The word ‘existentialism’ has become something of a catchword in religious circles today, and one suspects that it is sometimes a substitute rather than a medium for thought. Most theological teachers must from time to time have received from a pupil an essay in which the words ‘existential’, ‘existentially’ and ‘existentialism’ appear to have been sprinkled from a pepper-pot over an exposition whose meaning would remain unchanged if these words were excised altogether. Nevertheless, usum non tollit abusus, and the following (...) rather unsystematic remarks may perhaps be of some help in elucidating and evaluating a mode of thought and expression which has attracted the interest of some of the more profound, as well as of some of the more superficial, theological and philosophical writers of the present day. (shrink)

The homogeneous gravitational field is obtained from a Schwarzschild field in the limit of infinite mass.

Looked at in one way, the existence of art continues to be an unsolved puzzle. The need for science as an irreplaceable technique for acquiring knowledge about the objective world is hardly subject to doubt. But as concerns art, which for thousands of years has absorbed enormous material and human resources and the most precious creative forces, there is still no equally clear-cut determination of why it is necessary and irreplaceable. How much richer society could become materially if there were (...) no need for art'. But when the Puritans forbade "vain," secular art, they were unable to kill it either in England or its North American provinces. At all times in history, talented young people have gone into the arts en masse, condemning themselves to incredibly difficult labors that in 99 cases out of 100 brought them neither fame nor wealth nor even a personal sense of success. Yet they have gone on without wavering, like fish up rapids and past all obstacles to spawn in river deltas, dying in vast numbers en route, so as to perform the great duty stipulated by nature. (shrink)

In this essay we review a number of values and conflicts involved in human nutrition in order to clarify the sources of resistance to accepting a pump-fed patient on the part of nursing home nurses. The case illustrates the complexities of our feelings and values in the area of intrusion showing the need for continued reflection upon and revision of our intuitive reactions. The case also displays conflict resolution.

Controversy and activism have long been linked to the subject of primate research. Even in the midst of raging ethical debates surrounding fertility treatments, genetically modified foods and stem-cell research, there has been no reduction in the campaigns of activists worldwide. Plying their trade of intimidation aimed at ending biomedical experimentation in all animals, they have succeeded in creating an environment where research institutions, often painted as guilty until proven innocent, have avoided addressing the issue for fear of becoming targets. (...) One area of intense debate is the use of primates in stroke research. Despite the fact that stroke kills more people each year than AIDS and malaria, and less than 5% of patients are candidates for current therapies, there is significant opposition to primate stroke research. A balanced examination of the ethics of primate stroke research is thus of broad interest to all areas of biomedical research. (shrink)