We here introduce the Zygon Symposium on “Just How Special Are Humans?” This collection is based on a symposium at Harvard University in 2020 that brought together world leaders on the study of human nature from science, theology, and philosophy. They shared their research and perceptive insights on this key topic of great contemporary interest from quite different disciplines and viewpoints. The present Symposium contains articles further developed from the presentations, as well as two additional contributions from experts specializing in (...) theological ethics and philosophy of religion. (shrink)

Anne-Marie Schultz explores Plato’s presentation of Socrates as a philosopher who tells narratives about himself in the Theaetetus, Symposium, Apology, and Phaedo. She argues that scholars should regard Socrates as a public philosopher, while examining Socratic self-disclosive practices in the works of bell hooks, Kathy Khang, and Ta-Neishi Coates.

Anne-Marie Søndergaard Christensen presents a new account of the role of moral philosophy and its relationship to our ordinary moral lives. She challenges the idea that moral theories have an authoritative explanatory or action-guiding role, and develops instead a descriptive, pluralistic, and elucidatory conception of moral philosophy.

Although non-profit organisations typically have high representation of females on their boards, relatively little is known about the effects of gender diversity in these organisations particularly in relation to financial management. In this archival study, resource dependency theory and agency analysis are combined to provide theoretical insight and empirical analysis of gender diversity on effective financial management in member-governed, community financial institutions. The investigation is possible due to the unique characteristics of the organisational form and region being examined—credit unions in (...) Northern Ireland. The sector has not been subject to external regulation on board gender, yet a wide array of gender mix on boards ranging from 100 % male to 100 % female are in existence. In addition, effective financial management is crucial to their survival and their ability to meet member objectives. Boards with higher female representation exhibit superior financial management first, in respect of loan book quality in the period of austerity following the financial crisis and second when measured against return on assets. (shrink)

Background In 2001 a report on the provision of clinical ethics support in UK healthcare institutions identified 20 clinical ethics committees. Since then there has been no systematic evaluation or documentation of their work at a national level. Recent national surveys of clinical ethics services in other countries have identified wide variation in practice and scope of activities. Objective To describe the current provision of ethics support in the UK and its development since 2001. Method A postal/electronic questionnaire survey administered (...) to the chairs of all 82 clinical ethics services registered with the UK Clinical Ethics Network in July 2010. Results Response rate was 62% with the majority of responding services situated in acute trusts. All services included a clinical ethics committee with one service also having a clinical ethicist. Lay members were present in 72% of responding committees. Individual case consultation has increased since 2001 with 29% of chairs spending more than 50% of their time on this. Access to and involvement in the process of case consultation is less for patients and families than for clinical staff. There is wide variation in committee processes and levels of institutional support. Over half of the responding committees undertook some form of evaluation. Conclusion Clinical ethics services in the UK are increasing as is their involvement in case consultation. However, the significant variation in committee processes suggests that further qualitative research is needed to understand how these committees function and the role they play in their institution. (shrink)

La Colombiade war bis zur französischen Revolution ein in Frankreich und in den westeuropäischen Ländern vielbeachtetes Epos. Aus heutiger Sicht ist das gut lesbare Gedicht erneut von Interesse: es wägt Segnungen und Schäden der Kolonialisierung gegeneinander ab, propagiert die Idee eines auf wissenschaftlichem und humanistischem Ethos gegründeten Europas, und artikuliert das aufklärerische Selbstbewusstsein einer schreibenden Frau. Die Einführung der Herausgeberin stellt das Gedicht in den Wissenshorizont der Entstehungszeit und skizziert die Rezeption. Der Anhang informiert über Textvarianten, bringt erläuternde Anmerkungen und (...) einen bibliographischen Informationsteil. (shrink)

In "Implementing Expanded Prenatal Genetic Testing: Should Parents Have Access to Any and All Fetal Genetic Information?," Bayefsky and Berkman argue in favor of establishing three categorie...

This book explores five Platonic dialogues: Lysis, Charmides, Protagoras, Euthydemus, and the Republic. This book uses Socrates’ narrative commentary as its primary interpretive framework. No one has engaged in a sustained attempt to explore the Platonic dialogues from this angle. As a result, it offers a unique contribution to Plato scholarship. The portrait of Socrates that emerges challenges the traditional view of Socrates as an intellectualist and offers a holistic vision of philosophical practice.

