Morality within the limits of practical reason: a critique of Kant’s concept of moral virtue

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-216
Author(s):  
Edward Uzoma Ezedike
Keyword(s):  
Practical Reason ◽  
Moral Agency ◽  
Moral Virtue ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Right ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient ◽  
Synthetic Application

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate Kant’s idea of grounding morality within the limits of practical reason. Kant argues that morality must be devoid of emotions if the authors must make the right decisions. His idea of morality is basically ratiocentric. This paper, therefore, seeks a justification of Kant’s ratiocentricism, which excludes subjective emotional dimensions in moral actions and judgements. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a critical and analytic method of research. It is not empirical research, and hence, does not make use of tables and quantifiable data. The methodology is exclusively qualitative in nature. Findings The major finding of this research work is that an application of practical reason is necessary for the moral agency but it is not a sufficient condition for moral agency. The existential realities demand a synthetic application of reason and emotion in moral issues. So then, a good will is determined by the rational principle. The reason is an organic whole that is capable of functioning both practically and theoretically. The practical reason is not reasoned functioning to acquire knowledge but reason operating as a guide and as the directing force of the will. The application of pure, practical reason and relevant emotional considerations is both necessary and sufficient for moral agency. Originality/value This paper is the outcome of deep critical reflections on Kant’s moral philosophy by the author.

Post-contract material management and waste minimization

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 793-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullahi Babatunde Saka ◽  
Fatai Oladayo Olaore ◽  
Timothy Oluwatosin Olawumi
Keyword(s):  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Waste Minimization ◽  
Value For Money ◽  
Educational Training ◽  
Material Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Proper Material ◽  
The Right

Purpose This paper aims to assess the level of awareness of quantity surveyors in material management and their key roles in waste minimization during the post-contract stage of the project with a view of achieving value for money in their roles. Design/methodology/approach This involves administering a questionnaire survey to registered members of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, the only recognized professional body of quantity surveyors in Nigeria, within Lagos state. The empirical questionnaire survey succeeds a literature review that isolates the key strategies used by quantity surveyors in material management and waste minimization at the post-contract stage. The validity of the questionnaire was carried out by two experienced construction industry researchers and three experienced professional quantity surveyors to ensure that the questionnaire was not ambiguous and that it consists of the right questions in tandem with the research. The respondents were grouped into consultant’s QS and contractor’s QS. Findings Key roles of quantity surveyors during the material management process are proper material storage, and material inventory and accounting are the most important material management and waste minimization practices during the institute stage. It revealed that there is a lack of material waste documentation practices during the construction stage. In addition, there is no statistically significant difference in the responses of the two groups. This may be because there is no clear compartmentalization between the practices of the two groups. In addition, these two groups had the same education training, as there is no difference between the educational training of the consultant’s QS and contractor’s QS. Originality/value This study assessed the quantity surveyors’ roles with regard to material management and waste minimization. It would add to the scanty research work in this area. The study has also successfully revealed the strategies that are to be adopted by the quantity surveyors to achieve value for money during the post-contract stage.

Scotus and Ockham

2020 ◽  
pp. 101-108
Author(s):  
Terence Irwin
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Practical Reason ◽  
Moral Rightness ◽  
Divine Will ◽  
The Will ◽  
Divine Commands ◽  
The Right

Scotus and Ockham reject the Aristotelian outlook, as Aquinas presents it, and develop a voluntarist account of the will and of morality. In their view, determination by practical reason does not ensure free will; a free will must be wholly undetermined by reason. Nor can it be determined by the desire for one’s ultimate good; the impulse towards the right is separate from the impulse towards happiness. If we apply these principles to the freedom of the divine will, we find that God could not be free if the nature of right and wrong were independent of the divine will. We must infer that moral rightness and wrongness are ultimately constituted by divine commands.

scholarly journals Rebels with a cause: the spiritual dimension of social marketing

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard Hastings
Keyword(s):  
Social Marketing ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Moral Agency ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spiritual Dimension ◽  
The Right

