Conventional quantitative methods for the measurement of organizational legitimacy consider mainly three sources that make judgments about organizations visible: news media, accreditation bodies, and surveys. Over the last decade, however, social media have enabled ordinary citizens to bypass the gatekeeping function of these institutional evaluators and autonomously make individual judgments public. This inclusion of voices beyond functional and formally organized stakeholder groups potentially pluralizes the ongoing discussions about organizations. The individual judgments in blogs, tweets, and Facebook posts give indication about (...) the broader fit between an organization’s perceived behavior and heterogeneous social norms and therefore constitute an indicator of organizational legitimacy that can be accessed and measured. We propose the use of social media data and sentiment analysis to study the affect-based responses to organizational actions by citizens. We critically discuss and compare the method with existing quantitative methods for legitimacy measurement and apply them to a recent case in the banking industry. We discuss the value of the method for studying the process of legitimacy construction as the expression and negotiation of normative judgments about organizations by various evaluators. (shrink)

This article tries to show William James’s presence in the works of Eugenio d’Ors by offering key textual evidence. Both the agreement and disagreement between these two philosophers can help to understand the intellectual itinerary of the Spanish philosopher.

The work we present has a double purpose: sketching some thinking guidelines to overcome the typical Sicilian Mafia mindset and, at the same time, helping to reinforce the theoretical–methodological paradigm of group analysis by means of a dialogue with the concept of relational good. In this framework of dialogue and confrontation, since psychical, social, and economic developments influence each other, they can determine a strong repercussion in the social context of individuals. Relational good thus becomes not only an interdisciplinary intersection, (...) but also a tool that can significantly help fulfilling suitable programs of local development. (shrink)

This article studies the underinvestigated but fascinating issue of the sociological determinants of accounting misbehavior while focusing on an allegedly illicit accounting practice (i.e., restatement) in family- vs. nonfamily-controlled corporations. Under the framework of institutional anomie theory, we examined whether sociological structures (i.e., legal forces and cultural values) influence accounting errors inducing restatements. By applying a multivariate regression analysis to a sample of restating firms listed in 23 countries during the 2006 to 2014 period, we found that legal forces and (...) cultural values significantly moderate the severity of accounting errors. The results of this study suggest that investors, managers, and policymakers should more fully consider the sociological structures of societies when debating the feasibility of corporate misbehaviors, as combining firm-level and country-level analyses could help to predict a firm’s accounting misbehaviors, such as more severe accounting errors. (shrink)

Menéndez y Pelayo. -- Juan Maragall. -- Juan Luis Vives. -- San Juan de la Cruz. -- Ricardo León.

This handbook offers a deep analysis of the main forms of legal reasoning and argumentation from both a logical-philosophical and legal perspective. These forms are covered in an exhaustive and critical fashion, and the handbook accordingly divides in three parts: the first one introduces and discusses the basic concepts of practical reasoning. The second one discusses the main general forms of reasoning and argumentation relevant for legal discourse. The third one looks at their application in law as well as at (...) the different areas of legal reasoning. The handbook’s division in three parts reflects its conceptual architecture, since legal reasoning and argumentation are considered in relation to the more general types of reasoning. (shrink)

The ageing society poses significant challenges to Europe’s economy and society. In coming to grips with these issues, we must be aware of their ethical dimensions. Values are the heart of the European Union, as Article 1a of the Lisbon Treaty makes clear: “The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity…”. The notion of Europe as a community of values has various important implications, including the development of inclusion policies. A special case of exclusion concerns the (...) gap between those people with effective access to digital and information technology and those without access to it, the “digital divide”, which in Europe is chiefly age-related. Policies to overcome the digital divide and, more generally speaking, e-inclusion policies addressing the ageing population raise some ethical problems. Among younger senior citizens, say those between 65 and 80 years old, the main issues are likely to be universal access to ICT and e-participation. Among the older senior citizens, say those more than 80 years old, the main issues are mental and physical deterioration and assistive technology. An approach geared towards the protection of human rights could match the different needs of senior citizens and provide concrete guidance to evaluate information technologies for them. (shrink)

