Appreciation Of Ethics Research Articles

Towards an Appreciation of Ethics in Social Enterprise Business Models

How can a critical analysis of entrepreneurial intention inform an appreciation of ethics in social enterprise business models? In answering this question, we consider the ethical commitments that inform entrepreneurial action (inputs) and the hybrid organisations that emerge out of these commitments and actions (outputs). Ethical theory can be a useful way to reorient the field of social enterprise so that it is more critical of bureaucratic (charitable) and market-driven (business) enterprises connected to neoliberal doctrine. Social enterprise hybrid business models are therefore reframed as outcomes of both ethical and entrepreneurial intentions. We challenge the dominant conceptualisation of social enterprise as a hybrid blend of mission and market (purpose-versus-resource) by reframing hybridity in terms of the moral choice of economic system (redistribution, reciprocity and market) and social value orientation (personal, mutual or public benefit). We deconstruct the political foundations of charitable trading activities, co-operative and mutual enterprises and socially responsible businesses by examining the rationalities (formal, social and substantive) and ethical commitments (utilitarian, communitarian, pragmatic) that underpin them. Whilst conceptual modelling of social enterprise is not new, this paper contributes to knowledge by developing a theory of social enterprise ethics based on the moral/political choices that are made by entrepreneurs (knowingly and unknowingly) when choosing between systems of economic exchange and social value orientation, then expressing it through a legal form.

Un dios despedazado y disperso. Imágenes de Jesús en la obra de Borges

From his first expressionist poems in the 1920s to “Cristo en la cruz” (1985), the figure of Jesus Christ is recurrent in Borges’ work. Sometimes treated with irony, but generally an object of fascination and singular agnostic fervor, Jesus appears as an inescapable figure. In this article I will analyze the representations of Jesus in Borges’ work. I will focus on three images that I consider to be the most relevant ones. First, the Crucified, an image that emphasizes Christ’s humanity by denying – or at least suspending – his divinity. Second, the poet, the greatest of the oral masters, creator of splendid metaphors, and the object of an aesthetic and ethical appreciation. And third, the Incarnate Word, the God who becomes man. As I will attempt to show, these images of Jesus can also be related to some core elements in Borges’ poetics.

Empathy: an essential element of legal practice or ‘never the twain shall meet’?

ABSTRACTIn a climate where the work of the legal profession is changing and evolving rapidly, this article considers the potential for empathy to be incorporated as an essential element of legal practice. This challenges the conceptions of legal practice held by many legal professionals and law students but draws on increasing scientific evidence demonstrating the interaction between cognition and affect and reflects the emotional realities of life in practice. This article will consider the different definitions of empathy and argue that it is necessary for it to be conceptualised in a way which draws upon both cognitive and affective elements. When empathy is interpreted in this way it can provide both a more effective form of practice and a deeper appreciation of ethics and values. This article will argue that to incorporate empathy in this way requires a richer, more nuanced consideration of the benefits and challenges involved in its use. However, embedding it throughout legal education, training and legal practice would more than reward such a careful evaluation of its role.

The Need for an Ethical Fitness Assessment in the US Armed Forces

ABSTRACTWhile many attempts have been made to institutionalize ethical training in the United States Armed Forces, the intended aim of each undertaking – changing the overall perception, understanding, and appreciation of ethics – is not fully achieved. Additionally – and conspicuously absent from each of the ethical initiatives of the warfighting institution – no method to evaluate and assess the ethical behavior of its members exists in the Armed Forces. Because Service members do not have a standard from which to measure personal behavior, they cannot adequately assess if they are meeting those standards. Such a void necessarily precludes continuous ethical maturation. In order to make ethical behavior resonate within its ranks, the United States Armed Forces must change the institutional impression of ethics by implementing an Ethical Fitness Assessment, which would standardize the description and evaluation of ethical behavior and lay the foundation for translating ethical knowledge into ethical practice.

M. I. Tugan-Baranovsky’s Ethical Economics and the Challenges of Global Development <i>(To the 150th Birth Anniversary)</i>

In this paper, the ethical principles of M. I. Tugan-Baranovsky’s economic views and his civic activity are considered within the framework of “moral landmarks” of development. The aim of the paper is to appraise the possible application of this ethical approach in the theory and practice of modern world development. The author concludes that in the period of global economic crisis and institutional transformations this ethical method may be used for designing peaceful ways of solving conflicts based on ethical appreciation of human personality as the highest value.

The Ethics of Anaesthesia Learning Curves

While the concept of the 'learning curve' is widely accepted and understood in medical education, the ethical appreciation of what this involves for patients has been under-represented in medical journals. Advances in medical technology have produced an armoury of diagnostic and therapeutic invasive procedures, which must be perfected by anaesthetists for the benefit of patients. Anaesthetic training involves practice using patients, which potentially exposes patients to excess procedural risk. However, such risk can be minimised through close supervision of trainees and the development of non-patient training aids. Most importantly, for training to be ethical, it must involve the patient: it is for patients to decide whether they consent to taking part in training and their consent should always be sought where possible.

Posthuman geographies? Biotechnology, nature and the demise of the autonomous human subject

Some theorists claim that we have constructed a posthuman/postnatural world, where the corporeal and ontological boundaries between human and non-human nature have been eroded. Novel biotechnologies such as xenotransplantation and cross-species gene transfer are claimed to shake our belief in an autonomous human subject, as they question the naturalized division between human–animal–plant life forms, and draw awareness to the genetic and structural similarities between them. Optimistic posthumanist thinkers argue that the breaching of this boundary between the sacred (human nature) and profane (non-human nature) should propel us into a posthuman future characterized by a new ethical appreciation of our non-human ‘cousins’. Conversely, in national focus groups, certain members of the New Zealand public reacted by expressing disgust and abhorrence towards hybridity; others responded more pragmatically and began to interrogate the boundaries between human and non-human nature. Many of these reactions paralleled those of posthumanist theorists such as N. Katherine Hayles, Donna Haraway, Paul Virilio and Francis Fukuyama, yet were expressed through the more dichotomous language of every life. Specifically, I explore the construction of boundaries between human and non-human nature, ‘posthuman pollution’, what it means to be human, and spiritual/religious perspectives on posthumanism.

Advance Directives for Psychiatric Patients? Balancing Paternalism and Autonomy

Advance directives contain wishes and values, fears and refusals of competent lay people regarding medical interventions in future situations when they might lack communicative and decision-making capacities. However, these advance directives for medical, psychiatric and care interventions can very well be used to improve the care for patients in psychiatry and gerontopsychiatry and to provide individualized care and treatment. The development and use of advance-care documents in psychiatry, and the clinical and ethical appreciation and recognition of the wishes and values of those patients, represent a particularly difficult challenge to medical paternalism.