* INTRODUCTION This book seeks to add dimension to our understanding of Greek Skepticism by concentrating attention on a particular area that is of ...

This is an empirical phenomenological interview study into the experiences of professional actors as they create and perform roles for the stage. Prior research was inadequate for capturing actors’ changing life worlds over time. Analyzing the interviews using the descriptive phenomenological method yielded general structural descriptions and pointed to the relevance of Schütz’s description of multiple realities. Being cast in a role changes the pace and goals of actors’ everyday worlds and leads the actors intermittently and with intention to enter (...) other realities—fictional, theoretical, and/or pictorial. A province unique to acting is the drama world in which the actors live incarnate as their characters. The drama world is infused pre-reflectively with discoveries from other provinces of meaning, unfolds spontaneously, and, in performance, has the audience as horizon. The drama world and the experiences that give rise to it provide new material for comparative phenomenological analysis of various forms of imagining. (shrink)

A sample of 552 first year undergraduate students, attending a university-sector college in Wales specialising in teacher education and liberal arts subjects, completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator together with the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity. The data demonstrated that judging types held a more positive attitude toward Christianity than perceiving types. No significant differences in attitude toward Christianity were found between introverts and extraverts, between sensers and intuitives, or between thinkers and feelers.

The inconsistency between pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours, known as the “attitude-behaviour” gap, is exceptionally pronounced in scenarios associated with “green” choice. The current literature offers numerous explanations for the reasons behind the “attitude-behaviour” gap, however, the generalisability of these explanations is complex. In addition, the answer to the question of whether the gap occurs between attitudes and intentions, or intentions and behaviours is also unknown. In this study, we propose the moral dimension as a generalisable driver of the “attitude-behaviour” gap (...) and investigate its effectiveness in predicting attitudes, pro-environmental intentions and subsequent behaviours. We do so by using Hunt–Vitell’s moral philosophy-based framework of ethical decision-making, which conceptualises morality as the central decision-making parameter. The results from 557 US MTurk participants revealed that the manipulation of moral dimensions, specifically deontology and teleology, impacted ethical evaluation of presented dilemmas, however, failed to translate into subsequent intentions and behaviours. This finding suggests (i) that the moral dimension has an effect in shaping attitudes toward environmental issues, and (ii) that gap occurs between attitudes and intentions rather than intentions and behaviours. Further investigation of what strengthens and/or overrides the effects of the moral dimension would help understand the reasons why moral attitudes do not always translate into subsequent intentions and behaviours in the pro-environmental domain. (shrink)

This essay is a comparison between two ancient theories of language—the 5th century BCE Indian etymologist Yāska and the 4th century BCE Chinese philosopher Xunzi 荀子. Specifically, it is a reading of the theory of “the rectification of names” in Xunzi through the lens of Yāska. Xunzi is known for his view that humanity’s innate tendencies need to be shaped through education and ritual. Similarly, ancient Indian authors like Yāska understand that a person is created, or made, through the performance (...) of Vedic sacrifice. Both thinkers’ constructivist theories of language and meaning proceed from these ritual assumptions. However, Yāska would query Xunzi’s inherent distrust of multiple meanings of words and their negative effects on a functional state. Guided instead by a theory of the transcendence of Vedic language, Yāska would argue that the more one can proliferate possible meanings the more powerful a word becomes. (shrink)

Academic incivility can create divisiveness and affect learners’ sustainability towards degree attainment. Therefore, there is a need to empirically assess learner views on what constitutes academic incivility in higher education. To fill this gap, we developed the Incivility Indicators Instrument (i3), a multifaceted scale that measures the extent to which students view cumulative behaviors and dynamics as instances of academic incivility. To examine the reliability and factor structure of the i3, we conducted a two-part study with two samples of adults (...) in the United States who were enrolled in higher education programs. In study 1 (N = 342), we conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and found the initial three-factor structure. In study 2, we administered the instrument to a validating sample (N = 510) and examined the stability of the three-factor model and scores through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In this study, we describe the results of the study, provide implications, and discuss future directions. (shrink)

