Why did Bernhard Riemann, arguably the most original mathematician of his generation, spend the last year of life investigating the mechanism of hearing? Fighting tuberculosis and the hostility of eminent scientists such as Hermann Helmholtz, he appeared to forsake mathematics to prosecute a case close to his heart. Only sketchy pages from his last paper remain, but here we assemble some significant clues and triangulate from them to build a broad picture of what he might have been driving at. Our (...) interpretation is that Riemann was a committed idealist and from this philosophical standpoint saw that the scientific enterprise was lame without the “poetry of hypothesis”. He believed that human thought was fundamentally the dynamics of “mind-masses” and that the human mind interpenetrated, and became part of, the microscopic physical domain of the cochlea. Therefore, a full description of hearing must necessarily include the perceptual dimensions of what he saw as a single manifold. The manifold contains all the psychophysical aspects of hearing, including the logarithmic transformations that arise from Fechner’s law, faithfully preserving all the subtle perceptual qualities of sound. For Riemann, hearing was a unitary physical and mental event, and parallels with modern ideas about consciousness and quantum biology are made. A unifying quantum mechanical model for an atom of consciousness—drawing on Riemann’s mind-masses and the similar “psychons” proposed by Eccles—is put forward. (shrink)

This paper examines the moral case for a right to religious accommodation, which requires that religious conduct be free of any serious burdens placed on it by the state. Two different types of normative argument for this right are outlined and rejected. The first appeals to religion as a ‘basic good’, and the second to religion as an ‘intense preference’. In place of these, I suggest that a third type of argument has greater prospects of success. Religious accommodation is justified (...) on the grounds that religious conduct is a ‘derivative good’— that is, it derives its value from its being necessary for something else, namely, the integrity of the religious person. (shrink)

In this paper we ask whether liberal egalitarians can endorse workfare policies that require that welfare recipients should work in return for their welfare benefits. In particular, we focus on the fairness-based case for workfare, which holds that people should be responsible for their own welfare since they would otherwise impose unfair costs on others. Two versions of the fairness-based case are considered: The first defends workfare on the grounds that it would form part of an unemployment insurance scheme that (...) individuals would endorse under certain hypothetical conditions that are salient for the purposes of determining just public policy. The second appeals to the notion of reciprocity in order to justify the requirement that people work for their benefits. We cast doubt on both of these arguments for workfare. Neither argument shows that the unconditional provision of welfare benefits is unjust; hence, the fairness case for workfare is inconclusive. (shrink)

Policies that shift the costs of higher education from the taxpayer to the university student or graduate are increasingly popular, yet they have not been subjected to a thorough normative analysis. This paper provides a critical survey of the standard arguments that have been used in the public debate on higher education funding. These arguments are found to be wanting. In their place, the paper offers a more systematic approach for dealing with the normative issues raised by the funding of (...) higher education. This approach is drawn from the political theory of John Rawls, whose view seeks to reconcile the values of equality, efficiency, and liberty. I show that, contrary to what we may think at first, an egalitarian approach like Rawls’ does not in principle rule out policies that shift the funding burden from taxpayers to students or graduates. Which funding policy that approach selects as most fair will instead depend on the likely impact on the lifetime income prospects of the worst-off group in society, and this is a question which will need to be settled by empirical evidence. (shrink)

This article develops the argument that the state must provide parental subsidies if, and to the extent that, individuals would, under certain specified hypothetical conditions, purchase ‘insurance cover’ that would provide the funds they need for adequate childrearing. I argue that most citizens would sign up to an insurance scheme, in which they receive a guarantee of a means-tested parental subsidy in return for an obligation to pay a progressive income tax to fund the scheme. This argument from insurance bolsters (...) the weaker case that proponents of parental subsidies might offer were they to rely exclusively on arguments from fair play and efficiency. (shrink)

