Stefan Tilg
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199576944
- eISBN:
- 9780191722486
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199576944.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
No issue in scholarship on the ancient novel has been discussed as hotly as the origin of the Greek love novel, also known as the ‘ideal’ novel. The present book proposes a new solution to this old ...
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No issue in scholarship on the ancient novel has been discussed as hotly as the origin of the Greek love novel, also known as the ‘ideal’ novel. The present book proposes a new solution to this old problem. It argues that the genre had a personal inventor, Chariton of Aphrodisias, and that he wrote the first love novel, Narratives about Callirhoe, in the mid‐first century AD. This conclusion is drawn on the basis of two converging lines of argument, one from literary history, another from Chariton's poetics. A revisitation of the literary‐historical background provides the basis for further analysis: among other things, it considers Chariton's milieu at Aphrodisias (especially the local cult of Aphrodite), the dating of other early novels, and Chariton's potential authorship of the fragmentarily preserved novels Metiochus and Parthenope and Chione. Chariton's status as the inventor of the Greek love novel, suggested by the literary‐historical evidence, finds further support in his poetics. I argue that Narratives about Callirhoe is characterized by an unusual effort of self‐definition, which can be best explained as a consequence of coming to terms with a new form of writing. The book is rounded off by a study of the motif of Rumour in Chariton and its derivation from a surprising model, Virgil's Aeneid. This part also makes a significant contribution to the reception of Latin literature in the Greek world.Less
No issue in scholarship on the ancient novel has been discussed as hotly as the origin of the Greek love novel, also known as the ‘ideal’ novel. The present book proposes a new solution to this old problem. It argues that the genre had a personal inventor, Chariton of Aphrodisias, and that he wrote the first love novel, Narratives about Callirhoe, in the mid‐first century AD. This conclusion is drawn on the basis of two converging lines of argument, one from literary history, another from Chariton's poetics. A revisitation of the literary‐historical background provides the basis for further analysis: among other things, it considers Chariton's milieu at Aphrodisias (especially the local cult of Aphrodite), the dating of other early novels, and Chariton's potential authorship of the fragmentarily preserved novels Metiochus and Parthenope and Chione. Chariton's status as the inventor of the Greek love novel, suggested by the literary‐historical evidence, finds further support in his poetics. I argue that Narratives about Callirhoe is characterized by an unusual effort of self‐definition, which can be best explained as a consequence of coming to terms with a new form of writing. The book is rounded off by a study of the motif of Rumour in Chariton and its derivation from a surprising model, Virgil's Aeneid. This part also makes a significant contribution to the reception of Latin literature in the Greek world.
Janet A. Kourany
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199732623
- eISBN:
- 9780199866403
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732623.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
The goal of Philosophy of Science after Feminism is not only a (descriptively and normatively) more adequate philosophy of science than what we have now, but also a more socially engaged and socially ...
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The goal of Philosophy of Science after Feminism is not only a (descriptively and normatively) more adequate philosophy of science than what we have now, but also a more socially engaged and socially responsible philosophy of science, one that can help to promote a more socially engaged and socially responsible science. Its main message is that philosophy of science needs to locate science within its wider societal context, ceasing to analyze science as if it existed in a social/political/economic vacuum; and correlatively, that philosophy of science needs to aim for a more comprehensive understanding of scientific rationality, one that integrates the ethical with the epistemic. Since feminists—feminist scientists and historians of science as well as feminist philosophers of science—have been pursuing this kind of philosophy of science in gender-related areas for three decades now, two chapters reflect on their contributions and derive from these reflections an “ideal of socially responsible science” that is further developed and defended in other chapters. The articulation of this ideal, it is made clear, is a central project of socially responsible philosophy of science. Other projects are also spelled out.Less
The goal of Philosophy of Science after Feminism is not only a (descriptively and normatively) more adequate philosophy of science than what we have now, but also a more socially engaged and socially responsible philosophy of science, one that can help to promote a more socially engaged and socially responsible science. Its main message is that philosophy of science needs to locate science within its wider societal context, ceasing to analyze science as if it existed in a social/political/economic vacuum; and correlatively, that philosophy of science needs to aim for a more comprehensive understanding of scientific rationality, one that integrates the ethical with the epistemic. Since feminists—feminist scientists and historians of science as well as feminist philosophers of science—have been pursuing this kind of philosophy of science in gender-related areas for three decades now, two chapters reflect on their contributions and derive from these reflections an “ideal of socially responsible science” that is further developed and defended in other chapters. The articulation of this ideal, it is made clear, is a central project of socially responsible philosophy of science. Other projects are also spelled out.
