Chronic organ diseases and the increasing demand for organ transplantation have become an important health care problem within the last few decades. Campaigns and regulations to encourage people to donate organs after their death have not met much success. This article discusses the subject from an Islamic perspective. It begins with some basic information on how Muslims reach legal rulings on a particular issue, and goes on to debate contemporary thinking among Islamic scholars on the ethical‐legal issues of organ donation (...) and organ transplantation.It is shown that there are two groups of scholars, one allowing organ donation and organ transplantation, the other refusing it in any circumstances. Both groups agree that it is fundamentally wrong to harvest organs from cadavers without the prior permission of the deceased or the relatives. This dogma is re‐examined, and it is argued that, under the rule of necessity and the imperative to preserve life, there is enough moral and theological ground to allow the state to harvest organs from the deceased without prior permission. (shrink)

Stem cell research is a newly emerging technology that promises a wide variety of benefits for humanity. It has, however, also caused much ethical, legal, and theological debate. While some forms of its application were prohibited in the beginning, they have now started to be used in many countries. This fact obliges us to discuss the regulation of stem cell research at national and international level. It is obvious that in order to make regulations and to draw up legislation at (...) national or international levels it helps to know the perspectives of different cultures and faith traditions. In this article the issue is explored from an Islamic perspective. Firstly, some basic information is given about Islam to explain how laws are drawn up and regulations made in this tradition. Secondly, the principles on which the laws and regulations are based are applied to stem cell research, and finally the permitted and prohibited methods of stem cell research are described. The discussions throughout the paper demonstrate that while some ethicists argue that stem cell research is unethical in the Islamic tradition, tradition permits it as long as such research is aimed at improving human health. (shrink)

Background There have been different ethical approaches to the issues in the history of philosophy. Two American philosophers Beachump and Childress formulated some ethical principles namely 'respect to autonomy', 'justice', 'beneficence' and 'non-maleficence'. These 'Four Principles' were presented by the authors as universal and applicable to any culture and society. Mawlana, a great figure in Sufi tradition, had written many books which not only guide people how to worship God to be close to Him, but also advise people how to (...) lead a good life to enrich their personality, as well as to create a harmonious society and a peaceful world. Methods In this study we examined the major works of Mawlana to find out which of these 'Four Principles of Bioethics' exist in Mawlana's ethical understanding. Results We have found in our study that all these principles exist in Mawlana's writings and philosophy in one form or another. Conclusions We have concluded that, further to Beachump and Childress' claim that these principles are universal and applicable to any culture and society, these principles have always existed in different moral traditions in different ways, of which Mawlana's teaching might be presented as a good example. (shrink)

In this article I examine how a teleological (or purposive) reading of Spinoza’s conatus shapes the ethical framework of his philosophy. I first introduce Spinoza’s criticism of teleology and argue contra many critics that Spinoza has a mild approach to human teleology. On the basis of this idea, I develop the claim that the human conatus includes purposive elements such that it is envisioned as a purposive being that is oriented towards the adequate knowledge of Nature or God, the conceptions (...) of wisdom, love and joy and the notion of an ideal human nature. From the teleological reading of human conatus, I draw the conclusion that Spinoza’s ethics is inclusive of objective, humanistic, and essentialist elements in the sense that it situates human agents as directed towards ethical ends to be pursued through their conative activity. In this sense, throughout this paper, I take issue with the anti-teleological reading of conatus that is predominantly related to the subjectivistic, anti-humanistic, and non-essentialist interpretation of Spinoza’s ethics. In doing so, I argue that Spinoza’s ethics is not entirely free from objective, humanistic and essentialist elements, by putting a particular emphasis on the distinguishing character of the purposive essence of his human conatus. (shrink)

