When the complete human genomehas been sequenced, everyone of us will becomea potential candidate for genetic counselingand testing. Within a short period of timeeveryone will obtain his personal geneticpassport identifying deleterious andsusceptibility genes. With the availability ofpresymptomatic tests for late-onset disordersand the possibilities of prevention andtreatment, the conflict between directivenessand non-directiveness will dominate thecounseling setting. Despite general consent onproviding genetic information in a nondirectivefashion to preserve value neutrality andenhance client's autonomy, there is no acceptedcommon definition of what non-directivenessreally is or (...) ought to be. The article tries toelaborate some aspects which might be fruitfuland clarifying in the complex issues involvedin the black box of genetic counseling. (shrink)

This book explores the implications of agonistic democratic theory for political practice. Fuat Gürsözlü argues that at a time when political parties exacerbate political division, political protesters are characterized as looters and terrorists, and extreme partisanship and authoritarian tendencies are on the rise, the agonistic approach offers a much-needed rethinking of political practice to critically understand challenges to democracy and envision more democratic, inclusive, and peaceful alternatives. Inspired by Chantal Mouffe’s agonistic theory and drawing on insights of other prominent (...) agonistic scholars, Gürsözlü offers a distinctive approach that develops the connections between the agonistic approach and political practice. His main claim is that approaching democratic politics from an agonistic perspective changes the way we understand the nature of democratic society, the place of political protest in democracy, the nature of adversarial engagement, and the democratic function of political parties. The book also advances an account of agonistic peace that is best fitted to the pluralistic and inherently conflictual nature of democratic societies. This book should be of interest to anyone working in the field of contemporary political theory, political philosophy, peace studies, and philosophy of peace. (shrink)

We question the perspective that curiosity and creativity stem from a shared novelty-seeking process. We emphasize that creativity has two distinct dimensions: Novelty and usefulness, each involving separate cognitive processes. These dimensions may not necessarily mutually reinforce each other. We contend that a more comprehensive model that encompasses the full scope of the creativity construct is needed.

Diogenes, Ahead of Print. The Tale of Genji is the probably the earliest prose fiction in the world that still lives today as a masterpiece since the first decade of the 11th century. This 1200-page Japanese classic was written by a noble court woman, Murasaki Shikibu, and it spans almost three quarters of a century. The first part has to do with the life and loves of the nobleman known as “The Shining Genji”, and the final chapters follow the fate (...) and fortunes of the characters that survived after Genji’s death. There have been four English translations of the novel: one partial translation by a Japanese translator and three other complete translations by different English native speakers in the 20th century. This paper studies the Turkish translation process of The Tale of Genji from Edward G. Seidensticker’s English version. It points out the plentitude of potential translation choices and tries to explore the reasons of translators for their decisions. It compares the translators’ strategies and assesses their impact on the meanings and functions of the allusions and the connections between the adopted strategies. (shrink)

The chapter explores Johan Galtung’s theory of cultural violence from the perspective of a hegemony centered account of the social. It argues that once we take hegemony as a central organizing idea of the social, it becomes possible to recognize the limits of Galtung’s account of cultural violence and why his response to it remains weak. It defends a politics of contestation and a politics of disruption as possible ways to counter the risks introduced by cultural violence.

The question of Turkey's membership in the EU has been the subject of debates about the cosmopolitan future of Europe. Using the concept of cosmopolitanism as developed by Beck, Habermas, and Delanty, this article argues that the possibility of an antiontological and multicultural cosmopolitan European community will largely depend on how Europe answers the question of whether Turkey should be granted membership in the EU. Turkey forces a debate on three crucial areas that are directly related to the cosmopolitan future (...) of Europe: (a) Europe's geopolitical place in the global world, (b) postnational forms of a European public sphere, and (c) European identity. The potential for a multicultural and pluralistic cosmopolitanism is a two-way street, and while Turkey's membership will have a transformative impact on the EU, the membership process will also have a similar impact on Turkish democracy and modernity. (shrink)

