BackgroundThe legal and ethical guidelines of psychological professional associations stipulate that informed consent by patients is an essential prerequisite for psychotherapy. Despite this awareness of the importance of informed consent, there is little empirical evidence on what psychotherapists’ attitudes towards informed consent are and how informed consent is implemented in psychotherapeutic practice.Methods155 psychotherapists in Switzerland completed an online survey assessing their attitudes regarding informed consent. ResultsAmong the surveyed psychotherapists, there was a high consensus on important information that should be communicated (...) to patients in the context of informed consent. Almost all psychotherapists rated confidentiality and its exemptions (95%) and self-determined decision-making (97%) as important. The importance to disclose information regarding fees and the empirical effectiveness of the provided treatment, were both seen as important by more than 80% of participants. The disclosure of personal information about the therapist was rated as important by 60%. Other aspects, which are not direct components of informed consent but rather overarching goals, were also evaluated rather homogeneously: self-determined decision making of the patient was rated as important by almost all of the surveyed psychotherapists (97%). The following components were also judged as important by a majority of the participants: promotion of hope (80%) and discussion of treatment goals (93%). Most psychotherapists described the implementation of informed consent as an ongoing process, rather than a one-time event during the first session of therapy. Therapists’ age, postgraduate training, treated patient group, and setting influenced attitudes towards informed consent.ConclusionsThe present study shows that informed consent is perceived by psychotherapists as both a challenge and a resource. The implementation of informed consent in psychotherapy requires further research from a clinical and ethical perspective. (shrink)

Discussions concerning whether there is a natural right to health care may occur in various forms, resulting in policy recommendations for how to implement any such right in a given society. But health care policies may be judged by international standards including the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The rights enumerated in the UDHR are grounded in traditions of moral theory, a philosophical analysis of which is necessary in order to adjudicate the value of specific policies designed to enshrine (...) rights such as a right to health care. We begin with an overview of the drafting of the UDHR and highlight the primary influence of natural law theory in validating the rights contained therein. We then provide an explication of natural law theory by reference to the writings of Thomas Aquinas, as well as elucidate the complementary “capabilities approach” of Martha Nussbaum. We conclude that a right to health care ought to be guaranteed by the state. (shrink)

The questions of whether there is a shared nature common to all human beings and, if so, what essential qualities define this nature are among the most widely discussed topics in the history of philosophy and remain the subject of perennial interest and controversy. This book offers a metaphysical investigation of the composition of the human essence-that is, with what is a human being identical or what types of parts are necessary for a human being to exist: an immaterial mind, (...) a physical body, a functioning brain, a soul? It also considers the criterion of identity for a human being across time and change-that is, what is required for a human being to continue existing as a person despite undergoing physical and psychological changes over time? Jason Eberl's investigation presents and defends a theoretical perspective from the thirteenth-century philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas. Advancing beyond descriptive historical analysis, this book places Aquinas's account of human nature into direct comparison with several prominent contemporary theories: substance dualism, emergentism, animalism, constitutionalism, four-dimensionalism, and embodied mind theory. There are practical implications of exploring these theories as they inform various conclusions regarding when human beings first come into existence-at conception, during gestation, or after birth-and how we ought to define death for human beings. Finally, each of these viewpoints offers a distinctive rationale as to whether, and if so how, human beings may survive death. This book's central argument is that the Thomistic account of human nature includes several desirable features that other theories lack and offers a cohesive portrait of one's continued existence from conception through life to death and beyond. (shrink)

This essay focuses on cases in which a physician elects to withhold, either temporarily or permanently, certain information from a patient for arguably beneficent reasons. That is, the physician is not being self-serving, to herself or her institution, by not revealing this information. Rather, the goal is purely to promote what the physician believes to be in the patient’s best interest by withholding information that may be harmful to him. This practice of informational guardianship is known as the “therapeutic privilege.” (...) This discussion is thus also limited to clinical interactions and not explicitly discuss withholding information from research subjects, which raises distinct ethical issues and elicits different reasons used to justify or nullify the moral permissibility of nondisclosure. (shrink)

