This thesis looks at the failure of individual people living in affluent societies to do more to help those living in conditions of extreme poverty at the present moment. Affluent people have the capacity to assist, by contributing additional funds to aid and humanitarian organisations. Given an understanding of what is at stake, the fact that they fail to do so is both morally problematic and difficult to explain. Yet, without an understanding of the causes of inaction, it is difficult to know what measures may be taken to alleviate extreme suffering in the world today. The thesis draws upon different philosophical accounts of practical reason to argue that the conduct of the affluent can only be understood in one of three ways: these people may lack decisive reason to assist, they may be misinformed, or they may be rationally deficient in some regard. Considering each possibility in turn, it advances two central arguments. Firstly, the normative reasons claim is sound: affluent people, who do not incur minor costs by assisting, ought to do more. Secondly, these people tend to have false beliefs about the nature of poverty, to make substantive errors of judgement, and to follow flawed patterns of reasoning when they deliberate about what to do. Taken together, these factors explain their failure to act. Building upon this diagnosis, the thesis then considers how to respond to the problem of inaction, advancing a solution that is institutional in character. It argues for the construction of a division of labour between state and citizen, at the national level, which would see political institutions take on responsibility for poverty eradication, thereby leaving individuals freer to pursue their own personal goals and objectives. In order to perform this function effectively, wealthy nations would have to improve the quantity and quality of assistance that they provide to low-income countries. They would also have to cease partaking in practices that harm the global poor. This approach has a number of advantages over reliance on private philanthropy alone: it forms part of a fair and effective solution to the problem of motivating assistance, the arrangement it proposes is both stable and legitimate, and it is also something that could be achieved in practice. Therefore, it represents part of the best possible way in which to proceed.

The purpose of this religious didactic study is to investigate how ethics and moral can be interpreted in three different movies. The purpose behind this study is to get a better understanding of how these movies could be used in the subject religion within the college school system. This study of use a qualitative method analysis when studying the films, where the films are interpreted from three different ethical theories such as Utilitarianism, Virtue ethics and Deontological ethics. The quantitative method focuses on social convention in order to fully understand the bigger picture. The social aspects are relevant since this study will examine to see if the movies are fit to be material in the classroom. In order to make this clear I will tie the movies to the college pass marks for the subject Religion. Due to this, the control documents and the curriculum will be tied into the use of the movies in order to give teachers a better understanding of what purpose the film will fulfill.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Univ., 2008. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Over the last two decades, the international community has taken on the task of rebuilding societies in the aftermath of mass-atrocities. Through a combination of trial and error and vigorous academic research, a relatively clear (and semi-malleable) blueprint of post-atrocity peacebuilding has developed. This includes setting up a temporary international transitional authority, establishing democracy, facilitating economic development, and holding war crime trials. Though there are volumes of studies which address the pragmatic strengths and weaknesses of these key elements of peacebuilding, to date political theorists have not critically analyzed the moral legitimacy of these policies. My thesis aims to fill this gap. The overarching question of this thesis is this: What moral duties does the international community have to post-atrocity societies? To answer this question, I critically examine the normative issues involved in the four key aspects of peacebuilding (identified above). Using the framework of just war theory and a cosmopolitan theory of fundamental human rights, I argue that, in most post-atrocity cases, the international community has duties to remove atrocity-committing regimes from power, occupy the target-state and act as a transitional authority, help facilitate the creation of democracy and economic development, and hold war crimes trials. These duties, of course, are extremely complicated and limited and these qualifications are examined and developed throughout. Running through the construction of my theory of post-atrocity duties is a clear message: we – the international community – have obligations to the victims and survivors of atrocities. In other words, providing assistance in the wake of mass-atrocities is not a supererogatory act of charity, rather, it is a duty which we owe to the victims of these horrible crimes.

