Alan Millar
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199254408
- eISBN:
- 9780191719721
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199254408.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This book shows that ascriptions of beliefs and intentions are normative in that they have normative implications. Since there is no more to believing something and intending something than meeting ...
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This book shows that ascriptions of beliefs and intentions are normative in that they have normative implications. Since there is no more to believing something and intending something than meeting the conditions for falling under, respectively, the concepts of so believing and of so intending, it follows that there is a normative dimension to the states of believing and intending. The idea is extended to all propositional attitudes via the assumption that attitudes with conceptual content have a normative dimension. The resulting picture is applied to issues about understanding people in terms of rationalizing explanations of what they think or do. An important concern is to explain how the fact that agents’ attitudes rationalize the performance of actions or the formation of beliefs on their part can be relevant to the explanation of what they do or believe. Along the way, there are discussions of normative commitments, differences between reasons for action and reasons for belief, practices conceived as essentially rule-governed activities, simulation theory, and the limits of mentalistic explanation.Less
This book shows that ascriptions of beliefs and intentions are normative in that they have normative implications. Since there is no more to believing something and intending something than meeting the conditions for falling under, respectively, the concepts of so believing and of so intending, it follows that there is a normative dimension to the states of believing and intending. The idea is extended to all propositional attitudes via the assumption that attitudes with conceptual content have a normative dimension. The resulting picture is applied to issues about understanding people in terms of rationalizing explanations of what they think or do. An important concern is to explain how the fact that agents’ attitudes rationalize the performance of actions or the formation of beliefs on their part can be relevant to the explanation of what they do or believe. Along the way, there are discussions of normative commitments, differences between reasons for action and reasons for belief, practices conceived as essentially rule-governed activities, simulation theory, and the limits of mentalistic explanation.
Amie L. Thomasson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195319910
- eISBN:
- 9780199869602
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195319910.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Arguments that ordinary inanimate objects such as tables and chairs, sticks and stones, simply do not exist have become increasingly common. Some arguments for eliminativism are based on demands for ...
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Arguments that ordinary inanimate objects such as tables and chairs, sticks and stones, simply do not exist have become increasingly common. Some arguments for eliminativism are based on demands for parsimony or for a non-arbitrary answer to the special composition question; others arise from prohibitions against causal redundancy, ontological vagueness, or colocation; and others still come from worries that a common sense ontology would be a rival to a scientific one. This book makes the case that the mistakes behind all of these superficially diverse eliminativist arguments may be traced to a common source, and may be successfully resisted by adopting a small cluster of interrelated and independently plausible theses about reference, analyticity, and modality. By adopting these theses, we can make sense of our common sense world view without internal contradiction, violation of plausible metaphysical principles, or rivalry with a scientific ontology. In the end, however, the most important result of addressing these eliminativist arguments is not merely avoiding their conclusions. It also leads to important metaontological results, bringing into question widely held assumptions about which uses of metaphysical principles are appropriate, which metaphysical demands are answerable, and how we incur ontological commitments. As a result, the work of this book hopes to provide not only the route to a reflective understanding of our unreflective common sense world view, but also a better understanding of the proper methods and limits of metaphysics.Less
Arguments that ordinary inanimate objects such as tables and chairs, sticks and stones, simply do not exist have become increasingly common. Some arguments for eliminativism are based on demands for parsimony or for a non-arbitrary answer to the special composition question; others arise from prohibitions against causal redundancy, ontological vagueness, or colocation; and others still come from worries that a common sense ontology would be a rival to a scientific one. This book makes the case that the mistakes behind all of these superficially diverse eliminativist arguments may be traced to a common source, and may be successfully resisted by adopting a small cluster of interrelated and independently plausible theses about reference, analyticity, and modality. By adopting these theses, we can make sense of our common sense world view without internal contradiction, violation of plausible metaphysical principles, or rivalry with a scientific ontology. In the end, however, the most important result of addressing these eliminativist arguments is not merely avoiding their conclusions. It also leads to important metaontological results, bringing into question widely held assumptions about which uses of metaphysical principles are appropriate, which metaphysical demands are answerable, and how we incur ontological commitments. As a result, the work of this book hopes to provide not only the route to a reflective understanding of our unreflective common sense world view, but also a better understanding of the proper methods and limits of metaphysics.
Robert McKim
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195128352
- eISBN:
- 9780199834488
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195128354.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
The religious ambiguity of the world has many aspects, one of which is the hiddenness of God. Theists have proposed a number of explanations of God's hiddenness. Some putative explanations contend ...
