Ethical Nature Research Articles

Public Health Ethics: The State of Arts

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English ; abstract also in Chinese. 本文介紹生物倫理學與公共健康倫理學領域，並描述兩者之間的關係；文章尾聲將展望公共健康倫理學論未來既廣泛又多變的方向。本文首先簡介公共健康倫理學的本質，以及如何把其與比之更廣闊的生物倫理學作出區分，因此需要提出公共健康倫理學的定義，以助釐清公共健康倫理的重點。隨後，本文簡述公共健康倫理學文獻的一些最新進展，包括圍繞新冠病毒、大流行病、抗菌素抗藥性、「生活方式」疾病及正義等道德問題。本文同時論及就干預公共健康的「合法範圍」所提出的觀點之間於政治及形而上學的角力。其後本文探討公共健康倫理學所面臨的挑戰，包括其複雜又多元的性質。而且公共健康實踐高度政治化，其政治化的原因是因為公共健康影響整個人口及社區，而很多關於公共健康的決策由政治人物而非公共健康專家所作出。此外，公共健康倫理也因為公共健康的範圍擴展至納入非政府公共健康行動者而面臨進一步的挑戰。本文最後闡述有關公共健康的一些未來方向，包括「公共健康觀」的出現，以作為為人熟知的健康與社會問題的形而上學框架、把該領域的認知和道德基礎去殖民化以涵蓋更廣泛的知識，以及一些包括美德在内的公共健康倫理學的理論發展。筆者建議讀者把文章視為對公共健康倫理學領域的一部分介紹，並鼓勵他們閲讀本文所引用的論文，並以這些論文作為進入所涵蓋主題的大量文獻之門徑。公共健康倫理學是一個相對年輕的領域，而該領域有著巨大的成長及發掘更多新概念的潛力。 This essay begins by introducing the fields of bioethics and public health ethics and describing the relationship between them. It ends with some glimpses into the wide-ranging and discourse-changing directions of the literature on public health ethics. To open, the paper describes the field of public health ethics and how it is differentiated from the wider field of bioethics. This requires a brief description of public health to clarify the nature of public health ethics. The essay then provides a brief overview of a few recent developments in the public health ethics literature, including the moral issues raised by COVID-19 and pandemics, anti-microbial resistance, ‘lifestyle’ diseases and justice. The paper also touches on the political and metaphysical tensions in views on what counts as a ‘legitimate area’ of intervention for public health. The essay then turns to a couple of challenges in the field of public health ethics, specifically the complex and multi-disciplinary nature of the field and the fact that public health practice is a highly political area. Public health is political both in the sense that it affects entire populations or communities and in the sense that many decisions about public health are made by politicians rather than public health experts. A further challenge to public health ethics is the question of what counts as ‘public health’, as the scope has been broadened to include non-governmental public health actors. Finally, the essay describes some future directions for research in public health ethics, including ‘public health view’ becoming a metaphysical framing for familiar health and social issues and decolonising the epistemic and moral foundations of the field to include a wider set of knowledge sources and values. There are also some theoretical developments that integrate virtue into public health ethics. The reader should take this essay as a partial introduction to the field, and they are highly encouraged to read the papers that are cited here and to use those papers as a gateway into the large literature on the topics covered. Public health ethics is a relatively young field, with an enormous potential for growth and new ideas.

ETHICS, SUBJECTIVITY AND THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE

This article explores the relationship between the subject and the norm, addressing how ethics acts in the construction of individual subjectivity and in conflicts with social and legal norms, especially in contemporary issues such as the objectification of women on social media and civil disobedience. With an approach based on naturalist ethics and postmodern morality, and supported by the theories of Fraser (2007) and Fabriz (2003), the research investigates the effects of norms on mental health and fundamental rights, highlighting how the search for social recognition clashes with practices and structures that perpetuate oppression and patterns of behavior. The analysis criticizes objectification and the imposition of aesthetic and gender standards, defending an inclusive ethics that respects diversity and individual autonomy, thus promoting a more just and egalitarian society.

