Immediately after the publication of Darwin's book on the origin of species, Engels, having familiarized himself with it, wrote to Marx on December 12, 1859: "All in all, Darwin, whom I am reading right now, is superb. Teleology had hitherto not yet been destroyed in one of its aspects, and now this has been done. Moreover, hitherto there has never been so sweeping an attempt to prove historical development in nature, especially with such success." Soon Marx enlarged upon the evaluation (...) of Darwinism. In his letter of December 19, 1860, he commented that this theory "provides a foundation in natural history for our views." It is therefore no accident that Engels, in developing the principles of dialectical materialism and problems of the dialectics of nature, interested himself so deeply and comprehensively in the theory of evolution. (shrink)

Narrative ethics taps into an inherent human need to tell our own stories centred on our own moral values and to have those stories heard and acknowledged. However, not everyone’s words are afforded equal power. The use of narrative ethics in bioethical decision-making is problematized by a disparity in whose stories are told, whose stories are heard, and whose stories are believed. Here, I conduct an analysis of narrative ethics through a critical theory lens to show how entrenched patterns of (...) narrative neglect in medicine are harming not only our capacity to make use of narrative ethics but also our capacity to deliver effective healthcare. To illustrate this point, I use three examples where the patient’s gender affects how their stories unfold: autism, weight, and pain management. From these, I argue that the use of narrative ethics without the application of a critical theory lens risks the exacerbation of what Miranda Fricker refers to as “testimonial injustice,” the prima facie harm experienced by individuals whose credibility is undermined by others’ prejudices. Finally, I suggest that narrative ethics can be a powerful tool for mitigating oppressive practices in medicine if we couple it with critical analysis that enables us to understand the power dynamics at play in storytelling. (shrink)

Objective To study how doctors care for their patients, both medically and as fellow humans, through observing their conduct in patient–doctor encounters. Design Qualitative study in which 101 videotaped consultations were observed and analysed using a Grounded Theory approach, generating explanatory categories through a hermeneutical analysis of the taped consultations. Setting A 500-bed general teaching hospital in Norway. Participants 71 doctors working in clinical non-psychiatric departments and their patients. Results The doctors were concerned about their patients' health and how their (...) medical knowledge could be of service. This medical focus often over-rode other important aspects of the consultations, especially existential elements. The doctors actively directed the focus away from their patients' existential concerns onto medical facts and rarely addressed the personal aspects of a patient's condition, treating them in a biomechanical manner. At the same time, however, the doctors attended to their patients with courteousness, displaying a polite and friendly attitude and emphasising the relationship between them. Conclusions The study suggests that the main failing of patient–doctor encounters is not a lack of courteous manners, but the moral offence patients experience when existential concerns are ignored. Improving doctors' social and communication skills cannot resolve this moral problem, which appears to be intrinsically bound to modern medical practice. Acknowledging this moral offence would, however, be the first step towards minimising the effects thereof. (shrink)

Philosophy of history; the idea of the not-being and the history, by K. M. Jamil.--Philosophy of history, by Khwaja Ashkar Husain.--Philosophy of history, by A. H. Kamali.--Philosophy of history, by B. H. Siddiqi.--Philosophy of history: explanation in history, by Kazi A. Kadir.

Haydar el-Herevî Horasan’dan Osmanlı topraklarına gelen önemli âlimlerdendir. Teftâzânî’nin şeçkin bir talebesi olan bu âlim I. Mehmed’ten büyük saygı görerek onun tarafından himaye edilmiştir. Herevî, Zemahşerî’nin el-Keşşâf’ı üzerine yazdığı şerhi büyük övgü ifadeleriyle I. Mehmed’e ithaf etmiş, ithafın yer aldığı mukaddimede hayat hikayesiyle ilgili önemli ayrıntılar vermiştir. Osmanlı topraklarında geçirdiği uzun yıllar sonra Timur’un oğlu Şahruh ile irtibat kuran Herevî, el-Keşşâf şerhi mukaddimesini tekrardan kaleme alarak aynı eseri bu sefer Şahruh’a ithaf etmiştir. Herevî’nin bu yeni patronaj ilişkisi mukaddimenin ikinci versiyonundan (...) öğrenilmektedir. İkinci versiyonda sadece ithaf kısmı değiştirilmemiş, yeni haminin kimliğiyle irtibatlı olarak muhteva da yeni- den kurgulanmıştır. İlk versiyonda bulunmayan önemli biyografik ayrıntılar ikinci versiyonda yer almaktadır. Mukaddimenin iki versiyonu Herevî biyografisinin neredeyse yegâne kaynağıdır. Bu makalede mukaddimenin ikinci versiyonu ilk defa gün yüzüne çıkarılmış ve her iki versiyonda verilen bilgiler bir araya getirilerek Herevî’nin biyografisi inşa edilmiştir. İki versiyonda herhangi bir tarih verilmemiş, sadece bazı şehirlerdeki ikamet süreleri belirtilmiştir. Biyografi inşa edilirken anlatıda oluşan boşluklar tarihi olaylardan hareketle doldurulmuş ve tarihlendirme yapılmıştır. Bahsedilen olaylar, yapılan nitelemeler ve verilen ikamet süreleri itibara alınarak Herevî’nin hayatının yaklaşık kırk yıllık bölümü tam olarak tarihlendirilmiş, Serahs’tan başlayarak sırasıyla Şîraz, Tebriz, Şirvan, Bursa, Edirne ve tekrar Horasan’a uzanan yıllara dair bütünlüklü bir tablo ortaya konulmuştur. Bu hayat hikayesi ulema-sultan ilişkileri, siyasî gelişmelerin ilim hayatına yansımaları ve hayatını ilim yolculuklarında geçiren bir âlimin zihin dünyası hakkında eşsiz bilgiler sunmaktadır. (shrink)

