This is a book of three philosophical chapters on aspects of terrorism, torture, and war. It relates issues in ethical theory to practical ethics. The chapter on torture considers views about what ...torture is and the various occasions on which it could occur in order to determine why it might be wrong to torture a wrongdoer held captive, even if this were necessary to save his victims. The discussion of terrorism examines whether it is the intention to harm civilians rather than harm to them being “collateral damage” that makes terrorism distinctively wrong, what else might make it wrong, and whether it is always wrong. The third chapter first discusses whether having a right reason, in the sense of a right intention, is necessary in order for starting war to be just. It then examines ways in which the harms of war can be proportional to the achievement of the just cause and other goods war can bring about, so as to make starting war permissible.
This book investigates regulatory and social pressures that social media companies face in the aftermath of high profile cyberbullying incidents. The author's research evaluates the policies ...companies develop to protect themselves and users. This includes interviews with NGO and social media company reps in the US and the EU. She triangulates these findings against news, policy reports, evaluations and interviews with e-safety experts. This book raises questions about the legitimacy of expecting companies to balance the tension between free speech and child protection without publicly revealing their decision-making processes. In an environment where e-safety is part of the corporate business model, this book unveils the process through which established social media companies receive less government scrutiny than start-ups. The importance of this research for law and policy argues for an OA edition to ensure the work is widely and globally accessible to scholars and decision makers.
Reforming the world Tyrrell, Ian
2010., 20100701, 2010, 2010-07-01, 20100101, Volume:
4
eBook
Reforming the World offers a sophisticated account of how and why, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, American missionaries and moral reformers undertook work abroad at an ...unprecedented rate and scale. Looking at various organizations such as the Young Men's Christian Association and the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions, Ian Tyrrell describes the influence that the export of American values had back home, and explores the methods and networks used by reformers to fashion a global and nonterritorial empire. He follows the transnational American response to internal pressures, the European colonies, and dynamic changes in global society.
From the American and British counter-insurgency in Iraq to the bombing of Dresden and the Amristar Massacre in India, civilians are often abused and killed when they are caught in the cross-fire of ...wars and other conflicts. In Democracy's Blameless Leaders, Neil Mitchell examines how leaders in democracies manage the blame for the abuse and the killing of civilians, arguing that politicians are likely to react in a self-interested and opportunistic way and seek to deny and evade accountability. Using empirical evidence from well-known cases of abuse and atrocity committed by the security forces of established, liberal democracies, Mitchell shows that self-interested political leaders will attempt to evade accountability for abuse and atrocity, using a range of well-known techniques including denial, delay, diversion, and delegation to pass blame for abuse and atrocities to the lowest plausible level. Mitchell argues that, despite the conventional wisdom that accountability is a 'central feature' of democracies, it is only a rare and courageous leader who acts differently, exposing the limits of accountability in democratic societies. As democracies remain embroiled in armed conflicts, and continue to try to come to grips with past atrocities, Democracy's Blameless Leaders provides a timely analysis of why these events occur, why leaders behave as they do, and how a more accountable system might be developed.
A dramatic new way to explore controversial science: Socratic dialogues. These creative debates follow the nuances and complexities of stem cell research and emerging therapies for informed readers ...and newcomers alike.
In this collection of essays, the author provides a compelling new framework for thinking about the moral obligations that private actors in a market economy have toward each other and to society. In ...a sharp break with traditional approaches to business ethics, the author argues that the basic principles of corporate social responsibility are already implicit in the institutional norms that structure both marketplace competition and the modern business corporation. In four new and nine previously published essays, the author articulates the foundations of a “market failures” approach to business ethics. Rather than bringing moral concerns to bear upon economic activity as a set of foreign or externally imposed constraints, this approach seeks to articulate a robust conception of business ethics derived solely from the basic normative justification for capitalism. The result is a unified theory of business ethics, corporate law, economic regulation, and the welfare state, which offers a reconstruction of the central normative preoccupations in each area that is consistent across all four domains. Beyond the core theory, the author offers new insights on a wide range of topics in economics and philosophy, from agency theory and risk management to social cooperation and the transaction cost theory of the firm.
A nuanced discussion of human enhancement that argues for enhancement that does not significantly exceed what is currently possible for human beings.
The transformative potential of genetic and ...cybernetic technologies to enhance human capabilities is most often either rejected on moral and prudential grounds or hailed as the future salvation of humanity. In this book, Nicholas Agar offers a more nuanced view, making a case for moderate human enhancement—improvements to attributes and abilities that do not significantly exceed what is currently possible for human beings. He argues against radical human enhancement, or improvements that greatly exceed current human capabilities.
Agar explores notions of transformative change and motives for human enhancement; distinguishes between the instrumental and intrinsic value of enhancements; argues that too much enhancement undermines human identity; considers the possibility of cognitively enhanced scientists; and argues against radical life extension. Making the case for moderate enhancement, Agar argues that many objections to enhancement are better understood as directed at the degree of enhancement rather than enhancement itself. Moderate human enhancement meets the requirement of truly human enhancement. By radically enhancing human cognitive capabilities, by contrast, we may inadvertently create beings (“post-persons”) with moral status higher than that of persons. If we create beings more entitled to benefits and protections against harms than persons, Agar writes, this will be bad news for the unenhanced. Moderate human enhancement offers a more appealing vision of the future and of our relationship to technology.
InEnhancing Evolution, leading bioethicist John Harris dismantles objections to genetic engineering, stem-cell research, designer babies, and cloning and makes an ethical case for biotechnology that ...is both forthright and rigorous. Human enhancement, Harris argues, is a good thing--good morally, good for individuals, good as social policy, and good for a genetic heritage that needs serious improvement.Enhancing Evolutiondefends biotechnological interventions that could allow us to live longer, healthier, and even happier lives by, for example, providing us with immunity from cancer and HIV/AIDS. Further, Harris champions the possibility of influencing the very course of evolution to give us increased mental and physical powers--from reasoning, concentration, and memory to strength, stamina, and reaction speed. Indeed, he says, it's not only morally defensible to enhance ourselves; in some cases, it's morally obligatory.
In a new preface, Harris offers a glimpse at the new science and technology to come, equipping readers with the knowledge to assess the ethics and policy dimensions of future forms of human enhancement.
Learn how ethical principles and concepts apply to global environmental problems
This fully updated and expanded textbook gives you new reflections on global environmental issues. It looks at issues ...including climate change, sustainable development and biodiversity preservation, and sensitively addresses global developments such as the Summits at Durban on climate and at Nagoya on biodiversity. Robin Attfield gives an ethical critique of current international environmental problems and negotiations, and explains how international regimes will need to change to be able to cope with global environmental problems.
New for this editionA new chapter on the ethics of climate changeUp-to-date case studies on issues such as Haiti's re-forestation project, food sovereignty and resistance to the Xayaburi DamNew passages on lobbying websites and the Yasuni Reserve in EquadorFind out moreRead the introduction for free now (pdf)Visit Robin Attfield's ResearchGate profile
