Unethical Research Articles

Ethical Discourse of Responsibility in The Covid19 Pandemic Humanitarian Disaster

This article aims to elaborate on how Emmanuel Levinas' discourse on the ethics of responsibility applies to the humanitarian crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Levinas offers a concrete ethical concept for addressing humanitarian issues, distinguishing himself from earlier ethical philosophy experts. The research method employed is qualitative, utilizing a literature review approach. The findings and discussion reveal that Levinas' perspective on the ethics of responsibility emphasizes concrete responsibility in encounters with the 'Face of the Other'. Furthermore, responsibility represents a form of human identity from a humanitarian perspective when facing the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Levinas, unconditional responsibility is not something we receive or a rule we agree to bind ourselves to, but rather something that exists before we make any decisions. Unconsciously, we already have unlimited responsibility towards others. The conclusion drawn is that adhering to health protocols is a concrete manifestation of Levinas' ethics of responsibility in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it is oriented towards the safety of others. Levinas' ethics of responsibility is asymmetrical. The ethical discourse on responsibility discussed in this study is limited to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, thus it has limitations in broader explanations. Although Levinas' grand ideas may not suffice to solve all the ethical issues we face, their strength lies in reminding us of the inherent nature of ethical demands that should underpin all moral theories. Levinas invites us to reconsider the essence of ethical responsibility, which transcends formal rules and agreements, towards a deeper understanding of our relationships with others

The Nature of Contemporary African Moral and Political Philosophy: An Introduction

Abstract While there has long been philosophical thinking on the African continent, it was not until the middle of the 20th century that professional philosophy emerged on the continent. Though traditional African cultures have rich oral histories that some contemporary philosophers explicitly draw upon, it was not until universities emerged that there was philosophy conducted by professional philosophers who published their findings in academic venues. To date, much of this work has been conducted in English. The emphasis this tradition places on the community and social harmony will probably stand out immediately to any reader steeped in the Western philosophical tradition. The articles in this issue represent different styles of conducting African philosophy, such as employing analytic methods in order to develop moral theories, questioning the use of Western epistemic standards, and mining ideas from the history of Africa.

A Relational View of Homosexuality

Abstract Homosexuality is criminalised and socially condemned in many places in Africa. This fact seems to suggest that African moral philosophy would likely render homosexuality immoral. Indeed, some of the African philosophical literature tries to suggest that homosexuality is morally wrong. Contrasting with this view, in this article, I will show that Afro-communitarian ethics implies that homosexuality is morally permissible and, indeed, can be an excellent way to promote social harmony. I defend this theory by drawing out the implications of social harmony, and also respond to potential objections from African intellectuals and new natural law theorists.

Utilitarianism, Social Justice, and the Trolley Problem: An Ethical Theory without Egalitarian Morality

This article examines the implications of utilitarianism for social justice considering different cases of the trolley problem. Utilitarianism comprises a cluster of ethical theses, which have political and legal implications. In general, utilitarianism is assumed to augment the common good, such as pleasure, happiness, satisfaction, and utility, or to reduce pain, suffering, dissatisfaction, and disutility. The article investigates a key problem whether utilitarianism brings about social justice as a moral theory. In recent literature, many moral philosophers have developed several thought experiments, known as trolley problems, that help understand the utilitarian applications to social justice. Philippa Foot and others formulated several thought experiments to help explain the utilitarian difference between the maximum good and the minimum loss. Considering different cases of the trolley problem, I argue that utilitarianism does not do egalitarian justice to all people because it does not eliminate unjust inequalities in society. I hold that utilitarianism is an ethical theory without an egalitarian morality. John Rawls posited a landmark theory of social justice in contrast to the utilitarian notion of social justice. Utilitarianism does not provide social justice to the few, the minority, or the weak in the social world. So, utilitarianism is an inadequate moral theory for acquiring social justice. In qualitative research methodology, I adopt a method of an empirically informed philosophical analysis to examine documentary resources, including journal papers, academic books, and conferences and congresses.

Towards a political concept of dignity

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a new way of thinking about the concept of dignity. It argues that existing conceptions of dignity in moral and legal philosophy fail to meet three key tests: conceptual soundness, analytical usefulness, and a capacity to vindicate the principle of moral egalitarianism. It suggests that we can better satisfy all three of these conditions if we treat dignity as a relational and political concept that is defined by a sense of what we are due. This means its content derives not from any transcendental truth or legal authority but has to be negotiated between different actors. It can then be asserted as part of an egalitarian project without needing to make reference to an external authority or a confused conceptual base. It seeks to show that this understanding of dignity is free of the conceptual confusion that plagues the existing conceptions; is closer to the ‘common’ understanding of dignity in ordinary language and thus more analytically useful; finally can be deployed more successfully in defence of the principle of moral equality.

