Modern Ethics Research Articles

Relational positionism: a constructive interpretation of morality in Luhmann's social systems theory

Purpose The purpose of this article is to summarize three Luhmannian critiques on morality, illustrate new roles for morality and add constructive interpretations.Design/methodology/approach Luhmann has recently been described as downright negative toward morality, resulting in a refusal to use ethics as a sociologist, thus leading to a limited use of his theory in moral issues. A constructive interpretation could support a more functional use of morality in social system theory.Findings First, Luhmann signals that morality can no longer fulfill its integrative function in society but also that society has recourse to moral sensitivity. Second, Luhmann describes how anxiety is crucial in modern morality and indicates which role risk and danger could play. The author builds further on this and proposes the concept of “social system attention” that can provide answers to individual and organizational anxiety. The author proposes that institutionalized socialization can support an integrative morality. Third, Luhmann states that ethics today is nothing more than a utopia but also that the interdiction of moral self-exemption is an essential element. The author adds that a relational ontology for social systems theory can avoid ethics as utopia.Practical implicationsThis article is a programmatic plea to further elaborate morality from a system theory perspective in which meaning is relationally positioned.Originality/value This article could potentially provide a more functional application of morality in social systems, thus leading to improvements of attempts of ethical decision-making. The originality of the approach lies in the interpretation of basic assumptions of Luhmann social system theory that are not core to his theory.

인기 없는 덕목

Chung 忠 always has an object it is directed towards. At the same time, we also often discuss the loyal character of an individual (the subject) regardless of the object to which their loyalty is directed. This duality is an essential feature of chung. When explaining, criticising, and defending the concept of chung, most researchers focus on one of these two aspects: the subject or object side of the duality. This paper compares the concept of chung in Confucianism to the concept of loyalty in modern ethics, and to the concept of Chungseong 忠誠 in the modern Korean language using this subjective-objective framework. It shows that a similar dilemma to the “loyal Nazis dilemma” caused by the objectivity of loyalty also exists in the Confucian notion of chung (the dilemma of Bo Yi and Shu Qi) and reveals the unique nature of the concept by examining various solutions to the dilemma suggested by several traditional Confucian scholars.

Этические императивы в историцистской перспективе: был ли Иисус Навин аморальным?

The present article is dedicated to the problem of moral evaluation of historical figures and events as illustrated by an example of one of the most prominent figures of biblical stories Jesus Navis. He is one of those figures who commits something obviously morally wrong, if seen from the point of view of the dominant modern morality, but still is a moral authority for many people due to his commitment to God, place in Sacred history and some other features. The author considers in the article the following question: may such persons and acts be ever evaluated in modern historical narratives? He presumes that to this question positive answer may be given without sticking to some kind of prejudice, and proposes an argument which combines a semantic thesis that from the truth of the proposition “x committed an immoral action a” does not necessarily follow the proposition “x acted immorally by doing a”, with the justification of the claim that only the first one is applicable to historical figures, given we don’t know the historical context well. It is also shown that this approach allows to resolve yet another old problem: that of an accurate representation of the past without full exclusion of evaluative statements.The present article is dedicated to the problem of moral evaluation of historical figures and events as illustrated by an example of one of the most prominent figures of biblical stories Jesus Navis. He is one of those figures who commits something obviously morally wrong, if seen from the point of view of the dominant modern morality, but still is a moral authority for many people due to his commitment to God, place in Sacred history and some other features. The author considers in the article the following question: may such persons and acts be ever evaluated in modern historical narratives? He presumes that to this question positive answer may be given without sticking to some kind of prejudice, and proposes an argument which combines a semantic thesis that from the truth of the proposition “x committed an immoral action a” does not necessarily follow the proposition “x acted immorally by doing a”, with the justification of the claim that only the first one is applicable to historical figures, given we don’t know the historical context well. It is also shown that this approach allows to resolve yet another old problem: that of an accurate representation of the past without full exclusion of evaluative statements.

