Christine Sypnowich
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199281688
- eISBN:
- 9780191603747
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199281688.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This essay considers the moral dilemma confronting pedestrians who encounter beggars in well-off societies governed by social welfare systems. If Cohen’s call for extending the scope of justice to ...
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This essay considers the moral dilemma confronting pedestrians who encounter beggars in well-off societies governed by social welfare systems. If Cohen’s call for extending the scope of justice to the domain of the personal is taken seriously, it would seem to call for generosity towards people who ask for money on city streets. It is argued that principles of justice, in fact, tell against giving alms. The phenomenology of begging rightly produces ambivalence among advantaged persons who are asked to contribute to the disadvantaged, in an ad hoc and unsystematic way.Less
This essay considers the moral dilemma confronting pedestrians who encounter beggars in well-off societies governed by social welfare systems. If Cohen’s call for extending the scope of justice to the domain of the personal is taken seriously, it would seem to call for generosity towards people who ask for money on city streets. It is argued that principles of justice, in fact, tell against giving alms. The phenomenology of begging rightly produces ambivalence among advantaged persons who are asked to contribute to the disadvantaged, in an ad hoc and unsystematic way.
James P. Sterba
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199580767
- eISBN:
- 9780191745836
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580767.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Most contemporary moral and political philosophers would like to have an argument showing that morality is rationally required. This book provides just such an argument and further show that ...
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Most contemporary moral and political philosophers would like to have an argument showing that morality is rationally required. This book provides just such an argument and further show that morality, so justified, leads to substantial equality. The argument from rationality to morality is based on the principle of non-question-beggingness and it has two forms. The first assumes that the egoist is willing to argue for egoism non-question-beggingly, and the second only assumes that the egoist is willing to assent to premises she actually needs to achieve her egoistic goals. Either way, it is argued, morality is rationally (i.e., non-question-beggingly) preferable to egoism. The argument from morality to equality also non-question-beggingly starts with assumptions that are acceptable from a libertarian perspective, the view that appears to endorse the least enforcement of morality, and then shows that this perspective requires a right to welfare, and that further, when this right is extended to distant peoples and future generations, it leads to substantial equality. The strategy is to find conflicts of (negative) liberty within a libertarian perspective, and then argue that when these conflicts are appropriately resolved, they favor an allocation of liberty that supports a right to welfare that, in turn, when fully implemented, leads to substantial equality. The book also defends thus two-part argument against recent critics and further show how the argument is preferable to alternative attempts to justify morality as well as alternative attempts to show that morality leads to a right to welfare and/or to equality.Less
Most contemporary moral and political philosophers would like to have an argument showing that morality is rationally required. This book provides just such an argument and further show that morality, so justified, leads to substantial equality. The argument from rationality to morality is based on the principle of non-question-beggingness and it has two forms. The first assumes that the egoist is willing to argue for egoism non-question-beggingly, and the second only assumes that the egoist is willing to assent to premises she actually needs to achieve her egoistic goals. Either way, it is argued, morality is rationally (i.e., non-question-beggingly) preferable to egoism. The argument from morality to equality also non-question-beggingly starts with assumptions that are acceptable from a libertarian perspective, the view that appears to endorse the least enforcement of morality, and then shows that this perspective requires a right to welfare, and that further, when this right is extended to distant peoples and future generations, it leads to substantial equality. The strategy is to find conflicts of (negative) liberty within a libertarian perspective, and then argue that when these conflicts are appropriately resolved, they favor an allocation of liberty that supports a right to welfare that, in turn, when fully implemented, leads to substantial equality. The book also defends thus two-part argument against recent critics and further show how the argument is preferable to alternative attempts to justify morality as well as alternative attempts to show that morality leads to a right to welfare and/or to equality.
Giancarlo Casale
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195377828
- eISBN:
- 9780199775699
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195377828.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter focuses on events from 1579 to 1589. Ottoman decision makers, particularly those with an interest in the Indian Ocean, realized that in light of the myriad challenges to their rule that ...
