This reflection item provides an edited account of human rights lawyer Harriet Wistrich’s conversation with Manvir Grewal, Visiting Lecturer and Ph.D. student, and Harriet Samuels, Reader in Law at the University of Westminster. It summarises the exchange which focused on Harriet Wistrich’s career trajectory and the many public interest law cases that she has brought on behalf her clients, mainly women, in both domestic and international forums. It also includes a condensed version of the question and answer (...) session with the audience. Questions included the broader issues around domestic violence, rape, coercive control, sex work and the nature of feminism. (shrink)

Background Generally, there is unanimity about the value of community engagement in health-related research. There is also a growing tendency to view genetics and genomics research (GGR) as a special category of research, the conduct of which including community engagement (CE) as needing additional caution. One of the motivations of this study was to establish how differently if at all, we should think about CE in GGR. Aim To assess the perspectives of genetics and genomics researchers in Uganda on CE (...) in GGR. Method A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted at Makerere University and Uganda Virus Research Institute. Twenty-five individuals participated, the majority being male (sixteen). Participants included nineteen genetics and genomics researchers (researchers and research coordinators), two CE officers, three nurses and one nursing counsellor. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and analyzed in a thematic manner using NVivo version 12 Plus. Study findings Thirteen of the respondents had conducted CE in their GGR in either a geographical and disease-specific community. Some respondents said CE principles are the same and there is no need for special consideration for CE in GGR. Others gave ethical issues in GGR that require special consideration for CE in such research and these were categorized into six themes: GGR is new to communities, Difficulty in communicating GGR by the researchers, Genes are shared in communities, Cultural sensitivities against GGR, Community attitude toward GGR, Some GGR studies take long to end, and Negotiation of research benefits. Special considerations for CE when conducting GGR were suggested and categorized into seven themes: creating awareness of GGR in communities, obtaining both community acceptance and individual consent, CE team composition, involve communities in solving GGR challenges, prolong CE in some GGR, develop guidelines for CE in GGR, and legal considerations on GGR. Conclusion GGR was characterized by special issues that require special CE considerations for such research. (shrink)

Alvin Plantinga’s Evolution Argument against Naturalism (Sum.)...................39 In the article the proposition is put forward that naturalism connected with evolutionism is an attitude involved in many problems, and the rationality of the naturalist attitude is not credible. The proposition is proven on the basis of the evolution argument against the form of naturalism that assumes that evolution theories are true, which was formulated by Alvin Plantinga. In the article it is shown that the naturalist explanation of human cognitive mechanisms is (...) self-refuting. The naturalist claims that man\'s cognitive system originated by way of evolutionary processes, and the aim of these processes is man\'s survival, and not the truth of his beliefs; hence - on the basis of such reasoning - one may doubt if all beliefs are true, including the naturalist one. Hence in the article it is shown that the naturalist\'s all beliefs, and among them the belief that \'God does not exist\', cannot be credible. An indirect aim of the evolution argument against naturalism is also intellectual defense of credibility of the theist image of the world. The starting point of the article is presentation of the argument that half a century earlier was formulated by Clive Staples Lewis. Next the details of Plantinga\'s argumentation and controversies connected with it are shown. In the final part of the article the relation between naturalism and theism is discussed. In conclusion it is stated that the naturalist attitude does not attain what is required, so that a naturalist could state that it is the way he thinks; and this is why he is not able to threaten Christian theism. (shrink)

The article analyses Niels Lyhne, a novel written by the Danish writer Jens Peter Jacobsen. The authoress believes that the novel can be interpreted through the prism of Søren Kierkegaard’s philosophy of despair and melancholy, as well as Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy of deicide. She investigates the issue of atheism and contradictions that result from it by, firstly, focusing on arguments proving the weakness of religion and then by discussing arguments supporting atheism that are advanced by the main protagonist in the (...) novel. What draws attention in Niels’s line of thought is, on the one hand, an unambiguous departure from religion and, on the other, adopting naturalism, which is difficult to reconcile with his idealism. Furthermore, the authoress concentrates on Niels’s worldview, pointing out that it is constituted by a metaphysical rebellion, i.e. refusing to accept an ontic status of man, which involves suffering and death. She claims that Niels has not mastered „the art of losing,” which is addressed by Elizabeth Bishop in her poem. In her conclusion, the authoress indicates contradictions in Niels’s line of thought, which undermine coherence and usefulness of his atheistic worldview. (shrink)

