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Aristotle discusses the 'best constitutional regime' in Books 7 and 8 of his work, Politics. The central concepts in this discussion are happiness and virtue. The combination of happiness and virtue finds its expression in virtuous friendship. The best constitutional regime assists individuals and society in reaching their highest potential, both individually and collectively. It provides the necessary institutional structure for the justice and welfare of society, which in turn fosters the development of virtuous friendships. According to Aristotle, the highest and most genuine relationship among people is 'virtuous friendship'. Such friendships enable individuals to understand and support each other based on ethical values and to seek happiness together. This study argues that there is an identity between the nature of the best constitutional regime and virtuous friendship. This claim is based on the idea that the best constitutional regime is the perfect end (telos). In this sense, the perfect end is virtuous friendship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resurgence in antiracist activism and education brought with it the need to better understand what racism is and how it operates in the production of racial injustice. Prevailing theories understand racism as fundamentally structural, essentially cognitive, and requiring political philosophical investigation over moral philosophical investigation. Such theories are useful within limits, but ultimately offer an inaccurate or incomplete view of racism. In what follows, I offer a virtue-based account of racism that begins its genesis story with individuals, yet acknowledges and attends to the reality and severity of institutional and structural racism; is essentially both cognitive and non-cognitive; and, prioritizes moral philosophical investigation. Throughout, I apply my theory of racism to various spheres of human experience and history to demonstrate its ability to accurately and comprehensively capture the relevant entities and phenomena implicated in racism. In improving our understanding of racism, I aim to generate more targeted and comprehensive reform that effectively mitigates racism and promotes human and societal flourishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because literacy is a twenty-first century education skill (OECD, 21st-century readers: developing literacy skills in a digital world, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a83d84cb-en, 2021), educational stakeholders across the United States have consistently advocated for initiatives to increase literacy among the general population but especially in the early years and elementary grades. In the following manuscript, we will discuss literacy initiatives in the state of Tennessee with a particular emphasis on the Governor's Early Literacy Foundation (GELF). We position this initiative against the backdrop of failing literacy scores and the removal of classroom books across the state. Next, we discuss relevant literature on culturally responsive teaching frameworks, which leads us to make the case that, though necessary, improvements to literacy scores in Tennessee cannot rely solely on the books distributed by the state. It is imperative that the books children have access to introduce them to diverse lived experiences and that educational stakeholders begin questioning who gets to decide which books children can access. Using the specific example of Tennessee, we make the case that this is relevant to all educational stakeholders, because everywhere in the world, there are people and systems who have the power to choose what education looks like and what knowledge and whose experiences are deemed valid. Our purpose within this manuscript is to engage in a critical examination of one early childhood initiative as an example of how others can use a critical lens to examine the implications of initiatives and decisions being made in their own locales and how using a critical lens can also guide practices for advancing equity in classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with disorders of consciousness (DoC) are characteristically unable to synchronously participate in decision-making about clinical care or research. The inability to self-advocate exacerbates preexisting socioeconomic and geographic disparities, which include the wide variability observed across individuals, hospitals, and countries in access to acute care, expertise, and sophisticated diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic interventions. Concerns about equity for people with DoC are particularly notable when they lack a surrogate decision-maker (legally referred to as "unrepresented" or "unbefriended"). Decisions about both short-term and long-term life-sustaining treatment typically rely on neuroprognostication and individual patient preferences that carry additional ethical considerations for people with DoC, as even individuals with well thought out advance directives cannot anticipate every possible situation to guide such decisions. Further challenges exist with the inclusion of people with DoC in research because consent must be completed (in most circumstances) through a surrogate, which excludes those who are unrepresented and may discourage investigators from exploring questions related to this population. In this article, the Curing Coma Campaign Ethics Working Group reviews equity considerations in clinical care and research involving persons with DoC in the following domains: (1) access to acute care and expertise, (2) access to diagnostics and therapeutics, (3) neuroprognostication, (4) medical decision-making for unrepresented people, (5) end-of-life decision-making, (6) access to postacute rehabilitative care, (7) access to research, (8) inclusion of unrepresented people in research, and (9) remuneration and reciprocity for research participation. The goal of this discussion is to advance equitable, harmonized, guideline-directed, and goal-concordant care for people with DoC of all backgrounds worldwide, prioritizing the ethical standards of respect for autonomy, beneficence, and justice. Although the focus of this evaluation is on people with DoC, much of the discussion can be extrapolated to other critically ill persons worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite offering substantial opportunities to tailor services to consumers' wants and needs, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies often come with ethical and operational challenges. One salient instance of such challenges emerges when vulnerable consumers, consumers who temporarily or permanently lack resource access or control, are unknowingly discriminated against, or excluded from the marketplace. By integrating the literature on consumer vulnerability, AI for social good, and the calls for rethinking marketing for a better world, the current work builds a framework on how to leverage AI technologies to detect, better serve, and empower vulnerable consumers. Specifically, our AID framework advocates for designing AI technologies that make services more accessible, optimize customer experiences and journeys interactively, and to dynamically improve consumer decision-making. Adopting a multi-stakeholder perspective, we also discuss the respective implications for researchers, managers, consumers, and public policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A legitimate expectation in a liberal democracy is that public officials enforce the law regardless of its content; when they don't do so, their actions tend to be publicly condemned. This expectation puts street-level bureaucrats in a moral dilemma when they consider that a certain law is unjust: either they don't enforce the law and violate their duties to the citizenry, or they enforce it and become complicit in injustices. This paper argues for the legal permission of public officials to disregard legal mandates for moral reasons. Call it official disobedience. Contrary to common intuitions, I show that official disobedience would foster the principles of and improve governance in liberal democracies: it accommodates public officials' personal autonomy and yields three main democratic benefits. First, information about the outcomes of the law would become available for lawmakers; second, in