This essay argues that Mark C. Murphy's original contribution to natural law ethics succeeds in finding a way between older metaphysical and newer purely practical approaches in this genre. Murphy's reconstruction of the function argument, critique of subjectivist theories of well-being, and rigorous formulation of a flexible welfarist theory of value deserve careful attention. I defend Kant against Murphy's critique and argue that Murphy faces the problem of showing that all his basic goods are morally inviolable. Although I endorse Murphy's (...) critique of radical virtue ethics, I raise objections to the basic moral norms he derives from his list of goods, and to the analysis of peace of mind and happiness as basic goods. (shrink)

Navigating limits to confidentiality with adolescent clients can be ethically and professionally challenging. This study follows on from a previous quantitative survey of psychologists about confidentiality dilemmas with adolescents. The current study used qualitative methods to explore such dilemmas in greater depth. Twenty Australian psychologists were interviewed and asked to describe an ethically challenging past case. Cases were then used to facilitate discussion about the decision-making process and outcomes. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using interpretive content and thematic analysis. Three (...) key findings are discussed. First, it is of little use to perceive confidentiality dilemmas as binary choices because psychologists described 5 distinct options. These can be conceptualized on a spectrum of varying degrees of client autonomy, ranging from “no disclosure” to “disclosure without the client’s knowledge or consent”. Second, confidentiality dilemmas often involve balancing multiple and conflicting risks regarding both immediate and future harm. Third, a range of strategies are employed by psychologists to minimize potential harms when disclosing information. These are primarily aimed at maintaining the therapeutic relationship and empowering clients. These findings and the case studies described provide a valuable resource for teaching and professional development. (shrink)

Clinical decision making is a challenging task that requires practical wisdom—the practised ability to help patients choose wisely among available diagnostic and treatment options. But practical wisdom is not a concept one typically hears mentioned in medical training and practice. Instead, emphasis is placed on clinical judgement. The author draws from Aristotle and Aquinas to describe the virtue of practical wisdom and compare it with clinical judgement. From this comparison, the author suggests that a more complete understanding of clinical judgement (...) requires its explicit integration with goals of care and ethical values. Although clinicians may be justified in assuming that goals of care and ethical values are implicit in routine decision making, it remains important for training purposes to encourage habits of clinical judgement that are consciously goal-directed and ethically informed. By connecting clinical judgement to patients' goals and values, clinical decisions are more likely to stay focused on the particular interests of individual patients. To cultivate wise clinical judgement among trainees, educational efforts should aim at the integration of clinical judgement, communication with patients about goals of care, and ethical reasoning. But ultimately, training in wise clinical judgement will take years of practice in the company of experienced clinicians who are able to demonstrate practical wisdom by example. By helping trainees develop clinical judgement that incorporates patients' goals of care and ethical reasoning, we may help lessen the risk that ‘clinical judgement’ will merely express ‘the clinician's judgement.’. (shrink)

Objective: To describe the frequency of support for terminal sedation among internists, determine whether support for terminal sedation is accompanied by support for physician assisted suicide , and explore characteristics of internists who support terminal sedation but not assisted suicide.Design: A statewide, anonymous postal survey.Setting: Connecticut, USA.Participants: 677 Connecticut members of the American College of Physicians.Measurements: Attitudes toward terminal sedation and assisted suicide; experience providing primary care to terminally ill patients; demographic and religious characteristics.Results: 78% of respondents believed that if (...) a terminally ill patient has intractable pain despite aggressive analgesia, it is ethically appropriate to provide terminal sedation . Of those who favoured terminal sedation, 38% also agreed that PAS is ethically appropriate in some circumstances. Along a three point spectrum of aggressiveness in end of life care, the plurality of respondents were in the middle, agreeing with terminal sedation but not with PAS. Compared with respondents who were less aggressive or more aggressive, physicians in this middle group were more likely to report having more experience providing primary care to terminally ill patients and attending religious services more frequently .Conclusions: Support for terminal sedation was widespread in this population of physicians, and most who agreed with terminal sedation did not support PAS. Most internists who support aggressive palliation appear likely to draw an ethical line between terminal sedation and assisted suicide. (shrink)

This article explores egg freezing experiences of women in Turkey. Since 2014, it has been legal in Turkey to use egg freezing technology for ageing women, while it was previously allowed only for disease-related purposes. In cooperation with a private fertility clinic in Istanbul, the authors conducted 21 interviews with older, single women who held either professional or managerial positions and who were undergoing or had undergone the procedure. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of these interviews, the authors explore the (...) social context in which women postpone motherhood and decide to freeze their eggs. The study also looks at the women’s emotional responses to ageing that were triggered by the experience of egg freezing and their narratives of empowerment as a result of the procedure. (shrink)

