Volume 24, Issue 7, July 2024, Page 6-12.

Objective: The study was designed to substantiate the obligations to the human embryo that can be established from the standpoint of autonomy, by showing the human embryo to be a subject of rights. Materials and Methods: Documentary research was done, supplemented with content from in-depth interviews conducted with a team of leading experts in medicine, law and philosophy. A script was used as a research tool, but with the freedom to expand on some of the issues with new questions suggested (...) by the person being interviewed or by the research team, as relevant to each interview. Results: Eight experts were interviewed: two in medicine, three in rights and three in philosophy. The interviews clearly showed there is an objective basis for the human rights of the embryo, which now are being violated by so-called legal abortion, through decriminalization via exceptions and decriminaliza-tion based on terms. Conclusion: We live in a society that has lost sight of the very foundation of common sense when it comes to protecting the unborn, especially in its embryonic stage, appealing to the bioethical principles of dignity, integrity and vulnerability. (shrink)

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the approach to the health-disease system, raising the question about the principles of bioethics present in physician–patient relations. The principles while widely accepted may not be sufficient for a comprehensive ethical analysis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the perception of these principles and the physician–patient relationship during a hospital stay through a qualitative approach. Method Sixteen semi-structured interviews took place to know the patients’ perception during their 2020 hospitalization for COVID-19. (...) The data was analyzed through the constant comparison method, creating categories and comparing them. In the end, seven categories were established and were grouped in three: bioethical principles (dignity, charity, vulnerability, autonomy), doctor-patient relationship (participant commitment, informed consent, health staff-patient relationship) and the experience of the disease (illness, the role of the family). Results The research found that most patients described a positive experience, with the feeling of having been well cared for with no sense of discrimination or injustice done. The majority also reported that their autonomy was respected in the treatment decisions. The evaluation of these attitudes is an area of opportunity, especially when the patients' vulnerability is at risk. Conclusions The ethics of virtue offers a better reflection of how human beings manifest themselves by emphasizing the development of virtuous character and behaviors that allow them to realize their values in life. Authorized by the Research Ethics Committee with registration: DI/18/105-B/3/308. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted medical care in many ways; previously, a patient would enter a hospital and had an approximate idea of what would happen upon his admission, the physician informed them about it, but in the last two years this scenario has changed. Therefore, our aim was to identify if bioethical principles are present in the physician–patient relationship and the effect of these in the health care provided, through an observational and descriptive study where patients answered the validated (...) ReMePaB questionnaire that measures the presence of bioethical principles in the physician–patient relationship, on the seventh day of their hospital stay and 24 h after discharge, during the period from 1 August to 5 November 2020. In autonomy, an improvement in the score was observed in the second application compared to the first measurement; in the principle of non-vulnerability, the same scenario was observed for the first and second measurements, respectively. In the principles of beneficence, dignity, and justice, no statistically significant differences were observed. Considering the presence or absence of bioethical aspects in health care in this pandemic creates an area of opportunity to know the feelings of the patient during the care received and to maintain what is done well and improve those aspects that can be improved. (shrink)

ABSTRACT:While the literature on psychedelic medicine emphasizes the importance of set and setting alongside the quality of subjective drug effects for therapeutic efficacy, few scholars have explored the therapeutic frameworks that are used alongside psychedelics in the lab or in the clinic. Based on a narrative analysis of the treatment manual and post-session experience reports from a pilot study of psilocybin-assisted treatment for tobacco smoking cessation, this article examines how therapeutic frameworks interact with the psychedelic substance in ways that can (...) rapidly reshape participants' identity and sense of self. We identified multiple domains relating to identity shift that appear to serve as smoking cessation mechanisms during psilocybin sessions, each of which had an identifiable presence in the manualized treatment. As psychedelic medicine becomes mainstream, consensual and evidence-based approaches to psychedelic-assisted identity shift that respect patient autonomy and encourage empowerment should become areas of focus in the emergent field of psychedelic bioethics. (shrink)

La causa de la metafísica como filosofía primera, que parece sentenciada desde Kant, revela hoy nuevas facetas desde el punto de vista de una filosofía de la técnica. Un discurso universal y analógico sobre el ser en todas sus acepciones aparece como horizonte de racionalidad técnica compartido, de hecho, por argumentaciones tan dispares y representativas como las de Ortega, Dessauer, Heidegger y García Bacca. A propósito de sus planteamientos, se alumbra en este trabajo la transformación, que la técnica impone, de (...) la clásica cuestión kantiana: ¿es posible la metafísica como ciencia?, en esta otra cuestión, -es posible una ciencia de lo artificial? (shrink)

