McTaggart, in his famous paper, “The Unreality of Time” (1908), argues in favor of the sceptical claim that time is unreal. His main argument is based on detecting a paradox in our ordinary descriptions of time or events occurring in time. Based on our common sense conception of time, time and the events happening in it can be described in two ways: either as having the properties of “being past”, “being present” and “being future”, or as having the properties of (...) “being earlier than”, “being later than”, or “being simultaneous with”. McTaggart argues that employing the second sort of properties fails to properly explain “change” in time. However, having assumed the essentiality of the first type of properties to time, McTaggart argues that these properties will themselves lead to a paradox, according to which all events are at the same time in the past, present, and future. In this essay, we are going to provide a clear exposition of McTaggart’s argument and briefly review some of the main responses to it. We will then show that McTaggart’s argument will amount to error-theory about the content of our utterances about time. We will then employ Boghossian’s argument against error-theory (1990) to show why McTaggart’s argument leads to paradoxical conclusions. (shrink)

In this paper, we will discuss what is called the “Manifestation Challenge” to semantic realism, which was originally developed by Michael Dummett and has been further refined by Crispin Wright. According to this challenge, semantic realism has to meet the requirement that knowledge of meaning must be publically manifested in linguistic behaviour. In this regard, we will introduce and evaluate John McDowell’s response to this anti-realistic challenge, which was put forward to show that the challenge cannot undermine realism. According to (...) McDowell, knowledge of undecidable sentences’ truth-conditions can be properly manifested in our ordinary practice of asserting such sentences under certain circumstances, and any further requirement will be redundant. Wright’s further objection to McDowell’s response will be also discussed and it will be argued that this objection fails to raise any serious problem for McDowell’s response and that it is an implausible objection in general. (shrink)

McTaggart, in his famous paper, “The Unreality of Time” (1908), argues in favor of the sceptical claim that time is unreal. His main argument is based on detecting a paradox in our ordinary descriptions of time or events occurring in time. Based on our common sense conception of time, time and the events happening in it can be described in two ways: either as having the properties of “being past”, “being present” and “being future”, or as having the properties of (...) “being earlier than”, “being later than”, or “being simultaneous with”. McTaggart argues that employing the second sort of properties fails to properly explain “change” in time. However, having assumed the essentiality of the first type of properties to time, McTaggart argues that these properties will themselves lead to a paradox, according to which all events are at the same time in the past, present, and future. In this essay, we are going to provide a clear exposition of McTaggart’s argument and briefly review some of the main responses to it. We will then show that McTaggart’s argument will amount to error-theory about the content of our utterances about time. We will then employ Boghossian’s argument against error-theory (1990) to show why McTaggart’s argument leads to paradoxical conclusions. (shrink)

Jean Jacques Hess (1866–1949) was the first professor of Egyptology at the University of Fribourg and the first professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Zurich. This workshop and exhibition explore J.J. Hess’ diverse interests in languages like Demotic and material cultures.

Maintaining confidentiality, both in national and international codes of ethics, is considered an important principle in healthcare and the medical profession for both patients and physicians. This case-report article focused on a real case. Based on the request of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization for plasma donation from recovered COVID-19 patients, we asked the names and personal information of those patients from hospitals affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences and arranged for the subjects to be referred to the Medical (...) Ethics Department of IUMS for consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Various ethical and legal aspects of this case were discussed in a special meeting, and practical solutions were then provided considering the limits of confidentiality and conditions for ethical access to patients’ information during a pandemic. Since plasma therapy is not a definitive cure for COVID-19 and considering the ethical and legal points presented in this article, it is not recommended to announce the names of patients in the early stages. Given the potential impacts of the procedure and the possibility of patients being cured, however, their consent should be obtained in different situations and, if necessary, providing information to patients or educating them should be considered. (shrink)

