Liberal Interpretation Research Articles

The Development of Public Conscience: Hume’s Third Way Between Hobbes and Locke

Hume devised a third way between Hobbes and Locke that bolstered the former’s defense of stability and the latter’s defense of rebellion. This feat remains underappreciated. Hume’s third way rests on the idea of the public conscience, which, like Hobbes’s idea of the public conscience, derives from communication and consensus. The public conscience orients us toward the public interest, which, in Hume’s theory, is the authoritative standard by which individuals and government alike must abide. In this paper, I elaborate on the moral psychological principles that underlie Hume’s concept of the public conscience, which is liable to both conservative liberal and progressive liberal interpretations. And I argue that Hume’s third way provides valuable insight into the logic of public political discourse in liberal societies.

Contentious press freedom: Media law and the Supreme Court in the Philippines

The legal environment particularly the body of laws that regulate media operations are telling, yet underexplored, indicators of press freedom. Using the analytical concept of episodes of contention based on a reading of contentious politics, the article examines the ambivalent state of press freedom in the Philippines. The argument is that the protracted issues of media access and libel serve as two episodes of contention that identify extant and emerging sets of actors, mechanisms, and claims that collectively characterize the role of media law in the body politic. Drawing from interviews with journalists and review of the Supreme Court rulings about media access and libel, the hope is to underscore the potential and limits of the Court as an ally of the media in advancing press freedom. The decision of the Court does not at all times favor a liberal interpretation of press freedom but it deploys ways including dissenting opinions that can balance, if not outrightly oppose, the occasional negative view of the Court toward media-related cases.

Křivda a odpor : konstrukce alternativní modernity a mobilizace amerických konzervativních věřících

This article explores much debated contemporary development in the contestation of the dominant, liberal interpretation of modernity by conservative Christians in the United States through counter hegemonic discourse that is deployed in the political arena and facilitates broader cultural struggle. The examination combines the analysis of discourse from the extensive corpus of data produced by five elite actors in the American religious and political milieu and its interplay with the socioeconomic factors of their constituency on the one hand and the institutional and historical context of accounts. Following in the footsteps of critical sociology of religion, emphasis was placed on processes through which the actors establish a claim for power and legitimize the application of moral rationality as the different path to modern society. Employment of discursive instruments in form of myths, narratives, and negative representations tied to specific religious language, is not only showing the permeability of the church-state separation in supposedly secular political arrangements. More importantly, it is unrevealing the authoritative, mobilizational power of the religious matrix of emotionally motivating meanings and identity-making narratives in face of shortcomings and crises of the hegemonic socio-political constellation. In this manner, it serves as a tool to challenge established interpretations of commitments to freedom and equality, or in many instances reinterprets them to legitimize policy entailed in the notion of collective morality. However, this considerable engagement also creates points of contention in society and in religious formations, which leads to their fragmentation between different interpretations of such commitments.

The 2022 ICJ Judgment in Nicaragua v. Colombia: Towards a Theory of Exclusivity in Allocating Rights and Jurisdiction between the Coastal and Other States?

Abstract In Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia), the International Court of Justice delves into the matter of exclusivity when assessing alleged violations committed by foreign States within an Exclusive Economic Zone. Additionally, the Court examines the legality of legislative acts concerning the contiguous zone and outlines criteria for the drawing of straight baselines. The Court’s aim seems to be establishing a comprehensive theory of exclusivity, seeking to allocate and balance the rights and jurisdiction of coastal States and other States involved. In this context, it becomes apparent that the abstract notion of freedom of navigation imposes limitations on coastal States, preventing them from enacting legislation that expands the scope of their jurisdiction or adopts a liberal interpretation of permissible conditions within relevant regulatory frameworks. The implications of this theory for the evolution of the legal order pertaining to maritime spaces warrant significant attention.