the aggregate, it would protect citizens from injustices; third, it would improve the moral character of bureaucrats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change has over the past decade repeatedly warned that we are heading towards inevitable and irreversible climate change, which will negatively affect the lives, livelihoods, and well-being of millions of people around the world, both at present and in the future. In fact, many people, especially vulnerable and marginalized communities in low- and middle-income countries, already live with the effects of climate change in their daily lives. While adaptation – along with mitigation and compensation for loss and damage as a consequence of climate change – was identified as the central pillars of a just climate policy in the Paris Agreement it is unclear whether this entails a right to adaptation – that some people are owed, as a matter of justice, to have the ability to adapt to climate change – and, if so, what such a right would look like. In this paper, I argue that individuals and communities who are or will be negatively affected by climate change through no fault of their own should have the right to adaptation. I argue that the right to adaptation should be specified through four questions: (i) who has a right to adaptation; (ii) what is it a right to; (iii) how much is it a right to; and (iv) who has the duty to uphold the right to adaptation? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The body is one of the main themes in Staubmann's Sociology in a New Key: Staubmann wants to establish a sociology that is grounded in the body and that does justice to the bodily dimension of sociality. In what follows, I will examine Staubmann's theory of the body from a philosophical viewpoint. I will discuss his main claims and relate them to recent developments in philosophy. First, I will outline Staubmann's position. Then, I will explore the similarities between this position and the interaction theory of social cognition, as developed by Gallagher, De Jaegher, Fuchs, and other philosophers. My main focus, however, will be on the relation between Staubmann's theory of the body and that of Thompson and Merleau-Ponty: I will point out the differences between their approaches but also highlight their similarities. In the end, I will make a plea for a non-reductive conception of life, which, I believe, is very much in line with Staubmann's Sociology in a New Key. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to theories on ideological differences, individuals who endorse the values of freedom, justice, and equality are expected to be left-wing oriented, whereas individuals who endorse authoritarian values are expected to be right-wing oriented. I hypothesize that such associations do not hold in the Arab world, where in the context of past state formation trajectories, leftists and secularists endorsed an authoritarian-nationalist discourse to build post-colonial states, while Islamists endorsed a freedom-and-justice discourse as a reaction to state oppression. Using original representative face-to-face survey data collected right after the 2019 Tunisian elections, I test this hypothesis by examining which values determine citizens' voting behavior in both parliamentary and presidential elections. Results show that people who endorse liberty-and-justice values are more likely to vote for Islamist right-wing parties, whereas those who endorse authoritarian-nationalist values are more likely to vote for leftist parties. These results have important implications for the study of voting behavior in the Arab world and in comparative politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in psychology, sociology, economics, and other disciplines investigating social justice has identified associations between fair treatment and human well-being. However, the lack of a practical and valid instrument for measuring individual experiences of fair treatment in multiple areas of life has limited the ability to understand the relationship between fairness and wellness. The purpose of these studies was to develop and establish the initial psychometric properties and convergent validity of a scale measuring personal experiences of fairness across various life domains. Development and validation occurred across three studies. Scale development in Study 1 included the generation of items, item revision, and analysis of content validity. A review of existing literature and qualitative data derived from focus group discussions informed the initial pool of items. Cognitive interviews and expert input aided in analysis of content validity and revision of items. Study 2 consisted of confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the performance of items and determine the underlying factor structure of the scale. In Study 3, factor analyses were used to evaluate convergent validity with other fairness-related instruments. Results of the first study supported the conceptualization of fairness along a social-ecological spectrum: experiences of fairness existed in multiple distinct life domains (e.g., interpersonal, occupational, community). Results from the second study revealed a bifactor model with one general Fairness factor and four Interpersonal, Occupational, Community, and Societal ecological group factors. Results from the third study suggested acceptable convergent validity among some subscales and other established instruments, while also suggesting that refinements to the Community fairness subscale might improve the scale. The final 12-item scale demonstrated good reliability. Results of this study produced an instrument able to measure individual experiences of fair treatment across four life domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Believing the world is more just for oneself than for others—referred to as personal justice ascendancy—can protect and enhance well-being. For African Americans, personal justice ascendancy may be multifaceted, encompassing comparisons not only to other African Americans but also to White Americans. The present research examined relationships between these two specific personal justice ascendancies and psychological well-being among African Americans. African American adults (N = 274) reported their beliefs about justice for self, for other African Americans, and for White Americans. We measured life satisfaction, perceived stress, and perceptions of healthcare systems as outcomes. Overall, participants believed the world to be more just for White Americans, but less just for other African Americans, than the self. Personal justice ascendancy over African Americans and White Americans both predicted greater life satisfaction and lower perceived stress. Personal justice ascendancy over African Americans predicted more negative perceptions of healthcare, whereas personal justice ascendancy over White Americans predicted more positive healthcare perceptions. Findings suggest effects of personal justice ascendancy on well-being and health-related attitudes are governed by multiple social comparisons for African Americans. Attending to and understanding nuances in these comparisons could further inform efforts to understand and address racial health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emission accounting is an important basis for global climate governance. Based on the consumption-based accounting (CBA) method, the characteristics of carbon flow between national, regional, and product processes could be more clearly reflected. Therefore, CBA is more conducive to clarifying the attribution of responsibilities between producers and consumers, with the principles of fairness and justice. By accounting for carbon emissions in typical countries from 1990 to 2019, we found that the CBA emissions are higher than the production-based accounting (PBA) emissions in major developed countries, while the results are reversed for developing countries. In the past 30 years, the CBA emissions in targeted developed countries generally have shown a downward trend, while in developing countries, they have shown an upward trend. CBA emissions in China have shown a continuous growth trend from 1990 to 2019, but the pace has slowed down significantly over the last decade. Meanwhile, the embodied carbon intensity of China's exports continues to decline, indicating