Whether God has a knowledge is a controversial issue both philosophy and theology. Does God have a knowledge? If He has, does He know the particulars? When we assume that God knows particulars, is there any change in God’s essence? In the theistic tradition, it is accepted that God is wholly perfect, omniscience, omnipotent and wholly good. Therefore, it is not possible to say that there is a change in God. Because changing is a kind of imperfection. On God’s knowledge, (...) another controversial issue is whether God knows particulars or not. Most of theist thinkers argued that God is wholly perfect; because of perfectness, He must have perfect attributes. Knowing and goodness are a kind of perfect attributes. Ignoring and evil are a kind of imperfectness. If God is perfect being, He should have the perfect attributes and must know the particulars. For me in this subject, there are some similarities between al-Ghazālī and Maimonides. In this study I took into consideration the idea of al-Ghazālī and Maimonides on this subject. Based on Griffel and Stroumsa’s argument, I tried to show similarity between al-Ghazālī and Maimonides on God’s knowledge. Summary: Whether God has a knowledge is a controversial issue both philosophy and theology. Does God have a knowledge? If He has, does He know the particulars? When we assume that God knows particulars, is there any change in God’s essence? In this study I took into consideration the idea of al-Ghazālī and Maimonides on this subject. Based on Griffel’s and Stroumsa’s arguments, I tried to show similarity between al-Ghazālī and Maimonides on God’s knowledge.In the theistic tradition, it is accepted that God is wholly perfect, omniscience, omnipotent and wholly good. Therefore, it is not possible to say that there is a change in God because changing is a kind of imperfection. On God’s knowledge, another controversial issue is whether God knows particulars or not. Most of theist thinkers argued that God is wholly perfect; because of perfectness, He must have perfect attributes. Knowing and goodness are a kind of perfect attributes. Ignoring and evil are kinds of imperfectness. If God is perfect being, He should have the perfect attributes and must know the particulars. Based on God’s immutability, some thinkers argued that God does not knows particulars. Particulars occurs due to the matter. Matter and its functions are continually changing. Therefore, to know the particulars requires changing in God’s essence. If God is the most perfect being, it is impossible that He is subject to affection. Thus, God does not know the particulars. Other thinkers, like Avicenna, argued that God knows the particulars as a universal way. For example, God knows only humanity and He cannot know Zayd as a particular person. al-Ghazālī criticizes Avicenna’s idea in Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers) and argues that God is a perfect being and He should know particulars as a particulars. For al-Ghazālī, God should know everything, and His knowledge is different from our knowledge. In order to explain this matter, he says in Ninety-Nine Names of God;“But this can be understood only through an example. Perhaps you have seen the clock which informs one of the hour of worship. If you have not seen it, then, generally speaking, (it is constructed in this manner). There must be a mechanism in the form of a cylinder which contains a known amount of water. There must also be another hollow mechanism which is placed within the cylinder (but) above the water, and a string which has one of its ends tied to this hollow mechanism. The other end is tied to the part of a small container which is placed above the hollow cylinder. In (this container) there is a ball. Under the ball there is another bowl (placed) in such a manner that if the ball drops will fall into the bowl, and its jingle will be heard. Then the bottom of the cylindrical mechanism must be pierced to a determined extent so that the water can escape through it little by little…. All of this can be determined by a determination of the extent of cause which neither increases nor decreases. It is possible to make the falling of the ball into the bowl a cause of another action and this other action a cause of a third action, and to continue this process indefinitely so that from it are generated remarkable and predetermined movements (actions) of circumscribed extent. The first cause was the falling of the water in a determined quantity…. All of that happens in a determined quantity and to a determined extent which causes the determination of all of it by (adding at this point) the determination of the first movement which is the movement of the water. When you understand that these mechanisms are the principles from which movements must result, and that the movement must be determined if the result is to be regulated, then certainly that which has been determined must proceed from them….Even as the movement of the mechanism, the string, and the ball are not external to the will of the inventor of the mechanism -on the contrary, that is what He willed when He invented the mechanism- so also all the events which occur in the world, both the evil and the good and the beneficial and harmful, are not external to the will of God Most High. Rather (all of) that is the intention of God Most High for the sake of which He has planned its causes.” For Maimonides, as in al-Ghazālī, God is a perfect being and He must have the perfect attributes. Because of knowing is a perfect attribute, He should know everything, and His knowledge is different from human knowledge. In order to explain the difference between God’s knowledge and human knowledge Maimonides gives a parable in The Guide of the Perplexed. “Suppose a thing is produced in accordance with the knowledge of the producer, the producer was then guided by his knowledge in the act of producing the thing. Other people, however, who examine this work and acquire a knowledge of the whole of it, depend for that knowledge on the work itself. An artisan makes a box in which weights move with the running of the water, and thus indicate how many hours have passed of the day and of the night. The whole quantity of the water that is to run out, the different ways in which it runs, every thread that is drawn, and every little ball that descends -all this is fully perceived by him who makes the clock; and his knowledge is not the result of observing the movements as they are actually going on; but, on the contrary, the movements are produced in accordance with his knowledge. But another person who looks at that instrument will receive fresh knowledge at every movement he perceives; the longer he looks on, the more knowledge does he acquire; he will gradually increase his knowledge till he fully understands the machinery…Our knowledge is acquired and increased in proportion to the things known by us. This is not the case with God. His knowledge of things is not derived from the things themselves; if this were the case, there would be change and plurality in His knowledge…” As can be seen from above, when Maimonides is explaining the difference of God’s and human knowledge, he uses the same example what al-Ghazālī used. Even though Maimonides does not mention al-Ghazālī’s name in his works, it could be seen that there are a lot of similarities between al-Ghazālī’s and Maimonides’s ideas. Based on Griffel and Stroumsa’s argument, in this paper, I tried to show that there is a similarity between al-Ghazālī’s and Maimonides’s ideas on God’s knowledge. In my opinion, therefore, in the formation of Maimonides’s thought, as he thanks to Muslim philosophers like al-Farābī, Avicenna and Averroes, he also thanks to al-Ghazālī. (shrink)

