Should we be allowed to refuse any involvement of artificial intelligence technology in diagnosis and treatment planning? This is the relevant question posed by Ploug and Holm in a recent article in Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. In this article, I adhere to their conclusions, but not necessarily to the rationale that supports them. First, I argue that the idea that we should recognize this right on the basis of a rational interest defence is not plausible, unless we are willing (...) to judge each patient’s ideology or religion. Instead, I consider that the right must be recognized by virtue of values such as social pluralism or individual autonomy. Second, I point out that the scope of such a right should be limited at least under three circumstances: if it is against a physician’s obligation to not cause unnecessary harm to a patient or to not provide futile treatment, in cases where the costs of implementing this right are too high, or if recognizing the right would deprive other patients of their own rights to adequate health care. (shrink)

Should we use human germline genome modification only when serious diseases are involved? This belief is the underlying factor in the article written by Kleiderman, Ravitsky and Knoppers to which I now respond. In my opinion, the answer to this question should be negative. In this paper, I attempt to show that there are no good reasons to think that this technology should be limited to serious diseases once it is sufficiently proven to be safe and efficient. In fact, opting (...) otherwise would negatively harm human beings’ right to the highest standard of health that unmodified embryos could promote. Therefore, the issue should not be so much to define adequately what a serious disease is, but rather to elucidate whether this concept should play any role beyond the context of preimplantation genetic testing. This paper argues that we should not accept the similarity between technologies such as PGT and HGGM because they face different challenges and offer totally different possibilities. Therefore, we are in urgent need to build a completely new ethical architecture that covers the application of germline editing in human embryos. As a part of that process, a much deeper debate on the necessity of distinguishing different disease types is required. (shrink)

In their recent article, Brown et al analyse several ethical aspects around immunity passports and put forward some recommendations for implementing them. Although they offer a comprehensive perspective, they overlook two essential aspects. First, while the authors consider the possibility that immunological passports may appear to discriminate against those who do not possess them, the opposite viewpoint of immune people is underdeveloped. We argue that if a person has been tested positive for and recovered from COVID-19, becoming immune to it, (...) she cannot be considered a hazard to public health and, therefore, the curtailment of her fundamental rights is not legitimate. Second, they omit that vaccine distribution will create similar problems related to immunity-based licenses. Vaccine certificates will de facto generate a sort of immunity passport. In the next phases of the pandemic, different immunity statuses will be at stake, because the need to identify who can spread COVID-19 is unavoidable. If a person does not pose a threat to public health because she cannot spread the infection, then her right to freedom of movement should be respected, regardless of how she acquired that immunity. (shrink)

Volume 19, Issue 7, July 2019, Page 49-50.

The seat belt analogy argument is aimed at furthering the success of coercive vaccination efforts on the basis that the latter is similar to compulsory use of seat belts. However, this article demonstrated that this argument does not work so well in practice due to several reasons. The possibility of saving resources in health care does not usually apply in our societies, and the paternalist mentality that contributed to the implementation of seat belt–wearing obligation was predominant 30 years ago, but (...) it does not apply at this moment. Furthermore, the risk/benefit analysis is totally different in both scenarios. In the case of seat belts, there is no way to discriminate between the users. In the case of vaccines, individuals present with unique circumstances that may differ substantially from those of another and might be foreseen a priori. This means that an analysis must be performed individually before vaccination is imposed. Finally, one must keep in mind that seat belts are often the only way in which we can protect third parties against a tragic hit by the occupant of another vehicle and are very efficient tools for this purpose. Vaccines, in contrast, do not always create sterilising immunity and are definitely not the only way by which we can avoid spreading a virus; immunity certificates, isolation, or even confinement may also serve as viable methods to achieve this purpose. (shrink)

BackgroundSome persons conceived with donor gametes react negatively when they found their birth via donor conception. They request access to information about and seek to communicate with the donor. However, some countries mandate donor anonymity. Other countries allow donor-conceived persons to access donor information, but they can only use this access if their parents have disclosed donor conception to them. We investigated a thorny issue of donor conception: whether donor conception should be shifted from an anonymous basis to a non-anonymous (...) basis.MethodsWe review the issues and concerns regarding donor conception. We then consider the impact of direct-to-consumer genetic testing on donor conception, as well as the influence of donor conception on offspring’s identity and the potential of different types of donors. To discuss the future policy of donor conception, the policies on the anonymity of gamete donors were investigated using publicly-available documents in 15 countries.ResultsThe aim of mandating donor anonymity is to protect the privacy of the donor and intended parents. However, the diffusion of direct-to-consumer genetic testing may make it impossible to maintain anonymity. Birth via donor conception shapes the offspring’s identity, and the donor may further influence the development of offspring’s identity through communications. It remains important to disclose donor conception to donor-conceived offspring and to provide them with donor information. However, that information might be insufficient for some donor-conceived persons. Here are benefits to having open-identity donors and known donors. Such donors can make an agreement with the parents regarding future communication with the offspring, although both sides should respect privacy. Subsequent counseling for all parties involved can result in better tripartite communication agreements.ConclusionsIn sum, ethical and practical issues that complicate donor anonymity are driving a shift to non-anonymous donor conception, in which all parties come to a communication agreement. To pave the way for such a donor conception system, transitional measures can be put into place. For countries that already adopted non-anonymous donor conception, ensuring the communication agreements is important to protect the rights of parents, donor, and offspring. (shrink)

