Background In current Western medical ethics, patient-centered medicine is considered the norm. However, the cultural background of collectivism in East Asia often leads to family-centered decision-making. In Japan, prior studies have reported that family-centered decision-making is more likely to be preferred in situations of disease notification and end-of-life decision-making. Nonetheless, there has been a recent shift from collectivism to individualism due to changes in the social structure. Various personal factors have also been reported to influence moral decision-making. Therefore, this study (...) examined whether the current trend in attitudes of healthcare decision-making in Japan is family-centered or patient-centered among the general public and physicians. In addition, the personal factors that influence this tendency were examined.Methods Three vignettes on disease notification and two vignettes on decision-making during end-of-life care were created, and 457 members of the public and 284 physicians were asked about their attitudes (behavioral intentions) regarding these vignettes.Results Approximately, 95% of physicians were patient-centered in explaining the patient’s severe medical condition. However, approximately 80% of physicians emphasized the wishes of the family over patient wishes when making life-sustaining decisions. Nearly half the general public emphasized the patient’s wishes in the explanation of a severe medical condition and in life-sustaining decisions. In both the public and physician groups, personal factors, particularly the presence or absence of a disease under treatment and prior caregiving experience, influenced ethical attitudes toward medical treatment decisions.Conclusions In relatively low-conflict situations, such as the announcement of a patient’s medical condition, physicians tended to be patient-centered, while they tended to be family-centered in situations of strong conflict in withholding life-sustaining treatment. The fact that personal factors influenced the family-centered response in situations of strong conflict highlights the importance of not only acquiring knowledge of medical ethics but also learning to fairly apply this knowledge in practice. (shrink)

In 2008, researchers created human three-dimensional neural tissue – known as the pioneering work of “brain organoids.” In recent years, some researchers have transplanted human brain organoids into animal brains for applicational purposes. With these experiments have come many ethical concerns. It is thus an urgent task to clarify what is ethically permissible and impermissible in brain organoid research. This paper seeks (1) to sort out the ethical issues related to brain organoid research and application and (2) to propose future (...) directions for additional ethical consideration and policy debates in the field. Toward (1), this paper first outlines the current state of brain organoid research, and then briefly responds to previously raised related ethical concerns. Looking next at anticipated scientific developments in brain organoid research, we will discuss (i) ethical issues related to in vitro brain organoids, (ii) ethical issues raised when brain organoids form complexes or have relationships with other entities, and (iii) ethical issues of research ethics and governance. Finally, in pursuit of (2), we propose research policies that are mindful of the ethics of brain organoid research and application and also suggest the need for an international framework for research and application of brain organoids. (shrink)

This article investigates a critical yet underexplored structural aspect of consciousness in the context of the practical ethics of neural organoid research: the unity of consciousness. We advocate for the necessity of the unified field, which has garnered substantial support from both philosophical and empirical standpoints, although the debate remains unresolved. We highlight the brainstem as a potential source of the unified conscious field, a structure already under scrutiny in neural organoid research in relation to conditions such as Parkinson’s disease (...) and post-COVID-19 syndromes. We argue that if unity is a necessary feature of consciousness, consciousness is contingent upon a specific biological system without which consciousness cannot arise, thereby narrowing the range of neural organoids of ethical concern. Furthermore, the transplantation of neural organoids into animals has emerged as a practical concern, with ethical implications varying based on the necessity of the unity of consciousness. We argue that transplantation evades a significant ethical dilemma if unity is necessary and if the organoids to be transplanted lack the neural basis for the unified field of consciousness. (shrink)

