The purpose of this article is to discuss the criminalization of conduct based on human dignity arguments. It proposes a modest version of integrating human dignity into discussions about criminalization. After a critical examination of both the notion of “human dignity as an objective value” and the assumption that the meaning of human dignity can be explained by referring to Kant’s moral philosophy, human dignity violations are characterized as severe humiliations.

Is it acceptable to kill an animal that has been granted a pleasant life? This book rigorously explores the moral basis of the ideal of animal-friendly animal husbandry and sheds new light on utilitarian moral theory by pointing out the assumptions and implications of two different versions of utilitarianism, with surprising conclusions.

For historians of medicine, the professor Theodor Billroth of the University of Vienna was the leading European surgeon of the late nineteenth century and the personification of intervention by organ or body part removal. For social and political historians, he was a German nationalist whose book on medical education heralded the rise of anti-Semitism in the Austrian public sphere. This article brings together and critically reassesses these two hitherto separate accounts to show how, in a period of dramatic social and (...) political change, Viennese surgery split into two camps. One, headed by Billroth, was characterized by an alliance with the German educational model, German nationalism leading to racial anti-Semitism and an experimental approach to the construction of surgical procedure, which heavily relied on the methods of pathological physiology. The other, which followed a long Austrian tradition, stood for a clinically oriented and strictly organized medical education that catered to an ethnically and socially diverse population and, simultaneously, for an anatomically oriented surgery, largely of the locomotor apparatus. This study shows how, in a major centre of medical education and capital of a multiethnic empire, surgical and national identities were forged together. (shrink)

This title examines the fields of value theory, normative and applied ethics on the issue of killing animals. It addresses a number of questions: Can painless killing harm or benefit an animal and, if so, why and under what conditions? Can coming into existence harm or benefit an animal? Is killing animals morally acceptable? Should animals have the legal right to life? In addressing these questions, animal rights and animal welfare positions are articulated and debated by some of the foremost (...) thinkers on these issues, with a distinction made between rights-based and utilitarian approaches. (shrink)

Wittgenstein ist auf vielschichtige Weise mit Rußland verbunden: als Kriegsfreiwilliger an der Ostfront, als eifriger Leser von Tolstoi und Dostojewski, als Freund Nikolai Bachtins und als Reisender in der Sowjet-Union. Wittgensteins Verhältnis zu Nikolai Bachtin - eine Geistesverwandtschaft vor dem Hintergrund humanistischer Bildung, Religiosität, Askese, Patriotismus und Weltbürgertum - und zu dessen Bruder Michail sowie beider Einfuß auf seine Philosophie, speziell in den Philosophischen Untersuchungen, werden im Detail untersucht. Seine Kontakte zu anderen Exilrussen (bes. Fanja Pascal), die Beziehungen der Bachtin-Brüder (...) zum Brenner-Kreis und Wittgensteins Motive für seine Rußlandreise sowie seinen vagen Plan, sich dort niederzulassen, werden anhand von Tagebuchaufzeichnungen und Korrespondenzen rekonstruiert. (shrink)

Definition of the problem The article asks whether vaccination status could become relevant if it is unavoidable to prioritize between patients in intensive care units during a pandemic. The aim is to analyze different approaches and arguments in favor of and against the inclusion of vaccination status. Arguments The following arguments are assessed: First, it has been argued that it is unnecessary to open this discussion. Second, one could make the point that public debates about touchy subjects should be avoided. (...) A third, frequently expressed opinion claims that physicians must never discriminate between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, either because this is in conflict with human rights or because this is incompatible with the general principle that patients’ prior conduct does not matter. Fourth, behavioral economists argue that intensive care medicine should take vaccination status into account with the goal to improve the overall numbers of vaccinations. A fifth line of thinking argues that it is more just to take vaccination into account. Conclusion The author concludes that the omission to get a necessary and recommended vaccination may be taken into account if patients’ prospects to survive are similar. She points out that lotteries would be worse. (shrink)

