prof.dr. H.G. Geertsema (room 13A-31, tel. (020) 59 86631, e-mail hg.geertsema@ph.vu.nl); prof.dr. G. Glas; prof.dr.ir. H. Jochemsen; prof.dr. R.W.J. Meester; drs.ir. J. van der Stoep (room 13A-28, tel. (020) 59 86691, e-mail j.van_der_stoep@ph.vu.nl)
studiepunten
6
periode
2
aim
In this class you will be introduced to some basic discussions within the philosophy of mind. You will get acquainted with different views of the human person and their main characters: naturalism, non-reductive physicalism and substance dualism. You will also get a deeper understanding of the relationship between religion and science, especially as it concerns the discussion about creation, evolution and intelligent design.
Beside a general treatment of these issues their impact on information and communication technology (ICT), health care and biotechnology will be discussed. You will get acquainted with the basic elements of these fields and how worldview and philosophical conceptions influence their interpretation and practice.
At the end you should be able to:
discuss in a critical way naturalism, non-reductive physicalism and substance dualism and the basi concepts that are used (E.G. substance, supervenience, dualism and reduction);
identify the impact of these different positions on the interpretation and practice of ICT, health care and biotechnology and give an assessment thereof;
give a critical analysis of the issues involved in the discussion about creation, evolution and intelligent design: which distinctions are important? what kind of confusion should be avoided? how does worldview influence different position?
content
We will read and discuss some respresentative texts of different authors concerning the following themes:
the (anti-)cartesian understanding of the human person (fact-value split, substantial unity and property thing, relation to empirical sciences);
We will also read and discuss texts concerning the following more practical fields:
ICT (impact of technology in society, virtual reality, artifical intelligens, machine and organism, transhumanism);
health care (shift from modern to postmodern concepts in relation to the patient-physician relationship, medical technology and ethics);
evolution and intelligent design (different meanings of evolution, science and worldview, design and designer);
biotechnology (the concept of gene, genetic manipulation, healing and enhancement).
In this part of the class we will see how the different positions discussed in the first weeks affect the interpretation and practice of the areas mentioned.
In relation to each theme some representative authors will be discussed. This class will be given in close connection with Science, Technology and Responsibility II.
mode of assessment
You will write a report concerning the main elements of the course (issues, concepts, problems, conceptions, arguments) together with an assessment thereof.
On the basis of this report you will have an oral examination.
prof.dr. H.G. Geertsema (room 13A-31, tel. (020) 59 86631, e-mail hg.geertsema@ph.vu.nl); prof.dr. G. Glas; prof.dr.ir. H. Jochemsen; prof.dr. R.W.J. Meester; drs.ir. J. van der Stoep (room 13A-28, tel. (020) 59 86691, e-mail j.van_der_stoep@ph.vu.nl)
studiepunten
6
periode
2
aim
This class is meant to help you with developing a theoretical framework from a Christian perspective that can be fruitful to analyse important issues in the area of health care, the empirical sciences and different kinds of technology.
To achieve this you will in the first place get acquainted with some basic biblical notions regarding the human person, with the view of the person within reformational philosophy and with the anthropology of Dooyeweerd. You will also get a basic understanding of the relationship between faith and science and the rol a Christian philosophy has to play in this discussion.
Next you should learn how to apply these basic insights in the differerent fields of health care, ICT and biotechnology both as to their interpretation and their practice. For this you will need to be acquainted with the basic concepts of these fields, have developed a fruitful method (e.g. to ask the right questions) and clear conceptual tools (e.g. to make the necessary distinctions). As a result you should be able to:
give a critical analysis of different conceptions that are prevalent in these fields;
build an argument concerning important issues in these areas;
engage in an open and fruitful discussion about these topics with other views.
content
We will read and discuss texts from a Christian background by different authors like Dooyeweerd, Olthuis, Glas, Geertsema, Jochemsen, Strijbos, Lyon, Hoogland and others.
The texts will be ordered around the following themes and concepts:
a Christian understanding of the human person (image of God, responsibility, being in relationships, self-relation);
Dooyeweerd's anthropological theory (enkaptic structural whole with different structures, the heart as unity of the body);
information and communication technology (technology and responsibility, idea of information, human and machine);
health care (nature of suffering and disease, patient-physician relationship, place of medical technology);
Christian faith and scientific explanation: creation and evolution (different levels in the discussion: faith, philosophy, science; the limits of a scientific explanation);
biotechology (a Christian understanding of the gene, of biotechnology and the ethical implications).
This class will be given in close connection with Science, Technology and Responsibility I.
mode of assessment
You will write a report concerning the main elements of the course (issues, concepts, problems, conceptions, arguments) together with an assessment thereof.
