Alasdair Maclntyre, author of After Virtue, combined moral philosophy, sociology, and history in a way that could lead scholarship in journalism and mass communication along interesting new paths. His definition of a social practice may be especially helpful by providing a model of what can happen when journalists working in close knit professional communities strive to meet standards of excellence and his articulation of the creative connection between social practice past and present offers new possibilities for writing journalism history. After (...) Virtue and other works by Maclntyre neither make rtference to journalism nor provide moral decision making schema easily exportable to professional life, yet his account of the concept and role of the virtues in western society may provide a rich analytical resource for mass media scholars. This article attempts to illustrate how. (shrink)

In summarizing key developments in the study of ethics in journalism and mass communication, problems and opportunities for the future are identified. Major activities contributing to the ethics study trend include a succession of specialized books, a journal, workshops, courses, and student writing contests. These achievements have pulled journalism ethics from the marsh of neglect to a flatland of consciousness, with a four?tiered mountain remaining to be scaled that will propel mainstream communication ethicists into the arena with a growing number (...) of critical theorists and a thrust of critical scholarship. (shrink)

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Italian cytologist Paolo Della Valle developed a theory of instable chromosomes (teoria dei cromosomi labili). He radically criticized the so-called Sutton–Boveri hypothesis (Martins and Martins, Genetics and Molecular Biology, 22:261–271, 1999), focusing on numerical constancy in the species and individuality. On the basis of bibliographical review and personal observations, he maintained that the chromosomes were neither stable bodies, nor permanent structures, but transitory cellular materials, resulting from the periodical re-arrangement of the chromatin (...) during the cell division. German and English-speaking biologists reacted. The paper shows some content of the argumentations used by Thomas H. Montgomery and especially Edmund B. Wilson. The discussion was characterized by the same data which is interpreted by different scholars in different ways. And the point is that no one of them had the decisive test to demonstrate his own point of view. Wilson simply invoked on his behalf a certain ‘common sense’, defending at least a ‘high degree of constancy’. The debate waned along with the reception of Morgan’s chromosome theory of heredity, but only the advent of molecular biology definitively stated the nature of chromosomes as permanent structures of the cell. (shrink)

Quantum mechanics (QM) is a favorite area of physics to feature in “science and religion” discussions. We argue that this is at least partly because the arcane results of QM can be deployed to make big theological claims by the linguistic sleight of hand of “register switching”—sliding imperceptibly from technical into everyday language using the same vocabulary. We clarify the discussion by deploying the formal mapping of QM into classical statistical mechanics (CSM) via the mathematical device of “Wick rotation.” This (...) equivalence between QM and CSM suggests caution in claiming distinctiveness for quantum theologizing. After outlining two areas in which quantum insights nevertheless resonate with longstanding themes in theological reflection (hiddenness and visualizability), we suggest that both QM and CSM point to a theology of science in which scientists participate in the divine gaze on creation as imago Dei. (shrink)

Abstract:Short’s assertion that Peirce lacked a cohesive philosophical system is critically examined, and the interconnectedness of Peirce’s 1884–1893 “cosmology” with other aspects of his work is explored, countering Short’s claims of its limited systematic relevance. Additionally, Short’s claim that Peirce “expanded empiricism empirically” is scrutinized, and his interpretation of Peirce’s account of perception is criticized. By contrasting Short’s anti-system reading, I highlight the importance of studying Peirce’s philosophy holistically.

This article formulates a new approach to combating corruption in Uganda. In pursuit of this research, the author highlights the chronicity of corruption in Uganda, which is uniformly political and bureaucratic. Bureaucratic corruption takes place in service delivery and rule enforcement. It has two sides: demand-induced and supply-induced. Political corruption occurs at high levels of politics. There are 'political untouchables' and businessmen who are above the law and above institutional control mechanisms. The established institutions of checks and balances in Uganda (...) have assiduously continued to have a limited bearing on corruption. Neither coherent anti-corruption norms nor severe formal sanctions are able to dishearten certain politicians and civil servants in Uganda from the deviant behaviour of structural corruption. Corruption is a spiritual departure from the law and standard of God. It is an action conceived in the human mind and carried out by the corrupt. Therefore, corruption deterrence not only lies in sound public financial management systems but depends to a large extent on having people with positive human character in all aspects of national life. This article thus provides the framework of corruption and discusses the manifestation of political and bureaucratic corruption in Uganda. It also exegetes the biblical stance regarding corruption. Finally, it proposes a panacea for combating political and bureaucratic corruption. (shrink)

Volume 20, Issue 4, May 2020, Page 71-73.

