This paper introduces the medical factual matrix as a new and potentially valuable tool in medical ethical analysis. Using this tool it demonstrates the idea that a defined medical intervention can only be meaningfully declared futile in relation to a defined goal of treatment. It argues that a declaration of futility made solely in relation to a defined medical intervention is inchoate. It recasts the definition of goal futility as an intervention that cannot alter the probability of the existence of (...) the important outcome states that might flow from a defined intervention. The idea of value futility and the extent of physician obligations in futile situations are also addressed. It also examines the source of substantive conflicts which commonly arise within the doctor-patient relationship and the ensuing power relations that operate between doctor and patient when questions of futility arise. (shrink)

The difficulty in discovering a difference between killing and letting die has led many philosophers to deny the distinction. This paper seeks to develop an argument defending the distinction between killing and letting die. In relation to Rachels’ cases, the argument is that (a) even accepting that Smith and Jones may select equally heinous options from the choices they have available to them, (b) the fact that the choices available to them are different is morally relevant, and (c) this difference (...) in available choices can be used to distinguish between the agents in certain circumstances. It is the principle of justice, as espoused by Aristotle, which requires that equal things are treated equally and that unequal things are treated unequally that creates a presumption that Smith and Jones should be treated differently. The magnitude of this difference can be amplified by other premises, making the distinction morally relevant in practical reality. (shrink)

This paper argues that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence should not offer guidance in situations where there is insufficient evidence equipoise about the potential benefit of the treatment in question. This is broadly for two reasons. First, without knowing if the treatment is effective no cost-effectiveness judgement can be logically made. Second, the implementation of a population wide change in treatment where there is equipoise amounts to a de facto clinical trial that falls outside the Clinical Trials (...) Regulations. As such there are strong ethical and possibly legal grounds for preventing such an outcome. Guidance based upon insufficient evidence equipoise also impacts upon the clinical discretion possessed by individual medical professionals. (shrink)

R. G. Swinburne; XIII*—Personal Identity, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 74, Issue 1, 1 June 1974, Pages 231–247, https://doi.org/10.1093/arist.

If there is room for a substantial conception of the will in contemporary theorizing about human agency, it is most likely to be found in the vicinity of the phenomenon of normativity. Rational agency is distinctively responsive to the agent's acknowledgment of reasons, in the basic sense of considerations that speak for and against the alternatives for action that are available. Furthermore, it is natural to suppose that this kind of responsiveness to reasons is possible only for creatures who possess (...) certain unusual volitional powers, beyond the bare susceptibility to beliefs and desires necessary for the kind of rudimentary agency of which the higher animals are arguably capable. (shrink)

This study investigated the performance of boys with psychopathic tendencies and comparison boys, aged 9 to 17 years, on two tasks believed to be sensitive to amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex func- tioning. Fifty-one boys were divided into two groups according to the Psychopathy Screening Device (PSD, P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, in press) and presented with two tasks. The tasks were the gambling task (A. Bechara, A. R. Damasio, H. Damasio, & S. W. Anderson, 1994) and the Intradimensional/ (...) Extradimensional (ID/ED) shift task (R. Dias, T. W. Robbins, & A. C. Roberts, 1996). The boys with psychopathic tendencies showed impaired performance on the gambling task. However, there were no group differences on the ID/ED task either for response reversal or extradimensional set shifting. The implications of these results for models of psychopathy are discussed. (shrink)

R. M. Hare; I—The Presidential Address*: Principles, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 73, Issue 1, 1 June 1973, Pages 1–18, https://doi.org/10.10.

Intrinsic value and animal integrity are two key concepts in the debate on the ethics of the genetic engineering of laboratory animals. These concepts have, on the one hand, a theoretical origin and are, on the other hand, based on the moral beliefs of people not directly involved in the genetic modification of animals. This ‘external’ origin raises the question whether these concepts need to be adjusted or extended when confronted with the moral experiences and opinions of people directly involved (...) in the creation or use of transgenic laboratory animals. To answer this question, 35 persons from the practice of biomedical research who are directly involved in genetic engineering (scientists, biotechnicians, animal caretakers and laboratory animal scientists) were interviewed. They were asked to give their moral opinion on different aspects of the genetic engineering of animals and to react to statements about the concepts of intrinsic value and animal integrity. Analysis of the interviews showed that, contrary to what is often assumed, the respondents embraced these concepts, even those senses that (more) specifically apply to genetic engineering. And although the respondents raised some objections that go beyond issues of animal welfare, these objections could quite well be expressed in terms of the concepts of intrinsic value and animal integrity. In short, the results of the present study strongly suggest that these concepts do not have to be adjusted or extended in the light of the moral experiences and opinions from practice. (shrink)

R. K. Elliott; VIII—Aesthetic Theory and the Experience of Art, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 67, Issue 1, 1 June 1967, Pages 111–126, https:/.

