Naturalizing Responsibility

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 700-711
Author(s):  
SILVIA ZULLO
Keyword(s):  
Brain Imaging ◽  
Legal Reasoning ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Complex Form ◽  
Contemporary Debate ◽  
Brain Scans ◽  
Causal Connections ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind

Abstract:In the contemporary debate on the use of the neurosciences in ethics and law, numerous arguments have been bandied about among scientists and philosophers looking to uphold or reject the reliability and validity of scientific findings obtained by brain imaging technologies. Among the most vexing questions is,Can we trust that technology?One point of disagreement is whether brain scans offer a window through which to observe the functioning of the mind, in such a way as to enable lawyers, judges, physicians, and lawmakers to detect anomalies in brain function that may account for criminal unconscious behavior. Those who stand behind brain imaging believe that this can indeed be achieved, whereas those in opposition stress that brain scans are highly open to interpretation and that the data they provide is insufficient to establish causal connections. The question essentially comes down to whether technology can reliably be used to determine the intentions of the individual, thus establishing mens rea, for example, and hence responsibility. This article focuses on the latter notion and explores whether we can rely on the neurosciences to shed light on a complex form of moral and legal reasoning, as well as the role of the neurosciences in reawakening a philosophical and legal interest in trying to set responsibility on an empirical basis.

scholarly journals Reform and Religious Heterodoxy in Thomas Robert Malthus’s “Crises” and the First Edition of the Essay on the Principle of Population

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Liberal Education ◽  
Class Relations ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Traditional Class

The first edition of Thomas Robert Malthus’ Essay on the Principle of Population is best understood as an exploration of human nature and the role of necessity in shaping the individual and society.  The author’s liberal education, both from his father and his tutors at Warrington and Cambridge, is evident in his heterodox views on hell, his Lockean conceptualization of the mind, and his Foxite Whig politics.  Malthus’ unpublished essay, “Crises,” his sermons, and the the last two chapters of the Essay (which were excised from subsequent editions) reveal a pragmatic, compassionate side of the young author that was under appreciated by both his contemporary critics and modern historians.  The Essay has been mischaracterized by David McNally (2000) as a “Whig response to Radicalism” and by Patricia James (1979) as a reaction by Malthus against his father’s liberalism.  This article argues that when he wrote the first edition of the Essay on the Principle of Population, Malthus was himself a liberal dissenter and Foxite Whig rather than an orthodox Anglican or a Burkean defender of traditional class relations. 

scholarly journals Defining the dystopian chronotope: Space, time and genre in George Orwell’s 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'

2018 ◽  
pp. 9-39
Author(s):  
Urszula Terentowicz-Fotyga
Keyword(s):  
Mikhail Bakhtin ◽  
Natural World ◽  
The Body ◽  
Special Relation ◽  
Structural Role ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The City

The paper examines George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four as a canonical example of the dystopian novel in an attempt to define the principal features of the dystopian chronotope. Following Mikhail Bakhtin, it treats the chronotope as the structural pivot of the narrative, which integrates and determines other aspects of the text. Dystopia, the paper argues, is a particularly appropriate genre to consider the structural role of the chronotope for two reasons. Firstly, due to utopianism’s special relation with space and secondly, due to the structural importance of world-building in the expression of dystopia’s philosophical, political and social ideas. The paper identifies the principal features of dystopian spatiality, among which crucial are the oppositions between the individual and the state, the mind and the body, the high and the low, the central and the peripheral, the past and the present, the city and the natural world, false and true signs.

scholarly journals Living by the Cratylus Hermeneutics and Philosophic Names in the Roman Empire

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Harold Tarrant
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Ancient Text ◽  
Actual Nature ◽  
Religious Dialogue ◽  
Platonic Dialogue ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Own Name ◽  
Regular Practice

