In this paper, I identify two major philosophical crises confronting medicine as a global phenomenon. The first crisis is the epistemological crisis of adopting an epistemic attitude, adequate for improving medical knowledge and practice. The second is the ethical crisis, also known as the “quality-of-care crisis,” arising from the traditional patient-physician dyad. I acknowledge the different proposals put forward in the quest for solutions to these crises. However, I observe that most of these proposals remain inadequate given their over-reliance on (...) the Western biomedical tradition and the medical hegemony that underpins the proposals themselves. Contrary to the approach employed in these proposals, I propose medical pluralism as a viable platform for resolving the philosophic crises in medicine, by critically engaging non-Western medical traditions and thought systems. Ultimately, I make a push for the deliberate inauguration of an African philosophy of medicine and bioethics and other context-specific or indigenous philosophies of medicine and bioethics that will ensure continuous investigations into NMTs and their contribution to global medical issues. (shrink)

This article proposes an alternative approach to social epistemology – a comprehensive approach. It argues that the dominant approaches to social epistemology, which it identifies as communitarian and veritistic, are inadequate. It observes that the nature of the emphasis that the communitarian approach places on the epistemic community foster mindless tolerance in epistemology, which makes the pursuit of the cognitive goal of truth difficult to attain. It also observes that the veritistic approach that seeks to refocus social epistemology on the (...) pursuit of the cognitive goal of obtaining truth does this at the expense of the affective goals of social epistemology. To overcome the inadequacies of the communitarian and the veritistic approaches and to ensure that social epistemology effectively pursues its cognitive and affective goals, this article offers the comprehensive approach. This approach absorbs the virtues of the communitarian and the veritistic approaches while avoiding their errors. Hence, it thrives on a view of truth that posits an objective and a subjective dimension of truth. The objective dimension ensures that the community only fosters and never impedes social epistemological projects such that social epistemology continues to pursue the cognitive goal of truth. The subjective dimension guarantees that the concern for truth does not lead to the neglect or abandonment of the pursuit of the affective goals of social epistemology. The rationale behind this approach is that for social epistemological projects and practices to remain truly epistemological and social, they must always take into consideration the cognitive and affective features of knowledge and knowers. (shrink)

In this paper, I explore the nature of medical interventions like neuromodulation on the complex human experience of love. Love is built upon two fundamental natures, viz: the biological and the psychosocial. As a result of this distinction, scientists, and bioethicists have been exploring the possible ways this complex human experience can be biologically tampered with to produce some supposed higher-order ends like well-being and human flourishing. At the forefront in this quest are Earp, Sandberg and Savulescu whose research works (...) over ten years has focused on the good that could stem from the medicalization of love. I acknowledge the various criticisms that have been made against this stance. However, most of these criticisms have been directed towards the mere side effects and sociocultural disservices that could result from the process of using drugs to influence human romantic relationships and in the end, critiques endorse the medicalization of love on the basis that its benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Consequently, I advance two strands of arguments against “medically-assisted love,” the ontological and the socio-ethical arguments. The former presupposes that beyond the possible side effects of medicalizing love there is something inherently mistaken about this effort and there is something intrinsically different about love that distinguishes it from its medically-engineered alternative. In the latter argument, I claim that drug interventions in romantic love contravene the very nature of medicine. Overall, I believe that critiques were still able to endorse medicalizing love despite their objections because they were only looking at one direction, the physical/cultural complications. (shrink)

In this paper, I identify two major philosophical crises confronting medicine as a global phenomenon. The first crisis is the epistemological crisis of adopting an epistemic attitude, adequate for improving medical knowledge and practice. The second is the ethical crisis, also known as the “quality-of-care crisis,” arising from the traditional patient-physician dyad. I acknowledge the different proposals put forward in the quest for solutions to these crises. However, I observe that most of these proposals remain inadequate given their over-reliance on (...) the Western biomedical tradition and the medical hegemony that underpins the proposals themselves. Contrary to the approach employed in these proposals, I propose medical pluralism as a viable platform for resolving the philosophic crises in medicine, by critically engaging non-Western medical traditions and thought systems. Ultimately, I make a push for the deliberate inauguration of an African philosophy of medicine and bioethics and other context-specific or indigenous philosophies of medicine and bioethics that will ensure continuous investigations into NMTs and their contribution to global medical issues. (shrink)

The article considers the idea of astronomy as useful theoretical science as it was promoted by Federik Grisogono, Croatian renaissance philosopher, astrologist and physician in his work Astronomical Mirror. U ntill the Renaissance, theoretical science in principle could not be useful since this followed from the very aristotelian-platonic notion of theoretical science whose assignment was only to consider what is eternal and unchangeable. Theoretical science in any case could not be “useful science”. Grisogono considers possibility of a theoretical science – (...) mathematics – being the highest theoretical and at the same time useful science. For us, of course, astrology is none of this. However, by means of his groundbreaking notion of theoretical science, Grisogono worked towards suspending the traditional notion of the theoretical science, as well as towards opening of new possibilities of establishing the modern idea of science. (shrink)

