Ethics in Progress, 2016, Volume 7, Issue 1
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Item Ecological Virtues in Laudato Si’(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Kureethadam, Joshtrom IsaacLaudato Si’, Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on care for our common home, invites humanity to cultivate “ecological virtues” in order to become more responsible stewards of our imperilled common home. According to the Pope, the formation of healthy habitus for the stewardship of Earth can be achieved only through the cultivation of appropriate ecological virtues. It may be recalled that there is a growing awareness of the importance of the role of ecological virtues in environmental ethics today. In this paper we shall reflect on seven ecological virtues: praise, gratitude, care, justice, work, sobriety, and humility. They do not receive a separate treatment in Laudato Si’, but are mentioned throughout the encyclical. They are like signposts that indicate the road that we need to travel in caring for our common planetary home.Item Environmental Character: Environmental Feelings, Sentiments and Virtues(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Frasz, GeoffreyAn argument is made that to further develop the field of environmental virtue ethics it must be connected with an account of environmental sentiments. Openness as both an environmental sentiment and virtue is presented. This sentiment is shown to be reflected in the work of Barbara McClintock. As a virtue it is shown to a mean between arrogance and the disvaluing of individuals, a disposition to be open to the natural world and the values found there. Further development of EVE is then shown to require a connection with an account of environmental wisdom.Item Introduction to No. 1, Part two: Developing Moral Competence, Perfecting Selfhood, Practicing Forgiveness(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Bardziński, Filip; Dutka, JoannaThe introductioń to Ethics in Progress Special Issue, Vol. 7(1), No. 2 is given, with brief exposes on the articles present in the section.Item Imperatyw opieki paliatywnej w medycynie weterynaryjnej(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Kuśnierz, KrzysztofOne of the main causes of the ethical ambivalence in the attitude of homo sapiens species towards other living creatures is its utilitarian and anthropocentric mindset which permeates practical decisions and judgments. Socio-ecological conditioning of the human-animal relations to which the former contributed through practices and habits (habitus) largely designating the so called cultural norms (at least in Bourdieu’s conception) have thus far legitimized speciesism as well as disablement and exclusion of animals from the advantages of technology and veterinary medicine, which in turn would strengthen their position in the face of continual exploitation in favor of man. Since few decades this state of affairs has been changing; man’s ethical consciousness in respect of the predicament, state of mind and well–being of other living creatures is rising. The encounter of man with different non-human beings who do not know human forms of auto-expression or communication became possible through the discovery of science – as well as philosophy’s and particularly ethics’ indication – of common properties and socio-cognitive capabilities: including fellow feeling which in case of a human being is followed by consciousness, understanding, interpretation, as well as relevant decisions and actions. This common denominator among species is waiting for further exploration and redefinition in terms of ethics. That is exactly what constitutes the requirement for improvement of the condition of other species in the world exploited by human kind. Many academic disciplines contribute to the unceasing widening of the moral horizon (empathy, fellow feeling, responsibility, solidarity, readiness to care and help) so that it could embrace over time as many individuals representing species outside homo sapiens as possible. Veterinary medicine and palliative care create conditions that foster the rebuilding of a caring relationship between man and other living creatures, opening at the same time door to recognition and meaningful relations (in Ricoeur’s terms), understanding and love of the universe of life (bios) that man shares with other species.Item ... Abyście się wzmacniali i przedłużali życie na ziemi. Eschatologia doskonałości, rygory Nidda i skandal higieny rasowej w okresie 1850–1945(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Nowak, EwaThe formation and development of khalachic rules, in particular niddah, was always already oriented towards integral perfectibility of human life. The paper explores the integral life eschatology in Judaism and shows how Niddah has been manipulated by race hygienists and eugenicists 1850–1945 as a tool creating a myth of Jewish race on the one hand, and a counter-myth of the new superhuman race. That scandalous manipulation should be concidered when seeking analogies between the Jewish ideal of integral perfectibility and the Western eugenics.Item What Is Moral Competence and Why Promote It?