Jason Ralph
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199214310
- eISBN:
- 9780191706615
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199214310.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This book is among the first to address the issues raised by the International Criminal Court from an International Relations perspective. By clearly outlining a theoretical framework to interpret ...
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This book is among the first to address the issues raised by the International Criminal Court from an International Relations perspective. By clearly outlining a theoretical framework to interpret these issues, it makes a significant contribution to the English School's study of international society. More specifically, it offers a concise definition of ‘world society’ and thus helps to resolve a longstanding problem in international theory. This groundbreaking conceptual work is supported by an indepth empirical analysis of American opposition to the ICC. The book goes beyond the familiar arguments related to national interests and argues that the Court has exposed the extent to which American notions of accountability are tied to the nation‐state. Where other democracies are willing to renegotiate their social contract because they see themselves as part of world society, the US protects its particular contract with ‘the American people’ because it offers a means of distinguishing that nation and its democracy from the rest of the world. In opposing the ICC, therefore, the US seeks to defend a society of states because this kind of society can accommodate American exceptionalism and advance particular US interests. This ‘sovereigntist’, or more accurately ‘Americanist’, influence is further illustrated in chapters on the customary international law, universal jurisdiction, transatlantic relations and US policy on international humanitarian law in the war on terror. The book concludes by evoking E.H. Carr's criticism of those great powers who claim that a harmony exists between their particular interests and those of wider society. It also recalls his argument that great powers sometimes need to compromise and in this context it argues that support for the ICC is a more effective means of fulfilling America's purpose and a less costly sacrifice for the US to make than that demanded by the ‘Americanist’ policy of nation‐building.Less
This book is among the first to address the issues raised by the International Criminal Court from an International Relations perspective. By clearly outlining a theoretical framework to interpret these issues, it makes a significant contribution to the English School's study of international society. More specifically, it offers a concise definition of ‘world society’ and thus helps to resolve a longstanding problem in international theory. This groundbreaking conceptual work is supported by an indepth empirical analysis of American opposition to the ICC. The book goes beyond the familiar arguments related to national interests and argues that the Court has exposed the extent to which American notions of accountability are tied to the nation‐state. Where other democracies are willing to renegotiate their social contract because they see themselves as part of world society, the US protects its particular contract with ‘the American people’ because it offers a means of distinguishing that nation and its democracy from the rest of the world. In opposing the ICC, therefore, the US seeks to defend a society of states because this kind of society can accommodate American exceptionalism and advance particular US interests. This ‘sovereigntist’, or more accurately ‘Americanist’, influence is further illustrated in chapters on the customary international law, universal jurisdiction, transatlantic relations and US policy on international humanitarian law in the war on terror. The book concludes by evoking E.H. Carr's criticism of those great powers who claim that a harmony exists between their particular interests and those of wider society. It also recalls his argument that great powers sometimes need to compromise and in this context it argues that support for the ICC is a more effective means of fulfilling America's purpose and a less costly sacrifice for the US to make than that demanded by the ‘Americanist’ policy of nation‐building.
Andrews Reath
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199288830
- eISBN:
- 9780191603648
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199288836.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This book contains chapters on various features of Kant's moral psychology and moral theory, with particular emphasis on a conception of rational agency autonomy. The opening chapters explore ...
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This book contains chapters on various features of Kant's moral psychology and moral theory, with particular emphasis on a conception of rational agency autonomy. The opening chapters explore different elements of Kant's views about motivation, including an account of respect for morality as the distinctive moral motive and a view of the principle of happiness as a representation of the shared structure of non-moral choice. These chapters stress the unity of Kant's moral psychology by arguing that moral and non-moral considerations motivate in essentially the same way. Several of the chapters develop an original approach to Kant's conception of autonomy that emphasizes the political metaphors found throughout Kant's writings on ethics. They argue that autonomy is best interpreted not as a psychological capacity, but as a kind of sovereignty: in claiming that moral agents have autonomy, Kant regards them as a kind of sovereign legislator with the power to give moral law through their willing. The final chapters explore some of the implications of this conception of autonomy elsewhere in Kant's moral thought, arguing that his Formula of Universal Law uses this conception of autonomy to generate substantive moral principles and exploring the connection between Kantian self-legislation and duties to oneself.Less
This book contains chapters on various features of Kant's moral psychology and moral theory, with particular emphasis on a conception of rational agency autonomy. The opening chapters explore different elements of Kant's views about motivation, including an account of respect for morality as the distinctive moral motive and a view of the principle of happiness as a representation of the shared structure of non-moral choice. These chapters stress the unity of Kant's moral psychology by arguing that moral and non-moral considerations motivate in essentially the same way. Several of the chapters develop an original approach to Kant's conception of autonomy that emphasizes the political metaphors found throughout Kant's writings on ethics. They argue that autonomy is best interpreted not as a psychological capacity, but as a kind of sovereignty: in claiming that moral agents have autonomy, Kant regards them as a kind of sovereign legislator with the power to give moral law through their willing. The final chapters explore some of the implications of this conception of autonomy elsewhere in Kant's moral thought, arguing that his Formula of Universal Law uses this conception of autonomy to generate substantive moral principles and exploring the connection between Kantian self-legislation and duties to oneself.
