Antibiotic research and development has failed to produce innovative antibiotics in the past two decades, which is due to both scientific and economic factors. We reviewed national and international funding agencies and critically assessed current grant funding mechanisms. Finally, we propose four complementary grant-funding incentives aimed to help developers along the R&D pipeline. Equally important objective of these incentives is to address some of the known R&D risks and bottlenecks.

A significant number of phenomena in psychology is explained in terms of similarity. While the term has found to be useful in understanding and defining other phenomena, the similarity itself remains to be poorly understood and defined. Here we aim to discuss the current status of the concept of similarity as it is applied to research in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience.

The advocates of Integrative Bioethics have insisted that this recently emerging project aspires to become a new stage of bioethical development, surpassing both biomedically oriented bioethics and global bioethics. We claim in this paper that if the project wants to successfully replace the two existing paradigms, it at least needs to properly address and surmount the lack of common moral vocabulary problem. This problem points to a semantic incommensurability due to cross-language communication in moral terms. This paper proceeds as follows. (...) In the first part, we provide an overview of Integrative Bioethics and its conceptual building blocks: mutlidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity. In the second part, we disclose the problem of semantic incommensurability. The third part gives an overview of various positions on the understanding of interdisciplinarity and integration in interdisciplinary communication, and corresponding attempts at solving the lack of common moral vocabulary problem. Here we lean mostly on Holbrook’s three theses regarding the character of interdisciplinary communication. Finally, in the fourth part, we discuss a particular bioethical case—that of euthanasia—to demonstrate the challenge semantic incommensurability poses to dialogues in Integrative Bioethics. We conclude that Integrative Bioethics does not offer a methodological toolset that would warrant optimism in its advocates’ predictions of surpassing current modes of doing bioethics. Since Integrative Bioethics leaves controversial methodological questions unresolved on almost all counts and shows no attempts at overcoming the critical stumbling points, we argue for its rejection. (shrink)

Autor u ovom clanku zastupa tezu da se Niceova kritika morala zasniva na njegovoj metafizici, u kojoj pojam volje za moc, shvacen u duhu grckog pojma physisa, igra kljucnu ulogu. On pokazuje da je prevrednovanje svih vrednosti kao prevladavanje platonisticko-hriscanskog nihilizma usmereno na afirmaciju?zivota u skladu s prirodom?, pri cemu je priroda shvacena upravo kao physis. On takodje pokazuje zasto je za Nicea neosnovana pretenzija na univerzalnost i objektivnost vladajuceg sistema vrednosti. Na kraju, autor ukazuje na teskoce Niceovog platonizma i (...) zakljucuje da neuspeh modernosti da opravda moral namece zadatak ispitivanja mogucnosti rehabilitacije Aristotelove prakticne filozofije. (shrink)

The subject of the paper is the crisis of the concept of enlightenment examined at three levels: polemic-rhetorical, historical-descriptive, and philosophical-normative. The author argues that the inconsistency of substantive definitions of enlightenment does not necessarily result in rejection of this concept but rather in its continuous transformation. By way of conclusion, the author stresses that the normative revival of the concept of enlightenment may be rendered more viable by making a distinction between Enlightenment, as a particular historical period and intellectual (...) legacy, and enlightenment, as a continuous process. He argues that the former is not the only possible form of the latter, but just one of its historical manifestations and one among many agents in the complex and uncertain history of modern process of enlightening. (shrink)

Autor razmatra znacaj interkulturalnog sporazumevanja u epohi globalizacije i ukazuje na ulogu koju Gadamerova hermeneutika igra u ovom kontekstu. Autor prvo izlaze osnovne odlike globalizacije, uzimajuci u obzir Gidensovo shvatanje savremene epohe kao radikalizacije modernosti i Hajdegerovo tumacenje savremenosti kao doba dovrsavanja metafizike kao nihilizma. Autor istice da pitanje o uslovima mogucnosti interkulturalnog sporazumevanja postaje vazno pitanje filozofije u situaciji intenzifikacije medju-kulturalnih susreta. On zatim pokazuje da Gadamerova filozofska hermeneutika, posebno njen pojam delatno-povesne svesti, nudi prihvatljivu osnovu za objasnjenje mogucnosti (...) dijaloga medju kulturama. Kako autor zakljucuje, hermeneutika na taj nacin afirmise znacaj etike konacnosti u savremenom svetu. (shrink)