Backround Education in ethics and professionalism should reflect the realities medical students encounter in the hospital and clinic. Method We performed content analyses on Case Observation and Assessments (COAs) written by third-year medical students about ethical and professional issues encountered during their internal medicine and paediatrics clinical clerkships. Results A cohort of 141 third-year medical students wrote 272 COAs. Content analyses identified 35 subcategories of ethical and professional issues within 7 major domains: decisions regarding treatment (31.4%), communication (21.4%), professional duties (...) (18.4%), justice (9.8%), student-specific issues (5.4%), quality of care (3.8%), and miscellaneous (9.8%). Conclusions Students encountered a wide variety of ethical and professional issues that can be used to guide pre-clinical and clinical education. Comparison of our findings with results from similar studies suggests that the wording of an assignment (specifying “ethical” issues, “professional” issues, or both) may influence the kinds of issues students identify in their experience-based clinical narratives. (shrink)

In an adaptive clinical trial , key trial characteristics may be altered during the course of the trial according to predefined rules in response to information that accumulates within the trial itself. In addition to having distinguishing scientific features, adaptive trials also may involve ethical considerations that differ from more traditional randomized trials. Better understanding of clinical trial experts’ views about the ethical aspects of adaptive designs could assist those planning ACTs. Our aim was to elucidate the opinions of clinical (...) trial experts regarding their beliefs about ethical aspects of ACTs. (shrink)

While vaccination rates in the United States are high — generally over 90 percent — rates of exemptions have been going up, and preventable diseases coming back. Aside from their human cost and the financial cost of treatment imposed on those who become ill, outbreaks impose financial costs on an already burdened public health system, diverting resources from other areas. This article examines the financial costs of non-vaccination, showing how high they can be and what they include. It makes a (...) case for requiring those who do not vaccinate to cover the costs of outbreak caused by their choice. Such recouping is justified because the choice not to vaccinate can easily be seen as negligent. But even if it is not, that choice involves imposing costs on others, and there are good reasons to require the actors to internalize those costs. The article proposes alternative statutory and regulatory schemes to cover the costs imposed on the public purse, focusing on no-fault mechanisms. We consider both ex ante mechanisms like a tax or a fee that will go into a no-fault fund to cover the costs and ex post mechanisms like a statutory authorization for recoupment of those costs by health officials. (shrink)

Nurses’ experiences in, and the overall effectiveness of, widely used alternative‐to‐discipline programs to manage nurses’ substance‐use problems have not been adequately scrutinized. We uncovered the conflicted official and experiential ways of knowing one such alternative‐to‐discipline program in a Canadian province. We explicated this conflict through an institutional ethnography analysis. Ethnographic data from interviews with 12 nurses who were enrolled in an alternative‐to‐discipline treatment program and three program administrators, as well as institutional texts, were analyzed to explore how institutional practices and (...) power relations co‐ordinated and managed nurses’ experiences. Analysis revealed the acritical acceptance of a standardized program not based on current norms of practice. Potential and actual conflicts of interest, power imbalances, and prevailing corporate interests were rife. Nurses were not afforded the same rights to quality ethical health care as other citizens. ‘Expert’ physicians’ knowledge was privileged while nurses’ knowledge was subordinated. Conclusions were that regulatory bodies cannot rely on the taken‐for‐granted standardized treatment model in widespread use. Individualized treatment alternatives reflecting current, scientific evidence must be offered to nurses, and nurses’ knowledge, expertise, and experiences need to be included in decision‐making processes in these programs. (shrink)

