Famous debate between E. Barbaro and G. Pico della Mirandola in 1485 concerning humanism and scholasticism and the role of rhetoric.

The standard approach to parental refusal of transfusion on religious grounds in many newborn intensive care units and paediatric services is to override the refusal and provide the transfusion, usually with court intervention if time allows. This approach is justified by the child's right to effective treatment, seen to outweigh the parents' right to religious freedom and their right to decide for their child. That justification, however, may be limited by the predicted effectiveness of the transfusion (or any proposed treatment) (...) in preventing significant harm to the child. A case where parental refusal was appropriately respected is briefly discussed. (shrink)

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has caused shortages of life-sustaining medical resources, and future waves of the virus may cause further scarcity. The Yale New Haven Health System developed a triage protocol to allocate scarce medical resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the primary goal of saving the most lives possible, and a secondary goal of making triage assessments and decisions consistent, transparent, and fair. We outline the process of developing the protocol, summarize the protocol, and discuss the major ethical challenges (...) encountered, along with our answers to the challenges. These challenges include (1) the role of age and chronic comorbidities; (2) evaluating children and pregnant patients; (3) racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in health; (4) prioritization of healthcare workers; and (5) balancing clinical judgment versus protocolized assessments.We conclude with a review of the limitations of our protocol and the lessons learned. We hope that a robust public discussion of such protocols and the ethical challenges they raise will result in the fairest possible processes, less need for triage, and more lives saved during future waves of the pandemic and similar public health emergencies. (shrink)

Early in my career as a neonatologist, I was called into the hospital for a newborn who would not stop crying. Screaming, really. When I entered the unit, I was greeted by a loud, shrill, distinctive cry. After hearing the history and examining the baby, I just stood there for a while, watching and listening. It took some time, but eventually, I noticed a subtle regularity, a rhythmicity. I took off my watch, placed it on the bed next to the (...) child, and found that the crying briefly grew louder about every six or seven seconds. This baby was having an atypical seizure. This preliminary diagnosis was followed by a conversation with the parents and a neurologist, transfer to the nearby academic center for an extensive evaluation, and the eventual demise of the child from a poorly understood disease. About a year later, I walked into the same unit and heard a cry I had heard only once before. I looked over to see the same mother at a newborn's bedside, with tears in her eyes, looking back at me. She knew what the coming days held for her and for her second child. That was over twenty years ago, but two images, or moments, remain with me. One is the watch on the bed next to the first baby; the other is the mother's expression of sadness the morning the second child was born. The image of the timepiece is perhaps instructive. (shrink)

Those who provide medical care for infants born extremely prematurely, at what is often referred to as borderline viability, have long grown accustomed to working with the parent(s) to reach a deci...

The American Journal of Bioethics, Volume 11, Issue 11, Page 17-18, November 2011.

Fox’s update of her pivotal 2007 study on ethics consultations in U.S. hospitals found that the gap in ethics consultations is widening between large teaching hospitals and small community hospital...

Hastings Center Report, Volume 52, Issue 2, Page 14-20, March‐April 2022.

In 2017, Partridge et al. published remarkable experimental results concerning the use of a new artificial womb technology (AWT) with lambs, developed at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, called...

Allowing relatively inexperienced physicians-in-training to perform invasive medical procedures is a widely accepted practice, generally felt to be justified by the need to train future generations of physicians. The ethical justification of this practice, however, is rarely if ever explored in any depth. This essay examines the moral issues associated with this practice, in the setting of a specific clinical scenario involving the emergency intubation of a critically ill newborn. The practice is ultimately shown to be justified based not only (...) on the needs of society and future patients but also on the best interests of the patient being treated. However, several important qualifications need to be satisfied in order for this practice to be ethically permissible. The arguments and qualifications presented can be extended to clinical situations beyond the specific scenario discussed and are relevant to a wide range of medical and surgical settings. (shrink)

Why have hospitals reduced residents' hours, but not those of attending physicians?