In this paper, author deals with Heidegger's account of the modern age as the epoch based on Western metaphysics. In the first part of the paper, he shows that, according to Heidegger, modern interpretation of the reality as the world picture, is essentially determined by Descartes' philosophy. Then, author exposes Heidegger's interpretation of the turn which already took place in Plato's metaphysics and which made possible Descartes' metaphysics and modern epoch. In the second part of the paper, author explores Heidegger's (...) interpretation of science and technology as shoots of very metaphysics. Heidegger emphasizes that the essence of technology corresponds to the essence of subjectivity and shows how the metaphysics of subjectivity subsequently finds its end in Nietzsche's metaphysics of the will to power, as the last word of Western philosophy. In the concluding part, author argues that the contemporary processes of globalization can be just understood as processes of completion of metaphysics. They can be identified as a global rule of the essence of technology. On the basis of Heidegger's vision of overcoming metaphysics, author concludes that it opens the possibility of a philosophy of finitude which points to dialogue with the Other as a way of resolving the key practical issues of the contemporary world. U ovom clanku autor se bavi Hajdegerovim shvatanjem moderne kao epohe zasnovane na zapadnjackoj metafizici. U prvom delu rada, autor pokazuje da je, prema Hajdegeru, novovekovno shvatanje stvarnosti kao slike sveta sustinski odredjeno Dekartovom filozofijom. Potom izlaze Hajdegerovu interpretaciju preokreta koji se vec dogodio u Platonovoj metafizici a koji je omogucio Dekartovo utemeljenje moderne filozofije i moderne epohe. U drugom delu rada, autor istrazuje Hajdegerovu interpretaciju nauke i tehnike kao izdanke same metafizike. Hajdeger pokazuje da sustina moderne tehnike odgovara sustini modernog subjekta i pokazuje kako se metafizika subjektivnosti konsekventno dovrsava u Niceovoj metafizici volje za moc, kao poslednjoj reci zapadnjacke filozofije. U poslednjem delu rada, autor ukazuje na to da se savremeni procesi globalizacije mogu razumeti upravo kao procesi dovrsavanja metafizike. Oni se mogu prepoznati kao planetarna vladavina sustine tehnike. Na osnovu Hajdegerovog vidjenja prevladavanja metafizike, autor zakljucuje da ono otvara mogucnost za jednu filozofiju konacnosti koja upucuje na dijalog sa Drugim kao nacin resavanja kljucnih prakticnih pitanja savremenosti. (shrink)

U ovom clanku autor razmatra prakticne implikacije diskursa o postmoderni. On analizira postmodernu kao slozenu diskurzivnu figuru. U okviru diskursa o postmodern on razlikuje postmoderno stanje, postmodernizam i refleksiju postmodernog stanja. Poseban predmet o tome se raspravlja u ovom clanku jeste globalizacija i problem primene modernih projekta u istocnoevropskim drustvima, posebno u Srbiji. Ova drustva autor naziva objekt-drustvima, a njihovu varijantu moderne - istmoderna. Autorov odgovor na slozenost postmodernog stanja predstavlja koncept politike opstanka.

