The First Conference of the International Society for the Study of Time was held at the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut at Oberwolfach in the Black Forest, Federal Republic of Germany from Sunday, 31 August to Saturday, 6 September, 1969. The origin of this conference and the formation of the Society goes back to a proposal due to J. T. Fraser that was discussed at a conference on "Interdisciplinary Perspectives of Time" held by the New York Academy of Sciences in January, 1966. It (...) was unanimously agreed than that an international society should be formed on an interdisciplinary basis with the object of stimulating interest in all problems concerning 'time and that this object could best be attained by means of conferences held at regular intervals. J. T. Fraser was elected Secretary, S. Watanabe Treasurer, and I was elected President. It was agreed, at my suggestion, that the organization of the first conference of the newly formed Society be left to a committee of these three officers, on the understanding that they would invite authorities on the role of time in the various special sciences and humanities to form an Advisory Board to assist them. One of the main difficulties in seeking support for an interdisciplinary conference is that most foundations confine their interest exclusively either to the sciences or to the humanities. (shrink)

En el primer libro de su Ética Nicomaquea, Aristóteles hace dos intentos por establecer la tesis de que ser un ser humano tiene un punto, usando dos conjuntos paralelos de ejemplos. Su primer paso es sostener que siempre que algo tiene una actividad característica esa actividad es su fin, usando el ejemplo del “flautista, el escultor y, en general, cualquier artesano”. Esta identificación de la actividad característica de un artesano con la ubicación de su “bien y lo bueno” qua artesano (...) y, por ello, presumiblemente con el télos del artesano, podría ser cuestionada, por supuesto, pero esto no afecta el curso de los argumentos y el uso de los ejemplos que quiero perseguir. Es suficiente que, para ciertos roles dados, pueda haber una relación teleológica con algún punto para aquel rol. (shrink)

SARS, like HIV, placed healthcare workers at risk and raised issues about the duty to treat. But philosophical accounts of the duty to treat that were developed in the context of HIV did not adequately address some of the ethical issues raised by SARS. Since the next epidemic may be more like SARS than HIV, it is important to illuminate these issues. In this paper, we sketch a general account of the duty to treat that arose in response to HIV. (...) Our purpose is not to defend or criticise this account, but to show that it needs to be developed in order to address three important issues. The first issue concerns how risks should be distributed among healthcare professionals. The second issue concerns the conflicts that arise between professional duties and family duties. The third issue concerns the forms of support that societies owe healthcare workers during epidemics. Our descriptions of these issues are drawn from our experience of the SARS epidemic in Taiwan. (shrink)

Human embryonic stem cell research can bring about major biomedical breakthroughs and thus contribute enormously to human welfare, yet it raises serious moral problems because it involves using human embryos for experiment. The “moral status of the human embryo” remains the core of such debates. Three different positions regarding the moral status of the human embryo can be categorised: the “all” position, the “none” position, and the “gradualist” position.The author proposes that the “gradualist” position is more plausible than the other (...) two positions. Confucius’s moral principle of jen, which proposes a unique theory of “love of gradation”, and the principle of yi, which advocates “due treatment for persons”, are then explored. The author then argues that our moral obligations to do good to other living organisms, persons, and our families are different.Putting together the “gradualist” position on the human embryo, and Confucius’s theories of “love of gradation” and “due treatment for persons”, the author concludes that the early embryo has less ethical significance than the later fetus and adult human. The moral obligation we have toward persons is clearer and stronger than that which we have toward human embryos. Embryo research is justifiable if it brings enormous welfare to human persons that cannot be otherwise achieved. The “love of gradation” requires us, however, to extend love and respect towards other entities according to their different status. We should therefore be very cautious in using human embryos for research, acknowledging the gradualist nature of their moral status. (shrink)

In July 2002, I had the honour to be invited to give a 15 minute presentation on behalf of my country, Taiwan, on the topic of “Current system of national guidance on human subject protection in medical research” in a panel discussion of the Forum for Ethical Review Committees in Asia and the Western Pacific , World Health Organization international conference held in Chin-Mai, Thailand. In that conference, four delegates from Taiwan had a rare and therefore very precious opportunity to (...) share Taiwan’s experience in establishing and promoting “human subject protection system” with delegates from 27 WHO member countries of the region. Through the vigorous exchanges of opinion in those four …. (shrink)

