Ideas Of Reciprocity Research Articles

Contractarianism and the Ethic of Care in Indian Fiction

Through close readings of recent fiction from English, Hindi and Kannada sources, this paper analyses the feminist ethic of care with reference to adult daughters caring for their critically-ill or dying mothers. The discussion focuses on problems associated with the care ethic and examines some of its assumptions, particularly its inability to account for the emotional complexity of adult caregiving relationships, which can make the invocation of relationality difficult; its focus on responsiveness to needs, such as those of helpless infants, which prevents adequate engagement with ideas of reciprocity; and, finally, its extraction of the caregiving relationship from the network of social and familial relationships in which it is embedded. Alongside my critique of the ethic of care, I will also examine the extent to which mainstream moral concepts, such as rights and contracts, may continue to be relevant to the dynamics of intergenerational relations in old age.

Coercion or Engagement? Economics and Institutions in ACP-EU Trade Negotiations

If concluded, Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) will constitute unprecedented reciprocal free trade arrangements between the world's largest single market and some of the poorest economic regions. According to the Cotonou Agreement signed by the EU and the ACP countries, poverty alleviation and integration into the world economy are the overriding objectives of these EPAs. Yet, the economic and development impact of EPAs is ambiguous. A wide body of economic theory confirms that trade reform can lead to efficiency gains, increased competition, lower prices, knowledge transfers and ultimately higher economic growth. The robustness of this theory, however, has so far been predominantly demonstrated by North-North trade relations, one of the most renown examples being the internal market of the EU. Once North-South trade liberalisation is put in a similar framework, it becomes clear that some of the potential gains from a free trade agreement with the EU might not be realised due to a lack of enabling conditions within the ACP countries. Moreover, some of the costs that will invariably emerge due to trade reform will have more serious consequences for groups in the South. Undeniably, EPAs will know both winners and losers. Whether domestic policy measures can substantially mitigate the costs and optimise the benefits will depend on a variety of external as well as domestic factors. The quality of ACP institutions will be the most crucial aspect determining the outcome of EPAs. Indeed, both empirical and circumstantial evidence suggests that the process of trade policy-making and reform is likely to be a more crucial determinant of the economic impact than the precise direction of trade policy. That is, the how question outweighs the what question where trade policy and reform are concerned. A growing body of literature is now available with respect to the conditions under which institutions develop and the role that outsiders (donors) can play in the process. Political leadership, ownership, accountability, and a long-term vision appear to be crucial ingredients for sustainable institution building. Within the field of international trade negotiations, and in particular those for EPAs, there exists a strong tension between these ingredients and the methodology by which both donors and recipients try to cook up trade-related institutions through trade capacity-building programmes. Lacking the conviction that EPAs are needed for their development, many ACP countries have so far adopted a wait-and-see approach. Yet a defensive and reactive approach during the negotiations is likely to imply a large implementation burden and possibly excessive adjustment costs once EPAs are concluded. This is particularly true for the least developed countries, which have the weakest institutional basis to start with. Conversely, the European Commission has been very pro-active in designing various support programmes to assist both with the implementation of and adjustment to EPAs. Yet a highly critical question is whether the Commission alone can successfully drive these processes. Assistance in trade capacity building is unlikely to have a lasting effect for those ACP countries that do not take ownership of the ideas of reciprocity, flanking measures and institutional reform. In the latter case, the costs of half-heartedly concluded agreements will be disproportionately borne by the ACP countries concerned.

Do extraterrestrials have sex (and intelligence)?

This thought experiment addresses the range of possible evolved psychologies likely to be associated with extraterrestrial (ET) intelligence. The analysis rests on: (1) a number of assumptions shared by the SETI project; (2) recent arguments concerning convergent evolution; and (3) current theories of how intelligence evolved in our own species. It concludes that, regardless of how and which cognitive abilities arise initially, extraterrestrially they can develop into intelligence only if an amplification process involving a form of predation and/or sexual selection occurs. Depending on the amplification process, ETs may be xenophobic; however, it is more probable that they will be ethnocentric. Their ideas of reciprocity and fairness are likely to at least overlap with our own. They will definitely be culture-bearing and probably have two sexes, both of which are intelligent. Regardless of the degree of physical similarity of ETs to ourselves, convergence makes it likely that we will at least find their evolved psychology similar enough to our own for comprehension.

The Significance of a Dog's Tail: Comments on the Xu Xiyou ji

The Xu Xiyou ji (Sequel to the Westward Journey) is one of four traditional Chinese vernacular novels associated with the legendary journey to India by Xuanzang and his disciples in the seventh century. It is a work that was little known in China or elsewhere until its publication in two modern typeset editions in 1986. As its title indicates, this is a sequel (xu) to the Xiyou ji (Record of the Westward Journey), although there is some question about which version of the parent novel served as its progenitor. It is a work in 100 chapters, which tells of the return journey of Xuanzang and his disciples from the Western Paradise back to China. Although the Xu Xiyou ji is highly imitative of its parent novel, close examination of its text shows that the author was significantly original and creative, even within the narrow constraints of the sequel format. This is the only work in the Westward Journey tradition to satirize Sun Wukong, better known to English readers as Monkey. Monkey is ridiculed for his failure to follow the basics of what the author perceives as correct Buddhist doctrine. The work promotes a kind of radical passivism unique in the Chinese tradition. Coupled with this is an emphasis on forgiveness, an emphasis rarely seen in a literary tradition dominated by ideas of reciprocity.

Remarks on the non-local electrodynamics

In order to construct an electrodynamics free of the usual convergence difficulties we abandon the classical infinitesimal approach and assume the S -matrix formalism. The S -matrix is constructed by means of correspondence arguments in conformity with the ideas of non-localizability and reciprocity. The new S -matrix is free of the usual infinities. The main advantage of the new formalism consists in the finiteness of the self-charge terms. The ideas of reciprocity and non-localizability may acquire more importance in meson theories where the convergence difficulties are more serious than in quantum electrodynamics.