Chester G. Starr
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195074581
- eISBN:
- 9780199854363
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195074581.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This is both a defense of the importance of aristocrats in Greek society and a reassessment of their social, cultural and political roles. The author provides a concise portrait of the aristocratic ...
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This is both a defense of the importance of aristocrats in Greek society and a reassessment of their social, cultural and political roles. The author provides a concise portrait of the aristocratic way of life, the roots and nature of aristocrats' economic power, their patronage of the arts, and the influence they had on the way the Greeks visualized their gods. A concluding chapter examines the lasting influence of the aristocratic ideal in late Western history.Less
This is both a defense of the importance of aristocrats in Greek society and a reassessment of their social, cultural and political roles. The author provides a concise portrait of the aristocratic way of life, the roots and nature of aristocrats' economic power, their patronage of the arts, and the influence they had on the way the Greeks visualized their gods. A concluding chapter examines the lasting influence of the aristocratic ideal in late Western history.
John L. Pollock
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195304817
- eISBN:
- 9780199850907
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304817.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This book aims to construct a theory of rational decision making for real agents—not ideal agents. Real agents have limited cognitive powers, but traditional theories of rationality have applied only ...
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This book aims to construct a theory of rational decision making for real agents—not ideal agents. Real agents have limited cognitive powers, but traditional theories of rationality have applied only to idealized agents that lack such constraints. The book argues that theories of ideal rationality are largely irrelevant to the decision making of real agents. This book aims to provide a theory of “real rationality”.Less
This book aims to construct a theory of rational decision making for real agents—not ideal agents. Real agents have limited cognitive powers, but traditional theories of rationality have applied only to idealized agents that lack such constraints. The book argues that theories of ideal rationality are largely irrelevant to the decision making of real agents. This book aims to provide a theory of “real rationality”.
N. Scott Arnold
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195088274
- eISBN:
- 9780199853014
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195088274.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This book argues that the most defensible version of a market socialist economic system would be unable to realize widely held socialist ideals and values. In particular, it would be responsible for ...
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This book argues that the most defensible version of a market socialist economic system would be unable to realize widely held socialist ideals and values. In particular, it would be responsible for widespread and systematic exploitation. The charge of exploitation, which is really a charge of injustice, has typically been made against capitalist systems by socialists. This book argues that it is market socialism—the only remaining viable form of socialism—that is systematically exploitative. Recent work on the economics of contracts and organizations is used to show that the characteristic organizations of a free enterprise system, the classical capitalist firm and the modern corporation, are structured in such a way that opportunities for exploitation among economic actors (e.g., managers, workers, providers of capital, customers) are minimized. By contrast, this book argues, in a market socialist regime of worker cooperatives, opportunities for exploitation would abound. The book locates its comparative analysis of market socialism and the free enterprise system in the larger context of the capitalism/socialism debate. In the account of this debate, the book offers a distinctive and compelling vision of the relationship between the social sciences and political philosophy.Less
This book argues that the most defensible version of a market socialist economic system would be unable to realize widely held socialist ideals and values. In particular, it would be responsible for widespread and systematic exploitation. The charge of exploitation, which is really a charge of injustice, has typically been made against capitalist systems by socialists. This book argues that it is market socialism—the only remaining viable form of socialism—that is systematically exploitative. Recent work on the economics of contracts and organizations is used to show that the characteristic organizations of a free enterprise system, the classical capitalist firm and the modern corporation, are structured in such a way that opportunities for exploitation among economic actors (e.g., managers, workers, providers of capital, customers) are minimized. By contrast, this book argues, in a market socialist regime of worker cooperatives, opportunities for exploitation would abound. The book locates its comparative analysis of market socialism and the free enterprise system in the larger context of the capitalism/socialism debate. In the account of this debate, the book offers a distinctive and compelling vision of the relationship between the social sciences and political philosophy.
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.
Mary Briody Mahowald
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195176179
- eISBN:
- 9780199786558
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195176170.003.0014
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
After recapitulating the egalitarian perspective of the book, this chapter explains how this is necessarily directed toward an ideal of justice. The ideal is best approximated through an ethic of ...