The ageing society poses significant challenges to Europe’s economy and society. In coming to grips with these issues, we must be aware of their ethical dimensions. Values are the heart of the European Union, as Article 1a of the Lisbon Treaty makes clear: “The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity…”. The notion of Europe as a community of values has various important implications, including the development of inclusion policies. A special case of exclusion concerns the (...) gap between those people with effective access to digital and information technology and those without access to it, the “digital divide”, which in Europe is chiefly age-related. Policies to overcome the digital divide and, more generally speaking, e-inclusion policies addressing the ageing population raise some ethical problems. Among younger senior citizens, say those between 65 and 80 years old, the main issues are likely to be universal access to ICT and e-participation. Among the older senior citizens, say those more than 80 years old, the main issues are mental and physical deterioration and assistive technology. An approach geared towards the protection of human rights could match the different needs of senior citizens and provide concrete guidance to evaluate information technologies for them. (shrink)

Nous pourrions, d?une formule générale, avancer que selon le médecin psychiatre et philosophe Ludwig Binswanger, l?action de la psychothérapie vise à aider le malade à recouvrer quelque chose de la mobilité de son existence au sein des structures, volontiers qualifiées d?existentiales ou de transcendantales, ou encore a priori , de l?être-au-monde et de l?être-avec-autrui. Je m?attacherai à montrer ici que la capacité à endurer l?indéter­mination inhérente à l?ouverture des possibles, à se porter depuis l?au-delà des préfigurations de l?avenir, est comme (...) la condition de l?historicisation de l? ipse , d?une traversée des conditions destinales de l?existence, une traversée de la passivité, commerce dialectique avec elle mais sans telos glorieux. Pâtir l?indétermination pour élaborer sa passivité. Chacun sait que du côté de la philosophie, l??uvre de Binswanger a reçu ses principales impulsions, après l?étude précoce de Kant 1 , de la phéno­ménologie, en particulier celle de Husserl, et de l?analytique existen­tiale de Heidegger. Chez chacun de ceux-ci, Binswanger a cherché les moyens de décrire la mondanéisation du monde dans l?expérience normale et, sur la base des résultats acquis avec ces seuls moyens descriptifs, de mettre au jour les Umwandlungen , les modifications, les « flexions » de l?existence au cours des expériences morbides de ses patients. Encore faut-il voir, si nous. (shrink)

Quel est le rôle de Galilée dans la naissance séculaire de la science moderne? Je réponds à la question ci-dessus à la lumière de deux nouveaux éléments. Dès le xvie siècle, Nicolas de Cues, quoiqu’il ne pratiquât pas la science expérimentale, a anticipé une partie substantielle de la révolution copernicienne et de la naissance de la méthodologie galiléenne. Le deuxième élément est l’introduction d’une nouvelle conception des fondements de la science ; ils sont définis comme constitués de trois dialectiques. Après (...) cette définition, la naissance de la science moderne correspond à un très long processus historique qui se conclut à notre époque. Sur cette longue période, Galilée ne fut pas seulement le premier à recourir à une méthodologie scientifique, mais aussi presque le seul à jamais avoir été conscient de l’ampleur des enjeux intellectuels de l’entreprise scientifique. (shrink)

Il saggio ha come oggetto di riflessione quella struttura portante della vita, dell'esperienza umana che č la speranza. Come l'angoscia e l'attesa, essa vive nel futuro e qui viene esplorata nel campo delle relazioni umane, d'aiuto, di cura, in psichiatria, con connotazioni tipiche che si aggiungono a quelle filosofiche e teologiche sull'argomento. Quando la speranza rinasce dalle secche del mal di vivere, quando il medico stesso si č confrontato con le debolezze proprie e attraverso l'empatia si č messo anche in (...) ascolto del silenzio del paziente, del dialogare in silenzio, allora la speranza č come un ponte che ci fa uscire dalla nostra solitudine e diventa speranza creatrice. (shrink)

Des influences égyptiennes dans la Descriptio orbis de Denys d’Alexandrie ? L’examen attentif des composantes laudatives et du contenu du proème de la Descriptio orbis de Denys le Périégète prouve que le poète originaire d’Alexandrie a été influencé dans son œuvre même par la religion égyptienne. En particulier, derrière l’éloge de l’Océan paraît se cacher un hymne à la louange du Nun primordial.Egyptian Influences in the Descriptio orbis by Dionysius of Alexandria? The thorough analysis of the laudatory components and contents (...) of the proem by Dionysius Periegetes’ Descriptio orbis shows that the Alexandrian poet was also influenced in his own poem by the Egyptian religion. In particular, behind the encomium of the Ocean, it looks as if the poet is hiding a hymn to the primeval Nun. (shrink)