Philosophical foundations of worldview conflict within Western thought in the conservative perspective

Abstract: In the face of growing conflicts in Western societies and the formation of deep political, ideological and worldview divisions within Western civilization, it becomes legitimate to ask whether we are not witnessing ongoing culture wars? The observed intensifying social dichotomies do not touch only the issue of political sympathies or antipathies, but concern almost all aspects of human life: the concept of nation, attitude to religion, family model, approach to sexuality and even the existence of gender. The purpose of this article is to trace the conservative style of thinking in the context of the culture war, to distinguish the elements of common concepts within this philosophical tradition, as well as the peculiarities of each of the selected authors. The paper has the following order: an introduction devoted to the origins of modern conservatism, allowing to outline the conceptual framework of this style of thinking. It is hypothesized that modern British conservatism arose in response to events associated with the collapse of socialism in Poland and Czechoslovakia, while the philosophical development of Polish conservative thought is inspired by Anglo-Saxon publications. In the first part, the thought of British conservative philosophy on the phenomenon of culture war is described on the example of Roger Scruton's philosophy, and then compared with American authors Allan Bloom and Gertrude Himmelfarb. The second part of the article is devoted to two Polish authors who have dealt extensively with the subject of culture war – Agnieszka Kolakowska and Anna Pawczynska. Finally, the conservative interpretation of the culture war is compared with the liberal and left-wing interpretations in order to point out the links, connections, as well as differences between them.

Inclusive democratic education: a question of social discrimination and inaccessible pedagogical training

This paper is dedicated to trying to reestablish a literature review on the issue of human rights with disabilities through social theory in inclusive democratic education, taking as a reference the main scenarios in the 21st century to carry out the restructuring related to the proposal on the constitutional bases of policy for school education (special, public, private and mixed school) and higher education (university and professional institute), especially non-discrimination and inaccessibility of teaching and non-teaching trainers with disabilities. This aim is to know and redesign the new characteristics to discuss human values and to guarantee explicit access —remove barriers— through legal and social system implementation, depending on the awareness of inclusive democracy in general education. Rather, of the social ethics of human rights in different perspectives (advantage and disadvantage) in the liberal interpretation and educational multicultural democratization. In addition, there is a comparison in the educational system related to inclusive democracy and accessible vocational training, including with the constitutional bases of policy. And consequently, the new features on vocational training with disabilities through inclusive education and human rights topics. Finally, there is no broad recognition to support and legitimize the defense of the rights to job accessibility in different professional fields, both public and private institutions for all-inclusive teachers and non-teachers, including professional women with disabilities.

Behavior of Nizhny Novgorod Diocese Clergy during First Russian Revolution

This study examines the behavior of the clergy of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese regarding the revolutionary events at the beginning of the 20th century. It identifies instances of oppositional behavior and its consequences for the priests of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese during the period of 1905-1907. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that, for the first time in this article, based on materials from the Nizhny Novgorod Spiritual Consistory, attention is drawn to the anti-government sentiments and actions of representatives of parish clergy of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese during the first revolution. It is shown that oppositional behavior was not widespread but rather isolated. The author concludes that it manifested as a protest against social injustice, military field courts, in defense of peasants’ rights to land against landlords, urging peasants to disobey authority, non-payment of taxes, church fees, association with politically unreliable individuals, liberal interpretation of the Manifesto of October 17, 1905, and so on. The author believes that the accused priests did not align themselves with a specific political party, except for Father I.I. Vladimirovsky, an archpriest from Arzamas and a deputy of the Second State Duma from the Constitutional Democrats party. It was found that 2 out of 4 cases against priests were dropped. Meanwhile, 3 out of 4 priests were punished by the diocesan authorities with a ban on serving or transfer to other parishes. The findings of this research can be utilized in courses studying the history of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Three approaches to the 1951 convention: The case for a dialectical approach

Abstract This article explores three different methodological approaches to the UN 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees—and international refugee law (IRL) more broadly. These are termed the internal, external and dialectical approaches. It is argued that the dialectical approach, which combines elements of the internal and external approaches using a materialist postcolonial perspective helps make out in the light of changing conditions a more persuasive case for liberal interpretation and reform of the 1951 Convention. Put differently, the article is about the limitations and failings of mainstream IRL scholarship, which essentially pursues an internal approach to the 1951 Convention. It is equally about the need to decolonize and transform the pedagogy and research of IRL. This article concludes with some suggestions to advance refugee rights that would allow the 1951 Convention to respond more effectively to the protection needs of refugees around the world.