An examination of the Oxford group of the followers of John Hutchinson , the self-taught Hebrew scholar, natural philosopher and cosmologist, provides insights into the change in the movement that bears his name. Hutchinsonians who studied at Oxford, like George Horne , William Jones and Alexander Catcott , first adopted Hutchinson's ideas in much the same uncompromising form as the earliest followers of Hutchinson had done. However, later on, we see an effort by members of this Oxford group to moderate (...) the profile of the movement. They gradually developed a sense of the need to embrace a more generalised orthodoxy instead of pursuing at all costs their own esoteric defence of the Trinity. They also began to soften what had been their sometimes patronising, sometimes aggressive attitudes to those not convinced of Hutchinson's brilliance and sufficiency. The realisation among this Oxford group that a full-blooded Hutchinsonian system was on the margins of orthodox thinking led them to develop a more integrated approach which arguably contributed to the gradual breakdown of Hutchinsonianism as a coherent body of thought. (shrink)

The importance of Hebraic studies as part of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment debate can hardly be overestimated. The question of the authority of the Books of Scripture forced intellectuals in England to revisit the language of the Old Testament text. The agenda of the Hutchinsonians here was to highlight the Old Testament's Trinitarian elements, as they saw them. The controversy over the etymology of the word Elahim illustrated that the Hutchinsonians were the young Turks of orthodoxy in the fight between fideism (...) and rationalism. It also demonstrated the problem the Hutchinsonians represented for those who would otherwise be their Trinitarian allies. (shrink)

Badeen, Ulrich Rudolph’un “Al-Māturīdī und die sunnitische Theologie in Samarkand”(Mâturîdî ve Semerkant’ta Ehl-i Sünnet Kelamı) adlı eserinde kendisinin ele aldığı risalelerden bahsettiğini ve onlara bir başka açıdan temas ettiğini zikretmektedir. Eserin yazılış amacının Eş’arilik ve Maturdilik arasındaki farkları ortaya koyan eserlerin bir listesini vermekten daha ziyade bu farkları ele alan ancak şu ana kadar sadece el yazması halinde bulunan yedi eseri incelemek olduğunu bildirmektedir.