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After recapitulating the egalitarian perspective of the book, this chapter explains how this is necessarily directed toward an ideal of justice. The ideal is best approximated through an ethic of virtue rather than an ethic of obligation. An egalitarian ethic of virtue promotes the flourishing of all individuals throughout the life span by attending to their different needs, preferences, and capabilities, and by minimizing the inequities that are often associated with these differences. An ethic of obligation requires minimal efforts to reduce these inequities, whereas an ethic of virtue calls for maximal efforts to reduce them. In the context of women’s health care, gender justice demands attention to gender differences as both obligatory and virtuous.Less
After recapitulating the egalitarian perspective of the book, this chapter explains how this is necessarily directed toward an ideal of justice. The ideal is best approximated through an ethic of virtue rather than an ethic of obligation. An egalitarian ethic of virtue promotes the flourishing of all individuals throughout the life span by attending to their different needs, preferences, and capabilities, and by minimizing the inequities that are often associated with these differences. An ethic of obligation requires minimal efforts to reduce these inequities, whereas an ethic of virtue calls for maximal efforts to reduce them. In the context of women’s health care, gender justice demands attention to gender differences as both obligatory and virtuous.
Susanne Mrozik
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195305005
- eISBN:
- 9780199785681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305005.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter outlines what the Compendium of Training calls the “vital points” of the bodhisattva discipline, demonstrating the centrality of body to the bodhisattva ideal. It includes an analysis of ...
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This chapter outlines what the Compendium of Training calls the “vital points” of the bodhisattva discipline, demonstrating the centrality of body to the bodhisattva ideal. It includes an analysis of the text's Sanskrit vocabulary for body as well as consideration of what the concept of body meant to a medieval Indian Buddhist audience.Less
This chapter outlines what the Compendium of Training calls the “vital points” of the bodhisattva discipline, demonstrating the centrality of body to the bodhisattva ideal. It includes an analysis of the text's Sanskrit vocabulary for body as well as consideration of what the concept of body meant to a medieval Indian Buddhist audience.
Charles S. Chihara
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198239758
- eISBN:
- 9780191597190
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198239750.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
A continuation of the study of mathematical existence begun in Ontology and the Vicious‐Circle Principle (published in 1973); in the present work, Quine's indispensability argument is rebutted by the ...
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A continuation of the study of mathematical existence begun in Ontology and the Vicious‐Circle Principle (published in 1973); in the present work, Quine's indispensability argument is rebutted by the development of a new nominalistic version of mathematics (the Constructibility Theory) that is specified as an axiomatized theory formalized in a many‐sorted first‐order language. What is new in the present work is its abandonment of the predicative restrictions of the earlier work and its much greater attention to the applications of mathematics in science and everyday life. The book also contains detailed discussions of rival views (Mathematical Structuralism, Field's Instrumentalism, Burgess's Moderate Realism, Maddy's Set Theoretical Realism, and Kitcher's Ideal Agent account of mathematics), in which many comparisons with the Constructibility Theory are made.Less
A continuation of the study of mathematical existence begun in Ontology and the Vicious‐Circle Principle (published in 1973); in the present work, Quine's indispensability argument is rebutted by the development of a new nominalistic version of mathematics (the Constructibility Theory) that is specified as an axiomatized theory formalized in a many‐sorted first‐order language. What is new in the present work is its abandonment of the predicative restrictions of the earlier work and its much greater attention to the applications of mathematics in science and everyday life. The book also contains detailed discussions of rival views (Mathematical Structuralism, Field's Instrumentalism, Burgess's Moderate Realism, Maddy's Set Theoretical Realism, and Kitcher's Ideal Agent account of mathematics), in which many comparisons with the Constructibility Theory are made.
James W. Laine
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195141269
- eISBN:
- 9780199849543
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195141269.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The legend of Shivaji contains several narratives on his victories, raids, and escapes that always showcase his nobility and virtue. These stories are well known in Maharashtra, and they seem to ...
