Gideon Yaffe
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199268559
- eISBN:
- 9780191601415
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019926855X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Manifest Activity examines Thomas Reid's efforts to provide answers to a host of traditional philosophical questions concerning the nature of the will, the powers of human beings, motivation, and the ...
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Manifest Activity examines Thomas Reid's efforts to provide answers to a host of traditional philosophical questions concerning the nature of the will, the powers of human beings, motivation, and the relation between human action and natural change. The concept of ‘active power’ stands at the centre of Reid's philosophy of action. He holds that actions are all and only the events of which some creature is the ‘efficient cause’, and he thinks a creature is the efficient cause of an event just in case it has the power to bring that event about and exerts it. Reid's conception both of human actions and changes in nature is deeply teleological. He holds that to exert a power is to direct an event towards an end, and he holds that all changes, whether actions or events in nature, flow from the exertion of power. The book explains the details of this view, Reid's reasons for holding it, and its implications to our understanding of action, agency, and our relation to the natural world.Less
Manifest Activity examines Thomas Reid's efforts to provide answers to a host of traditional philosophical questions concerning the nature of the will, the powers of human beings, motivation, and the relation between human action and natural change. The concept of ‘active power’ stands at the centre of Reid's philosophy of action. He holds that actions are all and only the events of which some creature is the ‘efficient cause’, and he thinks a creature is the efficient cause of an event just in case it has the power to bring that event about and exerts it. Reid's conception both of human actions and changes in nature is deeply teleological. He holds that to exert a power is to direct an event towards an end, and he holds that all changes, whether actions or events in nature, flow from the exertion of power. The book explains the details of this view, Reid's reasons for holding it, and its implications to our understanding of action, agency, and our relation to the natural world.
Margaret Moore
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198273851
- eISBN:
- 9780191599934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198273851.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter examines the Kantian argument put forward by Alan Gewirth in Reason and Morality, that morality, which is identified with liberal principles of justice, is entailed in the standpoint of ...
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This chapter examines the Kantian argument put forward by Alan Gewirth in Reason and Morality, that morality, which is identified with liberal principles of justice, is entailed in the standpoint of self‐interest, and can be discerned through the exercise of theoretical reason. This chapter argues that it fails to overcome the dualisms that bedevilled Kant's version of this argument.Less
This chapter examines the Kantian argument put forward by Alan Gewirth in Reason and Morality, that morality, which is identified with liberal principles of justice, is entailed in the standpoint of self‐interest, and can be discerned through the exercise of theoretical reason. This chapter argues that it fails to overcome the dualisms that bedevilled Kant's version of this argument.
Allen Buchanan
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198295358
- eISBN:
- 9780191600982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295359.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This second part of the book turns to an examination of the conditions under which it is morally justifiable to exercise political power to enforce international law in the pursuit of justice. Ch. 5 ...
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This second part of the book turns to an examination of the conditions under which it is morally justifiable to exercise political power to enforce international law in the pursuit of justice. Ch. 5 develops a justice‐based conception of political legitimacy, where “political legitimacy” is defined as follows: An entity has political legitimacy if and only if it is morally justified in exercising political power, where the exercise of political power may, in turn, be defined as the (credible) attempt to achieve supremacy in the making, application, and enforcement of laws within a jurisdiction. It is argued that an entity that exercises political power is morally justified in doing so only if it meets a minimal standard of justice, understood as the protection of basic human rights. The conception of political legitimacy offered is meant to be perfectly general, and applies to any entity that wields political power, whether at the state, regional, or international level; it is used again in Chs 6–8. The eight sections of the chapter are: I. Political Legitimacy and the Morality of Political Power; The Irrelevance of the Idea that We Owe Compliance to the Government; III. Explaining the Preoccupation with the Government's Right to be Obeyed; IV. Toward a Theory of Political Legitimacy; V. Why Should Some Persons Rather than Others Wield Political Power?; VI. Democracy and Mutual Obligations among Citizens; and VIII. Conclusions.Less
This second part of the book turns to an examination of the conditions under which it is morally justifiable to exercise political power to enforce international law in the pursuit of justice. Ch. 5 develops a justice‐based conception of political legitimacy, where “political legitimacy” is defined as follows: An entity has political legitimacy if and only if it is morally justified in exercising political power, where the exercise of political power may, in turn, be defined as the (credible) attempt to achieve supremacy in the making, application, and enforcement of laws within a jurisdiction. It is argued that an entity that exercises political power is morally justified in doing so only if it meets a minimal standard of justice, understood as the protection of basic human rights. The conception of political legitimacy offered is meant to be perfectly general, and applies to any entity that wields political power, whether at the state, regional, or international level; it is used again in Chs 6–8. The eight sections of the chapter are: I. Political Legitimacy and the Morality of Political Power; The Irrelevance of the Idea that We Owe Compliance to the Government; III. Explaining the Preoccupation with the Government's Right to be Obeyed; IV. Toward a Theory of Political Legitimacy; V. Why Should Some Persons Rather than Others Wield Political Power?; VI. Democracy and Mutual Obligations among Citizens; and VIII. Conclusions.
