A brief philosophical examination of ADHD

Concerns have been raised over ADHD from within a range of different disciplines, concerns which are not only voiced from within the hard sciences themselves, but also from within the social sciences. This paper will add the discipline of philosophy to that number, arguing that an analysis of two traditionally philosophical topics - namely "truth" and "free-will" - allows us a new and unsettling perspective on conduct disorders like ADHD. More specifically, it will be argued that ADHD not only fails to meet its own ontological and epistemological standards as an 'objective' pathology, but it also constitutes one more element in what has already become a significant undermining of a crucial component of social life: moral responsibility.

Towards Humane Technologies: Biotechnologies, New Media and Ethics

What are the ethical and political implications when the very foundations of life —things of awe and spiritual significance — are translated into products accessible to few people? This book critically analyses this historic recontextualisation. Through mediation — when meaning moves ‘from one text to another, from one discourse to another’ — biotechnology is transformed into analysable data and into public discourses. The unique book links biotechnology with media and citizenship. As with any ‘commodity’, biological products have been commodified. Because enormous speculative investment rests on this, risk will be understated and benefit will be overstated. Benefits will be unfairly distributed. Already, the bioprospecting of Southern megadiverse nations, legally sanctioned by U.S. property rights conventions, has led to wealth and health benefits in the North. Crucial to this development are biotechnological discourses that shift meanings from a “language of life” into technocratic discourses, infused with neo-liberal economic assumptions that promise progress and benefits for all. Crucial in this is the mass media’s representation of biotechnology for an audience with poor scientific literacy. Yet, even apparently benign biotechnology spawned by the Human Genome Project such as prenatal screening has eugenic possibilities, and genetic codes for illness are eagerly sought by insurance companies seeking to exclude certain people. These issues raise important questions about a citizenship that is founded on moral responsibility for the wellbeing of society now and into the future. After all, biotechnology is very much concerned with the essence of life itself. This book provides a space for alternative and dissident voices beyond the hype that surrounds biotechnology.

Breaking organizational barriers for greening Australian

Sustainability is an issue for everyone. For instance, the higher education sector is being asked to take an active part in creating a sustainable future, due to their moral responsibility, social obligation, and their own need to adapt to the changing higher education environment. By either signing declarations or making public statements, many universities are expressing their desire to become role models for enhancing sustainability. However, too often they have not delivered as much as they had intended. This is particularly evident in the lack of physical implementation of sustainable practices in the campus environment. Real projects such as green technologies on campus have the potential to rectify the problem in addition to improving building performance. Despite being relatively recent innovations, Green Roof and Living Wall have been widely recognized because of their substantial benefits, such as runoff water reduction, noise insulation, and the promotion of biodiversity. While they can be found in commercial and residential buildings, they only appear infrequently on campuses as universities have been very slow to implement sustainability innovations. There has been very little research examining the fundamental problems from the organizational perspective. To address this deficiency, the researchers designed and carried out 24 semi-structured interviews to investigate the general organizational environment of Australian universities with the intention to identify organizational obstacles to the delivery of Green Roof and Living Wall projects. This research revealed that the organizational environment of Australian universities still has a lot of room to be improved in order to accommodate sustainability practices. Some of the main organizational barriers to the adoption of sustainable innovations were identified including lack of awareness and knowledge, the absence of strong supportive leadership, a weak sustainability-rooted culture and several management challenges. This led to the development of a set of strategies to help optimize the organizational environment for the purpose of better decision making for Green Roof and Living Wall implementation.

Delphi study for improving sustainable construction project management in universities

As sustainability becomes an important principle guiding various human activities around the globe, the higher education sector is being asked to take an active part in educating and promoting sustainability due to its moral responsibility, social obligation and its own needs to adapt to new circumstances. There is a global trend of higher education institutions embarking on responses to the sustainability challenge. On-campus building performance is one of the most important indicators for “sustainable universities”, because buildings carry substantially environmental burden such as considerable consumption of raw materials and energy as well as huge amount of waste generation and greenhouse gas emission. Plus, much research proves that building performance can impact on students and staff’s awareness about and behaviours related to sustainability. The past studies rarely discussed about sustainable construction projects in universities’ unique context. Universities are labeled with distinct characteristics such as complex governance, multiple cultures and juggling missions and so on. It is necessary and meaningful to examine the project management system in terms of universities’ organizational environment. Thus, this research project applies Delphi study to identify primary barriers to green technology application in on-campus buildings, critical factors for sustainable project success, key actions in project phases and strategies for project improvement. Through three rounds of questionnaires among panel experts, the authors obtain a profound understanding of project delivery system in universities. The research results are expected to provide sustainability practitioners with holistic understanding and generic information about sustainable construction project performance on campus as an assistance tool.

