bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
National and International Labor Regulation
Authors: Flanagan Robert J.
Published: September 2006

This chapter evaluates the effect of globalization on the extent of a country’s labor regulation and the influence of national and international labor regulations on labor conditions. There is no evidence of an international race to the bottom in labor regulation. Other things considered equally, neither the size of a country's trade sector nor its trade policy appears to influence the extent of labor protection afforded by national labor legislation. The evidence also indicates that the system of international labor standards regulation administered by the International Labor Organization has not significantly improved labor conditions. Countries tend to ratify ILO labor standards that their domestic regulations already satisfy, rather than incurring the political costs of introducing or altering national legislation to meet higher standards. National labor regulations rarely benefit workers generally; instead some groups of workers gain at the expense of other workers.
Taking Stock and Looking Ahead
Authors: Flanagan Robert J.
Published: September 2006

This final chapter summarizes the findings of the earlier analyses of the impact of globalization on labor conditions and considers the principles that should inform future policies to improve labor conditions. Broadly speaking, the evidence indicates that international trade, international migration, and the activities of multinational companies generally advance working conditions and labor rights around the world. In contrast, some policy proposals, such as the use of trade sanctions against countries that do not adopt international labor standards, are likely to worsen rather than improve labor conditions. A very useful guide to policy choice is to favor policies that expand, rather than contract, opportunities for target groups. The chapter reviews a number of targeted incentive policies that satisfy this principle in general and in particular areas such as child labor and forced labor.
Kings, Priests, and Sages
Authors: Kalmin Richard
Published: September 2006

This chapter continues the examination of rabbinic depictions of the past and the light they shed on the rabbinic present. It describes the differences between Palestinian and Babylonian rabbinic narratives that purport to portray events of the second Temple period. It shows that Babylonian portrayals emphasize the importance of rabbis, especially at the expense of kings, in particular depicting sages rather than kings in control of the priests and the Temple cult. Palestinian rabbinic portrayals, on the other hand, tend to assign to rabbis a less prominent role and allow for a greater role for kings.
Anxious Rabbis and Mocking Nonrabbis
Authors: Kalmin Richard
Published: September 2006

This chapter examines traditions that depict rabbis as sensitive to the fact that their statements appear, or might appear, to nonrabbis to fly in the face of common sense or to contradict the everyday functioning of the world or the meaning of scripture. It addresses the questions: what happens when rabbinic sources acknowledge that a rabbi says or does something that was or might be construed as ludicrous or far-fetched? Is the rabbi ridiculed, and if so, what is his reaction? Does the ridicule provoke anxiety, defensiveness, and/or a desire for revenge? It is shown that Palestinian rabbinic sources tended to be more attuned than Babylonian rabbinic sources to the reactions, whether real or anticipated, of nonrabbis to their statements. Palestinian rabbis tended to be more aware than Babylonian rabbis that their actions and opinions could or did provoke ridicule among nonrabbis. In a significant number of cases — all having to do with the rabbis' worries about their status in the eyes of nonrabbis, and/or rabbinic self-consciousness about nonrabbinic reaction to their statements — Palestinian rabbis revealed their insecurity and discomfort and attempted to demonstrate the reliability of their opinions and interpretations in the face of nonrabbinic ridicule. As a result, Palestinian rabbis, more than their Babylonian counterparts, told stories that vindicated rabbis who were the objects of nonrabbinic ridicule and depicted their antagonists receiving their just desserts.
Idolatry in Late Antique Babylonia
Authors: Kalmin Richard
Published: September 2006

This chapter argues that Persian attitudes and practices with regard to idols and idol worship had a significant impact on Babylonia, constituting another respect in which Babylonia was more Persian than Roman during the period under discussion. Specifically, it is argued that the Babylonian Talmud attests to a distinction between Parthian and Sasanian Babylonia that corresponds to and provides a measure of confirmation of scholarly claims regarding the different policies of the Parthian and Sasanian dynasties with respect to idols.
The Phenomenal Conception
Authors: Stoljar Daniel
Published: September 2006

The question “what is the problem of experience” can be divided into two: what is the topic of the problem of experience, and what problem or problems are we raising about the topic. In this chapter, the author identifies the topic: events of experience whose defining characteristic is that there is something it is like to undergo them. Conceiving of experiences this way leaves open many issues that are philosophically controversial, issues such metaphysics of mind, ontology, qualia, consciousness, access versus phenomenal consciousness, and the diaphanousness or transparency of experience.
General Plausibility
Authors: Stoljar Daniel
Published: September 2006