Childbearing is an increasingly complicated matter, which has evolved significantly over the past several decades. Treatment options for infertility have expanded. Prenatal testing and treatment have led to an evolution in obstetrical decision-making, wherein the risks and benefits to the fetus and future child are better understood and more strongly considered in medical management of the pregnant woman. Obstetrics appears to be increasingly interventional; one in three babies in the United States is now born by cesarean section. Neonatal intensive care (...) has markedly improved outcomes for premature babies. A pregnant woman may now be presented with many options— obstetrician or midwife, home or hospital delivery, choices among prenatal testing and monitoring, early induction of labor, cesarean delivery. Health care professionals face similar decisions with regard to what they recommend and the boundaries of safe and responsible care they should make available. Preterm Babies, Fetal Patients, and Childbearing Choices, by John D. Lantos and Diane S. Lauderdale, provides an excellent overview of the available information relevant to these questions. (shrink)

Cells express many proteins that bind to laminin, the major adhesive component of basement membranes. Some of these, specifically integrins, function as transmembrane receptors that ‘signal’ the presence of laminin on the cell surface to the cytoplasm. Lectins constitute a second class of laminin binding proteins that may augment integrin function by interacting with laminin carbohydrate. Caution must be used in ascribing functions to other laminin binding proteins, especially cytosolic proteins.

Volume 20, Issue 7, July 2020, Page 122-124.

To call attention to and motivate action on ethical issues in business or society, messengers often criticize groups for wrongdoing and ask these groups to change their behavior. When criticizing target groups, messengers frequently identify and express concern about harm caused to a victim group, and in the process address a target group by criticizing them for causing this harm and imploring them to change. However, we find that when messengers criticize a target group for causing harm to a victim (...) group in this way—expressing _singular concern_ for the victim group—members of the target group infer, often incorrectly, that the messenger views the target group as less moral and unworthy of concern. This inferred lack of moral concern reduces criticism acceptance and prompts backlash from the target group. To address this problem, we introduce _dual concern_ messaging—messages that simultaneously communicate that a target group causes harm to a victim group and express concern for the target group. A series of several experiments demonstrate that dual concern messages reduce inferences that a critical messenger lacks moral concern for the criticized target group, increase the persuasiveness of the criticism among members of the target group, and reduce backlash from consumers against a corporate messenger. When pursuing justice for victims of a target group, dual concern messages that communicate concern for the victim group _as well as_ the target group are more effective in fostering openness toward criticism, rather than defensiveness, in a target group, thus setting the stage for change. (shrink)

Background Intestinal transplant in infants with severe short bowel syndrome (SBS) is an emerging therapy, yet without sufficient long-term data or established guidelines, resulting in possible variation in practice. Objectives To assess current attitudes and counselling practices among physicians regarding intestinal transplant in infants with SBS, and to determine whether counselling and management vary between subspecialists or centres. Methods A national sample of practicing paediatric surgeons and neonatologists was surveyed via the American Academy of Paediatrics listserves. Results were analysed by (...) physician subspecialty and again by presence or absence of intestinal transplant at respondent's centre. Results The survey was completed by 433 respondents, consisting of 363 neonatologists and 70 paediatric surgeons. Fifty-seven respondents (13.2%) practiced at a centre that performed intestinal transplants in children. The vast majority of respondents (91% for preterm, 95% for term neonates) felt that maintaining a neonate with SBS on total parenteral nutrition for intestinal transplant was ethically optional (neither impermissible nor obligatory), and that parents should be given an informed choice whether to pursue that option. However, only 33% indicated they often/always offer intestinal transplant as a treatment option to families in this situation. Conclusions There is a marked disparity between individual physicians’ beliefs regarding the acceptability of intestinal transplant for severe SBS and their reported practice. Wide variability exists among physicians with respect to their knowledge, beliefs and practice regarding severe SBS, raising concerns about transparency and justice. Survival data prior to transplant, currently unavailable, are essential to rational decision making and informed parental permission. (shrink)