Ayant collaboré aux premières années d'enseignement universitaire de la communication en France, aux côtés du fondateur Robert Escarpit, l'auteur témoigne tour à tour des engagements citoyens de ce brillant intellectuel, de ses choix conceptuels et de sa postérité, encore visible, tant en Aquitaine qu'au-delà des océans.Having worked in the early years of university teaching communication in France, alongside founder Robert Escarpit, the author demonstrates in turn commitments citizens of this brilliant intellectual, conceptual choices and his descendants still visible, as Aquitaine (...) and across oceans. (shrink)

L'héritage du siècle des Lumières a été le fer de lance de puissants mouvements éducatifs, sociaux et artistiques qui traversent la société française de la Révolution à nos jours. Ces mouvements sont parmi les principaux vecteurs préalables à la constitution théorique du champ de la communication.The legacy of the Enlightenment has been the spearhead of powerful educational, social and artistic through French society from the Revolution to the present day. These movements are among the main drivers pre-theoretical constitution of the (...) field of communication. (shrink)

A virtue centred approach to ethics has been criticized for being vague owing to the nature of its central concept, the paradigm person. From the perspective of the practitioner the most damaging charge is that virtue ethics fails to be action guiding and, in addition to this, it does not offer any means of act appraisal. These criticisms leave virtue ethics in a weak position vis-à-vis traditional approaches to ethics. The criticism is, however, challenged by Hursthouse in her analysis of (...) the accounts of right action offered by deontology, utilitarianism and virtue ethics. It is possible to defend the action guiding nature of virtue ethics: there are virtue rules and exemplars to guide action. Insights from Aristotle’s practical approach to ethics are considered alongside Hursthouse’s analysis and it is suggested that virtue ethics is also capable of facilitating action appraisal. It is at the same time acknowledged that approaches to virtue ethics vary widely and that the challenges offered here would be rejected by those who embrace a radical replacement virtue approach. (shrink)

The American term Bioethics has been adopted over the last ten years and the development of Bioethics committees on the American model testifies this influence, even before the official appointment of a National Committee in 1983. This phenomenon acknowledged as the emergence of French bioethics is in fact the final outcome of a long-lasting crisis in the medical profession, in quest for a new style of ethics, breaking with the traditional professional ethics (French Déontologie, through the Ordre des Médecins). Among (...) other factors of conceptual and institutional change, the increase of biomedical research comes first: a major consequence is the sharing of moral responsibilities in decision-making with outsider scientists and finally the involvement of the whole population as potential moral subjects.The designation of these events as the emergence of French bioethics is hardly appropriate for an account of this dramatic shift in ethical norms and roles in medicine. This paper attempts to review the intellectual roots of the recent evolution and to summarize present and prospective trends. (shrink)

Artiklen præsenterer i første del det pædagogiske stof fra Platons Staten og Lovene, som Rousseau har læst og fundet inspiration i. Der plæderes for, at Rousseau optager og transponerer såvel principper som konkrete overvejelser uanset den forskelige historiske kontekst og de dermed sammenhængende forskellige udformninger og mål for opdragelsen. I anden del diskuteres Rousseaus ’platonisme’ i mere overordnet filosofisk sammenhæng, og der argumenteres for, at Rousseaus utraditionelle, pædagogisk-filosofiske Platon-læsning dels kan ses at fremdrage underbelyste centrale tematikker i Platons filosofi, dels (...) understreger deres stadige aktualitet. (shrink)

There is no concept, no matter how strange, in which human beings are not willing to believe fervently, so long as it offers some comfort from the knowledge that one day they will no longer exist, so long as it gives him them hope of some form of eternal life. Norbert Elias1.

Depuis près d'un demi-siècle, Madame Hélène Ackermans a coopéré très activement à l'organisation de l'École des sciences philosophiques et religieuses des F.U.S.L. Avec Monseigneur Henri Van Camp, elle a donné à la tribune des leçons publiques sa renommée internationale; auprès de l'actuel comité de direction, elle n'a cessé de prodiguer ses multiples compétences et ses conseils avisés. En hommage à son travail, il a été demandé à quelques-uns des penseurs avec lesquels Madame Hélène Ackermans a noué des liens d'amitié, de (...) réfléchir au rôle de la philosophie dans la Cité. (shrink)

Este estudio trata de la dinámica de la voluntad que, como facultad espiritual junto con la inteligencia, existe en un relacionamiento con el ser; en el caso de la primera, con el ser como bondad, lo que ontológicamente se llama amor natural. Ahora bien, el mundo ético exige un amor de elección, lo que abre el tema de la libertad humana y su papel en el sentido de la existencia del hombre. En la síntesis tomista queda claro que, aunque el (...) hombre es principalmente un ser cognitivo, él no puede conocerse plenamente sin dar significado adecuado a su capacidad volitiva. También queda claro que el papel de la voluntad en la acción humana no puede ser comprendido sin ver la relación que la misma tiene con su raíz en el ser. En consecuencia se puede decir que el amor al bien surge como seña de identidad de la voluntad, tanto en Ontología cuanto en Ética. (shrink)