An Instrumental Legal Moralism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Legal Moralism ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Antony Duff ◽  
Michael Moore

Many writers defend or attack the position nowadays known as legal moralism. According to the most common formulation, legal moralists endorse the following thesis: the fact that φ‎ing is morally wrong is a reason to criminalize φ‎ing. This chapter considers a different kind of legal moralism, here called instrumental legal moralism (ILM). According to ILM: the fact that criminalizing φ‎ing will probably prevent moral wrongs is a reason to criminalize φ‎ing. Section I draws some relevant distinctions. In doing so, it clarifies the difference between ILM and the act-centred legal moralism (ALM) commonly discussed in the literature. Sections II–IV consider two prominent arguments for ALM: the retributivist argument, offered by Michael Moore, and the answerability argument, offered by Antony Duff. The chapter shows that, contrary to the intentions of these authors, both arguments in fact support ILM.

Connecting Moral Status to Proper Legal Status

2021 ◽  
pp. 215-230
Author(s):  
Benjamin Sachs
Keyword(s):  
Medical Research ◽  
Moral Status ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
State Funding ◽  
Martha Nussbaum ◽  
Legal Moralism ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Law ◽  
Strong Claim ◽  
Michael Moore

This chapter entertains three proposals as to the connection between an animal’s moral status and what legal status it ought to have. The first proposal is this strong claim: that an act wrongs an animal is a justification for criminalizing it. The second proposal is this moderate claim: that an act constitutes an injustice to an animal is a justification for criminalizing it. Both of these proposals can be vindicated if an argument for legal moralism that the author constructs, drawing on the work of Michael Moore, is sound. Meanwhile, Martha Nussbaum, Alasdair Cochrane, and Robert Garner have each argued for the second proposal. The chapter demonstrates that all four of these arguments are unsound. The third proposal is this claim: it is obligatory for legislators to eliminate any aspect of the law that facilitates the wronging of animals. This proposal, the author argues, is sound. Comparatively weak though this proposal is, the chapter extracts from it radical implications for animal ownership and state funding of medical research on animal subjects.

scholarly journals The Problem of Over-Inclusive Offenses: A Closer Look at Duff on Legal Moralism and Mala Prohibita

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-416
Author(s):  
Stephen Bero ◽  
Alex Sarch
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Legal Moralism ◽  
Criminal Offense ◽  
The Law ◽  
Antony Duff

Abstract There are sometimes good reasons to define a criminal offense in a way that is over-inclusive, in the sense that the definition will encompass conduct that is not otherwise wrongful. But are these reasons ever sufficient? When, if ever, can such laws justifiably be made and enforced? When, if ever, can they permissibly be violated? In The Realm of Criminal Law, Antony Duff tackles this challenge head on. We find Duff’s strategy promising in many ways as an effort to reconcile over-inclusive offenses with the wrongness constraint on criminalization. Nonetheless, we aim to move the discussion forward by raising questions about Duff’s solution and highlighting some limitations and costs. We begin in Part 2 by sketching the contours of Duff’s position; then in Part 3 we propose one refinement and offer two practical observations; and finally, in Part 4 we raise broader concerns. In particular, we question whether the problem of over-inclusive offenses is one that can or ought to be solved, or whether it is better conceived as a difficulty to be managed and mitigated. Of course, we should avoid undue harshness in the law where we can, and Duff’s approach is guided by this worthy ambition. But there may also be a limit to this. To the extent that the harshness cannot be avoided, perhaps this should be acknowledged and faced up to, rather than obscured or finessed.

The Origin of the Moon

1962 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Ruskol
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Solar System ◽  
The Moon ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Origin Of The Moon

The difference between average densities of the Moon and Earth was interpreted in the preceding report by Professor H. Urey as indicating a difference in their chemical composition. Therefore, Urey assumes the Moon's formation to have taken place far away from the Earth, under conditions differing substantially from the conditions of Earth's formation. In such a case, the Earth should have captured the Moon. As is admitted by Professor Urey himself, such a capture is a very improbable event. In addition, an assumption that the “lunar” dimensions were representative of protoplanetary bodies in the entire solar system encounters great difficulties.

