Universal Declaration of Human Rights 70th anniversary is been celebrated in 2018. On the other hand, people are still arguing about the political, juridical, social and civilizational gains it has provided. Such discussions, however, focus on peripheral aspects of Human Rights, losing sight of what could be understood as its highest normative gain. Whenever arguments are not completely rectified, they dissociate from the social demands that actually gave them meaning and relevance. From this scope, the article intends to (...) reconstruct the conceptual and argumentative aspects of Human Rights from the critical theory of relations of justification by Rainer Forst, in which Human Rights are interpreted as arising from a fundamental right to justification. This fundamental right, in Forst’s theory, is interpreted as being part of the “deep grammar” of social conflicts. According to the Forstian theory, we argue for an interpretation of Human Rights capable of encompassing the multiple aspects of these rights, avoiding reductionism and unilateral interpretations of it. This presentation has been divided into three parts. First, it presented some traditional “pictures”, current forms of referring to Human Rights and its characteristics, against which another picture will be proposed, in order to place social conflicts and rejections of injustice as a starting point for the Human Rights. Next, the Forst’s principle of justification and the recursive argument that led toit was discussed. Finally, a critical interpretation of the Forstian proposal, which dealtwith the purposes that his theory is allegedly seeking, was carried out. (shrink)

In this paper we will address one of the forms that assume the social conflict, considering an everyday behavior: the look and the ways of representation that it produces. The beginning of our argumentation is marked by Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition. His contributions give a perspective that allow us to unite the analysis of socials struggles with the problem of the look. For this work we study how Honneth build an ethical approach about the look, from the (...) ideas of recognition and inter-subjectivity. In that sense, practical behavior like social humiliation and social domination, materialized through the look, are read as the negative reverse of recognition. We seek to think the look inserted in the social conflict beyond recognition, because we defend the hypothesis that the notion of recognition, as proposed by Honneth, assumes normative assumptions that visualize conflict as oriented to the consolidation of a mediated understanding of one`s own personality and the self-affirmation of subject, as also assumes an evolutionary logic rationality. Once shown this, we will answer the question: how to understand/comprehend the problem of the look from a different perspective? (shrink)

This article outlines the role of globalized mass media in the perception of environmental and social threats and its reciprocal conditionality in the globalized society. It examines the reasons why the global environmental crisis will not lead to a world-wide environmental movement for change of the basic imperatives of the world economicpolitical system. Coherency between globalized mass media and wide-spreading of consumer lifestyle exists despite the fact that it deepens the devastation of environment and social conflicts. Globalized mass (...) media owned by transnational corporations are not only a part of the current global economic-political system, but also the prerequisite of its creation and existence, as well as social contradictions and conflicts. (shrink)

This text aims to examine the way in which a collective identity is constructed in Machiavelli’s The Prince, as well as the limits of this construction. First, we seek to demonstrate the primacy of social conflict over all other elements considered by Machiavelli, including the prince. Next, we seek to indicate the complexity of this determination, as the prince’s action also affects the aforementioned conflict by influencing it. Finally, since Machiavelli rejects the middle way (via del mezzo), (...) the “prince” (principe) must rely either on the “great” (grandi) or on the “people” (populo). We seek to demonstrate that the maintenance of the principality comes from the popular humour, while the “people” want “not to be commanded or oppressed”, in order to identify in this relationship not only the process of building a collective identity – which is effectively established in favor of freedom – but also its limits. (shrink)

Revenge has been a subject of concern in most intellectual traditions throughout history, and even when social norms regard it as permissible or even obligatory, it is commonly recognised as being more counterproductive than beneficial. In this book, Kit R. Christensen explores this provocative issue, offering an in-depth account of both the nature of revenge and the causes and consequences of the desire for this kind of retaliatory violence. He then develops a version of eudaimonistic consequentialism to argue that (...) vengeance is never morally justified, and applies this to cases of intergroup violence where the lust for revenge against a vilified 'Them' is easily incited and often exploited. His study will interest a wide range of readers in moral philosophy as well as social philosophers, legal theorists, and social/behavioural scientists. (shrink)

