The Academy and Cyberspace Ethics.John Michael Kittross &A. DavidGordon -2003 -Journal of Mass Media Ethics 18 (3-4):286-307.detailsThis article discusses ethical implications for the academy in the use of cyberspace and virtual reality in conducting its teaching and research responsibilities. It identifies important cyberspace ethics concerns as they intersect with the academy and provides an ethical framework for coming to grips with them. Topics discussed here include the sine qua non of academic collegiality and civility, concerns about digital alteration of images and sounds, and issues pertaining to academic administration and infrastructure.
What would farmers do? Adaptation intentions under a Corn Belt climate change scenario.John Charles Tyndall,J.Gordon Arbuckle &Gabrielle E. Roesch-McNally -2017 -Agriculture and Human Values 34 (2):333-346.detailsThis paper examines farmer intentions to adapt to global climate change by analyzing responses to a climate change scenario presented in a survey given to large-scale farmers across the US Corn Belt in 2012. Adaptive strategies are evaluated in the context of decision making and farmers’ intention to increase their use of three production practices promoted across the Corn Belt: no-till farming, cover crops, and tile drainage. This paper also provides a novel conceptual framework that bridges a typology of adaptation (...) with concepts that help predict intentionality in behavior change models. This conceptual framework was developed to facilitate examination of adaptive decision making in the context of agriculture. This research effort examines key factors that influence farmers’ intentions to increase their use of the practices evaluated given a climate change scenario. Twenty-two covariates are examined across three models developed for no-till farming, cover crops, and tile drainage. Findings highlight that farmers who believed they should adjust their practices to protect their farm from the negative impacts of increased weather variability were more likely to indicate that they would increase their use of each of the practices in response to climate change. Additionally, visiting with other farmers to observe their practices was positively associated with farmers’ intentions to increase their use of the adaptive strategies examined. Farmers who were currently using no-till farming, cover crops, and tile drainage were also more likely to plan to increase their use of these practices in response to increased weather variability associated with climate change. However, farmers who reported high levels of confidence in their current practices were less likely to plan on changing their use of these practices in response to climatic changes. (shrink)
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Ethical Considerations in Deep Brain Stimulation for the Treatment of Addiction and Overeating Associated With Obesity.Jared M. Pisapia,Casey H. Halpern,Ulf J. Muller,Piergiuseppe Vinai,John A. Wolf,Donald M. Whiting,Thomas A. Wadden,Gordon H. Baltuch &Arthur L. Caplan -2013 -American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 4 (2):35-46.detailsThe success of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders and the improved understanding of the neurobiologic and neuroanatomic bases of psychiatric diseases have led to proposals to expand current DBS applications. Recent preclinical and clinical work with Alzheimer's disease and obsessive-compulsive disorder, for example, supports the safety of stimulating regions in the hypothalamus and nucleus accumbens in humans. These regions are known to be involved in addiction and overeating associated with obesity. However, the use of DBS targeting these areas (...) as a treatment modality raises common ethical considerations, which include informed consent, coercion, enhancement, threat to personhood, and manipulation of the reward center. Pilot studies for both of these conditions are currently investigational. If these studies show promise, then there is a need to address the ethical concerns related to the initiation of clinical trials including the reliability of preclinical evidence, patient selection, study design, compensation for participation and injury, cost-effectiveness, and the need for long-term follow-up. Multidisciplinary teams are necessary for the ethical execution of such studies. In addition to establishing safety and efficacy, the consideration of these ethical issues is vital to the adoption of DBS as a treatment for these conditions. We offer suggestions about the pursuit of future clinical trials of DBS for the treatment of addiction and overeating associated with obesity and provide a framework for addressing ethical concerns related to treatment. (shrink)
