Introduction The starting point is that ethical competence is the basis for ethical healthcare practices and quality of care. Simultaneously, there is a need for research and development from a holistic multi-professional perspective. Aim The aim is to create a proposed model for multi-professional ethical competence grounded in clarified meanings and dimensions of ethical competence studied from a multi-professional healthcare perspective. The research questions are, what is ethical competence from a multi-professional healthcare perspective and what strengthens a multi-professional ethical healthcare (...) practice? Research design The research has a qualitative approach and hermeneutic application research design. Two groups with six participants from clinical practice and two scientific researchers in each group met four times for dialogue. Thematic analysis was used as an analysis method. Ethical considerations The research is approved by the Declaration of Helsinki, the General Data Protection Regulations, and ethical permission was asked from the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD). Results The proposed model for multi-professional ethical competence encompasses a three-dimensional ethical value base that is underpinned by: Ethical attitude – a personal desire to do good; Ethical basis – the best for the patient as a common goal and Ethical culture – common goals and values in the organization. Multi-professional ethical competence is strengthened by: Reflection – to see with new wondering eyes; Time for talk – interdisciplinary teamwork and Leadership – an ethical role model and support. Discussion Ethical competence has a strong link to the core of caring ethics and a deeper personal value base and attitude. Ethical competence involves the whole culture and is seen as a shared value base and a responsibility to do the best for the patient as a multi-professional team and organization. Ethical competence becomes active in healthcare practice by opening up for meaningful multi-professional talks and reflections. (shrink)

Background Previous studies have shown that the rapid transition to emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for healthcare teachers in many ways. This sudden change made them face ethical dilemmas that challenged their values and ethical competence. Research aim This study aimed to explore and gain a deeper understanding of the ethical dilemmas healthcare teachers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research design This was an inductive qualitative study using a hermeneutic approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and (...) analysed thematically. Participants and research context Healthcare teachers ( n = 20) from eight universities and universities of applied sciences in the Nordic and Baltic countries participated. Ethical considerations This study was based on the research ethics of the Norwegian National Research Ethics Committee for Medicine and Health Sciences and approved by the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research. Findings Healthcare teachers faced several ethical dilemmas due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis revealed three main themes: How should I deal with students’ ill-being, and what can I as a teacher do?; What can I demand from myself and my students, what is good teaching?; How do I manage the heavy workload and everyone’s needs, and who gets my time? Conclusions This study highlights the importance of healthcare teachers’ continuous need for pedagogic and didactic education, especially considering new technology and ethical issues. During the pandemic, the ethical consequences of remote teaching became evident. Ethical values and ethical dilemmas should be addressed in healthcare education programmes at different levels, especially in teacher education programmes. In the coming years, remote teaching will grow. Therefore, we need more research on this issue from an ethical perspective on its possible consequences for students and healthcare teachers. (shrink)

Background: Genomic analysis may reveal both primary and secondary findings with direct relevance to the health of probands’ biological relatives. Researchers question their obligations to return findings not only to participants but also to family members. Given the social value of privacy protection, should researchers offer a proband’s results to family members, including after the proband’s death? Methods: Preferences were elicited using interviews and a survey. Respondents included probands from two pancreatic cancer research resources, plus biological and nonbiological family members. (...) Hypothetical scenarios based on actual research findings from the two cancer research resources were presented; participants were asked return of results preferences and justifications. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed; survey data were analyzed descriptively. Results: Fifty-one individuals (17 probands, 21 biological relatives, 13 spouses/partners) were interviewed. Subsequently, a mailed survey was returned by 464 probands, 1,040 biological family members, and 399 spouses/partners. This analysis highlights the interviews, augmented by survey findings. Probands and family members attribute great predictive power and lifesaving potential to genomic information. A majority hold that a proband’s genomic results relevant to family members’ health ought to be offered. While informants endorse each individual’s choice whether to learn results, most express a strong moral responsibility to know and to share, particularly with the younger generation. Most have few concerns about sharing genetic information within the family; rather, their concerns focus on the health consequences of not sharing. Conclusions: Although additional studies in diverse populations are needed, policies governing return of genomic results should consider how families understand genomic data, how they value confidentiality within the family, and whether they endorse an ethics of sharing. A focus on respect for individual privacy—without attention to how the broad social and cultural context shapes preferences within families—cannot be the sole foundation of policy. (shrink)

