: New genetic technologies continue to emerge that allow us to control the genetic endowment of future children. Increasingly the claim is made that it is morally "irresponsible" for parents to fail to use such technologies when they know their possible children are at risk for a serious genetic disorder. We believe such charges are often unwarranted. Our goal in this article is to offer a careful conceptual analysis of the language of irresponsibility in an effort to encourage more care (...) in its use. Two of our more important sub-claims are: A fair judgment of genetic irresponsibility necessarily requires a thick background description of the specific reproductive choice; and there is no necessary connection between an act's being morally wrong and its being irresponsible. These are distinct judgments requiring distinct justifications. (shrink)

En este breve comentario discuto algunos aspectos de la interpretación de la epistemología de Davidson que sugiere Willian Duica en su reciente libro. Luego de una presentación somera del libro me centro en tres asuntos centrales de la interpretación de Duica. En primer lugar, argumento que su lectura de la crítica de Davidson al dualismo esquema/contenido es muy restrictiva y deja abierta la posibilidad de un realismo directo empirista. En segundo lugar, argumento que en su lectura el propio Duica se (...) compromete inadvertidamente con un empirismo de este tipo y, de este modo, su interpretación entra en tensión con el coherentismo de Davidson. Finalmente, discuto algunos aspectos de la interpretación que hace Duica de la tesis davidsoniana de la triangulación. In this short comment I discuss some aspects of William Duica's interpretation of Davidson's epistemology in a recent book. After a brief review of the book, I focus on three central issues of Duica's interpretation. First, I argue that his reading of Davidson's criticism of the scheme/content dualism is too restrictive and leaves open the possibility of an empiricist direct realism. Second, I argue in his reading Duica inadvertently commits himself to an empiricism of this sort and, as a result, his interpretation is in tension with Davidson's own coherentism. Finally, I discuss some aspects of Duica's interpretation of Davidsonian triangulation. (shrink)

Mental fatigue can be studied by using either the time-on-task protocol or the sequential task protocol. In the time-on-task protocol, participants perform a long and effortful task and a decrease in performance in this task is generally observed over time. In the sequential task protocol, a first effortful or control task is followed by a second effortful task. The performance in the second task is generally worse after the effortful task than after the control task. The principal aim of the (...) present experiment is to examine the relationship between these two decrements in performance while concomitantly using a sequential task protocol and assessing the performance of the first effortful task as a function of time-on-task. We expect a positive correlation between these two decrements in performance. A total of 83 participants performed a 30-min fatiguing mental task or a control task followed by a time-to-exhaustion handgrip task. As expected, this protocol combining the time-on-task and sequential task protocols allowed us to observe a decrease in performance over time during the Stroop task, a worst performance in the handgrip task after the Stroop task by comparison to the control task, a positive correlation between these two effects. The decrease in performance during the Stroop task also correlated with the subjective measures of boredom and fatigue, whereas the detrimental effect observed in the handgrip task did not. Our findings suggest that the two fatigue-related phenomena share a common mechanism but are not completely equivalent. (shrink)

André Gagné | : Cet article s’intéresse à la signification et le rôle des solitaires–élus dans les logia 49-50 de l’Évangile selon Thomas. Après avoir répertorié les différents sens attribués au substantif monakhos par la recherche actuelle, nous proposons une interprétation nouvelle de l’expression au moyen d’une lecture synchronique et intratextuelle de l’EvTh. La conclusion est que les solitaires et les élus ne sont pas deux classes d’individus distincts, mais constituent plutôt un même groupe, une seule entité. L’EvTh caractérise (...) les solitaires–élus comme ceux qui s’adonnent à la quête du sens des paroles de Jésus, afin de ne pas goûter la mort . Étant issus du Royaume et de la lumière, ils sont aussi étrangers dans ce monde, à l’instar de Jésus, maître du plérôme. | : This article explores the function and meaning of the solitary–elect in logia 49-50 of the Gospel according to Thomas. Following a review of the various meanings attributed to the monakhos by modern scholarship, a fresh interpretation of this expression by means of a synchronic and intratextual reading of the GosThom. is offered. The conclusion is that the solitary and the elect are not two classes of individuals, but are rather a single unique group, a sole entity. The GosThom. characterizes the solitary–elect as those who seek the interpretation of the sayings of Jesus, in order to not taste death . Having originated from the Kingdom and the light, they are strangers in the world, just as Jesus, the lord of the Pleroma. (shrink)

Charles Darwin’s theory of species evolution by means of natural selection is known largely because of the impact it had on biology and other natural sciences in general; this is hardly a surprising fact. Thus, it could strike certain readers –those accustomed to a philosophical discourse– as odd to speak of “Darwinian ethics.” However, Darwin’s theory of evolution has not been unknown to other areas and disciplines of thought, philosophy among them. Just as with other ‘destroyers’ of the ideas present (...) in their time –such as Nietzsche or Freud–, the impact of Darwin’s thought was felt as a deadly blow to some of the staple ideas and suppositions he weld concerning human life, nature and our place in it. Therefore, it is certainly relevant to discuss, as philosophers, the possibility of an ethic that is purely based on Darwin’s ideas. With this in mind, what I intend to do in the following article is to offer a brief exposition of Darwinian ethics, its main aspects as well as some of the problems and criticisms it has faced since its inception. It would certainly not be possible to speak of one single approach to Darwinian ethics; on the contrary, the theory has been reviewed and reinterpreted a great number of times, and not only by Darwin himself but also by many subsequent thinkers. Among these new reinterpretations, it has come to my attention the one offered by Darwinian metaethics, and to this approach I personally subscribe. Next I will consider diverse positions regarding the issue of Darwinian ethics, and will try to explain why metaethics offer the correct approach to it. (shrink)

