Moral Justification Research Articles

Spoljna politika sad u 21. veku i pitanje morala u međunarodnim odnosima u teoriji i praksi

The development of modern and powerful countries is conditioned by the need to possess and control significant amounts of resources. Out of the desire to increase the real power and influence of the global political plan, the great powers create conflicts, frictions and wars, neglecting the moral dimension and the negative consequences of the decisions taken. This paper aims to elaborate on the role of the great powers in triggering energy wars, focusing on the disguise of NEO-imperial ambitions under the guise of fighting for human rights and democracy. With this in mind, the paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, the authors examine the phenomenon of war as well as the moral justification of wars by analyzing the ethical perspectives of war. In the second part, the authors' attempts to explain how power and politics are put at the service of the ideological justification of decisions. The method of content analysis, the analysis of contemporary methods, and case studies are used as instruments to prove the hypotheses put forward. The author's intention is to prove that energy and economic wars, which imply economic and political sanctions, are set in motion with the aim of destroying the economic potential of opposing economies and states that oppose certain geopolitical interests of the great powers. They turn the war for resources into a powerful weapon to assert their interests.

Нарушает ли перераспределение доходов категорический императив?

In Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Robert Nozick made the argument that income redistribution violates the Kantian categorical imperative. Nozick’s retrospective enslavement argument is still used today in discussions about the moral justification of taxation. This article explicates four implicit premises of Nozick’s argument: the self-ownership principle, its fullness, the absence of restrictions on the appropriation of natural resources, and the absence of restrictions on the distribution of the fruits of cooperation. Without additional justification for each of these premises, Nozick’s argument cannot show that income redistribution violates the categorical imperative.

Propriedades e relações: uma leitura pós-antropocêntrica

Abstract This article explores the philosophical postulates that are generating a whole series of transformations at the ethical, legal and political levels. In order to trace back the philosophical conditions of possibility of such change, it will study the scope of the theory of relations and the theory of properties. After its exhaustive analysis, it concludes that the theory of relations has a greater explanatory and operational scope than the theory of properties. After exploring the moral justification of sensocentrist and biocentrist arguments, it invites to the cultivation of non-destructive relations with any entity, strengthening a relational ontology as a way out of the current ecological crisis.

СОЦІОЛОГІЗАЦІЯ ПРИРОДНОГО ПРАВА: ДО ПИТАННЯ ПРО СУМІСНІСТЬ ТИПІВ ПРАВОРОЗУМІННЯ

The article presents research of the widespread tendency to justify the concept of natural law within empirical sociocultural and anthropological factors in order to deprive it of its metaphysical character, which corresponds to sociological methodology. Emphasis is laid on the assumption of fundamental compatibility of the concepts of natural and sociological law, which, according to the author, is false. This outlines the related goal of the thesis that lies in proving formal logical and methodological incompatibility of the aforementioned concepts as well as inability of the sociological interpretation of natural law to solve the problem of lack of trust therein. Emphasis is also laid on inability of sociological methodology to solve the problem of ethical justification of the correctness of legal standards and behavior, which is clearly manifested in the projections of legitimacy and values. It is emphasized that the ethical foundations of law are not derived from the actual condition and require absolute values of transcendent (metaphysical) nature. The conclusion is made that natural law and sociological law are comparable but logically incompatible concepts, since they are formed according to opposite essential features determining the oppositeness of the elements that constitute their scope. In addition, the notions and concepts under research are opposite according to the ontological principles of origin and essence as well as according to the cognitive ideals forming the principles of their methodology. Together, this makes it possible to insist on the oppositeness of their nature. However, their oppositeness does not exclude complementarity in performance of the methodological work they do, albeit in their own way. Therefore, the gaps in knowledge of the ontological foundations of the theory of natural law are not a reason to abandon its instrumental capabilities as a value-oriented measure for the norms established by people. To restore trust in natural law, sociologization thereof is not enough, since the empirical methodology of sociologism creates only the illusion of solution to the problem of justifying the ethical foundations of the legal order solved by the concept of natural law in a different cognitive way. Key words: natural law, sociological law, sociologization of natural law, sociological methodology, metaphysics, legitimacy, values.