The Promise and Peril of the Popular: Interpretations of Nineteenth-Century Popular Liberalism in Mexico

AbstractThis article examines the literature on popular liberalism in nineteenth-century Mexico and the shortcomings of two interpretations: popular liberalism as an alternative to elite liberalism, and popular liberalism as a strategy to ultimately pursue non-liberal ends. It argues that both interpretations tend to overstate the distance between the liberal elite and its popular supporters because of an unexamined, dichotomous conception of liberalism and the people (generally Indigenous and non-Indigenous peasants) as opposites. It draws its examples from studies of local politics and sides with the interpretation of ‘liberalism tout court’ as the best available option to avoid reifications of liberalism and the popular.

Danger of Drowning?

The integration of Muslims has been a core issue within German socio-political debates for over 20 years. The participation of Muslim pupils in certain school subjects, most prominently in school swimming lessons, has been a core issue within those larger debates. This article demonstrates that Germans, including Muslims in Germany, dispute not merely the participation of members of a religious minority in one of dozens of school activities. Rather, all parties involved negotiate recognition, share, and power within society at large. Muslims seek to take part in determining the character of a society they have been making a home since the 1960s. Inspired—among other factors—by Global Islam movements, they challenge notions of ethnic hegemony, the public visibility of different religions, and interpretations of liberalism, including aspects of gender equality. The article illustrates how the encroaching integration of Muslims in Germany led to the demand for respect for religio-cultural difference by a minority among them; and how the struggle by Muslims to become equal members of society created resistance among those in Germany who seek to protect their inherited share of influence. The development is also illustrated by court decisions about the degree of religious difference accepted in schools. As agents of change, Muslims have forced non-Muslim Germans to answer some uneasy questions about what they want society to be like. Key words: Islam in Germany, Islam Debate, Migration and Integration, Islam and Education, Islam and Swimming, Muslim Minorities in the West, Global Islam

Wrestling with Ethical Issues in Studying Illiberalism: Some Remarks from the U.S. Context

Knowledge production has always been intrinsically correlated to politics and power hierarchy. In the U.S. academic system, producing scholarship on highly polarizing topics such as illiberalism faces specific challenges. Classic ethical and epistemological issues are more difficult to address in a neoliberal framework that pushes for interaction with the policy world and for external fundraising. Moreover, both institutionalized and peer pressures on a normative definition of “liberalism” and its “enemies,” which often does not allow for both conservative and leftist interpretations of liberalism, reduces the space for discussion and may push for some spirals of silence to take form. This paper reflects on these challenges on the basis of more than a decade spent at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY AS A MECHANISM OF CIVIL SOCIETY’S INFLUENCE ON THE STATE

This article explores the role of deliberative democracy in political modernization and the dynamic relationship between civil society and the state. It aims to elucidate the essence of deliberative democracy as a mechanism for civil society’s influence on the state, and systematically analyze the conceptual studies of deliberative democracy in the context of civil society’s power potential, both in Ukraine and globally. The study reflects on the evolution of civil society, highlighting its transformation from a state-dominated concept to one of parity with government institutions. The research emphasizes the significance of public discourse in legitimizing government decisions and examines the roles of various scholars in developing the concept of deliberative democracy.Deliberative democracy, a post-classical theory, is contrasted with electoral democracy, focusing on public discourse as a key legitimacy source for legislative acts. The paper delves into the historical origins of deliberation and deliberative democracy, crediting political scientist J.Bessette with coining the term. It discusses the critical elements of deliberative democracy, including public dialogue, rational discourse, and institutionalized exchange of opinions for decision-making. The model incorporates elements of representative, direct, and participatory democracy, highlighting its basis in public consultation and discourse.The article also examines various forms of the deliberative process, including open public discussions and behind-closed-doors exchanges, underscoring the importance of information, argumentation, and persuasion. It critiques the liberal interpretation of democracy and stresses the need for citizen involvement in governance, spotlighting the role of political civil society organizations in fostering democratic deliberation.

