How do ordinary Muslims deal with and influence the increasingly pervasive Islamic norms set by institutions of the state and religion? Becoming Better Muslims offers an innovative account of the dynamic interactions between individual Muslims, religious authorities, and the state in Aceh, Indonesia. Relying on extensive historical and ethnographic research, David Kloos offers a detailed analysis of religious life in Aceh and an investigation into today's personal processes of ethical formation. Aceh is known for its history of rebellion (...) and its recent implementation of Islamic law. Debunking the stereotypical image of the Acehnese as inherently pious or fanatical, Kloos shows how Acehnese Muslims reflect consciously on their faith and often frame their religious lives in terms of gradual ethical improvement. Revealing that most Muslims view their lives through the prism of uncertainty, doubt, and imperfection, he argues that these senses of failure contribute strongly to how individuals try to become better Muslims. He also demonstrates that while religious authorities have encroached on believers and local communities, constraining them in their beliefs and practices, the same process has enabled ordinary Muslims to reflect on moral choices and dilemmas, and to shape the ways religious norms are enforced. Arguing that Islamic norms are carried out through daily negotiations and contestations rather than blind conformity, Becoming Better Muslims examines how ordinary people develop and exercise their religious agency. (shrink)

Here the philosopher and physicist David Z Albert argues, among other things, that the difference between past and future can be understood as a mechanical phenomenon of nature and that quantum mechanics makes it impossible to present the entirety of what can be said about the world as a narrative of “befores” and “afters.”.

I argue that (a) the phenomenon characteristic of pragmatic presupposition, is distinct from (b) the phenomenon characteristic of semantic presupposition, and that there are sentences exhibiting (a) alone. I apply this to Stalnaker's defense of van Fraassen's theory of semantic presupposition against Karttunen. I show that, since Stalmaker fails to distinguish (a) from (b), this defense amounts to an unsuccessful attempt to explain pragmatically the supposed instances of (b) in Karttunen's counter-examples. I observe that, given the distinction between (a) and (...) (b), we can salvage from Stalnaker the strategy of discounting certain of Karttunen's counter-examples which exhibit not (b) but merely (a). (shrink)

"An admirable accomplishment.... Roberts provides valuable insights into the current debate on the nature of historical knowledge in our present 'postmodern' time. Anyone concerned with the philosophy of history will need to reckon with this book."--Allan D. Megill, author of "Prophets of Extremity".

David Alexander has argued that “weak inferential internalism” (WII), a position which amounts to a qualified endorsement of Richard Fumerton’s controversial “principle of inferential justification,” is subject to a fatal dilemma: Either it collapses into externalism or it must make an arbitrary epistemic distinction between persons who believe the same proposition for the same reasons. In this paper, I argue that the dilemma is a false one, for weak inferential internalism does not entail internalism simpliciter. Indeed, WII is compatible (...) with modest externalism, and so is consistent with what Armstrong calls “Type II justification,” the rejection of which leads to the arbitrary epistemic distinctions to which he rightly objects. (shrink)

David Attfield; Is Religious Education Possible? A reply to Roger Marples, Journal of Philosophy of Education, Volume 12, Issue 1, 30 May 2006, Pages 93–97, htt.

This offering in Routledge's acclaimed History of Philosophy series completes the acclaimed 10-volume collection. This work explores the schools of thought that developed in the wake of Platonism through the time of Augustine. The 11 separately authored in-depth articles include: Aristotle the scientist-- David Furley, Princeton University; Aristotle: logic and metaphysics-- Alan Code, Ohio State University; Aristotle: aesthetics and philosophy of mind -- David Gallop, Trent University, Ontario; Aristotle: ethics and politics-- Stephen White, University of Texas at Austin; (...) The peripatetic school-- Robert Sharples, University College, London; Hellenistic science and mathematics-- Alan C. Bowen, Institute for Research in Classical Philosophy and Science, New Jersey; Epicureanism-- Philip Mitsis, Cornell University; Stoicism-- Brad Inwood, University of Toronto; Ancient skepticism-- Michael Frede, Keble College, Oxford; Neo-Platonism-- Eyjdfur Kjalar Emilsson, University of Iceland; Augustine-- G.J.P. O'Daly, University College London. Order the entire Routledge History of Philosophy series and save 10% off each volume! (shrink)

Get organizational results by nurturing commitment, integrity, and transparency. A healthy corporate culture is the secret to an organization's performance. The good news is that employees already embody the values needed to propel the organization to its goals, but institutional roadblocks get in the way. All too often leaders don't know how to diagnose their culture in order to clear these roadblocks to performance. The 3 Power Values presents a breakthrough model that permits leaders to measure and manage culture. To (...) create a fully aligned high-performing culture, leaders need only focus on nurturing three catalyst values: Commitment, Integrity, and Transparency. Offers an innovative values-centered model to help organizations achieve short-term goals without sacrificing long-run sustainability Filled with lively case studies of major companies including Johnson & Johnson and Boeing David Gebler is a recognized thought leader in the field of values-based ethics and culture risk management The 3 Power Values offers leaders at all levels a unique and accessible approach to identifying the behavioral challenges that are hindering their corporate culture and to removing them effectively. (shrink)

Zenão de Cítio, o fundador do Estoicismo, introduziu como critério de verdade a impressão cognitiva, definida como “a partir do que é”. Esse “a partir” veio a ser interpretado por estoicos posteriores como causal, mas argumenta-se aqui que o próprio Zenão concebeu-o antes em um sentido “representacional”..

