We sometimes strive to achieve difficult goals when our evidence suggests that success is unlikely – not just because it will require strength of will, but because we are targets of prejudice and discrimination or because success will require unusual ability. Optimism about one’s prospects can be useful for persevering in these cases. That said, excessive optimism can be dangerous; when our evidence is unfavourable, we should be at most agnostic about whether we will succeed. This paper explores the nature (...) and rational significance of agnostic practical commitments. Most importantly, the rationality of striving against the odds can depend on investing in a plan for failure: a plan B. I aim to make headway on an account of what backup plans are, how they are related to primary plans, and whether the standard norms of plan rationality apply to our agnostic commitments. (shrink)

Since its introduction in the 1980s, futility as a concept has held contested meaning and applications throughout medicine. There has been little discussion within the psychiatric literature about the use of futility in the care of individuals experiencing severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI), despite some tacit acceptance that futility may apply in certain cases of psychiatric illness. In this paper, we explore the literature surrounding futility and argue that its connotation within medicine is to describe situations where patients (or (...) their substitute decision-makers) believe that interventions will almost certainly provide no meaningful benefit. We then provide two arguments in support of the use of futility within the care of individuals experiencing SPMI: that some SPMI can be considered a terminal illness, and that the risk-benefit ratio is a dynamic entity such that futility can help describe what Gillett calls the ‘risk of unacceptable badness’ when it comes to considering how an intervention might impact a patient’s quality of life. We posit that capacity should not pose an obstacle to declaring futility when caring for individuals experiencing SPMI and explain how futility is not antithetical to recovery in mental health. Finally, we describe how using futility within psychiatric practice can allow for a reorientation of care by signalling the need to shift to a palliative approach. (shrink)

This paper argues that just as full beliefs can constitute knowledge, so can properties of your credence distribution. The resulting notion of probabilistic knowledge helps us give a natural account of knowledge ascriptions embedding language of subjective uncertainty, and a simple diagnosis of probabilistic analogs of Gettier cases. Just like propositional knowledge, probabilistic knowledge is factive, safe, and sensitive. And it helps us build knowledge-based norms of action without accepting implausible semantic assumptions or endorsing the claim that knowledge is interest-relative.

Human judgements are affected by the words in which information is presented —or ‘framed’. According to the standard gloss, ‘framing effects’ reveal counter-normative reasoning, unduly affected by positive/negative language. One challenge to this view suggests that number expressions in alternative framing conditions are interpreted as denoting lower-bounded (minimum) quantities. However, it is unclear whether the resulting explanation is a rationalising one. I argue that a number expression should only be interpreted lower-boundedly if this is what it actually means. I survey (...) how number expressions might be assigned lower-bounded meanings, due to their conventional semantics or pragmatic enrichment in context. I argue that deciding between these possibilities requires foundational philosophical input. (shrink)

The domain of professional ethics -- Virtue, ethics, and professional life -- Virtues, vices, and situations -- Professional wisdom -- Care -- Respectfulness -- Trustworthiness -- Justice -- Courage -- Integrity.

In a recent case, a Facebook user in Iran posted “death to Khamenei”, which the platform removed as a violation of its policy against threats and incitement. Facebook ultimately overturned the decision on the grounds that the speech, while contravening its rules, was newsworthy. Yet the company’s Oversight Board offered a distinct rationale for allowing the post: “death to Khamenei” wasn’t a threat or an incitement at all, but rather a rhetorical expression of criticism, disdain, or disgust. Who was right? (...) Drawing on longstanding distinctions in the philosophy of language, we argue that the answer depends on whether platform rules should primarily target an utterance’s illocutionary force or instead its perlocutionary effects. Using this case study to trace broader lessons for the proper governance of online speech, we argue that platforms’ rules should primarily target illocutionary force, only considering perlocutionary effects in cases where illocutionary force is ambiguous. (shrink)

In this paper, we theorize that the anticipation of guilt plays an important role in ethically questionable consumer situations. We propose an ethical decision-making framework incorporating anticipated guilt as partial mediator between consumers’ ethical beliefs (anteceded by ethical ideology) and intentions. In the first study, we compared several models using structural equation modeling and found empirical support for our research model. A second experiment was set up to illustrate how these new insights may be applied to prevent consumers from taking (...) advantage of the seller. Results showed that enhancing the anticipation of guilt (by making the interpersonal consequences of the unethical act more salient) increased consumers’ ethical intentions, controlling for ethical beliefs. Together these two studies might have important theoretical and managerial contributions. (shrink)