The text analyzes Leo Tolstoy’s Resurrection focusing on the feelings expressed in the novel. It focuses on: the ways in which the content of the novel is expressed through artistic means; Tolstoy’s anthropology; the notion of love presented by Ronald de Sousa in his last book Love. A Very Short Introduction: the difference between love and mood or emotion; the classification of love ; the distinction between love and lust; love as a reason-free desire; and the notion of the historicity (...) of love. (shrink)

The ArgumentWritten as one book, Science, Technology and Society in Seventeenth-Century England has become two. One book, treating Puritanism and science, has since become “The Merton Thesis.” The other, treating shifts of interest among the sciences and problem choice within the sciences, has been less consequential. This paper proposes that neglect of one part of the monograph has skewed readers' understanding of the whole. Society and culture contributed to institutionalization of science and the directions it took, neither one exclusively. Four (...) aspects of the neglected chapters are examined: their theoretical underpinnings, the conceptions providing foundations for this part specifically and for the monograph as a whole; their comparative neglect, attributed partly to the absence of a cognitive constituency for their claims; the problem of problem choice in science in Merton's work; and the Merton monograph and later social constructionism:their differences and affinities. (shrink)

The purpose of the text is to demonstrate a distinction between good or virtue and evil or vice, introduced by Hannah Arendt on the grounds of the novel by Hermann Melville Billy Budd. I analyze this distinction in relation to the life story of Romulus Gaita, the hero of the autobiographical novel My father Romulus, written by the Australian ethicist Raimond Gaita. The first paragraph deals with the said distinction, indicating the re-evaluation of such concept as virtue and vice in (...) Melville’s novel and his understanding of virtue. Then, I make an attempt to answer the question of why Gaita writes about his father using a category of character instead of virtue. Then, I reflect on the relationship between virtue, character, goodness and Romulus’s mental illness. Finally, I answer the question about the metaphysical foundation on which Gaita forms his conviction about the superiority of Good and goodness over virtue, and I show what particular components make up the ethics of goodness assumed by Romulus. (shrink)

Tematem artykułu jest etyczny problem klonowania ludzi. Zaprezentowane zostają w nim najważniejsze argumenty przeciwko klonowaniu obecne w powieści Kazuo Ishiguro Nie opuszczaj mnie. Wśród argumentów moralnych przeciwko klonowaniu ludzi przeanalizowane zostają: argument z instrumentalizacji oraz wewnętrznego życia klonów; z ograniczenia wolności jednostki oraz z jej unieszczęśliwienia; z prawa do posiadania wyjątkowej tożsamości i otwartej przyszłości; ze szkód psychicznych i rozchwiania tożsamości; z naturalnego prawa jednostki do relacji rodzinnych. Na koniec autor przeformułuje argument z mądrości odrazy na argument z mądrości współczucia.

W niniejszym tekście autorka analizuje najpierw stanowisko współczesnego brytyjskiego pisarza Iana McEwana z perspektywy deklarowanego przezeń ateizmu. Czyni to przez pryzmat dwutorowości światopoglądów, jaka charakteryzujejego niektóre utwory (Czarne psy i Przetrzymać tę miłość). W drugiej części przechodzi do problemu moralnego z jego przedostatniej powieści W imię dziecka. Analizuje dylemat, jaki się w niej pojawia, na trzech poziomach: religijnym, prawnym i egzystencjalnym, z których ten ostatni jest decydujący dla określenia tragizmu, wjakim znaleźli się bohaterowie powieści.

