bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Solidarität durch ökonomische Rationalität
Authors: Sautter Hermann
Published: September 2014

The article deals with the crisis of the German welfare system. Protestant churches are challenged by this crisis. Six challenges are discussed: (a) Recognize facts. One fact is, that the economies of countfies like Germany cannot be separated from the trend of economic globalization. It is every country's position in global economic competition which determines the possible Ievel of its national welfare. A secend fact is, that the present old-age insurance system cannot be maintained. The third fact mentioned is the inconsistency of the system of social security. (b) Becoming open for economic thinking: Solidarity is not possible against but only in conformity with economic rationality. (c) Understand the worldwide dimension of solidarity: lt is exactly economic globalization which promotes worldwide solidarity (the growth of textile industry in Bangladesh is taken as an example). (d) Promote selfresponsibility: Those who are able to help themselves should do so more than before so that assistance for the helpless can be maintained. (e) Stimulate innovations in the field of social policy: An example is the negative income tax. (f) Protect the needy: This is indispensable, and it corresponds not only to christian convictions but also to the enlightened self-interest of a secular society.
»Recht auf Arbeit« nach der Vollbeschäftigung
Authors: Möhring-Hesse Matthias
Published: September 2014

In ethical thinking we can 't treat the structural unemployment with the glance back in the »golden age« of full employment. Considering the dropping demand for manpower and - at the same time - the rising supply, the »human right of labour« is to create only with reserve: In the same measure as labour is the key to social participation, everyone has the same right to be employed. The necessary generalization of labour would be possible only by downgrading the labour for everybody at the same time. The distribution of work to gender is to overcome: men and women are to participate on labour and housework with the same part.
Göttliches und menschliches Recht. Zur Rechtsbegründung bei Jacques Ellul
Authors: Lohmann Friedrich
Published: September 2014

The French scholar Jacques Ellul is nearly forgotton in German-speaking theology. The author presents Ellul's book of 1946 in which he developed a theological foundation of law, puts it in its historical context and tries a theological evaluation. In spite of some fundamental Iacks, particularly in the comprehension of revelation, at least three ideas (which can be found even more in the later work of Ellul) still merit consideration: no sphere of human reality is independent of God; therefore, theology comprehends an investigation of the inner structures of society; in this, it is focused on the Christan hope.
Transplantation von Gehirngewebe
Authors: Deuschi Günther
Published: September 2014

Transplantation of cerebral tissue is increasingly becoming an issue in today's ethical debate. This kind of transplantation has already been performed in the context of treating patients with Parkinson's disease. It ist also being considered in the handling of other serious diseases. The tissue for transplantation is obtained from aborted fetuses. Serious ethical problems are mainly arising out of the question of possible changes in the personalites of patients due to the transplanted cerebral tissue
Rehabilitation und Lebensgeschichte. Das »Story«-Konzept in der Medizinethik
Authors: Lianemann Wolfgang
Published: September 2014

The author explains various types of rehabilitation in medical therapeutic praxis. Therewith he underlines the importance of the individual story and narrative interpretation of personal biography, especially in case of psychical illness and old-age. For this the study gives references to the »ars-moriendi« Iiterature and questions about her ethical implications for therapy. 285
Der Preis der Gesundheit
Authors: Stierle Wolfram
Published: September 2014

Plea for the cooperation with the public finance theory in the attempt, to find ethically and economically consistent solutions for the problems concerning public health. Can health be regarded as a private good, in which sense is health a public good and what about the analysis of the influence taken by the interest groups involved?
Die Grundsätze der Bundesärztekammer zur ärztlichen Sterbebegleitung
Authors: Zimmermann Mirjam , Zimmermann Ruben
Published: September 2014

The guidelines of the >German Medical Association< for doctors treating the dying passed on 11. Sept. 1998 are trying to provide an ethically justified frame for medical decisions conceming the end of life. In certain justified cases they allow non-treatment decisions and allevation of pain and symptoms that might cause the patient's death while they strictly reject voluntary active euthanasia, non-voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide
Fremdnützige Forschung und Sterbehilfe bei nichteinwilligungsfähigen Personen
Authors: Fischer Johannes
Published: September 2014

A main condition for medical treatment is considered to be the »informed consent« of the patient. This criterion protects his/her autonomy. In certain cases, however, it is not applicable, since the patient is not able to give his consent. This may lead to the discrimination of a considerable group of patients, where medical interventions must be refrained from, because of the lacking consent of the persons in question. This concems especially research for the benefit of others and euthanasia. Basing on the concept of the person, this paper develops criteria which should be applied if »informed consent« is not applicable
Leben in des Menschen Hand?
Authors: Körtner Ulrich H. J.
Published: September 2014