에리히 프롬의 규범적 인본주의와 사회교육의 기준

The purpose of this study is to reveal that Erich Fromm's normative humanism provides standards for social education and to derive those standards. Fromm attempted to replace ethics with his psychoanalysis. He examines the conditions of human existence ('separation', etc.) and analyzes human existential needs ('relatedness', etc.). After that he analyzes healthy ways ('love' etc.) and pathological ways (‘Sadism’, ‘Masochism’ etc.) to satisfy existential needs. These two ways are directly connected to two social characters, that is, a healthy social character (‘productive character’) and a pathological social character (‘unproductive character’). According to Fromm, today's society is rife with pathological social characters. Fromm calls his thought ‘humanism’, and it can be called ‘normative humanism’. This idea has implications for social education due to the social nature implied by ‘social character’. It especially implies standards, that is, standards for social education, due to its normativity (i.e. ethical nature). In this respect, Fromm's normative humanism rescues social education from the danger of relativism to which it is prone.

The Ethics of Clinical Ethics.

The concept ethics defines health care ethics as a professional practice. Yet the meaning of "ethics" is often unclear in the theory and practice of clinical ethics. Clarity on this matter is crucial for understanding the nature of clinical ethics and for debates about the professional identity and proper role of ethicists, the sort of training and skills they should possess, and whether they have ethics expertise. This article examines two different ways the ethics of clinical ethics can be understood: Real Ethics, which consists of objective moral norms grounded in moral truth; and Conventional Ethics, which consists of conventional norms grounded in bioethical consensus. Drawing on the bioethics literature and features of professional practice, it shows that Conventional Ethics is the dominant paradigm. Then it presents a critique of Conventional Ethics, arguing that it cannot avoid the challenge of moral pluralism, it fails to address vitally important moral questions, and it is incapable of providing an essential service to the people ethicists aim to help. It ends with suggestions about how the practice of clinical ethics might overcome these problems.

Know Thyself, Improve Thyself: Personalized LLMs for Self-Knowledge and Moral Enhancement

In this paper, we suggest that personalized LLMs trained on information written by or otherwise pertaining to an individual could serve as artificial moral advisors (AMAs) that account for the dynamic nature of personal morality. These LLM-based AMAs would harness users’ past and present data to infer and make explicit their sometimes-shifting values and preferences, thereby fostering self-knowledge. Further, these systems may also assist in processes of self-creation, by helping users reflect on the kind of person they want to be and the actions and goals necessary for so becoming. The feasibility of LLMs providing such personalized moral insights remains uncertain pending further technical development. Nevertheless, we argue that this approach addresses limitations in existing AMA proposals reliant on either predetermined values or introspective self-knowledge.

Ethics and ontology: comparing Amartya Sen’s ethics and Tony Lawson’s Critical Ethical Naturalism

Abstract While Sen’s ethics, particularly through his capability approach, are recognised for their critical nature and alignment with certain realist ontological principles, this paper explores the compatibility and potential tensions between Sen’s framework and Critical Ethical Naturalism (CEN), an ethical theory introduced by Tony Lawson. This comparative exercise reveals that Sen’s adoption of realist ontological notions such as openness, relationality and the importance of process and institutions suggests compatibility with CEN—a potential compatibility noted by Lawson himself. However, there is also an important difference between Sen’s moral theory and CEN, which indicates the possibility of further fundamental tensions between them. This difference lies in their divergent orientations regarding the content and relevance of ontology. Sen’s project is shown to be predicated on the irrelevance of ontology to ethical theorising, which contrasts sharply with Lawson’s framework; indeed, the whole point of Lawson’s approach is to develop an ethical theory grounded on an explicit ontological account. Through a detailed examination of Sen’s reluctance to engage with ontology, an exploration of potential sources of this reticence and an analysis of the explicit ontological basis of CEN, the paper highlights fundamental distinctions between Sen’s approach and CEN.