Daniel Peretti
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781496814586
- eISBN:
- 9781496814623
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496814586.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
Many artists draw upon folklore to craft films, music, literature, and other elements of popular culture. This book examines how the opposite phenomenon occurs: the use of popular culture in the ...
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Many artists draw upon folklore to craft films, music, literature, and other elements of popular culture. This book examines how the opposite phenomenon occurs: the use of popular culture in the expressive culture called folklore. Superman is an ideal focus for such as study because of his ubiquity. Though Superman is under the control of a corporation, fans nonetheless have developed a sense of ownership of him, often because of an affinity they feel toward him. Early chapters of this book explore the varieties of this affinity as experienced by individuals and as understood through interviews. Later chapters delve into specific events, such as the Superman Celebration in Illinois, and other modes of expression such as humor, personal narrative, and myth. Superman in Myth and Folklore explores the idea that a fictional character can be foundationally important in morality through fieldwork and interviews. In other words, fans use Superman to think through complex issues in their personal lives, and this book explores how. Despite the focus on fieldwork, there is some attention to the extant literature on Superman, ranging from educational works on science to psychology and history. There is also attention to the mythical aspects of Superman, with analyses of the character through several theories such as structuralism and functionalism. By examining jokes, festival, costuming, and narrative, this book explores the impact a fictional character can have.Less
Many artists draw upon folklore to craft films, music, literature, and other elements of popular culture. This book examines how the opposite phenomenon occurs: the use of popular culture in the expressive culture called folklore. Superman is an ideal focus for such as study because of his ubiquity. Though Superman is under the control of a corporation, fans nonetheless have developed a sense of ownership of him, often because of an affinity they feel toward him. Early chapters of this book explore the varieties of this affinity as experienced by individuals and as understood through interviews. Later chapters delve into specific events, such as the Superman Celebration in Illinois, and other modes of expression such as humor, personal narrative, and myth. Superman in Myth and Folklore explores the idea that a fictional character can be foundationally important in morality through fieldwork and interviews. In other words, fans use Superman to think through complex issues in their personal lives, and this book explores how. Despite the focus on fieldwork, there is some attention to the extant literature on Superman, ranging from educational works on science to psychology and history. There is also attention to the mythical aspects of Superman, with analyses of the character through several theories such as structuralism and functionalism. By examining jokes, festival, costuming, and narrative, this book explores the impact a fictional character can have.
Mark Evans (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748620746
- eISBN:
- 9780748672042
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748620746.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Despite the millennial hopes for peace harboured by so many, the opening years of the twenty-first century have seen the morality of war remain urgently central to political argument around the ...
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Despite the millennial hopes for peace harboured by so many, the opening years of the twenty-first century have seen the morality of war remain urgently central to political argument around the world. The just war tradition has provided one of the most beguiling frameworks for the question of when it is right to go to war, and how war ought to be conducted. However, criticisms of it are as old as the tradition itself and many now claim that the nature of contemporary warfare has made it redundant. This book addresses the criticisms and explores new angles to just war thinking, analysing its practical adequacy in the face of modern-day realities. It is written with the aim of stimulating debate and recasting or revivifying critical reservations, and also powerfully to demonstrate how just war theory cannot be ignored if we take seriously the moral questions that warfare and its justification forces upon us.Less
Despite the millennial hopes for peace harboured by so many, the opening years of the twenty-first century have seen the morality of war remain urgently central to political argument around the world. The just war tradition has provided one of the most beguiling frameworks for the question of when it is right to go to war, and how war ought to be conducted. However, criticisms of it are as old as the tradition itself and many now claim that the nature of contemporary warfare has made it redundant. This book addresses the criticisms and explores new angles to just war thinking, analysing its practical adequacy in the face of modern-day realities. It is written with the aim of stimulating debate and recasting or revivifying critical reservations, and also powerfully to demonstrate how just war theory cannot be ignored if we take seriously the moral questions that warfare and its justification forces upon us.
