‘Futility’ is a contentious term that has eluded clear definition, with proposed descriptions either too strict or too vague to encompass the many facets of medical care. Requests for futile care are often surrogates for requests of a more existential character, covering the whole range of personal, emotional, cultural and spiritual needs. Physicians and other practitioners can use requests for futile care as a valuable opportunity to connect with their patients at a deeper level than the mere biomedical diagnosis. Current (...) debate around Canada’s changing regulatory and legal framework highlights challenges in appropriately balancing the benefits and burdens created by requests for futile care. (shrink)

HIV/AIDS continues to constitute a serious threat to the social and physical wellbeing of African mothers and their babies. In the hardest hit countries of sub-Saharan Africa, more than 60% of all new HIV infections are occurring in women, infants and young children. Mother-to-child transmission constitutes 90% of new HIV infections among infants and young children. Most of these infections can be prevented. However, the social stigma of HIV/AIDS insidiously continues to undermine the success of prevention programs. Ironically, some attributes (...) or characteristics of prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs may in fact serve as catalysts to the stigmatization process. This paper identifies and discusses six potential initiators: Routine HIV testing, Six months exclusive breastfeeding, Incentives, Home visits, Location of PMTCT program, and PMTCT terminology. In all these areas, there are practical strategies that may be applied to reduce the chances of being stigmatized. These strategies are introduced and discussed. (shrink)

In this contribution, the role of epistemology in understanding quantum chemistry is discussed. Quantum chemistry is the study of the behavior of atoms and molecules using the principles of quantum mechanics. Epistemology helps us evaluate claims to knowledge, distinguish between justified and unjustified beliefs, and assess the reliability of scientific methods. In quantum chemistry, the epistemology of knowledge is heavily influenced by the mathematical nature of quantum mechanics, and models can be tested, proven, and validated through experimentation. This paper also (...) discusses key concepts used in quantum chemistry, such as the wave-particle duality of matter and the uncertainty principle. This work utilizes Kant’s philosophy of science to frame debates and discussions in quantum chemistry, particularly with regard to the interplay between empirical observation and theory. Additionally, the text explores how Kant’s ideas about the role of the mind in constructing our understanding of the world can help us comprehend the counterintuitive phenomena of quantum mechanics and its applications in quantum chemistry theory. (shrink)

This account of one man’s search for truth bears witness to defection and apostasy and, in the end, to the humility of deeply lived experience. Eliseo Vivas, distinguished teacher, lit­erary critic, and philosopher, relates the search by his alter ego, Alonzo Quijano, for a philosophy to live by as well as one to think well by. His intellectual odys­sey is marked by defection from com­munism and apostasy from the philoso­phy of John Dewey. Vivas provides throughout this ac­count of (...) Alonzo’s rupture with his com­mitments an analysis of the ideas of the major philosophic thinkers of the West­ern world, an analysis which first moves toward partial acceptance but which ends with their rejection. He devotes the final chapters to the views on politics and moral, theological, and aesthetic subjects at which Alonzo arrived follow­ing his apostasy and defection. Alonzo claims at the end that his philosophical quest was not a failure, for he now “knows that he does not know much.” Hence the two roads to ignorance. Eliseo Vivas has taught at Wisconsin, Chicago, Ohio State, and Northwestern. He has also edited journals, published widely, and has been a participant and, indeed, a major force in most of the in­tellectual discussions of his time. His examination of his contemporaries’ be­liefs and detailed analysis of the views he rejects are therefore especially valu­able. Those peace-loving minds who find Alonzo’s adventures relevant to an understanding of their age will be fasci­nated by this unique and important book. (shrink)

Ante las distintas maneras de entender la objetividad científica, con prevalencia del sentido empirista, que propugna una discriminación sobre la cientificidad de las distintas áreas del conocimiento, Evandro Agazzi, con su realismo científico y su concepción epistemológica abierta, configura un concepto de objetividad adecuado para todo quehacer científico y académico. Con su distinción entre objetividad en sentido débil y fuerte, Agazzi sostiene que estas formas de entender la objetividad pueden incluir y armonizar los variados horizontes epistemológicos desde los cuales es (...) posible hacer ciencia. (shrink)

O artigo científico visa esclarecer acerca do judicial review com enfoque no originalismo e no interpretativismo. Neste trabalho pretendemos demonstrar ser o interpretativismo um construto da Suprema Corte dos Estados Unidos oriundo do precedente Brown. Em primeiro lugar, examinaremos os precedentes da Suprema Corte, cujos fundamentos foram obtidos a partir da corrente originalista, até chegarmos ao citado caso Brown e em seguida analisaremos filosoficamente o precedente. Em conclusão, antes se buscava a intenção original do constituinte, no entanto, modernamente, almeja-se controlar (...) a constitucionalidade com parâmetro nos princípios constitucionais. (shrink)

The paper considers the notion of Science Policy from a postcolonial perspective. It examines the theoretical implications of the recent trend to include emerging and developing countries in international Science Policies by way of the case study of Switzerland. This country’s new international science policy instruments and measures have challenged the classical distinction between international scientific cooperation and development cooperation, with consequences on standards and evaluation criteria. The analysis reveals that the underlying assumptions of the concept of Science Policy perpetuate (...) traditional asymmetries in the global political economy of science. The paper suggests that the present legacy of Science Policy institutions and practices needs to be transformed to reflect an increasingly diverse spectrum of scientific purposes and traditions. It offers a revised set of foundational assumptions on Science Policy and, more broadly, proposes a fresh point of entry for the field of Science & Technology Studies to contribute to the Science Policy discourse. (shrink)

Research examining Service-Learning in Physical Education Teacher Education is ample. However, long-term investigations are still scarce and literature demands the application of this type of design to uncover the effects of SL on the long run. This study followed a longitudinal quantitative approach; thus, the participants completed the Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire in three occasions. Results show that there exist significant differences between mean values of the global outcomes of the CASQ; concretely, there was an improvement in the first (...) interval followed by a decrease in the second period. Regarding the different dimensions of the CASQ, leadership skills, attitudes towards social justice and attitudes towards diversity showed significant differences too. This research leads towards better understanding of methodological strategies promoting quality education, positing SL as an adequate possibility in this respect, also in the long term. (shrink)

This classic work in the field was originally published by Regnery Gateway in 1983. 'This is a serious, learned, and searching exploration of some of the most difficult questions which have ever concerned the human mind. It is also toughminded in the sense that it recognizes all the difficulties, begs no questions, offers no easy solutions and, unlike conventional protests against modern scepticism, makes no plea for a leap in the dark to an unexamined faith.') Joseph Wood Krutch, from the (...) Introduction. (shrink)

This classic work in the field was originally published by Regnery Gateway in 1983. 'This is a serious, learned, and searching exploration of some of the most difficult questions which have ever concerned the human mind. It is also toughminded in the sense that it recognizes all the difficulties, begs no questions, offers no easy solutions and, unlike conventional protests against modern scepticism, makes no plea for a leap in the dark to an unexamined faith.') Joseph Wood Krutch, from the (...) Introduction. (shrink)

Jordan holds that art is constitutive of culture. The doctrine has thus, obviously, its roots in idealistic philosophy. Audacious, perhaps foolhardy as it may seem to some, and absurd and even perverse as it will seem to others, Jordan seeks to demonstrate that poetry "is literally the creator and legislator for the real world".

This paper attempts to explore some of the implications of the distinction between having or enjoying and knowing, between “experiencing” and science, for these implications have not always been adequately realized by those for whom the distinction is fundamental.