Chapter 7 - Ethics of gene and cell therapy development for neurologic disorders

In this chapter, I provide a condensed overview of nine recurring policy and ethical challenges encountered with the development of gene and cell therapies for neurologic disease. These include the question of when to initiate first-in-human trials, the ethics and policy of expanded/special access, the conduct of individualized therapy trials, subject selection in trials, designing trials for negative results, unintended effects of interventions on personal identity, comparator choice in randomized trials, consent and therapeutic misestimation, and cost and access for effective therapies. Broadly speaking, I argue that early in their development, the justification of risk in trials of gene and cell therapies derives from the social and scientific value of a trial and not the therapeutic value for trial participation. This generates strong imperatives to justify, design, and report trials appropriately and select patient populations that incur the least burden and opportunity cost for trial participation. Late in intervention development, policy makers must contend with the fact that proven effective interventions will almost certainly amplify strains in healthcare budgets as well as the ethical justifications standing behind reimbursement decisions.

Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Disaster Medicine

Abstract Artificial Intelligence (AI) covers a broad range of technologies that offer great potential and raise concerns, including ethical concerns. Some of these apply to any new technology. Potential benefits provide ethical justifications for AI, but what about potential risks and harms? How do we assess unknown harms, especially ‘dual use’ dilemmas where beneficial AI could be hijacked for harmful uses? Other ethical issues relate to the data used in AI. Machine learning offers the potential to process massive amounts of data that can be put to good use in disaster risk reduction, planning and guiding disaster responses. However, the quality of the output depends on the quality of the data input. What ethical responsibilities apply to monitoring data quality? How will privacy and confidentiality be protected for such data, especially if used for disasters in conflict or insecure settings? What if the data is influenced by inequities, or the output is used for stigmatization or discrimination? This presentation will examine these and other ethical issues with AI and disasters. Learning Objectives To identify ethical issues with AI and disasters. To provide ethical analysis of concerns about AI and disasters. To propose ethically responsible ways of using AI for disasters.

Ethics of Conflict, Violence and Peace – Just War and a Feminist Ethic of Care

This paper critically examines Just War Theory and its philosophical foundations, which are conventionally positioned in opposition to pacifism and nonviolent conflict. This paper, however, takes the view that both, Just War Theory as well as pacifism and nonviolent conflict, are equally necessary and complementary approaches to living with the possibilities and tragedies of the human condition. Its approach is grounded in feminist theory and methodology and their connections with Galtung’s models of violence and peace. The paper argues that the weaknesses of Just War Theory are intrinsic to the concept and its intent. The inherent contradiction of Just War Theory being that it intended to translate universal moral principles into reality, which makes them context dependent. Fundamentally, Just War Theory is derived from an ethic of justice ultimately centred on the right to use violence and kill. The right is conditional but means that a path to peace inevitably starts from death. An ethic of care is a philosophy where feminist thought meets pacifism and nonviolent conflict. It starts from the creation of life and charts paths to positive peace through the nurture of the conditions for lives in dignity. If we seek to contain the destructive and give space to the creative aspects of the human condition and understand its two extremes, life and death, in their relation to human agency, better we need to complement the traditional ethic of justice (of war and violence) with an ethic of care.

Core values of ethical leaders in South African schools

In the research reported on here we explored teachers’ understanding of what they perceived as core values of ethical leadership in education. Using qualitative research within an interpretivist design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with teachers and school management team (SMT) members and analysed using Tesch’s coding method. The theoretical underpinnings of the paper are grounded in 3 distinct ethics of care, justice and critique. The findings cannot be generalised since the results highlighted in this article only report on those applicable to this small qualitative sample. The main themes that emerged from the findings included the participants’ understanding of 3 core values of ethical leadership. They emphasised trust, respect and transparency as vital components of ethical leadership. Recommendations include more training and research for secondary school teachers who are not well equipped with the knowledge, skills and tools to approach the needs of disenfranchised and disadvantaged learners at their schools. A more nuanced understanding of transparency in schools, policy and practices is needed.

