The timely feature article by van der Pijl et al 1 highlights not only the widespread frequency with which unconsented episiotomies and other procedures during labour are reported by women but also that there is hardly any discussion in the literature on the ethics of consent for procedures in labour. Those national and international bodies with responsibility for midwifery and obstetric practice need not only to recognise but also act to remedy this unacceptable situation. The studies quoted used the recollection (...) of women in reporting consent or lack of it and, although this is an entirely appropriate measure, it gives no insight into what, if any, informed decision-making the care providers carried out. Such information would be useful to determine how better practice might be achieved. A study into the practice of episiotomies by Dutch midwives and obstetricians is referred to and is not reassuring.2 They frequently expressed surprise that consent should be necessary and women were minimally involved in the decision for performing episiotomy. This and other examples quoted of lack of valid consent have a corrosive effect on the fundamental but fragile trust and necessary trustworthiness of the relationship between the person being cared for …. (shrink)

Jakob von Uexküll developed his core ideas on Umwelt, inner world, counter world, and the functional circle over 100 years ago. While they influenced the early ethologists and phenomenologists, the full import of his ideas were either not recognized or were ignored for various reasons. In the case of ethology, proponents such as Nikolaas Tinbergen were under the sway of behaviorism and the denial that the experiential worlds of animals could be studied objectively with the tools of science. The role (...) of salient sensory cues in serving as _signs_ in the performance of instinctive behaviors and conditioning was accepted, and it is now evident that such studies actually provide a window to the ‘private experiences’ of other species. In this somewhat autobiographical paper I discuss how the early writings of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, prior to reading von Uexküll, compared to his views and those of contemporary ethologists and comparative psychologists. I conclude that all phenomenology is actually _heterophenomenology_, and that phenomenologists need to have more personal experience studying animal behavior and incorporate a _critical anthropomorphism_ in resolving discrepancies and contradictions concerning the mental lives of species. This paper begins an attempt to use Umwelt theory and the functional circle as an effective scaffolding for integrating the behavioral sciences, including philosophy, across species. Interacting functional circles and Umwelten are essential for understanding social behavior. Interspecific animal play is introduced as a challenging and important topic for biosemioticians and phenomenologists to explore. (shrink)

Book reviewed in this article: Animal Consciousness. By Daisie Radner and Michael Radner The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain and Science. By Bernard E. Rollin.

Penn et al. do not demonstrate Darwin made a mistake, because they largely ignore the semantics underlying the meanings of and An analysis based on the work of Mortimer Adler shows such terminology conflates at least three different meanings of only one of which challenges Darwin – and one which the authors almost certainly would reject.We must also admit that there is a much wider interval in mental power between one of the lowest fishes, as a lamprey or lancelet, and (...) one of the higher apes, than between an ape and man; yet this immense interval is filled with numberless gradations.;>. (shrink)

Posner & Raichle's (1994) exciting, wonderfully illustrated book describes the past successes and future potential of the relatively noninvasive imaging of the nervous systems of living people. The focus has been on cognitive processes but there is no reason why emotional and motivational systems cannot also be tapped. Although the authors do not formally address such contentious issues as consciousness and the private experience of other species, imaging methods may hold promise for helping us to understand these phenomena, as well (...) as to integrate psychological processes into ethological and phylogenetic research in general. (shrink)

Teaching and learning of medical ethics and law are at the heart of medical education because they are integral to all clinical encounters and public health interventions, and a foundation in medical ethics and law is essential for students to become virtuous doctors. The first model curriculum for medical ethics and law within medical education in the UK, published in 1998, has recently been reviewed and updated. Now called a core content of learning, it emphasizes that teaching and learning of (...) medical ethics and law should be attuned to the students' needs appropriate both to their particular stage of training and to relevant specialty-specific ethical issues; is a shared obligation of all teachers throughout the course; and should be integrated vertically and horizontally throughout the whole medical curriculum. The General Medical Council and the British Medical Association have confirmed that the revised core content of learning is consistent with their guidance on undergraduate education. (shrink)

The metaphor drug model of money slights the possibility that money may literally tap into and exploit brain systems underlying motivational systems, and it also ignores growing evidence on the common neural substrates of behavioral and “physiological” addictions. Additionally, many objects other than money can gain such drug-like properties. The treatment of play in the evolutionary explanation for the unique role of money in people ignores key conceptual and empirical issues. (Published Online April 5 2006).