Women whether at home or at work, are generally more easily hurt by difficult situations and angry words, and are less able to cope with the cut and thrust of life. We were made as complementaly individuals to men and we need their strength, their objectivity and their protection at difficult times. But equally, ourvery sensitiiity and vulnerability makes us more ready to recwnize our need of God and of His daily power and While a man is often too busy (...) to acknowledge his need of a Saviour, a woman knows her need because it is an integral part of her own make-up1. (shrink)

What tensions arise between philosophy of religion and theology? What strengths and weaknesses of analytical methods emerge in relation to strongly confessional philosophical theologies, or to Continental philosophies? Faith and Philosophical Analysis evaluates how well philosophy of religion serves in understanding religious faith. Figures who rarely share the space of the same book - leading exponents of analytic philosophy of religion and those who question its legacy - are drawn together in this book, with their disagreements harnessed to positive effect. (...) Figures such as Richard Swinburne and Basil Mitchell reflect on their life-long projects from a perspective which has not previously been seen in print. A wide range of approaches found in contemporary philosophy of religion are explored, including: reformed epistemology, 'traditional' metaphysical theory building, feminist methodologies, Wittgensteinian approaches, and American pragmatism. Considering the trends in philosophy of religion as they are interacting across continents, looking particularly at philosophical influences in North America, Britain, and Continental Europe, this book will appeal to students, scholars and general readers with an interest in philosophy of religion, theology, or analytical philosophy. (shrink)

_Supervision of Sandplay Therapy_, the first book on this subject, is an internationally-based volume that describes the state of the art in supervision of sandplay therapy. Recognizing that practitioners are eager to incorporate sandplay therapy into their practice, Harriet Friedman and Rie Rogers Mitchell respond to the need for new information, and successfully translate the theories of sandplay therapy into supervision practice. The book provides a meaningful connection and balance between theoretical principles, practical application, and ongoing therapeutic encounter involved (...) in sandplay. Divided into six sections, contributors cover: original supervision models contemporary supervision models special challenges in supervision international sandplay supervision supervision of special groups connections with other arts therapies. _Supervision of Sandplay Therapy _expands the vision of what is possible in supervision and will be vital reading for those studying supervision and sandplay therapy, as well as for those wanting to provide a depth-oriented approach during supervision. (shrink)

This paper presents four arguments in favour of respecting Ulysses Contracts in the case of individuals who suffer with severe chronic episodic mental illnesses, and who have experienced spiralling and relapse before. First, competence comes in degrees. As such, even if a person meets the usual standard for competence at the point when they wish to refuse treatment (time 2), they may still belesscompetent than they were when they signed the Ulysses Contract (time 1). As such, even if competent at (...) time 1andtime 2, there can still be a disparity between thelevelsof competence at each time. Second, Ulysses Contracts are important to protect people’smost meaningfulconcerns. Third, on the approach defended, the restrictions to people’s liberty would be temporary, and would be consistent with soft paternalism, rather than hard paternalism: the contracts would be designed in such a way that individuals would be free to change their minds, and to change or cancel their Ulysses Contracts later. Finally, even if one rejects the equivalence thesis (the claim that allowing harm is as bad as doing harm), this is still consistent with the claim that, inparticular cases, it can be as wrong toallowa harm as to do a harm. Nevertheless, controversies remain. This paper also highlights several safeguards to minimise risks. Ultimately, we argue that people who are vulnerable to spiralling deserve a way to protect their autonomy as far as possible, using Ulysses Contracts when necessary. (shrink)