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This chapter focuses on events from 1579 to 1589. Ottoman decision makers, particularly those with an interest in the Indian Ocean, realized that in light of the myriad challenges to their rule that emerged around 1579, Sokollu's delicate system of soft empire had become untenable. Instead, a stark choice seemed to present itself: either convert this soft empire into a more traditional system of direct imperial rule in maritime Asia, or stand idly by as Ottoman influence in the region gradually eroded or disappeared entirely.Less
This chapter focuses on events from 1579 to 1589. Ottoman decision makers, particularly those with an interest in the Indian Ocean, realized that in light of the myriad challenges to their rule that emerged around 1579, Sokollu's delicate system of soft empire had become untenable. Instead, a stark choice seemed to present itself: either convert this soft empire into a more traditional system of direct imperial rule in maritime Asia, or stand idly by as Ottoman influence in the region gradually eroded or disappeared entirely.
Susan R. Holman
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195383621
- eISBN:
- 9780199870479
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195383621.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Church History
This chapter explores the 6th-century story of Maria of Amida from the Syriac writer John of Ephesus. Maria's lifestyle was ruled by two very different models of social action: her mother, Euphemia, ...
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This chapter explores the 6th-century story of Maria of Amida from the Syriac writer John of Ephesus. Maria's lifestyle was ruled by two very different models of social action: her mother, Euphemia, a flamboyant social activist in providing charity and food to street beggars and homeless monks; and her aunt, a wandering ascetic who sought to remain anonymous even as she survived by begging. Raised protectively by her mother, Maria grew up in an era of acute social tension in the church and eventually faced the need to choose which model she would follow. By tracing Maria's story, this chapter explores various options for Christian social action or “sharing the world,” their precedent in early Christian history, their relevance for today, and the tension of making such choices, particularly during periods of social crisis.Less
This chapter explores the 6th-century story of Maria of Amida from the Syriac writer John of Ephesus. Maria's lifestyle was ruled by two very different models of social action: her mother, Euphemia, a flamboyant social activist in providing charity and food to street beggars and homeless monks; and her aunt, a wandering ascetic who sought to remain anonymous even as she survived by begging. Raised protectively by her mother, Maria grew up in an era of acute social tension in the church and eventually faced the need to choose which model she would follow. By tracing Maria's story, this chapter explores various options for Christian social action or “sharing the world,” their precedent in early Christian history, their relevance for today, and the tension of making such choices, particularly during periods of social crisis.
Kenneth Baxter Wolf
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195158083
- eISBN:
- 9780199834877
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195158083.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
To a degree, Francis modeled his voluntary poverty on the poverty of the involuntary poor, who served as the most immediate “visual aids” for what his artificial poverty might look like. But aside ...
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To a degree, Francis modeled his voluntary poverty on the poverty of the involuntary poor, who served as the most immediate “visual aids” for what his artificial poverty might look like. But aside from appearances (Francis owned nothing, wore a rough tunic, and resorted to begging for his food), Francis's poverty was utterly different from that of the ordinary poor, in that Francis regarded his poverty as something to be sought after and protected, as if it were a form of wealth; as something to be exaggerated, in order to assure that he would receive his heavenly recompense. Francis's aversion to money and possessions prevented him from alleviating the poverty of the ordinary poor, for fear of compromising his own “perfect poverty,” a form of poverty that was, ironically enough, out of the reach of those whose poverty prevented them from making the same kind of voluntary sacrifices.Less
To a degree, Francis modeled his voluntary poverty on the poverty of the involuntary poor, who served as the most immediate “visual aids” for what his artificial poverty might look like. But aside from appearances (Francis owned nothing, wore a rough tunic, and resorted to begging for his food), Francis's poverty was utterly different from that of the ordinary poor, in that Francis regarded his poverty as something to be sought after and protected, as if it were a form of wealth; as something to be exaggerated, in order to assure that he would receive his heavenly recompense. Francis's aversion to money and possessions prevented him from alleviating the poverty of the ordinary poor, for fear of compromising his own “perfect poverty,” a form of poverty that was, ironically enough, out of the reach of those whose poverty prevented them from making the same kind of voluntary sacrifices.
