Humor as an Optics: Bergson and the Ethics of Humor

Although the ethics of humor is a relatively new field, it already seems to have achieved a consensus about ethics in general. In this paper, I implicitly (1) question the view of ethics that stands behind many discussions in the ethics of humor; I do this by explicitly (2) focusing on what has been a chief preoccupation in the ethics of humor: the evaluation of humor. Does the immoral content of a joke make it more or less humorous? Specifically, I analyze whether a sexist joke is more humorous because of its sexism. Contra recent trends in the ethics of humor, I answer this question affirmatively. To this end, the paper presents a detailed and novel reading of Bergson's philosophy of humor, which I argue connects most easily and significantly to the alternate view of ethics I have in mind.     

当下高等医学人文教育的困境与出路

医学人文教育是医学教育不可或缺的重要组成部分,医学科学精神与医学人文精神的融合是医学学科发展的目标和方向.当下医学人文教育的困境在于:医学人文教育与政治教育混谈,人文教育目标不明;医学人文教学与社会现实脱节,人文教学效果不佳.破解医学人文教育的困境,必须从顶层设计,跳出医学人文教育看教育,实施医学人文教育发展战略,实现医学教育的全面、协调、可持续发展.     

Religion and Humor: Estranged Bedfellows

In an earlier article (Capps, 2006), I presented evidence that humor has important psychological benefits. It would seem, therefore, that religion and humor would be allies, for religion is also considered compatible with psychological well-being (Capps, 1985). In fact, however, while religion and humor are not enemies, neither are they, for the most part, allies. I review theoretical works that reflect religion's mistrust of humor, then focus on the empirical studies by Vassilis Saroglou that confirm this mistrust. Building on Saroglou's own theoretical analysis of this mistrust, I suggest that some grounds for this mistrust are legitimate, but most are not. I conclude that religion and humor should overcome their current estrangement.     

论医学人文教育视野中的美学教育

基于医学人文教育的视野,阐述了对医学生进行美学教育的重大意义.探讨了对医学生进行美学教育的若干重要原则,医学人文教育视野中的美学教育应引导医学生树立生命意识、反省意识、首创意识、认识论意义上的自由意识和本体论意义上的自由意识,从而实现医学生自由而全面的发展.     

医学人文教育:问题、挑战与对策

近年来,医学人文教育有了一定的发展,但从总体上看,还存在着师资队伍匮乏、教育方式单一、改革力度不够等问题.为此,要进一步加强师资队伍建设和学科建设,改革教学内容与方法,积极创建具有多种形式,并与专业和社会实际密切结合的医学人文教育新体系.     

Pastoral Care and Medical Education

This essay describes how contemporary medical education and pastoral care share historical roots, confront similar pressures and objectives in the formation of future professionals, and address common concerns in the area of bioethics. The essay concludes with a summary of ideas regarding the present and future relationship between medical education and pastoral care. The essay is dedicated to the memory of David P. Rogers, M.D., whose vision of medical education and medical practice embodied a rare passion for justice.     

Medical Education and Disability Studies

The biomedicalist conceptualization of disablement as a personal medical tragedy has been criticized by disability studies scholars for discounting the difference between disability and impairment and the ways disability is produced by socio-environmental factors. This paper discusses prospects for partnerships between disability studies teaching/research and medical education; addresses some of the themes around the necessity of critical disability studies training for medical students; and examines a selection of issues and themes that have arisen from disability education courses within medical schools globally. The paper concludes that providing there is a commitment from senior management, universities are well positioned to apply both vertical and horizontal approaches to teaching disability studies to medical students.     

Teaching Medical Law in Medical Education

Although the teaching of medical ethics and law in medical education is an old story that has been told many times in medical literature, recent studies show that medical students and physicians lack confidence when faced with ethical dilemmas and medico-legal issues. The adverse events rates and medical lawsuits are on the rise whereas many medical errors are mostly due to negligence or malpractices which are preventable. While it is true that many medical schools teach their students medical law and ethics, there are wide variations in what is being taught because there is no universally agreed syllabus. Yet the knowledge of medical law and ethics is closely relevant to the medical profession and that failure in abiding the law may result in serious civil or even criminal consequences. While this paper does not propose to lay detailed analysis of the relevant areas of law or ethics, it proposes to cover some legal areas so as to highlight and bring to attention the need for a medical law and ethics course. This article also considers the problems faced and recommendation as to future directions to be taken with respect to teaching medical law and ethics. It concludes with a suggested course outline for the teaching of medical law and ethics.     

Bearing Response-Ability: Theater, Ethics and Medical Education

This paper addresses a growing concern within the medical humanities community regarding the perceived need for a more empathically-focused medical curricula, and advocates for the use of creative pedagogical forms as a means to attend to issues of suffering and relationality. Drawing from the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, I critique the notion of empathy on the basis that it erases difference and disregards otherness. Rather, I propose that the concept of empathy may be usefully replaced with that of ethical responsibility, which suggests a shared sense of humanity outside the boundaries of presumed knowledge of the other. To illustrate this argument, I theorize the importance of theater within medical education. Theater, I argue, may engender ethical responsibility in the Levinasian sense, and thus may allow learners to differently engage with the experience of the suffering other. As such, I examine Margaret Edson's widely used play Wit as a platform for such an ethical encounter to occur. Thus, rather than working to understand the value of theater in medical education in terms of knowledge and skill acquisition, I theorize that its primacy within medical curricula arises from its ethical/relational potential, or potential to engender new forms of inter-human relationality.     

临床实习生专业教育与医学伦理教育整合的探讨

当前有相当数量的临床学院、教学医院和临床教师仅重视医学生的专业教育而忽视医学伦理教育,专业教育与医学伦理教育严重脱节.应对临床实习生的专业教育与医学伦理教育的培养目标、教育内容、实践过程、教育路径、方式方法进行整合,使医学专业教育与医学伦理教育紧密结合、相互渗透、相互融合、实现整合.     

医学人文教育：问题、挑战与对策

近年来,医学人文教育有了一定的发展,但从总体上看,还存在着师资队伍匮乏、教育方式单一、改革力度不够等问题。为此,要进一步加强师资队伍建设和学科建设,改革教学内容与方法,积极创建具有多种形式,并与专业和社会实际密切结合的医学人文教育新体系。     

洛克菲勒基金会与医学教育

以洛克菲勒基金会为切入点,讨论了基金会与医学教育发展的关系,内容包括洛克菲勒基金会在20世纪对医学教育与研究重大项目资助等的回顾,讨论了洛克菲勒基金会对医学教育与研究资助及其对医学教育影响以及以洛克菲勒基金会为开端的基金会制度对医学教育发展影响,提出基金会制度与中国医学教育发展关系的设想.     

医学生廉洁素质教育与医学专业精神的培养

廉洁是医学专业精神的内在要求,加强医学生廉洁素质教育有助于医学专业精神的培养.当前医学生廉洁素质还存在对廉洁和腐败问题的认知不到位、在反腐败问题上知行不一等问题.基于此,应当积极加强医学生廉洁素质教育,特别应从知、情、意、信、行等方面进行尝试和探讨,以促进医学专业精神的培养,提升医学生为人、处事和行医之道.     

现代医学教学理念:比利时基础医学教学分析

比利时是欧洲医学教育的发达国家之一。基础医学教育是整个医学教育中的基石阶段。比利时的基础教育有着浓厚的本国特点。通过从学科融合、教师行为、学生角色及考核方式等多个方面对比利时基础医学教学的优势进行了对比分析,为我国基础医学教育改革提供借鉴和参考。