Maximilian de Gaynesford
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199287826
- eISBN:
- 9780191603570
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199287821.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
The central claim of this book is that I is a deictic term, like the other singular personal pronouns You and He/She. This is true of the logical character, inferential role, referential function, ...
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The central claim of this book is that I is a deictic term, like the other singular personal pronouns You and He/She. This is true of the logical character, inferential role, referential function, expressive use, and communicative role of all and only expressions used to formulate first-personal reference in any language. The first part of the book shows why the standard account of I as a ‘pure indexical’ (‘purism’) should be rejected. Purism requires three mutually supportive doctrines which turn out to be myths: a) that a simple rule is sufficient to give the meaning of I (‘rule theory’); b) that one can use I to express thoughts without having to identify what is being referred to (‘independence’); and c) that as a matter of the meaning of I, any use of the term is logically guaranteed against failure to refer (‘the guarantee’). The second part of the book shows why the radically new account of I should be endorsed as a deictic term. Substitution instances and the behaviour of I in inference reveal that it has an obligatorily deictic logical character and inferential role. I fulfils its referential function in the deictic way, providing determinacy of reference by making an individual referentially salient in the extra-sentential context. The discriminability of the referent of an I-use depends on recognizing the referentially salient individual. This is true of its discriminability both to the reference-maker and to the audience. So I has the expressive use and communicative role of a deictic term. The conclusion of the book directs research towards the next step, showing how the meaning of I may be used to elucidate the thoughts expressed by the term, and from there questions relating to self-knowledge, practical reasoning, belief-acquisition, and belief-ascription.Less
The central claim of this book is that I is a deictic term, like the other singular personal pronouns You and He/She. This is true of the logical character, inferential role, referential function, expressive use, and communicative role of all and only expressions used to formulate first-personal reference in any language. The first part of the book shows why the standard account of I as a ‘pure indexical’ (‘purism’) should be rejected. Purism requires three mutually supportive doctrines which turn out to be myths: a) that a simple rule is sufficient to give the meaning of I (‘rule theory’); b) that one can use I to express thoughts without having to identify what is being referred to (‘independence’); and c) that as a matter of the meaning of I, any use of the term is logically guaranteed against failure to refer (‘the guarantee’). The second part of the book shows why the radically new account of I should be endorsed as a deictic term. Substitution instances and the behaviour of I in inference reveal that it has an obligatorily deictic logical character and inferential role. I fulfils its referential function in the deictic way, providing determinacy of reference by making an individual referentially salient in the extra-sentential context. The discriminability of the referent of an I-use depends on recognizing the referentially salient individual. This is true of its discriminability both to the reference-maker and to the audience. So I has the expressive use and communicative role of a deictic term. The conclusion of the book directs research towards the next step, showing how the meaning of I may be used to elucidate the thoughts expressed by the term, and from there questions relating to self-knowledge, practical reasoning, belief-acquisition, and belief-ascription.
Peter J. Burke and Jan E. Stets
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195388275
- eISBN:
- 9780199943937
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388275.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Psychology and Interaction
The concept of identity has become widespread within the social and behavioral sciences in recent years, cutting across disciplines from psychiatry and psychology to political science and sociology. ...
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The concept of identity has become widespread within the social and behavioral sciences in recent years, cutting across disciplines from psychiatry and psychology to political science and sociology. All individuals claim particular identities given their roles in society, groups they belong to, and characteristics that describe themselves. Introduced almost thirty years ago, identity theory is a social psychological theory that attempts to understand identities, their sources in interaction and society, their processes of operation, and their consequences for interaction and society from a sociological perspective. This book describes identity theory, its origins, the research that supports it, and its future direction. It covers the relation between identity theory and other related theories, as well as the nature and operation of identities. In addition, the book discusses the multiple identities individuals hold from their multiple positions in society and organizations as well as the multiple identities activated by many people interacting in groups and organizations. Finally, it covers the manner in which identities offer both stability and change to individuals. Step by step, the book makes the full range of this powerful new theory understandable.Less
The concept of identity has become widespread within the social and behavioral sciences in recent years, cutting across disciplines from psychiatry and psychology to political science and sociology. All individuals claim particular identities given their roles in society, groups they belong to, and characteristics that describe themselves. Introduced almost thirty years ago, identity theory is a social psychological theory that attempts to understand identities, their sources in interaction and society, their processes of operation, and their consequences for interaction and society from a sociological perspective. This book describes identity theory, its origins, the research that supports it, and its future direction. It covers the relation between identity theory and other related theories, as well as the nature and operation of identities. In addition, the book discusses the multiple identities individuals hold from their multiple positions in society and organizations as well as the multiple identities activated by many people interacting in groups and organizations. Finally, it covers the manner in which identities offer both stability and change to individuals. Step by step, the book makes the full range of this powerful new theory understandable.