Em 24 de agosto de 1572, Paris viveu um fato sangrento em sua história: “O Massacre da Noite de São Bartolomeu”, como ficou historicamente conhecido o evento, remete ao assassinato de milhares de huguenotes, a mando da casa real francesa, nas ruas da cidade. Mais um episódio dos conflitos religiosos que dividiram a França do século XVI, o banho de sangue protestante a mando da realeza católica seria, no século seguinte, louvado pelos teóricos seiscentistas da razão de Estado. Seguindo essa (...) linha, Gabriel Naudé, na obra Considérations politiques sur les coups-d'état, elogia o golpe que motivou o massacre, defendendo-o das acusações de tirania e o glorificando como ação legítima e necessária por parte dos governantes franceses. Examinar a apologia de Naudé ao referido massacre, e nela buscar a influência da obra de Nicolau Maquiavel exercida sobre o autor, é o escopo de nosso artigo. (shrink)

La philosophie de l’animalité chez Heidegger et Merleau-PontyLe présent essai est une tentative de réflexion à partir de l’oeuvre de Merleau-Ponty sur le problème anthropologique: comment penser l’humain dans son rapport ontologique avec l’animal sans retomber dans les dichotomies traditionnelles du spiritualisme et du naturalisme ou de la philosophie et de la non-philosophie, dans lesquelles la pensée contemporaine, en particulier la pensée heideggerienne, est restée à notre avis enfermée. L’originalité théorique de l’approche merleau-pontienne à l’égard de la thématique de la (...) différence anthropologique consiste dans le fait de vouloir repenser la vie, humaine et non humaine, au-delà des dichotomies classiques anthropologico-métaphysiques de la matière et de l’esprit, de l’instinct et de la raison, de la nature et de l’histoire, et ainsi de suite. Par conséquent, ce que nous proposons ici est de repenser la philosophie de l’animalité capable de rendre compte de la spécificité de l’humain sur la base d’une proximité ontologique inédite avec l’animal, comprise comme élément central de l’ontologie de la nature que Merleau-Ponty tentait d’élaborer dans les dernières années de sa vie. Une tâche qui, sans doute, plus qu’un aboutissement théoriques, pourrait être l’indice d’une série de problèmes que la philosophie, grâce avant tout à la contribution fondamentale de Merleau-Ponty, pourrait enfin affronter de manière radicale.The Philosophy of Animality in Heidegger and Merleau-PontyBased on Merleau-Ponty’s work, the present essay attempts to reflect on the anthropological problem: how to conceive the human in its ontological relation withthe animal – without falling back into the traditional dichotomies of spiritualism and naturalism or philosophy and non-philosophy, in which contemporary thought, in particular Heidegger’s thought, has remained, in our opinion, confined. The theoretical originality of Merleau-Ponty’s approach in regard to the thematic of anthropological difference consists in the fact of wanting to rethink life – both human and non-human life – beyond the classic anthropologico-metaphysical dichotomies of matter and spirit, of instinct and reason, nature and history, and so forth. As a result, what we propose here is to rethink the philosophy of animality in a way that is capable of accounting for the specificity of the human on the basis of a new ontological proximity with the animal. We understand this new ontological proximity as the central element of the ontology of nature that Merleau-Ponty attempts to elaborate in the last years of his life. No doubt, this is a task which, being more than a theoretical result, could be the index of a series of problems that philosophy, thanks above all to Merleau-Ponty’s fundamental contribution, can finally confront in a radical manner. (shrink)

