Efforts to professionalize the field of bioethics have led to the development of the Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified (HEC-C) Program intended to credential practicing healthcare ethics consultants (HCECs). Our team of professional ethicists participated in the inaugural process to support the professionalization efforts and inform our views on the value of this credential from the perspective of ethics consultants. In this paper, we explore the history that has led to this certification process, and evaluate the ability of the HEC-C Program to (...) meet the goals it has set forth for HCECs. We describe the benefits and weaknesses of the program and offer constructive feedback on how the process might be strengthened, as well as share our team’s experience in preparing for the exam. (shrink)

Ethical reasoning is an integral part of the work of a clinical ethics consultant. Ethical reasoning has a close relationship with an individual’s beliefs and values, which, for religious adherents, are likely to be tightly connected with their spiritual perspectives. As a result, for individuals who identify with a religious tradition, the process of thinking through ethical questions is likely to be influenced by their religious worldview. The connection between ethical reasoning and one’s spiritual perspective raises questions about the role (...) that CECs’ personal religious worldviews should play in their professional lives and their consultative work. This paper offers numerous arguments critiquing the inclusion of a consultant’s own spiritual perspective in her work and has identified only limited circumstances under which such inclusion might be permissible. In particular, these arguments lead to the conclusion that a CEC’s personal beliefs should never influence her ethical analysis or development of a recommendation. Further, religious appeals should not be used in communication during decision-making conversations other than to describe the patient or surrogate’s stated perspective. There may be limited cases in which a CEC may share her spiritual worldview with a patient with the intent of building a collaborative relationship, but such situations should be approached with extreme caution. (shrink)

This article explores the possibility that there is a parental duty to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for the medical benefit of future children. Using one genetic disorder as a paradigmatic example, we find that such a duty can be supported in some situations on both ethical and legal grounds. Our analysis shows that an ethical case in favor of this position can be made when potential parents are aware that a possible future child is at substantial risk of inheriting (...) a serious genetic condition. We further argue that a legal case for a duty to use PGD for medical benefit can be made in situations in which potential parents have chosen to conceive through in vitro fertilization and know that any children conceived are at substantial risk of having a serious genetic condition. (shrink)

This study aimed to verify the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Grit-S questionnaire. Grit is understood here as the perseverance and passion for long-term goals, and it encompasses two dimensions: Consistency of Interest and Perseverance of Effort. The sample comprised N = 270 participants aged 18-34. We performed confirmatory factor analyses to verify the dimensional structure of grit, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to compare the structure across gender, and correlation analysis to examine external validity. Findings showed satisfactory (...) parameters for Grit-S including: reliability, structural and external validity, and measurement invariance across gender groups. The results support the possibility of using the Grit-S questionnaire in research exploring the predictors of success. (shrink)

Educational efforts in bioethics are prevalent, but little is known about their efficacy. Although previous work indicates that courses in bioethics have a demonstrable effect on medical students, it has not examined their effect on health care professionals. In this report, we describe a study designed to investigate the effect of bioethics education on health care professionals. At the Intensive Bioethics Course, a six-day course held annually at Georgetown University, we administered a questionnaire requiring open-ended responses to vignettes both before (...) and after the course. Following the course, respondents defended their responses more carefully and articulated their thoughts more clearly. In addition, after the course respondents seemed to have a more subtle understanding of the relevant issues in the cases and applied theory to these cases more frequently. These findings help to formulate an understanding of the effect of bioethics education on health care professionals. (shrink)

This paper focuses on one objection to the use of reproductive genetic technologies (RGTs): the argument known as the expressivist objection. According to this argument, the choice to use reproductive genetic technologies to prevent the birth of individuals with disabilities is an expression of disvalue for existing people with disability. Many have been persuaded by this impassioned perspective. This paper shows that this argument is misguided and so does not constitute a sound objection to the use of RGTs to prevent (...) disability in future children. It first identifies some responses to the objection that may be sound but not completely convincing to proponents of the expressivist position. It then describes a thought experiment designed to demonstrate more clearly that choosing to use RGTs to prevent disability in future children does not convey a negative message about people who have disabilities. After describing a decision that clearly does not send such a message, the paper walks through a series of cases and shows how, despite differences that might seem to be morally relevant, each is morally equivalent to the previous one with respect to the extent that it expresses disvalue for such individuals. (shrink)

We present the consequences of the assumption of the classical and quantum nature of information storing and processing in the brain. These assumptions result in different behaviours of consciousness under a hypothetical brain copy experiment. The subject is important in the context of ‘mind uploading’ considerations.

