Global Ethics and Moral Responsibility

John-Stewart Gordon is W1 Professor of Anthropology and Ethics in Rehabilitation Sciences and Co-Director of the Hans Jonas Research Centre at Cologne University. Furthermore, he holds a permanent Visiting Professorship in Philosophy at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania. He is a member of the Board of ’Bioethics' as well as area editor and board member of the Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. He has published several books and numerous articles on the subject of practical philosophy. Professor Holger Burckhart is President of the University of Siegen. He is Chairman of the accreditation agency (AQAS) for accrediting courses for study at German universities. He is a board member of the Hans Jonas Research Centre, Berlin, and Director of the Hans Jonas Institute, University of Cologne. He is a Fellow of the IZA - Institute for the Study of Labour. His research in practical philosophy focuses on the general philosophy of science, transcendental philosophy, philosophy of language, and philosophy of educational theory concerning special education issues. He is co-editor of ’Kritische Hans Jonas Werkausgabe' (critical Hans Jonas edition).

Contents: Introduction, John-Stewart Gordon, Holger Burckhart and Paula Segler. Part 1 The Philosophy of Hans Jonas: Responsibility today: the ethics of an endangered future, Hans Jonas; Moral responsibility for the preservation of humankind, Walter A. Weisskopf; Ethics of responsibility: discourse-ethical perspective of the justification problem, Holger Burckhart. Part 2 Human Nature and the Imperative of Responsibility: Is ageing a gift? Bioconservatism and the ethics of gratitude, Lawrence Vogel; Some paradoxes linked to risk moderation, Nathalie Frogneux; Inclusion - a moral imperative, but also socially desired? An essay in the ethics of responsibility, Holger Burckhart and John-Stewart Gordon. Part 3 On religion, Ethics and Natural Philosophy: God in the world of Man: Hans Jonas’ philosophy of religion, Michael Bongardt. Part 4 The Ethics of Technology and Moral Responsibility: What is natural about natural functioning? Examining an indirect argument in favour of teleological naturalism, Micha H. Werner; Ethics for the technoscientific age: on Hans Jonas’ argumentation and his public philosophy beyond disciplinary boundaries, Jan C. Schmidt; Ethics and responsibility in a technological age, David J. Levy; Refined Marxism and moral enhancement, John-Stewart Gordon. Bibliography of Hans Jonas’ works; Index.