Most physicians confront the moral and technical challenges of treating persons who are coming to the natural end of their lives. At the level of the health system, this issue becomes a more pressing area for reform as premature death decreases and more people live a full life span. Well-developed countries and international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development have made recommendations for improving healthcare problems in aging societies. Turkey belongs to (...) the WHO and the OECD. This article describes end-of-life healthcare in Turkey, the design of the healthcare system to meet this need, challenges that should be addressed, and solutions that would be appropriate to Turkish culture and resources. (shrink)

As in the Arab and Persian literatures, many works have been written on the education and teaching of tajwīd, which provides the correct reading of the Qurʼān in Islamic Turkish Literature. Works on this subject were written generally as prose. Besides, some of these works were written in verse style because of practical benefits in education. In this context, the work named Ẓafar written by S̲h̲umnulu Ḥilmī Efendi (d. 1200/1785-86), which is one of the poetical tajwīds that has not been (...) studied enough, is one of the works that can be evaluated under a separate title within religious literaty genres such as forty hadith, ʻaqāʼidnāme and s̲h̲urūt al-ṣalāt (pillars or prayer). This study primarily deals with Ḥilmī Efendi’s tajwīd of verse in Turkish, named Ẓafar, with form and content analysis. The aim of the study is to give information about Ḥilmī Efendi, based on his works and to reveal the text of the work named Ẓafar, which has been transcribed. The importance of the study stems from the fact that it will introduce the first Turkish tajwīd written in verse as far as it has been identified and the master of qırāʼat poet author who can be accepted as the founder of this genre.Summary: During the formation of Islamic sciences such as tafsīr, hadīth, kalām, fiḳh, and ḳırāʼat many works related to these sciences were written in Arabic, Persian, and Kurdish languages. After Turks met with Islam, works were written in verse and prose style to learn the al-Ḳurʼān, the hadīth and the sciences that would help to understand these two sources in order to live a true faith and worship life. On the other hand, as a result of the writing of verse works, some literary genres emerged in Turkish Islamic literature. This issue has also been appeared in the science of tajwīd, which is defined as “a set of rules for the correct pronunciation of the letters with all their qualities” and which ensures the Ḳurʼān to be read properly. As a matter of fact, the writing of both prose and verse tajwīd works defined as a religious-literary genre is an indication of this phenomenon. For instance, Tuḥfe-i Şerīfī (S̲h̲erīfī d. 1260/1844) and Naẓmuʼl-Ehem (S̲h̲eyhī d. 1235/1819-20) are examples of verse tajwīd works. In this context, one of the verse tajwīds is Ẓafar, which is defined by his own writer, S̲h̲umnulu Ḥilmī Efendi, as the first work written in this type.The author of the work, Ḥilmī Efendi, lived in Vardar Yenicesi (Giannitsa) for a long time and died in Hijāz in 1200 (1785-86), is one of the 18th century authors and an specialist in the field. In the work named Osmanli Müellifleri (Bursalı Meḥmed Ṭāhir, 1333 / Ottoman Authors) it is stated that he has works named Manẓūm Tajwīd (Ẓafar) and Manẓūm S̲h̲urūt-ı ṣalāt (Naẓm-ı nefīs) and that he wrote death dates with poetry on the gravestones of the grandchildren of G̲h̲āzī Evrenos Bey (d. 820/1417) and an Arabic khatim prayer. Information about Ḥilmī Efendi's personality, educational life, and scientific level could not be found. One of the works of Ḥilmī Efendi is Naẓm-ı nefīs, which was written in 1190/1776-77, and is in the form of S̲h̲urūt-ı ṣalāt. In this work of 125 couplets except for the title of “Tertīb-i Secāvend-i Ḥurūf” (fāʻilātün fāʻilātün fāʻilün) the author used the meter of the fāʻilātün fāʻilātün fāʻilātün fāʻilün and preferred the masnavī as a form of verse. The work consists of a introduction of 9 couplets, a main part of 24 couplets, an addition and conclusion of 3 couplets.Another work of Ḥilmī Efendi is the work called Ẓafar in the form of verse tajwīd, which he wrote on the request of some of his friends and which is the main subject of this study. There is no record of the writing date of this work. This study also includes the transcribed text of the work. However, when considering the period the author lived in and the time of his other work Naẓm-ı nefīs (1190/1776-77) it is estimated that Ẓafar was written after the second half of the 18th century. However no manuscript copy of Ẓafar could be found. Therefore, for the text to be transcribed in this study, the oldest dated and printed copy with Arabic diacritics of the work (Istanbul: Dār at-tıbāʻa al-āmire, 1265) was taken as basis. In this copy, the work was incorrectly named as Tajwīd-i Manẓūm. Also, there are some typographical errors in the headlines or text; these errors were tried to be corrected. It consists of 71 couplets; an introduction and 25 main titles. Ẓafar, written was written in half, full and rich rhyme. In some places, as well as rhyme, redif (repeated voice) created with an appendix or a word was used. The work has a clear, intriguing and narrative language and expression.Traditionally, the author starts his work by praising God, salawat, prayer, followed by a statement about the importance and the provisions of the learning tajwīd. Then the author gives informations about some tajwīd subjects such as ḥarf-i med, sebeb-i med, medd-i muttaṣıl, medd-i munfaṣıl, and so forth.The author bases on the Ḥafṣ narration of the ḳırāʼat of the ʻĀṣım probably because of taking into account the readers. Another point that draws attention in the work is that the tajwīd issues are explained shorter and clearer compared to other verse tajwīds. There are also no secondary topics such as ţūl, tevaṣṣut, ḳaṣr, ḥarf-i muḫaffefe, kelime-i müṡaḳḳale or istiʻāẕe-basmala, states of tā-i teʼnīṡ. To provide an easy memoration Ḥilmī Efendi does not apply the method of formulations of letters corresponding to the bases such as ikhfā, iẓhār as in many other tajwīd Works. Instead, he writes the letters of a specific rule one by one. Additionally, he does not give many examples from Qurʾān verses to consolidate the rules, and sometimes refers only to the surahs. With his work called Ẓafar, the author follows and represents the tradition of religious-literary works in general, and in particular, the tradition of the verse tajwīd. In some verse types of tajwīd works, for example, only subjects of ḳatʻ and vaṣl are discussed, however, in Ẓafar, most rules of tajwīd are included.It can also be said that the work has a special place and importance due to the possibility of being the first text (constituent text) written in verse tajwīd. On the other hand, when considering the conditions of the period and the fact that it was published more than once, it can be stated that Ẓafar was used as a material in educational activities and raised attention. (shrink)

