Capitalism, Ethics and the Paradoxon of Self-exploitation


Book Description

Essay from the year 2005 in the subject Business economics - Operations Research, grade: A+, University of Otago (Department of Management), course: Business Policy, language: English, abstract: "The driving force of capitalism is the attainment of increasing rates of surplus value. This is inevitably exploitative and demeaning of the human condition. This makes an increased awareness of ethics in business practise untenable. Discuss." The statement comprises of three arguments, or, more specifically, one argument and two consequences. They consist of the type argument 'if A then B' and 'if A and B then C'. In addition there is the request to 'discuss' in the statement. 'Discuss' could only apply to 'C'. In this case 'A' and 'B' would be taken for granted. I cannot easily accept this so I apply 'discuss' to 'A', 'B' and finally 'C' and approach each phrase separately. So I can reveal that 'if A and B then C' is only true under prior assumptions made about 'A' and 'B'. Chapter A deals with 'A', capitalism. Here I will provide a definition of capitalism containing its characteristics and effects and arrive at the answer as to whether "increasing rates of surplus value" are the "driving force of capitalism". Chapter B shall examine whether capitalism "is inevitably exploitative and demeaning to the human condition". But before the terms 'exploitation', 'demeaning' and 'human condition’ are discussed, they need to be defined. This chapter contains an analysis how 'capitalism' and 'humans' interact and interfere each other. Chapter C works on 'untenable (business) ethics'. Ethics, business ethics and their significance for 'humans' and 'capitalism' are presented. The focus here will be on the overlapping areas of 'ethics' with the contents of the other two chapters. The chapter concludes with conditions that fulfil the statement 'if A and B then C', with arguments discussed in light of the essay statement. But, actually, things are not that easy. The path of argumentation is relatively thin and unsatisfying. That is why the 'findings' section at the end of this essay questions the facts 'if A and B then C'. There are some underlying assumptions that this statement is built on. I will uncover some of these 'granted facts' and try to go one step back. The then broader but also deeper insight into the notions of 'rationality', ‘bureaucracy’ and 'ideology' also mark the turn to my self-reflective essay.







Historiography and Mythography in the Aristotelian Mirabilia


Book Description

This is the first full-length volume in English that focuses on the historiographical section of the Mirabilia or De mirabilibus auscultationibus (On Marvelous Things Heard), attributed to Aristotle but not in fact by him. The central section of the Mirabilia, namely §§ 78–151, for the most part deals with historiographical material, with many of its entries having some relationship to ancient Greek historians of the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. The chapters in this volume discuss various aspects of this portion of the text, including textual issues involving toponyms; possible structural principles behind the organization of this section; the passages on Theopompus and Timaeus; mythography; the philosopher Heracleides of Pontos; Homeric exegesis; and the interrelationship between pseudo-Plutarch’s On Rivers, a section of the historian Stobaeus’ Geography, and the Mirabilia. Historiography and Mythography in the Aristotelian Mirabilia is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of this text, and of Greek philosophy, historiography, and literature more broadly.




Paradoxon


Book Description

"Are you sure this is the journey you want to take?"Rae fled from the edge of the city. She was late. Already the rumble of the nightly riot had begun. But as she ran, she had no idea it would be for the last time? "Paradoxon: Invitation of the Dying Love" is the story of Rae who was born in the stratified city of Onze. Thrown into a rocky companionship with four perfect strangers united only by a common fear of the city's growing conflicts and by a cryptic invitation promising answers, she discovers that only the mysterious paradox of a "dying love" can save the city they've always known. That is, if each one can find the strength to embrace it? and by it to embrace one another?"




Onderzoekingen


Book Description




Pre-histories and Afterlives


Book Description

"If the past is indeed a foreign country, then how can we make sense of its richness and difference, without approaching it on our terms alone? 'Pre-histories' and 'afterlives', methods that have emerged in recent work by Terence Cave, offer new ways of shaping the stories we tell of the past and the analyses we offer. In this volume, distinguished contributors engage in a dialogue with these two new critical methods, exploring their uses in a range of contexts, disciplines, languages and periods. The contributors are Terence Cave, Marian Hobson, Anna Holland, Neil Kenny, Mary McKinley, Richard Scholar, Kate E. Tunstall, and Wes Williams."




Essays on Argumentation in Antiquity


Book Description

This book provides a collection of essays representing the state of the art in the research into argumentation in classical antiquity. It contains essays from leading and up and coming scholars on figures as diverse as Parmenides, Gorgias, Seneca, and Classical Chinese "wandering persuaders." The book includes contributions from specialists in the history of philosophy as well as specialists in contemporary argumentation theory, and stimulates the dialogue between scholars studying issues relating to argumentation theory in ancient philosophy and contemporary argumentation theorists. Furthermore, the book sets the direction for research into argumentation in antiquity by encouraging an engagement with a broader range of historical figures, and closer collaboration between contemporary concerns and the history of philosophy.




Recognizing Miracles in Antiquity and Beyond


Book Description

In recent years, scholars have extensively explored the function of the miraculous and wondrous in ancient narratives, mostly pondering on how ancient authors view wondrous accounts, i.e. the treatment of the descriptions of wondrous occurrences as true events or their use. More precisely, these narratives investigate whether the wondrous pursues a display of erudition or merely provides stylistic variety; sometimes, such narratives even represent the wish of the author to grant a “rational explanation” to extraordinary actions. At present, however, two aspects of the topic have not been fully examined: a) the ability of the wondrous/miraculous to set cognitive mechanisms in motion and b) the power of the wondrous/miraculous to contribute to the construction of an authorial identity (that of kings, gods, or narrators). To this extent, the volume approaches miracles and wonders as counter intuitive phenomena, beyond cognitive grasp, which challenge the authenticity of human experience and knowledge and push forward the frontiers of intellectual and aesthetic experience. Some of the articles of the volume examine miracles on the basis of bewilderment that could lead to new factual knowledge; the supernatural is here registered as something natural (although strange); the rest of the articles treat miracles as an endpoint, where human knowledge stops and the unknown divine begins (here the supernatural is confirmed). Thence, questions like whether the experience of a miracle or wonder as a counter intuitive phenomenon could be part of long-term memory, i.e. if miracles could be transformed into solid knowledge and what mental functions are encompassed in this process, are central in the discussion.