Striving for Freedom. Some Notes about Fichte’s Idealism

Moving from Fichte’s assumption that “the essence of the I is its activity”, this paper tries to analyze the meaning and implications of the idea of “activity” [Tathandlung] in order to explicate the peculiarities of Fichte’s critical, transcendental, and moral idealism. Fichte’s idea of activity will be examined with reference to such basic concepts as collision [Anstoss], interaction [Wechselwirkung], inter-determination [Wechselbestimmung], and striving [Streben]. However, it is freedom which frames and connects the core components of Fichte’s thinking and sets up the goal of his philosophy of action. What freedom accounts for, can be identified both at the transcendental level, in the internal dynamic of infinity and finitude constituting the subjectivity of the I, and at the moral and social levels of Fichte’s thought, as the goal of the human action in history and in the society. In assuming the unitary character of Fichte’s philosophical system, concluding remarks are developed concerning the moral meaning of the act of striving for freedom and, conversely, the immorality of attitudes and feelings such as fear, resignation, and fatigue.

A Just and Lasting Peace After War

While a ‘just and lasting peace’ is the axiomatic goal of a just war, it is not clear what that means exactly. The central question of this chapter is: How should a just war theorist understand peace, insofar that peace is the goal of just war theory, taking into account the theory’s middle position between political realism and moral idealism? In the first part of this chapter, the contemporary debate is mapped and various positions on peace are made explicit. This reveals a shift towards a more positive concept of peace. How far should this shift go? The second part of this chapter places the peace continuum in a lively debate in political philosophy on the role of feasibility constraints in normative theory. This chapter argues that a ‘just and lasting peace’ must be understood as a decent peace that is ‘just enough’.

Ethical decision-making among professional accountants in Nigeria: the influence of ethical ideology, work sector, and types of professional membership

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of ethical ideological orientation (moral idealism and moral relativism), work sector and types of professional membership on the ethical decision-making (EDM) process of professional accountants in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The study obtained primary data from 329 professional accountants with the aid of a structured questionnaire containing four scenarios of ethical dilemmas. The data were analysed using descriptive statistical analysis, independent sample t-test, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression techniques. Findings The results revealed both idealistic and relativistic moral orientation among the accountants surveyed with a higher mean score (>4.0) recorded for moral idealism. Moral idealism was found to have a positive influence, while moral relativism a negative influence on the three stages (ethical recognition, ethical judgement and ethical intention) of EDM examined. Professional accountants with idealistic orientation showed a higher disposition towards making ethical decisions in situations involving ethical dilemmas than those tending towards relativistic orientation. The results also revealed that work sector (private or public) and types of professional membership play significant roles in predicting the EDM process of professional accountants in Nigeria. Practical implications The study provides empirical evidence that could be used to support educational and legislative efforts in enhancing the moral ideological orientation of professional accountants, which will, in turn, enhance their EDM processes. The findings could be used to enhance ethics instructions and training of current and prospective professional accountants in educational settings, especially in countries such as Nigeria where there is yet to be a discrete ethics course in the curriculum for accounting undergraduate degree programmes. Professional accounting bodies in Nigeria and other developing countries could use the evidence in this study to strengthen the ethics code for professional accountants. Originality/value The study is unique in focussing on professional accountants in developing countries using Nigeria to represent developing countries with high corruption profile and weak institutions and governments and, as such, it contributes to the scarce research output on accounting ethics in developing countries.

How Transformative Was the Civil War?

The process of emancipation played out in a more comprehensive way in the western theater than in the eastern. Western officers were forced to deal with huge numbers of slaves across a vast region and implement appropriate policies and programs to carry out emancipation. In particular, the Border South proved especially difficult in managing the legal and political questions surrounding emancipation. At the war’s beginning, the government in Washington had clearly stated that its goal was to preserve the Union and not free the slaves, a view shared by many western officers. But as the war dragged on into its second year, the armies and the government became more emancipationist. Many officers also came to support emancipation and even the use of black troops. However, most officers only embraced emancipation out of pragmatism and military necessity, and their policies reflected their lack of moral idealism. Officers in the western armies liberated slaves for the army’s benefit. As Reconstruction began, many in the North were not very concerned about securing political equality for former slaves. While the war had pushed Northerners to emancipate the slaves, it did not transform them into racial egalitarians.

Examining intention of digital piracy: an integration of social norms and ethical ideologies

Purpose This study aims to investigate the applicability of ethical ideologies reflected by two dimensions of moral idealism and relativism, together with social norms, to the context of digital piracy. Design/methodology/approach This study used data from a survey of college students and conducted a series of hierarchical regression analyses. Findings This study found that digital piracy intention was dissimilar among four different ethical groups. Injunctive norm was a critical factor that affected internet users’ intention of digital piracy, yet it was valid only for situationists and absolutists. For subjectivists and exceptionists, individual differences represented by ego-involvement and past experience of digital piracy played a more critical role than social norms in explaining digital piracy intention. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to apply the dimensions of moral idealism and relativism to the context of digital piracy. Thus, it suggests that more tailored approaches are recommended to reduce digital piracy for internet users’ varied ethical ideologies.

La vivencia del ideal anarquista en la España de los años treinta

Resumen: El presente artículo tiene como objetivo analizar la vivencia del ideal y la importancia que adquiere la moral ácrata como modeladora del carácter del militante de la CNT en la España de los años treinta. El compromiso debía demostrarse a través de un estricto comportamiento ético que condujera al fiel a abandonar su identidad para luchar por el advenimiento de la revolución y el triunfo del colectivo. La propaganda por la conducta adquiere una especial relevancia en el anarquismo, tanto por alentar al trabajador a adquirir una cultura y educación propias, como por servir de atractivo a personas ajenas al colectivo a engrosar sus filas. Esta responsabilidad definía al seguidor de las ideas anarquistas frente a otros colectivos, pero también frente a muchos militantes que no seguían este estilo de vida "libertario". De este modo, la cuestión principal a resolver es si hubo realmente una vivencia práctica de los ideales defendidos.Palabras clave: España, anarquismo, militante, moral, idealismo.Abstract: The present article aims to analyze the experience of the ideal and the importance acquired by the anarchistic moral as a modeler of the character of the militant of the CNT in the Spain of the thirties. The commitment had to be demonstrated through a strict ethical behavior that led the faithful to abandon their identity to fight for the advent of the social revolution ant the triumph of the collective. The propaganda for the behavior acquires a special relevance in the anarchism, as much to encourage the worker to acquire its own culture and education, as to serve as attractive to people outside the collective to swell its ranks. This responsibility defined the follower of anarchist ideas in front of other groups, but also in front of many militants who didn´t follow this "libertarian" lifestyle. In this way, the main issue to resolve is whether they really lived according to the ideals defended.Keywords: Spain, anarchism, militant, moral, idealism.

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s Modern Moral Idealism

This chapter explains why aspects of the social philosophy of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956) deserve sustained philosophical attention. Ambedkar lays bare the paradoxical relationship between the hegemony of Manu’s superman as an ideal and its logical opposite or repulsive real. Ambedkar asks the core question: if the Hindu ideal is ritually hierarchical rather than egalitarian, why is that it has so many supporters among the lower castes? The chapter’s final section discusses what constitutes Ambedkar’s conception of modern moral idealism, and what is the nature of constructivism that he seems to be invoking to envision a counter-ideal, the claim that moral and social ideals are to be constructed and are not pre-givens. Modern moral idealism is the framework within which it becomes possible for members of one group to develop a moral motivation to enter a struggle in favor of those not in that group.