Weimar Thought: A Contested Legacy.John P. McCormick &Peter E.Gordon (eds.) -2013 - Princeton University Press.detailsA comprehensive look at the intellectual and cultural innovations of the Weimar period During its short lifespan, the Weimar Republic witnessed an unprecedented flowering of achievements in many areas, including psychology, political theory, physics, philosophy, literary and cultural criticism, and the arts. Leading intellectuals, scholars, and critics—such as Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Bertolt Brecht, and Martin Heidegger—emerged during this time to become the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century. Even today, the Weimar era remains a vital resource for (...) new intellectual movements. In this incomparable collection, Weimar Thought presents both the specialist and the general reader a comprehensive guide and unified portrait of the most important innovators, themes, and trends of this fascinating period. The book is divided into four thematic sections: law, politics, and society; philosophy, theology, and science; aesthetics, literature, and film; and general cultural and social themes of the Weimar period. The volume brings together established and emerging scholars from a remarkable array of fields, and each individual essay serves as an overview for a particular discipline while offering distinctive critical engagement with relevant problems and debates. Whether used as an introductory companion or advanced scholarly resource, Weimar Thought provides insight into the rich developments behind the intellectual foundations of modernity. (shrink)
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High-Density Lipoproteins-Associated Proteins and Subspecies Related to Arterial Stiffness in Young Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.Xiaoting Zhu,Amy S. Shah,Debi K. Swertfeger,Hailong Li,Sheng Ren,John T. Melchior,Scott M.Gordon,W. Sean Davidson &L. Jason Lu -2018 -Complexity 2018:1-14.detailsLower plasma levels of high-density lipoproteins in adolescents with type 2 diabetes have been associated with a higher pulse wave velocity, a marker of arterial stiffness. Evidence suggests that HDL proteins or particle subspecies are altered in T2D and these may drive these relationships. In this work, we set out to reveal any specific proteins and subspecies that are related to arterial stiffness in youth with T2D from proteomics data. Plasma and PWV measurements were previously acquired from lean and T2D (...) adolescents. Each plasma sample was separated into 18 fractions and evaluated by mass spectrometry. Then, we applied a validated network-based computational approach to reveal HDL subspecies associated with PWV. Among 68 detected phospholipid-associated proteins, we found that seven were negatively correlated with PWV, indicating that they may be atheroprotective. Conversely, nine proteins show positive correlation with PWV, suggesting that they may be related to arterial stiffness. Intriguingly, our results demonstrate that apoA-I and histidine-rich glycoprotein may reverse their protective roles and become antagonistic in the setting of T2D. Furthermore, we revealed two arterial stiffness-associated HDL subspecies, each of which contains multiple PWV-related proteins. Correlation and disease association analyses suggest that these HDL subspecies might link T2D to its cardiovascular-related complications. (shrink)
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Social Contexts Influence Ethical Considerations of Research.Robert J. Levine,Carolyn M. Mazure,Philip E. Rubin,Barry R. Schaller,John L. Young &Judith B.Gordon -2011 -American Journal of Bioethics 11 (5):24-30.detailsThis article argues that we could improve the design of research protocols by developing an awareness of and a responsiveness to the social contexts of all the actors in the research enterprise, including subjects, investigators, sponsors, and members of the community in which the research will be conducted. ?Social context? refers to the settings in which the actors are situated, including, but not limited to, their social, economic, political, cultural, and technological features. The utility of thinking about social contexts is (...) introduced and exemplified by the presentation of a hypothetical case in which one central issue is limitation of the probability of injury to subjects by selection of individuals who are not expected to live long enough for the known risks of the study to become manifest as harms. Benefits of such considerations may include enhanced subject satisfaction and cooperation, community acceptance, and improved data quality, among other desirable consequences. (shrink)
(1 other version)Computer modeling and the fate of folk psychology.John A. Barker -2002 -Metaphilosophy 33 (1-2):30-48.detailsAlthough Paul Churchland and Jerry Fodor both subscribe to the so-called theory-theory– the theory that folk psychology (FP) is an empirical theory of behavior – they disagree strongly about FP’s fate. Churchland contends that FP is a fundamentally flawed view analogous to folk biology, and he argues that recent advances in computational neuroscience and connectionist AI point toward development of a scientifically respectable replacement theory that will give rise to a new common-sense psychology. Fodor, however, wagers that FP will be (...) largely preserved and vindicated by scientific investigations of behavior. Recent findings by developmental psychologists, I argue, will push both Churchlandians