that China is providing more green and low-carbon products to the world. Taking the PV industry as an example, this study further reveals the contribution of specific product industries to the country's carbon transfer through product carbon footprint analysis. In order to provide a scientific basis for global mitigation and climate governance, it is urgent to innovate a scientific, practical, and standardized CBA technology system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (JEDIB) committee formed in 2022 in order to support diversity and inclusion in the Health Humanities Consortium and to advance best practices for equity and inclusion in the field of medical and health humanities. This Forum Essay describes our first year of work, including participant-led commitment statement crafting and strategic planning. Health humanities-specific JEDIB work is described in detail in essays about disability justice; gender, sex, sexuality, and reproductive justice; and Indigeneity from a decolonial standpoint. The authors offer transferable techniques for other organizations and institutions with particular attention to heath care and health professions education. Another essay analyzes US institutional and demographic data to show that as an academic program, health humanities gives robust indicators of contributing significantly to student diversity and inclusive success in higher education and medical education. The Forum closes with a reflection on joining the work of equity and inclusion and what new priorities and awareness can emerge to inform health equity scholarship and epistemic justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article delves into the implications of neurotechnologies for the philosophical debates surrounding free will and moral responsibility. Tracing the concept from ancient religious and philosophical roots, we discuss how recent neurotechnological advancements (e.g. optogenetics, fMRI and machine learning, predictive diagnostics, et al.) challenge traditional notions of autonomy. Although neurotechnologies aim to enhance autonomy in the strict sense – as self-determination – they risk reducing or changing the broader notion of autonomy, which involves personal authenticity. We also submit that, in a world with an altered or limited concept of free will, humans should still be held accountable for actions executed through their bodies. By examining the dynamic between choice and responsibility, we emphasize the shift in technology ethics, moral philosophy, and the broader legal landscape in response to the advancement of neurotechnologies. By bringing the neurotechnological innovations into the world, neuroscientists not only change the technological landscape but also partake in long-standing moral narratives about freedom, justice, and responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that existing human-animal relations contribute to the pressing socio-ecological crises of our time, and therefore, they should be discussed in the context of Sustainable Development. This holds true even from a purely anthropocentric perspective, as these crises are threats to humans. However, sentient nonhuman animals possess interests as well and should be included in the moral community. Therefore, ignoring their interests in Sustainable Development is falling short. Furthermore, the paper argues that the anthropocentric perspective of Sustainable Development is flawed because the normative foundations of Sustainable Development (intra- and intergenerational justice) can be convincingly applied to nonhuman animals. According to approaches of interspecies justice, the normative foundations of Sustainable Development not merely can but should be applied to nonhuman animals. The paper argues for including nonhuman animals into the scope of justice and, therefore, in a theory of Sustainable Development. What such inclusion means at the practical level is examined in the last section of the paper, which investigates a field of application important for transforming societies into more sustainable ones, namely energy systems. This last section discusses how more sustainable, more animal-friendly energy systems would look like. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Modern digital technologies are actively being introduced into spheres of society, including justice. Electronic justice at the present stage of development of information technology has moved to a qualitatively new level. It has become obvious that artificial intelligence (AI) is our present, not our future. Objective: This article analyzes foreign experience in the implementation and use of AI in justice, identifies possible areas for the use of AI in justice, examines the legal personality of AI and the scope of its competence, and evaluates the prospects for the development of AI in justice. Results: The authors identified the following areas of use of AI in justice: organizational sphere of activity of courts; assessment of evidence and establishment of legally significant circumstances; consideration of the case by AI. Also in this study, the stages of introducing AI into justice: short-term perspective, medium-term perspective (5–10 years), long-term perspective. It is noted that at present the work of AI is possible only in conjunction with a human judge. Conclusions: The authors noted the feasibility of using AI in resolving issues that require processing a large amount of information and documents in electronic form. This will ensure procedural savings and reduction of time for consideration of disputes on the merits through speed and error-free calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within food systems governance spaces, civil society organizations (CSOs) play important roles in addressing power structures and shaping decisions. In Canada, CSO food systems actors increasingly understand the importance of building relationships among settler and Indigenous peoples in their work. Efforts to make food systems more sustainable and just necessarily mean confronting the realities that most of what is known as Canada is unceded Indigenous territory, stolen land, land acquired through coercive means, and/or land bound by treaty between specific Indigenous groups and the Crown. CSOs that aim to build more equitable food systems must thus engage with the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism, learn/unlearn colonial histories, and build meaningful relationships with Indigenous peoples. This paper explores how settler-led CSOs engage with Indigenous communities and organizations in their food systems governance work. The research draws on 71 semi-structured interviews with CSO leaders engaged in food systems work from across Canada. Our analysis presents an illustrative snapshot of the complex and ongoing processes of settler-Indigenous engagement, where many settler-led CSOs aim to work more closely with Indigenous communities and organizations. However, participants also recognize that most existing engagements remain insufficient. We share CSOs' practices, tensions, and lessons learned as reflections for scholars and practitioners interested in the continuous journey of building settler-Indigenous partnerships and reimagining more just and sustainable food systems, work which requires iterative and critically reflexive learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a collection, this Special Issue includes examinations of changes to teaching frameworks that can be a tool to disrupt epistemic privilege, how integrated and immersive environmental justice and community engaged coursework can foster more inclusive learning experiences for students, discussions of how to effect curriculum and academic program change, and multiple case studies with practical takeaways related to pedagogical innovations and best practices for creating more equitable academic/co-curricular programs. These examples and their calls for change are couched within an understanding of the precarious nature of academic labor and the often-inequitable load carried by staff and faculty who are untenured, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), women, and/or LBGTQIA+ (Misra et al., 2021). Emphasis must be placed on institutional initiatives and structural change/networks of support, rather than individualized actions of faculty and staff. Overall, these