This article explores the experience of death from the perspective of existential philosophy, for the purpose of finding ways to humanize end‐of‐life nursing care. A person in his or her final days is seen by the caregiver as a being seeking the continual creation of his human becoming, from the experience of sickness to death. From the moment the torment of suffering begins, a person needs a presence of humanistic professionalism that embraces the values of the nursing profession.

Like most goods‐producing sectors in the West, modern health‐care systems have been profoundly changed by globalization and the neoliberal policies that attend it. Since the 1970s, the role of the welfare state has been considerably reduced; funding and management of health systems have been subjected to wave upon wave of reorganization and assimilated to the private sector. At the same time, neoliberal policy has imposed the notion of patient empowerment, thus turning patients into consumers of health. The literature on nursing (...) has accordingly reported on the significant repercussions on all aspects of the profession, from delivery of care and treatment, through training for new nurses, to legislated policy reforms regarding the role and responsibilities of modern nurses. In light of these developments, this paper analyses and theorizes about the way the injection of neoliberal policy is linked to and affects the practice of nursing. Drawing on a number of Nietzschean arguments, we begin with an exploration of the complex effects of neoliberalism, bureaucratization, and technocratization on the health system and the practice of nursing. Our main theoretical point here is that neoliberal policy engenders and promotes a neoliberal tide, which results in the conversion of the values that drive modern nursing practice. We then examine this tide in the light of Nietzsche's concepts. Starting with an analysis based on the ontology of the will to power, we show that nurses are dominated by neoliberal values embedded in technocratic and bureaucratic ideologies. Finally, we argue that the application of neoliberal policy constitutes a form of domestication from which one might potentially be freed through the Nietzschean concept of transvaluation of values. This transvaluation, as its freeing from some of the neoliberal tide, may be accomplished in accordance with a hierarchy of specific life‐affirming values for nursing culture and practice. (shrink)

Excerpt from Early Philosophical Works: Translated and Edited by Margaret Jourdain A Complete survey of the life and works of Diderot - whom Voltaire called Pantophile - is not attempted here, for the list of the topics he handled would be a very long one, including as it does various departments of art and science and speculation. The Letter on the Blind (the most interesting of his early works), however, shows him in two lights - as a free-thinker and (...) as one of the long succession of thinkers who prepared the way for the theory of; evolution. The agitation caused by Diderot and his circle about the theory of transformism, it has been said, must have largely contributed to awaken the attention of Erasmus Darwin in England and Lamarck in France to the necessity of throwing more positive light on that great issue. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

Discussions about real knowledge contained in grand theories and models seem to remain an active quest in the academic sphere. The most fervent of these defendants is Rosemarie Parse with her Humanbecoming School of Thought (1981, 1998). This article first highlights the similarities between Parse's theory and Blumer's symbolic interactionism (1969). This comparison will act as a counterargument to Parse's assertions that her theory is original ‘nursing’ material. Standing on the contemporary philosophy of science, the very possibility for discovering specific (...) nursing knowledge will be questioned. Second, Parse's scientific assumptions will be thoroughly addressed and contrasted with Blumer's more moderate view of knowledge. It will lead to recognize that the valorization of the social nature of existence and reality does not necessarily induce requirements and methods such as those proposed by Parse. According to Blumer's point of view, her perspective may not even be desirable. Recommendations will be raised about the necessity for a distanced relationship to knowledge, being the key to the pursuit of its improvement, not its circular contemplation. (shrink)

This article seeks to shed light on the beliefs that influence nurses’ intention of respecting or not respecting an advance directive document, namely a living will or a durable power of attorney. Nurses’ beliefs were measured using a 44-statement questionnaire. The sample was made up of 306 nurses working either in a long-term care centre or in a hospital centre offering general and specialized care in the province of Québec. The results indicate that nurses have a strong intention of complying (...) with advance directives written by patients. The analysis also shows that four variables determine the strength of this intention: respect for autonomy; the location of the workplace; justice; and the dimension of relationships and emotions. Although these documents favour the expression of patients’ wishes, nurses should be aware that they do not systematically guarantee respect of a patient’s autonomy, nor do they replace a relationship based on trust between patients and health care professionals. (shrink)

Hermeneutics has become a major topic of debate throughout the scholarly community. What has been called the "interpretive turn" has led to interesting new approaches in both the human and social sciences, and has helped to transform divided disciplines by bringing them closer together. Yet one of the largest and most important social sciences economics has so far been almost completely left out of the transformation. Economics and Hermeneutics takes a significant step towards filling this gap by introducing scholars on (...) both sides of the divide to ways that hermeneutics might help economists address some of their most important problems. Among the topics addressed are entrepreneurship, price theory, rational expectations, monetary theory, welfare economics, and economic policy. The approaches to economics represented include the Austrian school, McCloskey's "rhetoric" approach, Marxian critical theory and institutionalism. (shrink)

Lavoie and Talwar examine the phenomenon of prosocial lie telling: lying with the intention to benefit others. They investigate how well children aged 4 to 11 are able to conceal information about a surprise gift from their parents based on these children’s responses to their parents’ questions. Lavoie and Talwar conclude that, as children’s theory of mind abilities and working memory improve, their ability to conceal information from others also develops.

