bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Macht oder Metaphysik
Authors: Steinvorth Ulrich
Published: May 2016

Our acting and thinking can be guided by two ends which may combine but are irreducible nevertheless: the end of satisfying one’s interests and the end of distinguishing between true and false, right and wrong. Recognition of the difference between these ends led philosophers before the modem age to contrasting the life of power and the life of spirit or mind. Modern philosophers, in particular pragmatists, utilitarians and communication theorists, tried to show that truth and justice can be conceived of without implying an opposition to power and mind. I argue that they are wrong.
Zur Philosophie der Demokratie: Arrow-Theorem, Liberalität und strukturelle Normen
Authors: Nida-Rümelin Julian
Published: May 2016

The paradoxes and dilemmas of social choice theory can be taken as an argument against a certain view of democracy: For the identity theory democracy represents a collective actor standing for aggregated individual interests. According to a second model of society, democracy has its normative basis in structural traits of interaction and cooperation. Within the formal theory of politics both the Arrow-Theorem and the Liberal Paradox undermine the identity theory and give us reasons for the second, the normative theory which takes democracy as being constituted by structural rules.
Der ungleiche Wert der Freiheit
Authors: Rössler Beate
Published: May 2016

Starting from the given societal fact of an unequal ‘worth of freedom’ for men and women in pursuing possible plans of life, and the assumption that this difference is due to the distinction between the private and public realm, the author investigates into the gender-structure of recent political theories. Following the lines of the debate between communitarians and liberals she argues for the thesis that while communitarians try to ‘privatize’ the public sphere on the model of the ideal family or given traditions of communities and thus cannot account for the idea of emancipation from given structures and roles, liberals have to ‘publicize’ the private in order to give substance to the idea of an ‘equal worth of freedom’ for men and women. Thus, liberalism has to rethink the theoretical distinction of the private and the public sphere and its practical consequences.
Micro-Macro Transitions in Rational Choice Explanations
Authors: Opp Karl-Dieter
Published: May 2016

The rational choice approach focuses on explaining macrosocial phenomena or relationships by applying a theory about the behavior of individual actors. This paper addresses James S. Coleman’s account of micro-macro transitions involved in rational choice explanations. The starting point of this account is a macro-relationship. Its independent variable has a causal effect on the independent variable of a micro-relationship. The dependent variable of this relationship in turn influences the dependent variable of the macro-relationship (see Figure 1 of this paper). The paper extends this account by delineating other types of micro-macro explanations and discusses some of its problems.
The Street-Level Epistemology of Trust
Authors: Hardin Russell
Published: May 2016

Rational choice and other accounts of trust base it in objective assessments of the risks and benefits of trusting. But rational subjects must choose in the light of what knowledge they have, and that knowledge determines their capacities for trust. This is an epistemological issue, but not at the usual level of the philosophy of knowledge. Rather, it is an issue of pragmatic rationality for a given actor. It is commonly argued that trust is inherently embedded in iterated, thick relationships. But such relationships are merely one source of relevant knowledge in a street-level epistemological account. Early experience may heavily influence later capacity for trust. For example, bad experience may lead to lower levels of trust and therefore fewer opportunities for mutual gain.
Putting Coleman’s Transition Right-Side Up
Authors: Blau Peter M.
Published: May 2016

Coleman states that social phenomena cannot be directly accounted for by their social antecedents without analyzing three intervening steps: what motives the antecedents create, how these affect individual behavior, and the transition from the acts of interdependent individuals to social phenomena. The last is most important. I agree, but Foundations has its causal link upside down. Reanalyzing some of his cases, I try to show that macrostructures are not the product of microfoundations but the existential conditions that circumscribe individuals’ choices.
Die Kontroverse um die Menschenrechte
Authors: Tugendhat Ernst
Published: May 2016

It is assumed a) that the statement that a human right exists means that a state which does not grant it is not legitimate, and b) that the legitimacy of power can, in modern times, be justified only by showing that it is in the equal interest of everybody. Mere democracy is insufficient to legitimate political power. Freedom for every individual must be guaranteed. So much is common ground in the controversy on human rights, but to interpret these freedom as a negative freedom, as the classical conception of human rights has done, is insufficient and therefore illegitimate, because it is not in the equal interest of everybody. To add a positive concept of freedom is correct but not enough, because it still neglects those who even if they are given the facilities do not have the capacity. Since the handicapped, the old and the young cannot even enter a contract and the disposessed cannot enter a fair contract, the contractarian foundation of human rights must be discarded.
The Point of Politics
Authors: Betzig Laura
Published: May 2016