This book provides a current analysis of the legal and ethical challenges in preparing for and responding to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive crises. From past events like the Chernobyl nuclear incident in Russia or the Bhopal chemical calamity in India, to the more recent tsunami and nuclear accident in Japan or the Ebola crisis in Africa, and with the on-going threat of bioterrorism, the need to be ready to respond to CBRNE crises is uncontroversial. What is controversial is (...) whether we are on a path that adequately prepares us for the next event. The ethical and legal scholars in this volume hold that much work remains to be done and offer this book to stimulate further reflection and dialogue around CBRNE crises. This is an indispensable book for both students and scholars of bioethics, international law, public health, as well as for regulators and administrators developing policy and legislation related to public health planning and emergency responses. (shrink)

Gene editing is a particularly attractive subject in the Spanish context because it was precisely a scientist of this nationality -Professor Juan Francisco Martínez Mojica, at the University of Alicante-, who was the first to name and identify the function of this region of DNA present in some bacteria and archeas that acts as an immune mechanism against viruses and which has given rise to the gene editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9. Martínez Mojica discovered that some bacteria and archeas were (...) able to identify and “cut” the DNA segments of the attacking viruses, incorporating them into their own genetic make-up. In this way they could recognize and degrade the specific DNA sequences of the virus against future attacks, a defense that could be inherited by the next generation of bacteria. It was this discovery that laid the foundations for the “genetic editing revolution”. (shrink)

Organ shortage constitutes an unsolved problem for every country that offers transplantation as a therapeutic option. Besides the largely implemented donation model and the eventually implemented market model, a theorized automatic organ procurement model has raised a rich debate in the legal, medical and bioethical community, since it could show a higher potential to solve organ shortage. In this paper, we study the main arguments for and against this model. We show how, in the light of empirical data extracted from (...) countries with a universal health care system, its implementation could lead to a positive impact on organ procurement rates. Three factors are envisioned as fundamental in the comprehension and a possible regulation of the automatic organ procurement model: the lack of recognition of the conscientious objection, the preservation of the right to choose end of life conditions, and the need to avoid incentives for families or healthcare professionals. (shrink)

The aim of the present paper is to reinforce some of the affirmations made by Vera Lucia Raposo in a recent paper published by the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. According to her, germline gene editing does not violate human dignity at all. This article offers some complementary ideas supporting her statement. In particular, four main arguments are stressed. Firstly, not only is the idea of human dignity unclear, but the idea of the human genome suffers from a general lack of (...) concreteness, which has dramatic consequences for the debate. Secondly, it is highlighted that if we believe that the immutability of the human genome underpins human dignity, then it should be our duty to use the tools of genetic modification to reverse any accidental changes that occur in nature. Thirdly, it is showed that if the alteration of germline constitutes an attack on human dignity, then we should also refrain from performing medical practices such as chemotherapy, which cause precisely this effect. Finally, we argue that modification of germline is not contrary to human dignity but an excellent expression of our autonomy. (shrink)

El edificio Rana Plaza, en Bangladesh, se vino abajo en Abril 2013. Como consecuencia, más de mil personas perdieron la vida. Este suceso despertó inmediatamente una fuerte crítica a la actuación de las grandes corporaciones trasnacionales. Se les acusó de no haber hecho todo lo que podían para mejorar las condiciones laborales en ese país, a pesar de que su poder de compra les permitía dictar las reglas. Este artículo pretende explorar la legitimidad de esa acusación. Con tal fin, se (...) explorará la responsabilidad moral de la situación existente en muchos países en vías de desarrollo. Ese análisis desvelará que, más allá de las citadas corporaciones, es posible hablar de responsabilidades en el caso de muchos de nosotros. Nuestra doble vertiente de ciudadanos y consumidores/inversores nos dota de un poder que implica también una responsabilidad. (shrink)

En un mundo globalizado, el consumidor posee un poder superior al que nunca ha tenido. La amplitud de los mercados hace que le sea muy sencillo sustituir unos bienes por otros a la hora de satisfacer una necesidad. Sus decisiones de compra son, a su vez, las que deciden qué empresas triunfarán y cuáles no. De ahí que sea cada vez más cabal hablar de soberanía del consumidor. La conciencia de este poder es esencial, ya que permite pensar en formas (...) de poner límites al libre mercado basadas en la idea de justicia. Ahora bien, esto sólo será posible a través de acciones concertadas, que utilicen herramientas eficaces, como el boicot de compra. Este texto analiza las posibilidades con las que cuenta el consumidor para ejercer su poder adecuadamente. (shrink)

Review of Miguel Catalán: El prestigio de la lejanía. Ilusión, autoengaño y utopía. Seudología I¸ Editorial Verbum, 2ª edic. Madrid 2014, 263 pp.