Paul M. Pietroski
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199244300
- eISBN:
- 9780191714153
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199244300.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
This book articulates and defends a simple conception of semantic composition: when two meaningful expressions are concatenated, the result is understood as a conjunction of monadic predicates; in ...
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This book articulates and defends a simple conception of semantic composition: when two meaningful expressions are concatenated, the result is understood as a conjunction of monadic predicates; in human languages, concatenation always signifies predicate conjunction. From this ‘Conjunctivist’ perspective, simple cases of adjunction (like ‘black cat’) are paradigms, and neo-Davidsonian event analyzes rightly associate certain grammatical relations with thematic roles. The sentence ‘Fido chased Garfield yesterday’ means, roughly, that something satisfies four conditions: its Agent was Fido, it was a chase, its Theme was Garfield, and it occurred yesterday. Such analyses, involving existential closure of a covert variable, are easily extended to examples involving negation and sentential connectives. This book contains four chapters. Chapter 1 compares elementary Conjunctivist proposals with ‘Functionist’ accounts according to which (i) predicate-argument concatenation signifies function-application, and (ii) adjuncts are accommodated by appeal to type-shifting or function-conjunction. Chapter 2 provides a Conjunctivist account of quantificational constructions, like ‘chased every cat’, in terms of a metalanguage with plural variables. This account is extended to plural noun phrases, as in ‘Three dogs chased the cats’; and this suggests a treatment of apparently nonconjunctive phrases like ‘big ants’. The resulting proposals — which explain the conservativity of determiners, and handle collective readings without quantifying over collections — are better than Functionist alternatives. Chapter 3 shows that Conjunctivism is superior to Functionism with regards to causative constructions, serial verbs, and many verbs that combine with complementizer phrases. Chapter 4 is a summary of conclusions, and discusses some difficulties facing all extant accounts of meaning.Less
This book articulates and defends a simple conception of semantic composition: when two meaningful expressions are concatenated, the result is understood as a conjunction of monadic predicates; in human languages, concatenation always signifies predicate conjunction. From this ‘Conjunctivist’ perspective, simple cases of adjunction (like ‘black cat’) are paradigms, and neo-Davidsonian event analyzes rightly associate certain grammatical relations with thematic roles. The sentence ‘Fido chased Garfield yesterday’ means, roughly, that something satisfies four conditions: its Agent was Fido, it was a chase, its Theme was Garfield, and it occurred yesterday. Such analyses, involving existential closure of a covert variable, are easily extended to examples involving negation and sentential connectives. This book contains four chapters. Chapter 1 compares elementary Conjunctivist proposals with ‘Functionist’ accounts according to which (i) predicate-argument concatenation signifies function-application, and (ii) adjuncts are accommodated by appeal to type-shifting or function-conjunction. Chapter 2 provides a Conjunctivist account of quantificational constructions, like ‘chased every cat’, in terms of a metalanguage with plural variables. This account is extended to plural noun phrases, as in ‘Three dogs chased the cats’; and this suggests a treatment of apparently nonconjunctive phrases like ‘big ants’. The resulting proposals — which explain the conservativity of determiners, and handle collective readings without quantifying over collections — are better than Functionist alternatives. Chapter 3 shows that Conjunctivism is superior to Functionism with regards to causative constructions, serial verbs, and many verbs that combine with complementizer phrases. Chapter 4 is a summary of conclusions, and discusses some difficulties facing all extant accounts of meaning.
Mark Connelly
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199278602
- eISBN:
- 9780191707056
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278602.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This book fully revises standard regimental history by establishing the framework and background to the regiment's role in the Great War. It tests the current theories about the British Army in the ...