The Perception of Socrates' Ethics in F. Nietzsche's Moral Philosophy: Overcoming Metaphysics and its "Eternal Recurrence"

The subject of the study is to consider the perception of Socrates' ethics in Nietzsche's philosophy as a theoretical basis for the formation of the key provisions of Nietzsche's philosophy of morality, in particular, possible elements of metaphysical thinking in these provisions. Nietzsche's critical argumentation in relation to the philosophical views of Socrates was considered as the basis for the key provisions of Nietzsche's moral philosophy, particularly in the aspect of its connection with the question of metaphysics. The focus of the author's research is the analysis of the perception of Socratic ideas in the context of criticism of Nietzsche's project of metaphysics through the prism of morality: the idea of self-overcoming and the increasing will to power turn out to be the basis for understanding Nietzsche's new project in moral philosophy. The research methodology includes theoretical methods, historical-philosophical and ethical-philosophical analysis of the consideration of Socrates’ ethics by Nietzsche, and the influence of this consideration on the ethical position of the latter. As a research basis, the article uses the approaches of J. Deleuze, L. Klages, A.F. Losev, L. Shestova, V.M. Bakuseva. The novelty of the article lies in tracing the influence of Socratic ethics on Friedrich Nietzsche's formulation of the moral problem, especially in the aspect of the question of metaphysics in Nietzsche's ethical thought (both criticism of metaphysics and the continuation of some lines of the metaphysical tradition). The first line of Nietzsche's criticism of Socratic philosophy was to identify the influence of Socrates on the emergence of European nihilism. Nietzsche's second thought, in relation to Socrates, concerned the "theoretical man".The third idea, which can be designated as one of the most important features of Nietzsche's moral philosophy, was the idea of self-overcoming.

Does colour really matter to a sympathetic impartialist? Interrogating Wiredu’s moral universalism and the challenge of racial discrimination

Does Colour really matter to a sympathetic impartialist? In this article, I return a negative response. The article examines certain aspect of Kwasi Wiredu’s moral philosophy in Cul­tural Universals and Particulars, and how that aspect of his moral philosophy is applicable to an issue of global concern such as racism. One of the major ways by which Wiredu es­tablished his version of moral universalism is through the principle of sympathetic impar­tiality (PSI). This principle is central to his moral theory because for him, the principle is not only common to all human practice of morality, but is also essential to the harmoniza­tion of human interests in the society. This article attempts to interrogate how Wiredu’s PSI could be employed to tackle the problem of racial discrimination that bedevilled the whole world. The study employs the method of textual interpretation, argumentative discourses of Wiredu’s principle of sympathetic impartiality and analysis of the concepts of racism. The paper contends that if the principle of sympathetic impartiality is universally embraced, it stands the chance of reducing the global problem of racism.

Late Smith and the African's War Dance: Contested Values and Temporalities In Liberal Aesthetics

Abstract: Adam Smith's often overlooked "Of the Nature of that Imitation which Takes Place in What Are Called the Imitative Arts" (1795) reveals his innovative understanding of the overlaps and conflicts in valuation in the emerging discourses of aesthetics, moral philosophy, and political economy. Placing his praise for an African performing a war-dance in the context of eighteenth-century aesthetic theory and representations of Africans (including Olaudah Equiano's Interesting Narrative [1789]) clarifies current debates over the viability of liberal modes of valuation and cultural pluralism in a post-Enlightenment world grappling with the implications of imperialist violence, especially the Transatlantic trade in enslaved people.

A project of “impure” enquiry—Williams' historical self‐consciousness

AbstractBernard Williams’ philosophy is shaped by a distinctive and abiding interest in the borderlands between Philosophy and History. He famously considers moral philosophy, and particularly moral theory, to over‐step the border that marks the real ‘limits’ of the discipline, and in his later work he explicitly advances the idea of doing ‘impure’ philosophy, by which he meant philosophy that mixed itself with history. By examining the complex impression left on Williams’ historical self‐consciousness by his engagements with two very different figures in the history of philosophy, namely Descartes and Wittgenstein, I will explore a number of ways in which philosophy and history are closely intertwined for Williams. This will draw out the positive vision he modelled for us of ‘impure’ philosophy—a philosophical style he took to contribute to nurturing philosophy as a humanistic discipline.