In my thesis I explain why the common, pre-theoretical understanding of morality is an important part of Kant's ethics, and I critically evaluate what the strengths and weaknesses are of doing ethics with the common perspective as a point of reference. In chapter 1, I discuss the significance of common rational capacities for the deduction in Groundwork III as well as for the Fact of Reason. Attention to the fundamental role of common rational capacities in the Second Critique reveals that Kant intends to provide further warrant for the Fact than its introspective self-evidence. In chapter 2, I discuss what it means for a rational agent to be endowed with common rational capacities. The agent has everything she needs to reason on her own about what she ought to do and act from rational judgements. Furthermore, I critically evaluate Kant's claim that his ethics spells out fundamental, pre-theoretical convictions. In chapter 3, I discuss Kant's conception of rationalizing (“Vernünfteln”). I analyse rationalizing as a process of self-deception in which an agent tries to justify or excuse violations of the moral law. This can lead to loss of the reliable use of common rational capacities. I discuss what help critical practical philosophy and moral education can afford against rationalizing. In chapter 4, I argue that Kant saw dialogical engagement with ordinary agents as an important way of obtaining data concerning the correct starting point of practical philosophy. Kant demands that whatever we get from dialog and observation has to be isolated from its contingent elements. I conclude that the main problem for Kant's method is how we can, on the one hand, exclude non-rational content, and, on the other hand, be open to what other agents actually have to say about morality.

<p>Militär och polis har vid en hastig överblick en gemensam nämnare, nämligen legal våldsanvändning som en väg att lösa sina respektive uppgifter. Vad ställer detta för krav i fråga om etik och moral på respektive yrkesgrupp? Finns det fler likheter och vad finns det för skillnader, ur ett etiskt och moraliskt perspektiv? Syftet med denna uppsats är att identifiera vilka likheter och skillnader i krav på etik och moral det finns mellan officerare och poliser. Detta sker genom att beskriva vilka krav som ställs på en officer för att sedan beskriva vilka krav som ställs på en polis. Därefter sker en jämförelse och en analys i syfte att tydliggöra de likheter och skillnader som identifierats.</p><p> Uppsatsen visar att likheter förekommer i fråga om krav på att behålla sin etik i perioder då den inte sätts på prov och efter långa tider av passivitet i verksamheten. Likheter har även identifierats i respektive myndighets värdegrund då dessa ställer tydliga krav på sina anställda i fråga om människosyn och normer. Skillnaderna som har identifierats handlar bland annat om agerandet innan vapenanvändning. En officer har i uppgift att leda underställda i strid och blir tagen i anspråk när inga andra metoder har fungerat. En polis däremot, förväntas kunna ta till mindre våldsamma metoder för att lösa sin uppgift, innan han använder sitt vapen. Detta ställer högre krav på en polis. Ytterligare en skillnad som identifierats är förhållandet mellan befäl och underställd personal. Resultatet i detta fall visar att det ställs högre krav på en officer då dennes underställda har en lägre ålder, kortare utbildning och mindre livserfarenhet än polisbefälets underställda.</p> / <p>A quick overview tells us that legal use of force is the lowest common denominator between military officers and police officers. Which demands does this legal use of force make on the two categories, in terms of ethics and moral? Are there more similarities and what differences in an ethical perspective are there? The purpose of this essay is to identify the similarities and differences between military officers and police officers in terms of demands in an ethical and moral perspective. This is made by describing the demands on a military officer followed by a description of the demands on a police officer. Thereafter, a comparison and an analysis is made in purpose to clarify the similarities and differences which have been identified.</p><p>The essay shows that similarities occur in question of keeping your ethics in times when it is not tested and after long periods of passivity in the daily activities. Similarities have also been identified in each authority’s declaration of values. The declarations of values are making demands in terms of human value and norms. The differences that have been identified are mainly about the behavior before use of violence. A police officer is expected to use other methods, in order to solve his assignment, before he uses his weapon. A military officer, on the other hand, is trained to lead subordinates in combat and is assigned when all other methods has failed. The demands on a police officer are therefore considered higher, in that very case. Another difference that has been identified is the relation between the commander and his subordinates. The result in this case shows that the demands on a military officer are higher due to the subordinates’ younger age, shorter training and lesser life experience, compared to the police officers subordinates.</p>

