Search results

The oath was an institution of fundamental importance across a wide range of social interactions throughout the ancient Greek world, making a crucial contribution to social stability and harmony; yet there has been no comprehensive, dedicated scholarly study of the subject for over a century. This volume of a two-volume study explores the nature of oaths as Greeks perceived it, the ways in which they were used (and sometimes abused) in Greek life and literature, and their inherent binding power. This title was made Open Access by libraries from around the world through Knowledge Unlatched

In the late 1980s, Georgian Svans were first resettled from the highlands of Svaneti to a rather plain region in the south. The resettlement took place because of natural disasters in the 1980s and continued thereafter because of economic problems. In their new environment the Orthodox Svans regularly perform oaths on icons and swear to stand together and to respect their "traditions". Oaths on icons are an important constituent of the Svan traditional law. In so called "Free Svaneti", the oath of unity was until the 19th century an important vow of solidarity. The local segmentary society managed to resist being incorporated into neighbouring principalities and Tsarist Russia. But while the oath of unity in "Free Svaneti" was performed to bind people together in an autonomous region with no central executive, today, in Southern Georgia, the oath binds the people to a mythologised Svaneti. It ties them to a nostalgic conception of their Svan homeland.

I. The wager of law -- Responsibility of the kindred -- The oath and its accessories -- Conjurators, or partakers in the oath -- Selection of compurgators -- Conditions of compurgation -- Formulas and procedure -- Decline of compurgation -- Formulas and procedure -- Decline of compurgation -- Accusatorial conjurators -- II. The wager of battle -- Origin of judicial combat -- Universal use of the judicial combat -- Confidence reposed in the judicial duel -- Limitations imposed on the wager of battle -- Regulations of the judicial combat -- Champions -- Decline of the judicial combat -- The judicial duel and compurgation: Documents in translation

The oath was an institution of fundamental importance across a wide range of social interactions throughout the ancient Greek world, making a crucial contribution to social stability and harmony; yet there has been no comprehensive, dedicated scholarly study of the subject for over a century. This volume of a two-volume study explores the nature of oaths as Greeks perceived it, the ways in which they were used (and sometimes abused) in Greek life and literature, and their inherent binding power. This title was made Open Access by libraries from around the world through Knowledge Unlatched.--Provided by publisher

A new philosophical reflection on the secret and its importance to our contemporary political experienceThe Snowden Affair, Wikileaks, the 'lone wolf' terrorist, Clinton's private email account – the secret is arguably the central element of our contemporary political experience. Now, Charles Barbour looks at the basic ontological question 'what is a secret?'Organised as a reflection on Jacques Derrida's later writings on secrecy, four chapters each look at a separate problematic: society and the oath, literature and testimony, philosophy and deception, and time and death.Barbour shows that secrecy is not a negation of our relations with others, but a necessary condition of those relations. We can only reveal ourselves to one another (and, indeed, to anything other) insofar as we conceal as well.Key FeaturesDevelops a unique reading of the later work of the philosopher Jacques Derrida, particularly his largely overlooked discussions of the secret in his writings and seminarsCompares Derrida's work on the secret with other important political thinkers, including Deleuze, Schmitt, Arendt, Bataille and AgambenDraws parallels with the work of German sociologist Georg Simmel, showing Derrida's significance for sociological thoughtConnects Derrida's work to a series of philosophical debates in the analytic tradition, such as the problems of consciousness, self-deception and other minds

Financial misbehavior is widespread and costly. The Dutch government legally requires every employee in the financial sector to take a Hippocratic oath, the so-called "banker's oath." We investigate whether moral nudges that directly and indirectly remind financial advisers of their oath affect their service. In a large-scale audit study, professional auditors confronted 201 Dutch financial advisers with a conflict of interest. We find that when auditors apply a moral nudge, referring to the banker's oath, advisers are less likely to prioritize bank's interests. In additional prediction tasks, we find that Dutch regulators expect stronger effects of the oath than observed.

Financial misbehavior is widespread and costly. The Dutch government legally requires every employee in the financial sector to take a Hippocratic oath, the so-called ``banker's oath.'' We investigate whether moral nudges that directly and indirectly remind financial advisers of their oath affect their service. In a large-scale audit study, professional auditors confronted 201 Dutch financial advisers with a conflict of interest. We find that when auditors apply a moral nudge, referring to the banker's oath, advisers are less likely to prioritize bank's interests. In additional prediction tasks, we find that Dutch regulators expect stronger effects of the oath than observed.