Williams, Truth-Aimedness and the Voluntariness of Judgement

I contend that while at least one of the arguments advanced by Bernard Williams in his paper 'Deciding To Believe' does establish that beliefs, or more precisely, judgements cannot be decided upon 'at will', the notion of truth-aimedness presupposed by that argument also, ironically, provides the key to understanding why judgements are necessarily voluntary.     

Euthanasia,Autonomy and Beneficence

Our interpretation of the Greek term sarx (σ?ρξ) has great impact on how we view the anthropology and theology expressed in Paul’s letters, and in Luke/Acts. This article takes Nida and Taber’s depiction of the semantic componential structure of σ?ρξ in Luke 24:39 and in Romans 11:14 as a starting point for a discussion of the semantic structure of σ?ρξ in these texts. The hermeneutical and translational principle of mental cascades (Lakoff and Wehling) provides a way to describe the associative links that exist between concepts in any language. Often, but not always, σ?ρξ has been translated into the English term flesh.     

Suffering, Prayer, and Miracles

Unrelieved suffering leads many to ask, “How can I trust a miracle-working God, who will not help me or my loved ones?” From brief exegeses of Jesus' healing of a man born blind (Jn 9) and of Jesus' response to Pilate's murderous oppression (Lk 13), I argue that (1) God uses suffering to call its witnesses to repentance and to acts of steadfast love that fulfill the creation of humanity; (2) miracles are real, rare, and ambiguous; (3) God is good and powerful enough to deliver everyone decisively, but God's patient commitment to human freedom and universal reconciliation preclude it; (4) all suffering is sacrificial and will become meaningful; and that (5) there are at least three faithful and coordinate responses to suffering.     

Euthanasia,Senicide, and the Aging Society

ABSTRACT

The elderly, particularly the severely demented, are at the cutting edge of the debate over active euthanasia. Such debilitated persons fall below the standards of “personhood” as these have been defined by various moral philosophers. With the pressures of economic hard times, one might predict that the most impaired aged would be candidates for “direct termination.” However, this essay defends the thesis that the prohibition against mercy killing must be upheld despite such pressures. It draws on the wisdom of both Hippocrates and Abraham.     

Suffering, meaning, and bioethics.

Suffering evokes moral and metaphysical reflection, the bioethics of suffering concerns the proper ethos of living with suffering. Because empirical and philosophical explorations of suffering are imprisoned in the world of immanent experience, they cannot reach to a transcendent meaning. Even if religious and other narratives concerning the meaning of suffering have no transcendent import, they can have aesthetic and moral significance. This understanding of narratives of suffering and of their custodians has substantial ecumenical implications: chaplains can function as general custodians of narratives and sustainers of a generic religious meaning. This understanding is contrary to traditional Christianity, which discloses a transcendent significance of human suffering found in a very particular history involving particular persons: Christ as the second Adam through the submission of the second Eve has taken on our nature so that we can be united with God. Human suffering is tied to human sin, not simply as a punishment for sin, much less as an opportunity to discharge a supposed temporal punishment due to sin. Human suffering is the result of our rebellious free choices. It provides an opportunity for humility and submission, so that, united to the cross of Christ, sin can be forgiven and suffering set aside in the Resurrection. Knowledge of this framing context for all human suffering is accessible not through rational argument. It is a knowledge garnered through repentance, purification of the heart, illumination by God's grace, and unification with God. Christian bioethics is embedded in the narrative of suffering, which is part of the history of salvation and which encompasses and places all of medicine in its terms.     

Voluntariness, intention, and the defence of mental disorder: toward a rational approach

This article addresses how mental disorder may be used in common law countries to negate the requirements of voluntariness and intention in serious criminal offences as well as to provide the basis for current versions of the insanity defence. The notion that mental disorder can cause conduct to become completely involuntary or unintentional is questionable, given current thinking in the behavioral sciences. This article argues that different forms of mental disorder should be subsumed within a separate defence of mental disorder. Providing that a range of dispositional options is available, the law in this complex area would be simplified and brought into line with current psychological notions of goal-directed behavior.     

Mental Illness,Natural Death,and Non-Voluntary Passive Euthanasia

When it is considered to be in their best interests, withholding and withdrawing life-supporting treatment from non-competent physically ill or injured patients – non-voluntary passive euthanasia, as it has been called – is generally accepted. A central reason in support of the procedures relates to the perceived manner of death they involve: in non-voluntary passive euthanasia death is seen to come about naturally. When a non-competent psychiatric patient attempts to kill herself, the mental health care providers treating her are obligated to try to stop her. Yet it has been suggested that death by suicide can be a part of the natural course of a severe mental illness. Accordingly, if the perceived naturalness of the deaths occurring in connection with non-voluntary passive euthanasia speaks for their moral permissibility, it could be taken that a similar reason can support the moral acceptability of the suicidal deaths of non-competent psychiatric patients. In this article, I consider whether the suicidal death of a non-competent psychiatric patient would necessarily be less natural than those of physically ill or injured patients who die as a result of non-voluntary passive euthanasia. I argue that it would not.     

Euthanasia,the terminal patient,and the physician's role

A random sample of Cleveland clergy was asked to assess 1) the terminal patient's views on death, 2) the desires of some terminally ill patients to find an easy and dignified death, and 3) the role the physician ought to play in treating terminal patients. Protestant clergy more than their Catholic counterparts are substantially in favor of 1) disclosure of terminal illness, 2) allowing an easy death for the terminal patient at his request, and 3) facilitating the role of the physicians in cases of terminal illness. Fundamentalist Protestants are less approving than liberal Protestants. Clerics who saw their role extend beyond man's spiritual need approve of the physician's disclosure of terminal illness and his cooperation with patients who request with-holding or terminating medical treatment.This work was supported by the office of Research Development at Bowling Green State University and the College of Arts and Sciences.     

艰难的安乐死

安乐死立法难,依法更难,执法难上难。有法不依,执法不严;一失足成千古恨,再回头已是百年身。