This article examines how a just society must address the needs of its imprudent members. I defend compulsory insurance as an answer to this question. It has been assumed that compulsory insurance can only be justified on paternalistic grounds. I argue that this assumption is incorrect, and defend non-paternalistic compulsory insurance. To display the merits of NPCI, I identify a trilemma that arises for views about how to address the needs of the imprudent, including libertarian and so-called ‘ luck -egalitarian’ (...) views. I then suggest that NPCI enables us to escape the trilemma. (shrink)

The strengthening of intolerance and religious movements of various mass organisations after the 1998 reform in Indonesia caused social friction. The Ministry of Religious offers religious moderation as an essential aspect of the plurality of spiritual life. What is the concept and practice of religious moderation for each mass organisation? This research is qualitatively descriptive, with a sociological approach to religion. The concept of religious moderation of mass organisastions is different; they claim to understand the principle of wasathiyyah so that (...) it becomes a view of life that accepts religious differences outside themselves. Religious moderation is in the form of religious views, attitudes, and behaviours that balance the interests of life, the world and the hereafter, personal with the public, and others. There are four indicators of religious moderation: nationalism, tolerance, non-violence, and local cultural accommodation. MTA understands religious moderation based on two principles: not being self-righteous, and do not blame other groups; FPI departs from its vision, religious moderation over the spirit of ‘amar ma’ruf nahi munkar; LUIS sees religious moderation based on the principles of Islam as a religion of rahmatan lil’alamin, the implications for the balance of the relationship between habl min Allah; habl min an-nass and habl min al-’alam; and MMI understands religious moderation based on three aspects: Islam is a religion that is syumul and rahmatan li’alamin; religious moderation related to sharia enforcement; and religious moderation means that fulfillment of maqashid asy-syariah includes ushul al-khamsah: hifdz al-din, hifdz an-nafs, hifdz al-mal, hifdz al-’aql, and hifdz an-nasb. (shrink)

With a wealth of detail, this book traces the acceptance and rejection of Soren Kierkegaard's thought in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Engaging the reader with biographical sketches of Kierkegaard and his contemporaries, Habib Malik presents a fascinating historical narrative of the early reception of Kierkegaard's thought. At the center of this story is an exploration of how Kierkegaard's ideas moved from the relative obscurity of Copenhagen at the time of his death in 1855 to the center (...) of European intellectual culture in the mid-1920s. Receiving Soren Kierkegaard is the first serious attempt to chronicle the early "lost years" of Kierkegaard's intellectual legacy. It analyzes Kierkegaard's profound impact on the lives and thought of such figures as Orsted, Ibsen, Jacobsen, Brandes, Nietzsche, Dilthey, Unamuno, Joyce, Rilke, Kafka, Lukacs, and Kassner. (shrink)

Introduction Nursing shortages and turnover pose significant challenges for health organizations worldwide, driven by various organizational and individual factors. Ethical climate has emerged as a critical aspect influencing nurses' well-being and retention within healthcare settings, reflecting organizational practices with moral implications. Understanding the relationship between ethical climate and turnover intention among nurses is paramount for practitioners, managers, and policymakers. Aim This review aimed to examine evidence and synthesize findings from prior studies on the association between ethical climate and turnover intention (...) among nurses and identify key variables influencing its dynamics. Methods A scoping review methodology was employed, encompassing studies retrieved up to February 2024 from major scientific databases, including PUBMED/MEDLINE, WEB OF SCIENCE, SCOPUS, and SCIENCE DIRECT. This study was conducted following ethical considerations and sound scientific guidelines. Results Sixteen articles meeting the inclusion criteria were identified. Overall, a significant association between ethical climate and turnover intention was observed, with theoretical underpinnings demonstrated. Key variables frequently linked to both ethical climate and turnover intention included organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and moral distress, while organizational commitment, organizational cynicism, and organizational trust emerged as mediators. Conclusion Despite demonstrating a clear association, results underscore the necessity for replication studies, qualitative and longitudinal approaches, and standardized measurement. Enhancing the ethical climate through regular assessments, education, and interprofessional collaboration can improve retention. Future research should focus on theory building, ethical management and leadership, associated factors analysis, and intervention studies to develop comprehensive models and effective strategies for improving the ethical climate and reducing nurse turnover. (shrink)