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This book fully revises standard regimental history by establishing the framework and background to the regiment's role in the Great War. It tests the current theories about the British Army in the war and some of the conclusions of modern military historians. In recent years, a fascinating reassessment of the combat performance of the British Army in the Great War has stressed the fact that the British Army ascended a ‘learning curve’ during the conflict resulting in a modern military machine of awesome power. Research carried out thus far has been on a grand scale with very few examinations of smaller units. This study of the battalion of the Buffs has tested these theoretical ideas. The central questions addressed in this study are: the factors that dominated the officer-man relationship during the war; how identity and combat efficiency was maintained in the light of heavy casualties; the relative importance of individual characters to the efficiency of a battalion as opposed to the ‘managerial structures’ of the BEF; the importance of brigade and division to the performance of a battalion; the effective understanding and deployment of new weapons; the reactions of individual men to the trials of war; and the personal and private reactions of the soldiers' communities in Kent. This book adds a significant new chapter to our understanding of the British army on the Western Front, and the way its home community in East Kent reacted to experience. It reveals the way in which the regiment adjusted to the shock of modern warfare, and the bloody learning curve the Buffs ascended as they shared the British Expeditionary Force's march towards final victory.Less
This book fully revises standard regimental history by establishing the framework and background to the regiment's role in the Great War. It tests the current theories about the British Army in the war and some of the conclusions of modern military historians. In recent years, a fascinating reassessment of the combat performance of the British Army in the Great War has stressed the fact that the British Army ascended a ‘learning curve’ during the conflict resulting in a modern military machine of awesome power. Research carried out thus far has been on a grand scale with very few examinations of smaller units. This study of the battalion of the Buffs has tested these theoretical ideas. The central questions addressed in this study are: the factors that dominated the officer-man relationship during the war; how identity and combat efficiency was maintained in the light of heavy casualties; the relative importance of individual characters to the efficiency of a battalion as opposed to the ‘managerial structures’ of the BEF; the importance of brigade and division to the performance of a battalion; the effective understanding and deployment of new weapons; the reactions of individual men to the trials of war; and the personal and private reactions of the soldiers' communities in Kent. This book adds a significant new chapter to our understanding of the British army on the Western Front, and the way its home community in East Kent reacted to experience. It reveals the way in which the regiment adjusted to the shock of modern warfare, and the bloody learning curve the Buffs ascended as they shared the British Expeditionary Force's march towards final victory.
Theodore Scaltsas and Andrew S. Mason (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233076
- eISBN:
- 9780191716416
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233076.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus has been one of the most influential of ancient thinkers, both in antiquity itself and in modern times. This book includes ten chapters which discuss Epictetus' ...
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The Stoic philosopher Epictetus has been one of the most influential of ancient thinkers, both in antiquity itself and in modern times. This book includes ten chapters which discuss Epictetus' thought on a wide range of subjects, including ethics, logic, theology, and psychology. They explore his relations to his predecessors (including his two philosophical heroes, Socrates and Diogenes the Cynic, as well as the earlier Stoic tradition) and examine his influence on later thinkers. Topics which receive special attention include Epictetus' conception of philosophical education; his view of God, and of the philosopher's divine vocation; his distinctive conception of proairesis (will or rational decision), which is one of the most innovative features of his philosophy; and his theory of the different roles an individual can perform in life, and the different perspectives which they involve.Less
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus has been one of the most influential of ancient thinkers, both in antiquity itself and in modern times. This book includes ten chapters which discuss Epictetus' thought on a wide range of subjects, including ethics, logic, theology, and psychology. They explore his relations to his predecessors (including his two philosophical heroes, Socrates and Diogenes the Cynic, as well as the earlier Stoic tradition) and examine his influence on later thinkers. Topics which receive special attention include Epictetus' conception of philosophical education; his view of God, and of the philosopher's divine vocation; his distinctive conception of proairesis (will or rational decision), which is one of the most innovative features of his philosophy; and his theory of the different roles an individual can perform in life, and the different perspectives which they involve.
P. J. Marshall (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263945
- eISBN:
- 9780191734038
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263945.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
Volume 139 of the Proceedings of the British Academy contains thirteen lectures in the humanities and social sciences delivered at the British Academy in 2005. Subject matter ranges from ...
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Volume 139 of the Proceedings of the British Academy contains thirteen lectures in the humanities and social sciences delivered at the British Academy in 2005. Subject matter ranges from archaeological perspectives on the essence of being human to discussions of the UK's Monetary Policy Committee, the role of judges, and Dame Marilyn Strathern on ‘Useful Knowledge’.Less
Volume 139 of the Proceedings of the British Academy contains thirteen lectures in the humanities and social sciences delivered at the British Academy in 2005. Subject matter ranges from archaeological perspectives on the essence of being human to discussions of the UK's Monetary Policy Committee, the role of judges, and Dame Marilyn Strathern on ‘Useful Knowledge’.
Tracy Pintchman (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195177060
- eISBN:
- 9780199785438
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177060.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This book explores the relationship between ritual practices and the lives and activities of Hindu women beyond the ritual sphere. It presumes that Hindu women are deeply engaged and invested in the ...
