The Ethical Demand

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. Løgstrup ◽  
Bjørn Rabjerg ◽  
Robert Stern
Keyword(s):  
Moral Responsibility ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
The Other ◽  
Clear Distinction ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ethical Relation ◽  
Ethical Demand

This book concerns the nature and basis for the fundamental ethical relation between human beings. Beginning from the fundamental example of trust, it is argued that this relation arises from our interdependence and mutual vulnerability, which then gives us power over the lives of other people. It claimed that in this situation, there arises a demand to care for the other person. This demand is characterized as silent, radical, one-sided, and unfulfillable, as it cannot be satisfied by just doing what the other asks; requires us to act unselfishly; is non-reciprocal; and should not be experienced as a demand. As a result, the demand is distinguished from ordinary social norms, which lack these characteristics, though it is argued that there is a relation between these two levels, as legitimate social norms should ‘refract’ the ethical demand. It is also argued that in order to make sense of a demand of this sort, we must see ‘life as a gift’, rather than treating ourselves as the sovereign grounds for our own existence. In understanding the ethical demand in this way, it is suggested, we can make sense of Jesus’s proclamation to love our neighbour in purely human terms, though at the same time we may have to go beyond a scientific picture which operates with a clear distinction between fact and values, and treats determinism as a basis for rejecting moral responsibility.

The Ethical Demand and Its Basis

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-47
Author(s):  
Robert Stern
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ethical Demand

This chapter covers the ‘Introduction’ to K. E. Løgstrup’s The Ethical Demand, and the first two chapters of the book. These provide the foundation for Løgstrup’s account of the ethical demand, by relating it to Jesus’s proclamation to love our neighbour, while showing how the demand grows out of the interdependence of human beings, an interdependence that can be illustrated through the key example of trust. Løgstrup also defends the claim that the demand to care for the other is ‘unspoken’ or ‘silent’, and begins to contrast the demand to social norms, while also responding to the worry that the demand might encourage us to ‘encroach’ on the lives of others, arguing in the second chapter of his book that we cannot escape this problem by seeking relationships that involve an intimacy which somehow does away with any mediation between individuals.

The Radicality of the Demand and the Social Norms

2020 ◽  
pp. 39-55
Author(s):  
K. E. Løgstrup
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ethical Demand

This chapter focuses on the radicality of the ethical demand, and how that sets it apart from social mores and laws. It is argued that because the demand is silent or unspoken, we must then respond selflessly for the good of the other person, while it may also interfere with our lives, and could include love of the enemy. The radicality of the demand then expresses itself in the fact that a person has no right to make the demand, while it isolates or makes responsible the person on whom it falls. At the same time, the radicality of the demand does not mean it is limitless. However, as we cannot rely on people to act as the demand requires, we also need social norms, which are not radical in these ways. The relation between the demand and these norms is explored, and each is argued to require the other.

The Absolute Demand of Concrete Existence

2020 ◽  
pp. 55-70
Author(s):  
K. E. Løgstrup
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
The Other ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Ethical Demand

This chapter critiques Kierkegaard’s conception of the infinite demand. Kierkegaard’s demand remains abstract because he tries to derive content from form: namely, to derive its content from the fact that it is infinite, where this means that its aim is for the finite individual to know that they are nothing before God. But it is then impossible to treat this infinite demand as connecting to our relation with other people, and each involves radically different conceptions of guilt and responsibility. To avoid this problem, it is argued that we should think in terms of an ethical demand which remains between individuals, but which is also distinct from the social norms, as the person on whom the demand falls is ‘isolated’ and so must take individual responsibility for their response to the other, rather than merely following social norms and thereby being confined to life in the crowd.

Is the Ethical Demand Destructive on Account of Its Radical Character?

2020 ◽  
pp. 106-123
Author(s):  
K. E. Løgstrup
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Sense Of Obligation ◽  
Radical Character ◽  
Ethical Demand ◽  
As If

This chapter considers the relation between the ethical demand and natural love, understood as love which has a biological, psychological, or sociological basis. It is argued that while natural love may appear more reciprocal than the ethical demand, in fact this contrast is superficial, and is partly based on the misapprehension that the ethical demand is destructive for the person acting on it. Instead, it is argued, the ethical demand arises when natural love fails. Moreover, it is argued, if we are capable of responding to the other person with love, this is not due to our own efforts, as the self is inherently selfish and thus wicked; love is therefore the result of the goodness of life, rather than the goodness of human beings. This also makes the ethical demand unfulfillable, as if the demand arises, love has already failed, to be replaced by a sense of obligation.