On the basis of this report you will have an oral examination.
The main goal of this course is to help you understand what is going on in (post)modern societies in the social spheres of health care and social work with respect to the view on (helping and caring) professions and the way their activities are organised.
You will get acquainted with the predominant modern view of the human person and of society. This view harbours a particular understanding of suffering and disability. It will be explained that these views lead to an understanding of professional expertise as technology or methodical intervention, rather than as a necessary but insufficient requirement for competent professional action. This view on professional practices and professionalism has consequences for the organisation and financing of professional help and care, for professional ethics and for the role of religion in caring organisations. Faced with the pluralism of (post)modern society and the emphasis on individual autonomy, ethics also becomes a kind of problem solving expertise on the basis of abstract ethical principles.
The implications of these themes for the place of the elderly in society and for terminal care for patients (euthanasia, palliative care) will be elaborated.
At the end you should be able to:
discuss in a critical way the (post)modern view on social relations in general and on professional practices in particular;
relate this view to the way professional help and care are organised and financed;
critically discuss the implications of these developments for professional ethics and the role of religions in caring organisations;
critically discuss the implications of these developments for the place of the elderly in society and for some issues in the care for the dying. How does worldview influence different positions?
content
We will start with reading and discussing some representative texts of different authors concerning the following themes:
the (anti-)carthesian understanding of the human person;
the modern understanding of the individual in relation to society and social structures (fact-value split);
the implications of these views for the understanding of professional ethics, including the shift from modern to post-modern concepts of the caregiver-patient/client-relationship, the role of technological and methodical interventions in relation to ethics.
Next we will read and discuss texts concerning:
the view of and place for suffering in human existence and the relation between suffering and the experience of meaning;
the role attributed to religion in the context of (professional) care;
the place of elderly in society and some crucial issues concerning the care for the dying, like euthanasia, terminal palliative care.
In this part of the class we will see how the different positions discusses in the first three weeks affect the interpretation and practice of the areas mentioned. In relation to each theme some representative authors will be discussed.
This class will be given in close connection with Ethics, Health care, Social work II.
mode of assessment
You will write a report concerning the main elements of the course (issues, concepts, problems, conceptions, arguments) together with an assessment thereof. On the basis of this report you will have an oral examination.
This class is meant to help you developing a theoretical framework from a Christian perspective that can be fruitful to analyse important issues in the area of professional practices in health care and social work. To achieve this you will in the first place get acquainted with some basic biblical notions regarding the human person, with the view of the person within reformational philosophy and with the theory of Dooyeweerd.
You should also get a basic understanding of the implication of these notions and views for a different understanding of professional practices. Here we will combine Aristotelian insights with Dooyeweerdian (social) philosophy and the student should be able to identify and discuss the relation between these sources.
Furthermore you should be able to relate this normative view of professional practices with professional ethics, in particular the role of virtues in professional performance and identify the role of worldview/religion in this context.
Next you should learn how to apply these insights in the field of social work (the position of and care for the elderly) and health care (care for the dying).
As a result you should be able to:
give a critical analysis of different conceptions that are prevalent in the debate on the character and role of professional practices in modern societies;
engage in an open and fruitful discussion about these topics with other views.
content
We will read and discuss texts from a Christian background by different authors like Dooyeweerd, Glas, Geertsema, Hoogland, Jochemsen, MacIntyre, Reinders and others.
The texts will be ordered around the following themes and concepts:
a Christian understanding of the human person (image of God, responsibility, being in relationships, self-relation);
Dooyeweerd's theory of social structures and relations;
it's relation to Aristotelian insights in social practices, in particular of health care and social work and their wider contexts;
the nature of disease, social dysfunction and disorder and suffering;
the care giver-patient/client relationship, the place of methodical interventions and techniques, of professional ethics and of worldview in professional practices;
the importance of these themes and concepts for practical issues, particular for the position of the elderly and their problems, and the care for the dying.
This class will be given in close connection with Ethics, Health care, Social work I.
toetsing
You will write a report concerning the main elements of the course (issues, concepts, problems, conceptions, arguments) together with an assessment thereof.
On the basis of this report, you will have an oral examination.
entry requirements
Philosophical Foundations I and II.
subject
Cursus A: The Philosophy of Management. An Introduction
Philosophy as challenge to management, management science as a challenge to philosophy and philosophical ethics - philosophy and the economic theory of the firm - markets as discourses - shareholder value and the common good of the firm - cultural philosophy and management ¿ management in different forms of capitalism: Anglo-American versus Rhenish capitalism.
form of tuition
combination of lectures, short presentations by students, and discussion of both.