This article deals with theological criterions of medical ethics which depends on biblical anthropology and Christian doctrine for the Creation. It criticizes the assertion that life is not disposible as an example of wrong deduction from is to ought. The article also deals with the concept of person and the moral status of embryos and discusses the consequences for medical genetics and prenatal diagnostics
Der »informed consent« und die Menschenwürde
Authors: Schroeder-Kurth Traute
Published: September 2014

The articles of the Convention of Human Rights and Biomedicine (MRK) connect any medical intervention with the »informed consent« of the patient out of respect to Human Dignity by physicians as weil as for treatments and research projects. Nevertheless it becomes apparent that the observation of this principle looses its significance for patients who are incapacitated because of temporal or permanent incompetance to represent their own interests or who are too young to do so. In these cases other attributes of Human Dignity and their observation have to replace the »informed consent«. For inclusion of patients who can't give their consent in clinical studies the MRK formulated strict conditions which exceed the legal prerequisites in Germany. Here clearly the investigation has to benefit each patient directly. The MRK (Article 17 ,2) widens this condition to investigations which may not benefit the patient himself, but serve a group of patients with the same illness or solve problems related to the desease. The deciding bodies will have to inform themselves very carefully not only about the facts for urgent research with incapacitated patients, but also must define terms like »no direct benefit « (Fremdnützigkeit) before German Law will allow adaptation to and ratification of the MRK
Vom Rechten und vom Guten
Authors: Schapp Jan
Published: September 2014

With Plato, ethics answer a fundamental problern of man: the desire to own more and more. In Christianity this problern finally reaches the dimension of evil. By opposing Tiermensch (man/animal) and Vernunftmensch (man/reason), Kant's moral philosophy is no Ionger related to the solution of this problem. Kant tries to constitute moral philosophy as a science. From this point of view the author discusses central notions of Kant's moral philosophy: general rule, knowledge, faith, autonomy
Nächstenschaft und Sozialchoreographien
Authors: Berner Knut
Published: September 2014

The changing of social realities requires a new discussion about the important theological and philosophical thesis, that the command of charity further is self-evident in modern societies. The article describes some problems of this point of view and prefers an ethical theory, which espacially recognizes the artificial character of social choreographics and intends to show their implikations for a theory of cognition, a concept of anthropology and responsible personal acting
Kinderrechte als Menschenrechte
Authors: Kreß Hartmut
Published: September 2014

Abastract

The article analyses the intense public debate between the author Martin Walser and Ignatz Bubis caused by Walser's speach on the occasion of the award of the »Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels 1998«. lt argues that the conflict is based on two different conceptions of democratic public, public moral, and the function of moral elites in public. Both conceptions have religious implications and analogies in traditional theological conceptions of social corporations
Von der Dreiständelehre zur Bereichsethik
Authors: Honecker Martin
Published: September 2014

Social ethics today is understood as an ethics of the institutions of human social interaction. It originated as a discipline during the 19th century under the influence of the modern social sciences. Thus it is a child of the Enlightenment. A Look at the history of ethics, however, reveals that the reformational theory of the three estates (Dreiständelehre) represents an early stage in the development of social ethics. lts origin in Aristotelian philosophy, its development within the Lutheran Reformation, and its end in the Enlightenment are portrayed. Current differentiation of ethics into special areas (Bereichsethiken) as well as efforts to establish the ethos specific to and goveming the application of ethical principles to autonomaus areas of responsibility motivate the topic and intention of this reexamination of the historic theory of the three estates, especially with respect to its theological foundations
Besonnenheit, Gerechtigkeit und Zivilcourage
Authors: Höffe Otfried
Published: September 2014

The scarcity of goods is one of the central problems medical ethics has to deal with. Scarcity results from the connection of a naturallack of goods and human pleonexia, i.e. the desire always to wish for more. The old and the new answer on the problern of pleonexia is temperance which in the health care system could prove itself by considerately dealing with a permanently growing measure of different medical treatments. But since individual temperance can not be generally guaranteed, the question of justice, of a just organization of the Health Care System remains to be answered. A fair weighing of goods, to give a concrete example, is necessary in order to clarify which significance the health care system ought to have in politics, compared with other political topics, for example education. Moreover it is necessary to know for which of the possible medical treatments there exists a just claim for everybody. For this reason a model of health care insurance with different stages is considered.
Grundfragen und Entwicklungspotentiale der ökonomischen Analyse sozialer Gerechtigkeit
Authors: Neumärker K. J. Bernhard
Published: September 2014