Air pollution is among the environmental problems that adversely affect people’s health. There is a close relationship between medicine and environment, and as a consequence, there are ethical considerations surrounding the problem of air pollution. The present research aimed to determine physicians’ attitude toward their ethical responsibility regarding air pollution, and their role in reducing it. This was a qualitative research using content analysis, conducted in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The focus group included 21 physicians with specialties and subspecialties (...) in pediatrics, infectious diseases, pulmonology, gynecology, and midwifery selected through predetermined sampling along with 13 personal in-depth interviews. A number of questions were asked regarding physicians’ ethical responsibility to decrease environmental crises, particularly air pollution. As a result, 4 themes and 20 subthemes were extracted by assessing the focus group and interviews. These four general themes included the role of a physician as 1) an ordinary person, 2) a special citizen and a role model, 3) a professional person with special personal and social commitments, and 4) an administrator of the healthcare system. In the present research, physicians acquired a special attitude toward air pollution. The research population mentioned physicians’ impact as role models for the society, as well as their educational, supervisory, informative, promotional, and administrative roles among their most important obligations regarding air pollution. It is recommended to conduct further studies on physicians’ knowledge, attitude and practice regarding their responsibility toward environmental issues in order to investigate this important matter further. (shrink)

This paper initially examines theories proposed by Feenberg abouttechnical systems and alternative modernity, analyzes his thoughts, andconcludes that a framework of values needs to be provided in shapingtechnical systems. In a society like Iran, where policy makers are looking forthe realization of Islamic values, this framework of values is derived fromIslam. To explain the relationship between religion and technology, theconcept of concretization has been used up, according to which, all aspectsof civilization, including technical systems must be concretized based onIslamic values. (...) Virtual space as a part of the technical systems must beconcretized with a holistic approach, based on Islamic values, and for thispurpose, there is no choice but a collective social life based on religiousvalues. The concluding section of the paper also tries to deal with anothersignificant issue which predicts the future of concretization at the level ofcivilizations which will be offered using the metaphor of the ‘sand desert’. (shrink)

The quality of care crisis (QCC) is one of the most crucial crises the modern medicine is confronting, as the existential and psychological needs of patients have not been addressed and satisfied. Several attempts have been made to find solutions for QCC, e.g., the Marcum's recommendation to make physicians virtuous. Most of the existing formulations for the QCC have regarded technology as one of the causes of this crisis and not part of its solution.Although the authors agree with the role (...) of technology in creating the crisis of care to some extent, in this article we try to present the crisis of care so that medical technology is an important part of its solution. For this purpose, we analyzed QCC from the philosophical perspectives of Husserl and Borgmann and put forward a novel proposal to take account of technology in QCC. In the first step, it is discussed that the role of technology in causing the crisis of care is due to the gap between the techno-scientific world and the life-world of the patients. This formulation shows that the crisis-causing role of technology is not inherent. In the second step, it is tried to find a way to integrate technology into the solution to the crisis. In the proposed reframing, designing and applying technologies based on focal things and practices make it possible to develop technologies that are caring and are able to mitigate QCC. (shrink)

Virtue epistemology is a new recent approach to epistemology that gives to epistemic or intellectual virtues an important role. Having many similaritywith Externalist Reformed Epistemology, Virtue based view can be used as a new model in religious epistemology. We can define religious virtue and religious perspective that produce true apt beliefs. These presuppositions lead to a new concept of rationality that can defend the rationality of religious beliefs.Therefore we can hold the possibility of religious knowledge against skepticism and its rationality (...) against atheism. (shrink)

According to the care crisis in modern medicine, the existential needs of patients are not sufficiently satisfied. One idea is that to address the crisis physicians should be educated to be virtuous. This suggestion is helpful but incomplete. It does not take into account the part of (non-)human factors, including (medical) technologies. In particular, the paper focuses on online caring forums and argues that they are technological factors that can play the role of focal things, in which the members gather (...) together to do a care-related focal practice. Furthermore, we empirically study the online forums of Ninisite, a popular Persian website on pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting, and suggest that these forums shape focal practices that are helpful in alleviating the care crisis. (shrink)