G. A. Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691148809
- eISBN:
- 9781400845323
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691148809.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This is the second of three volumes of posthumously collected writings of G. A. Cohen, who was one of the leading, and most progressive, figures in contemporary political philosophy. This volume ...
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This is the second of three volumes of posthumously collected writings of G. A. Cohen, who was one of the leading, and most progressive, figures in contemporary political philosophy. This volume brings together some of Cohen's most personal philosophical and nonphilosophical essays, many of them previously unpublished. Rich in first-person narration, insight, and humor, these pieces vividly demonstrate why Thomas Nagel described Cohen as a “wonderful raconteur.” The nonphilosophical highlight of the book is Cohen's remarkable account of his first trip to India, which includes unforgettable vignettes of encounters with strangers and reflections on poverty and begging. Other biographical pieces include his valedictory lecture at Oxford, in which he describes his philosophical development and offers his impressions of other philosophers, and “Isaiah's Marx, and Mine,” a tribute to his mentor Isaiah Berlin. Other essays address such topics as the truth in “small-c conservatism,” who can and can't condemn terrorists, and the essence of bullshit. A recurring theme is finding completion in relation to the world of other human beings. Engaging, perceptive, and empathetic, these writings reveal a more personal side of one of the most influential philosophers of our time.Less
This is the second of three volumes of posthumously collected writings of G. A. Cohen, who was one of the leading, and most progressive, figures in contemporary political philosophy. This volume brings together some of Cohen's most personal philosophical and nonphilosophical essays, many of them previously unpublished. Rich in first-person narration, insight, and humor, these pieces vividly demonstrate why Thomas Nagel described Cohen as a “wonderful raconteur.” The nonphilosophical highlight of the book is Cohen's remarkable account of his first trip to India, which includes unforgettable vignettes of encounters with strangers and reflections on poverty and begging. Other biographical pieces include his valedictory lecture at Oxford, in which he describes his philosophical development and offers his impressions of other philosophers, and “Isaiah's Marx, and Mine,” a tribute to his mentor Isaiah Berlin. Other essays address such topics as the truth in “small-c conservatism,” who can and can't condemn terrorists, and the essence of bullshit. A recurring theme is finding completion in relation to the world of other human beings. Engaging, perceptive, and empathetic, these writings reveal a more personal side of one of the most influential philosophers of our time.
by Laura Beth Nielsen
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199236282
- eISBN:
- 9780191741357
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199236282.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
Many maintain that the proper remedy for harmful speech is ‘more speech’. This chapter argues that this prescription relies on faulty empirical assumptions. As the empirical evidence shows, targets ...
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Many maintain that the proper remedy for harmful speech is ‘more speech’. This chapter argues that this prescription relies on faulty empirical assumptions. As the empirical evidence shows, targets of problematic race- and gender-related public speech do not in fact ‘talk back’, for many reasons. The legal treatment of such speech contrasts with that of begging. Because there are already a variety of formal mechanisms in place that discourage begging, it is easier for targets to respond to begging. In this way, the law protects the powerful from harassment in public places, while placing on its less privileged members a burdensome choice between responding or accepting their own subordination.Less
Many maintain that the proper remedy for harmful speech is ‘more speech’. This chapter argues that this prescription relies on faulty empirical assumptions. As the empirical evidence shows, targets of problematic race- and gender-related public speech do not in fact ‘talk back’, for many reasons. The legal treatment of such speech contrasts with that of begging. Because there are already a variety of formal mechanisms in place that discourage begging, it is easier for targets to respond to begging. In this way, the law protects the powerful from harassment in public places, while placing on its less privileged members a burdensome choice between responding or accepting their own subordination.
Sally Sedgwick
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199698363
- eISBN:
- 9780191738692
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199698363.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter relies on the foregoing interpretation of Hegel’s critique of Kant to demystify a particular Hegelian criticism, directed at specific Kantian argument: Kant’s treatment of the arguments ...