Militär och polis har vid en hastig överblick en gemensam nämnare, nämligen legal våldsanvändning som en väg att lösa sina respektive uppgifter. Vad ställer detta för krav i fråga om etik och moral på respektive yrkesgrupp? Finns det fler likheter och vad finns det för skillnader, ur ett etiskt och moraliskt perspektiv? Syftet med denna uppsats är att identifiera vilka likheter och skillnader i krav på etik och moral det finns mellan officerare och poliser. Detta sker genom att beskriva vilka krav som ställs på en officer för att sedan beskriva vilka krav som ställs på en polis. Därefter sker en jämförelse och en analys i syfte att tydliggöra de likheter och skillnader som identifierats.  Uppsatsen visar att likheter förekommer i fråga om krav på att behålla sin etik i perioder då den inte sätts på prov och efter långa tider av passivitet i verksamheten. Likheter har även identifierats i respektive myndighets värdegrund då dessa ställer tydliga krav på sina anställda i fråga om människosyn och normer. Skillnaderna som har identifierats handlar bland annat om agerandet innan vapenanvändning. En officer har i uppgift att leda underställda i strid och blir tagen i anspråk när inga andra metoder har fungerat. En polis däremot, förväntas kunna ta till mindre våldsamma metoder för att lösa sin uppgift, innan han använder sitt vapen. Detta ställer högre krav på en polis. Ytterligare en skillnad som identifierats är förhållandet mellan befäl och underställd personal. Resultatet i detta fall visar att det ställs högre krav på en officer då dennes underställda har en lägre ålder, kortare utbildning och mindre livserfarenhet än polisbefälets underställda. / A quick overview tells us that legal use of force is the lowest common denominator between military officers and police officers. Which demands does this legal use of force make on the two categories, in terms of ethics and moral? Are there more similarities and what differences in an ethical perspective are there? The purpose of this essay is to identify the similarities and differences between military officers and police officers in terms of demands in an ethical and moral perspective. This is made by describing the demands on a military officer followed by a description of the demands on a police officer. Thereafter, a comparison and an analysis is made in purpose to clarify the similarities and differences which have been identified. The essay shows that similarities occur in question of keeping your ethics in times when it is not tested and after long periods of passivity in the daily activities. Similarities have also been identified in each authority’s declaration of values. The declarations of values are making demands in terms of human value and norms. The differences that have been identified are mainly about the behavior before use of violence. A police officer is expected to use other methods, in order to solve his assignment, before he uses his weapon. A military officer, on the other hand, is trained to lead subordinates in combat and is assigned when all other methods has failed. The demands on a police officer are therefore considered higher, in that very case. Another difference that has been identified is the relation between the commander and his subordinates. The result in this case shows that the demands on a military officer are higher due to the subordinates’ younger age, shorter training and lesser life experience, compared to the police officers subordinates.

This diploma thesis deals with roboethics and its associated moral and social dilemmas. The theoretical part of this thesis defines roboethics and presents the diverse opinions and approaches, deals with the position of robots in society and also subsequently examines the various problematic areas of the use of robots. The conclusion of the theoretical part of the thesis then focuses on autonomous vehicles, to which the quantitative and qualitative research parts of the thesis are devoted. The research part of this diploma thesis aims to find out the opinions on this issue of the Czech general public and Czech experts as well as to find out whether their opinions are aligned, how their opinions differ and lastly, which issues are the most important for the future development of this field.