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This book explores the relationship between ritual practices and the lives and activities of Hindu women beyond the ritual sphere. It presumes that Hindu women are deeply engaged and invested in the performance of religious practice. Rituals that take place in Sanskritic, Brahminical Hindu environments continue to be instituted and directed largely by Brahmin males, but women largely control many types of ritual practice that occur outside of such contexts, including many household, calendrical, and local devotional practices. Even in environments where Sanskritic traditions maintain a strong presence, women often sustain active ritual agendas and function as engaged actors in many types of ritual work. Indeed, in some parts of India, women are taking leadership roles in Sanskritic ritual performance. It is maintained that Hindu women's religious practices are not isolated from social, cultural, domestic, or larger religious roles or frames of meaning but tend to engage realms that transcend individual ritual contexts. This book is divided into two parts: “Engaging Domesticity” and “Beyond Domesticity”. The first part consists of five chapters that engage domestic and interpersonal values in relation to women's ritual practices that tend to expand the boundaries of normative domesticity. The five chapters in part II, “Beyond Domesticity”, similarly reveal the many ways that women's religious performances permeate diverse realms and breach borders. These chapters collectively take up a somewhat different challenge, however, exploring women's ritual practices outside the confines of strictly domestic contexts and contesting the impulse to link women's ritual performance primarily with domestic realms and concerns.Less
This book explores the relationship between ritual practices and the lives and activities of Hindu women beyond the ritual sphere. It presumes that Hindu women are deeply engaged and invested in the performance of religious practice. Rituals that take place in Sanskritic, Brahminical Hindu environments continue to be instituted and directed largely by Brahmin males, but women largely control many types of ritual practice that occur outside of such contexts, including many household, calendrical, and local devotional practices. Even in environments where Sanskritic traditions maintain a strong presence, women often sustain active ritual agendas and function as engaged actors in many types of ritual work. Indeed, in some parts of India, women are taking leadership roles in Sanskritic ritual performance. It is maintained that Hindu women's religious practices are not isolated from social, cultural, domestic, or larger religious roles or frames of meaning but tend to engage realms that transcend individual ritual contexts. This book is divided into two parts: “Engaging Domesticity” and “Beyond Domesticity”. The first part consists of five chapters that engage domestic and interpersonal values in relation to women's ritual practices that tend to expand the boundaries of normative domesticity. The five chapters in part II, “Beyond Domesticity”, similarly reveal the many ways that women's religious performances permeate diverse realms and breach borders. These chapters collectively take up a somewhat different challenge, however, exploring women's ritual practices outside the confines of strictly domestic contexts and contesting the impulse to link women's ritual performance primarily with domestic realms and concerns.
F. A. R. Bennion
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199564101
- eISBN:
- 9780191705465
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199564101.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This book is a distillation of a larger work Bennion on Statutory Interpretation. It consists of an introduction and eighteen chapters each summarized at the end. The common law system presented here ...
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This book is a distillation of a larger work Bennion on Statutory Interpretation. It consists of an introduction and eighteen chapters each summarized at the end. The common law system presented here is called the Global method both because it is worldwide and because it requires the interpreter to take every relevant consideration into account, including (under the doctrine of precedent) previous court decisions. The book starts by explaining what is meant by ‘common law legislation’. It then says that construing common law legislation has often been found difficult as an analytical concept, giving as the main reason deficiencies in legal education. One deficiency, still continuing, is to teach (mistakenly) that the interpretative criteria solely consist of the literal rule, the mischief rule, and the golden rule. The book aims to redress the deficiencies by presenting the issues briefly but correctly. There are a great many interpretative criteria, and where these conflict in a particular case there must be a judicial process of weighing and balancing. The criteria consist of four types: rules laid down by statute or common law, presumptions arising from the nature of legislation, principles of legal policy, and literary canons applying to all types of language. The book has a final chapter on techniques of ‘law handling’ or ‘law management’, which are central to any lawyer's or law student's functioning.Less
This book is a distillation of a larger work Bennion on Statutory Interpretation. It consists of an introduction and eighteen chapters each summarized at the end. The common law system presented here is called the Global method both because it is worldwide and because it requires the interpreter to take every relevant consideration into account, including (under the doctrine of precedent) previous court decisions. The book starts by explaining what is meant by ‘common law legislation’. It then says that construing common law legislation has often been found difficult as an analytical concept, giving as the main reason deficiencies in legal education. One deficiency, still continuing, is to teach (mistakenly) that the interpretative criteria solely consist of the literal rule, the mischief rule, and the golden rule. The book aims to redress the deficiencies by presenting the issues briefly but correctly. There are a great many interpretative criteria, and where these conflict in a particular case there must be a judicial process of weighing and balancing. The criteria consist of four types: rules laid down by statute or common law, presumptions arising from the nature of legislation, principles of legal policy, and literary canons applying to all types of language. The book has a final chapter on techniques of ‘law handling’ or ‘law management’, which are central to any lawyer's or law student's functioning.
Arad Reisberg
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199204892
- eISBN:
- 9780191709487
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199204892.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law
This chapter aims to analyse the theoretical rationales behind derivative actions, and to ask how they relate to our understanding of the social value and roles of the derivative action as a ...