Plan of Sessions:
First Session 7 September 2006
Management as a Form of Human Practice
Reasons for the Management Hype
What is the Particular Nature of Business?
Literature: Drucker; Sternberg
Second Session 12 September 2006
Management and Governance, Leadership and Ethical Challenges, Corporate Structure, Shareholder Value and the Common Good of the Firm
Literature: Boatright, Contractors; Goold et al.; Burns; Koslowski, Shareholder Value
Third Session 14 September 2006
The Economic Theory of the Firm and the Agency Theory of Management
Literature: Williamson; Alchian/Demsetz; Demsetz; Jensen/Meckling
Fourth Session 28 September 2006
Ethical Challenges to Management
Fiduciary Duty, Professionalism, Conflicts of Interest, Insider Knowledge and Favoritism, Corruption
Literature: Boatright, Finance Ethics; Koslowski, Insider Trading
Sixth Session 10 October 2006
Varieties of Capitalism and their Impact on Management
Literature: Michel Albert
Seventh Session 12 October 2006
The Philosophy and Ethics of Consumption
Literature: Pine and Gilmore
Eighth Session 17 October 2006
Managing One¿s Own Life and Business
Management and Rational Lebensführung
Literature: Max Weber, Protestant Ethic
literature
Michel Albert: Capitalism Against Capitalism, London: Whurr 1993;
Armen Alchian and Harold Demsetz: Production, Information Costs, and Economic Organization, in: Louis Putterman and Randall Kroszner (Editors: The Economic Nature of the Firm: A Reader, Cambridge (Cambridge University Press) 2nd edition 1996, pp. 193-216;
John R. Boatright: Contractors as stakeholders: reconciling stakeholder theory with the nexus-of-contracts firm, in: Journal of Banking & Finance, 26 (2002), pp. 1837-1852;
John R. Boatright: Ethics in Finance, Oxford (Blackwell) 1999 (Foundations of Business Ethics), chapter "Fiduciaries, Agents, and Professionals" and "Agency Theory", pp. 40-53;
Adam M. Brandenburger and Barry J. Nalebuff: Co-opetition, New York: Doubleday, 1996;
James MacGregor Burns: Leadership, New York : Harper & Row 1978;
Herold Demsetz: The Structure of Ownership and the Theory of the Firm, in: Louis Putterman and Randall Kroszner (Editors: The Economic Nature of the Firm: A Reader, Cambridge (Cambridge University Press) 2nd edition 1996,pp. 345-353;
Peter Drucker: Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, New York: Harper Business 1993;
Michael Goold, Andrew Campbell, Marcus Alexander: Corporate-level Strategy : Creating Value in the Multibusiness Company, New York: J. Wiley 1994;
Michael Jensen and William Meckling: "Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs, and Ownership Structure", in: Louis Putterman and Randall Kroszner (Editors: The Economic Nature of the Firm: A Reader, Cambridge (Cambridge University Press) 2nd edition 1996, pp. 315-335;
P. Koslowski: Gesellschaftliche Koordination. Eine ontologische und kulturwissenschaftliche Theorie der Marktwirtschaft, Tübingen (Mohr Siebeck) 1991;
P. Koslowski: Speculation and Insider Trading as Problem of Business Ethics, in: Laura P. Hartman (Ed.): Perspectives in Business Ethics, Boston (McGraw¿Hill Irwin) 2004, S. 703-716;
P. Koslowski: Market and Democracy as Discourses. Limits to Discoursive Social Coordination, in: P. Koslowski (Editor): Individual Liberty and Democratic Decision-Making. The Ethics, Economics, and Politics of Democracy, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 1987, pp. 58-92;
P. Koslowski: Schareholder Value Principle and the Purpose of the Firm: Limits to Shareholder Value, in: S. A. Cortright, Michael J. Naughton (Editors): Rethinking the Purpose of Business. Interdisciplinary Essays from the Catholic Social Tradition, Notre Dame, Indiana (University of Notre Dame Press) 2002, pp. 102-130;
B. Joseph Pine II, James H. Gilmore: The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage, 1999;
Elaine Sternberg: Just Business: Business Ethics in Action, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2nd edition 2000;
Max Weber: The Protestant ethic and the "spirit" of capitalism (1904/5), in: The Protestant ethic and the "spirit" of capitalism and other writings, edited, translated, and with an introduction by Peter Baehr and Gordon C. Wells, New York : Penguin Books 2002. German Original: Die Protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus;
Oliver Williamson: The Governance of Contractual Relations, in: Louis Putterman and Randall Kroszner (Editors: The Economic Nature of the Firm: A Reader, Cambridge (Cambridge University Press) 2nd edition 1996, pp. 89-104;