Ésta es una contribución al debate originado por Guillermo Hurtado y proseguido por Manuel García-Carpintero y Horacio Luján Martínez, con relación al sentido y a los objetivos de la filosofía analítica, especialmente en Iberoamérica. En ella se defiende que las tesis de Hurtado también se pueden aplicar al cultivo de filosofías no analíticas, pues en realidad conciernen a la filosofía profesional que se practica dentro y fuera de Iberoamérica. Se sostiene, además, que si bien la profesionalización y la masificación de (...) la filosofía son fenómenos en sí mismos positivos, tienen consecuencias colaterales negativas respecto de la calidad de la filosofía que se produce. También se aduce que el que una propuesta filosófica no tenga una inmediata relevancia existencial o política no la hace menos importante, siempre que en algún sentido amplíe las fronteras del conocimiento. This is a commentary on a debate originated by Guillermo Hurtado and followed up by Manuel García-Carpintero and Horacio Luján Martínez, in regards to the meaning and objectives of analytic philosophy, especially in Latin America. This paper holds that Hurtado's theses are also true about non analytic philosophy, since they are about professional philosophy, as practiced both inside and outside Latin America. Professionalization and popularization of philosophy, while positive phenomena in themselves, have negative collateral consequences on the quality of philosophy produced in the present moment. it is also held that the fact that a given philosophical proposal has no immediate existential or political relevance doesn't make it less important, as long as in some sense it widens the frontiers of knowledge. (shrink)

Ketamine is a dissociative drug that has been used medically since the 1970s primarily as an anesthetic agent but also for various psychiatric applications. Anecdotal reports and clinical research suggest substantial potential for ketamine as a treatment in conjunction with psychological interventions. Here, we review historical and modern approaches to the use of ketamine with psychotherapy, discuss the clinical relevance of ketamine’s acute psychoactive effects, propose a unique model for using esketamine with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and suggest considerations for (...) moving medication-assisted psychotherapy forward as a field. (shrink)

The use of the circle to signify wine was common medieval logicians. The author of this article studies the true sense in which those masters used it, making use of literature and the work of great logicians, such as Albert of Saxony and William of Ockham, to do so.

This article examines the account of the relationship between sin and suffering provided by J. L. A. Garcia in “Sin and Suffering in a Catholic Understanding of Medical Ethics,” in this issue. Garcia draws on the (Roman) Catholic tradition and particularly on the thought of Thomas Aquinas, who remains an important resource for Catholic theology. Nevertheless, his interpretation of Thomas is open to criticism, both in terms of omissions and in terms of positive claims. Garcia includes those (...) elements of Thomas that are purely philosophical, such as natural law and acquired virtue, but neglects the theological and infused virtues, the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, and the beatitudes. These omissions distort his account of the Christian life so that he underplays both the radical problem posed by sin (and suffering), and the radical character of the ultimate solution: redemption in Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit. (shrink)

The Averroistic Monopsychism could not be incorporated to the Christian thought to darken the idea of the immortality of the personal soul. Albert the Great, tries to make a synthesis of the Arab doctrines and the Doctrine of Divine Illumination. The conclusion is a proposal -not systematize- but where it is possible to found the distinction at personal level between intellect agent and possible intellect, in analogous way to the distinction essence/act of being.

La realización del sí mismo representa un cometido que interpela a nuestra propia identidad humana. La heterogeneidad y riqueza de las voces que hablan sobre el cómo responder a ello demandan una deliberación atenta y mesurada. Para algunos, esta tarea supone un alto costo intersubjetivo que eventualmente nos vemos orillados a pagar. Para otros, es apremiante establecer un límite a tal importe para, precisamente, salvaguardar al sí mismo. En esta escena, la propuesta reflexiva de Albert Camus nos ofrece un (...) sensato balance que nos permite situar las coordenadas en las que la conducción de la particular existencia se traduce en una realización compartida. (shrink)

La tarea que supone elaborarse a sí mismo conlleva un desafío que constantemente nos pone a prueba, pero cuando el costo de este cometido se deposita en la espalda de alguien más, hasta desvalorizarlo, menoscabarlo y anularlo, tiene lugar la inquietante experiencia de la humillación. El presente texto se propone indagar sobre esta manera de proceder, en la que un deformado anhelo de la consecución de sí reclama la humillación del otro. De la mano de Albert Camus, Cornelius Castoriadis (...) y Richard Rorty, el trabajo ofrece una mirada que insiste en el mérito de una constitución de sí sin disminuir al otro, pues, ante una escena de esta naturaleza, el juicio crítico se ve comprometido a dar una respuesta que sea capaz de reivindicar el valor de nuestra condición humana, frente a las iniciativas que pretenden desestimarla. (shrink)