This paper deals with problems economists face in formulating a pure economic theory of justice. It is shown that constitutional economics as an approach giving opportunity to endogenize equity in an economic calculus, is only of limited use. It is criticized furthermore that economists neglect the basic problern of universalistic versus local justice. They have not contributed much to the problems of (equitable) implementation and enforcement of norms of justice either. Yet some applications cover the full range of social relations (altruistic preferences, faimess of contracts, political fairness, intergenerational equity), and Iead to an interdisciplinary design of research where the findings of other disciplines are integrated in economic research and methodological advantages of economic theory contribute to noneconomic disciplines
Zum ethischen Problem nuklearer Abschreckung heute
Authors: Reuter Hans-Richard
Published: September 2014

About forty years ago- in 1959- the »Heidelberger Thesen« were published. In (West) German Protestantism, this document was soon accepted as a basis for peace ethics during the Cold War. After the East-West conflict came to an end, nuclear weapons at first appeared irrelevant. But ultimately this did not prove to be the case. One could therefore assume that the Heidelberg compromise formulae would still be valid. The essay disputes this view, referring to the original document's lack of clarity and also to the current political and strategic situation
» ... nicht mit Gold oder Silber«
Authors: Jähnichen Traugott
Published: September 2014

The problematic nature of totalitarian monetary system- in theological terms, the problems which arise when the monetary system is seen as an alternative to God - is weil known. But the presupposition that money is universally dominant has itself tobe reviewed. This article discusses the importance of the monetary system in shaping people's attitude to money, in the functional systems of modern societies, and in the corporate world. lt demonstrates that Christian faith can impose a necessary restriction to the dominance of the monetary system
»Verantwortliche Gesellschaft« - Eine Zukunftsvision ökumenischer Sozialethik?
Authors: Strohm Theodor
Published: September 2014

On the occasion of the 1 001h birthday of Heinz-Dietrich Wendland, it's timetoset one of the key thoughts of his social ethics on the public agenda. He developed the term »responsible society« as »imaginal goal of a future society«. He justified it theologically and made it concrete in social ethics. Theseconnections were brought together and tested in regard to their relevance today in Theodor Strohm's paper
»Haushaltsgruppe« und »Familie«
Authors: Koch Traugott
Published: September 2014

This article deals with different kinds of family life and parenthood that have developed. It is pointed out that for their own and their child's sake the parents should regard their relationship as a Iasting commitment, so that a spirit ofreliability, mutual trust and love can grow. The ethical task in this respect is not so much that ofmeeting a mere demand but- since what is demanded for (reliability, commitment) is, in the first place, a gift-tobe truly aware of one's commitment. The article also reflects upon legal aspects and describes the law's task to support and stabilize the relations people undertake by becoming partners and parents
> ... zum Leben ermutigen<
Authors: Thönissen Wolfgang
Published: September 2014

During the past years the project of ecumenical social ethics was initiated without the burden of dogmatic questions. Jointpositions in questionsrelevant to society could be formulated without a prior consensus in fundamental controversial theological issues. Consequently the question arises whether the wished and aspired joint proclamation of social ethics of the churches really rests on a consensus in fundamental issues of the Christian faith or whether public pressure and the changed normative situation cover up differences which could prove themselves to be exclusive. There are agreements in three areas: in the understanding ofthe Gospel as foundational, in the biblical teaching ofman being created in the image of God as a fundamental article of theological anthropology and in a joint proclamation of the churches as an ecumenical task. Returning to a biblical perspective a consensus in the ethical demands of the Gospel andin the universal claim of biblical ethics can be established which does not exclude but rather include the differences between the traditional denaminational positions. This consensus can be called a »differentiated consensus« similar to the case of the »Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification«. Thus ecumenical social ethics has been relieved from the pressure of having to fully agree in language, form and contents in all conceivable questions.
Gemeinsame Erklärungen der katholischen und evangelischen Kirche zur Ethik
Authors: Kreß Hartmut
Published: September 2014

The joint declarations of the Protestant and Catholic Churches concerning ethical questions express the ecumenical progress achieved so far. However, the present ecumenical tension is obvious in issues conceming the understanding of the church, doctrine, and freedom of conscience. The Catholic Church has recently laid a greater emphasis on the hierarchical, authoritative and binding character of ecclesiastical doctrine in moral issues as weiL For the Protestant Church and theology however freedom of conscience is fundamental. In spite of these theological differences the significance of joint declarations for the future must be emphasized. The arguments of Catholic and Protestant ethics can complement each other in joint declarations. The joint declarations reach !arger parts of today's society than texts worded by only one Church.
Zur Begründung einer Ethik der Forschung an nicht einwilligungsfähigen Patienten
Authors: Maio Giovanni
Published: September 2014