SummaryThe Fair Intellectual Club was the earliest female intellectual sociability on record in Britain in the eighteenth century. A study of the club provides insights into the motivations for founding such a society. The reading list of the club contains some twenty pamphlets on a variety of subjects including the education of both sexes, friendship and moral issues. The particular question in mind while assessing these materials will be, as far as this club is concerned, what kind of philosophical understanding (...) of sociability inspired these ladies. The Fair Intellectual Club also provides a platform for discussion of questions about the identity, the responsibility, and the gender of learned persons, in addition to their role as active agents in the production of knowledge in the eighteenth century. (shrink)

A study of the Hutchinsonian interests of John Wesley shows that the founder of Methodism over a long period had a recurrent engagement with this predominantly High-Church Anglican combination of Physics and Theology. The argument of this paper is that Wesley had several reasons to take an interest in Hutchinsonianism. Firstly, Wesley was dissatisfied with the systematisation of Newtonian Cosmology, in the form of Newtonianism, in its ambitions to be a scientific paradigm that tried to explain everything in its own (...) terms. Hence Hutchinsonianism seemed to Wesley a promising alternative, and a refreshing approach to Natural Philosophy. What also interested him was the Hutchinsonian approach to biblical interpretation, heavily based on the unpointed Hebrew text of the Old Testament. By throwing into question the conventionally accepted vowel-pointing of the Old Testament text, Hutchinson and his followers had potentially opened up a rich vein for reinterpretation. While Wesley, in general, questioned a scriptural monopoly over cosmology, he was at the same time a Lockean sensationalist who believed that the human capacity to attain any kind of knowledge, let alone divine knowledge, was limited, thereby leaving an important role for the written divine revelation contained in the bible. Lastly, although Hutchinsonianism appealed mostly to certain High Church Anglicans, its attractions did extend across boundaries between different forms of Anglicanism and even to different denominations, because in many ways these different groups had common philosophical concerns in the eighteenth century. Wesley's constant evocation of Hutchinsonian teachings throughout his life, which will be illustrated through an investigation of his correspondence, journals and published works, stemmed from his struggle to negotiate his understanding of the cosmos and of the Old Testament's account of it, and from his perception that Hutchinsonian ideas represented a similar effort. ☆ A preliminary version of the paper was read at An International Conference at the University of Manchester on John Wesley: Life, Legend and Legacy 15–18 June 2003. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to determine the professional and personal values among midwifery students in Turkey and to identify whether the years of study affected these values. A total of 192 participants were asked to prioritize 16 professional and 36 personal values. The relationship between the year of study and value ranking was analyzed by Kruskal–Wallis test. The first three of the professional values were justice, equality, and human dignity. Equality ranked sixth among the personal terminal values, and (...) it increased with the years of study. Of personal instrumental values, responsibility and cleanliness ranked second and fifth, which are of central importance for the profession of midwifery. However, the other two important values, privacy and preventing unnecessary suffering, ranked lower when the years of study increased, in other words when the students confront clinics. Since these values are important for midwifery, ethics courses should be given throughout the midwifery education to prepare students for the challenges they face in the clinical environment. (shrink)

It has always been a matter of curiosity what kind of information art, which is far from ordinary and untouchable, provides people. Confronting a person with an art object means looking at the window of a world different from the world of daily routines, with his head stuck out. We can describe this world as magical in a romantic way. This magic arises from the difference in the functioning of perception, interpretation and judgment processes, which the person confronted with an (...) art object has difficulty in explaining to himself from time to time. Because the acquisition of perception in the world of routines and the acquisition of perception from the art object are different in terms of the functioning of mental processes... (shrink)