Tim Maudlin
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199218219
- eISBN:
- 9780191711596
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199218219.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
What fundamental account of the world is implicit in physical theory? Physics straightforwardly postulates quarks and electrons, but what of the more intangible elements, such as laws of nature, ...
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What fundamental account of the world is implicit in physical theory? Physics straightforwardly postulates quarks and electrons, but what of the more intangible elements, such as laws of nature, universals, and the direction of time? Do they have a place in the physical structure of the world? This book argues that the ontology derived from physics takes a form quite different from those most commonly defended by philosophers. Physics postulates irreducible fundamental laws, eschews universals, does not require a fundamental notion of causation, and makes room for the passage of time. The book contains a series of linked essays in the form of chapters and through them it outlines an approach to metaphysics opposed to the Humean reductionism that motivates much analytical metaphysics.Less
What fundamental account of the world is implicit in physical theory? Physics straightforwardly postulates quarks and electrons, but what of the more intangible elements, such as laws of nature, universals, and the direction of time? Do they have a place in the physical structure of the world? This book argues that the ontology derived from physics takes a form quite different from those most commonly defended by philosophers. Physics postulates irreducible fundamental laws, eschews universals, does not require a fundamental notion of causation, and makes room for the passage of time. The book contains a series of linked essays in the form of chapters and through them it outlines an approach to metaphysics opposed to the Humean reductionism that motivates much analytical metaphysics.
Enoch Oladé Aboh
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195159905
- eISBN:
- 9780199788125
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195159905.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This book examines the syntax of the Niger-Conger language family, which includes most of the languages of sub-Saharan Africa. The book's author, who is a native speaker of Gungbe — one of the ...
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This book examines the syntax of the Niger-Conger language family, which includes most of the languages of sub-Saharan Africa. The book's author, who is a native speaker of Gungbe — one of the languages discussed — analyses different aspects of the syntax of the ‘Kwa’ language group. The book discusses how grammatical pictures for these languages can shed some light on Universal Grammar in general.Less
This book examines the syntax of the Niger-Conger language family, which includes most of the languages of sub-Saharan Africa. The book's author, who is a native speaker of Gungbe — one of the languages discussed — analyses different aspects of the syntax of the ‘Kwa’ language group. The book discusses how grammatical pictures for these languages can shed some light on Universal Grammar in general.
Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195149326
- eISBN:
- 9780199943975
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195149326.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
5.4 million Americans—one in every forty voting age adults—are denied the right to participate in democratic elections because of a past or current felony conviction. In several American states, one ...
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5.4 million Americans—one in every forty voting age adults—are denied the right to participate in democratic elections because of a past or current felony conviction. In several American states, one in four black men cannot vote due to a felony conviction. In a country that prides itself on universal suffrage, how did the United States come to deny a voice to such a large percentage of its citizenry? What are the consequences of large-scale disenfranchisement—both for election outcomes, and for public policy more generally? This book exposes one of the most important, yet little known, threats to the health of American democracy today. It reveals the centrality of racial factors in the origins of these laws, and their impact on politics today. Marshalling the first real empirical evidence on the issue to make a case for reform, this analysis informs all future policy and political debates on the laws governing the political rights of criminals.Less
5.4 million Americans—one in every forty voting age adults—are denied the right to participate in democratic elections because of a past or current felony conviction. In several American states, one in four black men cannot vote due to a felony conviction. In a country that prides itself on universal suffrage, how did the United States come to deny a voice to such a large percentage of its citizenry? What are the consequences of large-scale disenfranchisement—both for election outcomes, and for public policy more generally? This book exposes one of the most important, yet little known, threats to the health of American democracy today. It reveals the centrality of racial factors in the origins of these laws, and their impact on politics today. Marshalling the first real empirical evidence on the issue to make a case for reform, this analysis informs all future policy and political debates on the laws governing the political rights of criminals.
Derek Parfit
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199281688
- eISBN:
- 9780191603747
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199281688.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This essay considers the structure of the argument for duty in the Kantian context, in which it was most influentially formed. Kant notoriously argues that the supreme principle of morality must be ...
