Robot Responsibility and Moral Community

It is almost a foregone conclusion that robots cannot be morally responsible agents, both because they lack traditional features of moral agency like consciousness, intentionality, or empathy and because of the apparent senselessness of holding them accountable. Moreover, although some theorists include them in the moral community as moral patients, on the Strawsonian picture of moral community as requiring moral responsibility, robots are typically excluded from membership. By looking closely at our actual moral responsibility practices, however, I determine that the agency reflected and cultivated by them is limited to the kind of moral agency of which some robots are capable, not the philosophically demanding sort behind the traditional view. Hence, moral rule-abiding robots (if feasible) can be sufficiently morally responsible and thus moral community members, despite certain deficits. Alternative accountability structures could address these deficits, which I argue ought to be in place for those existing moral community members who share these deficits.

Cognitive Linguistic Models for Analyzing Characterization in a Parable: Luke 10:25–37 The Compassionate Samaritan

This study employs an array of cognitive linguistic (cl) models to reveal some of the details in how contemporary readers understand and interpret characters in a New Testament parable, the one often tagged “The Good Samaritan.” It also uses cognitive narrative analysis to explore how Luke constructs and develops the dialog partners in the pericope and the characters in the parable. The larger goal is to use cl to reveal some of the ways in which meanings are evoked, constructed, constrained and opened up. The parable is embedded in a larger narrative and immediate co-text, its characters selected from the stock of Lukan personae. The study explains how narrative spaces are built up; how characters serve as anchors and links to the larger narrative; and how viewpoint shifts proliferate as the story unfolds. The Lukan narrator makes Jesus’ viewpoint clear: “Do this, and you will live!” Readers are implicitly invited to identify with the compassionate character of the parable and emulate him. But the opening question and closing dialog shape the parable’s point, expanding its trajectory beyond mere moral rule revision or definitions of “neighbor” or even of “good” character. This parable allows readers to imagine with Luke a way of life lived in the light of the new epoch Jesus is announcing and inaugurating.

FORMATION OF HUMANISTIC IDEAS IN UKRAINIAN PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT

The urgency of the research topic is necessity to understand the idea of humanism in Ukraine from its formation to development in new cultural and historical conditions. The purpose of the article is to study the formation and development of humanistic ideas in Ukrainian philosophical thought in the historical aspect. To achieve this goal, the following research methods were used: historical – to study the stages of development of humanistic ideas, analysis and synthesis of scientific literature, generalization and systematization – to formulate intermediate and final conclusions. The article highlights the meaning of the concept of "humanism". The preconditions for the formation of ideas of humanism are determined. It was found that the idea of humanism was preceded by the first moral rule of coexistence, which later in the history of philosophy was called talion. The main formation stages of humanistic ideas in the Ukrainian philosophical thought (the first – XIV-XVI centuries; the second – the second half of the XVI – the beginning of the XVII century; the third – the second half of the XVII century; the fourth – the second half of the XVII – the beginning of the XVIII century; fifth – XIX century, sixth – XX century, seventh – XXI century). Distinctive features of the humanistic ideas from talion and the "golden rule of morality" have been formed. Prospects for further scientific research in this area are seen in the study of the mechanisms of restoration of humanistic ideals in such social institutions as the family and school.

Morality of the Heart: Heart Rate Variability and Moral Rule Adherence in Men

Moral rules are a cornerstone of many societies. Most moral rules are concerned with the welfare of other individuals, reflecting individuals’ innate aversion against harming other individuals. Harming others is associated with aversive experiences, implying that individuals who are sensitive to the aversiveness of these experiences are more likely to follow moral rules than individuals who are insensitive to the aversiveness of these experiences. Individuals’ sensitivity for aversive experiences depends on individuals’ ability to integrate the underlying neural and physiological processes: Individuals who are more efficient in integrating these processes are more sensitive to the aversiveness that is associated with moral rule violations than individuals who are less efficient in integrating these processes. Individuals who differ in their ability to integrate these processes may, thus, also differ in their inclination to follow moral rules. We tested this assumption in a sample of healthy individuals (67 males) who completed measures of moral rule adherence and integration abilities. Moral rule adherence was assessed with self-report measure and integration abilities were assessed with a resting state measure of heart rate variability (HRV), which reflects prefrontal–(para-)limbic engagement during the integration of physical and neural processes. We found a positive association between individuals’ HRV and individuals’ moral rule adherence, implying that individuals with efficient integration abilities were more inclined to follow moral rules than individuals with inefficient integration abilities. Our findings support the assumption that individuals with different integration abilities also differ in moral rule adherence, presumably because of differences in aversiveness sensitivity.

