Some philosophers advance the claim that the phenomena of logical omniscience and of the indiscernibility of metaphysical statements, which arise in (certain) interpretations of normal modal logic, provide strong reasons in favour of impossible world approaches. These two specific lines of argument will be presented and discussed in this paper. Contrary to the recent much-held view that the characteristics of these two phenomena provide us with strong reasons to adopt impossible world approaches, the view defended here is that no such (...) ‘knock-down arguments’ do emanate on those grounds. This is not to rule out that there cannot be any other good reasons for assuming impossible world semantics. However, the discussion of a further argument for impossible worlds will suggest that different attempts to argue for them likely present intertwined problems. (shrink)

What is ethics? -- How the Bible guides Christian ethics -- Moral agent -- Sin -- Virtue -- Conscience -- Moral norms -- Biblical norms -- Moral consequences -- Ultimate ends.

When information on a coma patient’s expected outcome is uncertain, a moral dilemma arises in clinical practice: if life-sustaining treatment is continued, the patient may survive with unacceptably poor neurological prospects, but if withdrawn a patient who could have recovered may die. Continuous electroencephalogram-monitoring is expected to substantially improve neuroprognostication for patients in coma after cardiac arrest. This raises expectations that decisions whether or not to withdraw will become easier. This paper investigates that expectation, exploring cEEG’s impacts when it becomes (...) part of a socio-technical network in an Intensive Care Unit. Based on observations in two ICUs in the Netherlands and one in the USA that had cEEG implemented for research, we interviewed 25 family members, healthcare professionals, and surviving patients. The analysis focuses on the way patient outcomes are constructed, the kind of decision support these outcomes provide, and how cEEG affects communication between professionals and relatives. We argue that cEEG can take away or decrease the intensity of the dilemma in some cases, while increasing uncertainty for others. It also raises new concerns. Since its actual impacts furthermore hinge on how cEEG is designed and implemented, we end with recommendations for ensuring responsible development and implementation. (shrink)

Aim: To elicit preferences for prognostic information, attitudes towards withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST) and perspectives on acceptable quality of life after post-anoxic coma within the adult general population of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States of America. Methods: A web-based survey, consisting of questions on respondent characteristics, perspectives on quality of life, communication of prognostic information, and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, was taken by adult respondents recruited from four countries. Statistical analysis included descriptive analysis and chi2-tests for (...) dierences between countries. Results: In total, 2012 respondents completed the survey. In each country, at least 84% indicated they would prefer to receive early prognostic information. If a poor outcome was predicted with some uncertainty, 37-54% of the respondents indicated that WLST was not to be allowed. A conscious state with severe physical and cognitive impairments was perceived as acceptable quality of life by 17–44% of the respondents. Clear differences between countries exist, including respondents from the U.S. being more likely to allow WLST than respondents from Germany (OR = 1.99, p < 0.001) or the Netherlands (OR = 1.74, p < 0.001) and preferring to stay alive in a conscious state with severe physical and cognitive impairments more than respondents from Italy (OR = 3.76, p < 0.001), Germany (OR = 2.21, p < 0.001), or the Netherlands (OR = 2.39, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Over one-third of the respondents considered WLST unacceptable when there is any remaining prognostic uncertainty. Respondents had a more positive perspective on acceptable quality of life after coma than what is currently considered acceptable in medical literature. This indicates a need for a closer look at the practice of WLST based on prognostic information, to ensure responsible use of novel prognostic tests. (shrink)

This study is the first to examine the understandings that participants have of the consent process in a pharmacogenetic trial of anti-depressant medication.

