On Messick and Naturalism: A Rejoinder to Fort

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 735-742
Author(s):  
Edwin M. Hartman
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ethical Naturalism ◽  
Rational Deliberation ◽  
Bright Line ◽  
Moral Communities ◽  
Moral Importance ◽  
Moral Philosophers ◽  
Moral Facts

Professor Fort (1999) imagines a dispute over the moral importance of certain facts, with David Messick and himself on one side and Donna Wood and me on the other. He has identified an important issue—ethical naturalism—but that issue is not a point of disagreement between Messick and me.Fort has some interesting ideas about how Messick’s views might help in creating organizations that are moral communities. Beyond noting that those ideas constitute the most important part of his essay and merit consideration, I shall not comment on them.Moral philosophers who are naturalists—I am one—hold that there is no bright line between ought-statements and is-statements and that empirical facts have implications for moral facts. So, for example, that a certain practice helps a community survive is a strong sort of reason for claiming that it is a morally good practice, other things being equal. But most naturalists do not claim that any practice that has arisen by virtue of evolution is ipso facto a morally good practice even if it does serve some purpose. Nor does ethical naturalism have a characteristic view of the extent to which our evolutionary history, as opposed to our rational deliberation, determines what we do.

scholarly journals The Self-Undermining Arguments from Disagreement

2019 ◽  
pp. 23-46
Author(s):  
Eric Sampson
Keyword(s):  
Moral Realism ◽  
Moral Disagreement ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Moral Beliefs ◽  
Moral Claims ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Moral Philosophers ◽  
Moral Facts

Arguments from disagreement against moral realism begin by calling attention to (or supposing) widespread, fundamental moral disagreement among a certain group of people (e.g., the folk, moral philosophers, idealized agents). Then, some skeptical or anti-realist-friendly conclusion is drawn. Chapter 2 proposes that arguments from disagreement share a structure that makes them vulnerable to a single, powerful objection: they self-undermine. For each formulation of the argument from disagreement, at least one of its premises casts doubt either on itself or on one of the other premises. On reflection, this shouldn’t be surprising. These arguments are intended to support very strong metaphysical or epistemological conclusions about morality (e.g., that there are no moral facts, that none of our moral beliefs are justified). They must therefore employ very strong metaphysical or epistemological premises. But, given the pervasiveness of disagreement in philosophy, especially about metaphysics and epistemology, very strong premises are virtually certain to be the subject of widespread, intractable disagreement—precisely the sort of disagreement that proponents of these arguments think undermine moral claims. Thus, these arguments undermine their own premises. If Chapter 2’s argument is sound, it provides realists with a single, unified strategy for responding to any existing or forthcoming arguments from disagreement.

From Scarcity to Abundance: Achieving Quality-Assured Mass Higher Education

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter P. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Secondary System ◽  
Mass Higher Education ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
One Year ◽  
The One

The United States is in a bind. On the one hand, we need millions of additional citizens with at least one year of successful post-secondary experience to adapt to the knowledge economy. Both the Gates and Lumina Foundations, and our President, have championed this goal in different ways. On the other hand, we have a post-secondary system that is trapped between rising costs and stagnant effectiveness, seemingly unable to respond effectively to this challenge. This paper analyzes several aspects of this problem, describes changes in the society that create the basis for solutions, and offers several examples from Kaplan University of emerging practice that suggests what good practice might look like in a world where quality-assured mass higher education is the norm.

The Transferable Vote: A Hundred Years of Anglican Experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-355
Author(s):  
Colin Buchanan
Keyword(s):  
Good Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Blind Person ◽  
Single Transferable Vote ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Church

I am grateful to the Society for the opportunity to mark the centenary of the Enabling Act and the beginning of the Church Assembly with some reflection on an often ignored but highly valuable feature of that inauguration: the Single Transferable Vote or STV. I tried on one respected registrar recently an illustration of what the task must be like for those who do not welcome it. Was it, I suggested, like a blind person doing a jigsaw where the pieces were all shaped differently from each other – in other words, where the blind person could ensure that it was put together accurately, but on the other hand never saw the picture? The response was that that picture reflected accurately how it had in fact felt to that registrar. That might suggest that this lecture should be explaining and commending STV as general good practice, but in the event the process and virtues of STV have here to be largely taken for granted. I offer here one short commendation of STV.