Background: There are few standardized measures available to assess executive function in a naturalistic setting for children. The Children’s Cooking Task is a complex test that has been specifically developed to assess EF in a standardized open-ended environment. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, sensitivity and specificity, and also convergent and divergent validity of the Norwegian version of CCT among children with pediatric Acquired Brain Injury and healthy controls.Methods: The present study has (...) a cross-sectional design, based on baseline data derived from a multicenter RCT. Seventy-five children with pABI from two university hospitals with parent-reported executive dysfunction and minimum of 12 months since injury/completed cancer therapy, as well as 59 HCs aged 10–17 years, were assessed with CCT using total errors as the main outcome measure. The pABI group completed tests assessing EF on the impairment level within the ICF framework, and on the participation level. In addition, they completed tests of intellectual ability, processing speed, attention, learning, and memory. Finally, overall functional outcome was evaluated for the children with pABI.Results: Acceptable internal consistency and good inter-rater reliability were found for the CCT. Children with pABI performed significantly worse on the CCT than the HCs. The CCT identified group membership, but the sensitivity and specificity were overall classified as poor. Convergent validity was demonstrated by associations between the CCT and performance-based tests assessing inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory, as well as teacher-reported executive dysfunction. Divergent validity was supported by the lack of association with performance-based measures of learning and memory, attention, and verbal intellectual ability. However, there was a moderate association between the CCT and performance-based tests of processing speed. Lastly, better performance on the CCT was associated with a better functional outcome.Conclusion: Our study with a relatively large sample of children with pABI and HC’s demonstrated good psychometric properties of the CCT. CCT performance was associated with the overall level of disability and function, suggesting that CCT is related to the level of activity in everyday life and participation in society. Hence, our study suggests that the CCT has the potential to advance the assessment of EF by providing a valid analysis of real-world performance. Nevertheless, further research is needed on larger samples, focusing on predictors of task performance, and evaluating the ability of CCT to detect improvement in EF over time. The patterns of error and problem-solving strategies evaluated by the CCT could be used to inform neuropsychological rehabilitation treatmentand represent a more valid outcome measure of rehabilitation interventions. (shrink)

IntroductionDrug-related deaths are a major public health challenge. Losing a child to a DRD can be a very stressful life event, which places parents at risk of mental and physical health problems. However, traumatic experiences like losing a child to DRD can paradoxically also lead to positive psychological changes. A mixed-method approach was used to understand the complexity of the phenomenon of post-traumatic growth experienced by parents following a DRD.MethodBy combining data from a survey and interviews, we explored positive growth (...) experiences among Norwegian parents. We conducted descriptive analyses of the sample’s demographic characteristics and mean scores for Post-traumatic Growth Inventory items. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the influence of the ability to perform daily activities, self-efficacy, social support, and symptoms of prolonged grief on the outcome variable of post-traumatic growth. Reflexive thematic analysis was applied to analyze the qualitative data. Finally, we integrated the results of the survey and the interviews.ResultsFor items measuring post-traumatic growth, parents scored highest on the item “I discovered that I’m stronger than I thought I was” and lowest on the item “I am able to do better things with my life.” Self-efficacy and social support had a statistically significant relation with post-traumatic growth. Two themes were generated from the interviews: new perspectives on life and new paths in life. Even though the “New Possibilities” subscale had the lowest mean score for the PTGI-SF, new paths in life were important for many of the interviewed parents.DiscussionParents described traumatic stressors associated with having a child who uses narcotics and hence experienced positive changes even before losing their child. We argue that on an individual level, the consequences of spillover stigma, low self-efficacy, and intrusive rumination can hinder potential post-traumatic growth. On a group level, enhancing network support may increase post-traumatic growth experiences. Hence, parents who have experienced a DRD can benefit from help to activate their social networks and strengthen their self-efficacy. (shrink)

Study on religious and social values of people as influenced by the philosophical views of Ramakrishna, 1836-1886 in his time.

