In this article we explore the contribution from social anthropology to the medical ethical debates about the use of informed consent in research, based on blood samples and other forms of tissue. The article springs from a project exploring donors’ motivation for providing blood and healthcare data for genetic research to be executed by a Swedish start-up genomics company. This article is not confined to empirical findings, however, as we suggest that anthropology provides reason to reassess the theoretical understanding of (...) autonomy as generally defined by Beauchamp and Childress. Careful consideration of the trust expressed by donors through the act of donation, furthermore, suggests that there is reason to redirect the ethical scrutiny from informed consent to issues concerning institutional arrangements and social responsibility. In particular, we suggest that an anthropological approach could facilitate a reconsideration of the political implications of using informed consent as a regulatory practice in tissue-based research. (shrink)

Trust features prominently in a number of policy documents that have been issued in recent years to facilitate data sharing and international collaboration in medical research. However, it often remains unclear what is meant by ‘trust’. By exploring a concrete international collaboration between Denmark and Pakistan, we develop a way of unpacking trust that shifts focus from what trust ‘is’ to what people invest in relationships and what references to trust do for them in these relationships. Based on interviews in (...) both Pakistan and Denmark with people who provide blood samples and health data for the same laboratory, we find that when participants discuss trust they are trying to shape their relationship to researchers while simultaneously communicating important hopes, fears and expectations. The types of trust people talk about are never unconditional, but involve awareness of uncertainties and risks. There are different things at stake for people in different contexts, and therefore it is not the same to trust researchers in Pakistan as it is in Denmark, even when participants donate to the same laboratory. We conclude that casual references to ‘trust’ in policy documents risk glossing over important local differences and contribute to a de-politicization of basic inequalities in access to healthcare. (shrink)

A noção de comportamento se faz importante em Wittgenstein, principalmente relacionada a argumentação da linguagem privada e o seguir regras. O Behaviorismo propõe, justamente, o comportamento, que é desenvolvido posteriormente, como objeto de estudo em uma espécie de revolução da ciência psicológica para que esta ganhasse o estatuto de ciência. Partindo de noções de comportamento distintas em Wittgenstein, no behaviorismo metodológico e no comportamentalismo, o presente ensaio tem quatro objetivos: 1) apresentar uma noção de comportamento em Wittgenstein; 2) apresentar a (...) noção de comportamento para o behaviorismo metodológico; 3) apresentar a noção de comportamento para o comportamentalismo; 4) se a noção de comportamento do comportamentalismo estaria ou não sujeita às críticas de Wittgenstein. Para tanto, inicialmente, apresentaremos brevemente o que ficou conhecido como o Argumento da Linguagem privada nas IF e em seguida serão apresentadas as concepções de comportamento. (shrink)

Book OLIVEIRA, Irene Dias de. Religião e as teias do multiculturalismo. São Paulo: Fonte Editorial, 2015. 97p. ISBN 978-85-68252-55-0.

Among logicians there exists the widely accepted view that classical logic as developed by Frege, Russell, Peano, Peirce and others is not able to master all the problems arising in connection with indirect speech and similar phenomena. There is a myth that classical or so-called extensional logic is good only for one part of our language, for extensional contexts, while a large area of our language, consisting of intensional or opaque contexts, needs a special, non-extensional or intensional logic. It is (...) obvious that this point of view denies the universality of logic and logical rules. (shrink)

The hypothesis of two separate reasoning systems, one subserving individual goals and the other our genes, is theoretically implausible and not supported by the data. As an alternative, I propose a single system for analytical reasoning backed up by simple mechanisms for the selection of relevant information. This system can generate normative behavior as well as systematic deviations from it.

