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Contested Concept (contested + concept)
Selected AbstractsLove as a Contested ConceptJOURNAL FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, Issue 3 2006RICHARD PAUL HAMILTON Theorists about love typically downplay the scale of persistent and possibly intractable disagreement about love. Where they have considered such disagreements at all, they have tended to treat them as an example of the lack of clarity surrounding the concept of love, a problem which can be resolved by philosophical analysis. In doing so, they invariably slip into prescriptive mode and offer moral injunctions in the guise of conceptual analyses. This article argues for philosophical modesty. I propose that the starting point of any coherent philosophical investigation of love must be a willingness to take our disagreements seriously. These disagreements stem from profound moral differences: we disagree about love inasmuch as we disagree about how we should properly treat one another. With a series of examples drawn from philosophy, literature and real life I attempt to illustrate some of the disagreements that arise in relation to erotic love. Drawing upon the work of Wittgenstein, Friedrich Waissman and W.B. Gallie, I suggest that any robust theory of love needs to take account of its contestable nature and the integral role it plays in our moral life. [source] Narratives of ,green' consumers , the antihero, the environmental hero and the anarchistJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 1 2009Minna Autio Environmental policy makers and marketers are attracted by the notion of green consumerism. Yet, green consumerism is a contested concept, allowing for a wide range of translations in everyday discursive practices. This paper examines how young consumers construct their images of green consumerism. It makes a close reading of three narratives reflecting available subject positions for young green consumers: the Antihero, the Environmental Hero and the Anarchist. It reveals problems in the prevailing fragmented, gendered and individualistic notions of green consumerism, and discusses implications for policy and marketing practitioners. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Moving beyond clarity: towards a thin, vague, and useful understanding of spirituality in nursing careNURSING PHILOSOPHY, Issue 4 2010John Swinton RMN RNMD BD PhD Abstract Spirituality is a highly contested concept. Within the nursing literature, there are a huge range and diversity of definitions, some of which appear coherent whereas others seem quite disparate and unconnected. This vagueness within the nursing literature has led some to suggest that spirituality is so diverse as to be meaningless. Are the critics correct in asserting that the vagueness that surrounds spirituality invalidates it as a significant aspect of care? We think not. It is in fact the vagueness of the concept that is its strength and value. In this paper, we offer a critique of the general apologetic that surrounds the use of the language of spirituality in nursing. With the critics, we agree that the term ,spirituality' is used in endlessly different and loose ways. Similarly, we agree that these varied definitions may not refer to constant essences or objects within people or in the world. However, we fundamentally disagree that this makes spirituality irrelevant or of little practical utility. Quite the opposite; properly understood, the vagueness and lack of clarity around the term spirituality is actually a strength that has powerful political, social, and clinical implications. We develop an understanding of spirituality as a way of naming absences and recognizing gaps in healthcare provision as well as a prophetic challenge to some of the ways in which we practise health care within a secular and sometimes secularizing context such as the National Health Service. [source] Mad Cows and Mad Money: Problems of Risk in the Making and Understanding of Policy1BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2004Martin J. Smith Risk is now being widely used both as a way of understanding policy and decision-making, and as a way of making decisions. However, there is little agreement on how risk is defined. For some risk is objective and measurable, while for others risk is subjective. What this article demonstrates is that because risk is a contested concept, it is extremely difficult to use it either as a tool for analysing government or for making decisions. In their different ways both scientists and social theorists assume an objectivity to risk. However, risk is not objective but contingent, and depends on decisions that are often related to issues of power. Consequently both governments and analysts are caught between matching subjective and political notions of risk with objective risk assessment. Two case studies are used, BSE in cows and British exchange rate policy, to demonstrate the difficulties in using risk as a way of analysing the policy process and for making decisions. [source] Developing a global approach to the theory and practice of young people leaving state careCHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 3 2006John Pinkerton ABSTRACT This paper argues that globalization, although needing to be recognized as a highly complex phenomenon and a contested concept, should become part of the debate about improving the life chances of young people leaving care. Understanding globalization is essential to developing the effective strategies of engagement and resistance needed to address the social exclusion of these young people. Consideration is given to the considerable difficulties faced in moving from that general recognition to a sufficiently nuanced view of the impact of globalization on care leaving required as the basis for action. Existing approaches to promoting international exchange and understanding are discussed and a conceptual model presented as the means to start the work of identifying how the needs of care leavers are assessed and met in different national contexts. It is suggested that by identifying patterns of cross-national similarities and differences, it will become possible to understand and to engage with the processes and institutions of globalization. An international theoretical and practice agenda are proposed appropriate to the present early stage in ensuring that globalization works for and not against the interests of care leavers. [source] | ||||||||||