Influence of Cell Wall Composition on the Fossilisation of Bacteria and the Implications for the Search for Early Life Forms

1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 491-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Westall
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Cation Binding ◽  
Positive Bacterium ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Hydrothermal Sediments ◽  
Identification Of Bacteria ◽  
The Difference

AbstractThe oldest cell-like structures on Earth are preserved in silicified lagoonal, shallow sea or hydrothermal sediments, such as some Archean formations in Western Australia and South Africa. Previous studies concentrated on the search for organic fossils in Archean rocks. Observations of silicified bacteria (as silica minerals) are scarce for both the Precambrian and the Phanerozoic, but reports of mineral bacteria finds, in general, are increasing. The problems associated with the identification of authentic fossil bacteria and, if possible, closer identification of bacteria type can, in part, be overcome by experimental fossilisation studies. These have shown that not all bacteria fossilise in the same way and, indeed, some seem to be very resistent to fossilisation. This paper deals with a transmission electron microscope investigation of the silicification of four species of bacteria commonly found in the environment. The Gram positiveBacillus laterosporusand its spore produced a robust, durable crust upon silicification, whereas the Gram negativePseudomonas fluorescens, Ps. vesicularis, andPs. acidovoranspresented delicately preserved walls. The greater amount of peptidoglycan, containing abundant metal cation binding sites, in the cell wall of the Gram positive bacterium, probably accounts for the difference in the mode of fossilisation. The Gram positive bacteria are, therefore, probably most likely to be preserved in the terrestrial and extraterrestrial rock record.

Structuring, Motions and Shapes of Corona Emission Line Profiles

1994 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 421-426
Author(s):  
N. F. Tyagun
Keyword(s):  
Emission Line ◽  
Filling Factor ◽  
Direct Relationship ◽  
Coronal Plasma ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
Line Profiles ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Yellow Line ◽  
Red Line

AbstractThe interrelationship of half-widths and intensities for the red, green and yellow lines is considered. This is a direct relationship for the green and yellow line and an inverse one for the red line. The difference in the relationships of half-widths and intensities for different lines appears to be due to substantially dissimilar structuring and to a set of line-of-sight motions in ”hot“ and ”cold“ corona regions.When diagnosing the coronal plasma, one cannot neglect the filling factor - each line has such a factor of its own.

Difference Fourier Analysis of Glucose Embedded and Frozen Hydrated Purple Membrane

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 74-75
Author(s):  
Jules S. Jaffe ◽  
Robert M. Glaeser
Keyword(s):  
Purple Membrane ◽  
Data Set ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Fourier Techniques ◽  
Versus Protein ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Difference Fourier ◽  
Ideal Method

Although difference Fourier techniques are standard in X-ray crystallography it has only been very recently that electron crystallographers have been able to take advantage of this method. We have combined a high resolution data set for frozen glucose embedded Purple Membrane (PM) with a data set collected from PM prepared in the frozen hydrated state in order to visualize any differences in structure due to the different methods of preparation. The increased contrast between protein-ice versus protein-glucose may prove to be an advantage of the frozen hydrated technique for visualizing those parts of bacteriorhodopsin that are embedded in glucose. In addition, surface groups of the protein may be disordered in glucose and ordered in the frozen state. The sensitivity of the difference Fourier technique to small changes in structure provides an ideal method for testing this hypothesis.

Destruction of Actin Filaments by Osmium Tetroxide

1977 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 466-467
Author(s):  
P. Maupin-Szamier ◽  
T. D. Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Rabbit Muscle ◽  
Muscle Actin ◽  
Sodium Phosphate Buffer ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Rates Of Decay ◽  
Short Time

We have studied the destruction of rabbit muscle actin filaments by osmium tetroxide (OSO4) to develop methods which will preserve the structure of actin filaments during preparation for transmission electron microscopy.Negatively stained F-actin, which appears as smooth, gently curved filaments in control samples (Fig. 1a), acquire an angular, distorted profile and break into progressively shorter pieces after exposure to OSO4 (Fig. 1b,c). We followed the time course of the reaction with viscometry since it is a simple, quantitative method to assess filament integrity. The difference in rates of decay in viscosity of polymerized actin solutions after the addition of four concentrations of OSO4 is illustrated in Fig. 2. Viscometry indicated that the rate of actin filament destruction is also dependent upon temperature, buffer type, buffer concentration, and pH, and requires the continued presence of OSO4. The conditions most favorable to filament preservation are fixation in a low concentration of OSO4 for a short time at 0°C in 100mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 6.0.