collected articles demonstrate the theoretical and practical importance of DEIJ efforts to the field of Environmental Studies and Sciences (ESS). Critical reflection of how we teach, who we teach, and the ways in which unquestioned institutional practices reinforce racial and privileged hierarchies is needed to for our discipline to become ready for the diverse student communities who will enact just environmental futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the smuggling and trafficking of North Korean migrants in China (NKMC), focusing on their migration motives, victimization types, and contributing factors, alongside suggestions for prevention and mitigation strategies. Although the sample size is modest and non-random (N=58), the insights gathered offer a poignant glimpse into the lived experiences of this specific subgroup of migrants who navigated from North Korea to China and subsequently to South Korea. Interviews were conducted with former NKMC residing in South Korea. Participants were recruited through purposive snowball sampling. The primary reasons for leaving North Korea were economic hardships (70.7%) and survival (12.1%). In China, more than 72% of female migrants were sold into marriage, while 21% were coerced into the sex trade. Contributing factors to victimization included economic hardship, a shortage of marriageable women, illegal status, and fear of deportation. Additionally, language barriers, geographical unfamiliarity, and stringent information control policies exacerbated the vulnerability of NKMC to exploitation. Addressing it as a criminal justice issue may be more effective than a human rights approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the role of ideal theory in non-ideal circumstances and its importance in guiding long-term institutional reform and evaluating deviations from perfect justice. While some critics argue that ideal theory is irrelevant in non-ideal conditions, the author contends that it serves a third role in a fairness model that limits choices between feasible institutional arrangements. Ideal theory is crucial in preventing excessive demands on individuals and ensuring that basic rights, liberties, and opportunities are not denied. The article also addresses objections to the fairness role of ideal theory and examines its significance in comparative and urgent assessments. The text emphasizes the concept of the ideal-theory constraint in political philosophy, particularly in relation to justice and fairness. This constraint states that just institutions can only restrict someone's basic liberties or opportunities if that person uses those goods to deny others their rights or liberties. The text further explores the application of the ideal-theory constraint to specific areas, such as freedom of expression and affirmative action. It argues that ideal theory is necessary for comparing different societal arrangements in terms of justice and fairness. However, critics argue that the fairness requirement may be too lenient or too demanding in non-ideal conditions. The article concludes that ideal theory still has a significant role to play in non-ideal theorizing and should not be disregarded. The author suggests that ideal theory can be adapted to suit the specific society it is applied to, allowing for adequate compliance. [Extracted from the article]

This text explores Aristotle's theory of the good, which suggests that moral virtue is always beneficial for human beings, even if it may seem counterintuitive. The debate centers around how moral virtues, such as courage, contribute to the contemplative life. The text also discusses the importance of courage in Aristotle's philosophy and its connection to the survival and well-being of communities. It suggests that a further account of the value of courage is needed to fully understand its importance. Additionally, the text explores Aristotle's views on reproduction and how it relates to the desire for immortality and the preservation of one's existence. Overall, the text highlights the complexity of Aristotle's views on courage and the need for a comprehensive understanding of its value in the good life. [Extracted from the article]

There is debate about whether complex problems should be addressed technocratically or whether they should be politicized. While many tend to favour technocratic decision-making and evidence based policy, for others politicization of policy problems is fundamental for significant policy change. But politicization does not always lead to problem solving. Nor is it always necessary. This paper addresses the question: Under what circumstances should problems be politicized, and what is the effect of such politicization? It adds politicization, through windows of opportunity, to the split ladder of participation to assess policy change through two case studies: successful and unsuccessful constitutional change in Ecuador (2008) and Chile respectively (2022). It argues that where there is no agreement on either science or policy, politicization is required to address lack of consensus in values, but constitutional protection is needed to protect minorities and the vulnerable, their access and human right to water. De-politicization stymies policy change potentially harming democracy. This paper argues for a citizen engaged exploration of the complex problem of climate change and its impacts on water, but a targeted politicization coincident with, but developed well in advance of, windows of opportunity. Moreover, policy framing correlated with complex problems continues to be a key consideration. Furthermore, alliances of disparate actors, elections of new political leaders and considerations of property rights and justice issues are paramount. Significant constitutional policy change reflects social learning, but subsequent court actions by policy entrepreneurs is required to effectively implement this change. Framing constitutional change to protect rights to water and effect international agreements (including the Warsaw International Mechanism under the climate change regime) advances water justice and may increase success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a view of Hume's is/ought distinction as an extension of Scottish jurisprudence that, in turn, was influenced by Pufendorf's discussion of entia moralia. Further, it investigates the unique role that Hume's sentimentalism played in the production of elements in the context of liberalism under the rule of law, independently of previous philosophical traditions. First, we observe that Hume's is/ought distinction corresponds to a distinction between uncivilized and civilized entities, rather than between amoral rationality and moral passions. Next, analyzing Hume's argument for "moral evidence," we find that such evidence is necessary for various activities, such as consent or trading, in the field of moral entities as civil societies. Finally, a study of Hume's stance with respect to civil and common laws shows that his moral sentimentalism, which includes the is/ought distinction and moral evidence, suggests a new possibility for social development that is distinct from previous rational forms of jurisprudence. From this discussion, a unique sprout of modern liberalism can be seen in Hume's theory of justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate adaptation for Indigenous communities is not as simple as making good policy; it is equally about how policy is implemented and how collaboration unfolds between settler governments and Indigenous stakeholders. Rural Alaska Native villages are among the most environmentally threatened communities in the United States. Their ability to effectively manage environmental change and preserve sovereignty depends upon successful collaboration with a range of stakeholders, especially federal agencies. For more than two decades, academics and government agencies have documented a consistent pattern of failures, particularly by federal actors, to effectively manage adaptation challenges. These obstacles are sometimes misrepresented as policy failures. While poor policy is certainly involved in these poor outcomes, this paper highlights a set of barriers to successful collaboration that are not policy issues, per se, but rather micropolitical issues; that is, they pertain to the conduct of government