Medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) support patients and clinicians by streamlining legal and medical care and helping identify and address a subset of social drivers of health (SDOH). Less is known on the effect of MLPs on the competency of residents regarding SDOH. The aim of this study was to identify how integration of an MLP into a pediatric residency training program affected residents’ experience understanding and addressing SDOH.

Elementary set theory accustoms the students to mathematical abstraction, includes the standard constructions of relations, functions, and orderings, and leads to a discussion of the various orders of infinity. The material on logic covers not only the standard statement logic and first-order predicate logic but includes an introduction to formal systems, axiomatization, and model theory. The section on algebra is presented with an emphasis on lattices as well as Boolean and Heyting algebras. Background for recent research in natural language semantics (...) includes sections on lambda-abstraction and generalized quantifiers. Chapters on automata theory and formal languages contain a discussion of languages between context-free and context-sensitive and form the background for much current work in syntactic theory and computational linguistics. The many exercises not only reinforce basic skills but offer an entry to linguistic applications of mathematical concepts. For upper-level undergraduate students and graduate students in theoretical linguistics, computer-science students with interests in computational linguistics, logic programming and artificial intelligence, mathematicians and logicians with interests in linguistics and the semantics of natural language. (shrink)

This work runs counter to the traditional interpretations of Peirce's philosophy by eliciting an inherent strand of pragmatic pluralism that is embedded in the very core of his thought and that weaves his various doctrines into a systematic ...

While discussions of the imagination have been limited in philosophy of science, this is beginning to change. In recent years, a vast literature on imagination in science has emerged. This paper surveys the current field, including the changing attitudes towards the scientific imagination, the fiction view of models, how the imagination can lead to knowledge and understanding, and the value of different types of imagination. It ends with a discussion of the gaps in the current literature, indicating avenues for future (...) research. (shrink)

Those who wish to defend the role of aesthetic values in science face a dilemma: Either aesthetic language is used metaphorically for what are ultimately epistemic features, or aesthetic language is used literally but it is difficult to see the importance of such values in science. I introduce a new account that gets around this problem by looking to an overlooked source of aesthetic value in science: the relation between form and content. I argue that a fit between the content (...) of a thought experiment, and the way in which that content is formulated, can have important epistemic pay offs through contributing to scientific understanding. (shrink)

Although machine intelligence is increasingly employed in healthcare, the realm of decision-making in medical ethics remains largely unexplored from a technical perspective. We propose an approach based on fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs), which builds on Beauchamp and Childress’ prima-facie principles. The FCM’s weights are optimized using a genetic algorithm to provide recommendations regarding the initiation, continuation, or withdrawal of medical treatment. The resulting model approximates the answers provided by our team of medical ethicists fairly well and offers a high degree (...) of interpretability. Possible applications of such a system include informal guidance on medical ethics dilemmas as well as educational purposes. (shrink)

A conception of probability that can be traced back to Johannes von Kries is introduced: the “Spielraum” or range conception. Its close connection to the so-called method of arbitrary functions is highlighted. Possible interpretations of it are discussed, and likewise its scope and its relation to certain current interpretations of probability. Taken together, these approaches form a class of interpretations of probability in its own right, but also with its own problems. These, too, are introduced, discussed, and proposals in response (...) to them are surveyed, some of which also go back to von Kries. (shrink)

It is well‐established within linguistics that slang serves a group‐identifying function. In this paper, a new understanding of the notion of lexical metadata is developed to provide a philosophical treatment of said function. The proposed account explains the group‐identifying function of slang in terms of certain inferences about a speaker's group affiliations that people competent with a slang word will be disposed to make given the lexical metadata related to the word in question. The resulting view is theoretically simple and (...) may extend to a whole range of linguistic phenomena that speakers utilize to position themselves in social space. (shrink)