The next three chapters turn from E1 to E2, and discuss the case for believing the ignorance hypothesis in the first place. This chapter starts by emphasizing our ignorance in general, our ignorance of experience in particular, the way in which the assumption of ignorance explains a philosophical predicament that otherwise remains elusive, and the way in which the ignorance hypothesis is suggested by the basic structure of the logical problem. The epistemic view is also compared and contrasted with McGinn’s mysterianism.
A Priori Entailment
Authors: Stoljar Daniel
Published: September 2006

In this chapter, an analogous argument in the case of the a priori entailment view is advanced. On the one hand, the mere idea of priori entailment will not answer the argument — further material needs to be added. On the other hand, an examination of what this further material might be yields the result that either the a priori entailment view has no answer to the arguments, or else collapses into the epistemic view.
Introduction
Authors: Meech John L.
Published: September 2006

After his encounter with the risen Christ, St. Paul had to retell Israel’s story, and in so doing, his own understanding of self and community underwent a profound shift. Is it possible that the strong tie between Paul’s understanding of self, community, and the community’s story is something we should bracket or, as Rudolf Bultmann says, demythologize? Rather, this book asserts that two conversations in philosophy and theology can mutually contribute to our present understanding of the self in community: Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of the self, and the new perspective debate in biblical studies about the meaning of law, works, faith and justification in St. Paul’s letters. With respect to the first conversation, the chapter places Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of the self in the context of theological debates about selfhood. With respect to the second conversation, the chapter demonstrates how the book’s interpretation of the Pauline texts draws critically from the new perspective studies within a Lutheran framework that is responsive to critics of the new perspective.
A Short Life in Brief
Authors: Nevin Thomas R.
Published: September 2006

This chapter chronicles the life of St. Thérèse. Thérèse was born in 1873, in the Norman town of Alençon, when her father was well into his fiftieth year. He and his wife, Zé lie, had lost four of their children. The five who survived were all girls, Thérèse being last, the benjamine. In May 1885, she had asked her father's permission to enter Carmel, and he gave it. Thérèse survived the first years in Carmel by reading San Juan de la Cruz for her own purposes. With delicate equipoise and missionary zeal she was able to carry on conventual life and daily tasks, working in the refectory for two years (1889-1891), and she served in the sacristy (February 1891-February 1893). On June 9, 1895, Thérèse composed the most important of all her recorded prayers, the sacrificial offering of herself to God's compassionate love, Offrande de moi-même comme Victime d'Holocauste à l'Amour Miséricordieux du Bon Dieu.
Perfecta Caritas
Authors: Nevin Thomas R.
Published: September 2006

This chapter focuses on Thérèse's stature as a theologian. Thérèse of Lisieux became a doctor of the church in the centenary year of her death, 1997. She stands with only two other women in this position: Teresa of Avila, so declared in 1970 with Catherine of Siena. The criteria for this exalting appointment center upon writings that reflect profound learning and deep sanctity so as to instruct the faithful in future generations. Thérèse did not just much teach Christian doctrine she embodied Christian life. She was not a souffleur of Christianity but someone who loved Christ and could see Christ in others. She could do so only in her weakness and littleness and that is what so oddly and surely proclaims her magnificence.
Deadly Vices
Authors: Taylor Gabriele
Published: September 2006

This book focuses on the vices, which in Christian theology were most commonly selected as bringing death to the soul. These are sloth, envy, avarice, pride, anger, lust, and gluttony. The discussions concentrate on the essence of each vice, and treat their possessors as personifications. They will show a structural resemblance to each other, but there is no suggestion that all vices are of that type. It is shown that vices are harmful to their possessor, and negative support is given for some central claims of an Aristotelean-type virtue-theory.
‘Deadly Sins’
Authors: Taylor Gabriele
Published: September 2006

This chapter explores the particular vice of acedia or sloth. Sloth is a paralyzing vice, with the slothful carrying the burden of a useless self. Awareness of this condition explains occurrent moods of indolence, hopelessness, and despair. If, like Oblomov, they manage nonetheless to achieve a relatively contented state of mind then this is because they have found some mental busyness and are given to idle daydreams, which may, at least for periods of time, conceal their burden from themselves.
The Problem of Moral Knowledge
Authors: Thomas Alan
Published: September 2006

This chapter discusses the philosophies of Harman and Mackie with a view to highlighting six claims of central concern: (1) whether issues of objectivity should be raised ‘reflexively’ at the meta-level of enquiry; (2) whether the best account of objectivity will essentially vindicate itself in its own terms; (3) the reducibility of moral properties figuring in moral explanations; (4) whether moral explanations are ever the best explanations of belief; (5) the appropriateness in this context of a causal theory of knowledge; and (6) whether the concepts deployed in morality are to a certain extent local or perspectival in the sense of tied in to our particular sensibilities. It is argued that the framework of minimalism about truth is the best way of prosecuting debates over objectivity.
Epistemological Contextualism
Authors: Thomas Alan
Published: September 2006

