The Is-Ought Problem, the Open Question Argument, and the new science of morality

Human Affairs ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Radim Bělohrad
Keyword(s):  
New Science ◽  
Open Question Argument ◽  
Open Question ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Is Ought Problem ◽  
Recent Attack

AbstractThe article deals with a recent attack by Sam Harris on two famous arguments that purport to establish a gap between factual and evaluative statements—Hume’s Is-Ought Problem and Moore’s Open Question Argument. I present the arguments, analyze the relationship between them and critically assess Harris’ attempt to refute them. I conclude that Harris’ attempt fails.

Normative Principles are Synthetic A Priori

Episteme ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-383
Author(s):  
Paul Boghossian
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Moral Principle ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Justified Belief ◽  
Normative Concepts ◽  
Open Question Argument ◽  
Moral Domains ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Open Question

AbstractI argue for the claim that there are instances of a priori justified belief – in particular, justified belief in moral principles – that are not analytic, i.e., that cannot be explained solely by the understanding we have of their propositions. §1–2 provides the background necessary for understanding this claim: in particular, it distinguishes between two ways a proposition can be analytic, Basis and Constitutive, and provides the general form of a moral principle. §§3–5 consider whether Hume's Law, properly interpreted, can be established by Moore's Open Question Argument, and concludes that it cannot: while Moore's argument – appropriately modified – is effective against the idea that moral judgments are either (i) reductively analyzable or (ii) Constitutive-analytic, a different argument is needed to show that they are not (iii) Basis-analytic. Such an argument is supplied in §6. §§7–8 conclude by considering how these considerations bear on recent discussions of “alternative normative concepts”, on the epistemology of intuitions, and on the differences between disagreement in moral domains and in other a priori domains such as logic and mathematics.

scholarly journals From Culture 1.0 to Culture 3.0: Three Socio-Technical Regimes of Social and Economic Value Creation through Culture, and Their Impact on European Cohesion Policies

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pier Sacco ◽  
Guido Ferilli ◽  
Giorgio Tavano Blessi
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Production ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Cultural Participation ◽  
Social Value Creation ◽  
Open Question ◽  
The Relationship

We develop a new conceptual framework to analyze the evolution of the relationship between cultural production and different forms of economic and social value creation in terms of three alternative socio-technical regimes that have emerged over time. We show how, with the emergence of the Culture 3.0 regime characterized by novel forms of active cultural participation, where the distinction between producers and users of cultural and creative contents is increasingly blurred, new channels of social and economic value creation through cultural participation acquire increasing importance. We characterize them through an eight-tier classification, and argue on this basis why cultural policy is going to acquire a central role in the policy design approaches of the future. Whether Europe will play the role of a strategic leader in this scenario in the context of future cohesion policies is an open question.

scholarly journals Oriented basement membrane fibrils provide a memory for F-actin planar polarization via the Dystrophin-Dystroglycan complex during tissue elongation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiana Cerqueira Campos ◽  
Cynthia Dennis ◽  
Hervé Alégot ◽  
Cornelia Fritsch ◽  
Adam Isabella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basement Membrane ◽  
Ovarian Follicle ◽  
Follicle Cell ◽  
Autonomous Control ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Follicle Growth ◽  
Growth Promoting ◽  
Fibers Orientation ◽  
Open Question ◽  
The Relationship

SummaryHow extracellular matrix participates to tissue morphogenesis is still an open question. In the Drosophila ovarian follicle, it has been proposed that after Fat2-dependent planar polarization of the follicle cell basal domain, oriented basement membrane (BM) fibrils and F-actin stress fibers constrain follicle growth, promoting its axial elongation. However, the relationship between BM fibrils and stress fibers and their respective impact on elongation are unclear. We found that Dystroglycan (Dg) and Dystrophin (Dys) are involved in BM fibril deposition. Moreover, they orient stress fibers, by acting locally and in parallel to Fat2. Nonetheless, Dg-Dys complex-mediated cell autonomous control of F-actin fibers orientation relies on the previous BM fibril deposition, indicating two distinct but interdependent functions. Thus, the Dg-Dys complex works as a critical organizer of the epithelial basal domain, regulating both F-actin and BM. Furthermore, BM fibrils act as a persistent cue for the orientation of stress fibers that are the main effector of elongation.

