Es ist für uns alltäglich geworden: Bilder von in Syrien ermordeten oder im Mittelmeer ertrunkenen Kindern, Aufmärsche von Rechtspopulisten, Billigkleidung aus den Händen unterbezahlter Näherinnen. Oft spüren wir den Wunsch, einfach nicht hinzuschauen, abzuschalten. Wir tragen dieses betretene Gefühl mit uns herum, und tun oft... nichts. Weil wir glauben, die Diskussionen lohnen doch nicht. Aber auch weil wir wissen, dass wir anecken und als Weltverbesserer verunglimpft werden. Wer kritisiert und sich engagiert, gilt schnell als naiv. Es gibt viele Stimmen, die (...) uns erklären, warum das Gute nicht getan werden kann - auch in unserem Kopf. Die Philosophin Hilal Sezgin widerspricht ihnen und zeigt, warum es sich lohnt, Haltung zu zeigen - für eine tolerante, demokratische, gerechtere Gesellschaft und für uns selbst. Sie plädiert für eine Ethik, in der nicht Rechthaben, Konkurrenz und Verzicht im Vordergrund stehen, sondern gemeinsames Handeln für eine bessere Welt. Kurz: Sie macht dem Leser Mut zur eigenen Courage. (Quelle: buch.ch). (shrink)

This study focuses on why some companies in developing countries go beyond environmental regulations when implementing their corporate environmental social responsibilities or citizenship behavior. Drawing mainly upon the new institutional theory, this study develops a conceptual framework to explain three institutional factors: companies’ market orientations, industrial characteristics, and corporate identities. Accordingly, we suggest that companies from developing countries that are oriented to markets in developed countries, operate in highly concentrated industries, and have missionary identities adopt corporate environmental citizenship behavior by (...) going beyond environmental regulations. The study also discusses the theoretical, policy, and managerial implications of the conceptual framework. (shrink)

Critical thinking continues to be viewed as a prerequisite skill for lifelong learning. It is not surprising therefore, that academic programmes delineate CT as a goal and a learning outcome. However, there are concerns regarding the extent to which the aims and objectives of the programmes are aligned with pedagogies for CT. Both the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and the Lebanese Baccalaureate Programme clearly delineate CT as a goal and a learning outcome. The study examines the facilitation of teaching CT (...) in the IBDP and LBP. The study was conducted in two schools located in Lebanon; one teaching the IBDP and the other the LBP. Semi structured interviews, questionnaires, and class visits were used to collect data pertaining to the teaching of CT in the two programmes in grades 11 and 12. The study is pioneering in studying the contribution of both programmes to the teaching of CT in Lebanese schools. (shrink)

Erteleme davranışı ve yetersizlik duygusu, bireyin yaşam kalitesini olumsuz etkileyen iki önemli faktördür. Öte yandan, maneviyat bireylere güç, moral ve anlam kazandırarak, zorluklarla başa çıkmada ve olumsuz duygularla mücadelede önemli bir içsel kaynak sunar. Bu çalışma, yetişkin bireylerde erteleme davranışı ile yetersizlik duygusu arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemek ve bu ilişkinin üzerinde maneviyatın oynadığı rolü araştırmak amacıyla hazırlanmıştır. Çalışma nicel desenli ve ilişkisel tarama yöntemi ile tasarlanmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemi, yaşları 18 ile 60 arası değişen 600 gönüllü kadın ve erkek katılımcıdan oluşmaktadır. Veriler, (...) katılımcıların demografik özelliklerine ilişkin kişisel bilgi formu, Maneviyat Ölçeği, Genel Erteleme Davranışı Ölçeği ve Yetersizlik Duygusu Ölçeği ile Google forms anket yöntemi vasıtasıyla online olarak toplanmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda yetişkin bireylerde genel erteleme davranışı ile maneviyat arasında negatif yönde anlamlı ilişki tespit edilmiştir. Katılımcıların maneviyat düzeyi arttıkça erteleme davranışı azalmaktadır. Yetersizlik duygusu ile maneviyat arasında negatif yönde anlamlı ilişki tespit edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte maneviyat, erteleme davranışını anlamlı düzeyde yordamakta ve erteleme davranışını %5,3 açıklamaktadır. Katılımcıların maneviyat düzeyi arttıkça yetersizlik duygusu azalmaktadır. Bununla birlikte maneviyat, yetersizlik duygusunu anlamlı düzeyde yordamakta ve yetersizlik duygusunu %6,1 açıklamaktadır. Yetersizlik duygusu ile genel erteleme davranışı arasında pozitif yönde anlamlı ilişki tespit edilmiştir. Katılımcıların erteleme davranışı arttıkça yetersizlik duygusu da artmaktadır. Maneviyat ile erteleme davranışı arasındaki ilişkide yetersizliğin aracılık rolü anlamlı olup kısmen aracılık ettiği bulunmuştur. Buna bağlı olarak maneviyat ve yetersizlik duygusunun birlikteliği, erteleme davranışını %15,8 açıklamaktadır. Sosyodemografik özellikler ile Maneviyat Ölçeği, Genel Erteleme Davranışı Ölçeği ve Yetersizlik Duygusu Ölçeği arasında anlamlı düzeyde farklılıkların olduğu görülmekle birlikte bazı bağımsız değişkenler ile anlamlı düzeyde farklılıkların olmadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. (shrink)