This chapter argues that contextualism should be adopted as the best epistemological theory on the grounds that it represents the most satisfactory response to philosophical scepticism. It sets out distinctive advantages that contextualism has over alternative models of knowledge. It also characterizes the key elements in a contextual model of justification.
Moral Belief and the Possibility of Error
Authors: Thomas Alan
Published: September 2006

A contextualist defence of cognitivism is open to the charge that it cannot supply a convincing theory of error for when moral judgements diverge. This chapter rebuts this concern: conditions have been set out for when apparent conflict between moral views really is such, or, alternatively, whether we should accept different diagnoses in any particular case. If a conflict between moral beliefs is genuinely a case of conflict, then various explanations have been supplied for why this might be so that do not, as yet, directly draw on the idea of moral error. This is to make the task facing a theory of moral error more manageable. In developing such a theory, it was argued that it is not a defect of cognitivism but a strength that it can explain moral error. The issue of social criticism was considered and a model described for the criticism of ideological beliefs that was, to a certain extent, independent of the truth of cognitivism.
The Development of Traditional Industries in Modern Japan: A Statistical Exposition
Authors: Matsumoto Takanori
Published: September 2006

This chapter assesses the quantitative position of ‘traditional’ industries in the economy. Traditional industry — which accounted for the largest number of gainfully occupied workers — developed steadily in the modern era and continued to provide opportunities to workers that were not absorbed by the modern industrial sector. The role of the traditional commerce and service industries is emphasized, which functioned as a ‘buffer’ for economic fluctuations. The regional diversity of these industries is also analyzed using the statistical method of principal component analysis.
The Role of “Early Factories” in Japanese Industrialization
Authors: Takeuchi Johzen
Published: September 2006

This chapter deals with the manufacturing industry for Western products that emerged after the opening of the treaty ports. These goods include brushes, buttons, matches, knitted goods, soaps, and bicycles. Although the modern factories that made these products played significant roles in the early stages of industrialization, they eventually went into decline. The combination of modern technology and traditional skills formed another route to industrialization in modern Japan.
Factory Girls in an Agrarian Setting circa 1910
Authors: Sasaki Jun
Published: September 2006

This chapter looks into the working conditions in a rural weaving factory during the early 20th century. Based on the attendance books of workers, it is shown that the days and hours actually worked by female workers in the factory were strongly influenced by the labour demand from agriculture, as well as the housework demands of their household. The introduction of machines into rural factories did not mark the major divide that is commonly assumed by economic historians.
The Export-oriented Industrialization of Japanese Pottery: The Adoption and Adaptation of Overseas Technology and Market Information
Authors: Yamada Takehisa
Published: September 2006

This chapter discusses the export-oriented industrialization of pottery industry in modern Japan, focusing on the introduction and adoption of advanced technologies from Western countries. Special attention is given to newly established, innovative, and modernized firms that promoted the export-oriented production. The role of research and training institutions, supported by central and local governments and trade associations, is also emphasized to explain the activities of these firms.
The Development of a Rural Weaving Industry and its Social Capital
Authors: Matsuzaki Hisami
Published: September 2006

This chapter examines a rural weaving district within the context of ‘regional community’. The activities of traders in the Isezaki weaving district, including clothiers, factors, and local bankers, were strongly influenced by motives embedded in the regional community. Though the concept of ‘social capital’ is applied to interpret the findings in this chapter, the positive and negative effects of industry-community relationships on the development of the industrial district are also identified.
The Role of 401(k) Accumulations in Providing Future Retirement Income
Authors: Holden Sarah , VanDerhei Jack
Published: September 2006

As defined contribution plans are increasingly being offered as the primary employer-sponsored pension, it is of interest to ask whether these accumulations are likely to yield sufficient retirement income. This chapter uses a projection model to explore alternative future scenarios for retirees who had 401(k) plans available to them over their full working careers. It also assesses the impact of ‘catch-up’ contributions, saving through an individual retirement account when an employer does not offer a 401(k) plan, and changing retirement ages.
The UK Approach to Insuring Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Authors: McCarthy David , Neuberger Anthony
Published: September 2006