In this paper I focus on how the meritorious dimension (or latitude, Spielraum) involved in the promotion of the highest good is closely related to the constitution of an ethical community as a free, open and progressive moral society. I argue that since moral perfection and moral belief/faith as the grounding elements for the promotion of the highest good (synthesis of virtue and happiness) are not objective duties that must be promoted to a definite extent but involve a certain latitude (...) in their employment, the ethical community that emerges out of the pursuit of the highest good does not prove to be a uniform society in terms of the degrees of the pursuit of moral perfection and moral commitment of its citizens. Rather, I point out that the latitude involved in the pursuit of moral perfection and the adoption of moral belief leads to the establishment of an ethical community that emerges as an open and free society entered by its citizens freely and willfully as part of their inner self-constraint. I thus hold that in such an ethical society agents can pursue and promote the highest good not in a strictly prescribed and uniform manner but in various forms and degrees as long as they constantly progress towards a higher form of moral perfection and purer form of religious (or rational) belief/faith. (shrink)

This response to “A rational cure for pre-reproductive stress syndrome” first suggests it is existence that is essential and prerequisite to everything good or bad, therefore it deserves to be protected and respected. Secondly, it argues that every life is worth living, even if it is worse than some other lives, if the only alternative is non-existence. Finally, it takes a critical view of and challenges Häyry’s suggestion that in a good clinical situation, the idea of the irrationality of having (...) children could be a legitimate part of the guidance given, since it is not the counsellor’s or doctor’s duty to advise a couple who wish to have children that it is irrational or even immoral to bring a child into life. (shrink)

The swift advancement of intensive care medicine, coupled with technological possibilities, has prompted numerous ethical inquiries regarding decision-making processes concerning the withholding or withdrawal of treatment due to medical futility. This study seeks to delineate the decision-making approaches employed by intensive care physicians in Türkiye when faced with medical futility at the end of life, along with an ethical evaluation of these practices. Grounded theory, a qualitative analysis method was employed, conducting semi-structured, in-depth interviews with eleven intensive care physicians in (...) Türkiye. The subsequent text analysis was carried out using MAXQDA software. Participants assert that the decisions made by Turkish physicians determine whether treatment is futile, rely on medical consensus, and lack a standardized decision-making process. The decisions are influenced by legal and social pressures, resource constraints, and occasional conflicts of interest. The significance of professional hierarchy is notable, with limited consideration given to the opinions of nurses and other staff. The unstructured medical consensus processes are shaped by normative concepts such as benefit, age, justice, and conscience. Furthermore, it was observed that the conscientious opinions of physicians carry more weight than adherence to ethical principles and guidelines. To create optimal conditions for doctors to make ethically justifiable decisions, the dynamics within the treatment team should be improved, emphasizing the minimization of hierarchy, and ensuring the active participation of all team members in the decision-making process. Additionally, efforts should be directed toward narrowing the gap between the conscience of the individual doctor and established ethical principles. A potential solution lies in the nationwide implementation of clinical ethics committees and the establishing of clinical ethics guidelines, aiming to address, and overcome the identified challenges. (shrink)