What are the intellectual origins of the ecological crisis? Which approach can offer an alternative? In the first part of this paper, I argue that the crisis was caused not by faith in reason as such, but instead by distortions of reason. Further, I consider the intellectual prerequisites for ecological destruction, the ultimate cause of which can be seen in the transitional state of our civilisation from a dependent to an interdependent mode of interaction with the biosphere. A possible remedy (...) to this can be the reconciliation of humankind with the biosphere by means of the Gestalt approach. (shrink)

An academic integrity policy usually specifies the university’s ethical principles and values, the forms of appropriate academic behaviour, the penalties for academic malpractice and the procedures for handling policy violations. However, the policy does not itself create academic integrity, but needs to be consistently and effectively communicated, implemented, and applied. This paper presents a case study investigating the extent to which students at Riga Technical University are informed about the university’s academic integrity policy. This quantitative research was performed by surveying (...) two groups of respondents: domestic students in the first year of their bachelor’s studies and the heads of the corresponding study programmes. The results revealed a low level of students’ awareness of the university policy on academic integrity and a lack of systematic institutional approach to promoting academic integrity. The study results also indicated that students with a higher awareness of the university policy on academic integrity were less tolerant towards violations and perceived academic integrity as an essential aspect for both the academic community and student life. These findings establish a foundation for a more extensive discussion of academic integrity issues in Latvia. They can also serve as impetus for similar studies in other Latvian universities, as well as research taking an international comparative perspective. (shrink)

To systematically compare welfare across species, it is first necessary to explore whether welfare subjects of different species have the same or rather a different capacity for welfare. According to what seems to be the dominant philosophical view, welfare subjects with higher cognitive capacities have a greater capacity for welfare and are generally much better off than those with lower cognitive capacities. Višak carefully explores and rejects this view and argues instead that welfare subjects of different species have the same (...) capacity for welfare despite different cognitive capacities. This book prepares the philosophical ground for comparisons of welfare across species. It will inform and inspire ethicists and animal welfare scientists alike, as well as a broader readership interested in wellbeing, animals, and ethics. (shrink)

Academic integrity determines the trust that society has in the quality of education and the results of scientific research. More broadly, it influences honesty, respect for ethical principles, and the fair behaviour of society members. Accordingly, higher education institutions should have clear, transparent and well-communicated policies to defend academic integrity among all stakeholders. Taking into account the worldwide dependence on digital technologies, online communication channels should be also used for this purpose. Using qualitative content analysis, this paper aims to investigate (...) how academic integrity is framed by Latvian and Lithuanian state-financed universities in online public spaces in relation to the criteria of an exemplary academic integrity policy. Given the limited content of publicly available university documents, the research findings indicated a poor correspondence to the mentioned criteria. (shrink)

