A travel management programme allows an organisation to manage corporate travel expenditure, and through a well-formulated travel policy, to control its travel expenses. However, traveller non-compliance of the travel policy is an increasing area of concern with surveys conducted amongst travellers showing various reasons for non-compliance, both deliberate and unknowing. The purpose of this article is to look beyond the reasons and identify the underlying factors that influence travel policy compliance. Two broad categories of factors that lead to non-compliance are (...) distinguished: those related to the corporate travel policy as formulated and communicated by the organisation, referred to as corporate-related factors and including issues of corporate culture and business ethics; and those related to the person of the corporate traveller, referred as personal-related factors and including issues of personal ethics. This article makes a first attempt at identifying factors that have not previously been recognised in those industry or academic studies done on non-compliance or violation of the corporate travel policy. (shrink)

This article presents the results of the empirical testing of the corporate travel policy compliance model conceptualised by the authors and first published in the Journal of Business Ethics in 2009. In the previous article, the theory underlying the model was explained. This article follows with the results of the empirical testing of the model and focusses on those related to the influence of personal factors on policy compliance. The constructs used to define personal-related factors include personal ethics, individual morality, (...) self-interest, levels of job- and life satisfaction and the conditions of travel. The empirical investigation sought to determine if personal-related factors significantly influenced travel policy compliance and from the study it could be concluded that there is a correlation, with certain factors exhibiting a stronger correlation than others. The implication is that organisations need to understand the impact of factors previously ignored or under-valued as determinants of non-compliance and take steps to recognise and remedy the situation to achieve higher levels of travel policy compliance amongst corporate travellers. (shrink)

Thirty years of debate have passed since the term “Rule of Rescue” has been introduced into medical ethics. Its main focus was on whether or why medical treatment for acute conditions should have priority over preventive measures irrespective of opportunity costs. Recent contributions, taking account of the widespread reluctance to accept purely efficiency-oriented prioritization approaches, advance another objection: Prioritizing treatment, they hold, discriminates against statistical lives. The reference to opportunity costs has also been renewed in a distinctly ethical fashion: It (...) has been stipulated that favoring help for identifiable lives amounts to a lack of benevolence for one’s fellow creatures. The present article argues against both objections. It suggests that the debate’s focus on consequences should be reoriented by asking which aspects of such states of affairs are actually attributable to a decision maker who judges within a specific situation of choice. (shrink)

The Adequate Cause Theory: On the relation of Philosophical and Legal Concepts of Causality. The paper discusses the first explicit and logically convincing introduction of a concept of probabilistic causality into legal theories of causation in Germany by Johannes von Kries (1888). First, it is shown how this step was prepared by the failure of the philosophical analysis of causation which took its leading examples from physics to overcome the difficulties which presented themselves in cases of "irreducible multicausality". Secondly, I (...) give the basic ideas of Kries's connection of causal theory and probability theory by presenting his concept of "scope" ("Spielraum"). Finally, I turn to some concepts which are still controversively discussed in legal contexts and which exhibit the logical structure analysed by Kries. It is shown that a certain indefiniteness of the relevant distinctions, which cannot be overcome, does not paralyse their being useful. (shrink)

L’hypothèse qu’énonce Arnold Gehlen d’un retour possible de la religion dans la vie politique est le point de départ de cette étude, qui la soumet à un examen critique. On lui oppose que la dépolitisation de la religion en Europe – le grand acquis des Lumières – est une tendance lourde qui n’est pas prête de se renverser en son contraire. Il convient en réalité de distinguer trois choses : la religion politique, illustrée à partir de la révolution iranienne de (...) 1979, la théologie politique et la religion civile. En outre, la théologie politique est entendue en deux sens distincts : au sens de Carl Schmitt, qui fait de la théologie un programme de recherche académique et au sens de la théologie de la libération de Metz et de Moltmann, qui repose sur l’espoir de repolitiser la religion. (shrink)

The reply concentrates on advancing again my third thesis, which has not directly been taken up by Breyer and Kliemt. The thesis says that both criticisms against the Rule of Rescue - the irrationality objection, which Breyer and Kliemt try to defend, and the objection that the Rule is discriminatory, which they do not defend - are the results of insufficient action-theoretical reflection. I argue that Breyer's and Kliemt's objection to the Rule, unstable as it is in their comment, is (...) not even clearly identifiable if they do not take a stance towards the central question: Do they want to -and, if so, can they consistently -incorporate people's interest in taking account of the attributability of an outcome to a decision maker into their utility concept? (shrink)

This article examines the claim that the practice of selective abortion after prenatal testing discriminates against the disabled. First, the difference between a legal claim and a weaker and less clearly addressed, but more frequently expressed »moral« claim is considered. The argument proceeds then by considering the analogy of »discriminating« against the disabled in partner choice. The liberal idea of a sphere of privacy where selective behaviour is nottobe criticised is assessed and its justitiable and non-justifiable aspects are brought out.