Today, humanity is trying to turn the artificial intelligence that it produces into natural intelligence. Although this effort is technologically exciting, it often raises ethical concerns. Therefore, the intellectual ability of artificial intelligence will always bring new questions. Although there have been significant developments in the consciousness of artificial intelligence, the issue of consciousness must be fully explained in order to complete this development. When consciousness is fully understood by human beings, the subject of “free will” will be explained. Therefore, (...) human consciousness should be re-examined and perceptions that we are not aware of from a philosophical point of view should be examined. The relevance of the perceptions we do not realize to the unconscious, and finally the impact on consciousness goes back to the sources of philosophy. Hegel, in particular, we may find information about these perceptions unusual. Consciousness cannot be separated from the unconscious. Consciousness should be rethought in the context of memory models and unconscious in this sense. Seeing how Hegel's human cognition acts, especially in Hegel's perception, raises the unconscious question again. If we expect something different from an artificial intelligence, we need to rethink the artificial cognitive model. This paper argues that without the unconscious component of artificial intelligence, it cannot approach human cognition. -/- Key Words: Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Memory, perception . (shrink)

The main purpose of this study is to examine whether God can be free in His actions according to al-Ghazâlî and Thomas Aquinas, whether their assessment on divine actions has legitimacy and internal consistency. For this purpose, in the Introduction, it was given some general explanations on the problem and some works were done about this matter are taken into consideration and evaluated. In the first part of the dissertation, I tried to analyze the concept of ‘freedom’ and its relation (...) to determinism. I also tried to give some explanations in terms of ontological and semantical aspects of the divine freedom. After these explanations, I pictured historical panorama of the problem of divine freedom and how to be understood divine actions in the historical period. In the second part of the dissertation, I tried to demonstrate how interaction took place between al-Ghazâlî and Thomas Aquinas. After this step, I took into consideration the concept of God in al-Ghazâlî and Thomas Aquinas, and I tried to give their resemblances and differences about this matter. In the third part of the dissertation, I considered their ideas about God-World relationship. In this context, I took in to consideration the issue of indicators of God’s freedom, like creation, miracles, relation between moral truths and God’s commands. (shrink)

It is known that Syrian asylum seeker have been subjected to forced migration since 2011. Therefore, this process has caused asylum seekers to face structural adjustment problems with socialization in general and religious socialization in Kilis. The problem of study in this article is to try to understand the religious socialization of Syrian asylum seekers in the context of structural adjustment institutions. However, in this study, where the structural harmony of asylum seekers is investigated, an inward religious socialization involving the (...) structural position of asylum seekers is explored, not a harmony between the two cultures. In addition, the study was worked though with an understanding (verstehen, interpretive) approach and a case was carried out as a science study. The effect of the structural harmony through the participation of the mosques, associations, religious groups in Kilis after the immigration in the point of religious socialization in Syrian asylum seeker in two communities belonging to Islamic religion was also investigated in this study. In addition, the question of ‘which institution or factors are affected by asylum seekers’ was sought. In the study, basically qualitative method was preferred and in-depth interview technique was used. However, considering the effect of the structure on the subject, structural adjustment has been studied. Because immigrants have affected them as well as forced migration of individual structural features of Turkey are alive. Therefore, it was paid attention to methodological pluralism. On the other hand, the research was conducted with snowball sampling method. The data of the study were created within the framework of the approaches of Giddens' constructivist theory, although the micro-sociological experiences of asylum seekers and asylum seekers residing in different neighbourhoods of Kilis province are taken into consideration. In the study, it was found that religious groups, masjids and associations established by asylum seekers influenced asylum seekers through religious socialization from different social institutions and organizations in the process of structural adjustment. (shrink)

An aesthetic object should be understood and analyzed by the subject in accordance with its object characteristics, except that it is the subject of the subject. In this sense, the aesthetic object, rather than just an object, has all the cognitive characteristics of its artist. The aesthetic subject faces these cognitive characteristics. The perception-perception structure of the subject and the reciprocity relation with the object are examined in this thesis study in order to perceive the aesthetic object correctly and to (...) judge about it. This study is also a study of what the subject can perceive in terms of their perception and interpretation abilities. Additionally, such an approach will enrich the perception-based aesthetic perspectives in the focus of discussions in the philosophy of art. (shrink)