A Liberdade e a Justiça: horizontes para uma racionalidade socioambiental

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luis Sepúlveda Ferriz
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Great Opportunity ◽  
The World ◽  
Authentic Development ◽  
Sense Of Justice

Freedom and Justice have always been challenged. Since the most remote times, and in the most varied circumstances of places and people, human beings have tried to clarify and put into practice these two controversial concepts. Freedom and Justice, in effect, are words, but also dreams, desires and practices that, not being imperfect, are less sublime and ambitious. Reflecting on them on the basis of an ethics of development and socioenvironmental sustainability is still a great challenge in our contemporaneity. This book is born from the need that we all have to reflect, understand what our role is in relation to the OTHER, understood as the other as Environment. Doing this from such disparate areas and at the same time as current as Economics, Philosophy and Ecology, is still a great opportunity to discuss complexity, transdisciplinarity and the inclusion of diverse themes, but which all converge in the Human Being and its relationship with the world. Endowing human beings with Freedom and a sense of Justice means RESPONSIBILITY. To be free and to want a better and fairer world is to endow our existence with meaning and meaning. Agency, autonomy, functioning, dignity, rights, are capacities that must be leveraged individually and collectively for authentic development to exist. Development as Freedom is a valid proposal for thinking about a socio-environmental rationality that interferes in the controversial relations between economics, ethics and the environment.

فلسفة العقوبة في الشريعة الإسلامية والقانون الوضعي عرض وموازنة Exposition and Comparison of the Philosophy of Punishment in Islamic and Positive Laws

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
عبد المجيد قاسم عبد المجيد (Qasim Abdulmajid) ◽  
محمد ليبا (Liba)
Keyword(s):  
Islamic Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Penal System ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
New School ◽  
Positive Law ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Philosophy Of Punishment ◽  
Emerging Issues

تناولت هذه الورقة فلسفة العقوبة في الشريعة الإسلامية، وفلسفتها في القانون الوضعي، وتمت الموازنة بين الفلسفتين، وخلص العرض والموازنة إلى نتائج ملخصها أن مسألة عصمة الشريعة وسموها تعد علامة فارقة بين الشريعة الإسلامية والقانون الوضعي، هذه العلامة نتج عنها فروق كثيرة أولها أن العقوبة في التشريع الوضعي تكون تابعةً للهدف، فالهدف يوضع أولاً ثم تصاغ على ضوئه العقوبة، ولذلك كلما ظهرت مدرسةٌ جديدةٌ تؤسس لفكرٍ جديدٍ ظهر اختلافٌ في التشريع العقابي. بينما النظام العقابي الإسلامي ثابتٌ ومعصوم، وقد وُجدت الحاجة إلى معرفة أهدافه وفلسفته ليتسنى السير على مقتضاها فيما يستجد من وقائع، وأن سمو فلسفة العقوبة في الشريعة الإسلامية ينبع من سمو مصدرها، فواضع هذه العقوبات هو خالق البشر. بينما العقوبة في القانون الوضعي تعتمد في فلسفتها على خبرة واضعيها، وهي خبرة محدودة وأحكامها نسبية، لذا كان تطبيق العقوبات الشرعية أجدر حتى وإن لم يُدرَك كنه هذه العقوبات وفلسفتها. الكلمات الرئيسية: فلسفة العقوبة، القانون الإسلامي، القانون الوضعي، التشريع العقابي.******************************In this paper light is shed on the philosophy of punishment in Islamic and positive laws and a comparison between them is accomplished. In brief, the conclusion of the exposition and comparison is that issue of infallibility of SharÊ‘ah and its nobleness are the distinguishing marks between Islamic and positive laws. This led to further differences. The first difference is that the punishment in positive laws is in accordance with the stipulated goal, that is, the goal is set first and then the punishment is formulated in that light. That is why whenever any new school of thought appears based on some ideology, differences emerge in punitive legislation. Islamic penal system is, however, immutable and infallible. There is a need to know its objectives and wisdom so as to in order to tackle new emerging issues. The nobility of the philosophy of punishment in Islamic law stems from the nobility of its source and that is no one but the Creator of human beings. The punishment in the positive law, on the other hand, relies on the philosophy that is based on the experiences of the authors of these laws. And these experiences are limited and their rulings are relativistic. Applying Islamic legal punishments are, therefore, more legitimate, even though their essence and philosophy are not fully grasped.Key words: Philosophy of Punishment, Islamic Law, Positive Law, Punitive Legislation.