L'analyse du concept de « sécularisation » et l'observation des données sociales et culturelles montrent que le « contrôle social » exercé par les institutions religieuses s'est affaibli dans nos sociétés modernes. Mais les changements dans la réalité de la vie sociale ne signifient pas la disparition de la religion : la culture sécularisée, inévitable et légitime, est une culture dans laquelle la religion, à titre de fait anthropologique, est ajustée à la différenciation et à la dynamique institutionnelle et culturelle (...) des sociétés modernes. The analysis of « secularization » and the observation of social and cultural facts point out that the « social control » operated by religious institutions is weakened in our modern societies. But the transformation of social life doesn't mean a decline of religion; secularized culture, unavoidable and legitimate, is a culture where religion, as an anthropological fact, is adapted to the institutional and cultural différenciation and dynamism of modern societies. (shrink)

Opposed to Norman's proposal, processing of affordance is likely to occur not solely in the dorsal stream but also in the ventral stream. Moreover, the dorsal stream might do more than just serve an important role in motor actions. It supports egocentric location coding as well. As such, it would possess a form of representational memory, contrary to Norman's proposal.

It cannot be stated with certainty that the process of enlightenment (Aufklärung) is irreversible. In many systems the tendency to dogmatize the ideologies by means of which political systems define their identity, invariably dominates the emancipatory tendencies of the intelligentsia. In recent years it has become clear that one has to add to this the fact that in the context of the international student youth movement, part of the intelligentsia is unmistakably fascinated by what dogmatism has been able to achieve (...) as far as integration and orientation are concerned; and thus actively ideological and political movements have been developed which are contrary to the process of enlightening clarification. It is obvious that philosophy plays an important part here.The present essay on the other hand stresses by way of compensation the traditional enlightening function of philosophy. The term “enlightening clarification” is understood here to mean that process in which the stock of assumptions in regard to reality about which one does not allow for discussion, and which thus, correspondingly, in its claim of validity, is morally and politically controlled and protected group-specifically, is reduced to a minimum. The process of clarification, thus, is a process by means of which our socially secured interestedness, namely that reality is in this way and not in any other way, gradually disintegrates. The institutional character of “universally accepted” truths as well as the hermeneutic and rhetorical technologies of man's enlightening clarification, whose function it is to dissolve this universal acceptance, are described in this essay in great detail. (shrink)

This book examines the role of British object relations theory in order to explore our understanding and treatment of depression. It challenges current conceptualizations of depression while simultaneously discussing the complex nature of depression, its long-lasting and chronic implications and the susceptibility to relapse many may face. Illuminated throughout by case studies, areas of discussion include: Freud’s theory of depression analytic subtypes of depression a theoretical contribution to the problem of relapse the correlation between dream work and the work of (...) mourning. _Object Relations in Depression_ offers a psychoanalytic discussion of the multifaceted nature of depression and as such will be of great interest to all those in the psychoanalytic field. (shrink)

Ever since Savage represented acts by reference to their consequences, it has remained unclear how this conceptual move and its implications for evaluating acts may be reconciled with what is treated as people's acts in everyday talk and in our societies' legal practices. The present contribution, first, comments on applied and theoretical debates to emphasize the systematic relevance of Savage's move. It then focuses on the purportedly causal element in the term "consequence." A simple case shows how the idea that (...) choices are causally connected to their consequences meets with problems. Possible consequentialist reactions are discussed. (shrink)

_The Borderline Psychotic Child_ reviews the history and evolution of the borderline diagnosis for children, both in the USA and the UK, bringing the reader up to date with current clinical opinion on the subject. Using a range of clinical case studies, the book attempts to harmonise US and UK views on borderline diagnosis in the light of new developments in theory at The Menninger Clinic, The Anna Freud Centre and The Tavistock Clinic. Providing an introduction to the borderline concept, (...) and a systematic overview of current theoretical thinking and clinical practices from leading practitioners in the field, _The Borderline Psychotic Child_ will make informative reading both for professionals and students in the field of child analysis. (shrink)

Weyma Lübbe is one of the most resolute contemporary critics of interpersonal welfare aggregation, as it lies at the heart of most consequentialist ethical theories. Her latest book is a rich extension of her numerous articles on this matter. The main object of criticism is the often-presumed moral relevance of welfare efficiency, for instance in rescue conflicts as they occur in health care systems with limited resources. The central philosophical starting point of her discussion is the ‘numbers debate’ introduced by (...) Philippa Foot and John Taurek, which questions the moral relevance of numbers, as opposed to fairness, when it comes to rescue conflicts between groups of different sizes. In decidedly anti-consequentialist fashion, Lübbe argues that (a) interpersonal welfare efficiency cannot play any foundational role in normative ethics (ch. 3). She also tries to prove (b) the inconsistency of any attempt to supplement welfarist axiologies by fairness aspects, denying the possibility to assign independent moral relevance to both aspects (ch. 4 and 5). In the constructive part of the book (ch. 5 and 6), she presents (c) her own account of distributive ethics based on the principle of equal concern for persons (“Gleichachtung”). (shrink)

