Who Deserves Help? Students' Opinions About the Deservingness of Different Groups Living in Germany to Receive Aid

A study was conducted examining German students' attitudes toward different groups of people living in Germany and the influence of those attitudes on the willingness to distribute aid to groups in need. A survey was distributed to over 2000 students at universities across Germany. It was predicted that groups judged more responsible for their need of aid and less likable would be considered less deserving of receiving aid than groups judged less responsible for their need of aid and more likable. An effect of the Belief in a Just World was also expected such that, students with a weak Belief in a Just World would judge targets as more deserving of aid than students with a strong Belief in a Just World. Results indicate effects of likability, responsibility for neediness, and the Belief in a Just World on ratings of deservingness.     

The effects of precision of sentencing information on crime rates: A theoretical model

This article employs a theory of decision-making under uncertainty to examine the effects of precision of information concerning the probability and severity (costs) of punishment on individuals' “supply of crime.” The analysis demonstrates that providing (correct) information that reduces uncertainty about the probability of punishment will not affect criminals' behavior, whereas the effects of information about the severity of punishment will depend on the shape of individuals' preference function. Applying this framework, the conditions under which the standardization of punishment is a socially desirable policy are identified and discussed.     

The fact of reason: Kant's prajna-perception of freedom

Conclusion I have been experimental in my comparative approach, using the instrument of Hua-yen Buddhism to investigate Kant's fact or reason. What has been demonstrated? Certainly, the hypothesis that comparative study is flexible enough to illuminate strands of our own philosophical tradition is both interesting and compelling. But for Kant, does the study of practicability with reference to the buddhi-mind end in the perception of the dharmadhatu? I have marshalled some evidence to support this theory, implicit throughout the Second Critique. At the end of the Grundlagen, Kant offers one further note suggesting this conception must have been a continuing influence on his later moral thinking. Referring to the idea of a purely intelligible world, he says it serves to produce in us a lively interest in the moral law by means of the splendid ideal of a universal kingdom of ends in themselves (rational beings), to which we can belong as members only if we are scrupulous to live in accordance with maxims of freedom as if they were laws of nature.⁴¹     

The MacArthur Treatment Competence Study. I

This is the first of three papers reporting the results of the MacArthur Treatment Competence Study, a project designed to develop reliable and valid information with which to address clinical and policy questions regarding the abilities of persons with mental illness to make decisions about psychiatric treatment. Four commonly applied legal standards for determining decision-making competence are described: abilities to communicate a choice, understand relevant information, appreciate the nature of the situation and its likely consequences, and rationally manipulate information. Previous research related to the capacities of persons with mental illness in relation to these standards is reviewed and critiqued. The principles underlying the design of the MacArthur Treatment Competence Study are described.This work was supported by the Research Network on Mental Health and the Law, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The authors, are grateful to the members of the Network for their assistance in the conceptual development of this project and for their, comments on an earlier draft of this paper: Shirley Abrahamson, Richard Bonnie, Pamela Hyde, John Monahan, Stephen Morse, Ed Mulvey, Loren Roth, Paul Slovic, Henry Steadman, and David Wexler.     

The MacArthur Treatment Competence Study. III

Three instruments assessing abilities related to legal standards for competence to consent to treatment were administered to 6 groups: patients recently hospitalized for schizophrenia, major depression, and ischemic heart disease, as well as three groups of non-ill persons in the community who were matched with the hospitalized patients on age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Significant impairments in decisional abilities were found for only a minority of persons in all groups. Both the schizophrenia and depression groups manifested poorer understanding of treatment disclosures, poorer reasoning in decision making regarding treatment, and a greater likelihood of failing to appreciate their illness or the potential benefits of treatment. Deficits were more pronounced, however, among patients with schizophrenia. Implications are discussed for policy designed to protect the rights and welfare of patients with mental illness who are at risk of incompetent refusal or consent when making treatment decisions.     

The evolution of commitment law in the nineteenth century

The generally accepted interpretation of the evolution of commitment law in the nineteenth century is challenged by means of an historical investigation of the law's development in a single state—Pennsylvania. Rather than an abrupt switch from relaxed commitment procedures to a system of stringent safeguards, which most historical accounts of the period describe, examination reveals that Pennsylvania law underwent a slow accretion of procedural protections, with the essential discretionary role of families, friends, and physicians left undisturbed. The implications for current policy of this challenge to the traditional account are discussed.