This article aims to present polemical exchanges over capital punishment that were conducted in interwar Poland. By using the analytical method and the source texts found in the press and the minutes of the Codification Committee, the author wants to trace the evolution of views on the death penalty and its usefulness in the state policy. The opinions on the subject differed considerably which was common not only for the interwar period. Back in the 19th century, when the first statements (...) on capital punishment had been published in newspapers, they had ended with completely different conclusions. Advocates for the abolition of the death penalty had emphasized first of all its ineffectiveness as well as the doubts of a religious and moral nature, which had led to a conclusion that the state could not take away a person’s life. Whereas supporters of the death penalty had believed that, in view of the low level of civilisation development of individual communities, giving up the possibility to impose the death sentence could have contributed to an uncontrolled rise in crime rates. They had also emphasized that public opinion demanded the retaining of capital punishment and acting against it would have resulted in various manifestations of public unrest. The death penalty had not been abolished in Poland during the interwar period but the exchange of arguments during those years had laid the foundations for the future changes in that area. They occurred at the end of the 20th century. (shrink)

Kara – jako immanentny element społeczeństwa – jest obiektem szeroko zakrojonych badań teoretyków różnych dziedzin – prawników, filozofów jak i socjologów. Bardzo często refleksje na jej temat wiązały się z artykułowaniem określonych postulatów – analiza tego, czym jest kara, przybierała tu postać twierdzeń o tym, czym kara być powinna. Dopiero wiek XIX przyniósł głębsze zainteresowanie historią kary. To wtedy właśnie analizy karania zaczęły przyjmować charakter deskryptywny, starając się ująć, jaką funkcję przypisywano karze w danym społeczeństwie w określonym momencie historycznym. Wydaje (...) się, że właśnie w tym paradygmacie należy osadzić to, co na temat przeobrażeń systemów karania miał do powiedzenia Michel Foucault. Charakterystyczne dla Foucaultowskiego ujęcia procesu przeobrażeń systemu karania byłoby przy tym to, że karę traktuje on jako „złożoną funkcję społeczną” a towarzyszące jej metody analizuje nie jako „proste konsekwencje przepisów prawa (…), ale jako swoiste techniki, które należałoby widzieć w szerszym kontekście metod sprawowania władzy”. Dokonana przez Foucaulta analiza ukazuje, że dana forma karania jest ściśle sprzężona z aktualną technologią władzy – służy wsparciu władzy i realizacji właściwych jej celów. Przyjęte przez Foucaulta założenie, by karę ujmować w pierwszym rzędzie jako funkcję polityczno-społeczną, a właściwie środek sprawowania władzy, otwiera nowe możliwości zrozumienia nie tylko historycznych metod karnych, lecz umożliwia również zrozumienie wciąż kontrowersyjnego zjawiska więziennictwa. Opis dostarczony przez francuskiego historyka idei pozwala uzasadnić fakt, że trwające od prawie 200 lat więziennictwo, mimo często druzgocącej krytyki, wciąż stanowi podstawę systemu karnego. Paradoksalny - bo permanentny - kryzys więziennictwa oznacza, że więziennictwo – w takiej samej mierze, w jakiej kiedyś starało się realizować funkcje właściwe władzy dyscyplinarnej – dzisiaj jest narzędziem realizującym funkcje właściwe biowładzy. Na kanwie analizy karania zaproponowanej przez Foucaulta trwanie więziennictwa wynika z faktu, że to, co z perspektywy starego modelu władzy dyscyplinarnej jawi się jako porażka - a więc zjawisko recydywy czy niesprawiedliwość systemu karnego – z perspektywy biowładzy jawi się jako pochodna nowych sposobów sprawowania władzy. (shrink)

W niniejszym tekście próbuję krytycznie przeanalizować artykuł Saula Smilansky’ego o modlitwie prośby z punktu widzenia filozofii i teologii tomistycznej. Najbardziej kontrowersyjne wydają mi się następujące elementy: 1. Odmowa zastosowania zasady podwójnego skutku do jednego z opisanych w artykule przypadków. Uważam, że ta odmowa jest zakorzeniona w wątpliwym rozumieniu prawa do obrony samego siebie; 2. Niedocenienie roli sprawiedliwej kary w rządach Opatrzności; 3. Nieznajomość albo niechęć do wprowadzenia pojęcia „dopustu Bożego”; 4. Nie do końca trafne psychologiczne spostrzeżenia dotyczące ludzki modlących się (...) do Boga o pomoc w skrajnie trudnych okolicznościach. Najogólniej rzecz ujmując, większość problemów poruszana przez Smilansky’ego tylko akcydentalnie dotyczy zagadnienia sensowności modlitwy prośby. Powstanie tych problemów wiąże się raczej z takimi a nie innymi rozwiązaniami problemów moralnych niż z modlitwą prośby jako taką. (shrink)