This paper addresses two subject matters. The first one is a parallel between the conceptions of democracy and university developed by Jaime Guzmán and Jorge Millas in the historical context surrounding 1973’s military strike. It serves as a documentary point of reference an exchange between Guzmán and Millas at the editorial pages of El Mercurio paper during the summer of 1976. The other subject matter is the configuration of the post-military strike philosophical field, as system of rules and strategies (...) of enunciation. The Guzmán-Millas transaction enables to see how the rules of the philosophical field are tied with models of university and democracy imposed by the post-strike State. (shrink)

Resumen Este artículo analiza la construcción de la infancia en las novelas El mercurio (1968), El río de la luna (1981) y Esta pared de hielo (2005), de José María Guelbenzu, a la luz de los conceptos mítico-simbólicos de Bachelard y Durand para demostrar que funciona como un absoluto primigenio al que se busca volver constantemente, pues resguarda a los personajes hasta el inminente choque con la realidad adulta. Esto para concluir que desde la adultez los personajes observan la (...) infancia con el anhelo de volver allí, lo que tiene una función paliativa mediante la memoria y la palabra, por ello, la narrativa de Guelbenzu plantea regresar al ámbito infantil desde las imágenes literarias y así conservar ese mundo de fantasía. Abstract This article analyzes the construction of childhood in the novels El mercurio (1968), El río de la luna (1981) and Esta pared de hielo (2005), by José María Guelbenzu, in the light of the mythical-symbolic concepts of Bachelard and Durand to demonstrate that it functions as a primitive absolute to which it is sought to return constantly, since it protects the characters until the imminent clash with adult reality. This to conclude that in their adulthood the characters observe childhood with the desire to return there, this has a palliative function through memory and word, therefore, Guelbenzu’s narrative proposes the return to the child environment trough literary images to preserve that world of fantasy. (shrink)

Este trabajo expone resultados de un estudio sobre la influencia de las ideas contenidas en varias obras de Erasmo de Rotterdam (en especial su Elogio de la Locura) en el Diálogo de Mercurio y Carón de Alfonso de Valdés. Se destacan elementos principales que sustancian dicha influencia, y algunas diferencias entre las ideas de ambos autores que muestran los aportes que Valdés construyó sobre el pensamiento de Erasmo.

En los diálogos entre las diferentes voces que aparecen en los medios de comunicación la relación es desigual, y es posible ver cómo se da preponderancia a algunos actores sociales en desmedro de otros. Dicha relación se vuelve todavía más compleja cuando los participantes son de culturas diferentes. La siguiente investigación pretende, por medio de una herramienta metodológica ligada al Análisis Crítico del Discurso (ACD) desarrollado por Teun van Dijk, develar los procesos y formas de representación con los que se (...) mira a los bolivianos, a través de las noticias de los diarios de cobertura nacional El Mercurio y La Tercera, durante el mes de junio de 2008. El estudio, por tanto, intenta descubrir cómo la prensa escrita colabora en la representación y construcción de la realidad (Berger y Luckmann 1972) intercultural de sus lectores, formando y promoviendo prejuicios y estereotipos socioculturales. (shrink)

Los discursos que circulan en los medios de comunicación son fundamentales para la construcción de la opinión pública, en la medida que informan sobre los hechos y opiniones relevantes de la vida social. En este sentido, la libre circulación de la opinión es esencial en una democracia. En esta investigación describimos el flujo de opinión sobre un tema de interés público en diversos géneros periodísticos para comprender su contribución al debate público. Entendemos por flujo de opinión el conjunto de puntos (...) de vista que circulan en el espacio público en torno a un mismo tópico. A diario, la prensa publica las opiniones de periodistas, expertos, académicos, políticos u otros actores sociales que escriben directamente en los diarios o son citados por otros, accediendo de esa forma al espacio público. Un tema sensible para la opinión pública chilena ha sido el cuestionamiento al sistema previsional que, por su complejidad y amplitud, nos ofrece una buena oportunidad para el estudio de la participación de la prensa en el debate público. La prensa matutina nacional chilena reúne a 4 diarios que tienen circulación en papel: El Mercurio, La Tercera, Las Últimas Noticias y La Cuarta. Para cumplir nuestro objetivo, trabajamos sobre un corpus de 244 textos de diversos géneros periodísticos recolectado durante 30 días, circunscritos a dos eventos de protesta contra el sistema de pensiones que marcaron la agenda social y mediática. Los resultados nos muestran una completa descripción del flujo de opinión de los diarios frente a este tema, relevando las voces que fueron representadas en el debate y los temas que fueron problematizados por género. Asimismo, se puede apreciar el sesgo sistemático de los diarios en su contribución al debate público frente a este tema. (shrink)

