Inadvisable Concession: Kant’s Critique of the Political Philosophy of Christian Garve

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-76
Author(s):  
Andrey S. Zilber
Keyword(s):  
Political Stability ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Perpetual Peace ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Common ◽  
Political Decisions

The starting point of my study is Kant’s remark to the effect that Garve in his treatise on the connection between morality and politics presents arguments in defence of unjust principles. Recognition of these principles is, according to Kant, an inadvisable concession to those who are inclined to abuse it. I interpret this judgement by making a detailed comparison of the texts of the two treatises. I demonstrate that Garve’s work is an eclectic attempt to combine in one concept the lessons of historical experience with the ideas drawn from British empiricism and German rationalism. These ideas were criticised by Kant in his “critical” period. There is a consensus among researchers that Garve condoned the expansionist policy of Frederick II of Prussia, totally denied that legality in international relations was possible and in general deserved the reputation of an (ultra-)conservative. From that point of view the key values for Garve were the security and well-being of the state. I offer an alternative interpretation of Garve’s position because I believe that the value of political stability plays an important role in it. Such an interpretation makes it possible to treat Garve’s narrative as it was assessed by Kant, i.e. as a concession to the common principles of political practice as a result of a failure to find the guiding theory. My study has established that the role of Garve’s work in the writing of Kant’s treatise Toward Perpetual Peace was more significant than Kant’s own words suggest. Besides, I show that it was under Garve’s influence that Kant turned to the problem of excessive complexity of the principles involved in the search for concrete political decisions. Garve obviously laments this complexity and yet makes these principles still more complex. Kant offers a simpler solution of the problem on the basis of his theory of morals and right.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion – What Do the Portuguese Think in This Time of COVID-19?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ana Rita Pedro ◽  
Ana Gama ◽  
Patrícia Soares ◽  
Marta Moniz ◽  
Pedro A. Laires ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The People ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Continue Monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to the global community, reinforcing the role of public health in society. The main measures to combat it had (and still have) a huge impact on the daily lives of citizens. This investigation aimed to identify and monitor the population’s perceptions about how it faced this period and the impact on health, well-being, and daily life. In this study, we describe the main trends observed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of mental health status, confidence in the capacity of the health services to respond to the pandemic, and the use of health services by participants. The online survey collected responses from 171,947 individuals ≥16 years of age in Portugal, over a period of 15 weeks that started on 21 March 2020. Participants could fill the questionnaire once or weekly, which enabled us to analyse trends and variations in responses. Overall, 81% of the respondents reported having felt agitated, anxious, or sad during the COVID-19 pandemic; 19% did not experience these feelings. During the confinement period, the proportion of participants feeling agitated, anxious, or sad every day/almost every day ranged between 20 and 30%, but since the deconfinement this proportion decreased. Around 30% reported having more difficulty getting to sleep or to sleep all night; 28.4% felt more agitated; 25.5% felt sadder, discouraged, or cried more easily; and 24.7% felt unable to do everything they had to do, women more frequently than men. Overall, 65.8% of the participants reported feeling confident or very confident in the health services’ capacity to respond to the challenges associated with the pandemic, and this confidence increased over time. Concerning the people who needed a consultation, 35.6% had one in person and 20.8% had one remotely, but almost 44% did not have one due to cancellation by the service (27.2%) or their own decision not to go (16.3%). At this unusual time in which we find ourselves and based on our findings, it is essential to continue monitoring how the population is facing the different phases of the pandemic until it officially ends. Analysing the effects of the pandemic from the point of view of citizens allows for anticipating critical trends and can contribute to preventative action.

scholarly journals Women, Water & Well-Being: A Case Study of ‘Kuttadampadam’ in Palakkad, Kerala

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-49
Author(s):  
V Shinju ◽  
Aswathi Prasad
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Role Of Women

