This essay seeks first to clarify the type of complementary understanding two disciplines such as philosophy and sociology can bring to the investigation of the concept of morality. The present study concerns Durkheim, attempts to show how the sociological concept of morality that he develops in his works on the division of labor, solidarity, anomie, suicide, elementary forms of religion, collective ideals, etc..., inevitably spills over into essentially philosophical considerations. Should philosophical inquiry into the concept of morality also make reference (...) to essentially sociological considerations? It is ultimately to this question that this essay addresses itself.Cet article a pour but premier de mettre en lumière le type de complémentarité que peuvent apporter deux disciplines comme la philosophie et la sociologie dans l'approfondissement du concept de moralité. La présente étude porte sur l'exemple de Durkheim et tente de montrer comment le concept sociologique de moralité qu'il a développé dans ses thèses portant sur la division du travail, la solidarité, l'anomie, le suicide, la religion élémentaire, les idéaux collectifs, etc... débouche inévitablement sur des considérations d'ordre philosophique. Inversement, la philo- sophée qui s'interroge sur le concept de moralité se voit-il dans l'obligation de faire appel à des considérations d'ordre sociologique' C'est la question que soulève en dernière analyse cet article. (shrink)

RésuméCet article est consacréà la présentation et à l'examen critique des principes de la justice élaborés dans l'ouvrage du professeur John Rawls intituléA Theory of Justice. L'auteur examine notamment l'approche contractuelle utilisée par Rawls de même que son inspiration Kantienne et le type de rationalité qu'il met en œuvre pour construire sa théorie.

Depuis que le structuralisme a franchi le seuil de Ia mode et que l'on parle maintenant volontiers d’ une ère post-structuraliste, le moment se prête davantage à une réflexion philosophique et critique sur ce type d'épistémè qui a pratiquement envahi tout le champ des sciences humaines. Quoique le structuralisme ait été une mode, et une mode qui a réussi, selon l'expression de Raymond Boudon,1 il reste toutefois encore difficile d'apprécier ses succès dans des travaux comme ceux de Foucault, d'Aithusser, de (...) Barthes ou de Lacan. Là où cependant le succès est le plus évident c'est du côté des sciences sociales, en particulier du côté de Ia linguistique et de l'anthropologie. (shrink)

The first intention of this article is to show, with some essays of Marcel Mauss, how his way of studying cultural facts anticipates the structural analysis method in anthropology.The concept of "fait social total" is confronted with the concept of structure as developed by Claude Lévi-Strauss, so that we could see the similarities and the distinctions.As well as reconstructing a decisive period of the history of structuralism within the French philosophical and sociological tradition, this article seeks to show the elements (...) of Mauss1s contribution to structuralist anthropology and in a more general why his contribution to the epistemology of the social sciences. (shrink)

L'Ambitieux Projet du professeur John Rawls dans son important ouvrage intitulé «A Theory of Justice» consiste essentiellement dans l'élaboration d'une théorie de la justice qui prétend offrir une «solution de rechange viable» aux doctrines traditionnelles de la justice représentées par l'utilitarisme, l'intuitionisme, les théories contractuelles, etc …, mais une théorie qui, en méme temps, se présente comme une tentative pour «généraliser et porter a un plus haut niveau d'abstraction la theorie traditionnelle du contrat social telle que representee par Locke, Rousseau (...) et Kant», de telle sorte qu'elle puisse parer aux objections les plus decisives qui ont ete faites a l'endroit de ces diverses formulations de la theorie contractuelle. En procédant ainsi, Rawls estime pouvoir offrir une approche systematique au probléme de la justice qui soit non seulement une alternative a 1'utilitarisme traditionnel, mais une synthése supérieure et plus valable pour une sociéte démocratique en méme temps qu'une approche de la justice sociale qui puisse servir de contrepartie ou de succedane a la perspective de Marx. (shrink)

Volume 20, Issue 6, June 2020, Page 77-80.

Analyzes the relationship of power, bureaucracy, and change in modern society.

