This contribution deals with the significance of Tradition for the question of the truth in ethics and morality. In a preliminary reflection the author discusses the traditional place of Tradition in moral theology. According to traditional theology, God's revelation is presented in Scripture and Tradition. The Second Vatican Council only reformulated the mode in which they are given. Thus, Tradition as a separate source side by side to Holy Scripture becomes the one entity of Tradition which encompasses Holy Scripture. But (...) this does not relativize Tradition itself. On the contrary Tradition now comes first. In the so-called 'sources of moral theology' the element of Tradition also occupies an important place. Because of considerations of fundamental ethics however, Tradition no longer plays this role in important currents in modern moral theology. In the light of this, how do we judge the reassessment of Tradition and traditions by philosophical ethicists, philosophers of culture and theologians who join their ranks? The same question can be asked with regard to ethical models like narrative ethics and ethics of virtue, which equally underline the role of Tradition and traditions in ethics and morality, in so far as they are recommended to us as alternatives to Enlightenment thinking and to the idea of an 'autonomous' morality. So what is the authority of Tradition in morality? To what extent can Tradition legitimise morality? With the help of three questions, the author elaborates his answer: 1. Why is Tradition unable to provide a basis for morality? The answer is: because of the moral ambiguity of Tradition. Tradition can offer a wealth of moral experience, but can equally turn out to be a conglomerate of moral petrifaction. Therefore Tradition as such is absolutely no legitimising agency of moral truth. 2. Where can a measuring rod for the morality of Tradition be found? The answer is: properly speaking the human person himself is the measure of morality. This point is clarified by a reflection on the 'change of paradigm' of catholic moral theology which centres on the human person as a subject. This implies an anthropocentric turn in morality, an orientation on the subject which is not only a conditio sine qua non for an ethics which deserves that name, but also a basis and a criterion for a possible universal ethics. There is a universal standard, which can be applied to every particular ethics: the dignity of the human person. This standard is applicable to every human individual and must be expressed furthermore in conditions and guarantees which are necassary for really honouring that dignity . 3. What moral significance of Tradition remains a universal ethics 'which has the human person as its measure'? The answer is: the moral significance of Tradition cannot be seen in a function of legitimising morality. Tradition is measured by ethics, but ethics is not measured by Tradition. However, this is only one side of the coin. The other side concerns the fact that a universal ethics does not exist as such, but is incarnated every time by forms of ethos and ethics which are linked to a particular culture. In the last paragraph therefore there follows a reflection on the significance for moral life which Tradition can indeed have. The idea of traditions as concrete embodiment of moral universality is especially important here. Today, this theme is treated in a concentrated form with the help of the question of the universality of human rights and the significance of cultural identities in this context. The answer to this is unambiguous. Cultures and traditions must be judged on the basis of their capacity to guarantee the honouring of human dignity of every person, where necessary even against one's own culture and tradition. (shrink)

The rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has been astonishing, in particular for the arts and creative industries. The dominant discourse both in mainstream media and in academia today focuses predominantly on what this new technology can do for the art market rather than art itself. However, framing NFTs in art in the context of money and markets draws attention away from the more subtle and creative role of NFTs. Consequently, this article asks: What is the role of NFTs in art, (...) beyond the market? This research complements existing empirical work, by conducting a case study and interviews with members of DADA, a historic NFT art project which is particularly critical towards the role of the art market. The findings foregrounded five roles that NFTs play in art: as (1) a tool for systemic change, (2) a new way to community, (3) a ritual artefact, (4) a means for preservation and (5) a new medium. (shrink)

