U članku se istražuje osnovna linija argumentacije buddhističke škole sarvāstivādavaibhāṣika u prilog obrani njihove osnovne ontološke teze o egzistentnosti dharmi kroz sva tri vremenska razdoblja onako kako ju je izložio Vasubandhu u svome djelu Abhidharmakośabhāṣya . U uvodnome dijelu daje se kratki prikaz nekih prijepora u pogledu podrijetla te buddhističke škole kao i njihovog tekstovnoga korpusa. Nakon toga slijedi istraživanje Vasubandhuova izvješća o specifičnostima dharmičke ontologije te škole kao što su problemi dharmičke »funkcionalnosti« , njihove kauzalne djelotvornosti i problema »prijelaza« (...) atemporalnih dharmi u područje realnog oblikovanja iskustva . U završnom osvrtu se pokušava pokazati da se opća promjena filozofijske perspektive u razdoblju postkanonske abhidharme najradikalnije ostvarila u buddhističkoj školi sarvāstivāda-vaibhāṣika koja je bila prisiljena raznovrsnim teorijskim konstruktima pomiriti svoje shvaćanje dharmi kao »atemporalnih« konstituensa iskustva s općom buddhističkom postavkom o netrajnosti i nesupstancijalnosti svih fenomena .The article deals with the main line of argumentation of the Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika Buddhist school of thought in defence of their basic ontological thesis of the existence of dharmas through all three-time period as it is exposed in Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośabhāṣya . Introductorily some observations are given with regard to major controversies connected with the origin and textual corpus of that Buddhist school. Then follows investigation of Vasubandhu’s exposition of the particularity of the Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika Dharmic ontology – e.g. functionality of dharmas, their causal efficiency and the problem of "transition" of temporal dharmas into the domain of a real experience . In the concluding philosophical assessment an attempt is made to show that the general shift of the philosophical perspective in the period of the so-called postcanonical Abhidharma was the most radical reflected in the Sarvāstivāda- Vaibhāṣika school which was forced to harmonize through various theoretical constructs their basic notion of dharmas as »atemporal« constituens of experience with the general Buddhist understanding of all phenomena as impermanent and devoid of substance of any kind. (shrink)

In this article, I propose to analyse the earliest Indian systematic discussion on the problem of meaning and denotation of words. The discussion itself seems to have been conceived within the famous Indian grammatical tradition (vyākaraṇa), and its definitive form was given by the Grammarian Patañjali (second century BC) in his work Mahābhāṣya. This whole discussion is carried over and further developed within classical Indian philosophy, beginning with the Nyāya school, whose positions regarding semantics are also analysed here, based on (...) classical works of this school. (shrink)

Roland Barthes, çağdaş mitlere göstergebilimsel bir çözümleme uygulayarak bu mitlerin esasen ideolojik bir mesaj ya da bildiri içerdiğini ortaya koyar. Modern mitler, gösterdiğinden başka bir şey kast eder; onların gerçek anlamının dışında her zaman ikincil bir anlamı vardır. Bu da mitlerin muğlaklıklar, aldatmacalar, belirsizlikler ve çok anlamlılık içerdiği manasına gelir. Göstergebilimsel analiz, söz konusu aldatmacaların ardında gizlenen amacı görünür hale getirir. Bu amaç da, burjuva sınıfının politik, kültürel, ekonomik ve toplumsal egemenliğini korumak ve devam ettirmektir. Mitlerde ‘doğal’ olarak sunulan aslında (...) belirli bir ideolojik dünya görüşü tarafından inşa edilir. Bu ideoloji de burjuva ideolojisidir. Çağdaş mitler, burjuva dünya görüşünü ebedi bir doğaya dönüştürür. Barthes’ın çözümlemesi, mitler tarafından doğallaştırılan ve evrenselleştirilen göstergelerin esasen burjuva ideolojisinin amacına hizmet ettiğini gösterir. Bu çalışmada, Barthes’ın göstergebilim yoluyla anlam incelemesine nasıl politik bir önem kazandırdığı ve burjuva kültürünü eleştirme amacını nasıl bilimsel bir temele dayandırdığı gösterilecektir. (shrink)

Kant’s general taxonomy of duties includes substantial claims that normatively and theoretically differentiates it from other moral theories. Basing his moral theory on a conception of Right, he also made a general classification of several duties with their corresponding moral worth. The general aim of this study is to identify the basic principles and criteria that determine Kant’s classification of duties. Another aim is to trace some implications and effects of Kant’s conception of duties in the contemporary discussion of social (...) and economic rights. We argue that the normative basis of the argument against social and economic rights is very similar to that of the principles Kant uses in his classification of duties. However, from the responsibility of the state, Kant imposes legitimate obligations over individuals, albeit indirectly. (shrink)