The justification of non-therapeutic research on incapacitated persons isastill unsolved problem, because in this situation, both legitimising factors of research - informed consent and therapeutic benefit - are absent and the question arises as to whether such research is morally justifiable at all. The paperwill ask if there could be arguments for such research. One argument could be that under certain circumstances, an institutionally decreed global renunciation of any type of research on this group of persons could also be illegitimate. Not doing research can do injury to the Principles of Justice because in this manner the needs of a particular group may unjustifiably be ignored. This would aggravate the disadvantaged position of this group in a groundless manner and, in particular, would deprive its members of the basis of self respect Precisely in view of this aspect of Justice non-therapeutic studies on decisionally impaired persans must also be permitted in order to ensure the preservation of basic social goods in regard to these persons.
Kooperation, Konflikt und Anerkennung
Authors: Anzenbacher Arno
Published: September 2014

The systematic development of the concept of justice occurs on the basis of human rights. First, this human rights basis is examined in terms of theories of conflict and cooperation. Furthermore, it is investigated whether wisdom suffices as the basis of human rights or whether moral norms are necessary. With the distinguishing of human rights into negative, active and positive rights, distinctions result with respect to the concept of justice, leading to the concepts of a state under the rule of law, democracy and the welfare state, and explaining the concept of socialjustice through exchange, participation, distribution, and procedural faimess. Overcoming the tension between formal rights of freedom and social rights, reference is made to the principles of subsidiarity and democracy. Finally, issues arising with respect to the theory of justice are considered in relation to the problern of globalisation.
Wie der homo oeconomicus vererbt
Authors: Wink Rüdiger
Published: September 2014

Despite a long tradition of dealing with problems of optimal intergenerational allocation, economists are rarely integrated into debates about strategies to cope with decisions with long-term effects. Cost-benefitanalyses as typical economic methods to evaluate long-term investment strategies mostly neglect the need for basic normative decisions, e.g. about the definition of future generations and their interests. This paper presents first steps of an institutional economics' framework to overcorne these shortcornings and to improve the opportunities of an integrated interdisciplinary approach.
Capability-Approach und Decent Minimum
Authors: Dabrock Peter
Published: September 2014

Facing the impending rationing in health care and consequently necessary priorisation, this article pleads for primarily following the capability approach of justice. The decent minimum of just health care is onentated to the capability of leading a personally responsible life, functioning in its respective society. The capability approach is on the one band semantically justified by considering different ideas of humankind; on the other band, its capability of application is structurally checked by a network of further criteria conceming justice.
Nur eine kurze Epoche
Authors: Roser Traugott
Published: September 2014

Academic resistance in Nazi-Germany between 1941 and 1944 gives a rare example of an exceptional cooperation between scholars of economics, law, history an Protestant theology. Leading representatives of the ordo-liberal Freiburg school of eceonomics (W. Eucken, F. Böhm and others) joined forces with theologians to develop concepts for political, social and economic life in post-war Germany by ordinance of >Bekennende Kirche< represented by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This outstanding example of interdisciplinary thinking proved tobe influential in founding Germany's Social Market System. It stands as a successful, yet singular, way of dialogue between theology and economics.
Glaubensüberzeugungen und säkulare Gründe
Authors: Schmidt Thomas M.
Published: September 2014

John Rawls' conception of a reasonable pluralism proceeds on the epistemological assumption that it is not possible to set up one specific notion of justice attached to certain beliefs about the nature ofthe person, the purpose and the goal of human life. The liberal position insists on the principle of moral justification, according to which no norm is legitimate unless it can be accepted in principle by all affected persons. According to this view, it is recommended, in public debates where the legitimacy of laws and state actions is being disputed, citizens should confine themselves to the use of religious arguments for which independent, secular reasons can be given. This conception has elicited an array of critical responses from authors of a religious persuasion. Critics point above all to the unequal terms of entry to public debates. But it can be shown in termsofamodest foundationalist epistemology that the required translation of religious beliefs in secular reasons is not an unfair and unjustified charge. Personally justified basic beliefs can be tested in intersubjective and public procedures of reasoning without requiring believers to sacrifice their religious or confessional identity.
Begleitung und Widerspruch
Authors: Müller Denis
Published: September 2014

The aim of this article is to analyse and to reconsider the role of theologians in the public sphere, especially within ethic commissions or committees. First, the author discusses origin and structures of the so-called bioethical paradigm. Then, he compares some theoretical models of how this challenge might be met: theological deduction of ethics, autonomy of ethics, and >re-theologisation<. Finally, he proposes four complementary attitudes theologians in ethic committees should adopt: personal or pastoral accompaniment, contradiction, >decentration< or reformulation, and creative reconstruction.
Der technische Imperativ
Authors: Engelhardt K.
Published: September 2014