While there has been much discussion of how the scientific establishment’s culture can engender research misconduct and scientific irreproducibility, this has been discussed much less frequently with respect to the medical profession. Here the authors posit that a lack of self-criticism, an encouragement of novel scientific research generated by the recruitment policies of the UK Royal Training Colleges along with insufficient training in the sciences are core reasons as to why research misconduct and dishonesty prevail within the medical community. Furthermore, (...) the UK General Medical Council’s own data demonstrates a historic inattentiveness to the ease with which doctors can engage in research misconduct. Suggestions are made as to how these issues can be investigated and alternative incentives for career advancement are adumbrated. (shrink)

Traditional libraries will evolve to digital libraries which are clearly superior at: Dissemination, sharing, linking, storing, and information variety. Therefore, one can say that electronic libraries have specific needs in terms of content, services and long-term preservation. In contrast, digital libraries suffer from several inherent constraints: storage limitation, performance, relevancy, decentralization, lack of semantic, fault tolerance, scalability. The main intention of this paper is to present a design of an integrated digital library system based on peer-to-peer data mining. This article (...) aims also to prove that peer-to-peer mining, an emerging branch of distributed data mining, is a hot research area well suited to overcome intrinsic problems of digital libraries. (shrink)

Le présent ouvrage propose d'articuler une réflexion autour de la Révélation, ce terme chargé d'étrangeté en référence aux oeuvres de Rosenzweig et Levinas. La Révélation y est abordée comme ce qui dérange, surprend et bouleverse, comme ce qui met en question en somme, bien davantage que comme une notion ou un concept fixe et figé une fois pour toutes, se laissant saisir dans et par une définition. Que disons-nous alors lorsque nous disons, pensons ou écrivons " la Révélation "? Qu'arrive-t-il (...) à la pensée lorsque " Révélation " vient à l'idée? (shrink)

Nous philosophons, psychanalysons et écrivons dans un monde. Il arrive qu'on l'oublie. On peut nommer politique l'inquiétude devant ce qui arrive dans le monde et au monde. A ce qui arrive au monde au nom du Califat, seul le politique peut faire réponse. Dans cette optique il s'agira de dégager le minimal du politique, en vue de sa relance. Apparaît alors une quasi synonymie entre psychanalyse et politique : l'une et l'autre ont en commun de faire avec l'impossible. Ni psychanalyse (...) appliquée, ni psychanalyse du politique, mais penser avec la psychanalyse, s'en servir, faire travailler ses notions, parler ses langues, l'altérer aussi, la déplacer. Arendt nous apprend que dès qu'il est question de langage, le politique est engagé. Mais dès qu'il est question de langage, c'est le vif de la psychanalyse qui est également mis en jeu. Nouage inextricable de la psychanalyse et du politique, donc. Si la psychanalyse ne sort pas de ses institutions, de ses dispositifs, et, partant, ne se mêle pas au politique, alors nous tenons qu'il n'y a pas de psychanalyse qui vaille une minute de peine. A la vérité, une psychanalyse qui n'est pas sollicitée par le monde et ne le sollicite pas en même temps ne peut encore s'appeler psychanalyse. (shrink)