The aesthetic creation experience surpasses the regular known form of aesthetic subject-object relationship. It is unfortunately not sufficient to approach the problem in terms of sustaining subject and/or object side in this relation. However, the classical explanation of arts consider the relation according to one-sided approach(es). It is known that the fundamental approaches of aesthetics in the history of philosophy can be reduced to epistemological, ontological or ethical divisions. The contemporary approaches in aesthetics are in need of psychological theories as (...) much as they require philosophical holistic outlook. (shrink)

Since its existence, art objects have always been different from other objects in terms of perception and interpretation and have preserved their mystery for both the artist and the audience. This mystery was tried to be supported by various theories by the artist and the audience, and defined and defined with concepts such as spiritual development, spirituality and intuition. There is an ambiguity especially regarding intuition. The concept of intuition seems to be trapped in a bridge between the physical world (...) and the superphysical world. The concept of intuition has been interpreted together with the teachings of Theosophy and Buddhism and turned into an educational theory in today's art-based studies. In our age, interpretations beyond reality are increasing and unfortunately faced with the danger of losing the ground of reality. Art is a type of knowledge and knowing. Due to this feature, the compatibility of surreal discourses with this type of knowledge is discussed in this article, and on the other hand, it is tried to show how concepts such as synesthesia and intuition become possible on the basis of reality, based on the artistic experiences of world-famous artists. (shrink)

Many adolescents use their electronic devices to send each other sexually explicit texts, photos, and videos of themselves—commonly known as sexting. This can be fun and is not usually problematic. However, if the intended recipient decides to share these sexts with a broader audience, the consequences for the depicted can be detrimental. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of sext-sharing among Dutch adolescents and explore the characteristics of those who do, to gain a better understanding of (...) factors involved in dissemination. We used data from “Sex under the age of 25,” a representative national survey on sexual health among a sample of 20,834 Dutch 12–24-year-olds. The prevalence of sext-sharing was estimated using Complex Samples. Logistic regressions were used to assess associations between demographics, school-based sexting education, sexual- and online behavior, and mental health and sext-sharing. About 4% of the adolescents reported having shared someone else's sext in the last six months. Being male, aged 12–14 years, frequent social media usage, watching online porn, sexual experience, and being subjected to sext-sharing themselves associated most strongly with sext-sharing. Our findings show that the likelihood of sext-sharing is lower in older adolescents and that it associates with the extent of adolescents' sexual curiosity and online activity. The overlap between sharing sexts of others and having one's own sext shared suggests that dissemination of personal sexual content might be normalized or used as an act of retribution. Further research could be helpful to explain the mechanisms underlying this overlap. The results of this study illustrate the importance of exposing adolescents to evidence based preventive educational interventions on sexting from 12 years onwards and not just within the context of traditional school-based sex education, but also as a part of the media-literacy curriculum. (shrink)

During the Middle Ages, most of theological and philosophical works, like Avicenna’s eş-Şifā: Ilahiyat (The Healing: Metaphysics), al-Ghazālī’s Maqāsıd al-Falāsifa (The Aims of Philosophers), and Averroes’s commentaries on Aristotle’s books were translated into Latin language. Through these translations, many controversial issues in the Islamic thought, like “whether God knows partials in their essence”, “whether God acts necessarily because of His nature”, and “whether reason and revelation can be reconciled or not” were conveyed into Latin West. In addition to these issues, (...) the problem of scope of God’s absolute power has been known by Latin thinkers as well. In this paper, I tried to show the idea of “God can do logically possible affairs and this does not limit God’s absolute power” conveyed in to Latin West through translations of Avicenna’s al-Şifā and al-Ghazâlî’s Makāsıd. As far as I can see, there is a drastic textual similarity between the ideas of al-Ghazâlî and Thomas Aquinas about this matter. Based on the similarities between al-Ghazâlî and Thomas Aquinas, it should be assumed that it is highly probable that Thomas Aquinas’ idea about God’s power goes back to Islamic tradition. (shrink)