Results of a comprehensive simulation study are reported investigating the effects of sample size, test length, number of attributes and base rate of mastery on item parameter recovery and classification accuracy of four DCMs. Effects were evaluated using bias and RMSE computed between true parameters and estimated parameters. Effects of simulated factors on attribute assignment were also evaluated using the percentage of classification accuracy. More precise estimates of item parameters were obtained with larger sample size and longer test length. Recovery (...) of item parameters decreased as the number of attributes increased from three to five but base rate of mastery had a varying effect on the item recovery. Item parameter and classification accuracy were higher for DINA and DINO models. (shrink)

The article analyses and interprets the critique of the special dharmic theory of the early Buddhist school of sarvāstivāda-vaibhāṣika undertaken by the school of sautrāntika. Special attention is paid to the critique of the theory of the existence of dharmas, elementary psycho-physical data, in all three time periods. At the beginning, a general Buddhist theory of two truths is presented, which tries to legitimize the so-called philosophy of abhidharma as a “higher teaching” regarding reality (dharma theory) which is only rudimentarily (...) present in the Buddha’s discourses. Then we turn to a concise presentation and analysis of the key ontological concepts of sarvāstivāda-vaibhāṣika, and then to the critique of the same undertaken by the school of sautrāntika. It is concluded that sautrāntika, with its critique, “returned” Buddhist philosophy on the path of pure phenomenology after the sarvāstivada-vaibhāṣika’s attempt to interpret the Buddha’s teaching in line with a realistic reductive ontology. (shrink)

The main body of this article presents Vasubandhu’s and Candrakīrti’s discussion on the etymology of pratītyasamutpāda and its meaning as it appears in the Bhāṣya to Abhidharmakośa 3.28ab and Prasannapadā 4.5–9.27, respectively. Both authors put forward and critically examine various Buddhist grammatical analyses and interpretations of the term. Many passages in the indicated sections parallel or nearly parallel to each other suggest that Buddhist discussions on pratītyasamutpāda were held in a very specified manner during the mature phase of Buddhist philosophy (...) in India. In the conclusion of the article, an attempt is made to discern the reason for Buddhists’ mutually competing analyses of the term, showing that their seemingly objectively conducted discussions regarding pratītyasamutpāda are actually rooted in their ontological presumptions. Thus, for example, the nearly identical etymological analyses of the term provided by Va.. (shrink)

Fermented dairy products such as yogurt contain many bioactive compounds. In addition, probiotic yogurts are an invaluable source of probiotic bacteria and are a group of probiotic products best accepted by children. There is plenty of research indicating an interdependence between yogurt consumption, body mass index, and adipose tissue percentage, which suggests that yogurt consumption may contribute to reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese. In turn, the occurrence of overweight and obesity may be accompanied by a reduced sensitivity (...) to sweetness, which modifies food preference selection and acceptance, including with yogurt. This study aimed to assess the preferences and consumption of yogurt in terms of sensitivity to recognize sweetness and obesity in a group of 7–9-year-old children. Body mass index and adipose tissue percentage obesity indicators were determined, and the frequency of fermented milk product consumption was assessed about the results of the sweetness recognition test as well as yogurt preferences. There was no significant relationship between body weight and the frequency of fermented milk product consumption. Correlations were found between the values of body mass index and the ability to recognize sweetness, which was significantly better recognized by underweight children or at normal body weight, moreover, those children with a higher ability to recognize sweetness significantly more frequently preferred plain unsweetened yogurt. (shrink)

The paper discusses certain aspects of Buddha’s and Confucius’ philosophy that could be relevant for the general philosophical discussion on the problem of freedom, free action and related philosophical themes. Although their philosophical thinking was shaped in a rather different linguistic, cultural and philosophical milieu and background, both thinkers are in agreement at least twofold. Firstly, the possibility of freedom and free action is not opposed to the natural order of things, quite contrary, it is enabled by this order. Secondly, (...) this possibility is being realised through never-ending self-cultivation and attunement to the world as it is. In the context of contemporary discussions on the problem of the relationship between free will and determinism, it could hence be said that both thinkers are on the position of “compatibilism”, nay, on the position that free action is possible only in the context of determinism that sees nature as ever-changing and conditioning circumstances and “patterns”, and not bound to strict and linear deterministic causality. (shrink)

Bu kitap değerlendirmesinde, Orna Donath’ın annelikten pişman olma durumunu nasıl ele aldığına değinilecek, kitabın güçlü ve zayıf yönleri üzerinde durulacaktır.