Why do men and women compete? And what makes them compete more or less? An answer to the first question follows directly from Darwin. If Homo sapiens, like other species, is a product of natural selection, then we should have evolved to compete in order to reproduce. An answer to the second question follows from more recent versions of Darwinism. People, like other organisms, are likely to compete socially - to form dominance hierarchies - to the extent that it is costly for subordinates to flee ecologically. This paper first reviews evidence that winners at political competition have consistently won at reproductive competition. Next, it documents the slow shift toward declining political competition - toward democracy, and toward declining reproductive competition - toward monogamy, in the course of Western history. Last, it offers a model of what might account for that change.
Die biologischen Wurzeln des Inzestverbots
Authors: Klein Jörg
Published: May 2016

Does an inclination towards incest exist and why is incest prohibited? There are mainly two points of view: that of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, and that of Edward Westermarck, a Finnish-British anthropologist. Freud is of the opinion that men have a profound desire for incest, whereas Westermarck presumes an instinctive aversion against it. Nowadays the discussion has received fresh impulse due to a modem interpretation of Westermarck’s theory and the controversy over the sexual abuse of children in their families. The author is in favour of the Westermarck theory and tries to explain the prohibition of incest based on a natural inhibition towards incest.
Structured and Unstructured Valuation
Authors: Broome John
Published: May 2016

Economists can value things for cost-benefit analysis using either a structured or an unstructured approach. The first imposes some theoretical structure on the valuation; the second does not. This paper explains the difference between the approaches and examines the relative merits of each. Cost-benefit analysis may be aimed at finding what would be the best action, or alternatively at finding which action should be done in a democracy. The paper explains the difference, and argues that the appropriate aim is the first. Given that, it comes down in favour of the structured approach to valuation. As an example, it discusses different approaches to valuing life in economics.
Sind alle Werte vergleichbar?
Authors: Schaber Peter
Published: May 2016

Are the values of different options and goods, as cost-benefit analysis assumes, commensurable? Not always. The incommensurability of certain options is based on the fact that preferences are sometimes not rankable, even if the agent is fully informed about the options in question. In addition, even if all values were commensurable they could not be compared in monetary terms. If this is the case, cost-benefit analysis should not be seen as a decision procedure.
Rational Choice Fundierungen von Gerechtigkeitsprinzipien
Authors: Schmidt Johannes
Published: May 2016

The paper draws on a conceptual analysis of justice in discussing the power of rational choice justifications of conceptions of justice. It is argued that the concept of justice can be reduced to two independent moral dimensions. From this conceptual thesis a simple conceptional criterion is derived which any powerful theory of justice must satisfy. An attempt is made to use this fundamental criterion in evaluating a wide variety of rational choice theories of justice. It is shown that there is but one variant of the rational choice approach which in substantiating principles of justice does not violate this criterion.
Steiner’s Trilemma
Authors: López Eduardo Rivera
Published: May 2016

I try to show that Steiner’s theory has very implausible normative consequences since it does not accept the prima facie character or rights. This theory is unable to solve the conflicts of interests in which the only intuitively plausible solution consists in overriding someone’s rights.
Welfare, Rights, and Social Choice Procedure: A Perspective
Authors: Suzumura Kotaro
Published: May 2016

Sen’s “The Impossibility of a Paretian Liberal” was meant to crystallize his fundamental criticism against the welfaristic basis of welfare economics in general, and social choice theory in particular. This paper vindicates Sen’s criticism, arguing that its logical relevance is not lost in light of recent criticisms against his method of articulating individual rights in terms of a person’s decisive power in social choice. We show that some recent proposals that Sen’s articulation failed to capture a strong libertarian tradition of free contract and that an appropriate formulation of this tradition wipes off the Sen impossibility cannot be sustained. We then show that the game form articulation of rights casts serious doubts on the Sen articulation of liberty, but the Sen impossibility strenuously comes back in the context of realizing conferred game form rights as well as in the context of initial conferment of game form rights.
Right or Seemly?
Authors: Binmore Ken
Published: May 2016

This paper suggests that rights are best seen as being part of the description of a social state rather than as constituents of the mechanism by means of which society selects a social state. A theory of this kind is outlined in which a social state is modeled as an equilibrium in the game of life played by the citizens of a society.
Individual Rights and Legal Validity
Authors: Hees Martin van
Published: May 2016

The condition of liberty which Sen used in his famous theorem on the impossibility of the Paretian liberal was defined in terms of individual preferences. The preference-based approach has been the subject of much criticism, which led to the evolution of the game-theoretic analysis of rights. In this approach no references to individual preferences are made. Two questions are examined in this paper: how can different types of right be distinguished within a game-theoretic setting, and how do rights come into existence? These questions are addressed on the basis of ideas originating from legal theory. The discussion shows that an analysis of rights should take account of the whole legal system of which a legal norm forms part. Furthermore, it reveals that preferences should be re-introduced into the formal study of individual rights.
Constitutional and Liberal Rights
Authors: Mueller Dennis C.
Published: May 2016