Formålet med nærværende oversigtsartikel er at undersøge den stigende digitalisering og deling af personlige informationer i sundhedsvæsenet, samt hvilke etiske udfordringer denne udvikling har for den enkelte borger. Mere præcis vil vi rammesætte denne diskussion i en dansk kontekst eksemplificeret ved Det Fælles Medicinkort. Det Fælles Medicinkort er en obligatorisk database for danske borgere indeholdende informationer om patienters medicinske historie to år tilbage. Denne database kan tilgås af en bred vifte af sundhedsprofessionelle i Danmark.På trods af lovede sundhedsmæssige fordele, såsom (...) en højere grad af sikkerhed i forbindelse med medicinering, en øget effektivisering af sundhedsvæsenet og dermed besparelser på de offentlige budgetter, plæderer vi i artiklen for, at implementeringen af Det Fælles Medicinkort kompromitterer den enkeltes privathed. Den enkelte borger er ikke i tilstrækkelig grad informeret om brugen af Det Fælles Medicinkort. Ydermere finder vi ikke, at borgerens autonomi i forhold til indholdet af personlige oplysninger i Det Fælles Medicinkort er opretholdt på en tilfredsstillende måde.Artiklens primære perspektiv er deontologisk, men for at nuancere vores diskussion inddrages lejlighedsvist også utilitaristiske argumenter. Endvidere inddrages i artiklen Helen Nissenbaum, Tom L. Beauchamp og James F. Childress samt John Rawls. I artiklen vil tre konkrete problemstillinger blive diskuteret i relation til Det Fælles Medicinkort: Deler vi relevante og passende data? Er distributionen af disse data til en så bred vifte af sundhedsprofessionelle på sin plads? Og slutteligt: Er den enkelte borgers beslutningsdygtighed, og dermed mulighed for autonomi i forhold til personrelaterede informationer, tilstrækkelig.Nøgleord: digitalisering, privathed, Danmark, sundhedsvæsen, Det Fælles MedicinkortEnglish summary: The right to privacy in Danish healthcareThe scope of this paper is to assess the growing digitalization of personal information in healthcare and the ethical challenges this development poses to the citizen. Specifically the paper discusses the right to privacy in a Danish context, namely in relation to the use of The Shared Medical Record. The Shared Medical Record is a default digital health record consisting of every patient’s medical history for the previous two years, accessible to a broad range of health professionals in Denmark.In this paper we discuss three aspects of The Shared Medical Record, primarily from a normative point of view: 1) Are the personal data shared by The Shared Medical Record relevant and appropriate? 2) Is the distribution of this information to the current array of health professionals appropriate? And 3) Does The Shared Medical Record adequately support and account for the quorum and autonomy of the individual citizen with regards to personal information?We argue that, advantages such as heightened security, efficiency and convenience aside, the citizens’ right to privacy is to some extent compromised by the terms and use of this record. The citizen is not extensively informed on the use of the record, and does not hold a sufficient degree of autonomy over the content and distribution of their personal data. The primary ethical perspective of the paper is deontological, but in order to properly nuance our stance we have chosen to include traditionally utilitarian points of view throughout our discussions.In the paper we introduce Helen Nissenbaum’s notion of contextual integrity in order to thoroughly assess the service’s ethical implications for Danish citizens and their future privacy, as well as points from John Rawls, Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress. (shrink)

I Norge har vi hatt kontroverser omkring regulering avhumanmedisinsk bioteknologi siden 1980-tallet. Denneartikkelen analyserer et lite utsnitt av disse reguleringsdebattene,nærmere bestemt kontroversen omkring forskningpå befruktede egg. Med utgangspunkt i skriftlig materialeknyttet til tre reguleringsrunder undersøker vi her hvordan ulike aktører arbeidet forå ramme inn denne kontroversen, bl.a. ved hjelp av ulikevitenskapelige og politiske representasjoner av det befruktedeegget.Vi finner at det i perioden 1987–2007 ble arbeidet medulike innramminger som utgangspunkt for retoriske ogpolitiske strategier: På den ene siden ser vi forsøk på (...) å innrammekontroversen i et risikorammeverk som først ogfremst fokuserte på de potensielle negative sidene vedhumanmedisinsk bioteknologi, og som spesielt vektlarespekten for det ufødte liv. På den andre siden ser vi atman arbeidet med en forventningsinnramming som lahovedvekten på håpet om nye behandlingsregimer foralvorlig syke mennesker.Forbudet mot forskning på befruktede egg som ble vedtatti 1987, ble opprettholdt i 1994 og 2003. Med lovendringeni 2008 fikk vi imidlertid et markant brudd i dennorske lovgivningspraksisen, da forskning på befruktedeegg ble tillatt på visse premisser. Vi argumenterer for at den viktigste årsaken til denne lovendringen var Mehmet-saken, en sak som medførtesåkalte «oversvømmelser» i begge innrammingsforsøkenesom er omtalt ovenfor. Mehmet-saken eksponerte samtidig et generelt demokratiskdilemma. Saken illustrerte hvor sårbare lovregler og etiske prinsippkan være for det som for allmennheten fremstår som helt urimelig, og dennesaken etterspør slik sett mer hybride måter å tenke forholdet mellom det universelleog det partikulære, mellom prinsipiell etikk og lekmannsskjønn, mellomfakta og verdier som utgangspunkt for politikkutforming.Nøkkelord: humanmedisinsk bioteknologi, forskning på befruktede egg,kontrovers, representasjoner, Mehmet-sakenEnglish abstract: Effective representations? Concerns and expectationsregarding research on fertilized eggsSince the 1980s, there have been several debates and controversies concerningthe regulation of medical biotechnology. In this article, we analyze three suchinstances in Norway, mainly the debates concerning research on fertilizedeggs. Analyzing the debates surrounding the regulations of 1994, 2003/2004and 2008, we investigate how different stakeholders strived to mobilize whatwe call different framings of the controversy, utilizing the different scientificand political representations of the fertilized egg.Framing involves creating baselines for rhetorical and political stratagems.Two framings appear more pronounced than others in the Norwegian debate.On one hand, we find attempts of framing the controversy in a risk centricframework, which mostly emphasizes the potential negative effects of medicalbiotechnology as it focuses on the universal reverence for the unborn life. Onthe other hand, we see attempts to mobilize a positive frame of expectationthat emphasizes on the hope of finding new and effective treatment options forthe severely ill.The ban against research on fertilized eggs that was passed in Norway in1987 was repeated in 1994 and 2003. However, with the changes introducedto the law in 2008, there was a noticeable shift in Norwegian legislation, asresearch on fertilized eggs became permissible if specific conditions were met.We argue that the turning point in this regulative change was the Mehmentcase, a particular case that entailed the so-called «overflowing» in both the negative and the positive frame. The Mehmet case exposed a moregeneral democratic and political dilemma. In our opinion, it illustrates howvulnerable can regulation that is based on general ethical principles be in theface of what appears to the laity as unreasonable. Thus, we argue that thisactualizes the need for more hybridized ways to view the relationship betweenthe universal and the particular, between principle-based ethics and theunderstandings of lay people, between facts, and values and actual cases inpolicy shaping and practice. (shrink)

