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PubMed2004

Bioethics and the determination of personhood.

In today's technological world, humanity continuously surpasses the limits set by previous achievements. Although evidence of such progress exists in several fields of study, one clearly sees this in the medical and biotechnological fields. Despite the countless opportunities for longer, more productive lives, medicine and science have regressed in their conception of the human person. In an effort to overcome any moral and legal ramifications that research and medical practices entail, physicians and researchers have come to reduce personhood to only a matter of biological qualities and functioning. This essay attempts to show, first of all, the classical Christian understanding of the person, currently held by the Orthodox Church. It then looks at three fields of bioethical discussion; namely, abortion, brain death, and human embryonic cloning, and shows how each issue reduces the human person to his or her biological components. The essay concludes by suggesting a return to an understanding of personhood based on personal and communal levels of relationships.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1996

Beyond the orthodox: heresy in medicine and the social sciences from a cross-cultural perspective.

An analysis of the concepts of orthodoxy and heresy with due consideration to the social context (historical, religious, cross-cultural dimensions), within which the terms are discussed, leads us to look historically at its European significance embodied in the witch-craze of the 15th-17th centuries. One way to conceptualize heresy is to analyze it in the context of the relationship of the scientists and scientific theories vis-á-vis societal establishment (ie. power bases such as governments, finance bases, public consensus). Today, unorthodoxy lies in attempts to accomplish interdisciplinary work, or in proposing alternative explanatory strategies (as in alternative medicine). A shift in scientific paradigms seems to characterize the revolutionary changes of our era. The foremost challenge in the construction of new paradigms seems to be the ability to effectively integrate the components of emotion or feelings taking into account both those of the researcher as well as those who are being investigated. This will involve a new conceptualization of objectivity. In an era which is distinguished by globalization, such a task necessitates a new level of understanding that integrates gender related analysis as well as the implications of the recognition of cross-cultural interaction and cultural diversity.

Christianity↗
PubMed2005

[Today's meaning of classical authors of political thinking].

How can classical political authors be actualised? The question is asked in a discipline which is founded in old traditions: the political science. One of its great matters is the history of political ideas. Classic authors are treated in many books, but they are viewed in different perspectives; colleagues do not agree with shining and bad examples. For actualising classic we have to go a methodically reflected way: historic not historicistic, with sensibility for classic and christian norms without dogmatism or scepticism. Searching the permanent problems we try to translate the original concepts of the classic authors carefully in our time. For demonstrating our method of actualising, we choose the French classical author Montesquieu. His famous concept of division of powers is misunderstood as a "liberal" mechanism which works in itself in favour of freedom (such as Kant made work a "natural mechanism" in a people of devils in favour of their legality); in reality Montesquieu acknoledges that constitutional und organisational work cannot stabilise themselves but must be found in social character and in human virtues.

France↗
PubMed2000

Women's reproductive health: monotheistic religious perspectives.

It is important to those who practice reproduction techniques to learn about the different religious attitudes related to reproductive health problems. Religion exerts an influence on civil authorities in the field of reproduction such as prevention or procreation and in issues such as abortion and infertility therapy. The Jewish attitude towards reproduction can be learned from the fact that the first commandment of God to Adam was be fruitful and multiply. Judaism allows the practice of all techniques of assisted reproduction when the oocyte and sperm originate from the wife and husband, respectively. All Rabbinical rulings permit the use of contraception for medical indications. Economic difficulties and inconveniences of raising children are not indications for birth control practice. According to Judaism abortion on demand is forbidden but it may be performed if the mother's life is in danger. The attitude toward reproductive practice is different among the different divisions of Christianity. The practice of assisted reproduction is not accepted by the Vatican, however, it may be practiced by Protestant, Anglican and other Denomination's. According to the Roman Catholic doctrine the primary purpose of marriage is procreation. The contraceptive act destroys the potential of producing new life by sexual intercourse and violates the purpose of marriage and, therefore, is a sin against nature. The Christian tradition views the embryo as a human being since conception and, therefore, abortion is strictly forbidden. According to Islam, the procedure of IVF and ET is acceptable, however, it can be preformed only if it involves the husband and the wife. It allows contraception practice only under some circumstances and only in some special cases abortion can be preformed. Religion, being concerned with affairs that are regarded as extraordinary and as having unique importance in life, is an intrinsic aspect of the culture of all societies, religious groups, however, still exert influence on the civil authorities in issues of reproduction such as contraception, procreation, abortion, and infertility therapy. They have been active in pressing their bioethical positions on the public arena in pluralistic societies. Developments in science and technology in reproduction raise new religious questions that do not always have clear answers. The role of theology in bioethics is foremost to clarify for the different religious communities the perceived attitudes toward these developments. Therefore, it is important to those who practice reproduction techniques to learn about the different religious attitudes related to reproductive health problems.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1980

Personalist humanism: value system for medicine.

Medical science and pastoral care should support a personalist humanism that values the inherent dignity of all persons. Religion enhances such humanism, affirming the physicians' responsibility for themselves and for those in their care.

Bioethics↗
PubMed1998

Recombination, rationality, reductionism and romantic reactions: culture, computers, and the genetic algorithm.