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This essay considers the structure of the argument for duty in the Kantian context, in which it was most influentially formed. Kant notoriously argues that the supreme principle of morality must be purely formal, by which he means that it does not direct us to act in order to achieve certain ends. Thus, any principle directed to the realization of certain ends must be merely hypothetical in character, and its motivational grounds subjective. It is shown that Kant overlooks a third possibility, namely, that there can be substantive categorical principles that objectively require us to realize certain ends regardless of our inclinations.Less
This essay considers the structure of the argument for duty in the Kantian context, in which it was most influentially formed. Kant notoriously argues that the supreme principle of morality must be purely formal, by which he means that it does not direct us to act in order to achieve certain ends. Thus, any principle directed to the realization of certain ends must be merely hypothetical in character, and its motivational grounds subjective. It is shown that Kant overlooks a third possibility, namely, that there can be substantive categorical principles that objectively require us to realize certain ends regardless of our inclinations.
Adele Goldberg
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199268511
- eISBN:
- 9780191708428
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199268511.003.0011
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Theoretical Linguistics
This chapter provides a brief summary of preceding chapters, observing that the constructionist approach directly undermines the need for biologically determined knowledge that is specific to ...
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This chapter provides a brief summary of preceding chapters, observing that the constructionist approach directly undermines the need for biologically determined knowledge that is specific to language (universal grammar). Generalizations are best described by analysing surface structure instead of positing an underlying level of representation (Chapter 2). The generalizations of language, like generalizations in other cognitive domains, are formed on the basis of instance-based knowledge that is retained (Chapter 3). Children are able to learn certain kinds of generalizations quite quickly, with skewed input like that commonly found in natural language playing a facilitory role (Chapter 4). Generalizations can be constrained by the indirect negative evidence children receive involving statistical preemption of non-occurring patterns (Chapter 5). Generalizations at the level of argument structure are made because they are useful, both in predicting meaning and in on-line production (Chapter 6). Classic island and scope phenomena can be accounted for by recognizing the discourse function of the constructions involved (Chapter 7). Generalizations that appear to be purely syntactic are at least sometimes better analysed in terms of constructions insofar as a patterns' distribution is typically conditioned by its functional role (Chapter 8). Cross-linguistic generalizations can be accounted for by appealing to pragmatic, cognitive, and processing facts that are independently required, without any stipulations that are specific to language (Chapter 9).Less
This chapter provides a brief summary of preceding chapters, observing that the constructionist approach directly undermines the need for biologically determined knowledge that is specific to language (universal grammar). Generalizations are best described by analysing surface structure instead of positing an underlying level of representation (Chapter 2). The generalizations of language, like generalizations in other cognitive domains, are formed on the basis of instance-based knowledge that is retained (Chapter 3). Children are able to learn certain kinds of generalizations quite quickly, with skewed input like that commonly found in natural language playing a facilitory role (Chapter 4). Generalizations can be constrained by the indirect negative evidence children receive involving statistical preemption of non-occurring patterns (Chapter 5). Generalizations at the level of argument structure are made because they are useful, both in predicting meaning and in on-line production (Chapter 6). Classic island and scope phenomena can be accounted for by recognizing the discourse function of the constructions involved (Chapter 7). Generalizations that appear to be purely syntactic are at least sometimes better analysed in terms of constructions insofar as a patterns' distribution is typically conditioned by its functional role (Chapter 8). Cross-linguistic generalizations can be accounted for by appealing to pragmatic, cognitive, and processing facts that are independently required, without any stipulations that are specific to language (Chapter 9).
Craig Speelman and Kim Kirsner
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198570417
- eISBN:
- 9780191708657
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198570417.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
For years now, learning has been at the heart of research within cognitive psychology. How do we acquire new knowledge and new skills? Are the principles underlying skill acquisition unique to ...
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For years now, learning has been at the heart of research within cognitive psychology. How do we acquire new knowledge and new skills? Are the principles underlying skill acquisition unique to learning, or similar to those underlying other behaviours? Is the mental system essentially modular, or is the mental system a simple product of experience, a product that, inevitably, reflects the shape of the external world with all of its specialisms and similarities? This book takes the view that learning is a major influence on the nature of the processes and representations that fill our minds. Throughout, the book reviews and considers the areas of skill acquisition and lexical representation to illustrate the effects that practice can have on cognitive processes. It also draws parallels between theories in physical and biological domains to propose not only a new theory of mental function, but also demonstrate that the mind is essentially subject to the same natural laws as the physical world. In so doing, this book presents a new perspective on psychology — one that identifies universal principles underlying all behaviours and one which contrasts markedly from the current focus on highly specific behaviours.Less
For years now, learning has been at the heart of research within cognitive psychology. How do we acquire new knowledge and new skills? Are the principles underlying skill acquisition unique to learning, or similar to those underlying other behaviours? Is the mental system essentially modular, or is the mental system a simple product of experience, a product that, inevitably, reflects the shape of the external world with all of its specialisms and similarities? This book takes the view that learning is a major influence on the nature of the processes and representations that fill our minds. Throughout, the book reviews and considers the areas of skill acquisition and lexical representation to illustrate the effects that practice can have on cognitive processes. It also draws parallels between theories in physical and biological domains to propose not only a new theory of mental function, but also demonstrate that the mind is essentially subject to the same natural laws as the physical world. In so doing, this book presents a new perspective on psychology — one that identifies universal principles underlying all behaviours and one which contrasts markedly from the current focus on highly specific behaviours.