Overcoming organisational resistance to sustainability innovations in Australian universities

Sustainability is becoming a guiding paradigm to industries, businesses and our societies. Higher education institutions have the potential to take an active part in creating a sustainable future, due to their moral responsibility, social obligation, and their own needs to adapt to new circumstances. By either signing declarations or making public statements, many universities in Australia have expressed their desires to become role models for enhancing sustainability. However, universities in general have been slow to implement sustainability innovations, sometimes even lagging behind private sectors. Accordingly, there is pressing need to promote innovations on campus in order to drive universities’ sustainability goals. Existing seminal literature tend to focus on technological issues. There has been very little research examining the fundamental problems from an organizational perspective. To address the deficiency, the authors designed and carried out 24 semi-structured interviews to investigate the general organizational environment of Australian universities and to identify organizational resistance to sustainability innovations. Based on the data analysis, a set of strategies to reduce or overcome organizational resistance are explored and developed. The expected outcome of this research is to develop a genetic framework to facilitate supportive decision making for promoting sustainability innovations on campus, as a vital step towards achieving sustainability in universities on a practical level.

Uskonto ilman uskontoa : Radikaalin postmodernin uskonnonfilosofian haaste

Religion without religion. The challenge of radical postmodern philosophy of religion. The aim of this study is to examine the central ideas of Mark C. Taylor, Don Cupitt, and Grace Jantzen on the subject of the philosophy of religion. The method is a qualitative, systematic analysis of the works of the aforementioned philosophers. The purpose is to present, analyze, identify, find connections, and to gain an understanding of the original texts. This thesis shows that radical postmodern religion is “religion without religion”. God is “dead” and the concept of God is seen as “writing”, an ideal, a relationship of meanings or a language. In ethics, there are no objective values or principles. People must create their own morality. Reality is each person´s concept of reality. Language is universal in that language and reality cannot be considered separately. The human subject is contingent and formed in the linguistic and social context. According to postmodern feminism, the ideas that men present as facts are often degrading to women, distort reality and support the power of men. For this reason, we should create a new kind of philosophy of religion and a new language that takes women into consideration. Finally, we will study some philosophers, who have used postmodern ideas in a more moderate manner. In this way, we will look for a balanced solution between modernism and postmodernism. This study shows that the postmodern idea of religion is very different from classical Christianity. Ethics becomes subjective, anarchistic and nihilistic. Epistemology is relativistic and the human being becomes the measure of all things. Objective reality becomes blurry. Language is seen to be game-like, and it has no relation to reality. The moral responsibility of a subject becomes problematic. Science and rationality come into question without the permanent core provided by our consciousness. Women are not in an epistemologically privileged position. The truth claims by either men or women must each be evaluated one at a time. Many postmodern ideas can successfully be made of use if used in moderate manner.

Kuka on potilas? : Suomalaisen sikiöseulontakäytännön sosiaalieettistä tarkastelua

Who is the patient? A social-ethical study of the Finnish practice of prenatal screening. The aim of this study is to examine the Finnish practice of prenatal screening from a social-ethical perspective. Analyzing ethical problems in medicine and medical practice only on a general scale may conceal relevant ethical dilemmas. Previous studies have suggested that many pregnant women view the prenatal screening practices customary in the Finnish maternal care system as intimidating and oppressive. This study analyzes the ethical questions of prenatal screening by focusing on the experiences and decision-making of a pregnant woman. Finnish women s experiences of and decision-making on the most common prenatal screening methods are reflected in the basic principles of biomedical ethics described by Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress in Principles of Biomedical Ethics. To concretize women s experiences I refer to studies of Finnish women s experiences of prenatal screenings. This study shows that the principles of autonomy, non-maleficence and beneficence seem to materialize rather poorly in the Finnish practice of prenatal screening. The main ethical problem with prenatal screening is that the likelihood of a foetal cure is very limited and, upon detection of an affected foetus, the choice is usually whether to continue with the pregnancy or to undergo an abortion. Although informed consent should be required, women s participation in prenatal testing is, in many cases at least, not based on their active decision. Many women experience severe anxiety when they receive a positive screening result and must wait for the final results. Medical studies indicate that long- term anxiety may negatively influence the foetus and the mother-child relationship. This study shows that the practice of prenatal screening as such may cause more harm than benefit to many pregnant women and their foetuses. This study examines the decision-making process of a pregnant woman by using the theory of medical casuistry described in Jonsen, Siegler and Winslade s Clinical Ethics. This study focuses on each of the four points of view recommended by the theory. The main problem seems to be the question of whom the patient of prenatal screening is and whom the practice is intended to benefit: the mother, the foetus, the family or society? This study shows that the concepts of health in Finnish maternal care in general, and of the prenatal screening system in particular, differ considerably. It also demonstrates that the purpose and the aims of prenatal screening, aside from the woman s right to choose, has been expressed neither in Finnish public health programmes nor in the public recommendations of prenatal screening. This study suggests that the practice of prenatal screening is a statement, though unexpressed, of public health policy and as such comprises part of the policy of disability. This study further demonstrates that through a single explicit aim (the woman s right to choose) society actually evades its obligation to women by saddling pregnant women with the entire moral responsibility as well as the possible negative consequences of her choice, such as sorrow, regrets and moral balancing. The study reveals several ethical problems in the Finnish practice of prenatal screening. Such problems should be dealt with as the Finnish practice of prenatal screening advances.