David Manning
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195182392
- eISBN:
- 9780199851485
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195182392.003.0090
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
The libretto of this Morality is a free adaptation of John Bunyan's allegory. The text is chiefly from Bunyan, with additions from the Psalms and other parts of the Bible. The words of Lord Lechery's ...
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The libretto of this Morality is a free adaptation of John Bunyan's allegory. The text is chiefly from Bunyan, with additions from the Psalms and other parts of the Bible. The words of Lord Lechery's song in Act Three are by Ursula Wood. For stage purposes a good deal of adaptation and simplification of the original has been necessary: thus, The Pilgrim's Progress's early domestic happiness has been omitted; his two companions, Faithful and Hopeful, do not appear; there are only three Shepherds; and Mr By-Ends has been provided with a wife. For this purpose the libretto has utilized the escape, described later, from Doubting Castle. Incidentally, the name Pilgrim is used throughout the libretto as being of more universal significance than Bunyan's title.Less
The libretto of this Morality is a free adaptation of John Bunyan's allegory. The text is chiefly from Bunyan, with additions from the Psalms and other parts of the Bible. The words of Lord Lechery's song in Act Three are by Ursula Wood. For stage purposes a good deal of adaptation and simplification of the original has been necessary: thus, The Pilgrim's Progress's early domestic happiness has been omitted; his two companions, Faithful and Hopeful, do not appear; there are only three Shepherds; and Mr By-Ends has been provided with a wife. For this purpose the libretto has utilized the escape, described later, from Doubting Castle. Incidentally, the name Pilgrim is used throughout the libretto as being of more universal significance than Bunyan's title.
Norman Wirzba
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195157161
- eISBN:
- 9780199835270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195157168.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Contemporary culture reflects widespread isolation from and ignorance about our interdependence with the earth and wider cosmos. This loss has led to an impoverished sense of community as membership ...
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Contemporary culture reflects widespread isolation from and ignorance about our interdependence with the earth and wider cosmos. This loss has led to an impoverished sense of community as membership within a created whole. By marking our inter-relatedness with the soil and then noting the significance of the doctrine of creation in terms of its moral and spiritual significance, the possibility exists for a revisioning of salvation in terms of the health and wholeness of all creation.Less
Contemporary culture reflects widespread isolation from and ignorance about our interdependence with the earth and wider cosmos. This loss has led to an impoverished sense of community as membership within a created whole. By marking our inter-relatedness with the soil and then noting the significance of the doctrine of creation in terms of its moral and spiritual significance, the possibility exists for a revisioning of salvation in terms of the health and wholeness of all creation.
Neema Parvini
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474432870
- eISBN:
- 9781474453745
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474432870.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Shakespeare Studies
This ground-breaking study fearlessly combines latest research in evolutionary psychology, historical scholarship and philosophy to answer a question that has eluded critics for centuries: what is ...
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This ground-breaking study fearlessly combines latest research in evolutionary psychology, historical scholarship and philosophy to answer a question that has eluded critics for centuries: what is Shakespeare’s moral vision? At a political and cultural moment in which many of us are taking stock and looking for meaning, and in which moral outrage and polarisation seem endemic, this book radically reimagines how we might approach great works of literature to find some answers.Less
This ground-breaking study fearlessly combines latest research in evolutionary psychology, historical scholarship and philosophy to answer a question that has eluded critics for centuries: what is Shakespeare’s moral vision? At a political and cultural moment in which many of us are taking stock and looking for meaning, and in which moral outrage and polarisation seem endemic, this book radically reimagines how we might approach great works of literature to find some answers.
Alison Hulme
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781526128836
- eISBN:
- 9781526146724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526128843.00007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, History of Economic Thought
Explains the logic of the book – how it is thematic, rather than chronological, and attempts to explore the concept and practice of thrift via influential characters and specific eras in which it has ...