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This chapter relies on the foregoing interpretation of Hegel’s critique of Kant to demystify a particular Hegelian criticism, directed at specific Kantian argument: Kant’s treatment of the arguments of the antinomies. It is argued that in complaining of the question-begging nature of Kant’s treatment of the antinomies, Hegel’s aim is to convince us that the expectations Kant brings to his critical reflections cannot be met. In his consideration of the antinomies, Kant assumes he can achieve full awareness of his presuppositions and subject each of them to impartial review. He assumes that he can access a vantage point that is ‘external’ or wholly ‘independent’ from ‘common reality.’ Hegel defends a markedly different account of the nature of critical reflection. He denies that a fully external point of view is available to us: he doubts that any thinker can wholly overleap her age and achieve complete freedom from ‘common reality.’Less
This chapter relies on the foregoing interpretation of Hegel’s critique of Kant to demystify a particular Hegelian criticism, directed at specific Kantian argument: Kant’s treatment of the arguments of the antinomies. It is argued that in complaining of the question-begging nature of Kant’s treatment of the antinomies, Hegel’s aim is to convince us that the expectations Kant brings to his critical reflections cannot be met. In his consideration of the antinomies, Kant assumes he can achieve full awareness of his presuppositions and subject each of them to impartial review. He assumes that he can access a vantage point that is ‘external’ or wholly ‘independent’ from ‘common reality.’ Hegel defends a markedly different account of the nature of critical reflection. He denies that a fully external point of view is available to us: he doubts that any thinker can wholly overleap her age and achieve complete freedom from ‘common reality.’
Priscilla Bawcutt
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198129639
- eISBN:
- 9780191671807
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198129639.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
Dunbar's genius has been recognised not only by critics but by modern poets such as Auden and Eliot. This critical study examines Dunbar's view of himself as a poet, or ‘makar’, and the way he ...
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Dunbar's genius has been recognised not only by critics but by modern poets such as Auden and Eliot. This critical study examines Dunbar's view of himself as a poet, or ‘makar’, and the way he handles various poetic genres. New emphasis is placed on the petitions, or begging-poems, and their use for poetic introspection. There is also a particularly full study of Dunbar's under-valued comic poems, and of the modes most congenial to him: notably parody; irony; ‘flyting’, or invective; and black dream-fantasy. The author takes account of recent scholarship on Dunbar and also the literary traditions available to him, both in Latin and the vernaculars, including ‘popular’ and alliterative poetry as well as that of Chaucer and his followers. In her account of the poetry, she contests the over-simple and reductive views purveyed by some critics that Dunbar is primarily a moralist, or no more than a skilled virtuoso.Less
Dunbar's genius has been recognised not only by critics but by modern poets such as Auden and Eliot. This critical study examines Dunbar's view of himself as a poet, or ‘makar’, and the way he handles various poetic genres. New emphasis is placed on the petitions, or begging-poems, and their use for poetic introspection. There is also a particularly full study of Dunbar's under-valued comic poems, and of the modes most congenial to him: notably parody; irony; ‘flyting’, or invective; and black dream-fantasy. The author takes account of recent scholarship on Dunbar and also the literary traditions available to him, both in Latin and the vernaculars, including ‘popular’ and alliterative poetry as well as that of Chaucer and his followers. In her account of the poetry, she contests the over-simple and reductive views purveyed by some critics that Dunbar is primarily a moralist, or no more than a skilled virtuoso.
Anthony Brueckner
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199585861
- eISBN:
- 9780191595332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199585861.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter presents a reconstruction of Putnam that is simpler than that considered in Chapter 7. It argues that this new version of the argument is more promising than the earlier version.
This chapter presents a reconstruction of Putnam that is simpler than that considered in Chapter 7. It argues that this new version of the argument is more promising than the earlier version.
Anthony Brueckner
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199585861
- eISBN:
- 9780191595332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199585861.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter provides a rather more informal treatment of the Putnamian anti-sceptical landscape and represents the author's current thinking on the matter.
This chapter provides a rather more informal treatment of the Putnamian anti-sceptical landscape and represents the author's current thinking on the matter.