Bu çalışmanın amacı, söz verme örneği üzerinden olgudan değerin nasıl türetildiğini göstererek bu türetmenin etik ile ilişkisini ortaya koymaktır. Bu amaç, temelde John Searle ve Paul Ricoeur’ün olgu-değer sorununa getirdiği yanıtlar üzerinden gerçekleştirilecektir. Olgudan değerin türetilip türetilemeyeceği problemini dil felsefesinin sınırları içinde kalarak çözmeye çalışan Searle ile bu türetme sağlandığı taktirde problemin bir ahlak felsefesi problemi olduğunu düşünen Ricoeur’ün görüşleri ortaya konarak dil felsefesi ve etik arasında bir köprü kurulmaya çalışılacaktır. Bu köprü kurma çabası felsefenin iki temel disiplini arasındaki sınır (...) ve ayrımları bir anlamda ihlal etme niyeti taşımaktadır. (shrink)

İdrak ve niteliği felsefenin en önemli problemlerinden biridir. İbn Sînâ hissî, hayalî, vehmî ve aklî olmak üzere dört farklı idrak mertebesi dillendirir. Buna göre insan nefsi nesnelerin suretlerini duyu yetileriyle algılar. Daha sonra bu suretleri hayal yetisine teslim eder. Akabinde akıl bu sureti barındırdığı maddî eklentilerden arındırarak aklî suretlerin oluşumu için gerekli zeminleri hazırlar. Daha sonra faal akıl insan nefsine aklî suretleri verir. İnsan zihninde duyularla algılanan bu kavramlardan başka kavramlar da vardır. Bu küllî kavramların yeri nesnel âlem değil öznel (...) âlemdir. İslam felsefesi geleneğinde Fârâbî ilk defa bu ayırımı yapar ve ma‘kūlleri birinci ve ikinci ma‘kūller diye iki kısma ayırır. İbn Sînâ da bu sınıflandırmayı benimser ve konu hakkında yeni açıklamalar getirir. İbn Sînâ, ikinci ma‘kūllerin sonraki dönemlerde yapılan felsefî ve mantıkî ayırımını her ne kadar dillendirmese de eserlerinden bu iki ma‘kūl türünün farklılığına teveccüh eder. Bu çalışmada İbn Sînâ felsefesinde idrak olgusunun gerçekleşme niteliği ele alınacak ve daha sonraki dönemlerde dillendirilen ikinci felsefî ma‘kūl anlamların İbn Sînâ felsefesindeki yeri açıklanacaktır. (shrink)

After a review of terminology, I identify—in addition to Margaret Battin’s list of five primary arguments for and against aid-in-dying—the argument from functional equivalence as another primary argument. I introduce a novel way to approach this argument based on Bernard Lonergan’s generalized empirical method. Then I proceed on the basis of GEM to distinguish palliative sedation, palliative sedation to unconsciousness when prognosis is less than two weeks, and foregoing life-sustaining treatment from aid-in-dying. I conclude that aid-in-dying must be justified on (...) its own merits and not on the basis of these well-established palliative care practices; and that societies must decide, in weighing the merits of aid-in-dying, whether or not to make the judgment that no life is better than life-like-this part of their operative value structure. (shrink)

Continuous sedation until death is an increasingly common practice in end-of-life care. However, it raises numerous medical, ethical, emotional and legal concerns, such as the reducing or removing of consciousness, the withholding of artificial nutrition and hydration, the proportionality of the sedation to the symptoms, its adequacy in actually relieving symptoms rather than simply giving onlookers the impression that the patient is undergoing a painless 'natural' death, and the perception that it may be functionally equivalent to euthanasia. This book brings (...) together contributions from clinicians, ethicists, lawyers and social scientists, and discusses guidelines as well as clinical, emotional and legal aspects of the practice. The chapters shine a critical spotlight on areas of concern and on the validity of the justifications given for the practice, including in particular the doctrine of double effect. (shrink)

“Terminal sedation” refers to the use of sedation as palliation in dying patients with a terminal diagnosis. Although terminal sedation has received widespread legal and ethical justification, the practice remains ethically contentious, particularly as some hold that it foreseeably hastens death. It has been proposed that empirical studies show that terminal sedation does not hasten death, or that even if it may hasten death it does not do so in a foreseeable way. Nonetheless, it is clear that providing terminal sedation (...) in combination with the withholding or withdrawing of life-prolonging treatments such as fluid and nutrition can foreseeably hasten death significantly—what is here called early terminal sedation . There are ethical justifications for the use of sedation in palliative care and thus it would seem that ETS is an ethically and legally acceptable practice. However, what emerges from the literature is the repeated assertion that terminal sedation must be restricted to use in imminently dying patients—the “imminence condition”—and that therefore ETS is unacceptable. This restriction has taken on greater significance with the trend of palliative care to include the care of patients who are not imminently dying. This paper proposes to show that although there is widespread intuitive support for the imminence condition, it does not follow from the justifications for sedation as palliation, and that explicit arguments for the imminence condition are needed. (shrink)

Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) and palliative sedation (PS) are both legal options in Canada that may be considered by patients experiencing intolerable and unmanageable suffering. A contentious, lively debate has been ongoing in the literature regarding the similarities and differences between MAiD and PS. The aim of this paper is to explore the propositions that MAiD and PS are essentially similar and conversely that MAiD and PS are distinctly different. The relevance of such a debate is apparent for clinicians (...) and patients alike. Understanding the complex and multi‐faceted nuances between PS and MAiD allows patients and caregivers to make more informed decisions pertaining to end‐of‐life care. It is hoped that this paper will also serve to foster further debate and consideration of the issues associated with PS and MAiD with a view to improve patient care and the quality of both living and dying in Canada. (shrink)

A distinction is commonly drawn between continuous sedation until death and physician-assisted suicide/euthanasia. Only the latter is found to involve killing, whereas the former eludes such characterization. I argue that continuous sedation until death is equivalent to physician-assisted suicide/euthanasia in that both involve killing. This is established by first defining and clarifying palliative sedation therapies in general and continuous sedation until death in particular. A case study analysis and a look at current practices are provided. This is followed by a (...) defense of arguments in favor of definitions of death centering on higher brain (neocortical) functioning rather than on whole brain or cardiopulmonary functioning. It is then shown that continuous sedation until death simulates higher brain definitions of death by eliminating consciousness. Appeals to reversibility and double effect fail to establish any distinguishing characteristics between the simulation of death that occurs in continuous sedation until death and the death that occurs as a result of physician-assisted suicide/euthanasia. Concluding remarks clarify the moral ramifications of these findings. (shrink)

Continuous sedation until death (CSD), the act of reducing or removing the consciousness of an incurably ill patient until death, often provokes medical-ethical discussions in the opinion sections of medical and nursing journals. A content analysis of opinion pieces in medical and nursing literature was conducted to examine how clinicians define and describe CSD, and how they justify this practice morally. Most publications were written by physicians and published in palliative or general medicine journals. Terminal Sedation and Palliative Sedation are (...) the most frequently used terms to describe CSD. Seventeen definitions with varying content were identified. CSD was found to be morally justified in 73 % of the publications using justifications such as Last Resort, Doctrine of Double Effect, Sanctity of Life, Autonomy, and Proportionality. The debate over CSD in the opinion sections of medical and nursing journals lacks uniform terms and definitions, and is profoundly marked by ‘charged language’, aiming at realizing agreement in attitude towards CSD. Not all of the moral justifications found are equally straightforward. To enable a more effective debate, the terms, definitions and justifications for CSD need to be further clarified. (shrink)

Slow euthanasia or a good palliative intervention?There are many ways in which doctors influence the circumstances and/or the timing of a patient’s death. Some of these are accepted as normal medical practice—for instance, when a disproportional treatment is forgone, others are considered tolerable only under strict conditions or even intolerable, such as non-voluntary active euthanasia. A relatively new phenomenon in the ethical discussion on end-of-life decisions is terminal sedation. Terminal sedation is used in patients with terminal illnesses where normal medical (...) treatments cannot relieve severe symptoms such as pain and agitation, and no option is left but to take away the perception of these symptoms. Often, the decision to start terminal sedation is accompanied by the decision to forgo the provision of artificial nutrition and hydration in these patients. In The Netherlands, terminal sedation was estimated to be applied in 4–10% of all deaths in 2001.1 The combination of these two decisions have made the moral status of terminal sedation the subject of fierce ethical debates. Is it slow euthanasia2,3 or is it a good palliative intervention that should be sharply distinguished from euthanasia?4,5 One of the characteristics of this debate is that it is a very confused one: people disagree about the meaning of the term, the appropriateness of it and, of course, about the conditions under which it would be morally justified. As a matter of fact, these three discussions are deeply connected: as is often the case, a discussion about terms is a discussion about norms in disguise.The first observation to be made is that many seemingly descriptive definitions of terminal sedation contain normative claims. Examples of this are definitions of terminal sedation in which only …. (shrink)

Continuous deep sedation (CDS) has the effect of making the patient unconscious until death, and that it has this effect is clearly an undesirable aspect of CDS. However, some authors have recently maintained that many physicians do not intend this effect when practicing CDS. According to these authors, CDS is differentiated into two types; in what is called “gradual” CDS (or CDS as a result of proportionate palliative sedation), physicians start with low doses of sedatives and increase them only gradually, (...) whereas in “rapid” CDS (or palliative sedation to unconsciousness), physicians rapidly administer a heavy dose that clearly induces unconsciousness from the beginning. The claim is that the physicians intend permanent unconsciousness only if they rapidly administer a heavy dose, but they do not intend it when the unconsciousness is the result of a gradual increase of sedatives. This paper attempts to refute these claims based on a close examination of the protocol of gradual CDS. If my argument is valid, the doctrine of double effect would not be useful in justifying most, if not all, cases of CDS. (shrink)