La noche de piedra and Los días de Mercurio are, until today, the two novels published of the trilogy La Iniquidad by Alexis Ravelo. They present two different stories and settings in the line of hard boiled and noir and in the best tradition of the Spanish thriller from the 70s and 80s, whose social and philosophical dimensions are recovered through an interesting treatment of the space and the reconstruction of historical memory. Ravelo reformulates the genre with narrative techniques (...) typical of postmodernism. His writing is close to the neopolicial genre in our cultural sphere and moves away from the new crime novel that succeeds in the publishing market. (shrink)

La acción de los medios de prensa de construir y representar realidades socioculturales genera --en reiteradas ocasiones-- relaciones desiguales, promoviendo e institucionalizando unas identidades en desmedro de otras. La situación se complejiza cuando se trata de países vecinos, con sus respectivas tradiciones socio-histórico-culturales, pasados comunes y límites bisagra. Bajo este escenario se analizaron las producciones noticiosas de cobertura nacional publicadas en los periódicos de mayor tirada de dos países limítrofes: “El Mercurio” de Chile y “El Comercio” de Perú. De (...) este modo, y por medio de una herramienta metodológica ligada al Análisis Crítico y Complejo del Discurso, esta investigación busca comprender los procesos de construcciones noticiosas y representaciones que los medios de prensa chilenos y peruanos hacen en torno a los “discursos de la diferencia” que se institucionalizan en la relación entre ambas naciones. The action of the press media of constructing and representing socio-cultural realities generates --on numerous occasions-- unequal relationships, which promote and institutionalize certain identities in detriment of others. The situation becomes more complex when it deals with neighboring countries and their corresponding socio-historical-cultural traditions, shared pasts, and “hinge-like” borders. Under this scenario, the production of national news by two nationwide press media of the neighboring countries will be analyzed: “El Mercurio” of Chile and “El Comercio” of Perú. In this manner, and using a methodological tool based on the Critical and Complex Analysis of the Discourse, the main objective of this research is to understand processes of construction of news and representations that the Chilean and Peruvian press make linked to the “discourse of the differences” which have been institutionalized in the relationship between them both. (shrink)

Presentamos a continuación un breve recuento de las numerosas declaraciones y artículos aparecidos en la prensa, a propósito del anuncio, también dado a conocer en periódicos, de un proyecto que trata de la eliminación, entre otros, del ramo de filosofía en la enseñanza media y su fusión o reemplazo por una asignatura llamada "Educación Ciudadana". Solo incluimos en este expediente, por razones de espacio, el comunicado conjunto de la Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades de la Universidad de Chile y el (...) Senado de la misma institución, un editorial del diario El Mercurio, la declaración del Departamento de Filosofía de la Facultad de Filosofía de la Universidad de Chile, el artículo ¿"No más filosofía"? del Rector de la Universidad Diego Portales, el comunicado de la Reprofich y la llamada Declaración de Paris del Colegio Internacional de Filosofía, emitida con ocasión de un proyecto similar que se intentó implementar en Francia; la recibimos tan pronto se conoció la noticia afuera. Llama la atención que en ella se destaque en forma especial, la denominación: la enseñanza de la filosofía debe impartirse con ese nombre. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that Leibniz' (L.) concept of entelechy, though L. himself believes to have derived it directly from Aristotle, does not correspond exactly to the Aristotelian concept. The main difference between the Aristotelian and the Leibnizian concept may be explained as follows: Whereas Aristotle uses "entelecheia" to designate a property possessed by living organisms, L. takes it to be a generic term for souls and other monads. It is further argued that Aristotle's somewhat intricate argument in De (...) Anima II 1 has contributed to the misunderstanding of the Aristotelian term, a misunderstanding starting already with the Aristotelian commentators Themistius, Philoponus and Simplicius. L. took his concept from the tradition of the commentators which he knew through the Italian humanist Ermolao Barbaro. (shrink)