Virtue and the Moral Life brings together distinguished philosophers and theologians with younger scholars of consummate promise to produce ten essays that engage both academics and students of ethics. This collection explores the role virtues play in identifying the good life and the good society.

Virtue and the Moral Life brings together distinguished philosophers and theologians with younger scholars of consummate promise to produce ten essays that engage both academics and students of ethics. This collection explores the role virtues play in identifying the good life and the good society.

Providing heroin to heroin addicts taking part in medical trials to assess the effectiveness of the drug as a treatment alternative, breaches ethical research standards, some ethicists maintain. Heroin addicts, they say, are unable to consent voluntarily to take part in these trials. Other ethicists disagree. In our view, both sides of the debate have an inadequate understanding of voluntariness. In this article we therefore offer a fuller conception, one which allows for a more flexible, case-to-case approach in which some (...) heroin addicts are considered capable of consenting voluntarily, others not. An advantage of this approach, it is argued, is that it provides a safety net to minimize the risk of inflicting harm on trial participants. (shrink)

The sequencing of the human genome and decreasing costs of sequencing technology have led to the notion of ‘personalized medicine’. This has been taken by some authors to indicate that personalized medicine will provide individualized treatments solely based on one’s DNA sequence. We argue this is overly optimistic and misconstrues the notion of personalization. Such interpretations fail to account for economic, policy and structural constraints on the delivery of healthcare. Furthermore, notions of individualization based on genomic data potentially take us (...) down the road of genetic reductionism obscuring the role of environmental factors in disease and ill health. We propose that one should see personalized medicine as a way of using personal genomic information to stratify individuals into subpopulations and suggest that personalized medicine be seen within a broader idea of personalized healthcare, reflecting healthcare that integrates personal genomic data into cultural, environmental and personal contexts. (shrink)

Au début du mois d'août 1934, Husserl fut invité par Emanuel Radl à prendre part au huitième Congrès international de philosophie qui devait se tenir à Prague du 2 au 7 septembre de la même année. La situation politique allemande interdisait que Husserl et d'autres philosophes se rendissent à l'étranger, aussi Radl demanda-t-il à Husserl de lui envoyer une communication épistolaire destinée à être lue lors des débats. Husserl rédigea donc une lettre, la « Lettre pragoise » — qu'on lut (...) en séance et qui fut publiée d'abord dans le quotidien Prager Tageblatt, puis dans les Actes du colloque² —, mais, outre cela, un texte plus long consacré au même thème : la tâche actuelle de la philosophie. C'est ce texte dont on lira ici la traduction. De multiples péripéties et des circonstances diverses ont empêché que Husserl envoie à temps ce texte plus achevé; quelques indications données par lui-même dans sa correspondance³, avec Patocka notamment, montreni qu'il n'en était pas entièrement satisfait et qu'il souhaitait revoir au moins le début. Ces remaniements vont peu à peu déboucher sur la célèbre conférence de 1935 (Vienne) sur la crise des sciences européennes, qui est fort proche du présent texte bien que le point de départ n 'en soit plus désormais l'interrogation sur le rôle de la philosophie, mais la critique des sciences. Quoi qu'il en soit, la « conférence de Prague » inaugure la série des textes qui aboutiront à la dernière grande œuvre de Husserl, La Crise des sciences européennes et la phénoménologie transcendantale dont l'essai qu'on va lire est, en quelque sorte, la toute première esquisse. (shrink)