Wspomnienie o profesorze Andrzeju J. Norasie, badaczu filozofii neokantowskiej.

This is an overview article that contains the discussion of the connection between information and physics at the elementary level. We present a derivation of Lindauer’s bound for heat emission during irreversible logical operation. In this computation the Szilard’s version of Maxwell’s demon paradox is used as a model to design thermodynamic implementation of a single bit of computer memory. Lindauer’s principle also motivates the discussion on the practical and emergent nature of the information. Apart from physics, the principle has (...) implications in philosophy. (shrink)

Malek Chebel talks to Nicole Albert and Lydia Ruprecht about gender questions in Islam: androgyny, homosexuality, and relations between the sexes in traditional and changing Muslim societies. 198.

Robert Sparrow’s argument that, for the foreseeable future, genome editing will be an identity-affecting intervention subject to the critique of the nonidentity problem (Sparrow 2022) is convincing...

The paper pores over the recent conceptions of normative judgement developed against the background of advances in psychology and neuroscience. It begins by analyzing what normative claim of morality and law consists of before presenting and criticizing the Social Intuitionist Model of normative judgement developed by Jonathan Haidt. The model poses serious challenges for well-established normative concepts, and the concept of normativity as objective reason for action in particular. A question is asked of what the relationship between philosophical conceptions and (...) the findings of neuroscience should be. The conclusion is that, in the face of new scientific facts, philosophers have no choice but to carefully revise their conceptual schemes. (shrink)

A number of authors have objected to potential parents' use of reproductive genetic technologies on the grounds that the use of these technologies reflects a morally problematic attitude toward parenting. More specifically, proponents of this view have argued that such a choice is inconsistent with the unconditional acceptance that lies at the heart of praiseworthy parental attitudes. This paper offers a rebuttal of this view by arguing that it is possible for a parent to exhibit unconditional acceptance of the child (...) herself without accepting each of that child's traits. If this is true, the use of reproductive genetic technologies does not inherently undermine appropriate parental attitudes. Further, by working to change some of a child's specific traits, a parent may instead exemplify an aspirational aspect of praiseworthy parenting and so demonstrate appropriate parental attitudes. (shrink)

The controversial question of whether a future child can be harmed by the use of reproductive technology turns on the way that the future child's identity is understood. As a result, analysis of the ethical and legal obligations to the children of reproductive technology that are based upon the possibility of such harm depends upon the conception of identity that is used. This paper reviews the contributions of two recent books, David DeGrazia's Human Identity and Bioethics (2005) and Philip Peters' (...) How Safe is Safe Enough? (2004) to this area of inquiry. It suggests that the use of a narrative rather than numerical conception of identity makes it possible to coherently claim that future children can be harmed by the use of reproductive technologies and that, as a result, potential parents can have obligations regarding the use of those technologies based upon that possibility of harm. (shrink)

Jednym z filozoficznym problemów, który wyrósł na gruncie arystotelesowskiej filozofii przyrody, jest debata „natura a kunszt”. Filozoficzna dyskusja nad kryteriami odróżnienia wytworów naturalnych od artefaktów kunsztu ludzkiego i proponowane w ramach niej rozstrzygnięcia wpłynęły na ukształtowanie się stanowiska eksperymentalizmu. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie, w jaki sposób argumenty podnoszone w filozoficznej debacie „naturalne a sztuczne” wpłynęły na kształt filozofii eksperymentu i naturalizmu Roberta Boyle’a, a w konsekwencji na postać filozoficznych założeń współczesnego eksperymentalizmu.

This paper aims at providing a different understanding of violence as a productive force rather than a destructive force in Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan animanga. Relying on Frantz Fanon's theory of revolutionary violence, Sigmund Freud's theory of aggression and violence, and James P. Sterba's just war theory, the paper shows that violence can be seen as a productive force, which is necessary for humans' survival, justice, freedom, and rebirth, rather than a destructive force. The study examines the protagonist's experience (...) with violence by applying the above-mentioned theories to prove that violence can also be productive and that it appears in unending cycles. The paper focuses on how Eren in Attack on Titan achieves freedom and justice for his race through fighting. Eren knows from the beginning that violence is the only way to free Man. Finally, the paper concludes that peace is exceptional, and that freedom and justice are questionable. (shrink)