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Explains the logic of the book – how it is thematic, rather than chronological, and attempts to explore the concept and practice of thrift via influential characters and specific eras in which it has proved a particularly potent concept. Sets up the difference between the early meaning of thrift as thriving, and its later meaning of frugality. Briefly explore the implications of this shift from ethical concerns about the human condition, to more pragmatic concerns about human habits.Less
Explains the logic of the book – how it is thematic, rather than chronological, and attempts to explore the concept and practice of thrift via influential characters and specific eras in which it has proved a particularly potent concept. Sets up the difference between the early meaning of thrift as thriving, and its later meaning of frugality. Briefly explore the implications of this shift from ethical concerns about the human condition, to more pragmatic concerns about human habits.
Emma Craddock
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781529205701
- eISBN:
- 9781529205749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529205701.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
This chapter explores what motivates and sustains anti-austerity activism within the context of continued austerity. It affirms the centrality of the affective and normative dimensions of political ...
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This chapter explores what motivates and sustains anti-austerity activism within the context of continued austerity. It affirms the centrality of the affective and normative dimensions of political engagement by demonstrating that anti-austerity activism is motivated and sustained by three core elements; emotion, morality and relationship. Individuals are motivated by an emotional response to perceived injustice combined with normative ideals about how society should be and how we should act in relation to others. They utilise notions of humanity and empathy to combat the dehumanising effect of neoliberal capitalism and its focus on individualism and competition. Participants translate such abstract, universal concepts into concrete, particular actions through a focus on everyday activism and individual choices. Rather than an outright rejection of individualism, participants seek to redefine it in ways that move away from the dominant neoliberal understanding and towards reconciling the individual with the wider collective and common good. Here, activism is conceptualised as a moral duty. Participants therefore suggest that everyone and anyone can and should do activism, with small acts making a difference. This chapter begins to unpick the ways in which activists resist, subvert and sometimes unwittingly reinforce neoliberal capitalism, as well as questioning the problematic distinction drawn between ‘non-activist’ and ‘activist’.Less
This chapter explores what motivates and sustains anti-austerity activism within the context of continued austerity. It affirms the centrality of the affective and normative dimensions of political engagement by demonstrating that anti-austerity activism is motivated and sustained by three core elements; emotion, morality and relationship. Individuals are motivated by an emotional response to perceived injustice combined with normative ideals about how society should be and how we should act in relation to others. They utilise notions of humanity and empathy to combat the dehumanising effect of neoliberal capitalism and its focus on individualism and competition. Participants translate such abstract, universal concepts into concrete, particular actions through a focus on everyday activism and individual choices. Rather than an outright rejection of individualism, participants seek to redefine it in ways that move away from the dominant neoliberal understanding and towards reconciling the individual with the wider collective and common good. Here, activism is conceptualised as a moral duty. Participants therefore suggest that everyone and anyone can and should do activism, with small acts making a difference. This chapter begins to unpick the ways in which activists resist, subvert and sometimes unwittingly reinforce neoliberal capitalism, as well as questioning the problematic distinction drawn between ‘non-activist’ and ‘activist’.
Maria Pia Paganelli, Dennis C. Rasmussen, and Craig Smith (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474422857
- eISBN:
- 9781474445115
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474422857.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith are two of the foremost thinkers of the European Enlightenment, thinkers who made seminal contributions to moral and political philosophy and who shaped some of ...
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith are two of the foremost thinkers of the European Enlightenment, thinkers who made seminal contributions to moral and political philosophy and who shaped some of the key concepts of modern political economy. Among Smith’s first published works was a letter to the Edinburgh Review where he discusses Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Smith continued to engage with Rousseau’s work and to explore many shared themes such as sympathy, political economy, sentiment, and inequality. This collection brings together an international and interdisciplinary group of Adam Smith and Rousseau scholars to provide an exploration of the key shared concerns of these two great thinkers in politics, philosophy, economics, history, and literature.Less
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith are two of the foremost thinkers of the European Enlightenment, thinkers who made seminal contributions to moral and political philosophy and who shaped some of the key concepts of modern political economy. Among Smith’s first published works was a letter to the Edinburgh Review where he discusses Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Smith continued to engage with Rousseau’s work and to explore many shared themes such as sympathy, political economy, sentiment, and inequality. This collection brings together an international and interdisciplinary group of Adam Smith and Rousseau scholars to provide an exploration of the key shared concerns of these two great thinkers in politics, philosophy, economics, history, and literature.