Amartya Sen has demonstrated a possible inconsistency between a (liberal) right and Pareto optimality. Neither Sen nor the subsequent literature have discussed the origin of the rights that lead to the liberal paradox. In this article I examine one possible origin of rights definitions-a constitutional contract agreed to by all members of the community. Constitutional rights are show to be vulnerable to a similar paradox as with liberal rights, but if the writers of the constitution were correct in their choice of actions to protect, such paradoxes will be unlikely and involve small welfare losses when they do occur. The article demonstrates that both the origin of rights and their potential role in advancing the interests of citizens can be explained using a utilitarian/welfarist methodology.
Diskursverfahren: Liebe auch auf den zweiten Blick?
Authors: Oberholzer-Gee Felix , Vautravers-Busenhart lsabelle , Falk Armin , Spindler Jürg de
Published: May 2016

Discourse-based processes seek to arrive at socially acceptable decisions by adhering to a specific set of procedures. In this case study, we empirically test how successful the ,Cooperative Discourse' was in identifying a socially acceptable site for a solid-waste landfill in Switzerland. Our results indicate that even individuals living in the community designated as the prospective site think highly of the ,Cooperative Discourse', but they know close to nothing about this procedure. This ignorance is rational, because, under Swiss laws, the recommendations of the discourse are not legally binding and siting projects can easily be thwarted by town hall meetings. In this case, the ,Cooperative Discourse' may have reached a consensus proposal because this proposal is socially not very relevant.
Auf der Suche nach dem Gespenst des Ökonomismus
Authors: Kirchgässner Gebhard
Published: May 2016

First, the role of markets as co-ordination mechanisms and, more generally, the role of exchange relations in a society is discussed. We consider illegal markets as well as markets where transactions are performed not using money but some other exchange medium. Secondly, we ask for the political possibilities to intervene into such markets. Finally, we discuss the increasing ,economising of social relations' and possible reasons for it.
Weltarmut und Ressourcen-Zugang
Authors: Kesselring Thomas
Published: May 2016

Thomas Pogge suggests that world poverty should be fighted against with the help of a global dividend on resources (GRD). In the first part of this comment Pogge’s moral argumentation is reviewed. In the second part the coherence of the GRD proposal is discussed critically. It is argued that GRD should be spent primarily for ecological purposes.
Triumph und Grenzen des Marktes
Authors: Beckert Jens
Published: May 2016

While markets are important mechanisms for coordination of social exchange it has to be looked at their limits and preconditions as well. This paper advocates three claims: First, under conditions of externalities and asymmetric distribution of information the eflicient functioning of markets depends on non-market institutions. Second, social limitations of the expansion of markets reflect a value-realm in which society constitutes itself. These values, though they change, are normatively immune against efficiency consideration. Third, the rational-actor model of economics is insufficient for the understanding of the non-rational preconditions of markets and the embeddedness of markets in social values.
Diskussion/Discussion. Normen und das ökonomische Handlungsmodell
Authors: Beckert Jens
Published: May 2016

This note on my exchange with G. Kirchgässner points to a possible misunderstanding and one serious difference of opinion. On the empirical side I tried to make visible social values and norms which cannot be reduced to economic preferences. On the normative side I tried to criticise the rational-choice-approach for being either obviously wrong or empirically empty.
Die ,sozialdemokratische‘ und die ,liberale‘ Variante der neoaristotelischen Sozialphilosophie
Authors: Dietrich Frank
Published: May 2016

This article examines the neoaristotelian theories of Martha Nussbaum and Douglas Rasmussen/Douglas Den Uyl. Both sides give a similar account of good human living, which emphasizes the significance of individual autonomy. But they disagree sharply on the political institutions necessary to promote human flourishing; Nussbaum formulates a ,social democratic' position; Rasmussen/Den Uyl hold a ,liberal‘ standpoint. The article explores both lines of reasoning. It is shown that neither Nussbaum nor Rasmussen/Den Uyl present conclusive arguments for their political position.
John Searle’s Social Ontology
Authors: Lagerspetz Eerik
Published: May 2016

The theory presented in John Searle’s The Construction of Social Reality has a lot in common with the conventionalist view of institutions. Conventionalism, however, can explain how there can be institutional facts without pre-existing rules, and why people comply with institutional rules.
Collective Intentionality, Self-referentiality, and False Beliefs: Some Issues Concerning Institutional Facts
Authors: Celano Bruno
Published: May 2016