Background According to some medical ethicists and professional guidelines, there is no ethical difference between withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. However, medical professionals do not always agree with this notion. Patients and their families may also not regard these decisions as equivalent. Perspectives on life-sustaining treatment potentially differ between cultures and countries. This study compares Japanese physicians’ and citizens’ attitudes toward hypothetical cases of withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment.Methods Ten vignette cases were developed. A web-based questionnaire was administered to 457 (...) citizens and 284 physicians to determine whether they supported withholding or withdrawing treatment.Results In a case where a patient had an advance directive refusing ventilation, 77% of the physicians and 68% of the citizens chose to withhold treatment. In a case where there was an advance directive but the patient’s family requested treatment, 55% of the physicians and 45% of the citizens chose to withhold the ventilator. When a family requested withdrawal of the ventilator but patient wishes were unknown, 19% of the physicians and 48% of the citizens chose to withdraw the ventilator. However, when the patient had also indicated their wishes in writing, 49% of the physicians and 66% of the citizens chose to withdraw treatment. More physicians were prepared to withdraw dialysis (84%) and artificial nutrition (81%) at a patient’s request than mechanical ventilation (49%).Conclusions A significant proportion of Japanese physicians and citizens were reluctant to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment, even in cases where the patient had indicated their wishes in writing. They were more likely to withhold than withdraw treatment, and more likely to withdraw artificial nutrition than mechanical ventilation. Japanese physicians gave significant weight to family views about treatment but were less likely to agree to withdraw treatment than citizens, indicating a potential source of conflict in clinical settings. (shrink)

We give a proof of Gödel's first incompleteness theorem based on Berry's paradox, and from it we also derive the second incompleteness theorem model-theoretically.

Recently, an increasing number of countries have been allowing voluntary active euthanasia (VAE) and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) as part of palliative care. Japan stands out as the most aged country in the developed world, and while the need for palliative care for older adults with dementia has been noted, there has been reluctance to openly address VAE and PAS. We conducted an online questionnaire survey using a vignette case to investigate the attitudes of Japanese physicians and the general public towards (...) VAE and PAS, and the factors influencing these attitudes. The findings revealed that Japanese physicians did not display support for euthanasia (2%) and assisted suicide (1%); however, the general public supported euthanasia (33%) and assisted suicide (34%). Notably, among the general public, males exhibited significantly higher support for PAS than females. Japanese physicians and the general public expressed a more negative stance towards VAE and PAS compared with their counterparts in Western countries. This disparity may be attributed to the influence of the Buddhist view of life and death and family-centeredness in the Japanese culture, which affects people’s attitudes towards assisted dying. The gap between physicians and the general public could potentially lead to challenges in medical practice, thereby, necessitating the need for open discussions in the future. (shrink)

Within a weak subsystem of second-order arithmetic , that is -conservative over , we reformulate Kreisel's proof of the Second Incompleteness Theorem and Boolos' proof of the First Incompleteness Theorem.

During clinical ethics consultation training, hands-on practice after acquiring the necessary knowledge under an experienced clinical ethics consultant's supervision is an effective method of obtaining technical and practical skills. However, in regions where clinical ethics consultation is still nascent, few experienced clinical ethics consultants exist. The number of clinical ethics consultation cases is small, making on-the-job training significantly difficult. To address this problem, this study developed a remote supervision program using e-mail and ZOOM and evaluated its effectiveness using Kirkpatrick's learning (...) effectiveness model. The findings confirmed the good learning effects of both programs. In particular, ZOOM's learning effectiveness was greater than e-mail's in Level 2 learning effects. Nevertheless, remote supervision may be an effective method when in-person training is difficult, such as in countries with developing clinical ethics consultations or during the outbreak of infection. (shrink)

世界の三人宗教が祖、大預言者と仰ぐアブラハム。「すべての父なるアブラハム」の生涯を通した人間の在り方と信仰を、キリスト教的人間形成論という視点から考えていく。.

専門的な予備知識は仮定せずに完全性定理や計算可能性から論じ、第一および第二不完全性定理、Rosserの定理、Hilbertのプログラム、G ̈odelの加速定理、算術の超準モデル、Kolmogorov複雑性などを紹介して、不完全性定理の数学的意義と、その根源にある哲学的問題を説く。.