and Fodorians toward the pessimistic view that FP is a misguided theory that will never be displaced, because it is, so to speak, built into our cognitive systems. I explore the possibility of preserving optimism by rejecting the theory-theory and adopting the simulation theory, a competing view developed by RobertGordon, Alvin Goldman, and Jane Heal. According to simulationists, common-sense interpretation of behavior is accomplished by means of pretense-like operations that deploy the cognitive system’s own reasoning capabilities in a disengaged manner. Since on this view no theory-like set of principles would be needed, the simulation theory seems to enjoy a simplicity advantage over the theory-theory. Steven Stich and Shawn Nichols, however, contend that as the cognitive system would require special mechanisms for disengaged operation, the simplicity question cannot be resolved until suitable computational models are developed. I describe a set of models I have constructed to meet this need, and I discuss the contribution such models can make to determining FP’s fate. (shrink)
A recurrent 16p12.1 microdeletion supports a two-hit model for severe developmental delay.Santhosh Girirajan,Jill A. Rosenfeld,Gregory M. Cooper,Francesca Antonacci,Priscillia Siswara,Andy Itsara,Laura Vives,Tom Walsh,Shane E. McCarthy,Carl Baker,Heather C. Mefford,Jeffrey M. Kidd,Sharon R. Browning,Brian L. Browning,Diane E. Dickel,Deborah L. Levy,Blake C. Ballif,Kathryn Platky,Darren M. Farber,Gordon C. Gowans,Jessica J. Wetherbee,Alexander Asamoah,David D. Weaver,Paul R. Mark,Jennifer Dickerson,Bhuwan P. Garg,Sara A. Ellingwood,Rosemarie Smith,Valerie C. Banks,Wendy Smith,Marie T. McDonald,Joe J. Hoo,Beatrice N. French,Cindy Hudson,John P. Johnson,Jillian R. Ozmore,John B. Moeschler,Urvashi Surti,Luis F. Escobar,Dima El-Khechen,Jerome L. Gorski,Jennifer Kussmann,Bonnie Salbert,Yves Lacassie,Alisha Biser,Donna M. McDonald-McGinn,Elaine H. Zackai,Matthew A. Deardorff,Tamim H. Shaikh,Eric Haan,Kathryn L. Friend,Marco Fichera,Corrado Romano,Jozef Gécz,Lynn E. DeLisi,Jonathan Sebat,Mary-Claire King,Lisa G. Shaffer & Eic -unknowndetailsWe report the identification of a recurrent, 520-kb 16p12.1 microdeletion associated with childhood developmental delay. The microdeletion was detected in 20 of 11,873 cases compared with 2 of 8,540 controls and replicated in a second series of 22 of 9,254 cases compared with 6 of 6,299 controls. Most deletions were inherited, with carrier parents likely to manifest neuropsychiatric phenotypes compared to non-carrier parents. Probands were more likely to carry an additional large copy-number variant when compared to matched controls. The clinical (...) features of individuals with two mutations were distinct from and/or more severe than those of individuals carrying only the co-occurring mutation. Our data support a two-hit model in which the 16p12.1 microdeletion both predisposes to neuropsychiatric phenotypes as a single event and exacerbates neurodevelopmental phenotypes in association with other large deletions or duplications. Analysis of other microdeletions with variable expressivity indicates that this two-hit model might be more generally applicable to neuropsychiatric disease. © 2010 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved. (shrink)
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Medievalia Et Humanistica No. 30: Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Culture.Jane Griffiths,SarahGordon,Fabian Alfie,Joseph Grossi,Z. J. Kosztolnyik,John R. C. Martyn,Donald Cooper,Wendy Pfeffer,Daniel Gustav Anderson,Jane Gilbert,Miri Rubin,Paul Warde,Jan M. Ziolkowski,James A. Schultz &John Alexander (eds.) -2004 - Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.detailsSince its founding in 1943, Medievalia et Humanistica has won worldwide recognition as the first scholarly publication in America to devote itself entirely to medieval and Renaissance studies. Since 1970, a new series, sponsored by the Modern Language Association of America and edited by an international board of distinguished scholars and critics, has published interdisciplinary articles. In yearly hardbound volumes, the new series publishes significant scholarship, criticism, and reviews treating all facets of medieval and Renaissance culture: history, art, literature, music, (...) science, law, economics, and philosophy. (shrink)
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Morality and Justice: Reading Boylan's a Just Society.John-StewartGordon,Michael Boylan,Robert Paul Churchill,James A. Donahue,Marcus Duwell,Dale Jacquette,Tanja Kohen,Christopher Lowry,Seumas Miller,Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez,Johann-Christian Poder,Edward H. Spence,Udo Schuklenk,Wanda Teays &Rosemarie Tong (eds.) -2009 - Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.detailsThe essays in this book engage the original and controversial claims from Michael Boylan's A Just Society. Each essay discusses Boylan's claims from a particular chapter and offers a critical analysis of these claims. Boylan responds to the essays in his lengthy and philosophically rich reply.