Kur’ân’da ahiret hayatının başlıca kısımlarından biri cennettir. Cennet, bu dünyada Allah’a inanan ve imanlarının bir sonucu olarak salih amel işleyenlerin ahirette nimetlerle ödüllendirileceği yer olarak ifade edilir. Bu açıdan Kur’ân’ın pek çok âyetinde cennet hayatına dair çeşitli nimetlerden bahsedilir. Özellikle Mekkî sûrelerde yoğun bir şekilde somut cennet tasvirleri yapılır. Bu tasvirlerin ise genellikle muhatapların kültürel alışkanlıklarıyla iç içe olduğu görülür. Diğer yandan Medenî sûrelerde ise somut cennet tasvirlerinin belirgin olarak azaldığı daha soyut ve evrensel temaların öne çıktığı fark edilmektedir. Dolayısıyla (...) araştırmanın konusunu ve kapsamını Kur’ân’daki cennet tasvirleri oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın temel amacı ise vahyin nüzul süreci bağlamında Kur’ân’daki cennet tasvirlerinde yerel ve kültürel unsurların ne ölçüde ve nasıl bir etkisinin olduğunun tespit edilmesidir. Zira cennet nimetlerini tamamen tarihsel ve kültürel bir bağlama indirgemek, bu nimetlerin işarette bulunduğu nesnel gerçekliği tarihin sınırlarına hapsetmeye yol açmaktadır. Buna göre cennet tasvirlerinin nüzul dönemi muhataplarının algısına indirgenmesi ve bu tasvirlerin cennet hayatına yönelik yapıcı ve kurucu etkisinin göz ardı edilmesi araştırmanın problemini teşkil etmektedir. Bu çerçevede ilk olarak Kur’ân’ın nüzul süreci hakkında bilgi verilmiştir. Ardından Mekkî ve Medenî sûrelerdeki cennet tasvirleri tespit edilerek bu tasvirlerin cennet hayatına yönelik kurucu etkisi üzerinde durulmuştur. Bu doğrultuda araştırmada genel olarak veri tespiti, tasnifi ve analizi yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Neticede cennet tasvirlerinde somuttan soyuta doğru giden tedrici bir yolun takip edildiği görülmüştür. Cennet tasvirlerindeki yerel ve tarihsel unsurların ise salt bir araç olarak kullanılmadığı, bilakis cennet hayatının nesnel gerçekliğine dair muhatapların zihin dünyasında kurucu bir rol oynadığı anlaşılmıştır. Ayrıca cennet nimetlerindeki yerel ve tarihsel unsurlar, cennet hayatının gerçekliğine dair kurucu bir etkiye sahip olmanın yanı sıra insanın algısı, sosyolojisi ve kültürüyle kurulan güçlü ve gerçekçi diyaloğu da göstermektedir. Zira kültürü, insanın bu hayatta farklı açılardan yaşadığı ve tecrübe ettiği gerçeklik olarak gördüğümüzde, cennet nimetlerinde kültürel motiflerin zikredilmesi bu gerçekçi diyaloğa işaret etmektedir. Bu bakımdan cennet tasvirlerinde kişinin canının istediği her şeyin orada olduğunun belirtilmesi, herkese bir yönüyle kendi kültürel gerçekliğine ve tecrübesine göre cenneti inşa etme imkânı da tanınmaktadır. Dolayısıyla cennet nimetleri üzerine yapılan bu inceleme, kültürel alışkanlıkların gaybî hakikatlerin idrak edilmesindeki kurucu etkisini ortaya koymaktadır. (shrink)

XX. yüzyılın en önemli Müslüman düşünürlerinden olan Aliya İzzetbegoviç’in (öl. 2003) birçok düşünce ve kavram üzerine olduğu gibi sanat üzerine de önemli düşünceleri vardır. Çeşitli eserlerinde sanat konusuna değinmiş olmakla birlikte, İzzetbegoviç, sanat meselesini etraflıca Doğu Batı Arasında İslam adlı kitabının “Sanat Fenomeni” bölümünde ele almıştır. Bu bölümdeki alt başlıklardan biri de “Sanat ve Bilim”dir. “Sanat ve Bilim” bölümünde İzzetbegoviç sanatla çeşitli kavramlar, düşünceler ve disiplinler arasındaki ilişkiye ayrıntılı bir biçimde değinmiştir. Kitabın ismi ve temel iddiası açısından İzzetbegoviç 'in sanat (...) ve bilim meselesine de Batının sanat anlayışı ile Doğunun sanat anlayışından farklı bir yaklaşım tarzı benimseyerek meseleleri ele alması beklenmektedir. Oysa İzzetbegoviç sanatı, Batı sanat kuramı ve özellikle modern Batı sanat kuramı ve estetiği bağlamında ele almaktadır. Verdiği sanatçı ve sanat eseri örnekleri tamamen Batı sanatından olduğu gibi iddialarını desteklemek için kullandığı argümanlar da Batı düşüncesine aittir. Bölümde hiçbir şekilde Müslüman bir sanatçı veya sanat eserinin ismi geçmemektedir. İslam’ın sanat anlayışına dair hiçbir İslam düşünürünün fikirlerine de atıfta bulunmamıştır. Herhangi bir Kur’an ayeti veya Hadis, sanat ve bilim arasındaki ilişkiyi çözümlemek için referans gösterilmemiştir. İzzetbegoviç sanat ve bilim arasındaki ilişkiyi çözümlemek için Batının toplumsal, kültürel, felsefi geleneği çerçevesinde bir düşünce perspektifi ortaya koymaktadır. Bölümde İslam kültürüne, felsefesine veya temel metinlerine başvurarak yapılmış bir çözümleme yoktur. Bu çalışma İzzetbegoviç’in Doğu Batı Arasında İslam kitabının “Sanat Fenomeni” adlı bölümdeki “Sanat ve Bilim” başlığı altındaki düşüncelere nitel araştırma yöntemiyle eleştirel yaklaşmayı deneyecektir. Çalışmanın ana iddiası İzzetbegoviç’in sanat ve bilim konusuna Doğu Batı arasında ve İslam'a has bir biçimde yaklaşmadığı yönündedir. İzzetbegoviç sanata bir İslam düşünürü gibi yaklaşmaktan ziyade Batılı ve dahası aydınlanmacı bir düşünür gibi yaklaşmaktadır. Modernitenin gelenek karşısında kutsadığı sanatçı ve sanat eserlerini büyük bir istekle kabul etmekte, sanat anlamında gelenek ve modernitenin kavgasını ve bu kavganın nedenlerini göz ardı etmektedir. Geleneksel /İslam sanatının ne formuna ne içeriğine ne tarihsel gelişimine ne de bugünkü durumuna dair bir fikir ortaya koymamaktadır. Bu anlamda bölümde İslam medeniyetinin sanatsal ve düşünsel birikiminin izlerini sürmek mümkün değildir. Bu yaklaşım biçimi İzzetbegoviç'i sanat konusunda Doğu Batı arasında İslam'a özgü bir konumdan uzaklaştırıp Batılı/ aydınlanmacı bir konuma yerleştirmektedir. (shrink)