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The religious ambiguity of the world has many aspects, one of which is the hiddenness of God. Theists have proposed a number of explanations of God's hiddenness. Some putative explanations contend that the advantages of God's hiddenness (“goods of mystery”) outweigh whatever benefits would result if God's existence and nature were clear to us (“goods of clarity”). Goods of mystery that have received a lot of discussion include human moral autonomy and the ability on our part to exercise control over whether we believe in the existence of God. The extent of the ambiguity that surrounds God's existence, and indeed all important religious matters, combined with our lack of an obviously correct and adequate explanation of this lack, suggest that, even if God exists, it is not important that people believe in God. Another central theme in the book is the significance of religious diversity for religious belief. The character of this diversity is such that it provides people who take a position on religious matters with reason to adopt the “Critical Stance” – which requires people in all the religious traditions to subject their religious beliefs to critical scrutiny and hold those beliefs in a tentative way.Some contend that religious faith requires complete confidence in what is believed but tentative belief actually is sufficient to sustain many forms of religious commitment.Less
The religious ambiguity of the world has many aspects, one of which is the hiddenness of God. Theists have proposed a number of explanations of God's hiddenness. Some putative explanations contend that the advantages of God's hiddenness (“goods of mystery”) outweigh whatever benefits would result if God's existence and nature were clear to us (“goods of clarity”). Goods of mystery that have received a lot of discussion include human moral autonomy and the ability on our part to exercise control over whether we believe in the existence of God. The extent of the ambiguity that surrounds God's existence, and indeed all important religious matters, combined with our lack of an obviously correct and adequate explanation of this lack, suggest that, even if God exists, it is not important that people believe in God. Another central theme in the book is the significance of religious diversity for religious belief. The character of this diversity is such that it provides people who take a position on religious matters with reason to adopt the “Critical Stance” – which requires people in all the religious traditions to subject their religious beliefs to critical scrutiny and hold those beliefs in a tentative way.Some contend that religious faith requires complete confidence in what is believed but tentative belief actually is sufficient to sustain many forms of religious commitment.
Elizabeth Brake
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199774142
- eISBN:
- 9780199933228
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199774142.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
Even in secular contexts, marriage retains sacramental connotations. Yet what is its moral significance? This book examines its morally salient features – promise, commitment, care, and contract – ...
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Even in secular contexts, marriage retains sacramental connotations. Yet what is its moral significance? This book examines its morally salient features – promise, commitment, care, and contract – with surprising results. In Part One, “De-Moralizing Marriage,” essays on promise and commitment argue that we cannot promise to love and so wedding vows are (mostly) failed promises, and that marriage may be a poor commitment strategy. The book contends with philosophical defenses of marriage to argue that marriage has no inherent moral significance. Further, privileging marriage sustains amatonormative discrimination – discrimination against non-amorous or non-exclusive caring relationships such as friendships, adult care networks, or polyamorous groups. The discussion raises issues of independent interest for the moral philosopher such as the limits of promising and nature of commitment. The central argument of Part Two, “Democratizing Marriage,” is that liberal reasons for recognizing same-sex marriage also require recognition of polyamorists, polygamists, friends, urban tribes, and adult care networks. Political liberalism requires the disestablishment of monogamous amatonormative marriage. Under public reason, a liberal state must refrain from basing law solely on moral or religious doctrines; but only such doctrines could furnish reason for restricting marriage to male-female couples or romantic dyads. Restrictions on marriage should be minimized. But there is a strong rationale for minimal marriage: social supports for care are a matter of fundamental justice. Part Two responds to challenges posed by property division, polygyny, and parenting, builds on feminist, queer, and anti-racist critiques of marriage, and argues for the compatibility of liberalism and feminism.Less
Even in secular contexts, marriage retains sacramental connotations. Yet what is its moral significance? This book examines its morally salient features – promise, commitment, care, and contract – with surprising results. In Part One, “De-Moralizing Marriage,” essays on promise and commitment argue that we cannot promise to love and so wedding vows are (mostly) failed promises, and that marriage may be a poor commitment strategy. The book contends with philosophical defenses of marriage to argue that marriage has no inherent moral significance. Further, privileging marriage sustains amatonormative discrimination – discrimination against non-amorous or non-exclusive caring relationships such as friendships, adult care networks, or polyamorous groups. The discussion raises issues of independent interest for the moral philosopher such as the limits of promising and nature of commitment. The central argument of Part Two, “Democratizing Marriage,” is that liberal reasons for recognizing same-sex marriage also require recognition of polyamorists, polygamists, friends, urban tribes, and adult care networks. Political liberalism requires the disestablishment of monogamous amatonormative marriage. Under public reason, a liberal state must refrain from basing law solely on moral or religious doctrines; but only such doctrines could furnish reason for restricting marriage to male-female couples or romantic dyads. Restrictions on marriage should be minimized. But there is a strong rationale for minimal marriage: social supports for care are a matter of fundamental justice. Part Two responds to challenges posed by property division, polygyny, and parenting, builds on feminist, queer, and anti-racist critiques of marriage, and argues for the compatibility of liberalism and feminism.