Success in sport can provide a source of national pride for a society, and vast financial and personal rewards for an individual athlete. It is therefore not surprising that many athletes will go to great lengths in pursuit of success. The provision of healthcare for elite sports people has the potential to create many ethical issues for sports doctors; however there has been little discussion of them to date. This study highlights these issues. Respondents to a questionnaire identified many ethical (...) matters, common to other areas of medicine. However they also raised problems unique to sports medicine. Some of these ethical difficulties arise out of the place of the sports doctor within the hierarchy of sport. Yet others arise out of the special relationship between sports doctors and individual players/athletes. This study raises some important questions regarding the governance of healthcare in sport, and what support and guidance is available to sports doctors. As medical and scientific intervention in sport escalates, there is a risk that demands for enhanced performance may compromise the health of the athlete, and the role the sports doctor plays remains a critical question. (shrink)

In addition to the transmission of the science of hadith from the Eastern Islamic world to the west, particularly to Andalusia, a rich literature also developed in Andalusia. Therefore, the development of the science of hadith and hadith methodology in the Andalusian region and the impact of scholars from that region on these sciences is an important issue that deserves attention. This article examines how the intellectual atmosphere of Andalusia was enriched by the hadith works that came from the East (...) and the scholarly activity these works generated. It also addresses the hadith methodology literature that emerged in the Andalusian region and the reflections of this literature in the hadith methodology works of the From this perspective, the study first briefly highlights the hadith and hadith methodology literature that reached Andalusia from the Mashriq region, followed by the works written by Andalusian scholars that contributed to the hadith methodology literature. Subsequently, the influence of hadith methodology works by hadith scholars from the Eastern Islamic world on Andalusian literature is examined. Furthermore, the study evaluates how Andalusian scholars were referenced in the Mashriq hadith methodology literature and their influence on these works. Through this analysis, the interaction between the Mashriq and Andalusian regions within the context of hadith methodology is demonstrated. The contribution of Andalusian scholars to the hadith literature by enriching the knowledge and expertise they received from the East with their interpretations and original works increased the importance of the region in the Islamic world. Additionally, the influence of the hadith methodology works written in Andalusia on Eastern literature reveals the reciprocal nature of cultural interaction. (shrink)

Background: Discussions about medical errors facilitate professional learning for physicians and may provide emotional support after an error, but little is known about physicians’ attitudes and practices regarding error discussions with colleagues.Methods: Survey of faculty and resident physicians in generalist specialties in Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the US to investigate attitudes and practices regarding error discussions, likelihood of discussing hypothetical errors, experience role-modelling error discussions and demographic variables.Results: Responses were received from 338 participants . In all, 73% of (...) respondents indicated they usually discuss their mistakes with colleagues, 70% believed discussing mistakes strengthens professional relationships and 89% knew at least one colleague who would be a supportive listener. Motivations for error discussions included wanting to learn whether a colleague would have made the same decision , wanting colleagues to learn from the mistake and wanting to receive support . Given hypothetical scenarios, most respondents indicated they would likely discuss an error resulting in no harm , minor harm or major harm . Fifty-seven percent of physicians had tried to serve as a role model by discussing an error and role-modelling was more likely among those who had previously observed an error discussion .Conclusions: Most generalist physicians in teaching hospitals report that they usually discuss their errors with colleagues, and more than half have tried to role-model discussions. However, a significant number of these physicians report that they do not usually discuss their errors and some do not know colleagues who would be supportive listeners. (shrink)

Background Professional autonomy, which directly affects the quality of professional nursing in patient care, and cognitive flexibility, which is an important factor for adaptation to change and developing nursing roles, are important concepts for nursing. Research objectives This research was carried out to determine the effect of cognitive flexibility on attitudes towards professional autonomy in nurses. Research design This was a descriptive study. Participants and research context The research was conducted with 415 nurses working in a city hospital of a (...) province, meeting the inclusion criteria and agreeing to participate in the study. A questionnaire form, The Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI), and the Attitude Toward Professional Autonomy Scale for Nurses (APASN) were used to collect data. Ethical considerations Ethical approval was obtained from the university ethics committee before starting the study. Institutional permission was obtained from the city hospital where the study was conducted. Electronic informed consent was obtained from the nurses included in the study. Findings In the study, the mean CFI score was 80.62 ± 11.55 and the mean APASN score was 70.42 ± 18.79. There was a weak positive correlation (r = 0.270; p < 0.05) between CFI and APASN scores. Moreover, the effect of the CFI mean score on the APASN mean score was found to be statistically significant (β = 0.278; p < 0.001). Furthermore, CFI explains 7.7% of APASN. Conclusion In the study, nurses’ attitudes towards professional autonomy and cognitive flexibility scores were found to be at a good level. Cognitive flexibility has a positive effect on attitudes towards professional autonomy. Interventional studies that will increase the level of cognitive flexibility are recommended in the development of nurses' attitudes towards professional autonomy. (shrink)

