The Obligation Dilemma

I motivate a dilemma to show that nothing can be obligatory for anyone regardless of whether determinism or indeterminism (the falsity of determinism) is true. The deterministic horn, to which prime attention is directed, exploits the thesis that obligation requires freedom to do otherwise. Since determinism precludes such freedom, it precludes obligation too. The indeterministic horn allows for freedom to do otherwise but assumes the burden of addressing whether indeterministically caused choices or actions are too much of a matter of luck to be obligatory for anyone. I critically discuss a response to the deterministic horn that invokes the distinction between alternatives compatible with determinism (weak alternatives) and those incompatible with determinism (strong alternatives).     

The Editor's Dilemma

Dr. Burnham agreed to be interviewed regarding his views on Christian education from his perspective of 15 years of living in Africa and his current dealings with health issues in Africa. He is an expert on onchocerciasis or “river blindness” and has worked with the World Health Organization. In addition to being a physician, he has a Ph.D. in tropical disease epidemiology and a Masters in Clinical Tropical Medicine.     

处在夹缝中的哲学

针对当今科技文化与人文文化的矛盾,哲学能够在理解并弥合这种矛盾的过程中起不可替代的作用。在当前,马克思主义哲学是什么和能够做什么的问题是必须提出来弄清楚的。当前马克思主义哲学的研究水平有待提高：不要再追究国外争论已久的问题,史的研究也不能再停留在按原著顺序叙述的水平上;应该立足现实确立当代性的问题,并具备世界性的眼光。在苏东巨变后,马克思主义者在研究中不能回避原则性问题、为迎合对手而追求所谓非意识形态化。另外,防止离现实和民众愈来愈远的贵族化倾向和追求短平快的市场化倾向,注意术语的公央性和可理解性．也是须注意的问题。     

The Spiritual/Psychological Dilemma

Pastoral Psychology -     

地方环保部门职责履行中的两难

文章采用案例研究的方法,剖析了我国地方政府环保部门面临的价值冲突与行动困境:(1)观念冲突、(2)忠诚冲突、(3)履职困境,最后,尝试性地探讨了解决问题的出路.     

The Role Dilemma in Early Confucianism

Recently, Sean Cordell has raised a problem for Aristotelians who seriously consider social roles: When the demands of the role conflict with the demands of morality, which norms ought one follow? However, this problem, which I call the role dilemma, is not specific to Aristotelians. Classical Confucians face a similar problem. How do Confucians resolve conflicts between the demands of humaneness (ren 仁) and the demands of social roles and the social norms (li 礼) that govern these roles? Confucians who favor humaneness, maintaining that other demands are defeasible, offer an externalism about roles. This response is similar to the Aristotelian argument that the demands of human excellence trump other demands. Consequently, Confucian externalism collapses into a virtue ethic. Confucians who favor the demands of li offer an internalism about roles. However, internalism is undesirable because it implies relativism and condones oppressive social institutions. The Confucian role ethicist must offer a tenable solution that steers clear of the pitfalls of both externalism and internalism. Although I do not advance a solution here, I believe a tenable alternative exists. The goals of this paper, instead, are to demonstrate that classical Confucians face the role dilemma and to initiate a discussion about the theoretical apparatus required of Confucian role ethics in order to distinguish it from other ethical theories. I conclude with some programmatic remarks about additional questions and problems that ought to be addressed.     

The Dilemma Faced by Chinese Feminists

In this essay I argue that in any country, the realization of sexual equality requires a certain level of economic development. I support this general theme by examining a particular case—a dilemma faced by Chinese feminists today. I intend to show that in a developing country such as China, where heavy physical labor is still in great demand in daily life and productive activity, full sexual equality cannot be a reality.     

The Logical Problem and the Theoretician's Dilemma

The theory‐theory of human uniqueness posits that the capacity to theorize, in a way strongly analogous to theorizing in scientific practice, was a key innovation in the hominid lineage and was responsible for many of our unique cognitive traits. One of the central arguments that its proponents have used to support the claim that animals are not theorists, the logical problem, bears strong similarities to Hempel's theoretician's dilemma, which purports to show that theories are unnecessary. This similarity threatens to undermine both the claim that theorizing serves a unique, adaptive role in human cognition and our ability to test for the presence of theories. I examine two historical responses to the theoretician's dilemma and argue that they open up strategies for experimentally testing for theoretical ability in other animals.     

