Bennett W. Helm
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199567898
- eISBN:
- 9780191722387
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567898.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This Postscript reviews the discussions in the preceding chapters. It focuses on the individualist conception of persons, which has two central components: the egocentric conception of intimate ...
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This Postscript reviews the discussions in the preceding chapters. It focuses on the individualist conception of persons, which has two central components: the egocentric conception of intimate concerns, and the individualist conception of autonomy. It is argued that the justification for the account is the sense it is able to make overall of a variety of related phenomena. Providing this account of love and friendship provides explicit accounts of what it is to care about and value something for the sake of another person or agent, of the phenomenology of love and the place of the emotions within it, of the intimacy of love, of the rational role of loving parents in the enculturation of their children, of the nature of plural agents as distinct from plural intentional systems, and of a solution to the fungibility problem for both love and friendship in the context of an overall account of their value and justification.Less
This Postscript reviews the discussions in the preceding chapters. It focuses on the individualist conception of persons, which has two central components: the egocentric conception of intimate concerns, and the individualist conception of autonomy. It is argued that the justification for the account is the sense it is able to make overall of a variety of related phenomena. Providing this account of love and friendship provides explicit accounts of what it is to care about and value something for the sake of another person or agent, of the phenomenology of love and the place of the emotions within it, of the intimacy of love, of the rational role of loving parents in the enculturation of their children, of the nature of plural agents as distinct from plural intentional systems, and of a solution to the fungibility problem for both love and friendship in the context of an overall account of their value and justification.
Andrew Mason
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199264414
- eISBN:
- 9780191718489
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199264414.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Critics of responsibility-sensitive egalitarianism have often claimed that it is individualistic in an objectionable way. ‘Individualism’ is a slippery term that is employed in many different senses. ...
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Critics of responsibility-sensitive egalitarianism have often claimed that it is individualistic in an objectionable way. ‘Individualism’ is a slippery term that is employed in many different senses. This chapter distinguishes some of these different senses and explores the extent to which responsibility-sensitive egalitarianism counts as individualist in each of them, and it determines what problems it may face as a result.Less
Critics of responsibility-sensitive egalitarianism have often claimed that it is individualistic in an objectionable way. ‘Individualism’ is a slippery term that is employed in many different senses. This chapter distinguishes some of these different senses and explores the extent to which responsibility-sensitive egalitarianism counts as individualist in each of them, and it determines what problems it may face as a result.
Terry MacDonald
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199235001
- eISBN:
- 9780191715822
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199235001.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory, International Relations and Politics
This chapter challenges the widespread idea that legitimate social choice in global politics can be achieved solely through representation by nation-states — either as a means of aggregating ...
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This chapter challenges the widespread idea that legitimate social choice in global politics can be achieved solely through representation by nation-states — either as a means of aggregating individual preferences across territorial states, or as a means of conducting deliberative decision making among the cultural entities of ‘nations’. It begins by explaining that any representative democratic theory of legitimate social choice must be built upon two kinds of argument: an explication of and justification for the underlying normative conception of interest representation; and an explanation of how the proposed constituency boundaries can effectively enact the ideal of interest representation in practice. It then develops a critique of the conventional nation-state-based model of global representation, examining both some normative and practical justifications for this model that are based upon a ‘burkean’ model of interest representation and linked to the notion of a nation, and some alternative justifications that are based upon a liberal individualist model of interest representation and linked to the notion of a state. This analysis highlights several significant normative weaknesses of nation-state representation, and concludes accordingly that nation-state representation cannot alone achieve legitimate social choice in global politics.Less
This chapter challenges the widespread idea that legitimate social choice in global politics can be achieved solely through representation by nation-states — either as a means of aggregating individual preferences across territorial states, or as a means of conducting deliberative decision making among the cultural entities of ‘nations’. It begins by explaining that any representative democratic theory of legitimate social choice must be built upon two kinds of argument: an explication of and justification for the underlying normative conception of interest representation; and an explanation of how the proposed constituency boundaries can effectively enact the ideal of interest representation in practice. It then develops a critique of the conventional nation-state-based model of global representation, examining both some normative and practical justifications for this model that are based upon a ‘burkean’ model of interest representation and linked to the notion of a nation, and some alternative justifications that are based upon a liberal individualist model of interest representation and linked to the notion of a state. This analysis highlights several significant normative weaknesses of nation-state representation, and concludes accordingly that nation-state representation cannot alone achieve legitimate social choice in global politics.