Corporate Social Responsibility in South Europe during the Financial Crisis and Its Relation to the Financial Performance of Greek Companies

This paper aims at presenting the notion of corporate social responsibility in Europe by examining its application in Southern European countries, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. These major Mediterranean countries, beside the geographical proximity and common features, were at the center of the financial crisis in Europe in 2009. The aforementioned countries are under evaluation on the one hand as a European region and on the other hand as independent ones. Considering the complexity of CSR, its aspects through time, its diversity depending on the geographical position and the necessity of ethical CSR as part of business activity, this paper presents a new categorization of existing quantitative indicators and a method of evaluation that covers the multidimensional notion of CSR. The new model, which combines quantitative indicators, is used to measure CSR during the period from 2009 until 2016 and reflects companies’ ethical policy, the degree of understanding their moral obligations. The longitudinal comparative analysis is the starting point for further improvement as the countries, except for Portugal, are fluctuating within low levels and the Mediterranean region as a whole in average ones. Furthermore, having estimate CSR index, the examination of the financial performance of Greek companies within the period 2015-2016 confirms the majority of the literature that the adoption of CSR’s good practices, is not only a moral rule, but contributes at least partly, to the development of their effectiveness. As a conclusion, the structure of a commonly acceptable measurement model of the National Social Responsibility and the longitudinal measurement will be a useful tool for all involved institutions, with immediate results to both the society and the companies.

Andra Rubeņa un dažu citu filozofu kritiskās piezīmes par Imanuela Kanta praktisko filozofiju

The article focuses on critical remarks made by acknowledged Latvian philosophers on the practical philosophy of Immanuel Kant. The levels of criticism vary. One of the authors does not criticise Kant's philosophy, but gives an exact description of his teaching. Some other authors show the weaknesses of this philosophy, but Peteris Zalite has openly criticised Kant's teaching of freedom in his doctoral thesis. This article looks in detail at what was written in this regard by Larisa Chuhina (1913-2002) and Andris Rubenis (1951-2017), as well as provides analysis of Kant's work on the grounds of “Metaphysics of virtues” (1785), “Criticism of the practical mind” (1788) and “Metaphysics of virtues” (1797). At the end of the article, the author turns to I. Kant's teaching on the relationship between theoretical and practical minds. The author does not agree with the idea that the theoretical mind and the practical mind are actually the same. The structures of the practical mind include free will, the moral rule, the categorising imperatives, the existence of God, and the immortality of the soul. The author of this article strives to prove that in the human psyche the forms of the practical mind are more strongly anchored than the forms of the theoretical mind, and consequently no equal sign can be put between them.

Moral Acrobats

Morality, psychologically speaking, is essentially the balancing of opposite propensities that co-exist and are co-defined within us as individuals, but also as groups of individuals: the propensity to do good or bad, act selfishly or for the common good. The good always tends to hide the bad, and vice versa. We juggle multiple hats on a single head, making the issue of morality particularly complex. We switch from being Dr. Jekyll in one moment to Mr. Hyde the next; from loving father to abusive boss, for example. Our ability to switch moral codes depending on people and situations is the most unsettling issue of moral psychology. The main moral rule is the fact that our moral compass is instantly recalibrated depending on people and situations.

The nature and role of morality in situational action theory

For situational action theory (SAT), morality is key to the definition of crime and the explanation for why and how acts of crime happen: acts of crime are acts of moral rule-breaking and personal morality guides individuals’ perception of moral rule-breaking as an option before controls become relevant. However, the nature and role of morality in SAT can be misread. Within this article I respond to misinterpretations of the theory by elaborating and adding further context to the concept of morality in SAT. I contend that the root of misunderstanding is grounded in alternative assumptions regarding human nature: SAT assumes a fundamentally rule-guided human nature, whereas the prevailing view within criminology is that people are primarily self-interested. In this article I delineate SAT’s assumption of a rule-guided human nature and set out how this assumption informs the definition of crime and personal morality in the theory. I further specify the nature and role of morality in the perception of action alternatives, and in so doing distinguish SAT from theories that view constraint as the measure of morality. Finally, I develop and clarify SAT’s position on the relationship between morality and the law.

