Charles Taylor et le pluralisme moral

Ce mémoire porte sur le problème de la légitimité de revendications émanant de multiples sources d’autorité (morales, politiques et légales). L’histoire conceptuelle du pluralisme montre que les significations qui lui sont attribuées sont à la fois contingentes et hétéroclites, leurs traductions en pratique étant loin d’être évidentes. Notre principal objectif est de remettre en question l’hypothèse selon laquelle l’approche de Charles Taylor est pluraliste. Si la reconnaissance d’une pluralité de biens joue un rôle fondamental dans la philosophie de Taylor, il est néanmoins nécessaire de montrer l’important clivage existant entre, d’une part, le fait d’accepter que nos conflits de valeurs soient souvent irréconciliables et, d’autre part, la volonté de trouver un moyen de mettre en harmonie des finalités concurrentes. Au terme de notre enquête, nous espérons mettre en lumière l’écart que nous constatons entre les questions reliées à la différence culturelle et les problèmes posés par des revendications d’autorité formulées par des associations formelles.

Inference for nonparametric high-frequency estimators with an application to time variation in betas

We consider the problem of conducting inference on nonparametric high-frequency estimators without knowing their asymptotic variances. We prove that a multivariate subsampling method achieves this goal under general conditions that were not previously available in the literature. We suggest a procedure for a data-driven choice of the bandwidth parameters. Our simulation study indicates that the subsampling method is much more robust than the plug-in method based on the asymptotic expression for the variance. Importantly, the subsampling method reliably estimates the variability of the Two Scale estimator even when its parameters are chosen to minimize the finite sample Mean Squared Error; in contrast, the plugin estimator substantially underestimates the sampling uncertainty. By construction, the subsampling method delivers estimates of the variance-covariance matrices that are always positive semi-definite. We use the subsampling method to study the dynamics of financial betas of six stocks on the NYSE. We document significant variation in betas within year 2006, and find that tick data captures more variation in betas than the data sampled at moderate frequencies such as every five or twenty minutes. To capture this variation we estimate a simple dynamic model for betas. The variance estimation is also important for the correction of the errors-in-variables bias in such models. We find that the bias corrections are substantial, and that betas are more persistent than the naive estimators would lead one to believe.

Implementing Revisionism: Assessing a Revisionist Theory of Moral Responsibility

The aim of this paper is to examine a particular substantive theory among others in the set of “revisionist” theories of moral responsibility, namely, Manuel Vargas’ version of the moral influence account of the justification of responsibility- specific practices. Moderate revisionism, which Vargas (2005) endorses, advocates a clear distinction between descriptive and normative questions, which enables a naturalistically plausible account of responsibility that does not jeopardize the normative aspect. However, while Vargas provides a useful framework for thinking about revisionism, I argue that despite its initial appeal, an actual revisionist theory does not seem to track as closely as we would like what I call the “meta-theory” of revisionism, viz. what Vargas defines as the features of moderate revisionism. Outlining these differences enables the formulation of observations about 1) the role of revisionist approaches for theorizing about moral responsibility and 2) how revisionism can be integrated with scientifically informed approaches.

What’s wrong with Charles Taylor’s moral pluralism

In political philosophy one often encounters claims on behalf of pluralism, yet there is anything but a consensus over the meaning of this fundamental concept. It is true that there is no single pluralist tradition; rather, there are different pluralist traditions within different domains of practical reason. No one would object, however, to the notion that Isaiah Berlin’s “value pluralism” is a genuine form of meta-ethical pluralism. Charles Taylor is another philosopher who is often called a pluralist, but I shall argue that this is a mistake. One of the central goals of his philosophy is that of reconciling competing aims and ends and this is incompatible with pluralism.

L’expressivisme moral : une conclusion de la critique darwinienne de Sharon Street ?

Un des objectifs de la critique darwinienne de Sharon Street est de montrer que nous devons opter pour l’antiréalisme – plutôt que le réalisme – comme théorie métaéthique appropriée pour décrire le phénomène moral. Plus encore, parmi les théories antiréalistes, Street cherche à défendre que c’est le constructivisme humien que nous devrions privilégier. Dans cet article, je cherche à évaluer la possibilité que l’expressivisme moral soit également une conclusion de la critique darwinienne. Pour ce faire, j’explique en quoi nous pouvons de manière légitime considérer que le constructivisme humien est une théorie expressiviste, dans la mesure où nous nous limitons aux deux thèses que je considère comme étant constitutives de l’expressivisme : l’internalisme motivationnel et la conception humienne des jugements normatifs. C’est de cette manière qu’il est possible de soutenir que l’expressivisme moral est une conclusion de la critique darwinienne.