Germany has just started a public debate on priority-setting, rationing and cost-effectiveness due to the cost explosion within the German health care system. To date, the costs for German health care run at 11,6 % of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP, 278,3 billion €) that represents a significant increase from the 5,9 % levels present in 1970. In response, the German Parliament has enacted several major and minor legal reforms over the last three decades for the sake of cost containment (...) and maintaining stability of the health care system. The Statutory Health Insurance—SHI (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung—GKV) is based on the fundamental principle of solidarity and provides an ethical and legal framework for implementing equity, comprehensiveness and setting the principles and rules for financing and providing health care services and benefits. Within the SHI system, several major actors can be identified: the Federal Ministry of Health, the 16 state ministries of health, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), the physicians (with their associations) and the hospitals (with their organizations) on the provider side, and the sickness funds with their associations on the purchasers’ side. This article reviews the structure and complexities of the German health care system with its major players and participants. The focus will be put on relevant ethical, legal and economic aspects for prioritization, rationalization, rationing and cost-effectiveness of medical benefits and services. In conclusion, this article pleads for open discussion on the challenging subject of priority-setting instead of accepting the implicit and non-transparent rationing of medical services that currently occurs at many different levels within the health care system, as it stands today. (shrink)

This is a review article of Texte von Büyükkale aus den Jahren 1957–2002. By Heinrich Otten; Christel Rüster; and Gernot Wilhelm. Keilschrifttexte aus Boghazköi, vol. 47. Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 2005. Pp. xix + 58, illus. €27.