J. R. Searle’s general theory of social and institutional reality, as deployed in some of his recent work (The Construction of Social Reality, 1995; Social Ontology and the Philosophy of Society, 1998}, raises many deep and interesting problems. Four issues are taken up here: (1) Searle’s claim to the effect that collective intentionality is a primitive, irreducible form of intentionality; (2) his account of one of the most puzzling features of institutional concepts, their having a self-referential component; (3) the question as to the point, or points, of having institutions; (4) Searle's claim to the effect that false beliefs on the part of the members of the relevant community are compatible with the existence of related institutional facts. It is argued that, under all four respects, Searle's theory proves to be hardly satisfactory.
Generalised Reciprocity and Reputation in the Theory of Cooperation: A Framework
Authors: Abell Peter , Reyniers Diane
Published: May 2016

We study the Iterated Bilateral Reciprocity game in which the need for help arises randomly. Players are heterogeneous with respect to ‘neediness’ i.e. probability of needing help. We find bounds on the amount of heterogeneity which can be tolerated for cooperation (all players help when asked to help) to be sustainable in a collectivity. We introduce the notion of Generalised Reciprocity. Individuals make a costly first move to benefit another under the reasonable expectation that either the other or somebody else will reciprocate. We hope that these tentative attempts at extending Axelrod’s seminal work on cooperation will inspire future efforts in the field of organisational culture and social theory more generally.
Exit, Anonymity and the Chances of Egoistical Cooperation
Authors: EdK-Group
Published: May 2016

This paper presents the results of computer simulations with a community of actors playing a large number of voluntarily iterated two-person-PD. The simulations are designed to enable uncooperative actors to exploit partners, leave them and find a new partner who knows nothing about their previous behavioral history. Hit-and-run exploitation should thrive under these conditions. However, as Schuessler (1989; 1990) has shown, the setting is highly unfavorable to uncooperative players. The present study extends this result to a wider set of strategies which can alternatively stay with defectors {and try to improve them) or leave them quickly. In addition, a class of seemingly clever strategies is introduced which try to exploit the expected dynamics of looking for a partner. Still, a high amount of egoistical cooperation can persist in the present scenario.
On Six Advances in Cooperation Theory
Authors: Axelrod Robert
Published: May 2016

The symposium included in this issue of Analyse & Kritik extends the basis of Cooperation Theory as set forth in Axelrod’s Evolution of Cooperation (1984). This essay begins with an overview of Cooperation Theory in terms of the questions it asks, its relationship to game theory and rationality, and the principal methodologies used, namely deduction and simulation. This essay then addresses the issues raised in the symposium, including the consequences of extending the original paradigm of the two person iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma to take into account such factors as nonsimultaneous play, the ability to offer hostages for performance, social networks of interaction, information sharing that can support reputations, learning behavior, envy, misunderstanding, and an option to exit. The essay places the contributions of this symposium in the context of previous research on these and related issues.
Sind Marktpreise gerecht?
Authors: Michel Heiner
Published: May 2016

This article objects to two major economistic shortcomings of Philippe Van Parijs’s Real Freedom for All: (1) Van Parijs claims that market prices are the best metric for equal real freedom. This is challenged. Market prices admittedly are the best instrument for distributive purposes at hand. They are, however, a means of transport for supply and demand contingendes. Hence market prices are to be considered as an insufficient metric for equal freedom. (2) Van Parijs claims that Real Freedom for All is all there is to social justice. This claim is rejected. Despite its demanding egalitarian ambition, Real Freedom for All fails to protect a flourishing human life. Basic human rights like the right to social recognition and, in part, the right to health care are violated. Curiously even the right to autonomy is in want of full protection. These lacks are caused by the monetarism and the Straightforward market optimism of Real Freedom for All.
Die Bretter, die gebohrt werden, bleiben dick
Authors: Strünck Christoph
Published: May 2016

Deregulation of the political process could be an instrument to reduce the overwhelming power of specialised interest groups and tighten the links between voters and politicians. But deregulation causes serious problems. Reputation pooling by international political enterprises depends on a transnational public sphere which is quite unrealistic. And political enterprises are not capable of shaping candidates for public service. Putting political finance in the hands of voters simply moves lobbying activities to the level of voters and does not change the asymmetrical influence of interest groups. Above all, the idea that political enterprises exchange experts in parliament does not fit into the crucial principle of parliamentary government and political responsibility.
Politik ohne Wettbewerbshindernisse
Authors: Weede Erich
Published: May 2016

Whereas Eichenberger advocates better policies by deregulation of politics, politicians and political scientists in Western Europe are quite satisfied with Western democracies and their performance. This satisfaction is based on neglecting the insights from ‘Public Choice’ theorizing as well as on negating the coming pension crisis in ageing societies. Including Eichenberger’s ideas there are now five schools of thought about how to improve Western democracies: more direct democracy, strengthening market-preserving federalism, less law and fewer lawyers, exploiting international rivalries for limiting government and, now, dismantling the protection from foreign competition which elected representatives enjoy almost everywhere in the West.
Kidney Allocation in Eurotransplant
Authors: Ahlert Marlies , Gubematis Gundolf , Kliemt Hartmut
Published: May 2016