AUTONOMOUS WEAPON SYSTEMS AND THE JUST WAR THEORY: CHALLENGES AND IMPLICATIONS

Autonomous weapon systems (AWS) present a formidable obstacle to the application of just war theory in international law. While just war theory has long served as a framework for assessing the moral and legal justification of armed conflict, the lack of human control over the use of force in AWS creates unique ethical and legal challenges. This article investigates the effects of AWS on just war theory in international law, including the application of jus ad bellum and jus in bello criteria. It discusses the benefits and drawbacks of AWS, the current legal framework for these systems, and the difficulties associated with applying just war theory criteria to AWS. The article concludes with recommendations for future research and policy development to address these challenges, including the need for additional research, the development of clear legal frameworks, international cooperation and coordination, public participation and awareness, and research on alternative approaches to the use of AWS in armed conflict. By addressing these concerns, researchers can work toward a future in which the development and use of AWS are consistent with the principles of the just war theory and international law

시민불복종의 법적 정당화 고찰

The general view is that civil disobedience cannot be ‘legally justified’ because it is ‘an act that violates the law’, and that the disobedient must be willing to accept the legal consequences of his or her disobedience. However, as long as the value of civil disobedience is needed to resolve the partial breakdown of the system that the representative system cannot properly handle, is it impossible to recognize the legal justification beyond acknowledging moral justification for civil disobedience that fully accepts the entire legal order? This paper starts from this question and seeks to explore the possibility of legal justification of civil disobedience in relation to positive law. This is because acknowledging the role of civil disobedience in supplementing the blind spots of the representative system and seeking ways to legalize it to a certain extent is rather a way to expand the realm of the rule of law.
 The concept of legal justification for civil disobedience is being used vaguely, with its specific relationship to positive law unclear. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to confirm the concept of legal justification of civil disobedience in relation to the Constitution and positive laws. This must begin with distinguishing between direct and indirect civil disobedience. That’s because the legal justification of civil disobedience itself or individual acts of disobedience varies depending on whether the target rule violated by civil disobedience is consistent with or inconsistent with the target law or policy that civil disobedience aims to protest.
 Jury nullification in the US jury system is an exceptional system in which a jury acknowledges that the accused is guilty of a crime charged in a criminal trial, but finds him innocent for various reasons. As long as jury nullification, which is an important part of the jury system, is understood as a constitutional issue, the implications of jury nullification on the legal justification of civil disobedience are relevant. The device of jury nullification, which sometimes grants legal immunity to civil disobedience, provides an implication in interpreting the social rule provisions(Article 20) of our criminal law.
 As a result of a large-scale protest against the installation of nuclear missiles in Germany in the 1980s, the German Federal Constitutional Court finally discussed civil disobedience. In particular, in the 1986 decision, some Constitutional Court judges put forward a theory referred to as the constitutional influence of civil disobedience. The majority opinion in the 1995 decision, which followed over time, also presented an interpretation that respond implicitly to the theory presented by the dissenting opinion in 1986. Therefore, we will examine this theory, which provides important implications for the interpretation of the social rule.

An Ethics of Sanctions? Attempt and Critique of the Moral Justification of Economic Sanctions