What is the best model of epistemic agency for virtue epistemology? Insofar as the intellectual and moral virtues are similar, it is desirable to develop models of agency that are similar across the two realms. Unlike Aristotle, the Stoics present a model of the virtues on which the moral and intellectual virtues are unified. The Stoics’ materialism and determinism also help to explain how we can be responsible for our beliefs even when we cannot believe otherwise. In this paper I (...) show how a neo-Stoic model of epistemic agency can address common objections to treating epistemic and moral agency similarly and allow a robust explanatory role for character in determining our actions and beliefs. The picture of epistemic responsibility that flows from this model also explains why we often deserve credit for our knowledge, while demonstrating that the truth of our beliefs is not something for which we are epistemically responsible. (shrink)

I use the psychological phenomenon of ‘attribute framing’ as a case study for exploring philosophical conceptions of semantics and the semantics-pragmatics divide. Attribute frames are pairs of sentences that use contradictory expressions to predicate the same property of an individual or object. Despite their equivalence, pairs of attribute frames have been observed to induce systematic variability in hearers’ responses. One explanation of such framing effects appeals to the distinct ‘reference point information’ conveyed by alternative frames. Although this information is taken (...) to be pragmatic, a live debate in the philosophy of language concerns the extent to which pragmatic information can really be held apart from semantics. Therefore, in this article I examine whether – and how – reference point information might be thought to intrude on the semantics of an attribute frame. I describe two ways in which the information might be considered broadly semantic, due to its being directly communicated or conventional. However, I argue that the framing data in fact support a narrower conception of semantics, and a semantics-pragmatics distinction that separates standing sentence meaning from enriched communicated meaning. (shrink)

Although I quickly review Philip Rossi’s larger argument in The Ethical Commonwealth in History, my focus in this article is on the implications of Rossi’s work for our characterizations of justice and citizenship on a Kantian account. For in arguing that a wise reading of Kant’s political theory allows us better to grasp his overarching aims, Rossi provides convincing evidence for a pair of challenges to the currently popular interpretation of that theory. These address the relationship between Kant’s moral and (...) political theories and the nature of the political task or project that Kantian citizens undertake. In challenging popular readings of these elements of Kant’s view, I suggest, Rossi supports an interpretation of Kantian political thought with particular resonance for our time. (shrink)

The study explores the use of Graphic Novels as an innovative form of training that may improve an individual’s ethical efficacy. A quantitative comparison of the graphic novel method and the traditional written case study is analyzed. The literature on ethics, graphic novels, and training are brought together from theories of narrative and literature perspective to formulate a study. The study uses a 2 × 2 repeated-measure MANOVA to analyze the participant’s reaction to bribery situations based on varying levels of (...) ‘grayness.’ The overall study finds that ethical efficacy increases with the use of the graphic novel method. The greatest improvements are in the individual’s level of self-efficacy and understanding of principle-based ethical issues. In addition, the participant’s level of industry experience may play a factor in applying the graphic novel technique. Finally, guidelines on how to effectively utilize the graphic novel method are stated. Improving ethical efficacy through business ethics training may help improve an individual’s self-efficacy, involvement and principle-based understanding. The study explores the use of Graphic Novels as an innovative form of training that may improve an individual’s ethical efficacy. A quantitative comparison of the graphic novel method and the traditional written case study are analyzed. Literature on ethics, graphic novels, and training are brought together with theories of narrative and literature perspective to formulate a study. The study uses a 2 × 2 repeated-measure MANOVA to analyze the participant’s reaction to bribery ethical situations based on varying levels of ‘grayness.’ The overall study finds that ethical efficacy increases with the use of the graphic novel method. The greatest improvements are in the individual’s level of self-efficacy and understanding of principle-based ethical issues. In addition, the participant’s level of industry experience may play a factor in applying the graphic novel technique. Finally, guidelines on how to effectively utilize the graphic novel method is set forth. (shrink)

