Results Of Conceptual Analysis Research Articles

Przyczynki do teorii definicji

Being the results of conceptual analysis, definitions play a crucial role in philosophy. On the one hand, providing a good definition is often counted as a significant philosophical result. On the other, the lack of a correct definition is sometimes the main reason for futile philosophical controversies. That is why the theory of definitions is among the central aims of the methodology of philosophy. The paper proposes some improvements of the traditional semiotic conception of definitions, especially as it is applied in philosophy. Classifications of definitions are analyzed and new kinds of definitions are distinguished (with respect to structure, genesis, type of sense indicated, etc.). The paper also describes various ways of establishing definitions and reconstructs the criteria of correctness that apply to definitions.

2 The ethics of (mis)representation of functional neurological disorders in public media

Objective To describe two different cases of misrepresentations of functional neurological disorders in mass media (television) and review ethical issues faced by the health professional on viewing these. Method Case series, narrative review and conceptual analysis Results In the first case, a documentary shows emergency management of an individual in apparent status epilepticus who receives intensive invasive management. Follow-up in the documentary suggests the patient retains a diagnosis of epilepsy. However a viewing clinician believes the attack displayed to be non-epileptic in nature. The second case concerns the talk show appearance of a woman experiencing functional neurological symptoms including memory loss and weakness. During the course of the interview, several incorrect statements regarding the aetiology, management and prognosis of functional neurological disorders are made that may lead to inappropriately catastrophizing interpretations of the condition. A viewing clinician is concerned about the effect of these misleading statements on others who may experience similar symptoms. Such cases raise challenging questions regarding clinical workers’ professional responsibilities in ‘informal’ contexts outside established professional-patient relationships, and their relationship with health journalists in mainstream media. The clinician must deliberate whether and how to engage with: the patients involved; the teams responsible for their care; the media outlets producing the content; and the viewing public. We find neither internalist approaches to professional responsibility (such as virtue ethics or care ethics), nor externalist ones (such as the ‘social contract’ model) are able adequately to engage with such situations – the former invoking norms grounded in pre-existing professional-patient relationships, the latter’s guidance being too abstract. We explore these questions through an instrumentalised virtue ethics, emphasising the non-complacency and practical wisdom of virtue ethics, but grounding the normative authority of virtue in a physician’s wider responsibility to serve public health. Conclusion Health workers’ caring responsibilities extend beyond established professional-patient relationships to informal encounters, but must be acted on in a way sensitive to the concrete particulars of the individual case, and to the limitations of the health worker’s knowledge. Health workers can also promote better health through working toward public understanding of conditions in their field, and should engage with healthcare journalists to convey how specific vulnerabilities of patients experiencing conditions they are expert in lead to moral hazard.

Un análisis conceptual del problema de las relaciones entre la investigación básica y el trabajo aplicado en psicología: los ejemplos del análisis experimental y aplicado a la conducta

The use of Wittgentstein”s conceptual analysis shows that the problem of the relationships between basic and applied research in Psychology has been focused as anissue of direct extrapolation from scientific knowledge to the solution ofbehavioural problems and that this is not an adequate approach. Results of conceptual analysis allow us to reformulate the question, recognizing that: a) in the case of psychology, three modes of knowledge can be identified; b) these modes are relatively independent in their objetives and contexts; c) the use of natural language allows continuous interaction between them. The three modes of knowledge are described and the example of experimental and applied behaviour analyses is discussed. The conceptual analysis shows that both fields reproduce the direct extrapolation fron scientific knowledge to behavioural technology logic and that they are relatively isolated domains with only nominal mutual communication. Ways of solving the problem, following this reformulation, are presented.