Cognitive-Linguistic Status of Ethical Knowledge and Ways of Its Representation

The article is devoted to the study of the cognitive nature of ethical knowledge, its essence and substantive contours. There is no classification of ethical knowledge in science, so the formats of its representation and its types have not been determined. The aim of the article is to identify the cognitive foundations of morality, its rational or sensual nature; to determine the ethical knowledge based on its characteristics and classification according to types of representation in knowledge formats. To prove the representability of ethical knowledge a conceptual analysis of the concept “responsibility” is carried out; a value-labeled algorithm of a person’s moral behavior is presented in the ethical script. A cognitive ethical scenario of the category “compassion” is considered; an evaluative categorization of the concept’s “pity” and “ruthlessness” are given; a frame model of the concept “virtue” and the representability of ethical knowledge in knowledge formats (concept, scenario, evaluative categorization, frame, cognition) are constructed. The study also identifies features of ethical knowledge with their definitions, their classification that is carried out based on the criteria of what it is, and what it should be. The authors recognize the cognitive nature of ethical knowledge and consider it can be an information product of cognitive activity, that is tested for truth, expressed as new knowledge, while which person is evaluating behavior, represented in knowledge formats. In the article scientists’ points of view according to which ethical knowledge relates to the theoretical level of knowledge, metaethics or to the practical level of knowledge, practical ethics or philosophy are analyzed. The authors adhere to the statement that ethical knowledge has a dual nature (practical knowledge that regulates human behavior, theoretical knowledge, norms, principles, ethical knowledge). In the course of the research, the following scientific results were obtained: the cognitive essence of ethical knowledge was revealed confirmed by the features of its cognition (informativeness, truth, verifiability, knowability, representability). The authors’ positions which recognize the cognitive nature of ethical knowledge of cognitivists are reflected. The features of ethical knowledge with their definitions are identified; the classification of ethical knowledge is carried out based on the criteria of what it is and what it should be. The level of scientificity and practicality of ethical knowledge is determined. The conclusion is made about the existence of scientific (metaethics) and practical ethics; the cognitive measurability and representability of knowledge through knowledge formats has been proven. Conclusion about that the ethical knowledge has a cognitive status is drawn. The knowledge obtained as a result of cognitive-linguistic activity, provides new information about kinds of behaviour, ways of regulating value relations between people, knowledge about moral values, categories, norms verbalized with the help of language units.

MACHIAVELLANISM IN EKA KURNIAWAN’S NOVEL LELAKI HARIMAU

This research examines Machiavellianism in Eka Kurniawan’s novel Lelaki Harimau (Man Tiger), investigating how characters navigate power dynamics and ethical dilemmas in rural Indonesia. Drawing on Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince (1532), the study analyzes how characters employ cunning, manipulation, and strategic thinking to achieve personal goals. Utilizing textual, thematic, and interpretative analysis, the study dissects the novel’s narrative structure, character development, and thematic concerns related to Machiavellianism. Key passages reveal that characters, notably Margio, exemplify Machiavellian traits through concealing intentions, manipulating perceptions, and rationalizing morally ambiguous actions. The novel portrays a complex interplay of power dynamics, personal ambition, and cultural influences, shedding light on human capacity for deception and pursuit of power. This research deepens understanding of Machiavellianism in Southeast Asian literature, illuminating its role in exploring universal themes of power, morality, and human nature within an Indonesian context. By contextualizing Machiavellian behavior, the study enriches discussions on literature’s reflection of societal norms and ethical dilemmas, offering a nuanced perspective on Kurniawan’s portrayal of complex moral landscapes in contemporary fiction.

Relevance of Competency Based Education for Architectural Education in India.