The threat from possible future superintelligent AI has given rise to discussion of the so-called “value alignment problem”. This is the problem of how to ensure artificially intelligent systems align with human values, and thus (hopefully) mitigate risks associated with them. Naturally, AI value alignment is often discussed in relation to morally relevant values, such as the value of human lives or human wellbeing. However, solutions to the value alignment problem target all human values, not only morally relevant ones. Is (...) there a value alignment problem in other domains? In this paper, I explore whether the AI value alignment problem extends beyond morally relevant values to include aesthetic values. I demonstrate that the value alignment problem as typically framed includes aesthetic values, and, using examples from computer vision, put forward that AI may be misaligned with human values in the artistic realm. Whilst misalignment may be cause for concern when considering AI creativity, I argue that aesthetic value is a case in which we do not want AI to be fully aligned with human values. In doing so, I offer support to Peterson’s moderate value alignment thesis. (shrink)

In this short essay, I suggest a few specific ways in which criminal law exceptionalism has shaped the theory and practice of criminal law. First, criminal law exceptionalism isolates criminal theory from legal theory more generally, with the result that criminal theorists often miss insights from other legal fields. Relatedly but more broadly, criminal law exceptionalism can make sociology, psychology, history, and political theory invisible or seemingly irrelevant to criminal theory. Together, these two forms of scholarly insularity put criminal theory (...) (or criminal theorists) into a silo in which the political, social, and historical contexts of actual criminal legal practices disappear from view. Ultimately, the siloed thinking of criminal law exceptionalism makes it difficult or impossible to contemplate a world without criminal law. Thus criminal law exceptionalism does its ideological work: it produces and reinforces the belief that criminal law is indispensable, a belief that in turn motivates policy choices and informs legal practices. (shrink)

In June 2024, NPR News reported on the story of Sun Kai, who created an AI driven avatar of his dead mother (voice, image, and likeness), that he converses with daily. A similar company, Super Brai...

The impact of the Holocaust on the descendants of survivors and the ways in which they embrace, embody and memorialise their family histories is the subject of this paper. The paper explores intergenerational storytelling and silences about the Holocaust through the lens of the number that was tattooed on the bodies of inmates in the Auschwitz complex and has been replicated on the bodies of some survivor descendants. The number has become a symbol of the crimes of the Holocaust though (...) its meaning has changed during different periods of Holocaust remembrance. Using the genealogy of the tattoo, this paper explores its meaning in relation to private and public memorialisation for the descendants of survivors living in Israel who have replicated the number on their own body. An earlier version of this paper was presented in December 2020 at La Trobe University’s Agnes Heller Annual Sociology Lecture. (shrink)

Chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) represents a highly prevalent and significant clinical problem. Both major and minor surgeries entail risks of developing CPSP, and cancer-related surgery is no exception. As an example, more than 40% of women undergoing breast cancer surgery struggle with CPSP years after surgery. While we do not fully understand the pathophysiology of CPSP, we know it is multifaceted with biological, social, and psychological factors contributing. The aim of this review is to advocate for the role of response (...) outcome expectancies in the development of CPSP following breast cancer surgery. We propose the Cognitive Activation Theory of Stress (CATS) as an applicable theoretical framework detailing the potential role of cortisol regulation, inflammation, and inflammatory-induced sickness behavior in CPSP. Drawing on learning theory and activation theory, CATS offers psychobiological explanations for the relationship between stress and health, where acquired expectancies are crucial in determining the stress response and health outcomes. Based on existing knowledge about risk factors for CPSP, and in line with the CATS position, we propose the SURGEry outcome expectancy (SURGE) model of CPSP. According to SURGE, expectancies impact stress physiology, inflammation, and fear-based learning influencing the development and persistence of CPSP. SURGE further proposes that generalized response outcome expectancies drive adaptive or maladaptive stress responses in the time around surgery, where coping dampens the stress response, while helplessness and hopelessness sustains it. A sustained stress response may contribute to central sensitization, alterations in functional brain networks and excessive fear-based learning. This sets the stage for a prolonged state of inflammatory-induced sickness behavior – potentially driving and maintaining CPSP. Finally, as psychological factors are modifiable, robust and potent predictors of CPSP, we suggest hypnosis as an effective intervention strategy targeting response outcome expectancies. We here argue that presurgical clinical hypnosis has the potential of preventing CPSP in women with breast cancer. (shrink)