John V. Kulvicki
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199290758
- eISBN:
- 9780191604010
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019929075X.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
Dominic Lopes proposed that pictures differ from other kinds of representations in that only pictures explicitly non-commit to properties. That is to say, with pictures, the price of representing ...
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Dominic Lopes proposed that pictures differ from other kinds of representations in that only pictures explicitly non-commit to properties. That is to say, with pictures, the price of representing something — say someone standing in front of someone else — is not being able to represent other things, such as the features of things behind the person represented. It is argued that this is not essential or unique to depiction, even though it is common only in pictures. Moreover, explicit non-commitment is only a feature of pictures’ fleshed-out contents: it does not appear in their bare-bones contents.Less
Dominic Lopes proposed that pictures differ from other kinds of representations in that only pictures explicitly non-commit to properties. That is to say, with pictures, the price of representing something — say someone standing in front of someone else — is not being able to represent other things, such as the features of things behind the person represented. It is argued that this is not essential or unique to depiction, even though it is common only in pictures. Moreover, explicit non-commitment is only a feature of pictures’ fleshed-out contents: it does not appear in their bare-bones contents.
Jody Azzouni
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199738946
- eISBN:
- 9780199866175
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199738946.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Ordinary language and scientific language enable us to speak about, in a singular way (with demonstratives and names), what we recognize not to exist: fictions, the contents of our hallucinations, ...
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Ordinary language and scientific language enable us to speak about, in a singular way (with demonstratives and names), what we recognize not to exist: fictions, the contents of our hallucinations, abstract objects, and various idealized nonexistent objects to which our scientific theories more conveniently apply. Indeed, references to such nonexistent items—especially in the case of the application of mathematics to the sciences—are indispensable. Scientific and ordinary languages allow us to say things about Pegasus or about hallucinated objects that are true (or false) such as “Pegasus was believed by the ancient Greeks to be a flying horse,” or “That elf I’m now hallucinating over there is wearing blue shoes.” Standard contemporary metaphysical views and standard contemporary philosophical semantic analyses of singular idioms have not successfully accommodated these routine practices of saying true and false things about the nonexistent while simultaneously honoring the insight that such things do not exist in any way at all (and have no properties). This book reconfigures metaphysics and semantics in a radical way to allow the accommodation of our ordinary ways of speaking of what does not exist while retaining the absolutely crucial assumption that such objects exist in no way at all, have no properties, and so are not the truth-makers for the truths and falsities that are about them.Less
Ordinary language and scientific language enable us to speak about, in a singular way (with demonstratives and names), what we recognize not to exist: fictions, the contents of our hallucinations, abstract objects, and various idealized nonexistent objects to which our scientific theories more conveniently apply. Indeed, references to such nonexistent items—especially in the case of the application of mathematics to the sciences—are indispensable. Scientific and ordinary languages allow us to say things about Pegasus or about hallucinated objects that are true (or false) such as “Pegasus was believed by the ancient Greeks to be a flying horse,” or “That elf I’m now hallucinating over there is wearing blue shoes.” Standard contemporary metaphysical views and standard contemporary philosophical semantic analyses of singular idioms have not successfully accommodated these routine practices of saying true and false things about the nonexistent while simultaneously honoring the insight that such things do not exist in any way at all (and have no properties). This book reconfigures metaphysics and semantics in a radical way to allow the accommodation of our ordinary ways of speaking of what does not exist while retaining the absolutely crucial assumption that such objects exist in no way at all, have no properties, and so are not the truth-makers for the truths and falsities that are about them.