Current advances of modern medicine, in our diagnostic procedures and therapeutic options, are rapidly progressing. We often concentrate, however, merely on scientific aspects of medical problems rather than including a patient-centred approach and ethical aspects of a disease. Important for a healthy balance between specialism and integrative medicine are those discussed in the article. Suchare a critical appraisal of medical technology, a re-evaluation of patients and their illness, our detailed history-taking and thorough clinical examination and a better understanding and approach to drug diversities. Drug effects and interactions as well as psychosocial aspects of patients and their lives should be fully acknowledged. These themes of daily medical activities (microethics) as mentioned above are suggested tobe further enriched by macroethics at the beginning and end of life.
Der liebe Gott, die Moral und das zweite Pelikanküken
Authors: Huppenbauer Markus
Published: September 2014

The author examines whether a theology of creation is compatible with environmental ethics or not. He argues that theological perception of nature as creation of God is neither anthropocentric nor biocentric. It is a theological argument he gives for this position: First of all theology of creation is in itself not made to function as a basis of ethics. Its subject is the creativity of God and not human beings as moral agents. On the other side biblical texts do not perceive living beings as beings with an intrinsic value. The author further on argues for a compassionate God which takes suffering on earth seriously. Therefore theological theories of everything, explaining evil and suffering to be compatible with the will of God have to be refused. The article ends with a discussion of the metaphor of >playing God< and concludes that there are no reasonable theological arguments agairrst improving human beings genetically.
Docta ignorantia oder: Die Freiheit des Endlichen
Authors: Dierken Jörg
Published: September 2014

The bio-ethical debate on PGD and embryonie stem-cell research is characterized by many paradoxes, regarding the moral status of earliest human life between ›nature‹ and ›subjectivity‹ . The ›conditio humana‹ , however, is not defined by biological features. As a cultural factor, it focuses on the self-realization of the subject in contexts of social acknowledgement. Against this background, the article deals with the anthropological metaphor of the image-of-god and its peculiar character of not being an image. This allows us to explain a ›negative‹ concept of anthropology, analogaus to the dialectical model of ›docta ignorantia‹ . On the one hand, this concept of a human being avoids a definition of its very beginning as coming tagether of ›nature‹ and ›subjectivity‹ , whereas, on the other hand, the absolute dignity of the human is emphasized. By this line of thought some argurnents are clarified, which have arisen in the bioethical debate for and against PGD and stern-cell research.
Fiktion Patientenautonomie?
Authors: Eibach Ulrich
Published: September 2014

Surveys ofpatients (dialysis, general intemal and oncology patients) show that in crisis situations (especially toward the end of life) decisions about their life are primarily left to physicians and relatives. Only few actually have drawn or wish to draw up a living will, and that the trust in physicians and relatives is rnuch more irnportant to thern than any autonomaus self-deterrnination about their life and the type of their treatrnent. So the author points out that a renaissance of an ethics of care is needed, which places the well-being of the ill and dying at the centre of ethical considerations and which constantly attempts to clarify the proper and good goals at which medical treatment and medical care should aim. Such ethics of care is based on relations of trust between the physician and patient which is not possible to establish without confidence-building talks and acquisition and habitualisation of medical and care virtues such as sympathy, goodwill, recognition of limitations of their own abilities, honesty and others. Just plain specialised information about the diagnosis and prognosis, which leaves the »autonomous enlightened« patients alone with their decision is not a sufficient basis for an ethics of care.
Das Subjekt in Recht und Religion
Authors: Koch Traugott
Published: September 2014

The right is founded in the freedom of the individual and cannot be considered as something collectively made up. It has no extemal reason. The positive law which enables the public realization of freedom and therefore can be understood as a gift of God is compulsory upon everybody. At the same time it depends on the consent of the individual. There is no right without consciousness of right and so without conscience.
Religionsunterricht als Werteerziehung?
Authors: Dressler Bernhard
Published: September 2014

Instructing values is being increasingly regarded as an educational goal of religious teaching. However, the concept of value, which forms the basis of this opinion, is problematic from a sociological, philosophical and a theological point of view, and is last, but not least from an educational perspective, equally problematic. It is only partially possible to target attitudes and opinions towards values and define them as educationally intended. Attitudes and opinions towards values are more likely side-etlects of the educational process. Religious education should principally differ from concepts such as the school subject »Lebensgestaltung-Ethik-Religionskunde« (LER) in Brandenburg.
Ethische Implikationen der Ökonomisierung in der Medizin
Authors: Eurich Johannes , Brink Alexander , Langer Andreas , Sehröder Peter
Published: September 2014

