Subject Of Ethics Research Articles

‶Don’t Say Neigh, Say Yay”

‶Don’t Say Neigh, Say Yay”

Brain Organoids, the Path Forward?

Brain Organoids, the Path Forward?

Ethics of early detection of disease risk factors: A scoping review

BackgroundScientific and technological advancements in mapping and understanding the interrelated pathways through which biological and environmental exposures affect disease development create new possibilities for detecting disease risk factors. Early detection of such risk factors may help prevent disease onset or moderate the disease course, thereby decreasing associated disease burden, morbidity, and mortality. However, the ethical implications of screening for disease risk factors are unclear and the current literature provides a fragmented and case-by-case picture.MethodsTo identify key ethical considerations arising from the early detection of disease risk factors, we performed a systematic scoping review. The Scopus, Embase, and Philosopher’s Index databases were searched for peer-reviewed, academic records, which were included if they were written in English or Dutch and concerned the ethics of (1) early detection of (2) disease risk factors for (3) disease caused by environmental factors or gene-environment interactions. All records were reviewed independently by at least two researchers.ResultsAfter screening 2034 titles and abstracts, and 112 full papers, 55 articles were included in the thematic synthesis of the results. We identified eight common ethical themes: (1) Reliability and uncertainty in early detection, (2) autonomy, (3) privacy, (4) beneficence and non-maleficence, (5) downstream burdens on others, (6) responsibility, (7) justice, and (8) medicalization and conceptual disruption. We identified several gaps in the literature, including a relative scarcity of research on ethical considerations associated with environmental preventive health interventions, a dearth of practical suggestions on how to address expressed concerns about overestimating health capacities, and a lack of insights into preventing undue attribution of health responsibility to individuals.ConclusionsThe ethical concerns arising with the early detection of risk factors are often interrelated and complex. Comprehensive ethical analyses are needed that are better embedded in normative frameworks and also assess and weigh the expected benefits of early risk factor detection. Such research is necessary for developing and implementing responsible and fair preventive health policies.

EXPLORING MORAL AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES THROUGH DRAMA: A STUDY OF IFEYINWA UZONDU'S WHICH WAY IS RIGHT?

This study delves into the exploration of moral and ethical principles through the dramatic lens, with a specific focus on Ifeyinwa Uzondu's play titled Which Way is Right? In contemporary society, the erosion of moral principles has become a pressing concern. The decline in ethical values, societal norms, and the erosion of moral boundaries have led to various social issues, impacting individuals, families, and communities. Literature, particularly drama, has often been a medium through which society reflects on its values and seeks to restore or reshape them. Ifeyinwa Uzondu's play, Which Way is Right?, explores themes related to moral dilemmas, societal norms, and the consequences of one's actions. The theoretical framework employed in this research draws from moral philosophy, ethical theories, and dramatic literature analysis. By examining the intricacies of Uzondu's play, the study aims to elucidate how drama serves as a powerful medium to engage with and interrogate moral and ethical dilemmas. The methodology involves a comprehensive textual analysis of Which Way is Right? to identify and dissect key moral and ethical themes. The findings illuminate the effectiveness of Uzondu's artistic choices in conveying complex moral dilemmas to the audience. In conclusion, this research makes a noteworthy contribution to knowledge by expanding our understanding of the moral dimensions of dramatic literature and the capacity of theatre to foster ethical awareness. It underscores the importance of engaging with art as a means of grappling with and understanding the intricacies of moral decision-making.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu/0758/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Morality and craft of insanity in hamlet character

Hamlet, one of William Shakespeare's most complex and iconic characters, grapples with themes of morality and the craft of feigned insanity throughout the play. The exploration of Hamlet's psyche reveals a character torn between moral dilemmas and a strategic use of madness. Hamlet's character is a fascinating study of the intricate relationship between morality and the craft of insanity. Shakespeare's dramas are amazing expressions of his creativity as a writer, a talent that has stood the test of time. His drama revolves around the idea that human nature is mostly derived from the surrounding environment. This research investigates the madness of the character hamlet in Shakespeare's Hamlet and to show whether he is really mad or no. The paper also shows Hamlet cleverness in using insanity to achieve his goal for revenge and how he uses the madness to achieve morality. This paper studies moral revenge in the play.