Margaret Gilbert
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199274956
- eISBN:
- 9780191603976
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274959.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Joint commitments are compared and contrasted with personal decisions and intentions: all are in some sense commitments of the will. They provide one with sufficient reason for action, independently ...
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Joint commitments are compared and contrasted with personal decisions and intentions: all are in some sense commitments of the will. They provide one with sufficient reason for action, independently of one’s inclinations and self-interest. Aspects of joint commitment discussed include their formation, basic and non-basic cases, and ways of being freed from them. An argument is presented for the obligating nature of joint commitments. The directed obligation argued for is not context-sensitive and is therefore, in a sense, ‘absolute’.Less
Joint commitments are compared and contrasted with personal decisions and intentions: all are in some sense commitments of the will. They provide one with sufficient reason for action, independently of one’s inclinations and self-interest. Aspects of joint commitment discussed include their formation, basic and non-basic cases, and ways of being freed from them. An argument is presented for the obligating nature of joint commitments. The directed obligation argued for is not context-sensitive and is therefore, in a sense, ‘absolute’.
Jeffrey S. Lantis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535019
- eISBN:
- 9780191715952
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535019.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
This book studies international treaty ratification processes in multiple issue areas. This study sets out to fill a gap in political science scholarship by investigating the role that international ...
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This book studies international treaty ratification processes in multiple issue areas. This study sets out to fill a gap in political science scholarship by investigating the role that international and domestic political actors and conditions play in the critical, post-commitment phase of cooperation. The book employs the comparative case study method, drawing on original research, elite interviews, and discursive analyses of government documents in Europe, Australia, and North America. Cases examine a select number of treaties on trade cooperation, the environment, European integration, and the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It concludes that the role of norms and executive strategies play an especially significant role in shaping ratification outcomes. It is argued that the book will appeal to a broad audience interested in the question of whether international treaties remain powerful instruments for cooperation in the twenty-first century.Less
This book studies international treaty ratification processes in multiple issue areas. This study sets out to fill a gap in political science scholarship by investigating the role that international and domestic political actors and conditions play in the critical, post-commitment phase of cooperation. The book employs the comparative case study method, drawing on original research, elite interviews, and discursive analyses of government documents in Europe, Australia, and North America. Cases examine a select number of treaties on trade cooperation, the environment, European integration, and the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It concludes that the role of norms and executive strategies play an especially significant role in shaping ratification outcomes. It is argued that the book will appeal to a broad audience interested in the question of whether international treaties remain powerful instruments for cooperation in the twenty-first century.
George J. Mailath and Larry Samuelson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195300796
- eISBN:
- 9780199783700
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300796.003.0015
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Behavioural Economics
This chapter introduces the adverse-selection approach to reputations. The chapter considers a long-lived player facing a sequence of short-lived players. If there is some (perhaps very small) chance ...
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This chapter introduces the adverse-selection approach to reputations. The chapter considers a long-lived player facing a sequence of short-lived players. If there is some (perhaps very small) chance that the long-lived players is a commitment (or action) type, then the payoff for a sufficiently patient long-lived player (in any Nash equilibrium of the repeated game) must be close to the payoff he would receive if he was known to be that commitment type (the Stackelberg payoff). This result is established for perfect monitoring games using arguments based on Bayes’ rule and for imperfect monitoring games using martingale arguments (merging). A characterization of asymptotic play shows that for imperfect monitoring games, reputations are temporary.Less
This chapter introduces the adverse-selection approach to reputations. The chapter considers a long-lived player facing a sequence of short-lived players. If there is some (perhaps very small) chance that the long-lived players is a commitment (or action) type, then the payoff for a sufficiently patient long-lived player (in any Nash equilibrium of the repeated game) must be close to the payoff he would receive if he was known to be that commitment type (the Stackelberg payoff). This result is established for perfect monitoring games using arguments based on Bayes’ rule and for imperfect monitoring games using martingale arguments (merging). A characterization of asymptotic play shows that for imperfect monitoring games, reputations are temporary.
George J. Mailath and Larry Samuelson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195300796
- eISBN:
- 9780199783700
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300796.003.0016
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Behavioural Economics
This argument extends the reputation results of the previous chapter to games in which both players are long-lived. The argument here is complicated by the intertemporal incentives that now appear in ...
