Reliabilism and imprecise credences

Philosophical Studies - What is it for an imprecise credence to be justified? It might be thought that this is not a particularly urgent question for friends of imprecise credences to answer. For...     

The example of Christ and voluntary active euthanasia

The Christian church's aversion to suicide need not inform its position on voluntary active euthanasia any more than it informs its understanding of the role Jesus played in securing his own death. When the ontological polarity of freedom and destiny is kept in balance and is in agreement spontaneously and independently, culpability for the death of Jesus should be assigned neither to him nor to those who sought his crucifixion. This correspondence of freedom and destiny results in a theonomous moment, transcending all guilt. Similarly, when one elects to die because that choice best corresponds with one's self-image, it is extremely doubtful that this act of faith can be made intelligible or justified to others. If Jesus is example and not merely redeemer, this understanding implies that all people should be afforded the same freedom in death that jesus was without incurring moral guilt.     

Attitude towards euthanasia in relation to death anxiety among a sample of 343 nurses in India

Scores on Attitude towards Euthanasia were correlated with scores on Death Anxiety among 343 female nurses in India using Templer's Death Anxiety Scale and the authors' 24-item attitude scale. No significant correlation was found between the two sets of scores (r = -.09) or a nonlinear score on relation. Age of nurses was not significantly related to Attitude towards Euthanasia (r = .07) or Death Anxiety (r = .11). As measured, death anxiety has no bearing on attitude about euthanasia.     

Levinas and the euthanasia debate

The philosophers' tendency to characterize euthanasia interms of either the right or the responsibility to die is, in some ways, problematic. Stepping outside of the analytic framework, the author draws out the implications of the ethics of Emmanuel Levinas for the euthanasia debate, tracing the way Levinas's position differs not only from the philosophical consensus but also from the theological one. The article shows that, according to Levinas, there is no ethical case for suicide or assisted suicide. Death cannot be assumed or chosen—not only because suicide is a logically and metaphysically contradictory concept but also because in the choice of death ethical responsibility turns into irresponsibility. However, since Levinas holds that one must be responsible to the point of expiation, he can be said to approve certain actions that may have the consequence of hastening death.     

The influence of language exposure on lexical and syntactic language processing

Previous literature has argued that proficient bilingual speakers often demonstrate monolingual-equivalent structural processing of language (e.g., the processing of structural ambiguities; Frenck-Mestre, 2002). In this paper, we explore this thesis further via on-line examination of the processing of syntactically complex structures with three populations: those who classify as monolingual native English speaker (MNES), those who classify as non-native English speakers (NNES), and those who calssify as bilingual native English speakers (BNES). On-line measures of processing of object-relative constructions demonstrated that both NNES and BNES have different patterns of performance as compared to MNES. Further, NNES and BNES speakers perform differently from one another in such processing. The study also examines the activation of lexical information in biasing contexts, and suggests that different processes are at work in the different type of bilinguals examined here. The nature of these differences and the implications for developing sensitive models of on-line language comprehension are developed and discussed.     

The sanctity of life: The role of purity in attitudes towards abortion and euthanasia

Although abortion and euthanasia are highly contested issues at the heart of the culture war, the moral foundations underlying ideological differences on these issues are mostly unknown. Given that much of the extant debate is framed around the sanctity of life, we argued that the moral foundation of purity/sanctity—a core moral belief that emphasises adherence to the “natural order”—would mediate the negative relationship between conservatism and support for abortion and euthanasia. As hypothesised, results from a nation-wide random sample of adults in New Zealand (N = 3360) revealed that purity/sanctity mediated the relationship between conservatism and opposition to both policies. These results demonstrate that, rather than being motivated by a desire to reduce harm, conservative opposition to pro-choice and end-of-life decisions is (partly) based on the view that ending a life, even if it is one's own, violates God's natural design and, thus, stains one's spiritual purity.     

生命伦理之争的文化视角——以安乐死和人工流产为例

从文化的角度看,生命伦理之争是文化之争。也就是说,生命伦理之争的背后是不同文化传统之间、同一文化内部不同派别之间、对同一经典的不同诠释之间的争论。然而,东西方文化之间,以及同一文化内部各派别之间也并非完全不可通约,未来生命伦理学的发展必须保持其普世性和多元性之间的张力。     

生命伦理之争的文化视角--以安乐死和人工流产为例

从文化的角度看,生命伦理之争是文化之争.也就是说,生命伦理之争的背后是不同文化传统之间、同一文化内部不同派别之间、对同一经典的不同诠释之间的争论.然而,东西方文化之间,以及同一文化内部各派别之间也并非完全不可通约,未来生命伦理学的发展必须保持其普世性和多元性之间的张力.