary action theory, emotion theory, and theories of collective intentionality. Another group of essays revisits early phenomenological approaches to social ontology and accounts of sociality that draw on the Hegelian idea of recognition. This volume is organized into three parts. First, the volume discusses themes highlighted in John Searle's work and addresses questions concerning the relation between intentions and the deontic powers of institutions, the role of disagreement, and the nature of collective intentionality. Next, the book focuses on joint and collective emotions and mutual recognition, and then goes on to explore the scope and limits of group agency, or group personhood, especially the capacity for responsible agency. The variety of philosophical traditions mirrored in this collection provides readers with a rich and multifaceted survey of present research in social ontology. It will help readers deepen their understanding of three interrelated and core topics in social ontology: the constitution and structure of institutions, the role of shared evaluative attitudes, and the nature and role of group agents.The Great Philosophers: Heidegger
By Johnathan Ree. 1998
Heidegger 1889-1976 `We ourselves the entities to be analysed.? With those words, Martin Heidegger launched his assault on the `sham…
clarity? of traditional Western thought. We are neither immortal souls nor disembodied intellects, he argues, but finite historical existences. And we are bound to the world by threads of interpretation and misinterpretation more strange and tangled than we can ever hope to comprehend. In his masterpiece Being and Time (1927) Heidegger used his technique of `existential analysis? to undercut traditional dilemmas of objectivity and subjectivity, rationality and irrationality, absolutism and relativism. Truth itself, he argues, is essentially historical. The greatest adventures of twentieth-century thought can be seen as footnotes to Being and Time, and in this brilliantly lucid exposition Jonathan Rée spells out all its main arguments without blunting any of its disturbing paradoxes.Selections from the Journals: An Annotated Selection From The Journal Of Henry D. Thoreau (Dover Thrift Editions: Philosophy Ser.)
By Henry David Thoreau, Walter Harding. 1995
Noted Thoreau scholar offers rich selection of favorite excerpts from voluminous Journals. Masterly meditations on man, society, nature and many…
other subjects--expressed with verve and vigor in some of the most poetic prose in American literature. Perfect introduction to the great naturalist and his thought. Introduction.The Great Philosophers: Turing (Great Philosophers Ser. #No. 3)
By Andrew Hodges. 1997
Alan Turing 1912 ? 1954 Alan Turing?s 1936 paper On Computable Numbers, introducing the Turing machine, was a landmark of…
twentieth-century thought. It settled a deep problem in the foundations of mathematics, and provided the principle of the post-war electronic computer. It also supplied a new approach to the philosophy of the mind. Influenced by his crucial codebreaking work in the Second World War, and by practical pioneering of the first electronic computers, Turing argued that all the operations of the mind could be performed by computers. His thesis, made famous by the wit and drama of the Turing Test, is the cornerstone of modern Artifical Intelligence. Here Andrew Hodges gives a fresh and critical analysis of Turing?s developing thought, relating it to his extraordinary life, and also to the more recent ideas of Roger Penrose.The Great Philosophers: Rorty (Great Philosophers Ser.)
By Gideon Calder. 2003
Popular Great Philosopher's Series.An accessible overview of the work of one of our most influential living philosophers, as part of…
the popular Great Philosophers series. Richard Rorty is often cited as the most prominent philosophical defender of postmodernism. Best known for his unusually readable books and articles on philosophy - most notably Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979) and Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (1989) - Rorty has for some years now been a wide-ranging public intellectual, unwilling to be confined within the boundaries of academe. There is no real school of Rortianism. But Rorty-bashing is almost an industry in itself. He is a renegade to purists, a reactionary to radicals and a subversive to conservatives. And yet he presents his ideas as the culmination and extension of many of the most familiar and fashionable trends in contemporary thinking.Ethical Issues in Prison Psychiatry
By Birgit Völlm, David N. Weisstub, Norbert Konrad. 2014
Recent surveys demonstrate a high and possibly increasing prevalence of mental disorders in prisoners. They have an increased risk of…
suffering from a mental disorder that transcends countries and diagnoses. Ethical dilemmas in prison psychiatry arise from resource allocation and include issues of patient choice and autonomy in an inherently coercive environment. Ethical conflicts may arise from the dual role of forensic psychiatrists giving raise to tensions between patient care/protection of the public.This book describes models and ethical issues of psychiatric healthcare in prison in several countries. Relevant issues are: the professional medical role of a psychiatrist and/or psychotherapist working in prison, the involvement of psychiatrists in disciplinary or coercive measures; consent to treatment, the use of coercion in forcing a prisoner to undergo treatment, hunger strike, confidentiality. The book ends with consensus guidelines concerning good practice in Prison Psychiatry.The Great Philosophers: Wittgenstein (Great Philosophers Ser.)
By Peter Hacker. 1997
Ludwig Wittgenstein 1889 ? 1951 P.M.S. Hacker?s Wittgenstein offers an illuminating introduction to Wittgenstein?s philosophy of mind and to his…
conception of philosophy. Combining passages from Wittgenstein?s writings with detailed interpretation and commentary, Hacker leads us into a world of philosophical investigation in which `to smell a rat is ever so much easier than to trap it.? Wittgenstein claimed that the role of philosophy is to dissolve conceptual confusions, to untie the knots in our understanding that result from entanglement in the web of language. He overturned centuries of philosophical reflection on the nature of `the inner?, of our subjective experience and of our knowledge of self and others. Traditional conceptions of `the outer?, of human behaviour, were equally distorted and so too was the relation between the inner and the outer. Hacker shows how Wittgenstein?s examination of our use of words clarifies our notions of mind, body and behaviour.The Great Philosophers: Socrates (Great Philosophers Ser. #No. 6)
By Anthony Gottlieb. 1997
Socrates 469 ? 399BC `If you put me to death,? Socrates warned his Athenian judges, `you will not easily find…
anyone to take my place.? So indeed it would prove, a single cup of hemlock robbing the western philosophical tradition of the man with best claims to be its founding father. Yet Socrates? influence was not so easily to be done away with. His words lovingly recorded by his devoted disciple Plato, his doctrines reached a posterity which has, through twenty-seven centuries now, taken him as its teacher. The marriage of idealism and scepticism in his though; his sense of education as self-discovery; his view of philosophy as preparation for life: these have been the stuff of western thought at its best. So completely did Socrates embody these values, he was prepared to die in their defence?The Great Philosophers: Locke (Great Philosophers Ser. #12)
By Michael Ayres. 1999
Part of the GREAT PHILOSOPHERS series.John Locke 1632-1704What Newton did for physics in the seventeenth century, Locke did for philosophy.…
The revolution wrought by these two giants established the intellectual underpinnings of the modern world.Yet out own age has called their contributions into question. While Newton's universe has come to seem unduly mechanistic, Locke has been out of favour for his wordy rhetoric, the apparent imprecision of his thought and the perceived irrelevance of his once-radical empiricism.This fascinating guide restores an underrated thinker to his rightful place at the very centre of modern philosophical enquiry. Basing his exposition upon a resourceful re-reading of An Essay concerning Human Understanding, Michael Ayers explains the historical significance of Locke's philosophical project, and its continuing capacity to challenge and compel.