In the Eurotransplant region transplantable kidneys from cadaveric donors are allocated according to the Wujciak-Opelz algorithm. This paper shows that the algorithm as it stands fulfils certain normative standards of a more formal nature while violating others. In view of these insights, it is explored how the algorithm could perhaps be improved. Even if issues of substantial rather than formal adequacy need to be addressed separately, analyses as presented in this paper can prepare the ground for a discussion of substantive normative issues. In any event, axiomatic accounts can tell us something about what we are in fact doing when using a procedure like the Wujciak-Opelz algorithm.
The Eurotransplant Kidney Allocation Algorithm–Moral Consensus or Pragmatic Compromise?
Authors: Marckmann Georg
Published: May 2016

The selection and balancing of values for the Eurotransplant kidney allocation algorithm poses both practical and ethical challenges. The paper argues that any allocation algorithm can only be justified by reference to some substantive conception of a good life that reflects our value preferences regarding the allocation of scarce donor kidneys. It is concluded that the criterion of HLA compatibility maximizes overall rather than individual utility. The paper emphasizes that good pragmatic arguments for maintaining the primacy of HLA matching can never replace a more systematic, independent ethical justification. As neither the selection nor the balancing of the different allocation criteria are based on an explicit ethical justification, the paper concludes that the choice of the Wujciak-algorithm was rather a product of pragmatic compromise than moral consensus.
Functionalist Socialization, Family and Character
Authors: Mackie Gerry
Published: May 2016

According to functionalism, the family internalizes and transmits society’s supposed value consensus from one generation to the next, and such socialization explains morality, social order, and cultural uniformities. I present three investigations that challenge the concept of functionalist socialization, and propose alternative theories that may better explain observations. First, I present evidence from developmental psychology based largely on American subjects and an ethnographic report from Burkina Faso which suggest that the characters of children are not formed by parental socialization. Second, I report data from Europe which suggest that the weaker is family and its supervision, the stronger is character and internalized morality. Third, I report an account of European modernization which suggests that weaker family ties broaden extrafamilial associations and generalize moral orientation. Finally, I suggest that Schelling’s game-theoretic account of social conventions is a better explanation of cultural continuities and discontinuities than is functionalism.
lndividualism and Holism in the Social Sciences
Authors: Bradie Michael
Published: May 2016

Harold Kincaid’s Individualism and the Unity of Science is a subtle and nuanced analysis of the interlocking themes and issues surrounding the struggle between ‘holists’ and ‘individualists’ in the social sciences. Two major claims, one substantial and one methodological, emerge from this analysis. The substantial claim is a defense of a ‘non-reductive unity’ of the sciences. The methodological claim is that the disputes between reductionists and pluralists or between individualists and holists are empirical and not conceptual disputes. In this paper, I focus on what I take to be Kincaid’s central theses.
Motive zu moralischem Handeln
Authors: Lumer Christoph
Published: May 2016

This paper tries to provide a complete list and classification of the motives for acting in accordance with morals, to explain the mechanisms underlying the less transparent among these motives, and to probe which of these motives are suited for justifying morals. (1) After giving reasons for the importance of an empirical theory of moral motives for ethics, and after specifying the exact question of the present study (2) a general model of moral action (3) and a main classification of the motives for acting morally is presented. (4) Self-transcendent motives, (5) motives close to morals, like sympathy and respect, (6) and moral motives in the narrow sense, which proceed from moral judgements, are scrutinized in detail. Only the motives near to morals and interest in cooperation but not the moral motives in the narrow sense are suited for justifying morals. (7) A concluding sketch of the development of moral judgements shows that only motives near to morals and interest in cooperation (but not e.g. pure reason) are also the sources of autonomously developed moral criteria.
Methodologische Probleme der Kooperation von Rechts- und Wirtschaftswissenschaft
Authors: Gemtos Petros
Published: May 2016

Recent developments in economics and the science of law emphasize their cooperation for a better understanding of social structures and interactions, an effective application of social scientific knowledge and a rational evaluation and implementation of social norms. There are, however, difficult methodological problems in this endeavor: Whereas economics is mainly (with the exception of welfare economics) an empirical science which collects information about economic activities and the functioning of the economic system, the science of law is a normative discipline aiming at solving social conflicts and establishing rational principles for judicial decisions. In this paper, we suggest a three-level scheme for the interdisciplinary cooperation of law and economics, addressing the different problems that positive and normative economics face as they apply economic knowledge to legal matters. Economic analysis of law is proposed as a model for a general transformation of the traditionally hermeneutical jurisprudence into an analytic-normative science of law based on theoretical expectation (explanation) and the rational evaluation of the consequences of legal rules and principles.
Armutsexternalitäten: Verfassungsökonomische Rechtfertigung für eine kollektive Grundsicherung
Authors: Märkt Jörg
Published: May 2016