Isobel Grundy
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198187653
- eISBN:
- 9780191674730
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198187653.003.0010
- Subject:
- Literature, 18th-century Literature
On the threshold of the unknown there was no looking back. Lady Mary's immediate concern was that the two private armies should part without any quarrel arising between them. Having struggled through ...
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On the threshold of the unknown there was no looking back. Lady Mary's immediate concern was that the two private armies should part without any quarrel arising between them. Having struggled through deep snow to Belgrade with their twenty waggons and 500 janizaries, they found they were still not safe from quarrels. Here they heard the true story of the fate of the previous bassa, cut to pieces by the scimitars of a tumultuous mob, in the presence indeed of the religious judges, the Cadi and Mufti, but before those dignitaries had time to pass sentence. But there were compensations. The house where they were billeted, one of the finest in Belgrade, belonged to an Islamic effendi: a gentleman scholar, learned and free-thinking, a lover of wine, poetry, and studious retirement. Lady Mary calls him Achmet-Beg; she found him a kindred spirit, like Conti.Less
On the threshold of the unknown there was no looking back. Lady Mary's immediate concern was that the two private armies should part without any quarrel arising between them. Having struggled through deep snow to Belgrade with their twenty waggons and 500 janizaries, they found they were still not safe from quarrels. Here they heard the true story of the fate of the previous bassa, cut to pieces by the scimitars of a tumultuous mob, in the presence indeed of the religious judges, the Cadi and Mufti, but before those dignitaries had time to pass sentence. But there were compensations. The house where they were billeted, one of the finest in Belgrade, belonged to an Islamic effendi: a gentleman scholar, learned and free-thinking, a lover of wine, poetry, and studious retirement. Lady Mary calls him Achmet-Beg; she found him a kindred spirit, like Conti.
Priscilla Bawcutt
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198129639
- eISBN:
- 9780191671807
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198129639.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This chapter discusses the rule of James V and the role of Dunbar during his reign as a court poet, wherein he was tasked to write complimentary verses of places, people with high ranks, occasion and ...
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This chapter discusses the rule of James V and the role of Dunbar during his reign as a court poet, wherein he was tasked to write complimentary verses of places, people with high ranks, occasion and monumental events and historical accounts. In his court poems and begging-poems, he tends to lean towards a communal voice, sometimes inclined towards public rituals. His poems, although displaying an appropriately elevated style, lack individuality and abound in rhetorical commonplaces and such figures as apostrophe, repetitio and hyperbole. The discussion also focuses on the failure of Dunbar to establish himself as a respected poet, owing to the poetic genre in which his poems were generally created. His begging-poems are often seen by scholars and poets alike as unattractive, not a literary tradition and not moralising.Less
This chapter discusses the rule of James V and the role of Dunbar during his reign as a court poet, wherein he was tasked to write complimentary verses of places, people with high ranks, occasion and monumental events and historical accounts. In his court poems and begging-poems, he tends to lean towards a communal voice, sometimes inclined towards public rituals. His poems, although displaying an appropriately elevated style, lack individuality and abound in rhetorical commonplaces and such figures as apostrophe, repetitio and hyperbole. The discussion also focuses on the failure of Dunbar to establish himself as a respected poet, owing to the poetic genre in which his poems were generally created. His begging-poems are often seen by scholars and poets alike as unattractive, not a literary tradition and not moralising.
Kwangmin Kim
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804799232
- eISBN:
- 9781503600423
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804799232.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This book provides an examination of the Muslim notability (begs) and their development of capitalistic enterprises in Eastern Turkestan under the Qing Empire. The begs, the powerful organizers of ...
