Philosophy Commons^™

Rights, Individualism, Community: Aristotle And The Communitarian-Liberalism Debate, Jeffery Nicholas

Jeffery Nicholas

I argue that Aristotle could not be a fore-runner to liberalism, because his view of humanity is that human beings are constituted by a community and achieve self-fulfillment only as so constituted. Thus, Aristotle endorses a unique position that defends the freedom and self-development of the individual within the parameters of a social order.

Social Welfare, Human Dignity, And The Puzzle Of What We Owe Each Other, Amy L. Wax

All Faculty Scholarship

Proponents of work-based welfare reform claim that moving the poor from welfare to work will advance the goals of economic self-reliance and independence. Reform opponents attack these objectives as ideologically motivated and conceptually incoherent. Drawing on perspectives developed by luck egalitarians and feminist theorists, these critics disparage conventional notions of economic desert, find fault with market measures of value, debunk ideals of autonomy, and emphasize the pervasiveness of interdependence and unearned benefits within free market societies. These arguments pose an important challenge to justifications usually advanced for work-based welfare reform. Reform proponents must concede that no member of society can …

Political Correctness Today, Joseph Ellin

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Paper presented to the Center of the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University, November 14th, 2003.

The Way Of Suicide, Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia, Or Evangelium Vitae's Way Of Mercy And Compassion?, Brigid Vout

The Linacre Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Humanae Vitae: Thirty-Five Years Later, Peter J. Riga

The Linacre Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Sublime Hunger: A Consideration Of Eating Disorders Beyond Beauty, Sheila Lintott

Faculty Journal Articles

n this paper, I argue that one of the most intense ways women are encouraged to enjoy sublime experiences is via attempts to control their bodies through excessive dieting. If this is so, then the societal-cultural contributions to the problem of eating disorders exceed the perpetuation of a certain beauty ideal to include the almost universal encouragement women receive to diet, coupled with the relative shortage of opportunities women are afforded to experience the sublime.

Three Questions On Torture, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes three common questions intrinsic to public discourse on torture.

Is 'The Blues' Black Enough?, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

Reviews the television program "The Blues."

Commentary On Philosophy And Aviation Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article outlines how the formal study of philosophy can be applied to aviation security, considering the merits of the inclusion of philosophers in the international working groups tasked with discerning and commenting on aviation security trends and their relevance for intelligence and security activities.

The Moral Poker Face: Games, Deception, And The Morality Of Bluffing, James Mcbain

Faculty Submissions

Bluffing is essentially nothing more than a type of deception. But, despite its morally questionable foundation, it is not only permissible in certain contexts, but sometimes encouraged and/or required (e.g., playing poker). Yet, the question remains as to whether it is permissible to bluff in other contexts – particularly everyday situations. In this paper, I will look at László Mérő’s argument – one based in game theory and Kantian ethics – to the end that bluffing is morally permissible in everyday contexts. I will argue that Mérő’s argument is mistaken on two grounds. First, it includes an epistemic feature (i.e., …

Trends. Why Humanitarian Workers Should Be Killed: A Perspective From Nietzschean Slave Morality, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses different views of the murders of United Nations humanitarian workers in Iraq – first, from a modern Western perspective, and, second, from the perspective of Friedrich Nietzsche as he considered the transvaluation of what is Good on the part of the powerless.

Trends. Intelligence, Weapons Of Mass Destruction, And Truth: A Philosophical Perspective, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Tends article discusses the issue of the possibility of Bush administration policymakers lying about the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Teaching The Ethical Foundations Of Economics, Jonathan B. Wight

Economics Faculty Publications

Some economists consider their discipline a science, and thereby divorced from messy ethical details, the normative passions of right and wrong. They teach in a moral vacuum, perhaps even advocating economic agents' operating independently and avariciously, asserting that this magically produces the greatest good for society.

Trends. Intelligence And Weapons Of Mass Destruction In A World With No Truth, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses questions surrounding whether the Bush administration intentionally did not tell the truth about the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

What's Wrong With Computer-Generated Images Of Perfection In Advertising?, Earl W. Spurgin

Philosophy

ABSTRACT. Advertisers often use computers to create fantastic images. Generally, these are perfectly harmless images that are used for comic or dramatic effect. Sometimes, however, they are problematic human images that I call computer-generated images of perfection. Advertisers create these images by using computer technology to remove unwanted traits from models or to generate entire human bodies. They are images that portray ideal human beauty, bodies, or looks. In this paper, I argue that the use of such images is unethical. I begin by explaining the common objections against advertising and by demonstrating how critics might argue that those objections …

Center For Professional Ethics, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2003, Case Western Reserve University

Center for Professional Ethics

Table of Contents:

• Creating an Environment That Promotes Responsible Research Conduct by Dr. Caroline A. Whitbeck
• Director's Corner: Lying and Justification by Robert P. Lawry
• Leadership in the Global Perspective, Dr. Kazuo Inamori Speaks
• Ethnopsychiatry & American Immigration, Dr. Atwood Gaines Explores and Explains

[Book Review Of] The Healer's Calling: A Spirituality For Physicians And Other Health Care Professionals, By Daniel P. Sulmasy, Eric Kilbreath

The Linacre Quarterly

No abstract provided.