In ‘Causes and Reasons of Desert Islands’, Gilles Deleuze presents a mythological and scientific vision in which new islands and new humanity emerge from the opposition between the land and sea in desert islands. However, what Deleuze cannot explain is how such new territory and people are produced and reproduced while rejecting old and conventional generational ways. To break this impasse, which is also present in Difference and Repetition, Deleuze and Guattari intend to retain the absolute movement of deterritorialisation, while (...) acknowledging that deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation always comingle. This theoretical project is found in the critique of Pierre Clastres on counter-state societies, and is taken up by Deleuze and Guattari in What is Philosophy? In this latter work, by creating concepts and constituting a new plane, Deleuze and Guattari offer some conditions of a third reterritorialisation that, after the second reterritorialisation in the democratic states, presents a new way of forging a political and revolutionary philosophy. In this essay, we criticise the opinions that consider Deleuze and Guattari's political philosophy as one version of radical democracy. Their political philosophy should be situated in the post-democratic era to come. (shrink)

生命科学、医学、社会学、経済学、そして、政治学。あらゆる知の最新の達成を渉猟し、法・政治・制度といった現実の問題を真正面から考え続けてきた哲学者が、研ぎ澄まされた言葉で「生」を描きだす。.

In this note we show that groups with definable generics in a separably closed valued field K of finite imperfection degree can be embedded into groups definable in the algebraic closure of K.

Proposes a provocative reinterpretation of poststructuralist theory of power The “structuralist” theories of power show that the subject is produced and reproduced by the investment of power: but how then can we then think of the subject’s resistance to power? Based on this fundamental question, Power and Resistance interprets critically the (post-)structuralist theory of power and resistance, i.e., the theories of Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari, Derrida and Althusser. It analyses also the mechanism of power and the strategies of resistance in (...) the era of neoliberalism. This meticulous analysis that completely renewed the theory of power is already published in French, Japanese, and Korean with success. (shrink)

This study aims to develop guidelines of key concepts and specific considerations to make the research more ethical when conducting neurological examinations and treatment interventions in mentally ill patients. We analyzed guideline development theory and literature, previous issues, and discussions with specialists of philosophy, medicine, sociology, and bioethics. The selection of research participants, drafting of intervention plans, and informed consent process were examined with reference to the dual burden; the minimal risk as a general rule of ethical allowance levels, assent (...) and dissent to assess the individual’s judgment capacity for consent, relational autonomy for personal consent with assistance by the proxy, and risk/benefit assessments. When conducting studies, this guideline requires that these three processes be set up appropriately on a case-by-case basis. (shrink)

While some studies suggest cultural differences in visual processing, others do not, possibly because the complexity of their tasks draws upon high-level factors that could obscure such effects. To control for this, we examined cultural differences in visual search for geometric figures, a relatively simple task for which the underlying mechanisms are reasonably well known. We replicated earlier results showing that North Americans had a reliable search asymmetry for line length: Search for long among short lines was faster than vice (...) versa. In contrast, Japanese participants showed no asymmetry. This difference did not appear to be affected by stimulus density. Other kinds of stimuli resulted in other patterns of asymmetry differences, suggesting that these are not due to factors such as analytic/holistic processing but are based instead on the target-detection process. In particular, our results indicate that at least some cultural differences reflect different ways of processing early-level features, possibly in response to environmental factors. (shrink)

When building personal relationships, it is important to select optimal partners, even based on the first meeting. This study was inspired by the idea that people who smile are considered more trustworthy and attractive. However, this may not always be true in daily life. Previous studies have used a relatively simple method of judging others by presenting a photograph of one person’s face. To move beyond this approach and examine more complex situations, we presented the faces of two people confronted (...) with each other to participants and asked them to judge them from a third-person perspective. Through three experiments, participants were asked to judge which of the two persons was more appropriate for forming alliances, more trustworthy, or more attractive, respectively. In all experiments, images were shown for a short or a long time. In all three experiments, the results showed that participants were more likely to choose persons with happy faces than those with neutral, sad, or angry faces when the image presentation was short. Contrarily, the facial expressions did not affect those judgments when the image presentation was long. Instead, judgments were correlated with personality estimated from the model’s neutral face in a single-person presentation. These results suggest that although facial expressions can affect the judgments of others when observing two-person confrontations from a third-person perspective, when participants have more time to elaborate their judgments, they go beyond expressions. (shrink)

