This book interprets and explores the relationship between authority and the common good. Includes an analytical review of the various theories that have been offered in the history of philosophy concerning the nature of authority and of the common good. The characteristics, functions and types of authority are discussed as well as their relationship to the common good.

This work undertakes a philosophical analysis and study of the thought of John Paul II on inculturation and evangelization. It investigates the development of the Pope's thought on inculturation and argues that inculturation is the central theme that unifies the Pope's encyclical.

Has one the right to expect favor because he or she has given tip? Or is one obligated to bend the rule of law in favor of his friend from whom he has received tip or favor?The paper undertakes an analysis of the different tip situations, the different forms of tip and attempts to show in what sense the term tip is applicable and finally examines the usefulness of tip and its possible effect on a moral conscience.

The question, From whence come values in human society? or How should human beings live or act? has been one of the most enduring questions in the human search for knowledge. Stephen D. Hudson has reiterated the importance of this question through a rigorous and contrasting analysis of the different historical perspectives in an attempt to determine the nature of morality. Should morality be based on a priori theoretical moral constructs, an approach that Hudson describes as the "direct view," or (...) should morality be based on the natural human character, the "indirect view"? Hudson sees these two approaches as fundamental options. (shrink)

With a rare combination of academic rigor and simplicity of language, Richard T. De George has produced a stimulating and well-reasoned analysis of a complex and controversial subject--the nature and limits of authority. The central thrust of the text is a pluralistic conception of authority, which enables both the author and the reader to see authority in its multi-faceted forms.

The context of the work is the analysis of African values. The significance is the avoidance of generalizations. There are cultures in Africa and not just one culture and in each culture, there is a diversity of clans. The analysis of African values ought to have universal relevance, hence the use of phenomenological-hermeneutical method. This is the first analysis of such a value in the Igbo cultural group. It is at the same time a contribution to an important and often (...) neglected aspect of development: human development. The personality of the individual is a fundamental principle. Solidarity, philosophically formulated, can be a norm that regulates people's behavior. The personality of the individual is a fundamental principle. A person is identified with his dignity. This dignity is enriched and thus matures through his openness to others and positive contribution to the development of their personality. In order to show that our principle is not a mere abstract idealization, the second part of the work is a hermeneutical analysis of solidarity as found among the Igbo of Nigeria. Sylvanus Ifeanyichukwu Nnoruka is a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Onitsha (Nigeria). He has published Personal Identity: a Philosophical Survey as well as other books and articles. (shrink)

We comment on Cesario's assertion that social psychological intergroup research focuses solely on stereotypes, neglecting actual differences between groups to explain group disparities. This reasoning, however, misses yet another explaining force: In addition to stereotypes, ample laboratory and field research documents relationships between group disparities, discrimination, and prejudice, which cannot be explained by people's accurate judgments of real-world group differences.

In most African cultures, there is a definite and clear quest for truth through a critical method. Truth is a key value. It has moral, philosophical and social significance. One can subject an interlocutor's statements to methodic doubt and questioning. However, in some African cultures, the human intellect alone is not capable of understanding certain truth data thereby permitting the practice of divination. Nevertheless, most African cultures distinguish opinion (doxa) from (alatheia); emphasis is on objectivity rather than subjectivity. The methods (...) of arriving at the truth by most African cultures correspond basically to the correspondence and pragmatic theories of truth. (shrink)

Critical thinking plays a role in African judgement. Here, factors that influence judgement are: culture, communalism, wisdom of elders, revelation from the gods, and observation. Factors that obstruct judgement include: colonialism, modernization, and new religions. However, thanks to Kant's critical philosophy, only objectively valid knowledge is actually knowledge in African traditional thought.

This paper presents the results of the Symposium on “Deforestation and reforestation: The Atlas Project”. From the studies presented appeared that at present the causes od deforestation do not arise so much from global climatic causes, but rather from human activity. Both the study conducted on the Nokopo population in Papua New Guinea, by Kocher Schmid, and the one conducted on the Berbers in Morocco, by Camperio Ciani and Arhou, presented a clear role of the local population and its tradition (...) on negatiove forerst iòpact. Agro-forestal grazing and clearing for domestic animal feeding produced heavy forest degeneration. In Morocco the role of mixed herds of a few goats with many sheep produce devastating effects to the undergrowth of the Cedar and Oak forest. While fires ang pig overgrazing produce deforestation in the Nokopo Primary forest region. Further the external impact of foreign culture negatively affects the dinamic relationship between the local culture and the forest environment. The desertification process that emerges is a bottom up one that begins from the undergrowth reduction and ends with tha actual felling of the tree. It is suggested that close monuitoring of the forest condition using biological indicators could be a useful inyegration to remote sensing methods. As an example Macaca sylvanus demography has proven an efficient biological indicator to individuate early forest desertification risks in Morocco. It is proposed the Atlas project that combines reforestation with an efficient monitoring system and the study and development of sustainable alternatives to overgrazing to reduce the desertification process of the last North Africa forest. (shrink)