Several recent attempts to isolate the fallacy in the view that I am committed to particular moral principles merely by describing a man as having promised seem to me to have erred through excess of zeal. The argument which commits the fallacy is at its most explicit in an article by Professor Searle, and the attempted refutations with which I am concerned fasten upon the first step in his ‘deduction’, which moves from Jones uttered the words ‘I hereby promise to (...) pay you, Smith, five dollars’ to Jones promised to pay Smith five dollars by way of the ‘fact about English usage’ which Searle states as: Under certain conditions C anyone who utters the words ‘I hereby promise to pay you, Smith, five dollars’ promises to pay Smith five dollars. (shrink)

‘Ein vÖllig unverständliches Wortspiel’, said Friedlander. There have been many attempts to solve the riddle. The older commentators, following Domizio Calderini, offered a fantastic solution: Athenagoras was a doctor specializing in leprosy : ‘porro ducta uxore coepit lingere cunnum…unde factus est olficius, hoc est olfacit cunnum’! H. C. Schnur emended to Olbius : Albius Athenagoras , by marrying a rich wife, became Olbius. This explanation deprives the name ‘Albius’ of any point; nor is it particularly witty to say that Albius (...) married money. The most popular solution points to the biblical γ εμι τ Ἄλφα κα τ 'Σ [sc. πρτος κα σ×ατος] it can be shown with some plausibility that the expression was known to the Romans of Martial's time – and to Martial's phrases ‘alpha paenulatorum’ and ‘beta togatorum’ . Before marriage Athenagoras was A in his house; now he is last, in other words, henpecked. ‘Paenulatorum’ and ‘togatorum’, however, give ‘alpha’ and ‘beta’ a context which plain Alphius and Olphius do not possess. Moreover, in all the other passages which scholars quote in support of the A–Σ hypothesis,9 a letter of the alphabet becomes a byname for an individual, and is not incorporated in another name, as would be the case with Alphius and Σlphius. The presence of two names points to an etymological, not alphabetical, jeu des mots. (shrink)

Commentators onEpode11 generally begin by comparing the opening couplet with Archilochus (frg. 215 West): κα⋯ μ' οὔτ' ἰ⋯μβων οὔτε τερπωλ⋯ων μ⋯λει, and sometimes also Catullus 68. 1–40. In both of these the poet explains that grief at the death of a loved one has expelled all desire to compose verses. According to the comparison, Horace, in 1–2, is stating that the onset of love (‘amore percussum gravi’, 2) has, similarly, so absorbed his attention that he cannot write verse. The translation (...) will then run ‘Pettius, I have no pleasure any longer in writing verse, smitten as I am with a heavy love’. (shrink)

Kramers's equation specialized to the Coulomb field is factored using a rotationally invariant, angular momentum based, algebra of three anticommuting operators. Comparing the explicit chiral two-component solutions for the factored equation to the two-component solutions defined by the Foldy-Wouthuysen series for the Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian, it is concluded that this series cannot converge.

Includes text of Gommaṭasāra Jīva-Kāṇḍa in Prakrit with English and Hindi translation.

This article shows under which circumstances fraudulent accreditation can occur in Brazilian military hospitals, calling attention to the tone at the top as a critical aspect of military fraud deterrence – and hence as a critical aspect of this branch of military ethics. The problems allegedly found in Brazilian military health institutions were revealed through in-depth interviews conducted with 29 professionals who reported to work or have worked in a Brazilian military hospital. These fraud allegations were mostly associated with false (...) documentation and procedures designed to give the appearance that legal requirements for accreditation were met and could be traced back to a weak or corrupt “tone at the top” coming from military higher ranks. (shrink)

Abū Ishāq al-Isfarāyīnī (d. 418/1027) was one of the prominent figures of Khorasan Shafiʻīsm and a jurist among the Aṣḥāb al-Wujūh. He received education in Irāq from important scholars in the fields of theology (kalām), jurisprudence (fiqh), principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh), and hadīth. After returning to Nishabur, he taught at a madrasa built in his name. He trained students such as ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Baghdādī (d. 429/1037-38), Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Ṭabarī (d. 450/1058), Abu al-Qāsim al-Isqāf al-Isfarāyīnī (d. 452/1060), Abu al-Rabīʿ Ilākī (...) (d. 465/1073), and Abu al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1072), who later influenced the course of Shāfiʿīsm. He authored works as an important hadith scholar and Ashʿarī theologian. Although most of these works have not survived to the present day, we learn about his views through excerpts from them. He held views, reflected in the prin-ciples of jurisprudence, that led to criticism for being influenced by the Muʿtazila. Despite being a theologian, his adoption of the jurists' method in jurisprudence further emphasizes the importance of his views. The aim of this study is to reveal Abū Ishāq al-Isfarāyīnī's thoughts on the principles of jurisprudence, specifically in the areas of hadīth, consensus (ijmā), indepen-dent reasoning (ijtihād), and imitation (taqlīd), and to identify their reflecti-ons on the Shāfiʿī school of jurisprudence. Since there is no specific study on Abū Ishāq al-Isfarāyīnī’s thoughts on jurisprudence in our country, we beli-eve that this research will contribute to future studies on his legal scholarship. (shrink)