Though educators often deal with stressful social conflicts, many face them ad hoc without much training. We studied if and how virtual agents can help University staff manage student-teacher conflicts. We explored educators' verbal, behavioral, and physiological reactions to a virtual agent that brought up a student-teacher conflict and held exit-interviews. Our qualitative analysis revealed that virtual agents for conflict training were positively received, but not for conflict mediation with cross-cultural differences. Those with non-Western backgrounds felt (...) that an agent could help “save face,” whereas Westerners preferred to resolve conflicts in person. In line with this, participants with a Western background rated the virtual agent to be less competent compared to those with non-Western backgrounds. While physiological measures only allow for limited conclusions, we found that participants who believed that the agent was controlled by a human had higher normalized hear rate variability than people who thought that the agent was autonomous. We discuss implications for implementing virtual agents for training purposes, the impact of physiological signals, and the need to consider cultural and individual differences. (shrink)

In this pathbreaking study, Axel Honneth argues that "the struggle for recognition" is, and should be, at the center of social conflicts. Moving smoothly between moral philosophy and social theory, Honneth offers insights into such issues as the social forms of recognition and nonrecognition, the moral basis of interaction in human conflicts, the relation between the recognition model and conceptions of modernity, the normative basis of social theory, and the possibility of mediating between Hegel and Kant.

Modern social orders are legitimized by the ideal of freedom. Most conceptions of this ideal are theorized against the backdrop of nature understood as governed by its own laws beyond the realm of the social. However, such an understanding of nature is now being challenged by the ‘Anthropocene’ hypothesis. This article investigates the consequences of this hypothesis for freedom as an ideal legitimizing social order. We begin by discussing the conception of legitimation, after which we examine three (...) classical notions of freedom (developed by Hobbes, Kant, and Hegel), in light of the Anthropocene. Following our claim that these notions all have severe weaknesses in view of the Anthropocene, we argue that modern social orders are facing a new legitimation crisis. Such a crisis, we suggest, involves a ‘brutalization of social conflicts’, which under the conditions of the Anthropocene assumes the form of geo-social conflict. (shrink)

This collection of qualitative case studies demonstrates how social groups create opposing symbolic meanings of Nature during conflict over wildlife issues. It highlights the untapped utility of constructionist approaches for understanding how different meanings can ultimately affect wildlife and people.

This article sketches out a multifactorial approach to the analysis of social conflict, based primarily on studies by Max Weber and prominent contemporary historical macrosociologists such as Michael Mann, Richard Lachman, and Ivan Szelenyi. The approach offers opportunities to bridge the gap between two key strands of the sociological tradition of conflict — Marxist and Weberian. It is argued that they do not exclude each other but work on the principle of complementarity, operating on a similar set (...) of terms (primarily class and capital) and reducing the diversity of social phenomena to a common ground — conflict. Michael Mann’s theory of sources of social power, to which the first part of the article is devoted, warns against the fundamental one-sidedness of interpreting any conflict related to power (any conflict falling within the perimeter of macrosociology can be classified as such) exclusively as political, economic, ideological, or military. A complete description of such a conflict requires engaging all four of these aspects of social power, even if some of them do not manifest themselves sufficiently in a particular conflict. The approaches outlined in the second part of the article to the analysis of its direct participants — social classes with their resources (capital in its various forms), which ultimately determine the specific configuration of inequality — the driving force of any conflict— are based on this initial marking of the conflict field. Such a comprehensive approach allows us to overcome the dogmatism of Marxist schemes without abandoning the theoretical legacy of Marxism: the reinterpretation of its key terms in the Weberian paradigm thus enriches the sociological tradition of conflict, forming the necessary kaleidoscopic view of this social phenomenon. (shrink)

This article reconstructs John Dewey's philosophy of the public by replacing its emphasis on scientific truth with an interpretive model of inquiry; it then shows how we can use this interpretive model of inquiry both to prevent collective harms and to expand the boundaries of our moral community.

The paper deals predominantly with the theory of moral reconstruction in George H. Mead’s thinking. It also points out certain underdeveloped aspects of Mead’s social-psychological theory of the self and his moral philosophy, and attempts to develop them. Since Mead’s ideas concerning ethics and moral philosophy are anchored in his social psychology, the paper begins with a description of his theory and underlines some problematic areas and tries to solve them. The most important of these, as the author (...) argues, is the hypothesis that social conflicts should be seen as the root of reflective, discursive thinking. Unlike some of his contemporaries (such as Vygotsky), Mead failed to appreciate this aspect of the genesis of the dynamics of the self. (shrink)

The author examines the meaning that dogs have for people as friends and family members. This almost magical interspecies connection, which relates to philosophical concepts about the moral responsibility human beings have to dogs, can increase social conflict between people because of differences in how people care for their dogs.

