Naturalism

This chapter argues that naturalism is a virtue in an account of human experience, and thus desideratum in any ethical theory, and that Buddhist ethics is indeed naturalistic. In particular, its ethical orientation relies on no transcendent or transcendental concerns; its theory of the good is rooted in an account of human nature and the nature of the natural world, and its account of agency and responsibility is thoroughly causal. The chapter also discusses some of the aspects and implications of karma, including karmic fruition, the ways that our future lives are conditioned by our present ones, and the idea of collective karma.

Moral education of students in the contemporary society

With the advancement of the contemporary society to the stage of global digitalization, the issues of personality education, its means and methods are becoming increasingly important. The strategy of Russias scientific-technological development presupposes, among other things, the formation of certain ideological and axiological priorities, in accordance with which the value characteristics of the information society change and reproduce. Moral education is a purposeful development of the personal moral culture: moral activity, system of values, moral feelings and behavior that corresponds to the ideals and principles of humanistic morality. Moral activity as an important personal quality in the information society presupposes an internal need for continuous moral improvement, a desire to creatively set and solve new, increasingly complex tasks of the technological development. The development of such moral activity of the student also means his ability to choose actions on the basis of the contemporary trends of the dynamic social development, and to choose actions that are the most appropriate for a specific situation. The organization of moral education at the university consists of two main interrelated directions: moral education and teaching students the skills of moral behavior. Complex activities of the university serve not only as a means of moral education but also as its condition, which requires their inclusion in the educational process and purposeful organization. The efficiency of moral education at the university depends on the system of influence on students, and its main components are as follows: ethical education and teaching ethical disciplines; development of sustainable traditions of corporate culture (mission of the university, system of life values, ethical codes of students and teachers, etc.); ethical orientation of general-theoretical and professional disciplines; moral-educational components in the organization of the educational process; non-learning activities with students, labor education, volunteer activities, etc.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Inclusiveness, Affordability, Cultural Identity, and Ethical Orientation

Discussions on the impact and future directions of technology often proceed from an empirical point of view that seems to presume that the ebb and flow of technological developments is beyond the control of humankind, so that all that humanity can do is adjust to it. However, such an approach easily neglects several crucial normative considerations that could enhance the standing of individual human beings and whole communities as rational users of technology rather than its slaves. Besides, more often than not, technological products are designed in ways that neglect the needs of persons with disabilities, thereby perpetuating their exclusion from society. Consequently, this article proposes four normative considerations to guide the initiatives of African societies in their deployment of the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, namely, inclusiveness to meet the needs of all human beings, affordability to bridge the digital divide, respect for cultural identity to guard against cultural imperialism, and an ethical orientation as the over-arching guide to building a truly human society.

Myroslav Skoryk's opera "Moses" based on a poem by Ivan Franko as a narrative of the classical-romantic ideal

The purpose of the article is to explore the main narratives of Myroslav Skoryk's opera "Moses" based on the poem by Ivan Franko, from the point of view of the classical-romantic aesthetic platform of the struggle for the ideal. The crisis of modern society motivates the composer to fulfill the role of the Guide, which requires urgent changes in the vector of artistic development in the direction of highly spiritual philosophical, and ethical orientation. The methodology is to consider the psychological narrative of the romantic creative orientation of I. Franko (R. Golod), to analyze modern problems of opera in Ukraine (I. Gamkalo), to use comparative analysis of epoch-making problems in Ukraine of early XX - XXI centuries and to compare egalitarian and elitist understanding the orientation of the work of M. Skoryk (L. Kiyanovska). The scientific novelty of the approaches is related to the consideration of the composer's narrative discourse as an appeal to the generalized intonation and figurative symbolism of musical stylistics, rather than the stylization of certain historical or ethnic components. For the first time, M. Skoryk's opera "Moses" was considered as a work that foretells a difficult path to freedom, prosperity, and happiness. Conclusions. The work expresses a narrative focus on the synthesis of the classical-romantic compositional-formative construct with a generalized-symbolic "timeless" understanding of philosophical and poetic imagery. In this context, the church's monodic trichord or appeal to the figurative sphere of M. Lysenko's vocal works express narratives of turning to God and the idea of the dream homeland, which ultimately forms a personal mythological space of existence.

