Stanisław Brzozowski on the ideal of the modern man

Stanisław Brzozowski formulated the ideal of modern man in the polemic with the contemporary man, who has ceased to believe in truth and moral values and is devoid of the will to act. For Brzozowski modernity involves the discovery of truth about the human condition: about man as an autonomous subject, a creator of values, who struggles with non-human reality. This truth was formulated in Kant’s idea of autonomy and in Marx’ idea of a collective conquest of the world of nature. For Brzozowski, ideal modern man is “the conscious labourer,” who labours because he wants to proudly impose a human law on the non-human world. At the same time Brzozowski used the term “modernity” to describe life of constant change in the modern world, understood as a set of results of man’s reign over nature. For the sake of human maturity, Brzozowski expected the truly modern man to perceive modern life as an unquestionable value. Undoubtedly, there is an evident tension in Brzozowski’s ideal of modern man between the affirmation of creativity in the world of change and the necessity of disciplined production, including unchangeable moral foundations of labour. There is also a major shift in this ideal, stemming from Brzozowski’s change of attitude towards religion.     

Can phronesis save the life of medical ethics?

There has been a growing interest in casuistry since the ground breaking work of Jonsen and Toulmin. Casuistry, in their view, offers the possibility of securing the moral agreement that policy makers desire but which has proved elusive to theory driven approaches to ethics. However, their account of casuistry is dependent upon the exercise of phronesis. As recent discussions of phronesis make clear, this requires attention not only to the particulars of the case, but also to the substantive goods at stake in the case. Without agreement on these goods attention to cases is unlikely to secure the productive consensus that Jonson and Toulmin seek.     

The “Manifesto” of New-Confucianism and the revival of virtue ethics

In 1958, a group of New-Confucians issued “A Manifesto for a Re-Appraisal of Sinology and Reconstruction of Chinese Culture.” Equally in 1958, the British philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe published her classical paper “Modern Moral Philosophy.” These two papers have the same target — modern Western morality — and the solutions they proposed respectively. Yet Anscombe’s paper did not mention Confucianism, and the “Manifesto” ignored Aristotelian tradition of virtue. Furthermore, from 1960s to 1990s, the revival movement of Confucianism and the revival movement of Aristotelian ethics have not had much dialogue. This paper seeks to explain this phenomenon by comparing these two historically important documents. In particular it tries to understand why the “Manifesto” fails to see the similarities between Aristotle and Confucius. Translated by Lei Yongqiang and polished by Yu Jiyuan from Shandong Daxue Xuebao 山东大学学报 (Journal of Shandong University), 2007, (1): 1–9     

The birth of modern science out of the ‘European Miracle’

Journal for General Philosophy of Science - To understand the present situation we must know something about its history. The ‘Rise of the West’, which grew out of the ‘European...     

Empirical investigation of the ethical reasoning of physicians and molecular biologists – the importance of the four principles of biomedical ethics

Background  

This study presents an empirical investigation of the ethical reasoning and ethical issues at stake in the daily work of physicians and molecular biologists in Denmark. The aim of this study was to test empirically whether there is a difference in ethical considerations and principles between Danish physicians and Danish molecular biologists, and whether the bioethical principles of the American bioethicists Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress are applicable to these groups.     

Family therapy's missing question,why the plight of the modern family?

The field of family therapy has developed rapidly over the last thirty years. The account of its emergence produced by family therapists neglects the socio-historical context and wider issues of social and family change. The contemporary practitioners need to understand this context, and in particular, the extent to which assorted unexamined, and perhaps unwanted, assumptions about the family and about social reality are embedded in family therapy. Hence the paper will explore some of these assumptions in the light of analysis of the technological and intellectual climate in which family therapy emerged, and of social changes affecting marriage and the family.     

The art of ethics as the art of wise life in the concept of Józef Tischner

Studies in East European Thought - The article examines Tischner’s views on the meaning of ethics in human life. Tischner opposes positions that treat ethics as a set of recommendations...     

Rewriting Aquinas’ animal ethics: the primacy of reason in the determination of moral status

Arguing in support of Aristotle, Aquinas conceptualised the cognitive functioning of the human as exceeding that of other animals. In its base form, the Thomistic position asserts that the intellective functioning of the human animal is superior to the instinctual operation of the non-human animal. For Aquinas, it is the intellect that determines the enactment of the human will. Thus, if a non-human animal is devoid of intellect, no willing of any action is possible. Consequently, an action of a non-human animal which is humanly perceived as immoral, is in fact morally agnostic because the animal lacks the reasoning capacity to judge the potential action's moral status. Given that Aquinas’ argument centres on the role of reason in determinations of moral status, we seek to determine the status theoria of the Thomistic moral theory in light of contemporary studies into animal cognition. The assertion is made that this particular aspect of Aquinas’ moral theory requires rewriting because reason is evident in animal cognition to a greater extent than Aquinas would have been able to appreciate given his contextual limitations. This presence of reason, we argue, ascribes moral status to some non-human animals, analogous to their human counterparts. However, we will also contend that rather than dismissing Aquinas’ reason-founded ethics, value could be found in retaining a rewritten Thomistic theoretical construction which extends Aquinas’ ethic to include animals apart from the human that are bearers of the faculty of reason.     

The problem of moral absolutes in the ethics of Vladimir Solov'ëv

Conclusion Moral absolutes were perceived, by Solov'?v, in a dual manner: a) from the side of content, of psychology, as when we speak of feelings, emotions, etc.; and b) under a formal aspect, as “ideas,” i.e. logically. Neither of these can be treated without relating to moral absolutes astrue, and without a rationalbelief in their truth, a truth that cannot be logically proved. In my opinion, our time has become keenly aware of the universally human value of Vladimir Solov'?v's ethics, of its humanist nature, oriented towards the everyday and the ideal tasks of man, and of the concrete direction of his philosophy of “practical idealism”.     