The ultimate goal of this dissertation is to expose Friedrich Nietzsche’s critically neglected account of empathic concern. In what follows, I will briefly present the main ideas and purpose of the project, and include necessary background. -/- Since a significant portion of Nietzsche’s work on moral psychology and ethics is directed toward naturalizing and conceptually redefining the metaphysical implications of Arthur Schopenhauer’s account of compassion, I begin by critically examining Schopenhauer’s metaphysics. At its simplest, Schopenhauer’s narrative goes as follows: the (...) phenomenal world is determined and driven by a metaphysical striving and yearning (more clearly, a will-to-live) that can never be satisfied. We have access to this underlying reality of existence, i.e., the thing-in-itself, subjectively, in the inner awareness which we have of our own experience of willing. -/- Unfortunately, the subtleties and nuances of Schopenhauer’s understanding of inner awareness and its centrality within his overall oeuvre have generally been overlooked or underappreciated by scholars. I suspect that the main reason for this problem is that there does not seem to be an adequate account of the relation between representation and willing in Schopenhauer’s system. I offer an in-depth analysis of Schopenhauer’s understanding of inner awareness, as well as demonstrate its significance as the essential precursor to self-knowledge and world-understanding. -/- The thing-in-itself, a term Schopenhauer borrows from Immanuel Kant, signifies a fundamental reality that underlies the apparent diversity and change in the world, a reality that is distinct from what is merely temporal or changeable. Schopenhauer’s identification of the thing-in-itself with the will has been deeply problematic and puzzling to commentators, because willing and striving is temporal, and no temporal phenomenon can be identical to the thing-in-itself. I distinguish between three distinct views that Schopenhauer formulates about the thing-in-itself, and suggest to understand these three accounts as contrasting but not contradictory views, in other words as different perspectives on the same reality. -/- Next, I examine the theory of empathy that Nietzsche presents in his book, Daybreak, as an alternative to Schopenhauer’s account of compassion, which is solely based on his metaphysics of the will. For Schopenhauer, compassion is associated with an instinctual recognition that beneath our apparent separateness as individuals, we are in fact the expression of the same metaphysical will. Nietzsche moves away from this metaphysical conception and calls, instead, for a naturalistic account in which empathy relies on a sense of psychological closeness and perceived similarity to others, which then results in a feeling of oneness between individuals. Yet, for Nietzsche, this feeling of oneness manifests itself as a sense of being in solidarity with others who share similar experiences, while still recognizing one another’s numerical distinctiveness. -/- Finally, I examine Nietzsche’s assessment of the value of compassion. Nietzsche seems to be critical of all compassion but at times also seems to praise a different form of compassion, which he refers to as ‘our compassion’ and contrasts it with ‘your compassion’. Some commentators have interpreted this to mean that Nietzsche’s criticism is not as unconditional as it may seem–that he does not condemn compassion entirely. I disagree and contend that even though Nietzsche appears to speak favorably of some forms of compassion, he regards all compassion as fundamentally bad. I argue that, for Nietzsche, ‘our compassion’, however regrettable qua compassion it is, may give occasion for a rare and peculiar insight into ‘co-suffering’ with others, which in turn results in overcoming compassion entirely. (shrink)