This essay responds to Donna J. Haraway's (2016) provocation to ‘stay with the trouble’ of learning to live well with nonhumans as kin, through practice-based approaches to learning to care for nonhuman others. The cases examine the promotion of care for trees through mobile game apps for forest conservation, and kinship relations with city farm animals in Kentish Town, London. The cases are analysed with a view to how they articulate care practices as a means of making kin. Two concepts (...) are proposed, ‘learning from’ and ‘facing’ the Other, which are thickened through discussions of how caring takes place in each case in relation to a particular category of nonhuman other: animated tree and urban farm animal. Thus while attendant to situations of care involving a specific nonhuman subject, the cases also broker thinking on learning from and facing (the) other kinds of trees and animals, and the interspecies dynamics of which they are a part. The intersectional implications of the practice sites and participants are elaborated, to complexify and affirm situated but also reflexive approaches to caring. In doing this, the authors attend to their own positionalities, seeking to diversify Western-based ecofeminist engagements with caring, while asking what their research can do for the nonhuman other. They formulate and apply a collaborative methodological approach to the case studies, developed through cultivating attentiveness to the nonhuman subject of research. The authors consider in particular how attentiveness to the nonhuman other can facilitate practices of knowing that further a non-anthropocentric and non-innocent ethic of caring. By further interconnecting situations of caring for nonhuman animals and plants, the authors advocate for practices of care that antagonise how species boundaries are drawn and explore the implications for learning to care for nonhumans as kin. (shrink)

This paper discusses the political implications of the British military's Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) approach to personnel suffering from combat-related mental debilities such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Drawing on narratives that emerged from qualitative interviews with trained TRiM practitioners and military welfare workers, I tease out some of the assumptions and beliefs about mental health and mental illness that underpin this mental health intervention programme. I explore TRiM as a biopolitical strategy targeted towards the construction of a particular conceptualisation of (...) mental wellness and militarised masculine personhood. As a biopolitical strategy, I argue that TRiM plays an important role in the construction of ideas around mental well-being and mental frailty that best enable the operation of military power in the contemporary British context. I discuss the narrative of transformation in militarised models of masculinity that emerge from discussions of TRiM, and highlight the important political function that this plays in enabling and legitimating militarism. Finally, I draw attention to the ways in which the focus on individual and cultural factors, rather than war as the primary cause of difficulties for servicemen experiencing psychological distress, functions to neutralise the potential trouble that could be instigated for the British military by the bodies of servicemen psychologically damaged by their experiences of conflict. (shrink)

The essay discusses the religious and ethical message of Shusaku Endo’s Silence. Briefly focusing first on the plot of the novel, the article proceeds to discuss the moral dilemma that is the core of the novel and asks whether the dilemma is symmetrical or incommensurable. Next, the essay analyzes the dilemma from the point of view of Max Scheler’s theory of the tragic. Finally, to highlight Rodrigues’s tragic situation, it discusses the notion of the hiddenness of God.

Foucault’s theories of power, resistance, and agency provide useful tools of analysis to support a stronger understanding of the individual experiences of survivors of sexual violence in conflict situations, as many feminist accounts have tended to focus analysis at the macro-level. This paper will outline key Foucauldian concepts, before discussing how Foucauldian and feminist theories can be complementary and indeed useful tools in understanding sexual violence. This paper will then apply a Foucauldian-Feminist framework to better understand patterns of sexual violence (...) in conflict, and to propose modes of resistance for survivors of sexual violence. (shrink)

This response to Jennifer Herdt’s paper, ‘Partisan Epistemology and Post-Truth Power’, looks to embodied intelligence for help in discerning integrity and truthfulness.

Another set of chapters tests the coherence of Anselmian theism and concepts of an Omni-God in relation to divine knowledge and goodness.This book will be of interest to scholars and undergraduates in philosophy of religion, as well as ...

Is it unethical to advertise lotteries? Many citizens think that states should not be actively promoting and encouraging the public tospend hard-earned dollars on a bet that they are virtually guaranteed to lose. Perhaps more importantly, business ethicists are concerned that lottery advertising may be targeting the most vulnerable markets: households with the lowest income and education levels. If this were true, then it would increase the already disproportionately large burden of lottery taxes on the poor. Fortunately, our research finds (...) no evidence to support the contention that advertising is responsible for high rates of lottery participation and expenditures by lower income groups or that low-income groups are more affected by advertising than high-income groups. On the contrary, awareness of lottery advertising seems to be associated with a higher probability to play Lotto only for the middle income group. This means that lottery advertising may actually reduce the regressivity of lottery taxes. (shrink)