El presente texto ofrece un examen sobre la correspondencia que existe entre el deterioro moral y el comportamiento hostil. Con este propósito, la reflexión transita por la querella de carácter ético que tiene lugar en La peste de Albert Camus y por el desvelamiento de una violencia contemporánea que se viste bajo el aspecto de una apremiante autoafirmación de sí, un destape que Byung-Chul Han lleva a cabo en su Topología de la violencia. La llamada que ambos autores lanzan (...) sobre la disposición del espíritu humano que resulta capaz de confirmar este sombrío vínculo o de emanciparnos de él, se convierte en un cometido ante el que el juicio crítico necesita responder. (shrink)

La riqueza de una dimensión humana como la libertad merece el compromiso de cuidar de ella, y nuestra manera de atender a esta tarea pone a prueba el valor que le conferimos a nuestro propio ser. El pasar por alto este cometido se traduce en una experiencia de atropello, que termina por enrolarnos a todos en un interminable ciclo de hostilidad. Albert Camus nos ofrece una mirada que nos permite reconocer el mérito de ocuparnos de nuestro ser libre, sin (...) atribuirle a nuestra libertad un carácter absoluto bajo el que se esconde la intención de obtener un provecho sobre los demás. De manera que nuestra libertad se realiza en la medida en que nos proporciona un bien que no es monopolio de ninguno, al contrario, beneficia a cada quién en tanto que lo hemos alcanzado en conjunto. (shrink)

El pensamiento filosófico de Camus coloca al tema de la vida y su sentido en el centro de toda reflexión pertinente para el existir humano. Efectivamente, la vida y lo que hace de ella un suceso valioso ocupa al entendimiento para responder ante los hechos que parecen reducir la existencia humana a un evento inquietantemente insignificante. Esto es precisamente lo que produce la experiencia de lo absurdo, cuyo proceder comporta un aspecto deshumanizador que logra ponerse de manifiesto a través de (...) acontecimientos muy puntuales que alertan y miden el alcance de nuestra comprensión. En Camus, la referencia a vivencias como la del totalitarismo moderno advierten un modo peculiar, y hasta entonces desconocido, de violentar la vida humana hasta un punto en el que, frente a lo descabellado de los hechos, el pensamiento queda como acallado. No obstante, el juicio crítico se vuelve más urgente, sobre todo, cuando notamos que la psicología que subyace a estas prácticas se reproduce en nuestra época bajo otras formas igual de brutales y preocupantemente alarmantes, como lo es el caso de la tortura institucionalizada. En este sentido, es posible que la crítica de Camus sea tan efectiva ahora como en su tiempo, particularmente, cuando la práctica de la vida comporta un aspecto hostil que a la vez pone a prueba a nuestro discernimiento y a nuestra capacidad de coexistir. (shrink)

This essay focuses on how casuistry can become a useful technique of practical reasoning for the clinical ethicist or ethics consultant. Casuistry is defined, its relationship to rhetorical reasoning and its interpretation of cases, by employing three terms that, while they are not employed by the classical rhetoricians and casuists, conform, in a general way, to the features of their work. Those terms are (1) morphology, (2) taxonomy, (3) kinetics. The morphology of a case reveals the invariant structure of the (...) particular case whatever its contingent features, and also the invariant forms of argument relevant to any case of the same sort: these invariant features can be called topics. Taxonomy situates the instant case in a series of similar cases, allowing the similarities and differences between an instant case and a paradigm case to dictate the moral judgment about the instant case. This judgment is based, not merely on application of an ethical theory or principle, but upon the way in which circumstances and maxims appear in the morphology of the case itself and in comparison with other cases. Kinetics is an understanding of the way in which one case imparts a kind of moral movement to other cases, that is, different and sometimes unprecedented circumstances may move certain marginal or exceptional cases to the level of paradigm cases. In conclusion, casuistry is the exercise of prudential or practical reasoning in recognition of the relationship between maxims, circumstances and topics, as well as the relationship of paradigms to analogous cases. (shrink)

This paper proposes to reconstruct Boaventura de Sousa Santos' conception of "epistemologies of the south" both (a) as a critical theory aiming at denouncing the impoverishment of the epistemic field entailed by the normative imposition of a certain model of knowledge (what we call "the monoculture of reason"), and (b) as a long-term political project of a harmonic coexistence of different epistemologies ("an ecology of knowledges").