Beatrix Futák-Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780719095894
- eISBN:
- 9781526132369
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719095894.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This book is a novel contribution to practice theory in International Relations, focusing on how EU practitioners approach the Union’s foreign policy to its eastern neighbourhood, including Russia, ...
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This book is a novel contribution to practice theory in International Relations, focusing on how EU practitioners approach the Union’s foreign policy to its eastern neighbourhood, including Russia, from a poststructuralist perspective. It offers a new methodology to capture practices through the analytical approach of Discursive International Relations and the Discursive Practice Model (DPM). DPM focuses on the micro-interactional features of practitioners’ social actions, agency and rhetorical devices, exploring what practitioners accomplish with them and how they relate this back to foreign policy practices.
Drawing from data gathered at the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament’s AFET committee members, the study concludes that practitioners are concerned with the collective EU identity and how Russia and the eastern neighbours fit within this ‘Europeaness’. But they are equally concerned with normative and moral duties and collective security interests. This suggest that practitioners are a lot more pragmatic when it comes to this policy area then previously assumed by the vast literature on normative power in Europe. This pragmatism does not mean that identity, normative and moral concerns do not matter, but rather that they all interplay when practitioner consider this policy area. Moreover, practitioners ought to be cautious of using moral concerns when considering the eastern neighbours as they jeopardise being seen as a moralising power, rather than a moral authority in the region. The current Ukrainian crises are testament to that.Less
This book is a novel contribution to practice theory in International Relations, focusing on how EU practitioners approach the Union’s foreign policy to its eastern neighbourhood, including Russia, from a poststructuralist perspective. It offers a new methodology to capture practices through the analytical approach of Discursive International Relations and the Discursive Practice Model (DPM). DPM focuses on the micro-interactional features of practitioners’ social actions, agency and rhetorical devices, exploring what practitioners accomplish with them and how they relate this back to foreign policy practices.
Drawing from data gathered at the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament’s AFET committee members, the study concludes that practitioners are concerned with the collective EU identity and how Russia and the eastern neighbours fit within this ‘Europeaness’. But they are equally concerned with normative and moral duties and collective security interests. This suggest that practitioners are a lot more pragmatic when it comes to this policy area then previously assumed by the vast literature on normative power in Europe. This pragmatism does not mean that identity, normative and moral concerns do not matter, but rather that they all interplay when practitioner consider this policy area. Moreover, practitioners ought to be cautious of using moral concerns when considering the eastern neighbours as they jeopardise being seen as a moralising power, rather than a moral authority in the region. The current Ukrainian crises are testament to that.
George Anastaplo
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813125336
- eISBN:
- 9780813135243
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813125336.003.0012
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter deals with the steady pounding that the by-then virtually undefended German cities were being subjected to by the American and British air forces. It notes that the civilian casualties ...
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This chapter deals with the steady pounding that the by-then virtually undefended German cities were being subjected to by the American and British air forces. It notes that the civilian casualties from these air raids could not help but be substantial. It cites an article titled “The Morality of Obliteration Bombing”, published by John C. Ford, a New England Jesuit. It provides that Father Ford did not, in this article, speak as a pacifist as he was willing to consider the war against Nazi Germany a just war. It notes however, that Ford condemned as unlawful the systematic killing of noncombatants necessarily resulting from the air raids to which German cities were being subjected. It further notes that obliteration (or area) bombing was distinguishable for him from the precision bombing consistent with the long-accepted rules of war.Less
This chapter deals with the steady pounding that the by-then virtually undefended German cities were being subjected to by the American and British air forces. It notes that the civilian casualties from these air raids could not help but be substantial. It cites an article titled “The Morality of Obliteration Bombing”, published by John C. Ford, a New England Jesuit. It provides that Father Ford did not, in this article, speak as a pacifist as he was willing to consider the war against Nazi Germany a just war. It notes however, that Ford condemned as unlawful the systematic killing of noncombatants necessarily resulting from the air raids to which German cities were being subjected. It further notes that obliteration (or area) bombing was distinguishable for him from the precision bombing consistent with the long-accepted rules of war.
Jonathan Smyth
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781526103789
- eISBN:
- 9781526120847
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526103789.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
In Year 2 of the Revolution (1794) Robespierre, seeking to establish a new deist national morality created the Festival of the Supreme Being celebrated on 20 Prairial Year 2 (8 June 1794). This book ...