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This argument extends the reputation results of the previous chapter to games in which both players are long-lived. The argument here is complicated by the intertemporal incentives that now appear in the choices of the (long-lived) uninformed player. While the results are accordingly somewhat weaker, they again take the form of lower bounds on the payoff of a sufficiently patient long-lived player whose type is subject to some uncertainty. Relatively strong payoff bounds are obtained for games with conflicting interests, games of imperfect monitoring, and games with sophisticated commitment types.Less
This argument extends the reputation results of the previous chapter to games in which both players are long-lived. The argument here is complicated by the intertemporal incentives that now appear in the choices of the (long-lived) uninformed player. While the results are accordingly somewhat weaker, they again take the form of lower bounds on the payoff of a sufficiently patient long-lived player whose type is subject to some uncertainty. Relatively strong payoff bounds are obtained for games with conflicting interests, games of imperfect monitoring, and games with sophisticated commitment types.
George J. Mailath and Larry Samuelson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195300796
- eISBN:
- 9780199783700
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300796.003.0018
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Behavioural Economics
This chapter presents an alternative approach to reputations based on a long-lived player who endeavors to separate himself from an undesirable (or inept) type, in contrast to the traditional models ...
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This chapter presents an alternative approach to reputations based on a long-lived player who endeavors to separate himself from an undesirable (or inept) type, in contrast to the traditional models based on pooling with desirable commitment types. The long-lived player faces a continuum of long-lived idiosyncratic players. The goal is a more flexible model in which reputations have the properties of productive assets, requiring investments to build and maintain. The chapter provides an extensive discussion of the relationship between this model and previous analyses, as well as bad reputations and the role of the market for reputations.Less
This chapter presents an alternative approach to reputations based on a long-lived player who endeavors to separate himself from an undesirable (or inept) type, in contrast to the traditional models based on pooling with desirable commitment types. The long-lived player faces a continuum of long-lived idiosyncratic players. The goal is a more flexible model in which reputations have the properties of productive assets, requiring investments to build and maintain. The chapter provides an extensive discussion of the relationship between this model and previous analyses, as well as bad reputations and the role of the market for reputations.
Melanie M. Morey and John J. Piderit
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305517
- eISBN:
- 9780199784813
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305515.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Relying on empirical evidence from a national study of senior administrators at Catholic colleges and universities across the United States, this book defines the critical religious identity and ...
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Relying on empirical evidence from a national study of senior administrators at Catholic colleges and universities across the United States, this book defines the critical religious identity and mission issues facing Catholic colleges and universities as they look to the future. It analyzes and addresses these issues using the rich construct of culture, particularly organizational culture. Adopting cultural concepts of “distinguishability” and “inheritability”, the book provides four different models of how Catholic colleges and universities can operate and successfully compete as religiously distinctive institutions in the higher education market. After specifying the content of the Catholic tradition — intellectual, moral, and social — the book critiques the present performance among institutions in all four models, provides specific policy proposals for attending to religious cultural weakness, and offers principles for effectively leading and managing cultural change. For much of the history of Catholic colleges and universities, nuns, priests, and brothers provided successful Catholic cultural leadership. This book takes a critical look at the way congregations prepared members for knowledgeable, committed, and effective religious cultural leadership, and explains how insights from that model might prove particularly usefully today. The book also explores the cultural collapse of the once highly dynamic Roman Catholic sisterhoods as a cautionary tale about the perils of a cultural change process ineffectively managed.Less
Relying on empirical evidence from a national study of senior administrators at Catholic colleges and universities across the United States, this book defines the critical religious identity and mission issues facing Catholic colleges and universities as they look to the future. It analyzes and addresses these issues using the rich construct of culture, particularly organizational culture. Adopting cultural concepts of “distinguishability” and “inheritability”, the book provides four different models of how Catholic colleges and universities can operate and successfully compete as religiously distinctive institutions in the higher education market. After specifying the content of the Catholic tradition — intellectual, moral, and social — the book critiques the present performance among institutions in all four models, provides specific policy proposals for attending to religious cultural weakness, and offers principles for effectively leading and managing cultural change. For much of the history of Catholic colleges and universities, nuns, priests, and brothers provided successful Catholic cultural leadership. This book takes a critical look at the way congregations prepared members for knowledgeable, committed, and effective religious cultural leadership, and explains how insights from that model might prove particularly usefully today. The book also explores the cultural collapse of the once highly dynamic Roman Catholic sisterhoods as a cautionary tale about the perils of a cultural change process ineffectively managed.