La philosophie de l’animalité chez Heidegger et Merleau-PontyLe présent essai est une tentative de réflexion à partir de l’oeuvre de Merleau-Ponty sur le problème anthropologique: comment penser l’humain dans son rapport ontologique avec l’animal sans retomber dans les dichotomies traditionnelles du spiritualisme et du naturalisme ou de la philosophie et de la non-philosophie, dans lesquelles la pensée contemporaine, en particulier la pensée heideggerienne, est restée à notre avis enfermée. L’originalité théorique de l’approche merleau-pontienne à l’égard de la thématique de la (...) différence anthropologique consiste dans le fait de vouloir repenser la vie, humaine et non humaine, au-delà des dichotomies classiques anthropologico-métaphysiques de la matière et de l’esprit, de l’instinct et de la raison, de la nature et de l’histoire, et ainsi de suite. Par conséquent, ce que nous proposons ici est de repenser la philosophie de l’animalité capable de rendre compte de la spécificité de l’humain sur la base d’une proximité ontologique inédite avec l’animal, comprise comme élément central de l’ontologie de la nature que Merleau-Ponty tentait d’élaborer dans les dernières années de sa vie. Une tâche qui, sans doute, plus qu’un aboutissement théoriques, pourrait être l’indice d’une série de problèmes que la philosophie, grâce avant tout à la contribution fondamentale de Merleau-Ponty, pourrait enfin affronter de manière radicale.The Philosophy of Animality in Heidegger and Merleau-PontyBased on Merleau-Ponty’s work, the present essay attempts to reflect on the anthropological problem: how to conceive the human in its ontological relation withthe animal – without falling back into the traditional dichotomies of spiritualism and naturalism or philosophy and non-philosophy, in which contemporary thought, in particular Heidegger’s thought, has remained, in our opinion, confined. The theoretical originality of Merleau-Ponty’s approach in regard to the thematic of anthropological difference consists in the fact of wanting to rethink life – both human and non-human life – beyond the classic anthropologico-metaphysical dichotomies of matter and spirit, of instinct and reason, nature and history, and so forth. As a result, what we propose here is to rethink the philosophy of animality in a way that is capable of accounting for the specificity of the human on the basis of a new ontological proximity with the animal. We understand this new ontological proximity as the central element of the ontology of nature that Merleau-Ponty attempts to elaborate in the last years of his life. No doubt, this is a task which, being more than a theoretical result, could be the index of a series of problems that philosophy, thanks above all to Merleau-Ponty’s fundamental contribution, can finally confront in a radical manner. (shrink)

A number of significant contributions in the last four decades show that non-normal modal logics can be fruitfully employed in several applied fields. Well-known domains are epistemic logic, deontic logic, and systems capturing different aspects of action and agency such as the modal logic of agency, concurrent propositional dynamic logic, game logic, and coalition logic. Semantics for such logics are traditionally based on neighbourhood models. However, other model-theoretic semantics can be used for this purpose. Here, we systematically study multi-relational structures, (...) whose investigation is still relatively underdeveloped. After a brief introduction to two different versions of multi-relational semantics – which we call strong and weak multi-relational semantics – we proceed to study several modal schemata. Special attention is paid to the schemata CON and D. Finally we offer completeness proofs for several systems using both strong and weak semantic tools: The proofs thus cover both classical system.. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that the rationality of law and legal decision making would be enhanced by a systematic attempt to recognize and respond to the implications of empirical uncertainty for policy making and decision making. Admission of uncertainty about the accuracy of facts and the validity of assumptions relied on to make inferences of fact is commonly avoided in law because it raises the spectre of paralysis of the capacity to decide issues authoritatively. The roots of this short-sighted (...) view are found in primitive mechanical models of relationships in the empirical and social world – those of objective causality and determinism. Insofar as it is believed that if we had sufficient data a clear and unequivocal answer would be available to each question, admission of uncertainty is seen as a sign of insufficiency, incompetence, impotence, and is avoided whenever a decision that must be seen to be based on valid reasons, cannot be avoided. Avoidance of some decisions, duplicity in others, is the result. -/- Decision-making must be restructured to recognize the provisional and context-bound validity and relevance of the models we use to conceptualize and order our understanding of phenomena, and to utilize this awareness as an instrument in the production of legal policies and decisions that will be authoritative precisely because they are honestly accurate and socially responsible. The paper makes a start on such a re-structuring of the legal process by exploring the implications of the observation that if law is to be “just”: 1) legal policy must be based on accurate information and rationally related to social goals; and 2) decisions applying policy to individual fact situations must be based on assumptions that are both relevant and accurate. -/- Reasons for determinations of fact must be given, otherwise the presumption that the trier of fact is “reasonable” is an unconditional licence to use private modes of logic and theories of social and natural science. What is not disclosed cannot be challenged on grounds of invalidity or irrelevance. -/- Use of “objective validity” as a standard to evaluate conclusions made by the trier of fact in contentious cases would only serve to beg all important questions by concealing: 1) fundamental normative conflict, and 2) the limited nature and applicability of many validity claims. -/- Our use of the phrases “undue risk,” “public interest,” “reasonable,” and “necessary,” reflects the weight we choose to give conflicting social values and goals when we must make decisions in relative ignorance of all the consequences. “Objective criteria” are of limited utility in legal decision-making because their social meaning is derivative. Policy generation in the absence of any coherent conceptual-normative framework, use of vague terminology in legislation stating policy, and the absence of rational means to distinguish between individual cases to which decision-makers are required by law to apply policy, make it inevitable that many legal “decisions” made in the guise of determinations of objective fact, are charades, an arbitrary, capricious, intuitive, subjective (and thus private) use of public decision-making power. -/- Law must alter its aspirations and recognize that rational decision-making is a process that can occur only within parameters set by present knowledge and societal preference structures. Only by working with the constraints imposed by these parameters is it possible to achieve “just” decisions. Where no rational basis for differentiating cases exists, “individualized justice” must be avoided and public policy articulated in law applied uniformly to all cases in a class. The terms “reasonable” and “necessary,” used to describe policy and its consequences for specific cases, must be understood to represent provisional societal assessments, attempts to implement societal preference structures in the face of limited knowledge. Heightened awareness of the limited nature of our knowledge can only result in legal policies that have a more explicit normative basis. -/- The volume is is published with an introduction by Michael D. Bayles. It is available in hardback, paperback, and as an ebook. (shrink)