This chapter models the UK’s recently-established Pension Protection Fund (PPF) established to guarantee defined benefit pensions. It shows that the PPF is likely to face many years of low claims interspersed irregularly with periods of very large claims. There is a significant chance that these claims will be so large that the PPF will default on its liabilities, leaving the government with no option but to bail it out. This is because of the double impact of a fall in equity prices on the PPF, which would render sponsor firms more likely to default and make defaulted plans more likely to be underfunded. The chapter derives a fair premium for this insurance under different circumstances, estimates the extent of cross-subsidies in the PPF between strong and weak sponsors, and shows that risk rated premiums are unlikely to have a substantial effect on either the size or the lumpiness of claims unless they are so powerful that they force weaker sponsors to cut fund deficits and improve the match between assets and liabilities.
Dimensions of 401(k) Plan Design
Authors: Mitchell Olivia S. , Utkus Stephen P. , Yang Tongxuan (Stella)
Published: September 2006

This chapter explores why employers or plan sponsors design their 401(k) plans the way they do. Drawing on a rich dataset of over five hundred 401(k) plans, it shows that these plans are principally a form of tax-motivated compensation under the restriction of federal non-discrimination rules. In other words, to appeal to better-paid workers, employers offer more generous monetary and non-monetary plan design features. At the same time, complex federal tax rules restrict pay discrimination in favor of the highly-paid employees.
Rethinking the informal economy: linkages with the formal economy and the formal regulatory environment
Authors: Chen Martha Alter
Published: September 2006

This paper explores the relationship of the informal economy to the formal economy and to the formal regulatory environment. It begins with a comparison of the earlier concept of the ‘informal sector’ with the new expanded concept of the ‘informal economy’, which includes microentrepreneurs, own account operators, informal wage workers, and industrial outworkers. It argues that (a) most informal enterprises and workers are intrinsically linked to formal firms; (b) different segments of the informal economy are over-regulated, de-regulated, or under-regulated; and (c) there are benefits and costs to both formality and informality. The paper concludes that the appropriate role for government is (i) to ensure that the formal regulatory environment is not biased in favour of formal firms and workers over informal enterprises and workers (or vice versa) and (ii) to regulate the commercial and employment relationships between formal firms, informal enterprises, and informal wage workers.
Social capital, survival strategies, and their potential forpost-conflict governance in Liberia
Authors: Sawyer Amos
Published: September 2006

Post-conflict reconstruction strategies typically focus on identifying and repairing formal governing institutions and physical infrastructures, and tend to ignore the informal arrangements that sustain people over years of state failure. This paper shows how informal institutions were critical to the survival of local people during state collapse and violent conflicts in Liberia. It argues that there are very healthy informal arrangements that can become important building blocks in post-conflict governance arrangements if used to buttress formal institutions, and that unlocking such capital is important in enabling people to make transitions from short-term survival strategies to more productive long-term arrangements. Failure to recognize these assets have frequently led to the presumption of a social capital deficit and, therefore, the need to look externally for such a resource.
Formalizing the informal: is there a way to safely unlock human potential through land entitlement? A review of changing land administration in Africa
Authors: Wily Liz Alden
Published: September 2006

This paper looks at how rural land rights are being formalized in Africa. It argues that highly significant improvements are emerging under the current wave of land reform. In a rising number of states, customary land holders can now register their ownership directly without having their rights converted into European-derived forms like freehold or leasehold. The registration process is also decentralizing nearer to landholders. However, the process is too focused upon individually owned properties like houses and farms, when it is common properties that are most at risk from involuntary loss. This inattention is depriving communities of critical resources to livelihood and opportunities to benefit from their rising values.
Third Force Politics
Authors: Whiteley Paul , Seyd Patrick , Billinghurst Antony
Published: September 2006

This book examines the recovery of the British Liberal Democrat Party, emphasizing the role of the grassroots party members in shaping this recovery. A number of factors have contributed to the party’s resurgence, including the performances of its main rivals, the Conservative and Labour parties, and the decline in partisan attachments throughout the entire electorate. However, evidence shows that the grassroots party has played the decisive role in bringing this about. The key players are the men and women who joined the party as members, and then actively worked on its behalf by campaigning or standing in local and national elections when the political climate was cold. A major focus of the book is to examine these people. The future electoral prospects for the party are also discussed, including the question of whether or not it can replace its rivals as the second, or even the first, party of British electoral politics.
3 Ideology and the Party Members
Authors: Whiteley Paul , Seyd Patrick , Billinghurst Antony
Published: September 2006

This chapter begins by examining if there is evidence that a set of belief structures underlies the attitudes of party members. This is followed by an analysis of the sources of ideological variations in the grassroots party, paying particular attention to the social characteristics of members, as well as their political experiences and political roots. It is shown that there is a distinctive set of principles underlying Liberal Democrat political ideology. The ideology centres around individual freedom and tolerance in relation to lifestyle issues, a belief in redistribution and social equality, a commitment to free markets and a positive attitude to internationalism, as exemplified by members’ views of the European Union (EU).
6 Folk Psychology
Authors: Devitt Michael
Published: September 2006

