Abstract:Pedro Erber and Facundo Vega speak with Marcia Sá Cavalcante Schuback about Heidegger's influence on philosophy in Brazil and beyond.

Abstract:Pedro Erber discusses with Naoki Sakai the history of Heidegger's influence on philosophy in Japan.

Through deeply divergent strategies, W. J. T. Mitchell's What Do Pictures Want? shares with Mieke Bal's Louise Bourgeois' Spider: The Architecture of Art-Writing and Ernst van Alphen's Art in Mind the attempt to discuss the ways in which theory materializes in concrete, nontextual objects. Erber analyzes their different positions on the matter, against the background of a questioning of the "object" contemporaneously developed by two avant-garde artists in the 1960s: Hélio Oiticica, from Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo-based Akasegawa Genpei.

Abstract:In one of his last interviews before his passing, Jean-Luc Nancy talks about his own engagement with and eventual departure from Heidegger's work.

Abstract:Bruno Bosteels speaks about the influence of Heidegger's thought on his monograph Philosophies of Defeat: The Jargon of Finitude and his work overall.

The selective synthesis and manipulation of chiral molecules is a major part of stereochemistry. Interactions involving components with “handedness” also occur in nuclear and particle physics. Both fields employ phenomenologies based on group theoretical classifications and symmetry constraints such as the conservation or violation of parity. Smale's discovery of a sphere eversion—homotopic to a central inversion—evades the parity dichotomy by allowing states of opposite chirality to be connected by smooth maps. This transformation demonstrates that parity changes can, in principle, result (...) from the action of sufficiently complex processes, and do not necessarily have to be interpreted as violations of a symmetry. (shrink)

This study presents findings from an ontological and contextual determination of the concept of dignity. The study had a caritative and caring science perspective and a hermeneutical design. The aim of this study was to increase caring science knowledge of dignity and to gain a determination of dignity as a concept. Eriksson’s model for conceptual determination is made up of five part-studies. The ontological and contextual determination indicates that dignity can be understood as absolute dignity, the spiritual dimension characterized by (...) responsibility, freedom, duty, and service, and relative dignity, characterized by the bodily, external aesthetic dimension and the psychical, inner ethical dimension. Dignity exists in human beings both as absolute and relative dignity. (shrink)

This study presents findings from an ontological and contextual determination of the concept of dignity. The study had a caritative and caring science perspective and a hermeneutical design. The aim of this study was to increase caring science knowledge of dignity and to gain a determination of dignity as a concept. Eriksson’s model for conceptual determination is made up of five part-studies. The ontological and contextual determination indicates that dignity can be understood as absolute dignity, the spiritual dimension characterized by (...) responsibility, freedom, duty, and service, and relative dignity, characterized by the bodily, external aesthetic dimension and the psychical, inner ethical dimension. Dignity exists in human beings both as absolute and relative dignity. (shrink)

This study presents findings from an ontological and contextual determination of the concept of dignity. The study had a caritative and caring science perspective and a hermeneutical design. The aim of this study was to increase caring science knowledge of dignity and to gain a determination of dignity as a concept. Eriksson’s model for conceptual determination is made up of five part-studies. The ontological and contextual determination indicates that dignity can be understood as absolute dignity, the spiritual dimension characterized by (...) responsibility, freedom, duty, and service, and relative dignity, characterized by the bodily, external aesthetic dimension and the psychical, inner ethical dimension. Dignity exists in human beings both as absolute and relative dignity. (shrink)

As the distance between science and society is collapsed with the growth of contemporary knowledge societies, so a range of different approaches to the democratic governance of science superseding its Enlightenment government is emerging. In light of these different approaches, this article focuses on the figure of the scientific citizen and the variable dimensions of a new scientific citizenship. Three models of democracy - advanced consumer, deliberative and radical/pluralist - are put forward as both partly competing and partly complementary frameworks (...) within which the new rights and responsibilities of the scientific citizen can be articulated and discussed. In each case the theory and practice of scientific citizenship are viewed against the background of contemporary developments within the field of science communication; the rise of the public understanding of science movement; the new enthusiasm for advancing public engagements with science, and the legitimate place of different forms of public protest and dissent within new designs for democratic governance. (shrink)