This paper presents the results of the Symposium on “Deforestation and reforestation: The Atlas Project”. From the studies presented appeared that at present the causes od deforestation do not arise so much from global climatic causes, but rather from human activity. Both the study conducted on the Nokopo population in Papua New Guinea, by Kocher Schmid, and the one conducted on the Berbers in Morocco, by Camperio Ciani and Arhou, presented a clear role of the local population and its tradition (...) on negatiove forerst iòpact. Agro-forestal grazing and clearing for domestic animal feeding produced heavy forest degeneration. In Morocco the role of mixed herds of a few goats with many sheep produce devastating effects to the undergrowth of the Cedar and Oak forest. While fires ang pig overgrazing produce deforestation in the Nokopo Primary forest region. Further the external impact of foreign culture negatively affects the dinamic relationship between the local culture and the forest environment. The desertification process that emerges is a bottom up one that begins from the undergrowth reduction and ends with tha actual felling of the tree. It is suggested that close monuitoring of the forest condition using biological indicators could be a useful inyegration to remote sensing methods. As an example Macaca sylvanus demography has proven an efficient biological indicator to individuate early forest desertification risks in Morocco. It is proposed the Atlas project that combines reforestation with an efficient monitoring system and the study and development of sustainable alternatives to overgrazing to reduce the desertification process of the last North Africa forest. (shrink)

Au début du xixe siècle, la formation des officiers de l’armée des États-Unis s’effectue à l’Académie militaire de West Point. Défaillante en de nombreux points, y compris sur le terrain de l’enseignement mathématique, elle est transformée par Sylvanus Thayer en 1817, alors qu’il revient d’un séjour en Europe lors duquel les établissements militaires français ont fait l’objet de scrupuleuses observations. La supériorité des méthodes françaises – l’articulation mathématico-ingéniérique qui structure les curricula, le rôle de la géométrie descriptive et l’analyse (...) dans l’appréhension de l’art de la guerre, l’usage des manuels – semble chose donnée pour acquise du côté américain, si bien que, dans le sillage de West Point, d’autres académies militaires « à la française » ouvrent avant-guerre. Soutenant l’idée d’une « infusion française » plus ou moins passive, l’historiographie alimente bien souvent un récit qui mythifie et cristallise le rôle de la France dans la formation mathématique des militaires américains de la première moitié du xixe siècle, un récit qui minore, de fait, par son caractère univoque, l’importance des espaces intermédiaires – scientifiques, pédagogiques, institutionnels et éditoriaux – où entrent en contact les territoires émetteurs et récepteurs. Cet article montre comment les acteurs qui œuvrent à la formation mathématique dans les écoles militaires aux États-Unis – superintendants, professeurs et auteurs de manuels – procèdent par décomposition et réassemblage des savoirs et méthodes français, dont le « transfert » depuis l’autre côté de l’Atlantique et au sein du territoire américain emprunte des circuits moins prétendument polarisés et hiérarchisés, et très fortement soumis à une forme de rationalisation locale. (shrink)

Au début du xix e siècle, la formation des officiers de l’armée des États-Unis s’effectue à l’Académie militaire de West Point. Défaillante en de nombreux points, y compris sur le terrain de l’enseignement mathématique, elle est transformée par Sylvanus Thayer en 1817, alors qu’il revient d’un séjour en Europe lors duquel les établissements militaires français ont fait l’objet de scrupuleuses observations. La supériorité des méthodes françaises – l’articulation mathématico-ingéniérique qui structure les _curricula_, le rôle de la géométrie descriptive et (...) l’analyse dans l’appréhension de l’art de la guerre, l’usage des manuels – semble chose donnée pour acquise du côté américain, si bien que, dans le sillage de West Point, d’autres académies militaires « à la française » ouvrent avant-guerre. Soutenant l’idée d’une « infusion française » plus ou moins passive, l’historiographie alimente bien souvent un récit qui mythifie et cristallise le rôle de la France dans la formation mathématique... (shrink)

Au début du xixe siècle, la formation des officiers de l’armée des États-Unis s’effectue à l’Académie militaire de West Point. Défaillante en de nombreux points, y compris sur le terrain de l’enseignement mathématique, elle est transformée par Sylvanus Thayer en 1817, alors qu’il revient d’un séjour en Europe lors duquel les établissements militaires français ont fait l’objet de scrupuleuses observations. La supériorité des méthodes françaises – l’articulation mathématico-ingéniérique qui structure les curricula, le rôle de la géométrie descriptive et l’analyse (...) dans l’appréhension de l’art de la guerre, l’usage des manuels – semble chose donnée pour acquise du côté américain, si bien que, dans le sillage de West Point, d’autres académies militaires « à la française » ouvrent avant-guerre. Soutenant l’idée d’une « infusion française » plus ou moins passive, l’historiographie alimente bien souvent un récit qui mythifie et cristallise le rôle de la France dans la formation mathématique des militaires américains de la première moitié du xixe siècle, un récit qui minore, de fait, par son caractère univoque, l’importance des espaces intermédiaires – scientifiques, pédagogiques, institutionnels et éditoriaux – où entrent en contact les territoires émetteurs et récepteurs. Cet article montre comment les acteurs qui œuvrent à la formation mathématique dans les écoles militaires aux États-Unis – superintendants, professeurs et auteurs de manuels – procèdent par décomposition et réassemblage des savoirs et méthodes français, dont le « transfert » depuis l’autre côté de l’Atlantique et au sein du territoire américain emprunte des circuits moins prétendument polarisés et hiérarchisés, et très fortement soumis à une forme de rationalisation locale. (shrink)