This chapter considers the argument for the Representational Thesis (RT) from the folk psychological view that a person competent in a language “knows” the language. Despite Chomsky’s objections, it is plausible to think that this knowledge is mere knowledge-how and not knowledge-that. In which case, the knowledge does not support RT.
8 Thought Before Language
Authors: Devitt Michael
Published: September 2006

Starting from the appealing folk idea that “language expresses thought”, this chapter argues that the psychological reality of language should be investigated from a perspective on thought. The idea also leads to the view that conceptual competence partly constitutes linguistic competence, and so is ontologically prior to it. Following Grice, and despite the claims of linguistic relativity, the chapter argues that thought is explanatorily prior to language. These ontological and explanatory priorities have some interesting temporal consequences. Based on these priorities, it is argued that our theoretical interest in thought is prior to that in language.
10 Thought and the Language Faculty
Authors: Devitt Michael
Published: September 2006

This chapter argues that the view that conceptual competence is part of linguistic competence is not undermined by the well-known dissociation of cognitive impairment and linguistic impairment. In light of the evidence from brain impairment and the proposal that the structure rules of thought are similar to those of the language, the chapter proposes that there is little or nothing to the language faculty. A critical view is taken of Chomsky’s apparently very different views of thought and its relation to language, and of some puzzling claims he makes against linguistic conventions and in favor of an interest in idiolects. These criticisms lead to the conclusion that the primary concern in linguistics should be with linguistic expressions that share meanings in idiolects. These views are developed by contrasting them with Rey’s antirealism about linguistic entities.
7 Credit Rationing in Britain after 1945
Authors: Carnevali Francesca
Published: September 2006

This chapter focuses on the structure of British banking after 1945, and the internal organization of the commercial banks. It shows how these two elements induced credit rationing to small firms.
9 The Permanence of Small Firms in France
Authors: Carnevali Francesca
Published: September 2006

This chapter continues the positive reassessment of the role played by small firms in French economic growth by looking at their permanence after 1945. It focuses on the policies enacted by the French government to ensure their survival, and on the role played by the different types of banks. Particular attention is paid to Popular banks and their role in reducing the impact of credit restrictions on small firms.
5 Ammonius Saccas
Authors: Karamanolis George E.
Published: September 2006

Ammonius Saccas held the view that the philosophy of Aristotle is in agreement with that of Plato on most essential philosophical issues. It is argued that Ammonius was an independent thinker who, though a Platonist, had a weaker commitment to Plato than most of his contemporary Platonists, and hence was uninterested in interschool polemics. Rather, his concern was to search for the truth in philosophy, which led him to study the works of both Plato and Aristotle, and appreciate them according to their merits. Focusing on the underlying thought behind the texts, Ammonius set aside doctrines forged by later philosophers, points of detail, and also certain flaws of the philosophers themselves, and reached an understanding of Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy as a whole, concluding that their basic doctrines are essentially the same.
Protestant Theology and the Making of the Modern German University
Authors: Howard Thomas Albert
Published: September 2006

Few institutions have been as influential as the German universities of the 19th century in shaping the modern academy and in setting the agenda of modern Christian theology. This book examines the rise of the modern German university from the standpoint of the Protestant theological faculty, focusing on the University of Berlin (1810), Prussia’s flagship university in the 19th century. In contradistinction to historians of modern higher education who often overlook theology, and to theologians who are frequently inattentive to the social and institutional contexts of religious thought, it is argued that modern university development and the trajectory of modern Protestant theology in Germany should be understood as interrelated phenomena.
1 Introduction
Authors: Howard Thomas Albert
Published: September 2006

This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the shake-up of educational institutions throughout Europe in the early 19th century. The objectives of this study are then presented followed by a discussion of German university development and theology. It is argued that the Prussian state in general, and its policies towards the church and university in particular, were of great consequence for the operations of theological faculties and the shaping of Protestant academic theology. By promoting confessional harmony, emphasizing critical scholarship over apologetics, standardizing and mandating state-run accrediting procedures, and maintaining a firm grip on hiring procedures, the state managed to exercise tremendous influence over the religious sphere in society.
5 Competency in Public Service Bargains: Wonks, Sages, Deliverers, and Go‐Betweens
Authors: Hood Christopher , Lodge Martin
Published: September 2006