The health care sector is currently in a process of economization which, undoubtedly, has an impact on the relationship of physician and patient. In this article, elements of the new institutional economics are applied to the physician-patient-relationship in the sense of a descriptive heuristics. The authors find out that based on the principal-agent-theory paradoxical action settings ofthe physician (here paradigmatically subsumed under the paradox of billing and the paradox of neutrality) can be located. 1t is necessary for policy makers involved in health care to consider these paradoxes. Furthermore, health literacy of lay persans supported by widespread information technology lessens the information gap between physician and patient which changes their interaction with a Iasting effect. Based on this analysis the authors recommend not only to focus on individual ethics of the physician but rather to consider approaches of institutional ethics and incentive systems
Religion und Familie in Deutschland
Authors: Wolf Christof
Published: September 2014

The first two sections of this article describe central developments in the areas of religion and family in Germany. These developments are interpreted as expressions of more general processes of social differentiation and modernization in the third section. The fourth section investigates how many and which children come into contact with church and religion today. It turns out that only a minority of children is introduced to religion. Especially less well-to-do children have little contact to the church. The fifth section deals with the question if different types ofhouseholds differ according to their affiliation to the church. It is shown that church membership, the attendance of services and membership in religious groups in West-Germany are related to the familial character of households.
Umkämpfte Aufmerksamkeit
Authors: Thomas Günter
Published: September 2014

The article enters into the current discussion about an ernerging economy of attention (M.H. Goldhaber, G. Franck). The author rejects the idea of a substitution of a monetary economy by an economy of attention and instead points out the strong connection between the market and human attention which is established by advertising. Basedon the distinction between perceptive and communicative attention, the dynamic of the media system- which attracts and absorbs large quantities of attention by offering audiovisual spaces of perception - is analysed. In addition to this analysis, the place of the church in this cultural situation is examined. As part of a realistic Christian media ethics the author argues in favor of an ecology of attention which would take into account the preservation and development of a dynamic cultural texture, i.e. a sociocultural as well as an individual polyphony of life.
»Schritte auf dem Weg zum Frieden«
Authors: Delbrück Jost
Published: September 2014

Basedon several official pronouncements of the leading organs of the German Evangelical Church in the past decade on the ethical and internationallegal implications of the use of force either as collective action under the authority ofthe United Nations or by individual states, the article critically reviews the positions taken by the Church with regard to their consistency over time. In the early 1990s the Council of the German Evangelical Church clearly stated that peaceful means of conflict resolution generally take priority over forceful means. However, in particular circumstances the use of force as ultima ratio cannot be ruled out. Recently, under the impact of the Iraq crisis, the positions taken were less strict. Due to a lack of a clear distinction between (illegal) unilateral uses of force and (legal) enforcement action by the United Nations it remains unclear whether the Church still unequivocally holds on to its earlier ultima ratio stance. The paper argues that in view of the new challenges posed by global terrorism all social and political forces, including the churches, have to support the United Nations as the central institution for the maintenance of international peace and security which- inter aliis- requires the acceptance of the UN's competence to use enforcement measures in cases of grave breaches of peace including massive human rights violations as ethically and legally legitimate, provided the UN itself stays within the Iimits of the law.
Gerechtigkeit und Effizienz – Optionen für eine gerechte internationale Finanzordnung
Authors: Büseher Martin , Menkhoff Lukas
Published: September 2014

This article about a just interntional financial order is centered on the gap between a normative and a scientific-technical perspective. Instruments of financial policy are connected to concepts of economic ethics to give a more differentiated view about the ethical and economic elements in the discussion about regulating international financial markets. The central issue is in relating economic concepts and the implicit value judgements. This frequent antagonism could also be transferred to sectors of tax-, growthor social policies where economic and ethical aspects are juxtaposed.
Zur Umweltpolitik und zur Menschenrechtspolitik der Volksrepublik China
Authors: Köhler Volkmar
Published: September 2014

The People's Republic of China is facing very severe environmental problems. The first part of this study is explaining this situation and the most important reasons for this. Beginning in 1989/90 the Chinese Government has recognized the danger of ecological devastation. The development and the limitations of environmental politics in Chinaare characterized in the second part. In this phase the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development made a important contribution defining the principles of Chinas environmental politics. Very fruitful has been the concrete Chinese-German Cooperation on Environment. Public awareness is a decisive precondition for solving the environmental problems. Forthis reason the final part of the study is discussing the change of the Chinese society, the development of the civil society and the situation of human rights in China
Medizinethik - auch ein Thema für Afrika?
Authors: Bruchhausen Walter
Published: September 2014

The fundamental bioethical problems of medical progress, i.e. the gap between new medical technologies on the one hand and the inherited moral code as well as limited economic resources on the other, and of social change and cultural pluralism are even more urgent in Africa than in industrialised nations. Several characteristic conflicts result from these tensions: a superior position ofhealth care professionals without the corresponding checks and balances, the allocation of extremely scarce resources in the public sector and within health care, the relationship between biomedicine and 'traditional' healing, and the difference between individualistic and communalistic ethics, e.g. regarding informed consent
Welches Handeln folgt aus dem Glauben? Theologische Bemerkungen zu Werten, Orientierungen und Gewissheit
Authors: Vögele Wolfgang
Published: September 2014