This paper analyzes the institution of benefit payments from the constitutional economics point of view. Benefit payments cannot be legitimized only by the veil of uncertainty about the personal future income position. From the constitutional economics perspective, they are only justified if externalities of poverty as a genuine public good problem are taken into account. A system of public benefit payments raise up two problems: first it has to overcome the problem of free-riding with regard to transfer payments, and secondly it should not provide incentives for the beneficiary to restrain the own efforts to work. Hence a double commitment is necessary: On the one hand, this commitment must regulate, in which way a citizen is engaged in the financing transfer payments, and on the other hand it has to include obligations for the potential recipients of the transfer payments to immediately return to working life.
Poverty and Responsibility in a Globalized World
Authors: Kreide Regina
Published: May 2016

This article seeks to explain some of the ramifications of globalization processes for the pressing problem of increasing global poverty. It distinguishes two competing approaches to explaining the causes of poverty-related injustice and justifying conceptions of obligations towards the poor. A first approach, the assistance approach, is mainly directed at identifying inappropriate worldwide income and asset distribution; the other, the causal approach focuses on the effects international regulations have on people’s lives. This article explains that both approaches depend on the interpretation of the current state of economic and political interdependence. It is argued that both conceptions have their pitfalls, but that from a theoretical as well as pragmatic point of view, it makes sense to defend an ‘integrated’ perspective that also takes into account the responsibility of non-state actors.
Die moralische Bedeutung politischer Grenzen
Authors: Dietrich Frank
Published: May 2016

In his recent book One World one of Peter Singer’s main concerns is the preferential treatment of compatriots. Two aspects of Singer’s theoretical reflections on this issue are critically discussed: the use of an impartiality test as basis for the justification of special duties and the resulting condemnation of partial preferences for compatriots. Subsequently, an alternative way to justify special duties is outlined and applied to the case of fellow citizens. It is argued, that partiality to compatriots can be defended, if special duties are regarded as a constitutive part of valuable relationships.
Four Charges Against the WTO
Authors: Schefczyk Michael
Published: May 2016

My comment on the third chapter of Peter Singer’s One World consists of two parts. In the first, I criticise a common but simplistic approach to the issue of economic globalisation. This approach presumes that charges against the WTO can be translated-more or less directly-into charges against current development trends of the global economy. The WTO is not the only institution that legally structures the global economy, nor are decisions of the GATT or WTO panel necessarily reliable indicators of the major trends in the ever more integrated world market. It is, moreover, far from clear whether competition between jurisdictions leads to a ‘race to the bottom’. In the second part of the paper, I (i) criticise the idea of a general conftict between ‘the market’ and ‘democracy’. (ii) I defend the WTO’s consensus rule against Singer’s charge of being “a very strange view of democracy” and try to make its benefits clear.
How May Virtual Communication Shape Cooperation in a Work Team?
Authors: Flache Andreas
Published: May 2016

This paper addresses theoretically the question how virtual communication may affect cooperation in work teams. The degree of team virtualization, i.e. the extent to which interaction between team members occurs online, is related to parameters of the exchange. First, it is assumed that in online interaction task uncertainties are higher than in face-to-face contacts. Second, the gratifying value of peer rewards is assumed to be lower in online contacts. Thirdly, it is assumed that teams are different in the extent to which members depend on their peers for positive affections, operationalized by the extent to which team members are interested in social relationships for their own sake, independently from their work interactions. Simulation results suggest both positive and negative effects of team virtualization on work-cooperation.
Trust and Community in Open Source Software Production
Authors: Osterloh Margit , Rota Sandra
Published: May 2016

Open source software production is a successful new innovation model which disproves that only private ownership of intellectual property rights fosters innovations. It is analyzed here under which conditions the open source model may be successful in general. We show that a complex interplay of situational, motivational, and institutional factors have to be taken into account to understand how to manage the ‘tragedy of the commons’ as well as the ‘tragedy of the anticommons’. It is argued that the success of this new innovation model is greatly facilitated by a well balanced portfolio of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, low costs for contributors and governance mechanisms that do not crowd out intrinsic motivation.
Altruists with Green Beards
Authors: Fehr Ernst , Fischbacher Urs
Published: May 2016