Mill's Principle of Government as a Basis of Democracy.Gordon A. Welty -1971 -The Monist 55 (1):51-60.detailsThe founders and 19th-Century leaders of the American democratic experiment sought to base their institution on a rationalist and individualist model of political reality. As characterized by D. M. Levitan, they distrusted representative government and powerful executives, subscribing to a laissez-faire philosophy: he governs best who governs least. Levitan goes on to accentuate the intimate relationship of the political system to its philosophical foundation. While he notes that Liberal ideas were well adapted to the needs of the plutocracy, he does (...) not play down the importance of Liberalism to the particular form taken by political institutions in democracy. A paradigm of this Liberal doctrine isJohn Stuart Mill's famous Principle: “the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will is to prevent harm to others.” This Principle, if not the source, can certainly qualify as a rationalization for a great part of what passes for “policy” in a democracy. (shrink)
The Hawking Information Loss Paradox: The Anatomy of a Controversy.Gordon Belot,John Earman &Laura Ruetsche -1999 -British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 50 (2):189-229.detailsStephen Hawking has argued that universes containing evaporating black holes can evolve from pure initial states to mixed final ones. Such evolution is non-unitary and so contravenes fundamental quantum principles on which Hawking's analysis was based. It disables the retrodiction of the universe's initial state from its final one, and portends the time-asymmetry of quantum gravity. Small wonder that Hawking's paradox has met with considerable resistance. Here we use a simple result for C*-algebras to offer an argument for pure-to-mixed state (...) evolution in black hole evaporation, and review responses to the Hawking paradox with respect to how effectively they rebut this argument. (shrink)
Autism and the "theory of mind" debate Robert M.Gordon andJohn A. Barker.RobertGordon -manuscriptdetailsWith this understanding, children are better able to anticipate the behavior of others and to attune their own behavior accordingly. In mentally retarded children with Down's syndrome, attainment of such competence is delayed, but it is generally acquired by the time they reach the mental age of 4, as measured by tests of nonverbal intelligence. Thus from a developmental perspective, attainment of the mental age of 4 appears to be of profound significance for acquisition of what we shall call psychological (...) competence : possession of the skills and resources people routinely call on in the.. (shrink)
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Artificial Intelligence and the future of work.John-StewartGordon &David J. Gunkel -2025 -AI and Society 40 (3):1897-1903.detailsIn this paper, we delve into the significant impact of recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the future landscape of work. We discuss the looming possibility of mass unemployment triggered by AI and the societal repercussions of this transition. Despite the challenges this shift presents, we argue that it also unveils opportunities to mitigate social inequalities, combat global poverty, and empower individuals to follow their passions. Amidst this discussion, we also touch upon the existential question of the purpose of (...) human life in a world where machines predominantly perform work. Additionally, we explore the contentious issue of the moral status and rights of AI entities, contemplating the scenario where machines evolve to become sapient and sentient. The paper concludes with a call to action, emphasizing the necessity to acknowledge these potential outcomes and proactively seek solutions, as part of an inevitable journey through the evolution of human society shared with intelligent machines. (shrink)
Should moral enhancement be compulsory?John-StewartGordon -2016 -Ethical Perspectives 23 (2):277-305.detailsSome authors fear that humanity is on the verge of its own extinction and must either change its behaviour or inevitably cause its own demise. This situation has spawned a vigorous (bio)ethical debate in recent years concerning whether one should enhance human beings cognitively or morally in order to promote moral action and reduce harm. This article defends making moral bioenhancement compulsory to avoid grossly immoral actions and the global extinction of humanity, if it is available, safe and easy to (...) administer. Two crucial issues will be examined in more detail. First, moral enhancement and free will, and second, the applicability problem, which concerns one particular political approach to accomplishing that goal. (shrink)
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Global Ethics and Moral Responsibility: Hans Jonas and His Critics.John-StewartGordon &Holger Burckhart -2014 - Routledge.detailsThe philosophy of Hans Jonas was widely influential in the late twentieth century, warning of the potential dangers of technological progress and its negative effect on humanity and nature. Jonas advocated greater moral responsibility and taking this as a starting point, leading international scholars and experts on his work suggest original and promising solutions to current ethical issues within the context of his philosophy. The book considers the vital intersection between law and global ethics and covers issues related to technology (...) and ethics, medical ethics, religion and environmental ethics. (shrink)
