Grounding Human Dignity

Abstract: What is the future of human dignity? Is there a limit on what can be done to human organisms? To approach such questions this article reviews some traditional understandings of human dignity and then offers a shift in perspective. Traditional areas in which human dignity has been grounded include the doctrine of the image of God, the notion of humanity as a reconciliation of opposites, the chronological place of humans in the process of creation, God's free grace, and the human capacity for union with the divine. Maintaining that dignity is reserved for the later stages of human development, the author suggests we shift our thinking from notions of dignity to those of value. A fertilized egg as a living organism is to be valued for its uniqueness and nature, but it does not acquire dignity until it individualizes within the larger process of embryogenesis.     

论宗教的道德价值

原初的道德与宗教处于混沌一体之中。二者分化以后 ,宗教以其特殊方式提供道德规范的神圣性、道德理想人格的完满性与社会正义的至善性 ;在宗教信仰的特殊形式中蕴含着对真之笃信与对存在终极性关切的道德价值精神 ,并为道德规范提供价值合理性根据。     

论邓小平的政治伦理思想

本文从伦理学的视角出发 ,通过已公开发表的邓小平著述 ,分析论证了邓小平政治伦理思想的基本内容 :即邓小平的政治价值目标、邓小平反复强调的三大基本道德范畴———责任、信义、合作 ,并指出了邓小平政治伦理思想在我国现阶段政治生活实践中的重要理论指导意义和实践意义。     

全面深入理解“以人为本”

以人为本是一项符合人类文明发展趋势并指导当代社会发展的重要原则 ,是科学发展观的核心内容。以人为本并非只有西方人文主义那样的理解 ,它既是一种共同价值观和价值取向 ,又是一种思维方式 ,同时还是一种执政理念。     

关于公共目的实现的伦理思考

公共目的是对公共生活的总体把握 ,是用于引导公共生活的。实现公共目的是公共管理的根本任务 ,是公共管理者的道德责任。道德上合理的公共目的的实现要求使用正当的公共管理手段 ,它要求公共管理者用道德来约束其对公共管理手段的选择。这种道德约束有两种情形 :其一是在多样化的手段中选择正当性的公共管理手段 ,其二是使公共管理手段的使用正当化。     

试析性目的与性道德的三个不等式

性伦理的可能性存在于性生活的正当性中,但性生活的正当性并不等于性道德.性生活的目的就其主要方面可以是为着婚姻(爱情)、生育(生存)、快乐(生理),这也是性行为的主要功能.然而,以这样的目的或功能而来的性生活都不能等同于性道德.     

The Intrinsic Value of Sport: A Reply to Culbertson

Leon Culbertson's recent contribution, ‘Does Sport Have Intrinsic Value?’ objects to the account of the value of sport as intrinsic value I had developed in my Sport, Rules and Values; in particular, as this occurs in my argument that the value of some sports resided in the possibility of their functioning as a moral laboratory. He identifies two accounts of intrinsic value; and shows that neither would fit my purposes seamlessly. He urges that my account of the place of normative reasons cannot generate intrinsic value: rather, the person whose reasons they are somehow imports that value. Yet he has misunderstood my particularist conception of values; and the place occupied by my contextualism – these, rather than a residual commitment to essentialism, are what generates an apparent inconsistency he identifies. But they also explain it away. As a result, much of his concern to find some exact account of the term ‘intrinsic’ is misplaced: we need to look contextually. Further, the project of my discussion was limited to showing, first, how the moral laboratory idea might explain the value of some sport (on the assumption that sport had intrinsic value); and, second, how failures of realisation of that intrinsic value might be traced to the distinction between motivating reasons and normative ones.     

Can We Really Have It All? The Attainment of Work and Family Values

We discuss the role values and value attainment play in the complex and dynamic process of balancing work and family demands. We contend that an individual experiences conflict between work and family demands because of value incongruence between that individual and a pivotal family member (i.e., lack of value similarity) or because of the incongruent values between that individual and the organization (i.e., lack of value congruence). We further argue that work-family conflict leads to job and life dissatisfaction for individuals because this conflict frustrates the attainment of important work and family values. We develop and propose a conceptual model, capturing both work and family values as they relate to work-family conflict, value attainment, and outcomes.     

Why Do Students Strike? Direct and Indirect Determinants of Collective Action Participation

The current project investigated affective and strategic determinants of participation in collective actions by taking a multidimensional approach to collective identity (see Cameron, 2004 ) and investigating rational decision‐making processes. A field study was conducted during an important student strike within the Canadian province of Quebec. One hundred and eighty four students attending the province's postsecondary francophone institutions participated in the study. Path modeling was used to investigate two channels to collective action participation. A direct path involved the affective dimensions of identification. An indirect strategic path revealed that pro‐action arguments allowed individuals to derive instrumental value, which in turn led them to participate in collective actions. This indirect influence only occurred at higher self‐control. The results and their implications for understanding participation in collective actions during social movements are discussed.     

Contrast and reallocation of extraneous reinforcers as a function of component duration and baseline rate of reinforcement

Four pigeons responded on multiple schedules arranged on a “main” key in a two-key experimental chamber. A constant schedule component was alternated with another component that was varied over conditions. On an extra response key, conjoint schedules of reinforcement that operated in both components were arranged concurrently with the multiple schedule on the main key. On the main key, changes in reinforcement rate in the varied component were inversely related to changes in response rates in the constant component (behavioral contrast). On the extra key, some reinforcers were reallocated between components, depending on the schedules in effect on the main key in the varied component. In the varied component, the obtained rates of reinforcement on the extra key were inversely related to main-key reinforcement rate. In the constant component, extra-key reinforcer rates were positively related to main-key reinforcer rates obtained in the varied component, and were not a function of response rates on the extra key. In two comparisons, the rate at which components alternated and the value of the main-key schedule in the constant component were varied. Consistent with earlier work, long components reduced the extent of contrast. Reductions in contrast as a function of component duration were accompanied by similar reductions in the extent of reinforcer reallocation on the extra key. In the second comparison, lowering the rate of reinforcement in the constant component increased the rate at which extra-key reinforcers were obtained, reduced the extent of reinforcer reallocation, and reduced contrast. Overall, the results are consistent with the suggestion that some contrast effects are due to the changes in extraneous reinforcement during the constant component, and that manipulations of component duration, and manipulations of the rate of reinforcement in the constant component, affect contrast because they influence the extent of extraneous reinforcer real-location.