The natural resources are repository for the survival of all of us, so they must be used efficiently to meet the present needs while conserving them for future generations. An action to develop capacities from global to household levels for their sustainable management and regulation is required henceforth. Of these natural resources, water resources are most precious. If there is no water; there would be no life on earth. Since ‘water is the elixir of life’, water resource management has been considered as one of the most relevant areas of intervention. Understanding the gender dimensions of water resource management is a starting point for reversing the degradation of water resources. Women play an important role here since they have to access the water resources for almost all the activities on a daily basis. As the women are the strong social agents, effective and improved water preservation techniques could be achieved through their empowerment that may eventually lead to the well-being of the households in particular and of the community in general. Therefore, the major research question posed in this study is to analyze the role of women in the preservation and management of water, an inevitable, precious but diminishing natural resource. The study also intends to describe the relationship between the three ‘W's-Women, Water & Well-being. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are essential here as it is a contingent issue in the present scenario. Psychological dimensions were also explored since the issue is affecting the routine life of the community. The case study of women belonging to the Kuttadampadam region was done to explain the role of women in preserving water resources in the areas affecting severe water scarcity.

Shame and Guilt Inducing Drugs

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S24-S24
Author(s):  
G. DiPetta
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Stimulant Drug ◽  
Stimulant Drugs ◽  
The World ◽  
Shame And Guilt ◽  
The Common ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Sedative Drugs

The Author in this presentation examines the role of two complex human experiences, the Guilt and the Shame, in the field of the substances addiction. The population of abuser can be divided between users of sedatives and users of stimulants. Sedative drugs and stimulant drug belong to two different way of being-in-the-world. Sedative drugs are able to medicate the internal pain, which is constitutive of the guilt. Stimulant drugs are able to medicate the dysphoria, which is constitutive of the shame. In the realm of psychopathology Tellenbach with the concept of premelancholic personality in the guilty man and Kohut with the concept of narcissism in the tragic man have put the bases for a different typification. In both cases, the common final result, from a psychopathological point of view, is a severe crisis of the temporalization.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Fest and revolt In Alboroto y Motín de Indios de México / Fiesta y revuelta en Alboroto y Motín de indios de México

2020 ◽  
pp. 44-56
Author(s):  
Leonor Taiano
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
New Spain ◽  
Active Role ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Collective Consciousness ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Third ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Common

Este estudio examina la manera cómo Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora describe el binomio fiesta-revuelta en Alboroto y motín de indios de México. La investigación está estructurada en cinco partes. La primera toma como punto de partida el concepto de polis y los órdenes que rigen el bien común. La segunda alude a la percepción del fasto desde las diferentes perspectivas de los miembros de la polis novohispana. La tercera parte analiza la importancia del letrado en la organización virreinal. En la cuarta parte se examina el papel activo de las indias en la organización y desarrollo de la revuelta. Finalmente, en la quinta parte, propongo la existencia de una conciencia colectiva plebeya en el virreinato de Nueva España. A través de este análisis se llega a conclusión de que el motín de 1692 presenta las características propias de las revueltas que tuvieron lugar en los territorios españoles a lo largo del siglo XVII, en los cuales, durante el momento festivo, surgía una acción contestataria que trataba de imponer la isonomía en la polis This research analyses how Carlos de Sigüenza and Góngora describes the dichotomy of festivity-revolt in Alboroto y motín de Indios de México. This study is structured in five parts. The first one takes as its starting point the concept of polis and the regulations for the common good. The second one alludes to the Spanish splendor produced in the different members of Novohispanic polis. The third part analyses the letrado’s function within the viceregal organization. The fourth part examines the active role of Female Indigenous in the revolt’s organization and development. Finally, in the fifth part, I propose the existence of a Plebeian collective consciousness within the viceroyalty of New Spain. Through this analysis, the study concludes that the revolt that took place In 1692 has all the characteristics of the revolts that happened in the Spanish territories throughout the 17th century, in which, during a celebratory event, there could arise insurrectionary actions to impose the isonomia in the polis.

