A report of a problem-based learning project on the ethics of terminal care, offered as one of the options available to first year MB ChB students in Edinburgh University Medical School. The project formed part of the 'clinical correlation course' in the new curriculum. Six students took part under the supervision of two clinical tutors and a moral philosopher. The course was case-based and practical with students being given the opportunity over a period of eight weeks to meet patients, relatives (...) and hospital staff at a local geriatrics hospital and terminal care home. The main issue studied was the degree of choice available to patients electing to be treated at home, in hospital or in a hospice. Other issues included: pre-death, disposal of the dead, certification of death, communication with relatives and follow-up bereavement services. (shrink)

It may seem strange, in view of the spate of recent literature on the subject, that yet another article should be forthcoming on what is certainly the most familiar, as well as the most vexed, of all Platonic passages. But it is precisely this spate of literature that has impelled me to write. The time seems to have come for an article which, rather than seeking desperately for something new, sets out instead to reaffirm those facts and conclusions that even (...) the most resolutely original of scholars could hardly venture to dispute. This article will therefore be based, not on any of the numerous modern interpretations, but on what Plato himself actually wrote. It will contain a number of tentative suggestions which, to the best of my knowledge, have not been made before. They can, and probably will, be rejected. But its primary purpose remains to restate, whenever possible in Plato's own words, a number of important facts that are at once so simple and so obvious that they seem repeatedly, and especially in recent years, to have been quite forgotten. (shrink)

A brief examination of the self-negating quality of the precautionary principle within the context of environmental ethics, and its consequent failure, as an ethical guide, to justify large-scale regulation of atmospheric cabon dioxide emissions.

A. To Be Is to Be Related. In opposition to a nineteenth century version of atomistic individualism and eighteenth century romanticism, such idealists as T. H. Green, F. H. Bradley, Bernard Bosanquet, and Josiah Royce have contended that individual freedom rises only within an organic whole of some sort. For them the question of human freedom has to do not so much with the issue of the individual vs. society as with the kind of individuals that arise out of the (...) community. Individuals enjoy freedom, not despite the social organism, but in and through it. The idealistic doctrine of “internal relations” is carried into philosophical psychology as well as into social and political philosophy. To be is to be related—that is the idealistic answer to atomistic individualism and ethical egoism. (shrink)

This book is concerned with the relationship between semantics and surface structure and in particular with the way in which each is mapped into the other. Jim Miller argues that semantic and syntactic structure require different representations and that semantic structure is far more complex than many analysts realise. He argues further that semantic structure should be based on notions of location and movement. The need for a semantic component of greater complexity is demonstrated by an examination of prepositions, particles, (...) adverbs and verb-prefixes, and is shown to accord with cross-language and historical facts. The volume goes on to consider the sort of rules that are required to map semantic structures onto syntax. Semantics and Syntax tackles fundamental issues and draws together many of the key concepts of traditional grammar and formal linguistics. The general framework for handling syntax, semantics and morphology that it outlines is perhaps a controversial one, but it will be recognized as challenging and original. (shrink)

The “A-not-B” error is consistent with an old memory principle, Jost's Law. Quantitative properties of the effect can be explained by a dynamic model for habituation that is also consistent with Jost. Piaget was well aware of the resemblance between adult memory errors and the “A-not-B” effect and, contrary to their assertions, Thelen et al.'s analysis of the object concept is much the same as his, though couched in different language.

The author hurries through the classical mathematicians in short order, highlighting their most significant contributions and their indebtedness to other thinkers. Written in a restrained narrative, this book presupposes throughout a detailed knowledge of mathematical concepts and symbolism. Some curious biographical data are included.--J. E. M.

The naturalistic fallacy, properly understood, and the nature of ethical disagreement render classical ethical naturalism untenable. Emotive naturalism, furthermore, overlooks the "semantic dimension" of moral judgments, while logical naturalism fails "genuinely" to produce suppressed imperative premises or to explain away the apparently cognitive nature of the desires and attitudes which present imperatives. Hence, the author has been led by his critical study of naturalism to affirm nonnaturalism in ethics. An interesting final chapter in this resourceful work considers the metaphysical implications (...) of naturalism vis-a-vis nonnaturalism.--J. E. M. (shrink)

The issues between naturalism and subjectivism are brought into sharp focus, mainly through a critical examination of Husserl's phenomenology, with the author defending not only naturalism, but the view that only by a pluralism of methods can an adequate philosophy of experience be attained. Farber criticizes Husserl for failing to recognize that his method, rather than experience itself, generates some of the problems he attempted to solve. The movement from subjectivism to "irrationalism,", is briefly accounted for by considering Heidegger, Jaspers, (...) Marcel and Sartre. An important book, occasionally sardonic and humorous.--J. E. M. (shrink)

According to the author, philosophical anthropology offers the key to better relations among nations, inasmuch as its objective, scientific view of men seen in their cultural contexts eliminates guesswork in the solution of problems arising among conflicting cultures. Brilliantly imaginative yet realistic, Prof. Northrop's theory takes note of the dependency of cultural institutions upon the epistemological orientation of a people towards the facts of physical science. His primary value being world peace, he advocates understanding other peoples through understanding their epistemology. (...) A rare combination of both social science and philosophy, this challenging work includes several reprinted essays.--J. E. M. (shrink)

A parade of personalities, broken occasionally by general statements indicating that the personalities in question were to some extent concerned with philosophical problems. It is hard to know to what audience this book is directed, although Runes in his preface expresses the hope that the readers will be stimulated to delve into the writings of these thinkers. He asserts that "Philosophy is ethics, or it is nothing at all." He singles out three men who have fulfilled his ideal of philosophers: (...) Solomon, Socrates and Spinoza. But this distinction wins for the latter two only a half page of text and three pages of pictures, and for the wise King Solomon, even less attention. Some of the reproductions are quite good.--J. E. M. (shrink)

The author's thesis is that Rousseau is fundamentally a liberal with a streak of totalitarian sentiment. Confusion within Rousseau's thought between freedom and social cohesion, individuality and patriotism, as well as a confusion of moral and political freedom, give rise to the dual emphasis. Although he centers upon a genuine problem for Rousseau, the author fails to recognize the importance of the general will as a means of solving the conflicts he notes.--J. E. B.

Thirteen studies provide a good introduction to some of the leading theorists of the period in question. Despite multiple authorship this book is even in its style and penetration of subject-matter. While the historical authors are frequently allowed to speak for themselves, the present authors have not failed to generalize and evaluate in the interest of clarity. There are 58 pages of notes. --J. E. M.