A holistic architectural education is the culmination of learning knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values, which eventually reflects in the quality of graduates. Even though different schools of thought have made various kinds of qualitative contributions towards the evolution of architectural education in India, it has largely been dominated by the quantitative and technical aspects of its regulating framework. Architects engage with the demanding contradictions between responsibilities of an ethical nature, the dynamic challenges of practice, and the intricacies of architectural imagination. The aesthetical and imaginative foundations of the field make it incumbent upon the architects to possess a balance of ecumenical proficiencies for accountability and personalization. The purpose of the study is to identify relevant attributes of Competency Based Education (CBE) that can be adopted for architectural education in India. This research follows a narrative review approach and a descriptive-analytic method to broadly understand the attributes of CBE and its potential relevance to architectural education in India. 323 articles were searched on various search strings based on their relevance to the inquiry. 76 documents written in English language were included and appraised through the Scale of the Assessment for Narrative Review Articles (SANRA) tool to avoid any risk of bias. The PRISMA 2020 checklist and flow diagram has been used to report the findings of this narrative review. The study identifies eight critical parameters of CBE with respect to its definitions, origins, transitions, regulatory environment, characteristics, approaches and implications on teaching-learning, frameworks and models of assessment; and challenges, which makes a case for the relevance of CBE for architectural education in India, which hasn't been explored yet. The broader expectations of 'being competent' can be addressed through a conscious adoption of strategies of relevant attributes of CBE which can encourage building attitudes and temperament for life-long learning.

Hume on the Nature of Morality by Elizabeth S. Radcliffe (review)

Hume on the Nature of Morality by Elizabeth S. Radcliffe (review)

Carrier identification and genetic counselling

The identification of carriers, so-called healthy carriers, of hereditary diseases or those with a significant hereditary component is assuming considerable importance at this stage of health care, which is increasingly turning its attention to preventive medicine. This type of operation has numerous implications, of a technical, social, psychological and moral nature, some of which represent a relatively new experience for the doctor or healthcare facility.

Is metaethical naturalism sufficient? A Confucian response to problems of meaning

ABSTRACT Ethical naturalism is sometimes accused of problematic metaphysics or epistemology. Some argue that naturalists rely on concepts of ‘nature’ indefensible in the light of modern evolutionary biology. There is also an epistemological worry that has been raised recently that strong normative evaluation, such as meaning in human life, is empirically inaccessible or even in conflict with what we know in scientific contexts. While the critics have targeted Aristotelian and Neo-Aristotelian views, I will appeal to an argument from the Neo-Confucian Zhu Xi as one potential way that we can respond to skeptics. If we can know that human beings are capable of moral goodness, and it is comprehensible for us to take moral goodness as a final or unifying goal of our lives, then we can respond to the skeptical objections which allege that we cannot sustain rich normative judgments about meaning in life in the face of scientific evidence.

Do discurso à ação política: análise de acontecimentos extremistas que violam uma ética discursiva

In this article, we reflect on aspects of the relationships between discourse, action, and ethics in the Brazilian political arena. These relationships were examined from theoretical perspectives based on the integration of discursive, phenomenological, and cognitive studies. We highlight the approaches of Ricoeur (1988) and Paveau (2015), particularly the notions of the discourse of action, ethically qualified action, and discursive ethics/virtue. These notions provided a conceptual and analytical framework for the analysis of two extremist events from protests against the outcome of the 2022 presidential elections, illustrating our political context characterized by the rise of the far-right and attacks against the Democratic Rule of Law. Methodologically, we selected a corpus of texts (such as memes, cartoons, photographs, statements, communications and a petition), which address and problematize these two events, shaping forms of metadiscourses with moral axiological nature. These metadiscursive statements were qualitatively analyzed based on their description and interpretation in light of the aforementioned notions.

Культурологический аспект понятия «гражданская идентичность»

The article is devoted to the concept of “civic identity”. This concept has become a working term in a number of regulatory state documents on strategic planning in the Russian Federation adopted in recent decades. It is also used in domestic social science, philosophy, and the media. But this term is used in the Russian language space. The authors point to the relationship between the concepts of “civiс identity” and “national identity”. In the English-language tradition (and a number of other European language traditions), the term “national identity” denotes a set of forms of social identity that define an individual as a citizen in a national state. But in the Russian space, the concept of “nation” itself is traditionally understood as “ethnonation”, and in the Russian multinational state the use of the concept of “national identity” brings up difficulties of a legal, ethical, and cultural nature. To a certain extent, the concept of “civic identity” may be close to the concept of “macropolitical identity”, but civic identity is somewhat broader than macropolitical identity, the latter covering only the political aspects of an individual’s activity. The article also points out the inadequacy of understanding civic identity as awareness of legally formalized citizenship in the Russian Federation, with all the ensuing rights and obligations. The main thesis of the article is that civiс identity should have value and cultural foundations in addition to legal and political ones. Based on the concept of a “civilization state” put forward in the “Concept of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation” in March 2023, the authors point to the possibility of bringing the concept of “civic identity” closer to the term “civilizational identity”. It is noted that these concepts are not identical, but civic identity also adopts values declared at the state level and accepts the historical heritage of the state through culture.