Plato’s Phaidon, as generally held, is set in Phlius (northern Argolis), shortly after the death of Socrates: the scarcely twenty-year-old Phaidon (see 89b2), on his way from Athens to his home town of Elis, is visiting the Pythagorean Echecrates and his companions. In this article I will show that the established place and time neglect some special dynamics of the start of the meeting (Section I) and a series of ethopoietic effects in the course of the dialogue (Section II). Moreover, (...) relevant testimonies about Echecrates of Phlius and some adverbial references (especially 118a16 τότε) suggest that the dramatic time of the dialogue should be understood as set substantially later (Section III). Finally, general reflections on the naturalness of the whole setting (Section IV) seem to confirm that in the Platonic Phaidon, the already more mature Phaidon, when visited ‘years after’ (Wilamowitz) in Elis by the Pythagorean Echecrates, reports details of the memorable death of his former master. (shrink)

In the 21st century, digitalization is a global challenge of mankind. Even for the public, it is obvious that our world is increasingly dominated by powerful algorithms and big data. But, how computable is our world? Some people believe that successful problem solving in science, technology, and economies only depends on fast algorithms and data mining. Chances and risks are often not understood, because the foundations of algorithms and information systems are not studied rigorously. Actually, they are deeply rooted in (...) logics, mathematics, computer science and philosophy. Therefore, this book studies the foundations of mathematics, computer science, and philosophy, in order to guarantee security and reliability of the knowledge by constructive proofs, proof mining and program extraction. We start with the basics of computability theory, proof theory, and information theory. In a second step, we introduce new concepts of information and computing systems, in order to overcome the gap between the digital world of logical programming and the analog world of real computing in mathematics and science. The book also considers consequences for digital and analog physics, computational neuroscience, financial mathematics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). (shrink)

The Roman-Catholic parishes in The Netherlands are confronted with a number of existential problems. They are short of priests and other professionals needed to manifest their calling of proclaiming the kingdom of God. In addition to this, financial problems and the decline in the number of believers are threatening their subsistence. In reaction to these problems, a lot of dioceses have started reorganizing the structure of their parishes: parishes are assumed to work together. During this process of working together many (...) parishioners are asking themselves what kind of community is formed by their parish. What in fact is the identity of our parish? The identity of the local parish is described in the postvatican theological literature based upon the documents of Vaticanum II. With respect to the ideas of the church as a whole they are worked out in the Vatican documents, theologian, are also looking at the local church as a sacrament or as the people of God. Besides this, the parish has also been described as a diaconal community in the last few decades. At least theologians are trying to formulate the identity of the parish as a combination of context, conviction, vision and mission. These three attempts assume that there is a collective identity of the local church-community. To get an insight into the process of an organization like the parish finding an identity, this article goes back to the concept of identity as formulated by the psychoanalyst Eric Erikson. He describes identity as a result of interaction between group and individual. In this proces, identity acquires a psycho-social quality. Erikson supposes that identity should be understood as an ongoing process which will never will lead to a final and definitive outcome. Looking at the local parish, we find that the process of finding an identity is marked by dynamics, communication ‘ad intra’, communication ‘ad extra’ and by the need for objective opposition. First, dynamics means that a parish can never say that it has found its identity for always and ever. The tradition of the global church, however had tried to do just that. Because of this tradition, parishes are having problems getting into this process of thinking about their own identity. Second, communication ‘ad intra’ means that the identity of a whole community cannot be established if people cannot communicate with each other about this issue. Third, the communication ‘ad extra’, means that parishes have to establish contact with their neighbourhood. Through contact they can find a way to define themselves as a part of the whole neighbourhood for instance. The final element, the objective opposition, means that parishes need a kind of corrective force to be able to find themselves. Former catholics have had common ethics or a common bases of sacramental expressions. This, however has almost completely disappeared. The last part of this article is a reflection on the process of finding an identity in relation to the process of reorganization as pointed out. Reorganization is shown to be a chance for Roman-Catholic parishes to go continue the proces finding themselves. (shrink)

Toutes les conditions étaient réunies pour que la correspondance entre Karl Löwith et Leo Strauss fût l’exemple idéal d’un dialogue fondamentalement philosophique1. Les deux correspondants se connaissaient bien sans être amis2 ; pendant la plus grande partie de leur vie, ils furent séparés par des distances qui empêchaient toute rencontre ; ils avaient..

In his reconstruction of the process and motivation of Constantine s adoption of Christianity, the author proposes a number of new individual aspects. He commences with an analysis of theearliest testimonials bythe Emperor himself after his conversion, his massive moral and material support for the Christian clergy and ecclesiastic communities, andConstantine srole as the first ruler of all Christendom up to his death in 337. Finally, it is shown that the Emperor wanted to suppress non-Christian religions and make Christianity the (...) sole religion of the Empire and all humanity.". (shrink)