in the context of Tribal relationships. Unaddressed, these micropolitical issues have created obstacles to Alaska Native communities' self-determination as they adapt to a changing landscape. These barriers are explored in a case study drawn from Typhoon Merbok, which struck Western Alaska in 2022, and empirically grounded in a series of interviews and participant observation with experts, elders, elected officials, and Tribal staff. This article concludes with several concrete recommendations to improve the practice of domestic diplomacy between Indigenous communities and colonial governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "If the Difference Principle Won't Make a Real Difference in Algorithmic Fairness, What Will?: Response to 'Rawlsian Algorithmic Fairness and a Missing Aggregation Property of the Difference Principle'" examines the challenges of applying John Rawls' difference principle to algorithmic fairness. The authors argue that implementing the principle at a local level is not enough to ensure fairness at a societal level. They provide examples and simulations to support their argument and suggest that addressing inequality through measures like taxing billionaires or implementing universal basic income may be more effective. The article also raises questions about the practicality of Rawlsian principles and proposes alternative policies that focus on broader patterns of distributional justice. It explores different perspectives on justice and responsibility, emphasizing the need for collective action to bring about meaningful change. The author critiques the limitations of Rawlsian political philosophy and calls for a more comprehensive approach to algorithmic fairness. [Extracted from the article]

Regularly invoked but rarely defined, 'the rule of law' has over the last few decades been converted from a legal term of art into one of the most ambiguous slogans of contemporary public policy. Political scientists claim it as a crucial test of a regime's legitimacy. Economists maintain that it provides an essential foundation of a flourishing market economy. Philosophers suggest it captures the essence of the state as a moral association. Historians acknowledge that, even if they might distrust such an abstract notion, the imposition of effective inhibitions on power is an 'unqualified human good'. And lawyers, of course, have treated it as the foundation of their discipline ever since the mid-thirteenth century when Bracton asserted that 'there is no rex where will rules rather than lex'. Those who extend its usage beyond the confines of professional legal discourse commonly give it a positive valence. But the rule of law also has its detractors. These critics assert that it promotes purely formal, individualistic values at the expense of substantive justice, or that it is a smokescreen preventing us from seeing the impact of recent global developments that signal the rule of lawyers. Some anthropologists even denounce it as an imperial ideology that legitimates European conquest and the plunder of the rest of the world. But given the fact that almost every state in the world now claims to act in compliance with the rule of law, these critics seem to have done little to dent its appeal. Yet, the sheer range of views and perspectives that now exist about the meaning, purpose, and value of the rule of law considerably complicates any inquiry into its current standing. In this paper, I will try to bring some clarity to the issue by providing a sketch of the main varieties of ways in which the term is being invoked. The paper comprises five sections, which each address a specific aspect of the term's usage: (1) its coinage in English law, (2) the adoption of a superficially similar terminology in the German concept of the Rechtsstaat, (3) the jurisprudential innovations that complicate its meaning, and finally its most recent invocation (4) first in development work and (5) secondly in constitutional rejuvenation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The postwar welfare state provides social insurance against economic, health, and related risks in an uncertain world. Because everyone can envision themselves to be among the unfortunate, social insurance fuses self-interest and solidarism in a normative principle Friedman (2020) calls probabilistic justice. But there is a competing principle of status defense, where the aim is to erect boundaries between socioeconomic strata and discourage cross-class mobility. We argue that this principle dominates when inequality is high and uncertainty low. The current moment is one of high inequality and high uncertainty, which results in intense status anxiety, yet does not rule out solidaristic solutions. Our contributions are to diagnose the causes of our current malaise, and to theorize the normative bases for the political choice facing contemporary western democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the course of life, it is common to make some decisions that prove to be correct. Some of these choices are made without a specific reason, but only out of habit or intuitively, while others are based on judgments and motivations. However, when we claim that a decision is "right", what kind of judgment are we referring to? On the one hand, the term "right" (or "wrong") often refers to abstract norms. Usually, truth and falsehood serve as criteria in these cases. In such situations, judgments about what is "right" or "wrong" depend strictly on an accurate rational evaluation, which is instrumental in guiding individuals to undertake or avoid certain actions. On the other hand, there is a sense of justice that concerns ethics and values. In these circumstances, a decision is generally considered "right" if it is based on a criterion of judgment that allows individuals to make a decision freely, without being bound by an abstract norm, but rather by elaborating the choice as the realization of what they consider good and just. In this paper will examine and redefine the concept of "right choice", acknowledging the above mentioned dual nature of its meaning. It will be argued there is a link between what abstract norms dictate to do, in order to reach a formally correct decision, and what, instead, depends on merely reasons and attitudes. This connection is indeed ensured by wise decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article explores the limitations of criminal legal responses to gender-based violence in Australia, specifically sexual assault law reforms and the criminalisation of coercive control. We demonstrate that carceral horizons deployed to address gender-based violence cause further harm to survivors and overshadow diverse perceptions and practices of justice. We suggest that such an approach is inappropriate and dangerous in the Australian context, given the historical and enduring harms of colonisation and the extent to which the actors within and the structure of the criminal legal system perpetrate violence towards Indigenous survivors of gender-based violence. Drawing on insights from research on survivors' justice needs, survivors' experiences in the criminal legal system, and abolitionist, transformative, and Indigenous scholarship, we discuss the potential for alternative ways of conceptualising justice responses in the Australian context that move beyond and avoid further perpetuating the harms arising from criminal legal responses to gender-based violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I argue that we should understand some forms of hypocritical behaviour in terms of epistemic injustice; a type of injustice in which a person is wronged in their capacity as a knower. If each of us has an interest in knowing what morality requires of us, this can be undermined when hypocritical behaviour distorts our perception of the moral landscape by misrepresenting the demandingness of putative moral obligations. This suggests that a complete theory of the wrongness of hypocrisy must account for hypocrisy as epistemic injustice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolutionary, game-theoretic approaches to justice and the social contract have become increasingly popular in contemporary moral and political philosophy. (Vanderschraaf, Strategic justice: convention and problems of balancing divergent interests, Oxford University Press, 