scholarly journals Being Disoriented: Uncertain Encounters with Disability

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan C. Parrey
Keyword(s):  
Disability Studies ◽  
Meeting Point ◽  
Open Question ◽  
The Relationship

<p>Disorienting encounter with disability are those in which the meaning of disability is an open question, and in which our relation to it is questionable. This essay explores the relationship between disability and disorientation on conceptual but also concrete levels. First, I examine the connection between disability and disorientation within disability studies. Second, I provide a preliminary sketch of disorientation through what I call <em>ontic disruption</em> and <em>ontological disorientation</em>. Third, I take up Leder's (1990) articulation of bodily disappearance and embodied dysappearance to address ableist violence. Finally, I develop the notion of <em>dysorientation — </em>a prolonged, persistent or recurrent sense of disorientation — as a useful concept for understanding experiences of ableism but also as a significant meeting point between impairment and disability. </p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Posible respuesta tomista a la ley de Hume y a la pregunta abierta de Moore

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-92
Author(s):  
Augusto Trujillo Werner
Keyword(s):  
Open Question Argument ◽  
Open Question

Este artículo se refiere a la doctrina práctica de Aquino sobre dos dificultades filosóficas que subyacen en gran parte del debate ético contemporáneo. Una es la Is-ought thesis de Hume y la otra es su consecuencia radical la Open-question argument de Moore. Estas paradojas éticas parecen tener sus raíces en un scepticismo epistemológico y en una antropología deficiente. La posible respuesta a ellas se puede encontrar en que: a) Tomás de Aquino defiende la esencial racionalidad y unidad del ser humano; b) La ley natural tomista es una consecuencia natural del ser racional; c) La razón humana es esencialmente teórica y práctica al mismotiempo. El intelecto humano de Aquino naturalmente realiza tres operaciones principales: 1º) Aprehender las nociones inteligidas y universales ens, verum y bonum. 2º) Formular los primeros principios teóricos y prácticos. 3º) Ordenar que se haga el bien inteligido y universal y se evite lo contrario. Por estas razones,la respuesta filosófica de Aquino a ambas dificultades no es exclusivamente ética, sino que abarca armónicamente la ontología, antropología y epistemología. La ética de Tomás de Aquino es fundamentalmente diferente de las éticas que califican las acciones como buenas o por mero consenso social (contractualismo) o simplemente calculando sus consecuencias (consecuencialismo). 

Direct Reference and the Open Question Argument

dialectica ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-402
Author(s):  
Niklas Möller
Keyword(s):  
Direct Reference ◽  
Open Question Argument ◽  
Open Question

Bentham's Metaphysics and the Science of Divinity

1986 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-411
Author(s):  
James E. Crimmins
Keyword(s):  
Physical Science ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Full Description ◽  
Intellectual Life ◽  
Jeremy Bentham ◽  
Natural Religion ◽  
New Science ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Critique Of Religion

The utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) has long been recognized as an exponent of a new science of society. However, scholars of his thought have given scant attention to at least one important aspect of that science: the relationship between the metaphysical presuppositions of his social science and his view on religion. Rarely is it considered that Bentham's aspiration to create a science of society in emulation of physical science was fundamental to his critique of religion just as it was to all other areas of his thought. This critique of religion was set out principally in a series of works written between the years 1809 and 1823. Swear Not at All was published in 1817, and followed a year later, after earlier efforts were aborted in 1809 and 1813, by Church-of-Englandism and its Catechism Examined. The Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind appeared in 1822 and Not Paul, but Jesus in 1823. It was not merely a coincidence that in the very period when Bentham devoted so much of his time to religion his work on metaphysics and logic substantially reached fruition. The “Book on Logic,” on which Bentham worked at intervals between 1811 and 1821, was intended to give a full description of his “method.” The work was never completed but was eventually edited and included in several fragments in John Bowring's edition of The Works of Jeremy Bentham. The essay on “Nomography” with an appendix on “Logical Arrangements, or Instruments of Invention and Discovery Employed by Jeremy Bentham” is included in the third volume, and in the eighth volume is to be found the “Essay on Logic,” “A Fragment on Ontology,” the “Essay on Language,” and the “Fragments on Universal Grammar.” The metaphysics described in these essays by Bentham was initially developed by him during the formative years of his intellectual life in the early 1770s, and he was always aware of its particular consequences in the field of religion.