[Book Review Of] When Killing Is Wrong: Physician-Assisted Suicide And The Courts, By Arthur J. Dyck, Richard S. Myers

The Linacre Quarterly

No abstract provided.

The Ethics Of Apology And The Role Of An Ombuds From The Perspective Of A Lawyer, Sharan Lee Levine, Paula A. Aylward

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center of the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University, March 20, 2003.

Moral Visions And The New American Politics, J. Matthew Wilson

Occasional Papers

No abstract provided.

Special Article. A Statement On The Iraq War From Psychologists For Social Responsibility: Sense And Nonsense, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article identifies problematic attributions in a statement by Psychologists for Social Responsibility on the United States-led military intervention in Iraq.

The Political Psychology Of Collateral Damage, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article provides commentary on how a government purporting to be representative democracy might best approach the construct of collateral damage.

United Nations Tribunals And Complicity In Human Rights Violations: The Assassination Of Zoran Djindjic, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article presents a hypothesis of untoward consequences through the reification of human rights.

Center For Professional Ethics, Volume 4, Issue 2, 2003, Case Western Reserve University

Center for Professional Ethics

Table of Contents:

• "Waiting for the Courage to Die": The Role of Live Theatre in Medical Education by Fran Heller
• Building Bridges with Jonathan Sadowksy: A Reprint from the CWRU Observer
• Using Children in Research, Dr. Eric Kodish Explores and Explains
• A Glance at Professor Philip C. Bobbit: The Ends and Means of Stimulating Discussion
• Industry-Sponsored Research -- What's Wrong? Professor Andrew Trew Talks About IRBs, Ethics and Patients
• Director's Corner: The Aftermath of War by Robert P. Lawry
• Spring, 2003 News, Notes, and Future Events

The Justice Of War On Iraq, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

The author argues that the U.S. and its partners have rightly arrived at war on Iraq as a just and necessary last resort. The potential problems with the just-war case are notable, particularly concerning the after-effects of the war, but they do not incurably undermine the case for going to war. Instead, both supporters and critics of the war around the world should strive to keep their governments committed to post-war reconstruction and a transition to a free and stable government in Iraq. Several just war criteria, particularly as these are articulated in the Catholic tradition, are used to assess …

Moss Understood Art Of Compromise, David R. Keller

David R. Keller

No abstract provided.

Explaining, Assessing, And Changing High Consumption, Harry Van Der Linden

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

These writings reflect the renewed interest in the 1990s of scholars and the public in questioning the consumer society, an interest that the political crises engendered by 9/11 have overshadowed but not eliminated. In The Overspent American, Schor explains the emergence of strong doubts about high consumption by arguing that a “new consumerism” of escalating desires has evolved that is increasingly costly to the American high consumers themselves.

Applying The Categorical Imperative In Kant's Rechtslehre, Nelson T. Potter Jr.

Department of Philosophy: Faculty Publications

During the last forty years there has been considerable discussion of the application of the categorical imperative to derive conclusions concerning particular moral duties and rights in Kant's moral philosophy. Much attention was focused on the four examples of such applications that occur in Chapter Two of the Groundwork, especially the first presentation of those examples, in relation to the "universal law" formulation of the categorical imperative, as opposed to their second run through in the same chapter, in relation to the second formulation of the categorical imperative, on respect for persons. In more recent years the often fuller …

Center For Professional Ethics, Volume 4, Issue 1, 2003, Case Western Reserve University

Center for Professional Ethics

Table of Contents:

• America's Role in The World: Understanding Muslims and Islam
• One Year Later: Remembering September 11, 2001
• Conversations in Bioethics: CWRU President, Dr. Edard Hundert
• A Different Kind of Close Up: Looking at Cinematic Justice
• Winter 2003 News, Notes, and Future Events
• Director's Corner: What Are We Going To Do About It? by Robert P. Lawry

The Intellectual's New Clothes: Review Of "Public Intellectuals: A Study Of Decline," Richard Posner, And "One World: The Ethics Of Globalization," Peter Singer, Julian Friedland

Julian Friedland

This review provides a critique of the public intellectual phenomenon via a joint review of two books by public intellectuals, namely Richard Posner and Peter Singer. Please note, the article starts on p. 195 of the attached document.