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This book provides an examination of the Muslim notability (begs) and their development of capitalistic enterprises in Eastern Turkestan under the Qing Empire. The begs, the powerful organizers of trade, agriculture, and labor in the oases, needed the empire and its military as a patron of their capitalistic reorganization of the oasis agriculture and the expansion of their access to new markets and resources. The Qing needed the begs as the foundation of imperial security and as partners in revenue extraction from local agriculture and mining development constituencies. However, the capitalistic transformation of the oasis economy created socio-economic tensions between the begs and the rural villagers. From the latter’s ranks, resistance grew in the form of bandits and refugees fleeing into the mountains that surrounded the oases, where these people would amass to form outsider communities. These communities, under the leadership of Sufi holy men (khwaja), eventually engaged in over political action in the early 1800s, which culminated in war against the Qing state. The Qing fell in Central Asia in 1864, as this new crisis deepened after Opium War (1839-42). This book offers a new perspective on Qing imperial history, and also contributes to a revised narrative on the history of global capitalism and imperialism on a truly global scale, and in an interconnected fashion.Less
This book provides an examination of the Muslim notability (begs) and their development of capitalistic enterprises in Eastern Turkestan under the Qing Empire. The begs, the powerful organizers of trade, agriculture, and labor in the oases, needed the empire and its military as a patron of their capitalistic reorganization of the oasis agriculture and the expansion of their access to new markets and resources. The Qing needed the begs as the foundation of imperial security and as partners in revenue extraction from local agriculture and mining development constituencies. However, the capitalistic transformation of the oasis economy created socio-economic tensions between the begs and the rural villagers. From the latter’s ranks, resistance grew in the form of bandits and refugees fleeing into the mountains that surrounded the oases, where these people would amass to form outsider communities. These communities, under the leadership of Sufi holy men (khwaja), eventually engaged in over political action in the early 1800s, which culminated in war against the Qing state. The Qing fell in Central Asia in 1864, as this new crisis deepened after Opium War (1839-42). This book offers a new perspective on Qing imperial history, and also contributes to a revised narrative on the history of global capitalism and imperialism on a truly global scale, and in an interconnected fashion.
Henry E. Allison
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199691531
- eISBN:
- 9780191731808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199691531.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter deals with three topics: (1) Kant’s provisional argument for the right to presuppose freedom from the practical point of view; (2) his account of how this appears to lead to a circle; ...
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This chapter deals with three topics: (1) Kant’s provisional argument for the right to presuppose freedom from the practical point of view; (2) his account of how this appears to lead to a circle; (3) Kant’s avoidance of this circle by distinguishing between two standpoints from which the self can consider itself: as an object of experience, in virtue of which it is a part of the sensible world, and as a free and morally responsible agent, who, so considered, is a member of an intelligible world. After showing that Kant’s argument is not circular but rather begs a question regarding the presupposition of freedom, it is argued that the distinction between the two standpoints both justifies this presupposition and, by the reciprocity thesis, provides a deduction of the moral law.Less
This chapter deals with three topics: (1) Kant’s provisional argument for the right to presuppose freedom from the practical point of view; (2) his account of how this appears to lead to a circle; (3) Kant’s avoidance of this circle by distinguishing between two standpoints from which the self can consider itself: as an object of experience, in virtue of which it is a part of the sensible world, and as a free and morally responsible agent, who, so considered, is a member of an intelligible world. After showing that Kant’s argument is not circular but rather begs a question regarding the presupposition of freedom, it is argued that the distinction between the two standpoints both justifies this presupposition and, by the reciprocity thesis, provides a deduction of the moral law.
Ciarán McCabe
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781786941572
- eISBN:
- 9781789629002
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781786941572.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Beggars and begging were ubiquitous features of pre-Famine Irish society, yet have gone largely unexamined by historians. Begging, Charity and Religion in Pre-Famine Ireland explores at length for ...