Couples need to make their wishes explicit if we are to allow postmortem gamete donation.

Ve svém článku 'Hledání hyperintenzionality' se Bjorn Jespersen pokusil rekapitulovat a zdůvodnit způsob, jakým TIL vykládá pojem významu. Jakkoli si myslím, že se Jespersenovi (nikoli jenom v tomto článku) daří TIL předvádět způsobem srozumitelným i přitažlivým i pro outsidery..

This essay by Giorgio Agamben is based on a lecture given in central France in the summer of 2013. Responding directly to recent occupations and insurrections – from Cairo and Istanbul to London and New York City – Agamben builds upon his existing work in order to develop and clarify his understanding of the political, and in particular, the notion of destituent power. In contrast to attempts to affirm a constituent power independent of a relation to constituted power, which for (...) Agamben both reproduce the governmental structure of the exception and represent the apex of metaphysics, destituent power outlines a force that, in its very elaboration, deactivates the governmental machine. For Agamben, it is in the sensible elaboration of the belonging together of life and form, being and action, beyond all relation, that the impasse of the present will be overcome. Ultimately, Agamben points not only towards what it means to be ungovernable, but the potential of staying so. (shrink)

The paper focuses on the relation of the so-called Transparent Intensional Logic and Aristotelian Essentialism. TIL is presented here as an antiessentialist system. I analyse the reasons of TIL´s anti-essentialism, and I see the main reasons in the very conception of possible worlds, which is preferred by TIL, as well as in the ontological status of properties and secondarily in the relation between individuals and properties, as TIL conceives it. I assert that even within the frame of TIL it is (...) possible to formulate a certain version of the Aristotelian Essentialism and I point out the intuitions that are connected with the concept of essence and preserved by the formulated conception, contrary to TIL and other systems of modern logic. (shrink)

I november 2020 stod statsminister Mette Frederiksen på en gård i Jylland og kneb en tåre foran den forsamlede presse. Hun havde netop besøgt to generationer af minkfarmere, far og søn, hvis levebrød hun selv lige havde besluttet at slå ned. Var det kynisme eller reelle følelser, der var på spil? Tog statsministeren personligt ansvar for sin egen, svære beslutning, eller var hun en hykler? I denne videnskabeligt funderede debatbog sætter Silas F. Harrebye vores allesammens hykleri under lup. Han skelner (...) mellem forskellige former for hykleri og undersøger, hvad det gør ved demokratiet, at vi ofte er mere optagede af at anklage end at forstå hinanden. Bogen viser, hvorfor vi har brug for flere nuancer i debatten, hvis der skal være plads til politiske visioner og personlig udvikling. Bogen indeholder dybdegående interviews med 8 kendte politikere og meningsdannere som selv har været igennem deciderede shitstorms og anklager om hykleri: Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Pelle Dragsted, Carolina Magdalene Maier, Morten Messerschmidt, Tim Whyte, Rasmus Willig, Anders Gadegaard og Lea Korsgaard. De bliver alle udfordret til at reflektere over både eget og andres hykleri. Derudover præsenterer bogen resultaterne fra en omfattende befolkningsundersøgelse lavet i forbindelse med bogen. Ved hjælp af overraskende teoretiske vinkler og fortolkninger formulerer Silas F. Harrebye et forsvar for hykleriet, som han mener er uundgåeligt og ligefrem kan være politisk produktivt. Som han skriver:?hellere hyklerisk idealist end konsekvent kyniker.? Bogen er skrevet til borgere og fagfolk, der interesserer sig for demokrati, politik og samfund. Den rummer en masse inspiration til at reflektere over de svære valg i livet og blive det, forfatteren kalder?den gode hykler?. Bogen kan oplagt bruges som supplerende litteratur på universiteter og højskoler inden for fx samfundsfag, filosofi og medievidenskab. (shrink)

Indledning til “Om spørgsmålet: Hvad er oplysning?” af Moses Mendelssohn.