This chapter explores the competency dimension of public service bargains, in the sense of skills, ability, or experience. It discusses four types of competency bargains: wonk, sage, deliverer, and go-between bargains, exploring their strengths and weaknesses. The chapter notes how elements from these four types can be combined and concludes with a discussion of trends and changes over time, which suggest that tendencies have been far from a one way adoption of managerialist themes of ‘delivery’.
Social Groups: Starting Small
Authors: Gilbert Margaret
Published: September 2006

In pursuit of a satisfactory theory of political obligation, a start is made towards the articulation of a particular conception of a political society, with a focus on social groups. These range from the enduring and relatively permanent to the small and transient: even two people out on a walk together constitute such a group by virtue of their joint activity. This chapter makes a number of observations on that case that may serve as tests of an account of joint activity generally. For instance, the parties are understood to have a special standing to rebuke each other for action that undermines the joint activity and upon which there has been no explicit or implicit concurrence between the parties. Various ways in which joint activity may come about, including initial agreements, are explored and an account of joint activity in terms of the parties’ joint commitment is sketched.
Joint Commitment and Obligation
Authors: Gilbert Margaret
Published: September 2006

Joint commitments are compared and contrasted with personal decisions and intentions: all are in some sense commitments of the will. They provide one with sufficient reason for action, independently of one’s inclinations and self-interest. Aspects of joint commitment discussed include their formation, basic and non-basic cases, and ways of being freed from them. An argument is presented for the obligating nature of joint commitments. The directed obligation argued for is not context-sensitive and is therefore, in a sense, ‘absolute’.
Societies as Plural Subjects
Authors: Gilbert Margaret
Published: September 2006

Having articulated an account of joint activity in terms of joint commitment, and hence of those social groups that arise through the joint activity of certain persons, this chapter returns to social groups in general, and societies in particular. Defining a plural subject as a set of persons who are jointly committed in some way, it argues for an account of social groups as plural subjects. It argues that plural subjects can be large and possess the features of anonymity, hierarchy, impersonality, and inclusiveness. These features are typically associated with a society as a special type of social group.
Reconsidering Actual Contract Theory
Authors: Gilbert Margaret
Published: September 2006

The actual contract theory of political obligation is reconsidered in light of a plural subject account of agreements. Given the proposed account of agreements, both immoral and coerced agreements are possible and obligate the parties. The obligation in question is not a moral requirement deriving from a general moral principle, it is an obligation of joint commitment as discussed in Chapter 7. Actual contract theory can thus be defended against the no-obligation objection construed in terms of obligation simply; the no-agreement objection remains. Plural subject theory avoids both objections and is therefore to be preferred.
The Plural Subject Theory of Political Obligation
Authors: Gilbert Margaret
Published: September 2006

The plural subject theory of political obligation is brought up against the tests proposed in Chapter 3, and compared and contrasted with several other theories, including those that invoke subjective identification and fair play. Some questions relating to political authority are also discussed, including the question of the standing to punish. Several objections that might or have been raised to plural subject theory, including some from A. John Simmons are noted, and responses are offered. The practical importance of political obligations according to the theory is discussed, and some substantive moral questions relating to them are noted.
Physical Relativity
Authors: Brown Harvey R.
Published: September 2006

This book explores the nature of the distinction at the heart of Einstein's 1905 formulation of his special theory of relativity: that between kinematics and dynamics. Einstein himself became increasingly uncomfortable with this distinction, and with the limitations of what he called the ‘principle theory’ approach inspired by the logic of thermodynamics. A handful of physicists and philosophers have over the last century likewise expressed doubts about Einstein's treatment of the relativistic behaviour of rigid bodies and clocks in motion in the kinematical part of his great paper, and suggested that the dynamical understanding of length contraction and time dilation intimated by the immediate precursors of Einstein is more fundamental. This book both examines and extends these arguments (which support a more ‘constructive’ approach to relativistic effects in Einstein's terminology), after giving a careful analysis of key features of the pre-history of relativity theory. It argues furthermore that the geometrization of the theory by Minkowski in 1908 brought illumination, but not a causal explanation of relativistic effects. Finally, the book tries to show that the dynamical interpretation of special relativity defended in the book is consistent with the role this theory must play as a limiting case of Einstein's 1915 theory of gravity: the general theory of relativity.
1 The Main Sources and Their Authors: The Relevant Works of John Rufus and Zachariah Rhetor
Authors: Horn Cornelia B.
Published: September 2006

Two main texts are available on the life and career of Peter the Iberian in the anti-Chalcedonian milieu of 5th-century AD Palestine. The first text, the Vita Petri Iberi, is the hagiographical biography of Peter. The second text, the Plerophoriae, is a collection of apophthegmata-like anecdotes, which focus on the controversy over the acceptance of the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) in Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. John Rufus most likely wrote or was the final redactor of both works, but his work has received little scholarly attention until recently. This chapter discusses significant aspects of the work and person of John Rufus. It also introduces two other main sources of information concerning Peter: the works of Zachariah Rhetor and the Georgian ‘Life of Peter the Iberian’.
Identity in Physics
Authors: French Steven , Krause Décio
Published: September 2006