Orta Çağ’da, İslam düşüncesi içerisinde yazılmış olan İbn Sînâ’nın eş-Şifâ: İlahiyat’ı, Gazzâlî’nin Makâsıdu’l-Felâsife’si ve İbn Rüşd’ün, Aristoteles’in eserlerine yazmış olduğu şerhler gibi pek çok felsefî ve teolojik eser Latinceye çevrilmiştir. Söz konusu çeviri eserler vasıtasıyla, İslam düşüncesinde carî olan, Tanrı’nın tikelleri kendi zatlarında bilip bilmediği, Tanrı’nın zatı gereği fiilde bulunup bulunmadığı, din ve felsefenin uzlaşıp uzlaşmayacağı gibi tartışmalı pek çok mesele Batı’ya intikal etmiştir. Bunlara ilaveten Tanrı’nın mutlak kudretinin alanının ne olduğu sorunu da Batı düşüncesinde bilinir hale gelmiştir. Bu çalışmada, (...) “Tanrı mantıksal olarak mümkün olanı yapabilir ve bu durum Tanrı’nın mutlak kudretine halel getirmez” anlayışının Latin Batı dünyasına İbn Sînâ’nın eş-Şifâ’sı ve Gazzâlî’nin Makâsıdu’l-Felâsife’sinin çevrileri vasıtasıyla intikal ettiği ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır. Tespit edebildiğimiz kadarıyla, Gazzâlî’nin Makâsıdu’l-Felâsife’de bu konuya ilişkin serdettiği fikirler ile Hristiyan teolog/düşünür Thomas Aquinas’ın fikirleri arasında önemli ölçüde benzerlik söz konusudur. Söz konusu benzerlik temele alınarak, Thomas Aquinas’ın bu hususta İslam düşüncesinden beslendiğini söylemek kuvvetle muhtemeldir. (shrink)

Gerek felsefede gerekse teolojide Tanrı’nın ilim sahibi bir varlık olup olmadığı tartışma konusu olmuştur. Eğer Tanrı ilim sahibi bir varlık ise, bu durumda O’nun tikelleri bilmesi mümkün müdür? Tanrı’nın tikellerini bildiğini iddia etiğimizde bu durum O’nun zatında bir değişimi gerektirir mi? Tesitik düşüncede Tanrı kâmil bir varlıktır ve O, mutlak manada âlimdir, kâdirdir ve iyilik sahibidir. Dolayısıyla O’nun zatına bir değişim söz konusu olamaz. Tanrı’nın ilmi konusunda tartışılan mesellerden birisi de bu ilmin tikelleri kapsayıp kapsamadığıdır. Pek çok teist düşünür Tanrı’nın (...) mutlak manada kâmil olduğunu iddia etmekte ve bu kemali temele alarak O’nun kemal niteliklere sahip olması gerektiğini belirtmektedir. Bilmek ve iyilik gibi nitelikler kemal niteliklerdir. Cehalet ve kötülük ise nakıs hallerdir. Şayet Tanrı kâmil bir varlık ise bu tür kemal niteliklere de sahip olmalı, nakıs niteliklerden de hâli olmalıdır. Tanrı’nın ilmine dair Gazzālī ve İbn Meymûn’un görüşleri arasında birtakım paralellikler olduğu kanaatindeyiz. Bu çalışmada, Gazzālī ve İbn Meymun’un konuya yaklaşımını ele aldık ve Griffel ve Stroumsa’nın iddiasını temele alarak Tanrı’nın ilmi konusunda Gazzālī ve İbn Meymun’un görüşleri arasında benzerlikler olduğunu göstermeye çalıştık. (shrink)

Family planning practices were reported by 491 married women, aged 15-49, who applied to the Family Planning Centre in Isparta, Turkey. Eighty-four percent of the women used contraception, the IUD being used most frequently. Almost half of the women married before age 18 years.

