In Andrej Belyjs Roman Petersburg (entstanden 1911-1913) kulminiert der Mythos dieser Stadt und wird zugleich ironisiert. Stadt und Roman sind bestimmt von Gegensätzen wie dem von Russland und Europa, Vater und Sohn, Zarismus und Revolution etc. Im Krisenjahr 1905, in dem der Roman spielt, sind diese Gegensätze allenthalben am Werk, aber sie erlauben dennoch keine Orientierung: Denn die Staatsmacht steht nicht nur rebellischen Elementen gegenüber, sondern übt selbst Terror aus, z.B. durch Doppelagenten. In einem Klima gegenseitiger Bespitzelung und Bedrohung sind (...) alle Zuordnungen ungewiss. Welche Funktion haben hier die zahlreichen geometrischen Referenzen: Punkt, Linie, Quadrat, Kubus und die Rede von der ›vierten‹ oder ›n-ten Dimension‹? Der Essay geht diesen Fragen nach und stellt u.a. Beziehungen zur Popularisierung der n-dimensionalen Geometrie und zu avantgardistischer Kunst(-theorie) her, namentlich zu Kandinsky und Malewitsch. In Andrey Bely’s novel »Petersburg« (written between 1911 and 1913), the myth of Petersburg comes to a peak while being simultaneously ironized. The city and the novel are determined by oppositions such as those between Russia and Europe, father and son, tsarism and revolution, and so on. Set in 1905, a year of deep crisis, these oppositions are at work everywhere in the story. Nevertheless, they do not permit any understanding of what is going on: this is because the state is not only challenged by rebellious elements, but also acts as a terrorist itself; for instance, with the help of double agents. In a climate of threat and fear, everything becomes uncertain. What is the function of the numerous geometrical references – point, line, square, cube, and of the ›fourth‹ or the ›nth dimension‹ – in such a context? The essay asks these questions and links the novel to the popularisation of n-dimensional geometry, as well as to the art and art theory of the early 20th century, namely to Kandinsky and Malevic. (shrink)

While most business ethics texts focus exclusively on individual decision making--what should an individual do--this resource presents the whole business ethics story. Highly realistic, readable, and down-to-earth, it moves from the individual to the managerial to the organizational level, focusing on business ethics in an organizational context to promote an understanding of complex influences on behavior. The new Fifth Edition is the perfect text for students entering the workplace, those seeking to become professionals in training, communications, compliance, in addition to (...) chief ethics officers, corporate counsel, heads of human resources, and senior executives. (shrink)

'Two things', wrote Kant, 'fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe: the starry heavens above and the moral law within'. Many would argue that since Kant's day, the study of the starry heavens has advanced while ethics has stagnated, and in particular that Kant's ethics offers an empty formalism that tells us nothing about how we should live. In Acting on Principle Onora O'Neill shows that Kantian ethics has practical as well as philosophical importance. First published (...) in 1975, the book is regarded as a classic account and defence of the Kantian ethical position. It addresses Kant's account of reasoning about action, in particular his controversial claim that the Categorical Imperative guides action and is basic to ethics and justice. This second edition offers a substantial new introduction and updated bibliography, and will be valuable for a wide readership in Kant studies and those studying ethics. (shrink)

Esta dissertação encontra-se construída em torno de um núcleo central - a exposição, aná-lise e discussão do chamado 'Argumento da linguagem privada', de Wittengstein. A dinâmica própria da abordagem e discussão do tema leva necessariamente a percorrer o conjunto da obra de Wittengstein, o que motiva um notável aprofundamento do assunto e torna ainda mais aliciante este ensaio.

This is the first modern, annotated and scholarly edition of Jean-Baptiste Du Bos’ _Critical Reflections on Poetry and Painting_, one of the seminal works of modern aesthetics in any language.

Since antiquity, Western thinking about art has known and cultivated the myth of the artist as a unique (male) individual who produces marvellous things. This myth is fed, among other texts, by the Naturalis Historia (Natural History) of the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder (23/24-79 AD). The last five volumes of this encyclopaedia are an essential source for our knowledge about ancient painting, sculpture, etc. Plenty of anecdotes deal with the value of artworks, with problems of mimesis and aesthetic judgement, (...) artistic rivalry, the relationship between artist and beholder, artist and political ruler, etc. For centuries, these minimal narratives have been repeated, retold and adapted to changing situations and interests, triggering theory and history of art. What has not been realised, however, is that they also open the way to a concept quite different from the well-known understanding: to art as a complex reciprocal exchange of gifts between more than two agents. Analysing two of the pertinent anecdotes (NH 35.86-87 and NH 35.140), the paper attempts to show the significance of agonistic gift giving in this art discourse. (shrink)