So-called theories of well-being (prudential value, welfare) are under-represented in discussions of well-being. I do four things in this article to redress this. First, I develop a new taxonomy of theories of well-being, one that divides theories in a more subtle and illuminating way. Second, I use this taxonomy to undermine some misconceptions that have made people reluctant to hold objective-list theories. Third, I provide a new objective-list theory and show that it captures a powerful motivation for the main competitor (...) theory of well-being (the desire-fulfilment theory). Fourth, I try to defuse the worry that objective-list theories are problematically arbitrary and show how the theory can and should be developed. (shrink)

In this article we examine gender differences in nonverbal expressiveness, with a particular focus on crying and smiling. We show that women cry and smile more as well as show more facial expressiveness in general, but that the size of this gender difference varies with the social and emotional context. We interpret this variation within a contextual framework (see also Brody & Hall, 2008; Deaux & Major, 1987; LaFrance, Hecht, & Paluck, 2003). More specifically, we distinguish three factors that (...) predict the size of gender differences in emotional expressiveness: gender-specific norms, social role and situational constraints, and emotional intensity. These factors interact in different ways for smiling and crying. (shrink)

The Theory of Planned Behavior predicts that a combination of attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control predict intentions, and that intentions ultimately predict behavior. Previous studies have found that the TPB can predict students’ engagement in plagiarism. Furthermore, the General Theory of Crime suggests that self-control is particularly important in predicting engagement in unethical behavior such as plagiarism. In Study 1, we incorporated self-control in a TPB model and tested whether norms, attitudes, and self-control predicted intention to plagiarize and (...) plagiarism behavior. The best statistical fit for the path-analytic model was achieved when a direct path from self-control to plagiarism engagement was specified. In Study 2, we added a measure of perceived behavioral control and split the measurement of norms into descriptive and injunctive components. This study found that both self-control and perceived-behavioral control additively contributed to the prediction of plagiarism and the path-analytic model achieved its best fit when direct paths from perceived norms to plagiarism behavior were specified. These studies suggest that setting strong anti-plagiarism norms, such as by the use of honor codes, and seeking to enhance students’ self-control may reduce engagement in plagiarism. (shrink)

Well-being occupies a central role in ethics and political philosophy, including in major theories such as utilitarianism. It also extends far beyond philosophy: recent studies into the science and psychology of well-being have propelled the topic to centre stage, and governments spend millions on promoting it. We are encouraged to adopt modes of thinking and behaviour that support individual well-being or 'wellness'. What is well-being? Which theories of well-being are most plausible? In this rigorous and comprehensive introduction to the topic, (...) Guy Fletcher unpacks and assesses these questions and many more, including: Are pleasure and pain the only things that affect well-being? Is desire-fulfilment the only thing that makes our lives go well? Can something be good for someone who does not desire it? Is well-being fundamentally connected to a distinctive human nature? Is happiness all that makes our lives go well? Is death necessarily bad for us? How is the well-being of a whole life related to well-being at particular times? Also included is a glossary of key terms, and annotated further reading and study and comprehension questions follow each chapter, making _The Philosophy of Well-Being_ essential reading for students in ethics and political philosophy, and also suitable for those in related disciplines such as psychology, politics and sociology. (shrink)

This article traces a growing interest among epistemologists in the intellectuals of epistemic virtues. These are cognitive dispositions exercised in the formation of beliefs. Attempts to give intellectual virtues a central normative and/or explanatory role in epistemology occur together with renewed interest in the ethics/epistemology analogy, and in the role of intellectual virtue in Aristotle's epistemology. The central distinction drawn here is between two opposed forms of virtue epistemology, virtue reliabilism and virtue responsibilism. The article develops the shared and distinctive (...) claims made by contemporary proponents of each form, in their respective treatments of knowledge and justification. (shrink)

This chapter is divided into three parts. First I outline what makes something an objective list theory of well-being. I then go on to look at the motivations for holding such a view before turning to objections to these theories of well-being.

The concept of well-being is one of the oldest and most important topics in philosophy and ethics, going back to ancient Greek philosophy and Aristotle. Following the boom in happiness studies in the last few years it has moved to centre stage, grabbing media headlines and the attention of scientists, psychologists and economists. Yet little is actually known about well-being and it is an idea often poorly articulated. The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being provides a comprehensive, outstanding guide and (...) reference source to the key topics and debates in this exciting subject. Comprising over forty chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into six parts: well-being in the history of philosophy current theories of well-being, including hedonism, and perfectionism examples of well-being and its opposites, including friendship and virtue and pain and death theoretical issues such as well-being and value, harm, identity and well-being and children well-being in moral and political philosophy well-being and related subjects including law, economics, and medicine. Essential reading for students and researchers in ethics and political philosophy, it will also be an invaluable resource for those in related disciplines such as psychology, politics and sociology. (shrink)

It is commonly claimed that reliance upon moral testimony is problematic in a way not common to reliance upon non-moral testimony. This chapter provides a new explanation of what the problem consists in—one that enjoys advantages over the most widely accepted explanation in the extant literature. The main theses of the chapter are as follows: that many forms of normative deference beyond the moral are problematic, that there is a common explanation of the problem with all of these forms of (...) deference—an explanation that is based on the connection between the relevant judgments and desire-like attitudes, and that this explanation is compatible with moral realism. (shrink)