Paediatric cancer care poses ethically difficult situations that can lead to value conflicts about what is best for the child, possibly resulting in moral distress. Research on moral distress is lacking in paediatric cancer care in Sweden and most questionnaires are developed in English. The Moral Distress Scale-Revised is a questionnaire that measures moral distress in specific situations; respondents are asked to indicate both the frequency and the level of disturbance when the situation arises. The aims of this study were (...) to translate and culturally adapt the questionnaire to the context of Swedish paediatric cancer care. In doing so we endeavoured to keep the content in the Swedish version as equivalent to the original as possible but to introduce modifications that improve the functional level and increase respondent satisfaction. The procedure included linguistic translation and cultural adaptation of MDS-R’s paediatric versions for Physicians, Nurses and Other Healthcare Providers to the context of Swedish paediatric cancer care. The process of adjustment included: preparation, translation procedure and respondent validation. The latter included focus group and cognitive interviews with healthcare professionals in paediatric cancer care. To achieve a Swedish version with a good functional level and high trustworthiness, some adjustments were made concerning design, language, cultural matters and content. Cognitive interviews revealed problems with stating the level of disturbance hypothetically and items with negations caused even more problems, after having stated that the situation never happens. Translation and cultural adaptation require the involvement of various types of specialist. It is difficult to combine the intention to keep the content as equivalent to the original as possible with the need for modifications that improve the functional level and increase respondent satisfaction. The translated and culturally adapted Swedish MDS-R seems to have equivalent content as well as improved functional level and respondent satisfaction. The adjustments were made to fit paediatric cancer care but it could be argued that the changes are relevant for most areas of paediatric care of seriously ill patients. (shrink)

In nursing practice, awareness of ethical inner values and a common understanding of nursing and caring are needed. It is therefore important to highlight ideas of caring in nursing practice. The aim of this paper was to illuminate nursing, caring and ethical inner values in caring and caring in nursing practice. By being attentive, open, respectful and treating the patient as a person, nurses can enhance both their own and the patient's sense of personal meaning in the caring relationship. Nurses (...) can use self‐reflection to create an awareness of nursing, caring and ethical inner values in caring. (shrink)

BackgroundMoral distress has been described as an emotionally draining condition caused by being prevented from providing care according to one’s convictions. Studies have described the impact of moral distress on healthcare professionals, their situations and experiences. The Measure of Moral Distress for Healthcare Professionals (MMD-HP) is a questionnaire that measures moral distress experienced by healthcare professionals at three levels: patient, system and team. The aim of this project was to translate and make a cultural adaption of the MMD -HP to (...) the Swedish context.MethodsThe questionnaire comprises 27 items, rated according to frequency and intensity on a five-point Likert scale (0–4). The procedure for translating MMD-HP followed WHO guidelines (2020). These entailed a forward translation from English to Swedish, a back translation, expert panel validation, pretesting and cognitive face-to-face interviews with 10 healthcare professionals from various professions and healthcare contexts.ResultsThe Swedish version of MMD-HP corresponds essentially to the concept of the original version. Parts of some items’ had to be adjusted or removed in order to make the item relevant and comprehensible in a Swedish context. Overall, the cognitive interviewees recognized the content of the items which generally seemed relevant and comprehensible.ConclusionThe Swedish version of MMD-HP could be a useful tool for measuring moral distress among healthcare professionals in a Swedish healthcare context. (shrink)

The paediatric Moral Distress Scale-Revised was previously translated and adapted to Swedish paediatric oncology. Cognitive interviews revealed five not captured situations among the 21 items, resulting in five added items: 22) Lack of time for conversations with patients/families, 23) Parents’ unrealistic expectations, 24) Not to talk about death with a dying child, 25) To perform painful procedures, 26) To decide on treatment/care when uncertain. The aim was to explore experiences of moral distress in the five added situations in the Swedish (...) paediatric MDS-R, among healthcare professionals in paediatric oncology. In this national cross-sectional survey, the Swedish paediatric MDS-R, including five added items, were used. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric analysis of differences between professions and a MDS-R score for each item were calculated. Internal consistency was tested using Cronbach’s alpha and inter-item correlation test. HCPs at all six Swedish paediatric oncology centres participated. The Regional Ethical Review Board had no objections. Consent was assumed when the survey was returned. Nursing assistants reported higher intensity and lower frequency on all added items; registered nurses reported a higher frequency on item 22–25; medical doctors reported higher MDS-R score on item 26. On item 22, intensity was moderate for RNs and MDs and high for NAs, and frequency was high among all. Item 22, had the second highest MDS-R score of all 26 for all professional groups. On item 23, the level of disturbance was low but it occurred often. The 26-item version showed good internal consistency for the overall sample and for all professional groups. However, item 22 and 24 could be viewed as redundant to two of the original 21. In accordance with other studies, the intensity was higher than the frequency, however, the frequency of the added items was higher than of the original items. In line with previous research, item 22 and 23 are important elements of moral distress. RNs experience the situations more often while NAs find them more disturbing. The results indicate that the added items are important in capturing moral distress in paediatric oncology. (shrink)