Abstract. Over time scientists have developed an effective investigative process that includes the acceptance of particular basic presuppositions, methods, content, and theories. T he deeply held presuppositions are the philosophical foundation of scientific thought and do much to define the field’s worldview. These fundamental assumptions can be esoteric for many and can become a source of conflict when they are not commonly shared with other points of view. Such presuppositions affect the observations, the conclusions drawn, and the positions taken. Furthermore, (...) in some cases presuppositions in science have undergone important shifts in meaning, causing an increasing dissonance. We argue that disputes in religion and science often are due to these very basic differences in philosophy that are held by members in the different communities. To better understand the nature of science and its differences with religious views, presuppositions rather than conclusions should be articulated and examined for validity and scope of application. (shrink)

Disneyland is work disguised as play; school disguised as vacation. While Walt Disney’s curriculum deploys across all of its products, it literally engulfs the approximately 50 million ‘guests’ who visit the Disney Parks each year. Drawing on Sarah Ahmed’s phenomenological reading of orientation in Queer phenomenology, this article investigates the ways in which Disney’s didacticism is made material through practices and procedures designed to orient the park’s visitors, to ensure that those visitors always know where they are and who they (...) are, as a means of educating ‘good’ citizens. The argument focuses not on Disneyland’s narrative curriculum but on its corporeal one: visitors are enticed to make affective investments, to construct or reconstruct their identities to comply with the Disney version of the ideal American worker and consumer, as the park attempts to reorient those who resist those roles. (shrink)

How are individuals affected by their own self-interested unethical behavior? Although self-interested unethical behavior commonly occurs as people attempt to advantage themselves, we argue that this unethical behavior can have deleterious implications for individuals and their social relationships. We propose that engaging in self-interested unethical behavior is positively related to state paranoia—an aversive psychological state. In turn, the social cognitive biases underlying state paranoia can prompt people to misjudge the potential for social threat. This may motivate them to curtail coworker-directed (...) affiliative behavior, thereby inadvertently undermining their social relationships. Our predictions were supported across four studies, including a behavioral study in a controlled environment, a recall study, a field survey in a single organization, and a two-wave survey. Theoretical and practical implications include highlighting the importance of understanding the personal and social consequences of self-interested unethical behavior as well as the impact of state paranoia in the workplace. (shrink)

La province jésuite du Brésil est parcourue au début du XVIIe siècle par une série de tensions qui relèvent autant de son rapport à la société coloniale contemporaine que de ses relations avec le centre romain. À travers l'étude d'un document programmatique exceptionnel et original, dont l'auteur et la date de rédaction demeurent inconnus, les Advertências para a provincia do Brasil, on analyse l'inscription de l'entreprise missionnaire dans sa double dimension économicopolitique, avec l'engagement dans la production sucrière, et spirituelle, assurer (...) le salut du missionnaire et la conversion des Indiens. Ce projet, qui fait de l'a ldeia la structure déterminante de la présence et de l'action jésuites en terre de Brésil, révèle une vision globale de la mission, à la fois géopolitique, économique et religieuse que l'historiographie traditionnelle a occultée au profit d'une approche exclusivement spirituelle. (shrink)

La querelle du matérialisme fait figure d'un moment oublié de la vie intellectuelle européenne. Une enquête historique fait réémerger son impact majeur : philosophie, science, religion, politique s'y nouent en révélant des lignes de clivage à multiples facettes dans la société moderne en formation.

Background People who are at elevated risk of suicide stand to benefit from internet-based interventions; however, research in this area is likely impacted by a range of ethical and practical challenges. The aim of this study was to examine the ethical issues and practical barriers associated with clinical studies of internet-based interventions for suicide prevention. Method This was a mixed-methods study involving two phases. First, a systematic search was conducted to identify studies evaluating internet-based interventions for people at risk of (...) suicide, and information pertaining to safety protocols and exclusion criteria was extracted. Second, investigators on the included studies were invited to complete an online survey comprising open-ended and forced-choice responses. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyse the data. Results The literature search identified 18 eligible studies, of which three excluded participants based on severity of suicide risk. Half of the 15 suicide researchers who participated in the survey had experienced problems obtaining ethics approval, and none had encountered adverse events attributed to their intervention. Survey respondents noted the difficulty of managing risk in online environments and the limitations associated with implementing safety protocols, although some also reported increased confidence resulting from the ethical review process. Respondents recommended researchers pursue a collaborative relationship with their research ethics committees. Conclusion There is a balance to be achieved between the need to minimise the risk of adverse events whilst also ensuring interventions are being validated on populations who may be most likely to use and benefit from them. Further research is required to obtain the views of research ethics committees and research participants on these issues. Dialogue between researchers and ethics committees is necessary to address the need to ensure safety while also advancing the timely development of effective interventions in this critical area. (shrink)

