It is shown that the basic postulate of utilitarianism does not work when we must decide whether a person should be brought into existence. Utilitarianism must be supplemented by further axioms. Those proposed lead to the consequence that as far as the potential child's utility is concerned, it is morally preferable not to produce children at all. This consequence is accepted. It is still recommended when parents? utility is taken into account.

In this paper I want to discuss some basic problems of inductive logic, i.e. of the attempt to solve the problem of induction by means of a calculus of logical probability. I shall try to throw some light upon these problems by contrasting inductive logic, based on logical probability, and working with undefined samples of observations, with mathematical statistics, based on statistical probability, and working with representative random samples.

Evolutionary accounts of the origin of human morality may be speculative to some extent, but they contain some very plausible claims, such as the claim that ethics evolved as a response to the demands of group living. Regarding the phenomenon of moral progress, it has been argued both that it is ruled out by an evolutionary approach, and that it can be explained by it. It has even been claimed that an evolutionary account has the potential to advance progress in (...) the moral domain. This paper explores the complex relationship between evolutionary explanations of morality and the possibility of moral progress. It seeks to answer the question as to what these explanations are able to tell us about the possibility of moral progress and the ways in which such progress can be achieved. It is argued that evolutionary explanations can inform moral education and other forms of moral enhancement, and that increased evolutionary knowledge figures among the changes in the circumstances of morality that can lead to moral progress. Evolutionary explanations can show us certain limits to the possibility for humans of progressing morally as well as certain enabling conditions. It is argued that both aspects – enhancement and changes in the circumstances – are equally important for the achievement of moral progress. This is illustrated by means of two examples of areas in which moral progress seems possible: our relationship towards the distant poor and our relationship towards non-human animals. (shrink)

Vorwort Fruhe Abhandlungen zum Verstandnis der Phanomenologie des Geistes. I. Zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Hegelschen Geisteswelt - II. Hegels Aesthetik-Vorlesungen in ihrem Verhaltnis zur Phanomenologie des Geistes - III. Hebbel und Hegel. Ein Versuch zur Erfassung ihres gemeinsamen Ideen-Bereichs Der Begriff in Hegels Philosophie. Versuch einer logischen Einleitung in das metalogische Grundproblem des Hegelianismus. Vorbemerkungen - Erster Abschnitt: Wandlungen des Begriffs Begriff von Aristoteles bis Hegel (im Abriss dargestellt) - I. Logik und Erkenntnistheorie: der Weg vom Begriff zum Urteil - II. (...) Erkenntnistheorie und Philosophie: der Weg vom Urteil zum Gegenstand - III. Philosophie und Welt: der Weg vom theoretischen Gegenstand zur theoretisch-atheoretischen Welterfahrung Zweiter Abschnitt: Wandlungen des Begriffs Begriff innerhalb der Hegelschen Philosophie. I. Der Begriff in seiner ursprunglich-logischen Bedeutung - II. Die Idee, eine uberlogische Gestalt des Begriffes - III. Der Geist, die metaphysische Wurzel der Idee und damit des Begriffes in seiner uberlogischen Gestalt. - Hegels Metalogik Schlussbetrachtungen. I. Der mittlere Standpunkt. Das Bewusstsein. Der Widerspruch und seine Aufhebung - II. Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis oder das Ein-und-Andere, das Ganze und das Eine - III. Hegels Wirksamkeit und die Unausgeglichenheit seines Systematisierens - IV. Die Versohnung mit der Wirklichkeit. Zustand und Gegenstand Welt Die ethisch-politische Personlichkeit des Philosophen. Eine prinzipielle Untersuchung zur Umgestaltung der Hegelschen Geisteswelt. I. Programmatische Darlegung der hauptsachlichsten Probleme. Die doppelte Heterothetik des Ich - II. Der mittlere Standpunkt. Das Ich als Gegenstand. Die Panarchie des Logischen. Der Weg vom Ein-und-Anderen zum Ganzen, All-Einen und Einzigen. Para-physik. Erkenntnis mit Selbstkorrektur. Das gegenstandliche Zusammen. Die Personlichkeit - III. Die Verpflichtung, die durch die Welt geht. D". (shrink)

The study examines Nicolas de La Chesnaye’s play ‘La Condamnation de Banquet’, a text written shortly after the year 1500 and criticizing heavily the conduct of nightly banquets in the French upper classes of its time. It was also transformed into tapestries, still extant, shortly after its first publication. Bodily conditions (e.g. sobriety), illnesses (e.g. stroke) and institutions (e.g. a tribunal) serve as personifications of such topics as excessive sumptuousness, and the moral depravation and aberration associated with it. The play’s (...) perspective is to highlight social responsibility and to provide its audience with recommendations for a healthy way of living. Asceticism is declared to be a bonum commune and a way of optimizing oneself. (shrink)

This study utilizes social exchange theory to argue that a more complete picture of the effects of China’s FDI in Africa needs to include non-economic factors, especially institutional forces that incorporate macro political considerations. We propose that economic dependencies created by China’s FDI in Africa are reciprocated by votes in international organizations, and thus, we hypothesize and test that increasing China’s FDI in African nations leads to increased political alignment in international affairs with those African nations. The proposed relationship, however, (...) will be weakened for African countries with stronger governance mechanisms. Using data for China’s FDI in African countries from 2001–2019, we find support for our hypotheses. We find that China’s economic engagement in Africa has resulted in increased political alignment on international issues evidenced by votes in United Nations organizations raising the possibility Africa’s most attractive resource may not be economic, but rather political. This, however, poses the question of whether votes are a ‘resource’ that can be traded for economic purposes. (shrink)