Conceptions of Virtue
The research line Conceptions of Virtue aims to study in detail ethical theories that present virtue as a normative criterion for action in ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary philosophy, while also establishing a contrast, especially with principled ethical theories. In this sense, special attention will be given to moral conceptions and virtue conceptions of Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, the Stoics, Augustine, Boethius, Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Kant, Mill, Anscombe, Foot, Geach, MacIntyre, Hursthouse, Slote, Baier, and Williams.
Advisors:
- Dr. João Hobuss
- Dr. Manoel Vasconcellos
- Dr. Sérgio Strefling
Foundation and Critique of Morality
The research line Foundation and Critique of Morality initially aims to analyze the foundation of morality in modern thought. Starting from Kant’s project of grounding an autonomous morality, other issues in contemporary ethical thought related to the rational foundation of moral requirements will be investigated. The critiques of Kantian moral foundation developed by Schopenhauer and Nietzsche will also be studied, as well as the contractualist position and English moral utilitarianism.
Advisors:
- Dr. Clademir Araldi
- Dr. Luís Rubira
- Dr. Nuno Castanheira
Law, Society, and State
The research line Law, Society, and State seeks to provide an in-depth study of various themes, such as society and its structures, the historical evolution of law, the role of law in legitimizing the state, the problem of legal order, as well as the concepts of system and legal norm. Additionally, this research line will cover issues related to natural law, jusnaturalism, historicism, contractualism, legal positivism, as well as legal sociology and legal logic/rhetoric. Other relevant topics include: law and dialectics, facticity and validity of law, theories of the state, society and the state, the democratic rule of law, society and social organization, state and domination, culture and society, the law and the limits of the state, types of states, the modern state, constitutionalism in the modern legal order, political law, the legal conception of the state, and finally, law, society, state, and the question of power.
Advisors:
- Dr. Jovino Pizzi
- Dr. Keberson Bresolin
- Dr. Sônia Maria Schio
Moral Epistemology
Moral epistemology is concerned with our moral knowledge, the issue of its justification (whether such justification is possible and what the most consistent justificatory models are). In this sense, several theories fall within moral epistemology, including foundationalist, cognitivist, non-cognitivist, coherentist, intuitionist, rationalist, skeptical, naturalist, internalist, and externalist theories, among others. However, they all share the common goal of discussing the justifiability (or lack thereof) of our everyday moral judgments. After all, we frequently make moral judgments based on certain intuitions about what would be morally appropriate to do in a given situation. The question that moral epistemology poses is: how can we justify such judgments, especially in concrete situations where disagreements may arise? Moreover, it asks about the very possibility of such justification.
Advisors:
- Dr. Evandro Barbosa
- Dr. Juliano do Carmo
- Dr. Robinson dos Santos