Artykuł prezentuje koncepcję śmierci pióra najwybitniejszego znawcy myśli św. Tomasza w Niemczech w XX wieku. Sformułował ją zasadniczo w czterech następujących dziełach: Tod und Unsterblichkeit, Unsterblichkeit - eine nicht - christliche Vorstellung, Tod und Unsterblichkeit, Herkunftslose Zukunft und Hoffnung ohne Grund. Nawiązywał do tej problematyki w trzech innych pracach: Uber den Bergriff der Sunde, Herkunftslose Zukunft und Hoffnung ohne Grund, Uber platonischen Mythen. Interpretację śmierci i umierania wyznacza u Piepera, potwierdzana przez współczesne nauki empiryczne jako słuszna, realistyczna koncepcja człowieka oraz (...) wizja egzystencji ludzkiej wyrażona w metaforze pielgrzymowania. Smierć postrzega Pieper jako zjawisko naturalne, a zarazem przeciwne naturze ludzkiej - efekt procesu, któremu z konieczności podlega każdy człowiek. Jednocześnie paradoksalnie śmierć jawi się jako akt najbardziej wolny, zawsze świadomy, pochodzący z głębi osoby. Czyni on człowieka spełnionym, czyli doskonałym, pod warunkiem że oznacza decyzję dobrą, właściwą, tj. wskazuje na przejście do rzeczywistości wyższej. Pieper akcentuje inne jeszcze elementy śmierci i umierania, a czyni to w polemice z trzema nurtami myśli współczesnej, które z perspektywy antropologii Tomasza naznaczone są błędnymi rozwiązaniami. Myśliciel z Munster podkreśla więc, iż śmierć nie jest pozornym, lecz przeciwnie - rzeczywistym zjawiskiem, dosięga bowiem całego duchowocielesnego człowieka. Nie gaśnie wszakże cały człowiek, nadzieja na przezwyciężenie śmierci zakłada niezniszczalność duszy ludzkiej, lęk przed śmiercią złagodzić może dostrzeżenie w niej elementu kary, a nie jego negacja. Swymi analizami o śmierci i umieraniu Pieper ubogaca współczesną myśl niemiecką z dwóch powodów: po pierwsze, prezentuje ostateczne sytuacje życia ludzkiego w kontekście nadziei na ich przezwyciężenie; po drugie, śmierć ukazuje jako spełnienie egzystencji. (shrink)

How is it that we think and refer in the first-person way? For most philosophers in the analytic tradition, the problem is essentially this: how two apparently conflicting kinds of properties can be reconciled and united as properties of the same entity. What is special about the first person has to be reconciled with what is ordinary about it. The range of responses reduces to four basic options. The orthodox view is optimistic: there really is a way of reconciling these (...) apparently contradictory properties as contained within the same thing. The heretical views are pessimistic and content to be so: there is no such way, and that is because there is simply nothing to reconcile – because there is really nothing special about what is in question; or there is really nothing ordinary about it; or there is really nothing …. (shrink)

The overall purpose of this cross-country Nordic study was to gain further knowledge about maintaining and promoting dignity in nursing home residents. The purpose of this article is to present results pertaining to the following question: How is nursing home residents’ dignity maintained, promoted or deprived from the perspective of family caregivers? In this article, we focus only on indignity in care. This study took place at six different nursing home residences in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Data collection methods in (...) this part of this study consisted of individual research interviews. Altogether, the sample consisted of 28 family caregivers of nursing home residents. The empirical material was interpreted using a hermeneutical approach. The overall theme that emerged was as follows: ‘A feeling of being abandoned’. The sub-themes are designated as follows: deprived of the feeling of belonging, deprived of dignity due to acts of omission, deprived of confirmation, deprived of dignity due to physical humiliation, deprived of dignity due to psychological humiliation and deprived of parts of life. (shrink)

In this study, we propose and test a model of the effects of organizational ethical culture and organizational architecture on the perceived unethical behavior of employees towards customers. This study also examines the relationship between organizational ethical culture and moral acceptability judgment, hypothesizing that moral acceptability judgment is an important stage in the ethical decision-making process. Based on a field study in one of the largest financial institutions in Europe, we found that organizational ethical culture was significantly related to the (...) perceived frequency of unethical behavior towards customers and to the moral acceptability judgment of this type of unethical behavior. No support was found for the claim that features of organizational architecture are associated with the perceived frequency of unethical behavior towards customers. This is the first study to document the differential effects of organizational architecture and organizational ethical culture on perceived unethical behavior of employees towards customers, in wholesale banking. Implications for managers and future research are discussed. (shrink)