(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Nowak, EwaThis short review paper focuses on Georg Lind's approach to the moral competence as described in his recent book (2016) How To Teach Morality? Promoting Deliberation and Discussion, Reducing Violence and Deceit. Berlin: Logos Verlag. Lind's dual-aspect approach is discussed as one of the leading conceptions of personal moral competence and moral cognition today. Intuitionist approach and "embodied cognition" are not enough, the author (E. Nowak) claims. As participants of social contexts and institutions, we need manifest, discoursively articulated reflection, self-reflection, and conversation. However, Lind's hypothesis of two leyers of morality, i.e., a conscious and unconscious finds evidence in cognitive sciences too. Lind's approach is not as reductionist as that of radical cognitivists. On the contrary, it combines all relevant aspects of moral cognition discussed right now, worldwide – when cognitive sciences flourish and the challenges for moral mind grow up dramatically.Item Social Cognitive Domain Coordination in Left-Behind Children: A Comparative Study of Left-Behind and Non-Left-Behind Children in Rural China(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Liu, JianjinForty-seven left-behind children (LB) and 40 non-left-behind children (NL) in rural China were interviewed to evaluate moral, conventional, and personal violations by providing judgments and justifications. The results suggested that both LBs and NLs differentiate the rules of moral, conventional and personal domains. However, there are some differences: 1. The NL considered it acceptable to commit a personal infraction when there was no rue prohibiting it, while the LB considered it wrong; 2. The younger male LBs were more willing to accept situations without moral psychological rules, compared with younger female LBs, older male LBs, and younger male NLs. Age, sex differences were also found. The one out of our expectation is that younger males considered it more acceptable to commit a personal infraction than older males did and believed it all right if there was no explicit rule on it. Meanwhile, in providing reasons to support their judgments or evaluations, the findings revealed that: 1. More often LBs referred to social conventional reasoning even when evaluating moral and personal rules and violations, especially on personal issues; 2. LBs used more justifications of punishment and fewer justifications of personal growth. The implications of the results of the study for children’s moral development and education, especially for LBs, are discussed.Item Przemoc hermeneutyczna. O analogicznej rekonstrukcji obecności(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Gan-Krzywoszyńska, Katarzyna; Leśniewski, PiotrThe aim of the paper is to analyze the relation between hermeneutic violence and univocal semantics. Furthermore, we argue that hermeneutic violence although it concerns post mortal time span is as much dangerous as physical and psychological violence, since hermeneutic violence affects even whole generations of victims. The article contains also a brief presentation of analogical perspective in contemporary philosophical conceptions by Enrique Dussel and Mauricio Beuchot. Following Reyes Mate we claim that memory is of fundamental importance of any adequate and effective theory and especially practice of justice.Item Constraint As an Ethical Postulate in the Context of Ecological Limits(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Stachowska, IwonaThe problem of natural resources being finite as well as the capability of ecosystems and the biosphere to assimilate the effects of economic activity on the one hand, and growing economic discrepancies on the other raise a question mark over the chase after the unrestrained economic growth. In the search for alternative models of thinking and development a significant role of constraint is being more and more emphasized. In the case of ecological barriers limitation of using non-renewable resources, greenhouse gases emissions, excessive consumption and production seems to be a reasonable strategy that manifests our care for the natural environment. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate that the postulate of constraint present in the de-growth model in the form proposed by Tim Jackson and Serge Latouche apart from a quantitative dimension has, above all, a qualitative and ethically orientated dimension. Constraint conceived in the above way stays close to terms like moderation, restraint, sustainability, i.e. such terms that possess solid ethical foundations and constitute an important base for environmental ethics.Item Being Good, Moral and Rational in a Context of Climate Change(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Rosół, PiotrClimate change has become a popular topic with a strong presence in media, political, scientific and ethical debates. This raises a question as to why we are not acting in accordance with our knowledge and are unable to do enough to protect our future. The paper argues that the problem partly arises from a lack of philosophical reflection about relations between different aspects of our personalities. Those different aspects are presented based on the reflections of Thomas Nagel on good, moral, and rational ways of life. I claim that all three need to be taken into consideration