THE MYTH OF THE PLAN: LESSONS OF SOVIET PLANNING EXPERIENCE by Peter Rutland. LaSalle, Illinois: Open Court, 1985. 286 pp., $26.95. LENIN AND THE END OF POLITICS by A. J. Polan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. 240 pp., $22.50, $9.95 (paper).

The “good farmer” literature, grounded in Bourdieu’s concepts of field, habitus, and capital, has provided researchers with a socio-cultural approach to understanding conservation adoption behavior. The good farmer literature suggests that conservation practices may not be widely accepted because they do not allow farmers to demonstrate symbols of good farming. This lens has not been applied to the adoption of conservation tillage, a practice increasingly used to improve conservation outcomes, farming efficiency and crop productivity. Drawing from in-depth interviews with dryland (...) wheat farmers in the US inland Pacific Northwest, this research seeks to understand how farmers’ engagement with CT is shaped by identity as a good farmer. Some farmers also sought to bolster social capital through CT by maintaining and strengthening relationships with peers, landowners, and future generations. We further found that engagement with CT provided a link for some participants between productivist values and stewardship values within the good farming identity. The findings from this research may help contextualize the barriers and opportunities to the adoption of agricultural conservation practices within farmer-specific social, cultural, and economic forms of capital. (shrink)

Euthanasia remains controversial in Canada and an issue of debate among physicians. Most studies have explored the opinion of health professionals regarding its legalization, but have not investigated their intentions when faced with performing euthanasia. These studies are also considered atheoretical. The purposes of the present study were to fill this gap in the literature by identifying the psychosocial determinants of physicians’ intention to practice euthanasia in palliative care and verifying whether respecting the patient’s autonomy is important for physicians.

Although a number of microfinance initiatives have improved financial inclusion in various regions of developing countries, the transferability of their foundations from one context to another is still a challenge. This study proposes an innovative process-based model targeting the initial stages of the transfer process that links three interconnected categories: local contextual conditions, transferring practices, and initial developmental consequences. The results were produced through a longitudinal study of the implementation of three community development banks on the periphery of Sao Paulo (...) based on a highly successful Brazilian model known as Banco Palmas. In addition to the process-based model, our findings contribute to the microfinance and bottom of the pyramid literatures, showing a cross-fertilization that has been insufficiently explored. (shrink)

Le prologue du livre de Ben Sira est le seul texte biblique qui nous livre une réflexion sur l’acte de traduire. Cet article vise deux objectifs : 1) mieux comprendre ce que le petit-fils de Ben Sira dit au sujet de la traduction du livre de son grand-père ; 2) comparer sa conception de la traduction avec celles que l’on trouve dans d’autres textes judéens et alexandrins relatifs à la traduction de la Bible hébraïque en grec, afin de mettre en (...) évidence le caractère singulier des propos du petit-fils de Ben Sira. (shrink)

Jean-Jacques Lavoie | : Cet article présente une centaine de livres publiés depuis l’an 2000 sur le texte de Qohélet. L’état de la recherche est divisé en six parties qui correspondent à autant d’approches : critique textuelle, analyse philologique et sémantique, histoire de la réception, analyse comparée, critique structurelle et lecture canonique et pastorale. Ce choix n’a rien d’arbitraire. Au contraire, il est adapté aux livres publiés depuis l’an 2000 et permet de mettre en évidence les principaux résultats de (...) la recherche récente sur le livre de Qohélet. | : This article presents about a hundred books that have been published on the text of Qohelet since 2000. The presentation of the state of research is divided in six parts, corresponding to the following approaches : textual criticism, philological and semantic analysis, history of reception, comparative study, analysis of the logical structure of the book, and canonical and pastoral reading. This choice is not arbitrary. On the contrary, it reflects and highlights the main tendencies of literature published since 2000 on the book of Qohelet. (shrink)

On the extreme wing of libertarian ideology are the individualist anarchists, who wish to dispense with government altogether. The quasi-legitimate functions now performed by government, such as the administration of justice, can, the anarchists claim, be provided in the marketplace. George H. Smith.