In this article, I raise the question of whether economic sanctions are morally legal. I present the jus ad bellum principles and the Doctrine of Double Effect (DDE) as the theoretical basis for analyzing the ethical foundations of this political instrument. I show that economic sanctions are an instrument of war, that can be morally legitimized through the DDE and the just war principles. Using the example of the EU-sanctions against Russia I show how proponents of the DDE justify the use of economic sanctions and what negative side effects result from their application. From a critical perspective, I want to show that this kind of moral justification is wrong. My critique is based on the assumption that the individual intention of an acting person/government can be misdirected by various external factors. As the groupthink concept illustrates, dissenting opinions are neglected in the consensus-building process. In addition, advisors, experts and employees influence the opinion of government officials to a considerable extent. This leads to the formation of specific moral concepts. This is particularly evident regarding the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The Russian government has created its own moral code based on historical events, individual opinions and fantasies of maintaining power. This is contrary to the moral codes of Western states. The difference in moral concepts also results in different intentions to act. These different views make it difficult to evaluate sanctioning procedures as morally good or bad. Consequently, the mere focus on intention is insufficient as an assessment standard for the moral status of an action.

Philosophical and Anthropological Understanding of the Nature of Collective Violence

Purpose. The purpose of this research is to analyse and systematize modern philosophical and anthropological ideas about the nature, essence, causes and sources of collective violence. Theoretical basis. Given the complexity and multifaceted nature of the phenomenon of violence, the authors used a range of philosophical and general scientific research methods. In particular, the comparative method helped to identify the main advantages and disadvantages of using philosophical and anthropological approaches to studying the nature and patterns of violence in the social environment. The use of the systemic and structural-functional methods contributed to a better understanding of the structure, features, mechanisms and criteria for ethical justification of the permissibility of collective violence. The psychological approach made it possible to analyse the role of social dissatisfaction, disappointment, relative deprivation and frustration in the process of radicalization of individuals and their readiness to use violence. Originality. The originality of this research lies in the application of modern analytical approaches to the study and philosophical understanding of the phenomenon of violence. It has been proven that at the current stage of social development, the following non-traditional forms of violence are becoming widespread: structural, symbolic, cultural, and psychological. It has been established that the main sources of collective violence are value, cultural, ideological and structural contradictions, as well as socio-psychological dissatisfaction, economic inequality and discrimination. Conclusions. Throughout history, violence has been an integral part of spiritual, social, value and economic transformations. The study of such a complex phenomenon requires the creation of an effective interdisciplinary theory that would take into account various anthropological, social, philosophical, psychological, physiological and biological dimensions and forms of its use. That is why there is a need to further improve scientific theories and approaches to studying the nature, forms and sources of violence. Taking advantage of a comprehensive approach, we have been able to establish that violence is a form of social influence that involves the use of physical force against individuals, social groups or institutions to cause physical, mental or moral harm and to subordinate their behaviour and will.

為侵入性腦機介面技術進行倫理辯護

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.
 The idea that invasive brain–computer interface technology is dangerous is debatable. This technology requires ethical justification, recognizing the coexistence of their benefits and risks. The newly formed professional consensus in China illustrates that it is possible to develop forward-looking and binding ethical guidelines through multidisciplinary argumentation and stakeholder consultation. Invasive brain–computer interfaces need not be limited to the smallest scope of application. Invasive brain–computer interfaces for healthy people and for enhancement purposes will provide technical and ethical options for future human society. Therefore, research into invasive brain–computer interfaces should not be prohibited. Rather, we must be alert to the risky possibility of research and development on brain–computer interfaces becoming entirely driven by business interests and controlled by capital. Furthermore, Chinese Taoist wisdom does not necessarily reject this technology.

From informed to empowered consent.

Informed consent is ethically incomplete and should be redefined as empowered consent. This essay challenges theoretical assumptions of the value of informed consent in light of substantial evidence of its failure in clinical practice and questions the continued emphasis on autonomy as the primary ethical justification for the practice of consent in health care. Human dignity-rather than autonomy-is advanced from a nursing ethics perspective as a preferred justification for consent practices in health care. The adequacy of an ethic of obligation (namely, principlism) as the dominant theoretical lens for recognising and responding to persistent problems in consent practices is also reconsidered. A feminist empowerment framework is adopted as an alternative ethical theory to principlism and is advanced as a more practical and complete lens for examining the concept and context of consent in health care. To accomplish this, the three leading conceptions of informed consent are overviewed, followed by a feminist critique to reveal practical problems with each of them. The need for a language change from informed to empowered consent is strongly considered. Implications for consent activities in clinical practice are reviewed with focused discussion on the need for greater role clarity for all involved in consent-beyond and inclusive of the patient-physician dyad, as the practice and improvement of consent is necessarily a transdisciplinary endeavour. Specific concrete and practical recommendations for leveraging nursing expertise in this space are presented. Perhaps what is most needed in the discourse and practice of consent in health care is nursing.