L’article examine le rôle de l’interprétation dans la compréhension du sens d’un énoncé, selon une perspective contextualiste. Dans l’héritage des travaux inauguraux de Frege, de Wittgenstein et d’Austin, les principaux représentants du contextualisme – Charles Travis par excellence – soutiennent que la compréhension des critères qui fixent le sens des énoncés requiert un ancrage en contexte. Ces critères tiennent lieu de standard de correction de l’application des propriétés sémantiques. Mais dire que l’application des propriétés sémantiques d’un énoncé requiert la compréhension (...) des critères qui sont discriminants dans un contexte, est-ce pour autant affirmer que le locuteur interprète librement quel critère est pertinent et donc qu’il peut interpréter différemment le sens d’un même énoncé qu’un autre locuteur qui est dans la même situation ? Le premier enjeu de l’article est de montrer, à l’encontre de toute conception relativiste de la compréhension, que les critères du sens sont normés de manière conventionnelle et donc, qu’en contexte, il n’y a jamais qu’une interprétation possible des critères. L’interprétation est imposée par le contexte qui la norme. Dans ces conditions, cela a-t-il un sens de parler d’interprétation du sens de l’énoncé ? Le deuxième objectif du texte est d’examiner si, localement, la compréhension des énoncés du langage ordinaire peut cependant tolérer une, et donc plusieurs interprétations. L’article distingue alors deux processus : l’interprétation des signes du langage qui se justifie dès lors que les signes en question sont ambigus et l’interprétation du sens de l’énoncé qui s’impose dans un cas bien circonscrit, en cas d’absence ou du moins de méconnaissance du contexte. Il distingue alors plusieurs concepts d’ « interprétation » : l’interprétation qui consiste à substituer un symbole par un autre pour traduire un énoncé ambigu en langage ordinaire et l’interprétation qui ne se surajoute pas à la compréhension mais qui n’est autre que le processus de donation de sens lui-même et dont l’enjeu est exclusivement clarificateur. (shrink)

How should we make choices when we know so little about our futures? L. A. Paul argues that we must view life decisions as choices to make discoveries about the nature of experience. Her account of transformative experience holds that part of the value of living authentically is to experience our lives and preferences in whatever ways they evolve.

The menopause transition is associated with an increased risk of depressed mood. Preliminary evidence suggests that increased sensitivity to psychosocial stress, triggered by exaggerated perimenopausal estradiol fluctuation, may play a role. However, accurately quantifying estradiol fluctuation while minimizing participant burden has posed a methodological challenge in the field. The current pilot project aimed to test the feasibility of capturing perimenopausal estradiol fluctuation via 12 weekly measurements of estrone-3-glucuronide (E1G), a urinary metabolite of estradiol, using participant-collected urine samples in 15 euthymic (...) perimenopausal women ages 45-55 years. Furthermore, it aimed to correlate E1G fluctuation (standard deviation across the 12 E1G measurements) with weekly mood and cardiovascular, salivary cortisol, and subjective emotional responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) at weeks 4, 8 and 12. Protocol acceptability and adherence was high; furthermore, E1G fluctuation was positively associated with anhedonic depressive symptoms and weekly negative affect. E1G fluctuation was also associated with increased heart rate throughout the TSST as well as higher levels of rejection, anger, and sadness. E1G fluctuation was not significantly associated with TSST blood pressure or cortisol levels. This study suggests a feasible method of assessing estradiol fluctuation in the menopause transition and provides support for the hypothesis that perimenopausal estradiol fluctuation increases sensitivity to psychosocial stress and vulnerability to depressed mood. (shrink)

