Dimensions Of Goodness

Dimensions of Goodness is based on the second conference of the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study, whose aim is to bridge the normative and descriptive dimensions of knowledge by bringing in as many disciplines as possible to address fundamental philosophical issues. While the first conference dealt with the elusive topic of beauty, the second addressed crucial issues of ethics. In the first section of this volume, the German philosophers Franz von Kutschera and Markus Gabriel discuss the nature of values and the reasons why we believe that normativity has a place in the world. In the second section, the British historian Jonathan Israel, the American theologian Jennifer Herdt, and the editor of the volume analyse epochal changes in our moral beliefs, due to Enlightenment, Christianity, and the general evolution of moral ideas, which is presented in a way that markedly differs from Alasdair MacIntyre’s famous account. The third section explores both the light that the exact sciences shed on the process of decision making (in the contributions by the Italian neuroscientist Camillo Padoa-Schioppa and the Canadian psychologist Clive Seligman) as well as the ethical challenges that modern science has brought forward in areas such as the responsibility of scientists, bioethics and medical ethics in chapters by the Swiss chemist and Nobel laureate Richard Ernst, the American bioethicist and historian of biology Jane Maienschein, and the American philosopher and legal scholar Anita Allen. The fourth section focuses on specific challenges of our time – the British philosopher Robin Atfield explores the principles of environmental ethics, the Swiss business ethicist Georges Enderle investigates goodness in economy, the Mexican elder statesman (former Secretary of Economy and of Foreign Affairs) Luiz Ernesto Derbez Bautista looks at the challenges of development, and the American legal scholars Steven D. Smith and Mary Ellen O’Connell examine the place of religion in the American constitution and the power of international law in limiting violence respectively. Finally, the last section consists of a chapter by the well-known Chinese intellectual Wang Hui on Lu Xun’s struggle to find a middle way between respect of one’s own tradition and the demands of globalization. There is probably no other volume in which so many different disciplines come together to try to find a convergence of perspectives on basic moral issues. The book will be invaluable to those who believe that goodness is the focal point of most academic disciplines and that academia can find a stronger point of unity in a common reflection on what goodness in various areas means.

Mohammed Chris Alli is a retired Nigerian Army Major General who served as Chief of Army Staff from 1993 to 1994 under General Sanni Abacha's regime and was military governor of Plateau State Nigeria from August 1985 to 1986 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. Many years later, he was appointed interim administrator of the state during a 2004 crisis in the state following ethno-religious killings in Shendam, Yelwa Local Government. In this anthology, organized as a symposium on Mohammed Christopher Allis work, he is identified as one of those critical and rational thinkers, philosophers, albeit, a General in the Nigerian Army, whose work finds a befitting logical space in the contemporary African philosophical tapestry. The book also captures the elements of military misrule in Nigeria and its undue influence on the body polity; it is a critical survey of past military misadventures, and a satire against false federalism, it is a firm warning against future corruption and impunity in the military.

This God-inspired book focuses on helping parents present God’s Goodness to their children. It encourages habits that bring God to the forefront of daily living. It shares simple ways parents can teach their children to look for God’s goodness in all that we do. It conveys that we can see His Goodness through each one of our smiles, as well as in the sky during the day and night, and through the fruits of the spirit. It reminds us that we should be able to recognize when His enemy Satan is having an influence in our lives as well, but that God is always with us everywhere we go. It shares with parents a simple way to keep God active in our lives through prayer at the table, bedtime, and church. It also expresses the importance of being grateful for all that God has done for us and for His unconditional love. It reminds us that All things are possible with God and that we are nothing without Him. His goodness can indeed be seen in You and Me all around the world!

This book provides state-of-the-art coverage of research in laboratory phonology. Laboratory phonology denotes a research perspective, not a specific theory: it represents a broad community of scholars dedicated to bringing interdisciplinary experimental approaches and methods to bear on how spoken language is structured, learned and used; it draws on a wide range of tools and concepts from cognitive and natural sciences. This book describes the investigative approaches,disciplinary perspectives, and methods deployed in laboratory phonology, and highlights the most promising areas of current research.Part one introduces the history, nature, and aims of laboratory phonology. The remaining four parts cover central issues in research done within this perspective, as well as methodological resources used for investigating these issues. Contributions to this volume address how laboratory phonology approaches have provided insight into human speech and language structure and how theoretical questions and methodologies are intertwined. This Handbook, the first specifically dedicated tothe laboratory phonology approach, builds on the foundation of knowledge amassed in linguistics, speech research and allied disciplines. With the varied interdisciplinary contributions collected, the Handbook advances work in this vibrant field.

