The American Journal of Bioethics, Volume 11, Issue 12, Page 27-29, December 2011.

In this essay we develop and argue for the adoption of a more comprehensive model of research ethics than is included within current conceptions of responsible conduct of research (RCR). We argue that our model, which we label the ethical dimensions of scientific research (EDSR), is a more comprehensive approach to encouraging ethically responsible scientific research compared to the currently typically adopted approach in RCR training. This essay focuses on developing a pedagogical approach that enables scientists to better understand and (...) appreciate one important component of this model, what we call intrinsic ethics . Intrinsic ethical issues arise when values and ethical assumptions are embedded within scientific findings and analytical methods. Through a close examination of a case study and its application in teaching, namely, evaluation of climate change integrated assessment models, this paper develops a method and case for including intrinsic ethics within research ethics training to provide scientists with a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the critical role of values and ethical choices in the production of research outcomes. (shrink)

This paper develops some of Austin’s ideas on excuses, stressing their “dimensional” character and relating it to Searle’s distinction between intention-in-action and previous intention, in order to show that the original speech-act shaped distinction between weakness of the will and moral weakness can be embedded in a quite different theoretical framework such as Davidson’s, while Austin’s dimensional classification of actions cannot. Finally, the article analyzes how Grice’s critique of Davidson’s views on akrasia is more faithful to Austin and more radical (...) in its conclusions concerning the justificatory aspect of reasons and the rational features of action. (shrink)

[Donald Davidson: Action, Thought and Language.].

This article introduces the Special Issue on cameraless photography and the translation of Georg Christoph Lichtenberg’s treatise on electrical figures. It summarizes previous discussions on cameraless photography, namely those by Geoffrey Batchen and suggests relating the photogram to current post-lenticular technologies such as radiography, digital scanning or machine vision. It outlines the emergence of cameraless imaging in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century scientific research, taking Lichtenberg’s figures as an emblem of automatically generated images situated between duration and instantaneity, between image (...) making and measurement, between nature and culture. (shrink)

A familiar jurisprudential view is that a judicial decision functions as a legal precedent by laying down a rule and that the content of this rule is set by officials. Precedents can be followed only by acting in accordance with this rule. This view is mistaken on all counts. A judicial decision functions as a precedent by being an example. At its best, it is an example both for officials and for a target population. Even precedents outside of law function (...) as examples when they have conduct-guiding significance. Examples may be rule-like in their scope, but need not be. Their import is independent of their justification; this point has implications for coherence theories of precedent meaning. The content and scope of a legal decision’s extension is not set exclusively by officials. It is socially set and depends upon social salience. (shrink)

In this work three recent proposal of analysis of the concept of ‘religion’ are discussed. There is a strong convergence between these three proposals in several points: all of them maintain that a religion should be the belief of something –a set of propositions, the object of a propositional attitude like a belief–, all of them maintain that the object of the belief should be a theory about the good, and all of them maintain that a religion should have important (...) normative and practical consequences. It is argued here that there are at least two problems with the general conception that results from these analyses. In the first place, attributing to a religion the conditions of identity of an act of belief leads to absurd consequences. In the second place, it seems much better to analyze a religion as a theory about God or some gods. (shrink)

This paper deals with the virtue of prudence in the thinking of Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure. It compares the two different approaches of Dominican and Franciscan High Medieval Scholasticism concerning the virtue of prudence, which is an intellectual virtue but one that is closely related to human acts and consequently to the final end of human life.

Many contemporary philosophers of law agree that a necessary condition for a decision to be legally justified, even in a hard case, is that it coheres with established law. Some, namely Sartorius and Dworkin, have gone beyond that relatively uncontroversial claim and described the role of coherence in legal justification as analogous to its role in moral and scientific justification, on contemporary theories. In this, I argue, they are mistaken. Specifically, coherence in legal justification is sometimes specific to a branch (...) of law, and there is nothing isomorphic to this in the models of moral and scientific justification. Although Dworkin and Sartorius rely on the concept of coherence, they do not explicate it. In the course of examining their views, this essay offers a partial analysis of coherence on their models. Finally, two canons of relevance, governing when global coherence considerations are appropriate to legal justification, are presented. (shrink)

Příspěvek se zaobírá Toulminovým přístupem k argumentaci. Hlavním cílem je přitom představit tento přístup a ukázat jeho aplikaci na vybraném materiálu. Klíčová otázka poté zní: V čem je Toulminův přístup stále aktuální a co může při zkoumání argumentů přinést? Cíle i odpovědi na otázku je dosahováno ve dvou základních krocích. V prvním kroku je probrána teorie argumentu, jak ji Toulmin prezentuje především ve své knize The Uses of Argument. Ve druhém kroku je pak Toulminův přístup aplikován na vybraný materiál, konkrétně (...) na videospot Přemluv bábu (2010). Pozornost je přitom věnována zejména modelu argumentu, doménové závislosti, logickým typům a druhům argumentu. V příspěvku je nakonec ukázáno, že Toulmin je stále diskutovaný a teoreticky podnětný, a také to, že jeho aplikace na vybraný materiál může poskytnout dobrá vodítka pro hodnocení tohoto materiálu i v případech, kdy toto hodnocení není možné udělat jednoznačně pomocí formálních nástrojů. (shrink)

The most prominent Czech philosopher, Karel Kosík, makes a few hints to the Vienna Circle, Otto Neurath and "positivism" in his important book, DIALECTICS OF THE CONCRETE (1963). I mine these few remarks for a better understanding of the conflicts, as well as connections, between the social progressivism of the Vienna Circle and the later Marxist humanism.