Bu araştırma Hz. Peygamber’e izafe edilen “Dünya müminin zindanı, kâfirin cennetidir” rivayetini konu edinmektedir. Zikri geçen hadisle ilgili literatür taraması yapıldığında müstakil bir araştırmaya rastlanmamaktadır. Esasında ilim geleneğimizde tek bir hadisi bütün yönleriyle inceleyen pek çok araştırma vardır. Ancak söz konusu haberin müsellem ve mesajı açık kabul edilmesi hem Arap hem de Batı araştırmalarına konu edilmemesinin gerekçesi olabilir. İlgili rivayetin temel hadis kaynaklarında muhtelif metinlerle, beş ayrı sahâbîden aktarıldığı tespit edilmiştir. Araştırmamızda sözü edilen metin ve senedler ayrı ayrı incelenerek rivayetin (...) hadis ilmi açısından değeri tartışılmıştır. Rivayetin pek çok tariki olduğu için araştırma merfu‘ haberlerle sınırlandırılmıştır. Sözü edilen rivayete temel hadis metinlerinde hangi bâb başlığı altında yer verildiği ve klasik hadis şerhlerinde metne nasıl yaklaşıldığı tetkik edilmiştir. Rivayetin “zühd” konusunun ayrılmaz bir parçası haline geldiği ve buna bağlı olarak vaaz ve irşad literatüründe önemli bir yer tuttuğu tespit edilmiştir. Hadiste müminin dünya hayatıyla ilişkisine dair serdedilen ifadeler, kabaca “fâni olan her şeye yüz çevirmek” şeklinde tanımlayabileceğimiz zühdle ilişkilendirilmesine yol açmıştır. Hadis şârihleri ise mezkûr haberi dünya arzularının cezb ediciliğiyle, süreklilik arz eden meşakkatli ibadetlerle mükellef olmanın verdiği zorlukla ve dünyada bireylerin başına gelen musibetlere karşı sabretmesi gerektiğiyle ilişkilendirmişlerdir. Bu bakımdan musannifler ile şârihlerin hadisi benzer perspektifle değerlendirdikleri görülmüştür. Çalışmamızda, Kur’an ve hadis metinlerinde yer alan metaforik anlatı biçimi göz önünde tutulduğunda hadisi farklı bir bakış açısıyla değerlendirmenin mümkün olup olmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Zira metafor, retorik sanatların önemli bir unsuru olup, benzetme edatlarını kullanmadan farklı konular arasında anlam bağlantısı kurma sanatıdır. İstiare, teşbih, alegori ve kinaye gibi türlerle benzerlikler taşısa da anlatılan konudan ziyade anlatım tarzını vurgulayarak sözleri güçlendirmesiyle diğerlerinden ayrılmaktadır. Metaforlar düşünce dünyasına derinlik katmakla kalmaz, aynı zamanda karmaşık veya soyut kavramların daha anlaşılır ifade edilmesine imkân tanır. Dilin gücünü ortaya çıkarırken, yaratıcı düşünce ve duygusal bağlantılar kurma becerisini pekiştirerek anlatının içerdiği mesajın vurgusunu artırır ve muhatapta daha derin etki bırakmayı sağlar. Tüm bunlardan hareketle ilgili metinde yer alan “zindan” kavramının metaforik bir anlam içerdiği kabul edildiğinde yeni bir yorum denemesine açık olduğu söylenebilir. Özellikle modern dönemde belirgin, açık ve fark edilir düzeyde ortaya çıkan düşünce ve ahlak krizine karşı bir anlamlandırma yolu seçerek ilgili rivayeti “medeniyet ve sünnet” ilişkisini göz önünde tutarak metaforik bir yorum denemesiyle ele aldık. Zira bu sözleriyle Resûl-i Ekrem’in çökmüş ve çürümekte olan medeniyetlerin haksızlık ve sefaletin kaynağı haline getirdiği tek dünyacı anlayışı reddettiği, nimetlere ve mahrumiyetlere karşı gereğinden fazla ya da az değer atfetmeyi kabul etmediği ve ölümle her şeyini kaybedeceğini düşünenlere karşı bilinç uyandırmaya çalıştığı iddia edilmektedir. Bunun yanında modern insanın İslâm medeniyetini yeniden canlandırabilmesini engelleyen bir dizi kriz vardır. Bunlar ruhsal, bireysel, düşünsel, metafizik ve toplumsal krizlerdir. İnsan, ruhsal krizi manevi ilerleme ve aydınlanmayla; bireysel krizi değerleri arzulara bırakmamakla; düşünsel krizi farklı düşüncelere açık bir şekilde eleştirel düşünceyi geliştirmekle; metafizik krizi dünyevi cazibelerden arınarak varoluşsal kısıtlamalara sırt çevirip bilgi ve anlam arayışına yönelmekle; toplumsal krizi toplumdaki değişimlere katkıda bulunarak insan hakları mücadelesi vermekle alt edebilir. Araştırmamızda insanın bu krizlerle başa çıkıp zindandan kurtularak özgürlüğe kavuşacağı ve kendi medeniyetini kurabileceği fikri metaforik bir yorum denemesiyle ileri sürülmüştür. Modern dönemde karşımıza çıkan sorunların tespitinin ve bu sorunlara dair çözüm önerilerinin rivayet kültüründen beslenmek suretiyle yapılmasının mümkün olup olmadığı da bu sayede tetkik edilmiştir. Bu kapsamda “Dünya müminin zindanı, kâfirin cennetidir” rivayetinin ne şekilde anlaşıldığı veya anlaşılması gerektiği etrafındaki tartışmalara temas edilerek yeni bir yorum arayışına gidilmiştir. Söz konusu arayış “deneme” olarak isimlendirilmiş ve sonraki araştırmacıların çok daha kapsamlı denemelerde bulunması hedeflenmiştir. (shrink)