A Contemporary Analysis of Kant’s Concept of Goodwill and the Categorical Imperative

This paper makes a contemporary appraisal of the concepts of the ‘Goodwill’ and the ‘Categorical Imperative’ in Kant’s formalistic, deontological ethics. Kant posits that the rightness of an act does not depend at all on the value of its consequences. For him, in order to know whether an act is right or wrong, we need only see whether it is in accordance with a valid moral rule. The test for a valid moral rule, as he conceives it, is purely formalistic. For a moral rule to be valid, it must pass the test of the foundational, supreme principle or ultimate criterion of morality, which Kant calls the “Categorical Imperative”. On this score, the paper, seeks to address the problem of ethical formalism and foundationalism associated with Kant’s theory in view of the contemporary challenge of ethical pluralism and destructive postmodernism. The objective of the paper is to reconcile with Kantianism with the contemporary shift from moral foundationalism and universalism to anti-foundationalism and relativism.

CONSTRUCTION OF PROSOCIAL EMPATHY VALUES THROUGH PROJECT BASED LEARNING METHODS BASED ON SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS (STUDY OF DISCOVERING CULTURAL THEMES IN THE SUMBER-CIREBON SOCIETY)

The article aims to explore prosocial values in the middle and lower economic community in Sumber still exist. To describe it, the Project Based Learning method with the social experimental concept is a way of exploring the existing conditions through the role of students of the Muhammadiyah University of Cirebon.The research method in this study is a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. data collection using observation and interviews. Results of the study describe, middle and lower economic communities still have high prosocial value to others. Although these (research objects) are middle to lower class people, their prosocial behavior skills are quite good. There is a driving force through empathy, emotional maturity, moral rule orientation, and self interest that underlie the objects of research to do good. Another influence, is extrinsic motivation resulting from the response of sight, hearing, heart and feelings as well as cognitive processes within the object being the main factor in doing good. For them helping others without expecting anything in return is a pleasant thing, they believe Allah will reward what they do to others. Thus, the interpersonal skills and prosocial behavior of the middle and lower classes in Sumber Kabupaten Cirebon have good results.Keywords: Prosocial values, empathy, project based learning, social experimentsAbstrak Artikel bertujuan untuk mengeksplore apakah nilai-nilai prososial di masyarakat ekonomi menengah kebawah di Sumber masih ada. Untuk mendeskripsikannya metode Project Based Learning dengan konsep sosial eksperimen menjadi media dalam menggali kondisi yang ada melalui peran mahasiswa Universitas Muhammadiyah Cirebon. Adapun metode penelitian pada penelitian ini adalah metode deskriptif dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Teknik pengumpulan data dengan observasi dan wawancara. Setelah data ditemukan, data kemudian di reduksi, disajikan dan di verifikasi untuk mendapatkan simpulan. Hasil penelitian mendeskripsikan, masyarakat ekonomi menengah kebawah masih memiliki nilai prososial yang tinggi terhadap orang lain. Kendati para (objek penelitian) ini orang-orang menengah kebawah, namun kemampuan prososial behaviour mereka cukup baik. Selain itu, adanya daya pendorong melalui empati, kematangan emosi, moral rule orientation, dan self interest yang mendasari para objek penelitian melakukan kebajikan. Pengaruh lain, adalah motivasi ekstrinsik yang dihasilkan dari respon penglihatan, pendengaran, hati dan perasaan juga proses kognitif didalam diri objek menjadi faktor utama dalam melakukan kebaikan. Membantu orang lain tanpa mengharapkan balasan bagi mereka adalah hal yang menyenangkan, mereka meyakini Allah akan membalas apa yang mereka lakukan pada orang lain. Dengan demikian, kemampuan interpersonal dan prososial behaviour masyarakat menengah kebawah di Sumber Kabupaten Cirebon hasilnya cukup baik.Kata kunci: Nilai prososial, empati, project based learning, sosial eksperimen