Despre relevanța perspectivei kantiene în era inteligenței artificiale generative: Provocări etice și tehnice

Since the evolution of computational and communication technologies, the world becomes a global village: society and environment are seen through digital perspectives of faster and wider industrial revolutions that become widely available and influence daily our lives. Generative AI dynamically trained and used on billions of blurred knowledge graphs’ multimodal elements becomes a growing technological presence with impact. New scientific and regulatory debates address, alongside the opportunities of generative AI presence in economy and society, the challenges that could, on one side, reinvent technologies and the humanity through the Singularity hypothesis, and one the other side, open its availability for unethical, improper, or illegal use of „black box” learning. Within dynamically challenging tsunami of big data, information and knowledge systems, the need of contemporary wisdom captured within AI could benefit from the well-known and visionary ethical yet traditional philosophical foundations. The need to adapt the technology based on well-known and accepted logics to unsafe, opaque decisions finds solid foundations in philosophical ethics. This paper critically reviews recent scientific articles on AI challenges, the Kantian perspective, and ethics foundations that argue the need of human in the loop for the current progresses of generative AI. The role of Kantianism in the ethical perception of AI and its accent on reason and reasoning for ethics, as well as other traditional ethical theories such as theory of virtue and utilitarianism, arguably request the presence of human values at the centre of AI and justify the argument of this paper that current challenges of transparency, explainability, fairness, responsibility of AI technologies can be addressed by consistent transitions from data-centred technologies to human-centred and scientifically quantifiable solutions for the next industrial revolution(s). The paper includes case studies of ethical and common-sense challenges for the use of „black box” models in healthcare, paediatric robotics, also refers to other potential applications such autonomous decision making or creativity. The paper ends with arguments and open questions on opportunities and challenges for AI and philosophy scientists with a focus on ethical aspects of AI technologies.

Post-Camp Condition: Sub-Saharan Male Migrants Maintaining a Constellation of Refuge-Zones

ABSTRACT Within migration studies, camp conditions have been extensively investigated, yet scholars have relatively overlooked the vital role that post-camp conditions play in migrants’ journeys. Drawing from extensive ethnographic fieldwork in Europe, 20 biographical interviews and informal conversations with Sub-Saharan male migrants, this article explores the immobility of a population made hyper-mobile within Europe and investigates how migrants navigate their housing precarity and maintain spaces of autonomy. I demonstrate that refuge-zones are a direct consequence of restrictive migration policies, serving as physical locations for claiming the right to sedentariness and a practical solution to live with dignity. Marooned migrants, while fending for themselves, maintain (self)caring projects sustained by moral communities which create an audible sociability and a form of permanence, albeit fragile. I argue that refuge-zones, beyond providing shelter, enable migrants to endure their frustration while fostering hope for a better future.

Impact of AI on Communication Relationship and Social Dynamics: A qualitative Approach

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into social media platforms has ushered in a new era of digital communication, offering unprecedented opportunities for content curation, relationship-building, and information exchange. Through this qualitative study, we have explored the multifaceted impact of AI-driven algorithms and natural language processing (NLP) technologies on user experiences and societal dynamics, addressing key research objectives and questions. Our findings underscore the transformative potential of AI in enhancing content curation and user interaction on social media platforms. Participants highlighted the benefits of personalized content recommendations and AI-enabled features such as chatbots, which streamline user interactions and provide instant support. Furthermore, AI algorithms play a crucial role in facilitating relationship-building through friend suggestions and group recommendations, fostering community engagement and social connections among users. However, alongside these benefits, our study also revealed significant challenges and ethical concerns associated with AI integration in social media. Participants expressed concerns about the proliferation of echo chambers and misinformation, fueled by algorithmic biases and the spread of false information through social bots. Privacy considerations emerged as a prominent issue, with participants emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability in AI implementation to safeguard user data and mitigate risks of algorithmic surveillance. In light of these findings, it is evident that the responsible deployment of AI technologies is paramount in ensuring positive user experiences and preserving the integrity of digital information ecosystems. Ethical considerations must guide the design and implementation of AI-driven algorithms, prioritizing transparency, fairness, and user empowerment. Platform operators, policymakers, and civil society stakeholders must collaborate to develop robust regulatory frameworks and governance mechanisms that uphold ethical standards and protect user rights in the digital age.