The Non-Moral Basis for Eliminating Retributivism

While increasing numbers of philosophers have argued for eliminating the retributivist elements of criminal justice systems, their arguments often fall short due to internal inconsistency. Some of the best known of these arguments — such as those provided by Derk Pereboom and Gregg Caruso — rely on the claim that there are moral grounds for rejecting retributivism. In defending this claim, these philosophers typically provide arguments seeking to undermine the type of agent responsibility that they believe is needed to justify retributivism. This is usually followed by an assertion that since the excessive suffering caused by retributivist punishment cannot be justified, it is therefore immoral to preserve remnants of it in our criminal justice systems. This paper — which opposes the moral case against retributivism provided by Pereboom and Caruso, and favors non-moral reasons that recommend rejecting a retributivist approach — is divided into three parts. In part one, I discuss why Pereboom and Caruso are correct in thinking that free will skepticism undercuts the moral justification for retributivism. Part two sets out to explain why their moral case against retributivism fails insofar as it runs afoul of the folk intuitions that are called upon to defend Pereboom’s account of free will skepticism. In part three, I provide a non-moral case against the retributivism that is founded on considerations of self-interest and empathy.

Justice Augmented: Navigating the Ethical and Legal Terrains of AI Integration in International Criminal Proceedings

The intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and International Criminal Law has heralded an era of augmented justice, characterized by enhanced efficiency yet beset by intricate ethical and legal quandaries. The present article seeks to delve into the multifarious impacts of AI integration, dissecting the potential augmentations and the inherent complications within the enigmatic confines of international criminal proceedings. It aims to meticulously juxtapose the promises of technological advancements against the imperatives of ethical justice and legal propriety.The article commences with a nuanced exploration of AI’s role in evidence gathering and analysis, illuminating the potential for expedited and enriched processes. Yet, the core of the discussion gravitates towards the ethical and legal predicaments of AI biases and the consequential implications on the sanctity of fair trials. The article, thus, strives to weave together the threads of accountability, transparency, and the inviolable rights of the accused in a tapestry that reflects the multifaceted challenges posed by AI.Drawing from a rich tableau of international perspectives, including the diverse legal landscapes of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, an offering of a global vista of prevailing attitudes, policies, and frameworks governing AI in judicial systems is endeavoured. In navigating the future, the article ends with policy proposals and legal frameworks to align AI’s integration with the sacrosanct principles of international human rights and criminal justice.It is ultimately hoped that the article, rooted in rigorous academic discourse yet resonant with broader societal implications, offers an original, refined, and critical perspective on the confluence of AI and international criminal law.

Clinical Ethics and Professional Integrity: A Comment on the ASBH Code.

The Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibilities for Healthcare Ethics Consultants instructs clinical ethics consultants to preserve their professional integrity by "not engaging in activities that involve giving an ethical justification or stamp of approval to practices they believe are inconsistent with agreed-upon standards"(ASBH, 2014, p. 2). This instruction reflects a larger model of how to address value uncertainty and moral conflict in healthcare, and it brings up some intriguing and as yet unanswered questions-ones that the drafters of the Code, and the profession more broadly, should seek to address in upcoming revisions. The objective of this article is to raise these questions as a way of urging greater clarification of the Code's overall approach to professional integrity, its meaning, and implications.