The text is the extended version of the lecture delivered at the occasion of the author’s farewell as Professor of Moral Theology at Tilburg Faculty of Theology. The tradition of canon law, dogmatics, and moral theology is familiar with the concept of “ius divinum”, divine right. This concept indicates that certain standards, orders and institutions can be seen as if having been set up by God himself. For example: the primacy of the Pope, the seven Sacraments, or, in moral theology, (...) the standards of natural law. Because they do not encompass human institutions, man cannot abolish them. However, what does it mean in our present times to contend that God himself has instituted certain standards and institutions in our world, and that they are therefore beyond human authority? In this contribution the thesis is defended that the so-called divine right does not have to be considered a taboo but rather that it is thoroughly human. This in the dual significance of human: it is of human origin and it serves mankind, it is for the good of humanity. On the one hand, “divine right” is not only a phenomenon within the human world, but, more radically, a phenomenon from this human world, made by human beings themselves. On the other hand, such an anthropocentric vision does not indicate the end of a meaningful reference to God and of the understanding of human life in the countenance of God. To the contrary, the divine within a divine right finds its criterion in its very humanity, its humane kindness. With a short reference to the ethics of human rights, which tries to interweave the unconditional moral obligation and modern anthropocentrism, the search for traces of divine right in this world is brought to completion. (shrink)

Codes of conduct are the main tools to privately regulate worker rights in global value chains. Scholars have shown that while codes may improve outcome standards (such as occupational health and safety), they have had limited impact on process rights (such as freedom of association and collective bargaining). Scholars have, though, only provided vague or general explanations for this empirical finding. We address this shortcoming by providing a holistic and detailed explanation, and argue that codes, in their current form, have (...) limited impact on trade union rights due to (i) buyers paying lip service to trade union rights, (ii) workers being treated as passive objects of regulation in codes of conduct, (iii) auditing being unable to detect and remediate violations of trade union rights, (iv) codes emphasizing parallel means of organizing, (v) suppliers having limited incentives for compliance, and (vi) codes being unable to open up space for union organizing when leveraged in grassroots struggles. Our arguments suggest that there is no quick fix for codes’ limited impact on trade union rights, and that codes, in their current form, have limited potential to improve trade union rights. We conclude by discussing ways in which codes of conduct, and private regulation of worker rights more generally, could be transformed to more effectively address trade union rights. (shrink)

We combined inter- and intraindividual approaches to investigate university students’ biology- and psychology-specific specific epistemic beliefs (beliefs about the nature and structure of knowledge). We expected that university students would perceive the discipline of biology as more absolute and less multiplistic than the discipline of psychology (intraindividual perspective). Furthermore, we expected students from so-called “hard” disciplines to perceive biology as more absolute and less multiplistic than students from soft disciplines (interindividual perspective). Finally, we expected that students from hard disciplines, compared (...) to their peers from soft disciplines, would perceive stronger differences between biology and psychology (combined perspective). Hypotheses were tested, using Bayes factors, in N = 938 university students from a multitude of disciplines. Results revealed that university students perceive biology as considerably more absolute and less multiplistic compared to psychology. However, the findings also suggest that there are no strong interindividual differences between students from hard and soft disciplines regarding the perception of biology. Finally, results revealed that students enrolled in harder disciplines perceive a slightly stronger difference between biology and psychology. In sum, intraindividual effects were considerably stronger, which elicits doubt that students from hard disciplines espouse a fundamentally different set of epistemic beliefs than their peers from soft disciplines. (shrink)

The text is the extended version of the lecture delivered at the occasion of the author’s farewell as Professor of Moral Theology at Tilburg Faculty of Theology. The tradition of canon law, dogmatics, and moral theology is familiar with the concept of “ius divinum”, divine right. This concept indicates that certain standards, orders and institutions can be seen as if having been set up by God himself. For example: the primacy of the Pope, the seven Sacraments, or, in moral theology, (...) the standards of natural law. Because they do not encompass human institutions, man cannot abolish them. However, what does it mean in our present times to contend that God himself has instituted certain standards and institutions in our world, and that they are therefore beyond human authority? In this contribution the thesis is defended that the so-called divine right does not have to be considered a taboo but rather that it is thoroughly human. This in the dual significance of human: it is of human origin and it serves mankind, it is for the good of humanity. On the one hand, “divine right” is not only a phenomenon within the human world, but, more radically, a phenomenon from this human world, made by human beings themselves. On the other hand, such an anthropocentric vision does not indicate the end of a meaningful reference to God and of the understanding of human life in the countenance of God. To the contrary, the divine within a divine right finds its criterion in its very humanity, its humane kindness. With a short reference to the ethics of human rights, which tries to interweave the unconditional moral obligation and modern anthropocentrism, the search for traces of divine right in this world is brought to completion. (shrink)