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In Year 2 of the Revolution (1794) Robespierre, seeking to establish a new deist national morality created the Festival of the Supreme Being celebrated on 20 Prairial Year 2 (8 June 1794). This book begins by tracing the progress in the development of Robespierre’s thinking on the importance of the problem which the lack of any acceptable national moral system through the early years of the Revolution had created, his vision of a new attitude towards religion and morality, and why he chose a Revolutionary Festival to launch his idea. It focusses on the importance of the Festival by showing that it was not only a major event in Paris, with a huge man-made mountain on the Champ de Mars; it was also celebrated in great depth in almost every city, town and village throughout France. It seeks to redefine the importance of the Festival in the history of the Revolution, not, as historians have traditionally dismissed it, merely as the performance of a sterile and compulsory political duty, but on the contrary, as a massively popular national event. The author uses source material from national and local archives describing the celebrations as well as the reaction to the event and its importance by contemporary commentators. This is the first book since the 1980s and the only work in English to focus on this Festival and to redefine its importance in the development of the Revolution.Less
In Year 2 of the Revolution (1794) Robespierre, seeking to establish a new deist national morality created the Festival of the Supreme Being celebrated on 20 Prairial Year 2 (8 June 1794). This book begins by tracing the progress in the development of Robespierre’s thinking on the importance of the problem which the lack of any acceptable national moral system through the early years of the Revolution had created, his vision of a new attitude towards religion and morality, and why he chose a Revolutionary Festival to launch his idea. It focusses on the importance of the Festival by showing that it was not only a major event in Paris, with a huge man-made mountain on the Champ de Mars; it was also celebrated in great depth in almost every city, town and village throughout France. It seeks to redefine the importance of the Festival in the history of the Revolution, not, as historians have traditionally dismissed it, merely as the performance of a sterile and compulsory political duty, but on the contrary, as a massively popular national event. The author uses source material from national and local archives describing the celebrations as well as the reaction to the event and its importance by contemporary commentators. This is the first book since the 1980s and the only work in English to focus on this Festival and to redefine its importance in the development of the Revolution.
F. M. Kamm
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195144024
- eISBN:
- 9780199870998
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195144023.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Morality, Mortality as a whole deals with certain aspects of ethical theory and with moral problems that arise primarily in contexts involving life‐and‐death decisions. The importance of ...
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Morality, Mortality as a whole deals with certain aspects of ethical theory and with moral problems that arise primarily in contexts involving life‐and‐death decisions. The importance of the theoretical issues is not limited to their relevance to these decisions; however, they are, rather, issues at the heart of basic moral and political theory. This second volume on rights, duties, and status explores life and death as general issues in non‐consequentalist ethical theory. It comprises three parts. Part I has five chapters discussing the question of the moral (in)equivalence of killing and letting die, harming, and not aiding. Part I has two chapters and offers a discussion of the so‐called ‘Trolley Problem’ and some other closely related dilemmatic situations, for the purpose of developing a principled account of when harming some to save others is permissible and when it is impermissible. Part III has five chapters and is concerned with the further examination of the relation between restrictions on conduct and prerogatives not to make sacrifices, and how these topics relate to human rights, duties, and the existence of valuable entities and states of affairs. In addition, it is concerned with the power of agreements and of supererogatory conduct to override restrictions.Less
Morality, Mortality as a whole deals with certain aspects of ethical theory and with moral problems that arise primarily in contexts involving life‐and‐death decisions. The importance of the theoretical issues is not limited to their relevance to these decisions; however, they are, rather, issues at the heart of basic moral and political theory. This second volume on rights, duties, and status explores life and death as general issues in non‐consequentalist ethical theory. It comprises three parts. Part I has five chapters discussing the question of the moral (in)equivalence of killing and letting die, harming, and not aiding. Part I has two chapters and offers a discussion of the so‐called ‘Trolley Problem’ and some other closely related dilemmatic situations, for the purpose of developing a principled account of when harming some to save others is permissible and when it is impermissible. Part III has five chapters and is concerned with the further examination of the relation between restrictions on conduct and prerogatives not to make sacrifices, and how these topics relate to human rights, duties, and the existence of valuable entities and states of affairs. In addition, it is concerned with the power of agreements and of supererogatory conduct to override restrictions.
