A widely accepted framework governs biomedical research and the practice of medicine in the civilian sector, but no such framework exists to guide the military in how it should treat its own personnel. Civilian bioethical principles are unsuitable because of fundamental differences between civilian and military core values. This paper proposes a framework for military bioethics. It begins by describing core military values, articulating how they differ from civilian goals and values, and explaining how these differences limit the ability of (...) civilian bioethical principles to govern military biomedicine. The paper then puts forward a set of more appropriate principles for the military and discusses how these principles apply in three main areas of controversy within military bioethics: the use of military personnel as research subjects; the deployment use of biomedical agents; and the obligations of military physicians toward their own troops. (shrink)

In axiological argumentation that refers to issues concerning matters of ethics, politics, or aesthetics, a warrant is derived from a general axiological base, which consists of propositions that are accepted by a particular social group. Such a warrant is supported by ideology, understood as a relatively well organised set of evaluative propositions. In axiological argumentation beliefs are represented by cultural objects that serve as the arguments. Cultural objects are universals, which have a culturally developed interpretation. Without proper recognition of the (...) interpretant, the correct reading of the sign and its appraisal is impossible. The main purpose of this article is to show how ideological objects constitute the base of the discourse. In analysis of chosen texts I will demonstrate, how at every stage of argumentation arguers exploit the topic and interactive potential of argumentation. (shrink)

Giving value to the wishes of the terminal patients regarding the treatment at the end of their life, the use of the advance directive, as an extension of their autonomy when the patients are incompetent, represents a mean to respect and promote their dignity. The authors present and discuss the results of their research that analysed the attitude of Romanians toward the use of the advance directive to identify the usefulness of implementing such a document in the Romanian social cultural (...) context. The target group in this research is general population over 18 years old, speaking Romanian and without psychological illnesses. The representative random sample lot included 828 persons from Iasi County. The data were recorded based on a transversal descriptive study, using the method of questionnaire enquiry. The persons participating in the study admitted the importance of respecting the patient’s dignity and autonomy with reference to decisions concerning the treatment at the end of life. For the subjects agreeing with legalizing the advance directive, the main advantages of such a document are firstly the respect of the patient’s right to decide and secondly the improvement of the medical treatment. The study showed that young, healthy and better educated individuals are interested in the advance directive and are in favour of introducing it in the current medical practice. The results of our research suggest that educational and informative programmes are needed in Romania regarding the role and usefulness of the advance directive, as well as the way to implement it, in order to encourage the implication of all adult persons in planning their own medical treatment in general and in particular in the medical decisions concerning the end of life. (shrink)

: The Islamic jurists utilized the discipline of maqāṣid al-sharīʿah,in its capacity as the philosophy of Islamic law, in their legal and ethicalinterpretations, with added interest in addressing the issues of modern times.Aphoristically subsuming the major themes of the Sharīʿah, maqāṣid play apivotal role in the domain of decision-making and deduction of rulings onunprecedented ethical discourses. Ethics represent the infrastructure of Islamiclaw and the whole science of Islamic jurisprudence operates in the lightof maqāṣid to realize the ethics in people’s lives. (...) Scrutinizing the key themesof maqāṣid-based ijtihād and scope of ethics in maqāṣid, this article delvesinto the discourse on the application of maqāṣid to medical ethics. As a casestudy, this research analyses the extent of medical confidentiality in the light ofmaqāṣid and arrives at the conclusion that limited confidentiality goes more inline with the maxims of maqāṣid. (shrink)