This article addresses three questions: How can we define and measure what constitutes a foreign policy in human rights? How is it possible to explain both the activism of a state and its ideological orientation in the international promotion of human rights? What is the empirical evidence found when we try to answer these questions in intermediate states? Research done on four cases (Argentina, Australia, Brazil and South Africa) suggests a correlation between domestic efforts in the promotion of human rights (...) and international advocacy. It also shows that the greater the power of intermediate states, the greater their activism in human rights. Further, as development grows states show less support for economic, social and cultural rights. Last, the strategic relation with the USA shapes how states vote regarding human rights violators states. (shrink)

This commentary on Merks' contribution is essentially written from the impact the question of this symposium 'Where is truth?' can have in medical ethics. This well-organised discipline inside applied ethics reached the last decennia a highly functioning importance in the societal discussion on medical progress. The author of this commentary shares with Merks his critique on procedural ethics, a critique which is crucial for medical ethics. Indeed, ethical decision-making procedures have invaded the most important institutes of medical ethics. Recently, this (...) evolution has been criticised for neglecting to establish a foundational ethical culture for medicine. The author thinks personalist ethics can function as such a culture and as an answer to the need for a more comprehensive ethical approach. This leads him to his main critique on Merks' contribution: indeed, where Merks underlines the importance of 'human rights' concepts as a tool for ethical reflection, the author warns for the abuses of this concept in the Anglo-American approach of medical ethics, where the concept functions as an instrument for individual selfdetermination and doesn't refer to the - more Germanic - interpretation of this concept in the lines of a foundation of human dignity. Foundational moral concepts as fundamental disposition, human values and norms seem more apt to develop the type of ethics which is also supported by Merks. Even more it permits a really dynamic ethics, where the most humanly possible is realised in the light of the promotion of the most humanly desirable. (shrink)

Background: Only data of published study results are available to the scientific community for further use such as informing future research and synthesis of available evidence. If study results are reported selectively, reporting bias and distortion of summarised estimates of effect or harm of treatments can occur. The publication and citation of results of clinical research conducted in Germany was studied.Methods: The protocols of clinical research projects submitted to the research ethics committee of the University of Freiburg in 2000 were (...) analysed. Published full articles in several databases were searched and investigators contacted. Data on study and publication characteristics were extracted from protocols and corresponding publications.Results: 299 study protocols were included. The most frequent study design was randomised controlled trial , followed by uncontrolled studies , laboratory studies and non-randomised studies . 182 were multicentre studies including 97 international collaborations. 152 of 299 had commercial funding and 46 non-commercial funding. 109 of the 225 completed protocols corresponded to at least one full publication ; the publication rate was 48%. 168 of 210 identified publications were cited in articles indexed in the ISI Web of Science. The median was 11 citations per publication .Conclusions: Results of German clinical research projects conducted are largely underreported. Barriers to successful publication need to be identified and appropriate measures taken. Close monitoring of projects until publication and adequate support provided to investigators may help remedy the prevailing underreporting of research. (shrink)