It is thought that determining which methods and techniques are used by teachers to teach concepts, which is one of the important dimensions of religious teaching, will contribute to the science of religious education and practice of religious teaching. In this context, the problematic of the study is based on the question of the methods preferred by the Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge teachers in their concept teaching activities. Therefore, the aim of the study is to try to reveal the (...) qualities of the methods preferred by the Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge teachers in the concept teaching process with a descriptive perspective. To serve this purpose, a case study was preferred as one of the qualitative research methods in the methodology of the study, and 20 Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge teachers were selected in the study group with maximum variation sampling, which is one of the purposeful sampling methods. Since the study focused on teachers' opinions, a semi-structured interview technique is used as a data collection tool, and descriptive analysis method, envisaging coding of the data according to the pre-determined themes and titles in the context of the problematic of the study, has been preferred. As a result of the study, it has been observed that teachers preferred that supporting teaching methods such as story and game, induction in line with the approach of reaching definition with students, deducting from the definition. In addition, despite the teachers' attempts to enrich the concept teaching process and increase the quality of the process, it has been found that their knowledge and skills regarding concept teaching methods and techniques were not sufficient. (shrink)

Rafey Habib's book offers a comprehensive study of Eliot's philosophical writings and attempts to assess their impact on both his early poetry through 'The Waste Land' and the central concepts of his literary criticsm. Habib presents the first scholalrly analysis of Eliot's difficult unpublished papers on Kant and Bergson and establishes the nature of Eliot's connections with major figures in the Western philosophical tradition, including Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Hume, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Bradley and Russell. The Early T. S. (...) Eliot and Western Philosophy attempts to unravel the complex notions of irony underlying Eliot's poetry, arguing that these originate in his philosophical thinking and achieve persistent expression in his early aesthetics. This book offers close readings of Eliot's major poems and critical essays, shedding valuable light on his views on language, tradition, impersonality and emotion, and situating these in a broad aesthetic and philosophical context. (shrink)

According to the most influential contemporary reading of John Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration, his main argument against religious persecution is unsuccessful. That argument holds that coercion is ineffective as a means of instilling religious beliefs in its victims. I propose a different reading of the Letter. Locke's main consideration against persecution is not the unsuccessful belief-based argument just outlined, but what I call the sincerity argument. He believes that religious coercion is irrational because it is ineffective as a means of (...) inculcating the right intentions in people. Once this alternative argument is placed at its centre, the Letter is seen to be a more fertile source of political argument than is suggested by alternative readings. In particular, the sincerity argument gives us a powerful reason for rejecting state moral paternalism, the doctrine that the state may use coercion to make people morally virtuous. If moral virtue depends upon people having the right intentions, and if coercion is ineffective as a means of instilling the right intentions in people, then state moral paternalism is ineffective and hence irrational. (shrink)

This book provides a clear and nuanced appraisal of Hegel's treatment of Africa, India, and Islam, and of the implications of this treatment for postcolonial and global studies. Analyzing Hegel's master-slave dialectic and his views on Africa, India, and Islam, it situates these views not only within Hegel's historical scheme but also within a broader European philosophical context and the debates they have provoked within Hegel scholarship. Each chapter explores various in depth readings of Hegel by postcolonial critics, investigating both (...) the Eurocentric and potentially global nature of his dialectic. Ultimately, the book shows both where of this profoundly influential thinker archetypally embodies certain Eurocentric traits that have characterized modernity and how, ironically, he himself gives us the tools for working towards a more global vision. Offering a concise introduction not only to an important dimension of Hegel's thought - his orientation towards "empire" - but also to the various issues raised by postcolonial theory and global studies, this book will be of use to philosophers as well as advanced students of literary and cultural theory alike. (shrink)

One of the most distinctive features of Ronald Dworkin’s egalitarian theory is its commitment to holding individuals responsible for the costs to others of their ambitions. This commitment has received much criticism. Drawing on Dworkin’s latest statement of his position in Justice for Hedgehogs (2011), we suggest that it seems to be in tension with another crucial element of Dworkin’s own theory, namely, its endorsement of the importance of people leading authentic lives – lives that reflect their own values. We (...) examine this tension between responsibility and authenticity, and some strategies Dworkin does and could deploy to defuse it, which we think are unsuccessful. We then propose a solution for reconciling the demands of responsibility and authenticity, which is, so we claim, friendly to Dworkin’s fundamental commitments but which leads to a revisionist interpretation of the demands of equality of resources. (shrink)