Theabstract variable binding calculus (VB-calculus) provides a formal frame-work encompassing such diverse variable-binding phenomena as lambda abstraction, Riemann integration, existential and universal quantification (in both classical and nonclassical logic), and various notions of generalized quantification that have been studied in abstract model theory. All axioms of the VB-calculus are in the form of equations, but like the lambda calculus it is not a true equational theory since substitution of terms for variables is restricted. A similar problem with the standard formalism (...) of the first-order predicate logic led to the development of the theory of cylindric and polyadic Boolean algebras. We take the same course here and introduce the variety of polyadic VB-algebras as a pure equational form of the VB-calculus. In one of the main results of the paper we show that every locally finite polyadic VB-algebra of infinite dimension is isomorphic to a functional polyadic VB-algebra that is obtained from a model of the VB-calculus by a natural coordinatization process. This theorem is a generalization of the functional representation theorem for polyadic Boolean algebras given by P. Halmos. As an application of this theorem we present a strong completeness theorem for the VB-calculus. More precisely, we prove that, for every VB-theory T that is obtained by adjoining new equations to the axioms of the VB-calculus, there exists a model D such that T s=t iff D s=t. This result specializes to a completeness theorem for a number of familiar systems that can be formalized as VB-calculi. For example, the lambda calculus, the classical first-order predicate calculus, the theory of the generalized quantifierexists uncountably many and a fragment of Riemann integration. (shrink)

«A genuine literary treatment of the soul» is what Eugenio Massa called the brief section of Egidio of Viterbo’s Sentences Commentary that he published in 1954. What Massa published is Egidio’s discussion of part of Peter Lombard’s third distinction in Book I, which bears the title «De imagine et similitudine Trinitatis in anima humana». The main topic at so early a place in the Sentences is not, strictly speaking, the human soul but the divine Trinity. The point of departure is (...) Lombard’s consideration of the soul as analogous to the Trinity; and behind that connection lies Augustine, who presented the soul as an image of the Trinity because he saw in the soul a unity and simplicity of substance but also Platonism’s tripartite divisions. These include, for example, the appetitive, emotional, and rational functions, from the Republic, and Augustine’s subdivision of the rational functions into memory, understanding, and will. This connection between Trinity and human soul, however, gave commentators excellent opportunities not only for theology, discourse about God, but also for psychology, the study of the soul. Descriptions of the human soul initially offered in the theological context became important in their own right. According to Massa, in light of the soul’s being created in God’s image, Egidio was able to make human dignity the major theme even at this early point in the commentary. (shrink)