Mathew A. Foust
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823242696
- eISBN:
- 9780823242733
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823242696.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, American Philosophy
As a virtue, loyalty has an ambiguous place in our thinking about moral judgments. We lauded the loyalty of firefighters who risked their lives to save others on 9/11, while condemning the loyalty of ...
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As a virtue, loyalty has an ambiguous place in our thinking about moral judgments. We lauded the loyalty of firefighters who risked their lives to save others on 9/11, while condemning the loyalty of those who perpetrated the catastrophe. Responding to such uneasiness and confusion, Loyalty to Loyalty contributes to ongoing conversation about how we should respond to conflicts in loyalty in a pluralistic world. The lone philosopher to base an ethical theory on the virtue of loyalty is Josiah Royce. Loyalty to Loyalty engages Royce's moral theory, revealing how loyalty, rather than being just one virtue among others, is central to living a genuinely moral and meaningful life. Mathew A. Foust shows how the theory of loyalty he advances can be brought to bear on issues such as the partiality/impartiality debate in ethical theory, the role of loyalty in liberatory struggle, and the ethics of whistleblowing and disaster response.Less
As a virtue, loyalty has an ambiguous place in our thinking about moral judgments. We lauded the loyalty of firefighters who risked their lives to save others on 9/11, while condemning the loyalty of those who perpetrated the catastrophe. Responding to such uneasiness and confusion, Loyalty to Loyalty contributes to ongoing conversation about how we should respond to conflicts in loyalty in a pluralistic world. The lone philosopher to base an ethical theory on the virtue of loyalty is Josiah Royce. Loyalty to Loyalty engages Royce's moral theory, revealing how loyalty, rather than being just one virtue among others, is central to living a genuinely moral and meaningful life. Mathew A. Foust shows how the theory of loyalty he advances can be brought to bear on issues such as the partiality/impartiality debate in ethical theory, the role of loyalty in liberatory struggle, and the ethics of whistleblowing and disaster response.
Barry Stroud
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195151886
- eISBN:
- 9780199867189
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195151887.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Outlines the philosophical quest for reality, and how humans are related to the real world through perceptions, thoughts and beliefs. A discussion of what constitutes a metaphysical question is ...
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Outlines the philosophical quest for reality, and how humans are related to the real world through perceptions, thoughts and beliefs. A discussion of what constitutes a metaphysical question is followed by a brief outline of certain philosophers’ ideas on reality through history, focusing on causality, subjectivity and objectivity, physicalism (or materialism) and giving a critique of correspondence theory. Introduces the subject of whether certain ideas, such as colours and morality, are real both as human perceptions and in a correspondent reality.Less
Outlines the philosophical quest for reality, and how humans are related to the real world through perceptions, thoughts and beliefs. A discussion of what constitutes a metaphysical question is followed by a brief outline of certain philosophers’ ideas on reality through history, focusing on causality, subjectivity and objectivity, physicalism (or materialism) and giving a critique of correspondence theory. Introduces the subject of whether certain ideas, such as colours and morality, are real both as human perceptions and in a correspondent reality.
Tamas Dombos and Lena Pellandini-Simanyi
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199827657
- eISBN:
- 9780199950461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827657.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Cultural History
As of the 1960s, various factors converged within the Eastern Bloc that allowed for higher consumption levels. But as basic needs were largely satisfied, what sort of “higher level needs” socialism ...