Основные научные трактовки новых маркеров политической идентификации молодежи в современной России

The article examines the main trends in understanding political identification of the main groups of Russian youth in the last year and a half. Based on the analysis of the latest scholarly literature on this issue, it has been revealed that the attention of researchers continues to be attracted by the development of a methodology for analyzing various structures of youth identity, the justification of new types of their typology, the possibilities of combining various identification matrices for a more accurate correlation of the ideological, worldview and activity positioning of representatives of the younger generation. In scientific discourse, the position of supporters of a liberal interpretation of civic identity based on the justification of the priority of civil rights and individual freedoms has significantly weakened. The position whose supporters actually equate civic identity and national identity acquires dominant significance. This is due, first of all, to the official goal of introducing into the mass consciousness of young people an understanding of the social significance of the state and its functionality and the need to stimulate the corresponding active civic position of each individual in protecting the interests of the state and society as a whole. It is concluded that most researchers do not touch upon the specifics of identifying various groups of Russian youth in relation to the special military operation in Ukraine. On the one hand, this is understandable, given the complexity of the situation and the ambiguous possible consequences regarding any critical assessments on the part of researchers. On the other hand, there is a need for an objective understanding of new lines of demarcation, which, in terms of their motivational significance, are often ranked at a higher level than the traditional party-ideological and worldview preferences of Russian youth. Understanding these identification markers is the most important scientific task in theoretical and practical senses.

82 Single Errors on Trial 1 of the Test of Memory Malingering may be Indicative of Invalid Performance on Neuropsychological Measures in a Sample of Youth Athletes

Objective:The Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) is a performance validity test (PVT) that aims to assess whether participants are giving adequate effort to perform well on tasks of memory performance (Tombaugh, 1996). Other PVTs, specifically the Forced Choice Recognition Trial in the California Verbal Learning Test, have shown that even single errors may indicate invalid performance (Erdodi et al., 2018). Finally, youth are often understudied in the PVT literature, and athletes are at increased risk of invalid performance on baseline testing due to many wanting to return to play following concussion (Erdal, 2012). Therefore, the objective of the current study is to examine whether single errors on TOMM Trial 1 are indicative of lower, and possibly invalid, cognitive performance in a youth sample, given that cognitive performance declines with even small decreases in effort (Green, 2007).Participants and Methods:Healthy youth athletes (n=174) aged 8-16 years (M=12.07) completed the TOMM as well as other neuropsychological measures during baseline neuropsychological evaluation in a clinical research program for sports concussion. Independent samples t-tests compared youth athletes who scored 49 points on the TOMM (n=28) to youth athletes who scored a perfect 50 (n=50) across several groupings of neuropsychological measures. Participants who scored less than 49 or who didn’t complete the TOMM were excluded from the analyses.Results:Participants scoring 50/50 on TOMM Trial 1 scored significantly higher on Stroop Color Naming task (p=0.036), Verbal Learning Delayed task from the second edition of the Wide Range Assessment of Learning and Memory (WRAML-2, p=0.018), and Letter Number Sequencing task from the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV, p=0.025), relative to participants scoring 49/50. Though not statistically significant, results also showed a trend toward participants scoring 50/50 scoring higher on nearly every test in the battery.Conclusions:Participants with a single error on TOMM Trial 1, as compared to participants with a perfect score, performed significantly worse on a processing speed task, a verbal learning task, and a working memory task as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. The single-error group also trended toward scoring lower on nearly all of the remaining attention, processing speed, perceptual ability, memory, and executive functioning tasks in the battery. The results could lead to a more liberal interpretation of TOMM scores, given that the trend towards lower performance may be due to putting forth significantly less effort. These results point to the need for a similar comparison of the TOMM in a larger sample size, as greater power may reveal even more significant differences in performance. Findings also emphasize the importance of viewing performance validity on a continuum rather than as a dichotomous pass/fail. Understanding the TOMM and how single errors may be indicative of poorer performance in a youth sample could help to reframe the way PVT results are interpreted in clinical and forensic settings.