The aim of this study was to understand how mothers experienced midwives' uncaring behaviour and actions during birth. Sixty-seven first-time mothers took part in the study, in which data were collected through interview. The interview text was analysed using hermeneutic text analysis. Nearly half of the mothers interviewed (n = 32) said that midwives did not care for them. The findings show that midwives' behaviour was humiliating when they ignored mothers and held them in contempt. The mothers felt further humiliated (...) when the midwives did not believe them, treated their bodies in a careless manner and tended to put blame on them. Through their behaviour and actions, some midwives have shown that they no longer have a caring attitude as an element of their professional practice and that they have ignored ethics by offending mothers' sense of dignity. (shrink)

The article is based on the argument that labour market segregation is an important factor contributing to women’s inequality in the labour market. Therefore, any equal opportunities policy has to be combined with a policy to reduce segregation. But up to now segregation has been extremely persistent, as is shown in a short empirical overview of segregation in the Austrian labour market. It is argued that the roots of this phenomenon lie in the assignment of men and women to the (...) market area and the reproduction area according to the breadwinner model. Labour market segregation by sex can be seen as a transformation and continuation of the asymmetrical gender relation in the family to the labour market. Most of the mechanisms and processes that occur every day in the labour market work together to preserve sex segregation. Strategies to reduce segregation should look at these historical roots of segregation and at the connection with the overall gender division of labour. Different perspectives on a reduction of labour market segregation are presented. (shrink)

(1998). A note on ‘The idea of the university in the global era: From knowledge as an end to the end of knowledge’. Social Epistemology: Vol. 12, Sites of Knowledge Production: The University, pp. 85-88. doi: 10.1080/02691729808578865.

Feeling old: being in a phase of transition in later life The aim of the study was to illuminate very old persons’ experiences of feeling old in order to get a nuanced understanding of the ageing process in later life. Fifteen persons 85–96 years of age, living in their own homes, were interviewed in‐depth. Data were analysed utilising a phenomenological‐hermeneutic approach. Eight persons reported that they felt old. The experience of feeling old entailed four characteristics: being able to date the (...) beginning of feeling old, fear of helplessness and of being unable to manage one’s life situation, not recognising one’s former self, and feeling different from others. These characteristics corresponded to the main properties of a transition process. The comprehensive understanding was that the very old persons who also felt old were in a phase of transition. The distinguishing qualities of those that felt old were also found to be in line with the dystonic dominance in the ninth stage designated by Joan Erikson of the previously described life cycle. Knowledge about transition processes and sensitivity to very old people’s experiences of feeling old are of great importance to nursing in order to provide adequate health care services and prevent unhealthy transitions. (shrink)

Background: Ethical climate and moral distress have been shown to affect nurses’ ethical behaviour. Despite the many ethical issues in paediatric oncology nursing, research is still lacking in the field. Research aim: To investigate paediatric oncology nurses’ perceptions of ethical climate and moral distress. Research design: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected using Finnish translations of the Swedish Hospital Ethical Climate Survey–Shortened and the Swedish Moral Distress Scale–Revised. Data analysis includes descriptive statistics and non-parametric analyses. Respondents and research context: (...) Ninety-three nurses, working at paediatric oncology centres in Finland, completed the survey. Ethical considerations: According to Finnish legislation, no ethical review was needed for this type of questionnaire study. Formal research approvals were obtained from all five hospitals. Return of the questionnaire was interpreted as consent to participate. Results: Ethical climate was perceived as positive. Although morally distressing situations were assessed as highly disturbing, in general they occurred quite rarely. The situations that did appear often reflected performing procedures on school-aged children who resist such treatment, inadequate staffing and lack of time. Perceptions of ethical climate and frequencies of morally distressing situations were inversely correlated. Discussion: Although the results echo the recurrent testimonies of busy work shifts, nurses could most often practise nursing the way they perceived as right. One possible explanation could be the competent and supportive co-workers, as peer support has been described as helpful in mitigating moral distress. Conclusion: Nurturing good collegial relationships and developing manageable workloads could reduce moral distress among nurses. (shrink)

Background: How well ethical concerns are handled in healthcare is influenced by the ethical climate of the workplace, which in this study is described as workplace factors that contribute to healthcare professionals’ ability to identify and deal with ethical issues in order to provide the patient with ethically good care. Objectives: The overall aim of the study was to describe perceptions of the paediatric hospital ethical climate among healthcare professionals who treat/care for children with cancer. Research design: Data were collected (...) using the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey developed by Olsson as a separate section in a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse perceptions of the ethical climate. Participants and research context: Physicians, nurses and nurse-aides (n = 89) from three paediatric units participated in this study: haematology/oncology, chronic diseases and neurology. Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the regional ethical review board. Findings: Different perceptions of the ethical climate were rated as positive or negative/neutral. Nurses’ ratings were less positive than physicians on all items. One-third of the participants perceived that they were able to practice ethically good care as they believed it should be practised. Discussion: Differences in professional roles, involving more or less power and influence, might explain why physicians and nurses rated items differently. A positive perception of the possibility to practice ethically good care seems to be related to inter-professional trust and listening to guardians/parents. A negative/neutral perception of the possibility to practice ethically good care appears to be influenced by experiences of ethical conflicts as well as a lack of ethical support, for example, time for reflection and discussion. Conclusion: The two-thirds of participants who had a negative/neutral perception of the possibility to practice ethically good care are at risk of developing moral stress. Clinical ethics support needs to be implemented in care where important values are at stake. (shrink)