Paul Crowther
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199579976
- eISBN:
- 9780191722615
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199579976.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics, History of Philosophy
This book explains the perceptual knowledge involved in aesthetic judgements. It does so by linking Kant's aesthetics to a critically upgraded account of his theory of knowledge. This upgraded theory ...
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This book explains the perceptual knowledge involved in aesthetic judgements. It does so by linking Kant's aesthetics to a critically upgraded account of his theory of knowledge. This upgraded theory emphasizes conceptual and imaginative structures, which Kant terms respectively, ‘categories’ and ‘schemata’. By describing examples of aesthetic judgement, it is shown that these judgements must involve categories and fundamental schemata (even though Kant himself, and most other commentators, have not fully appreciated the fact). It is argued, in turn, that this shows the aesthetic to be not just one kind of pleasurable experience amongst others, but one based on factors necessary to objective knowledge and personal identity, and one, indeed, which plays a role in how these capacities develop. The explanation of how individual aesthetic judgements claim universal validity, and the aesthetic basis of art, however, requires that the Kantian position is developed further. This is done by exploring his ideas concerning critical comparisons in the cultivation of taste, and art's relation to aesthetic ideas and genius. By linking earlier points to a more developed account of comparative critical factors, the Kantian approach offers a satisfying and comprehensive explanation of aesthetic experience and fine art. It is shown to also encompass some kinds of avant-garde work that were previously thought to limit its relevance.Less
This book explains the perceptual knowledge involved in aesthetic judgements. It does so by linking Kant's aesthetics to a critically upgraded account of his theory of knowledge. This upgraded theory emphasizes conceptual and imaginative structures, which Kant terms respectively, ‘categories’ and ‘schemata’. By describing examples of aesthetic judgement, it is shown that these judgements must involve categories and fundamental schemata (even though Kant himself, and most other commentators, have not fully appreciated the fact). It is argued, in turn, that this shows the aesthetic to be not just one kind of pleasurable experience amongst others, but one based on factors necessary to objective knowledge and personal identity, and one, indeed, which plays a role in how these capacities develop. The explanation of how individual aesthetic judgements claim universal validity, and the aesthetic basis of art, however, requires that the Kantian position is developed further. This is done by exploring his ideas concerning critical comparisons in the cultivation of taste, and art's relation to aesthetic ideas and genius. By linking earlier points to a more developed account of comparative critical factors, the Kantian approach offers a satisfying and comprehensive explanation of aesthetic experience and fine art. It is shown to also encompass some kinds of avant-garde work that were previously thought to limit its relevance.
Cathy Guiterrez
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195388350
- eISBN:
- 9780199866472
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388350.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book examines the legacy of European esoteric speculation, particularly Platonic ideals, as they are transformed on a new continent. Promoting knowledge rather than salvation as the path to ...
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This book examines the legacy of European esoteric speculation, particularly Platonic ideals, as they are transformed on a new continent. Promoting knowledge rather than salvation as the path to spiritual improvement, Neoplatonism met with a democratizing impulse in America, one that eschewed the binary destinies of heaven or hell and offered instead an afterlife for all peoples, races, and religions. Spiritualism represents the ultimate marriage of universal salvation and the pursuit of esoteric knowledge, as a new generation of Americans embraced a completely inclusive heaven. While scientific and frequently political progressivists, Spiritualists looked to the past for answers about the present, undercutting a march of time and betraying conflicting cultural ideals. While technological and medical innovations were hallmarks of a great future, Platonic and Renaissance articulations of the cosmos persisted and increased: humanity did not inhabit a degraded material world, but rather the universe was shot through with the divine. This work examines implicit and explicit expressions of time and progress as they intersect with Spiritualist cultural concerns—memory, technology, love, medicine, and finally nascent psychology. In each the author finds echoes of Plato, pulling time backward even as it marched toward a brighter future.Less
This book examines the legacy of European esoteric speculation, particularly Platonic ideals, as they are transformed on a new continent. Promoting knowledge rather than salvation as the path to spiritual improvement, Neoplatonism met with a democratizing impulse in America, one that eschewed the binary destinies of heaven or hell and offered instead an afterlife for all peoples, races, and religions. Spiritualism represents the ultimate marriage of universal salvation and the pursuit of esoteric knowledge, as a new generation of Americans embraced a completely inclusive heaven. While scientific and frequently political progressivists, Spiritualists looked to the past for answers about the present, undercutting a march of time and betraying conflicting cultural ideals. While technological and medical innovations were hallmarks of a great future, Platonic and Renaissance articulations of the cosmos persisted and increased: humanity did not inhabit a degraded material world, but rather the universe was shot through with the divine. This work examines implicit and explicit expressions of time and progress as they intersect with Spiritualist cultural concerns—memory, technology, love, medicine, and finally nascent psychology. In each the author finds echoes of Plato, pulling time backward even as it marched toward a brighter future.