Christopher Hood
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297659
- eISBN:
- 9780191599484
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297653.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
In the four chapters of Part II, public management ideas that loosely correspond to each of the four polar world views identified by cultural theory are discussed. Here, the cultural theory framework ...
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In the four chapters of Part II, public management ideas that loosely correspond to each of the four polar world views identified by cultural theory are discussed. Here, the cultural theory framework is mixed with a historical perspective to survey recurring approaches to public management that can be loosely characterized as hierarchist (Ch. 4), individualist (this chapter), egalitarian (Ch. 6), and fatalist (Ch. 7). What can loosely be called individualist approaches to public management start from the assumption that the world is populated by rational egoists who are bent on outsmarting one another to get something for nothing—rivalry and competition are central to the individualist view of what the world of public management is and should be like. The individualist bias embodies at least four basic propositions that contradict the underlying assumptions of hierarchism and of the egalitarian bias: first, an individualist bias does not automatically begin with a view of public management from the apex of the state, it rejects the viewpoint of the chancellory or presidential palace and is not disposed to examine public management in the context of power play among states, and instead is more predisposed to start bottom up; second, instead of assuming that the interests of the rulers and those of the ruled can go together in a positive‐sum game, an individualist bias is more likely to start from the assumption that rulers will tend to look after themselves at the expense of the ruled unless the institutions and incentive structures are very carefully engineered; third, instead of assuming that economic development and social order require hands on state administration guided by an enlightened technocratic elite, individualists will tend to assume that markets will ordinarily produce better results than bureaucratic hierarchies; and fourth, instead of assuming people that are only corrupted by evil institutions, individualists will tend to work on what Thomas Carlyle called the ‘pig principle’—the assumption that human beings, from the highest to the lowest, are inherently rational, calculative, opportunistic, and self‐seeking. These four assumptions taken together make a relatively coherent philosophy of institutional design for government; it is the first two assumptions that mainly distinguish the individualist bias in public management from the hierarchist approach considered in the last chapter, and the second two that mainly distinguish it from the egalitarian approach to be considered in the next.Less
In the four chapters of Part II, public management ideas that loosely correspond to each of the four polar world views identified by cultural theory are discussed. Here, the cultural theory framework is mixed with a historical perspective to survey recurring approaches to public management that can be loosely characterized as hierarchist (Ch. 4), individualist (this chapter), egalitarian (Ch. 6), and fatalist (Ch. 7). What can loosely be called individualist approaches to public management start from the assumption that the world is populated by rational egoists who are bent on outsmarting one another to get something for nothing—rivalry and competition are central to the individualist view of what the world of public management is and should be like. The individualist bias embodies at least four basic propositions that contradict the underlying assumptions of hierarchism and of the egalitarian bias: first, an individualist bias does not automatically begin with a view of public management from the apex of the state, it rejects the viewpoint of the chancellory or presidential palace and is not disposed to examine public management in the context of power play among states, and instead is more predisposed to start bottom up; second, instead of assuming that the interests of the rulers and those of the ruled can go together in a positive‐sum game, an individualist bias is more likely to start from the assumption that rulers will tend to look after themselves at the expense of the ruled unless the institutions and incentive structures are very carefully engineered; third, instead of assuming that economic development and social order require hands on state administration guided by an enlightened technocratic elite, individualists will tend to assume that markets will ordinarily produce better results than bureaucratic hierarchies; and fourth, instead of assuming people that are only corrupted by evil institutions, individualists will tend to work on what Thomas Carlyle called the ‘pig principle’—the assumption that human beings, from the highest to the lowest, are inherently rational, calculative, opportunistic, and self‐seeking. These four assumptions taken together make a relatively coherent philosophy of institutional design for government; it is the first two assumptions that mainly distinguish the individualist bias in public management from the hierarchist approach considered in the last chapter, and the second two that mainly distinguish it from the egalitarian approach to be considered in the next.