In his Critical corpus, Kant makes two seemingly inconsistent claims concerning the highest good and its relation to the postulates of immortality and God. On the one hand, he argues that the highest good is a duty to be promoted that must therefore be possible by human powers (‘ought implies can’). On the other hand, he asserts that the highest good is an “unconditioned object” of practical reason that can only be attained on the ground of the postulates of immortality (...) and the aid of God. In order to resolve this apparent conflict in Kant’s claims, I intend to argue in this paper that Kant implicitly classifies the highest good as a wide obligation (imperfect duty), which is to be promoted in the world by human agency but goes beyond the limits of human powers and must be assisted and complemented by the postulates of immortality and God. To do so, I argue that the highest good stems from the moral law since the moral law embodies the ground of absolute goodness and holiness that is never fully achievable by rational agents and thus can generate duties that are impossible to attain. In parallel, I argue that two of the components of the highest good, namely moral worthiness and distribution of happiness, are classified as wide obligations that the moral law commands us to pursue infinitely and with the aid of God. In sum, I try to resolve the initial conflict by suggesting that the highest good as an infinite progress towards the holiness demanded by the moral law signifies a wide obligation, which is not achievable merely by human agency but fundamentally requires the postulates of immortality and the existence of God as a complementing and assisting ground. (shrink)

In recent decades antenatal screening has become one of the most routine procedure of pregnancy-follow up and the subject of hot debate in bioethics circles. In this paper the rationale behind doing antenatal screening and the actual and potential problems that it may cause will be discussed. The paper will examine the issue from the point of wiew of parents, health care professionals and, most importantly, the child-to-be. It will show how unthoughtfully antenatal screening is performed and how pregnancy is (...) treated almost as a disease just since the emergence of antenatal screening. Genetic screening and ethical problems caused by the procedure will also be addressed and I will suggest that screening is more to do with the interests of others rather than those of the child-to be. (shrink)

Euthanasia is a popular subject that health care professionals, lawyers and theologians has dealt with for a long time. While it was an extreme and exceptional case to support and argue in favour of euthanasia among health care professionals and lay public, it becomes more and more common to see supporters of this act especially among health care professionals.In this article euthanasia is examined from different perspectives, and tried to draw a conclusion that may be helpful to clarify our thinking (...) on this issue. Throughout the article, the concept of ‘ownership’ and the popular bioethical principal ‘right to autonomy’ are also explored. It is mainly concluded that since the euthanasia is the termination of a human life, and violates the internal morality of medicine, it cannot be considered as a part of ‘good-doctoring’ before it is questioned and debated very closely by the concerned public, as well as health care professionals, lawyers, theologians and politicians. (shrink)