This third brand-new 'Star Wars & Philosophy' title once again takes a fresh look at the franchise with all-new chapters. The focus of this volume is the more recent entries into the franchise, including hit TV shows such as THe Mandalorian. Modern applied philosophy is also used to analyse the Star Wars universe: In addition to thorny metaphysical questions about the nature of time and free will, this volume highlights the staggering cultural impact of George Lucas's universe. The newest Star (...) Wars narratives tackle ethnicity on alien worlds and how love and sex with a droid like L3-37 would work ("It works"). The connections between the Separatist Freedom Movement and the struggle for social justice in the USA in the 21st century are brought to light. And philosophical second looks at Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi prove there is much more to this controversial entry in the Skywalker saga. (shrink)

Verfassungsgerichtliche Institutionen- und Kompetenzprofile finden sich gegenwärtig in vielen politischen Gemeinwesen. Dort, wo nicht nur die Prozeduren, sondern sogar die Inhalte des politischen Prozesses dem letztverbindlichen Richterspruch unterliegen, entfaltet die Verfassungsrechtsprechung eine besonders nachhaltige und weitreichende Wirkung. Höchstrichterliche Entscheidungen prägen politisches System und Rechtskultur in diesem Fall derart, dass der Jurisdiktion der Status einer souveränen Instanz zukommt. Mit der Legitimität dieser Version von Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit befasst sich das vorliegende Werk. Es behandelt das Thema Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit als Abstraktum, bringt die Mannigfaltigkeit der Erscheinungsformen (...) von (Verfassungs-)Gerichtsbarkeit in eine gedankliche Ordnung, konzipiert Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit als die institutionell verankerte gerichtliche Überprüfbarkeit sämtlicher staatlicher Akte und erörtert das "Ob und Überhaupt" von Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit im demokratischen Verfassungsstaat. Der Studie zufolge sprechen pragmatische Gründe sowohl für die Rechtfertigbarkeit einer solchen gerichtlichen Aufsicht als auch für die Geeignetheit der Gerichtsbarkeit hierzu. Prinzipientheoretische Eindeutigkeit hingegen lasse sich weder für noch gegen die Institution der umfassenden Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit anführen. Aktuelle Bedeutung besitzt die Problematik des legitimen verfassungsgerichtlichen Wirkens insbesondere im Blick auf die Rechts- und Herrschaftsordnung der Europäischen Union. (shrink)

Turner Nevitt’s elucidates and critically engages with what he describes as the “deeper and more problematic disagreements between survivalists and corruptionists about how to understand some of the most basic principles of Aquinas’s metaphysics,” his goal being to “advance some more systematic reasons for thinking that corruptionists are right and survivalists are wrong—both about how to understand the basic principles of Aquinas’s metaphysics, and about how to apply them to the question about the status of human beings or persons between (...) death and resurrection.” In responding to Nevitt’s argument on behalf of survivalism, I have two goals: first, to defend a particular survivalist interpretation and application of Aquinas’s basic metaphysical principles, and second to argue that, even if Aquinas himself was a corruptionist, he (and we) ought to be survivalists. (shrink)

To deal with the upcoming challenges and complexity of the nursing profession, it is deemed important to reflect on our current organization of care. However, before starting to rethink the organization of nursing care, an overview of important elements concerning nursing care organization, more specifically nursing models, is necessary. The aim of this study was to conduct a mapping review, accompanied by an evidence map to map the existing literature, to map the field of knowledge on a meta‐level and to (...) identify current research gaps concerning nursing models in a hospital setting. Next to nursing models, two other organizational correlates seem to be of importance when looking at the organization of nursing care: nurse staffing and skill mix. Although it seems that in recent research, the theoretical focus on the organization of nursing care has been left behind, the increasingly complex healthcare environment might gain from the use of nursing theory, or in this case, care delivery models. As almost no fundamental studies have been done toward the combination of care delivery models, nurse staffing, and skill mix, those elements should be taken into account to fully capture the organization of nursing care in future research. (shrink)