Emily Van Buskirk
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691166797
- eISBN:
- 9781400873777
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691166797.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
This chapter explains the concept of post-individualist prose as a pointed departure from nineteenth-century Realism. This is a fragmentary, documentary literature that restricts itself to the realm ...
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This chapter explains the concept of post-individualist prose as a pointed departure from nineteenth-century Realism. This is a fragmentary, documentary literature that restricts itself to the realm of “fact,” while being free to range outside the conventions of established genres. The post-individualist person's primary dilemma is a crisis in values, and Ginzburg treats writing as an ethical act. The chapter considers how writing serves as an “exit from the self,” a process by which the self becomes another, leaving behind the ego. It then turns to two of Ginzburg's narratives (“Delusion of the Will” and “A Story of Pity and Cruelty”), which concern the dilemmas of moral action in response to the death of a loved one. The traumatized subject uses techniques of “self-distancing” to deal with his or her sense of self and of the past by constructing a complete and responsible self-image, embedded within a social milieu, and then trying to connect it with his or her actions. Ginzburg's techniques of “self-distancing” are examined side-by-side with Shklovsky's concept of ostranenie (“estrangement”) and Bakhtin's vnenakhodimost' (“outsideness”).Less
This chapter explains the concept of post-individualist prose as a pointed departure from nineteenth-century Realism. This is a fragmentary, documentary literature that restricts itself to the realm of “fact,” while being free to range outside the conventions of established genres. The post-individualist person's primary dilemma is a crisis in values, and Ginzburg treats writing as an ethical act. The chapter considers how writing serves as an “exit from the self,” a process by which the self becomes another, leaving behind the ego. It then turns to two of Ginzburg's narratives (“Delusion of the Will” and “A Story of Pity and Cruelty”), which concern the dilemmas of moral action in response to the death of a loved one. The traumatized subject uses techniques of “self-distancing” to deal with his or her sense of self and of the past by constructing a complete and responsible self-image, embedded within a social milieu, and then trying to connect it with his or her actions. Ginzburg's techniques of “self-distancing” are examined side-by-side with Shklovsky's concept of ostranenie (“estrangement”) and Bakhtin's vnenakhodimost' (“outsideness”).
Christopher Gill
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198152682
- eISBN:
- 9780191710131
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198152682.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This chapter challenges the rather common view that Hellenistic-Roman thought shows a shift towards a more subjective and individualistic conception of self. It argues that this period expresses an ...
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This chapter challenges the rather common view that Hellenistic-Roman thought shows a shift towards a more subjective and individualistic conception of self. It argues that this period expresses an ‘objective-participant’ conception, like that of Classical Greece. The account of self-knowledge in Plato’s Alcibiades is offered as an illustration of Classical Greek objective-participant thinking about the self. The chapter contests the idea, maintained by some scholars, that we find a shift towards a more subjective conception of self in the Stoic theory of development as appropriation or in Epictetus’ Stoic teachings on practical ethics. It also questions the idea that we can find in ancient thought generally certain themes associated in modern thought with subjective conceptions of selfhood, especially that of the uniquely ‘first-personal’ viewpoint; this point is illustrated by reference to Cyrenaic and Sceptical thought about impressions.Less
This chapter challenges the rather common view that Hellenistic-Roman thought shows a shift towards a more subjective and individualistic conception of self. It argues that this period expresses an ‘objective-participant’ conception, like that of Classical Greece. The account of self-knowledge in Plato’s Alcibiades is offered as an illustration of Classical Greek objective-participant thinking about the self. The chapter contests the idea, maintained by some scholars, that we find a shift towards a more subjective conception of self in the Stoic theory of development as appropriation or in Epictetus’ Stoic teachings on practical ethics. It also questions the idea that we can find in ancient thought generally certain themes associated in modern thought with subjective conceptions of selfhood, especially that of the uniquely ‘first-personal’ viewpoint; this point is illustrated by reference to Cyrenaic and Sceptical thought about impressions.