Durch Migrationsprozesse und zunehmenden Pluralismus ist in Deutschland das Thema „kulturelle Diversität“ in der Medizin aktueller denn je. In der medizinischen Fachliteratur und im gesellschaftlichen Diskurs wird vermehrt von interkulturellen Konflikten im Kontakt zwischen Arzt und Patient berichtet, was die Frage nach der Rolle von Interkultureller Kompetenz für die klinische Praxis aufwirft. Zunächst widmet sich der Beitrag kritisch den verschiedenen Auffassungen des Begriffs „Kultur“ im medizinischen Kontext, um anschließend eine Methode der interkulturellen Philosophie als eine Möglichkeit für eine kultursensitive Ethik (...) zu skizzieren. Anschließend wird aufgezeigt, welche Schwierigkeiten mit dem Begriff der Interkulturellen Kompetenz verbunden sind und weshalb die Autoren diesen trotzdem als unerlässlich für die Wahrnehmung potentieller Konfliktfelder als auch für den Umgang mit diesen erachten. Schließlich werden derzeitige Entwicklungen in der medizinischen Ausbildung sowie konkrete Beispiele für eine kultursensible Ethikberatung illustriert. Es zeigt sich, dass international zahlreiche Ausgestaltungen Interkultureller Kompetenz in Form von Leitfäden und konkreten Schulungsmodulen existieren, aber auch, dass es in Deutschland an konkreten Umsetzungen in der Breite mangelt und die Zusammenarbeit wissenschaftlicher Disziplinen sowie der betroffenen Institutionen derzeit noch ausbaufähig ist. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to get from a phenomenology of birth towards an ethics of obstetric care: Human rights violations in obstetrics are currently a globally debated phenomenon. Research suggests that maltreatment is widespread and a global phenomenon. However, the prevalence cannot yet be clearly quantified. In view of this problem, it is necessary to take the subjective perspective of those affected seriously. Narrative and phenomenological accounts of birth experiences could help to foster the dialogue between persons giving (...) birth and health professionals. First, I will present narrative accounts of birth experiences recorded by feminist phenomenologists. Second, I will interpret these narrative accounts within a feminist phenomenological framework in order to contribute to a phenomenology of birth, which, in a third step, shall help to develop an ethics of obstetric care. In engaging with the phenomenology of care outlined by feminist care ethicists, I will analyze the elements and conditions of good care, and draw conclusions for an ethic of obstetric and midwifery care. Drawing additionally on the theory of relational autonomy, my paper argues for a relational implementation of self-determination in childbirth. Lastly, I will discuss to what extent the ethical ideal of care has an affinity to the midwifery model of childbirth, and how the current situation of obstetrics prevents a women-centered birth culture. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungWie ist die Auswahl zukünftiger Kinder in moralischer Hinsicht zu beurteilen? Der Beitrag untersucht diese Frage auf der Basis eines liberalen Prinzips der reproduktiven Freiheit, welches Handlungsspielräume und Privatsphäre in Fragen der Fortpflanzung verteidigt, wenn nicht gewichtige moralische Gründe aufgezeigt werden können, welche den Handlungen der beteiligten Personen Grenzen setzen. Er beschränkt sich auf die negative Auswahl, d. h. die Auswahl von gesunden Kindern anstelle von zukünftigen Kindern mit Behinderung oder gesundheitlicher Beeinträchtigung. Erörtert werden selektionsbefürwortende Überlegungen, welche das Wohlergehen des (...) zukünftigen Kindes in den Fokus rücken, und zwei grundsätzlich selektionskritische Argumente. Das erste verweist auf parentale Tugenden, welche mit der Auswahl zukünftiger Kinder unvereinbar wären. Bei dem zweiten handelt es sich um den Einwand der Diskriminierung von Menschen mit Behinderung. Das Ergebnis der Diskussion ist, dass es zukünftigen Eltern in den meisten Fällen freisteht, die Entscheidung über die Auswahl ihrer Kinder im Licht ihrer Ziele und Werte zu treffen. (shrink)

Since the late 1980s, the fetal origins of adult disease, from 2003 developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), has stimulated significant interest in and an efflorescence of research on the long-term effects of the intrauterine environment. From the start, this field has been interdisciplinary, using experimental animal, clinical and epidemiological tools. As the influence of DOHaD on public health and policy expanded, it has drawn criticism for reducing the complex social and physical world of early life to women’s reproductive (...) bodies as drivers of intergenerational ills. This paper explains this narrowing of focus in terms of a formative and consequential exchange between David Barker, the British epidemiologist whose work is credited with establishing the field, and the discipline of fetal physiology. We suggest that fetal physiologists were a crucial constituency of support for Barker’s hypothesis about early life origins of disease. Their collaborations with Barker helped secure and sustain the theory amid considerable controversy. The trajectory of DOHaD and its focus on the maternal body can be understood, we argue, as a consequence of this alliance, which brought together two distinct conceptualizations of the intrauterine environment, one from epidemiology and the other from fetal physiology. Along the way, we trace the histories of these conceptualizations, both of which were products of mid-to-late twentieth century British science, and show how Barker’s early emphasis on social and economic conditions was superseded by a narrower focus on physiological mechanisms acting upon the autonomous fetus. (shrink)