If cooperative dispositions are associated with unique phenotypic features (’green beards’), cooperative individuals can be identified. Therefore, cooperative individuals can avoid exploitation by defectors by cooperating exclusively with other cooperative individuals; consequently, cooperators flourish and defectors die out. Experimental evidence suggests that subjects, who are given the opportunity to make promises in face-to-face interactions, are indeed able to predict the partner’s behavior better than chance in a subsequent Prisoners’ Dilemma. This evidence has been interpreted as evidence in favor of green beard approaches to the evolution of human cooperation. Here we argue, however, that the evidence does not support this interpretation. We show, in particular, that the existence of conditional cooperation renders subjects' choices in the Prisoners’ Dilemma predictable. However, although subjects predict behavior better than chance, selfish individuals earn higher incomes than conditional cooperators. Thus, although subjects may predict other players’ choices better than chance evolution favors the selfish subjects, i.e., the experimental evidence does not support the green beard approach towards the evolution of cooperation.
Altruists with Green Beards: Still Kicking?
Authors: Frank Robert H.
Published: May 2016

In earlier work, I proposed the ‘adaptive standard of rationality’, according to which narrow self-interest models can be broadened by positing additional tastes, but only upon a plausible showing that those tastes do not hamper resource acquisition in competitive environments. This proposal is related to the green beard hypothesis from biology, according to which altruism might be adaptive if its presence could be reliably signaled by some observable feature, such as a green beard. In their contribution to this issue Ernst Fehr and Urs Fischbacher offer theoretical arguments and describe laboratory experiments whose results they interpret as refuting my version of the green beard hypothesis. In this response, I argue that their theoretical arguments and experimental evidence pose no threat to the green beard hypothesis.
Liberalismus, Nationalismus und das Recht auf Selbstbestimmung
Authors: Dietrich Frank
Published: May 2016

In recent years theorists, such as Yael Tamir and David Miller, have proposed a liberal form of nationalism thereby combining two seemingly incompatible traditions of thought. Perhaps the most controversial element of their theories is the claim that national communities should be accorded with a right to political self-determination. In the article it is explained, firstly, why membership in a nation is seen as important for the individual’s well-being and, secondly, why statehood is deemed necessary for the thriving of the nation. Subsequently, two problems of the liberal nationalists’ argument for political self-determination are discussed. It is argued, firstly, that national communities only need some form of regional autonomy to achieve their most important goals and, secondly, that non-national communities, e.g. religious groups, can base their demand for political sovereignity on the very same argument.
Lernen, Institutionen und Wirtschaftsleistung
Authors: Mantzavinos C. , North Douglass C. , Shariq Syed
Published: May 2016

This article provides a broad overview of the interplay among cognition, belief systems and institutions, fleshing out a position best characterized as ‚cognitive institutionalism‘. We argue that a deeper understanding of institutions’ emergence, their working properties and their effect on economic performance should start with the analysis of cognitive processes. Exploring the nature of individual and collective learning the article suggests that the issue is not whether agents are perfectly or boundedly rational, but rather how human beings actually reason and choose. We also show how a full treatment of the phenomenon of path dependence should look like; there is a path dependence at the cognitive level, at the institutional level and at the economic level and there are links among them.
Ken Binmore’s Natural Justice
Authors: Skyrms Brian
Published: May 2016

I raise a few questions about key points in the argument of Natural Justice. 1. The pivotal role assigned to the theory of indefinitely repeated games appears to be both implausible and unnecessary. 2. The evolutionary foundations of the Nash bargaining solution are not completely secure, and its role in the account of interpersonal comparisons of utility is questionable. 3. Free renegotiation behind the veil of ignorance appears neither to have an evolutionary rationale nor to be a brute fact about the way men are.
Binmore, Boundedly Rational
Authors: Ahlert Marlies , Kliemt Hartmut
Published: May 2016

It is argued that a truly Humean approach to social interaction and to normative reflection on how we should interact needs to get even closer to the facts than the Binmore program suggests. In view of the facts Binmore’s normative conclusions on bargaining as well as on the nature of the equilibria of the game of life both seem precarious.
Political Liberalism, the Non-Human Biotic and the Abiotic: A Response to Simon Hailwood
Authors: Baxter Brian
Published: May 2016

S. Hailwood argues that if political liberals, in the Rawlsian sense, refuse to grant non-human nature anything other than instrumental value, then they may properly be characterised as human chauvinists, but not as inconsistent political liberals. He also argues that political liberals who do grant non-instrumental value to the nonhuman are thereby committed to a form of moral valuation of the abiotic. However, an analysis of what is involved in regarding non-human biota as possessing instrumental value reveals that humans must recognise the existence of interests, needs and desires of those non-human organisms which they wish to treat instrumentally. Given this, political liberalism in its most persuasive form, as articulated by Barry, implies that political liberals are not permitted to decide arbitrarily that non-human biota have only instrumental value. But the crucial role of interests in this argument precludes the attribution of any form of moral value to the abiotic.
Refining Green Political Economy: From Ecological Modernisation to Economic Security and Sufficiency
Authors: Barry John , Doran Peter
Published: May 2016