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The legend of Shivaji contains several narratives on his victories, raids, and escapes that always showcase his nobility and virtue. These stories are well known in Maharashtra, and they seem to point out how Shivaji is to be seen as an epitome as he possesses the region's utmost ideals. Shivaji is seen not just a man with profound courage and bravery but also as an administrator, someone who advocates social reform, a patriotic, and even as a mystic. This book attempts to understand the kind of hero Shivaji was in a Maharashtrian setting, and look into how the growth of this legend can be associated with Maharashtrian Hindu identity by examining the narrative of the legend, identifying clues of how Shivaji became an epic hero, and looking at the challenges that such a narrative may encounter.Less
The legend of Shivaji contains several narratives on his victories, raids, and escapes that always showcase his nobility and virtue. These stories are well known in Maharashtra, and they seem to point out how Shivaji is to be seen as an epitome as he possesses the region's utmost ideals. Shivaji is seen not just a man with profound courage and bravery but also as an administrator, someone who advocates social reform, a patriotic, and even as a mystic. This book attempts to understand the kind of hero Shivaji was in a Maharashtrian setting, and look into how the growth of this legend can be associated with Maharashtrian Hindu identity by examining the narrative of the legend, identifying clues of how Shivaji became an epic hero, and looking at the challenges that such a narrative may encounter.
Andrew Kuper
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199274901
- eISBN:
- 9780191601552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274908.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
How is it possible for individuals to exercise any control over a political order, i.e. supranational and multilayered? This is the key question in reconciling cosmopolitan justice with democracy. ...
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How is it possible for individuals to exercise any control over a political order, i.e. supranational and multilayered? This is the key question in reconciling cosmopolitan justice with democracy. The most popular answer is that of Jurgen Habermas and other deliberative democrats. This chapter argues that deliberative democracy fails to take seriously both the problems and opportunities of large-scale societies, and so cannot provide adequate foundations for a deepening democracy. The participation requirements of Habermas’s normative theory can be met only by making assumptions about human cognitive capacities and institutional capabilities that are not remotely plausible in any large-scale society–faced with limitations of numbers, time, information, and understanding. Deliberative theorists turn to five conceptions of representation that are supposed to ‘mirror’ deliberation and thereby rescue the theory; but all of them fail. A stronger theory of representation is needed.Less
How is it possible for individuals to exercise any control over a political order, i.e. supranational and multilayered? This is the key question in reconciling cosmopolitan justice with democracy. The most popular answer is that of Jurgen Habermas and other deliberative democrats. This chapter argues that deliberative democracy fails to take seriously both the problems and opportunities of large-scale societies, and so cannot provide adequate foundations for a deepening democracy. The participation requirements of Habermas’s normative theory can be met only by making assumptions about human cognitive capacities and institutional capabilities that are not remotely plausible in any large-scale society–faced with limitations of numbers, time, information, and understanding. Deliberative theorists turn to five conceptions of representation that are supposed to ‘mirror’ deliberation and thereby rescue the theory; but all of them fail. A stronger theory of representation is needed.
Andrew Kuper
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199274901
- eISBN:
- 9780191601552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274908.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The conclusion compares the theories of global justice and democracy developed by Rawls, Habermas, and Kuper. It does so along ten dimensions: (1) Sources of Normativity, (2) Moral Scope, (3) ...
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The conclusion compares the theories of global justice and democracy developed by Rawls, Habermas, and Kuper. It does so along ten dimensions: (1) Sources of Normativity, (2) Moral Scope, (3) Political Scope, (4) Spheres of Governance, (5) Political Interests, (6) Constraints on Governance, (7) Political Judgement, (8) Political Discretion, (9) Political Participation, and (10) Sites of Governance. The chapter argues that Kuper’s theory of Responsive Democracy has advantages along all these axes. These advantages are due to, above all, deep differences in the three theorists’ assumptions about power, knowledge, and the role of ideals in politics.Less
The conclusion compares the theories of global justice and democracy developed by Rawls, Habermas, and Kuper. It does so along ten dimensions: (1) Sources of Normativity, (2) Moral Scope, (3) Political Scope, (4) Spheres of Governance, (5) Political Interests, (6) Constraints on Governance, (7) Political Judgement, (8) Political Discretion, (9) Political Participation, and (10) Sites of Governance. The chapter argues that Kuper’s theory of Responsive Democracy has advantages along all these axes. These advantages are due to, above all, deep differences in the three theorists’ assumptions about power, knowledge, and the role of ideals in politics.