Sandplay is one of the fastest growing therapies. What are its origins, who were it pioneers, and how have they influenced the current practice of sandplay? What does the future hold? Rie Rogers Mitchell and Harriet S. Friedman have written a unique book that answers all these questions and many more. They give an overview of the historical origins of sandplay, including biographical profiles of the innovators together with discussions of their seminal writings. The five main therapeutic trends are (...) explored, and in a final chapter the future of sandplay is discussed through addressing emerging issues and concerns. A special feature is a comprehensive international bibliography as well as a listing of sandtray videotapes and audiotapes. (shrink)

This paper argues that proper functions are proximal functions. In other words, it rejects the notion that there are distal biological functions – strictly speaking, distal functions are not functions at all, but simply beneficial effects normally associated with a trait performing its function. Once we rule out distal functions, two further positions become available: dysfunctions are simply failures of proper function, and pathological conditions are dysfunctions. Although elegant and seemingly intuitive, this simple view has had surprisingly little uptake in (...) the literature. Indeed, our position departs from that of almost every theorist who has engaged with the issue at any depth. We start by presenting three arguments for the position that proper functions are proximal: one from the specificity of functions, one from their relation to intervention, and one from their relation to pathology. We then consider two case studies evidencing the trouble that accepting distal functions causes for philosophical reflection on the nature of pathological conditions. Finally, we anticipate and respond to three objections: that there can be failure of function without dysfunction; that our account is unacceptably revisionary in respect of normal function-talk; and that our thesis over-generalises from a narrow set of cases. (shrink)

Theories of a new phase of earth history, the Anthropocene, position human world-making activity as a bio-geological force. Social interventions into earth systems have been extensive and malignant, altering the earth’s surface, atmosphere, oceans, and systems of nutrient cycling. To adapt and respond to emerging planetary dangers requires the collaboration of scholars from many different disciplines. In this paper, I argue that a coalition of the arts and sciences might draw upon György Márkus’s extensive studies of the topography of ‘high’ (...) culture. I reconstruct Márkus’s conceptual map of the arts and sciences as regions of ‘high’ cultural activity, each with their own criteria of value yet subject to an integral unity and shared ambition. Both regions of ‘high’ culture aim to create original works of significance for an engaged public. I then examine the implications of Márkus’s claim that the classical vocation of robust, public-oriented culture has run aground. The field of problems that this paper traverses are not the ecological crises of the Anthropocene per se. I attend rather to Márkus’s account of the neoliberal erosion of cultural infrastructure where democratic publics might engage with such problems. (shrink)

Climate science denial is serious. It facilitates political procrastination and brings us ever closer to a world beset by growing food insecurity, heatwaves, floods, storms, fires and extensive los...

Autorka próbuje dokonać interpretacji powieści Bolesława Prusa Emancypantki, odwołując się do historii głównej bohaterki, Madzi Brzeskiej, oraz wykładu metafizycznego prof. Dębickiego. Uważa, że istnieje związek między tezami metafizycznymi a etyką bohaterki powieści. Jej zdaniem, Prus próbuje w powieści przedstawić swoistą filozofię życia, opartą na osiągnięciach ówczesnych nauk przyrodniczych, ale także na włączeniu do niej komponentu religijnego. Tym jednak, co jest w powieści najbardziej kluczowe, jest przydanie w tej filozofii życia miejsca człowiekowi, przy jednoczesnym wyznaczeniu mu zadania moralnego. Najpierw autorka krótko (...) (1) przedstawia kontekst historyczny powstania powieści Prusa, by następnie (2) przejść do wątku egzystencjalnego, a zatem perypetii Madzi, by później (3) skupić się na confession de foi Dębickiego-Prusa, w którym uznaje on istnienie nieśmiertelnej duszy oraz życia wiecznego. Na koniec (4) zastanawia się nad trwałością metafizyki zawartej w wykładzie Dębickiego. (shrink)