There is a growing body of research on the theory and practice of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). However, relatively little research has been conducted on the extent to which corporations have integrated sustainability principles into the management of their supply chain and the evaluation of supplier performance. The purpose of this article is to explore the extent to which corporate sustainability principles are integrated into supply chain management (SCM) in corporations. Canada is used as a case study in this (...) article. The study included a content analysis of one hundred Canadian corporate sustainable development reports and in-depth interviews with 18 Canadian experts on SSCM. The article highlights the wide array of ways in which Canadian corporations address SSCM issues. Amongst other topics, issues associated with supply chain governance, standards for SSCM, collaboration with suppliers, performance measurement, and accountability within the supply chain are explored. The findings reveal that there are many challenges in integrating sustainability into SCM. These challenges shed light on possible future directions for research in SSCM. This article underlines the need for research that reflects the interconnected nature of the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainability, particularly as it relates to measuring supplier performance on sustainability initiatives. (shrink)

The Triumph of Liberal Democratic Peace and the Dangers of Its Success” provides an overview of the “liberal democratic peace theory” that is associated with Kant and has been developed by Doyle and other contemporary scholars. The chapter examines the problem of wars that are fought in the name of democracy and the way that the liberal democratic peace theory can end up encouraging military interventions. It argues that a careful understanding of the Kantian democratic peace theory can resist the (...) urge to intervene. It employs Galtung’s notion of cultural violence to provide a critique of interventionist peace action. It concludes by advising that we work to find a way to build bridges between democracies and non-democracies. (shrink)

The paper considers the democratic value of the recent public sphere movements—from Occupy Wall Street to Taksim Gezi Park, from Tahrir Square to Sofia. It argues that the mainstream models of democracy fail to grasp the significance of these movements and the emergent political forms within these movements due to their narrow account of politics and democracy. To fully grasp the democratic value of recent public sphere movements, we should approach them from an agonistic perspective. Once democratic politics is viewed (...) from an agonistic perspective, it becomes possible to recognize that while expressing their critique of existing liberal democratic institutions, the recent public sphere movements contested the dominant understanding of democracy and staged an alternative vision of democracy, democratic culture, and new forms of citizenship. (shrink)

In modern logic, each singular term must denote an object in the domain of quantification. This is due to the ontological assumptions of first order quantification logic with identity. However, this results in certain anomalies, i.e. expressibility and validity of inference problems. Free logic is a useful tool to analyze propositions and test the validity of arguments containing empty singular terms which have no referent in the domain of quantification. In this study, we will examine systematic definitions and extensional interpretations (...) of free logics. One of the most promising future orientations of modern logic, free logic as a logic free of existential assumptions, does not take the concept of existence as a logical necessity. Instead, the fundamental assumption is that of ontological possibility, and hence it will be possible for propositions containing empty terms to have extensional interpretations. (shrink)

Definition of the problem: Recently, ”Dolly” has been confirmed by cloning several other mammals. In January 1999 it was even reported that Korean researchers first of all had cloned the first human embryo. In the following article some basic biological and technical aspects of modern cloning strategies, such as embryo splitting and nuclear transplantation, will be described. Subsequently, a short critical analysis will discuss the ethical problem of cloning human beings. Since the German Embryo Protection Act from January 1991 substantial (...) progress in cloning technology has been made, so that the principal question now is whether the Act is still sufficient to forbid human cloning or whether it should be revised. Arguments and conclusion: With advanced technical progress human cloning now seems to be possible. From the ethical point of view, the cloning of human beings should be rejected, as it offends the fundamental value of human dignity. On the other hand, the German Embryo Protection Act is antiquated and does not provide the required protection. This article may stimulate further discussion in the fields of ethics and jurisdiction, especially regarding to the Embryo Protection Act. (shrink)