In this article we investigate infinitary propositional logics from the perspective of their completeness properties in abstract algebraic logic. It is well-known that every finitary logic is complete with respect to its relatively subdirectly irreducible models. We identify two syntactical notions formulated in terms of intersection-prime theories that follow from finitarity and are sufficient conditions for the aforementioned completeness properties. We construct all the necessary counterexamples to show that all these properties define pairwise different classes of logics. Consequently, we obtain (...) a new hierarchy of logics going beyond the scope of finitarity. (shrink)

Erste Monografie über Franz Fickers Ästhetik. Die Ästhetik des institutionell wichtigsten Universitätsästhetikers der österreichischen Monarchie des Vormärz wird institutionell als Bestandteil der österreichischen Universitätspolitik und ideell als Bestandteil der Geschichte der mitteleuropäischen Ästhetik untersucht.

The article critically reviews the Incongruity Theory of Humor reaching the conclusion that it has to be essentially restructured. Leaving aside the question of scope, it is shown that the theory is inadequate even for those cases for which it is thought to be especially well suited – that it cannot account either for the pleasurable effect of jokes or for aesthetic pleasure. I argue that it is the resolution of the incongruity rather than its mere apprehension, which is that (...) source of the amusement or aesthetic delight. Once the theory is thus restructured, the Superiority Theory of Humor and the Relief Theory can be seen as supplementary to it. (shrink)

Apresenta-se nesse texto as repercussões do Concílio Vaticano II na Igreja particular de Goiás. A fidelidade ao Concílio produziu efetiva participação de todos – presbíteros, religiosas e religiosos, leigos e leigas. Tomando como referências a vivência e experiência de pastor nessa diocese (1967-1998) e diversos estudos, Dom Tomás mostra os aspectos mais relevantes dessa história: as assembléias diocesanas, com participação de leitos (1968); as CEBs e a concretização da opção pelos pobres; as Escolas Bíblicas; a defesa da posse da terra, (...) a Comissão Pastoral da Terra - CPT e o enfrentamento da ditadura militar; a causa indígena; o ecumenismo; o exercício da colegialidade; a articulação dos bispos comprometidos com as CEBs na CNBB; o problema da Visita Apóstólica na diocese; apresenta ainda um balanço de erros e conflitos; e finalmente, relata o Sínodo diocesano (1995) e seus objetivos: 1) Avaliar a situação concreta do povo, seus sofrimentos e suas lutas, para se ter uma visão mais clara da realidade; 2) Julgar à luz da Palavra de Deus;. 3) Desenvolver com mais clareza a missão da nossa Igreja dentro dessa mesma realidade. Palavras-chave : Concílio Vaticano II. Diocese de Goiás-Brasil. Participação. Colegialidade. Abstrat This article written by Archbishop Tomás Balduíno presents the impact of Vatican II in the particular Church of Goiás, emphasizing that the loyalty to the Council produced effective participation of priests, religious and lay people. Given his experience as a pastor in this diocese (1967-1998) and several studies, Bishop Thomas shows the most relevant aspects of this story: the diocesan assemblies, with the participation of lay people (1968); the CEBs and realization of the option for the poor; the Bible Schools; the defense of land tenure, the Pastoral Land Commission - CPT and the facing of the military dictatorship; the indigenous cause; ecumenism; the exercise of collegiality; the articulation of the bishops committed to the CEBs in CNBB; the problem of apostolic visit in the diocese. The article also presents a balance of errors and conflicts, and finally reports the diocesan Synod (1995) and its objectives: 1) Evaluate the concrete situation of the people, their sufferings and their struggles to get a clear picture of reality; 2) To make the judgment of reality in light of the word of God; Develop more clearly the mission of our Church in this reality Keywords : Vatican II. Diocese of Goiás-Brazil. Participation. Collegiality. - DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2011v9n24p1341. (shrink)

The ethical criticism of art has recently begun to address the subject of immoral artists, with two questions seeming to dominate discussion. How does moral misconduct on the part of artists affect their work’s aesthetic value? How should the art world respond to cases of artists who have been accused of morally outrageous behaviour? Such value and policy debates are important, but they leave aside a pressing question towards which this article proposes a reorientation: What is the possible impact of (...) an artist’s moral ill repute on how we understand the meaning of their work? I argue in this paper that an artist’s bad moral reputation can lead (i) to participatory resistance to an art work, as viewers abstain from a response to the work’s illocutionary force, (ii) to the isolation of the work from the ‘quality context’ that normally allows propositions expressed by the work to be taken as sincere, (iii) to the reinterpretation of the work’s propositional content against the background of new knowledge about the author, and (iv) to the perception of the work as a lie. To illustrate, I look at works by Chuck Close and Jan Fabre, contemporary artists whose reputation has been affected by a scandal. (shrink)