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This chapter aims to analyse the theoretical rationales behind derivative actions, and to ask how they relate to our understanding of the social value and roles of the derivative action as a corporate governance tool. An initial analysis of the merits and demerits of the derivative action is presented in Section 2.2. Section 2.3 analyses the roles derivative actions may assume in enforcing corporate accountability. The question addressed is whether their purpose is primarily to deter misconduct or simply to compensate the company for the wrongdoing. As part of this, the possible benefits and limitations of these rationales will be explored. Finally, Section 2.4 examines the public image, or expressive value, of the derivative action. The purpose is to determine if some of the features inherent in the derivative action procedure enhance or detract from the understanding of derivative action as a positive social force.Less
This chapter aims to analyse the theoretical rationales behind derivative actions, and to ask how they relate to our understanding of the social value and roles of the derivative action as a corporate governance tool. An initial analysis of the merits and demerits of the derivative action is presented in Section 2.2. Section 2.3 analyses the roles derivative actions may assume in enforcing corporate accountability. The question addressed is whether their purpose is primarily to deter misconduct or simply to compensate the company for the wrongdoing. As part of this, the possible benefits and limitations of these rationales will be explored. Finally, Section 2.4 examines the public image, or expressive value, of the derivative action. The purpose is to determine if some of the features inherent in the derivative action procedure enhance or detract from the understanding of derivative action as a positive social force.
Jennifer Radden and John Sadler
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195389371
- eISBN:
- 9780199866328
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195389371.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, General
Drawing on the role morality developed in previous applications of virtue ethics to professional practice, The Virtuous Psychiatrist shows that the ethical practice of psychiatry depends on the ...
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Drawing on the role morality developed in previous applications of virtue ethics to professional practice, The Virtuous Psychiatrist shows that the ethical practice of psychiatry depends on the character of the practitioner. The book is built upon three key tenets: ethics is important to any professional practice, including psychiatry; the settings within which psychiatry is practiced impose ethical demands on its practitioners that are distinctive enough to warrant a separate analysis; and an emphasis on character and moral psychology in a virtue theory significantly augments our understanding of the ethical demands of psychiatric practice. In addition to the ethical guidelines imposed on every biomedical practice, the ethical practitioner should cultivate additional traits of character or virtues. These include gender sensitive virtues. Implicated in the normative presuppositions of psychiatric practice and lore, gender stands in for other such categories including race, class and ethnicity; it is also a factor at once unremittingly controversial, and inescapably tied to the self identity often at the heart of the therapeutic project. Virtues can and should be taught – that is, instilled, deepened and augmented. The setting where trainees are learning the ideals and responses of their particular professional role, it is emphasized, is where such virtues can be habituated, using pedagogical techniques associated with moral education, such as training in empathic emotions. Psychiatric training should address trainee's character alongside practice skills.Less
Drawing on the role morality developed in previous applications of virtue ethics to professional practice, The Virtuous Psychiatrist shows that the ethical practice of psychiatry depends on the character of the practitioner. The book is built upon three key tenets: ethics is important to any professional practice, including psychiatry; the settings within which psychiatry is practiced impose ethical demands on its practitioners that are distinctive enough to warrant a separate analysis; and an emphasis on character and moral psychology in a virtue theory significantly augments our understanding of the ethical demands of psychiatric practice. In addition to the ethical guidelines imposed on every biomedical practice, the ethical practitioner should cultivate additional traits of character or virtues. These include gender sensitive virtues. Implicated in the normative presuppositions of psychiatric practice and lore, gender stands in for other such categories including race, class and ethnicity; it is also a factor at once unremittingly controversial, and inescapably tied to the self identity often at the heart of the therapeutic project. Virtues can and should be taught – that is, instilled, deepened and augmented. The setting where trainees are learning the ideals and responses of their particular professional role, it is emphasized, is where such virtues can be habituated, using pedagogical techniques associated with moral education, such as training in empathic emotions. Psychiatric training should address trainee's character alongside practice skills.
David M. Armstrong
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199590612
- eISBN:
- 9780191723391
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199590612.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics/Epistemology
The hypothesis is that space‐time is what there is. W.V. Quine's ‘abstract objects’ are rejected. What exists should play some causal role (Graham Oddie's Eleatic Principle). The nature of space‐time ...
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The hypothesis is that space‐time is what there is. W.V. Quine's ‘abstract objects’ are rejected. What exists should play some causal role (Graham Oddie's Eleatic Principle). The nature of space‐time is subject to scientific investigation (Wilfrid Sellars' distinction between the manifest and the scientific image of the world). Is there room for metaphysics? Yes, because a number of topic neutral notions (of which causality is an important instance) are contested by philosophers and scientists. As argued by C.B. Martin, metaphysics seeks a more abstract model of the world than that provided by science.Less
The hypothesis is that space‐time is what there is. W.V. Quine's ‘abstract objects’ are rejected. What exists should play some causal role (Graham Oddie's Eleatic Principle). The nature of space‐time is subject to scientific investigation (Wilfrid Sellars' distinction between the manifest and the scientific image of the world). Is there room for metaphysics? Yes, because a number of topic neutral notions (of which causality is an important instance) are contested by philosophers and scientists. As argued by C.B. Martin, metaphysics seeks a more abstract model of the world than that provided by science.