In chapter 3 of Wild Animal Ethics Johannsen argues for a collective obligation based on beneficence to intervene in nature in order to reduce the suffering of wild animals. In the same chapter he claims that the non-identity problem is merely a “theoretical puzzle” which doesn’t affect our reasons for intervention. In this paper I argue that the non-identity problem affects both the strength and the nature of our reasons to intervene. By intervening in nature on a large scale we (...) change which animals come into existence. In doing so, we enable harmful animals to inflict harms on other animals, and we put other animals in harm’s way. The harms that these animals will inflict and endure are foreseeable. Furthermore, since non-human animals aren’t moral agents, harmful animals cannot be morally responsible for their harmful actions. I argue therefore that by causing animals to exist, knowing that they will inflict and suffer harms, we become morally responsible for those harms. By engaging in identity-affecting actions then we take on secondary moral duties towards the animals we have thereby caused to exist, and these secondary moral duties may be extremely demanding, even more so than the initial costs of intervention. Finally, these duties are duties of justice rather than duties of beneficence, and as such are more stringent than purely beneficence-based moral reasons. Furthermore, this conclusion flows naturally from several plausible principles which Johannsen explicitly endorses. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungAn der Gabenpraxis traditioneller Gesellschaften, die Marcel Mauss im Essai sur le don untersucht hat, ist die ästhetische Dimension von großer Bedeutung; zu sozial konstitutiven Gaben, die v.a. Akte wechselseitiger Anerkennung sind, eignen sich nämlich nur besondere Dinge und Leistungen. Diese werden im Rahmen festlicher Gelegenheiten getauscht. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht den Zusammenhang zwischen Gabe und Ästhetik an einem konkreten Fall der europäischen Vormoderne, an Benvenuto Cellinis Saliera für den französischen König François Ier. In der Renaissance verklammert der Begriff grazia (...) Hofkunst mit höfischem Habitus, Selbstdarstellung der Elite und Inszenierung der Macht. Das hier verhandelte kostbare Objekt und seine Geschichte realisieren grazia in ihrer doppelten Bedeutung als Erscheinung im Kunstwerk und soziopolitische Beziehung; beide verweisen auf die Gabenpraxis und deren symbolische Funktionen, und umgekehrt. Für die Analyse sind Materialität des Gegenstands und Textualität gleichermaßen wichtig.The aesthetic dimension is crucial in the practices of gift giving in traditional societies as studied by Marcel Mauss in his Essai sur le don. Aesthetics is highly relevant because not any object or service is suitable for the socially constitutive gift, which, above all, is a symbolic act of recognition. Rare and precious objects and services are exchanged at festive occasions. This paper examines the connection between gift and aesthetics in a concrete case of pre-modern Europe: in Benvenuto Cellini’s salt cellar for the French King François Ier. In Renaissance discourse, the concept of grazia links the work of an individual court artist to courtly behavior, elite self-representation and the celebration of political power. Grazia is actualized in the saliera and the history of its making; in its double sense, as appearance in the artwork and social relationship, it refers to gift giving practices and their symbolic functions, and vice versa. For my article, the material object and the related texts are equally important. (shrink)

National Book Award Finalist. How did humanity originate and why does a species like ours exist on this planet? Do we have a special place, even a destiny in the universe? Where are we going, and perhaps, the most difficult question of all, "Why?" In The Meaning of Human Existence, his most philosophical work to date, Pulitzer Prize–winning biologist Edward O. Wilson grapples with these and other existential questions, examining what makes human beings supremely different from all other species. Searching (...) for meaning in what Nietzsche once called "the rainbow colors" around the outer edges of knowledge and imagination, Wilson takes his readers on a journey, in the process bridging science and philosophy to create a twenty-first-century treatise on human existence—from our earliest inception to a provocative look at what the future of mankind portends. Continuing his groundbreaking examination of our "Anthropocene Epoch," which he began with The Social Conquest of Earth, described by the New York Times as "a sweeping account of the human rise to domination of the biosphere," here Wilson posits that we, as a species, now know enough about the universe and ourselves that we can begin to approach questions about our place in the cosmos and the meaning of intelligent life in a systematic, indeed, in a testable way. Once criticized for a purely mechanistic view of human life and an overreliance on genetic predetermination, Wilson presents in The Meaning of Human Existence his most expansive and advanced theories on the sovereignty of human life, recognizing that, even though the human and the spider evolved similarly, the poet's sonnet is wholly different from the spider's web. Whether attempting to explicate "The Riddle of the Human Species," "Free Will," or "Religion"; warning of "The Collapse of Biodiversity"; or even creating a plausible "Portrait of E.T.," Wilson does indeed believe that humanity holds a special position in the known universe. The human epoch that began in biological evolution and passed into pre-, then recorded, history is now more than ever before in our hands. Yet alarmed that we are about to abandon natural selection by redesigning biology and human nature as we wish them, Wilson soberly concludes that advances in science and technology bring us our greatest moral dilemma since God stayed the hand of Abraham. (shrink)