Kur’an’a dair esas alınan varlık ve yorum tasavvuru, ilahî kelamın İslam toplumunun inşasında ve müslüman kimliğin oluşumundaki rolünü belirleyen temel faktörlerden birisidir. Dolayısıyla bu noktada, Kur’an’a yönelik parçacı bir varlık ve yorum tasavvurundan ziyade bütüncül bir tasavvurun geliştirilmesi önem arz etmektedir. Bu bağlamda yapacağımız bu araştırmanın temel hedefi, İbn Vehb’in el-Burhān fî vucūhi’l-beyān isimli eserinde, felsefî bir zemin üzerine oturtulduğu dört boyutlu beyan yönteminden hareketle, onun Kur’an’a dair külli bir varlık ve yorum anlayışının oluşumuna katkı sağlayıp sağlamadığı araştırılacaktır. Bu amaç (...) doğrultusunda ilk olarak İbn Vehb’in anlama ve yorumlama faaliyetine yönelik, beyānu’l-i‘tibār, beyānu’l-i‘tiḳād, beyānu’l-‘ibāre ve beyānu’l-kitāb şeklinde dört düzeyde geliştirdiği beyan yöntemi incelenecektir. Daha sonra bu beyan yönteminin genel çerçevesi dikkate alınarak, varlık ve yorum açısından Kur’an tasavvuru üzerinde durulacaktır. Bu şekilde Kur’an’a dair küllî bir varlık ve yorum tasavvurunun oluşmasına, İbn Vehb’in beyan yönteminden hareketle katkı sunulmaya çalışılacaktır. (shrink)

Questionnaire data from a cross-sectional study on social resilience in adolescence, with a sample of N = 1,974 Swiss seventh grade high school students ages 12–14 was used to identify and compare violence resilience profiles. Person-centered latent profile analysis was applied and allowed for the grouping of adolescents into profiles of internalizing and externalizing symptoms and differentiation of adolescents with and without physical parental violence experiences. Subsequently, a multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to further investigate the sociodemographic predictors of (...) violence resilience profiles. With LPA, we identified four distinct profiles for both adolescent groups. The results showed three particularly burdened profiles of adolescents, one with higher externalizing and one with higher internalizing symptoms, which did not occur simultaneously to the same extent. Furthermore, the third profile contained adolescents with both elevated internalizing and externalizing symptoms, the comorbid profile. The fourth profile consisted of the majority of adolescents, who exhibited little or no internalizing and externalizing symptoms, the so-called no/low symptomatic profile. A differentiated view of the symptoms can create added value regarding the understanding of violence resilience. Moreover, in the multinomial logistic regression, significant associations were found between the profiles and adolescents’ gender in the group of adolescents with parental physical violence experiences, but none were found in relation to sociocultural status and migration background. (shrink)

Immanuel Kant proclaims that the ‘transcendental logic’, the form of logic that he uniquely offers, aims at laying out the necessary laws and principles of nature on the basis of the synthesis of the a priori concepts of understanding and the a priori elements of intuition. In this regard, logic, in Kantian sense, is directed towards the knowledge of the nature which he identifies as the phenomenal world (appearances). The noumenal world (transcendental concepts of God, immortality and freedom), on the (...) other hand, is acclaimed to extend beyond the boundaries of logic. Likewise, Ludwig Wittgenstein points to the boundaries of logic. In his view, logic is limited to the states of affairs in the world (the whole reality). In other words, Wittgenstein argues that one can logically think and talk about merely the facts in the world. The transcendental concepts like logical form, philosophy, aesthetic and ethics, on the other hand, are offered to be beyond the boundaries of logicality. Hence, my aim in this study will be to embark on the boundaries and the legitimate use of logic in Kant and Wittgenstein in parallel to each other. (shrink)

