MacIntyre and Kovesi on the Nature of Moral Concepts

Julius Kovesi was a moral philosopher contemporary with Alasdair MacIntyre, and dealing with many of the same questions as MacIntyre. In our view, Kovesi’s moral philosophy is rich in ideas and worth revisiting. MacIntyre agrees: Kovesi’s Moral Notions, he has said, is ‘a minor classic in moral philosophy that has not yet received its due’. Kovesi was not a thinker whose work fits readily into any one tradition. Unlike the later MacIntyre, he was not a Thomistic Aristotelian, nor even an Aristotelian. He saw his viewpoint as Platonic, or perhaps more accurately as Socratic. His writings, unlike MacIntyre’s, have little to say about justice. However, Kovesi did offfer a theory of practical reason. His main contention was that all human social life embodies a set of concepts that govern and guide that life, concepts without which that life would be impossible. These include our moral concepts. For Kovesi, moral concepts are not external to, but constitutive of social life in any of its possible forms. But in the course of his argument he also developed a way of thinking about how concepts work, which we term ‘conceptual functionalism’, and which we will elucidate

Quantum-inspired low-rank stochastic regression with logarithmic dependence on the dimension

We construct an efficient classical analogue of the quantum matrix inversion algorithm (HHL) for low-rank matrices. Inspired by recent work of Tang, assuming length-square sampling access to input data, we implement the pseudoinverse of a low-rank matrix and sample from the solution to the problem $Ax=b$ using fast sampling techniques. We implement the pseudo-inverse by finding an approximate singular value decomposition of $A$ via subsampling, then inverting the singular values. In principle, the approach can also be used to apply any desired "smooth" function to the singular values. Since many quantum algorithms can be expressed as a singular value transformation problem, our result suggests that more low-rank quantum algorithms can be effectively "dequantised" into classical length-square sampling algorithms.Comment: 10 page

The vulnerable and intimidated witness: a study of the special measure practitioner

Special Measures (SM) were introduced under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (YJCEA, 1999), forming part of measures used to assist Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses (VIW). Speaking up for Justice (Home Office, 1999) recognised that being a witness in a Criminal proceedings can be a stressful affair; Leveson (2015) highlighted the need for consistent judicial case management where SM are concerned. In the current study of 70 practitioners, it was found that the YJCEA provides sufficient legal gateway for VIW’s. However, there remains an area for development in the early identification of VIW’s, and there is an inefficient infrastructure around case-file management. This results in some SM being denied, applied incorrectly, or forgotten altogether. The majority of practitioners feel there is inadequate training around VIW’s, and a lack of adequately trained specialist investigators for video interview procedures. Witness assessment is shown to be sporadic with some Constabularies excelling where others do not. Funding in this area does not appear to be a hurdle in the application of SM; many practitioners agreed that there is a problem with identification between the two ‘gateways’ (s.16 and s.17) under the 1999 act, and witnesses ‘needs’ are often assumed and not assessed. There appears to be no standardised assessment for witnesses despite the requirement that a ‘needs assessment’ be conducted under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Ministry of Justice, 2015). Although ‘Identifying vulnerability in witnesses and defendants’ (Cooper et al., 2014) does contain a toolkit for collectively assessing vulnerability making reference to a number of key areas of research and law (Bradley, 2010; Bull, 2010; Young, 2013; Gregory & Bryan, 2011; Gudjonsson, 2010; Criminal Practice Directions, 2013) this kind of assessment does not appear to be reflected in practice although practitioners do purport that SM has a positive impact on witnesses

Video recorded cross-examination or re-examination: a discussion on practice and research

The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (YJCEA, 1999) was designed as a support mechanism to alleviate fear, and enable vulnerable and intimidated witnesses (VIW) within criminal trials Special Measures (SM), such as screens and video recorded evidence (Hoyle & Zedner, 2007). The introduction of video recorded cross-examination, or re-examination, under s.28 of the YJCEA is one of the most recent SM to be used within criminal trials. This procedure reduces the time between initial examination of some witnesses and the subsequent cross-examination in not guilty cases. This discussion paper emphasises a number of key research areas that could yield future improvements within s.28. The development of linguistic psychology, best evidence, and disclosure rules would be future avenues for research, providing emphasis and direction. It is a well-recognised fact that there are inherent issues around the identification of witnesses who may benefit from measures under the YJCEA (Ellison, 1999; Burton et al., 2006; Charles, 2012). There is still a significant gap within research around the development of the Intermediary service amongst other areas of the CJS, and in relation to VIWs; however, this is seen to have strong links with the ability to conduct through interviews with witnesses and defendants alike (Plotnikoff & Woolfson, 2007; Oxburgh et al., 2016). There may be much to be gained from a process of analysis where s.28 cross-examinations take place, and subsequent recordings, are subjected to interdisciplinary research scrutiny