The general attitude towards Arthur Schopenhauer’s metaphysics is rather fiercely critical and at times even tendentious. It seems that the figure of Schopenhauer as an irredeemably flawed, stubborn, and contradictory philosopher serves as a leitmotiv among scholars. Schopenhauer’s identification of the thing-in-itself with the will continues to be a thorny puzzle in the secondary literature, and it presents perhaps the greatest challenge to Schopenhauer scholars. Schopenhauer borrows the term ‘thing-in-itself’ from Immanuel Kant, who uses it to refer to a reality (...) that is distinct from what appears to us, and hence unknowable. Despite the fact that several interpretations have been offered to make sense of Schopenhauer’s identification of the thing-in-itself with the will, there appears to be no consensus about how to interpret this identification as well as his understanding of the term ‘thing-in-itself’. Unlike the other interpretations, the interpretation that I offer here distinguishes between three distinct and mutually incompatible views that Schopenhauer formulates about the thing-in-itself. I argue that it is not only difficult to give a coherent, consistent account of Schopenhauer’s position, but also not worth trying, because such an endeavor comes at the cost of ignoring the textual richness and depth of thought that Schopenhauer’s works offer. (shrink)

Nietzsche is known for his penetrating critique of Mitleid. He seems to be critical of all compassion but at times also seems to praise a different form of compassion, which he refers to as “our compassion” and contrasts it with “your compassion”. Some commentators have interpreted this to mean that Nietzsche’s criticism is not as unconditional as it may seem – that he does not condemn compassion entirely. I disagree and contend that even though Nietzsche appears to speak favorably of (...) some forms of compassion, he regards the nature of all compassion to be fundamentally bad. Furthermore, I suggest that Nietzsche’s discussion on different forms of compassion have significant implications for achieving greatness and meaning in life. More specifically, I argue that, for Nietzsche, “our compassion,” however regrettable qua compassion it is, may give occasion for a rare and peculiar insight into “co-suffering” with others, which in turn results in overcoming compassion entirely. I also argue that although Nietzsche objects to compassion, he approves of a form of what feminist theorists might now call “anticipatory empathy.” Even though a large body of literature has evolved over Nietzsche’s critical evaluation of compassion, his understanding of a non-compassionate response to suffering is, in my view, rather overlooked and should receive more attention. (shrink)

This study was carried out to determine the ethical sensitivity levels of students enrolled in the nursing faculty. The sample of the descriptive study consisted of 594 students who were taught at the Faculty of Nursing in February - May 2018 and agreed to participate in the study. The data were collected by Personal Information Form prepared by researchers to evaluate the demographic characteristics of students and The Modified Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire for Student Nurses. The data obtained from the application (...) were analyzed using SPSS for Windows 23.0 program. The majority of the students (75.9%) participating in the study were women and 74.9% stated that they internalized the profession. The total score average of The Modified Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire for Student Nurses is 4.93 ± 0.49. While the lowest average score in all classes is “Experiencing Ethical Dilemma” sub-dimension, the highest average score is in the “Interpersonal Orientation” sub-dimension. It is the 3 rd year student with the highest average score received from the scale. It was determined that the ethical sensitivity of the nursing students was medium and there was a significant difference between the ethical sensitivity levels of the students between the classes. It is thought that ensuring the continuity of the ethical education of the nursing students will be effective in increasing the awareness of the students on the subject. For this reason, it is recommended to integrate ethical issues in all courses in the structuring of nursing education curriculum programs. (shrink)

İran’ın kuzeybatısında İslam coğrafya âlimlerinin Cibâl olarak tavsif ettikleri bölgede Sâsânîler döneminde kurulan Kazvin, İslâm orduları tarafından bölgede ele geçirilen ilk İran şehirlerinden biri olmuştur. Kuruluşundan itibaren Deylem cihetine yönelik saldırılarda askerî karargâh amaçlı kullanılan kent, İslâm fetihleriyle de bu hüviyetini korumuştur. Halkın İslâm’ı benimsemesinin zamanı ve niteliği hususunda ihtilaflar olmakla birlikte Kazvin'de kısa süre içinde İslâmlaşma tamamlanmıştı. Garnizon kent olmasından kaynaklı iskân ettirilen Arap askerler, diğer beldelerden sınıra cihada gelen Müslümanlar, âlimler ve şehre ayrı imtiyazlarda bulunan halifeler sebebiyle şehir (...) kısa süre içinde fizikî ve kültürel olarak İslâm şehrine dönüşmüştür. Çalışmamızda örnekleriyle somutlaştıracağımız bu unsurlardan ilk olarak Kazvin fatihi Berâ b. Âzib tarafından şehre yerleştirilen Arap askerlerinden aralarında âlim ve ravilerin de bulunduğu kimselerin askerî faaliyetler dışında şehrin İslâm kültür ve medeniyetine katkılarından bahsedeceğiz. Keza İslâm büyükleri ve halifeler tarafından sınırda cihat etmenin faziletine dair sözleri ile teşvik edilen gönüllü askerleri ve gerek evlerinde gerekse camilerde ilim faaliyetlerini sürdüren âlimleri de bu minvalde zikredeceğiz. Son olarak bu askerler için kale, sûr ve şehrin sınıra yakın bölgelerinde inşa edilen mahalleler ile fiziki ortamı sağlayan, şehirde sürekli cihat ortamı olması hasebiyle halkı vergilerden muaf tutan ve vakıflarla malî destekte bulunan halifeleri ve sair idarî amillleri de kentin İslamlaşmasındaki diğer unsurlar arasında ele alacağız. (shrink)