"Si le bel Islam prêche le droit à l'indifférence et à la non-agression mutuelle, il faut croire que l'Homme, lui, est versatile, colérique et impétueux.", constate Malek Chebel. A travers cinq études percutantes, il nous montre à quel point la faute et la transgression sont omniprésentes dans le monde musulman contemporain. Cet Inconscient de l'Islam remonte aux racines de la religion et se nourrit de l'histoire de ses califats, pour mettre en évidence la folie actuelle d'une partie de la communauté. (...) Guerre sainte détournée, exacerbation de la figure du kamikaze, violence symbolique de la relation mère-fils, censure à l'encontre des livres, immolation au nom d'une purification : cette immersion dans le monde complexe des interdits et de leur transgression interroge les liens entre religion, politique et liberté dans le monde arabo-musulman. Plaidoyer autorisé pour la mise à nu d'un inconscient longtemps nié, cet essai percutant révèle les troubles d'un islam aux prises avec ses contradictions. (shrink)

W artykule przedstawiono normatywne aspekty działalności komisji do spraw etyki badań naukowych z udziałem ludzi na polskich uczelniach technicznych. Spośród osiemnastu uczelni, jedenaście w ostatnich latach powołało takie komisje. Szczegółowo opisano działalność komisji etyki badań z udziałem ludzi działającej na Politechnice Wrocławskiej, zestawiając jej sposób funkcjonowania z wybranymi elementami praktyki działania analogicznej komisji z Uniwersytetu Technicznego w Delft. W kontekście pracy komisji omówiono problemy dotyczące definicji, zakresu kompetencji komisji oraz identyfikacji czynników ryzyka i zarządzania ryzykiem badawczym. Podsumowaniem badań są propozycje (...) organizacyjne i badawcze związane z funkcjonowaniem komisji etyki badań naukowych z udziałem ludzi na uczelniach technicznych. (shrink)

In his thought-provoking piece, ‘Expressivism at the Beginning and End of Life’, Philip Reed contrasts the application of the expressivist objection to the use of reproductive technologies (such as prenatal testing and preimplantation diagnosis) with its application to interventions that bring about death (such as physician aid in dying and euthanasia). In the process of supporting his comparative conclusion, that ‘expressivism at the end of life is a much greater concern than at the beginning’, he makes some interesting observations and (...) offers some convincing arguments. Further examination, however, shows that his arguments actually support conclusions far beyond the modest one he intends to draw. The absurdity of these conclusions can be used to identify the flaws in Reed’s argument. Reed summarises the expressivist objection in the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) as follows: > When we allow PAS for individuals who are terminally ill or facing some severe disease or disability, we send a message of disrespect to all individuals who face such adversities in that we imply that they are inferior or their lives are not worth living. Analogous arguments have been made about decisions to use reproductive technology to prevent the birth of people with disabilities. Reed describes a common rebuttal to the …. (shrink)

Human relations are driven by social events—people interact, exchange information, share knowledge and emotions, and gather news from mass media. These events leave traces in human memory, the strength of which depends on cognitive factors such as emotions or attention span. Each trace continuously weakens over time unless another related event activity strengthens it. Here, we introduce a novel cognition-driven social network model that accounts for cognitive aspects of social perception. The model explicitly represents each social interaction as a trace (...) in human memory with its corresponding dynamics. The strength of the trace is the only measure of the influence that the interactions had on a person. For validation, we apply our model to NetSense data on social interactions among university students. The results show that CogSNet significantly improves the quality of modeling of human interactions in social networks. (shrink)

Niniejszy artykuł analizuje integrację uchodźców wojennych z perspektywy nauk behawioralnych, koncentrując się na ukraińskich uchodźcach wojennych w Polsce. Wyróżnia migrację ekonomiczną i uchodźstwo wojenne, podkreślając unikalne wyzwania stojące przed uchodźcami wojennymi, takie jak przymusowa migracja, narażenie na przemoc i trudności psychologiczne. Artykuł bada różne czynniki behawioralne wpływające na integrację, w tym postrzeganie czasu, sieci społeczne i narracje publiczne. Wyniki wskazują, że zrozumienie i uwzględnienie tych aspektów behawioralnych jest kluczowe dla opracowania skutecznych polityk integracyjnych. Badanie to wnosi istotny wkład w rozwój (...) wiedzy, dostarczając szczegółowego spojrzenia na wyzwania związane z integracją uchodźców wojennych z perspektywy behawioralnej. (shrink)