Online, offline, Linienflug, rote Linie, Richtlinie, Horizont – in unserer Sprache und unserem Alltag sind Linien omnipräsent. Auch in Künsten, Philosophie und Wissenschaften spielen sie eine zentrale Rolle. Sie sind grundlegend wie Bild, Schrift oder Zahl. Aus der Selbstverständlichkeit, mit der sie unsere Orientierung steuern, unser Denken ordnen und unserer visuellen Erfahrung Gestalt geben, hebt der Band einen komplexen Zusammenhang heraus: Er führt in Texte aus verschiedenen historischen Zusammenhängen ein, in denen Begriff und Phänomen der Linie ausdrücklich und exemplarisch zum (...) Gegenstand von Theoriebildung werden. Linien wirken als elementare Mittel der Welterschließung, doch erfüllen sie diese Funktion in unterschiedlichen Feldern auf jeweils andere Weise. Dieser Heterogenität trägt die Konzentration auf fünf ausgewählte Schwerpunkte Rechnung: auf Mathematik/Geometrie, Philosophie, Ethnographie/Anthropologie, Geographie/Kartographie, Kunsttheorie und -wissenschaft. Prägnanz und Leistung der jeweiligen Reflexionen werden ebenso gezeigt wie faszinierende Querverbindungen zwischen den einzelnen Bereichen. Das Buch wendet sich insbesondere an WissenschaftlerInnen sowie an ein breites kulturwissenschaftlich interessiertes Publikum. (shrink)

This book presents a comprehensive, accessible survey of Western philosophy of music from Pythagoras to the present. Its narrative traces themes and schools through history, in a sequence of five chapters that survey the ancient, medieval, early modern, modern and contemporary periods. Its wide-ranging coverage includes medieval Islamic thinkers, Continental and analytic thinkers, and neglected female thinkers such as Vernon Lee (Violet Paget). All aspects of the philosophy of music are discussed, including music and the cosmos, music's value, music's relation (...) to the other arts, the problem of opera, the origins of musical genius, music's emotional impact, the moral effects of music, the ontology of musical works, and the relevance of music's historical context. The volume will be valuable for students and scholars in philosophy and musicology, and all who are interested in the ways in which philosophers throughout history have thought about music. (shrink)

. History of the concept of economic efficiency . INTRODUCTION James Buchanan won the Nobel Prize by proving that the process by which elected officials ...

Providing a vibrant four-color design, market-leading BUSINESS ETHICS: ETHICAL DECISION MAKING AND CASES, Ninth Edition, thoroughly covers the complex environment in which managers confront ethical decision making. Using a proven managerial framework, this accessible, applied text addresses the overall concepts, processes, and best practices associated with successful business ethics programs--helping readers see how ethics can be integrated into key strategic business decisions. Thoroughly revised, the new ninth edition incorporates coverage of new legislation affecting business ethics, the most up-to-date examples, and (...) the best practices of high-profile organizations. It also includes 20 all-new or updated original case studies. (shrink)

Although vast and complex, the universe is orderly in many ways, and conditions at its beginning were right for the eventual evolution of life on this planet. But with life there is death, and with sentient life there is great pain and suffering, often with no apparent justification or purpose. Taking these things together, is it reasonable to conclude that the universe was brought about by God? Moreover, does the magnitude of seemingly pointless suffering square with the idea that God (...) exists, or is it good reason to think there is no God? These questions come up for many people, not just religious believers, and are examined in this engaging and thought-provoking book. Starting out with no pre-disposition to theism, atheism, or agnosticism, God, Evil, and Design takes up these questions in order to see where an impartial investigation leads. To achieve impartiality, the reader is invited to simulate ignorance insofar as his or her own religious preference is concerned. With this approach, God, Evil, and Design provides both a fresh look at important and controversial issues in philosophy and an excellent introduction to the contemporary debates surrounding them. Lively and non-technical, this book will be accessible to anyone with an interest in these topics. (shrink)