Recent research has highlighted the application of moral foundations theory in counseling settings as it can provide a complex framework to understand the concept of morality, moral diversity, values, and decision-making processes. The emergence and development of social justice and multicultural counseling competencies has particularly raised important concerns regarding the application of values in counseling. The present study examined moral foundations as predictors of counseling students’ universality – diversity orientation. Three hundred and fifty-six counseling students at the undergraduate level participated (...) in the research (Mage = 21.86, SD = 2.26, 77.1% female). The results of a series of multiple regression analyses indicated that individualizing foundations were stronger predictors of universality – diversity orientation. Fairness was the only significant predictor of the behavioral aspect of universality – diversity orientation (diversity of contact), while fairness and care robustly predicted the cognitive aspect of universality – diversity orientation (relativistic appreciation). Care, authority, and loyalty significantly predicted the emotional aspect (comfort with differences). Overall, these results suggest that the participating counselor candidates were more likely to rely on individualizing foundations for cultural competence. (shrink)

Now in his 89th year, Viscount Samuel, who with advancing age has had progressively to restrict the activities of his many-sided life, has reluctantly decided not to stand this year for election to the Presidency of The Royal Institute of Philosophy. It is but fitting, before he vacates the Presidential Chair in June, that PHILOSOPHY, as the official organ of the Institute, should pay a small tribute to one who has served its interests so devotedly, and whose claims on its (...) gratitude cannot be exaggerated. (shrink)

Prof. Flew's main purpose in God and Philosophy is ‘to develop and to examine a case for Christian theism’ . But in next to no time he shows his reader that here, as with the New York Commissioner for Air Pollution, ‘for’ really means ‘against’. For Flew's aim is to attack Christian theism and to develop the argument against it. One of his fellow-humanists rightly reviewed this book under the title ‘A Case for Atheism’. As the case for atheism is (...) being developed one quickly loses faith in the assurance that this ‘philosopher of religion has … no business to be counsel for either the prosecution or the defence’ and aspires to resemble most of all the examining magistrate . Soon we are told that an attack should and shall be launched against the heart of the quinta via of Aquinas . This is not just a slip of the pen for indeed the book contains a number of attacks on Aquinas. Of course Aquinas is not the only Christian theist who is attacked but he is Flew's chief individual target. (shrink)

A brief and critical survey of wave-particle duality and nonlocality aspects of light is presented. A recent attempt to establish a reasonable framework for nonlocal realistic theories based on physically sound arguments and a proposed experiment to decide between such theories and the usual interpretation of quantum mechanical formalism are reviewed. It is shown that a nonlocal realistic approach may raise some new questions which could be answered by means of a program based on a sequence of experiments.

Gottlob Schulze has been almost totally neglected by English-speaking philosophers and historians of philosophy. His German commentators have been almost unanimous in their claim that his "positivism" arises out of a misunderstanding of Kant’s transcendental method and an ability to connect the various subdivisions of his own philosophical system. The present study will probably do little to set aside that verdict. Schulze’s "positivism" is more Comtean than Kantian, though the general architectonic of his "system," however ill-fitted its parts, owes much (...) to the critical philosophy. (shrink)

The present study of G. E. Moore’s common sense philosophy focuses on two issues: in what sense Moore may be said to be a common sense philosopher, and whether he is consistent as a common sense philosopher. The first four chapters are devoted to his conception of philosophy, common sense, and ordinary languages, and the philosophical paradoxes which arise out of these conceptions. The second half of the study offers a detailed account of his theory of knowledge with special emphasis (...) upon his account of the existence of material things. (shrink)

In this work Peters presents an interpretive summary of the metaphysical position which he considers the foremost attempt to radically reinterpret the classical philosophical notions of substance, causality and deity—the theory of fact-as-such or of concreteness, which has been critically and constructively developed in the work of Charles Hartshorne. This study is valuable as a guide to Hartshorne’s philosophical speculations and is essentially up-to-date. Peters has included in his analyses a formerly unpublished manuscript of Hartshorne’s which has since been incorporated (...) into Creative Synthesis and Philosophic Method. He begins with a short biographical essay on Hartshorne; he moves immediately into a discussion of methodology, specifically Hartshorne’s position on unrestrictive existential statements. From this methodological base, Peters turns to a consideration of the panpsychist interpretation of events, the doctrine of the ultimate coincidence of temporal and modal categories in the chapter on creativity, the dipolar conception of deity, the notion of inclusive contrast and its significance for the distinction of subject and object, and to the aesthetic foundation of speculative thought as evidenced in Hartshorne’s continual attempt to resolve the problem of unity within diversity. The last chapter in the book, entitled "A Critical Look at Crucial Axioms" contains an overview of axioms which Peters considers essential to an understanding of Hartshorne’s philosophy and critical consideration of Hartshorne’s principle of positivity, the principle which served as the focus of discussion in the earlier chapter on methodology. (shrink)