Observing dance improvisation provides a unique opportunity to understand how people collaborate together while creating. It is an opportunity to consider how new ideas appear, not simply from the internal processes of a single creator but rather from the interactions between the minds, bodies and the environment acting on and between a group of improvising dancers. Improvisational scores served in this study as a laboratory into group creativity. Using a video-stimulated recall method, which asks dancers to reflect upon their own (...) processes just after completing the score, I explored the interdependency between meta-cognitive strategies such as imagery and sense awareness, group processes, the role of others in one’s own creative processes, and interactions between bodies and with the environment. As a result I describe how dancers build together a common improvisational space, which allows them to co-create and share their ideas mostly in non-verbal, non-propositional ways. I discuss the co-agency of such a process, showing that intentionality is distributed between dancers at each moment of improvisation and that they are mainly focused on supporting the ideas of others. I also discuss the medium of the body and the embodied response as central to dance improvisation practice. (shrink)

Galen designed the Death Star's primary weapon with knowledge of how to manipulate kyber crystals to enhance energy output. Utilitarian ethics would likely conclude that Galen did the right thing, ultimately saving many more lives than those lost and helping to free the galaxy from the Empire's tyranny. This chapter examines how a utilitarian – concerned with the best overall outcome – and a deontologist – concerned with our fundamental moral duties – would evaluate Galen's choice to cooperate with the (...) Empire. It also examines a potential justification for his serving both the Empire and the Rebel Alliance that may help us to navigate such complex moral dilemmas. Careful analysis of the conditions of moral complicity justifies Galen's collusion so long as he had a reasonable expectation that the Death Star would've been completed anyway, and that there was a reasonable hope of success in its ultimate destruction. (shrink)

The Greek philosopher Aristotle argues that human beings are not born with inclinations toward either virtue or vice; rather, each person's moral character traits are cultivated through a combination of social influence and individual rational choice. Sons of Anarchy relies on our fascination with “anti‐heroes,” morally ambiguous protagonists for whom we often cheer. Aristotle stresses the importance of the right environment for becoming virtuous, especially when it comes to children. Far from being pure, the SAMCROpolis tends to nurture both virtues (...) and vices in its “citizens.”. Part of the show's appeal stems from recognizing the members of SAMCRO as kindred spirits who exemplify‐albeit to dramatic extremes‐the mixture of virtue and vice found in every human being's moral character. The particular mix of virtue and vice that comprises Jax's moral character may, in the end, be exactly what SAMCRO needs at this moment in its history. (shrink)

This book describes the state of astrobiology in Europe today and its relation to the European society at large. With contributions from authors in more than 20 countries and over 30 scientific institutions worldwide, the document illustrates the societal implications of astrobiology and the positive contribution that astrobiology can make to European society. The book has two main objectives: 1. It recommends the establishment of a European Astrobiology Institute (EAI) as an answer to a series of challenges relating to astrobiology (...) but also European research, education, and society at large. 2. It also acknowledges the societal implications of astrobiology, and thus the role of the social sciences and humanities in optimizing the positive contribution that astrobiology can make to the lives of the people of Europe and the challenges they face. (shrink)

There is currently a great debate about whether the holobiont, i.e. a multicellular host and its residential microorganisms, constitutes a biological individual. We propose that resident microorganisms have a general and important role in the individuality of the host organism, not the holobiont. Drawing upon the Equilibrium Model of Immunity, we argue that microorganisms are scaffolds of immune capacities and processes that determine the constituency and persistence of the host organism. A scaffolding perspective accommodates the contingency and heterogeneity of resident (...) microorganisms while accounting for their necessity and unifying contributions to host individuality. In our symbiotic view of life, holobionts may not be organisms or units of selection, but macroorganisms cannot persist nor function as individuals without their scaffolding microorganisms. (shrink)

Based on an analysis of 137 texts written by pupils, this paper examines pupils? humour directed at teachers, its types and social functions. The collected data are divided into three categories that describe different modes of teachers as targets of pupils? humour. The first mode describes teachers as unintentionally comical, the second as duped by their pupils and the third as intentional users of humour. The analysis focuses on different functions that pupils? humour directed at teachers fulfils in the social (...) life of the classroom. The paper concludes by showing how key functions of social humour (such as creation of solidarity, negotiation of power and realisation of personal needs) are connected to the three modes of pupils? humour directed at teachers. (shrink)

Sometimes it seems that our traditional Christian churches - both different and identical denominations - do not share any insignificant differences in rituals, but the abyss. For, agree, believing in one God, the God of mercy and forgiveness, in one Holy Scripture that includes the New Testament, it is not possible to be at war with one another as some Christian Churches in Ukraine are at odds today.