Purpose. Romanticism as a movement developed in Germany, where, becoming the philosophy of time in the 18th-19th centuries, spread to all European countries. The "mobility" of the Romantic doctrine, its diversity, sometimes contradictory views, attitude to man as a free, harmonious, creative person led to the susceptibility of this movement by ethnic groups, different in nature and mentality. Its ideas found a wide response in Ukraine with its "cordocentric" type of culture in the early nineteenth century. Since the peculiarity of (...) "Ukrainian Romanticism" was its "literary-centric" nature, the purpose of this study is to analyse and comprehend the place of man in the national philosophy and literature of this period. Accordingly, the main tasks of the work are as follows: to determine the main features, the nature of Ukrainian Romanticism; to trace the main vectors of comprehension and image of man in the literature of this time. Theoretical basis. The ideas of European Romanticism were creatively rethought and assimilated during the emergence of new Ukrainian literature. It provided samples of highly artistic works, unique names of talented writers – creators and thinkers, who in their works reflected the philosophy of time. Based on the works of F. Schlegel, partly E. Husserl, M. Heidegger, K. Jaspers, Romanticism in the Ukrainian humanities, in terms of philosophy, culturology, as well as at the intersection with literature, was studied by T. Bovsunivska, Y. Hrybkova, S. Efremov, N. Kalenichenko, S. Kozak, T. Komarynets, D. Nalyvayko, Y. Nakhlik, I. Ogorodnyk, V. Ogorodnyk, A. Sinitsyna, D. Chyzhevsky, M. Yatsenko, E. Kyryliuk, M. Biletsky, D. Dontsov, S. Efremov, G. Kostyuk, S. Krymsky, Y. Sherekh and others. Originality. The authors of the article prove that Romanticism in Ukraine, being "literary-centric" inherently, having absorbed the main ideas and features of European Romanticism, has its own features and vectors of formation and development. Man in this kind of movement, thanks to the means of art, appears very clearly as a spiritually rich, sensitive, vulnerable and strong person. For him or her, the highest value is freedom, the ability to make freely independent fateful decisions. Conclusions. Ukrainian writers, reflecting the philosophical ideas of Romanticism, saw in man a harmonious combination of "natural" and "social", through which he indirectly carries out his own national existence. In addition to the objective realities of the external world, in their works, Romantic writers appeal to the subjective, internal, spiritual, "ideal" world of the hero, who interacts with reality through his own system of values. At each level of development of the humanities and methodology of cognition, this allows a new reading of these works. (shrink)

Purpose. The dynamics and pace of social and economic transformations that are characteristic of modern society, lead to an increase in tension and the destruction of habitual stereotypes – ideals, values, norms, patterns of behaviour that unite people. These moments encourage us to rethink the understanding of "security" essence, in particular, psychological, which emphasizes the urgency of its study in the philosophical and sociocultural coordinates. Theoretical basis of the research is based on the philosophical methodology of K. Jaspers, E. Fromm (...) and the A. Maslow’s psychological approach to understanding of a person. Originality. Psychological security is considered at different levels: first and foremost, society is a characteristic of social security, that is an analysis of how today’s social technologies, social changes affect the quality of life of the country’s population; secondly, the social environment – the family, the immediate environment, reference groups, training teams; thirdly, a person is an experience of his own security-insecurity, when it is possible to talk about the manifestations of psychological violence, when certain behavioral acts contribute to the violation of the security of the other or to self-destruction. It is found out that the knowledge of psychological security is closely connected with the socio-historical conditions of being, with the level of development of material and spiritual culture, with the interests and values prevailing in society, which determines its ontological, epistemological and axiological features. The presented issue is considered in the correlation of psychological security with types of scientific rationality – classical, nonclassical and post-nonclassical approaches, within the framework of which various perspectives, aspects, forms and types of psychological security are studied. Conclusions. The concept of security requires a systematic description of its manifestations, types, levels, concepts: security as the absence of dangers ; security as a certain activity to ensure or to prevent any threats or dangers ; security as a conscious necessity, the value of the individual. The study systematizes various ideas about psychological security in accordance with the logic of scientific knowledge: in the mainstream of classical, non-classical and post-nonclassical approaches. (shrink)

Анотація. У статті розглянуто тісний зв´язок між зменшенням впливу Московського патріархату на суспільно-політичні процеси в Україні та відновленням українського культурно-цивілізаційного простору. А саме – поступове позбавлення православних віруючих проявів постімперського синдрому, зокрема установок, уявлень, поведінкових моделей тощо, пов´язаних із перебуванням українців у складі іншомовної та чужої за ментальністю й культурою імперії. Зазначено, що отримання православними віруючими України Томосу про визнання автокефалії і конституювання Православної Церкви України позитивно впливає не лише на розвиток самої ПЦУ, але й рівня патріотизму, відновлення і розвою (...) україномовного середовища, архетипних традицій, обрядів, поведінкових моделей тощо. Все це, у підсумку, сприяє українському поступу від азійської до європейської культурно-цивілізаційної моделі. (shrink)