BackgroundIn research ethics, the most basic question would always be, “which is an ethical issue, which is not?” Interestingly, depending on which ethics guideline we consult, we may have various answers to this question. Though we already have several international ethics guidelines for biomedical research involving human participants, ironically, we do not have a harmonized document which tells us what these various guidelines say and shows us the areas of consensus. In this manuscript, we attempted to do just that.MethodsWe extracted (...) the imperatives from five internationally-known ethics guidelines and took note where the imperatives came from. In doing so, we gathered data on how many guidelines support a specific imperative.ResultsWe found that there is no consensus on the majority of the imperatives and that in only 8.2 % of the imperatives were there at least moderate consensus. Of the 12 clusters, Informed Consent has the highest level of consensus and Research Collaboration and Regulatory Sanctions have the least.ConclusionThere was a lack of consensus in the majority of imperatives from the five internationally-known ethics guidelines. This may be partly explained by the differences among the guidelines in terms of their levels of specification as well as conceptual/ideological differences. (shrink)

In this thesis I shall summarize and critically examine the central features of the theories of values of four contemporary moral philosophers: A.J. Ayer, C.L. Stevenson, R.M. Hare, and P.H. Nowell - Smith. I shall first look back, however, to the theory of moral philosophy of the most influential 'forefather' of this group, David Hume. Hume's theory stands as a challenge to moral philosophers who would assume that moral judgments are primarily, in some sense, acts of 'reason'. Although our four (...) contemporaries follow Hume in this, his challenge, in the form I shall indicate shortly, will provide the main theme for this thesis. (shrink)

We cannot disregard that the neuroscientific research on religious phenomena such as religious experiences and rituals for example, has increased significantly the last years. Neuroscientists claim that neuroscience contributes considerably in the process of understanding religious experiences, because neuroscience is able to measure brain activity during religious experiences by way of brain‐imaging technologies. No doubt, those results of neuroscientific research on religious experiences are an important supplement to the understanding of some types of religious experiences. However, some conclusions drawn from (...) neuroscientific research on religious experiences are arguable. For example, one such conclusion is that religious experiences are actually nothing but neural activity, i.e. there is nothing ‘religious’ to the experiences at all. Another such conclusion is that a person’s religious experiences actually derive from some ultimate reality, meaning that religious experiences are real. It is the latter assertion that will be analyzed in the present paper. The question is asked whether neuroscience alone is able to affirm that religious experiences are real or whether there are, besides neuroscientific issues, also cultural‐religious assumptions that underlie this conclusion. (shrink)

Twitter, an online application, allows users to post microblog statements in real time. Have psychologists in leadership positions adopted Twitter? What ethical standards are navigated in doing so? Little research has examined the adoption rate of Twitter within a sample of psychologists. This article outlines a series of case vignettes depicting ethical dilemmas encountered by psychologists who adopt Twitter. Data reviewing Twitter adoption by professional psychologists who served as president within psychology advocacy organizations reveal higher adoption rates from student group (...) leaders than professional organization advocacy presidents. Implications for ethical standards and professional development are discussed. (shrink)

Background In the EU, clinical assessors, rapporteurs and the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use are obliged to assess the ethical aspects of a clinical development program and include major ethical flaws in the marketing authorization deliberation processes. To this date, we know very little about the manner that these regulators put this obligation into action. In this paper, we intend to look into the manner and the extent that ethical issues discovered during inspection have reached the deliberation processes. (...) Methods To gather data, we used the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board database and first searched for the inspections, and their accompanying site inspection reports and integrated inspection reports, related to central marketing authorization applications of drugs submitted to the European Medicines Agency from 2011 to 2015. We then extracted inspection findings that were purely of ethical nature, i.e., those that did not affect the benefit/risk balance of the study. Only findings graded at least major by the inspectorate were included. Lastly, to identify how many of the ethically relevant findings reach the application deliberation processes, we extracted the relevant joint response assessment reports and reviewed the sections that discussed inspection findings. Results From 2011 to 2015, there were 390 processed applications, of which 65 had inspection reports and integrated inspection reports accessible via the database of the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board. Of the 65, we found ERFs in 37. The majority of the ERFs were graded as major and half of the time it was informed-consent related. A third of these findings were related to research ethics committee processes and requirements. Of the 37 inspections with ERFs, 30 were endorsed in the integrated inspection reports as generally GCP compliant. Day 150 joint response assessment reports and Day 180 list of outstanding issues were reviewed for all 37 inspections, and none of the ERFs were carried over in any of the assessment reports or list of outstanding issues. Conclusion None of the ethically relevant findings, all of which were graded as major or critical in integrated inspection reports, were explicitly carried over to the joint assessment reports. This calls for more transparency in EMA application deliberations on how ERFs are considered, if at all, in the decision-making processes. (shrink)

F. H. Bradley: Logic Although the logical system expounded by F. H. Bradley in The Principles of Logic is now almost forgotten, it had many virtues. To appreciate them, it is helpful to understand that Bradley had a very different view of logic from that prevalent today. He is hostile to the idea of … Continue reading Bradley, F. H.: Logic →.