Since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2005, interest has increased in cultural ecosystem services (CESs) research to understand the complexity of the non-material benefits that people obtain from ecosystems. The intangible and interactive characteristics of CESs present many challenges regarding how to approach, quantify and even define CESs. In this paper, we suggest looking at CESs through the lens of embodied and situated cognition theories. We advocate that such an approach should be applied to the development stage of CES research (...) projects, as the embodied and situated experience of the site aids the development of research questions and future interventions. We described a case study—namely, the Environmental Empathy Research Challenge, which took place during the ColLaboratoire 2020 Research Residency in the Philippines. This case shows how interactive, embodied and situated workshops, such as Embodied Empathy and Walking Maps, contributed to developing a research proposal and a novel research framework, ecological embodied cognition (EEC). EEC focuses on the concept of environmental empathy to redefine the human-environment relationship. Further, based on an example of a participatory research activity, Sensing-Playing-Moving, we examined how interventions founded upon EEC principles enhance environmental empathy. (shrink)

In their article, Nielsen Busch and Mjaaland defend the moral permissibility of cDCD, suggesting that much of the controversy around this donation practice has been the result of a misinterpretatio...

Previous studies have emphasized a person’s biological sex as a factor which influences online search behavior. This study aims to investigate how people search online for political information and if gendered online search exists. We examined online search behavior via eye tracking while the participants searched for information about political party positions on the Internet. A content analysis of the eye tracking data followed and was evaluated with a special focus on the role of biological sex and social gender, and (...) the relationship of both factors with other variables, such as self-reported prior political knowledge, political interest, and Internet skills. The results accord with previous studies in that the sex influences the online search process. However, this relationship was partially mediated by self-reported political interest and prior knowledge. This outcome calls for a more critical use of the sex variable in reference to political online search behavior, and the inclusion of sex and gender related variables. (shrink)

Traditional Christian theism holds that God is both transcendent and immanent, meaning that God exists wholly outside of the created universe, outside of space and time, yet interacts with the created universe in myriad ways. Divinizing the world in this way constitutes pantheism – the thesis that God is everywhere, in everything, and does not exist outside of the universe in any fashion. Thus L'Osservatore Romano's central criticism of Avatar is that this film “shows a spiritualism linked to the worship (...) of nature, a fashionable pantheism in which creator and creation are mixed up.” This chapter discribes the three aspects of the Christian worldview: the variety of beings as a manifestation of God's nature in the created universe; the interrelated and interdependent nature of the elements and creatures that comprise the biosphere; and the inherent goodness of allowing beings of all types to flourish in their essential natures. (shrink)

This chapter contains section titled: “A Rational Universe Explained Through Rational Means” “That Is Sin. That Is Evil. And You Are Evil” “You Have a Gift, Kara… And I'm Not Gonna Let You Piss That Away” “The Gods Shall Lift Those Who Lift Each Other” “You Have to Believe in Something” Notes.

This chapter examines the theodicy offered by the Christian philosopher and theologian, St. Augustine of Hippo. This examination of Augustine's theodicy explains the nature of the dark side of the Force to which Anakin succumbed. The chapter first explains Augustine's view of evil and how it relates to good. Like Luke, Augustine argues that moral evil, that is, evil done intentionally by a person is solely the fault of that person. For Augustine, the fault is found in the misuse of (...) a person's God‐given free will. The chapter examines this theodicy through the lens of two heroic Jedi who fall from grace: Anakin Skywalker and his grandson, Jacen. It shows how Augustine's view of the nature and relationship between good and evil opens up the possibility of Anakin's eventual redemption. (shrink)