Limits of ethical non-human subjects research in an applied setting.

Ethical research follows numerous rules and regulations to ensure that all human subjects are protected during the collection and dissemination of research outcomes. Nevertheless, there is often a critical distinction drawn between human subjects research and non-human subjects research (NHSR). The latter can also be described as non-research activities, which typically reduces any oversight even if human subjects are involved. Despite the need to conduct ethical NHSR or non-research activities in an applied setting, there are several ways this determination can be used to circumvent regulatory oversight. In particular, the problem arises because one or more of several key functions become conflated in an applied setting, whereas they would be compartmentalized and independent in controlled or experimental settings. These functions include: 1) ethical oversight; 2) funding; 3) execution; and 4) peer review. The current discussion outlines how NHSR in an applied setting can allow these functions to overlap, and how personnel might stretch the boundaries of ethical conduct even while following existing regulations. As such, the goal is to guide future practices when conducting or reviewing NHSR in an applied setting so that unethical practices do not bias the results.

Uncovering Theological and Ethical Biases in LLMs

This paper explores theological and ethical biases in LLMs through a novel approach involving creative text generation tasks based on biblical texts, specifically the Ten Commandments and the Book of Jonah. Utilizing models such as GPT-4 Turbo, Claude v2, PaLM 2 Chat, Llama 2 70B, and Zephyr 7B, the study employs a combination of qualitative hermeneutical analysis and quantitative textual analysis. Findings reveal a prevalent progressive bias in these models, evident in their interpretations of foundational ethical guidelines and narrative texts. This bias aligns with contemporary socio-political and environmental concerns, especially in themes of environmental ethics, social justice, and inclusivity. In the narrative task involving the Book of Jonah, a dominant interpretive trend is observed, reflecting the models' tendency to mirror historical and prevailing interpretations. This study highlights the need for multidisciplinary research into LLMs' biases, particularly their impact on religious and ethical narrative interpretation and broader societal implications.

Ethical preparedness in genomic medicine: how NHS clinical scientists navigate ethical issues

Much has been published about the ethical issues encountered by clinicians in genetics/genomics, but those experienced by clinical laboratory scientists are less well described. Clinical laboratory scientists now frequently face...

Between monitoring and surveillance: Geographies of emerging drone technologies in contemporary conservation

Conservation has employed technologies for monitoring and visual capture since its inception in the nineteenth century. Since then, the capacities of conservation technologies have developed considerably, affording a wide range of data relating to ecological change and biodiversity loss. However, new technologies introduce fresh ethical and political issues into environmental protection, especially as they can be used – deliberately or accidentally – to collect information about human activities. This potential is important, given that many areas of biodiversity protection are also areas of longstanding conflict. We focus here on the political and ethical implications surrounding drones, which collect photographic and video footage that can include images of humans. We review approaches to technology, visuality, and surveillance across and beyond environmental geography over the last two decades, teasing out conceptual approaches that support a nuanced and critical analysis of conservation drones. Our analysis focuses on the ways that conservation drones alter (i) processes of decision-making, (ii) dynamics of fearmongering and control, (iii) processes of securitisation in protected areas, (iv) the production and circulation of (racial) stereotypes, and (v) the practices and outcomes of data justice. We unpack these themes through three case studies from our own fieldwork, clarifying the range of intentional and non-intentional political outcomes that emerge, and ethical themes that will be vital to explore further in the future.