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Beggars and begging were ubiquitous features of pre-Famine Irish society, yet have gone largely unexamined by historians. Begging, Charity and Religion in Pre-Famine Ireland explores at length for the first time the complex cultures of mendicancy, as well as how wider societal perceptions of and responses to begging were framed by social class, gender and religion. The study breaks new ground in exploring the challenges inherent in defining and measuring begging and alms-giving in pre-Famine Ireland, as well as the disparate ways in which mendicants were perceived by contemporaries. A discussion of the evolving role of parish vestries in the life of pre-Famine communities facilitates an examination of corporate responses to beggary, while a comprehensive analysis of the mendicity society movement, which flourished throughout Ireland in the three decades following 1815, highlights the significance of charitable societies and associational culture in responding to the perceived threat of mendicancy. The instance of the mendicity societies illustrates the extent to which Irish commentators and social reformers were influenced by prevailing theories and practices in the transatlantic world regarding the management of the poor and deviant. Drawing on a wide range of sources previously unused for the study of poverty and welfare, this book makes an important contribution to modern Irish social and ecclesiastical history.Less
Beggars and begging were ubiquitous features of pre-Famine Irish society, yet have gone largely unexamined by historians. Begging, Charity and Religion in Pre-Famine Ireland explores at length for the first time the complex cultures of mendicancy, as well as how wider societal perceptions of and responses to begging were framed by social class, gender and religion. The study breaks new ground in exploring the challenges inherent in defining and measuring begging and alms-giving in pre-Famine Ireland, as well as the disparate ways in which mendicants were perceived by contemporaries. A discussion of the evolving role of parish vestries in the life of pre-Famine communities facilitates an examination of corporate responses to beggary, while a comprehensive analysis of the mendicity society movement, which flourished throughout Ireland in the three decades following 1815, highlights the significance of charitable societies and associational culture in responding to the perceived threat of mendicancy. The instance of the mendicity societies illustrates the extent to which Irish commentators and social reformers were influenced by prevailing theories and practices in the transatlantic world regarding the management of the poor and deviant. Drawing on a wide range of sources previously unused for the study of poverty and welfare, this book makes an important contribution to modern Irish social and ecclesiastical history.
Michael Como
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195188615
- eISBN:
- 9780199851751
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188615.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter examines the role played by roadside rites of begging, blessing (hokai), and spirit propitiation in shaping interactions between the Shōtoku cult and popular religious movements of the ...
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This chapter examines the role played by roadside rites of begging, blessing (hokai), and spirit propitiation in shaping interactions between the Shōtoku cult and popular religious movements of the Nara and early Heian periods. Specifically, it focuses on interactions between the cults of Shōtoku and Gyōki, a mendicant monk whose thousands of itinerant followers organized lay believers across the Japanese islands into communities united for the purpose of performing meritorious works. Gyōki is of direct relevance to these issues not only because of his role in disseminating the Buddhist tradition in the Japanese islands, but also because his followers expended huge amounts of labor constructing and repairing the roads and waterways of early Yamato. Because these roads and waterways became important sites for local cults and rites of blessing and spirit pacification, they also played a major role in the emergence of Shōtoku and Gyōki as two of the most important cultic icons of the age.Less
This chapter examines the role played by roadside rites of begging, blessing (hokai), and spirit propitiation in shaping interactions between the Shōtoku cult and popular religious movements of the Nara and early Heian periods. Specifically, it focuses on interactions between the cults of Shōtoku and Gyōki, a mendicant monk whose thousands of itinerant followers organized lay believers across the Japanese islands into communities united for the purpose of performing meritorious works. Gyōki is of direct relevance to these issues not only because of his role in disseminating the Buddhist tradition in the Japanese islands, but also because his followers expended huge amounts of labor constructing and repairing the roads and waterways of early Yamato. Because these roads and waterways became important sites for local cults and rites of blessing and spirit pacification, they also played a major role in the emergence of Shōtoku and Gyōki as two of the most important cultic icons of the age.
G. A. Cohen
Michael Otsuka (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691148809
- eISBN:
- 9781400845323
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691148809.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter chronicles Cohen's two-week trip to India (from January 1 to 15, 1993), and touches upon some themes and experiences which had had a profound impact on him during his stay there. It ...