Pieper follows a philosophical tradition set down by Plato, who bears only a superficial relationship to Plato's Stepchildren (TOS) Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas, all of whom could find some affinity with Star Trek and other sci‐fi/fantasy adventures that tell a good morality tale or stretch the limits of human imagination. Aristotle points out, humans, as rational animals, isn't satisfied with mere pleasure seeking, but is driven to reflect upon the limitless possibilities of existence. The value of festive pursuits during higher (...) times is grounded in the connection between human and divine minds. Socrates set the standard for communal and individual self‐exploration when he emphatically said that the unexamined life is not worth living. Knowledge, according to Aristotle, is not only speculative in nature, encompassing scientific and theoretical reasoning, but also practical, that is, technical and ethical reasoning. (shrink)

Recently, Edward Furton commented on an article that we published in Health Care Ethics USA concerning the philosophical and theological anthropology informing the discussion of appropriate care for individuals with gender dysphoria and intersex conditions. We appreciate the opportunity to clarify the points we made in that article, particularly the metaphysical mechanics underlying our contention that, as part of a unified human person, the human rational soul is sexed. We hope this more in-depth metaphysical explanation shows that Furton’s concern, while (...) valid insofar as our position may have needed clarifying, is nevertheless ill-founded with respect to our contention that actually existent human rational souls are sexed. (shrink)

In the present study, we explored the role of liking in the social induction of affect. Dispositional likeability was manipulated by written reports describing a sender as a likeable or dislikeable character. Afterwards participants watched short videos presenting the sender displaying happy or sad emotional expressions. We expected that exposure to the likeable sender would lead to reactions concordant with his emotional expression, whereas exposure to the dislikeable sender would result in discordant reactions. The results indicated that dispositional likeability influenced (...) the social induction of affect when the sender expressed positive emotions. Moreover, liking mediated the effects of the happy sender’s dispositional likeability on participants’ affective state. Exposure to the sad sender, however, led to assimilation regardless of the sender’s dispositional likeability. (shrink)

Many Catholics have expressed hesitancy or resistance to being vaccinated for COVID-19, with magisterial authorities and influential Catholic organizations advocating divergent views regarding the moral liceity of the vaccines, the justification of vaccination mandates, and whether such mandates should include religious exemptions. We address each of these disputed points and argue that vaccination for COVID-19 falls within the definition of being an ordinary—and thereby morally obligatory—treatment. To that end, we offer a brief overview of the Catholic moral tradition regarding the (...) development of the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary treatment, show how the Church morally evaluates vaccination as a good act, and underline the importance of positive witnessing in supporting vaccination. (shrink)

Bioethics, Volume 36, Issue 7, Page 783-793, September 2022.

Die bis in unsere Gegenwart hineinreichende Gewissheit, dass es sich bei ästhetischer Praxis um die Praxis von Künstlern und die Wahrnehmung von Kunst durch ein Publikum handeln müsse, ist brüchig geworden. Eine Reihe von Indizien legen den Schluss nahe, dass der Bereich ästhetischer Praktiken und das Kunstfeld in der Gesellschaft eine nur noch partiale Deckung aufweisen. Beispiele für ästhetische Praktiken finden sich in der Mode, der Werbung und dem Design ebenso wie in den neuen Medien sowie in der Musik- und (...) Videospielindustrie. Aber auch Kosmetik-Ketten und Parfümerien, Schönheitschirurgen, Tätowierungsshops, Büros für Inneneinrichtung- und Landschaftsarchitektur, Blumenläden sowie Wellnessbetriebe annoncieren ihre Produkte und Dienstleistungen als ästhetisch. Angesichts des sowohl rasant steigenden Gebrauchs des Adjektivs „ästhetisch“ in der alltäglichen Lebenspraxis als auch des vermehrten wissenschaftlichen Bedürfnisses, das „Ästhetische“ an (bis dato) unverdächtigen Stellen in der Gesellschaft nachzuweisen, sind die Beiträge dieses Bandes entlang einer Leitfragestellung organisiert: Soll man das verstärkte Aufkommen ästhetischer Praktiken in der Gesellschaft in einer eher kulturwissenschaftlichen und -soziologischen Perspektive verstehen und also als eine „Selbstentgrenzung der Künste“? Oder zieht man dazu besser eine zwar nur äußerst selten gebrauchte, nichtsdestotrotz ebenso einprägsame wie aufschlussreiche Formel Adornos heran und begreift die Ästhetisierung der Gesellschaft als eine „Entkunstung der Kunst“? (shrink)