The author reconstructs the concept of "anthropological historicism" of Hermann Lübbe, a contemporary German philosopher (born 1926), one of the main representatives of the so-called Joachim Ritter School. Lübbe reduces human identity to human individuality and individual awareness of the uniqueness of one's own biography—the history of the individual, which accumulates in a series of contingent experiences and their biographical effects. This approach omits the social and axiological dimension of the identity of a human being, which is emphasized by social (...) philosophers (Georg Herbert Mead, Thomas Luckmann). In the second part of the article, the author criticizes Lübbe's concept from these sociological positions, referring to the relevant polemics in German literature on the subject. (shrink)

Hermann Lübbe’s distinctive contribution to conceptual history needs to be seen in the discipline’s wider political context in post-war Germany. This contribution outlines the cultural conditions, intellectual backgrounds and institutional prerequisites of Lübbe’s pertinent work. An additional focus is twofold: On the one hand, the article describes Lübbe’s inimitable rhetoric of presence as a means of keeping philosophy in touch with contemporary real-world problems; on the other, it explores the question of how this philosopher’s style and conceptual productivity translate into (...) the peculiarities of a late work that awaits posterity’s interest and judgement in ever more changing and uncontrollable times. (shrink)

Zusammenfassung. Der Beitrag diskutiert die ethischen Grundlagen der sogenannten Triage (der Sortierung von Behandlungsbedürftigen in Dringlichkeitskategorien beim Massenanfall Verwundeter) und prüft, inwieweit eine Übertragung dieser Praxis auf eine unter Rationierungsdruck geratende Alltagsmedizin begründbar bzw. zu erwarten ist. Insbesondere wird der ethische Status der sog. Maximierungsregel („rette so viele Menschenleben wie möglich”) erläutert, und es werden die bereits in der katastrophenmedizinischen Praxis nicht ganz unwirksamen Grenzen der Orientierung an dieser Regel deutlich gemacht.

Hans Albert schrieb mir am 30. November 1986 in Reaktion auf mein Buch „Religion nach der Aufklärung“, die Frage, „ob Gott existiert“, sei für mich offensichtlich gar „keine Frage innerhalb des religiösen Lebens“. So ist es tatsächlich, und innerhalb meines „wissenschaftlichen Lebens“, soweit es sich mit dem Thema „Religion“ beschäftigte, fand ich für die Beschäftigung mit Gottesbeweisen auch keinen Anlass. In anderen Sachzusammenhängen gab es diesen Anlass durchaus – in sprachanalytischen Kontexten, nämlich bei Beschäftigungen mit Kants Satz zum Beispiel, „Sein“ (...) sei „kein reales Prädikat“. (shrink)

Enth.: Die neue Bürgerlichkeit der Philosophie / Walther Ch. Zimmerli. Fortschritt und Terror / Hermann Lübbe. Die Avantgarde und das Museum / Hermann Lübbe.

Keine ausführliche Beschreibung für "Kausalität und Zurechnung" verfügbar.

Verstoßen pränatale und präimplantive Selektion von Behinderten gegen das Diskriminierungsverbot? Die Antwort wird meist von der Frage nach dem Status des Embryos abhängig gemacht: Ist der Embryo Träger der Menschenwürde und des Rechts auf Leben, dann könne eine Entscheidung der Mutter gegen das Kind (soweit sie überhaupt gerechtfertigt werden kann) dem Diskriminierungsvorwurf nur entgehen, wenn sie nicht spezifisch im Blick auf den Behindertenstatus des Embryos fällt. Der vorliegende Beitrag 1. setzt nicht voraus, dass der Embryo kein Träger der Menschenwürde und (...) des Rechts auf Leben ist; 2. argumentiert, dass der Mutter die Berücksichtigung des Behindertenstatus gleichwohl nicht vorgeworfen werden kann, da dergleichen im privaten Bereich auch sonst häufig berücksichtigt wird und es gute Gründe gibt, das nicht generell zu verbieten; 3. macht deutlich, dass der starke intuitive Widerstand speziell gegen die Präimplantationsdiagnostik in der deutschen öffentlichen Debatte in etwas anderem als der Sorge um die Rechte der verworfenen Embryonen wurzelt und dass eine dementsprechende Umorientierung der Debatte dringend erforderlich ist. (shrink)