Investigating the Relationship between Moral Intelligence and Attitude towards Patient Safety in Nurses Working at Shahid Sadoughi Teaching Hospital in Yazd in 2023

Background: Moral intelligence in nurses is of particular importance due to the human and moral nature of their job and profession. Moral intelligence can provide a rule for the correct functioning of humans and is considered a predictive factor of behavior. The moral intelligence of nurses refers to their ability to distinguish right from wrong and adhere to ethical principles. Nurses with higher moral intelligence show more commitment to patient safety and adherence to professional protocols and have a more positive attitude toward patient safety. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between moral intelligence and attitude towards patient safety in nurses working at Shahid Sadoughi Teaching Hospital in Yazd in 2023. Methods: The present study was a descriptive-analytical one conducted cross-sectionally in 2023. The statistical population included 237 nurses working in Shahid Sadoughi Teaching Hospital, Yazd, who were selected by stratified random sampling. Two standard questionnaires with a 5-point Likert scale were used to collect data. Data were analyzed by SPSS24 using descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: The average moral intelligence of the studied nurses was 135.22 ± 22.30, and the average attitude of the nurses towards patient safety was 72.65 ± 17.32, indicating high moral intelligence and an average attitude towards patients safety in nurses in Shahid Sadoughi University. The results of Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that there is a positive and significant correlation between moral intelligence and nurses' attitude towards patient safety (r = 0.19, p = 0.003). Conclusion: Moral intelligence plays a role in predicting nurses' attitude towards patient safety; therefore, it seems that by strengthening the moral intelligence of nurses, their attitude towards patient safety can be influenced. To strengthen the moral intelligence of nurses and improve their attitude towards patient safety, professional ethics training, development of critical thinking skills and creation of ethical organizational culture can be used. Also, holding workshops to discuss ethical issues and support from ethical management can strengthen nurses in making ethical decisions and more responsible behavior in the field of patient safety.

Incidental findings in research brain MRI: Definition, prevalence and ethical implications

SummaryRadiological incidental findings (IFs) are previously undetected abnormalities which are unrelated to the original indication for imaging and are unexpectedly discovered. In brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the prevalence of IFs is increasing. By reviewing the literature on IFs in brain MRI performed for research purposes and discussing ethical considerations of IFs, this paper provides an overview of brain IF research results and factors contributing to inconsistencies and considers how the consent process can be improved from an ethical perspective. We found that despite extensive literature regarding IFs in research MRI of the brain, there are major inconsistencies in the reported prevalence, ranging from 1.3% to 99%. Many factors appear to contribute to this broad range: lack of standardised definition, participant demographics variance, heterogenous MRI scanner strength and sequences, reporter variation and results classification. We also found significant discrepancies in the review, consent and clinical communication processes pertaining to the ethical nature of these studies. These findings have implications for future studies, particularly those involving artificial intelligence. Further research, particularly in relation to MRI brain IFs would be useful to explore the generalisability of study results.

Mary Midgley’s meta-ethics and Neo-Aristotelian naturalism

ABSTRACT This paper has two aims: First, to provide an elucidation of the kind of meta-ethical programme at work in Mary Midgley's (1919-2018) Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature (published in 1978). Second, to make the case for Midgley's placement within the philosophical and philosophical-historical canon, specifically, as an important figure within the meta-ethical movement of ‘Neo-Aristotelian naturalism'. On historical and systematic grounds, I argue that Midgley should be classified as a neo-Aristotelian ethical naturalist notwithstanding the distinctive features of Midgley’s specific brand of neo-Aristotelianism. In doing so, I suggest a more generally applicable family resemblance approach to the history of philosophy in order to classify and re-introduce into the canon figures in the history of philosophy that are in danger of falling into oblivion.