Die vorliegende Dissertation beschäftigte sich theoretisch und empirisch mit moralischer Sensitivität, der Fähigkeit zu erkennen, ob Handlungen das Wohlergehen anderer Lebewesen beeinflussen. Im Theorieteil wurden dazu die einschlägigen theoretischen Ansätze gesichtet und in einer neuen integrativen Definition verdichtet. Aus der theoretischen Aufarbeitung der Konzepte und bisherigen empirischen Befunde folgte, dass verschiedene Persönlichkeitsmerkmale existieren, die maßgeblich determinieren, ob und wie stark ein Individuum moralisch sensitiv ist. Zu diesen Determinanten moralischer Sensitivität gehören folgende Persönlichkeitsmerkmale: Empathie, moralische Achtsamkeit, moralische Identität und Ungerechtigkeitssensibilität. Im empirischen Teil der Arbeit wurden die Zusammenhänge dieser Persönlichkeitsmerkmale mit moralischem Entscheiden und Handeln untersucht, sowie verschiedene studienspezifische Hypothesen und Fragestellungen beleuchtet. Einzelne Aspekte der empirischen Arbeit wurden schließlich in einer interkulturellen Studie auf ihre kulturübergreifende Generalisierbarkeit geprüft. Die Dissertationsschrift schließt mit einer umfassenden Diskussion der empirischen Ergebnisse und gibt praktische Handlungsempfehlungen. Unternehmen und andere Organisationen können die in der vorliegenden Dissertation gewonnenen Erkenntnisse nutzen, um ihr Human Ressource Management hinsichtlich der Auswahl und Förderung ethisch-kompetenter Fach- und Führungskräfte zu optimieren. / The present dissertation theoretically and empirically investigated the concept of moral sensitivity – the ability to recognize whether actions influence the well-being of other living beings. In the theoretical part, the relevant theoretical approaches were reviewed and condensed in a new integrative definition. The review of the theoretical accounts of moral sensitivity and the empirical findings revealed that various personality traits exist that decisively determine whether and how strongly an individual is morally sensitive. These determinants of moral sensitivity include the following personality traits: empathy, moral attentiveness, moral identity, and justice sensitivity. In the empirical part of the work, the relationships of these personality traits with moral decision-making and action and various study-specific hypotheses were examined. The cross-cultural generalizability of some empirical findings of the dissertation was finally examined in an intercultural study. The dissertation concludes with a comprehensive discussion of the empirical results and gives practical recommendations for organizations. Companies and other organizations can use the knowledge gained in this dissertation to optimize their human resource management in terms of selection and promotion of ethical competent employees.

This paper concerns the issue of ignorance about values, and how to best deal with it.I try to find out what we ought to do when we are ignorant of what it is valuable topromote. The proposed solution is an indirect system of “provisional values”, builtaround three goals that are likely to increase our chances of achieving real value,should such a thing be possible.These three provisional goals the system gives us are as follows: knowledge,optionality, and diversity.Knowledge is the traditional way of trying to relieve our ignorance and has beenthe focus of most philosophizing about value.Optionality means having options, or the power to act differently. This is likelyto become important should we ever discover what it is actually valuable to do.Finally, diversity is simply the idea that, not knowing what truly is valuable, weshould do as much as possible of everything in the hope that some of it may bevaluable. / Denna uppsats handlar om problemet med vår brist på kunskap om värde och hur manbäst hanterar det. Jag försöker ta reda på vad vi borde göra i situationer där vi ärokunniga om vilka mål som är värdefulla att uppnå. Den lösning som föreslås är ettindirekt system av ”provisoriskt värde”. Detta system är uppbyggt kring tre mål somsannolikt kommer att öka våra chanser att uppnå direkta eller verkliga värden, om ensådan sak skulle vara möjlig. Dessa tre provisoriska mål som systemet ger oss ärföljande: kunskap, optionalitet och mångfald.Kunskap är det traditionella sättet att försöka lindra vår okunnighet, och harvarit fokus för det mesta filosoferandet om värde.Optionalitet innebär att ha alternativ eller makten att agera annorlunda. Dettakommer sannolikt att bli viktigt om vi någonsin upptäcker vad det är värdefullt attgöra.Slutligen är mångfald helt enkelt tanken att om vi inte vet vad som verkligen ärvärdefullt så bör vi göra så mycket som möjligt av allt i hopp om att något av det kanvisa sig värdefullt.