Nietzsche is not known for his theory of empathy. A quick skimming of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on empathy demonstrates this. Arthur Schopenhauer, Robert Vischer, and Theodor Lipps are among those whose views are considered representative, but Nietzsche has been simply forgotten in discussion of empathy. Nietzsche’s theory of empathy has not yet aroused sufficient interest among commentators. I believe that his views on this subject merit careful consideration. Nietzsche scholars have been interested in his naturalistic accounts of (...) other phenomena, but there seems to be relatively limited interest in his naturalistic account of a phenomenon that is so central to his disagreement with Schopenhauer, namely, empathic concern for others. This is surprising because Nietzsche makes a valuable contribution; he has views more in keeping with contemporary theories of empathy than others of his time. My goal here is to fill in this gap in the scholarship and provide the first thorough analysis of Nietzsche’s theory of empathy, which appears most clearly in Dawn. (shrink)

I argue against a prevailing interpretation of Schopenhauer’s account of inner awareness and world-understanding. Because scholars have typically taken on board the assumption that inner awareness is non-representational, they have concerned themselves in the main with how to transfer this immediate cognition of will in ourselves and apply it to our understanding of the world–as–representation. Some scholars propose that the relation of the world-as-will to the world-as-representation is to be understood in figurative or metaphorical terms. I disagree because, for Schopenhauer, (...) inner awareness reveals a genuine philosophical truth. Some scholars also suggest that it is only via analogical transference that one can interpret the world as having the same inner nature as oneself. I disagree and point out the downside of this suggestion. I use both textual evidence and general philosophical considerations to demonstrate that inner awareness, for Schopenhauer, has a representational dimension. Overlooking this point has led scholars to misconstrue how inner awareness relates to world-understanding. I provide an alternative interpretation against figurative and analogical readings. I propose that, for Schopenhauer, we cognize partially a priori that all things are merely different expressions of the same activity that we are acquainted with in inner awareness. (shrink)

This paper seeks to explore why women’s participation in the Jordanian workforce remains comparatively low—despite an increase in the number of employed women across many countries and regions. Focusing on the Jordanian private sector, where the greatest disparities lie, we assess the conformity between the provisions that regulate family-related rights in the workplace within national labour law and international law. From this examination, we conclude that whilst law offers the potential for significant positive change in the Jordanian labour market, and (...) notwithstanding the labour law reforms which took place between 2000 and 2020, the underlying structure of the existing laws is inimical to the goal of women’s full participation. Using a women’s rights perspective, we argue that, instead of piecemeal reform, the labour law sphere must be revised as a whole to better accommodate respect for women’s needs in the workplace. This change must be underpinned by family-friendly legislation, which, as our study shows, is a key factor in alleviating some of the major challenges facing women workers. (shrink)

Molla Lutfī of Tokat is one of the fifteenth-century Ottoman scholars. His work “Risālah (Kalimāt) Muta'alliqah bi Ayah al- Ḥajj” covers many jurisprudential issues about al- Ḥajj (pilgrimage). In the mentioned work, he criticized the interpretation for the verses 196-198 of surah al Baqarah in the book “al-Kashshāf 'an Haqā'iq Ghawāmid al- Tanzīl wa 'Uyūn al-Aqāwīl fī Wujūh al-Ta'wīl” which is written predominantly in dirāyah method by the Mu’tazilī scholar al-Zamakhsharī, and the commentaries and annotations written on this interpretation. This (...) study discusses the conditions of Ḥajj, the isssue whether the ʿUmrah is wajib or not, abrogation of an āyah by an hadith, the time for three days fasting during Ḥajj, certain times for performing the rituals of Ḥajj, the issue whether the waqfa on Arafah is wajib or not, and also Molla Lutfi’s views and objections on these topics. (shrink)