Purpose This paper aims to explore the spiritual dimension of social marketing. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a conceptual approach. Findings The greatest problems humankind faces, from non-communicable diseases epidemics to global warming, are self-inflicted. Humans are voluntarily drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and driving SUVs which threaten our health and our planet. It need not be so. Historical experience and two millennia of thinking show we are capable of better. We all have within us the moral agency to make the right choice even when it is the difficult one; we just have to reconnect with it. Indeed, it is this capacity and desire “to follow after wisdom and virtue”, to rebel against injustice and malignancy, that make us human and cements our collective identity. In the past century, this realisation was focused by the terrible events of Second World War and resulted in the formation of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Originality/value This paper argues that these ideas of agency, morality and rights have fundamental implications for social marketing. We have to move beyond mere behaviour change and start thinking about people in the round – body, mind and spirit. Our job involves more than giving diets a healthy nudge or making the ecological option easy, fun and popular; we have to foster and encourage the innate human drive to think critically and act accordingly. We are not here to edit choice but to facilitate personal growth and social progress.

Reasoning and Lapses in James’ The Will to Believe

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 387-399
Author(s):  
Jonathan Adler
Keyword(s):  
Ethics Of Belief ◽  
Insufficient Evidence ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Ethics Of Belief

James’ The Will to Believe is the most influential writing in the ethics of belief. In it, James defends the right and rationality to believe on non-evidential grounds. James’ argument is directed against Clifford’s “Evidentialism” presented in The Ethics of Belief in which Clifford concludes that “[i]t is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence”. After an overview of the James-Clifford exchange and James’ argument, I reconstruct his argument in detail. Subsequently, I examine four steps in James’ argument, and try to show that these amount to fallacies – enticing to reason, but not cogent.

Valid Signature Detection and Verification for Security of Individual Person

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Varun Sharma ◽  
Narpat Singh
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Early Research ◽  
Individual Person ◽  
Signature Detection ◽  
Online Signature ◽  
The Right ◽  
Handwritten Signature

In the recent research work, the handwritten signature is a suitable field to detection of valid signature from different environment such online signature and offline signature. In early research work, a lot of unauthorized person put the signature and theft the data in illegal manner from organization or industries. So we have to need identify, the right person on the basis of various parameters that can be detected. In this paper, we have proposed two methods namely LDA and Neural Network for the offline signature from the scan signature image. For efficient research, we have focused the comparative analysis in terms of FRR, SSIM, MSE, and PSNR. These parameters are compared with the early work and the recent work. Our proposed work is more effective and provides the suitable result through our method which leads to existing work. Our method will help to find legal signature of authorized use for security and avoid illegal work.

Kant on Judging and the Will

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Vance Buroker
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Practical Reason ◽  
Theoretical Reason ◽  
Critical Philosophy ◽  
Voluntary Activity ◽  
The Will ◽  
Direct Use

Kant’s Critical philosophy depends on the distinction between theoretical and practical reason, which he borrowed from Aristotle. But unlike Aristotle Kant claims that theoretical reason is subordinate to practical reason. This raises the possibility that theoretical judging could be a voluntary activity. This chapter investigates Kant’s view of the relation between theoretical judgments and the will. Based on Andrew Chignell’s recent work, it is argued that Kant recognizes the legitimate direct use of the will only in judgments he labels Belief (Glaube). With respect to Knowledge, his position is identical to Descartes’s position on clear and distinct perception. An analysis of Kant’s voluntarism regarding the activities of theoretical reason provides a model for subordinating theoretical reason to practical reason.

Interest rate option hedging portfolios without bank account

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-142
Author(s):  
Alberto Bueno-Guerrero
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Contingent Claim ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient Condition ◽  
Barrier Option ◽  
Bank Account ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Option Hedging ◽  
Hedging Portfolio ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient ◽  
First Time

Purpose This paper aims to study the conditions for the hedging portfolio of any contingent claim on bonds to have no bank account part. Design/methodology/approach Hedging and Malliavin calculus techniques recently developed under a stochastic string framework are applied. Findings A necessary and sufficient condition for the hedging portfolio to have no bank account part is found. This condition is applied to a barrier option, and an example of a contingent claim whose hedging portfolio has a bank account part different from zero is provided. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that this issue has been addressed in the literature.