Bhargava Rajeev
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198242796
- eISBN:
- 9780191680564
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198242796.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter discusses an introduction to the concept of methodological individualism. This is defined as the view in social science according to which all social phenomena must be accounted for in ...
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This chapter discusses an introduction to the concept of methodological individualism. This is defined as the view in social science according to which all social phenomena must be accounted for in terms of what individuals choose, think, and do. This view is considered true and trivial, and the debate between the individualists and non-individualists is considered futile.Less
This chapter discusses an introduction to the concept of methodological individualism. This is defined as the view in social science according to which all social phenomena must be accounted for in terms of what individuals choose, think, and do. This view is considered true and trivial, and the debate between the individualists and non-individualists is considered futile.
Nicholas Southwood
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199539659
- eISBN:
- 9780191594908
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199539659.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter aims to assess Kantian contractualism as an account of morality's foundations, focusing on the version advanced by T. M. Scanlon in What We Owe To Each Other. It begins by introducing ...
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This chapter aims to assess Kantian contractualism as an account of morality's foundations, focusing on the version advanced by T. M. Scanlon in What We Owe To Each Other. It begins by introducing the core ideas of justifiability to others; reasonableness; reasonable rejectability; personal reasons; the individualist restriction; and the motivational characterization of the contractors. It then argues that even if Scanlon's Kantian contractualism can satisfy the moral accuracy criterion, it fails to satisfy the explanatory adequacy criterion. This is not because the Kantian contractualist apparatus is epiphenomenal or redundant (the redundancy objection), as has often been argued, but because its reliance on a substantive theory of practical reason makes it susceptible to the charges of circularity (the circularity objection) and explanatory non-fundamentality (the non-fundamentality objection).Less
This chapter aims to assess Kantian contractualism as an account of morality's foundations, focusing on the version advanced by T. M. Scanlon in What We Owe To Each Other. It begins by introducing the core ideas of justifiability to others; reasonableness; reasonable rejectability; personal reasons; the individualist restriction; and the motivational characterization of the contractors. It then argues that even if Scanlon's Kantian contractualism can satisfy the moral accuracy criterion, it fails to satisfy the explanatory adequacy criterion. This is not because the Kantian contractualist apparatus is epiphenomenal or redundant (the redundancy objection), as has often been argued, but because its reliance on a substantive theory of practical reason makes it susceptible to the charges of circularity (the circularity objection) and explanatory non-fundamentality (the non-fundamentality objection).
Rajeev Bhargava
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198242796
- eISBN:
- 9780191680564
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198242796.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
The literature on methodological individualism is characterized by a widely held view that if the doctrine were stated with sufficient care it would be seen to be trivially true. This book questions ...
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The literature on methodological individualism is characterized by a widely held view that if the doctrine were stated with sufficient care it would be seen to be trivially true. This book questions this view. It begins by carefully disentangling the various formulations of the doctrine, identifies its most plausible version, and finally locates the principal assumption underlying it, namely that beliefs are attitudes individuated entirely in terms of what lies within the individual mind. The author argues that once this individualist assumption is challenged it is possible to rehabilitate a non-individualist methodology which permits a contextual study of beliefs and actions, and even a study of social context relatively independent of the beliefs and actions of individuals.Less
The literature on methodological individualism is characterized by a widely held view that if the doctrine were stated with sufficient care it would be seen to be trivially true. This book questions this view. It begins by carefully disentangling the various formulations of the doctrine, identifies its most plausible version, and finally locates the principal assumption underlying it, namely that beliefs are attitudes individuated entirely in terms of what lies within the individual mind. The author argues that once this individualist assumption is challenged it is possible to rehabilitate a non-individualist methodology which permits a contextual study of beliefs and actions, and even a study of social context relatively independent of the beliefs and actions of individuals.
Clare Palmer
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269526
- eISBN:
- 9780191683664
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269526.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Various utilitarian philosophers including Bentham have extended their ethical concern to human animals. Bentham drew attention to how concern is not determined by whether animals can reason or talk, ...