AbstractThis paper is about an aspect of philosophic life, showing, in the case of one Platonic dialogue in particular, that the texts that later Platonists employed in a quasi-scriptural capacity could influence their lives in important ways. The Cratylus was seen as addressing the question of how names could be regarded as 'correct', raising the role of the name-giver to the level of the law-giver. It begins with the question of how a personal name could be correct. The ancient text that offers us most evidence of the philosophic manipulation of proper names is Porphyry's Life of Plotinus, which makes it quite clear that the revision of individuals' names, and in particular the giving of a Greek name to those of non-Greek origins, had become a regular practice. The name, it seems, was intended to capture something of the actual nature of the individual in question. There is evidence that the practice goes back to the age of Lucian, and specifically to the circle of Numenius, whose own name is also that of a bird. His religious dialogue Hoopoe suggests that there was something special in bird-names; Lucian's Gallus reincarnates Pythagoras as a bird, while his Death of Peregrinus has the eponymous sham philosopher ultimately adopting a bird-name too. Curiously, the final name that Porphyry bears also closely recalls the name of a bird. This may be explained as the apt naming of one who rose to the highest philosophic vision in accordance with the 'flight of the mind' passage in Plato's Phaedrus.

scholarly journals Habit, the Criminal Body and the Body Politic in England, c. 1700–1800

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 83-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Martin Dodsworth
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Social Circumstance

This article explores the role that ‘habit’ played in discourses on crime in the 18th century, a subject which forms an important part of the history of ‘the social’. It seeks to bridge the division between ‘liberal’ positions which see crime as a product of social circumstance, and the conservative position which stresses the role of will and individual responsibility, by drawing attention to the role habit played in uniting these conceptions in the 18th century. It argues that the Lockean idea that the mind was a tabula rasa, and that the character was thereby formed through impression and habit, was used as a device to explain the ways in which certain individuals rather than others happened to fall into a life of crime, a temptation to which all were susceptible. This allowed commentators to define individuals as responsible for their actions, while accepting the significance of environmental factors in their transgressions. Further, the notion that the character was formed through habit enabled reformers to promote the idea that crime could be combated through mechanisms of prevention and reformation, which both targeted the individual criminal and sought more generally to reduce the likelihood of crime.

scholarly journals CONTEMPORARY DEFINITION FOR CREATIVITY

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-379
Author(s):  
Elka Valcheva
Keyword(s):  
Creative Process ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Proper Definition ◽  
Product Presentation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Process Product

The report examines the central role of creativity in the future post-information society. There is a call for a pragmatic approach to the study of creativity, which as a consequence bears recognition of the dynamic nature of this phenomenon. At the heart of the proposed theoretical framework is the very definition of creativity, which is transformed from static to dynamic. Starting from the static central definition and considering the auxiliary definitions for the area of focus and purpose of creativity, creative personality, creativity of the individual, creativity of the environment, creative process, product of creative process, potential for creativity, product presentation and evaluation, the nature of creativity should be clarified. The new definitions have been shown to be fully compatible with the existing set of research in the field of creativity, as well as increase the effectiveness in proposing new approaches to research in support of the consideration of new theoretical hypotheses and developments. Creativity is considered to be a foundation that does not yet have a clear and precise definition because of its uniqueness. This complete lack of consensus on what research considers important in this area is a major problem. There is no consensus on exactly what creativity is. Without a proper definition, creativity researchers cannot do any research, first they must determine creativity itself. There is a lot of ambiguity in the definition. The definition keeps coming back to itself, which makes it pretty difficult to determine what creativity really means. Various constructs and aspects of the definition of creativity of many contemporary scholars are proposed and discussed. Clarifying the definition of creativity is important for understanding its very essence, as a complex phenomenon and a leading skill in the 21st century. The nature of creativity as a characteristic of a person to generate new ideas, alternatives, solutions and opportunities in a unique and different way is clarified. Creativity is the ability to grasp something unpredictable, original and unique. The creative idea must be expressive, exciting and imaginative. It is a mirror of how beautiful one can think in any circumstance. Creativity is not genetic, it can be developed if one continues to learn and understand things with rare and exceptional perception. It is an activity to uncover something that was previously hidden. As the word implies, creativity is about creation. It is about mastering the power of the mind to think of new ideas, product plans, thought experiments, tastes, sensations or art. Creativity can be a form of expression or a way of solving problems. Anyone can be creative in any context, not just a genius privilege.