This study aimed to explore the understanding of and attitudes towards academic ethics of first-year students at a South African University using a paper-based survey that yielded 3611 respondents. A degree of confusion and ambivalence regarding academic ethical issues exists. The relative wealth of respondents also appears to influence the understanding of and attitudes to academic ethics. Millennial students have a tendency to disregard ownership of knowledge. There is a need for instruction in academic ethics to instil an awareness of (...) integrity in academic pursuit, coupled with an understanding of the world views of millennials. (shrink)

Natural selection is commonly seen not just as an explanation for adaptive evolution, but as the inevitable consequence of “heritable variation in fitness among individuals”. Although it remains embedded in biological concepts, such a formalisation makes it tempting to explore whether this precondition may be met not only in life as we know it, but also in other physical systems. This would imply that these systems are subject to natural selection and may perhaps be investigated in a biological framework, where (...) properties are typically examined in light of their putative functions. Here we relate the major questions that were debated during a three-day workshop devoted to discussing whether natural selection may take place in non-living physical systems. We start this report with a brief overview of research fields dealing with “life-like” or “proto-biotic” systems, where mimicking evolution by natural selection in test tubes stands as a major objective. We contend the challenge may be as much conceptual as technical. Taking the problem from a physical angle, we then discuss the framework of dissipative structures. Although life is viewed in this context as a particular case within a larger ensemble of physical phenomena, this approach does not provide general principles from which natural selection can be derived. Turning back to evolutionary biology, we ask to what extent the most general formulations of the necessary conditions or signatures of natural selection may be applicable beyond biology. In our view, such a cross-disciplinary jump is impeded by reliance on individuality as a central yet implicit and loosely defined concept. Overall, these discussions thus lead us to conjecture that understanding, in physico-chemical terms, how individuality emerges and how it can be recognised, will be essential in the search for instances of evolution by natural selection outside of living systems. (shrink)

This article intends to analyse the Hobbesian version of the Christian dogma of the Trinity as it is observed in the corresponding sections of Leviathan , De Cive and Heresy , and alluded to in other texts (controversy with Bramhall). It shall be important to specify: (a) As a starting point, the exact place of such concept within the general problem expressed by the difference between "political theology" and "theologico-political problem" (C. Altini); (b) The main items of the philosopher's Trinitarian (...) exposition as well as his intention while writing it, according to the "secularist", "theistic" and "Divine Omnipotence" interpretations. (J. Overhoff, A. Martinich, P. Springborg, L. Foisneau, F. Lessay, G. Wright); (c) His relationship with the contemporary orthodox currents (Trinitarian) and heterodox currents (antitrinitarian), as well as with the elements from ancient antitrinitarian heresies (subordinationism, modalism, sabellianism). (shrink)

Objective: To examine changes in patients’ desired control of the deep brain stimulator and perception of global life control throughout DBS.Methods: A consecutive cohort of 52 patients with Parkinson’s disease was recruited to participate in a prospective longitudinal study over three assessment points. Semi-structured interviews assessing participants’ desire for stimulation control and perception of global control were conducted at all three points. Qualitative data were coded using content analysis. Visual analog scales were embedded in the interviews to quantify participants’ perceptions (...) of control over time.Results: Participants reported significant increases in their perception of global control over time and significant declines in their desired control of the stimulation. These changes were unrelated to improvements in motor symptoms. Improvements in global control were negatively correlated with a decline in desired stimulation control. Qualitative data indicate that participants have changed, nuanced levels of desired control over their stimulators. Increased global life control following DBS may be attributed to increased control over PD symptoms, increased ability to engage in valued activities, and increased overall self-regulation, while other domains related to global control remained unaffected by DBS.Conclusions: There are few empirical data documenting patients’ desire for stimulation control throughout neuromodulation and how stimulation control is related to other aspects of control despite the growing application of neuromodulation devices to treat a variety of disorders. Our data highlight distinctions in different types of control and have implications for the development of patient-controlled neurostimulation devices. (shrink)

O presente texto busca na epistemologia de Thomas Kuhn aportes teóricos sobre a forma como a Ciência progride, os quais sugerem uma aproximação com aspectos históricos de uma Ciência, por definição, não determinista. Foram discutidos os conceitos de paradigma, incomensurabilidade, Ciência normal, anomalias e crises, revolução científica e Ciência extraordinária, com base na obra A Estrutura das Revoluções Científicas, em literatura correlata e fontes secundárias. As consequências desse encadeamento teórico levam, à luz da epistemologia de Kuhn, a fundamentos que (...) permitem uma discussão sobre o caráter temporal, condicional, suscetível, incerto – e, portanto, não determinista – do conhecimento científico. Palavras-chave: Thomas Kuhn. Progresso científico. Determinismo. Epistemologia. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to discuss the philosophical viability of the incommensurability doctrine. In particular I am going to analyse the thesis that changes in meaning of the terms shared by competing theories after a scientific revolution imply reference changes as well. The idea that terms change radically their meanings will be discussed, and the alleged incommensurability of mass will be criticized in detail. Relativity theory, which has provided most of the characteristic examples of incommensurability, becomes also the (...) realm in which to put to the test the viability of this doctrine. My own proposal on incommensurability amounts to restricting its validity to the domain of worldviews, and last to the theoretical vocabulary. I finally suggest that the incommensurability problem disappears in the framework of an instrumentalist point of view on theories and theoretical models From this viewpoint such worldviews become merely useful tools in order to deal with Nature. (shrink)