An analysis of the extension of the Hawking-Penrose singularity theorem to Riemann-Cartan U4 space-times with torsion and spin density is undertaken. The minimal coupling principle in U4 is used to formulate a new expression for the convergence condition autoparallels in Einstein-Cartan theory. The Gödel model with torsion is given as an example.

Form nor content: Rachel Cusk’s empty self In this article I discuss Richard Rorty’s ideal of narrative self-creation in relation to Rachel Cusk's trilogy Outline (2014), Transit (2016) and Kudos (2018). I will focus in particular on the tension between individual freedom and the weight of social relationships. I will show that we can discern a modest ideal of narrative self-creation in Cusk's trilogy that is not just linguistic in nature, but stresses the relational and intersubjective dimension of self-creation. Moreover, (...) Cusk's ideal is explicitly articulated from a female perspective. The emphasis is here on the fundamental interdependence and vulnerability of the self, and on the scaffolding yet also constraining influence of social relationships. (shrink)

The classical argument for the existence of other minds begins by ascribing states of consciousness to oneself, and argues to the existence of other conscious beings on the basis of an analogy in bodily constitution and behavior. P. F. Strawson attacks the foundation of this argument. “One can ascribe states of consciousness to oneself only if one can ascribe them to others. One can ascribe them to others only if one can identify other subjects of experience.” My thesis is that (...) this objection depends on running together the two distinct necessary conditions for ascribing states of consciousness. There is the conceptual condition (a general concept of consciousness); and there is the referential condition (the capacity to identify suitable subjects).A version of the argument from analogy is also developed which does not presuppose an original consciousness that my experiences are mine. The general concept of experience is by itself enough for the original specification of all experiences associated with body M, because other experiences which also conform to the concept are not introduced until the argument from analogy is complete. (shrink)

The causal representative theory of perception dominated theory of knowledge for hundreds of years after it was put on the map by Descartes and Locke. It is now almost extinct. How could this happen? The theory collapsed because it could not explain how we acquire knowledge of the external world, since it presupposes a causally organized system of external objects producing sensations in us. This presupposition, however, is generally recognized as true, so that the pattern of causal inference at the (...) heart of the theory is surely justified. The theory cannot explain how we originally acquire our knowledge of the external world, but it is entitled on a second pass to correct our empirical beliefs, where necessary. This includes replacing our naive picture of the physical world with a more sophisticated scientific conception, which downgrades secondary qualities. This was, indeed, the main reason why it was originally introduced by Descartes and Locke, and has been the source of its attraction over the years. (shrink)

An engineer views mind as a graduated development of, and complement to the physical world, aided by the principle of microphysical coding of information.--G. L. C.

A "problem" book which reads, throughout too many of its pages, like an almanac of distinctions. Yet Bunge's discussions of partial truth, causality and chance, and especially of metanomological statements restore the balance and lend support to his thesis: science as a body of knowledge must be regarded as a set of systems of propositions and proposals of many kinds with the aim of "the maximization of the degree of truth."--G. L. C.

Critical expositions of criticism from Aristotle to Bradley, and of features of scholasticism provide the historical foundation for Eliot's theory of poetic criticism as well as for a prolegomenon to the relationship of scholarship and criticism, history and religion, tradition and education. Cardinal points presented and criticized are Eliot's hostility to scholarship not complemented by criticism, his insistence upon literature's commitment to institutional religion, and of literature as a preparation for the inner life of the individual. The main defect of (...) the book is the burden placed upon the reader of tying together too may philosophical and critical ends. The result is that the philosopher unfamiliar with most of Eliot's critical writings, and the critic only slightly disciplined in formal philosophy, may find themselves hard pressed to meet on common ground.--G. L. C. (shrink)

A distinguished group of linguists examine the present state of theoretic linguistics by looking to the past to see what has been accomplished, and to the future for requirements needed to frame a workable theory of language. The universals of language are taken from phonology, grammar, semantics and psycho-linguists. Uriel Weinreich's paper, "On the Semantic Structure of Language," should be of special interest to philosophers.--G. L. C.

The editor has included eighteen of the best-known papers on positivism and linguistic analysis. Although the readings vary greatly in difficulty a careful selection would make the book useful for introductory courses. An introduction provides a brief survey of analytic philosophy since 1900. Included are papers by Russell, Moore, Ayer, Wisdom, Austin, and others.—L. C.

The author adopts a broad analogy with physics to explicate the tension between inner and outer determinism. This analogy tends to get the better of the argument, and unfortunately most of the crucial problems involved in this longstanding controversy receive assumed answers. Hence the author concerns himself much more with explication via the analogy than with argument. There are frequent errors in grammar and sentence-structure.—L. C.