The conception of sustainable development: from environmentalism to ethics and philosophy of science

We consider the conception of sustainable development in the light of the achievements of the philosophy of science, most clearly represented by the theory of conceptual transduction. Four trends in the development of the conception of sustainable development are considered: the development of the conception of sustainable development at the UN summits, clarification of the concept of sustainable development, correlation of the conception of sustainable development with ethics, and its characterization from the perspective of philosophy of science. The first three trends, having no distinct methodology, do not lead to significant innovations. The fourth trend allows us to translate the content of the conception of sustainable development, including its inherent ethical orientation, into scientific rails. It turns out that in the fullest form the aspirations of modern humankind and its hopes for a favourable future are expressed by the strategy of all-round development of science, which considers the positive content of the conception of sustainable development.

Pandemic Impacts for Indigenous Children and Youth Within Canada: An Ethical Analysis

In response to new and exacerbated challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous children and youth in Canada have developed innovative and holistic solutions to amplify their voices, continue cultural engagement and combat social isolation for themselves and their communities as a whole. In this analysis, we have selected three Indigenous philosophical tenets as an ethical orientation for discussion of how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the well-being of Indigenous young people. The guiding values of interconnected relationships, holism and Indigenous-informed restorative justice help us interpret existing pandemic-specific literature and identify, define and prioritize considerations of child and youth well-being from an Indigenous-centred worldview. This analysis can (a) help inform future pandemic measures affecting Indigenous young people and (b) foster similar considerations for Indigenous communities in other regions of the world.

Zum Begriff des Wertes in der Ethik Immanuel Kants

The reference to “values” as normatively guiding structures is widespread in contemporary political and societal discussions. Values are expected to improve stability and provide ethical orientation in modern civilizations which are shaped by manifold cultural influences. At the same time values are often underdetermined, not well legitimized and difficult to interpret in concrete cases. The article takes up such appeals to “values” and contrasts them with Kant’s concept of moral value (in the singular). Moral value, according to Kant, remains dependent on the moral law as a formal procedure. Key issues for the understanding of moral value in Kant refer to overdetermined action and to the acquisition of maxims in life practice. An analysis of these aspects comes to the conclusion that the Kantian concept of moral value bypasses problems associated with the appeal to “values” and is promising for dealing with moral conflicts in modern societies.

Deep canvassing: Persuasion, ethics, democracy and activist public relations

In the run up to the 2020 US presidential elections, some activist groups promoted the practice of ‘deep canvassing political persuasion’ as an inclusive, values-based communication strategy, to turn Trump voters favourably towards left leaning or progressive agendas. Deep canvassing emphasises non-judgemental listening to voters’ stories and emotions, in order to avoid any threat that voters may feel from ‘forms of persuasion employed by traditional political campaigns’. In current conditions, some see it as an antidote to the increased persuasive power of misinformation campaigns. This paper provides a critical description of deep canvassing and investigates its growing appeal as a persuasive activist communication practice in the US, focussing on its justification and ethical orientation. In doing so, it situates the practice as ‘activist public relations’ and discusses its context in relation to democratic models. The paper will field the proposition that deep canvassing should be situated within a broader and more robust discussion of democracy, discourse and power to fully understand its ethical and social implications. This study of contemporary communication in the US contexts will shed light on democratic political cultures and interrelationships of power and language between civil society, business and government that support their distribution and interpretation.

De-technologizing media ecology pedagogy: A plea for tradition, practice and narrative

This article explains how Jacques Ellul’s conception of technique intervenes into media ecology pedagogy. Technique appears in media ecology pedagogy through attempts to turn media ecology into an academic discipline and by placing discussions of media ecology in the classroom into the realm of communication theory. The intervention of technique on media ecology pedagogy undercuts the major tenets of media ecology and its ethical orientation, and this intervention also undermines media ecology’s potency to elucidate the human condition. As an alternative to discipline and theory, this article forwards tradition, practice and narrative as pedagogical options and orientations, which allow media ecologists to carry the study of media as environments into a variety of classroom contexts and discussions.