ALTRUISM AS A THICK CONCEPT

In this paper, we examine different forms of altruism. We commence by analysing the ‘behavioural' definition and, after clarifying its conditions for altruism, we argue that it is not in ‘reflective equilibrium' with everyday linguistic usage of the term. We therefore consider a ‘psychological' definition, which we likewise refine, and argue that it better reflects ordinary language use. Both behavioural and psychological approaches define altruism descriptively and thus fail to capture an important aspect of altruism, namely its normative component. Altruism, we argue, is a ‘thick concept', i.e. one which embodies both positive and normative components. We discuss and compare various formulations of this normative componen

Utility, Progress, and Technology: Proceedings of the 15th Conference of the International Society for Utilitarian Studies

This volume collects selected papers delivered at the 15th Conference of the International Society for Utilitarian Studies, which was held at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in July 2018. It includes papers dealing with the past, present, and future of utilitarianism – the theory that human happiness is the fundamental moral value – as well as on its applications to animal ethics, population ethics, and the future of humanity, among other topics

Climate change impact on thunderstorms: Using high-resolution COSMO-CLM simulations to determine changes in thunderstorm occurrences

KlimawandelIt is generally assumed that temperature increase associated with global climate change will lead to increased thunderstorm intensity and associated heavy precipitation events. In the present study it is investigated whether the frequency of thunderstorm occurrences will in- or decrease and how the spatial distribution will change for the A1B scenario for mid-Europe. Hourly model data of the COSMO-CLM is used with a horizontal resolution of 0.04°(~4.5km) for mid-Europe. The simulations were carried out for two different periods: 1971-2000 (C20) and 2071-2100 (A1B). The two-step nesting chain starts with a CCLM run with 18km resolution covering whole Europe nested in ECHAM5 runs, then a run with a resolution of 4.4km has been performed for mid-Europe. Thunderstorm indices are applied to detect potential thunderstorms and differences in their frequency of occurrence in this periods. The indices used are CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy), SLI (Surface Lifted Index), and TSP (Thunderstorm Severity Potential), which combines deep-layer-shear and the maximum vertical velocity. The significance of a potential climate signal was tested with a t-test and a power analysis was performed to quantify the uncertainty of the signal. The focus of this study is the Saar-Lor-Lux region (Saarland, Lorraine, Luxembourg). The investigation of the present and future thunderstorms shows that the regional averaged frequencies will decrease in general, but several regions like the Saarland and especially elevated areas will have a potential increase in thunderstorm occurrences and intensity. Statistically, regions of the Alps, the Netherlands and Belgium show significant climate signals. The power analysis yields low power to detect changes of severe thunderstorms but high power for classes with no to light thunderstorms. In conclusion, our study shows that the frequency of severe thunderstorm is not likely to increase during the next century

Who Authored on Liberty ? Stylometric Evidence on Harriet Taylor Mill’s Contribution

It is well known that John Stuart Mill (JSM) repeatedly acknowledges Harriet Taylor Mill\u27s (HTM) substantial contribution to On Liberty. After her death, however, he decides to publish the book under his name only. Are we justified in continuing this practice, initiated by JSM, of refusing unequivocal co-authorship status to HTM? Drawing on stylometric analyses, we make a preliminary case that JSM did not write On Liberty all by himself and that HTM had a hand in formulating it. Drawing on plausible standards for authorship ascription, we further point out that authorship status requires, in addition to a substantial contribution, the approval by all contributors. We discuss potential reasons to assume that HTM did not approve the published version of On Liberty and would have objected to including her name on the title page

Risk management in the venture capital industry: Managing risk in portfolio companies

Managing risk is one of the main activities of venture capital companies. Despite the fact that this topic is of high practical relevance, only little research was published on risk management performed by venture capital companies in their ventures. Hence, we conducted a structured literature review which was the basis for developing five hypotheses concerning measures to decrease failure risk in venture capital-backed ventures. We tested these hypotheses with an empirical data set of 93 venture capital-backed ventures in Germany using original deal data from nine different venture capital funds using a structural equation model. We showed that the experience and the skills of the corresponding investment manager have a significant negative impact on the failure risk of a venture. Investment manager´s experience and skills were measured by the working and founding experience, the technology expertise and the network size. Hence, the results emphasize the importance of the selection of the investment manager for risk management in venture capital investments

Untangling Historical Injustice and Historical Ill

This article distinguishes historical ills and historical injustices. It conceives of the latter as legalised natural crimes, committed by morally competent agents. A natural crime consists in the deliberate violation of a natural right. 'Legalised' means that the natural crime must be prescribed, permitted or tolerated by the legal system. I advocate an approach which assesses moral competence on the basis of an exposedness criterion, that is: a historical agent must not be blamed for failing to see the right moral reasons if his epoch and social world is utterly unacquainted with these reasons. However, an appropriate application of the exposedness criterion should take social factors and psychological mechanisms into account that obstruct access to the right reasons. I state a number of factors that seem to be auspicious for the development of moral competence

Der Unterschied zwischen historischem Unrecht und historischem Übel

"Der Artikel unterscheidet zwischen historischen Übeln und historischem Unrecht. Er begreift letzteres als legalisierte moralische Verbrechen. Ein moralisches Verbrechen besteht in der vorsätzlichen Verletzung eines grundlegenden moralischen Rechts durch einen moralische kompetenten Akteur. 'Legalisiert' bedeutet, dass das moralische Verbrechen durch das jeweilige Rechtssystem angeordnet, erlaubt oder geduldet wird. Ich plädiere für einen Ansatz, der moralische Kompetenz auf der Basis eines Exponiertheits-Kriteriums bewertet. Dieses Kriterium besagt, dass man es einer Person nicht vorwerfen kann, dass sie die richtigen moralischen Gründe nicht erkennt, wenn ihre Epoche und soziale Welt mit diesen Gründen schlichtweg nicht vertraut ist. Eine angemessene Anwendung des Exponiertheits-Kriteriums sollte soziale Faktoren und psychologische Mechanismen, die den epistemischen Zugang zu den richtigen moralischen Gründen behindern, mit einbeziehen. Ich lege einige Faktoren dar, die für die Entwicklung moralischer Kompetenz günstig erscheinen." (Autorenreferat