Sarah M. Pike
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195177299
- eISBN:
- 9780199785537
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177299.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
New religious movements have typically emerged and thrived in times of social upheaval during which normative gender roles are challenged, such as in the United States during the industrializing ...
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New religious movements have typically emerged and thrived in times of social upheaval during which normative gender roles are challenged, such as in the United States during the industrializing mid-19th century and in the 1960s-1970s. New religions offer a range of roles for men and women that are shaped by a variety of different factors, including mythology, conceptions of deity, the role and teachings of the founder and leaders, and the demographic background of participants. Gender roles in NRMs include hierarchical models, role reversals, partnerships, and androgynous models. NRMs have typically experimented with alternative sex, marriage, and family structures, including celibacy, polygamy, and free love.Less
New religious movements have typically emerged and thrived in times of social upheaval during which normative gender roles are challenged, such as in the United States during the industrializing mid-19th century and in the 1960s-1970s. New religions offer a range of roles for men and women that are shaped by a variety of different factors, including mythology, conceptions of deity, the role and teachings of the founder and leaders, and the demographic background of participants. Gender roles in NRMs include hierarchical models, role reversals, partnerships, and androgynous models. NRMs have typically experimented with alternative sex, marriage, and family structures, including celibacy, polygamy, and free love.
Bernhard Wessels
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296614
- eISBN:
- 9780191600227
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296614.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter is the fifth of six on the question of political representation in the EU. It analyses to what extent institutional differences between the member‐states of the EU are constraining the ...
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This chapter is the fifth of six on the question of political representation in the EU. It analyses to what extent institutional differences between the member‐states of the EU are constraining the attitudes of representatives in respect of one major aspect—whom to represent; this is done by exploring the role orientations of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and comparing them with those of members of 11 national parliaments (MNPs). The first section of the chapter presents a brief conceptualization of representational roles by looking at general conclusions from previous research, and defining 5 representational foci in two dimensions: group specificity (party voters; specific (interest) groups) and regional scope (constituency; all people in the nation concerned; all people in Europe). The next section looks at the distributions of these five foci of representation across parliamentary levels (MEPs or MNPs) over the 15 member‐states of the EU; data are from the 1996 European Parliamentarians Study, and indicate striking differences between countries. The last (and largest) section of the chapter looks for explanations for these differences in foci of representation. These include personal factors (social background; political experience), institutional settings (the regional dimension—the relationship between role orientation, competitiveness and electoral systems; the group dimension—the relationship between role orientation and the encompassiveness and inclusiveness of interest group systems; and the European focus of representation in relation to the size and experience of a member‐state).Less
This chapter is the fifth of six on the question of political representation in the EU. It analyses to what extent institutional differences between the member‐states of the EU are constraining the attitudes of representatives in respect of one major aspect—whom to represent; this is done by exploring the role orientations of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and comparing them with those of members of 11 national parliaments (MNPs). The first section of the chapter presents a brief conceptualization of representational roles by looking at general conclusions from previous research, and defining 5 representational foci in two dimensions: group specificity (party voters; specific (interest) groups) and regional scope (constituency; all people in the nation concerned; all people in Europe). The next section looks at the distributions of these five foci of representation across parliamentary levels (MEPs or MNPs) over the 15 member‐states of the EU; data are from the 1996 European Parliamentarians Study, and indicate striking differences between countries. The last (and largest) section of the chapter looks for explanations for these differences in foci of representation. These include personal factors (social background; political experience), institutional settings (the regional dimension—the relationship between role orientation, competitiveness and electoral systems; the group dimension—the relationship between role orientation and the encompassiveness and inclusiveness of interest group systems; and the European focus of representation in relation to the size and experience of a member‐state).
Klaus H. Goetz
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294467
- eISBN:
- 9780191600067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294468.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This account of institutional change and positional differentiation of senior officials in Germany's Federal administration is presented in five sections. Section I, ‘Senior Officials and the ...
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This account of institutional change and positional differentiation of senior officials in Germany's Federal administration is presented in five sections. Section I, ‘Senior Officials and the Reassertion of Political Authority’, is introductory and discusses the causes and implications of change in the organization and in the political and administrative roles of the senior civil service; changes identified include party politicization, parliamentarization and federalization of the national policy process, modernization initiatives, European integration, and unification. Section II gives a brief survey of the Federal senior ministerial personnel (looking at pay grade and rank, and centrality), and section III considers paths to the top, paying particular attention to the procedures for recruitment and promotion and the consequences of weak formal structures for personnel planning and development. Following on from the definition of political craft as a defining attribute of effective top officials, section IV highlights the central position of political coordination units as training grounds in the Federal administration and comments on the informal positional differentiation that they encourage. The discussion concludes in section V with an assessment of the implications of the partition of the ministerial bureaucracy between Bonn and Berlin.Less
This account of institutional change and positional differentiation of senior officials in Germany's Federal administration is presented in five sections. Section I, ‘Senior Officials and the Reassertion of Political Authority’, is introductory and discusses the causes and implications of change in the organization and in the political and administrative roles of the senior civil service; changes identified include party politicization, parliamentarization and federalization of the national policy process, modernization initiatives, European integration, and unification. Section II gives a brief survey of the Federal senior ministerial personnel (looking at pay grade and rank, and centrality), and section III considers paths to the top, paying particular attention to the procedures for recruitment and promotion and the consequences of weak formal structures for personnel planning and development. Following on from the definition of political craft as a defining attribute of effective top officials, section IV highlights the central position of political coordination units as training grounds in the Federal administration and comments on the informal positional differentiation that they encourage. The discussion concludes in section V with an assessment of the implications of the partition of the ministerial bureaucracy between Bonn and Berlin.