The Devil's Dilemma in Flaubert' Saint Antony

In La Téntation de Saint Antoine Gustave Flaubert dramatizes a philosophical exchange about the nature of divine providence and the efficacy of petitionary prayer. The Devil and Antony consider the question of whether God can be called upon for relief from suffering. The Saint assumes as popular religion teaches that it is possible to ask for God's help in emergency situations, while the Devil poses a dilemma to challenge Antony's faith. The Devil seeks to expose contradictions in some of the beliefs Antony holds about God's infinite perfection. The Devil's argument purports to prove that God is not a person, and that for this reason God is inaccessible to human interaction. The Devil's dilemma is supposed to be this:
(1) If God as an infinitely perfect being created the universe, then divine providence is not needed [does not exist].
(2) If divine providence is needed [exists], then the universe is defective [not the creation of God as an infinitely perfect being].
Although these look at first to be the opposite poles of an excluded middle, propositions (1) and (2) are mere contrapositives. Since the Devil's propositions (1) and (2) are logically equivalent, the Devil can only proceed to the conclusion that God does not exist or that divine providence is not needed or does not exist paradoxically by assuming that God exists or that divine providence is needed or exists. Yet if divine providence is needed or exists, then God exists as its divine source. If the Devil is supposed to succeed by logic, his dilemma as Flaubert portrays it is powerless to prove that the only reasonable religious attitude is an impassionate metaphysical acknowledgement of the existence of an impersonal infinitely perfect Substance, which is absolute unchanging unmoveable Being.     

Chapter 7: The Dilemma of Aging

SUMMARY

Intergenerational programming has received much attention and has been heralded as beneficial for both children and older adults. However, little has been reported in the literature concerning adult reactions to and benefits of intergenerational activities. A report on the first two years of an ongoing intergenerational project involving a preschool and a retirement community is presented. Four adults who participated regularly were interviewed in depth and findings are reported. All categories from the interviews represented aspects of Erikson's Generativity stage, and indicated that spirituality was enhanced through intergenerational contacts. Opportunities to interact with young children engendered a sense of relatedness to others and hope for the future for the older adult interviewees. Implications of this program that strengthened links to younger generations, and fostered positive affect, well-being, and spirituality in the aging process are discussed.     

电子商务困境的伦理分析

电子商务面临着许多问题,比如网络污染、网上交易风险、网络安全、电子商务信任危机等,这些问题严重制约了电子商务的发展.电子商务面临困境的原因既有技术因素,也有伦理因素.网络社会中人的身份的变化、人际关系的冷漠、主流意识的缺乏、监督的乏力等,是导致电子商务困境的伦理因素.     

Rule-Consequentialism's Dilemma

This paper examines recent attempts to defend Rule-Consequentialism against a traditional objection. That objection takes the form of a dilemma, that either Rule-Consequentialism collapses into Act-Consequentialism or it is incoherent. Attempts to avoid this dilemma based on the idea that using RC has better results than using AC are rejected on the grounds that they conflate the ideas of a criterion of rightness and a decision procedure. Other strategies, Brad Hooker's prominent amongst them, involving the thought that RC need contain no overarching concern to maximize the good are acknowledged to avoid the original dilemma, but lead to further problems of motivating and justifying RC in the absence of such a concern. The paper argues that Hooker's attempt to deal with these problems by using a 'Reflective Equilibrium plus method is unsuccessful.     

男科临床工作中的人文关怀

随着现代医学模式的转化和男科学诊治技术的发展,在男科临床工作中应该注重树立人文关怀理念和强化人性化服务意识.实施人文关怀的方法包括:重视心理应激,应用心理疗法;关注患者生活,有效预防疾病;营造人文环境,提供人性化服务;遵循最优化原则,做到适度医疗;关心老年人健康,关注社会特殊群体.在男科临床工作中应提高人文关怀的自觉性.     

精神分析师的两难处境

精神分析自诞生之日起就成为了一门有争议的学科,直到100多年后的今天,它仍旧面对着各种各样的质疑.究其原因,无意识概念中所包含的矛盾难辞其咎.精神分析师正是因为将无意识作为核心的探究对象而遭遇了种种两难处境.这些两难处境既是精神分析所引发的争论的缩影,也是理解这些争论的线索之一.在探讨精神分析师的两难处境的基础上,试图从一个侧面揭示无意识以至精神现象的本质特征.