In Protestant theology, values are widely neglected because new sociological and philosophical theories of values arenot taken into consideration. In this paper, the author argues that the theory of values as it is developed by the sociologist Hans Joas is a helpful instrument to understand the connection between freedom, justification, and habit. 1t becomes clear that Christi an belief results in a certain way of everyday ethics and spirituality that needs empirical observation and theological reflection
Schwindende Grenzen zwischen Wirtschaft und Politik
Authors: Scherer Andreas Georg
Published: September 2014

This paper critically considers the responsibility of transnational enterprises in the process of globalization. The traditional state-centric approach with its separation of politics and business is not capable of explaining business behaviour in a globalized world. We review the theory of economic ethics by Karl Hornrom and emphasize the theoretical challenges that need tobe addressed by business ethics. In particular, business ethics has to integrate the political role that transnational enterprises are playing in global govemance processes
Braucht der Markt eine Minimalmoral?
Authors: Märkt Stephan
Published: September 2014

Many authors recently tried to show that markets don't have tobe based on morals as ordering principles. This paper intends to elaborate on two missing aspects in this debate: Firstly, a well-founded critique of this thesis traces back to Durkheim and Parsons. Their arguments on these critical points will bring new insights into the debate of how order is established. Secondly, many authors Iimit their studies to simple game theory-based arguments and on reflections on plausibility conceming the power of the state to enforce the law without explaining steps and conditions for the evidence of the suggested processes. This papertri es to fill some of these gaps; it will show that there are good arguments for real markets based on law and especially on morals to reach a high Ievel of division of labour
Rückkehr der Pflichten gegen sich selbst?
Authors: Goertz Stephan
Published: September 2014

What can be understood as one's duty to oneself is decided by one's understanding of what the ,self' is. This holds for philosophical as much as for theological ethics. The article tries to show that Christian faith, in the interests of a culture of common freedom, should take up a ditferentiated position towards the (post)modem care of the self
Sterben in der modernen Stadt
Authors: Körtner Ulrich H.J.
Published: September 2014

The nationwide supply with the afferings of Palliative Care is a generally acknowledged aim. But it is disputed whether it is a sufficient alternative to death on demand or assisted suicide. This is being discussed on a European level. But what the current discussion is Jacking of, are empirical studies regarding the culture of dying. The case study at hand Iooks into the basic social and cultural conditions in a large city. It also discusses the consequences of religious change and the inter-religious situation on the palliativemovement and their relation to the churches
Strukturwandel der Freiheit
Authors: Walther Christian
Published: September 2014

In consequence of developments particularly in Brain - Research, freedom has become again subject of a newly opened debate. The number of different and controversial positions is remarkable.Has freedom tobe understood as result of determinism based on neural processes? To what extend does this affect traditional teachings of guilt and responsability? Or has freedom still to be seen as beeing grounded in man' s undetermined free will? What are the consequences Ethics has to face in view of traditional concepts offreedom? To what extend do those concepts have tobe critically re-examined? This essay is focussing on different and controversial arguments that are exchanged in the ongoing debate, as it even tries to line out ways of approach to solve a vital issue
Nächstenliebe als berechenbare Dienstleistung
Authors: Eurich Johannes
Published: September 2014

The introduction of market principles creates a basic change in managing instruments of social services. The economic rationality is often not mediated with rationalities of professional standards or theological programs. Due to economical pressure, it becomes more and more difficult to maintain a value oriented service. On top of this, the function of ecclesiastical welfare institutions as an advocate for socially week people is in danger to get lost. Looking for answers, the article concentrates on presently discussed concepts of restructuring institutions of church welfare. These concepts are contrasted by actual developments within the domain of church welfare.
Person und Freiheit
Authors: Kobusch Theo
Published: September 2014

The modern concept of personhood as it is used e.g. in national constitutions and international agrecments is closely tied to the idea of freedom: thus understood, the person is the proper object of a »metaphysics of morals« (Kant) the roots of which go back to the Middle Ages. Hegel's philosophy of right, which takes up this tradition, and the »spcculative ethics« which followed his Iine of thinking havc tobe regardcd as philosophies of personhood because they understand the being of the person essentially as a kind of communicative freedom.- The prcsent discussions ccntering on freedom ofthe will are obviously unawae of this tradition although they might profit a Iot from taking it into consideration.
Eigentum und Reich Gottes
Authors: Lindemann Andreas
Published: September 2014

