The integration of biomedical terminologies is indispensable to the process of information integration. When terminologies are linked merely through the alignment of their leaf terms, however, differences in context and ontological structure are ignored. Making use of the SNAP and SPAN ontologies, we show how three reference domain ontologies can be integrated at a higher level, through what we shall call the OBR framework (for: Ontology of Biomedical Reality). OBR is designed to facilitate inference across the boundaries of domain ontologies (...) in anatomy, physiology and pathology. (shrink)

The Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT-2) and Engineering Ethical Reasoning Instrument (EERI) are designed to measure ethical reasoning of general (DIT-2) and engineering-student (EERI) populations. These tools—and the DIT-2 especially—have gained wide usage for assessing the ethical reasoning of undergraduate students. This paper reports on a research study in which the ethical reasoning of first-year undergraduate engineering students at multiple universities was assessed with both of these tools. In addition to these two instruments, students were also asked to create personal (...) concept maps of the phrase “ethical decision-making.” It was hypothesized that students whose instrument scores reflected more postconventional levels of moral development and more sophisticated ethical reasoning skills would likewise have richer, more detailed concept maps of ethical decision-making, reflecting their deeper levels of understanding of this topic and the complex of related concepts. In fact, there was no significant correlation between the instrument scores and concept map scoring, suggesting that the way first-year students _conceptualize_ ethical decision making does not predict the way they behave when _performing_ scenario-based ethical reasoning (perhaps more situated). This disparity indicates a need to more precisely quantify engineering ethical reasoning and decision making, if we wish to inform assessment outcomes using the results of such quantitative analyses. (shrink)

Don didn’t grasp what would eventually come to be one of the most successful ad campaigns ever because he didn’t recognise the person presenting the evidence as being appropriately trustworthy. He failed to know because Dr Guttman’s say-so was not enough to provide justification for a belief. But why would he think that? To get to the bottom of this, we need the help of an analytical approach known as standpoint theory.

On Visishtadvaita vedanta philosophy of Rāmānuja, 1017-1137, Hindu philosopher.

Dada continues to attract a small following among scholars, but has perhaps not yet been recognized as providing invaluable insight into the underlying functions and potentials of culture generally. This article explores the nature and theoretical import of Dada, and two radically different visions of culture as they might try to accommodate and explain Dada. Models of culture taken from Bourdieu and Nietzsche are brought to bear, first on Dada, and then on each other, with the aim of developing a (...) theoretically informed understanding of Dada, and also demonstrating the practical, political and philosophical difficulties involved in choosing between a conflict model of culture and an `existential' model. Ultimately, both models are found to be helpful but insufficient at providing an adequate account of Dada, and it is suggested that present models of cultural analysis can benefit by revisiting both Dada and Nietzsche, trying to incorporate their insights and critically evaluate their visions of culture. (shrink)

This book offers a multifaceted exploration of death and the possibilities for an afterlife. By incorporating a variety of approaches to these subjects, it provides a unique framework for extending and reshaping enduring philosophical debates around human existence up to and after death. Featuring original essays from a diverse group of international scholars, the book is arranged in four main sections. Firstly, it addresses how death is or should be experienced, engaging with topics such as near-death experiences, continuing bonds with (...) the deceased, and attitudes toward dying. Secondly, it looks at surviving death, addressing the metaphysics of human persons, the nature of time, the nature of the true self, and the nature of the divine. It then evaluates the value of mortality and immortality, drawing upon the resources of the history of philosophy, meta-analysis of contemporary debates, and the analogy between individual death and species extinction. Finally, it explores what an eternal life might be like, examining the place of selflessness, embodiment, and racial identity in such a life. This volume allows for a variety of philosophical and theological perspectives to be brought to bear on the end of life and what might be beyond. As such, it will be a fascinating resource for scholars in the Philosophy of Religion, Theology and Death Studies. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Semiotica Jahrgang: 2015 Heft: 203 Seiten: 53-78.

A radical suspicion regarding the value of productivity figures centrally in the work of Herbert Marcuse. In his view, socially necessary productivity historically constituted the primary hindrance to achieving human potential. In Eros and Civilization he argues, “The work that created and enlarged the material basis of civilization was chiefly labor, alienated labor, painful and miserable—and still is.”1 He makes a similar point in One-Dimensional Man, but in more hopeful terms, when he suggests that “truth and a true human existence” (...) stand just beyond “the realm of necessity.”2 Thus, on the one hand, the technological advancement of industry opens the…. (shrink)

Weismann's famous test of inheritance assumes that inherited traits will persist in the absence of the environment that first produced them; while, on the other hand, environmental traits are more transitory. The purpose of this paper is to show that this Weismannian criterion is inconsistent and equivocal, and should, therefore, be recognized as one of the obsolete dogmas of heredity. Equivocal interpretation of relevant experiments is possible. Failure to distinguish active from passive environmental changes has been responsible for much confusion (...) in genetic thinking. It is argued that the Lamarckian problem is a spurious problem—the illegitimate offspring of an equivocal distinction between inherited and acquired characteristics. Also considered are: homeostasis and heredity, the chemical theory of development, inadequacies in germinal theories, and genetic relationship between life levels. 26 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)

The urgency of the paper is to explore the impact of the latest discoveries of the exact and human sciences on the activities of higher education in its ideological perspective. There is a tendency to increasing interest of medical students not only in professional issues, but also in the general atmosphere of changes in health care and the requirements already formulated by the society of the future. The purpose of the article is to continue our study of the historical and (...) philosophical evolution of humanistic ideas and views from the ideas of the times of Antiquity up to modern theories and futuristic predictions. The problem of the study is to analyze the phenomenon of transhumanism as the result of unrealistic expectations about the easy implementation of most people's dreams of health, happiness and even immortality. The prospects of development of means and methods of "artificial intelligence" are also studied. The research methods consist of combining the achievements of classical philosophy with the successes of the youngest sciences that study human beings, operate large data, use foresight and other means of forecasting. The central new notions are noosciences and nootechnologies, which are able to save mankind from the threats to its existence. Results of the research : a philosophical analysis of the new worldview – transhumanism has been undertaken in the article. The reasons for its appearance in the second half of the twentieth century are explained. The social and scientific sources and the main stages of the consolidation of supporters of transhumanism in the world and national associations have been studied. The variety of proposals of transhumanists and their relative unity as to the need for "human perfection" have been also studied. The main variants of "Transhumanistic manifestos " have been analyzed and showed the existence of two flows of proposals - technological and those oriented on changes in human behavior. It is proved that in our time transhumanism is an option of fundraising - the collection of donations from the very rich people who strive to live longer than it is possible now. It is indicated that transhumanism is supported by the male segment of the citizens of the West, who are keen on technological progress and, above all, fear of death. The position of T-m is positive for medical research. The conclusion s of our study showed the fact that existing variants of transhumanistic studies use only a minority of modern and promising technologies. Even leading scientists from Western Europe do not notice that among the nanotechnologies, the number of environmentally friendly nootechnologies is slowly growing. A group of scholars are studying these technologies and offering an increasing number of noosciences. We have chosen for our study the notion of "noohumanism". The article proves that in worldview and educational aspects noohumanism based on the noosciences has not only significant creative advantages over transhumanism, but is also devoid of its shortcomings. Medical and other sectors of higher education in Ukraine should rely on noohumanism, not transhumanism. (shrink)