Public Trust in Technology – A Moral Obligation?

Abstract Biotechnology proponents claim that the public has a duty to trust biotechnology due to its potential for handling significant future food security challenges. This article uses Kant’s moral and political philosophy as basis for constructing a framework for analyzing trust as a moral duty, both in personal relationships and in institutional settings. This includes trust in technology that is of societal significance. A discussion of key concepts of trust leads to an argument that there is a conditional duty of reflexive trust in fundamental social institutions, including technology. However, reflexive trust in, for example, food biotechnology cannot be conceived of as an individual task. A duty of reflexive trust in technology can only be achieved within a publicly controlled institution of trust-building systematic distrust. This system should ideally clarify which instances and to what extent a technology is ethically justifiable and of benefit to society in general.

Rousseau’s lawgiver as teacher of peoples: Investigating the educational preconditions of the social contract

This paper argues that Rousseau’s lawgiver is best thought of as a fictional teacher of peoples. It is fictional as it reflects an idea that is entertained despite its contradictory nature, and it is contradictory in the sense that it describes ‘an undertaking beyond human strength and, to execute it, an authority that amounts to nothing’ (II.7; 192). Rousseau conceives of the social contract as a necessary device for enabling the transferal of individual power to the body politic, for subsuming individual wills under the general will, and for aligning the good of the individual with the common good. For the social contract to be valid, however, it needs to be preceded by a desire to belong to a moral community that can induce people to join willingly, and that will grant legitimacy to the laws established. If the social contract is the machinery that makes the body politic function, the lawgiver is ‘the mechanic who invents the machine’ (II.7; 191). In this paper we will look closer at the pedagogical functions of Rousseau’s mythical lawgiver by first examining the relationship between the social contract, the general will and the lawgiver. Then, we aim to flesh out a pedagogical understanding of the figure of the lawgiver by way of the two educational dimensions of accommodation and transformation. Finally, we will argue for the importance of understanding Rousseau’s lawgiver as a fictional device allowing for the fundamental and enduring educational task of balancing between the preservation and renewal of society.

Covert Moral Enhancement: Are Dirty Hands Needed to Save the Planet?

ABSTRACT Michael Walzer’s article ‘Political action: the problem of dirty hands’ initiated a new wave of discussion over a persistent problem in moral philosophy: are there situations in which ethical rules must be relaxed so as to bring about a greater good? In this article, we consider whether this ‘dirty hands’ approach may be applied to our current climate crisis. One proposed solution to the problem of global warming is the administration of moral enhancements to the population. Assuming that the administration of moral enhancements is a necessary condition in the prevention of a climate crisis, Parker Crutchfield argues that this procedure ought to be covert. This implies lying to the public, and such dishonesty amounts to immoral behavior. We conclude that despite the severity of global warming, there is no justification for a dirty hands approach. Lying to the public in order to save the planet would probably create bigger problems, and it would ultimately be very counterproductive in trying to save the planet.

국가적 참사로 발생한 타자의 죽음과 사회적 애도에 관한 고찰

Korean society has experienced a somber social atmosphere in the last five years due to the Corona19 pandemic and the Itaewon disaster. This situation can be classified as a national disaster that affects the mental and mental state of the whole country. The national disaster, like any other ordeal, leaves us with a scar of pain. The national disaster leaves a sense of social shock, hurt, and loss and requires a corresponding act of mourning. This paper philosophically considers death during the national disaster and examines the direction of social mourning to heal this wound. The study focused on the thoughts of American ethical philosopher Judith Butler. According to Butler, the national disaster reveals the vulnerability of human society, and when we face this vulnerability and participate in mourning, social integration can be overcome. So, the direction of social mourning that Butler explains is ‘the attitude of responsibility, not retribution, the vulnerability and precarity of life revealed as the true form of a national disaster,' and ‘mourning that unites society.’ A practical philosophical plan was suggested for applying this to Korean society. The first is what Butler calls willless sensitivity, the second is self-thinking and phenomenological parentheses, and the third is social integrated growth. This study is significant because it laid the foundation for developing more specific future methodologies and programs for social mourning.