The Negative Effects of Using Smart Devices on the Physical and Psychological Health of Palestinian Children aged (13-16) years from their Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 01-19
Author(s):  
Nuha Iter
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Smart Device ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
Palestinian Children ◽  
Open Question ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Descriptive Method

The study aimed to explore the negative effects of using smart devices on the physical and psychological health of children aged (13-16) years from their perspective. The study was applied to a random sample of children aged (13-16), consisting of (102) male and female students. The descriptive method was used to answer the study questions, and a questionnaire was developed to collect data, which contains (3) sections, first section asked about the most used and preferred devices by children aged (13-16) years, and the number of hours the child used the smart device, the second one asked about the negative effects of using the smart devices on the physical and psychological health of children aged (13-16) years from their perspective, and the third section is an open question to know other negative effects of using the smart devices on the physical and psychological health of children aged (13-16) years. The study achieved a set of results, such as the smartphones are the most used and preferred devices by children aged (13-16) years, where (57%) of the study sample preferred to use, and there is  (86.3%) of children aged (13-16) use these devices at average from 4 up to 6 hours daily.  The responders highly agreed upon the negative effects of the use of smart devices on the physical health with average (4.2); which is a high degree, also the responders highly agreed upon the negative effects of  the use of smart devices on the physiological health with average  is  (3.73) which is also high,  added there are other effects caused by the use of smart devices for long hours on  children aged (13-16); the low rate of family discussions, and causes the low writing skills for child.   Depending on the results of the study, the researcher recommends that:  researchers should conduct a correlative study to know the relationship between the effects and the number of hours of daily use of devices; families should rationalize the use of smart devices.

Abnormally high variability in the uncrossed retinofugal pathway of mice with albino mosaicism

Development ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 857-867 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.W. Guillery ◽  
G. Jeffery ◽  
B.M. Cattanach
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Gene Dosage ◽  
Optic Tract ◽  
High Variability ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Rare Occurrence ◽  
Autosome Translocation ◽  
Open Question ◽  
The Relationship

Female mice showing albino mosaicism due to an X-autosome translocation [Is(In7;X)Ct] have been studied in order to investigate the relationship between the distribution of melanin and the formation, early in development, of the abnormally small uncrossed retinofugal pathway characteristically found in all albino mammals. Earlier evidence indicates that cells normally bearing melanin play a role in producing the abnormality. In the mosaic mice, the albino gene is expressed in only about half of the cells due to random X-inactivation and the patches of normal and albino cells are extremely small relative to total retinal size (less than 1/50). We argued that if all the cells that would normally bear melanin play a role in producing the albino abnormality then the mosaic mice would have a pathway abnormality, about half the size of that in the albino mice. If, however, only a small patch of these cells plays a role, as has been proposed in earlier studies, then one would expect the size of the uncrossed pathway to be highly variable in the mosaic mice. The size of the uncrossed pathway was assessed by placing horseradish peroxidase in the region of the optic tract and lateral geniculate nucleus unilaterally and then counting the number of retrogradely labelled retinal ganglion cells on the same side. The mosaic mice showed a highly variable uncrossed pathway. In some of the mosaic mice, it was the same size as in the albinos and, in others, it was the same size as in normally pigmented mice. Surprisingly, in a small number of mosaic mice, the uncrossed pathway was larger than normal. Whether this relatively rare occurrence of a supernormal uncrossed pathway is due to the higher gene dosage or to the translocation itself remains an open question.

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