in order to answer challenge raised by the environmental dangers we are facing.Item Dialogiczność jako warunek konstytuowania się podmiotu. Refleksje wokół Sporu o podmiotowość(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Skrzypczak, AlicjaThe aim of the paper is to show the conditions of subjectivity constitution in terms of dialogue and the figure of the Other. The analytical and hermeneutical approach I hold is the foundation of interdisciplinary attempt to describe possible concepts of shared relation of the terms: consciousness, subjectivity and identity. The three appear to be recognized only in the ethical situation. It requires taking responsibility for the Other, for giving him the identity which mirrors one’s subjectivity. In this way the subject learns the limits and chances for gaining self-knowledge. The paper also presents a new approach towards redefining the definition of subjectivity, which includes artificially and medically enhanced entities.Item Moral Competence, Personality, and Demographic Characteristics: A Comparative Study(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Karamavrou, Sofia; Mouratidou, Katerina; Evaggelinou, Christina; Koidou, Irini; Parisi, IoannaThe development of moral competence is affected by both internal and external factors and has been researched by many scientists. The present study investigated a) whether the five factors of personality, gender and geographical area would affect ones’ moral competence, b) whether the personality factors Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness and Agreeableness would be correlated positively with moral competence in everyday life, whereas Extraversion and Neuroticism would be correlated negatively with morality, c) if there will be differences in students’ moral competence exhibited in everyday life and that expressed in PE/sports framework and d) whether type of school, factors of personality, as well as moral competence exhibited in sports-framework would all be significant factors for the interpretation of a student’s moral competence. The sample consisted of 331 junior high students (7th and 8th graders) (Mage = 12.47, SD = 0.740), who were given the Moral Competence Test Greek Version (Mouratidou et al. 2003), the Moral Judgment Test in Physical Education(Mouratidou et al. 2008), and the Inventory of Child Individual Differences (Besevegkis & Pavlopoulos 1998). The results indicated that of the five-factor personality model only Conscientiousness can affect moral reasoning ability in everyday life and that the type of school can account for less than 5% of variance when predicting moral competence in high school students.Item Searching for Selfhood: Ricoeur’s Recognition and Cavellian Acknowledgment(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Chrzanowska, KlementynaRicoeur's theory of narrative identity is not his last word when it comes to philosophy of selfhood. This paper aims to outline how the findings of one of Ricoeur's final books, The Course of Recognition fit into Ricoeur’s philosophy of selfhood, and to do so by comparing Ricoeur’s analyses of the concept of recognition and Stanley Cavell’s explorations of the idea of acknowledgment. Cavell, much of whose philosophy investigates “the extent to which my relation to myself is figured in my relation to my words,” can show recognition to be not only the gaining of knowledge, but the outward affirmation, acceptance, agreement to that knowledge (in language). That requirement of outwardness, of intersubjectivity, is what makes acknowledgment crucial for theories of selfhood.Item «Nostalgieria»: Derrida przed i po Frantzu Fanonie(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Farred, GrantMonolingualism ofthe Other; or, The Prosthesis of Origin (MO) Jacques Derrida (1998) takes up Frantz Fanon's project in The Wretched of the Earth (WE) at its very core. Derrida thinks "decolonization" from the very place for which Fanon— and from which Derrida, symbolically and metonymically—struggled and wrote, Algeria. The author explores the experience of writing "nostalgerically."Item Influence of Cultural and Historical Context on the Moral Competence in Modern Society (in Terms of Georgia and Russia)(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Kaznina, EkaThe break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 sharply cast the relationships between the Republics of post-Soviet space and Russia back, mutual trust was lost, economic and cultural interaction was practically stopped. The global changes of the 1990s in the field of political order, social and economic lifestyle in the countries of the former socialist camp brought up to severe demographic situation (depopulation), impoverishment of its significant part, criminalization of society and, what is quite important, to negative changes in consciousness and behavior of its population, including deformation of ethical code of personality, for long time fixing the acute social-cultural situation. A. Zhuravlev & A. Yurevich call that the moral collapse. It is worth mentioning that the economic crisis of the 90s in Georgia was considerably more serious than in Russia. Attempt to teach norms of “new” morale were done by M. Saakashvili (2009–2013), who declared that during 20 years he