Tom Greggs
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199560486
- eISBN:
- 9780191721533
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560486.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Theology
This book explores the dynamics of the Spirit and Son in the economy of salvation. It offers an interpretation of Barth and Origen around this theme, bringing them into a formative dialogue for a ...
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This book explores the dynamics of the Spirit and Son in the economy of salvation. It offers an interpretation of Barth and Origen around this theme, bringing them into a formative dialogue for a constructive theology of universal salvation. Examining Barth's doctrine of election and Origen's understanding of apokatastasis, the book proposes that a proper understanding of the eternal salvific plan of God in the person of Jesus Christ points towards universal salvation. However, salvation is not achieved through a general principle or rule; it is achieved through the very particularity of the Son in whom all humanity is saved. Further place for human particularity is established through the economy of the Spirit. Origen and Barth's economic pneumatologies indicate the reverse dynamic to that of their interpretation of the Son's economy: while the particularity of the Son has universal effects for all particulars, the universality of the Spirit particularizes that universal in individuals and communities in the present. However, this is in a manner which avoids a binary separation of Christians (as the saved) from all other humans (as the damned); instead, Christians are led into the ever greater depths of God, in a manner which allows God's Spirit to be present in diverse ways with humans and human communities in their temporal particularities. This dynamic of Spirit and Son in salvation allows for the place of faith, ongoing history, and community within a soteriological schema which offers a universal hope of salvation in Christ.Less
This book explores the dynamics of the Spirit and Son in the economy of salvation. It offers an interpretation of Barth and Origen around this theme, bringing them into a formative dialogue for a constructive theology of universal salvation. Examining Barth's doctrine of election and Origen's understanding of apokatastasis, the book proposes that a proper understanding of the eternal salvific plan of God in the person of Jesus Christ points towards universal salvation. However, salvation is not achieved through a general principle or rule; it is achieved through the very particularity of the Son in whom all humanity is saved. Further place for human particularity is established through the economy of the Spirit. Origen and Barth's economic pneumatologies indicate the reverse dynamic to that of their interpretation of the Son's economy: while the particularity of the Son has universal effects for all particulars, the universality of the Spirit particularizes that universal in individuals and communities in the present. However, this is in a manner which avoids a binary separation of Christians (as the saved) from all other humans (as the damned); instead, Christians are led into the ever greater depths of God, in a manner which allows God's Spirit to be present in diverse ways with humans and human communities in their temporal particularities. This dynamic of Spirit and Son in salvation allows for the place of faith, ongoing history, and community within a soteriological schema which offers a universal hope of salvation in Christ.
Daniel Engster
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199214358
- eISBN:
- 9780191706684
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199214358.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter explores the question: What does it mean to care for others in international relations? Sara Ruddick, Fiona Robinson, and others have outlined international relations theories based upon ...
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This chapter explores the question: What does it mean to care for others in international relations? Sara Ruddick, Fiona Robinson, and others have outlined international relations theories based upon care ethics, but their accounts are fairly general and say little about the rights and policies necessary for establishing caring relations among people across the world. The first half of this chapter develops a human rights framework based upon human beings' universal duty to care for others. The chapter argues that this framework avoids the central shortcomings of other international rights frameworks, and more generally provides a standard of justice that should be reasonably acceptable to people from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. The second half of the chapter outlines some specific strategies and policies for enforcing human rights abroad and caring for distant others. In the last section, the chapter discusses the conditions under which care theory might justify the use of military force, especially for the sake of intervening into other countries for humanitarian purposes.Less
This chapter explores the question: What does it mean to care for others in international relations? Sara Ruddick, Fiona Robinson, and others have outlined international relations theories based upon care ethics, but their accounts are fairly general and say little about the rights and policies necessary for establishing caring relations among people across the world. The first half of this chapter develops a human rights framework based upon human beings' universal duty to care for others. The chapter argues that this framework avoids the central shortcomings of other international rights frameworks, and more generally provides a standard of justice that should be reasonably acceptable to people from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. The second half of the chapter outlines some specific strategies and policies for enforcing human rights abroad and caring for distant others. In the last section, the chapter discusses the conditions under which care theory might justify the use of military force, especially for the sake of intervening into other countries for humanitarian purposes.