An algebraic perspective on abstract and concrete domains

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 354-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omid Khatin-Zadeh ◽  
Zahra Eskandari ◽  
Yousef Bakhshizadeh-Gashti ◽  
Sedigheh Vahdat ◽  
Hassan Banaruee
Keyword(s):  
Complex Form ◽  
Chain Process ◽  
Target Domain ◽  
Abstract Schema ◽  
Target Construct ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
Elementary Form ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Concrete Domains

Abstract Looking at isomorphic constructs from an algebraic perspective, this article suggests that every concrete construct is understood by reference to an underlying abstract schema in the mind of comprehender. The complex form of every abstract schema is created by the gradual development of its elementary form. Throughout the process of cognitive development, new features are added to the elementary form of abstract schema, which leads to gradual formation of a fully-developed abstract schema. Every developed abstract schema is the underlying source for understanding an infinite number of concrete isomorphic constructs. It is suggested that the process of the mapping of base domain (base construct) unto target domain (target construct) is conducted and mediated by an abstract domain. This abstract domain, which is free from concrete features of base and target, is isomorphic to both base and target domains. To describe the mediatory role of this abstract domain, it might be argued that the chain process of understanding a less familiar domain in terms of a relatively more familiar domain (salience imbalance model) cannot continue infinitely. This chain must stop at some point. This point is the abstract domain, which is isomorphic to base and target domains.

論莊子「即內聖即外王」的實踐型態

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (37) ◽  
pp. 195-218
Author(s):  
吳肇嘉 吳肇嘉
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Political Practice ◽  
Specific System ◽  
Natural Interaction ◽  
Spontaneous Activities ◽  
Life Philosophy ◽  
The Times ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind

<p>歷來的莊子研究，往往著重於「生命哲學」主觀面向，而未意識到其「外王」面的作用。這不但窄化了莊學理論的豐富性，同時也削損其回應時代變化的可能。本文目的，即在發掘莊子外王思想的線索，並探討其作用於人間世的方式。</p> <p> 以《莊》書對「有為之治」的批判觀之，莊子將一切存有問題歸因於「心知」之造作，書中所有工夫論述皆是對此而發。由於心知造作遮蔽德性，阻礙生命與外物的自然互動，而牽引外物脫軌亂序。因此問題之解答，即在解消心知造作以恢復德性作用。個體透過「德」的活動而與造化萬物的「道」相接，終而能與存在界達成本然的契合。故莊子的外王，只須無為修養，而不勞典制建構；「即內聖而即外王」一語，就此義可為莊子外王實踐的恰當表述。</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>In the past, the understanding of Zhuangzi&rsquo;s thoughts often focused on the subjective aspects of the &quot;&quot;Life Philosophy &quot;&quot; without realizing its objective impact on society. This not only limited the richness of his thoughts, but also underestimated its ability to cope with the changes of the times. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to find clues about the &ldquo;Outward Governance&rdquo;（外王） in Zhuangzi’s thought, and to explore the ways in which it affects society.</p> <p> The exploration starts from the &ldquo;Root Problem&rdquo;（「基源問題」） of Zhuangzi. It could be inferred from the acute criticism in the texts against &ldquo;the interventionist governance&rdquo;（有為之治） that Zhuangzi obviously blamed every existing problem on &ldquo;Mind&rdquo;（心知）, and any practice is developed for this. Because the paranoid structure of the Mind suppresses human nature（德）and hinders the natural interaction between life and external things, it causes the whole world to derail and disorder. The answer to this question is to untie the paranoid structure of the mind to restore the role of human nature. Through the spontaneous activities of human nature, the individual is connected with the &quot;&quot;Tao&quot;&quot;（道）that creates all things, and finally the original fit between the individual and all beings can be realized. Therefore, Zhuangzi’s political practice only requires the cultivation of a &quot;&quot;Non-Interference&quot;&quot; attitude, not the construction of a specific system. In this sense, the best description of Zhuangzi’s political practice is the phrase &quot;&quot;Cultivation itself is politics&quot;&quot;.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