Au début du mois d'août 1934, Husserl fut invité par Emanuel Radl à prendre part au huitième Congrès international de philosophie qui devait se tenir à Prague du 2 au 7 septembre de la même année. La situation politique allemande interdisait que Husserl et d'autres philosophes se rendissent à l'étranger, aussi Radl demanda-t-il à Husserl de lui envoyer une communication épistolaire destinée à être lue lors des débats. Husserl rédigea donc une lettre, la « Lettre pragoise » — qu'on lut (...) en séance et qui fut publiée d'abord dans le quotidien Prager Tageblatt, puis dans les Actes du colloque² —, mais, outre cela, un texte plus long consacré au même thème : la tâche actuelle de la philosophie. C'est ce texte dont on lira ici la traduction. De multiples péripéties et des circonstances diverses ont empêché que Husserl envoie à temps ce texte plus achevé; quelques indications données par lui-même dans sa correspondance³, avec Patocka notamment, montreni qu'il n'en était pas entièrement satisfait et qu'il souhaitait revoir au moins le début. Ces remaniements vont peu à peu déboucher sur la célèbre conférence de 1935 sur la crise des sciences européennes, qui est fort proche du présent texte bien que le point de départ n 'en soit plus désormais l'interrogation sur le rôle de la philosophie, mais la critique des sciences. Quoi qu'il en soit, la « conférence de Prague » inaugure la série des textes qui aboutiront à la dernière grande œuvre de Husserl, La Crise des sciences européennes et la phénoménologie transcendantale dont l'essai qu'on va lire est, en quelque sorte, la toute première esquisse. (shrink)

The naturalistic fallacy is mentionedfrequently by evolutionary psychologists as anerroneous way of thinking about the ethicalimplications of evolved behaviors. However,evolutionary psychologists are themselvesconfused about the naturalistic fallacy and useit inappropriately to forestall legitimateethical discussion. We briefly review what thenaturalistic fallacy is and why it is misusedby evolutionary psychologists. Then we attemptto show how the ethical implications of evolvedbehaviors can be discussed constructivelywithout impeding evolutionary psychologicalresearch. A key is to show how ethicalbehaviors, in addition to unethical behaviors,can evolve by natural selection.

The growing interest and major advances of the last decades in evolutionary developmental biology (EvoDevo) have led to the recognition of the incompleteness of the Modern Synthesis of evolutionary theory. Here we discuss how paleontology makes significant contributions to integrate evolution and development. First, extinct organisms often inform us about developmental processes by showing a combination of features unrecorded in living species. We illustrate this point using the vertebrate fossil record and studies relating bone ossification to life history traits. Second, (...) we discuss exceptionally preserved fossils that document rare ontogenetic sequences and illustrate this case with the patterns of heterochrony observed in Cambrian crustacean larvae preserved three-dimensionally. Third, most fossils potentially document the evolutionary patterns of allometry and modularity, as well as some of the (paleo)ecological factors that had influenced them. The temporal persistence of adaptive patterns in rodent evolution serves to address the importance of ecological constraints in evolution. Fourth, we discuss how the macroevolutionary patterns observed in the tetrapod limb, in the mammal molar proportions, and in the molluscan shell provide independent tests of the validity of morphogenetic models proposed on living species. Reciprocally, these macroevolutionary patterns often act as a source of inspiration to investigate the underlying rules of development, because, at the end, they are the patterns that the neo-Darwinian theory was unable to account for. (shrink)

BĪRŪNĪ, ABŪ RAYḤĀN MOḤAMMAD b. Aḥmad (362/973- after 442/1050), scholar and polymath of the period of the late Samanids and early Ghaznavids and one of the two greatest intellectual figures of his time in the eastern lands of the Muslim world, the other being Ebn Sīnā.

This is the first textbook of surgical ethics. It is a practical, clinically comprehenive, well-organized guide to ethical issues in surgical practice, research, and education written by leading figures in surgery and bioethics. The authors cover the surgeon-patient relationship, the full range of surgical patients, surgical education and research, and surgery and managed care. Their chapters are not abstract discussions of ethical principles; rather, they connect directly with the everyday concerns of practicing surgeons.