Islamic hedging for pilgrimage funds: case of Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-341
Author(s):  
Rifki Ismal ◽  
Nurul Izzati Septiana
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rate ◽  
The Other ◽  
Exchange Rate Risk ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Rate Risk ◽  
Risk Identify ◽  
Hajj Season ◽  
The Right ◽  
Very High

Purpose The demand for Saudi Arabian real (SAR) is very high in the pilgrimage (hajj) season while the authority, unfortunately, does not hedge the hajj funds. As such, the hajj funds are potentially exposed to exchange rate risk, which can impact the value of hajj funds and generate extra cost to the pilgrims. The purpose of this paper is to conduct simulations of Islamic hedging for pilgrimage funds to: mitigate and minimize exchange rate risk, identify and recommend the ideal time, amount and tenors of Islamic hedging for hajj funds, estimate cost saving by pursuing Islamic hedging and propose technical and general recommendations for the authority. Design/methodology/approach Forward transaction mechanism is adopted to compute Islamic forward between SAR and Rupiah (Indonesian currency) or IDR. Findings – based on simulations, the paper finds that: the longer the Islamic hedging tenors, the better is the result of Islamic hedging, the decreasing of IDR/USD is the right time to hedge the hajj funds and, on the other hand, the IDR/SAR appreciation is not the right time to hedge the hajj funds. Findings Based on simulations, the paper finds that: the longer the Islamic hedging tenors, the better is the result of Islamic hedging, the decreasing of IDR/USD is the right time to hedge the hajj funds and, on the other hand, the IDR/SAR appreciation is not the right time to hedge the hajj funds. Research limitations/implications The research suggests the authority to (and not to) hedge the hajj fund, depending on economic conditions and market indicators. Even though the assessment is for the Indonesian case, other countries maintaining hajj funds might also learn from this paper. Originality/value To the best of author’s knowledge, this is the first paper in Indonesia that attempts to simulate the optimal hedging of hajj funds.

Moral Issues in Relation to Chimpanzee Field Studies and Experiments

1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 621-625
Author(s):  
Vernon Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Detailed Consideration ◽  
Field Workers ◽  
The Right

The ancient Greek roots of two traditions in science are traced. The first, derived from Pythagoras, emphasises continuity of life-forms and respect for animals. The second, derived from Aristotle, divides humans from animals because humans possess reason whereas animals lack it. This gives humans the right to use animals for their own purposes. Primate field workers are closer to the former tradition than the latter, but rarely involve themselves in detailed consideration of animal experiments. With the post-Darwinian awareness of the continuity of all life-forms, it is now known that chimpanzees, in particular, are very close to humans in most respects, and it is argued that their use in invasive experiments is no longer morally defensible.

Zn diffusion and reflow behaviour of Sn-9Zn and Sn-8.5Zn-0.5Ag-0.01Al-0.1Ga solders on a Ni/Cu substrate under IR reflow

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Mittal ◽  
K.L. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Calculations ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Diffusion Behavior ◽  
Zn Diffusion ◽  
Cu Substrate ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Substrate Interface ◽  
Solder Balls ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This paper aims to compare the reflow and Zn diffusion behaviors in Sn-Zn and Sn-8.5Zn-0.5Ag-0.01Al-0.1Ga (5E) solders during soldering on a Ni/Cu substrate under infrared (IR) reflow. The study proposes a model on the effect of various elements particularly Zn diffusion behavior in the solders on the formation of intermetallic compounds (IMCs). Design/methodology/approach – The melting activities of two solders near their melting points on copper substrates are visualized in an IR reflow furnace. Reflowed solder joints were analyzed using scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Findings – Reflow behaviors of the solders are similar. During melting, solder balls are first merged into each other and then reflow on the substrate from top to bottom. Both solders show a reduced amount of Zn in the solder. Theoretical calculations demonstrate a higher Zn diffusion in the 5E solder; however, the amount of Zn actually observed at the solder/substrate interface is lower than Sn-9Zn solder due to the formation of ZnAg3 in the solder. A thinner IMC layer is formed at the interface in the 5E solder than the Sn-Zn solder. Research limitations/implications – The present work compares the 5E solder only with Sn-Zn solder. Additional research work may be required to compare 5E solder with other solders like Sn-Ag, SnAgCu, etc. to further establish its practical applications. Practical implications – The study ascertains the advantages of 5E solder over Sn-Zn solder for all practical applications. Originality/value – The significance of this paper is the understanding of the relation between reflow behavior of solders and reactivity of different elements in the solder alloys and substrate to form various IMCs and their influence on the formation of IMC layer at solder/substrate interface. Emphasis is provided for the diffusion behavior of Zn during reflow and respective reaction mechanisms.

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