الأمر بالعشرة بالمعروف في القرآن الكريم وأثره على العلاقات الأسرية

2021 ◽  
pp. arabic cover-english cover
Author(s):  
علي عبد العزيز سيور
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Family Relations ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Family Relationship ◽  
Knowledge System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Legal Text ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

يجيب البحث عن إشكالية تتعلق بالعلاقات الأسرية من جهة الاحتكام للأعراف في النفقة والمسكن والملبس وغيرها، مما يترتب على ذلك خلافات تفضي ببعضها إلى المحاكم، وقد تنتهي بالطلاق. وقد هدف البحث إلى : 1 ـ تقديم منظومة معرفية متعلقة بدلالات العشرة بالمعروف من أجل الإسهام في إعادة تشكيل عقلية ناضجة للزوجين تضبط العلاقة بينهما عند الخلاف. 2 ـ تسليط الضوء على أبعاد وحدود المعروف نصًا والمعروف عرفًا في الأسرة. 3 ـ التأكيد على أن العشرة بالمعروف متبادلة بين كل من الزوج والزوجة، لا يقتصر هذا التكليف على واحد دون الآخر. وقد اعتمدت المنهج الاستقرائي عبر جمع الايات القرآنية ذات الصلة وذكر أقوال المفسرين والفقهاء، والمنهج التحليلي في فهم دلالات الألفاظ وتوجيهات المفسرين، والمنهج الاستنباطي بغية الوصول إلى ضوابط جامعة تخدم الهدف العام للبحث، وانتهى البحث إلى مجموعة من النتائج والتوصيات ومنها: اعتبار العرف الذي لا يخالف نصًا شرعيًا قاعدة من القواعد المعتبرة في ضبط العلاقات بين الزوجين. بشرط أن يقع تحت قدرة الزوج وطاقته، وأن يكون مما انتشر بين الناس، وينطبق على الأسرة مثله. القرآن الكريم ـ العشرة بالمعروف – العلاقة الأسرية – الحقوق بين الزوجين – العرف وأثره بين الزوجين. Summary The research answers a problem related to family relations in terms of resorting to customs in alimony, housing, clothing, and others...which results in disputes that may lead to some of them in the courts and may end in divorce. The aim of the research was to 1 - presenting a knowledge system related to the semantics of the good-natured in order to contribute to reshaping a mature mentality of the spouses that controls the relationship between them in the event of disagreement. 2 - and to shed light on the dimensions and limits of what is textually known and what is known by convention in the family. 3 - Emphasis on that good practice is mutual. Between both husband and wife, this assignment is not limited to one without the other. The inductive approach was adopted by collecting the relevant Qur’anic verses and mentioning the sayings of the commentators and jurists, the analytical approach in understanding the semantics of the words and the directives of the interpreters, and the deductive approach in order to reach comprehensive controls that serve the general objective of the research, and the research ended with a set of results and recommendations, including: Considering the custom that does not contradict A legal text is one of the considered rules in controlling relations between spouses. Provided that it falls under the husband’s ability and energy, and that it is something that has spread among people, and applies to the family like him. The Noble Qur’an - Ten Laws - Family Relationship - Rights between spouses - Custom and its effect between spouses.

Energy Consumption in Leisure Centres – A Comparative Study

1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-225
Author(s):  
A.J. Griffiths ◽  
P.J. Bowen ◽  
B.J. Brinkworth ◽  
I.R. Morgan ◽  
A Howarth
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Energy Cost ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Occupancy Rate ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
High Band

The Sports and Recreation sector within the UK uses the equivalent of 3 millions tonnes of coal per year to supply the activities demanded by an ever increasing sports conscience society. The government has attempted to stimulate energy efficiency in this sector through the use of good practice guides and case studies. A comparative study was undertaken to analyse the performance of two leisure complexes in the Seven Valley degree day region. One site had double the occupancy rate of the other. It was found that the energy consumption per user was approximately 10 kWh for both sites. However the energy cost per user showed a large difference: for Site A this index was 31p/user compared to 15p/user at Site B. The primary causes of this difference are attributed to variation in energy mix between the two sites, as well as a difference in the price paid for primary fuel. Indices based on floor area of the facilities exhibit similar trends, and furthermore show that both sites were in the high band of energy consumption. This indicated that both sites had the potential to make significant energy-related savings, and a further breakdown of electrical, natural gas and water consumption per site is used to identify these potential savings in a rapidly expanding sector.

Nietzsche

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
David Hume ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Baruch Spinoza ◽  
Spiritual Dimension ◽  
Good And Evil ◽  
Genealogy Of Morals ◽  
Moral Philosophers

This chapter examines Friedrich Nietzsche's moral philosophy, first by explaining what makes him different from most of the other moral philosophers such as David Hume, Thomas Hobbes, the Greeks, and Baruch Spinoza. It then considers Nietzsche's notion of good and evil by addressing three questions: How do we find out what sort of creatures men are? How do we decide what sort of creature man ought to be? Is it possible for man to transform himself into that sort of creature. It also discusses the problem faced by Nietzsche in his attempts to assess human nature, namely: what is to count as health in the spiritual dimension, when is a soul diseased, what is mens sana. Finally, it analyzes the main arguments put forward by Nietzsche in his two books Beyond Good and Evil and The Genealogy of Morals.