In this paper the author reconstructs the meaning of Derrida's concept of "declarative engagement". He shows that Derrida revives the modern idea of the "engaged intellectual" and even develops it in a radical, prophetic/messianic form. The final consequence of such a position, in the opinion of the author, is a paradoxical coupling of political decisionism with social escapism, which renews in a specific way the nostalgia for the "heroic role" of the Marxist intellectual vanguard. This is a major reason for (...) Derrida's popularity in Serbia, it is argued, but can also be taken as the starting point for an analysis of the problem of responsibility of engaged intellectuals. U ovom radu autor rekonstruise znacenje Deridinog koncepta "deklarativni angazman". On pokazuje kako Derida ozivljava modernu ideju 'angazovanog intelektualca' i cak je razvija u radikalnoj, profetskoj/mesijanskoj formi. Prema autoru, krajnja posledica takvog stanovista jeste paradoksalan spoj politickog decizionizma i socijalnog eskapizma, sto na specifican nacin obnavlja nostalgiju za 'herojskom ulogom' marksisticke intelektualne avangarde. Autor smatra daje to jedan od najvaznijih razloga Deridine popularnosti u Srbiji, ali i polaziste za analizu problema odgovornosti angazovanih intelektualaca. (shrink)

The subject of this paper are the implications of Lyotard's critique of the intellectual as a public actor. It is shown that Lyotard's critique of politics results in a rejection of political theory, real politics and political involvement of the intellectual. In place of that, Lyotard develops his concept of "philosophical politics", i.e. "reflexive writing" as a specific form of political disengagement. The author argues that Lyotard's critique of the political involvement of the intellectual is acceptable, but that Lyotard's concept (...) of "philosophical politics" cannot compensate for the lack of an acceptable real politics and an appropriate political theory. It can be viewed only as an individual-existential posture of resistance to the dominant political patterns which, as preconditions of its own possibility, must presuppose the existence of an acceptable real politics and appropriate political doctrine. Osnovni predmet ovog rada predstavljaju implikacije Liotarove kritike intelektualca kao politickog delatnika. Autor najpre pokazuje da Liotarova kritika politike rezultira odbacivanjem politicke teorije, realne politike i politickog angazmana intelektualca. Umesto toga, Liotar razvija koncept "filozofske politike", tj. "refleksivnog pisanja", kao specifican oblik politickog dezangazmana. Za autora je Liotarova kritika politickog angazmana intelektualca prihvatljiva, ali naglasava da Liotarov koncept "filozofske politike "ne moze nadoknaditi nedostatak prihvatljive realne politike i odgovarajuce politicke teorije. Naime, ona moze da se shvati samo kao jedan individualno-egzistencijalni stav otpora prema vladajucim politickim obrascima, koji mora da pretpostavi postojanje prihvatljive realne politike i odgovarajuce politicke doktrine kao uslov sopstvene mogucnosti. (shrink)

A particularly strong reason to vaccinate against transmittable diseases, based on considerations of harm, is to contribute to the realization of population-level herd immunity. We argue, however, that herd immunity alone is insufficient for deriving a strong harm-based moral obligation to vaccinate in all circumstances, since the obligation significantly weakens well above and well below the herd immunity threshold. The paper offers two additional harm-based arguments that, together with the herd immunity argument, consolidates our moral obligation. First, we argue that (...) individuals should themselves aim not to expose others to risk of harm, and that this consideration becomes stronger the more non-vaccinated people there are, i.e., the further we are below herd immunity. Second, we elaborate on two pragmatic reasons to vaccinate beyond the realization of herd immunity, pertaining to instability of vaccination rates and population heterogeneity, and argue that vaccinating above the threshold should serve as a precautionary measure for buttressing herd immunity. We also show that considerations of harm have normative primacy in establishing this obligation over considerations of fairness. Although perfectly sound, considerations of fairness are, at worst secondary, or at best complementary to considerations of harm. (shrink)

The World Health Organization has published a global priority list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to guide research and development of new antibiotics. Every pathogen on this list requires R&D activity, but some are more attractive for private sector investments, as evidenced by the current antibacterial pipeline. A “pipeline coordinator” is a governmental/non-profit organization that closely tracks the antibacterial pipeline and actively supports R&D across all priority pathogens employing new financing tools.

