Dilemma

About: Dilemma is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 16202 publications have been published within this topic receiving 250251 citations. The topic is also known as: Dilemna.

Beyond self-interest

Abstract: A dramatic transformation has begun in the way scholars think about human nature. Political scientists, psychologists, economists, and evolutionary biologists are beginning to reject the view that human affairs are shaped almost exclusively by self-interest-a view that came to dominate social science in the last three decades. In "Beyond Self-Interest," leading social scientists argue for a view of individuals behavior and social organization that takes into account the powerful motivations of duty, love, and malevolence. Economists who go beyond "economic man," psychologists who go beyond stimulus-response, evolutionary biologists who go beyond the "selfish gene," and political scientists who go beyond the quest for power come together in this provocative and important manifesto. The essays trace, from the ancient Greeks to the present, the use of self-interest to explain political life. They investigate the differences between self-interest and the motivations of duty and love, showing how these motivations affect behavior in "prisoners' dilemma" interactions. They generate evolutionary models that explain how altruistic motivations escape extinction. They suggest ways to model within one individual the separate motivations of public spirit and self-interest, investigate public spirit and self-interest, investigate public spirit in citizen and legislative behavior, and demonstrate that the view of democracy in existing Constitutional interpretations is not based on self-interest. They advance both human evil and mothering as alternatives to self-interest, this last in a penetrating feminist critique of the "contract" model of human interaction.

The rebel's dilemma

Abstract: Since the mid 1960s, theorists have elaborated over two dozen different solutions to the collection action problem. During much of this same period, students of conflict have explored many questions about protest and rebellion. "The Rebel's Dilemma" examines what happens when one brings the full richness of collective action theories to bear on the many complex problems of collective dissent.." . . a significant contribution to the understanding of collective behavior, protest, and rebellion." --"Choice""The book is interesting and thought-provoking, and its insights extend beyond the narrow subject of rebellion to help illuminate many issues related to organizing groups to undertake collective action." --"Public Choice""[Lichbach's] book is monumental and pivotal. . . . [It] consolidates over three decades of research on collective action problems and sets the agenda for future studies of collective dissent and rebellion. . . . [This] book is a major step forward. It will have an enormous impact in the field of conflict studies and belongs on the shelf of anyone even casually interested in dissent, rebellion, and revolution. . . . [This] book is a major step forward. It will have an enormous impact in the field of conflict studies and belongs on the shelf of anyone even casually interested in dissent, rebellion, and revolution." --"American Political Science Review""For scholars interested in game-theoretic analyses of politics . . . essential reading." --Manus I. Midlarsky, "Journal of Politics""Lichbach has to be praised for providing valuable insight on the logic of collective dissent. . . ." --"Political Studies"Mark Irving Lichbach is Professor of Political Science, University of Colorado.

The Security Dilemma in Alliance Politics

Abstract: The concept of the “security dilemma” is applied to alliance relations in multipolar and bipolar systems. The dilemma involves a choice between support or nonsupport of allies, and tension between fears of entrapment and abandonment. It interacts with the adversary security dilemma in which the choice is between firmness and conciliation toward the opponent. The multipolar interaction is illustrated by a survey of the 1904–1914 period, the bipolar by reference to the contemporary crisis in NATO. The alliance security dilemma is more severe, and places more constraints on allies' policies toward adversaries, in multipolar than in bipolar alliances. The weakness of the dilemma in the contemporary system is a major reason for the current persistence of conflict in NATO.

Disease and illness Distinctions between professional and popular ideas of sickness

Abstract: The dysfunctional consequences of the Cartesian dichotomy have been enhanced by the power of biomedical technology. Technical virtuosity reifies the mechanical model and widens the gap between what patients seek and doctors provide. Patients suffer "illnesses"; doctors diagnose and treat "diseases". Illnesses are experiences of discontinuities in states of being and perceived role performances. Diseases, in the scientific paradigm of modern medicine, are abnormalities in the function and/or structure of body organs and systems. Traditional healers also redefine illness as disease: because they share symbols and metaphors consonant with lay beliefs, their healing rituals are more responsive to the psychosocial context of illness. Psychiatric disorders offer an illuminating perspective on the basic medical dilemma. The paradigms for psychiatric practice include multiple and ostensibly contradictory models: organic, psychodynamic, behavioural and social. This melange of concepts stems from the fact that the fundamental manifestations of psychosis are disordered behaviours. The psychotic patient remains a person; his self-concept and relationships with others are central to the therapeutic encounter, whatever pharmacological adjuncts are employed. The same truths hold for all patients. The social matrix determines when and how the patient seeks what kind of help, his "compliance" with the recommended regimen and, to a significant extent, the functional outcome. When physicians dismiss illness because ascertainable "disease" is absent, they fail to meet their socially assigned responsibility. It is essential to reintegrate "scientific" and "social" concepts of disease and illness as a basis for a functional system of medical research and care.

The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability

Abstract: Based on his Paul Hawken's article "The Ecology of Commerce" which appeared in the April 1992 issue of "Inc." magazine, this book presents the argument that business is the only mechanism powerful enough to reverse global environmental and social degradation. Hawken's argument rests on the principles of restorative economics - the reconstruction and repair of social and environmental wounds. Restorative economics involves three major components: redesigning and manufacturing products in innovative ways; transforming and re-educating the consumer; and restoring the relationship between business and government. Hawken explores why, until now, business has been unable to sustain the environment, and offers clean and practical methods to solve the dilemma. The book is a practical blueprint that lays a foundation for a prosperous, sustainable future, and the only environmental programme that enhances both business and nature. Paul Hawken is the author of "Growing a Business", "The Next Economy" and "Seven Tomorrows: Toward a Voluntary History".