Helen Beebee and Julian Dodd (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199283569
- eISBN:
- 9780191712708
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199283569.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Philosophy of Language
Many contemporary metaphysicians and philosophers of language commit themselves to some version or other of the truthmaker principle: the thesis that truths must be made true by something. Such ...
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Many contemporary metaphysicians and philosophers of language commit themselves to some version or other of the truthmaker principle: the thesis that truths must be made true by something. Such truthmaker theorists have sought to justify their approach in various ways. Many have claimed that the truthmaker principle is a distillation of what is worth salvaging in the correspondence theory of truth; others have suggested that an adherence to the truthmaker principle enables us to avoid pernicious strains of idealism; yet others have argued that the principle has an essential explanatory function, such as that of enabling us to properly formulate the problem of universals. This volume sees both established leaders in the field and up-and-coming philosophical voices contribute to an examination of the claims made on behalf of truthmaker theory. An introductory essay by the editors introduces the reader to the key issues raised in the papers that follow. The said papers consider, amongst other matters, how the truthmaker principle is best formulated, whether it is well motivated, whether it genuinely has the explanatory roles claimed for it, and whether various more modest principles might serve equally well.Less
Many contemporary metaphysicians and philosophers of language commit themselves to some version or other of the truthmaker principle: the thesis that truths must be made true by something. Such truthmaker theorists have sought to justify their approach in various ways. Many have claimed that the truthmaker principle is a distillation of what is worth salvaging in the correspondence theory of truth; others have suggested that an adherence to the truthmaker principle enables us to avoid pernicious strains of idealism; yet others have argued that the principle has an essential explanatory function, such as that of enabling us to properly formulate the problem of universals. This volume sees both established leaders in the field and up-and-coming philosophical voices contribute to an examination of the claims made on behalf of truthmaker theory. An introductory essay by the editors introduces the reader to the key issues raised in the papers that follow. The said papers consider, amongst other matters, how the truthmaker principle is best formulated, whether it is well motivated, whether it genuinely has the explanatory roles claimed for it, and whether various more modest principles might serve equally well.
Lane Kenworthy
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199591527
- eISBN:
- 9780191731389
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199591527.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
One of the principal goals of antipoverty efforts should be to improve the absolute living standards of the least well-off. This book aims to enhance our understanding of how to do that, drawing on ...
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One of the principal goals of antipoverty efforts should be to improve the absolute living standards of the least well-off. This book aims to enhance our understanding of how to do that, drawing on the experiences of twenty affluent countries since the 1970s. The book addresses a set of questions at the heart of political economy and public policy: How much does economic growth help the poor? When and why does growth fail to trickle down? How can social policy help? Can a country have a sizeable low-wage sector yet few poor households? Are universal programs better than targeted ones? What role can public services play in antipoverty efforts? What is the best tax mix? Is more social spending better for the poor? If we commit to improvement in the absolute living standards of the least well-off, must we sacrifice other desirable outcomes?Less
One of the principal goals of antipoverty efforts should be to improve the absolute living standards of the least well-off. This book aims to enhance our understanding of how to do that, drawing on the experiences of twenty affluent countries since the 1970s. The book addresses a set of questions at the heart of political economy and public policy: How much does economic growth help the poor? When and why does growth fail to trickle down? How can social policy help? Can a country have a sizeable low-wage sector yet few poor households? Are universal programs better than targeted ones? What role can public services play in antipoverty efforts? What is the best tax mix? Is more social spending better for the poor? If we commit to improvement in the absolute living standards of the least well-off, must we sacrifice other desirable outcomes?
Simon Caney
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198293507
- eISBN:
- 9780191602337
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829350X.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Having argued, in Ch. 2, that there are universal moral values, the next logical step is to ask what these universal moral values are; this question is pursued in Chs 3 and 4, which consider ...
