The paper outlines a model-theoretic framework for investigating and comparing a variety of mereotopological theories. In the first part we consider different ways of characterizing a mereotopology with respect to (i) the intended interpretation of the connection primitive, and (ii) the composition of the admissible domains of quantification (e.g., whether or not they include boundary elements). The second part extends this study by considering two further dimensions along which different patterns of topological connection can be classified – the strength of (...) the connection and its multiplicity. (shrink)
Stem cell research. Drug company influence. Abortion. Contraception. Long-term and end-of-life care. Human participants research. Informed consent. The list of ethical issues in science, medicine, and public health is long and continually growing. These complex issues pose a daunting task for professionals in the expanding field of bioethics. But what of the practice of bioethics itself? What issues do ethicists and bioethicists confront in their efforts to facilitate sound moral reasoning and judgment in a variety of venues? Are those immersed (...) in the field capable of making the right decisions? How and why do they face moral challenge -- and even compromise -- as ethicists? What values should guide them? In The Ethics of Bioethics, Lisa A. Eckenwiler and Felicia G. Cohn tackle these questions head on, bringing together notable medical ethicists and people outside the discipline to discuss common criticisms, the field's inherent tensions, and efforts to assign values and assess success. Through twenty-five lively essays examining the field's history and trends, shortcomings and strengths, and the political and policy interplay within the bioethical realm, this comprehensive book begins a much-needed critical and constructive discussion of the moral landscape of bioethics. (shrink)
Abstract The presence of gene–environment statistical interaction ( G x E ) and correlation ( rGE ) in biological development has led both practitioners and philosophers of science to question the legitimacy of heritability estimates. The paper offers a novel approach to assess the impact of G x E and rGE on the way genetic and environmental causation can be partitioned. A probabilistic framework is developed, based on a quantitative genetic model that incorporates G x E and rGE , offering (...) a rigorous way of interpreting heritability estimates. Specifically, given an estimate of heritability and the variance components associated with estimates of G x E and rGE , I arrive at a probabilistic account of the relative effect of genes and environment. Content Type Journal Article Category Regular Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s10441-011-9139-8 Authors Omri Tal, School of Philosophy and The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978 Israel Journal Acta Biotheoretica Online ISSN 1572-8358 Print ISSN 0001-5342. (shrink)
John Lloyd Ackrill 1921-2007; Maurice Warwick Beresford 1920-2005; Malcolm MacNaughtan Bowie 1943-2007; Peter Astbury Brunt 1917-2005; Norman Rufus Colin Cohn 1915-2007; John Anthony Crook 1921-2007; Robert Rees Davies 1938-2005; David Fairweather Foxon 1923-2001; Terence Wilmot Hutchison 1912-2007; Philip James Jones 1921-2006; Michael Vincent Levey 1927-2008; John Macquarrie 1919-2007; Charles Francis Digby Moule 1908-2007; Anthony David Nuttall 1937-2007; Alan William Raitt 1930-2006; Joseph Burney Trapp 1925-2005; William Watson 1917-2007; Bryan Ronald Wilson 1926-2004.
The foundations of law. The digest title, De diversis regulis iuris antiqui, and the general principles of law, by P. Stein. Equity in Chinese customary law, by W. Y. Tsao. Prolegomena to the theory and history of Jewish law, by H. Cohn. Juridical evolution and equity, by J.P. Brutau. Reflections on the sources of the law, by P. Lepaulle. The true nature and province of jurisprudence from the viewpoint of Indian philosophy, by M.J. Sethna. On the functions and aims (...) of the state, by G. Del Veccchio.--Concepts of jurisprudence. Legal language and reality, by K. Olivecrona. The logic of the reasonable as differentiated from the logic of the rational (human reason in the making and the interpretation of the law) by L. Recaséns-Siches. Some refections on status and freedom, by W.G. Friedmann. Law and power and their correlation, by M. Reale. The notion of canonical auctoritas with respect to statute, custom and usage, by B.F. Brown. Two theories of "the institution," by J. Stone. (shrink)