The author covers the history of logic and mathematics from pre-Hellenic theory forward to Gödel's theorem and metamathematics. A special effort is made to show the co-ordinate development of mathematics and logic, and the grounds for their identification in recent years. The critique of the parallel postulate, and the development of non-Euclidean geometries are dealt with in detail. A good index and an extensive bibliography are provided.—L. C.

An attempt to represent the major conflicts in discussions of the status of behavioral science as science. Most of these conflicts involve the question of just how "scientific method" is to be construed. The author suggests that many traditional bifurcations in such discussion tend to mislead rather than enlighten. An extensive treatment of the relation between natural and behavioral sciences is presented. A general sense of "scientific method" is proposed, and in that context it is concluded that there are no (...) inherent difficulties and many advantages in treating the behavioral sciences as true sciences.—L. C. (shrink)

Althusius is significant as an early and rigorous contract theorist who explored the concepts of confederation and social symbiosis. This work is the first English translation of a large part of the Politics. In most cases the translation is clear and readable. Both a preface by Carl J. Friedrich and an introduction by the editor provide short surveys of the general Althusian theory.—L. C.

As the title indicates, this most recent of Hartshorne's works blends doctrinal exposition with analyses of methodological issues. Each of the sixteen chapters can be read as an independent essay, although the entire work is intended as "an essay in systematic metaphysics." The paradox is resolved once we realize that Hartshorne does not separate substantive discussion and the examination of methodological principles--the text exemplifies the principles latent in "creative synthesis" as he understands it. Each chapter takes shape out of a (...) position-matrix in terms of which a number of possible positions on problems of relations, modality, and temporality are exhibited and finally sifted in order to determine the most viable for future philosophic inquiry. Portions of six of the chapters had previously been published, one as early as 1958; the remaining ten appear for the first time in this volume. Although much of the doctrinal content will be familiar to those who have read Hartshorne's earlier works, the clarity and coherence of these essays make it an especially valuable work for students of metaphysics, whether they accept the neoclassical position or not. In the first chapter, "A Philosophy of Shared Creative Experience," Hartshorne presents his case for the inclusive priority of "becoming" over "being"; in the next three chapters, he turns to a more detailed analysis of technical problems in metaphysics--the specification of the domain of metaphysical inquiry, the viability of the notion of inclusive contrast as the heart of "relativity", and the ultimate coincidence of modal and temporal categories as the summit of the analyses of "abstractions". Each of these chapters is an excellent example of Hartshorne's working through "position-matrices"; but for those who are unfamiliar with Hartshorne's work, or for those who desire a less 'naïve' approach to metaphysical inquiry it might be advisable to turn to Chapters V and VI immediately after Chapter I. In these two essays, Hartshorne presents a general exposition of the structure of his system, exposing and defending the conception of relativity which lies at the heart of his system: the triadicity [[sic]] of creative synthesis must be construed relatively, the contrast of relative and absolute being included within the relative member of the contrast. In the succeeding chapters, the difficulties which such a conception must face are explored in detail. Among the difficulties which Hartshorne focuses upon are the possibility of "non-restrictive or necessary existential truths", the psychological reeducation which a conception of the priority of events necessitates, the explanatory power of directed or asymmetrical relations as opposed to non-directed, symmetrical ones, and the critique of the notion of ens realissimum and its substitution by the universal forms of dependence and independence. It is interesting that at various places in this work Hartshorne indicates that the importance of the problem of the relations among contemporaries must be relegated to secondary status in the philosophy of shared creative experience. It becomes increasingly evident that were the author to stress its importance, he should have to turn to a conception of eternal objects functioning relationally or affirm interaction between God and any other individual in strictly simultaneous states. Either move would necessitate a major shift in his methodological principles and substantive doctrines. That he has struggled with the problem of the relations among contemporaries for so long shows his willingness to confront the possibility of such a shift. This is one of the major criteria for evaluating metaphysicians, as Hartshorne notes; in the light of this criterion, Hartshorne's newest work will be judged a significant contribution to metaphysical inquiry.--R. L. C. (shrink)

Two Lagrangians L and L′ are equivalent if the equations of motion derived from them have the same set of solutions. In that case, a matrix Λ may be defined which has the property that the trace of any analytic function of Λ is a constant of the motion. We extend this trace theorem to the case of classical field theory and discuss some of the implications for quantum theory and for procedures for finding equivalent Lagrangians.