İslamî ilimlerin eğitim-öğretiminde şiir kullanımının Türk İslam Edebiyatında bir geleneği temsil ettiği söylenebilir. Nitekim ta‘lîm için siyer, hadis, fıkıh, kelam, tasavvuf vb. İslamî ilimlerin konularına dair mensûr olduğu gibi manzûm eserler de telif edilmiştir. Bu durum ise Türk Edebiyatında el-esmâü’l-hüsnâ, siyer, kırk hadîs, akâidnâme gibi bazı manzûm türlerin doğmasını sağlamıştır. Bilinebilen eser sayısı itibariyle Türkçe manzûm tecvîdler de bu türler arasına girmeye aday niteliktedir. Bu bağlamda çalışma; Türkçe manzûm tecvîd müelliflerinden biri olan Şeyhî’nin hayatını ve “Nazmu’l-Ehem fî İlmi’t-Tecvîdi’l-Elzem” adlı eserini (...) konu edinmektedir. Eser; Türkçe manzûm tecvîd yazma geleneğini devam ettirmesi ve türünün başarılı örneklerinden biri olması hasebiyle ayrı bir öneme sahiptir. Çalışma, Nazmu’l-Ehemm ’in tenkitli metin neşrinin yanı sıra eğitim-öğretim faaliyetlerinde yararlanıldığı düşünülen Türkçe manzûm tecvîdlerin işlevini yazar-eser özelinde gün yüzüne çıkarmayı hedeflemektedir. (shrink)

The medical ethics of a physician’s relationship with a prisoner who is participating in a collective hunger strike has become a major public, professional, and governmental concern in The Republic of Turkey. This article examines the Turkish experience and debate about physician ethics during prison hunger strikes. It is hoped that this analysis will be of use to those formulating policy in similar situations.

On 25 April 2002, the German Parliament has passed a strict new law referring to stem cell research. This law took effect on July 1, 2002. The so-called embryonic Stem Cell Act ( Stammzellgesetz — StZG ) permits the import of embryonic stem (ES) cells isolated from surplus IvF-embryos for research reasons. The production itself of ES cells from human blastocysts has been prohibited by the German Embryo Protection Act of 1990, with the exception of the use of ES cells (...) which exist already. The debate on the legitimate use of ES cells escalated, after the main German research funding agency, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), unexpectedly published new guidelines recommending are stricted use of human ES cells for research. Meanwhile, the debate has ethically dividedsociety, political parties, government and church members into a group supporting and a group rejecting ES cell research. The arguments in favour of such a research can be summarized as arguments derived from a new ethics ofhealing calling for a therapeutic imperative, whereas the arguments against can be summarized as arguments violating the fundamental principle of human dignity as they imply the destruction of human embryos. This article willtry to present and evaluate various ethical arguments founded on the latest biological and medical data on the potential use of stem cell technologies. It will finally come to the conclusion that ES cell research is opposed to human dignity, since the procedures of isolating ES cells require the destruction and instrumentalization of human embryos. Human embryos are human beings at a very early stage of their development, fully possessing the ability of completing their development. At this very early stage, human embryos are extremely dependent and fragile, and thus vulnerable corporealities. Vulnerability and human dignity demand the protection of the embryo's corporeal integrity. Hence, this essay will try to propagate research with adult stem(AS) cells, a procedure which does not require the destruction of human embryos; with regard to the necessary plasticity, it should be emphasized that AS cells very much resemble ES cells. (shrink)