The story of the »Rich Young Man« is one of the most popular biblical texts in the Christian ethical discussion on property and wealth. But looking at the tradition history of this story, we see very different views on the topic, already in the synoptic gospels. Clement of Alexandria, at the end of the second century, giving a detailed exegesis of the Markan (!) version, presents an »economic« interpretation. Thus, the early history of exegesis shows that »simple answers« are not helpful.
Das Befremden des Eigenen. Evangelisch-theologische Beobachtungen katholischer Moraltheologie und evangelischer Differenzen ihr gegenüber
Authors: Dabrock Peter
Published: September 2014

The article presents Observations of Catholic moral teaching from the perspective of Protestant theology in the form of theses. In a first section, main traits and distinctions, especially in the tradition of the claimed Magisterium of the Catholic Church, are outlined. The second section deals with typical Protestant critiques and misunderstandings of the Catholic approach. Following this article they are caused by confounding different Ievels of argumentation: the Ievels of a) the doctrines of teaching, b) the acting of teaching and c) the comprehensive cultural practice. Unfolding these distinctions and their particular functionings the article draws the surprising conclusion that Protestant theology and ethics often do not match Catholic thinking although they think they do by using the same words. This conclusion may have a huge impact on ecumenical ventures and the Protestant self-understanding. A third section, a brief outlook on these questions, completes the train of thoughts.
Patientenverfügungen: Balanceakt zwischen Autonomie und Fürsorge, Chance für das Arzt-Patienten-Verhältnis
Authors: Krug Henriette
Published: September 2014

During the last two years several committees discussed the question of enlarging patients' autonomy in living wills. The problern is to tind a way to grant patients' wishes without violating the state's duty to preserve human life. One basic question in the debate is the meaning of human dignity. Deducing from the Christian image of man the author describes chances and Iimits of living wills and presents a way of handling them. In her opinion living wills represent a chance for a succeeding, trusting physician-patient- relationship in the age of high-tech medicine.
Diskriminierung und Privatsphäre
Authors: Lübbe Weyma
Published: September 2014

This article examines the claim that the practice of selective abortion after prenatal testing discriminates against the disabled. First, the difference between a legal claim (be it de lege lata or de lege ferenda) and a weaker and less clearly addressed, but more frequently expressed »moral« claim is considered. The argument proceeds then by considering the analogy of »discriminating« against the disabled in partner choice. The liberal idea of a sphere of privacy where selective behaviour is nottobe criticised is assessed and its justitiable and non-justifiable aspects are brought out.
Konkrete Embryonen und konkrete Menschen - Kripkes Tipps zur Vermeidung einer Irritation
Authors: Ohly Lukas
Published: September 2014

This article offers an argument against the equal state of embryosinhuman right. It uses S.A. Kripke's theory of reference and defends it against newer objections. According to Kripke's premise about the necessity of origin the article describes a moral dilemma since embryos are treated as individual humans. Ethics has many more resources to defend embryos against the claims of scientific research
Menschenwürde und Anerkennung
Authors: Fischer Johannes
Published: September 2014

The essay discusses two different conceptions of human dignity. According to the first conception, ›respecting the dignity of a human being‹ means to respect something specific that is given by her being human. According to the second conception, however, ›respecting the dignity of a human being‹ means to respect her as a human being. With regard to the first understanding, one is bound to respect human dignity (as an abstract concept), whereas on the basis of the second conception, we owe respect to the human being herself. The duty to respect human dignity serves as a foundation for duties we have with regard to human beings as such. The duty to respect someone as the human being she is, however, is a duty towards her. This duty therefore justifies a right she may claim, namely the right to be respected as a human being. The core of human dignity, then, is this rights-conferring status of being human. This article reacts to the German debate on human embryonic research. Participants in this debate argue that human dignity depends on being human in a generic sense. According to them, the early embryo participates in this sense of being human, which allows them to apply the concept of human dignity, including the absolute protection it entails, to human embryos. The author criticizes this view, claiming that it undermines the very idea of human dignity by neglecting the rights-conferring status of being a particular human being which is at its core. Rather, a »decent society« (Avishai Margalit) is characterized by the fact that its members are treated and respected as (individual) rights-holders.
Der Pfarrberuf als vertrauenswürdige Profession
Authors: Langer Andreas
Published: September 2014

Analysing the profession of ministers (pastors, priests) in terms of sociologically and ethically funded profession ethics makes a mode of regulation and control in knowledge-based professional action - profession ethics - describable which is closely linked to trust. To adopt trust as an imperative of figuration however, it must be discussed ethically. A theoretical discourse of implementation in an institutional ethics perspective leads to alternative recommendations for figuration: Trust in the profession of ministers is no longer generated by conscious intransparancy, by smothering up mistakes and fallacies and the concealment of control of ministers but by transparancy, feeling obliged to visions, having clear aims, common identity and cooperation structures between professionals and parishioners