Is Inclusive Education a Human Right?John-StewartGordon -2013 -Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 41 (4):754-767.detailsThe widespread view — proclaimed by proponents of disability studies, some disability federations, and many disabled people — that there is a human right to inclusive education, was eventually substantiated by international law with the UN Disability Convention in 2006. One of the most discussed issues in disability studies concerns the CRPD; the contributions are legion. Surprisingly, there are hardly any substantial contributions that pay particular attention to the important question of whether inclusive education is a moral human right, and, (...) if so, how this particular human right could be morally justified. A related topic that is frequently discussed concerns the question of whether inclusive education is compatible with the International Bill of Human Rights. Other scholars, such as Theresia Degener, wholeheartedly support the idea that inclusive education is a substantial legal and moral human right. (shrink)
Chaos out of order: Quantum mechanics, the correspondence principle and chaos.Gordon Belot &John Earman -1997 -Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 28 (2):147-182.detailsA vast amount of ink has been spilled in both the physics and the philosophy literature on the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. Important as it is, this problem is but one aspect of the more general issue of how, if at all, classical properties can emerge from the quantum descriptions of physical systems. In this paper we will study another aspect of the more general issue-the emergence of classical chaos-which has been receiving increasing attention from physicists but which has (...) largely been neglected by philosophers of science. (shrink)
Showler’s Pragmatic Approach to Moral Status.John-StewartGordon -2024 -Philosophy and Technology 37 (2):1-5.detailsThis commentary critically evaluates Showler’s pragmatic approach to moral status, which integrates moral individualism and moral relationalism to address the moral complexities surrounding non-human entities, especially social robots. Showler proposes a unified methodology that delineates distinct roles for each theory—moral coordination problems for moral individualism and moral transformation for moral relationalism. However, my commentary identifies key methodological ambiguities and potential conflation of moral status determination with broader ethical reasoning. It argues for clearer application guidelines and further theoretical refinement to enhance (...) the framework’s robustness and practical applicability, suggesting this model as an interesting starting point for further debates on moral status. (shrink)
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Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.John-StewartGordon, and &Sven Nyholm -2021 -Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.detailsEthics of Artificial Intelligence This article provides a comprehensive overview of the main ethical issues related to the impact of Artificial Intelligence on human society. AI is the use of machines to do things that would normally require human intelligence. In many areas of human life, AI has rapidly and significantly affected human society … Continue reading Ethics of Artificial Intelligence →.
Pre-socratic quantum gravity.Gordon Belot &John Earman -unknown - In Craig Callender & Nicholas Huggett,Physics meets philosophy at the planck scale. pp. 213--55.detailsPhysicists who work on canonical quantum gravity will sometimes remark that the general covariance of general relativity is responsible for many of the thorniest technical and conceptual problems in their field.1 In particular, it is sometimes alleged that one can trace to this single source a variety of deep puzzles about the nature of time in quantum gravity, deep disagreements surrounding the notion of ‘observable’ in classical and quantum gravity, and deep questions about the nature of the existence of spacetime (...) in general relativity. Philosophers who think about these things are sometimes skeptical about such claims. We have all learned that Kretschmann was quite correct to urge against Einstein that the “General Theory of Relativity” was no such thing, since any theory could be cast in a generally covariant form, and hence the general covariance of general relativity could not have any physical content, let alone bear the kind of weight that Einstein expected it to.2 Friedman’s assessment is widely accepted: “As Kretschmann first pointed out in 1917, the principle of general covariance has no physical content whatever: it specifies no particular physical theory; rather, it merely expresses our commitment to a certain style of formulating physical theories” (1984, p. 44). Such considerations suggest that general covariance, as a technically crucial but physically contentless feature of general relativity, simply cannot be the source of any significant conceptual or physical problems.3 Physicists are, of course, conscious of the weight of Kretschmann’s points against Einstein. Yet they are considerably more ambivalent than their philosophical colleagues. Consider Kuchaˇr’s conclusion at the end of a discussion of this topic. (shrink)
Reconciling female genital circumcision with universal human rights.John-StewartGordon -2017 -Developing World Bioethics 18 (3):222-232.detailsOne of the most challenging issues in cross-cultural bioethics concerns the long-standing socio-cultural practice of female genital circumcision, which is prevalent in many African countries and the Middle East as well as in some Asian and Western countries. It is commonly assumed that FGC, in all its versions, constitutes a gross violation of the universal human rights of health, physical integrity, and individual autonomy and hence should be abolished. This article, however, suggests a mediating approach according to which one form (...) of FGC, the removal of the clitoris foreskin, can be made compatible with the high demands of universal human rights. The argument presupposes the idea that human rights are not absolutist by nature but can be framed in a meaningful, culturally sensitive way. It proposes important limiting conditions that must be met for the practice of FGC to be considered in accordance with the human rights agenda. (shrink)