A critical consideration of Foucault’s conceptualisation of morality

The background of this research is the status and significance of an ethics of care of the self in the history of morality. I followed the following methodology: I attempted to come to nuanced, critical understanding of the Foucault’s conceptualisation of morality in Volumes II and III of The History of Sexuality. In the ‘Ancients’, Foucault uncovered an ‘ethics-oriented’ as opposed to a ‘code-oriented’ morality in which the emphasis shifted to how an individual was supposed to constitute himself as an ethical subject of his own action without denying the importance of either the moral code or the actual behaviour of people. The main question was whether care of the self-sufficiently regulated an individual’s conduct towards others to prevent the self from lapsing into narcissism, substituting a generous responsiveness towards the other for a means-end rationale. I put this line of critique to test by confronting Foucault’s care of the self with Levinas’s primordial responsibility towards the other and put forward a case for the indispensability of aesthetics for ethics. In conclusion, I defended the claim that care of the self does indeed foster other responsiveness.Intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary implications: Foucault’s ethics, understood as an ‘aesthetics of existence’ has profound intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary implications, as it challenges traditional ethical normative ethical theories and engages with various fields of philosophy, social sciences and humanities. Interdisciplinary fields greatly influenced by Foucault’s ethics include: psychology, literary, cultural, gender and sexuality studies, medical ethics, anthropology and history, among others.

Children’s Narrative Retells: The Influence of Character Realism and Storybook Theme on Central and Peripheral Detail

ABSTRACT Research Findings: Anthropomorphized animal characters have been associated with negative influences on educational outcomes for young children, for example story comprehension and prosocial learning from moral tales. In this study we investigate how character realism and moral theme influence young children’s recall of the story content. Retells were examined for length, syntactic complexity, and centrality as indices of memory and understanding. Participants were 171 children (age 3–7 years) from 6 rural schools in the Northwest of England. We found no significant influence of story character on the measures under test. Retells with a prosocial sharing theme had higher syntactic complexity and greater centrality than those with a busy theme. Practice or Policy: The results suggest that animal characters are not necessarily an impediment to coherent representations of stories. The central message from a prosocial themed story appeared to be more strongly retained than that of a closely matched story with no prosocial lesson. This suggests story theme to be a potential influence that should be considered when testing children’s narrative comprehension.

Virtue, Environmental Ethics, Nonhuman Values, and Anthropocentrism

This article discusses the encounter between virtue ethics and environmental ethics and the ways in which environmental virtue ethics confronts nonhuman axiology and the controversial theme of moral anthropocentrism. It provides a reasoned review of the relevant literature and a historical–conceptual rendition of how environmental and virtue ethics came to converge as well as the ways in which they diverge. It explains that contrary to important worries voiced by some non-anthropocentric environmental ethicists, environmental virtue ethics enables and requires a rich and nuanced engagement with nonhuman values of all sorts—intrinsic as well as extrinsic, moral as well as nonmoral, anthropocentric as well as non-anthropocentric—and neither presupposes nor implies moral anthropocentrism in its normativity. Finally, the article considers the fortunes of, and some challenges for, environmental virtue ethics in its application to the ethics of climate change, an increasingly central topic in environmental ethics. This article proceeds as follows: the first section introduces virtue ethics; the second section looks at axiological and normative themes in environmental ethics; the third section discusses environmental virtue ethics; and the fourth section considers its application to climate change. The fifth section draws some conclusions.

Xenograft recipients and the right to withdraw from a clinical trial.

Preclinical xenotransplantation research using genetically engineered pigs has begun to show some promising results and could one day offer a scalable means of addressing organ shortage. While it is a fundamental tenet of ethical human subject research that participants have a right to withdraw from research once enrolled, several scholars have argued that the right to withdraw from xenotransplant research should be suspended because of the public health risks posed by xenozoonotic transmission. Here, we present a comprehensive critical evaluation of the claim that xenotransplant recipients should be required to waive their right to withdraw from lifelong biosurveillance. We conclude that if xenotransplantation requires participants to waive their right to withdraw, then clinical trials may not be justifiable, given the ethical and legal obstacles involved with doing so. Consequently, if clinical trials are permitted with a right to withdraw, then they may pose a significant public health risk.

How Do Molecular Systems Engineering Scientists Frame the Ethics of Their Research?