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Various utilitarian philosophers including Bentham have extended their ethical concern to human animals. Bentham drew attention to how concern is not determined by whether animals can reason or talk, but rather on whether they are capable of experiencing suffering. Several individualist consequentialist writers have also thought of considering the consequences that human actions have for animals in making ethical decisions. In this chapter, we look into the different approaches presented by Peter Singer, Donald VanDe Veer, and Robin Attfield — hedonistic and preference utilitarianism, two-factor egalitarianism, and practice-consequentialism. Encountering a variety of problems cannot be avoided in terms of individualist consequentialism in environmental ethics, and this chapter also looks into some of the possible difficulties in such processes.Less
Various utilitarian philosophers including Bentham have extended their ethical concern to human animals. Bentham drew attention to how concern is not determined by whether animals can reason or talk, but rather on whether they are capable of experiencing suffering. Several individualist consequentialist writers have also thought of considering the consequences that human actions have for animals in making ethical decisions. In this chapter, we look into the different approaches presented by Peter Singer, Donald VanDe Veer, and Robin Attfield — hedonistic and preference utilitarianism, two-factor egalitarianism, and practice-consequentialism. Encountering a variety of problems cannot be avoided in terms of individualist consequentialism in environmental ethics, and this chapter also looks into some of the possible difficulties in such processes.
Clare Palmer
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269526
- eISBN:
- 9780191683664
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269526.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Individualist deontological approaches to environmental ethics refer to that are used by ethicists that reject consequentialism and are called ‘individualist’ since ethical focus is given more to ...
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Individualist deontological approaches to environmental ethics refer to that are used by ethicists that reject consequentialism and are called ‘individualist’ since ethical focus is given more to individuals as compared to systems or collectives. However, as all these are opposed to consequentialism, it is important to note that some of these approaches are not necessarily against systemic or collectivist approaches as Regan and Goodpaster allow the possibility for systemic value. While L. Johnson affirms this notion, his work as also included here since in his works, ecological species and species are considered as individuals of some kind. We begin by looking into Schweitzer's work in which individual organisms are treated with equal value, then proceed to more recent developments in value hierarchy then comparing these with process thinking.Less
Individualist deontological approaches to environmental ethics refer to that are used by ethicists that reject consequentialism and are called ‘individualist’ since ethical focus is given more to individuals as compared to systems or collectives. However, as all these are opposed to consequentialism, it is important to note that some of these approaches are not necessarily against systemic or collectivist approaches as Regan and Goodpaster allow the possibility for systemic value. While L. Johnson affirms this notion, his work as also included here since in his works, ecological species and species are considered as individuals of some kind. We begin by looking into Schweitzer's work in which individual organisms are treated with equal value, then proceed to more recent developments in value hierarchy then comparing these with process thinking.
Clare Palmer
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269526
- eISBN:
- 9780191683664
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269526.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Contrary to the individualist approaches that were discussed in the previous chapters, some environmental ethicists have considered a collectivist approach. The two different approaches are not ...
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Contrary to the individualist approaches that were discussed in the previous chapters, some environmental ethicists have considered a collectivist approach. The two different approaches are not necessarily exclusive as there have been attempts to reconcile these, but these approaches are not without undeniable tensions. Since collectivist approaches attempt to achieve the good of the whole, they tend to be consequentialist. There are, however, several ways of determining the scale of the whole and what comprises the good for such a whole. Different philosophers have suggested several scales and putative goods that are influenced by the various uses of both Darwinian evolution and scientific ecology. In this chapter, we focus on the approaches advocated by Aldo Leopold and J. Baird Callicott.Less
Contrary to the individualist approaches that were discussed in the previous chapters, some environmental ethicists have considered a collectivist approach. The two different approaches are not necessarily exclusive as there have been attempts to reconcile these, but these approaches are not without undeniable tensions. Since collectivist approaches attempt to achieve the good of the whole, they tend to be consequentialist. There are, however, several ways of determining the scale of the whole and what comprises the good for such a whole. Different philosophers have suggested several scales and putative goods that are influenced by the various uses of both Darwinian evolution and scientific ecology. In this chapter, we focus on the approaches advocated by Aldo Leopold and J. Baird Callicott.