This book offers a philosophical analysis of what it is to be a human being in all her aspects. It analyses what is meant by the self and the I and how this feeling of a self or an I is connected to the brain. It studies specific cases of brain disorders, based on the idea that in order to understand the common, one has to study the specific. The book shows how the self is thought of as a three-fold (...) emergent self, comprising a relationship between an objective neural segment, a subjective neural segment and a subjective transcendent segment. It explains that the self in the world tackles philosophical problems such as the problem of free will, the problem of evil, the problem of human uniqueness and empathy. It demonstrates how the problem of time also has its place here. For many people, the world includes ultimate reality; hence the book provides an analysis and evaluation of different relationships between human beings and Ultimate Reality (God). The book presents an answer to the philosophical problem of how one could understand divine action in the world. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:The Daring and Disappointing Dreams of Transhumanism's Secular EschatologyMichael Baggot L.C.IntroductionAlthough it is a largely secular movement, contemporary transhumanism borrows heavily from both Christian orthodoxy and heresies to construct a vision for human happiness. This article traces the roots of transhumanism's soteriology and eschatology and then examines the underlying anthropological problems that drive the hoped-for salvation through digital immortality. Unfortunately, the admirable desire to extend life sacrifices an appreciation (...) for the integral harmony of the human person's animal and spiritual dimensions. Since human actions manifest the person's intrinsic corporeality, attempts to detach the human personality from the body through digitalization would produce replicas of the dead without achieving true immortality. The surprising quasi-religious thrust of contemporary transhumanism's secular eschatology presents an opportunity to rediscover the Catholic patrimony's reflection on authentic divinization through the transhumanizing effects of divine grace. The article thus concludes with a Thomistic theosis-centered reorientation of secular transhumanism's eschatological aspirations for immanent immortality toward true human flourishing. [End Page 841]The Secular Eschatology of Contemporary TranshumanismThe leading transhumanist philosopher, Oxford University professor Nick Bostrom, thinks that his movement will provide real solutions to the perennial problems of humanity that traditional religions have tried and failed to address:While not a religion, transhumanism might serve a few of the same functions that people have traditionally sought in religion. It offers a sense of direction and purpose and suggests a vision that humans can achieve something greater than our present condition. Unlike most religious believers, however, transhumanists seek to make their dreams come true in this world, by relying not on supernatural powers or divine intervention but on rational thinking and empiricism, through continued scientific, technological, economic, and human development.1Yet, for all its protests against antiquated creeds, secular transhumanism frequently tends toward quasi-religious expressions. For instance, Meghan O'Gieblyn finds striking parallels between the evangelical and transhumanist worldviews she has embraced and abandoned during her life.2 Her writing explores her harrowing transition from Christian fundamentalism to trans-humanism and her eventual disillusionment with the techno-movement. Bible school had taught her about the various epochs of salvation history and her position within the "dispensation of grace" that marked the final preparation for the longed-for "millennial kingdom." As an adult, she spurned the false promises of organized religion and sought a more rational organization for her life. Later, a book recommendation plunged her into the thought of Google guru Ray Kurzweil and his narrative of evolutionary eras pointing toward an imminent "singularity" in which intelligent machines would emerge from an informational explosion. Such advanced robots would bring digital immortality through mind uploads and a nanotech new earth [End Page 842] that would put Eden to shame. Through his projects, Kurzweil purports to continue the Enlightenment tradition of empirical science and rational rigor. Similarly, many transhumanists tend to follow their Enlightenment predecessors in chiding traditional religion for obscurantist opposition to scientific progress. Nonetheless, O'Gieblyn discovered that the very movement that pretends to supplant the superstitions of the old-time religion is itself "a secular outgrowth of Christian eschatology."3The Christian-trained author could not help but detect familiar religious themes in the technocentric movement. Before it spread through the offices of Silicon Valley, the term "transhuman" first appeared in Henry Francis Carey's 1814 version of Dante's Paradiso, where the poet pilgrim recognizes that not even his own genius can describe the joy of risen life when he writes, "words may not tell of that transhuman change."4 Recent efforts to substitute supernatural resurrection with technological advancement find antecedents in the thirteenth-century friar Roger Bacon's quest for an elixir of life. Later, the nineteenth-century Russian Orthodox philosopher Nikolai Fedorov claims humans should use technology to control Darwin's unguided evolutionary process. Similarly, the twentieth-century Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin predicted a global machine network that would merge consciousnesses worldwide and prompt the Omega Point of transphysical union with the divine.The Eugenicist Julian Huxley strips such notions of their religious trappings to present a secular transhumanist project that will "overcome limitations…to arrive at... (shrink)

How do we acquire knowledge through a sensory input from our environment? In The Enigma of Perception, D.L.C. Maclachlan revives the traditional causal representative theory of perception which dominated philosophical thinking for hundreds of years by revealing the important element of truth the theory contained. The traditional theory was not a complete explanation of perception, because it presupposed a causal system including both the physical objects and the subjective experiences. The pattern of inference from sensations to external objects, which lies (...) at its heart, is nevertheless legitimate, because the assumptions on which it depends are generally recognized as true. The emerging enigma is how to explain this original knowledge of the world on which the traditional theory depends. The key idea is that sense experience is constructed as a response to sensory input - an act whose purpose is to represent a reality beyond the cognitive subject. The Enigma of Perception develops original ideas to explain this process in detail, with help from numerous philosophers from John Locke to David Chalmers. (shrink)