It is well known that Gödel’s incompleteness theorems hold for ∑1-definable theories containing Peano arithmetic. We generalize Gödel’s incompleteness theorems for arithmetically definable theories. First, we prove that every ∑n+1-definable ∑n-sound theory is incomplete. Secondly, we generalize and improve Jeroslow and Hájek’s results. That is, we prove that every consistent theory having ∏n+1set of theorems has a true but unprovable ∏nsentence. Lastly, we prove that no ∑n+1-definable ∑n-sound theory can prove its own ∑n-soundness. These three results are generalizations of Rosser’s (...) improvement of the first incompleteness theorem, Gödel’s first incompleteness theorem, and the second incompleteness theorem, respectively. (shrink)

By formalizing Berry's paradox, Vopěnka, Chaitin, Boolos and others proved the incompleteness theorems without using the diagonal argument. In this paper, we shall examine these proofs closely and show their relationships. Firstly, we shall show that we can use the diagonal argument for proofs of the incompleteness theorems based on Berry's paradox. Then, we shall show that an extension of Boolos' proof can be considered as a special case of Chaitin's proof by defining a suitable Kolmogorov complexity. We shall show (...) also that Vopěnka's proof can be reformulated in arithmetic by using the arithmetized completeness theorem. (shrink)

We define a liar-type paradox as a consistent proposition in propositional modal logic which is obtained by attaching boxes to several subformulas of an inconsistent proposition in classical propositional logic, and show several famous paradoxes are liar-type. Then we show that we can generate a liar-type paradox from any inconsistent proposition in classical propositional logic and that undecidable sentences in arithmetic can be obtained from the existence of a liar-type paradox. We extend these results to predicate logic and discuss Yablo’s (...) Paradox in this framework. Furthermore, we define explicit and implicit self-reference in paradoxes in the incompleteness phenomena. (shrink)

We present a version of Herbelin’s image-calculus in the call-by-name setting to study the precise correspondence between normalization and cut-elimination in classical logic. Our translation of λμ-terms into a set of terms in the calculus does not involve any administrative redexes, in particular η-expansion on μ-abstraction. The isomorphism preserves β,μ-reduction, which is simulated by a local-step cut-elimination procedure in the typed case, where the reduction system strictly follows the “ cut=redex” paradigm. We show that the underlying untyped calculus is confluent (...) and enjoys the PSN property for the isomorphic image of λμ-calculus, which in turn yields a confluent and strongly normalizing local-step cut-elimination procedure for classical logic. (shrink)

This research examines the current status of clinical ethics consultation (CEC) in Japan through a nationwide study conducted with chairs of ethics committees and clinical ethics committees among 1028 post-graduate clinical teaching hospitals. We also qualitatively analyzed their viewpoints of the CEC’s benefits and problems related to hospital consultation services to identify the critical points for CEC and inform the development of a correctly functioning system. The questionnaire included structured questions about hospital CEC organization and service purpose and operation and (...) open-ended questions about the benefits and problems of initiating CEC. The questionnaire comprised the presence/absence of an ethics committee, CEC services and membership when services were implemented, users, and the number of cases handled since inception. In addition, the respondents also provided their impressions of the CEC system’s impact on their hospital by describing (a) the benefits of CEC services and (b) the ineffectual or harmful aspects of the CEC system. Qualitative data were examined using qualitative content analysis to determine the impact of establishing a CEC and the difficulties of practice. One hundred twenty-five questionnaires were returned from either the chair of the ethics committee or clinical ethics committee in teaching hospitals. Of these, 90 (72%) reported they provided CEC services. Additionally, 36 respondents (34.6%) reported that their existing research and clinical ethics committees had conducted CEC services, and 35 (33.7%) reported having a newly established clinical ethics committee conducting CEC services. Three positive effects of establishing and four challenges in managing CEC were also identified. (shrink)

We shall prove the second incompleteness theorem via Kolmogorov complexity.