[Materialism and Hylomorphism] The author disputes the view, expressed recently by Tomáš Machula a David Peroutka, that materialism, dominant in contemporary philosophy of mind, should be substituted by Thomist hylomorphism. The critique focuses on two aspects of Machula and Peroutka’s argument. Firstly, on their assumption that the contemporary preference for materialism is the result of chance (ignorance of the fact that in addition to materialism and dualism the position of hylomorphism is also available). This assumption fails to take into account (...) the fact that dualism was already the subject of criticism in the 17th century, but materialism only became properly established in the mid-twentieth century. Secondly, the author argues that Thomist hylomorphism can be updated in a more fruitful way than that proposed by Machula and Peroutka. This updating requires us, however, to sacrifice certain metaphysically unsustainable ideas – in particular the idea that the soul is a non-material substance independent of the body. (shrink)

Este artículo intentará explicar por qué, en un sistema narrativo como el homérico, donde no predominan los segundos planos ni los detrás de escenas, no existe un suspenso ligado a la incertidumbre sobre un desenlace; ligará este fenómeno a la llamada “ley de Zielinski” (I). Inspeccionará tentativas recientes de encontrar baches de suspenso en Homero (II). Finalmente, propondrá una explicación alternativa para el suspenso, que se centra en la empatía por un personaje y la inmersión en el mundo narrativo (III).

The purpose of this paper is to explore the way in which Kojève influences the thought of Georges Bataille and Jacques Lacan, with an emphasis on the way in which each understands violence. We will defend the thesis that, despite the important theoretical and stylistic distances that separate them, in both cases violence appears as a doubled negativity. In Bataille, violence is, on the one hand, negativity without employment - that is, woundedness, existential tearing - and, on the other hand, (...) subjection to labour and discourse. In Lacan, violence is dehiscence, vital insufficiency and, at the same time, the specular rivalry inherent in the formation and dynamics of the ego. Keywords: negativity, violence, Bataille, Lacan Resumen: El presente trabajo tiene el propósito de explorar el modo en que Kojève influyó en el pensamiento de Georges Bataille y Jacques Lacan, haciendo hincapié en el modo en que cada uno entiende la violencia. Defenderemos la tesis de que, a pesar de las importantes distancias teóricas y estilísticas que los separan, en ambos casos la violencia aparece como negatividad duplicada. En Bataille, la violencia es, por un lado, negatividad sin empleo, esto es, herida, desgarro existencial y, por otro lado, sujeción al trabajo y al discurso. En Lacan, la violencia es dehiscencia, es decir, inacabamiento vital y, al mismo tiempo, la rivalidad especular inherente a la formación y la dinámica del yo. Palabras clave: negatividad, violencia, Bataille, Lacan. (shrink)

R. A. Duff, Criminal Attempts Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996, xxvii + 420 pp.

In this essay, I argue against a way of approaching the issue of Judicial discretion that finds its clearest exposition and highest development in recent works by Ronald Dworkin. This approach is too narrow. It ignores a kind of Judicial discretion whose existence has been maintained by jurists with discretionist sympathies, and which is philosophically significant. The kind of discretion it ignores raises the issue of the justification of adjudication as clearly as does the kind of discretion that it recognizes. (...) Moreover, discussion of the kind of discretion ignored is in some respects the natural starting place for a discussion of judicial discretion in general. (shrink)

This article discusses the problematic aspects relating to the employee privacy in his workplace and its limits reacting to employer‘s interests. It contains analysis of National, European and transatlantic legislation of privacy in the workplace and concentrates on the electronic privacy (e-mails, communications, etc.). The article is based on legal acts and judgements of the Supreme court of Lithuania, European Court of Human Rights and other countries courts judgements in order to provide the legislative execution practice as well as reveal (...) the problems in this field of labour law. (shrink)

En este artículo se tratan los conceptos de identidad, memoria y democracia en relación con un tipo de sociedad donde prevalece el modelo identitario en un contexto de indi­vidualismo y globalización. El objetivo es señalar el contenido ético-político que podría proporcionar una identidad democrática y anamnética, así como indicar los problemas a los que debe hacer frente una teoría razonada de la democracia que se haga cargo de tal trabajo.

El análisis fenomenológico caracteriza a la dignidad humana mediante tres notas: elevación, intimidad y autonomía. La filosofía la describe como la su-perior bondad de lo absoluto. Y la ontología hace residir esa nobleza en la peculiar subsistencia del sujeto humano, que recibe en el alma espiritual, in-mortal y necesaria, el propio actus essendi.