Głównym celem artykułu jest problematyzacja paternalizmu i dyrektywności w kontekście różnic między psychoterapią a poradnictwem. Często przyjmuje się, że psychoterapia dotyczy zaburzeń psychicznych, poradnictwo zaś kryzysów rozwojowych i innych problemów u osób zdrowych. Przyjęcie takiej perspektywy oraz etyki psychoterapeutycznej jest równoważne z przyjęciem dyskursu interwencji medycznej i wiąże się z traktowaniem pacjenta w sposób paternalizujący i dyrektywny. Jest to problematyczne, gdyż sama kategoria „zaburzeń psychicznych”, jak i kryteria diagnostyczne poszczególnych diagnoz, krytykowane są z wielu różnych pozycji. Przykład Soterii, podejścia terapeutycznego (...) dla osób z diagnozą psychozy lub schizofrenii, pokazuje, że nawet w przypadku takiej „ciężkiej choroby psychicznej” model pomocy bliższy poradnictwu, pozwalający na zachowanie większej autonomii i podmiotowości pacjenta, może być równie – a nawet bardziej – skuteczny niż konwencjonalne podejście medyczne i psychoterapeutyczne operujące w aksjologii medycyny. Artykuł stanowi punkt wyjścia do rozważań dotyczących sformułowania właściwego obszaru zainteresowań poradnictwa i psychoterapii, celów tych interwencji oraz konsekwencji etycznych takich decyzji. (shrink)

W artykule przedstawiono listę elementów, które konstytuują „epistemiczny układ odniesienia” praktyki badawczej nauki laboratoryjnej. Refleksja nad filozoficzną i metodologiczną podstawą nauki laboratoryjnej odgrywa znaczącą rolę w dociekaniach nad genezą i naturą wiedzy naukowej. Uwzględnienie specyfiki badawczej tej dyscypliny przyrodoznawstwa w pewnej mierze umożliwia szersze spojrzenie na szereg klasycznych problemów podnoszonych na gruncie filozofii przyrody i filozofii przyrodoznawstwa. „Epistemiczny układ odniesienia nauki laboratoryjnej” jest charakteryzowany w świetle aparatu pojęciowego zaproponowanego przez Iana Hackinga, uwag o głównych założeniach filozofii chemii Pawła Zeidlera oraz (...) propozycji „gramatyki praktyki badawczej nauk laboratoryjnych” Hasoka Changa. (shrink)

Robert Boyle jest autorem oryginalnej koncepcji mediacji pomiędzy sferą religii a nauki. W artykule przedstawiono wybrane elementy myśli filozoficznej Boyle’a, które wyznaczają jego ujęcie zagadnienia relacji wiara a nauka. W literaturze przedmiotu poglądy Boyle’a kwalifikuje się często jako przykład podejścia nazywanego „koncepcją dwóch ksiąg” albo „Boga jako zapchaj dziury”. W artykule przedstawiono polemikę z tymi interpretacjami myśli Boyle’a i wskazuje się, że jego koncepcja jest bliska współczesnemu stanowisku chrześcijańskiego teizmu naturalistycznego.

Celem moich rozważań jest przedstawienie związków pomiędzy dociekaniami filozofów przyrody a rozwojem tradycji alchemicznej. Odwołam się do wybranych koncepcji ukształtowanych w dziejach alchemii. Będę argumentował na rzecz tezy, że dociekania alchemików przybierały postać rozbudowanych systemów tworzących koherentne obrazy świata przyrody, które implikowały określone typy filozofii przyrody. -------------- Zgłoszono: 31/07/2020. Zrecenzowano: 04/09/2020. Zaakceptowano do publikacji: 19/10/2020.

In this article we are trying to show the Shestovs point of view at the origins and nature of rationalistic philosophy which he names "philosophy of Athens". It's very important part of Shestov philosophy, for it helps him to explain the true situation of a modern man in the world. For Shestov the Greek philosophy was not the result of astonishment, but fear. Fear of unknown, chaotic reality. In order to get rid of that man started to search for certainty (...) and order, both on the ground of metaphysics and ethics. The only appropriate instrument here was Reason with his necessary and immutable truths. For Shestov the whole history of Greek philosophy in general is a process of gradual rationalization of the world. (shrink)