The discussion about the animal rights is becoming nowadays one of the most important ones in the fields of philosophy or laws. Authors such us Singer, Regan, or, in the Latin countries, Riechmann, de Lora, Horta or Mostrerin talk about our moral duty to recognize to some animals the same rights we recognize to the human beings. The Great Ape Project has been even discussed in some of our Parliaments. However, “traditional” philosophers and lawyers do not seem to have in (...) mind any answers to these challenges. The purpose of this paper is to face this fact, arguing why we are not obligated to consider animal rights. (shrink)

El objetivo de este texto consiste en analizar las consecuencias que la creación de quimeras e híbridos puede llegar a tener sobre los paradigmas éticos con los que contamos ahora mismo, especialmente el antropocentrismo. Intentaremos demostrar que este paradigma no es capaz de afrontar adecuadamente la existencia de esta clase de seres, que desafían las premisas sobre las que se construye. Esto debería llevarnos a reemplazarlo por otros modelos éticos.

Resumen: En este artículo reviso la interpretación de Eduardo Nicol de la teoría de la propiedad de Francisco Suárez. Para ello, presento la posición de Suárez acerca de la propiedad y la propiedad privada atendiendo dos cuestiones fundamentales. La primera es si la propiedad y la propiedad privada son derechos; la segunda es si ambos pertenecen a la naturaleza humana o no. Al final, argumento que la lectura de Nicol es insostenible, pues difícilmente puede admitirse que Suárez defendió algún tipo (...) de comunismo.: In this paper I revisit Eduardo Nicol’s interpretation of Suarez’s theory of property. To this purpose, I present Suárez’s account of property and private property focusing on two main aspects. The first is whether property and private property are rights; the second is whether they belong to the human nature or not. Finally, I argue that Nicol’s reading of Suárez is untenable for it can hardly be accepted that Suárez defended some kind of communism. (shrink)

I have chosen this essay for this paper because it is an excellent research on ethical and cultural roots of democracy from the study of John Dewey’s thought, American philosopher and educator who developed his theory about participative democracy considering the consequences of the 1929 crash. The twenties and thirties of the XXth century are so much like this early XXIst century, that their democratic will can afford us to identify the conditions to exit from of the current crisis of (...) representation. (shrink)

En este articulo abordo la concepcion educativa del pensador espanol Miguel de Unamuno. haciendo especial hincapie en los principios e ideas que respecto a la eduaction aparecen en sus primeros articulos y en su promera novela, Paz en la guerra (la cual contiene muchas de las ideas que seran el tema central de Amor y pedagogia, su novela pedagogica, o mas bien antipedagogica, por exelencia. Hasta el momento, no se habian tenido presente estos escritos a la hora de analizar (...) su labor educativa y sus ideas pedagogicas, a pesar de que son de gran importancia a la hora de ver como se va fraguando su conception de la education u como esta va evolucionado. Considero que las ideas que el vasco mantuvo en el ambito educativo son todavia de actualidad y dignas de tener en cuenta. Su propuesta educativa encaja perfectamente y defiende los principios de educacion continua, integral y personalizada o indyvidualizada que ahora estan en boga. Por ello, es nescesario hacer una relectura de los escritos unamunianos desde la perspectiva educativa u ver que nos aportan para el momento presente. (shrink)

Aesthetics and metaphysics I: the mimetic schema -- Aesthetics and metaphysics II: from Kant to Adorno -- Aesthetics at the limit of metaphysics: intimations of the hypersensible -- Metaphor beyond metaphysics? -- Literature: Proust, Hölderlin -- Sculpture: Chillida.

I The Inner Self and the External Self There is no direct intuition of the self that is worth anything; the eye cannot see itself except in a mirror and the ...

ABSTRACT This paper is intended as a contribution to the study of science and religion in late modern Catholic societies. I explore the treatment of natural philosophy vis-à-vis religious authority, the teaching of Biblical geology, and the use of natural theology in texts from Río de la Plata in the transition from late colonial to early independent times. After reviewing the assimilation of modern science into scholastic teaching and the articulation of reason and religious authority, the article considers the handling (...) of the early history of the Earth in the theses of scholastic teachers and in the geological memoirs of the naturalist priest from Montevideo Dámaso Larrañaga. The core of the paper is devoted to the treatment of natural theology in Larrañaga’s Diary of Natural History and in the speeches and documents of enlightened crown bureaucrats. The conclusion is reached that the harmonious character of the relationships between science and religion in this period and location harboured tensions which could be accounted for in terms of the inherent inconsistencies in the programme of Catholic Enlightenment. (shrink)