Drawing on philosophical accounts of identity and individuality, as well as the histories of both classical and quantum physics, this book explores two alternative metaphysical approaches to quantum particles. It asks if quantum particles can be regarded as individuals, just like books, tables, and people. Taking the first approach, the book argues that if quantum particles are regarded as individuals, then Leibniz’s famous Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles is in fact violated. Recent discussions of this conclusion are analysed in detail and the costs involved in saving the Principle are carefully considered. For the second approach, the book considers recent work in non-standard logic and set theory to indicate how we can make sense of the idea that objects can be non-individuals. The concluding chapter suggests how these results might then be extended to quantum field theory.
Introduction
Authors: French Steven , Krause Décio
Published: September 2006

This introductory chapter presents an outline of the metaphysics of identity and individuality, which emphasizes the conceptual distinction between individuality and distinguishability. The Principle of Identity of Indiscernibles effectively reduces the former to the latter, but notions of haecceity, ‘transcendental individuality’, and ‘space-time’ individuality are also presented, with the aim of laying the groundwork for the subsequent considerations of identity and individuality in the quantum context. In particular, as identity in higher-order logic is defined in terms of indistinguishability and ‘countable’ objects which feature in set theory are typically taken to be those which have well-defined identity conditions, this metaphysical framework will underpin the rest of the discussions in this book.
2 Cold War Peacemaker: Brokering Peace in the Iran–Iraq War
Authors: Malone David M.
Published: September 2006

This chapter discusses the first phase of UN involvement in Iraq, in which it acted as a Cold War Peacemaker and peacekeeper, using its neutral position eventually to broker a settlement between Iran and Iraq in 1987-88. It focuses on several critical moments during the Iran-Iraq war, the significance of which was overlooked at the time. First, the Security Council’s inadequate, indeed misguided, reaction to Iraq’s attack on Iran in 1980 that contributed to Saddam Hussein’s contempt for the UN. The UN’s involvement over the next decade provides a catalog of the measures available to it as a peace-broker in the Cold War years. A new phase is introduced, in which, with Cold War tensions subsiding, the P-5 working together could be more creative (and quietly assertive) than previously. A new era in P-5 relations and in the capacity of the UN to address hitherto intractable conflicts had dawned.
7 Sidelined: From 9/11 to August 19, 2003
Authors: Malone David M.
Published: September 2006

This chapter discusses the fourth phase of UN involvement in Iraq, in which it was largely sidelined. Negotiations within the Security Council in late 2002 and early 2003 resulted in deadlock, and the decision of a US and UK-led Coalition to overthrow Saddam Hussein forcibly without a Council mandate. The chapter also addresses the early Coalition occupation of Iraq; subsequent decisions by the Security Council to lend this international action a semblance of legal cover (without providing post facto authorization of the use of force against Saddam Hussein); the nascent Sunni-dominated insurgency against Coalition forces and their local allies; and the bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003 that was to traumatize UN staff and inhibit significant UN post-conflict roles on the ground.
Temporal Predication and Supervenience Failure
Authors: Sattig Thomas
Published: September 2006

An account of temporal supervenience requires an account of temporal predication: a semantic account of the language in which facts about ordinary time are stated. For the detenser, the problem of temporal predication is essentially the task of giving an account of the semantic function of the modifier ‘at t’ in ‘a is F at t’. In the project of explaining temporal supervenience, an account of temporal predication functions as an analysis of ordinary temporal facts, which is required to build an explanatory bridge from these temporal facts to their spatiotemporal supervenience base. This chapter discusses various accounts of temporal predication that share the common feature that temporal supervenience cannot be explained on the basis of them, because these accounts allow no plausible explanatory link between the facts of persistence and change and any facts about spacetime.
5 Eyes Wide Open
Authors: Hussain Asifa , Miller William
Published: September 2006

Majority Scots have less contact, friendship, and knowledge of the minorities than the minorities have of the majority. Minority perceptions of the majority are broadly accurate. In particular, they are aware that the majority doubts the loyalty of minorities (English and Muslim) to Scotland. The frequent exposure to ethnic jokes and intentional insults have a dramatic impact on minorities’ perceptions, even though the victims try hard to believe that their harassers are exceptional rather than typical. These personal experiences have significantly more impact on English immigrants’ perceptions of the majority’s Anglophobia than on Muslims’ perceptions of the majority’s Islamophobia. English immigrants suffered less harassment but coped worse and reacted more indignantly. Signals from the new Scottish Parliament to minorities were critically important in determining minorities’ perceptions of the majority. The Parliament’s inclusive, multicultural publicity campaigns may have greater impact on the minorities’ perceptions than on the majority’s actual prejudices.
7 History, Culture, Symbols
Authors: Hussain Asifa , Miller William
Published: September 2006