This paper deals with the concept of alienation which is present in Kafka’s writings. “The Hunger Artist” is one of the best known and most discussed stories written by Kafka which displays the theme of alienation. The paper argues that alienation is a concept which originated in the philosophical discussions proposed by Hegel and which went through changes and started to be contextualised from a sociological perspective by Marx. The paper suggests that the short story entitled “The Hunger Artist” displays (...) the artist’s alienation which can be compared with the conceptualisations made by Marx. In order to examine this relation firstly, Kafka as an artist with the striking themes and style of his writings is covered deeply. Then, the concept of alienation as discussed by Marx is examined. The final section is spared for establishing a bridge between Marxist theory of alienation and Kafka as can be observed in “The Hunger Artist.”“For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,Th’ oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumelyThe pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,The insolence of office, and the spurnsThat patient merit of th’ unworthy takes,When he himself might his quietus makeWith a bare bodkin?”. (shrink)

In this study, teleological judgments were examined as having a part of the boundless relationship of reason with the universal and unconditional, based on Kant's critical philosophy. To do this, firstly, the distinction between telos and skopos has been pointed out. The cognitive faculties of the subject as the source of finality in nature and the concepts of purposeless purposefulness were discussed. We emphasized that according to Kant's critical philosophy, the introduction of the concept of God as an internal principle (...) to natural science would be characterized as false belief. This trespassing, which causes a narrative that goes beyond the limits of our knowledge, was discussed in the context of the processes of acquiring knowledge in Kant's philosophy. In this regard, according to Kant the nature of the transition from teleological judgments to theological judgments was investigated. At the beginning of the study, the relation of telos with infinity was discussed. Afterward, the idea of purposefulness, which organizes itself in nature and eliminates blind randomness, was emphasized. The basis of the teleological principle as the inner principle of natural science was analyzed. The possibility of placing the concept of God on this very ground was discussed. It was pointed out that the characteristics of universality and necessity that Kant attributed to purposefulness were not only based on the grounds of experience. At this point, it was stated that to achieve universality, it is necessary to base on an a priori principle at the same time. The possibility that this principle could be an intention (Alm. Absicht) or a final end (Alm. Endzweck) was discussed. We focused on the request of the reason, which is applied to the conditioned and the finite, to reach the unconditional. It was stated that for Kant, the reason for the transition from teleological judgments to theological judgments was the effort to see purposeful regularity in phenomena. It was pointed out that it is a necessary step of the mind to lead this regularity to a higher telos and even to a creator, to the first being. We emphasized that concerning Kant’s critical philosophy if the concept of God was placed on the ground of natural science and the purposefulness in nature would be explained with this, and this method was used to prove the existence of God that would create an internal and non-permanent narrative. It was discussed whether this claim was an illusion. At this point, the task of the imagination performed with telos was examined. Evaluations about the concept of telos as the common ground of the subjective and the universal were included. As a result, it has been investigated how the search for the constant existing in the human mind can lead him to the existence of a God in the chain of causality. (shrink)

In Nietzsche and Sociology: Prophet of Affirmation, Anas Karzai attempts to revive and defend the thesis that there is a crucial yet neglected connection between Nietzsche and sociology. In particular, Karzai’s book discusses the relevance of Nietzsche’s critical reflections on society and culture to modern sociological theory, which descends from Kant and Comte through Marx and Engels to Durkheim and Weber. The book has a critical agenda as well. By making use of Nietzsche’s insights into society, culture, and politics, Karzai (...) hopes to expose how modern sociological theory retains many of the assumptions and approaches that gained a foothold during the reign of orthodox positivism of the 19th century, which reflect traditional sociology’s stubborn preoccupation with the issues of social order and moral integration. -/- . (shrink)

Participation in experimental studies can be conceptualized as Goffmanian frames, i.e. a set of rules which include the fact the experimenter will be observing participant behavior through (the recording of) the experiment. This study is focused on frame breaches in 16 video- and audio-recorded dyadic conversations taking place in an experimental setting. Our main conclusion is that the experimental frame is conceptualized by participants as including constraints that go beyond non-experimental interactions, and in particular the need to mitigate frame breaches, (...) which are seen as face-threatening. Analyses revealed that participants only broke the research frame after they completed the task they were assigned by the researcher, and that breaches did not necessarily correspond to changes in key. Insights gained in relation to face and mitigation are discussed, as well as the participants’ need to determine their next steps once the research purpose has been perceived complete. (shrink)