İnsanlar sahip oldukları bilginin bir kısmını akıl ve duyu organları vasıtasıyla elde ederken diğer bir kısmını da haber vasıtasıyla elde etmektedir. Geçmişte meydana gelen olaylar, yaşamış şahsiyetler, görmediğimiz uzak memleketler hakkında bilgi elde etmemizi sağlayan yegâne kaynak haberdir. Dolayısıyla müşahedeye dayanmayan ve düşünce yoluyla elde edilmeyen bütün bilgilerin kaynağı “haber”dir. Haberler içerisinde kesin bilgi ifade eden kısım ise mütevâtirdir.Hicri 4. asırda haberle ilgili tartışmaları ayrıntısıyla ele alıp eserlerinde bunu derli toplu bir nazariyye şekline işleyen alimlerden biri de akli (...) istidlâle önem vermesiyle ön plana çıkan Mu’tezile mezhebine mensup olan Kâdî Abdülcebbâr’dır (ö. 415/1025). O, haber ve haberin bilgi değeri konusunda eserlerinde müstakil başlıklar açmış ve bu konudaki görüşlerini çeşitli şekillerde temellendirmiş, haberi bilgi kaynağı olarak kabul etmeyen Sümeniyye ve nübüvvet müessesesini kabul etmeyen Berâhime’ye karşı akli ve nakli istidlâl metotlarını kullanarak İslam’ın temel kaynakları olan Kur’ân, Sünnet ve icmâ‘ın savunuculuğunu yapmıştır. Bu çalışmada Kâdî Abdülcebbâr’ın mütevâtir nazariyesi üzerinde durulmuştur. Onun görüşleri tespit edilirken ansiklopedik bir hüvviyete sahip el-Muğnî adlı eseri esas alınmıştır. Kâdî, hem haberi bilgi kaynağı olarak görmeyenlerle mücadele etmek hem de İslam’ın temel kaynaklarını temellendirmek üzere Mütevâtir haberi rasyonel bir zemine oturtmaya çalışmıştır. Bunun için de insanlar nezdinde itibar gören, geçerli olan, daha nesnel ve rasyonel bir hüviyete sahip âdetullahı veya tabiat kanunları anlamına gelen “el-âde” kavramını kullanmıştır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Kelam, Mutezile, mütevâtir haber, Kâdî Abdülcebbâr, Zarûrî Bilgi, el-âde.AbstractHumans obtain some of their knowledge through the organs of the mind and senses, and the other through khabars. t is the only source news that enables us to obtain information about past events, personalities and distant countries we have not seen. Therefore, the source of all information that is not based on observation and mutawatir khabars. The part that expresses certain information in the news is mutawatir.One of the scholars who discussed the details of the news in the Hijri 4th century and took a detailed view of it in his works is Qādi Abd al-Jabbar (415/1025). He has opened independent titles in his works on the value of news and knowledge of the news, and has based his views on this subject in various ways, using the methods of Islam as the basic sources of Islam, using the methods of intelligence and transportation against the Sumenians who do not accept the news as a source of information and Berahime who do not accept the prophethood of the prophethood. He was the advocate of ân, Sunnah and icma.In this study, the modest theory of Qādi Abd al-Jabbar is emphasized. His views were based on his work, al-Mughni, which had an encyclopedic identity. Qâdi, tried to put the modest news on a rational basis both in order to combat those who do not see the news as a source of information and to base the basic sources of Islam. For this, he used the concept of “al-ade, which means det the rule of law det or law of nature which is respected by people, has a more objective and rational identity.Keywords: Kalam, Mutezile, mutawatir khabar, Qādi Abd al-Jabbar, accurate information, el-âde. (shrink)

In this paper I want to do the following things. First I want to show that in the part of the Theaetetus where the relationship between knowledge and perception is examined, the concept of knowledge that is in question is very clearly characterized. We are left in no doubt as to what is to count as knowing. Secondly I want to unravel in some detail the case that Socrates puts on Protagoras’ behalf where he draws on what Protagoras actually wrote (...) ; as opposed to what he may have taught secretly to his pupils. Thirdly I wish to argue that if we let the dialogue speak for itself, it is manifest that this case put up on Protagoras’ behalf at 151 E-152C is not overthrown; it is not even shaken.In that part of the dialogue where the question is under examination whether or not knowledge and perception are the same, Socrates uses an idealized concept of knowledge. That is, he restricts the use of the word by setting down what he will consider to be the essential characteristics of knowledge, the sufficient and necessary conditions of its being instantiated. An excellent piece of philosophical procedure. (shrink)

In this paper I want to do the following things. First I want to show that in the part of the Theaetetus where the relationship between knowledge and perception is examined, the concept of knowledge that is in question is very clearly characterized. We are left in no doubt as to what is to count as knowing. Secondly I want to unravel in some detail the case that Socrates puts on Protagoras’ behalf where he draws on what Protagoras actually wrote (...) (151 E-152C); as opposed to what he may have taught secretly to his pupils (152C-160D). Thirdly I wish to argue that if we let the dialogue speak for itself, it is manifest that this case put up on Protagoras’ behalf at 151 E-152C is not overthrown; it is not even shaken. (shrink)

We will show that there is a strong form of emergence in cell biology. Beginning with C.D. Broad's classic discussion of emergence, we distinguish two conditions sufficient for emergence. Emergence in biology must be compatible with the thought that all explanations of systemic properties are mechanistic explanations and with their sufficiency. Explanations of systemic properties are always in terms of the properties of the parts within the system. Nonetheless, systemic properties can still be emergent. If the properties of the components (...) within the system cannot be predicted, even in principle, from the behavior of the system's parts within simpler wholes then there also will be systemic properties which cannot be predicted, even in principle, on basis of the behavior of these parts. We show in an explicit case study drawn from molecular cell physiology that biochemical networks display this kind of emergence, even though they deploy only mechanistic explanations. This illustrates emergence and its place in nature. (shrink)