Art and Morality

Philosophy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Sauchelli
Keyword(s):  
Moral Education ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Proper Function ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ethical Criticism ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Works Of Art

A great number of works of art, it is commonly claimed, are aesthetically valuable. Some philosophers have even argued that providing an aesthetically pleasing experience is their only proper function. However, some of these artworks display or invite us to adopt an immoral point of view. Even worse, they even seem to make immoral situations delightful and appealing. The following questions thus arise: Does the alleged immorality of these works count as an aesthetic or artistic defect? Can an immoral movie or novel ever be a great example of its kind? In addition to these concerns related to art evaluation, the connection between various forms of art and morality has been investigated by discussing the capacity of works of art to move us emotionally. More specifically, thinkers from different traditions and ages have remarked that works of art are clearly able, first, to stir our emotions in a particularly effective way, and, second, to invite us to act following certain ideas that have been made appealing by their beauty or other aesthetic qualities. Plato was the first in the Western tradition to evaluate in a systematic way whether, as a consequence of the previous considerations, we should supervise the storytellers who are supposed to educate our youth. Other philosophers, from Aristotle to more recent advocates of the value of the humanities, have argued in favor of the positive role that truly great works of art may have in our moral education. Contemporary philosophers are also interested in the role of imagination in fictional immoral contexts (can we engage with immoral works of art and be justified in so doing?). They are also interested in the role played by art in contributing to our well-being and flourishing as human beings. The great majority of recent works on the topic, however, are focused on an assessment of the arguments in favor or against ethical criticism, with a particular emphasis on the criticism of representational works of art. Other issues at the intersection of art and morality are the concept of the obscene, the value of pornography, and censorship.

Human Flourishing as an Aim of Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doret de Ruyter ◽  
Lynne Wolbert
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Asking Questions ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Vulnerability Theory ◽  
Teachers And Parents

Human flourishing has gained and is gaining popularity as an overarching ideal aim of education. Influential advocates of educational theories on flourishing are, among others, Harry Brighouse, Kristján Kristjánsson, Doret de Ruyter, and John White. Most contemporary theories on flourishing hark explicitly or implicitly back to Aristotle’s theory about eudaimonia. Aristotle constructed his theory as an answer to the question of what is the ultimate aim of a human life and defined it as acting virtuously. Contemporary theorists define it in somewhat wider terms, namely as a successful, morally good, happy, and well-balanced life. A theory on human flourishing is regarded as an objective well-being theory, that is, it describes from an objective point of view rather than a person’s subjective evaluation what it means to live one’s life well. Flourishing as an ideal aim of education has implications for the education and upbringing of children. Teachers and parents need to know what constitutes a flourishing life, what contributes to it and what does not, and they are expected to act in a way that enables children to lead a flourishing life (in the future). This, however, raises, several issues. Firstly, there are different ideas (of philosophers of education) as to what flourishing precisely means and therefore also different views on the role of schools and how they should aim for the flourishing of children: for instance, whether there should be a course on living a good life, or whether education for flourishing should permeate the entire curriculum and school ethos. Secondly, it could be objected that aiming for flourishing implies aiming for perfection and that this is not only detrimental to the well-being of children, but also too demanding for parents (and teachers). With regard to the well-being of children it is, however, possible to refer to empirical research that shows that when educators aim for self-oriented perfectionism (i.e., that children are themselves convinced that it is good to strive for perfectionism rather than having to do so to gain approval), they actually contribute to the well-being of children. With regard to the demands against parents it can be argued that in addition to their responsibilities regarding the interests of children to be able to live a flourishing life, parenting (well) is an important aspect of a flourishing life of many adults. Thirdly, it could be objected that focusing on the ideal aim of flourishing does not sufficiently take into account the differences in “luck” in individual lives and inequalities on a societal level, that is, human vulnerability. Theory on education for flourishing therefore does well not to overestimate the influence of parents and educators to equip children to live flourishing lives and needs to keep asking questions such as, for example, what role the (political) community plays in enabling all children to have the chance to lead a flourishing life.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Bussel
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Union Member ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Shop Floor ◽  
Legal Action ◽  
Ballot Initiatives ◽  
The Common ◽  
Political Decisions