This article presents a sociological perspective that suggests that technology should be seen as a means for groups to retain or rearrange social relations. Claiming, first, that the sociotechnical systems approach in technology-and-society studies often tend to bring out harmony and cooperation as an ideal and, second, that central social construc tivists tend to interpret closure and stabilization processes in terms of consensus, this article, instead, argues that technology should be regarded as the outcome of conflicting interests and (...) ideas. To make the perspective plausible, a number of analytic concepts are put forth and illustrated, some case studies are reinterpreted in conflict language, and a few tentative research hypotheses are formulated. (shrink)

Taking advantage of economic opportunities has led to numerous conflicts between society and business in various geographies of the world. Companies have developed social responsibility programs to prevent and manage these types of problems. However, some authors comment that these programs lack a strategic vision. Starting with the Working with People model, created for the field of rural development planning, this paper proposes a methodology to prevent the generation of social conflicts from business strategy: the territorial dimension. The (...) proposal emphasizes that local development support prevents the generation of social conflicts. Finally, an experience in Peru, a country that has been characterized in recent years by high economic growth and also by the presence of social conflicts that have stopped entrepreneurship is analyzed. (shrink)

This paper discusses Merleau-Ponty’s use of idea of ambivalence and its role in psychological conflicts. Merleau-Ponty affirms ambivalent conflicts as lived and social rather than biologically determined, as one might have in some developmental accounts, or hidden, as in some psychoanalytic accounts. With this concept, the paper takes up feminist considerations of the conflicts experienced by mothers in breastfeeding. It argues that the Merleau-Pontian and feminist approach to considering breastfeeding provides a nuanced model for thinking about development that is (...) better suited to cases where both the child and the parent are co-evolving. (shrink)

My dissertation is in two parts. First, it develops a philosophical concept of “tragic uncertainty,” derived from early twentieth-century Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno. Secondly, it demonstrates ethical application of tragic uncertainty to human societal events. The ethical imperative created from tragic uncertainty—and not either tragedy or uncertainty alone—is the following. Given a tragic situation with a great degree of uncertainty, people living with doubt, mental despair, and perpetual anguish because of it should be provided relief. Generally, this relief should (...) be in the form of therapy, by which I mean an affective and emotional release. Two important case studies are explored. One on corrupted political systems in the USA-Mexico border. The other in Honduras, on both climate change and corrupted political systems. These are explained and categorized as tragically uncertain. Corresponding, minimal practical solutions accompany the ethical imperative created to remedy tragic uncertainty. (shrink)

Volume 17, Issue 4, September 2020, Page 470-473.