Imāmiyya holds that the theory of imāmate must rely on scriptural evidence and designation and that the Imām, the successor to Muḥammad, is in charge of all political and religious issues. The authority of the Imām includes some religious and social duties such as executing the legal punishments, collecting almsgiving, sustaining social order and declaring holy war. The fulfillment of these duties requires actual leadership of the Imām or his deputy. With the beginning of the great occultation in 329/941, there (...) was an uncertainty among the Imāmiyya followers about who would uphold these responsibilities. In this period, Shīʿī ʿulamā began to undertake the duties of the Imām in order to overcome this uncertainty and to avoid the possible schism. In the beginning, this delegation of authority was limited to the religious sphere; but, later, its scope gradually became wider. This process of delegation of power, which covers a long process, needs to be examined in its various periods. In this study, this subject will be considered with special reference to the scholars of the fifth century of hijra (hijrī). An effort is made in this article to reveal how the issues of the Imām’s powers are discussed in the context of the problem of expanding or narrowing the authority of the scholars who played significant roles in systemization of Uṣūlī (rationalist) thought in the period after Shaykh al-Mufīd.Summary: In the issues of Imām/Caliphate which led to political division among Muslims after the Prophet Muḥammad, Imāmī Shīʿa opines that the Imāmate theory relies on scriptural evidence and designation. According to this theory, apart from scriptural evidence and designation, personal qualities such as immaculacy, knowledge, bravery, and vantage are found in Ali, Ḥasan, Ḥusayn and nine people from the lineage of Ḥusayn. The Imām as a successor to the Prophet Muḥammad is a person who has both religious and political power which includes implementation of punishments, collecting alms, ensuring justice, declaring holy war. For the Imāmī Shīʿa, there is a need for imām or his deputy who has absolute power to fulfill these duties.Imāmī Shīʿa, who held that the disappeared twelfth Imām would return back to restore justice in the world, had to confront various problems in finding solutions to some issues related to the existence of Imām himself, as well as theological issues during the period of great occultation. Particularly, the period of great occultation (329/941), in which the link with the Imām was severed completely, the Shīʿī community were uncertain on how to fulfill the responsibilities of the Imām probably due to the lack of religious sources. Shaykh al-Mufīd draws attention to the issue of khums (a one-fifth share of the spoils of war and of other specified forms of income). In this period of uncertainty, the Shiite scholars came into prominence in order to fill the gap and to prevent the social disorder. Referring to a tawqī‘ (rescript) from the Twelfth Imām, they claimed that they would take responsibility for the Twelfth Imām on his behalf. In the beginning, the delegation of the power was limited to the religious sphere. It was gradually extended to other spheres by the contribution of some scholars. It reached the largest dimension with the implementation of “wilāyat al-faqīh” theory.From that period until our times, the era when Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples lived can be considered as the beginning of this period. In the fifth century when Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples lived the delegation of power was limited to the religious sphere. In this article, how the scholars who played a role in the systematization of Uṣūlī thought dealt with the issue of the limits of the authority of Imām and how they defined the role of the Imāmī jurists (faqīh) will be examined.Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples were sometimes cautious on the issue of the delegation of the power of Imām. They, however, pointed out the role of the faqīh in the occultation period in order to overcome the uncertainty. As a matter of fact, Shaykh al-Ṭūsī and al-Qādī Ibn al-Barrāj made significant contributions to the issues of collection and distribution of khums. However, Sallār al-Daylamī’s contribution to the subject is more crucial. He considered khums as the grace of God and believed that it can be allocated by taking into account the share of the Imām. They put forward the views that explained in details the role of the faqīh in the collection and distribution of alms. Even Ibn al-Barrāj opined that in the absence of Imām and his deputy alms are to be allocated to the Faqihs on the ground that they know better how to distribute it. Therefore, in the absence of Imām and his deputy, by suggesting that faqīh must be in charge of collecting and distributing alms, they proposed a remedy in an early period.On the issue of leading the Friday prayer (ṣalāt al-jum‘a), which is one of the social duties of Imām, Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples considered the presence of the Imām or his deputy as a condition for a valid Friday prayer. In addition to this condition, Al-Ḥalabī, also added that a person who meets the necessary conditions can be also considered in leading Friday prayer. This addition by Ḥalabī was an important contribution to the solution of the problems encountered during the period of great occultation on both Friday prayer and delegation of Imām religious and political authorities to faqīh. On the other hand, Sallār, another disciple of Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, opposed the idea of the faqīh leading the Friday prayer in the absence of the Imām even when the necessary conditions are met. It can be said that this approach of Sallār led to the opinion of some Imāmis which considered Friday prayer unlawful in the absence of Imām. In the occultation period, Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples showed a cautious attitude about the implementation of the punishments. They argued that only Imām could implement the punishments. However, the major step was taken by Shaykh Ṭūsī on the issue of who implements the punishments in the occultation period. He argued that the Imām’s designated the faqihs to implement the punishments. In addition to this subject, Shiite scholars discussed the issue of whether a Shiite officer under the reigning rule in the occultation period implemented the punishments. On this issue, Sharīf al-Murtaḍā compiled a treaty untitled Mas’ala fi’l-‘amal ma‘a’al-sulṭan. For him, the main criteria are whether such person has necessary responsibilities and qualifications. Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples also continued their master’s conciliatory attitude. In the final analysis, the contribution of Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples on the issue of who will undertake the duties and responsibilities of the Imām is crucial in the systematization of the idea of transferal of the power of the Imām to faqīh including political one. In fact, Sharīf al-Murtaḍā’s advice to take part in the existing administrations has been considered a way out for the scholars who want to establish relations with the authorities in the later periods. (shrink)