Background and Objectives: Patient autonomy is a recognized principle in modern medical ethics, and truth-telling to the patient; thus, it holds special importance for its contribution to this principle. In practice, however, several challenges emerge that can lead to different responses. This difference is more marked in studies conducted in the Eastern and Muslim countries due to variations in cultural and religious beliefs. Truth-telling is a challenging concept respecting placebos, medical errors, and delivering bad news on diagnosis and treatment to (...) patients. Methods: This study employed an unsystematic review of library and online sources, as well as databases, including Google Scholar, Springer, PubMed, Ovid, and relevant Persian papers in an attempt to provide an overview of this concept and study the Islamic view, particularly the Shi’ite perspective, and the predominant approaches employed in Muslim countries. Results: Islamic scripture and hadith strongly advocate honesty and truth-telling. However, maleficence to patients and exposing them to serious harm is unallowed, and withholding the whole or a part of the truth; even lying is justified in extreme cases. Conclusion: Essentially, the philosophy of medicine is based on helping patients and reducing their pains. Considering the unique condition of each patient, a perfect solution cannot be prescribed for all of them and the same strategy to manage all cases. The emphasis on truth-telling in the Islamic view is no less than other schools of thought. However, if disclosing the truth may expose the patient to certain, serious biopsychological risks, denying the whole or a part of the truth might be advisable; even in frequent cases, lying can be justified to protect the patient. (shrink)

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has represented an intense period of stress and anxiety for individuals, it has also been an opportunity for firms to engage in cause-related marketing initiatives as a means of providing support and helping them cope with this global pandemic. This study analyzes the influence of cause–brand fit and cause–brand alliance on customer-based legitimacy and reputation. This study also examines the mediating and moderating roles of trust and betrayal, respectively. Data were collected from 455 participants during (...) the first wave of the pandemic, especially during the first lockdown. The results contribute to unveiling the economic and societal outcomes of cause-related marketing. The findings also enrich the antecedents of the legitimacy and reputation conferred by customers. (shrink)

ABSTRACTHate crimes in the United States have drastically increased since 2015, particularly for the American Muslim population. There was a 17% hike in hate crimes against American Muslims in 2017...

IntroductionOne of the most important duties of hospital ethics committees is to provide medical ethics consultation to the staff and patients. This study was conducted with the aim of the needs assessment of the staff for optimal provision of medical ethics consultation services.Materials and methodsThe data collection tool was a self-administered questionnaire. Hospital managers, chief nursing officers, ward managers, and head nurses of all hospitals affiliated with Tehran and Iran University of Medical Sciences entered the study. The questionnaire together with (...) an invitation letter was sent to the samples. In the next stage, telephone follow-up of the incomplete forms was performed by the research team.ResultsA total of 448 persons participated in this study (response rate: 54.2%). The mean frequency of the need for ethics consultation in each ward was 5.2 times in the last 3 months with a median of 3. The highest needs for consultation, which were common in all wards, were observed in treatment rejection by the patient, providing necessary information to obtain informed consent and obtaining consent to high risk procedures, conflict between the decisions made by the patient and the family members, decision making for the high risk patient, request for futile or inappropriate treatments, giving bad news, and decision making for the incompetent patient.ConclusionThe prevalence of ethical issues in clinical wards is variably high. The ethical issues in the clinical setting are mainly related to respect for the patient’s autonomy and competency for decision making. (shrink)

Neurofibromatosis type 1 is associated with peripheral and central nervous system tumors. It is noteworthy that the regions in which these tumors frequently arise are the optic pathways and the brainstem. Thus, we decided to trace the procedure of diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging alterations along with Short-Wavelength Automated Perimetry examinations of the OPs after surgery and chemotherapy over 1 year, which enabled us to evaluate chemotherapy's efficacy in an NF1 patient with an OP tumor. In this study, a 25-year-old woman (...) with NF1 and left optic radiation glioma underwent surgery to remove the glioma. Immunohistochemistry revealed a Pilocytic Astrocytoma WHO grade I. Post-operation chemotherapy done using nine treatment cycles of administering Temozolomide for 5 days every 4 weeks. Applying the region of interest differential tractography method and SWAP four times every 3 months allowed us to follow the patient's visual acuity alterations longitudinally. The differential deterministic tractography method and statistical analyses enabled us to discover the white matter tracts anisotropy alterations over time. Furthermore, statistical analyses on the SWAP results along time illustrated possible alterations in visual acuity. Then, we could compare and associate the findings with the SWAP examinations and patient symptoms longitudinally. Statistical analyses of SWAP tests revealed a significant improvement in visual fields, and longitudinal differential tractography showed myelination and dense axonal packing in the left OR after 1 year of treatment. In this study, we examined an old hypothesis suggesting that chemotherapy is more effective than radiotherapy for NF1 patients with OP gliomas because of the radiation side effects on the visual field, cognition, and cerebrovascular complications. Our longitudinal clinical case study involving dMRI and SWAP on a single NF1-OPG patient showed that chemotherapy did not suppress the OP myelination over time. However, it should be noted that this is a clinical case study, and, therefore, the generalization of results is limited. Future investigations might focus on genetic-based imaging, particularly in more cases. Further, meta-analyses are recommended for giving a proper Field Of View to researchers as a subtle clue regarding precision medicine. (shrink)