Nicholas Jardine
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198250395
- eISBN:
- 9780191681288
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198250395.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter begins by reviewing the main hypotheses about the factors responsible for setting and shifting scenes of inquiry. It notes two methodological issues that are vital in the development of ...
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This chapter begins by reviewing the main hypotheses about the factors responsible for setting and shifting scenes of inquiry. It notes two methodological issues that are vital in the development of a new historiography. The first concerns the proper level required for the analysis of scenes of inquiry in the sciences. The second problem is that of the roles to be assigned to individual agency, choice, and strategic deliberation in shifting and stabilizing scenes of inquiry. The chapter outlines a proposed programme for a new historiography of the sciences centred on the formation, transformation, and dissolution of scenes of inquiry, noting that such a historiography overcomes the opposition between internalist and externalist, intellectualist and praxis-oriented, individualist, and collectivist approaches.Less
This chapter begins by reviewing the main hypotheses about the factors responsible for setting and shifting scenes of inquiry. It notes two methodological issues that are vital in the development of a new historiography. The first concerns the proper level required for the analysis of scenes of inquiry in the sciences. The second problem is that of the roles to be assigned to individual agency, choice, and strategic deliberation in shifting and stabilizing scenes of inquiry. The chapter outlines a proposed programme for a new historiography of the sciences centred on the formation, transformation, and dissolution of scenes of inquiry, noting that such a historiography overcomes the opposition between internalist and externalist, intellectualist and praxis-oriented, individualist, and collectivist approaches.
Tamler Sommers
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691139937
- eISBN:
- 9781400840250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691139937.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter examines literature highlighting the differences between “individualist” societies (e.g., the United States, Great Britain, and Western Europe) and “collectivist societies” (e.g., Japan, ...
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This chapter examines literature highlighting the differences between “individualist” societies (e.g., the United States, Great Britain, and Western Europe) and “collectivist societies” (e.g., Japan, China, and South Korea). It surveys literature from a wide variety of disciplines, including anthropology, social psychology, cultural psychology, sociology, and classical literature. The overarching goal is to give the reader taste of how differently human beings have regarded moral responsibility across cultures and throughout history. It shows that the relative emphasis on shame leads East Asians to connect blameworthiness with social disapproval, and also to feel responsible for public acts over which they have little or no control. In the West, an increased emphasis on guilt makes it more likely that individuals will hold themselves responsible for both public and private misdeeds, but only for those that they played an active role in bringing about.Less
This chapter examines literature highlighting the differences between “individualist” societies (e.g., the United States, Great Britain, and Western Europe) and “collectivist societies” (e.g., Japan, China, and South Korea). It surveys literature from a wide variety of disciplines, including anthropology, social psychology, cultural psychology, sociology, and classical literature. The overarching goal is to give the reader taste of how differently human beings have regarded moral responsibility across cultures and throughout history. It shows that the relative emphasis on shame leads East Asians to connect blameworthiness with social disapproval, and also to feel responsible for public acts over which they have little or no control. In the West, an increased emphasis on guilt makes it more likely that individuals will hold themselves responsible for both public and private misdeeds, but only for those that they played an active role in bringing about.
Hugh Beale
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199593880
- eISBN:
- 9780191745362
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593880.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Law of Obligations
This chapter tries to determine whether English law is right to adopt an individualist attitude, or whether it should shift towards the German position, which is generally representative of most ...
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This chapter tries to determine whether English law is right to adopt an individualist attitude, or whether it should shift towards the German position, which is generally representative of most continental legal systems. It provides some background information on the ‘European’ principles of contract law, and then identifies the actual differences between ‘European’ and English laws. It also describes the provisions on mistake and non-disclosure of fact that are found in the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL). This chapter also discusses English and German cases related to the law on mistake and non-disclosure of fact.Less
This chapter tries to determine whether English law is right to adopt an individualist attitude, or whether it should shift towards the German position, which is generally representative of most continental legal systems. It provides some background information on the ‘European’ principles of contract law, and then identifies the actual differences between ‘European’ and English laws. It also describes the provisions on mistake and non-disclosure of fact that are found in the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL). This chapter also discusses English and German cases related to the law on mistake and non-disclosure of fact.