Background There are intense discussions about the ethical and societal implications of biomedical engineering, but little data to suggest how scientists think about the ethics of their work. The aim of this study is to describe how scientists frame the ethics of their research, with a focus on the field of molecular systems engineering. Methods Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted during 2021–2022, as part of a larger study. This analysis includes a broad question about how participants view ethics as related to their work, with follow up probes about the topics they consider most important. Interviews were transcribed, inductively coded by two researchers to consensus, and analyzed thematically. Results Twenty-four scientists participated in the study. Interviewees hold positions as professors, principal investigators, and senior staff researchers in universities or research institutes in the United States and Europe. Among those scientists who reported reflecting on ethical considerations in their work, many equated ethics with research ethics topics (e.g., safety, replicability), or with regulation and guidelines. Participants expressed the view that ethical issues are primarily relevant for clinical trials of bioengineered products, or for those working with animal or human subjects. Scientists described their research as “too early” or “not examining anything living” with regard to ethical reflection. Finally, many felt that ethics is seen as territory for experts and therefore beyond scientists’ competencies. Conclusions Molecular systems engineering scientists currently focus on regulatory aspects as the framework for their ethical analyses. They describe using a framework to define when life arises, as a means to determine when further ethical engagement is warranted. Further research is needed to investigate how scientists relate to the ethics of their scientific work, and build consensus around concepts of life, autonomous behavior, and physiological relevance of bioengineered systems.

A scoping review of the ethical impacts of international medical electives on local students and patient care

BackgroundInternational electives are often considered a valuable learning opportunity for medical students. Yet, as travelling to lower and middle income countries (LMICs) becomes more common, ethical considerations of such practices emerge. We conducted a scoping review to assess the extent to which five ethical themes were addressed in existing literature about electives, with the aim of investigating the ethical impacts of medical student electives on local resources, patients and clinicians in LMICs.MethodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Global Health and Embase databases using the search terms “(ethics) AND (medical electives)”. Thematic content analysis was undertaken using a combination of deductive and inductive themes. The deductive themes included: exceeding clinical competence, use of limited local resources, respect for patients and local culture, collaboration with local community/colleagues, and one-sided benefits in partnership. In addition, we also allowed for emerging themes within the data, and conducted a narrative synthesis of the results.ResultsA total of 37 papers discussed ethical issues relating to medical student international electives to LMICs. More publications were written from the medical student perspective (n = 14), than by the host-institution (n = 5), with nearly half written from third-party perspectives (n = 18). Negative impacts on local host students and impact upon patient care were identified as additional ethical considerations.ConclusionsOur review demonstrated that while there is a degree of awareness in the existing literature of the potential negative impacts of medical electives to local LMIC students’ access to medical education and patient care, continued work is needed to ensure equitable partnerships. We recommend that these ethical themes should be further explored in pre-departure elective teaching courses and post-elective debriefs to increase medical students’ awareness of the impact of their presence on host communities.

Levinas on Face A Preliminary Exploration of Levinas's Ethical Phenomenology

According to Levinas, there exists a totalizing characteristic within the Western philosophical tradition that reduces the other to sameness. This subjectification of the other implies a violence towards the other. In resistance to this totalizing violence, Levinas endeavors to construct a theory with ethics as the first philosophy. By introducing an absolutely external other and shifting the focus from the "self" in phenomenology towards the absolute heterogeneity of the "other," Levinas establishes an ethics of the other. This is built on the foundation of a "face-to-face" relationship, creating a framework where the ego bear an infinite responsibility towards the other. On one hand, the other disrupts my exclusive possession of the world through the presence of their face, rejecting my conceptual grasp. On the other hand, through discourse, the other makes an ethical plea to the ego, and the ego bear an absolute responsibility towards the other, becoming a "hostage" to the other. The central theme of Levinas's ethics is the other, focusing on the primal experience of face-to-face encounters where the other precedes my understanding of existence and knowledge objects.

A Philosopher’s Fairy Tale: Dostoevskij and Kierkegaard on Imaginary Worlds

ABSTRACT The faculty of imagination plays an important but somewhat ambivalent role in the works of Fëdor Dostoevskij and Søren Kierkegaard. On the one hand, both Kierkegaard and Dostoevskij believe that it can facilitate the becoming of ethical and religious subjectivity, but they are also aware that an overly active imagination can lead to escapism which may in turn hinder ethical and religious self-development. This paper focuses specifically on the negative side of imagination, examining the stories of Frater Taciturnus from Kierkegaard’s Stages on Life’s Way and General Ivolgin from Dostoevskij’s The Idiot, both of whom construct highly elaborate personal imaginary worlds which, as this paper argues, serve as a means of escapism. The paper outlines the structure of these imaginary worlds and examines how they serve as a means of avoiding personal and moral responsibility.