The aim of the present study was to describe how registered nurses in nursing homes ensure legal security, good and safe nursing care and uphold the dignity of nursing home residents with severe dementia without violating residents’ integrity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 charge nurses in a county in central Sweden. The transcribed interviews were examined using manifest and latent content analyses. The manifest analysis identified actual local routines involving coercive treatment and registered nurses’ descriptions of complications and alternative (...) measures. The latent analysis resulted in three themes describing nursing strategies: one with coercive treatment, one with coercive treatment under specific circumstances and one to prevent coercive treatment. Interpretations of legal terms regarding coercive treatment and inadequate gerontological nursing training and understaffing seem to preserve the use of coercive treatment. (shrink)

There are two main ways of understanding the function of surrogate decision making in a legal context: the Best Interests Standard and the Substituted Judgment Standard. First, we will argue that the Best Interests Standard is difficult to apply to unconscious patients. Application is difficult regardless of whether they have ever been conscious. Second, we will argue that if we accept the least problematic explanation of how unconscious patients can have interests, we are also obliged to accept that the Substituted (...) Judgment Standard can be coherently applied to patients who have never been conscious at the same extent as the Best Interests Standard. We then argue that acknowledging this result is important in order to show patients respect. (shrink)

Among the classical pragmatists Charles Sanders Peirce is often regarded as the most removed from practical affairs; he is seen as the most ‘scientific’. The aim of this article is to show his practical usefulness in daily affairs in determining that ‘which is the case’. The abductive inference had a pivotal role in his pragmatist theory of inquiry. As Umberto Eco has shown, abduction is as equally central in the writing of detective stories as it is in the making of (...) science. Recently, abduction has gained a renewed interest not only in the idea that science is basically ‘conjectural’ (Ginzburg and Popper), but also in different versions of critical realism. Here abduction gains interest as a ‘theoretical inference’ of special concern for the social sciences. An overview of various usages of abduction, from Eco to Bhaskar, is followed by a critical pragmatist assessment. (shrink)

Background: With rapidly ageing population worldwide, loneliness among older adults is becoming a global issue. Older migrants are considered being a vulnerable population and ethical issues are often raised in care for elderly. A deeper sense of loneliness, existential loneliness is one aspect of loneliness also described as the ultimate loneliness. Making oneself understood or expressing emotions, have shown to be particularly challenging for older migrants which could lead to experience of existential loneliness. Ageing and being a migrant are potential (...) triggers for experiencing existential loneliness. There appears to be, however, little known about being a migrant experiencing existential loneliness in old age. Aim: This study explored older migrants’ experience of existential loneliness. Research design: Qualitative study. Participants and research context: Data were collected through interviews (n = 15) with older (>65) migrants’ in Swedish nursing homes or senior citizen centres. A thematic analysis was performed to analyse the data. Ethical considerations: The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of research ethics. Findings: The result was described in terms of three themes: (1) Choices made in life, (2) seeking reconciliation with life and (3) thoughts about death and dying in a foreign country. Discussion: Ethical reflection and knowledge about how older migrants’ life story can lead to experiencing existential loneliness, could be of use in care for older migrants’. Conclusion: This study indicates that the experience of existential loneliness derived from being a migrant is a long-term and significant process. Migration was a hope of creating a meaningful life, the experience of existential loneliness occurred as migrants sought reconciliation with life, reflected upon their past choices, and thought about death and dying in a foreign country. (shrink)

The Will Theory of Rights has commonly been criticized for excluding from the class of rights bearers all subjects who are incapable of agency. The Interest Theory of Rights faces the challenge of avoiding undue proliferation of the class of rights bearers. I advance a novel argument for a specific demarcation of the class of rights bearers. I then argue that this demarcation implies that the function of the moral rights of subjects incapable of exercising agency is to protect them (...) from being treated with illegitimate disregard in a certain sense. I advance reasons for holding that this theory is neither a Will Theory nor an Interest Theory, or a combination of these theories. The proposed account is significant also if it is interpreted as a version of the Interest Theory. It brings significant benefits in the form of cohesiveness, simplicity, and intuitive appeal. (shrink)