Margaret Gilbert
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199274956
- eISBN:
- 9780191603976
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274959.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Does one have special obligations to support the political institutions of one’s own country precisely because it is one’s own? In short, does one have political obligations? This book argues for an ...
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Does one have special obligations to support the political institutions of one’s own country precisely because it is one’s own? In short, does one have political obligations? This book argues for an affirmative answer, construing one’s country as a political society of which one is a member, and a political society as a special type of social group. The obligations in question are not moral requirements derived from general moral principles. They come, rather, from one’s participation in a special kind of commitment: a joint commitment. This theory is referred to as the plural subject theory of political obligation since, by the author’s definition, those who are party to any joint commitment constitute a plural subject of some action in a broad sense of the term. Several alternative theories are compared and contrasted with plural subject theory, with a particular focus on the most famous — actual contract theory — according to which membership in a political society is a matter of participation in an agreement. The book offers plural subject accounts of both social rules and everyday agreements, and includes discussion of political authority and punishment.Less
Does one have special obligations to support the political institutions of one’s own country precisely because it is one’s own? In short, does one have political obligations? This book argues for an affirmative answer, construing one’s country as a political society of which one is a member, and a political society as a special type of social group. The obligations in question are not moral requirements derived from general moral principles. They come, rather, from one’s participation in a special kind of commitment: a joint commitment. This theory is referred to as the plural subject theory of political obligation since, by the author’s definition, those who are party to any joint commitment constitute a plural subject of some action in a broad sense of the term. Several alternative theories are compared and contrasted with plural subject theory, with a particular focus on the most famous — actual contract theory — according to which membership in a political society is a matter of participation in an agreement. The book offers plural subject accounts of both social rules and everyday agreements, and includes discussion of political authority and punishment.
Mike W. Martin
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195133257
- eISBN:
- 9780199848706
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195133257.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
As usually understood, professional ethics consists of shared duties and episodic dilemmas: the responsibilities incumbent on all members of specific professions, together with the dilemmas that ...
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As usually understood, professional ethics consists of shared duties and episodic dilemmas: the responsibilities incumbent on all members of specific professions, together with the dilemmas that arise when these responsibilities conflict. This book challenges that “consensus paradigm”, rethinking professional ethics to include personal commitments and ideals, including many not mandatory for all members of a profession. Taking these personal commitments seriously expands professional ethics to include neglected issues about moral psychology, character and the virtues, self-fulfillment and betrayal, and the interplay of private and professional life.Less
As usually understood, professional ethics consists of shared duties and episodic dilemmas: the responsibilities incumbent on all members of specific professions, together with the dilemmas that arise when these responsibilities conflict. This book challenges that “consensus paradigm”, rethinking professional ethics to include personal commitments and ideals, including many not mandatory for all members of a profession. Taking these personal commitments seriously expands professional ethics to include neglected issues about moral psychology, character and the virtues, self-fulfillment and betrayal, and the interplay of private and professional life.
George P. Fletcher
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195098327
- eISBN:
- 9780199852901
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195098327.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This book offers an account of loyalty that illuminates its role in our relationships with family and friends, our ties to country, and the commitment of the religious to God and their community. The ...
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This book offers an account of loyalty that illuminates its role in our relationships with family and friends, our ties to country, and the commitment of the religious to God and their community. The book opposes the traditional view of the moral self as detached from context and history. It argues instead that loyalty, not impartial detachment, should be the central feature of our moral and political lives. It claims that a commitment to country is necessary to improve the lot of the poor and disadvantaged. This commitment to country may well require greater reliance on patriotic rituals in education and a reconsideration of the Supreme Court's extending the First Amendment to protect flag burning. Given the worldwide currents of parochialism and political decentralization, the task for us, the book argues, is to renew our commitment to a single nation united in its diversity. The book reasons that the legal systems should defer to existing relationships of loyalty. Familial, professional, and religious loyalties should be respected as relationships beyond the limits of the law. Yet the question remains: Aren't loyalty, and particularly patriotism, dangerously one-sided? Indeed, they are, but no more than are love and friendship. The challenge, the book maintains, is to overcome the distorting effects of impartial morality and to develop a morality of loyalty properly suited to our emotional and spiritual lives. Justice has its sphere, as do loyalties.Less
This book offers an account of loyalty that illuminates its role in our relationships with family and friends, our ties to country, and the commitment of the religious to God and their community. The book opposes the traditional view of the moral self as detached from context and history. It argues instead that loyalty, not impartial detachment, should be the central feature of our moral and political lives. It claims that a commitment to country is necessary to improve the lot of the poor and disadvantaged. This commitment to country may well require greater reliance on patriotic rituals in education and a reconsideration of the Supreme Court's extending the First Amendment to protect flag burning. Given the worldwide currents of parochialism and political decentralization, the task for us, the book argues, is to renew our commitment to a single nation united in its diversity. The book reasons that the legal systems should defer to existing relationships of loyalty. Familial, professional, and religious loyalties should be respected as relationships beyond the limits of the law. Yet the question remains: Aren't loyalty, and particularly patriotism, dangerously one-sided? Indeed, they are, but no more than are love and friendship. The challenge, the book maintains, is to overcome the distorting effects of impartial morality and to develop a morality of loyalty properly suited to our emotional and spiritual lives. Justice has its sphere, as do loyalties.