By using a provability predicate of PA, we define ThmPA(M) as the set of theorems of PA in a modelMof PA. We say a modelMof PA is (1) illusory if ThmPA(M) ⊈ ThmPA(ℕ), (2) heterodox if ThmPA(M) ⊈ TA, (3) sane ifM⊨ ConPA, and insane if it is not sane, (4) maximally sane if it is sane and ThmPA(M) ⊆ ThmPA(N) implies ThmPA(M) = ThmPA(N) for every sane modelNof PA. We firstly show thatMis heterodox if and only if it is (...) illusory, and that ThmPA(M) ∩ TA ≠ ThmPA(ℕ) for any illusory modelM. Then we show that there exists a maximally sane model, every maximally sane model satisfies ¬ConPA+ConPA, and there exists a sane model of ¬ConPA+ConPAwhich is not maximally sane. We define that an insane model is (5) illusory by nature if its every initial segment being a nonstandard model of PA is illusory, and (6) going insane suddenly if its every initial segment being a sane model of PA is not illusory. We show that there exists a model of PA which is illusory by nature, and we prove the existence of a model of PA which is going insane suddenly. (shrink)

Recently, Edwards and Liaschenko questioned the validity of an argument put forward by Dr Søren Holm and Joseph Dunne concerning the impossibility of a theory of nursing. Taking into consideration the premises of the argument, I describe how Maritain's conception of philosophy allows for the possibility of a theory of nursing conceived as a philosophy of nursing art that is both practical and propositional in nature. As well, I identify how the philosophy of nursing art guides nursing art in developing (...) and applying other kinds of artistic practical nursing knowledge: artistic nursing rules and artistic prudential nursing judgements. Finally, the relationship of ethical knowledge to artistic practical nursing knowledge is set down. (shrink)

We investigated whether the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) responds in real-time to multisensory inconsistency during movement. The IPL is thought to be involved in both the detection of inconsistencies in multisensory information obtained during movement and that obtained during self-other discrimination. However, because of the limited temporal resolution of conventional neuroimaging techniques, it is difficult to distinguish IPL activity during movement from that during self-other discrimination. We simultaneously conducted electroencephalography (EEG) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) with the goal of examining IPL (...) activity with a high spatiotemporal resolution during single reaching movements. Under a visual feedback-delay condition, gamma event-related synchronization (γ-ERS), i.e., an increase in gamma (31–47 Hz) EEG power, occurred during reaching movements. This γ-ERS is considered to reflect processing of information about prediction errors. To integrate this temporal information with spatial information from the NIRS signals, we developed a new analysis technique that enabled estimation of the regions that show a hemodynamic response characterized by EEG fluctuation present in the visual feedback-delay condition. As a result, IPL activity was explained by γ-ERS specific to visual feedback delay during movements. Thus, we succeeded in demonstrating real-time activation of the IPL in response to multisensory inconsistency. However, we did not find any correlation between either IPL activity or γ-ERS with the sense of agency. Therefore, our results suggest that while the IPL is influenced by prediction error signals, it does not engage in direct processing underlying the conscious experience of making a movement, which is the foundation of self-other discrimination. (shrink)

This article proposes a methodological schema for engaging in a productive discussion of ethical issues regarding human brain organoids, which are three-dimensional cortical neural tissues created using human pluripotent stem cells. Although moral consideration of HBOs significantly involves the possibility that they have consciousness, there is no widely accepted procedure to determine whether HBOs are conscious. Given that this is the case, it has been argued that we should adopt a precautionary principle about consciousness according to which, if we are (...) not certain whether HBOs have consciousness—and where treating HBOs as not having consciousness may cause harm to them—we should proceed as if they do have consciousness. This article emphasizes a methodological advantage of adopting the precautionary principle: it enables us to sidestep the question of whether HBOs have consciousness and, instead, directly address the question of what kinds of conscious experiences HBOs can have, where the what-kind-question is more tractable than the whether-question. By addressing the what-kind-question, we will be able to examine how much moral consideration HBOs deserve. With this in mind, this article confronts the what-kind-question with the assistance of experimental studies of consciousness and suggests an ethical framework which supports restricting the creation and use of HBOs in bioscience. (shrink)

We consider a set-theoretic version of mereology based on the inclusion relation ⊆ and analyze how well it might serve as a foundation of mathematics. After establishing the non-definability of ∈ from ⊆, we identify the natural axioms for ⊆-based mereology, which constitute a finitely axiomatizable, complete, decidable theory. Ultimately, for these reasons, we conclude that this form of set-theoretic mereology cannot by itself serve as a foundation of mathematics. Meanwhile, augmented forms of set-theoretic mereology, such as that obtained by (...) adding the singleton operator, are foundationally robust. (shrink)