The Philosophy and History of the Moral ‘Ought’: Some of Anscombe’s Objections

AbstractAccording to G.E.M Anscombe’s paper ‘Modern Moral Philosophy’, modern moral philosophy has introduced a spurious concept of moral obligation, and has therefore made a mistake that the Greeks, and Aristotle in particular, avoided. Anscombe argues that the modern concepts of obligation, duty, and the moral ‘ought’ are the remnants of an earlier, but post-Aristotelian conception of ethics, and that they ought to be abandoned. An examination of Anscombe’s historical and philosophical claims shows that we have no reason to take them seriously. In particular, they rest on a misinterpretation of Scholastic views on ‘ought’ and obligation.

The Oxford Handbook of Elizabeth Anscombe edited by Roger Teichmann, (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2022); pp. 520, £ 97.00, hbk

The Oxford Handbook of Elizabeth Anscombe edited by Roger Teichmann, (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2022); pp. 520, £ 97.00, hbk

A Review of the Impact of Nigerian Tourism Development in the Preservation of Arts and Culture

This study investigates the responsibilities that museums play in conserving art and culture. It argues that museums should be responsible for making historic values accessible and understandable to all visitors, rather than depending simply on traditional item displays. Museums provide opportunities for global travelers to learn about different perspectives on the importance of history and how to preserve their heritage. The method used in this research is qualitative. Research was carried out by compiling and analyzing existing studies. The obstacles to the preservation of art and culture, and how can research help museums use their physical, intentional forms to produce visitor experiences that are meaningful, active, ethical, and continuous, as well as a visible representation of tourism in Nigeria served as the focal points of this paper’s research. The findings support the dual functions of museums, preserving our artistic heritage and acting as a significant source of revenue to support the travel and tourist industry. In addition to significantly increasing global income, tourism is now a key factor in the expansion of economies across the world. The primary rationale behind the growth of tourism in many nations worldwide is often its capacity to have a favorable economic impact through the lens of modern heritage values and ethics. The findings of this research reflect the intricate ways by which tourism and culture are tightly correlated.

BENJAMIN PARRIS. Vital Strife: Sleep, Insomnia, and the Early Modern Ethics of Care

BENJAMIN PARRIS. <i>Vital Strife: Sleep, Insomnia, and the Early Modern Ethics of Care</i>

Биоэтика, право и интересы будущих поколений — некоторые практические точки соприкосновения

The article defines the term ‘bioethics’ taking into account the common regulatory act, shows the interrelation between bioethical and legal regulations, and defines the mechanisms that enhance and improve effectiveness of ethical standards by turning them into legal regulations. Basic regulatory legal acts such as laws and subordinate acts in health regulation are reviewed and analyzed for the presence of an ethical constituent. Critical areas in the regulatory acts are specified; certain ways of their ethical transformation are mentioned. Insufficient ethical substantiation of regulatory provisions in the body of legislation and lack of universal declarative regulations are found. The role of a new subject of bioethics and law (future generations), which significantly expands the area of ethical issues, including applied medical sciences, has been denoted. The conflict between modern ethics and interests of future generations can be a complex issue and should be solved immediately on a constant basis. Ethical and legal principles of future generations — precaution and non-regression — were introduced. It is indicated that the standards of ethical and legal regulation of interests of future generations should be developed.

Can Virtue Ethics Derived from Neo-Aristotelianism be Perfectly Self-Explanatory

As a result of the rise of neo-Aristotelianism in recent times, the discussion of 'virtue' has led to the question of whether virtue ethics can exist as a sound system. Prior to this, there was no normative standard for 'virtue', deontology ignored human nature, and utilitarianism focused more on instrumental reason, ignoring the plurality of the 'good'. Anscombe defined 'virtue ethics' in his Modern Moral Philosophy, and Nussbaum built on this by arguing that goodness does not depend only on the rationality of the actor, but also on morality and institutions, and Hesterhaus provided a normative interpretation of virtue ethics from an Aristotelian standpoint. However, as virtue ethics defines and regulates virtue ethics, it is difficult to form a logically coherent system, as either virtue ethics is more or less connected to other ethics, and there are even contradictions between specific claims.

