Reclaiming “Natural Partnership and Communication”

The massive scale of forced displacement across the globe discloses the fractured state of the modern international order. Francisco de Vitoria’s theological approach to the law of nations, in the context of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, had a significant influence on this order’s development. This paper argues that recovering his innovative insights today can help refurbish a collective sense of international responsibility for refugees. Vitoria’s bold assertion of indigenous Americans’ dominion affirmed all human beings as members of a world commonwealth with equal claims to basic rights. The “right to travel” he articulated, by its orientation to “natural partnership and communication,” can promote refugee rights and global fraternity.     

Crafting a Better Life

This is a review of “The Craftsman” by Richard Sennett, published by Yale University Press, 2008.     

A Normativity Wager for Skeptics

Topoi - Several philosophers have recently advanced wager-based arguments for the existence of irreducibly normative truths or against normative nihilism. Here I consider whether these wager-based...     

Disorder in the courtroom? Child witnesses under cross-examination

When a witness gives evidence in an adversarial criminal trial, there are two main questioning phases: direct examination and cross-examination. Special provisions are sometimes made for children to give direct evidence, but the majority of child witnesses are still cross-examined. While several decades of research have demonstrated how to elicit children’s direct evidence in a manner that promotes completeness and accuracy, the cross-examination process directly violates many of these principles. Here, we outline the characteristics of cross-examination, particularly as it pertains to children, and we review research about its impact on children, their testimony, and their credibility. We consider options for reforming the cross-examination process and propose avenues for future research.