As we all know from our daily experience of waking and sleeping, consciousness exists on a graded scale. Generally, both too much or too little activation of the cerebral cortex prevents conscious awareness. Objective measurements, for example via electroencephalography, of ongoing or stimulus-evoked or internally initiated neural activities in the cerebral cortex are possible. These neural activities can be related to the actual presence or absence or levels of consciousness in a person even when a person appears to be unconscious, for example after cardiac arrest or during the process of dying. Brain-wave activity during clinical death and resuscitation can be measured and compared with brain-wave activity in altered states of consciousness and normal conscious wakefulness.

The Grandee and Agitator factions of Cromwell’s New Model Army debate what is to come after the English Revolution. Equality, government by consent, and the artificial nature of property are agreed. Disagreement centers on the property qualification for the vote, and the role of natural rights.

Rawls’s primary aim was to show that his two principles are superior to utilitarianism. Utilitarianism does not take individuals seriously, treating them as mere “container persons” in the “calculus of social interests.” Rawls emphasized that the original position was one of uncertainty, not mere risk. Harsanyi had earlier derived the utilitarian principle from an original position much like Rawls’s. The difference was that Rawls applied the maximin principle of choice under uncertainty, which picks the option having the least bad worst outcome. Harsanyi instead assumed the equiprobability of all outcomes and maximized expected utility. Rawls recognized that maximin is not a good choice strategy in general use, but argued that special features of the original position favored it over the equiprobability assumption. Chief among these are those that he argued establish the lexical priority of the equal basic liberties. In the 1999 revision of A Theory of Justice, Rawls recast the argument by appealing to two moral powers – a capacity to share a sense of justice and a capacity to choose and revise one’s life plan – and a highest-order interest in setting one’s own aims and in shaping the social world in which they must be pursued.

This chapter outlines the critical actions needed to combat climate change, drawing on perspectives from leaders such as Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General. It emphasises the necessity of international cooperation, robust policy frameworks, and significant investment in the green economy. The chapter highlights successful strategies, such as renewable energy initiatives in Germany, demonstrating the potential for coordinated global efforts to make substantial progress. Comprehensive emissions reduction plans and adaptation strategies are discussed, providing a detailed roadmap for urgent and effective climate action. The chapter underscores the importance of political will, financial commitment, and community engagement in achieving these goals, while pointing towards the CVF-V20’s solution that could solve both climate finance and economic vulnerability: supporting the Climate Prosperity Plans.

Responding to India's continuing employment crisis, despite high rates of economic growth, the Skill India policy enacted in 2009, and re-enacted in 2014 as the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), was designed to train both rural and urban youth, who have high school diplomas or college degrees, in vocational skills. Skirting the issue of the lack of growth of jobs in India, the purpose of Skill India was to prepare a young workforce to meet the needs of the emerging urban economy, particularly the service sector, which leads economic growth in the current phase. This paradigm of creating a workforce, rather than work, speaks to several critical debates framing India's development; thus, a central question that has been asked is, can services indeed lead to growth in the context of a labour surplus economy? This question becomes moot given that the growth of jobs in services has been mainly in the lower rungs, or in low-value-added work. Service jobs at lower levels are typically in the informal sector with low salaries and unprotected tenures. Finally, if skills are seen as the bridge that will bring unemployed rural youth into the fold of cities, the validity of this vision is deeply challenged given the low quality of jobs and lives that the urban informal sector offers, often compelling young men and women to return to their villages. Youth have turned their backs on agriculture but remain deeply connected to their rural roots, not only as home but as a possible place from where better lives can be built if sustainable work can be found. It is in this space that the Skill India policy falters.