R. E. Allen's superb new translation of Plato's Symposium brings this classic text to life for modern readers. Allen supplements his translation with a commentary that not only enriches our understanding of Plato's philosophy and the world of Greek antiquity but also provides insights into present-day philosophical concerns. Allen reveals the unity of Plato's intentions in the Symposium, explores the dialogue's major themes, and links them with Plato's other dialogues. His wide-ranging commentary includes discussions of Greek religious, social, and sexual (...) practices, the conceptual connections between the Symposium and Freud, the influence of the Symposium on later writers, and recent scholarship on the dialogue. Allen's primary focus is philosophical, however, and he succeeds in explicating the doctrine of Eros in Plato's Symposium so that the reader can see how wish and desire relate to Plato's moral philosophy, epistemology, and metaphysics. (shrink)

R. F. Atkinson; XIII*—Explanation in History, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 72, Issue 1, 1 June 1972, Pages 241–256, https://doi.org/10.1093/a.

Axel Honneth has done more than any other philosopher to develop and explore the significance of recognition to our social relations. On the broadly Hegelian ap.

The potential benefits of embryonic stem cell research have been clarified by the last ten years of research so that it is necessary to re-examine the foundations for the restrictions imposed on this research. Those who believe that life begins at the moment of fertilization and is imbued with a full complement of human rights have opposed all embryonic research. As one who accepts this premise, I will demonstrate that there are certain limited circumstances in which parents may donate embryos (...) to establish stem cell lines that fully respect the rights of the embryonic person. In these circumstances, their action is morally equivalent to organ donation from a dying child to save the lives of others. (shrink)

Pharmacogenomics is a quickly evolving field of research that increasingly impacts individuals and society. As some innovations in biotechnology have experienced strong public opposition during the 1990s, interaction between producers and users of these innovations may help in increasing their success in social and economic terms. However, conditions for effective interaction have so far remained under-explored. This paper explores user-producer interactions in pharmacogenomics from an innovation and science communication perspective in the Netherlands. To find possible ways of engaging stakeholders in (...) an early stage of technology development, ie, when science policy is in the making, we present communication activities derived from the field of policy analysis. To articulate motives for two-way public participation in genomics innovation processes, we describe two levels at which pharmacogenomics developments will have an input:1) at the meso-level of medical practice with already established medical technologies, values and routines, suppliers and health professionals (general practitioners, pharmacists), and 2) at the macro-level of society at large, with established institutions, infrastructures, and broadly shared values and beliefs among citizens in general. Thereby we offer a starting point for optimising decision-making processes in the field of pharmacogenomics innovations, including important aims to be reached, stakeholders to be involved, and some criteria for designing interactive communication activities. (shrink)