Caroline Franks Davis
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198250012
- eISBN:
- 9780191681233
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198250012.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This book provides an assessment of the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious beliefs. Going further than an ‘argument from religious experience’, the inquiry systematically ...
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This book provides an assessment of the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious beliefs. Going further than an ‘argument from religious experience’, the inquiry systematically addresses underlying philosophical issues such as the role of interpretation in experience, the function of models and metaphors in religious language, and the way perceptual experiences in general are used as evidence for claims about the world. The book examines several arguments from religious experience and, using contemporary and classic sources from the world religions, gives an account of the different types of experience. To meet sceptical challenges to religious experience, the book draws extensively on psychological and sociological as well as philosophical and religious literature, probing deeply into questions such as whether religious experiences are merely a matter of interpretation, whether there is irreducible conflict among religious experiences, and whether psychological and other reductionist explanations of religious experience are satisfactory. The book concludes that religious experiences, like most experiences, are most effective as evidence within a cumulative style of argument which combines evidence from a wide range of sources.Less
This book provides an assessment of the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious beliefs. Going further than an ‘argument from religious experience’, the inquiry systematically addresses underlying philosophical issues such as the role of interpretation in experience, the function of models and metaphors in religious language, and the way perceptual experiences in general are used as evidence for claims about the world. The book examines several arguments from religious experience and, using contemporary and classic sources from the world religions, gives an account of the different types of experience. To meet sceptical challenges to religious experience, the book draws extensively on psychological and sociological as well as philosophical and religious literature, probing deeply into questions such as whether religious experiences are merely a matter of interpretation, whether there is irreducible conflict among religious experiences, and whether psychological and other reductionist explanations of religious experience are satisfactory. The book concludes that religious experiences, like most experiences, are most effective as evidence within a cumulative style of argument which combines evidence from a wide range of sources.
Hartley Dean
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199266722
- eISBN:
- 9780191601941
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266727.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
Focuses on the UK and argues that the Labour Government has had firm ideas about both how social provision should look, and what the state can and cannot do about it. It suggests further that there ...
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Focuses on the UK and argues that the Labour Government has had firm ideas about both how social provision should look, and what the state can and cannot do about it. It suggests further that there is a serious tension between ideas and principles informing policies and ideas about the role of the state, and that this tension signals a more fundamental conflict–present at the EU level also–between welfare ends and market means. The chapter illustrates these arguments with reference to the development of childcare policy in the UK.Less
Focuses on the UK and argues that the Labour Government has had firm ideas about both how social provision should look, and what the state can and cannot do about it. It suggests further that there is a serious tension between ideas and principles informing policies and ideas about the role of the state, and that this tension signals a more fundamental conflict–present at the EU level also–between welfare ends and market means. The chapter illustrates these arguments with reference to the development of childcare policy in the UK.
Barbara Freyer Stowasser
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195111484
- eISBN:
- 9780199853397
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195111484.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Islamic ideas about women and their role in society spark considerable debate both in the Western world and in the Islamic world itself. Despite the popular attention surrounding Middle Eastern ...
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Islamic ideas about women and their role in society spark considerable debate both in the Western world and in the Islamic world itself. Despite the popular attention surrounding Middle Eastern attitudes toward women, there has been little systematic study of the statements regarding women in the Qur'an. This book fills the void with a study on the women of Islamic sacred history. By telling their stories in Qur'an and interpretation, the book introduces Islamic doctrine and its past and present socio-economic and political applications. It establishes the link between the female figure as cultural symbol, and Islamic self-perceptions from the beginning to the present time.Less
Islamic ideas about women and their role in society spark considerable debate both in the Western world and in the Islamic world itself. Despite the popular attention surrounding Middle Eastern attitudes toward women, there has been little systematic study of the statements regarding women in the Qur'an. This book fills the void with a study on the women of Islamic sacred history. By telling their stories in Qur'an and interpretation, the book introduces Islamic doctrine and its past and present socio-economic and political applications. It establishes the link between the female figure as cultural symbol, and Islamic self-perceptions from the beginning to the present time.
