Do human beings act morally because they obey socially defined rules and norms as the result of a routine of inculcated behaviors, or an embodied fear of sanction, or perhaps both? Conversely, do they act morally because they decide to do so as a consequence of a rational evaluation, or transformative endeavor, or inseparably both? In other words, do they follow a Kantian ethics of duty or an A...

Implications of Complex Systems and Converging Technologies for Human Performance The ability of science and technology to augment human performance depends on an understanding of systems, not just components. The convergence of technologies is an essential aspect of the effort to enable functioning systems that include human beings and technology; and serve the human beings to enhance their we...

All human beings are "endowed with reason." This assumption is the basis of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as clearly expressed in its very first article. Obviously the authors of the declaration had not considered the particular case of the process of parturition, when there is no room for rational means of expression. One cannot interpret literally the irrational l...

The term ‘human interpretation’ itself has two interpretations: interpretation by human beings and interpretation of human beings. We are all familiar with both kinds of interpretation in ordinary life. Marie interprets Sam’s remark as a sexual invitation; Joseph interprets the famous guest’s attire as an insult to the host. But as the organizers of our conference point out, we have no systemat...

In 2003 an unusually forthcoming U.S. battalion commander told the New York Times how he would win Iraqi hearts and minds: “With a heavy dose of fear and violence, and a lot of money for projects, I think we can convince these people that we are here to help them.”[1] To Roger Petersen, an MIT political scientist, this statement epitomizes the problem with Western military intervention–a proble...

It has become commonplace for economists to assert that human beings are not fully economically rational. Many psychologists and behavioral economists now maintain that economic agents do not reason very well, that these agents often do not know what is good for them and that they behave in odd, non-reasoning, inconsistent ways. Paradoxes and inconsistencies supposedly surface in economic behav...

Moral responsibility emerges in choice situations where the choice has wideranging consequences and not only the decision maker but also other parties are affected by the outcome of the choice. In this paper I will refer to such situations as complex choice situations. The purpose of this paper is to present a normative but realistic model of responsible choice. The model is normative in the se...

Books are the best friends of human beings and make them a rational animal. In this E-world our traditional books are losing their values. Recent surveys are proving that the younger generations are not much interested in visiting libraries and reading books due to their addiction towards the electronic gadgets. Many publishers are now changed their strategy by publishing and promoting e-books....