1. Kodae ch'ŏrhak sasang -- 2. Chungse ch'ŏrhak sasang 1 (Se nara sigi wa Parhae mit hugi Silla sigi) -- 3. Chungse ch'ŏrhak sasang 2 (Koryŏ sigi) -- 4. Chungse ch'ŏrhak sasang 3 (Yijo chŏnban'gi) -- 5. Chungse ch'ŏrhak sasang 4 (Yijo hugan'gi) -- 6. Chungse ch'ŏrhak sasang 5 (Yijo hugan'gi) -- 7. Kŭndae ch'ŏrhak sasang 1 -- 8. Kŭndae ch'ŏrhak sasang 2 -- 9. Puryo pulgul ŭi hyŏngmyŏng t'usa Kim Hyŏng-jik Sŏnsaengnim ŭi ch'ŏrhak sasang -- 10. Widaehan suryŏng Kim (...) Il-sŏng Tongji ŭi ch'ŏrhak sasang 1 -- 11. Widaehan suryŏng Kim Il-sŏng Tongji ŭi ch'ŏrhak sasang 2 -- 12. Widaehan suryŏng Kim Il-sŏng Tongji ŭi ch'ŏrhak sasang 3 -- 13. Widaehan yŏngdoja Kim Chŏng-il Tongji ŭi ch'ŏrhak sasang 1 -- 14. Widaehan yŏngdoja Kim Chŏng-il Tongji ŭi ch'ŏrhak sasang 2 -- 15. Widaehan yŏngdoja Kim Chŏng-il Tongji ŭi ch'ŏrhak sasang 3. (shrink)

In this paper, we report on the development and validity of the Professional Decision-Making in Research measure, a vignette-based test that examines decision-making strategies used by investigators when confronted with challenging situations in the context of empirical research. The PDR was administered online with a battery of validity measures to a group of NIH-funded researchers and research trainees who were diverse in terms of age, years of experience, types of research, and race. The PDR demonstrated adequate reliability and parallel form (...) correlation. As hypothesized, the PDR was significantly negatively correlated with narcissism, cynicism, moral disengagement, and compliance disengagement; it was not correlated with socially desirable responding. In regression analysis, the strongest predictors of higher PDR scores were low compliance disengagement, speaking English as a native language, conducting clinical research with human subjects, and low levels of narcissism. Given that the PDR was written at an eighth grade reading level to be suitable for use with English as a second language participants and that only one-fourth of items focused on clinical research, further research into the possible roles of culture and research ethics training across specialties is warranted. This initial validity study demonstrates the potential usefulness of the PDR as an educational outcome assessment measure and a research instrument for studies on professionalism and integrity in research. (shrink)

Discussion of J. Kevin O’Regan’s “Why Red Doesn’t Sound Like a Bell: Understanding the Feel of Consciousness” Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-20 DOI 10.1007/s13164-012-0090-7 Authors J. Kevin O’Regan, Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, CNRS - Université Paris Descartes, Centre Biomédical des Saints Pères, 45 rue des Sts Pères, 75270 Paris cedex 06, France Ned Block, Departments of Philosophy, Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, 5 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA Journal Review of Philosophy and (...) Psychology Online ISSN 1878-5166 Print ISSN 1878-5158. (shrink)

Over the past several decades, a large number of publications have claimed that there are important similarities between mindfulness and phenomenology, with a particular emphasis on the epoché and phenomenological reduction. We argue that these comparisons trade on a rather superficial and often misleading presentation of phenomenology. The epoché-reduction is treated either as a matter of bracketing our 'theoretical baggage' so as to allow for a full disclosure and precise description of the objects of experience, or as a matter of (...) bracketing our preoccupation with and absorption in worldly affairs so as to allow for a close attention to subjective acts. Both interpretations mischaracterize the proper scope of phenomenology, namely the subject-object (mind-world) correlation. Furthermore, both miss the theoretical, systematic, and (most importantly) philosophical character of phenomenology. We suggest that, in the end, comparisons between phenomenology and Buddhism would be better off focusing on Buddhist philosophy, rather than Buddhist meditative practice. (shrink)

Prior studies in business ethics highlight the role of philanthropy in shaping stakeholders’ perceptions of a firm’s underlying moral tendencies and values. Scholars argue that philanthropy-based character inferences influence whether and how stakeholders engage with firms. We extend this line of reasoning to examine the impact of philanthropy on firms’ contracting costs in the capital market. We posit that philanthropy-based character inferences reduce investors’ agency concerns, thereby reducing firms’ cost of capital. We also posit that the strength of the philanthropy–cost (...) of capital relationship is contingent on uncertainty regarding a firm’s character, visibility of a firm, and prevailing philanthropic norms. We test and find support for our arguments in a longitudinal study of philanthropy and the cost of capital. Our findings have implications for business ethics research on corporate philanthropy and corporate social performance and for organizational research on social judgment. (shrink)