Ismo Dunderberg
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199284962
- eISBN:
- 9780191603785
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199284962.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter argues that the enigmatic ‘disciple Jesus loved’ in John cannot be identified, and that the evidence for his role as the founder and the leader of the Johannine group remains meagre. The ...
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This chapter argues that the enigmatic ‘disciple Jesus loved’ in John cannot be identified, and that the evidence for his role as the founder and the leader of the Johannine group remains meagre. The Beloved Disciple is no doubt an ideal figure in John, but he is not necessarily portrayed as a paradigm of true faith to the audience. Rather, his major function is to authenticate the contents of the Gospel of John. While he is often compared to the Paraclete in John, his figure is more closely connected with that of Jesus. He is one link in the chain of the transmission of divine revelation: the Father supplied the beloved Son with this revelation, and the Beloved Disciple was needed to transmit it to future generations.Less
This chapter argues that the enigmatic ‘disciple Jesus loved’ in John cannot be identified, and that the evidence for his role as the founder and the leader of the Johannine group remains meagre. The Beloved Disciple is no doubt an ideal figure in John, but he is not necessarily portrayed as a paradigm of true faith to the audience. Rather, his major function is to authenticate the contents of the Gospel of John. While he is often compared to the Paraclete in John, his figure is more closely connected with that of Jesus. He is one link in the chain of the transmission of divine revelation: the Father supplied the beloved Son with this revelation, and the Beloved Disciple was needed to transmit it to future generations.
Bernard Gert, Charles M. Culver, and K. Danner Clouser
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195159066
- eISBN:
- 9780199786466
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195159063.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter distinguishes between morality, the informal public system that people use when making moral decisions, and a moral theory, which provides an explanation and justification of morality. ...
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This chapter distinguishes between morality, the informal public system that people use when making moral decisions, and a moral theory, which provides an explanation and justification of morality. It presents some examples of mistaken accounts of morality, shows the relation between morality and rationality, and provides an account of impartiality. It gives an account of moral rules and moral ideals, and of the morally relevant features that are used when justifying a violation of a moral rule.Less
This chapter distinguishes between morality, the informal public system that people use when making moral decisions, and a moral theory, which provides an explanation and justification of morality. It presents some examples of mistaken accounts of morality, shows the relation between morality and rationality, and provides an account of impartiality. It gives an account of moral rules and moral ideals, and of the morally relevant features that are used when justifying a violation of a moral rule.
Bernard Gert, Charles M. Culver, and K. Danner Clouser
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195159066
- eISBN:
- 9780199786466
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195159063.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter compares an account of common morality with the account of morality presented by Beauchamp and Childress in their book, The Principles of Biomedical Ethics. It offers a general critique ...
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This chapter compares an account of common morality with the account of morality presented by Beauchamp and Childress in their book, The Principles of Biomedical Ethics. It offers a general critique of principlism, as well as of the first three of their four principles: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. It shows the superiority of the account of morality as an informal public system over their account, which uses four freestanding principles not embedded in any system.Less
This chapter compares an account of common morality with the account of morality presented by Beauchamp and Childress in their book, The Principles of Biomedical Ethics. It offers a general critique of principlism, as well as of the first three of their four principles: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. It shows the superiority of the account of morality as an informal public system over their account, which uses four freestanding principles not embedded in any system.
Richard Dean
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199285723
- eISBN:
- 9780191603938
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199285721.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter makes three large-scale points about the positions developed in the book. First, it explains that taking good will as an end in itself is consistent with Jerome Schneewind’s emphasis on ...
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This chapter makes three large-scale points about the positions developed in the book. First, it explains that taking good will as an end in itself is consistent with Jerome Schneewind’s emphasis on the historical context of Kant’s revolutionary moral insights. In particular, Kant’s opposition to voluntarism or divine command theory fits with the good will reading. The second point is that of all the possible readings of the humanity formulation, the least justified is the one which takes the mere power of choice or Willkür to be the end in itself. The third point is just a final emphasis on the role of humanity in Kant’s moral theory, that Kant not only takes humanity to be an object of moral concern, but also a moral ideal toward which we should strive continuously.Less
This chapter makes three large-scale points about the positions developed in the book. First, it explains that taking good will as an end in itself is consistent with Jerome Schneewind’s emphasis on the historical context of Kant’s revolutionary moral insights. In particular, Kant’s opposition to voluntarism or divine command theory fits with the good will reading. The second point is that of all the possible readings of the humanity formulation, the least justified is the one which takes the mere power of choice or Willkür to be the end in itself. The third point is just a final emphasis on the role of humanity in Kant’s moral theory, that Kant not only takes humanity to be an object of moral concern, but also a moral ideal toward which we should strive continuously.