Background Nurses are the main protectors of goodness, honesty and morality in patient care. Conscience allows nurses to be understanding and careful while they provide patient care. In this research the researcher aimed to determine the relationship between conscientious intelligence levels and caring behaviours of nurses and to determine the factors affecting the conscientious intelligence levels and caring behaviours. Methods This research designed as a descriptive, cross-sectional and correlation study included 314 nurses working at three hospitals in eastern Turkey. The (...) data were collected by the researcher at a time when the nurses were available and not working. Written and oral informed consent was obtained from all the participants. Results A moderate significant positive correlation was observed between conscientious intelligence levels and caring behaviours of nurses. The length of service in nursing, sex and being pleased with the nursing profession were associated with conscientious intelligence levels and caring behaviours. Conclusion At the end of this research, it was determined that nurses with high conscientious intelligence had better caring behaviours. Although it is very important for nurses to be knowledgeable of and competent at providing care, taking their conscience into consideration in the care of his or her patients is more important. If a nurse is not pleased with the nursing profession, his or her behaviour should be monitored when he or she provides care for the patient. Persons without conscientious values should not be accepted into the nursing profession. (shrink)

The rule of law is politico-legal realm of the modern society that it balances human gratifications, self-respect and prerequisites of legal order, after dissolution of the traditional society. Apart from our criticisms on the capitalist society there had been an expanding development of civic virtue of the human individual since early beginning of capitalism up to the 1980’ies when idea of self respect and the legal order relatively balanced. But, after neo-liberalism, the development is retrieving to the unbridled individualism, detrimental (...) to the human virtue of all humanity. (shrink)

Background: Compassion-based practices in midwifery are the most important expression of the depth of care quality. This concept is insufficiently represented in literature, therefore, studies on this subject are of utmost importance. Objectives: This study aims to determine the levels of compassion of midwives working in the delivery room and the factors affecting these levels. The study was carried out in Kocaeli, Turkey. Methods: This descriptive study was carried out from 1 February to 15 April 2019 in delivery rooms of (...) six different hospitals located in the provincial centre of Kocaeli, Turkey, with 78 actively working midwives. Data were collected using a ‘Compassion Scale’ and analysed using the Mann–Whitney U test, the Kruskal–Wallis H test and the Spearman correlation test. Ethical considerations: This study was conducted according to ethical scientific guidelines. Results: The compassion score of the midwives were found to be 4.19 ± 0.39. The total compassion score was affected by professional factors such as number of patients, alternating shift work, number of traumatic births and work satisfaction. While the kindness subscores decreased depending on shift work and number of traumatic births, it was determined that the midwives who were satisfied with their work had higher kindness scores than those who were not. Also, as the age and professional experience of the midwives and the number of traumatic births increased, their indifference score also increased. Midwives who reported that they were not satisfied with their job had higher scores regarding separation and disengagement scores than those who were satisfied with their job. Conclusion: It was determined that the compassion levels of midwives were found to be negatively affected by factors such as age, professional experience, job satisfaction and number of monthly traumatic births in a month. They should be reminded that compassionate midwifery care for women is a basic human right. (shrink)

It is important to define and practice ethical rules and codes for professionalisation. Several national and international associations have determined midwifery ethical codes. In Turkey, ethical rules and codes that would facilitate midwifery becoming professionalised have not yet been determined. This study was planned to contribute to the professionalisation of midwifery by determining national ethical values and codes. A total of 1067 Turkish midwives completed the survey. The most prevalent values of Turkish midwives were care for mother–child health, responsibility and (...) professional adequacy. The preferred professional codes chosen by Turkish midwives were absence of conflicts of interest, respect for privacy, avoidance of deception, reporting of faulty practices, consideration of mothers and newborns as separate beings and prevention of harm. In conclusion, cultural values, beliefs and expectations of society cannot be underestimated, although the international professional values and codes of ethics contribute significantly to professionalisation of the midwifery profession. (shrink)