Definition of the problem: The development and use of drugs aimed at a positive influence on the cognitive decline in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease raises a number of ethical issues. Arguments: Among other things, these issues are concerned with the significance of these drugs for the patient's subjective well-being and quality of life and with aspects of informed consent to the use of these drugs, particularly in connection with their use in scientific medical research. Conclusion: The value and significance (...) of antidementia drugs depends not only on their effect on cognitive decline, but also on their wider significance for patients' quality of life and their primary carers. The subjective experience of those directly involved deserves more attention in research and practice. (shrink)

This article presents an overview ofregulations, guidelines and societal debates ineight member states of the EC about a)embryonic and fetal tissue transplantation(EFTT), and b) the use of human embryonic stemcells (hES cells) for research into celltherapy, including `therapeutic' cloning. Thereappears to be a broad acceptance of EFTT inthese countries. In most countries guidance hasbeen developed. There is a `strong' consensusabout some of the central conditions for `goodclinical practice' regarding EFTT.International differences concern, amongstothers, some of the informed consent issuesinvolved, and the (...) questions whether anintermediary organisation is necessary, whetherthe methods of abortion may be influenced bythe possible use of EFT, and whether EFTTshould only be used for the experimentaltreatment of rare disorders. The potential useof hES cells for research into cell therapy hasgiven a new impetus to the debate about (human)embryo research. The therapeutic prospects withregard to the retrieval and research use of hEScells appear to function as a catalyst for theintroduction of less restrictive regulationsconcerning research with spare embryos, atleast in some European countries. It remains tobe seen whether the prospect of treatingpatients suffering from serious disorders withtransplants produced by therapeutic cloningwill decrease the societal and moral resistanceto allowing the generation of embryos for`instrumental' use. (shrink)

Evolutionary psychology and social constructionism are widely regarded as fundamentally irreconcilable approaches to the social sciences. Focusing on the study of the emotions, we argue that this appearance is mistaken. Much of what appears to be an empirical disagreement between evolutionary psychologists and social constructionists over the universality or locality of emotional phenomena is actually generated by an implicit philosophical dispute resulting from the adoption of different theories of meaning and reference. We argue that once this philosophical dispute is recognized, (...) it can be set to the side. When this is done, it becomes clear that the two approaches to the emotions complement, rather than compete with, one another. (shrink)

Internalism--The view that one can have a reason such as to justify an action only if one is moved to do that action--Cannot account for what a child must learn in order to be moved to keep a promise. Nor can it account for the relevance of the considerations that the child must come to understand in order to understand the wrongness of racism. Therefore there is good reason to think internalism false.

This is the twenty-sixth volume in the Library of Living Philosophers, a series founded by Paul A. Schilpp in 1939 and edited by him until 1981, when the editorship was taken over by Lewis E. Hahn. This volume follows the design of previous volumes. As Schilpp conceived this series, every volume would have the following elements: an intellectual autobiography of the philosopher, a series of expository and critical articles written by exponents and opponents of the philosopher's thought, replies to these (...) critics and commentators by the philosopher, and as nearly complete a bibliography of the published work of the philosopher as possible. (shrink)

Open peer commentary on the article “Negotiating Between Learner and Mathematics: A Conceptual Framework to Analyze Teacher Sensitivity Toward Constructivism in a Mathematics Classroom” by Philip Borg, Dave Hewitt & Ian Jones. Upshot: My commentary has two general goals. First, I investigate how basic principles of radical constructivism might be used in constructing models of mathematics teaching. Toward that end, I found that I was not in complete intersubjective agreement with Borg et al.’s use of some basic terms. Second, I (...) explore what mathematics teaching might look like in what is construed as constructivist mathematics teaching. Toward that end, I comment on Borg et al.’s use of “negotiation” and explain how a constructivist teacher can establish experiential models of students’ mathematics. (shrink)

We discuss a mass change that has its origin in the action of forces on an object. This phenomenon, well-known in the context of quantum field theory (mass renormalization), can be discussed systematically in both classical and quantum mechanics in a framework given by Stückelberg. We employ this framework to resolve an interesting conflict of opinions between Schopenhauer and Hegel in the mid-19th century. We show that Hegel, Kant, and Schopenhauer demonstrated remarkable prescience in their views as seen from a (...) modern perspective. (shrink)