Epikureanisme dan Stoikisme: Etika Helenistik Untuk Seni Hidup Modern

Epicureanism and Stoicism are two of all Greek philosophies which aim to answer the question of what man seeks for himself. Aristotle has already answered it as happiness (eudaimonia). In addition to discussing the Stoics as an art of living, this study wants to try to see the needs of Modern Ethics for Hellenistic Ethics. Stoics and Epicureanism want to be juxtaposed as both contradictory, hostile and different Hellenistic Ethics but can be used as a way of how modern man seeks his happiness. Using several quotes from Epictetus, in the end this research wants to show that to achieve happiness humans can try not to make representations, talk about what is factual and act indifferently, while still paying attention to the logical aspect.

Leaving and death: The awakening of individual modernity in ethnic minority films——Based on the reading of “A Mongolian Tale” and “Jinpa”

The relationship between national tradition and modern ethics has become an important proposition of ethnic minority films in the new century. With the development of society, the minority areas are more closely connected with the outside world, and some individuals of the minorities can be exposed to modern ethics and realize their superiority over the traditional national ethics. Due to the connection with the traditional national society, the awakening individual often bears strong tearing and pain in the conscious transformation from tradition to modern. This irreversible transformation process accompanied by strong pain has been condensed into two symbols of “leaving” and “death” in the film text.

Humour and Irony as research objects and as parts of everyday discourse in Russia

The paper addresses the issues of humour and irony research by Russian scholars and the functioning of humour and irony in everyday interaction. The aim of the paper is twofold: firstly, it presents an overview of humour and irony research in modern Russian linguistics, anthropology, ethics and literary studies. Secondly, it describes functioning of humour and irony in Russian everyday spoken, written and computer-mediated modes of discourse to demonstrate the variety of their forms and conveyed social implications. There is no single perspective that underlies existing approaches to non-bona fide forms of communication. In the Soviet Union, the use of humour and irony was largely controlled by the state. Therefore, there was a strong ideological influence on the research of non-bona fide genres and the choice of empirical data: researchers focused only on the “good examples” of humour taken from classic literary works. Also there was a strong tradition to use the terms humour, the comic, laughter, irony and satire as near synonyms, so sometimes it is not easy to draw a borderline between humorous and ironic discourses. In the past decades spontaneous non-bona fide forms of discourse have attracted researchers’ attention. Among a variety of genres canned jokes (or anecdotes) is the most popular humorous genre. Instances of humour and irony can be found not only in written texts, but also in spoken and computer-mediated modes of discourse, and in all modes humorous and ironic utterances are used to convey social implications or challenge existing social norms.

The Influence of William Hogarth on Later Generations

The Influence of William Hogarth on Later Generations

Creating Architects of Justice: A Gift from Modern Ethics to &lt;i&gt;Brady&lt;/i&gt; on Its 60th Anniversary

Creating Architects of Justice: A Gift from Modern Ethics to &lt;i&gt;Brady&lt;/i&gt; on Its 60th Anniversary

Continuity of culture, or metaphysical duty

Everything that contributes to the individualization of a person should be recognized as a necessary condition for modern ethics — the intellectual and everyday behavior of a person, and metaphysical duty is an ethical concept (“our duty towards each other”, according to Newton), based on which (ideal, of course, wish), economics and politics in the modern world should be determined.

Is Guanxi Ethical? Evidence from Medical Reps in China

As a typical feature of traditional Chinese Confucian culture, guanxi continues to play an essential role in modern society. This study analyses the morality of guanxi from the perspective of modern business ethics, combining the theories of ethical absolutism and relativism. In addition, based on the relevant cases of Chinese pharmaceutical representatives, it explores how guanxi induce wrongdoing step by step in a commercial society. Finally, the research makes specific recommendations for maintaining the legitimacy of guanxi in terms of improving legislation and supporting whistleblowing.