Corporate social responsibilities of Indian public sector enterprises-a case study of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)

The high level of public accountability attached to Public Sector Enterprises as a result of public ownership makes them socially responsible. The Committee of Public Undertakings in 1992 examined the issue relating to social obligations of Central Public Sector Enterprises and observed that ``being part of the `State', every Public Sector enterprise has a moral responsibility to play an active role in discharging the social obligations endowed on a welfare state, subject to the financial health of the enterprise''. It issued the Corporate Social Responsibility Guidelines in 2010 where all Central Public Enterprises, through a Board Resolution, are mandated to create a CSR budget as a specified percentage of net profit of the previous year. This paper examines the CSR activities of the biggest engineering public sector organization in India, Bharath Heavy Electricals Limited. The objectives are twofold, one, to develop a case study of the organization about the funds allocated and utilized for various CSR activities, and two, to examine its status with regard to other organizations, the 2010 guidelines, and the local socio-economic development. Secondary data analysis results show three interesting trends. One, it reveals increasing organizational social orientation with the formal guidelines in place. Two, Firms can no longer continue to exploit environmental resources and escape from their responsibilities by acting separate entities regardless of the interest of the society and Three the thrust of CSR in public sector is on inclusive growth, sustainable development and capacity building with due attention to the socio-economic needs of the neglected and marginalized sections of the society.

Líderes que no obligan al heroísmo

Resumen: El artículo analiza el principio de subsidiariedad en la dirección de personas y gestión intra-empresa en base a la aplicación propuesta en el documento pontificio La vocación del líder empresarial: una reflexión. En primer lugar, analiza a la empresa y al líder empresarial como agentes sociales que deben practicar una caridad inteligente que contribuya al bien común. Luego, se centra en el diseño organizacional, y en su sistema de incentivos y políticas corporativas y en el debate acerca de la posibilidad de atribuir o no responsabilidad moral a la empresa en tanto grupo humano organizado. La autora postula que si bien la organización actúa muchas veces como condicionante de la libertad de sus integrantes, es importante destacar que esto no debe ser determinante, y que un verdadero líder debe actuar regido por el principio de subsidiariedad

A ipseidade na ética argumentativa de Paul Ricoeur

A ipseidade na ética argumentativa de Paul Ricoeur é a referência básica da hermenêutica do si ao qual sempre retorna. Ela estabelece a constante mediação reflexiva em oposição à pretensa posição imediata do sujeito. A mesmidade do si tem como contrapartida o outro. Na comparação, a mesmidade é sinônimo de identidade-idem em oposição à ipseidade-ipse que inclui a alteridade. Esta inclusão questiona a capacidade do si construtivo da ética e, portanto, responsável jurídica e moralmente nas várias injunções do outro. O projeto ético de Ricoeur é compreensível a partir e dentro de sua peculiar metodologia que ele denomina de dialética entre a ética teleológica e a moral deontológica. Esta dialética se fundamenta na tríade do desejo, do dever e da sabedoria prática em recíproca atividade, privilegiando a dimensão teleológica do desejo da vida boa com o outro e para o outro em instituições justas. A ética argumentativa tem a função de dar conteúdo as duas dialéticas pela inclusão do outro no si mesmo sem o qual a reflexão sobre a ipseidade perderia o sentido. A sabedoria prática da ética e do julgamento moral em situação inclui a discussão porque o conflito é insuperável e determina o argumento para o consenso eventual. Nossa tese é a afirmação da capacidade do si mesmo atuar ações construtivas. Além da critica à ideologia e à utopia, Ricoeur fundamenta a dialética entre o princípio-esperança e o princípio de responsabilidade mediante a via utópica do futuro e a via realista da preocupação com o presente diante dos casos inéditos em que a vida e o ecossistema se associam. A imputação pessoal e coletiva desde o passado, no presente para o futuro é devida à responsabilidade. A ipseidade constrói o futuro no presente através de decisões éticas.