Human Rights and Cultural Identity.John-StewartGordon -2015 -Baltic Journal of Law and Politics 8 (2):112-135.detailsUniversal human rights and particular cultural identities, which are relativistic by nature, seem to stand in conflict with each other. It is commonly suggested that the relativistic natures of cultural identities undermine universal human rights and that human rights might compromise particular cultural identities in a globalised world. This article examines this supposed clash and suggests that it is possible to frame a human rights approach in such a way that it becomes the starting point and constraining framework for all (...) non-deficient cultural identities. In other words, it is possible to depict human rights in a culturally sensitive way so that universal human rights can meet the demands of a moderate version of meta-ethical relativism which acknowledges a small universal core of objectively true or false moral statements and avers that, beyond that small core, all other moral statements are neither objectively true nor false. (shrink)
Need to Know: Vocation as the Heart of Christian Epistemology.JohnGordon Stackhouse -2014 - Oup Usa.detailsIf a serious Christian wants to think seriously about a serious subject, what does he or she do? Grounded in the best of the Christian theological tradition, Need to Know sets out a comprehensive, coherent, and clear model of responsible Christian thinking.
Artificial moral and legal personhood.John-StewartGordon -forthcoming -AI and Society:1-15.detailsThis paper considers the hotly debated issue of whether one should grant moral and legal personhood to intelligent robots once they have achieved a certain standard of sophistication based on such criteria as rationality, autonomy, and social relations. The starting point for the analysis is the European Parliament’s resolution on Civil Law Rules on Robotics and its recommendation that robots be granted legal status and electronic personhood. The resolution is discussed against the background of the so-called Robotics Open Letter, which (...) is critical of the Civil Law Rules on Robotics. The paper reviews issues related to the moral and legal status of intelligent robots and the notion of legal personhood, including an analysis of the relation between moral and legal personhood in general and with respect to robots in particular. It examines two analogies, to corporations and animals, that have been proposed to elucidate the moral and legal status of robots. The paper concludes that one should not ascribe moral and legal personhood to currently existing robots, given their technological limitations, but that one should do so once they have achieved a certain level at which they would become comparable to human beings. (shrink)
Can God Be Trusted?: Faith and the Challenge of Evil.JohnGordon Stackhouse -1998 - New York: Oxford University Press USA.detailsIn a world riddled with disappointment, malice, and tragedy, what rationale do we have for believing in a benevolent God? If God is all-powerful and all-loving, why is there so much evil in the world?John Stackhouse takes a historically informed approach to this dilemma, examining what philosophers and theologians have said on the subject and offering reassuring answers for thoughtful readers. Stackhouse explores how great thinkers have grappled with the problem of evil--from the Buddha, Confucius, Augustine, and David (...) Hume to Martin Luther, C. S. Lewis, and Alvin Plantinga. Without brushing aside the serious contradictions posed by a God who allows incurable diseases, natural disasters, and senseless crimes to bring misery into our lives, Stackhouse asks if a world completely without evil is what we truly want. Would a life without suffering be a meaningful life? Could free will exist if we were able to choose only good? Stackhouse examines what the best minds have had to say on these questions and boldly affirms that the benefits of evil, in fact, outweigh the costs. Finally, he points to Christian revelation--which promises the transformation of suffering into joy--as the best guide to God's. (shrink)
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Rights Legislation: A Plea for an AI Convention.John-StewartGordon -2023 - Springer Nature Switzerland.detailsThe unmatched technological achievements in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, computer science, and related fields over the last few decades can be considered a success story. The technological sophistication has been so groundbreaking in various types of applications that many experts believe that we will see, at some point or another, the emergence of general AI (AGI) and, eventually, superintelligence. This book examines the impact of AI on human rights by focusing on potential risks and human rights legislation and proposes creating (...) a Universal Convention for the Rights of AI Systems (AI Convention). (shrink)
Applying the four-principle approach.John-StewartGordon,Oliver Rauprich &Jochen Vollmann -2009 -Bioethics 25 (6):293-300.detailsThe four-principle approach to biomedical ethics is used worldwide by practitioners and researchers alike but it is rather unclear what exactly people do when they apply this approach. Ranking, specification, and balancing vary greatly among different people regarding a particular case. Thus, a sound and coherent applicability of principlism seems somewhat mysterious. What are principlists doing? The article examines the methodological strengths and weaknesses of the applicability of this approach. The most important result is that a sound and comprehensible application (...) of the four principles is additionally ensured by making use of the organizing meta-principle of common morality, which is the starting point and constraining framework of moral reasoning. (shrink)
Reason in Nature: New Essays on Themes fromJohn McDowell.DavidGordon -2023 -Philosophical Quarterly 74 (1):378-380.detailsJohn McDowell is one of the most influential contemporary philosophers in a number of fields; but, the editors of Reason in Nature argue, the significance of hi.