Joan E Cashin
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195053449
- eISBN:
- 9780199853861
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195053449.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
The migration of planters' sons towards the Southwest has been one kind of dream derived from the aspiration to overcome the success of ancestors and elders, but with the transition of those who fled ...
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The migration of planters' sons towards the Southwest has been one kind of dream derived from the aspiration to overcome the success of ancestors and elders, but with the transition of those who fled in search of higher grounds came massive changes, not always good changes. Those who left the seaboard to establish their independence realized the importance of the family's resources in a volatile economy, as well as the things that kinship and similar relations could offer to help attain success. Over the years, a bad taste of independence gave some men in their new male role license to manipulate others. As for the planter women, migration was but a move towards looking back to the only life they had known. This book is a story of planter migration, the divisions between generations of planter men, their gender roles, family, and races in the seaboard and the Old Southwest.Less
The migration of planters' sons towards the Southwest has been one kind of dream derived from the aspiration to overcome the success of ancestors and elders, but with the transition of those who fled in search of higher grounds came massive changes, not always good changes. Those who left the seaboard to establish their independence realized the importance of the family's resources in a volatile economy, as well as the things that kinship and similar relations could offer to help attain success. Over the years, a bad taste of independence gave some men in their new male role license to manipulate others. As for the planter women, migration was but a move towards looking back to the only life they had known. This book is a story of planter migration, the divisions between generations of planter men, their gender roles, family, and races in the seaboard and the Old Southwest.
Gregg H. Rosenberg
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195168143
- eISBN:
- 9780199850075
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195168143.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
What place does consciousness have in the natural world? If we reject materialism, could there even be a credible alternative? In this book, the author addresses the causal role of consciousness in ...
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What place does consciousness have in the natural world? If we reject materialism, could there even be a credible alternative? In this book, the author addresses the causal role of consciousness in the world from an anti-physicalist perspective. Introducing a new paradigm called Liberal Naturalism, he offers a profound framework that proposes a deep link between consciousness and causation. Using this framework, he undercuts the logic of the historical debate and deflates the question of causality that physicalists have long been posing to anti-physicalists. Ultimately, he gives consciousness a causally important role without supposing either that it is physical or that it interacts with the physical.Less
What place does consciousness have in the natural world? If we reject materialism, could there even be a credible alternative? In this book, the author addresses the causal role of consciousness in the world from an anti-physicalist perspective. Introducing a new paradigm called Liberal Naturalism, he offers a profound framework that proposes a deep link between consciousness and causation. Using this framework, he undercuts the logic of the historical debate and deflates the question of causality that physicalists have long been posing to anti-physicalists. Ultimately, he gives consciousness a causally important role without supposing either that it is physical or that it interacts with the physical.
Helen Steward
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198250647
- eISBN:
- 9780191681318
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198250647.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This book puts forward a radical critique of the foundations of contemporary philosophy of mind, arguing that it relies too heavily on insecure assumptions about the nature of some of the sorts of ...
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This book puts forward a radical critique of the foundations of contemporary philosophy of mind, arguing that it relies too heavily on insecure assumptions about the nature of some of the sorts of mental entities it postulates: the nature of events, processes, and states. The book offers an investigation of these three categories, clarifying the distinction between them, and argues specifically that the assumption that states can be treated as particular, event-like entities has been a huge and serious mistake. The book argues that the category of token state should be rejected, and develops an alternative way of understanding those varieties of causal explanation which have sometimes been thought to require an ontology of token states for their elucidation. The book contends that many current theories of mind are rendered unintelligible once it is seen how these explanations really work. A number of prominent features of contemporary philosophy of mind token identity theories, the functionalists conception of causal role, a common form of argument for eliminative materialism, and the structure of the debate about the efficacy of mental content are impugned by the book's arguments. The book concludes that the modern mind-body problem needs to be substantially rethought.Less
This book puts forward a radical critique of the foundations of contemporary philosophy of mind, arguing that it relies too heavily on insecure assumptions about the nature of some of the sorts of mental entities it postulates: the nature of events, processes, and states. The book offers an investigation of these three categories, clarifying the distinction between them, and argues specifically that the assumption that states can be treated as particular, event-like entities has been a huge and serious mistake. The book argues that the category of token state should be rejected, and develops an alternative way of understanding those varieties of causal explanation which have sometimes been thought to require an ontology of token states for their elucidation. The book contends that many current theories of mind are rendered unintelligible once it is seen how these explanations really work. A number of prominent features of contemporary philosophy of mind token identity theories, the functionalists conception of causal role, a common form of argument for eliminative materialism, and the structure of the debate about the efficacy of mental content are impugned by the book's arguments. The book concludes that the modern mind-body problem needs to be substantially rethought.