Global shortages of healthcare workers, particularly nurses, have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, putting significant pressure on healthcare systems worldwide. According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN), 13 million additional nurses are urgently needed to meet global demand. Nurses, who are the backbone of patient care, have faced unprecedented ethical dilemmas, particularly in intensive care units (ICUs), where resource allocation, such as ventilator management and triage decisions, often conflict with basic ethical principles. This study seeks to contribute to (...) the literature by examining the effect of the ethical dilemmas experienced by ICU nurses during COVID-19 pandemic on emotional exhaustion and turnover intention and testing whether emotional exhaustion has a mediating role on the relationship between ethical dilemma and turnover intention. The research model was tested with partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM) in the package program SmartPLS. The bias-corrected bootstrapping (resampling) method was applied to the sample of 189 nurses who work in the intensive care units in the hospitals in the East Black Sea Region of Türkiye. The research results indicated that ethical dilemma is positively associated with emotional exhaustion (β = 0.305, 95% CI [0.167–0.407]), and turnover intention (β = 0.156, 95% CI [0.146—0.423]). In addition, emotional exhaustion has a complementary partial mediation effect (B = 0.149, 95% CI [0.083–0.215]) between ethical dilemma and turnover intention among ICU nurses. (shrink)

Utopia has always been a political concept and utopian fiction establishes a link between the illustration of a desirable world and the condition of politics. The imaginary, desirable, yet attainable societies described in utopian fiction bring us face to face with our mental imprisonment. Utopia p rovides us with the ideal world of justice, human rights, freedom, and equality. Illustration of an ideal world in fiction is a step towards the establishment of a just, equal, and free world. The present (...) focus of this study is on Le Guin's short story entitled "The ones who walk away from Ornelas," which pictures an untraditional kind of utopia and in which Le Guin criticises human rights, justice, freedom, and morality via a scapegoat motif. The analysis of the story directs us to the political concept of utopia while depicting the boundaries of the utopian genre. (shrink)

The year 2020 began with the world being controlled by a then-unknown force. This unknown force would later be called a coronavirus or Covid-19. Not a single country would be free from infection by this virus. We are petrified with astonishment when confronted with this disease. Initially, after admitting the reality, we started struggling with and revolting against this virus. Time has led us to the consideration of our existence. This pandemic inclines us to revisit the major themes in existential (...) philosophy discussed by Sartre in the Nausea and the philosophy of the absurd by Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus, The Plague, and The Stranger. The study addresses the concepts of anxiety, suffering, freedom, self-deception, absurdity, and choices. When confronted with the reality of the disease, we are shocked by an odd sensation like what Roquentin felt in his experience of nausea. This bizarre feeling brought an initial rejection, a self-deception followed by suffering, and a reflection of one's freedom. The concept of freedom leads us to certain decisions we make and the choices we are offered. The absurdity brought about by the pandemic is a reality that we must accept as it is. How would Sisyphus feel if he were living in the present? The struggle by Sisyphus can be our struggle now against a coronavirus. We feel condemned to roll a rock to the top of a mountain, a punishment that seems like 'futile and hopeless labor.' However, we are stronger than our rock. The paper presents a parallelism between our suffering during the pandemic and the sufferings of Sisyphus and Roquentin. (shrink)

Purpose Moor designated two major problem sources typifying the social and ethical implications of computer technologies, namely, “policy vacuum” and “conceptual muddles.” Motivated by Moor’s seminal definition and Floridi’s conceptualization of information and communication technologies as re-ontologizing technologies, this study aims to explore Omani undergraduates’ cognition regarding ICT ethics. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a grounded theory approach for the constant comparative thematic analysis, the constituents of ICT ethics-related cognition among undergraduates and influencing factors were scrutinized. Qualitative data were gathered via focus group (...) discussions with undergraduates and interviews with academics and information systems professionals at Sultan Qaboos University. Findings In total, 10 thematic categories revolving around a core category, constructing conceptual perceptions of and attitudes toward the realms constituting ICT ethics using an ontological, object-oriented approach, emerged from the comparative analysis. Undergraduates were found to adopt an applied approach when defining professional ICT ethics codes and policies, with a particular focus on information privacy and integrity. Research limitations/implications This qualitative study was conducted at a single research site. This may restrict the generalizability of the findings. Postgraduates were not considered when designing this qualitative inquiry. Originality/value The findings of the study hold theoretical and methodological significance with regard to ICT ethics-related cognition in the era following the fourth industrial revolution by sustaining feminist ethics in this research. Ultimately, the study developed a substantive theory scrutinizing the constitutive elements of ICT ethics-related cognition among Generation Z. (shrink)