Jean-Jacques Lavoie L’auteur présente un état de la recherche des critiques textuelles et des sources de Qohélet 7,15-18 et propose une analyse structurelle et littéraire de ces quatre versets, afin de montrer que Qohélet souligne les limites de la sagesse et de la justice et dénonce toute forme de démesure, car celle-ci ne peut garantir le succès et peut même conduire à la ruine. Craindre Dieu est le contraire de la démesure ; c’est reconnaître que l’on ignore tout de (...) la manière dont Dieu agit et c’est accepter de vivre dans un monde absurde. (shrink)

Jean-Jacques Lavoie | Résumé : L’auteur présente un état de la recherche sur la critique textuelle et la critique des sources de Qohélet 7,19-20 et propose une analyse structurelle et littéraire de ces deux versets. Il poursuit son enquête en s’attardant plus particulièrement aux thèmes de la force meurtrière et de l’imperfection humaine, deux thèmes intimement liés dans quelques textes de la Bible, particulièrement en 1 R 8 et au Ps 143. |: The author presents the state of research (...) about textual and source criticisms concerning Qoheleth 7:19-20, and then provides a structural and literary analysis of these verses. He pursues his inquiry further, focusing more particularly on the themes of the lethal force and the human imperfection, two themes interrelated in some biblical texts, particularly 1 Kings 8 and Psalm 143. (shrink)

Jean-Jacques Lavoie | : L’auteur présente un état de la recherche des critiques textuelle et des sources ainsi que des analyses structurelle et littéraire de Qohélet 2,1-3, afin de montrer comment Qohélet relativise, non sans ironie, la valeur de la jouissance. | : The author presents the state of research about textual and source criticisms, as well as structural and literary analyses concerning Qoheleth 2:1-3, in order to show how Qoheleth seeks to relativize, not without irony, the value of (...) enjoyment. (shrink)

Jean-Jacques Lavoie | : L’auteur présente un état de la recherche des critiques textuelle et des sources de Qo 2,25 et propose une analyse structurelle de Qo 2,24-26 ainsi qu’une analyse littéraire de Qo 2,25, afin de montrer que le propos de la péricope qui conclut la fiction royale est de nature théologique : rien n’est possible pour l’être humain — pas même pour le roi Qohélet! — sans l’intervention divine. Autrement dit, le Dieu qui donne est également celui (...) qui détermine les conditions de l’existence humaine, aussi bien celles qui sont heureuses et avantageuses que celles qui sont malheureuses et désavantageuses. | : The author presents the state of research regarding textual criticism as well as source criticism concerning Qo 2,25, and then offers a structural analysis of Qo 2,24-26, and a literary analysis of Qo 2,25, in order to show that the subject of the section that concludes the royal fiction is of theological nature : nothing is possible for the human being — not even for the king Qohelet! — without divine intervention. In other words, the God who gives is also the one who determines the conditions of human existence, both the happy and advantageous ones, as well as the unhappy and disadvantageous ones. (shrink)

Jean-Jacques Lavoie | Résumé : L’auteur présente un état de la recherche de la critique textuelle de Qo 2,12 en montrant qu’il faut maintenir le texte massorétique, puisque c’est le texte le plus difficile. Puis, il présente un état de la recherche de la critique des sources ainsi que de l’analyse structurelle et littéraire, afin de montrer que ce verset doit être lu à la lumière de son contexte immédiat. En effet, la comparaison de la sagesse et de la (...) folie, au v. 12a, annonce la question de l’avantage de la sagesse sur la folie et du sage sur le fou, en 2,13-16. Quant au v. 12b, il annonce la question portant sur la valeur du successeur, en 2,19a, et souligne, non sans ironie, que la valeur du successeur est dérisoire et que celui-ci ne vaut que ce que le prédécesseur, aussi incomparable soit-il, a fait de lui. Ainsi compris, le v. 12 peut aussi se lire comme une allusion à Roboam en 1 R 12. |: The author presents a state of research about textual criticism concerning Qo 2,12 by showing that it is necessary to maintain the Masoretic Text, since it is the most difficult text. Then, he presents the state of the research about source criticism, as well as structural and literary analyses, in order to show that this verse should be read in the light of its immediate context. Indeed, the comparison between wisdom and folly, in v. 12a, announces the question of the advantage of wisdom over folly, and of the wise over the fool in 2.13-16. As to v. 12b, it announces the question concerning the value of the successor in 2.19a, and emphasizes, not without irony, that the value of the successor is derisory, and that it is worth only what the predecessor, however incomparable he may be, has made of him. Thus understood, v. 12b can also be read as an allusion to Rehoboam in 1 K 12. (shrink)