Milada Anna Vachudova
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199241194
- eISBN:
- 9780191602382
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199241198.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
In all candidate states, the EU’s active leverage forced governments to embark on politically difficult reforms of the state and of the economy, committing politicians to a predictable agenda of ...
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In all candidate states, the EU’s active leverage forced governments to embark on politically difficult reforms of the state and of the economy, committing politicians to a predictable agenda of economic liberalization. This happened not only because of straightforward conditionality but also because the pre-accession process served as a credible commitment to economic reform and as an impetus for the growth of pro-EU groups in society. The Czech Republic stands out as a hybrid case that experienced a greater concentration (and abuse) of political and economic power than Poland or Hungary, forcing it to change more dramatically in response to the EU’s active leverage. In the post-illiberal states, keeping ruling elites within the parameters set by the EU’s pre-accession process while locking all mainstream political parties into a pro-EU orientation signifies a great success. This chapter analyses the convergence of domestic politics in Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania after more liberal elites took power, and also explains the significant and persistent variation in the performance of the three states in implementing comprehensive reforms.Less
In all candidate states, the EU’s active leverage forced governments to embark on politically difficult reforms of the state and of the economy, committing politicians to a predictable agenda of economic liberalization. This happened not only because of straightforward conditionality but also because the pre-accession process served as a credible commitment to economic reform and as an impetus for the growth of pro-EU groups in society. The Czech Republic stands out as a hybrid case that experienced a greater concentration (and abuse) of political and economic power than Poland or Hungary, forcing it to change more dramatically in response to the EU’s active leverage. In the post-illiberal states, keeping ruling elites within the parameters set by the EU’s pre-accession process while locking all mainstream political parties into a pro-EU orientation signifies a great success. This chapter analyses the convergence of domestic politics in Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania after more liberal elites took power, and also explains the significant and persistent variation in the performance of the three states in implementing comprehensive reforms.
Alec Stone Sweet
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199275533
- eISBN:
- 9780191602009
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019927553X.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Provides an introduction to the book by explaining its origin, purpose, approach, and structure. The first section presents the generic question posed by the book: how is a particular mode of ...
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Provides an introduction to the book by explaining its origin, purpose, approach, and structure. The first section presents the generic question posed by the book: how is a particular mode of governance, the judicial mode, consolidated as a stable set of practices; it explains that the approach taken combines three strains of theory – theory on judicialization and governance, on the courts as commitment devices, and on the dynamics of judicial rulemaking and precedent. The second section, European Integration and the Legal System, indicates that the book expands on previous efforts to elaborate and test a theory of European integration, and shows that its primary focus is on the impact of adjudicating European Community law on the institutionalization of the European Union (EU), rather than on the impact of EU law on national legal systems. The third section, Determinants of Judicial Discretion in the EU, looks at the question of how the European Court has been able to have such an impact on the course of European integration and the work of the national courts. The fourth section, Precedent and the Path Dependence of Legal Institutions, focuses on why legal institutions tend to develop in path dependent ways; it begins by conceptualizing precedent, and then attempts to show how legal systems can develop in path dependent ways, and discusses how the book goes about analysing precedent in Europe. The last two sections look at the case selection and data used in the book and give a brief outline of its structure.Less
Provides an introduction to the book by explaining its origin, purpose, approach, and structure. The first section presents the generic question posed by the book: how is a particular mode of governance, the judicial mode, consolidated as a stable set of practices; it explains that the approach taken combines three strains of theory – theory on judicialization and governance, on the courts as commitment devices, and on the dynamics of judicial rulemaking and precedent. The second section, European Integration and the Legal System, indicates that the book expands on previous efforts to elaborate and test a theory of European integration, and shows that its primary focus is on the impact of adjudicating European Community law on the institutionalization of the European Union (EU), rather than on the impact of EU law on national legal systems. The third section, Determinants of Judicial Discretion in the EU, looks at the question of how the European Court has been able to have such an impact on the course of European integration and the work of the national courts. The fourth section, Precedent and the Path Dependence of Legal Institutions, focuses on why legal institutions tend to develop in path dependent ways; it begins by conceptualizing precedent, and then attempts to show how legal systems can develop in path dependent ways, and discusses how the book goes about analysing precedent in Europe. The last two sections look at the case selection and data used in the book and give a brief outline of its structure.