Donald Davidson
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246274
- eISBN:
- 9780191715198
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246270.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This volume collects Davidson's seminal contributions to the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of action. Its overarching thesis is that the ordinary concept of causality we employ to render ...
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This volume collects Davidson's seminal contributions to the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of action. Its overarching thesis is that the ordinary concept of causality we employ to render physical processes intelligible should also be employed in describing and explaining human action. In the first of three subsections into which the papers are thematically organized, Davidson uses causality to give novel analyses of acting for a reason, of intending, weakness of will, and freedom of will. The second section provides the formal and ontological framework for those analyses. In particular, the logical form and attending ontology of action sentences and causal statements is explored. To uphold the analyses, Davidson urges us to accept the existence of non‐recurrent particulars, events, along with that of persons and other objects. The final section employs this ontology of events to provide an anti‐reductionist answer to the mind/matter debate that Davidson labels ‘anomalous monism’. Events enter causal relations regardless of how we describe them but can, for the sake of different explanatory purposes, be subsumed under mutually irreducible descriptions, claims Davidson. Events qualify as mental if caused and rationalized by reasons, but can be so described only if we subsume them under considerations that are not amenable to codification into strict laws. We abandon those considerations, collectively labelled the ‘constitutive ideal of rationality’, if we want to explain the physical occurrence of those very same events; in which case we have to describe them as governed by strict laws. The impossibility of intertranslating the two idioms by means of psychophysical laws blocks any analytically reductive relation between them. The mental and the physical would thus disintegrate were it not for causality, which is operative in both realms through a shared ontology of events.Less
This volume collects Davidson's seminal contributions to the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of action. Its overarching thesis is that the ordinary concept of causality we employ to render physical processes intelligible should also be employed in describing and explaining human action. In the first of three subsections into which the papers are thematically organized, Davidson uses causality to give novel analyses of acting for a reason, of intending, weakness of will, and freedom of will. The second section provides the formal and ontological framework for those analyses. In particular, the logical form and attending ontology of action sentences and causal statements is explored. To uphold the analyses, Davidson urges us to accept the existence of non‐recurrent particulars, events, along with that of persons and other objects. The final section employs this ontology of events to provide an anti‐reductionist answer to the mind/matter debate that Davidson labels ‘anomalous monism’. Events enter causal relations regardless of how we describe them but can, for the sake of different explanatory purposes, be subsumed under mutually irreducible descriptions, claims Davidson. Events qualify as mental if caused and rationalized by reasons, but can be so described only if we subsume them under considerations that are not amenable to codification into strict laws. We abandon those considerations, collectively labelled the ‘constitutive ideal of rationality’, if we want to explain the physical occurrence of those very same events; in which case we have to describe them as governed by strict laws. The impossibility of intertranslating the two idioms by means of psychophysical laws blocks any analytically reductive relation between them. The mental and the physical would thus disintegrate were it not for causality, which is operative in both realms through a shared ontology of events.
Sarah A. Chase
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195308815
- eISBN:
- 9780199894154
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195308815.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Clinical Child Psychology / School Psychology
Moving into a senior boys' dorm at a co-ed New England preparatory school, I soon noticed vast behavioral differences among the students that I found hard to understand. In an environment of ...