Do the various forms of literary theory - deconstruction, Marxism, new historicism, feminism, post-colonialism, and cultural/digital studies - have anything in common? If so, what are the fundamental principles of theory? What is its ideological orientation? Can it still be of use to us in understanding basic intellectual and ethical dilemmas of our time? These questions continue to perplex both students and teachers of literary theory. Habib finds the answers in theory's largely unacknowledged roots in the thought of German (...) philosopher Hegel. Hegel's insights continue to frame the very terms of theory to this day. Habib explains Hegel's complex ideas and how they have percolated through the intellectual history of the last century. This book will interest teachers and students of literature, literary theory and the history of ideas, illuminating how our modern world came into being, and how we can better understand the salient issues of our own time. (shrink)

"Hegel and the Foundations of Literary Theory: Do the various forms of literary theory - deconstruction, Marxism, new historicism, feminism, post-colonialism, and cultural/digital studies - have anything in common? If so, what are the fundamental principles of theory? What is its ideological orientation? Can it still be of use to us in understanding basic intellectual and ethical dilemmas of our time? These questions continue to perplex both students and teachers of literary theory. Habib finds the answers in theory's largely (...) unacknowledged roots in the thought of German philosopher Hegel. Hegel's insights continue to frame the very terms of theory to this day. Habib explains Hegel's complex ideas and how they have percolated through the intellectual history of the last century. This book will interest teachers and students of literature, literary theory and the history of ideas, illuminating how our modern world came into being, and how we can better understand the salient issues of our own time"--. (shrink)