Andrew T Guzman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195305562
- eISBN:
- 9780199867004
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305562.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This concluding chapter ties together the prior analysis of international law and emphasizes that sense in which various forms of international obligation represent alternative choices along a ...
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This concluding chapter ties together the prior analysis of international law and emphasizes that sense in which various forms of international obligation represent alternative choices along a spectrum of commitment. States choose where on that spectrum they wish to locate their obligations. The chapter also points out that the book's approach subject matter can be applied to all forms of international law and any substantive issue area. By bringing the entire field within a single theoretical approach the book offers a complete and satisfying account of international law.Less
This concluding chapter ties together the prior analysis of international law and emphasizes that sense in which various forms of international obligation represent alternative choices along a spectrum of commitment. States choose where on that spectrum they wish to locate their obligations. The chapter also points out that the book's approach subject matter can be applied to all forms of international law and any substantive issue area. By bringing the entire field within a single theoretical approach the book offers a complete and satisfying account of international law.
John V. Kulvicki
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199290758
- eISBN:
- 9780191604010
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019929075X.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
Chapters 6 and 7 describe the features of pictures’ bare-bones and fleshed-out contents, and raise important questions about how the two relate to one another. This chapter suggests that the relation ...
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Chapters 6 and 7 describe the features of pictures’ bare-bones and fleshed-out contents, and raise important questions about how the two relate to one another. This chapter suggests that the relation between them is analogous to the relation that was supposed to exist between sense data and the objects we take ourselves to perceive. Sense data were a bad idea in the philosophy of perception, but they are a useful tool for understanding pictorial content.Less
Chapters 6 and 7 describe the features of pictures’ bare-bones and fleshed-out contents, and raise important questions about how the two relate to one another. This chapter suggests that the relation between them is analogous to the relation that was supposed to exist between sense data and the objects we take ourselves to perceive. Sense data were a bad idea in the philosophy of perception, but they are a useful tool for understanding pictorial content.
Melanie M. Morey and John J. Piderit
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305517
- eISBN:
- 9780199784813
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305515.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This chapter presents a cautionary tale about cultural change that highlights the inherent difficulties in the process. It analyzes one of the biggest success stories in Catholic culture, namely, the ...
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This chapter presents a cautionary tale about cultural change that highlights the inherent difficulties in the process. It analyzes one of the biggest success stories in Catholic culture, namely, the achievements of Catholic institutions through the influence of nuns. It briefly recounts the history of religious congregations of women in the United States, giving special emphasis to their process of religious cultural formation designed to produce knowledgeable and committed women who were visible witnesses of the Catholic tradition in the institutions in which they served. In discussing what has happened in religious congregations of women since the Second Vatican Council, the chapter illuminates some of the strategic choices that can ultimately erode, rather than enhance, an organization’s culture. This simultaneously exhilarating and depressing story yields three cautionary principles, and ushers in a discussion about how Catholic colleges and universities should assess their current situation and move forward strategically.Less
This chapter presents a cautionary tale about cultural change that highlights the inherent difficulties in the process. It analyzes one of the biggest success stories in Catholic culture, namely, the achievements of Catholic institutions through the influence of nuns. It briefly recounts the history of religious congregations of women in the United States, giving special emphasis to their process of religious cultural formation designed to produce knowledgeable and committed women who were visible witnesses of the Catholic tradition in the institutions in which they served. In discussing what has happened in religious congregations of women since the Second Vatican Council, the chapter illuminates some of the strategic choices that can ultimately erode, rather than enhance, an organization’s culture. This simultaneously exhilarating and depressing story yields three cautionary principles, and ushers in a discussion about how Catholic colleges and universities should assess their current situation and move forward strategically.