Ethical assessment of virtual consultation services: scoping review and development of a practical ethical checklist.

Introduction The use of telephone and video consultations has vastly increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care providers in traditional clinical practices have embraced these virtual consultations as an alternative to face-to-face consultations, but there has also been a simultaneous increase in services offered directly to consumers via commercial entities. One of the main challenges in telemedicine (and the broader field of digital health) is how to conduct a meaningful ethical assessment of such services. Aim This article presents a novel framework for practical ethical analysis of direct-to-consumer virtual general practitioner consultation services in Aotearoa New Zealand. Methods First, a scoping review of academic and policy documents identified the core ethical challenges arising from virtual consultations. Second, a qualitative analysis was conducted to translate the main ethical themes and subthemes into practical questions to assess virtual general practice services. Results A total of 49 relevant documents were selected for review. The six key ethical themes related to telemedicine were: privacy, security, and confidentiality; equity; autonomy and informed consent; quality and standards of care; patient empowerment; and continuity of care. A practical ethical checklist consisting of 25 questions was developed from these themes and their subthemes. Discussion The checklist provides an accessible way of incorporating ethics into technology assessment and can be used by all relevant stakeholders, including patients, health care providers, and developers. Application of the framework contributes to improving the quality of virtual consultation services with a specific focus on ethics.

Mindful Eco-Wellness: Steps Toward Personal and Planetary Health.

Rising greenhouse gas levels heat the earth's surface and alter climate patterns, posing unprecedented threats to planetary ecology and human health. At the same time, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease have reached epidemic proportions across the globe, caused in part by decreases in physical activity and by over-consumption of carbon-intensive foods. Thus, interventions that support active transportation (walking or cycling rather than driving) and healthier food choices (eating plant-based rather than meat-based diets) would yield health and sustainability "co-benefits." Emerging research suggests that mindfulness-based practices might be effective means toward these ends. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, we have developed a mindfulness-based group program, Mindful Eco-Wellness: Steps Toward Healthier Living. Loosely based on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course, our curriculum teaches mindfulness practices in tandem with sustainability principles, following weekly themes of Air, Water, Food, Energy, Transportation, Consumption, Nature Experience, and Ethics. For example, the "Air" class offers participants practice in guided breath meditations while they learn about the benefits of clean air. The theme of "Food" is presented through mindful eating, accompanied by educational videos highlighting the consequences of food production and consumption. "Transportation" includes walking/movement meditations and highlights the health benefits of physical activity and detriments of fossil-fueled transportation. Pedagogical lessons on energy, ecological sustainability, and the ethics of planetary health are intertwined with mindful nature experience and metta (loving-kindness) meditation. Curricular materials, including teaching videos, are freely available online. Pilot testing in community settings (n = 30) and in group medical visits (n = 34) has demonstrated feasibility; pilot data suggests potential effectiveness. Rigorous evaluation and testing are needed.

Религиозная иконография и топография в европейском садовом искусстве XVI–XVII веков. Источники, интерпретация, культурный контекст

The paper analyzes gardens and landscapes of the Renaissance, Mannerism and Baroque with particular attention to moral themes and Christian symbols. I follow the devel-opment of moral topography in the gardens by examples of Villa Hadriana, Villa d’Este in Tivoli, Versailles, Tsarskoye Selo, Désert de Retz, Sanspareil, Regaleira. The two types of gar-dens are identified: architectural (Castelo Branco, Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga) and land-scaping (Bomarzo, Cetinale, Esztergom, Buçaco, Kuks, Valsanzibio). The paper then turns to “sacred mountains” created in the foothills of Italian Alps as a symbolic barrier at the bor-der of Protestant lands. The interplay of gardens themselves and their descriptions, such as in “The Path of Purification”, the treatise by Francesco de’ Vieri on Pratolino, 1587 and in the inscriptions in Valsanzibio, is also discussed. Further in the paper I wonder about how moral programs of gardens can be studied and incorporated in the history of ideas and religiosity. The work is based on the materials of author’s travels and is illustrated with his photographs. Translations into Russian are by B. Sokolov.