scholarly journals Individual Service Excellence for Better Performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Joyce E.C Voon ◽  
Boo Ho Voon ◽  
Ai Kiat Teo
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Service Excellence ◽  
The Times ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right

An individual's attitude is imperative in sustaining his/her performance. One has to believe and do the right things all the times for excellence. However, there are many aspects that the individual needs to recognize and do excellently well. This paper presents an attitudinal measurement on service excellence attitudes and links it to the students’ MUET performance. The multi-item measurement scale was systematically developed and empirically tested for reliability and validity. The individual’s service excellence scale was called MyServEx (My Service Excellence) which consisted of 6 dimensions and 32 items. The MyServEx (Self) was empirically tested and the survey data were obtained from the MUET students to investigate the role of attitudes in leveraging the English language performance. The teachers can understand the students better and creatively help them. The limitations and future direction for research were also discussed

scholarly journals The Philosophy of Existentialism in the Magus - the Motifs of Freedom and Suicide

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Ljiljana Pticina
Keyword(s):  
Future Generations ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Freedom Of Choice ◽  
John Fowles ◽  
Female Protagonists ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind

John Fowles’ literary opus is largely based on the philosophy of existentialism, with the motifs of freedom and suicide serving as its focal points, both closely related to freedom of choice and seen as crucial to the existentialist movement, as well as the author himself. This paper analyses Fowles’ novel The Magus through the prism of existentialism, which means that the basic existentialist concepts are identified and located within its text, as well as the influences of the key figures of this movement. The motifs of freedom and freedom of choice in context are interpreted and linked to the theories of Freud and Jung while special emphasis is placed on the role of the anima, that is, the female principle inside the male subconsciousness. This is precisely why a separate section of this paper is dedicated to female protagonists and their role in the novel. In his works, Fowles puts an emphasis on the freedom of the individual, which is portrayed through the freedom of the mind, ideas, choice and spirit. It is cruel, always demanding action as well as acceptance and adaptation. By remodelling our own character, we also remodel the future generations and our visions of the world. The protagonist in this novel is chosen to remodel his own character, to turn from a collector into a creator, to stop depriving people of the content and to bring about a positive creative act instead. Human border acts such as suicide also belong to this field of interest. There are three cases of suicide in The Magus and this paper analyses their role as a symbol of the protagonist’s metamorphosis upon threading onto the mythical ground.

The Afterlife of a Dream and the Ritual System of the Epidaurian Asklepieion

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-52
Author(s):  
Stephen P. Ahearne-Kroll
Keyword(s):  
Human Action ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Public Display ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind

Abstract This study looks at the ways that the healing inscriptions at the Epidauran Asklepieion transfer the private experience of a supplicant into the public realm of the life of the sanctuary. This process imbues the individual dream with a potential for influence that can honor the god in unforeseen ways well into the future. The study then examines the role of one god, Mnēmosyne, in the afterlife of the dream in order to gain an appreciation of the overall ritual system at the Asklepieion. It will be argued that Mnēmosyne plays a key role ritually not just in preserving the memory of the dream for the individual, but also in intellectually ordering the mind for the dreamer to articulate the dream to the sanctuary officials, in enabling the construction and inscription of the account for public display, and in creating opportunities for others to honor Asklepios well into the future and well beyond Epidaurus. Mnēmosyne’s involvement at the Epidauran Asklepieion attests to a complex ritual system of human action within a perceived divine group-effort to benefit the divine and human worlds.

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