La acción de los medios de prensa de construir y representar realidades socioculturales genera --en reiteradas ocasiones-- relaciones desiguales, promoviendo e institucionalizando unas identidades en desmedro de otras. La situación se complejiza cuando se trata de países vecinos, con sus respectivas tradiciones socio-histórico-culturales, pasados comunes y límites bisagra. Bajo este escenario se analizaron las producciones noticiosas de cobertura nacional publicadas en los periódicos de mayor tirada de dos países limítrofes: “El Mercurio” de Chile y “El Comercio” de Perú. De (...) este modo, y por medio de una herramienta metodológica ligada al Análisis Crítico y Complejo del Discurso, esta investigación busca comprender los procesos de construcciones noticiosas y representaciones que los medios de prensa chilenos y peruanos hacen en torno a los “discursos de la diferencia” que se institucionalizan en la relación entre ambas naciones. The action of the press media of constructing and representing socio-cultural realities generates --on numerous occasions-- unequal relationships, which promote and institutionalize certain identities in detriment of others. The situation becomes more complex when it deals with neighboring countries and their corresponding socio-historical-cultural traditions, shared pasts, and “hinge-like” borders. Under this scenario, the production of national news by two nationwide press media of the neighboring countries will be analyzed: “El Mercurio” of Chile and “El Comercio” of Perú. In this manner, and using a methodological tool based on the Critical and Complex Analysis of the Discourse, the main objective of this research is to understand processes of construction of news and representations that the Chilean and Peruvian press make linked to the “discourse of the differences” which have been institutionalized in the relationship between them both. (shrink)

Alguns humanos possuem um excêntrico modo de existência e não guardam para si aquilo que sabem; anunciam e entregam para o outro o que aprenderam, o que trazem consigo; são uma espécie de ponte ancestral entre sucessivas gerações; parecem ter herdado de Hermes, Mercúrio, Agni, um espírito que lhes impulsionam a conceder àqueles com quem convivem sabedoria, aprendizado. Uns assumem-no como missão, outros convertem isso em ofício e se transformam em educadores e professores. Rosilene Maria Alves Pereira assumiu o ofício (...) de ser professora universitária ainda muito jovem, e, algumas gerações de alunos do curso de Licenciatura em filosofia da Universidade Federal do Piauí, testemunham esse legado de forma substantiva desde 1993. (shrink)

La acción de los medios de prensa de construir y representar realidades socioculturales genera --en reiteradas ocasiones-- relaciones desiguales, promoviendo e institucionalizando unas identidades en desmedro de otras. La situación se complejiza cuando se trata de países vecinos, con sus respectivas tradiciones socio-histórico-culturales, pasados comunes y límites bisagra. Bajo este escenario se analizaron las producciones noticiosas de cobertura nacional publicadas en los periódicos de mayor tirada de dos países limítrofes: “El Mercurio” de Chile y “El Comercio” de Perú. De (...) este modo, y por medio de una herramienta metodológica ligada al Análisis Crítico y Complejo del Discurso, esta investigación busca comprender los procesos de construcciones noticiosas y representaciones que los medios de prensa chilenos y peruanos hacen en torno a los “discursos de la diferencia” que se institucionalizan en la relación entre ambas naciones. The action of the press media of constructing and representing socio-cultural realities generates --on numerous occasions-- unequal relationships, which promote and institutionalize certain identities in detriment of others. The situation becomes more complex when it deals with neighboring countries and their corresponding socio-historical-cultural traditions, shared pasts, and “hinge-like” borders. Under this scenario, the production of national news by two nationwide press media of the neighboring countries will be analyzed: “El Mercurio” of Chile and “El Comercio” of Perú. In this manner, and using a methodological tool based on the Critical and Complex Analysis of the Discourse, the main objective of this research is to understand processes of construction of news and representations that the Chilean and Peruvian press make linked to the “discourse of the differences” which have been institutionalized in the relationship between them both. (shrink)

