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Displaying: 1-14 of 14 documents


articles
1. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
James Stacey Taylor A Scandal in Geneva: Culpable Negligence and the WHO’s 2013 Report on National Self-Sufficiency in Blood and Blood Products
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In 2013 the World Health Organization published a Report in which it was argued that countries should become self-sufficient in safe blood and blood products, and that these should be secured through voluntary non-remunerated donation. These two claims were putatively supported by a wealth of citations to peer-reviewed academic papers, the results of Royal Commissions and Public Inquiries in both Canada and the United Kingdom, and data collected from Non-Government Organizations. Yet not only do many of the sources cited by the authors of this WHO Report fail to support their conclusions, many support conclusions that are the opposite of those that they draw. The aim of this paper is not, however, to argue against the conclusions of this Report. Instead, it is to argue that its authors were culpably negligent in its writing, in that they failed to take reasonable care to ensure that their conclusions were supported by the evidence, and in so doing exposed third parties to risks of harm to which they had not consented.
2. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Deane-Peter Baker Gun Bans, Risk, and Self-Defense
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While there are no serious arguments in favor of there being no state control whatsoever over the private ownership and employment of firearms, there are significant arguments on the other extreme of the ‘gun control debate’ which contend for bans on the private ownership of firearms or some subset thereof. In this paper I argue that gun ban proponents like Jeff McMahan and Nicholas Dixon confuse the risk or likelihood of being confronted by an attacker intent on serious or lethal harm with the right to defend oneself when faced by such an attacker. When this distinction is properly understood it becomes clear that arguments for the banning of all privately owned guns, or particular classes of guns, cannot stand so long as the firearms in question can be reasonably considered to be an effective means for individuals to defend themselves against attackers intent on serious or lethal harm.
3. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Alan C. Clune Rawls and the Distribution of Human Resources By Those in the Animal Rights Community
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Until now, arguments for the distribution of resources by those who care about the plight of human-used animals have been either utilitarian or libertarian in nature. The utilitarian case has been made in writing by both activists and philosophers. The libertarian case is more a position that I have found comes naturally to many in the animal movement. In this article I make use of elements of Rawls’ A Theory of Justice to make a case for two principles of justice for the distribution of human resources by those in the animal rights community. My argument arises within the tradition of Tom Regan and Marc Rowlands where animals are held to possess negative rights. This is an argument largely by analogy to Rawls’ manner of making a case for his two principles.
4. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Jane Duran Mono Lake: Preservation of Rare Environments
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An argument is made for the preservation of certain regions simply on the basis of their uniqueness, without reference to other qualities. The Mono Lake region of Northern California is taken as exemplary, and the work of Tierney, Stimson, and Carle is cited.
5. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Mavis Biss Empathy and Interrogation
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Against the background of not-so-distant debate regarding “enhanced” interrogation techniques used by the United States during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which many understand to be torture, this essay explores the moral complexities of “ordinary” interrogation practices, those that are clearly not forms of torture. Based on analysis of the written reflections of two United States interrogators on the work they did during the Iraq war, I categorize the roles played by multiple modes of empathy within interrogation and argue that empathetic responsiveness within the context of military interrogation poses a significant threat to the moral integrity of interrogators.
6. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Joseph Farrell Los Desaparecidos: Ethical Implications of United States Immigration Policy (or Lack Thereof)
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How can a nation like the United States of America both have and lack immigration laws? The title here implies a contradiction! Considering the history of immigration law from the 1798 Naturalization Act through the recent controversial executive orders by President Obama, our government has sought to carve out a path to residency and/or citizenship for individuals so inclined. Some of the measures along the way have been exclusionary and even racist. However, recent immigration policies seem to have been attempts to control populations of people flowing into the United States for the sake of equity. Starting with the “Immigration Reform and Control Act” of 1986, laws have been made so that immigrants have inroads to permanent residency and citizenship but the problem is enforcement in both will and deed. Our nation has immigration in theory but in practice? One can not really be clear about what constitutes such a practice given millions of illegal immigrants live and work in the United States. Beyond the legal problem of enforcement, the moral problem exists in the loss of our humanity and the humanity of immigrants living in the United States. Unfortunately, the path to moral rectitude is blocked by a problem of incompatibility. Moral rectitude cannot be accomplished by the status quo. It also cannot be accomplished by amnesty or deportation. A morally tolerable solution exists somewhere in between with some degree of punishment and yet seems, concurrently, too much and not enough.
symposium on philosophical counseling
7. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Julia Clare, Richard Sivil Philosophical Counselling, Professionalization, and Professionalism: A South African Perspective
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Though there has been interest in philosophical counselling in South Africa since at least the 1990s little has been accomplished by way of formalizing and developing the practice into a profession. We ask what would be required for it to become a fully-fledged profession? We argue that in order to count as a profession, a practice must meet certain normative, cognitive, and organizational criteria, but that philosophical counselling in South Africa falls short both cognitively and organizationally. This has implications for individual philosophical practitioners, it would seem, who cannot any longer consider themselves professionals. We argue that being a professional is not contingent on belonging to an established profession, but rather that to claim to be a professional is to claim that one can be trusted because one has the client’s good at heart. Exploring the idea of trust highlights again, though this time from an ethical rather than from a sociological perspective, that there is an urgent need to fill the cognitive and organizational gap that exists in South Africa. We propose that in order to facilitate the professionalization of philosophical counselling in South Africa, we should adopt an approach that focuses on the training of philosophical counsellors in the hopes that an organizational component will grow out of this rather than following previous (failed) attempts to put organizations first.
8. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Max Sotak Philosophy and Psychotherapy: A Review of Robert Woolfork’s The Cure of Souls
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The article presents a review of Robert Woolfork’s book, The Cure of Souls, which argues that psychotherapy shares the “humanistic dimension” of philosophy. According to Woolfork, the philosophical roots of psychotherapy may be uncovered from its theories, concepts, and practices. Therefore, he explores the scientific, ethical, and philosophical issues at the heart of modern psychotherapy, showing their congruence with the ancient therapeutic concept of philosophy. Since modern forms of psychotherapy are founded on a descriptive and evaluative view of human experience, philosophers may embrace a calling as counselors who honor the heritage of the ancient philosophers within the context of modern scientific psychology.
9. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Alexandra Pârvan A Philosophical Concept of Deprivation and Its Use in the Attachment-Focused Treatment of Violence
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Theories in both contemporary psychotherapy and ancient philosophy associate deprivation with wrongdoing and suffering, but operate with different understandings of deprivation. The article will focus on two concepts of deprivation, one psychological and the other one ontological, as advanced by Bowlby in attachment theory, and Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE). In attachment theory deprivation is something one suffers as a result of the others’ actions (receipt of insensitive caregiving in early childhood); it has neuropsychological effects, it relates to violent behaviour later in life, and it is therapeutically treated mainly by emotional sensory work directed at attaining self-regulation. Understanding deprivation as Augustine does (i.e., diminishment of a being’s inner unity and order caused by one’s exercise of will) introduces a distinctive philosophical view on formation and can inform a type of reflective-behavioural work centred on forming impaired volitional and emotional capacities, and on reclaiming agency and responsibility both for what can be called self-deprivation and for ways to counter deprivation in offenders and victims.
book review
10. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Luisa de Paula Review of: Lydia B. Amir, Humor and the Good Life in Modern Philosophy: Shaftesbury, Hamann, Kierkegaard
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symposium on the philosophy of sports
11. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Douglas W. McLaughlin, Cesar R. Torres A Veil of Separation: Intersubjectivity, Olympism, and FIFA’s Hijab Saga
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The Olympic Games and the soccer World Cup are large international mega-events that demonstrate how highly valued sport is around the world. However, alongside the celebrations of sporting excellences is the opportunity to reflect upon and criticize the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), and the host cities for ethical concerns that often accompany these events. One recent example is FIFA’s decision to ban women’s soccer players from wearing hijabs. Yet the IOC has encoded in its own charter ethical and axiological mandates that it terms Olympism. This Olympic philosophy can be fruitfully understood as an intersubjective moral approach to sport and sport governance. So conceived, it can be used to gain clarity on FIFA’s decision, both in terms of its ethical decision-making process and its conclusions. While FIFA recently lifted the ban, concerns about the process are still evident.
12. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
Gottfried Schweiger Social Justice and Professional Sports
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In this paper I examine the relation of social justice and professional sports. I discuss two interrelated key ideas of social justice: equality of opportunity, and the just distribution of income and social status according to the principle of desert. I sketch what they both could mean in the context of professional sports and conclude that social justice should be implemented accordingly. This includes measures to equal the chances of becoming a professional athlete, the regulation of their incomes—especially those which are exceptionally high—and that they—again especially those who are superstars—are viewed and treated as equals among equals. Professional athletes might show exceptional talent and effort, but they nonetheless fall under the jurisdiction of social justice.
13. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
S. P. Morris The Sport Status of Hunting
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Applying Bernard Suits’s conceptual definition of game-playing, and his outline of a conceptual definition of sport, I ask and answer the following question: can hunting be a sport? An affirmative answer is substantiated via the following logic. Premise one, all sports are games. Premise two, a game is a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles. Premise three, fair-chase hunters voluntarily accept unnecessary obstacles. Conclusion one: fair-chase hunting is a game. Premise four, a sport can be defined as a game that requires the exercise of physical skill, has a wide following, and institutional stability. Premise five, some fair-chase hunts require physical skill, have a wide following, and have institutional stability. Conclusion two: fair-chase hunting that requires physical skill, has a wide following, and institutional stability is a sport. After substantiating each premise and conclusion I consider and refute several important objections. Primarily, (1) that hunting lacks constitutive rules and (2) that hunting lacks volitional engagement and thus cannot be a game or sport.
14. International Journal of Applied Philosophy: Volume > 28 > Issue: 2
About the Contributors
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