An Institute of Medical Ethics working party argues that an ethically desirable relationship of mutual empowerment between patient and clinician is more likely to be achieved if patients understand the ground rules of medical confidentiality. It identifies and illustrates ambiguities in the General Medical Council's guidance on AIDS and confidentiality, and relates this to the practice of different doctors and specialties. Matters might be clarified, it suggests, by identifying moral factors which tend to recur in medical decisions about maintaining or (...) breaching confidentiality. The working party argues that two such factors are particularly important: the patient's need to exercise informed choice and the doctor's primary responsibility to his or her own patients. (shrink)

If George Eliot is a determinist, how can she justify judging her characters on moral grounds? The most influential discussion of her determinism concludes that she believed one overcomes its depressing effects by understanding it. But this view is contradicted by her assertion that free will is a “practical” necessity, even a necessary fiction. Kantian moral theory is strongly present in her work as is shown by her use of Kantian terms, but it is grounded nonmetaphysically. Rationality and the will (...) are essential if one is to feel free to choose. Her concept of whole self in relation to moral choice has links with Bergsonian theory. (shrink)

In the wider ecumenical movement, bearing witness to each other in true friendship is a creative gesture inspired by the Holy Spirit. It cuts across religious and denominational divides. The friendship between Gandhi and CF Andrews is invoked as an example of East and West bearing witness to each other. In ancient Asian religious context, mutual witnessing is extended to all sentient beings. From the Orthodox tradition three themes are highlighted as contributing to the Spirit-movement for mutual witness and healing (...) of divisions, namely, Theosis or divinization, the Perfecting work of the Holy Spirit and the Eighth Day. Humanity and the whole creation are involved in the process of divinization. Our mutual relationship is defined by this journey together. The Holy Spirit is continually renewing the creation which is pneumatodynamic, or energized by the Spirit from the beginning to the eschaton. Human beings as leaders and priests of creation are to respond to and cooperate in the perfecting work of the Spirit. The more we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, the more united and reconciled in Christ we become. (shrink)

Nazariyat, Journal for the History of Islamic Philosophy and Sciences, issued twice a year in English and Turkish (Nazariyat İslam Felsefe ve Bilim Tarihi Araştırmaları Dergisi), is a refereed international journal. It publishes original studies, critical editions of classical texts and book reviews on Islamic philosophy, kalām, theoretical aspects of Sufism and the history of sciences. The goal of Nazariyat is to contribute to the discovery, examination and reinterpretation of the theoretical traditions in the history of Islamic thought, by giving (...) special attention to the post-classical period of it. **ISSN: 2148-8088 E-ISBN: 2547-9415**. (shrink)

This monograph aims to mathematically codify the notion of "moral systems" and define a sensible distance between them. It consists of three parts, aimed at an audience with varying interests and mathematical backgrounds. The first part steers philosophical, formally defining moral systems and several related concepts. The second part studies black box algorithms, including questions of inference and metric construction. The third part explores the technical construction of metrics amongst conditional probability distributions.

t. 1. Filosofii͡a : samosoznanie cheloveka i obshchestva -- t. 2. Politika i istoriosofii͡a -- t. 3. Politika i diplomatii͡a -- t. 4. Kulʹtura i sovremennostʹ -- t. 5. Zapadnoevropeĭskai͡a filosofii͡a, politika i kulʹtura: problemy i perspektivy.

This essay discusses an alternative interpretation of the term “Dasein” as Heidegger uses it in Being and Time and, in particular, the possibility that Dasein is meant to contain an inherent form of intersubjectivity to which we must “return” in order to achieve authenticity. In doing so, I build on the work of John Haugeland and his interpretation of Dasein as a mass term, while exploring the implications such an interpretation has on Heidegger’s conception of “authenticity”. Ultimately, this paper aims (...) to take seriously Heidegger’s claim to be moving past the isolated Cartesian subject and towards a view of authentic human existence that is cognizant of the way our identities are always formed within a pre-existing community. In addition, since many interpretations of Heidegger have argued that “the Anyone” is representative of all possible forms of community, I consider how this alternative understanding of Dasein as intersubjective can shed new light on critical remarks Heidegger makes about “the Anyone”. Thus, I argue that by reinterpreting Dasein as community, we can find more coherence between Heidegger’s otherwise conflicting conceptions of authenticity and “the Anyone”. (shrink)