Regulation of Group of Companies in Ethiopia: A Comparative Overview

Companies that are organized in a group aim at leveraging the market share, mitigate liability or facilitate long-term management efficiency. The reasons that make group establishment attractive for the parent company can be a basis for concern to other stakeholders, mainly, minority shareholders and creditors of the subsidiary company. The strict application of separate existence of a company and directors’ fiduciary duties towards their companies –applicable in cases of single entity companies– may be difficult in the case of group companies. States, therefore, devise regulatory mechanisms to protect the subsidiary company and its minority shareholders and creditors while at the same time protecting corporate freedom and entrepreneurial reality. Ethiopia has introduced regulatory rules regarding group company (Parent-Subsidiary Company). The objective of this article is to discuss the nature and regulation of Group Company as specified under the new commercial code and in comparison, with other countries’ laws. The article argues that the rules stipulated are not designed to adequately protect the interests of the subsidiary and its stakeholders. It also argues that the liberal interpretation of the provisions governing group companies to include the application of rules governing single company can contribute to potential protection rules missing under the sections in the group company.

Advancing first-person access to experience through sense of certainty training

First-person access to experience is of eminent importance for psychological research and for various applied domains such as the prevention and treatment of mental and physical illness. It is therefore of major interest to find ways to enhance the accuracy of introspective access to experience. Interventions based, for example, on meditation or adaptive feedback training were able to advance the accuracy of metacognitive access (i.e., a subcomponent of introspective access). However, there is an open debate about possible confounds and especially the transfer of the training effect to other domains. With the current series of studies, we aimed to test an intervention to advance introspective access that (1) was based on a conceptualization of the sense of certainty, (2) comprised a first-person approach addressing cognitive as well as affective and somatic dimensions of experience, and (3) prioritized low training duration and attainment of high experiential depth. We investigated a domain-specific (study A, n = 65) and a domain-general (study B, n = 70) effect of sense of certainty training on metacognitive accuracy and finally tried to replicate the domain-specific effect (study C, n = 41). Altogether, the studies showed mixed results regarding a domain-specific and negative results regarding a domain-general effect of the intervention. Based on our findings, we discuss implications of a first-person approach to training systematic self-enquiry. We offer both a conservative and a liberal interpretation of our results and suggest that this important issue is not put aside prematurely and that the training of access to experience through first-person enquiry is given a fair chance in future research.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: The Epitaph for Roe v. Wade

Abstract Since the Roe v. Wade decision was announced (1973), the question of abortion has constituted an important element of American constitutional discourse. This article analyses the most recent decision of the United States Supreme Court on this matter, i.e. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which rejected the thesis that the Constitution establishes the right to terminate pregnancy. It is possible to identify three fundamental points of the Court’s opinion. First, the Court allowed lawmakers to accept an ontological assumption that a foetus is a human being. Second, the decision was rooted in the doctrine of moderate originalism and in the concept of substantive due process, limited by historical factors. Third, the Supreme Court adopted a liberal interpretation of the stare decisis principle, consenting to the overturning of precedents even if they introduced new civil rights. The author contends that it is highly unlikely that the decision will constitute the last word of American jurisprudence on the question of abortion.