Реституция и репатриация культурных ценностей: позитивистский подход бывших метрополий против подхода стран третьего мира к международному публичному праву

The article addresses the correlation between the mechanism of international legal regulation of restitution and repatriation of cultural heritage with the position of moral philosophy, exemplified by their voluntary return to countries of the Global South within the framework of the “metropolis-colony” model, aiming to restore historical justice in the context of cultural artifacts’ removal by former metropolises from former colonies’ territories. It highlights the problem of the current impossibility to recognize this process as a legal institution of international law due to the lack of a unified declared approach to solving the aforementioned issue. The article concludes by advocating for the necessity of consolidating the existing experience and developing a unified concept for the return of cultural heritage lost by previously colonial dependent states. It argues that the basis of restitution and repatriation lies not only in the moral paradigms of Western Europe and modern political interests but also in the preservation of global cultural heritage and the prevention of the voluntary restitution’s exploitation as a legitimate means of its transfer to private collections. This article delves into the intricacies of international legal frameworks surrounding the restitution and repatriation of cultural artifacts, juxtaposing the positivist stance of former colonial powers against the perspectives of nations from the Third World. It scrutinizes the ethical and political dimensions of governments’ attitudes towards their historical colonial past, examining various models of voluntary restitution within the national systems of the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The analysis underscores the imperative of synthesizing diverse approaches and crafting a cohesive strategy for returning cultural treasures to their rightful owners. Moreover, it emphasizes the multifaceted motivations underlying restitution efforts, emphasizing not only moral imperatives and modern political agendas but also the imperative of safeguarding the world’s cultural heritage and thwarting the exploitation of voluntary restitution as a conduit for the legitimization of cultural appropriation into private collections.

Ethik (Ethics)

Does Goethe’s work contain an ethical system? Goethe’s life coincided with the flowering and end of ethics as a philosophical discipline, and his two Wilhelm Meister novels—Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (1795–96; Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship) and Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre, oder die Entsagenden (1821/29; Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years, or the Renunciants)—constitute a reflection in the position of the individual in the Age of Ethics. In the Lehrjahre, Goethe narrates the travails of the individual in a world no longer secured by the moral cosmology of Christianity, while, in the Wanderjahre, he paints a picture of a fragmented world, dominated by the single value of utility, in which the individual seems scarcely to play any role at all. Each novel contains a sustained engagement with a philosophical ethics—the former, that of Kant and his notion of the Ideal; the latter, that of Spinoza and the relationship between the part and whole—that it seeks not to represent, but rather to adapt as a narrative and hermeneutic practice. In this way, both Wilhelm Meister novels stand, together, as one single plea for an artistic ethics in a world at once administered and disintegrating.

نگرشی مقایسوی بر نظریه امام ابوحامد غزالی و ابوعلی ابن مسکویه پیرامون فلسفه اخلاق

The study of Islamic heritage by predecessors of the Ummah regarding moral philosophy reflects the views and thoughts of Muslim philosophers who have elucidated the nature and essence of ethics and discussed its fundamental principles and theoretical foundations. In the introduction of these intellectuals, two prominent Islamic philosophers, Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad Ghazali and Abu Ali Ahmad ibn Muhammad Miskawayh, stand out among others. The perspective of these Muslim philosophers on the concept, subject, and goals of the science of ethics, as well as the originality of their theories concerning their relative dependence on the ethical theories of Greek philosophers, is a matter that requires an analytical-descriptive investigation. The present findings indicate that the ethical theory of these two great thinkers generally aims at objectives such as the growth and elevation of moral conscience, purification of the soul, purification of the heart and inner self, strengthening the relationship between the self and the Almighty Creator, moral refinement and optimization, organizing and rectifying human conduct and behavior, achieving balance among the dimensions of human existence, strengthening fraternal bonds, cooperation and benevolence within society, and institutionalizing goodness and virtue, wisdom, courage, chastity, and justice among society and humanity at large by adhering to Islamic ethical standards.

The Relationship between Morality and Religion in Kant's Philosophy

Kant delves into the relationship between morality and religion, particularly how traditional morality is integrated into practical reason and how the moral law is seen as a self-imposed rule of free practical reason. Kant distinguishes between two forms of religion: religion within the boundaries of pure reason and revealed religion. The former is based on the rational conception that the establishment of a supreme being ensures the supreme good; the latter emphasizes the independence and authority of reason in matters of faith. In his moral philosophy, both beliefs are crucial, not only in helping to sustain the moral life, but also in the way that both reason's conception of God and belief in revealed religion can positively affect the moral life.