How to Manipulate an Incompatibilistically Free Agent

A prominent criticism of compatibilist theories of moral responsibility is that they do not deal adequately with cases of manipulation, and particularly with induced desires. So, for example, accounts that give the conditions for responsibility in terms of the reasons-responsiveness of the mechanism governing one's decisions, as Fischer and Ravizza (1998) do, seem to leave the door open to cases such as the following.

Les contre-exemples de Frankfurt ratent leur cible : un nouveau heaume pour le principe des possibilités alternatives

Les contre-exemples de Frankfurt sont inoffensifs contre l’argument de la conséquence (consequence argument), l’argument qui, à partir du principe des possibilités alternatives et du déterminisme, montre que nous ne pouvons être tenus moralement responsables de nos actions. En effet, ils sont formulés soit dans un cadre déterministe, soit dans un cadre indéterministe. S’ils sont formulés dans un cadre indéterministe, ils sont inoffensifs parce qu’ils contreviennent à un principe méthodologique que nous défendons : le principe de non-négation des prémisses (PNNP). En fait, nous montrons que pour tout argument donné, il est proscrit de supposer la négation d’une prémisse afin de réfuter une autre prémisse à moins que l’attaque réussisse à réfuter les deux prémisses en question. Or, d’une part, les contre-exemples de Frankfurt indéterministes supposent explicitement qu’une prémisse de l’argument de la conséquence – le déterminisme est vrai – est fausse; et d’autre part, ils ne peuvent pas nous donner de raisons de croire en l’indéterminisme, ce que nous montrons grâce à des considérations sur la transmission de la justification. Construire des contre-exemples de Frankfurt indéterministes est donc incorrect pour des raisons méthodologiques et logiques. S’ils sont formulés dans un cadre déterministe, les contre-exemples de Frankfurt font face à une autre accusation d’entorse argumentative, présentée dans la défense du dilemme (Dilemma Defence) de Kane-Ginet-Widerker : celle de la pétition de principe. Nous inspectons et nuançons cette accusation, mais concluons qu’elle tient puisque les contre-exemples de Frankfurt déterministes supposent au final une analyse des agents contrefactuels dans les mondes déterministes et de la relation « rendre inévitable » que ne peuvent endosser ni les incompatibilistes de la marge de manœuvre (leeway incompatibilists), ni les incompatibilistes de la source (source incompatibilists) ni non plus les semicompatibilistes. Conséquemment, les contre-exemples de Frankfurt ne peuvent plus soutenir la forme de compatibilisme à laquelle ils ont donné naissance. L’incompatibilisme de la source ne peut plus être préféré à l’incompatibilisme de la marge de manœuvre ni non plus rejeter toute participation des possibilités alternatives dans l’explication de la responsabilité morale sur cette seule base.

Judging Culpability in Dwyer’s Climate Change “Gaia Commission”: A Response to Dwyer

Commentaire / Commentary

Una perspectiva de las teorías de la emoción: hacia un estudio de las implicaciones de las emociones en la vida del hombre

En esta monografía se propone que las emociones son una forma de relación con el mundo que implica apreciaciones y creencias del sujeto que las experimenta. Si bien es cierto que el cuerpo humano puede ser considerado como un producto de la evolución y, en general, todas sus funciones necesitan del sustento de dicho cuerpo, cuando hablamos de las emociones debemos hablar de su conexión con el carácter, la voluntad, las escalas de valores y muchos otros factores que no pueden ser explicados a partir de una base como la determinación física, dado que las emociones son una variable indispensable para la organización social y, más específicamente, para la moral. Las emociones son definidas, consecuentemente, como una serie de juicios, basados en prioridades y escalas de valor, que califican y median nuestra relación con los objetos del mundo.

"Padre, perdónalos porque no saben lo que hacen": una perspectiva semi-compatibilista

Si se interpreta la primera palabra de Cristo en la cruz, con referencia a los verdugos que causaron su crucifixión, en clave de omnisciencia divina luterana y ausencia de posibilidades alternativas, surgiría una aparente contradicción en cuanto a la responsabilidad moral y el deber de aquellos: ¿Cómo sostener su responsabilidad moral si no contaban con posibilidades alternativas, y si al parecer no sabían lo que hacían, y cómo atribuirles deberes que no podían cumplir? Esto se puede resolver desde de una perspectiva semi-compatibilista, y responder, así, que: 1) la ausencia de posibilidades alternativas y la ignorancia no excluyen el que los verdugos puedan ser considerados moralmente responsables por la crucifixión de Cristo, y 2) la imposibilidad de cumplir con ciertos deberes no excluye el que los verdugos tuviesen dichos deberes y pudieran ser considerados moralmente responsables por su incumplimiento.