In this paper I want to propose that we see solipsism as arising from certain problems we have about identifying ourselves as subjects in an objective world. The discussion will centre on Wittgenstein’s treatment of solipsism in his Tractatus Logico- Philosophicus. In that work Wittgenstein can be seen to express an unusually profound understanding of the problems faced in trying to give an account of how we, who are subjects, identify ourselves as objects in the world. We have in his (...) compressed remarks, the kernels of a number of arguments which all come together to form what can be called the problem of self-identification. I want to argue that the solipsism of the Tractatus arises at least in part as a solution to, or – to put it less optimistically – as a symptom or articulation of this problem. In approaching Wittgenstein’s early discussion of solipsism in this way I will obviously be in disagreement with some other interpretations of the work. For example, there are those who think that there is no ‘solipsism of the Tractatus’.1 In fact, the Tractarian arguments presented below as motivating solipsism have been seen as fulfilling the quite opposite function of refuting it. I do not intend in this piece to engage with alternative interpretations. Let me say a little bit about why I have granted myself the licence not to do so. First, the focus of my concern with solipsism is on how it connects with what I have called the problem of self-identification. While it is a concern that emerged in an attempt to make sense of Wittgenstein’s remarks in. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:The Adoro Te Devote of St. Thomas AquinasSr. Lucia Marie of the Visitation Langford O.P.The Adoro te devote is perhaps the most well-beloved Eucharistic hymn of our time, popularly attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas, the medieval Dominican friar known for his theological treatises as well as his Eucharistic hymnography. Unlike most of Aquinas's work, the poem reveals the intensely personal side of his faith. Rich in theological content and (...) inspiring deep Eucharistic devotion, this poem amply repays a closer investigation. We will look first at the questions of authorship, background, and structure before moving on to a discussion of the text itself.The "Disputed Question" of AuthorshipWhile the Adoro te has traditionally been attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas, the Thomistic authorship of the text was contested in the twentieth century, with two main objections being raised. The first claims that the content of the poem contradicts Thomas's own teachings and cannot have flowed from the same pen. The second objection is historical, claiming that a lack of evidence makes Thomistic authorship improbable.The first objection, claiming that the content of the poem is irreconcilable with Thomistic authorship, takes objection to a line in the poem which seems to claim that sense perception is unreliable and inaccurate, at least with regard to the Eucharist. The text of the Adoro te uses the word fallitur (deceived) with reference to the senses: "Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur"—"Sight, touch, taste in you are deceived." Some scholars have claimed that this line contradicts the teaching of Aquinas that the senses are [End Page 365] infallible in regard to their proper sensibles.1 Robert Wielockx addresses this charge in his study of the Adoro te, arguing that "the text does not contradict the continuous teaching of Thomas according to which the senses are not wrong when they judge their proper object, which as far as the Eucharist is concerned, is only the sacramental species."2 The substantial presence of Christ in the Eucharist is a mystery which is not knowable by the senses, and as Paul Murray, O.P., observes: "That's surely the point St. Thomas is making."3 However, the Thomistic insistence that all knowledge comes through our senses is not missing even here. While sight, touch, and taste fall short of comprehending the truth before them, the Adoro te itself proclaims that it is another sense—hearing—which reveals the mystery: "sed auditu solo tute creditur"—"but by hearing alone it is safely believed."4Thus there is no solid objection to Thomistic authorship based on the poem's content. But what about the historical evidence? Dom André Wilmart published a comprehensive study of the manuscript tradition in 1929. Noting that there were no extant copies of the text dating to Aquinas's lifetime and that the biography of Aquinas written by his own Dominican confrere and contemporary, William of Tocco, made no mention of the Adoro te, he considered it most probable that the poem was authored at a later date and ascribed to Aquinas.5However, Dom Wilmart did not know that he was not working with William of Tocco's final version of his work. The publication of a critical edition of William of Tocco's Ystoria Sancti Thome de Aquino in 1996 demonstrated that Tocco published his work in four successive redactions. The fourth and final version of his text (unknown to Dom Wilmart) was finished just before his death in 1323, and in this final version, Tocco includes the text of the Adoro te, attributing its authorship to St. Thomas.6 [End Page 366] Furthermore, Wielockx published a study of the Adoro te in 1998; his investigation of the manuscript tradition found that, of fifty-one sources, forty-four explicitly cite St. Thomas as their author. The remaining sources simply lacked any attribution. We may thus conclude with Wielockx: "External evidence, which must be given priority in sound criticism, wholly favors Thomas Aquinas's authorship of the poem."7BackgroundWith the attribution of the poem to St. Thomas Aquinas on secure footing, we now move to the background of the poem. Unlike Aquinas's Eucharistic hymns such as... (shrink)

