Comment on “Bedside detection of awareness in the vegetative state: a cohort study” by Damian Cruse, Srivas Chennu, Camille Chatelle, Tristan A Bekinschtein, Davinia Fernández-Espejo, John D Pickard, Steven Laureys, Adrian M Owen Published in The Lancet, online Nov 10. Cruse and colleagues founds evidence of some kind of consciousness in 3 out of 16 […]
Category: Philosophy
I Met a Relativist, and I’m Baffled
Until fairly recently, I thought I’d met people who could be described as moral relativists. But I recently met someone who’s made me wonder whether they were the real deal. The “relativists” I’d met previously were, broadly, people who make the claim that moral statements do not have the same universal applicability as statements that […]
Why Use Close Genes?
Real life showing signs of coming back under control, it’s nice to be back blogging again. Hopefully I’ll be up to speed soon. To get back into the swing of things, there’s an interesting post from Ole Martin Moen on the Practical Ethics blog. It’s only short, so I’ll reproduce almost fully here. Today, if […]
Public Lecture: Mary Midgley on Death and the Human Animal
Via the Centre for Medical Humanities blog: Royal Institute of Philosophy Public Lecture Mary Midgley – Newcastle University Death and the Human Animal Wednesday 19th October 2011, 5pm – 7pm (freshments available from 5pm) The Henry Dyson room, the college of St Hild and St Bede, Durham. The abstract’s below the fold. […]
Philosophy on the Radio
You’re all probably way ahead of me on this, but there’s a series called The Philosopher’s Arms currently enjoying a run on Radio 4. The premise of the programme is that philosophical questions are discussed in the context of a conversation in the pub – which has, of course, been the traditional haunt of philosophers […]
Assisted Dying: Physicians and Metaphysicians in the BMJ
There’s a slightly curious correspondence taking place in the BMJ at the moment that concerns assisted dying. Des Spence started things moving with this short piece. For the most part it is (sorry to say) a slightly pedestrian and simplistic overview of the state of the assisted dying debate. One of the arguments against AD that […]
Genetic Modification and Comparative Advantage (aka Musing about Kant 3)
David Jensen’s paper in the latest JME considers a possible Kantian argument against the use of genetic enhancement for the sake of comparative advantage in one’s children. Essentially, the argument rests on the idea that the maxim describing such a course of action would not be universalisable; universalised, it would be self-defeating, since the very […]
Morality as a Biological Phenomenon?
Does oxytocin come as a liquid? I can only assume that it does, and that it’s possible to drown in a vat of it. I’ve come to this conclusion after reading this interview with Patricia Churchland in The Chronicle of Higher Education. It ought to come as no surprise to those who’re familiar with Churchland’s […]
Should Organ Donation be Compulsory?
Channel 4 is currently mid-way through a series of short talking-head films on the question of whether organ donation should be compulsory: as I write this, two have been broadcast, with another five to come. The first one is by John Harris, rehearsing familiar arguments about the permissibility of mandated donation (as he did here) […]
In ur videoz, appreciatin ur formz
After yesterday’s maundering on about Kant, here’s an example of how to keep philosophy in its rightful place. I like to think that the cat was thinking, “Holy tables? Really? I’m going to have to save you from yourself here, matey”. (props to HappyToast for the link.) […]