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Moral Philosophers Are Moral Experts! A Reply to David Archard.John-StewartGordon -2012 -Bioethics 28 (4):203-206.detailsIn his article ‘Why Moral Philosophers Are Not and Should Not Be Moral Experts’ David Archard attempts to show that his argument from common-sense morality is more convincing than other competing arguments in the debate. I examine his main line of argumentation and eventually refute his main argument in my reply.
Building Moral Robots: Ethical Pitfalls and Challenges.John-StewartGordon -2020 -Science and Engineering Ethics 26 (1):141-157.detailsThis paper examines the ethical pitfalls and challenges that non-ethicists, such as researchers and programmers in the fields of computer science, artificial intelligence and robotics, face when building moral machines. Whether ethics is “computable” depends on how programmers understand ethics in the first place and on the adequacy of their understanding of the ethical problems and methodological challenges in these fields. Researchers and programmers face at least two types of problems due to their general lack of ethical knowledge or expertise. (...) The first type is so-called rookie mistakes, which could be addressed by providing these people with the necessary ethical knowledge. The second, more difficult methodological issue concerns areas of peer disagreement in ethics, where no easy solutions are currently available. This paper examines several existing approaches to highlight the ethical pitfalls and challenges involved. Familiarity with these and similar problems can help programmers to avoid pitfalls and build better moral machines. The paper concludes that ethical decisions regarding moral robots should be based on avoiding what is immoral in combination with a pluralistic ethical method of solving moral problems, rather than relying on a particular ethical approach, so as to avoid a normative bias. (shrink)
Future Law, Ethics, and Smart Technologies: The Future of Legal Education.John-StewartGordon (ed.) -2023 - BRILL.detailsThe edited volume _Future Law, Ethics, and Smart Technologies_ is a comprehensive interdisciplinary textbook for students, particularly law students, who want to become familiar with the complex issues at the intersection of law, ethics, and smart technologies.
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Power — the key to press freedom: A four-tiered social model.DavidGordon &John C. Merrill -1988 -Journal of Mass Media Ethics 3 (1):38 – 49.detailsRaw (pragmatic) and potential (theoretical) power is seen as the key to press freedom in various global settings. Because the locus of power determines the locus of freedom, the authors suggest a model to understand where the raw and potential power resides within a matrix consisting of the State, the Media Elite, the Journalists, or the People. Numerous questions concerning accountability and ethics are raised concerning the practical application of a model that purports to overcome cultural biases inherent in traditional (...) theories of press and society. (shrink)
Indignity and Old Age.John-StewartGordon -2018 -Bioethics 32 (4):223-232.detailsThis article examines the nature of human dignity against the background of old age and introduces the novel idea of treating human dignity as a formal principle related to the more foundational notion of indignity. The discussion starts with the objection that the notion of human dignity can be used to justify contrary positions and is therefore inconclusive. This pitfall can be averted by appealing to the notion of indignity rather than dignity in one's moral reasoning and decision‐making. Cases of (...) indignity are more primary and indicate the violation of the very core of a human being. The verifiable property of vulnerability is central to this identification of indignity, as is illustrated by reference to the experiences of elderly people. The article argues for applying the concept of human dignity to reverse the conditions that existed before a particular indignity emerged, rather than trying to define positively the notion of human dignity in the first place. (shrink)
Clinical Ethics Consultation: Theories and Methods, Implementation, Evaluation.John-StewartGordon &Jan Schildmann -2010 - Routledge.detailsThis volume brings together a group of researchers from different European countries and disciplines who are involved in Clinical Ethics Consultation. The work provides a discussion on the theories and methods underlying CEC and on the issues of implementation and evaluation.
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