Towards a phenomenology of ethical expertise

This paper was presented as the Aron Gurwitsch Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Center for Advanced Research in Phenomenology, at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 1989. We would like to thank Drew Cross, David Greenbaum, Wayne Martin, Charles Spinosa, Charles Taylor and Kailey Vernallis for their helpful comments.     

Do “near-death experiences” occur only near death?-revisited

Ten years ago our research on out-of-body experiences suggested that the elements of the near-death experience (NDE) were not necessarily limited to situations in which survival was threatened. A decade of continued study has confirmed that theperception of being near death, independent of the actual reality of the situation, is the key determinant of the classical NDE. From early in life, the infant's dread of catastrophe leads to the elaboration of extensive psychological defenses against the possibility of extinction. The NDE is simultaneously a manifestation of faith and a catalyst for the development of faith.C.F. Menninger Memorial HospitalInstructor at the Topeka Institute for Psychoanalysis     

Political Ideologies and Support for Censorship: Is It a Question of Whose Ox Is Being Gored?

Two studies are described. one of 381 university students and the other a statewide survey of 295 adults, both of which examine the relationship between attitudinal support for censorship and political ideologies. The results of these studies are interpreted as challenging the view of Suedfeld, Steel, and Schmidt (1994) that support for censorship is a function of both the works in question and the political ideologies of the respondents. In both studies we find that support for censorship is somewhat consistent across messages and images of differing political content. and that support for censorship is generally greater among those with conservative political attitudes, regardless of the content of the works in question. A model of political attitudes (Maddox & Lilie. 1986) that conceptualizes American political idcologies as consisting of two relatively independent dimensions, rather than a single left-right dimension. is proposed as a more effective means of conceptualizing this issue.     

Autonomy in the medical profession in the United Kingdom – an historical perspective

This paper reviews the concept of professional autonomy from anhistorical perspective. It became formalised in the United Kingdom onlyafter a long struggle throughout most of the nineteenth century. In itspure form professional autonomy implies unlimited powers to undertakemedical investigations and to prescribe treatment, irrespective of cost.Doctors alone should determine the quality of care and the levels ofremuneration to which they should be entitled. In the second half of thetwentieth century a steady erosion of professional autonomy occurred inthe United Kingdom. The level of remuneration has been restricted formost doctors for nearly fifty years, whilst the costs of health carehave steadily reduced the doctor's ability to provide unrestricted carewithin the health care system. Reorganisation of the National HealthService in 1983 and 1991 has substantially eroded professional autonomy,to the point where research developments, clinical judgement and ethicalstandards are all now being placed at risk.     

A transgenerational theory

How does a family maintain and pass on its unique identity and culture? What mechanisms allow the passage of family tradition from one generation to the next? These are questions that a transgenerational theory must attempt to answer. Biological communication is one way of transmitting characteristics to succeeding generations but other forms of communication exist. Animals with complex nervous systems pass learned behaviour to their offspring and other members of their species. In the family environment Lamarckian transmission occurs in that acquired practices, behaviours and beliefs are passed on to succeeding generations. Transgenerational theory deals with the rules which govern the communication of acquired practices, behaviours and beliefs between generations. There is no rigorous scientific approach to the passage of family culture and tradition. This transgenerational theory is a minor step in the formulation of such an approach.     

Experiments in micro-history: Attributions about the recent vs. the remote subjective past

Demonstrated in two studies ( N = 64, N = 79) that information about a hypothetical stimulus person that appears to be 3 hold is judged more positively than information that appears to be 45 min old (p < .03, p < .007 respectively). In both instances, the information was received 1½ hago, but by unobtrusively manipulating the speeds of a clock by a factor of two, subjects were led to believe that they received the information either 45 min or 3 hago. The implications of thefindings for theories of attribution and social judgment are pointed out.