The Triumph of Practice over Theory in Ethics

Sterba, James P.

doi:10.5840/ijap200519219

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…The aim is to find the point at which competing theories part company. Sterba (2005) proposes an alternative way of doing which he calls 'peacemaking philosophy'. We should start with the most acceptable, charitable interpretation of principles or theories, and then try to reconcile them with the most acceptable and least controversial interpretation of opposite theories.…”

Section: Incoherent Peacemaking Philosophymentioning

confidence: 98%

From an Implicit Christian Corporate Culture to a Structured Conception of Corporate Ethical Responsibility in a Retail Company: A Case-Study in Hermeneutic Ethics

Demuijnck

2009

J Bus Ethics

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Section: Incoherent Peacemaking Philosophymentioning

confidence: 98%

From an Implicit Christian Corporate Culture to a Structured Conception of Corporate Ethical Responsibility in a Retail Company: A Case-Study in Hermeneutic Ethics

Demuijnck

2009

J Bus Ethics

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“…James Sterba starts his book, the Triumph of Practice over Theory in Ethics (Sterba, ), by noting modern critiques of Aristotle's slaves, Kant's racism and Mill's colonialism, but these three long‐dead men continue to influence health care and nursing ethics and practice. It is not so much the detailed interpretation and application of sacred texts that are important as the broad thrust of ideas contained within.…”

Section: Evidence and Philosophy—unequal Siblingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The subversion of Mill and the ultimate aim of nursing

Snelling

2017

Nursing Philosophy

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This is lightly edited and referenced version of a presentation given at the 20thInternational Philosophy of Nursing conference in Quebec on 23rd August 2016.Philosophical texts are not given the same prominence in nurse education as their more valued younger sibling, primary research evidence, but they can influence practice through guidelines, codes and espoused values. John Stuart Mill's harm principle, found in On Liberty, is not a universal law, and only a thoroughgoing libertarian would defend it as such, though it, or its remnants, can be seen can be seen in policy documents. But its influence is weakening. Smoking bans in enclosed spaces were initially justified with other-regarding considerations, but judgements from unsuccessful legal challenges from patients in UK psychiatric hospitals rely on preventing harm to the smoker, even when smoking outside, which does not harm others. In the wake of legislation, no-smoking policies enacted by hospitals are becoming more aggressive, banning smoking both inside and outside, and extending the use of power gained through employment to prevent nurses assisting patients enjoy a lawful habit. Mill's dictum has been subverted, and this speaks to the fundamental purpose of nursing.Should nurses collude and willingly exert their power for their version of the good of the patient? Or should they instead reaffirm values that support and facilitate life choices made by autonomous people? The paper supports the latter option, and this has wider application for nursing which can be illuminated, if not settled, by revisiting Mill and his famous dictum. K E Y W O R D SJohn Stuart Mill, no smoking policy, On Liberty, Rampton, Smoking | INTRODUCTIONWhen thinking about how I could make best use of this kind invitation to speak, I recalled a conference (I won't say which) some years ago. Two plenary speakers stick in the memory. The first was a wellknown nurse academic, who gave every impression that he was speaking completely off the cuff. He was to the extent that there were no notes and plenty of animation, but it soon became apparent that this was because it was little more than an introductory lecture, probably delivered in the same way to lecture halls full of bemused first semester undergraduates every September for many years. I went to coffee wondering whether he was worth the airfare.The second was a distinguished philosopher, and her paper was so dense and detailed that it passed straight over my head into the ether.Unlike the first speaker, she was reading her paper aloud. But it was a paper written to be read, not listened to. The complex ideas needed pause, a re-read and thoughtful application, and because as the education literature tells us, we have limited concentration spans, not least in a crowded and warm conference hall, her ideas were quickly lost. In my presentation, I aimed to steer the middle ground between these positions. I don't think that I said much that you haven't already heard but it's good to pause and revisit Mill and ask if we can lear...

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“…These moral theories are helpful for our analytic purposes because they foreground particular foci, like good ends or right acts, which are central for moral claims, and against which we can compare the ethics embedded in funding solicitations. The approach to moral theories here is additive in that moral theories are taken as helping to enable a holistic reading of applied ethics rather than argumentative where one perspective dominates (similar to Sterba 2005). Four significant moral theory perspectives are particularly germane to peacebuilding discourse and practice.…”

Section: Thinking About the Good And The Right In Peacebuilding Fundementioning

confidence: 99%

Impact and Outcomes: The Ethical Perils of Distancing in Peacebuilding Grant Solicitations

Neufeldt

2016

Journal of Peacebuilding & Development

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This paper explores the moral values that are embedded in peacebuilding funder discourse that affect the focus and locus of peacebuilding projects. The paper analyses the moral values embedded in a set of USAID grant solicitations between 2008 and 2014, which focus on inter-communal relationship-building within peacebuilding projects. This set of solicitations is intriguing because it suggests that there are efforts underway to fund creative, locally led peacebuilding efforts in ways that contradict general bureaucratic processes and norms. The efforts, however, are nascent and point to a series of tensions involved in large bureaucracies funding peacebuilding. Ultimately, the paper argues that particular duties and consequences are prioritised, which limits authentic relationships and genuine responses to needs.

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The Triumph of Practice over Theory in Ethics

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

From an Implicit Christian Corporate Culture to a Structured Conception of Corporate Ethical Responsibility in a Retail Company: A Case-Study in Hermeneutic Ethics

From an Implicit Christian Corporate Culture to a Structured Conception of Corporate Ethical Responsibility in a Retail Company: A Case-Study in Hermeneutic Ethics

The subversion of Mill and the ultimate aim of nursing

Impact and Outcomes: The Ethical Perils of Distancing in Peacebuilding Grant Solicitations

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