The genetic algorithm (GA) is a computational procedure that 'evolves' solutions to optimization problems by generating populations of possible solutions, and then by treating these solutions metaphorically as individuals that can 'mate' and 'compete' to 'survive' and 'reproduce'. In this paper, I explore how culturally specific notions of evolution, population, reproduction, sex/gender, and kinship inflect the ways GAs are assembled and understood. Combining the results of fieldwork among GA workers with analysis of GA texts, I contend that the picture of 'nature' embedded in GAs is resonant with the values of secularized Judeo-Christian white middle-class US-American and European heterosexual culture. I also maintain that GA formulations are accented by languages inherited from sociobiology. I argue that examining GAs can help us track how dominant meanings of 'nature' are being stabilized and refigured in an age in which exchanges of metaphor between biology and computer science are increasingly common.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1986

[Man and disease].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Christianity↗
PubMed1998

Embedded neural networks: exploiting constraints.

Using concepts and tools of embodied cognitive science, we investigate the implications of embedding neural networks in a physical structure, the body of a robot. Embedding a neural network in a body provides constraints that can be exploited for learning. We show that the constraints are given by the environment and object properties, the agent's morphology, the agent's motor system and specific ways of interacting with the objects. We argue that designing embedded neural networks implies (a) understanding these constraints, and (b) exploiting them, i.e., designing neural networks such that they-one way or other-incorporate the constraints. This in turn results in cheap and simple networks that are suited for the task environment, and have real-time responses. Moreover, this constraint-based approach provides new perspectives on two fundamental problems of cognitive science: focus-of-attention and object constancy. The main arguments are illustrated with a series of case studies with simulated and physical mobile robots that are controlled by hand-designed as well as evolved neural networks.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Growing up with chronic illness: psychosocial adjustment of children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis.

This chapter reviews the published research from 1980 through 2001 on the psychosocial adjustment of children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis. The inclusion criteria were that research was conducted by nurses and researchers from related disciplines that focused on the psychosocial adjustment of children (6 to 12 years) and/or adolescents (13 to 22 years) with cystic fibrosis (CF). Three computerized databases were used for retrieval: Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Medline, and PsycINFO. Of the 74 citations published from 1980 through 2001, only 20 studies met the inclusion criteria, including 7 nursing research studies and 13 studies published by non-nurses in related disciplines. Key findings from this review were that the focus of nursing research was on the social consequences of chronic illness, while the non-nursing research focused on self-concept, self-worth, and psychiatric symptoms of anxiety, worry, and behavior problems. Only two programs of research were identified. Developmental science was used as a guiding framework for the critique of the research. Recommendations for future research include developmentally sensitive longitudinal studies to track developmental change and stability over time, as well as research that captures individual developmental differences.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

The brain-life theory: towards a consistent biological definition of humanness.

This paper suggests that medically the term a 'human being' should be defined by the presence of an active human brain. The brain is the only unique and irreplaceable organ in the human body, as the orchestrator of all organ systems and the seat of personality. Thus, the presence or absence of brain life truly defines the presence or absence of human life in the medical sense. When viewed in this way, human life may be seen as a continuous spectrum between the onset of brain life in utero (eight weeks gestation), until the occurrence of brain death. At any point human tissue or organ systems may be present, but without the presence of a functional human brain, these do not constitute a 'human being', at least in a medical sense. The implications of this theory for various ethical concerns such as in vitro fertilisation and abortion are discussed. This theory is the most consistent possible for the definition of a human being with no contradictions inherent. However, having a good theory of definition of a 'human being' does not necessarily solve the ethical problems discussed herein.

Aborted Fetus↗
PubMed1981

Catholic perspectives on populations issues II.

This Bulletin discusses the history and current status of the population problem from a Roman Catholic viewpoint. While upholding human rights and admitting the right of couples to control the size of their families, the Catholic Church continues to prohibit the use of artificial methods of contraception as sinful. This position hinders the Church, with its some 750 million adherents, from taking an effective lead in confronting the growing threat of global overpopulation. Rhythm has been permitted since 1930 but Pope Pius 12 in 1958 forbade contraceptive use of the pill. Despite the liberal spirit engendered by Vatican Council 2 and against the recommendation of a papal birth control commission, Pope Paul 6 in his 1968 Encyclical Humanae vitae reaffirmed the ban on artificial contraception, apparently convinced that this was necessary to combat growing sexual immorality, family breakdown, and materialism. This stance has been upheld by Pope John Paul 2 and the 1980 Synod of Bishops. The decision ignores the pleas of a number of responsible churchmen speaking for their people at the Synod and of a growing majority of Catholic theologians and laity, that Church teaching must be updated to take account of the facts of modern life. Surveys reveal that Catholic married couples increasingly find Church-approved natural family planning methods unsatisfactory and feel obliged to turn to artificial methods to regulate their family size. On the world scale, Pope John Paul 2 and the Vatican, while insisting on human rights and the need for a reordering of unjust economic, social, and political structures, seem to be neglecting the threat of civilizational breakdown that looms with the prospect of too many people in too little space with too few resources.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed2005

History of disease and the longue durée.

This paper summarizes Grmek's theoretical contribution to history of disease and explores to what extent the longue durée could still be a useful concept in order to better understand past perceptions of, and reactions to, diseases. The case of the medical responses to epidemic disease in pre-industrial Europe is synthetically expounded in order to illustrate this issue.

Christianity↗