Biblical Violence in Catholic and Calvinist Tragedy

This chapter analyzes biblical violence in Catholic and Calvinist tragedy by examining dramatic adaptations of the stories of Cain and Abel and David and Goliath. Thomas Lecoq’s Tragédie de Cain (1580) imitates the early sixteenth-century Mistére du Viel Testament and uses Cain’s murder of Abel as a counterexample of virtuous behavior at the peak of the religious wars, encouraging spectators to behave peacefully toward their neighbors despite differing beliefs. The chapter then considers how the Calvinist tragedies by Joachim de Coignac (La Desconfiture de Goliath, c.1551) and Louis Des Masures (David combattant, 1563/1566) use violence as a positive, liberating force. David’s defeat of Goliath mirrors the Reformed Church’s hopeful victory against the Roman Catholic Church. This chapter argues that Coignac and Des Masures depict David’s violence as a morally good act, yet their plays raise theological, moral, and epistemological questions of when and why it is acceptable to kill.

Can Sexual Appeal, Beauty, or Virtue Increase the Opportunity for a Woman to Be Selected as a Spouse? The Mediating Role of Human Uniqueness

High mating value is believed to correspond with high mating opportunities. On that premise, this study explores three cues that are linked to women of high long-term mating value, namely a “beautiful” facial appearance, “sexually attractive” body shape, and “virtuous” behavior. With exclusive attention focused on the above cues, this study examines what kind of human attributes would make a contribution to women’s mating opportunities. The results reveal that both “beautiful” women and “virtuous” women were assessed (in this study) as having greater mating opportunities than “sexually attractive” women. In regard to the human attributes, only the “beautiful” woman was assessed as having high levels of human uniqueness and human nature. Meanwhile, “virtuous” women were assessed as having higher levels of human uniqueness but lower levels of human nature. In contrast, “sexually attractive” women were assessed as having lower levels of human uniqueness but higher levels of human nature. In addition, the results of a mediation analysis show that the trait of human uniqueness, and not human nature, was the mediator between the three types of women and women’s mating opportunities. This finding means that, when women have higher levels of human uniqueness, they can acquire more mating opportunities. These findings contribute an improved understanding to why and how “beauty” or “virtue” increases the opportunity for woman to be selected as a spouse.

Changes in trauma-related cognitions and emotions after eliciting moral elevation: Examining the effects of viewing others’ virtuous behavior on veterans with PTSD

Moral elevation is described as feeling inspired after witnessing someone perform a virtuous act. Past work suggests moral elevation may be antithetical to PTSD, yet few studies have directly tested its impact on relevant symptoms. This experimental stud¬y assessed changes in trauma-related cognitions and emotions from after a trauma reminder task to after an elevation induction exercise. We hypothesized that higher elevation after the induction exercise would be associated with greater reductions in cognitions and emotions. Veterans with probable PTSD (N=64) completed measures of trauma-related cognitions and emotions, once after a written trauma narrative exercise (T1) and again after watching two videos designed to elicit elevation (T2). Veterans also completed measures of state elevation after each video. Results suggest veterans experienced small significant decreases in self-blame, medium significant decreases in guilt, shame, and negative beliefs about others, and large significant decreases in negative beliefs about self between T1 and T2. As hypothesized, higher elevation predicted significantly greater reductions in all outcomes except self-blame, with a large effect for views of self and medium effects for guilt, shame, and views of others. These findings suggest elevation may be well-suited to target trauma-related symptoms and future research should examine its clinical utility.

Perception in Aristotle’s Ethics

How do Aristotle’s empiricist views bear on the role perception plays for the virtuous? Do they point towards a certain kind of ethical particularism, according to which universal rules could never adequately codify virtuous behavior? I argue they do not. Virtuous agents always need perception to determine what to do, and it is inexpedient for them to articulate general rules of conduct, but this is not because it is in principle impossible to do so, or because virtuous conduct does not admit of theoretical treatment. Still, perception and experience do play an indispensable role in the development and deployment of practical wisdom. For our learning to be virtuous depends on first-hand, personal experience that theoretical modes of thought could not provide. I end by considering what a practically-oriented treatment of virtuous conduct would look like, and how we might conceive of its ethical significance.

Building Muslim–Buddhist Understanding

This chapter suggests a new approach for building Muslim–Buddhist understanding through the methodology of parallelism. Recognizing that Islam and Buddhism share the common ground of being directed toward liberation from suffering and hardship caused by inequality, injustice, and oppression, this chapter compares two of their respective teachings to achieve that goal, namely through understanding and applying the Qur’anic teaching of Taqwa—Allah consciousness, that is, recognizing the presence of Divine breath as a means to develop virtuous behavior in a Muslim, and cognizance of Satipatthana/mindfulness, as taught in the Anapanasati Sutta, for development of virtuous behavior in a Buddhist.

The efficiency of the Italian preventive agreement: a legal, economic and organizational perspective

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the ex ante and ex post economic efficiency of the preventive agreement (concordato preventivo) or composition with creditors as defined by the Italian Bankruptcy Law. This study examines four possible outcomes of the procedure: homologation (confirmation); the degree of dissent/consent of creditors; the revocation, admissibility or inadmissibility; the declaration of the company bankruptcy in preventive agreement. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses data from 728 Italian companies which filed for preventive agreement in 2016. In reference to each of the four possible outcomes, this study applies nine logit regressions to analyze the effects of a series of efficiency variables ex ante (corporate-based drivers) and ex post (procedure-based drivers). Findings Results show the relevance of the debt structure, ownership structure and virtuous behavior, corporate governance and management systems, as well as effectivity of the court control on the preventive agreement outcome. Originality/value This paper draws on original data of bankruptcy in Italy and gives empirical evidence of the ex ante and ex post factors on the outcomes of the preventive agreement.

Why We Should Teach Undergraduates about Vice

Why should we teach undergraduates about the nature of vice and about particular vices? The conceptual benefits are fairly obvious. Teaching about the vices keeps students’ reflection “close to the ground” of everyday decision-making: they often use vice terminology and can benefit from using it more carefully as they evaluate themselves, their friends, and their choices. Also thinking about “thick” vice concepts naturally leads students to explore how cultural perspectives shape their lives and choices. The moral benefits of studying vices are less obvious. Are there any moral benefits for undergraduates in studying the vices (and, in particular, the capital vices)? Yes. Most undergraduates do not (yet) possess fully developed virtues or vices. Thus, their moral education should focus on articulating and correcting psychological processes that impede their virtuous behavior or tempt them to unvirtuous behavior. The capital vice tradition is especially suited for articulating and correcting such psychological processes.