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Treatment and Understanding in Psychiatry
Understanding is a fundamental concept in medical ethics. I want to discuss two contrasting senses in which medical treatments require understanding on behalf of the patient. The first of these is very familiar, and much discussed. The second is less so.
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Gene-free: Can parents refuse genetic testing for their child?
by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics A critically ill infant in intensive care (let us call him Jonas) has serious congenital abnormalities affecting his liver and brain.1 Doctors looking after Jonas suspect that he may have a major genetic problem. They have recommended testing for Jonas, to help determine whether he does have this problem. However, Jonas’
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Event announcement: European Neonatal Ethics Conference
by Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics The second European Neonatal Ethics Conference is taking place next June (1-2nd) here in Oxford. I’m very pleased to have been asked to chair the conference, and there is a great line-up of speakers including Margot Brazier, Sofia Moratti, Ingrid Miljeteig, Mirjam de Vos, John Wyatt, Neil Marlowe. Those with
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Living With Other Hominids
Written by Professor Neil Levy The recent discovery of what is claimed to be a distinct species of the genus Homo, our genus, raises to three the number of species that may have co-existed with Homo Sapiens. Homo naledi is yet to be dated, but it may be only tens of thousands of years old;
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Guest Post: The moral lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Written by William Isdale University of Queensland This year is the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Are there any moral lessons we can learn from that historical episode? I think so. Recently I delivered a talk on radio about this topic. I argue that one key reason to study history
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Guest Post: VW cheating like Obama
Written by Dr Nicholas Shackel Cardiff University Nothing annoys the plunderers more than when the producers try to get away with the tricks that they have reserved to themselves.
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Liberalism and inequality
by Joao Fabiano Why inequality matters Philosophers who argue that we should care about inequality often have some variation of a prioritarian view. For them, well-being matters more for those who are worse off, and we should prioritise improving their lives over the lives of others. Several others believe we should care about inequality because
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Why It’s OK to Block Ads
Over the past couple of months, the practice of ad blocking has received heightened ethical scrutiny. (1,2,3,4) If you’re unfamiliar with the term, “ad blocking” refers to software—usually web browser plug-ins, but increasingly mobile apps—that stop most ads from appearing when you use websites or apps that would otherwise show them. Arguments against ad blocking
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If I were you then I wouldn’t say that: The perils of giving and taking advice
Written by Andreas Kappes The school year just started, but surprisingly, the half-term break is already lurking around the corner, when children have a week off. For a lot of parents this implies seeing their own parents, having them take care of the kids. And whenever families come together, there will be many sentences starting