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This chapter chronicles Cohen's two-week trip to India (from January 1 to 15, 1993), and touches upon some themes and experiences which had had a profound impact on him during his stay there. It first describes his experiences on board an Air India flight and his meditations on and encounters with poverty upon landing in Delhi and throughout the rest of his stay in the country. The chapter contains the author's personal accounts of his many encounters with people—both native and otherwise—in India, and frequently returns to his meetings with the poor and how he (and the Indian poor) deal with poverty in the nation. Despite his more unpleasant experiences, Cohen writes, that “India gripped me, and I don't want it to let go. As long as I write, it stays with me, I don't have to say goodbye.”Less
This chapter chronicles Cohen's two-week trip to India (from January 1 to 15, 1993), and touches upon some themes and experiences which had had a profound impact on him during his stay there. It first describes his experiences on board an Air India flight and his meditations on and encounters with poverty upon landing in Delhi and throughout the rest of his stay in the country. The chapter contains the author's personal accounts of his many encounters with people—both native and otherwise—in India, and frequently returns to his meetings with the poor and how he (and the Indian poor) deal with poverty in the nation. Despite his more unpleasant experiences, Cohen writes, that “India gripped me, and I don't want it to let go. As long as I write, it stays with me, I don't have to say goodbye.”
Grégoire Chamayou and Steven Rendall
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151656
- eISBN:
- 9781400842254
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151656.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter discusses the hunting of the poor. The founding act of modern policing can be traced back to the immense hunt for the poor, idle people, and vagabonds that was launched in Europe in the ...
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This chapter discusses the hunting of the poor. The founding act of modern policing can be traced back to the immense hunt for the poor, idle people, and vagabonds that was launched in Europe in the seventeenth century. The notion was that the way to get rid of poverty was to intern the poor. However, neither hunting the poor nor prohibiting begging made poverty disappear. And that probably did not matter, since the function of these measures lay elsewhere. As Michelet diagnosed it, “the court, the powerful, do not like to see these great troops of poor wretches wandering about, a living accusation of the administration.” Then as now, if poverty could not be eradicated, the poor had to be made invisible. Moving from the embarrassing visibility of itinerant mendicancy to the tranquil invisibility of poverty interned—that was the chief function of hunting the poor to confine them.Less
This chapter discusses the hunting of the poor. The founding act of modern policing can be traced back to the immense hunt for the poor, idle people, and vagabonds that was launched in Europe in the seventeenth century. The notion was that the way to get rid of poverty was to intern the poor. However, neither hunting the poor nor prohibiting begging made poverty disappear. And that probably did not matter, since the function of these measures lay elsewhere. As Michelet diagnosed it, “the court, the powerful, do not like to see these great troops of poor wretches wandering about, a living accusation of the administration.” Then as now, if poverty could not be eradicated, the poor had to be made invisible. Moving from the embarrassing visibility of itinerant mendicancy to the tranquil invisibility of poverty interned—that was the chief function of hunting the poor to confine them.
James P. Sterba
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199580767
- eISBN:
- 9780191745836
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580767.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
In this chapter, Morality as Compromise is completed by showing when the its requirements are enforceable. This is done by starting with the assumptions that are acceptable from a libertarian ...
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In this chapter, Morality as Compromise is completed by showing when the its requirements are enforceable. This is done by starting with the assumptions that are acceptable from a libertarian perspective, the view that appears to endorse the least enforcement of morality, and then showing that this view requires a right to welfare, and that further, this right to welfare, which is also endorsed by a welfare liberal perspective, leads to the substantial equality of a socialist perspective. In effect, recognizing a right to welfare, applicable to all existing and future people, leads to an equal utilization of resources over place and time. It is further argued that this same conclusion can be derived in yet another way — by taking into account the moral status of all living beings.Less
In this chapter, Morality as Compromise is completed by showing when the its requirements are enforceable. This is done by starting with the assumptions that are acceptable from a libertarian perspective, the view that appears to endorse the least enforcement of morality, and then showing that this view requires a right to welfare, and that further, this right to welfare, which is also endorsed by a welfare liberal perspective, leads to the substantial equality of a socialist perspective. In effect, recognizing a right to welfare, applicable to all existing and future people, leads to an equal utilization of resources over place and time. It is further argued that this same conclusion can be derived in yet another way — by taking into account the moral status of all living beings.