Has the cataphasic form of schizophrenia increased in modern times?

According to our investigations the incidence of cataphasia, which is a subtype of schizophrenia, has become more common in the last years and on average, has started earlier in life. As the central disorder of this illness concerns thinking perhaps there exists a relation of our finding to the rapid modern development of techniques, insofar as the cognitive function is overstrained in childhood and adolescence, when the nervous system has not matured yet. Introverted individuals seem to be at a particular risk. However, it must not be disregarded that cataphasia is an inherited illness which cannot be caused by external influences, but can only be promoted in its manifestation.     

Professional drivers’ fatigue as a problem of the modern era

ObjectiveAll around the world numerous studies have been carried out and indicated that 20–50% of commercial vehicle accidents occur because of fatigue. Professional drivers represent an important category of drivers who are present in traffic on a daily basis transporting passengers or goods and their responsibility is at a very high level. These drivers are most exposed to the impact of fatigue. The review of the literature has provided three main factors which can influence the onset of fatigue: sleep factors, work factors, health factors. The main aim of this study was to determine the influence of the three main factors of fatigue between bus and truck drivers in the Republic of Serbia.MethodsThe survey has been conducted among bus and truck drivers who are employed in transportation companies across the Republic of Serbia. The research consists of collecting and analyzing bus and truck drivers’ answers according to the above mentioned factors which influence the occurrence of fatigue.ResultsIn this study we have found that circadian rhythm, sleep and work factors have an impact on drivers’ fatigue. On the other side, time of going to sleep has no impact on the quality of sleep and on fatigue. The results show that if the drivers work over the legal limit, they are 3 times more likely to sleep less than 6 h in 24 h and if they sleep less than 6 h, it is likely that the poor quality of their sleep will be 8 times higher. The poor quality of sleep reduces driver performance, and therefore increases the risk of accidents.Conclusions2 of 3 investigated factors have an impact on the occurrence of fatigue. The third factor, health factor, should be examined in more detail, and other elements should be analysed in order to determine their influence on the fatigue.     

“Big eye” surgery: the ethics of medicalizing Asian features

The popularity of surgical modifications of race-typical features among Asian women has generated debates on the ethical implications of the practice. Focusing on blepharoplasty as a representative racial surgery, this article frames the ethical discussion by viewing Asian cosmetic surgery as an example of medicalization, which can be interpreted in two forms: treatment versus enhancement. In the treatment form, medicalization occurs by considering cosmetic surgery as remedy for pathologized Asian features; the pathologization usually occurs in reference to western features as the norm. In the enhancement form, medicalization occurs by using medical means to improve physical features to achieve a certain type of beauty or physical appearance. Each type of medicalization raises slightly different ethical concerns. The problem with treatment medicalization lies in the pathologization of Asian features, which is oppressive as it continues to reinforce racial norms of appearance and negative stereotypes. Enhancement medicalization is ethically problematic because cosmetic surgery tends to conflate beauty and health as medical goals of surgery, overemphasizing the value of appearance that can further displace women’s control over their own bodies. I conclude that in both forms of medicalization, cosmetic surgery seems to narrowly frame a complex psychosocial issue involving physical appearance as a matter that can be simply solved through surgical means.     

Research ethics and the principle of Justice as Fairness – A restatement

In my recent article, I addressed the question of whether a potential categorical exclusion of decisionally impaired patients from non-therapeutic medical research would be inaccordance with the Principle of Justice as Fairness. I came to the conclusion that a categorical exclusion of decisionally impaired persons from relevant research projects may collide with Rawls’s understanding of Justice as Fairness. Derek Bell has criticized my paper by denying that it is legitimate to apply Rawls to this bioethical problem. In my restatement I try to show that an extrapolation of John Rawls’s thought to such bioethical cases is possible, because Rawls himself has written that his orientation towards decisionally non-impaired persons is an idealized situation that allows extrapolations. In a second part I try to show that Bell hasroughly misunderstood my concept of “presumed consent” which I make a prerequisite for the legitimisation of research on decisionally impaired persons. In using advance consent as a proposal for resolving the problem, Bell has indirectly confirmed my approach because he is using a similar construct of consent, which operates with similar hypotheses and probabilities of error. I see here no categorical difference between Bell’s conclusion and my discussion. Thus, Bell’s reply does not represent a refutation of my thoughts, but rather it is a para phrased confirmation of my central theses. I conclude by showing the relevance of Rawls, pointing out that the discussion between Bell and me illustrates how Rawls’s concept of reflective equilibrium is an appropriate approach to finding a solution to this bioethical problem. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

On the aims of medicine: Comments on ‘philosophy of medicine as the source for medical ethics’

Health defined as the psychophysiological capacity to act or respond appropriately in a wide variety of situations, is enhanced by many means other than preventing and treating disease and injury. Therefore no choice of a particular medical intervention is likely to maximize health for all people with (or at risk for) a given disease. As a result, if medical practitioners are to be fully competent in the sense of knowing not only how to perform procedures but when and when not to do so, they must be able to support patients (and those who know and care about them) in weighing all of the many factors which bear upon the decision as to which, if any, medical interventions are likely to improve the person's health.     

AIDS and ‘dirt’: Reflections on the ethics of ritual cleanliness

AIDS and the responses and attitudes it evokes surpass the analytic abilities of standard bioethics. These responses and attitudes are explored in terms of literary and anthropological categories, such as dirt, disorder, pollution and ritual cleanliness. Implications for medical education are suggested.