Background Equal access to healthcare is a core principle in Norway’s public healthcare system. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged healthcare systems in the early phase – in particular, related to testing and hospital capacity. There is little knowledge on how older people experienced being infected with an unfamiliar and severe disease, and how they experienced the need for healthcare early in the pandemic Aim To explore the experiences of older people infected by COVID-19 and their need for testing and hospitalisation. Research (...) design An explorative and descriptive approach, with qualitative interviews conducted in October 2020. Participants and research context Seventeen participants above 60 years of age hospitalised due to COVID-19 during spring 2020 were recruited 6 months after discharge. Ethical considerations Ethical approval was granted by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics in South-Eastern Norway (155425). Findings The main finding was that the informants experienced vulnerability and arbitrariness. This finding was supported by three sub-themes: experiences with a severe and unfamiliar disease, the strict criteria and the importance of someone advocating needs. Discussion Participants described varying access to healthcare. Those who did not meet the national criteria to be tested or hospitalised struggled against the system. Findings reveal arbitrary access to healthcare, in contrast to Norway’s ethical principle of fair and just access to health services. Moreover, to access and receive necessary healthcare, informants were dependent on their next-of-kin’s advocacy. Conclusion Even when dealing with an unfamiliar disease, health professionals’ assessments of symptoms must be performed with an ethical obligation to applicate competent appraisal and the exercise of discernment; this is in line with care ethics and ethical standards for nurses. These perspectives are a significant part of caring and the intension of doing good. (shrink)

This study examines the influence of mood on corporate philanthropic giving. Drawing on group emotions theory and affect-infused decision theory, we advance the argument that firms allocate greater resources to philanthropy when headquarters-based employees are in a more positive affective state. We also describe three boundary conditions in this relationship—executives’ embeddedness in the firm, executives’ latitude to engage in philanthropic giving, and the firm’s track record of corporate social irresponsibility. We test our arguments using a longitudinal dataset of philanthropic giving (...) by U.S. firms. Our study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the role of affect in shaping the decision to allocate resources to corporate philanthropy. (shrink)

The following article analyzes the process of conception, elaboration, and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights, and reflects on the lessons it might hold for public bioethics on the international level. The author was involved in the process at a variety of levels: he provided advice to the IBC on behalf of the President's Council of Bioethics; he served as the U.S. representative to UNESCO's Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee; and led the U.S. Delegation in the multilateral negotiation (...) of Government experts that culminated in the adoption of the declaration in its final form. The author is currently serving a 4-year term as a member of UNESCO's International Bioethics Committee. (shrink)

Prior studies suggest that firms headquartered in areas with strong religious social norms have higher ethical standards. In this study, we examine whether the ethical standards associated with local religious norms influence the M&A announcement returns. We document that the M&A announcement returns of acquirer firms increase with the strength of religious social norms in the area surrounding firms’ headquarters. We also document that the relationship is attenuated when acquirer firms have strong corporate social responsibility credentials, is amplified when public (...) trust that firms act in the best interest of stakeholders suffers a negative shock and when the M&A deal has greater economic significance for the acquirer, and manifests predominantly in the lower tail of the distribution of M&A returns. Our findings are consistent with investor assessments of firms’ ethical standards driving the relationship between local religious social norms and M&A announcement returns. We find no evidence for the competing explanation—that investor assessments of firms’ risk preferences drive the documented relationship. (shrink)

A review of deVries' and O'Shea's books, both titled "Wilfrid Sellars". By Jaroslav Peregrin.