John Harris is one of the prominent philosophers and bioethicists of our time. He has published tens of books and hundreds of papers throughout his professional life. This paper aims to take a ‘deep-look’ at Harris' works to argue that it is possible to find some principles of Islamic ethics in Harrisian philosophy, namely in his major works, as well as in his personal life. This may be surprising, or thought of as a ‘big’ and ‘groundless’ claim, since John Harris (...) has nothing to do with any religion in his intellectual works. The major features of Harrisian philosophy could be defined as consequentialism or utilitarianism with liberal overtones. Despite some significant and fundamental differences in the application of principles (ie, abortion, euthanasia), the similarities between the major principles in Harrisian philosophy and Islamic ethics are greater at some points than the similarities between Islamic ethics and some other religious ethics (ie, Christian, Judaism). In this study I compare Harrisian teachings with major Islamic principles on ‘Responsibility’, ‘Side-effects and Double-effects’, ‘Equality’, ‘Vicious choice, guilt and innocence’, ‘Organ transplantation and property rights’ and ‘Advance directives’. (shrink)

Our world is faced with complex challenges that include poverty, hunger, lack of education, gender inequality, sustainability, and climate change. These issues cannot be addressed by government action alone and requires the business world play an important role. Despite the many effort of companies to address social responsibility in the last decade however, capitalism continues to suffer a crisis of trust. Many organizations lack the awareness, mindset, frameworks, and knowledge to efficiently and effectively make progress in providing solutions to these (...) systemic challenges, while also ensuring business performance. The authors argue that business schools are uniquely positioned and have a responsibility to contribute to this cause as educators of the business leaders of tomorrow. A landscape survey of social entrepreneurship / social innovation education with 66 institutions of higher education and in-depth interviews with 8 social intrapreneurs from diverse career tracks reveals significant challenges as well as opportunities for creating this paradigm shift in business schools. This research uses insights from these two studies to provide an overview of the current state of SE/SI in business education and provides recommendations for institutions of higher education to pave a pathway forward for future leaders who will use business to create positive social change. (shrink)

The rapid change in the world after the Enlightenment not only brought about revolutionary scientific and technological innovations, but also opened the door to important transformations in the context of thought. Especially with the wind created by the French Revolution, some concepts such as equality, fraternity, and justice, which were already in circulation before, came to the fore even more. One of the concepts that was magnified in this process was freedom. The concept manifested itself in philosophy as an understanding (...) of free will against the idea of determinism, and in politics as independence against oppressive governments. Since the day it was addressed as an independent topic, it has attracted attention with its different types and aspects, including freedom of the press, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and conscience. We see that the intellectual adventure of the Western world in the last two centuries has been shaped around these concepts. The libertarian attitude, which at first manifested itself as a rebellion against religious and secular authorities, was later driven to extremes that saw itself as independent from all moral and social norms. These debates were inevitably reflected in the field of theology, and topics such as the position of the will of man against God’s will, fate and the problem of evil were reconsidered according to contemporary claims and objections. The atheistic tendencies that emerged in the Western world claimed that all religions deprive man of the possibility of being an active subject on earth and that a person who believes that all his/her actions are known and determined cannot be truly free. This point is actually one of several important issues that contemporary atheism raises against theism. These debates have also reached the Islamic world and the issue continued to be addressed with similar arguments. At its core, each of these claims rests on the assumption that Islam's conception of the human being leaves no room for individual freedom. Although the problem has different aspects such as fate and theodicy, one of the most striking aspects of the problem is the question of whether man has the right to reject Islam as well as the right to enter Islam by one’s own free will. It is important to answer this question. Because some practices from the early period of Islamic history and the assumptions that apostates should be killed according to certain conditions, which are accepted as an established jurisprudence in Islamic law, have provided important opportunities for anti-Islamic ideas and ideologies. This article shows how the issue has been dealt with in the classical literature, while at the same time suggesting solutions on how to approach the phenomenon of conversion today. In addition, the study will show that the issue is dealt with in the context of public security in the fiqh literature, and therefore, the current cases of conversion or apostasy do not fully correspond to the discussions in the classical period. (shrink)