Nietzsche’s Anti-Realism about Value

2019 ◽  
pp. 17-48
Author(s):  
Brian Leiter
Keyword(s):  
Moral Values ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Explanatory Role ◽  
Moral Philosophers ◽  
Moral Facts

Nietzsche defends the metaphysical thesis that there are no objective (i.e. mind-independent) facts about values, including moral values. His primary arguments for his moral anti-realism are “best explanation” arguments: the best explanation of our moral judgments, indeed of the two-millennium long disagreements among moral philosophers, make no reference to objective moral facts. The details of an “inference to the best explanation” are laid out, and illustrated with Nietzsche’s own texts. Contemporary attempts to defend the explanatory role of moral facts are critiqued, and the radical implications of the argument from disagreement among philosophers considered and defended.

There Ought to Be Roots

2019 ◽  
pp. 65-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Kappeler ◽  
Claudia Fichtel ◽  
Carel P. van Schaik
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Group Living ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Social Patterns ◽  
Main Thesis ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Key Features ◽  
The One

This chapter explores the notion that the behavioural and cognitive constituents of human social norms have equivalents or precursors in humans’ closest living relatives, the non-human primates. Scrutiny of the definitions of various forms of conformity revealed, on the one hand, that some key features defining social norms are essentially impossible to infer in animals so that from a purist perspective, homologous equivalents of social norms cannot be demonstrated. On the other hand, this review revealed that functional equivalents or precursors of behavioural, emotional, and cognitive mechanisms constituting normative conformity are present and ubiquitous among (group-living haplorhine) non-human primates and that social patterns reflecting normative conformity have been described, hence supporting the authors’ main thesis that this salient aspect of human sociality, even though it may depend upon some uniquely derived features, has strong and long roots in the evolutionary history shared with other primates.

scholarly journals Influence of mass on tarsus shape variation: a morphometrical investigation among Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia: Perissodactyla)

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 950-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyril Etienne ◽  
Christophe Mallet ◽  
Raphaël Cornette ◽  
Alexandra Houssaye
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Upright Posture ◽  
Centroid Size ◽  
Shape Variation ◽  
Morphological Adaptations ◽  
Both Bones

Abstract Many tetrapod lineages show extreme increases in body mass in their evolutionary history, associated with important osteological changes. The ankle joint, essential for foot movement, is assumed to be particularly affected in this regard. We investigated the morphological adaptations of the astragalus and the calcaneus in Rhinocerotidae, and analysed them in light of a comparative analysis with other Perissodactyla. We performed 3D geometric morphometrics and correlated shape with centroid size of the bone and body mass of the species. Our results show that mass has an influence on bone shape in Rhinocerotidae and in Perissodactyla, but this is not as strong as expected. In heavy animals the astragalus has a flatter trochlea, orientated more proximally, associated with a more upright posture of the limb. The calcaneus is more robust, possibly to sustain the greater tension force exerted by the muscles during plantarflexion. Both bones show wider articular facets, providing greater cohesion and better dissipation of the loading forces. The body plan of the animals also has an influence. Short-legged Teleoceratina have a flatter astragalus than the other rhinocerotids. Paraceratherium has a thinner calcaneus than expected. This study clarifies adaptations to high body weight among Rhinocerotidae and calls for similar investigations in other groups with massive forms.

scholarly journals Palynology of the Genus Stachytarpheta Vahl. (Verbenaceae)

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
Olubukola ADEDEJI
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Grain Size ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Pollen Grain ◽  
The Other ◽  
Pollen Grain Size ◽  
Pollen Diameter ◽  
Stachytarpheta Cayennensis ◽  
Exine Morphology

The exine morphology of pollen grains of Stachytarpheta indica (Linn.) Vahl, Stachytarpheta cayennensis (Rich.) Vahl and Stachytarpheta angustifolia (Mill.) Vahl is reported. This study was carried out with a light microscope. Pollen grains from fresh anthers were collected and aceolysed. Statistical analysis used to analyse the data collected include cluster analysis, correlation analysis, similarity and distance indices. The pollen grains are spheroidal to oblate to sub-oblate in shape. They are aperturate, both colpate and porate. Tricolpate types occur most frequently, acolpate, monocolpate, bicolpate and tetracolpate types less frequently. The multicolpate and multiporate attributes in all the species indicate that the genus is not primitive in evolutionary history and this species probably, evolved around in the same time. According to the size, the pollen grains of the genus falls into groups permagna (pollen diameter 100-200 μm) and giganta (pollen diameter greater than 200 μm). S. cayennensis and S. anguistifolia belong to group permagna and S. indica only in the group giganta. This separates S. indica from the other two species. The large pollen grain size in the genus clearly supports the fact that the flowers in the genus are more insect-and-bird pollinated than wind pollinated. The similarity and distance indices of the species showed that S. cayennensis and S. angustifolia are the closest. S. indica is closer to S. angustifolia but farther from S. cayennensis.

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