This article provides a critical evaluation of the central components of Integrative Bioethics, a project aiming at a bioethical framework reconceptualization. Its proponents claim that this new system of thought has developed a better bioethical methodology than mainstream Western bioethics, a claim that we criticize here. We deal especially with the buzz words of Integrative Bioethics – pluriperspectivism, integrativity, orientational knowledge, as well as with its underlying theory of moral truth. The first part of the paper looks at what the (...) claims of a superior methodology consist in. The second reveals pluriperspectivism and integrativity to be underdeveloped, hazy terms, but which seem to be underpinned by two theses – the incommensurability and the inclusiveness theses. These theses we critically scrutinize. We then consider strategies the project's proponents might apply to curb these theses in order to acquire minimal consistency for their framework. This part of the article also deals with the conception of moral truth that drives the theory, a position equally burdened with inconsistencies. In the last part of the article, we observe the concept of orientational knowledge, and develop two interpretations of its possible meaning. We claim that, following the first interpretation, Integrative Bioethics is completely descriptive, in which case it is informative and important, but hardly bioethics; if it is normative, following the second interpretation, it is bioethics as we already know it, but merely clad in rhetorical embellishments. We conclude that there is nothing new about this project, and that its inconsistencies are reason enough for its abandonment. (shrink)

Earl (2019) argues that the current uniform restriction of innovative practice limits clinicians’ ability to provide optimal treatment and stunts progress in medicine. We agree that it is important...

Individuals unvaccinated against COVID-19 (C19) experienced prejudice and blame for the pandemic. Because people vastly overestimate C19 risks, we examined whether these negative judgements could be partially understood as a form of scapegoating (ie, blaming a group unfairly for an undesirable outcome) and whether political ideology (previously shown to shape risk perceptions in the USA) moderates scapegoating of the unvaccinated. We grounded our analyses in scapegoating literature and risk perception during C19. We obtained support for our speculations through two vignette-based (...) studies conducted in the USA in early 2022. We varied the risk profiles (age, prior infection, comorbidities) and vaccination statuses of vignette characters (eg, vaccinated, vaccinated without recent boosters, unvaccinated, unvaccinated-recovered), while keeping all other information constant. We observed that people hold the unvaccinated (vs vaccinated) more responsible for negative pandemic outcomes and that political ideology moderated these effects: liberals (vs conservatives) were more likely to scapegoat the unvaccinated (vs vaccinated), even when presented with information challenging the culpability of the unvaccinated known at the time of data collection (eg, natural immunity, availability of vaccines, time since last vaccination). These findings support a scapegoating explanation for a specific group-based prejudice that emerged during the C19 pandemic. We encourage medical ethicists to examine the negative consequences of significant C19 risk overestimation among the public. The public needs accurate information about health issues. That may involve combating misinformation that overestimates and underestimates disease risk with similar vigilance to error. (shrink)

This book examines the tension inherent in the waging of ethical war, and argues that war and its relationship to ethics need to be rethought fundamentally.

Researching ethical problems and their frequency could give us a complex picture and greater insight into the types of ethical issues that pharmacists face in providing health care. The overall aim of this study was to assess the pharmacist’s perception of difficulty and frequency of selected ethical issues encountered by the community pharmacists in their everyday practice. A quantitative cross sectional multicenter study was performed using a validated survey instrument - Ethical Issue Scale for Community Pharmacy. The results of the (...) analysis of 690 completely filled out instruments showed the difference between the ethical issues which always occurred, and the ones that pharmacists found most difficult. The majority of respondents were familiar with the Code of Ethics but the correlation between the familiarity and the perceived usefulness of the code in resolving problems in everyday practice was negative. Results showed that patients’ well-being had a high influence on pharmacists’ behavior. The results provided quantitative data by the examination of specific ethical issues and their occurrence. Further empirical research is recommended in order to systematically identify the ethical issues faced by community pharmacists. (shrink)

We present a propositional and a first-order logic for reasoning about higher-order upper and lower probabilities. We provide sound and complete axiomatizations for the logics and we prove decidability in the propositional case. Furthermore, we show that the introduced logics generalize some existing probability logics.