Perhaps the most problematic dimension of the ‘triple bottom line’ understanding of sustainable development has been the ‘economic’ dimension. Much of the thinking about the appropriate ‘political economy’ to underpin or frame sustainable development has been either utopian (as in some ‘green’ political views) or an attempt to make peace with ‘business as usual’ approaches. This article suggests that ‘ecological modernisation’ is the dominant conceptualisation of ‘sustainable development’ within the UK, and illustrates this by looking at some key ‘sustainable development’ policy documents from the UK Government. We take the view that the discourse of ‘ecological modernisation’ has provided discursive terrain for both pragmatic policy makers and a range of views on sustainable development, from weak to strong. In particular, the article suggests that the discourse of ‘economic security’ and ‘sufficiency’ can be used as a way of articulating a radical, robust and principled understanding of sustainable development, which offers a normatively compelling and policy-relevant path to outlining a ‘green political economy’ to underpin sustainable development.
The Philosophy and Neuroscience Movement
Authors: Brook Andrew , Mandik Pete
Published: May 2016

A movement dedicated to applying neuroscience to traditional philosophical problems and using philosophical methods to illuminate issues in neuroscience began about twenty-five years ago. Results in neuroscience have affected how we see traditional areas of philosophical concern such as perception, belief-formation, and consciousness. There is an interesting interaction between some of the distinctive features of neuroscience and important general issues in the philosophy of science. And recent neuroscience has thrown up a few conceptual issues that philosophers are perhaps best trained to deal with. After sketching the history of the movement, we explore the relationships between neuroscience and philosophy and introduce some of the specific issues that have arisen.
Neuroeconomics and the Economic Logic of Behavior
Authors: Neumärker Bernhard
Published: May 2016

Recent neuroeconomic studies challenge the conventional economic logic of behavior. After an introduction to some starting points of brain research in ‘classical’ economics we discuss the final and contingent causes of rational and irrational behavior in neuroeconomics and standard economics and present the concept of expanded rationality models (ERM) which imports neuroeconomic elements like emotions, beliefs and neuroscientific constraints and exports improved testable predictions. The typical structure of neuroeconomic proof of economic models and the imprecise neuroscientific measurement let us suggest a feed-back structure of economic research. We apply Hirshleifer’s conception of macro-/micro-technology and contrast it to the neuroeconomic black box critique on economic theory. Furthermore, instead of direct adjustment of preference structures we propose the auxiliary creation of neuroeconomic constraints like action-dependent or outcome-dependent neuroeconomic belief constraints (NBC) and emotion compatibility constraints (ECC). This prepares the ground for our examination of neuroeconomics and ERM as two different paths towards an analytical unification of behavioral sciences.
On Measuring Personal Connections and the Extent of Social Networks
Authors: Pattanaik Prasanta K. , Xu Yongsheng
Published: May 2016

The notions of personal connection and social networks are key ingredients of the increasingly important concept of social capital in social sciences in general and in economics in particular. This paper discusses the problem of measuring personal connection and the extent of social networks that may exist in a society. For this purpose we develop several conceptual and analytical frameworks. In the process, we axiomatically characterize several measures of personal connection and social networks.
MacIntyre’s Search for a Defensible Aristotelian Ethics and the Role of Metaphysics
Authors: Kuna Marian
Published: May 2016

MacIntyre is a major defender of the resurgence of the Aristotelian approach in ethical and political theory. He considers Aristotelianism not only a feasible, but also an intellectually superior alternative to most contemporary dominant ideologies, and to liberalism in particular. There is, however, an important and instructive modification to his view of what is admissible from Aristotle that should be accounted for. The paper traces MacIntyre’s search for a defensible restatement of the Aristotelian ethics and examines in particular his changing attitude to metaphysics as the basis for ethics within his project. Different stages of the development to his proposed Aristotelian alternative are analyzed and evaluated. The paper tries to show that despite the fact that MacIntyre initially repudiated Aristotle’s metaphysical biology, nevertheless his account has always been (implicitly or explicitly) metaphysical.
Utopias and the Art of the Possible
Authors: Chappell Timothy
Published: May 2016

I begin this paper by examining what MacIntyre has to tell us about radical disagreements: how they have arisen, and how to deal with them, within a polity. I conclude by radically disagreeing with Macintyre: I shall suggest that he offers no credible alternative to liberalism’s account of radical disagreements and how to deal with them. To put it dilemmatically: insofar as what MacIntyre says is credible, it is not an alternative to liberalism; insofar as he presents a genuine alternative to liberalism, this alternative is not credible. In large part the credibility problems that I see for MacIntyre’s project arise from the history on which he bases it; it is with this history that I begin. Reflection on MacIntyre’s profound and subtle political philosophy thus fails to dislodge liberalism from its contemporary intellectual supremacy-a supremacy which I think liberalism has well earned. If anything, such reflection enhances the hegemony of liberalism still further. And a good thing too.