Current orthodoxy in research ethics assumes that subjects of clinical trials reserve rights to withdraw at any time and without giving any reason. This view sees the right to withdraw as a simple extension of the right to refuse to participate all together. In this paper, however, I suggest that subjects should assume some responsibilities for the internal validity of the trial at consent and that these responsibilities should be captured by contract. This would allow the researcher to impose a (...) penalty on the subject if he were to withdraw without good reason and on a whim. This proposal still leaves open the possibility of withdrawing without penalty when it is in the subject's best interests to do so. Giving researchers recourse to legal remedy may now be necessary to protect the science, as existing methods used to increase retention are inadequate for one reason or another. (shrink)

This article explores the gender dynamics of ‘causing or allowing a child to die’, contrary to the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, section 5. This offence was intended to allow for prosecution where a child had been killed and it was uncertain who had killed him/her, but also to allow for prosecution of non-violent defendants who failed to protect him/her. More women than men have been charged and convicted of this offence signifying a reversal of usual patterns of (...) prosecution and conviction. This analysis interrogates how section 5 criminalises women who have experienced domestic abuse. Drawing on a case observation, reported cases and media reports of cases, I suggest this offence derives from and perpetuates patriarchal constructs of motherhood. Grounded in a feminist approach building on women’s concrete experiences of law, I conclude that section 5 should be amended so that it is only used where it cannot be ascertained which defendant actively harmed a child. (shrink)

Burge's thesis is the thesis that certain second-order self-ascriptionsare self-verifying in virtue of their self-referential form. The thesis hasrecently come under attack on the grounds that it does not yield a theory ofself-knowledge consistent with semantic externalism, and also on the groundsthat it is false. In this paper I defend Burge's thesis against both charges,in particular against the arguments of Bernecker, Gallois and Goldberg. Thealleged counterexamples they provide are merely apparent counterexamples, andthe thesis is adequate to its proper task. To (...) think otherwise is simply tomisunderstand the thesis. (shrink)

Mit Ueber Wahrheit und Lüge im aussermoralischen Sinne (1873) versucht Nietzsche, ein Jahr nach Publikation der Geburt der Tragödie, eine Auseinandersetzung mit zentralen Fragen der Sprachphilosophie durch die Hinterfragung der Möglichkeitsbedingungen des Denkens. Zunächst als private Gedankensammlung angelegt, wird diese Schrift im 20. Jahrhundert zu einem der prominentesten Paradigmen der sprachphilosophisch-ästhetischen Reflexion.

Launched in 1999, at a time of radical change for the publishing industry, Persephone Books has become a successful independent publisher of neglected female authors mainly from the 20th-century inter-war period. Publishing being an industry primarily shaped by the differential distribution of symbolic and economic capital, competing principles of cultural legitimacy within an increasingly commercial climate clarify the position of modern publishing at the intersection of culture and commerce. This article explores how Persephone Books’ understated assertion of publishing’s ‘middle ground’ (...) and commitment to the historically reviled ‘middlebrow’ genre have reconciled the perennial tension between culture and commerce to create a thriving yet unintentional publishing brand. (shrink)

This research addresses a lack of evidence on the positive and negative health outcomes of competitive online gaming and esports, particularly among young people and adolescents. Well-being outcomes, along with mitigation strategies were measured through a cross sectional survey of Australian gamers and non-gamers aged between 12 and 24 years, and parents of the 12–17-year-olds surveyed. Adverse health consequences were associated with heavy gaming, more so than light/casual gaming, suggesting that interventions that target moderated engagement could be effective. It provides (...) timely insights in an online gaming landscape that has rapidly evolved over the past decade, and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, to include the hyper-connected, highly commercialized and rapidly growing online gaming and esports sector. (shrink)

Dans The Elements of Drawing, le célèbre critique d’art anglais John Ruskin endosse le rôle de professeur pour livrer, en trois longues lettres adressées aux débutants, son enseignement sur l’art du dessin. De cet ouvrage hybride, mêlant exercices, observations sur les couleurs, commentaires de peintures et descriptions lyriques de la nature, la postérité retiendra principalement un court passage sur la formation de la perception. Dans une note de bas de page du premier chapitre, Ruskin nous dit en effet que « (...) toute la force de la technique picturale dépend de la possibilité pour nous de retrouver ce que nous pourrions appeler l’innocence de l’œil ». Cette note célèbre a fait l’objet de nombreux commentaires (chez E. Gombrich et N. Goodman notamment), qui viennent discuter, et souvent réfuter, la possibilité d’un regard vierge. À rebours des lectures de surplomb qui autonomisent ce passage et le transforment en « théorie », nous proposons de revenir au texte de Ruskin en pensant l’innocence de l’œil dans son articulation singulière et fondatrice aux exercices qui l’accompagnent. L’hypothèse que nous soumettons est la suivante : c’est l’exercice, dans sa conduite réitérée, qui permet de comprendre le sens de l’innocence perceptive. Bien loin d’un apprentissage scolaire, l’exercice du regard engage chez Ruskin une manière d’être au monde. (shrink)