Moral Notions, with Three Papers on Plato

Morality is often thought of as non-rational or sub-rational. In Moral Notions, first published in 1967, Julius Kovesi argues that the rationality of morality is built into the way we construct moral concepts. In showing this he also resolves the old Humean conundrum of the relation between 'facts' and 'values'. And he puts forward a method of reasoning that might make 'applied ethics' (at present largely a hodge-podge of opinions) into a constructive discipline. Kovesi's general theory of concepts - important in its own right - is indebted to his interpretation of Plato, and his three papers on Plato, first published here, explain this debt. This new edition of Moral Notions also includes a foreward by Philippa Foot, a biography of the author, and a substantial afterword in which the editors, Robert Ewin and Alan Tapper, explain the signficance of Kovesi's work

Deliberative inquiry, criminal justice, and vulnerability

This paper discusses the project and encounter phases of Rowan (1981) dialectic research cycle in the use of Deliberative Inquiry (DI). The method was chosen to examine further the area of Vulnerable and Intimidated witnesses and follows from previous research and literature reviews (Ewin, 2015; Ewin 2016). The central tenet was to create a more in depth analysis in doing research 'with people' instead of offering access to it via the inclusion of their response to data. The participants were a mixture of Detectives, Police Constables, victim advocates and specialists within the management or research of vulnerable populations. Three DI sessions were held to discuss the identification of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses and the process of being a witness in a criminal trial. The methodology was found to be both positive for the co-researching participant, offering an open exchange of knowledge between researcher and practitioner, and generating empirical discussion. There are however limitations that were drawn into sharp focus in an operational Policing environment; in particular, the demand on co-researchers to commit to higher priority, sporadic incidents, impacts on the time available. The method might be most valuable in conjunction with other data collection techniques, quantitative methods, and after an informed literature review has taken place. DI could be used within the framework of evidence based Policing to help integrate research into practice through the use of ‘action’ initiators or groups, using a combination of the dialectic research cycle and other qualitative methods to make a purposeful and informed research project or evaluation (Rowan, 1981; Heron, 1996; Reason, 1988)

The vulnerable and intimidated witness: a socio-legal analysis of special measures

The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (YJCEA; 1999) concerns vulnerable and intimidated witnesses (VIW); literature suggests these are not identified in the early stages of most criminal investigations, and trials. This is often detrimental to the trial outcome, attracts significant financial cost, and leaves victims to flounder (Burton et al., 2006; Cook et al., 2004; ONS 2011; HIJJI, 2012). Cooper and Roberts (2005) identified that investigators only identify approximately fifty percent of all witnesses eligible for Special Measures; there is recurrent misidentification between those who are vulnerable and intimidated within the 1999 act. This limits the measures available to some witnesses. This review examined the issues through three lenses, firstly: evidential and legal, secondly: a reflection of risk and harm, thirdly: ethics and power. Traditional applications of giving evidence are shown to be at odds with the relatively newer concepts such as Visually Recorded Evidence (VRE), under the Criminal Justice Act (CJA; 2003) s.137, and ‘Special Measures’ under the YJCEA (Murphy & Glover, 2010) which are vastly underused. Despite international efforts to improve the provisions for VIW’s (Tinsley & McDonald, 2011; Cooke et al., 2002; Baldry et al., 2013) there is still room for improvement which would benefit victims, witnesses and criminal justice agencies (Clark, 2012; De Than, 2003; De Wilde, 2013; Starmer, 2014; Harris, 1993). The estimated cost of misidentification along with inadequate prosecution file preparation (HMCJJI, 2009; HMIC, HMCPSI, 2013) is approximately £18 million per annum (ONS, 2014)