Rahul Kumar
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199753673
- eISBN:
- 9780199918829
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199753673.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Scanlon’s contractualism clearly places itself in opposition to all forms of consequentialism in rejecting the to reasoning about what we owe to one another of any considerations having to do with ...
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Scanlon’s contractualism clearly places itself in opposition to all forms of consequentialism in rejecting the to reasoning about what we owe to one another of any considerations having to do with aggregate value. The implications of doing so in some cases is very plausible, but in other cases it seems very implausible to deny the relevance of the numbers of persons who stand be burdened or benefitted. This has led some to argue that contractualism should be revised so as to relax its anti-aggregative strictures and allow that aggregative considerations can sometimes be relevant. In this paper, I argue that such a revision amounts to abandoning one of the animating ideas of the contractualist account, that what is central to morality is the maintenance of relationships based on mutual recognition with all others. Though this conclusion may seem in one way to damage contractualism, I argue, in the second part of the paper, that the account is in fact better able to make sense of the intuitive relevance in certain cases of the numbers than has been generally recognized.Less
Scanlon’s contractualism clearly places itself in opposition to all forms of consequentialism in rejecting the to reasoning about what we owe to one another of any considerations having to do with aggregate value. The implications of doing so in some cases is very plausible, but in other cases it seems very implausible to deny the relevance of the numbers of persons who stand be burdened or benefitted. This has led some to argue that contractualism should be revised so as to relax its anti-aggregative strictures and allow that aggregative considerations can sometimes be relevant. In this paper, I argue that such a revision amounts to abandoning one of the animating ideas of the contractualist account, that what is central to morality is the maintenance of relationships based on mutual recognition with all others. Though this conclusion may seem in one way to damage contractualism, I argue, in the second part of the paper, that the account is in fact better able to make sense of the intuitive relevance in certain cases of the numbers than has been generally recognized.
Douglas Kerr
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622099340
- eISBN:
- 9789882206892
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622099340.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
This chapter discusses the ways in which the East has been imagined in the figure of the crowd, by Western observers whose own difference literally singles them out. It focuses on the figure of ...
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This chapter discusses the ways in which the East has been imagined in the figure of the crowd, by Western observers whose own difference literally singles them out. It focuses on the figure of Conrad's Lord Jim, whom the author believes to be a rather compromised avatar of that heroic individualism that was one of the ways Western men were visible to themselves in the age of the empire. The author also views Lord Jim as both an example and a radical critique of the figure of the Western individualist and the Eastern crowd defined in relation to each other.Less
This chapter discusses the ways in which the East has been imagined in the figure of the crowd, by Western observers whose own difference literally singles them out. It focuses on the figure of Conrad's Lord Jim, whom the author believes to be a rather compromised avatar of that heroic individualism that was one of the ways Western men were visible to themselves in the age of the empire. The author also views Lord Jim as both an example and a radical critique of the figure of the Western individualist and the Eastern crowd defined in relation to each other.
Jules Townshen
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781853312137
- eISBN:
- 9780748671953
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781853312137.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter analyzes Macpherson's treatment of Hobbes. It discusses Macpherson's initial attempt to correlate Hobbes' thought with the rise of capitalism in 1945; Macpherson's interpretation of ...