One-third of English immigrants and two-thirds of Pakistanis want to change Scottish culture, preferring to add to the variety of Scottish customs and traditions rather than attempt to ‘adapt and blend’. Scottish Pakistanis value diversity, wanting a Scotland that is different from its past and different from their own past. They reject a ghetto mentality in favour of a multicultural society, in which they would be integrated but not assimilated. Pakistanis who lack friends outside their community, speak Asian languages at home, read Asian papers, or do not have occupations outside the home or the family business have a particular concern about special ethnic history classes for their children. Few English immigrants want special history classes, but those who have spent longer time in Scotland or have greater links to Scotland and weaker continuing links to England are more inclined to advocate ‘adapting and blending’. There is also behavioural evidence that English immigrants are willing even to adapt their religion.
What Should we Treat as an End in Itself?
Authors: Dean Richard
Published: September 2006

This chapter first explains that Kant defines a good will as the will of a being who is committed to moral principles, or committed to regulating her power of choice (Willkür) with the principles legislated by her Wille. It then surveys the divergent views that prominent commentators have offered of what should be treated as an end in itself. Other commentators have generally identified the end in itself as some more minimal form of rational nature, such as just Willkür itself, just the power to legislate moral principles, or just the capacity for morality. Even if one does not accept the claim that good will is the end in itself, it is still important to distinguish between the different readings that others have offered of ‘humanity’ in the humanity formulation.
Is the Good Will Reading Just Too Hard to Swallow?
Authors: Dean Richard
Published: September 2006

Despite the evidence for the good will reading of the humanity formulation, many readers will find it unpalatable. It may seem that if good will is the end in itself, then the humanity formulation allows the abuse of many humans who are insufficiently committed to morality. But Kant’s own account of a complete system of duties, or a metaphysics of morals, implies that all typical humans must be treated as if they are ends in themselves, even if some lack good wills. Kant actually provides several reasons for this, including that others’ moral character cannot be accurately discerned, that people are prone to elevate their own self-worth in comparison to others, that treating immoral people with disrespect will discourage them from reforming themselves, and that abusing any humans will likely decrease someone’s respect for all humans. Furthermore, given a proper understanding of good will, there is no reason to think good wills are a rarity among humans.
Would Kant Say we should Respect Autonomy?
Authors: Dean Richard
Published: September 2006

The principle of respect for autonomy that is employed in medical ethics and other branches of applied ethics is widely taken to be a roughly Kantian principle, but there actually is no close connection between this currently influential principle and Kant’s ethics. Kant’s conception of autonomy differs from the conception prevalent in medical ethics, not only in its details but also in its fundamental role in moral theory. The principle of treating humanity as an end in itself does not closely resemble the contemporary principle of respect for autonomy, although the principles would in fact be similar if some minimal readings of the humanity formulation were correct. Furthermore, there is some reason to favour the moral principle of treating good will as an end in itself over any principle that gives central status to mere choice.
Chapter 2 Actor Constellations and Interest Coalitions: Labor, Employers, and the State
Authors: Ebbinghaus Bernhard
Published: September 2006

The chapter discusses how the state, employers, and organized labor promote and reform early retirement policies. What interests do workers, employers, and workplace representatives have in using early exit? Beyond the workplace, interest coalitions may arise among governments, employer associations, and trade unions to externalize restructuration costs, reduce labor supply, and buy social peace.
Tarskian Truth and the Views of John McDowell
Authors: Taylor Barry
Published: September 2006

This chapter examines the status of Tarskian truth. It argues that because of its connections with behaviour and psychology through the notion of translation, it is properly classified as a substantial, rather than a formal, account of truth. It also contends that Common-sense Realism might be modified by replacing the commitment it made to a formal account of truth with commitment to a substantial alternative capable of playing a part in the Fregean model of meaning. Tarskian truth, with its bland neutrality, is the obvious candidate for the replacement role. The resulting position, dubbed ‘Quietist Realism’, proves on examination to be that of John McDowell in Mind and World. Moreover, its characteristic principles, borrowed by Putnam for Common-sense Realism, are no optional extra to Tarskian truth as McDowell deploys it, but play an essential role in his defence of the notion as suitable for use in the Fregean model, against attacks mounted by Dummett.