The article considers the idea of astronomy as useful theoretical science as it was promoted by Federik Grisogono, Croatian renaissance philosopher, astrologist and physician in his work Astronomical Mirror. U ntill the Renaissance, theoretical science in principle could not be useful since this followed from the very aristotelian-platonic notion of theoretical science whose assignment was only to consider what is eternal and unchangeable. Theoretical science in any case could not be “useful science”. Grisogono considers possibility of a theoretical science – (...) mathematics – being the highest theoretical and at the same time useful science. For us, of course, astrology is none of this. However, by means of his groundbreaking notion of theoretical science, Grisogono worked towards suspending the traditional notion of the theoretical science, as well as towards opening of new possibilities of establishing the modern idea of science. (shrink)

The article considers the idea of astronomy as useful theoretical science as it was promoted by Federik Grisogono, Croatian renaissance philosopher, astrologist and physician in his work Astronomical Mirror. U ntill the Renaissance, theoretical science in principle could not be useful since this followed from the very aristotelian-platonic notion of theoretical science whose assignment was only to consider what is eternal and unchangeable. Theoretical science in any case could not be “useful science”. Grisogono considers possibility of a theoretical science – (...) mathematics – being the highest theoretical and at the same time useful science. For us, of course, astrology is none of this. However, by means of his groundbreaking notion of theoretical science, Grisogono worked towards suspending the traditional notion of the theoretical science, as well as towards opening of new possibilities of establishing the modern idea of science.Dieser Beitrag befasst sich mit der Idee der Astrologie als nützlicher theoretischer Wissenschaft, wie sie der kroatische Renaissance-Philosoph, Astrologe und Arzt Federik Grisogono in seinem Werk Der astronomische Spiegel vertrat. Bis zur Renaissance vermochte die theoretische Wissenschaft grundsätzlich keine nützliche Wissenschaft zu sein, was aus dem aristotelisch-platonischen Begriff der theoretischen Wissenschaft selbst hervorging, deren Aufgabe es war, nur das Ewige und Unveränderliche zu betrachten. Grisogono erörtert die Möglichkeit, dass eine theoretische Wissenschaft – die Mathematik – sowohl die höchste theoretische als auch zugleich eine nützliche Wissenschaft ist. Obgleich die Astrologie dies für uns heute keinesfalls darstellt, hatte Grisogono mit dem grundlegenden Begriff der nützlichen theoretischen Wissenschaft Anteil an der Aufhebung des traditionellen Begriffes der theoretischen W issenschaft und somit auch an der Wegbereitung für die Konstituierung der neuzeitlichen Idee der Wissenschaft.U članku se razmatra ideja o astronomiji kao korisnoj teorijskoj znanosti koju je u djelu Astronomsko zrcalo zastupao Federik Grisogono, hrvatski renesansni filozof, astrolog i liječnik. Do renesanse teorijska znanost načelno nije mogla biti korisna znanost jer je to proizlazilo iz samog aristotelovsko-platoničkog pojma teorijske znanosti čiji je zadatak bio da tek motri ono vječno i nepromjenljivo. Teorijska znanost ni na koji način nije mogla biti “korisna znanost”. Grisogono sagledava mogućnost da teorijska znanost – matematika – bude i najviša teorijska i istodobno korisna znanost. Astrologija to, dakako, za nas nije. No Grisogono je svojim temeljnim shvaćanjem korisne teorijske znanosti radio na dokidanju tradicionalnog pojma teorijske znanosti, pa tako i na otvaranju mogućnosti za konstituiranje novovjekovne ideje znanosti. (shrink)

This article addresses the view that Cicero's Pro Roscio Amerino contains ‘criticism’ of Sulla (the ‘anti-Sulla’ thesis). It argues that there is no evidence of criticism, that Cicero had no incentive to criticize Sulla, and that his attack is aimed solely against Chrysogonus. In particular, the article draws attention to the methodological implications of the ‘anti-Sulla’ thesis, arguing that it is unsound to second-guess Cicero's meaning, to project ‘sarcasm’ onto his words, or to suggest post euentum rewrites; these views, (...) it is argued, owe more to preconceived scholarly notions of Sulla as a tyrant than to actual indications in the text. In addition, the notion that the speech was ‘courageous’ or ‘political’ is challenged, with emphasis being placed on the identity of the nobiles supporting Cicero: these Sullans had nothing to fear from Sulla but, equally, there is little reason to suppose that they were trying to attack him.1. (shrink)