This book examines Teamsters Local 688's community stewards program, a nationally acclaimed initiative launched by Harold Gibbons and Ernest Calloway in St. Louis to advance their advocacy of working-class citizenship and total person unionism. Through the community stewards program, Gibbons and Calloway sought to develop new kinds of unionists whose workplace and civic lives were seamlessly integrated. In addressing the needs of the worker as a “total person,” the two men looked beyond the shop floor and attempted to influence political decisions “affect[ing] the common economic, social, and civic well-being” of the union member. Local 688's community stewards mounted a series of highly visible campaigns to improve the quality of life in St. Louis. These efforts included ballot initiatives, legal action, and direct worker engagement with city officials. This book explores how Gibbons and Calloway, despite their quite different personalities, forged a dynamic political alliance as they sought to claim the identity of “citizen” for themselves and the workers they represented.

THE ROLE OF THE COMMUNIST BLOC IN THE ILO DURING THE COLD WAR – SELECTED ISSUES

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (XX) ◽  
pp. 263-276
Author(s):  
Łucja Kobroń-Gąsiorowska
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
International Labor Organization ◽  
International Labor ◽  
Central Hypothesis ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Key Questions

In this article, from a multidisciplinary point of view, key questions were raised that defined how the bloc of communist countries had an impact on the International Labor Organization. The author believes that the role of communist countries in the ILO depended not only on the international political, economic and social context of the time, but also on the field of globalized labor history and relations of international organizations. The starting point of this article is the central hypothesis that the concept of protecting employees and the rights of employers has always been presented from the point of view of the „bloc” of capitalist states, without reference to the role of communist states.

Symbiosis Process in Business Ecosystem

2014 ◽  
Vol 1036 ◽  
pp. 1066-1071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Galateanu Avram ◽  
Silvia Avasilcai
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Entire Group ◽  
Organizational Boundaries ◽  
Economic Agents ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Business Ecosystems ◽  
The Common ◽  
Specific Species ◽  
Common Vision

The business ecosystems domain emerged as result to the necessity of assessment of new economic procedures and mechanisms between the economic agents. Defined as a community of interrelated agents, a business ecosystems approach can emphasize the most important features of modern economy. The main purpose of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of business ecosystems with biological ones in order to identify the most important internal features which can describe the symbiosis process. In biological field, the symbiosis is defined as an association of individuals from different type of species. In the business field, this form of association is defined in terms of co-evolution and cooperation. From this point of view it is important to analyze main species who are involved into this type of relations. The starting point of this research is to define reference dimension whose knowledge is important in order to understand involved entities. At this step the concept of innovation will be considered as knowledge reference. The research method will be conducted based on the identification of different categories of elements, individuals and their integration into specific species. This integration will be realized by grouping individuals according to analyzed common features. The foreseen result is to highlight how the individuals knowledge about innovation contributes to the common vision of the entire group. The next step of the research framework will provide a comparative analysis between the established groups of individuals. The main outcome of this research is to provide a new model of reintegration of individuals from different domains of activity not limited by organizational boundaries. As result, this paper will provide a framework for understanding the symbiosis from two points of views: the fusion process between the agents and the knowledge transfer as its result.

scholarly journals The Role of the Cell Volume-Area Ratio in Thermodynamic Analysis of the Cancer Growth Control for In Vitro Experiments

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umberto Lucia ◽  
Giulia Grisolia
Keyword(s):  
Growth Control ◽  
Area Ratio ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Cancer Growth ◽  
Cyclic Process ◽  
Cell Life ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Cell Changes

From a thermodynamic point of view, living cell life is no more than a cyclic process. It starts with the newly separated daughter cells and restarts when the next generations grow as free entities. In this cycle the cell changes its entropy. In cancer the growth control is damaged. In this paper we analyze the role of the volume-area ratio in cell in relation to the heat exchange between cell and its environment in order to point out the effect on the cancer growth. The result holds to a possible control of the cancer growth based on the heat exchanged by the cancer towards its environment, and the membrane potential variation, with the consequence of controlling the ions fluxes and the related biochemical reactions. This second law approach could represent a starting point for a possible future support for the anticancer therapies, in order to improve their effectiveness for the untreatable cancers.

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