US Migration Crisis and Its Consequences for the 2024 Presidential Elections

The evolution of US migration policy has run several cycles: at first, the fate of immigrants was the responsibility of the employer (companies, who brought them to the USA), then, with an increase in their influx and their gradual resettlement, the lives of newcomers began to be determined at the state level. Only at the end of the 19th century migration regulation began to acquire the features of the federal government’s established policy with a vector towards liberalization throughout the next century. Starting from the 2010s there is a reverse trend – back to restrictionism and ‘descend’ of the regulation to the level of state authorities, especially for illegal immigrants. Such shift causes a clash between states and federal government, and at the same time emphasises the inability of this government to carry out objectively aspired reform.Today immigration policy in the United States can be divided into two major areas: legal immigration regulation and government attempts to solve the problem of illegal immigration. This division, albeit conditionally, helps to understand why for 30 years now no Congress has been able to work out a comprehensive immigration reform or at least agree on key areas for the implementation of its’ certain aspects. A set of acute problems of socio-economic, moral and ethical nature forms an inseparable set of challenges. It equally includes both the areas necessary for the country’s successful economic development: highly qualified personnel attraction, aging of the nation combating, increase of the birth rate, and the challenges associated with the burden on society and the increase in crime: the influx of refugees, illegal, seasonal and permanent immigrants and their families.Due to domestic political peculiarities in the modern United States, party coalitions cannot agree on even one of these areas, let alone develop a profound working system that meets constantly changing needs of the economy, foreign policy challenges, and is in consensus with states’ authorities, who would finally assimilate newcomers.Will the current crisis on the southwestern border of the United States affect J. Biden’s reelection in November 2024? What strategy has D. Trump chosen to bypass his rival? – you will find from this article.

Being, seeing and recognizing oneself as a teacher who teaches Mathematics: (re)configuring Professional Identities from the perspective of Probabilistic Education

This article aims to understand how actions and practices based on studies on Probability Education contribute to the (re)configuration’s movement of the Professional Identity (PI) of Teachers who Teach Mathematics (TTM). The study is based on a qualitative and interpretative paradigm, relied on a Research-Training path developed in a study group with 11 TTM. To this end, we are based on a characterization of TTM’s PI, which points out a set of elements (macrodomains) that allow us to understand them in their ways of being, seeing and recognizing themselves as such. The results and discussion were based on the apprehension of four Meaning Cores, which indicate that the TTM’s PI were forged from the Learning Paths (re)constituted in the collective/collaborative context of the group and interwoven by elements of personal, emotional, moral and sociopolitical nature that emerged from the enterprise of teaching and learning Probability.

Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Controlled Donation After the Circulatory Determination of Death: Understanding Where the Benefit Lies.

Controlled donation after the circulatory determination of death (cDCDD) has emerged as a strategy to increase the availability of organs for clinical use. Traditionally, organs from cDCDD donors have been subject to standard rapid recovery (SRR) with poor posttransplant outcomes of abdominal organs, particularly the liver, and limited organ utilization. Normothermic regional perfusion (NRP), based on the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation devices, consists of the in situ perfusion of organs that will be subject to transplantation with oxygenated blood under normothermic conditions after the declaration of death and before organ recovery. NRP is a potential solution to address the limitations of traditional recovery methods. It has become normal practice in several European countries and has been recently introduced in the United States. The increased use of NRP in cDCDD has occurred as a result of a growing body of evidence on its association with improved posttransplant outcomes and organ utilization compared with SRR. However, the expansion of NRP is precluded by obstacles of an organizational, legal, and ethical nature. This article details the technique of both abdominal and thoracoabdominal NRP. Based on the available evidence, it describes its benefits in terms of posttransplant outcomes of abdominal and thoracic organs and organ utilization. It addresses cost-effectiveness aspects of NRP, as well as logistical and ethical obstacles that limit the implementation of this innovative preservation strategy.