The study examines the argumentative competencies of people with Asperger syndrome (AS) and compares this with those of normal – or what are called neurotypical (NT) – subjects. To investigate how people with AS recognise, evaluate and engage in argumentation, we have adapted and applied the empirical instrument developed by van Eemeren, Garssen and Meuffels to study the conventional validity of the pragma-dialectical freedom rule (van Eemeren, Gars- sen & Meuffels 2003a; 2003b; 2005a; 2005b; van Eemeren & Meuffels, 2002). Our (...) paper begins with some background information on Asperger syndrome and how it impacts upon communication and argumentation; then it addresses the research questions and methods used; thirdly, it presents some initial findings; finally, it will conclude with some im- plications for those people with AS, for those they come into contact with and for the pragma-dialectic model in general. (shrink)

Amongst the many social factors that impact upon children, race is arguably one of the largest. Race is an ever-present social category that governs many elements of a child’s interaction with others, and especially for racial minority children it exerts a deep influence on their understanding of themselves. In this chapter, we shall begin by examining what the concept of race really amounts to, emphasizing its status as a socially constructed concept, before examining in the following section how children first (...) come to recognize the existence of race, and to understand their own racial identity.We will then look at two important areas that illustrate the profound impact that the social presence of race and the child’s developing understanding of racial identity have upon the social conditions of many children. First, we will examine how race and childhood intersect in matters of educational opportunity and achievement, before moving on to examine the issue of transracial adoption in the final section. (shrink)

In the seventh and most recent edition of their classic book, Principles of Biomedical Ethics, Tom Beauchamp and James Childress define a virtue as a character trait that is “socially valuable and reliably present” and a moral virtue as such a trait that is also both “dispositional” and “morally valuable”. The virtues that they single out as “focal” within biomedical ethics are compassion, discernment, trustworthiness, integrity, and conscientiousness. Not all is well in their treatment of virtue. Beauchamp and Childress seem (...) to worry that an ethical theory in which virtues are fundamental will neglect duties, rights, and societal needs. Further, they insist that there is no reason to think that, within ethical theory, one family of ethical concepts is the most important, nor that one theoretical approach is correct, or even superior to others. I will try to show, that there are strong reasons to see language, concepts, and matters of virtue as fundamental within normative ethical theory, both generally and in such specialized subareas as medical ethics. These reasons reveal themselves when we analyze concepts at the core of the alternative approaches to theorizing ethics that Beauchamp and Childress identify. (shrink)

Two leaves of typescript and 7 leaves of galley proofs with corrections in Einstein's hand for the article "Relativity" in American Peoples Encyclopedia.

God’s speech is a prominent theme in the book of Hebrews. A fascinating phenomenon regarding God’s speech, and one that has in my opinion not been adequately explored, is that the writer possibly implies that God created by his word (Heb 11:3), preserves creation by his word (Heb 1:3) and will consummate creation by his word (Heb 12:26). This article examines whether the writer indeed had the conviction that God did, does and will do this by his word. This is (...) done by doing grammatico-historical exegesis of Hebrews 11:3, 1:3 and 12:26 and integrating the findings. In so doing, this article contributes to the study of Hebrews’ theology of God’s word. (shrink)

The author builds a realistic theory of democracy to end the false idea that corruption, state crime, and public immorality are democracy's products, not the natural and inevitable fruits of oligarchic regimes. Important theories of the state and constitution exist, but none can be called a theory of democracy.

(2001). Disability: Societal Responses to Difference and Interdisciplinary Interventions by Bioethicists. The American Journal of Bioethics: Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 62-63.

RESUMENInforme bibliográfico de las obras de Maurice Merleau-Ponty hasta 1996, que revisa y actualiza repertorios anteriores. El informe incluye también trabajos inéditos y documentos de su legado personal.PALABRAS CLAVEMERLEAU-PONTY-FILOSOFIA FRANCESA-FENOMENOLOGIAABSTRACTBibliographical report of Maurice Merleau-Ponry's works up to 1996, wich revises and updates previous bibliographies. The report also includes unpublished papers and documents from his personal legacy. KEYWORDSMERLEAU-PONTY- FRENCH PHILOSOPHY-PHENOMENOLOGY.