미발수행법은 마음이 지각하기 이전의 상태에서 욕망의 고리를 끊기 위한 수양의 방편 이다. 이황의 ‘미발수행법’은 현대 자본주의 사회에서 인간이 어떻게 욕망을 제어하고 조 절하고 절제하여 사회적 갈등의 원인을 제거하는가에 깊은 성찰이 녹아있다. 이황은 마음이 미발 상태에 있을 때는 기가 힘쓰지 않은 때이며, 오로지 리가 있을 뿐 이어서 악이 존재하지 않을 때임을 말한다. 미발의 상태에서 현실로 넘어오는 그 찰나에 마음은 리와 기라는 결합체이지만, 이 때 기가 용사하지 않으므로 리의 순선함이 그대로 발현될 수 있다. 이황은 인간의 욕망을 제거하는 방법으로 그 보이지 않는 곳에서도 (...) 삼가 조심하며, 그 듣지 않는 곳에서도 두려워해야 함을 역설한다. 희노애락이 아직 발하지 않 은 곳, 곧 보이지도 듣지도 않는 곳이 감정이 아직 싹트지 않은 곳이다. 이 지점에서 경계 하고 두려워하는 자세로 수행처를 삼으라는 것이다. 이황은 미발의 때에 천리의 본연을 함양하고 이발의 때에 인욕의 기가 용사하지 못하도 록 경계한다. 이것은 마음이 수양의 주체임을 강조한 대목이다. 본원의 함양이라는 것은 리의 함양인데, 리의 본체가 발현한 사단 혹은 도심을 일컫는다. 이때의 리는 태극이므로 마음속에 천리가 내재해 있기에 미발의 때에 존양과 성찰이 선제 조건으로 자리 잡을 수 있다. 이황은 인간 본성이 발하여 감정으로 드러나는 과정에는 경을 가지고 수양을 거듭하 면 천리와 이욕에 어둡지 않게 된다는 입장이다. 경(敬)으로서 중(中)을 가진 사람의 마음은 천리와 융화하여 흔적이 없게 되므로 마음 은 바름을 얻게 된다. 밝은 거울이나 고요한 물이 되기 위해서는 일회적인 경의 자세로는 이루어질 수 없다. 고요할 때는 천리의 본연에 젖어 들고 활동할 때는 인욕을 기미에서 끊어야만 한다 이렇게 하여 진실함이 쌓이고. 오래도록 힘써서 순수하고 익숙함에 이르게 된 다. 개체 안에 내재된 생명의 리를 잘 보존하고 함양해서 거울과 같이 밝게 비추고 물과 같이 고요함을 유지한다면, 개체의 본체는 언제나 맑아서 모든 사태에서도 굴절되지 않고 비출 수 있다. 우리 삶의 미시적 영역까지 침투한 신자유주의는 세계의 모든 영역을 시장처럼 조직될 필요가 있는 경쟁 공간으로 구성한다. 또한 시민들에게 자립성과 경쟁력을 갖춘 기업가적 주체가 될 것을 요구하며 자기 자신에 대한 책임을 강조한다. 신자유주의는 제도적으로 인 간의 욕망을 부추겨서 경쟁의 공간에서 탐욕으로 치닫게 하는 경우가 발생한다. 이는 타자 의 욕망을 욕망하게 하는 구조로 만들고 욕망을 따라가기 위해 자칫 인간의 기본적인 욕구 를 넘어서는 사태로 번질 가능성이 있다. 우리는 신자유주의라는 미명하에 무한경쟁으로 내몰리고 경쟁의식에 대한 압박감으로 순조로운 일상이 깨지는 경우가 생긴다. 신경증, 무 기력증, 번 아웃, 공항장애 등의 질환이 급증하는 원인의 하나가 이런 경쟁의식의 대한 긴 장감이다. 이런 긴장감이 절제되지 못할 경우 사회적 갈등이 유발하게 된다. 이황은 성리학적 체계의 완성을 실천을 통해서 완성하고자 한다. 실천은 내면의 수양을 통해 천리체인을 이루고 체득하는 것을 말하는데, 이것이 미발수행법으로 나타난다. 미발 수행을 통해 인욕이 제거되고 리의 존재성을 발견하며 참된 자아를 완성해간다. 이황의 미발수행법이 우리사회에 만연하고 있는 사회적 갈등을 해결하는데 하나의 방편이 될 것으로 보인다. (shrink)

The article is a reflection about the controversies on social media. It analyzes a week of Folha de São Paulo’s posts, the largest Brazilian newspaper, on its Facebook page. The methodological basis adopted is the Grounded Theory. From the results, in a week of data collection, it seeks to theorize over coercive factors for the emergence of discursive struggles, with the aim of outlining a phenomenology of commentaries, based on Alfred Schutz, Thomas Luckmann and Peter Berger. Finally, it contrasts (...) this situation of online conflicts with the Brazilian identity and the historical moment of the country. (shrink)

Social enterprises are hybrid organizations that primarily pursue social missions while also seeking economic gains. Drawing on workplace diversity and conflict theories, this article addresses recent calls for further research to explore how employees within social enterprises experience internal conflicts arising from the organizational pursuit of dual, competing missions (i.e., social and economic), and how social enterprises manage, and potentially overcome, these challenges. In the context of Korean social enterprise, we conducted a quantitative (...) study that built on an initial explorative qualitative study. Our research examined whether perceived participatory human resource management practices and diversity climate increase employees’ affective commitment by reducing their relational conflict. We further explored a boundary condition, perceived social impact, which strengthened this mediation relationship. Our results offer significant insights into social enterprise, business ethics, and broader management literature. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed. (shrink)