would be able to change the mentality of Georgians – rejection of the Russian culture and language up to prohibition and adherence to anti-Russian policy at a level of the State. The author reports on that project and she intends to find the difference of how moral competence is understood by the generation which was formed in 1990s and the generation formed under the Soviet Union.Item Political Parties and Environmental Ethics: The Case of the Dutch Party for the Animals(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Otten, Ruud; Gremmen, BaartThe Dutch Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals), the only political party devoted to animals in the world, wants to take wild as well as domestic animals under its wing and, hence, to remove the traditional dividing line between both domains. How can the Animal Party at the same time claim to stand up for the interests of animals as individuals as well as for the particular interests of wild animals? Rather than perceiving wild animals as mere components of wider entities, the Animal Party starts to personalize wild animals at the moment that their wellbeing can be detected and actively improved.Item How to Teach Morality - Georg Lind (Review)(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Cobos, Semiramis LlanosIn his recent book, Georg Lind develops the philosophical and methodological foundations of the Konstanz Method of Dilemma Discussion®, which provide both theoretical and practical work frames for developing moral and democratic competencies.Item An Empirical Research about Xinjiang Minority College Students’ Value Recognition in Inner-Mainland's Universities of China(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Zhu, Hai-LongIn order to understand value recognition deeply, the research was taken to 1128 Xingjiang minority college students in inner-mainland 36 universities of China by the questionnaire with five dimensions which political value, moral value, cultural psychology, language stress and environmental stress. The result showed that there was an order tendency in their values, in order, cultural psychology, moral values, political values, language stress and environmental stress. At the same time, there are gander differences. Male and female college students do not exist significant differences in cultural psychology and moral value dimensions. But the differences being in the political values, language stress and environmental stress. Xinjiang minority college students are fundamentally the same as Han nationality students in political values and moral values, but obvious differences in cultural psychology, language stress and environmental stress.Item Common Sense and Scientific Inquiry: Remarks on John Dewey’s Philosophy of Educational Progressivism(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Malitowska, Anna; Bonecki, MateuszThis paper focuses on analysis of relation between pedagogical and epistemological ideas of John Dewey. Our considerations are divided into four sections. (1) We reconstruct Dewey’s conception of culture as a body of normative and regulative common sense beliefs determining human conduct and language use. (2) Further, we compare common sense based inquiry and its scientific mode with regard to their respective conceptual frameworks in order to show that “theoretical-scientific” perspective provides more comprehensive insight into the relations constituting problem situations. (3) We identify informal education with socialization processes and argue that educational process relies on constant reflection on cultural habits. (4) We conclude that competences of using theoretical conceptual frameworks and conducting scientific inquiry play crucial role in Dewey’s educational ideology of progressivism since they provide basic tools for critical reconsideration and revision of common sense beliefs.Item An Empirical Cross-Cultural Study of Moral Judgment Development in Mainland China(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2016) Zhang, Qian; Thoma, Stephen J.The Chinese version of Rest’s Defining Issues Test II was administered to 113 subjects in Mainland China (n=113, average age=34.7). The scores on development of moral judgment were compared with those of the online mega sample of American participants from 2011 to 2014. Results are as followings: 1. Chinese participants show the same pattern with Americans by both sex and education. 2. Chinese participants show different pattern from Americans by religious orthodoxy and humanitarian. 3. Chinese participants score higher in meaningless items than Americans. 4. Chinese participants score higher in stage 3 while Americans score higher in stage 4. The authors draw the conclusions as follows: with Chinese participants, 1. There is a significant relationship between education and moral judgment developmental index scores. 2. There is also a significant relationship between sex and moral judgment developmental index scores. 3. There shows no significant relationship between religious orthodoxy and moral judgment developmental index scores. 4. It is more difficult for them to tell the meaningless items in DIT2. 5. Since Chinese culture thinks less of laws and norms, Chinese participants favour personal interest schema more than maintaining norms schema.