LEGITIMACY OF LAW AS ITS JUSTIFICATION AND RECOGNITION

The subject of research is social relations in the field of legitimacy of positive law in the modern state. Methodology. The methodological basis of the study is the methods of induction and deduction, dialectical-materialistic method, method of analysis and synthesis, historical method, which allowed to objectively comprehend the content and essence of the issues under study. The purpose of the article is a theoretical and legal study of the legitimacy of law as its justification and recognition. The results of the study are: the legitimacy of law from the point of view of the theory of communicative rationality is investigated; the historical and theoretical process of development of interaction between subjects and the process of recognition, legitimation of norms in society as a social evolution is investigated; the development of the ideas of legitimacy and moral consciousness in the modern legal order is investigated; the tendencies of legitimization of positive law in the modern state on the basis of morality are determined; the peculiarities of ensuring the legitimacy of power through the legitimacy of law are highlighted. Conclusions. Law and modern morality stem from traditional relations, and they are interconnected. Legal norms are not just orders, they are fulfilled not only out of fear of coercion, but also out of respect for the law. However, for this, the legal order must be legitimate, enjoy the authority of citizens, and this is possible only if the positive law does not contradict the moral norms shared by a given society. The legitimacy of law lies, first of all, in the development of the legal basis of state and social life. But the meaning of the legitimacy of law in a society that calls itself democratic is seen not in the mere fact of existence and strict implementation of even legally perfect legislation, but in the extent to which it comprehensively embodies universally recognized humanistic goals, ideals, and values. Among them are the recognition of the people as the exclusive source of power and law, the rule of law, separation of powers, inadmissibility of usurpation and unlimited power, equality of all before the law and the court, inviolability of justice, etc. Of course, it is about fundamental human rights and freedoms with the legislative consolidation of the state's obligations to ensure and protect them. The legitimacy of law is the idea, requirement and system of real expression of law in the laws of the state, in lawmaking itself, in subordinate lawmaking with the steady recognition and perception by the population of the state.

도리스 레싱의 「19호실로」

This essay examines that social institutions, cultural patterns, and social relations have contributed to restricting women's lives and pushing women to unequal status in Doris Lessing's “To Room Nineteen.” Modern ethics and political theories emphasized the impartial point of view of reason that rational subjects should have, and excluded women from citizenship on the grounds that they did not fit the model of the rational citizen capable of transcending body and sentiment. In addition, according to the concept of the ideal citizen in modern political ideas, individual citizens were rational, self-sufficient and independent rather than relational and interdependent. Therefore, vulnerability, dependency, interdependency, or caring were not considered ideal civic attributes. As the concept of citizenship rested on independence and political culture intensified gender difference, new and gendered senses of dependency appeared. And dependency was constructed gradually in a feminine sense and was stigmatized, and furthermore, deepened contempt for caring and caring laborers. Women appeared to personify dependency and were denigrated as subordinate status. Thus, modern ethics and political theories denigrating women as dependents have performed ideological functions of obscuring more emancipatory social relations and reproducing women's oppression. “To Room Nineteen” begins with the narrator's remark, “a story about a failure in intelligence.” In “To Room Nineteen,” intelligence is related to modern ethical and political theories based on reason and rationality that justify women's subordinate status, and these theories can be considered to have failed in that they led to injustice to women. The narrator refers to this failure as “a failure in intelligence.” This essay argues that the institutions, cultural patterns and social relations based on the ideals of modern civil society have caused the structural and institutionalized oppression and inequality of women, and they have leaded to injustice that have deprived women of the means and opportunities to exercise and develop their capabilities. In addition, this essay also argues that a political responsibility is needed to overcome this injustice and to practice organizational action for change, and citizens as participants in social processes should share this responsibility.

Nietzsche, Trump, and the Social Practices of Valuing Truth

Nietzsche, Trump, and the Social Practices of Valuing Truth

Escaping the Shadow

Escaping the Shadow