Physicians’ knowledge of therapy and counseling stands among the most important issues in the viewpoints of clients who refer to psychiatric centers. Transsexual patients are very important in this regard. The goal of this research is to study their attitude toward doctors’ empathy. A group of transsexual patients who referred to the Tehran Institute of Psychiatry, Iran, answered the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. The relationship of the patients’ age, gender, education level, and lifestyle with their attitude was measured. This study (...) was conducted on 40 patients, including 16 women and 24 men. In terms of education, 8 patients had a degree below high school diploma, 9 had high school diploma, and 23 patients were university students or of higher education level. Among these patients, 6 were unemployed, 10 were students, and the rest were employed. Moreover, 8 participants lived alone, 5 lived with their friends, and 27 lived with their family. Gender had no influence on the average score of the questionnaires, yet level of education had some influence. Lifestyle also had a significant influence on the patients’ attitude. On the other hand, patients whose problems began before the age of 12 had lower score than others. Experienced psychologists in referential centers can express greater levels of empathy to specific diseases and this trend is very effective on the patients’ cooperation level. In order to create an effective relationship between physicians and patients, the efficiency of the health system and increasing satisfaction of specific patients should be considered. (shrink)

The concept of common morality is fundamental in medical ethics, and lack of universal content and characteristics of common morality is a product of its multifaceted nature. This study aimed to identify the ideas and experiences of academic faculties regarding common morality in a pluralistic setting to promote conceptual knowledge and strengthen moral reasoning and ethical decision-making.The study was conducted using a qualitative method, employing semi-structured in-depth interviews with thirteen faculty members who were selected purposively. In order to assess their (...) ideas and experiences, the transcripts of the interviews were analyzed using the content analysis method through directed and conventional approaches. The interviews were coded manually.Two themes were reflected in the interviews: ontology and epistemology of common morality.The study indicates that the debate about the subjective or objective dependence of common morality questions the coherence of Beauchamp and Childress' common morality (CM) theory, as common morality is the result of various individual and social factorthat influence moral thinking and decision-making in pluralistic environments. Additional studies are needed in order to investigate the effect of cultural, social, theoretical, ideological and individual factors on promoting clinical ethical reasoning and decision-making skills. (shrink)

Using genetic tests on deceased patients’ samples for diagnostic purposes affects the family members' health and lives but raises some ethical issues in today’s practice of medicine and research. In this paper, we address a common ethical dilemma of clinicians regarding whether to perform genetic tests on a deceased patient’s sample upon a request from first-degree relatives against the patient's wishes in the last days of life. In this paper, a real case scenario is presented that echoes the above-mentioned ethical (...) challenge. Reviewing the genetic basis of the case, the ethical arguments for and against the reuse of genetic material in a clinical context are discussed. An ethico-legal analysis of the case is proposed based on Islamic medical ethics resources. As reusing stored samples of expired patients without their consent also challenges the researchers in the field of genetics, a debate is included on the post-mortem use of genetic data and samples for research.Finally, defining the special features of the presented case and positive benefit-risk ratio, it is concluded that reusing the patient's sample may be justified if the first-degree family members insist on genetic testing and are comprehensively informed about the benefits and harms. (shrink)