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Moving into a senior boys' dorm at a co-ed New England preparatory school, I soon noticed vast behavioral differences among the students that I found hard to understand. In an environment of ivy-covered buildings, institutional goals of excellence and aspirations to Ivy League colleges, I observed that many girls worked themselves into a state of sleep deprivation and despair during exam period while the boys remained seemingly unconcerned and relaxed. I noticed that the girls felt the pressure to be “cute” and “perfect”, while the boys felt pressure to be “bad ass” and the “best at everything.” I learned that the boys thought that “it would suck” to be a girl and that one third of the girls would be male if given the chance. I noticed class and ethnic differences in how the students seemed to display their masculinity and femininity. From my vantage point of sitting in the back of the football and field-hockey buses, touring dorm rooms, listening to the words they used to describe each others' looks and sexuality, and listening to them discussing their academic and social pressures, competition, rumors, backstabbing, sex, and partying, I discovered that these boys and girls shared similar values, needs, and desires. Caught in the crossfire between cultural and institutional values of individuality, hierarchy and success, class and racial/ethnic differences, and society's expectations for gender appropriate behavior, these students faced conflicting pressures that affected both their social and academic success. This work provides insight into the costs of privilege as well as class, ethnic, and individual differences in the performance of gender. It reveals how the adolescent culture of this powerful group reflects and perpetuates larger cultural, institutional, class and ethnic values, gender ideals, and power structures, and ultimately exposes the underpinnings of the American character.Less
Moving into a senior boys' dorm at a co-ed New England preparatory school, I soon noticed vast behavioral differences among the students that I found hard to understand. In an environment of ivy-covered buildings, institutional goals of excellence and aspirations to Ivy League colleges, I observed that many girls worked themselves into a state of sleep deprivation and despair during exam period while the boys remained seemingly unconcerned and relaxed. I noticed that the girls felt the pressure to be “cute” and “perfect”, while the boys felt pressure to be “bad ass” and the “best at everything.” I learned that the boys thought that “it would suck” to be a girl and that one third of the girls would be male if given the chance. I noticed class and ethnic differences in how the students seemed to display their masculinity and femininity. From my vantage point of sitting in the back of the football and field-hockey buses, touring dorm rooms, listening to the words they used to describe each others' looks and sexuality, and listening to them discussing their academic and social pressures, competition, rumors, backstabbing, sex, and partying, I discovered that these boys and girls shared similar values, needs, and desires. Caught in the crossfire between cultural and institutional values of individuality, hierarchy and success, class and racial/ethnic differences, and society's expectations for gender appropriate behavior, these students faced conflicting pressures that affected both their social and academic success. This work provides insight into the costs of privilege as well as class, ethnic, and individual differences in the performance of gender. It reveals how the adolescent culture of this powerful group reflects and perpetuates larger cultural, institutional, class and ethnic values, gender ideals, and power structures, and ultimately exposes the underpinnings of the American character.
Barry Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199286690
- eISBN:
- 9780191604065
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199286698.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter examines other ways the Argument from Completeness might be attacked. It identifies two strategies that the realist might deploy in order to avoid the difficulties engendered by the ...
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This chapter examines other ways the Argument from Completeness might be attacked. It identifies two strategies that the realist might deploy in order to avoid the difficulties engendered by the applicability of the Completeness Theorem to the ideal theory. The first is to insist that the theory be cast in some non-first-order language which resists completeness. The second is to allow ideal theory to continue to be rendered in first-order form, but to argue for a semantics in which interpretations take such a new shape that there is no longer any guarantee that any consistent theory has a model in the new sense.Less
This chapter examines other ways the Argument from Completeness might be attacked. It identifies two strategies that the realist might deploy in order to avoid the difficulties engendered by the applicability of the Completeness Theorem to the ideal theory. The first is to insist that the theory be cast in some non-first-order language which resists completeness. The second is to allow ideal theory to continue to be rendered in first-order form, but to argue for a semantics in which interpretations take such a new shape that there is no longer any guarantee that any consistent theory has a model in the new sense.
Sean McKeever and Michael Ridge
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199290659
- eISBN:
- 9780191603617
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199290652.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter argues that there are reasons to try to codify the moral landscape, and that these reasons are recognizably moral. A proper understanding of the nature of historical moral progress ...
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This chapter argues that there are reasons to try to codify the moral landscape, and that these reasons are recognizably moral. A proper understanding of the nature of historical moral progress bolsters this argument. The task of codifying morality is best understood as a collective one. Like many collective tasks, it is most efficiently pursued with a suitable division of labor. The chapter defends some of the traditional notions of moral theory as aiming for deeper and more unifying explanations where they can plausibly be found.Less
This chapter argues that there are reasons to try to codify the moral landscape, and that these reasons are recognizably moral. A proper understanding of the nature of historical moral progress bolsters this argument. The task of codifying morality is best understood as a collective one. Like many collective tasks, it is most efficiently pursued with a suitable division of labor. The chapter defends some of the traditional notions of moral theory as aiming for deeper and more unifying explanations where they can plausibly be found.