From 2010 to 2020, Indonesia’s tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio has been declining. A tax-to-GDP ratio trend of this magnitude indicates that the tax authority lacks the capacity to collect taxes. The tax administration system’s modernization utilizing information technology is thus deemed necessary. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology may serve as a solution to this issue. Using the theoretical frameworks of innovations in tax compliance, the cost of taxation, success factors for information technology governance (SFITG), and AI readiness, this study aims (...) to analyze the costs and benefits, the enablers and inhibitors, and the readiness of the government and related parties to apply AI to modernize the tax administration system in Indonesia. This study used qualitative approaches for the data’s collection and analysis. The data were obtained through a literature study and in-depth interviews. The findings show that AI application in the field of taxation can assist tax authorities in enforcing the law, provide taxpayers with convenience in fulfilling their tax obligations, improve justice for all taxpayers, and reduce tax compliance costs. The openness of Indonesia to technological developments, as evidenced by the AI National Strategy, is a supporting factor in the application of AI in Indonesia, particularly for the modernization of the tax administration system. The absence of specific regulations governing AI adoption, as well as a lack of human resources that can help the tax administration process, data, and infrastructure already support, are the impediments to implementing AI for the modernization of the tax administration system in Indonesia. (shrink)

This paper provides a critical examination of the strongest defenses of the pure lifetime view, according to which justice requires taking only people's whole lives as relevant when assessing and establishing their distributive entitlements and obligations. The paper proposes that we reject a pure lifetime view and replace it with an alternative view, on which some time-specific considerations--that is to say, considerations about how people fare at specific points in time--have nonderivative weight in determining what our obligations are to them.

This paper addresses the questions of how we should interpret the autonomy of children and of how we should identify the treatment their autonomy demands of others. In examining this question, the paper casts doubt on two views of the nature and relevance of the autonomy of children. It criticises Joel Feinberg’s well-known view that the autonomy claims of children are reducible to the autonomy claims of the future adults the children will become. It also raises objections to Matthew Clayton’s (...) proposal that the treatment of children should be constrained not only by their future autonomy, but also by a particular component of their autonomy, namely, their independence. We believe Clayton’s proposal has the merit that it does not, unlike Feinberg’s proposal, restrict the basis of the autonomy-claims of children purely to the future autonomy they will enjoy as adults. Nevertheless, we do not believe that the concern with independence adequately captures the autonomy claims of children. After considering these alternative views, the paper proposes that the autonomy claims of children are in fact routed in their evolving capacities for autonomous decision-making. We argue that this proposal both fits with some common-sense ideas about how children ought to be treated, and upholds Clayton's radical proposal that parents should not enrol their children into their comprehensive views about the good life, including their religious views. (shrink)

I Can we make promises to ourselves? This is a question that has not received much consideration in the large body of philosophical work on promising. And in what commentary there is, the answer is uniformly negative. I think this negativity is a mistake, and that the conventional view that we can't make reflexive promises is wrong. I also think that this has some important implications for promissory theory in general. In what follows, I will attempt to argue for the (...) first of these two claims, and to briefly outline my reasons for the second. (shrink)

Building legal domain ontologies is a prominent challenge in the ontology engineering community. The ontology builders confront issues such as the complexity of the legal domain, the difficulty of applying existing ontology engineering approaches, and the intention of developing legal models faithful to realities. In this paper, we discuss constructing a well-founded legal domain ontology, named CargO-S, for the traceability of goods in logistic sea corridors. For building CargO-S, a pattern-oriented approach is applied, supported by ontology-driven conceptual modeling, ontology layering, (...) and ontology reuse processes. CargO-S is grounded in the unified foundational ontology UFO by using the ontology-driven conceptual modeling language OntoUML. Besides, ontology layering is proposed to simplify the development process by dividing CargO-S into three layers located at different granularity levels: upper, core, and domain. For building the upper and core layers, conceptual ontology patterns are reused from the foundational ontology UFO and the legal core ontology UFO-L. These patterns are applied, either by extension or analogy with legal rules, for building the domain layer. CargO-S is then validated by implementing the ontology as OWL and SWRL rules. Finally, the performance and the semantic accuracy of CargO-S are evaluated using a dual evaluation approach. (shrink)

Conduct of life according to Islam; collected articles.