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Having argued, in Ch. 2, that there are universal moral values, the next logical step is to ask what these universal moral values are; this question is pursued in Chs 3 and 4, which consider arguments for two different types of universal value and link together to provide an analysis of what universal principles of justice should apply at the global level. This chapter examines claims that there are universal principles of civil and political justice, that is, those principles that specify what rights people have to what freedoms, and argues for universal human rights to certain civil and political liberties. It is arranged in 13 sections: Section I presents an analysis of human rights, since this term plays a central and important role in a plausible account of civil and political justice; Section II puts forward a general thesis about justifications for civil and political human rights; this is followed, in Sections III–VII, by an analysis of four cosmopolitan arguments for human rights that criticizes three of them but defends the fourth; Section VIII considers an alternative non-cosmopolitan approach to defending civil and political human rights, presented by John Rawls in The Law of Peoples (1999b); the next three sections (IX–XI) of the chapter explore misgivings about civil and political human rights, including the objections that such human rights are a species of imperialism and do not accord sufficient respect to cultural practices (IX), produce homogeneity/uniformity (X), and generate egoism/individualism and destroy community (XI); Section XII considers a further objection—the realist charges that foreign policy to protect civil and political human rights is in practice selective and partial and a cloak for the pursuit of the national interest. Section XIII summarizes the overall case made for civil and political justice.Less
Having argued, in Ch. 2, that there are universal moral values, the next logical step is to ask what these universal moral values are; this question is pursued in Chs 3 and 4, which consider arguments for two different types of universal value and link together to provide an analysis of what universal principles of justice should apply at the global level. This chapter examines claims that there are universal principles of civil and political justice, that is, those principles that specify what rights people have to what freedoms, and argues for universal human rights to certain civil and political liberties. It is arranged in 13 sections: Section I presents an analysis of human rights, since this term plays a central and important role in a plausible account of civil and political justice; Section II puts forward a general thesis about justifications for civil and political human rights; this is followed, in Sections III–VII, by an analysis of four cosmopolitan arguments for human rights that criticizes three of them but defends the fourth; Section VIII considers an alternative non-cosmopolitan approach to defending civil and political human rights, presented by John Rawls in The Law of Peoples (1999b); the next three sections (IX–XI) of the chapter explore misgivings about civil and political human rights, including the objections that such human rights are a species of imperialism and do not accord sufficient respect to cultural practices (IX), produce homogeneity/uniformity (X), and generate egoism/individualism and destroy community (XI); Section XII considers a further objection—the realist charges that foreign policy to protect civil and political human rights is in practice selective and partial and a cloak for the pursuit of the national interest. Section XIII summarizes the overall case made for civil and political justice.
John Heil
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199596201
- eISBN:
- 9780191741876
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199596201.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, General
This book offers answers to the following questions. What does reality encompass? Is reality exclusively physical? Or does reality include non‐physical — mental, and perhaps ‘abstract’ — aspects? ...
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This book offers answers to the following questions. What does reality encompass? Is reality exclusively physical? Or does reality include non‐physical — mental, and perhaps ‘abstract’ — aspects? What is it to be physical or mental — or to be an abstract entity? What are the elements of being, reality’s building blocks? How is the manifest image we inherit from our culture and refine in the special sciences related to the scientific image as we have it in fundamental physics? Can physics be understood as providing a ‘theory of everything’, or do the various sciences make up a hierarchy corresponding to autonomous levels of reality? Is our conscious human perspective on the universe in the universe or at its limits? What, if anything, makes ordinary truths, truths of the special sciences, and truths of mathematics true? And what is it for an assertion or judgment to be ‘made true’? Answers to these questions are framed in terms of a comprehensive ontology of substances and properties inspired by Descartes, Locke, their successors, and their more recent exemplars. Substances are simple, lacking parts that are themselves substances. Properties are modes (tropes), particular ways particular substances are, not universals. Arrangements of propertied substances serve as truthmakers for all the truths that have truthmakers. The deep story about the nature of these truthmakers is addressed by fundamental physics.Less
This book offers answers to the following questions. What does reality encompass? Is reality exclusively physical? Or does reality include non‐physical — mental, and perhaps ‘abstract’ — aspects? What is it to be physical or mental — or to be an abstract entity? What are the elements of being, reality’s building blocks? How is the manifest image we inherit from our culture and refine in the special sciences related to the scientific image as we have it in fundamental physics? Can physics be understood as providing a ‘theory of everything’, or do the various sciences make up a hierarchy corresponding to autonomous levels of reality? Is our conscious human perspective on the universe in the universe or at its limits? What, if anything, makes ordinary truths, truths of the special sciences, and truths of mathematics true? And what is it for an assertion or judgment to be ‘made true’? Answers to these questions are framed in terms of a comprehensive ontology of substances and properties inspired by Descartes, Locke, their successors, and their more recent exemplars. Substances are simple, lacking parts that are themselves substances. Properties are modes (tropes), particular ways particular substances are, not universals. Arrangements of propertied substances serve as truthmakers for all the truths that have truthmakers. The deep story about the nature of these truthmakers is addressed by fundamental physics.
Alexander Tsesis
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195379693
- eISBN:
- 9780199949847
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195379693.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This introductory chapter sets out the focus of the book, namely the various ways politicians, associations, groups, and individuals have relied on the Declaration of Independence to justify changing ...