With growing opportunities for medical doctors to work either in academia and industry, research ethics education for health sciences research, meaning research which includes humans and animals and/or their tissues and cells with the goal to understand underlying mechanisms of disease occurrence and disease treatment, is of paramount importance, especially in regions, such as Serbia, where comprehensive research ethics curricula for physician researchers are lacking. This article addresses the spectrum of research ethics topics that were identified through analysis of the (...) existing research ethics curricula in medical schools, international organizations, Serbian legislative codes and the PubMed database applying the key search terms: ethics, research, biomedical, education, curriculum, program, course and their combinations. Selected topics were classified in eight syllabi based on their similarity: #1 Responsible conduct of research, #2 Justice in human subjects research, #3 Research on human subjects, #4 Vulnerable population groups, #5 Conflict of interest, #6 Research on animals, #7 Research on genes, cells and embryos, and #8 Organization of research ethics. Justifications for each syllabus are discussed based on empirical evidence and local context. Higher education authorities could use this framework to strengthen, adjust or refine research ethics education for physician researchers in Serbia. (shrink)

The aim of this paper was to examine the professional burnout of professional associates (51 psychologists and 70 pedagogues) in primary and secondary schools in relation to socio‑demographic determinants. The MBI – Questionnaire for experts in helping occupations was applied. The most common symptoms of professional burnout are in the domain of personal achievement (76%), followed by emotional exhaustion (63.6%) and depersonalization (62%). The results indicate that there is a difference between school pedagogues and psychologists in terms of depersonalization and (...) personal achievement. When it comes to the level of the school where professional associates work, the difference is determined on the scale of depersonalization. Considering the location where the school is located, differences are present in relation to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, with professional burnout being higher in suburban schools. The research results point to the need for psychological‑pedagogical preventive work, encouraging social support and teamwork. In subsequent research, it is necessary to include expert associates from other institutions, and to apply other instruments related to professional burnout. (shrink)

Deremetz and Scheffler devote their contribution to the analysis of communication structures in digital collectives using the debate about the General Data Protection Regulation (German: DSGVO) on German Twitter as an example. They first discuss current recollectivization theories, and in particular take up Michel Maffesoli's approach of neo-tribalism, which ascribes certain characteristics to »modern tribes«. Summarizing these characteristics, the authors conceive of them as the »retribalization hypothesis« and ask about its validity as well as its empirical testability in online discourses. (...) The methodological goal of the article is to transform sociological, theory-based social diagnoses into verifiable hypotheses with the help of computer-assisted methods and to show ways of testing their validity. For this purpose, the authors propose an analytical framework to transform the retribalization hypothesis into network and corpus linguistic terms. They use the DSGVO debate on German Twitter over a period of 3.5 years (December 2015 to June 2018) as their object of study, based on which they examine whether a retribalization of social discourses is taking place. Using the methods developed, they show that the retribalization hypothesis must be rejected for this discourse, at least in part, and emphasize the importance of the interaction of quantitative computational and qualitative interpretive methods for multidisciplinary research projects of digital processes. (shrink)

As research on meaning in work progresses, access to theoretically integrated, differentiated survey instruments becomes crucial. In response to this demand, the present article introduces ME-Work, a modular inventory to measure meaning in work. Derived from research findings on meaning in life, the ME-Work inventory offers three modules that can be used separately or jointly. Module 1 assesses four facets of meaning in work, i.e., coherence, significance, purpose and belonging; module 2 measures the subjective assessment of work as meaningful or (...) meaningless, and module 3 records the extent to which work is perceived as a source of meaning. We report on the development of the instrument and the results of an exploratory factor analysis in a pilot study of 115 working adults. A further study with 278 working adults provided evidence for construct and incremental validity. Relationships with meaning in life, mental health, job satisfaction, socio-moral climate, burnout and work as meaning were investigated. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the factor structure. Gender-specific analyses of the four facets of meaning’s differential predictive power provided additional insights. Practical implications and further research needs are discussed. (shrink)