The present book is a result of a seven-year (1986-1992) national research program in cognitive science in Germany, presumably the first large scale cognitive science program there. Anchored in psychology, and therefore christened Wissenpsychologie (psychology of knowledge), it has found interdisciplinary resonance, especially in artificial intelligence and education. The research program brought together cognitive scientists from over twenty German universities and more than thirty single projects were funded. The program was initiated by Heinz Mandl and Hans Spada, the main goals of which were to investigate the acquisition of knowledge, the access to knowledge, and the modification and application of knowledge from a psychological perspective. Emphasis was placed on formalisms of knowledge representation and on the processes involved. In many of the projects this was combined with computer simulations. A final but equally important goal was the development of experimental paradigms and methods for data analysis that are especially suited to investigate knowledge based processes. The research program has had a major impact on cognitive psychology in Germany. Research groups were established at many universities and research equipment was provided. It also inspired a considerable number of young scientists to carry out cognitive research, employ modeling techniques from artificial intelligence for psychological theorizing, and construct intelligent tutoring systems for education. Close contacts with cognitive scientists in the U.S. have helped to firmly integrate the program with international research endeavours. Each year, one or two workshops were held. The present volume is the result of the final workshop which was held in September 1992. Selected results from seventeen projects are presented in this book. The volume is enriched by three guest scholars who agreed to participate in the final workshop and to comment on the chapters of the book.

Text Entry Systems covers different aspects of text entry systems and offers prospective researchers and developers global guidelines for conducting research on text entry, in terms of design strategy, evaluation methodology, and requirements; a discussion of the history and current state of the art of entry systems; and specific guidelines for designing entry systems for a specific target, depending on devices, modalities, language, and different physical conditions of users. Text entry has never been so important as it is today. This is in large part due to the phenomenal, relatively recent success of mobile computing, text messaging on mobile phones, and the proliferation of small devices like the Blackberry and Palm Pilot. Compared with the recent past, when text entry was primarily through the standard "qwerty" keyboard, people today use a diverse array of devices with the number and variety of such devices ever increasing. The variety is not just in the devices, but also in the technologies used: entry modalities have become more varied and include speech recognition and synthesis, handwriting recognition, and even eye-tracking using image processing on web-cams. Statistical language modeling has advanced greatly in the past ten years and so therein is potential to facilitate and improve text entry — increasingly, the way people communicate. This book covers different aspects of text entry systems and offers prospective researchers and developers Global guidelines for conducting research on text entry, in terms of design strategy, evaluation methodology, and requirements History and current state of the art of entry systems, including coverage of recent research topics Specific guidelines for designing entry systems for a specific target, depending on devices, modalities, language, and different physical conditions of users

"A Sheed & Ward book." Includes bibliographical references and index. Finding a path for life : the quest for goodness and happiness -- Not going it alone : friendship and community in the Christian moral life -- Facing shipwreck and bandits : virtues and the quest for happiness -- Every person's truth : made in the image of God, called to do the work of God -- Freedom : exploring a dangerous topic -- False steps on the path to happiness : losing our way and finding it back -- Finding a story worth handing on : narrative and the moral life -- Doing what the good requires : conscience and prudence in the moral life -- The gift that makes all gifts possible : learning the language of love -- Reimagining the world : why the happiness of one demands justice for all.

When confronted by horrendous evil, even the most pious believer may question not only life's worth but also God's power and goodness. A distinguished philosopher and a practicing minister, Marilyn McCord Adams has written a highly original work on a fundamental dilemma of Christian thought—how to reconcile faith in God with the evils that afflict human beings. Adams argues that much of the discussion in analytic philosophy of religion over the last forty years has offered too narrow an understanding of the problem. The ground rules accepted for the discussion have usually led philosophers to avert their gaze from the worst—horrendous—evils and their devastating impact on human lives. They have agreed to debate the issue on the basis of religion-neutral values, and have focused on morals, an approach that—Adams claims—is inadequate for formulating and solving the problem of horrendous evils. She emphasizes instead the fruitfulness of other evaluative categories such as purity and defilement, honor and shame, and aesthetics. If redirected, philosophical reflection on evil can, Adams's book demonstrates, provide a valuable approach not only to theories of God and evil but also to pastoral care.