Актуальність дослідження проблем прав та свобод в інформаційно-комунікаційній діяльності сучасної людини визначається тим, що вони обумовлені поширенням все нових знань за допомогою зростаючих функціональних можливостей цифрових інформаційно-комунікаційних технологій і систем обробки інформації. В сучасних умовах починає переосмислюватися роль та значення інформаційного ресурсу країни. При цьому само поняття «інформація» із категорії, яка століттями характеризувала систему знань, трансформується. Мета дослідження – концептуалізація прав та свобод в інформаційно-комунікаційній діяльності сучасної людини, що зумовлена поширенням нових знань за допомогою функціональних можливостей цифрових інформаційно-комунікаційних технологій і (...) систем обробки інформації. Завдання дослідження : аналіз технологічних, світоглядних і правових проблем глобального інформаційно-комунікаційного простору; визначення поняттєво-категоріального апарату дослідження - «інформація», «знання», «інформаційна безпека», «юрисдикція держав в умовах глобалізації», «монополізація правової сили» та їх вплив на розвиток інформаційно-комунікаційної діяльності суспільства; формування напрямів підвищення державної інформаційно-комунікаційної діяльності України для реалізації конституційних прав громадян; розглянути інформаційне право як науку, що дозволяє по-новому розглядати комунікаційні процеси. Аналіз останніх досліджень і публікацій, з яких започатковано розв’язання даної проблеми: використання статей О. Дзьобаня, О. Сосніна «Інформаційна безпека: нові виміри загроз, пов’язаних з активізацією міжнародної діяльності в інформаційно-комунікаційній сфері»; О. Довганя «Інформаційні ресурси: національні та державні, зміст, поняття»; Й.Мастяниці, О. Сосніна, Л. Шиманського «Інформаційні ресурси України: проблеми державного управління; М. Ожевана «Національна конкурентна розвідка у глобалізованому світі: нові виклики і загрози на тлі «казусу Сноудена. Результати дослідження : поставлено питання підготовки фахівців для законодавчого визначення проблем інформаційно-комунікаційної, аналітичної, інформаційно-пропагандистської та управлінської роботи в інформаційній сфері; виявлено головні інформаційно-комунікаційні загрози безпеки інноваційних процесів в Україні. Висновок - сформувати умови для вирішення проблем безпекових характеристик інформаційно-комунікаційної діяль­ності при впровадженні новітніх ІКТ. (shrink)

Many scientific models in biology are how-possibly models. These models depict things as they could be, but do not necessarily capture actual states of affairs in the biological world. In contemporary philosophy of science, it is customary to treat how-possibly models as second-rate theoretical tools. Although possibly important in the early stages of theorizing, they do not constitute the main aim of modelling, namely, to discover the actual mechanism responsible for the phenomenon under study. In the paper it is argued (...) that this prevailing picture does not do justice to the synthetic strategy that is commonly used in biological engineering. In synthetic biology, how-possibly models are not simply speculations or eliminable scaffolds towards a single how-actually model, but indispensable design hypotheses for a field whose ultimate goal is to build novel biological systems. The paper explicates this by providing an example from the study of alternative genetic systems by synthetic biologist Steven Benner and his group. The case will also highlight how the method of synthesis, even when it fails, provides an effective way to limit the space of possible models for biological systems. (shrink)

In this paper, we argue that calls for widespread implementation of ethics measurement systems would be better informed by institutional economic analysis. Specifically, we assert that proponents of such systems must first recognize and understand the institutions that potentially impede such efforts. We identify two potential institutional impediments to measuring ethics and social responsibility. First, we suggest that neoclassical economics, supported by traditional business education and legal precedent, serves to reinforce the notion that shareholders are the primary corporate constituency group. (...) Such an emphasis on the needs of shareholders severely hinders implementation of measurement systems that address the needs of multiple stakeholder groups. Second, we argue that the threat of litigation may constrain corporate managers from measuring and considering ethics and corporate social responsibility matters. In particular, managers may be reluctant to quantify various ethical concerns if the resulting measurements could be used as evidence against the corporation in a lawsuit. (shrink)

The article deals with the concept of the Russian national type of personality by G. P. Fedotov. The author finds the connection between Fedotov’s views and the theory of moderate social constructivism, according to which the formation of nation by elite can be successful only if it comes in accordance with geographical and historical ‘landscapes‘. Russian type of personality is seen as a unity of two polar characters - ‘the muscovite‘ and ‘the intelligent‘. The author points out that Fedotov considers (...) culture as a main factor in the development of history, which makes the very existence of intelligentsia the most important condition of solving many social problems in Russia. (shrink)

〈今ここに生きている〉という実感が、なぜ人生の意味と美をなすのか。現代思想を縦横に論じ、人生の愉悦のありかを探る批評の冒険。.