This paper presents the results of the first phase of a longitudinal study initiated during the ‘first wave’ of the COVID-19 pandemic in Montenegro. The research aimed to examine the influence of selected risk factors on the occurrence of physical violence against women by their husbands during the pandemic. Four risk factors were assessed: the husband’s job loss, the frequency of alcohol consumption by the husband, the history of family violence, and the distribution of family responsibilities. The study was conducted (...) on a sample of 500 adult female participants, age range 20 to 49 years. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the husband’s job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of physical violence against women. Frequent alcohol consumption by husbands, as a negative coping mechanism for stress, was found to be the strongest predictor of physical violence against women. Furthermore, a prior occurrence of domestic violence was associated with an increased likelihood of physical violence perpetrated by the husband. Findings also indicated that more equitable distribution of household responsibilities between partners correlated with a lower likelihood of physical violence against women. These results underscore the need for targeted strategies in preventing this issue. (shrink)

Following publication of the original article [1], the author reported that the values for LV1, LV2, LV3 and LV4 in row “Website section” of Table 2 should be corrected as follows.

Tatjana Noemi Tömmel and Florian Grosser speak with Peter Trawny, the philosopher whose editions and interpretations of Martin Heidegger's work have strongly and lastingly shaped the view of Heidegger's thought.

The article examines whether state officials may shoot down a hijacked airplane which carries uninvolved passengers, if it is known that the plane will be used against the lives of other human beings. In its first sections, it explains the German Federal Constitutional Court’s verdict against such a permission, and it scrutinizes the crucial arguments in this ruling. The author then extends the discussion beyond the path taken by the court. She examines the defensive claims of passengers aboard the plane (...) and the protective claims of potential victims who are present at the hijackers’ target zone. In contrast to the German Federal Constitutional Court, she concludes that state officials must take the claims of both groups of potential victims equally serious, and that such conditions allow applying a consequentialist calculus because it is the only way out of a genuine dilemma. (shrink)

BackgroundPrevious studies suggest that engagement in any type of physical activity can be protective against mental health issues, whereas elite-level athletes can endure various mental health challenges. The aim of this study was to determine variations in the prevalence of psychological distress among elite sambo athletes and their recreational counterparts.MethodsA sample consisting of 245 athletes was chosen. Out of the total sample, 105 were elite-level athletes while 140 were recreational athletes. Participants were accessed via the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 to (...) determine their stress in various domains at a given time.ResultsData indicated that all tested differences between elite sambo athletes and recreational athletes were statistically significant; recreational athletes had a higher score on the depression scale, anxiety and stress, and a general distress score than sambo athletes. Although there are no gender differences in psychological distress in the total sample of athletes, elite sambo athletes achieve significantly lower scores in all tested variants than recreational ones. Women who engage in recreational activities have stood out as a vulnerable subsample in psychological stress.ConclusionFuture epidemiological and interventional studies should explore optimal strategies to identify mental health needs based on specific sport activity, especially in terms of gender. There is a need to place special emphasis on psychological distress in the context of combat sports. (shrink)

Dans la première partie du Théétète de Platon, Socrate propose un tableau des mouvements donnant naissance aux sensations individuelles. Dans le dialogue, ce tableau joue un rôle essentiel pour établir la première définition de la connaissance ( epistēmē ), ainsi que pour la réfuter. La question principale de mon analyse concerne la direction des mouvements de la sensation ( aisthēsis ) et du senti ( aisthēton ) au moment décisif de la génération d’une sensation particulière. J’étudie plus particulièrement les emplois (...) de la préposition πρός, construite avec le génitif en 156d-e et 159d-e. Interpréter correctement cet élément de la description contribue à rendre considérablement plus intelligible le tableau dessiné par Socrate, ainsi que la critique qu’il lui adresse par la suite. (shrink)