La province jésuite du Brésil est parcourue au début du XVIIe siècle par une série de tensions qui relèvent autant de son rapport à la société coloniale contemporaine que de ses relations avec le centre romain. À travers l'étude d'un document programmatique exceptionnel et original, dont l'auteur et la date de rédaction demeurent inconnus, les Advertências para a provincia do Brasil, on analyse l'inscription de l'entreprise missionnaire dans sa double dimension économicopolitique, avec l'engagement dans la production sucrière, et spirituelle, assurer (...) le salut du missionnaire et la conversion des Indiens. Ce projet, qui fait de l'a ldeia la structure déterminante de la présence et de l'action jésuites en terre de Brésil, révèle une vision globale de la mission, à la fois géopolitique, économique et religieuse que l'historiographie traditionnelle a occultée au profit d'une approche exclusivement spirituelle. (shrink)

Dans un contexte d'enchevêtrement des systèmes normatifs et de pluralisme juridictionnel, la question de l'autorité de la jurisprudence est centrale. Tantôt abordée comme un instrument normatif, tantôt comme une donnée purement factuelle, elle est toujours une variable inconstante. Entre la thèse de "l'autorité de la chose interprétée" et le concept de "dialogue des juges", il est difficile de parvenir à une conception unanime de l'influence que produit la jurisprudence. La thèse défendue systématise cet effet en limitant l'analyse à ce que (...) prescrivent les énoncés normatifs en vigueur. Partant du principe de déterminisme textuel, les juridictions sont prioritairement contraintes par les énoncés dispositionnels dont elles doivent faire application. Une part d'indétermination résulte néanmoins des spécificités de chaque contentieux, attachées aux questions litigieuses dont les juridictions sont saisies. La systématisation de l'effet que produit la jurisprudence repose sur deux critères essentiels : les normes et leurs modalités d'application. Sur ces fondements, la thèse propose de démontrer que la jurisprudence a valeur de preuve. La présence des deux critères susmentionnés conditionne les relations que les juridictions entretiennent. La jurisprudence produit ainsi un effet corroboratif. Ce dernier désigne le processus factuel par lequel l'interprétation délivrée par une juridiction est utilisée à des fins probatoires par une autre juridiction, en raison de l'analogie qu'elle établit. Le critère de l'analogie, entendu comme la "ressemblance de rapports" normatifs et factuels existant entre deux ou plusieurs litiges, constitue le lien essentiel à la réalisation des relations jurisprudentielles. L'étude s'attache à illustrer ce processus dans les rapports d'influence interprétative qu'entretiennent cinq juridictions : la Cour de justice, la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme, le Conseil constitutionnel français, la Cour de cassation et le Conseil d'Etat. L'effet corroboratif de la jurisprudence fournit une grille de lecture des relations jurisprudentielles, excluant toutes considérations extra-juridiques. (shrink)

En comparant les vues de Xénophon et de Platon sur la question délicate de l’oikos, nous espérons dégager certains éléments fondamentaux quant à leurs conceptions respectives de la nature des femmes et de leur rôle à jouer dans la société. Alors qu’homme et femme se révèlent tous deux indispensables à une bonne gestion de l’oikos chez Xénophon en vertu de leur complémentarité, l’oikos sera aboli dans la cité idéale élaborée par Platon afin de permettre aux meilleurs hommes comme aux meilleures (...) femmes de se consacrer entièrement au gouvernement. Notre analyse aspire ainsi à mettre en lumière la question, encore trop souvent oubliée, du statut des femmes dans la pensée de ces deux auteurs. (shrink)