Reasonable Pluralism,Interculturalism, and Sterba on Question-Beggingness

In From Rationality to Equality, James Sterba (From rationality to equality. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013) argues that the non-moral, and non-controversial, principle of logic, the principle that good arguments do not beg-the-question, provides a rationally conclusive response to egoism. He calls this “the principle of non-question-beggingness” and it is supposed to justify a conception of “Morality as Compromise.” Sterba’s basic idea is that principles of morality provide a non-question-begging compromise between self-interested reasons and other-regarding reasons. I will focus, first, on Sterba’s rejection of the alternative Kantian rationalist justification of morality, and second, I discuss the logical principle of non-question-beggingness and I argue that Sterba is wrong to assume that there is a formal, logical requirement that a rational egoist must provide a non-question-begging defense of egoism. I argue that, like the Kantian, Sterba needs a more substantial conception of practical reason to derive his conclusion. My third focus is the problem of reasonable pluralism and public reason (Rawls in Political liberalism. Columbia University Press, New York, 1996; The law of peoples with the idea of public reason revisited. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1999). The Rawlsian principle of public reason is analogous to Sterba’s principle of non-question-beggingness. Sterba recognizes that public policies should respect competing perspectives and that a public conception of justice must be justifiable to all reasonable people. The problem is that that reasonable people disagree about fundamental moral questions. Rawls calls this the fact of reasonable pluralism. I argue that an intercultural conception of justice is necessary to provide a response to reasonable pluralism and a shared basis for public reason.     

Sterba on Affirmative Action,or, it Never was the bus,it was Us!

Professor Sterba argues for two interesting and provocative positions regarding affirmative action. First, affirmative action programs are still needed to ensure diversity in educational institutions of higher learning. Secondly, the proponents and opponents of affirmative action are not as far apart as they seem to think. To this end, he proposes a position that would give weight to race as a category for affirmative action that can withstand the challenges of affirmative action opponents while giving the needed support for affirmative action proponents. It is his contention that both sides can support arguments for diversity affirmative action. This paper raises concerns about the ability of arguments for racial diversity to resolve or bring together opponents and proponents of affirmative action. It is argued that the negative social climate, regarding the social and intellectual merits of black Americans, works against the acceptance of affirmative action programs. In sum, it is argued that Professor Sterba’s position continues to put the social onus of changing racial attitudes on blacks with little or no effort on the part of whites other than allowing blacks admittance to formerly segregated educational institutions to interact with white students.     

Liberty and equality. A critical response to the debate between James P. Sterba and Jan Narveson

Abstract

This article examines the libertarian arguments of Jan Narveson and James P. Sterba regarding the compatibility of liberty and equality. It then posits that their arguments fail in solving tensions between liberty and equality, because all fundamental rights cannot be derived from liberty. A coherent scheme of human rights is only possible if human dignity is used to balance the conflicting interests of liberty and equality. It then proceeds to make some suggestions on how human dignity as core value might help to solve tensions between equality and liberty.     

VIOLENCE AND MORALITY: The Concession of Loss in A Ghanaian Fishing Village

When African migrants disappear on the Mediterranean going to Europe they often leave no trace—except for the occasional bodies that wash ashore on the beaches of southern Europe. In this essay, the urgent social and existential ramifications of migrant fatalities on the sea are explored. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in a small Ghanaian fishing village on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, it is discussed how the bereaved struggle to make sense of these deaths to high‐risk migration—how they struggle to deal with devastating loss while retaining a sense of moral order.     

"天理"、"人欲"小议

长期以来 ,学界多以基本欲求与非基本欲求来界定天理、人欲。这种界定 ,与不平等的封建等级制的基本精神不符合 ,也与儒家所向往的理想社会的蓝图以及儒家对生活的态度不符合。本文认为 ,理学家们所讲的天理 ,系指符合封建道德准则和自己等级地位的欲求 ,而与天理对立的人欲 ,则是指违背封建道德准则、超过自己等级地位的非分欲求。     

对复归与走近马克思的考辨--一种现代解释学意义上的新破解

本文针对当今“复归”、“走近”马克思的观点,运用当代解释学进行了新破解。本文依据马克思哲学的根本原则,运用当代解释学的积极合理成果,立足于现代思维范式的新视域,对建国以来理解马克思哲学的三个不同阶段、不同结果进行了新破解,肯定了三个不同阶段及结果的合理性及存在的价值,明确指出破解对马克思哲学理解的理解,必须摒弃形而上学的“非此即彼”、以及追求那种所谓“马克思哲学本真精神”的绝对思维方式。运用独特的新视角,指出对马克思哲学的理解是一个开放的过程,这一过程的不同阶段及结果,只要实现了实践、理解主体、理解对象三者的具体、历史统一,就都具有真理性,就都是马克思哲学本真精神的显现;与此同时,还通过这一问题的探索揭示出了该过程的内在逻辑。     

"鬼节"看烧"纸"

在我们这里,农历的7月15日,是人们传统的“鬼节”。这天,活着的人要向死去的亲人烧“纸”。这种“纸”不是一般的纸,那是向死去的亲人送去的“钞票”。因为人们认为,人死后必定成为鬼,而鬼也象活着的人一样,离不了衣食住行。吃喝拉撒睡也需要钱花,所以这天要送去“钞票”,大概就像我们这活着的人月中发工资,年终发奖金一样。     

Comments on so-called "chronic" and "therapy refractory" depression

The problems of so-called "therapy resistant or chronic" depression has been investigated on own patients of the year 1986, but simply one chronic example could be noticed. Configurations-frequence-analytic research didn't essentially result in significant statements. It is referred to that the frequent occurrence of the so-called "therapy resistant" depressions described by some authors, could be in connection with limited diagnosis inventories and insufficient to the personality orientated therapy regime.     

"服食"新诠

服食是道教养生术之一,一般认为服食指道教徒服药求长生。本文耙梳大量一手文献,借鉴语言学、逻辑学方法,重新界定服食,认为道教服食之外延可以指药物,也包括气、符、日常膳食及特殊饮食等方面。     

狄德罗论奇迹

可以说,基督教是靠奇迹(神迹)建立起来的;没有奇迹就没有最初的基督教。因此,狄德罗用了不少笔墨集中揭批这些奇迹。圣经中的奇迹多得无数,最著名的第一件是耶稣在一个婚礼上“以水变酒”,再一件是一个死了四天尸体已经腐臭的青年人,在耶稣呼唤下“复活”了。也许是针对这个     

Philosophers on the "Art-of-Living"

Art-of-living is a classical notion in philosophy that is currently receiving renewed interest. Art-of-living refers to a kind of self-direction with a view to the good life. This paper surveys modern philosophical thought on this subject. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.