This paper defends a version of epistemic contextualism that accounts for the ordinary judgements and theoretical principles that motivate pragmatic encroachment. Adopting this contextualist view, we can avoid the counterintuitive consequences of pragmatic encroachment, while still preserving its attractive applications.

In this essay, I develop the duty to care. I argue that certain needs do require a moral response. Under the duty to care, moral individuals must act so as to bolster and safeguard the agency of those in need. Substantively, the duty to care features five qualities. It endorses a wide variety of forms of care. It does not demand that caretakers feel certain emotions for their charges. It places limits on the extent of self-sacrifice involved in meeting others’’ (...) needs. It is action oriented. Finally, it is nonpaternalistic. I take a unique approach to develop the duty to care, bringing Kantian ethics and feminist care ethics into conversation with one another in order to highlight the exciting contributions that both have to offer this account. I propose that building on the Kantian duty of beneficence, one can articulate a duty that explains why we are obligated to respond to certain needs found in others. Although the Kantian duty of beneficence provides some resources to use in developing this explanation, I also employ a care ethics perspective to offer an important angle of critique through which one can see both moments when Kant’s account fails (which I consider in a series of four objections) and why care ethics must be incorporated into any worthwhile discussion of meeting needs. Thus the duty to care, while drawing upon the duty of beneficence for its foundation, moves beyond it. Demonstrated through the duty to care’s responsiveness to perceptive objections that care ethicists might raise, the duty to care emerges as a distinctive duty in its own right, one sensitive to the moral concerns of agency, need, and care. (shrink)

A central theme in the Christian contemplative tradition is that knowing God is much more like ‘unknowing’ than it is like possessing rationally acceptable beliefs. Knowledge of God is expressed, in this tradition, in metaphors of woundedness, darkness, silence, suffering, and desire. Philosophers of religion, on the other hand, tend to explore the possibilities of knowing God in terms of rational acceptability, epistemic rights, cognitive responsibility, and propositional belief. These languages seem to point to very different accounts of how it (...) is that we come to know God, and a very different range of critical concepts by which the truth of such knowledge can be assessed. In this paper, I begin to explore what might be at stake in these different languages of knowing God, drawing particularly on Alvin Plantinga’s epistemology of Christian belief. I will argue that his is a distorted account of the epistemology of Christian belief, and that this has implications for his project of demonstrating the rational acceptability of Christian faith for the 21st century. (shrink)

L’essai trace un parallèle entre la conception du langage et son rapport à l’art chez Croce et Cassirer. Bien que tous deux partent d’une position essentiellement idéaliste, Croce identifie le langage à l’art et donne ainsi à l’art la position hiérarchiquement la plus élevée dans le cadre des activités de l’esprit, alors que Cassirer considère le langage et l’art comme des formes symboliques autonomes et de même valeur. L’essai aborde la question des répercussions de cette différence sur la définition du (...) rôle et des fonctions de l’esthétique en analysant, entre autres, les écrits dans lesquels Cassirer se confronte à la pensée esthétique de Croce. (shrink)

While Hans Joas examines the theoretical and philosophical fabrication of disenchantment and secularization in order to better measure its limits and draw new perspectives, this article returns, through a historical field investigation, to the motivations of secularizers, who were at odds with the Church and the clergy. Why did they want to dislodge the sacred, in its Christian form, from collective spaces such as education, the State or the cemetery? The cultural history of the 19th century, through specific cases and (...) archival documentation, allows a better understanding of the contradictory logics that preside over the process of secularization, giving a context to the theorizations of Max Weber and Ernest Troeltsch. (shrink)

This book is a reprint of an eighteenth century novel on an ideal society run by single women. Under the guise of fiction, the author gives her views on subjects ranging from marriage to slavery.