Statistical Inference for Some Measures of System Availability

Department of Statistics, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Bayesian Inference in Exponential and Pareto populations in the presence of Outliers

This thesis Entitled Bayesian inference in Exponential and pareto populations in the presence of outliers. The main theme of the present thesis is focussed on various estimation problems using the Bayesian appraoch, falling under the general category of accommodation procedures for analysing Pareto data containing outlier. In Chapter II. the problem of estimation of parameters in the classical Pareto distribution specified by the density function. In Chapter IV. we discuss the estimation of (1.19) when the sample contain a known number of outliers under three different data generating mechanisms, viz. the exchangeable model. Chapter V the prediction of a future observation based on a random sample that contains one contaminant. Chapter VI is devoted to the study of estimation problems concerning the exponential parameters under a k-outlier model.

A STUDY OF MORAL CONCEPT IN MODERN HINDI NOVELS

HINDI

Educaci??n moral

Actas del VI Congresos Interuniversitario de Teor??a de la Educaci??n, dedicado a la educaci??n moral que recoge las ponencias, mesas redondas y comunicaciones, distintas propuestas que abordan la educaci??n moral como tarea inevitable y necesaria. En las actas se recogen las siete ponencias y las cinco colaboraciones de las mesas redondas dedicadas a: poderes p??blicos y moral y educaci??n moral y ciudadan??a.

Moral dial??gica y educaci??n democr??tica

Ponencia presentada en las Terceras Jornadas de Educaci??n y Democracia celebradas en Murcia. El ??mbito en el que se plantea esta reflexi??n es el de la ??tica, en el doble nivel que la constituye: nivel de la fundamentaci??n de los principios morales y el de la aplicaci??n a la vida cotidiana de los principios hallados en la Filosof??a moral. En este cap??tulo se inicia una reflexi??n acerca de la conveniencia de la ense??anza del comportamiento moral y su relaci??n con la necesidad de adquisici??n de destrezas para construir una sociedad democr??tica. La autora define la educaci??n moral como aquella que ayuda a ser personas cr??ticas, capaces de asumir el propio juicio moral. Realiza una caracterizaci??n de lo moral en tres niveles: dimensi??n individual del car??cter, unida a la formaci??n de la autoestima y el autoconcepto, dimensi??n comunitaria en la medida en que el individuo aprende a vivir unos valores en el ??mbito de una comunidad, dimensi??n postconvencional, en la que el individuo es capaz de distinguir las normas comunitarias de los principios universalistas.

Temas transversales : 'educación ambiental, educación para la paz, educación para el consumidor, educación vial, educación para la igualdad de oportunidades entre sexos, educación para la sexualidad, educación moral y cívica y educación en valores'.

Se aborda el estudio de los temas transversales introducidos en la reforma educativa española de 1991 en los currículos de infantil, primaria y secundaria: educación ambiental, para la paz, del consumidor, vial, para la igualdad de oportunidades entre sexos, para la salud, en la sexualidad, cívica y moral y educación en valores, ofreciendo propuestas y orientaciones metodológicas para su didáctica en el aula por parte del profesorado y prestando especial atención al tema de la violencia en las aulas y el acoso escolar. Se pretende educar al alumno en el marco de un sistema de valores adaptado al entorno en el que este desarrolla su actividad educativo-formativa..

A Theory of Quantitative Inference Applied to a Mechanical Design Compiler

This thesis presents the ideas underlying a computer program that takes as input a schematic of a mechanical or hydraulic power transmission system, plus specifications and a utility function, and returns catalog numbers from predefined catalogs for the optimal selection of components implementing the design. Unlike programs for designing single components or systems, the program provides the designer with a high level "language" in which to compose new designs. It then performs some of the detailed design process. The process of "compilation" is based on a formalization of quantitative inferences about hierarchically organized sets of artifacts and operating conditions. This allows the design compilation without the exhaustive enumeration of alternatives.