Objective: To examine i) how ethical frameworks can be used in concrete cases of parent–doctors’ disagreements for extremely preterm infants born in the grey zone to guide such difficult decision-making; and ii) what challenges stakeholders may encounter in using these frameworks. Design: We did a case analysis of a concrete case of parent–doctor disagreement in the grey zone using two ethical frameworks: the best interest standard and the zone of parental discretion. Results: Both ethical frameworks entailed similar advantages and challenges. (...) They have the potential 1) to facilitate decision-making because they follow a structured method; 2) to clarify the situation because all relevant ethical issues are explored; and 3) to facilitate reaching an agreement because all parties can explain their views. We identified three main challenges. First, how to objectively evaluate the risk of severe disability. Second, parents’ interests should be considered but it is not clear to what extent. Third, this is a value-laden situation and different people have different values, meaning that the frameworks are at least partially subjective. Conclusions: These challenges do not mean that the ethical frameworks are faulty; rather, they reflect the complexity and the sensitivity of cases in the grey zone. (shrink)

Artificial placentas (APs) are technologies that mimic the human placenta to treat extremely preterm infants. Being an invasive and risky technology, it will raise important ethical questions for human trials. Hence, in this Topic Piece we provide a blueprint of further issues to investigate. First, counselling will have the double role of providing trial information as well as (non) treatment counselling. This requires extra training and the development of ad hoc decision aids to support counselling and parents’ decision-making. Second, more (...) stakeholder involvement is needed. Direct stakeholders, such as parents, clinicians, and researchers, can help develop the decision aids and provide insight on potentially overlooked issues. Society should also be involved to determine whether AP trials and implementation should be subsidized, and the ethical implications of not subsidizing. Third, a proper cost-benefit analysis should be conducted to determine the exact cost of the technology. (shrink)

Maternal fetal surgery (MFS) trials have the potential to substantially increase the survival and quality of life of fetuses with life-threatening conditions, but they also entail relevant and yet overlooked fair access challenges. In this topic piece, we will present the fair access concerns in MFS trials/practice and their ethical ramifications as well as some possible ways to address them. The most obvious challenge is cost. Although the cost of the surgery itself is generally covered, costs are high for participants, (...) including commute or housing near the hospital. This might hinder participations of parents from lower economic status. Strict eligibility criteria aimed at protecting participants further limit accessibility. These issues further affect the scientific validity of the trial. For example, the above-mentioned issues contribute to difficulties in recruitment which already lead to MFS trials delays and cancellations. They also contributed to homogeneous samples that are difficult to generalize. Hence, it is important that researcher first acknowledge the existence of fair access issues beyond those related to the cost of the surgery itself and that these issues affect participants’ right to fair access to the trial benefits as well as the scientific validity of the trial. Second, it is important that researchers actively try to foresee and reduce these issues. (shrink)

Volume 25, Issue 2, February 2025, Page 1-2.

Le Canada s’est historiquement appuyé sur un système de comités ad hoc pour l’orientation éthique de la santé publique et de la politique scientifique, contrairement à l’approche plus centralisée de plus de 140 pays dans le monde. En s’appuyant sur des entretiens avec des responsables de tout le pays, nous proposons ici une perspective sur l’impératif et une stratégie pour un Conseil de bioéthique coordonné pour le Canada, structuré pour assurer une réflexion proactive, fournir des réponses rapides et engager le (...) public sur des questions urgentes de bioéthique concernant la santé et le bien-être des Canadiens. (shrink)

Recent discussions about the affective dimension of democracy have said too little about the way in which disempowered citizens can sustain their struggles in the face of adversity. This article develops a theory about democratic resilience of disempowered citizens by turning to the theory of aggression and play of Donald Winnicott. Drawing on Winnicott, I argue that resilience depends on a capacity to mourn, a capacity for dissent, and a capacity to invent new techniques for interaction. Yet, we need also (...) think beyond Winnicott and investigate how these capacities are radically transformed by democratic struggles. This allows us to see that democratic struggles can open up new possibilities for facing adversity but that they can also undermine resilience by developing rigid attachments to strategies of resilience. I conclude with a preliminary discussion of how democratic struggles might undo a tendency to rigidity. (shrink)