La acción de los medios de prensa de construir y representar realidades socioculturales genera --en reiteradas ocasiones-- relaciones desiguales, promoviendo e institucionalizando unas identidades en desmedro de otras. La situación se complejiza cuando se trata de países vecinos, con sus respectivas tradiciones socio-histórico-culturales, pasados comunes y límites bisagra. Bajo este escenario se analizaron las producciones noticiosas de cobertura nacional publicadas en los periódicos de mayor tirada de dos países limítrofes: “El Mercurio” de Chile y “El Comercio” de Perú. De (...) este modo, y por medio de una herramienta metodológica ligada al Análisis Crítico y Complejo del Discurso, esta investigación busca comprender los procesos de construcciones noticiosas y representaciones que los medios de prensa chilenos y peruanos hacen en torno a los “discursos de la diferencia” que se institucionalizan en la relación entre ambas naciones. The action of the press media of constructing and representing socio-cultural realities generates --on numerous occasions-- unequal relationships, which promote and institutionalize certain identities in detriment of others. The situation becomes more complex when it deals with neighboring countries and their corresponding socio-historical-cultural traditions, shared pasts, and “hinge-like” borders. Under this scenario, the production of national news by two nationwide press media of the neighboring countries will be analyzed: “El Mercurio” of Chile and “El Comercio” of Perú. In this manner, and using a methodological tool based on the Critical and Complex Analysis of the Discourse, the main objective of this research is to understand processes of construction of news and representations that the Chilean and Peruvian press make linked to the “discourse of the differences” which have been institutionalized in the relationship between them both. (shrink)

La acción de los medios de prensa de construir y representar realidades socioculturales genera --en reiteradas ocasiones-- relaciones desiguales, promoviendo e institucionalizando unas identidades en desmedro de otras. La situación se complejiza cuando se trata de países vecinos, con sus respectivas tradiciones socio-histórico-culturales, pasados comunes y límites bisagra. Bajo este escenario se analizaron las producciones noticiosas de cobertura nacional publicadas en los periódicos de mayor tirada de dos países limítrofes: “El Mercurio” de Chile y “El Comercio” de Perú. De (...) este modo, y por medio de una herramienta metodológica ligada al Análisis Crítico y Complejo del Discurso, esta investigación busca comprender los procesos de construcciones noticiosas y representaciones que los medios de prensa chilenos y peruanos hacen en torno a los “discursos de la diferencia” que se institucionalizan en la relación entre ambas naciones. The action of the press media of constructing and representing socio-cultural realities generates --on numerous occasions-- unequal relationships, which promote and institutionalize certain identities in detriment of others. The situation becomes more complex when it deals with neighboring countries and their corresponding socio-historical-cultural traditions, shared pasts, and “hinge-like” borders. Under this scenario, the production of national news by two nationwide press media of the neighboring countries will be analyzed: “El Mercurio” of Chile and “El Comercio” of Perú. In this manner, and using a methodological tool based on the Critical and Complex Analysis of the Discourse, the main objective of this research is to understand processes of construction of news and representations that the Chilean and Peruvian press make linked to the “discourse of the differences” which have been institutionalized in the relationship between them both. (shrink)

This volume deals with the psychological, metaphysical and scientific ideas of two major and influential Aristotelian philosophers of the Italian Renaissance - Nicoletto Vernia (d. 1499) and Agostino Nifo (ca 1470-1538) - whose careers must be seen as inter-related. Both began by holding Averroes to be the true interpreter of Aristotle's thought, but were influenced by the work of humanists, such as Ermolao Barbaro, though to a different degree. Translations of the Greek commentators on Aristotle (Alexander of Aphrodisias, Themistius (...) and Simplicius) provided them with new material and new ways of understanding Aristotle - Nifo even put himself to learning Greek - and led them to abandon Averroes, especially as regards his views on the soul and intellect. Nevertheless, both Vernia and Nifo engaged seriously with the thought of medieval scholars such as Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas and John of Jandun. Both also showed interest in their celebrated contemporary, Marsilio Ficino. (shrink)