GOVERNING THE WARS; THEORY, LEGISLATION, HUMAN RIGHTS, HUMAN SECURITY, AND ETHICS

The study indicates wartime programmed violence's implications within the liberal interpretation of contemporary legislative and human rights debates. It discusses related war theories and practices, problematizing instrumentalization of instilling new global ethics, arguing that humanitarian interventions often became "usable" in the new millennium's geopolitics; wars fatally affect the innocent. It points out that the origins of democracy are structurally violent and that the threat of terrorism, in addition to revealing new forms of "democratic violence," is having a transformative effect on the very character of democracy. How the concept of just cause agrees with armed humanitarian intervention, and whether we have the right to impose democracy by force? Whether the theory of just war in its positivist-legalist paradigm that combines universalist principles with utilitarian harm-weighing versus profit can offer a comprehensive method of morally contemplating current wars. The distinction between liberal cosmopolitan arguments and social democratic ones is apparent. The arbitrariness and the imposition of individual states' views create issues, leading to fragility (human security, socioeconomics, economic development, health). The compulsory international focus and responsibility should incorporate critical medical (children) - "the right to health" and humanitarian goods. Implementing rules to control war's destructiveness is less effective in intercultural conflicts. The doctrine of "just war" application is questionable, and no new victim should suffer even when the goal of the intervention is entirely legitimate and "humane." It cannot be just that it will exempt intervention forces from applying international humanitarian law, nor does the legitimacy of the intervention exempt them from respect for international humanitarian law. The international law concept has evolved from an instrument of promoting peace to an agent of the violent argument of force realization. Ethics is often imposed as politics; human rights ethics transformed into war ethics, leading to human rights violations and civilian casualties. War justice and the moral paradigm within globalization's contemporary forms are questioned. A broader discussion of the assumptions of the universality of Western values that have driven international law for centuries is required.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS IMPERATIVES FOR ABATING OIL SPILLAGES

The Niger Delta region is one of the major areas where the problem of oil spillage is prevalent. Over the years, several enactments have been promulgated with a view to abating the problem. Despite the existence of these enactments, the problem of oil spillage persists. The effect of oil spillage which ranges from environmental, health, economic and other negative developmental effects severely impinge on the enjoyment of human rights, particularly the right to life. Using the doctrinal method of research, this study makes use of both primary and secondary sources to analyse the nature and scope of human rights and the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with a view to proffering a solution to the problem of oil spillage in the Niger Delta region. This study calls for a liberal interpretation of the relevant human rights provisions in the constitution and treaties as well as the adoption and enforcement of the principles of CSR as a way of abating the incidences of oil spillage in the Niger Delta region. This paper further advocates the imposition of stiffer penalties on erring Multinational Oil Companies whose activities negatively impact on the environment. This paper makes a case for the adoption of a corporate environmental system beyond the provision of basic amenities to oil producing host communities.

Abolishing institutional racism

In 2020, anti-racist campaigns mobilising under the banner of Black Lives Matter challenged liberal reforms to policing as they made calls to defund the police. In the same year, the UK government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities rejected not just the radical demands of Black Lives Matter protesters, but even liberal analyses of institutional racism in policing. This article examines how these two political interventions, analysing the same place at the same time, arrived at such divergent conclusions. This is done by tracing critiques of institutional racism from the Black Power movements of the 1960s and ’70s, through to the more liberal interpretations of institutional racism following the 1999 Macpherson Report. It goes on to argue that the failings of Macpherson provided the impetus for the political developments of 2020. The dearth of political, historical and economic analysis by Macpherson helped embolden the government to denude interpretations of data on racial inequalities as constituting institutional racism. Simultaneously, the endurance of police racism in post-Macpherson Britain has served only to underline the necessity for more radical demands in challenging institutional racism. The author argues that this has spurred on present-day activists to draw on the radical Black Power politics of the twentieth century to complement their abolitionist demands.