2019) theory of strategic justice represents the most recent contribution to this tradition and, in many ways, can be viewed as a culmination of it. This article discusses some of the central features of Vanderschraaf’s theory and relates them to the contributions in this collection. Some of the contributions directly address Vanderschraaf’s work, while others explore related topics in game theory, bargaining theory, formal philosophy, rationality, equality, justice, and the theory of conventions. This collection aims to bridge a gap between disjoint but closely related literature spanning a wide range of disciplines. The contributions allow readers to systematically engage with the topic of strategic justice, advance dialogue, and more easily follow this rich and expanding field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking stock of standard philosophical analyses of the concept, it is proposed that the domain of morality be defined by reference to seven characteristics: normativity, informality, importance, universality, categoricalness, overridingness, and a reference to beneficence and justice as the basic contents of its rules. These features establish a rather sharp distinction between moral and conventional rules. Recent literature in evolutionary morality and moral psychology, however, challenged the existence of a neat distinction between the moral and the conventional domains. The paper discusses three prominent objections to the proposed analysis that can be found in the empirical literature on morality: one centering on the relevance of moral sentiments, one based on the phenomenon of "harmless wrongdoing", and one on the rejection of the universality and independence from authority of the moral domain. It is shown that the proposed analysis can be defended in light of the empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the underexplored relationship between leader humor and employee organizational identification by examining the role of positive affect and perceived organizational justice. Drawing on affect theories of humor and justice theories, the research seeks to answer two key questions: (1) How does leader humor expression increase employee organizational identification? (2) Under which conditions is leader humor expression most effective in enhancing employee organizational identification? Utilizing data from 450 respondents across organizations in two Asian countries, the study tests the hypothesized research model, revealing that positive affect mediates the relationship between leader humor expression and employee organizational identification. The findings indicate that employees' perception of organizational justice moderates the relationship between leader humor expression and positive affect. Specifically, leader humor expression has a stronger impact on employees' positive affect when the level of perceived organizational justice is higher. These results contribute to the understanding of how leader humor can influence employee organizational identification and underscore the importance of fostering positive affect and organizational justice perceptions in the workplace. The study also offers theoretical implications and suggests potential directions for future research in this area, opening avenues for further investigation into the complex interplay between leader humor, positive affect, and organizational justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When people work together in teams, they ideally have a common understanding, a shared mental model regarding various aspects of teamwork. This common understanding refers not only to task-related aspects of teamwork but also to the elemental social rules and norms that underlie social interactions among team members. Relational models theory proposes that social rules and norms can be seen as the implementation and combination of four elemental relational models that people use to coordinate their social interactions. Since each of these relational models encompasses a distinct moral motive, which determines expectations of fairness and appropriate behaviors in social interactions, we propose that the degree of sharedness of individuals' perceptions regarding the applicable relational models in teams (i.e., shared relational models) is positively related to various aspects of team viability, mediated by perceived justice and relationship conflict. In two field studies collecting data from N = 40 and N = 46 work teams in organizations, we found reproducible support for most of our hypotheses. Our studies' findings emphasize the importance of shared relational models among team members for justice perceptions, conflict and team viability in organizational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the potential dimensions on which exclusion and injustice may occur in energy transitions is age. Age-based patterns of exclusion—ageism—has recently been conceptualized in the context of decarbonization as energy ageism. This paper offers a comparative empirical analysis of the senior citizens' outlook towards an imminent energy transition as well as the impact of energy poverty in two European countries: Norway and Poland. Results: Drawing on interviews and focus groups with Polish and Norwegian seniors, we present the differences and similarities between the two countries, and the determinants of energy ageism, as well as the concept's overall applicability and empirical usefulness. We find that socioeconomic conditions outweigh ageism, that is, the resilience of senior citizens in dealing with energy poverty during a transition is conditioned by their material standing and welfare state robustness rather than age based. An important factor is household heating technology, combined with economic vulnerability can push some individuals into energy poverty, while others using alternative sources of heat can navigate through energy crises unscathed. Conclusions: We note the importance of mainstreaming social inclusion considerations in energy policy and of targeted digital competence building which can enhance senior citizen integration in the energy transition. Lower levels of digital competences among senior citizens certainly play a role and need to be addressed with education programs to increase participation. In both countries, household heating is a major issue and heating sources are strong predictors of energy poverty and regulatory measures and subsidies should be designed at national, regional, and municipal level to assist vulnerable groups in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas past research on the trickle-down diffusion of abusive supervision has demonstrated that abused supervisors often translate the abuse that they experience from their managers downward to their followers, we examine the active involvement of abused supervisors through leading in a more principled and positive manner. Adopting the sociofunctional perspective on emotions, we propose that supervisors who feel contempt for their abusers and are morally attentive will be motivated to morally differentiate themselves from perpetrators by treating their subordinates with greater, rather than less, interpersonal justice. Four studies, including two survey-based studies and two scenario-based experiments, based on data collected in China and the United Kingdom show consistent evidence supporting the overall moderated mediation model. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social sustainability plays a prominent role in the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, but a proper analysis of the concept is still lacking. According to a widespread conception, a system is sustainable when it is preserved or developed in a robust manner. I argue, however, that social sustainability is best understood in explicitly normative terms. Formulating suitable development goals requires a conception of the kind of society that is worth sustaining. I propose that, for a system to be socially sustainable is for it to secure a range of values, including justice. Furthermore, I argue that social sustainability is first and foremost a property of institutions. I go on to ask what it takes for an institution to secure values and why justice is so important for institutions. The answers culminate in a social sustainability framework, which explains why making institutions more sustainable is so challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread application of QR code technology is best represented by the health codes used in China's pandemic prevention and control. This technology has enhanced the country's ability to manage the pandemic by achieving higher efficiency and accuracy. Unfortunately, a certain segment of the older population has encountered difficulties in adapting and maintaining their daily activities. This indicates the limitations of QR code technology in achieving social isolation. This article argues that for a more comprehensive pandemic prevention and control policy system to be established, managing the implementation of this very technology should be done in a more humane fashion, i.e. under the guidance of three moral principles: benevolence, justice, and non-maleficence. By doing so, implementation of QR code technology is done in a way that is not only conducive to COVID-19 prevention and control but also mitigate marginalization of the older people. In the post-pandemic era, the socialization of digital technology will accelerate. Therefore, in the field of public health, we should direct attention not only to the fair distribution of resources but also to the issue of identity that arises due to digital divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African government announced the much-discussed stay-at-home order between March 27 and April 30, 2020, during what was known as lockdown level 5, which meant that citizens were not allowed to leave their homes. The objective of this study is to assess the stay-at-home order against the global principles of the UDBHR. It is deducible that, in reference to the UDBHR, the government possessed the right to curtail individual liberty, thereby not infringing on Article 5 of the UDBHR and therefore, in this context, passes the test of the UDBHR. However, it remains uncertain at present whether the limitation of freedom imposed by the South African stay-at-home order was successful in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and protecting individuals from harm. Initial investigations also indicate that individuals who are particularly vulnerable may not have received equitable treatment in accordance with the principle outlined in Article 10, therefore, it can be cautiously and modestly argued that the stay-at-home order does not withstand scrutiny when assessed against the UDBHR. Given the continued discussion about the efficacy of limiting freedom to control the spread of COVID-19, and the growing conviction that the advancement of justice is being called into question, the notion of least restriction ought to be considered seriously. Ten Have (2022) is correct in asserting that global bioethics should also seriously consider other principles beyond an almost exclusive focus on limiting individual freedom. The preliminary conclusion is that the potential implementation of the stay-at-home order in the future must be seriously reconsidered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six planetary boundaries have already been exceeded, including climate change, loss of biodiversity, chemical pollution, and land-system change. The health research sector contributes to the environmental crisis we are facing, though to a lesser extent than healthcare or agriculture sectors. It could take steps to reduce its environmental impact but generally has not done so, even as the planetary emergency worsens. So far, the normative case for why the health research sector should rectify that failure has not been made. This paper argues strong philosophical grounds, derived from theories of health and social justice, exist to support the claim that the sector has a duty to avoid or minimise causing or contributing to ecological harms that threaten human health or worsen health inequity. The paper next develops ideas about the duty’s content, explaining why it should entail more than reducing carbon emissions, and considers what limits might be placed on the duty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is part of a special section which brings three different approaches to vulnerability into conversation with one another to foster interdisciplinary co-operation in vulnerability studies. The essay focuses on UK-based applied social science research which centres dynamics of care and social control in how vulnerability is created, experienced and governed, through attention to the voices and perspectives of those deemed vulnerable. Bringing together key themes from a number of empirical studies, the essay provides an overview of theoretical approach on vulnerability, associated research methods including co-production with 'vulnerable' people, then draws together insights from the studies and implications for future directions in vulnerability studies. In focussing on lived experiences of those who are socially disadvantaged, disproportionately victimised and at the same time deemed a social problem and controlled in ways that intensify suffering, the essay sets out how social control and marginalisation might usefully be held more to the fore in vulnerability conceptualisations to offer firmer foundations for supporting social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revisions are proposed to the taxonomic model of human motivation of Forbes (Review of General Psychology, 15(2), 85-98, 2011) in order to incorporate a heretofore missing fourth life domain, the spiritual. The growing literature on spiritual motives is systematically reviewed in accordance with literature review standards for theory development (Templier & Paré, 2018) focusing on the objective of identifying comprehensive theoretical systems that explicitly incorporate the spiritual domain as one of a limited set of human life domains. The structure of the Forbes model is contrasted with thirteen theoretical systems that explicitly incorporate the spiritual as a fourth life domain. Consistent with the Forbes model, the spiritual domain is proposed to consist of three modes of existence (Being, Doing, Having) represented as justice motivation, moral motivation, and transcendental motivation, respectively, as well as both promotion and prevention goals within each of the three motives. Empirical evidence is reviewed in support of a revised heuristic device wherein the Spiritual domain is closely linked with the Intrapsychic and Interpersonal domains, but not the Instrumental domain, resulting in a pyramidal structure and corresponding set of testable hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While inclusion, participation and victim-centredness have become catchwords in transitional justice discourse, this rhetoric has not necessarily enabled the articulation of more complex identities and experiences, or the pursuit of varied justice claims. To probe this disconnect, this article engages with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia, a mechanism established to reckon with the country's history of internal armed conflict, and hailed for its involvement of vulnerable, disenfranchised and oft-overlooked groups. The article combines expressive theories of justice with an innovative corpus-based methodology to critically examine how the Commission made visible, defined and construed these actors through its language of inclusion. Results from word frequency, co-occurrence and sentiment analyses illustrate how the Commission foregrounded the plight and rights of women and children, and their participation as a vehicle for emancipation, but simultaneously reproduced universalist and static identities, fixation on sexual violence and child soldier recruitment, and subject positions lacking in positive or political capabilities. This duality points to inherent tensions in the expressive messaging of TJ institutions, and rather locates the transformative potential of their inclusionary language in the strategic openings it affords for victims' groups, women and youth organizations in their broader trajectories towards justice and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an intuitive explanation about why and how Rawlsian Theory of Justice (Rawls in A theory of justice, Harvard University Press, Harvard, 1971) provides the foundations to a solution for algorithmic bias. The contribution of the paper is to discuss and show why Rawlsian