The bias on characters’ visual traits in Japanese animation and the misconceived “transnationality” of anime

In the dynamics centred on East Asian cultural output, a special place is occupied by Japan’s production (namely, comics and animation, or manga and anime respectively) and the distribution and widespread consumption of this vast output around the world. 
 Despite the interpolations many anime series or films faced when exported, a specificity of the medium was/is usually recognised by foreign audiences. However, issues often unfold in the reception of anime’s visual codes, which entail problematical aspects in the grasping of the narratives and an underlying dimension of what I shall here call “graphic politics”. Today, the visual-narrative logics of anime characters’ physiognomies, and therefore, the motivations and intentions of their creators, are still largely misinterpreted based on culturally-inflected interpretations; this gives us clues on what the audiences of anime are, what they expect and draw from anime’s stories, and what this means for a global politics of anime as a medium of expression and a creative output. In this article, through the description of visual examples and established, or, at times controversial, scholarship in the field, I discuss the persistence of wide misunderstandings in the cultural politics of anime’s design and its impact on the reception of anime’s intentions globally.
 Among the collateral effects of this misunderstanding, a technical and moral justification to call (or imply as) “anime” animations designed and produced outside of Japan by non-Japanese authors seems to be emerging in the global discourse, thus privileging a fabricated idea of anime as just a “form” over anime as also and mainly a Japanese cultural artefact, in a momentous process of progressive dilution of the Japan-embedded characteristics of the animations made in Japan.

Философия мягкой силы в международном взаимодействии: между «парасиловым» принуждением и скрытным управлением

The article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of soft power in the modern situation of international communication and multicultural interaction. The relevance of this topic is dictated, on the one hand, by the fact that soft power acts as a modern alternative to classical traditional forms of hard power – which gives it a signif-icant advantage of a humanitarian nature, on the other, by the understanding that soft power, unfortunately, is often not an end in itself, but acts only as an element or modification of hard power, i.e. situations when “tough arguments” are exhausted and costly in short-term implementation, and pushing through specific interests can be carried out much more effectively through informational influence on the opponent than by military or eco-nomic means, which is reflected in the famous phraseology: “A honey tongue, a heart of gall”. Consequently, the search for a balance between altruism and egoism, as well as often irrational results of collective activity of subjects of international relations actualize the problem of philosophical reflection of forms of interaction and ethical justification of their use, which would lead to the solution of not only the classical problem “violence be-gets violence” (“hate begets hate”), but also the problem when paradoxically “nonviolence also begets vio-lence”. In the latter case, we are talking about the use of “soft power” in a unilateral version, when the victory of one pole is achieved by destroying all other alternatives, which in the current international situation is reflected in the crisis of the unipolar system of the world. The methodology of the work is based on the principles and methods of socio-philosophical analysis, the concept of historicism, comparative analysis, which is interdisci-plinary.

Feeling close from Afar: Public reactions to racial profiling in retail and brand crisis management

Consumer racial profiling, a service failure unfairly targeting consumers based on their race, still prevails in the retail sector, impacting not only the direct victims' perceptions but also shaping the broader public sentiment toward the retail brand. To comprehend public reactions to a retail brand's racial (vs. non-racial) profiling service failure, we conducted three scenario-based online experiments with MTurk panels. In Study 1, we discovered that a brand crisis resulting from racial profiling service failure, as opposed to non-racial profiling, led to a more pronounced reduction in purchase intention toward the retail brand. This heightened negative response unfolded in a sequence, where the service failure initially triggered negative moral emotions among the public, subsequently shaping their judgment toward the brand, ultimately leading to a decline in purchase intention. In Study 2, we explored the role of perceived psychological distance as a moderator. We found that non-racial profiling service failure intensified negative moral emotions when the public perceived the service failure as more personally likely to happen to them (close). Meanwhile, the impact of racial profiling remained consistently high, regardless of psychological distance. In Study 3, when comparing the impact of distinct crisis management approaches (ethics of justice and ethics of care), we found that the ethics of care approach more effectively alleviated negative moral emotions in response to a racial profiling crisis than the ethics of justice approach.