Following a previous article published in Biological Theory, in this study we present a mathematical theory for a science of qualities as directly perceived by living organisms, and based on morphological patterns. We address a range of qualitative phenomena as observables of a psychological system seen as an impredicative system. The starting point of our study is the notion that perceptual phenomena are projections of underlying invariants, objects that remain unchanged when transformations of a certain class under consideration are applied. (...) The study develops with the observables, the entailed total order and metric, whence the algebra and the geometry of such a science, presenting a formal phenomenological model for phenomena that are not rigidly Euclidean. We show how non-Euclidean perception can have many useful Euclidean formalizations, as well as locally-homeomorphic-to-Euclidean-space models. The mathematical models we provide are tested on the basis of results from experimental psychology, in particular from the field of color, time, and space perception. (shrink)

The author has recently shown that a mathematical question regarding the fundamental constituents of hardrons cannot be resolved unless the classical axioms of nonfinite mathematics are revised in such a way as to produce a new theory of particle motion in continuous space-time. Under this new theory, the instantaneous position of a moving object has a magnitude that is increasing as the object's velocity. The purpose of this paper is to show that, quite apart from the question of Cantorian axiomatics, (...) the new theory of motion is more consistent with what physicists really believe than the traditional theory of motion. (shrink)

From the diverse work and often competing insights of women's human rights activists, Brooke Ackerly has written a feminist and a universal theory of human rights that bridges the relativists' concerns about universalizing from particulars and the activists' commitment to justice. Unlike universal theories that rely on shared commitments to divine authority or to an 'enlightened' way of reasoning, Ackerly's theory relies on rigorous methodological attention to difference and disagreement. She sets out human rights as at once a research ethic, (...) a tool for criticism of injustice and a call to recognize our obligations to promote justice through our actions. This book will be of great interest to political theorists, feminist and gender studies scholars and researchers of social movements. (shrink)

The issue of sexual relations between spouses is a major cause of broken homes in Nigeria and Christian couples are not an exception. People believe that a large percentage of broken homes have the root of their problem traced to sex. The preponderance of broken homes notwithstanding, most studies in this area have been from the socio-scientific and medical cum psychological point of view and many more have focused on teenagers and young people to the exclusion of married couples that (...) need healing in this regard. This article is aimed at bringing out biblical instruction concerning the issue of sex that could help to restore peace to many homes at the verge of breaking down. The focal passage is 1 Corinthians 7:1–5, which was Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church when they faced a similar problem. This article is an exegetical analysis of the passage and is read rhetorically with the Nigerian situation in mind. It concludes that sex must be enjoyed within the ambits of marriage and within this ambit, the only reason for abstinence is mutual agreement for the purpose of prayer.Contribution: The article upholds gender equality in initiating and enjoying sex and rejects looking down on women who request sex. It also calls for the eradication of female genital mutilation, a tradition based on making women not enjoy sex. (shrink)

В монографии представлена систематизация современных западных и отечественных подходов в исследовании качеств современного человека, таких как креативность и информативность. Для читателей, интересующихся проблемами социальной философии.

Публикация рассчитана как на специалистов, так и на широкий круг читателей.

El hombre crea su moral tomando en cuenta las aportaciones más íntimas de su espíritu. Así como la historia de la humanidad presenta una serie gradual y emocional de conquistas espirituales, así también la moral se ha logrado a través de la historia, pero siempre sobre el fundamento de la esencia humana, pues no cabe duda de que la jerarquía de los valores depende de cada ser humano. Ella orienta toda su conducta y señala sus grandes metas. El espíritu religioso (...) coloca, en primer término, a los valores de la religión, el moralista a los éticos, el pragmático a los útiles; el estético a las bellas artes, dando preferencia cada una a su valor favorito. (shrink)

In this work we show that, within the framework of double-slit experiment, it is possible to ascertain simultaneously more incompatible properties together with the measurement of the position of the final impact-point. A wide family of solutions is concretely found and an ideal experiment realizing such a detection is designed, relatively to the detection of two incompatible properties. In the case of three incompatible properties, general conditions for the existence of solutions are singled out and a particular family of solutions (...) is provided. (shrink)

Seminar papers on the philosophical thoughts of the people of Bangladesh.