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This chapter analyzes Macpherson's treatment of Hobbes. It discusses Macpherson's initial attempt to correlate Hobbes' thought with the rise of capitalism in 1945; Macpherson's interpretation of Hobbes as a possessive individualist; and criticisms against Macpherson's version of Hobbes. The avalanche of criticism dented Macpherson's hypothesis about Hobbes. The question is whether the hypothesis has become so unsustainable that it should be jettisoned, which is what critics were in effect implying. Critics were at their weakest when proposing the Macpherson characterized Hobbes as a protagonist of a rising bourgeois class. They ignored Macpherson's aim which was not primarily concerned with Hobbes' motives or intentions, but with identifying semi-conscious or unstated social assumptions and their implications. In particular he wanted to tease out the logic of what Hobbes was saying in order to understand his contribution to the possessive market model: if a universal competition of power is postulated, then for it to proceed peacefully, and for society to continue, a state must guarantee exchange.Less
This chapter analyzes Macpherson's treatment of Hobbes. It discusses Macpherson's initial attempt to correlate Hobbes' thought with the rise of capitalism in 1945; Macpherson's interpretation of Hobbes as a possessive individualist; and criticisms against Macpherson's version of Hobbes. The avalanche of criticism dented Macpherson's hypothesis about Hobbes. The question is whether the hypothesis has become so unsustainable that it should be jettisoned, which is what critics were in effect implying. Critics were at their weakest when proposing the Macpherson characterized Hobbes as a protagonist of a rising bourgeois class. They ignored Macpherson's aim which was not primarily concerned with Hobbes' motives or intentions, but with identifying semi-conscious or unstated social assumptions and their implications. In particular he wanted to tease out the logic of what Hobbes was saying in order to understand his contribution to the possessive market model: if a universal competition of power is postulated, then for it to proceed peacefully, and for society to continue, a state must guarantee exchange.
John Offer
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861345318
- eISBN:
- 9781447301455
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861345318.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
Drawing on recent historical research, the book reconsiders and challenges many long-held beliefs about the ‘evolution’ of social policy; presents a wide-ranging reappraisal of links between social ...
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Drawing on recent historical research, the book reconsiders and challenges many long-held beliefs about the ‘evolution’ of social policy; presents a wide-ranging reappraisal of links between social theories and changes in social policy; pays particular attention to the importance of idealist social thought as an intellectual framework for understanding the ‘welfare state’ and has a distinctive focus on the importance of ideas in the history of social policy. Different ideas about the means and aims of social policy suggested by individualists, idealists and Fabian Socialists are examined in depth and their impacts on the world of social policy reassessed. Special consideration is given to the history of ideas in relation to informal care and voluntary action, as well as action by the state. This book provides a valuable framework that exposes many of the assumptions about the nature of ‘welfare’ and its future direction.Less
Drawing on recent historical research, the book reconsiders and challenges many long-held beliefs about the ‘evolution’ of social policy; presents a wide-ranging reappraisal of links between social theories and changes in social policy; pays particular attention to the importance of idealist social thought as an intellectual framework for understanding the ‘welfare state’ and has a distinctive focus on the importance of ideas in the history of social policy. Different ideas about the means and aims of social policy suggested by individualists, idealists and Fabian Socialists are examined in depth and their impacts on the world of social policy reassessed. Special consideration is given to the history of ideas in relation to informal care and voluntary action, as well as action by the state. This book provides a valuable framework that exposes many of the assumptions about the nature of ‘welfare’ and its future direction.
Deaglán Ó Donghaile
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748640676
- eISBN:
- 9780748651689
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748640676.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This chapter discusses Blast, which is a journal where the individualist politics of anarchism were combined with an ‘exploding’ oppositional ideology of art and the radical politics of Vorticism. It ...
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This chapter discusses Blast, which is a journal where the individualist politics of anarchism were combined with an ‘exploding’ oppositional ideology of art and the radical politics of Vorticism. It begins by looking at the political and aesthetic radicalism of Vorticism. It then moves on to study Blast, which was designed to shock the aesthetic sensibilities of its readers and to create art out of ‘political activity’. The chapter also looks at the concepts of Futurism and Vorticist Individualism, and studies the end of individualism.Less
This chapter discusses Blast, which is a journal where the individualist politics of anarchism were combined with an ‘exploding’ oppositional ideology of art and the radical politics of Vorticism. It begins by looking at the political and aesthetic radicalism of Vorticism. It then moves on to study Blast, which was designed to shock the aesthetic sensibilities of its readers and to create art out of ‘political activity’. The chapter also looks at the concepts of Futurism and Vorticist Individualism, and studies the end of individualism.