The major goal of René Descartes’s rich and penetrating recent book, Meditations on First Philosophy, is to develop a methodology for the discovery of the truth, more specifically, a methodology that accommodates the dictates of a mathematical physics for our view of physical reality. Such a methodology must accordingly deal with and seek to defuse the apparent conflict between a mathematical physics and our commonsense picture of things, a conflict that continues to pose difficult challenges. Though much in the book (...) is devoted to an account of the mind, that focus results from the broader goal of finding a methodology for discovery that will deliver an overall picture of reality consonant with a mathematical physics. Much that Descartes says in this book may strike many readers as extravagant and implausible, and perhaps hardly worth serious consideration. But there is a line of argument one can extract that is challenging and often compelling, even if not in the end wholly convincin .. (shrink)

Nirvana is often considered the quintessential goal of the Buddhist path. In this article, I focus on one aspect of the conceptualization of nirvana that becomes apparent through an analysis of its occurrence in early Indian epigraphy. Surveying pre-Gupta inscriptions, it becomes clear that the aspiration for nirvana has one recurring feature attached to it; the aspiration of the donor for the attainment of nirvana — whether for themselves or others — occurs when the donation is connected in some way (...) or another to the relics or figural or non-figural representations of the historical Buddha. This suggests that the idea of being in the Buddha’s presence grew in importance in relation to the efficacy of religious practice in this period. The same ideas can be seen emerging in the later canonical Pali Apadana, and connect to developments in the emergence of Mahayana. (shrink)

En racontant de très belle manière la vie de Madame Luce, enseignante française et arabophone dans l’Algérie de la fin du xixe siècle, Rebecca Rogers enrichit les travaux, de plus en plus nombreux, sur les Européennes installées dans la colonie dans les premières décennies de la colonisation. Centré sur une femme ordinaire, qui a laissé peu de traces dans les archives publiques, ce travail est en réalité une étude plus large, consacrée à l’histoire sociale des changements de pratiques éducati...

In this article, the author proposes to reconstruct Kant's "transcendental deduction" without in any way making use of the results of the so-called "metaphysical" one. His suggestion is that what Kant baptizes "pure concepts" or "categories" are in fact not "concepts" at all, strictly speaking, but rather the very forms of judgment from which these "concepts" were supposed to have been derived in the "metaphysical deduction". The task of the "transcendental" deduction is, then, to show that such forms of judgment (...) can legitimately be applied to empirical contents: to demonstrate, in other words, the possibility of empirical knowledge. (shrink)

I want to imagine an alternate universe with you—if only for a moment. One in which there were no clones. A universe free of cloning. One that simply did not have to worry itself with the moral, ethical, religious, legal, scientific, medical, economic, or philosophical questions surrounding what it is to clone; who or what ought or ought not to be cloned; what is and is not clonable; or with clonality in general. A clone-less or clone-free world, then, though not (...) necessarily one without tropical storms, or cyclones. A-clonal, un-clonable, in-clonate. What would this universe look like? Would such a universe appear in the same light as it does today? Would this be anything less than another universe, that is, a... (shrink)

This is the first book to offer the best essays, articles, and speeches on ethics and intelligence that demonstrate the complex moral dilemmas in intelligence collection, analysis, and operations. Some are recently declassified and never before published, and all are written by authors whose backgrounds are as varied as their insights, including Robert M. Gates, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; John P. Langan, the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Professor of Catholic Social Thought at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown (...) University; and Loch K. Johnson, Regents Professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia and recipient of the Owens Award for contributions to the understanding of U.S. intelligence activities. Creating the foundation for the study of ethics and intelligence by filling in the gap between warfare and philosophy, this is a valuable collection of literature for building an ethical code that is not dependent on any specific agency, department, or country. (shrink)