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This introductory chapter sets out the focus of the book, namely the various ways politicians, associations, groups, and individuals have relied on the Declaration of Independence to justify changing policies, laws, and customs. The book's aim is to examine the evolving relevance of the Declaration of Independence. It attempts to uncover the extent to which the Declaration's readily recognizable statement about self-evident truths has influenced the course of history in the United States. It investigates whether the document's guarantee of equal liberty is substantive or merely ornamental. The humanitarian ideals on which the nation was founded have not always withstood the pressure of special interest groups. The document's message of universal freedoms nevertheless continues to be the national manifesto of representative democracy and fundamental rights.Less
This introductory chapter sets out the focus of the book, namely the various ways politicians, associations, groups, and individuals have relied on the Declaration of Independence to justify changing policies, laws, and customs. The book's aim is to examine the evolving relevance of the Declaration of Independence. It attempts to uncover the extent to which the Declaration's readily recognizable statement about self-evident truths has influenced the course of history in the United States. It investigates whether the document's guarantee of equal liberty is substantive or merely ornamental. The humanitarian ideals on which the nation was founded have not always withstood the pressure of special interest groups. The document's message of universal freedoms nevertheless continues to be the national manifesto of representative democracy and fundamental rights.
Alok Kumar and Sushanta K. Chatterjee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198082279
- eISBN:
- 9780199082063
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198082279.003.0016
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Protection of consumers’ interest is one of the key objectives of the Electricity Act, 2003 and it has been explicitly articulated in the preamble of the Act. The chapter explains in brief the ...
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Protection of consumers’ interest is one of the key objectives of the Electricity Act, 2003 and it has been explicitly articulated in the preamble of the Act. The chapter explains in brief the provisions of the Electricity Act and the policy regarding protection of consumers’ interest, for instance, universal service obligation, grievance handling mechanism, standards of performance, and consumer advocacy. Judicial pronouncements have also been relied upon to explain the context of some of these important provisions of the law and the policy.Less
Protection of consumers’ interest is one of the key objectives of the Electricity Act, 2003 and it has been explicitly articulated in the preamble of the Act. The chapter explains in brief the provisions of the Electricity Act and the policy regarding protection of consumers’ interest, for instance, universal service obligation, grievance handling mechanism, standards of performance, and consumer advocacy. Judicial pronouncements have also been relied upon to explain the context of some of these important provisions of the law and the policy.
D. M. Armstrong
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199590612
- eISBN:
- 9780191723391
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199590612.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This book tries to present in brief compass a metaphysical system, matured (as is hoped) over many years. By metaphysics is understood an account of the fundamental categories of being, such notions ...
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This book tries to present in brief compass a metaphysical system, matured (as is hoped) over many years. By metaphysics is understood an account of the fundamental categories of being, such notions as property, relation, causality. These notions are more abstract than the results of scientific inquiry, and are controversial among scientists as well as among philosophers. The book sprang from lectures given to graduate students, and has deliberately been kept at an informal level. It includes some explanations not required in a book for professional philosophers. The argument is developed in sixteen short chapters. It is argued that the world is a world of states of affairs, involving universals and particulars. The notion of finding suitable truthmakers for truths grows in importance as the book proceeds.Less
This book tries to present in brief compass a metaphysical system, matured (as is hoped) over many years. By metaphysics is understood an account of the fundamental categories of being, such notions as property, relation, causality. These notions are more abstract than the results of scientific inquiry, and are controversial among scientists as well as among philosophers. The book sprang from lectures given to graduate students, and has deliberately been kept at an informal level. It includes some explanations not required in a book for professional philosophers. The argument is developed in sixteen short chapters. It is argued that the world is a world of states of affairs, involving universals and particulars. The notion of finding suitable truthmakers for truths grows in importance as the book proceeds.
William J. Talbott
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195173482
- eISBN:
- 9780199872176
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195173482.003.0015
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter retraces the history of moral development to show how it is possible for us to have discovered a meta-theoretical principle of moral improvement, the main principle. The main principle ...
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This chapter retraces the history of moral development to show how it is possible for us to have discovered a meta-theoretical principle of moral improvement, the main principle. The main principle explains why guarantees of the fourteen human rights on the chapter’s list would be moral improvements in any human society. The fourteen rights on the chapter’s list include almost all of the rights in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also include a number of rights not in the UNUDHR. So the main principle helps to unify the rights in that document and points to future improvements. The chapter concludes with a reminder that the possibility of future moral improvement depends on there being lots of reasonable disagreement in the ongoing social process of the free give-and-take of opinion.Less
This chapter retraces the history of moral development to show how it is possible for us to have discovered a meta-theoretical principle of moral improvement, the main principle. The main principle explains why guarantees of the fourteen human rights on the chapter’s list would be moral improvements in any human society. The fourteen rights on the chapter’s list include almost all of the rights in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also include a number of rights not in the UNUDHR. So the main principle helps to unify the rights in that document and points to future improvements. The chapter concludes with a reminder that the possibility of future moral improvement depends on there being lots of reasonable disagreement in the ongoing social process of the free give-and-take of opinion.