ideas in their original form (e.g. the veil of ignorance, original position, and allowing inequalities that serve the worst-off) are relevant to operationalize fairness for algorithmic decision making. The paper also explains how this leads to a specific MinMaxfairness solution, which addresses the basic challenges of algorithmic justice. We combine substantive elements of Rawlsian perspective with an intuitive explanation in order to provide accessible and practical insights. The goal is to propose and motivate why and how the MinMaxfairness solution derived from Rawlsian principles overcomes some of the current challenges for algorithmic bias and highlight the benefits provided when compared to other approaches. The paper presents and discusses the solution by building a bridge between the qualitative theoretical aspects and the quantitative technical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the transportation industry continues to evolve, it is urgent that we develop and implement methods for clearly evaluating the range of transportation engineering, planning, and policy impacts experienced by various population segments. While theories of transportation equity have advanced over the past decade, such advancements outpace existing methods for evaluating the fairness of large-scale transportation investments for disadvantaged communities. In this study, a regional activity-based travel model for the Bay Area, California is used to perform an equity analysis of two of the region's transportation and land-use planning scenarios. Equity outcomes are tested relative to three equity standards: Equality, Proportionality, and Rawlsian justice. The primary objective is to demonstrate the usefulness of a full-scale activity-based travel model for regional transportation equity analysis. We demonstrate that fine-grained distributional measures play an important role in examining the individual and household-level impacts of regional transportation scenarios, and can complement existing Environmental Justice assessments and equity analyses by helping to explain underlying reasons for average group impacts. Distributional measures can further reveal harmful cases when disadvantaged groups are most likely to experience the disbenefits of the transportation scenarios. Yet, each type of measures in isolation does not tell the complete story of which planning scenario is likely to deliver more equitable outcomes. Finally, we demonstrate the significance of applying equity standards for ranking planning scenarios, and we find that the ranking of scenarios will vary according to the equity standard, as well as how associated evaluation criteria are defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of engineering the microbiome of the built environment is to create places and spaces that are better for human health. Like other emerging technologies, engineering the microbiome of the built environment may bring considerable benefits but there has been a lack of exploration on its societal implication and how to engineer in an ethical way. To date, this topic area has also not been pulled together into a singular study for any systematic review or analysis. This study fills this gap by providing the first a systematic review of societal and ethical implications of engineering microbiomes and the application of this knowledge to engineering the microbiome of the built environment. To organize and guide our analysis, we invoked four major ethical principles (individual good/non-maleficence, collective good/beneficence, autonomy, and justice) as a framework for characterizing and categorizing 15 distinct themes that emerged from the literature. We argue that these different themes can be used to explain and predict the social and ethical implications of engineering the microbiome of the built environment that if addressed adequately can help to improve public health as this field further develops at global scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary accounts of the concept of exploitation can be grouped into camps that tie the wrongness of taking advantage of another person to: (1) the unfair division of benefits resulting from an interaction; (2) excessive benefits resulting from structural injustice; and (3) a failure of respect for others' humanity. In practice, accounts of exploitation that focus on the fairness of benefits resulting from individual transactions and, to a lesser degree, unjust social and economic institutions have dominated the applied ethics literature using the concept of exploitation. However, fairness-based accounts of exploitation have a difficult time explaining a common dimension of purportedly exploitative cases in the press and academic literature—namely the absolute deprivation of and/or experience of injustice by victims of exploitation. In this paper, I argue that a respect-based account can explain how exploitation arises both from individual interactions and against a backdrop of injustice. Specifically, our connections with one another and social and economic institutions specify the duty of beneficence and political responsibility to promote just institutions. Exploitation takes place when people fail to act on these specified obligations in favor of their own benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I describe a conservative disposition to change which is capable of operating alongside three other dispositions: First, a disposition to accept a degree of epistemic humility with respect to the kinds of change that count as an 'intimation' or continuation of the value contained in some given situation. Second, a disposition to acknowledge the legitimacy of democratic majorities, even when these are not always expressions of those 'intimations' or continuations. Third, the disposition to help alleviate recognizable injustices as these might be suffered—and understood—by minorities. A conservative disposition to preserve the value of some given status quo operates in tension with these other three, and can sometimes give way to those other dispositions. An important part of managing tensions between these dispositions is an additional practice of reconciliation, one that helps conservatives treat change in properly conservative ways. I develop an account of this practice through a reading of Junichiro Tanizaki's In Praise of Shadows and the Japanese concept of mono no aware. I argue Tanizaki's work offers an approach to change that is conservative in spirit while still being capable of accommodating itself to change which will reduce—and even eliminate—things of value that were possible prior to that change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What role does our knowledge about the ideal society play in guiding policymaking in the real world? One intuitive answer is to approximate. Namely, we have a duty to approximate the ideal within the relevant constraints of feasibility. However, political philosophers seem to have what might be called 'approximatophobia'. Many philosophers, including idealists such as David Estlund, warn against approximation. Their criticism is chiefly motivated by 'the problem of second best', which points out that your second-best option may not be closest to your best option. This paper aims to dispel 'approximatophobia'. The difficulty posed by the problem of second best is often overstated. More positively, I present a novel defence of approximation, arguing that approximation of an ideal can be a reasonably reliable default strategy of action guidance in the real world. Difficulties that may afflict the project of approximation can be mitigated by sophistication of the project of approximation. After showing that critics of approximation overstep their mark in issuing the strong or moderate warning against approximation, I propose an account of sophisticated approximation. It seeks a series of reforms that make existing social institutions closer to the ideal based on careful selection of frame of analysis. Three virtuous correlations are identified as indicators for successful project of approximation, linking descriptive similarity to desirability, feasibility and knowledge of the ideal. I also explain a two-staged strategy of sophisticating the way you approximate the ideal, with an expected positive feedback effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]