Antiphase Boundaries in Ordered Ni3FE Crystals

1969 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 62-63
Author(s):  
Y. H. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Domain Size ◽  
Antiphase Domain ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Hardening Mechanism ◽  
Superlattice Structure ◽  
Disordered Phase ◽  
Domain Boundaries ◽  
Atomic Scattering ◽  
The Difference

Ordered Ni3Fe crystals possess a LI2 type superlattice similar to the Cu3Au structure. The difference in slip behavior of the superlattice as compared with that of a disordered phase has been well established. Cottrell first postulated that the increase in resistance for slip in the superlattice structure is attributed to the presence of antiphase domain boundaries. Following Cottrell's domain hardening mechanism, numerous workers have proposed other refined models also involving the presence of domain boundaries. Using the anomalous X-ray diffraction technique, Davies and Stoloff have shown that the hardness of the Ni3Fe superlattice varies with the domain size. So far, no direct observation of antiphase domain boundaries in Ni3Fe has been reported. Because the atomic scattering factors of the elements in NijFe are so close, the superlattice reflections are not easily detected. Furthermore, the domain configurations in NioFe are thought to be independent of the crystallographic orientations.

The role of differential phase contrast in electron microscopy

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 176-177
Author(s):  
E.M. Waddell ◽  
J.N. Chapman ◽  
R.P. Ferrier
Keyword(s):  
Phase Contrast ◽  
Practical Method ◽  
Position Vector ◽  
Differential Phase ◽  
Pure Phase ◽  
Differential Phase Contrast ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Image Position ◽  
First Moment

Dekkers and de Lang (1977) have discussed a practical method of realising differential phase contrast in a STEM. The method involves taking the difference signal from two semi-circular detectors placed symmetrically about the optic axis and subtending the same angle (2α) at the specimen as that of the cone of illumination. Such a system, or an obvious generalisation of it, namely a quadrant detector, has the characteristic of responding to the gradient of the phase of the specimen transmittance. In this paper we shall compare the performance of this type of system with that of a first moment detector (Waddell et al.1977).For a first moment detector the response function R(k) is of the form R(k) = ck where c is a constant, k is a position vector in the detector plane and the vector nature of R(k)indicates that two signals are produced. This type of system would produce an image signal given bywhere the specimen transmittance is given by a (r) exp (iϕ (r), r is a position vector in object space, ro the position of the probe, ⊛ represents a convolution integral and it has been assumed that we have a coherent probe, with a complex disturbance of the form b(r-ro) exp (iζ (r-ro)). Thus the image signal for a pure phase object imaged in a STEM using a first moment detector is b2 ⊛ ▽ø. Note that this puts no restrictions on the magnitude of the variation of the phase function, but does assume an infinite detector.

Removal of inelastically scattered electrons substantially increases phase contrast on frozen-hydrated molecules

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 652-653
Author(s):  
John P. Langmore ◽  
Brian D. Athey
Keyword(s):  
Electron Diffraction ◽  
Phase Contrast ◽  
Low Dose ◽  
Dark Field ◽  
Biological Structure ◽  
Bright Field ◽  
Low Contrast ◽  
Negative Stain ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Better Than

Although electron diffraction indicates better than 0.3nm preservation of biological structure in vitreous ice, the imaging of molecules in ice is limited by low contrast. Thus, low-dose images of frozen-hydrated molecules have significantly more noise than images of air-dried or negatively-stained molecules. We have addressed the question of the origins of this loss of contrast. One unavoidable effect is the reduction in scattering contrast between a molecule and the background. In effect, the difference in scattering power between a molecule and its background is 2-5 times less in a layer of ice than in vacuum or negative stain. A second, previously unrecognized, effect is the large, incoherent background of inelastic scattering from the ice. This background reduces both scattering and phase contrast by an additional factor of about 3, as shown in this paper. We have used energy filtration on the Zeiss EM902 in order to eliminate this second effect, and also increase scattering contrast in bright-field and dark-field.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document