In 1956, members of the Aristotelian Society found themselves treated (or subjected) to a talk entitled “A Plea for Excuses,” which formed the annual presidential address by the then incumbent, J. L. Austin. Now remembered chiefly as one of the clearest and briefest exemplars of ordinary language philosophy at work—an exciting new development back in the mid-nineteen-fifties—it actually set out to investigate the role ordinary language plays in delineating the boundaries of freedom and responsibility.1 Part of this exercise involved considering (...) the difference between doing something “by accident” and doing it “by mistake”—a subtle and often elusive distinction because, as Austin says, these expressions are mostly .. (shrink)

Although the truth value (falsity) of "Henry knows that (dogs live in trees and beavers chew wood)" remains unchanged no matter what sentence is substituted in it for "beavers chew wood", we want not to regard the second as a truth functional component (tfc) of the first. Many definitions of "tfc" (e.g., Quine's) fail to insure satisfaction of the following principle: if p is a component of r which is in turn a component of q, then p is a tfc (...) of q if and only if 1) p is also a tfc of r, and 2) r is also a tfc of q. (shrink)

My objective is to extend Ronald Green’s account of postmodernism by asking how postmodern ethicists should interview business people. I note the use of the interview method in current business ethics research. I then present Jeffrey Stout’s criticism of Robert Bellah’s interview techniques used in Habits of the Heart, which prompts questions about what constitutes a postmodern interview. In conclusion I seek clarification about whether and in what sense Ron Green intends to be a “foundationalist postmodern business ethicist.”.

This essay examines the concept of “wonder” in relation to the life of deafblind author and activist Helen Keller (1880–1968), who was often billed in popular media as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” For Keller, being known as a “wonder” was not always a positive attribute: the term, far from being neutral, conceals the uneven power dynamic between the one doing the wondering and the one who inspires the wonder. Using excerpts from a range of sources—from Keller’s second autobiography (...) _The World I Live in_ (1908) to hotelier Conrad Hilton’s autobiography _Be My Guest_ (1957)—the author argues that Keller was never a passive object of other people’s wonder but a proactive agent of her own wonder-making. In the end, Keller endured the burden of being known as the “Eighth Wonder” while also resisting its cumulative effects. (shrink)

Originally published in 1988, this book provides a comprehensive anthology in English of the major texts of German literary and aesthetic theory between Lessing ...

Abstract The recent proliferation of economically informed writings favoring market socialism exhibits dissonances in this evolving theoretical orientation. The ethical presuppositions of classical socialism have often been inherited by those who now embrace markets under socialism. But precisely because it accepts markets, market socialism may prove incompatible with these sentiments.

The theatrical device of the bed-trick occurs fifty-two times in forty-four plays during the English Renaissance.1 Just as in the first two plays employing it, Alphonsus, Emperor of Germany and Grim the Collier of Croyden, male characters arrange 60 percent of the bed-tricks used in gaining control over women. Shakespeare's heroines in All's Well That Ends Well and Measure for Measure, then, appear to mark a decisive break from the bed-trick's evolutionary pattern. Helen and Mariana, respectively, persevere in their endeavors (...) in spite of a male-dominant hierarchy. Yet, upon closer inspection, men are the ones who create the circumstances that prompt the necessity of using the device. They impose such... (shrink)

This is a précis of David Hunter’s On Believing: being right in a world of possibilities, which is the topic of an author-meets-critics symposium with comments by Daniel Drucker, Miriam Schleifer McCormick, and Mark Richard.

How is knowledge produced and used in cyberspace? David Hakken--a key figure in the anthropology of science and technology studies-approaches the study of cyberculture through the venue of knowledge production, drawing on critical theory from anthropology, philosophy and informatics (computer science) to examine how the character and social functions of knowledge change profoundly in computer--saturated environments. He looks at what informational technologies offer, how they are being employed, and how they are tied to various agendas and forms of power. (...) This book will be essential for both social scientists and cultural studies scholars doing research on cyberculture. (shrink)

Respuesta al comentario de Íñigo Ongay al debate sobre El animal divino.

Courant de pensée fréquemment assimilé à l'idéologie ultralibérale des startuppers et des magnats de la Silicon Valley, le transhumanisme fait depuis quelques années l'objet d'une franche controverse des deux côtés de l'Atlantique. Mais comme souvent, l'inflation d'une polémique sur la scène publique politise les débats et renforce les oppositions, au détriment du souci de la nuance, de la diversité des lectures et des angles d’analyse possibles d’un phénomène complexe. Car le transhumanisme est bien un phénomène complexe, irréductible à l’épouvantail de (...) paille que ses innombrables pompiers pyromanes en proposent, ou à l’image, bien souvent idéalisée, que ses promoteurs en dépeignent. Qu’il s’agisse – ou pas – de " l’idée la plus dangereuse du monde " (Francis Fukuyama), le présent ouvrage introduit de façon critique, pluridisciplinaire et multi-perspectives à la pluralité des voix, des acteurs, des questions, des idées et des visions qui font aujourd’hui scintiller ce courant de pensée. A n’en pas douter, le plus grand mérite du transhumanisme est de mettre ses critiques au défi de lui trouver des alternatives et de reprendre à nouveaux frais les questions les plus fondamentales qui nous hantent depuis l’aube de l’humanité : la vie, l’amour, la mort, la destinée humaine. L’ouvrage intéressera un public cultivé et lecteur. De portée philosophique, il est cependant accessible et conçu pour des non spécialistes. Il constituera notamment une ressource incontournable pour tout enseignement sur la thématique abordée. Cet ouvrage est le fruit du travail conduit, en collaboration avec l'Université de Namur, par la chaire Ethique, technologie et transhumanismes de l’Université catholique de Lille. A travers un séminaire annuel, l’organisation de nombreuses journées d’études et de deux colloques internationaux sur le sujet, la chaire s’est imposée comme la principale source d’expertise reconnue non seulement dans l’espace francophone mais aussi à l’échelle internationale. (shrink)