A study on the design of a wardrobe, for patients bed-ridden with cancer, applying the knowledge of anonymous design

Impact ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (7) ◽  
pp. 45-47
Author(s):  
Naoko Fujii
Keyword(s):  
Hospital Stay ◽  
Nursing Care ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Prolonged Hospital Stay ◽  
Hospital Patients ◽  
Hospital Gowns ◽  
Hospital Stays ◽  
Prolonged Hospital

The majority of human beings will be admitted to hospital at some point over the course of their lives. For the more fortunate among us, these hospital stays will be brief and will barely register as a significant experience. However, for others, being admitted for weeks or months at a time will be necessary in order to combat and recover from whatever it was that made admittance to hospital necessary. While it is easy to think of many reasons why a prolonged hospital stay might be undesirable, one that may escape our attention is the clothes that are worn by patients during their stay. Once a patient has been assigned a bed, they are often given a gown which they put on without thought and then lie down. The gowns that are given to patients are generally designed with healthcare professionals in mind. For example, in Japan pyjamas and yukata (bathrobes) are used as hospital gowns because they have a front opening that is easy to use during treatment and nursing care. In addition, the other gowns can be opened from the ankle to the crotch using the zip. Dr Naoko Fujii has focused her career on designing clothes for hospital patients and believes that there is a way to satisfy the practical needs of a hospital and the care it gives at the same time as satisfying the requirements of patients. She is now focusing her attention on this challenge.

Impact of Job Stress and Social Support on Job Satisfaction among Academic Staff

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumari Kumkum ◽  
R. N. Singh ◽  
Yogershi Rajpoot
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Job Stress ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Four Dimensions

There may be so many negative consequences of stress for human beings and dissatisfaction among employees happens to be one of the major problems. It indicates negative feelings that individuals have regarding their jobs or its facets. On the other hand, social support is assumed to be mitigating the relationship between negative aspects of the work environment and job satisfaction. Job stress is said to be associated with job dissatisfaction as well as experience of strain. In view of the above, this study examined the role of job stress and social support in job satisfaction. The sample consisted of 30 school teachers from different school of Varanasi (U.P.). The job stress, job satisfaction and social support scales were administered on the participants. The responses of the participants were converted into scores for statistical analyses. The scores of participants on the scales were correlated. The findings revealed that job stress led to increased job satisfaction. It is against the proposed hypothesis and it appears as if the social support received by the participants is a factor behind it. Two of the four dimensions of social support were found to exert positive impact on job satisfaction but the other two dimensions were not found to be correlated with it. The findings are thoroughly discussed and interpreted.

Kant, Marginal Cases, and Moral Standing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Korsgaard
Keyword(s):  
Life Stage ◽  
The Other ◽  
Moral Standing ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Identity Problem ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Moral Difference

According to the marginal cases argument, there is no property that might justify making a moral difference between human beings and the other animals that is both uniquely and universally human. It is therefore “speciesist” to treat human beings differently just because we are human beings. While not challenging the conclusion, this chapter argues that the marginal cases argument is metaphysically misguided. It ignores the differences between a life stage and a kind, and between lacking a property and having it in a defective form. The chapter then argues for a view of moral standing that attributes it to the subject of a life conceived as an atemporal being, and shows how this view can resolve some familiar puzzles such as how death can be a loss to the person who has died, how we can wrong the dead, the “procreation asymmetry,” and the “non-identity problem.”

Fellow Creatures

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Korsgaard
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Moral Standing ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Good For ◽  
Treat All ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship

This book argues that we are obligated to treat all sentient animals as “ends in themselves.” Drawing on a theory of the good derived from Aristotle, it offers an explanation of why animals are the sorts of beings who have a good. Drawing on a revised version of Kant’s argument for the value of humanity, it argues that rationality commits us to claiming the standing of ends in ourselves in two senses. As autonomous beings, we claim to be ends in ourselves when we claim the standing to make laws for ourselves and each other. As beings who have a good, we also claim to be ends in ourselves when we take the things that are good for us to be good absolutely and so worthy of pursuit. The first claim commits us to joining with other autonomous beings in relations of reciprocal moral lawmaking. The second claim commits us to treating the good of every sentient animal as something of absolute importance. The book also argues that human beings are not more important than, superior to, or better off than the other animals. It criticizes the “marginal cases” argument and advances a view of moral standing as attaching to the atemporal subjects of lives. It offers a non-utilitarian account of the relationship between the good and pleasure, and addresses questions about the badness of extinction and about whether we have the right to eat animals, experiment on them, make them work for us, and keep them as pets.

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