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As of the 1960s, various factors converged within the Eastern Bloc that allowed for higher consumption levels. But as basic needs were largely satisfied, what sort of “higher level needs” socialism should meet became uncertain. The prevailing assumption was that, in harmony with the basic tenets of Marxism, once the means of production and ownership were changed, so would life. Yet no known socialist models of affluence existed that would have shown how this “new way of life” should look. Even more worrying was the fact that people’s actual desires carried elements of pre-socialist traditions and Western consumerism. Partly as a result of these ambiguities, in Hungary from the 1960s onwards, intense debates took place within the Planning Commission and in the country’s newspapers about the socialist lifestyle and which needs were to be considered a legitimate part of it. What was at stake in these debates was more than the pragmatic questions of production and allocation; instead, through the issue of consumption, competing definitions of socialism and visions of an ideal socialist way of life were articulated. In this chapter, Tamas Dombos and Pellandini-Simanyi explore the interplay between state-generated ideals of consumption and people’s everyday practices through a parallel analysis of these public consumption debates during the communist period and personal memories after 1989 based on interviews conducted by Pellandini-Simanyi.Less
As of the 1960s, various factors converged within the Eastern Bloc that allowed for higher consumption levels. But as basic needs were largely satisfied, what sort of “higher level needs” socialism should meet became uncertain. The prevailing assumption was that, in harmony with the basic tenets of Marxism, once the means of production and ownership were changed, so would life. Yet no known socialist models of affluence existed that would have shown how this “new way of life” should look. Even more worrying was the fact that people’s actual desires carried elements of pre-socialist traditions and Western consumerism. Partly as a result of these ambiguities, in Hungary from the 1960s onwards, intense debates took place within the Planning Commission and in the country’s newspapers about the socialist lifestyle and which needs were to be considered a legitimate part of it. What was at stake in these debates was more than the pragmatic questions of production and allocation; instead, through the issue of consumption, competing definitions of socialism and visions of an ideal socialist way of life were articulated. In this chapter, Tamas Dombos and Pellandini-Simanyi explore the interplay between state-generated ideals of consumption and people’s everyday practices through a parallel analysis of these public consumption debates during the communist period and personal memories after 1989 based on interviews conducted by Pellandini-Simanyi.
Mathew A. Foust
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823242696
- eISBN:
- 9780823242733
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823242696.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, American Philosophy
This conclusion to the book emphasizes that Royce's philosophy of loyalty does not necessitate becoming a moral hero, but simply necessitates that we be loyal, and insofar as it lies in our power, be ...
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This conclusion to the book emphasizes that Royce's philosophy of loyalty does not necessitate becoming a moral hero, but simply necessitates that we be loyal, and insofar as it lies in our power, be loyal to loyalty. It is urged that our lives have sense and meaning if we are loyal, and our lives are genuinely moral if and only if our loyalty is loyal to loyalty. Such loyal living is what recognizes and strives to fulfil the universal need to be helped, devoting our loyal service according to our unique capacities, aptitudes, relationships, interests, and talents. In our quest to live loyally, we will undoubtedly endure times of defeat, but if loyalty is what makes life meaningful, then a defeat of one's loyalty must never be taken as final.Less
This conclusion to the book emphasizes that Royce's philosophy of loyalty does not necessitate becoming a moral hero, but simply necessitates that we be loyal, and insofar as it lies in our power, be loyal to loyalty. It is urged that our lives have sense and meaning if we are loyal, and our lives are genuinely moral if and only if our loyalty is loyal to loyalty. Such loyal living is what recognizes and strives to fulfil the universal need to be helped, devoting our loyal service according to our unique capacities, aptitudes, relationships, interests, and talents. In our quest to live loyally, we will undoubtedly endure times of defeat, but if loyalty is what makes life meaningful, then a defeat of one's loyalty must never be taken as final.
Caron E. Gentry
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474424806
- eISBN:
- 9781474480574
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474424806.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The chapter begins by looking at a feminist conceptualisation of civil disorder as related to gender and the threat of the feminine to public order. Understanding that the feminine is already ...
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The chapter begins by looking at a feminist conceptualisation of civil disorder as related to gender and the threat of the feminine to public order. Understanding that the feminine is already disordered is important, but so is post-colonialism and Queer theory’s arguments that there are other forms of disorder as well. This idea of disorder as a deviation from power structures aligns nicely with ‘epistemic biases,’ which is both introduced and applied to terrorism. The perspective that terrorism is devoid of any rationality and morality are examples of an epistemic bias. Therefore, the rest of the chapter explores rationality and morality in further depth through the New Terrorism thesis and the Westphalian myth, respectively.Less
The chapter begins by looking at a feminist conceptualisation of civil disorder as related to gender and the threat of the feminine to public order. Understanding that the feminine is already disordered is important, but so is post-colonialism and Queer theory’s arguments that there are other forms of disorder as well. This idea of disorder as a deviation from power structures aligns nicely with ‘epistemic biases,’ which is both introduced and applied to terrorism. The perspective that terrorism is devoid of any rationality and morality are examples of an epistemic bias. Therefore, the rest of the chapter explores rationality and morality in further depth through the New Terrorism thesis and the Westphalian myth, respectively.
