The moral status of the fetus: Implications of the somatic integration definition of human life

Bioethics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark T. Brown
Numen ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-254
Author(s):  
Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati

AbstractThe present article focuses on the function of mythic journeys with regard to the problem of death and the transience of human life in two selected Mesopotamian literary sources: the Gilgamesh-Epic IX–XI and the Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld. The selected texts are analysed and compared from the perspective of a functionalist definition of religious symbol systems, with particular attention to the transformation involved in travelling through different cosmic regions. The structure of the journey, the characterisation of the different regions visited by the protagonist, and the changes provoked by the mythic travel evince similarities and differences in the strategies employed to produce a religious orientation dealing with the ineluctable limits of life.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Eliana Alemán ◽  
José Pérez-Agote

This work aims to show that the sacrificial status of the victims of acts of terrorism, such as the 2004 Madrid train bombings (“11-M”) and ETA (Basque Homeland and Liberty) attacks in Spain, is determined by how it is interpreted by the communities affected and the manner in which it is ritually elaborated a posteriori by society and institutionalised by the state. We also explore the way in which the sacralisation of the victim is used in socially and politically divided societies to establish the limits of the pure and the impure in defining the “Us”, which is a subject of dispute. To demonstrate this, we first describe two traumatic events of particular social and political significance (the case of Miguel Ángel Blanco and the 2004 Madrid train bombings). Secondly, we analyse different manifestations of the institutional discourse regarding victims in Spain, examining their representation in legislation, in public demonstrations by associations of victims of terrorism and in commemorative “performances” staged in Spain. We conclude that in societies such as Spain’s, where there exists a polarisation of the definition of the “Us”, the success of cultural and institutional performances oriented towards reparation of the terrorist trauma is precarious. Consequently, the validity of the post-sacrificial narrative centring on the sacred value of human life is ephemeral and thus fails to displace sacrificial narratives in which particularist definitions of the sacred Us predominate.


1987 ◽  
Vol 13 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 233-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Cranford ◽  
David Randolph Smith

For the past two decades, the medical profession and society have debated the definition of death. Some reasonable consensus has been reached on this issue, in theory and in practice. In the last few years, however, a far more important debate has been evolving — the definition of human personhood. Human personhood has been discussed extensively in the past with respect to the abortion question and other issues concerning the beginning of life. More recently, however, the definition of personhood has been raised with respect to termination of treatment decisions at the end of life and, in particular, on the appropriate care of patients in a persistent vegetative state.Our major premise is that consciousness is the most critical moral, legal, and constitutional standard, not for human life itself, but for human personhood. There is nothing highly original in our approach to this particular issue; others have advanced similar arguments in recent years.


2019 ◽  
pp. 158-162
Author(s):  
S. M. Korniiko

The article is devoted to the definition of the content and the system of expert activity in the field of computer technologies, which is based on the results of determining the general system of expert activity. Expert activity should be understood as the implementation by authorized agents on the basis of special knowledge in the field of science, technology, art, crafts, etc. Studies of objects, phenomena and processes in order to provide scientifically substantiated conclusions on the diverse issues that arise in the process of life of society. Such a definition of expert activity includes both judicial and non-judicial expert examination. At present, more than 500 laws are adopted in Ukraine, which in one way or another concern the conduct of expert assessments (most of them are valid at 2019). But no any among that laws directly devoted to the expert work in the field of computer technology. So the system and content of the expert work in the field of computer technology should be established, based on knowledge of the object of expertise – computer technology. It is considered as synonymous with the concept of “information technology” or “information and communication technologies”. Information technology – it is a purposeful organized set of information processes using computer facilities, which provide high speed data processing, rapid information search, dispersal of data, access to information sources regardless of places of their location. The system of expert activity in the field of computer technologies includes examinations belonging to a group of judicial (engineering, commodity, forensic, etc.) and non-judicial (scientific and scientific and technical expertise; examination of issues of quality and conformity of goods (products) to certain requirements; examination of issues of information security; examination of issues of environmental impact and the environment of human life, etc.), as well as presented by different kindsand species examinations that have different goals focused on the study of computer technology in their various aspects and provides solutions to diverse issues.


Author(s):  
M. M. Кабанець ◽  
В. М. Алфімов

The article focuses on the importance of information culture as an integral part of professional culture of engineers, which affects the quality and safety of engineering solutions. The main two approaches to the definition of "information culture" are determined, which include an information approach when the information culture is reduced to the concept of computer or information literacy and a culturological approach when the concept "information culture" is seen as a way of human life in the information society. Development of the information culture acts as a process of harmonization of the inner world of man in the acquisition of socially significant information. The main components of information culture of engineers are highlighted, including literacy and competence in understanding the nature of information processes and relationships, humanistically oriented information value-semantic sphere, developed information reflection, creativity in information behaviour and socio-information activity. Based on a broad understanding of information culture as a qualitative characteristic of the life of a specialist in terms of receiving, transmitting, storing and using information, where universal moral values are the main priority, basic methodological approaches to forming information culture of future engineers are proposed, namely: system, personal, activity, integrative, culturological, axiological and reflexive approaches. The process of developing future engineers’ information culture in the process of professional training in higher educational institutions will be effective providing that it is based on the substantiated methodological approaches.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathania Pramendra Yaslim

Music has become a part of human life. Even in daily life of few individuals will be lacking if they are not accompanied by music at all. The bond between humans and music was finally used as an innovation to help individuals who need help. Music therapy was created to help someone through their problems using media that is familiar to humans, namely music. This literature review aims to understand as well as explore the basic role of music in counseling services. This literature review will focus on the definition of music therapy, music therapy in counseling practice, principles of music therapy, music therapy techniques, and the types of music used.


Author(s):  
John Brekke

This chapter offers a definition of science that encompasses the interacting elements of theory, prediction, observation, and testing. The chapter also discusses disciplines and professions and their boundaries, capitalizing on the work of Abbott and Jacobs on interdisciplinarity. Disciplines are essential for science and learning, and interdisciplinarity is sometimes crucial to solving vexing problems in science—but “inter-” or “trans-” disciplinary work is only viable in the context of disciplines and disciplinary identity. A crucial linking construct in social work science is technology, which is the application of scientific knowledge to human life. In terms of identity, social work science has a dual focus on scientific understanding as well as on using and developing methods (technologies) for human behavior change on multiple levels. In many areas of society, the existence of scientific disciplines that merge with professions forms the nexus of understanding and technology for solving “problems in living.”


Author(s):  
Yasemin Sen

Sustainability has increasingly become a critical issue for wellbeing of human life and maintaining sustainability is responsibility of many parties such as individuals, corporations or governments. When taking its social, economical, or environmental impacts into consideration, maybe the most important player in that arena is organizations and in order to take the necessary actions about sustainability, first of all a common understanding of the topic is needed. For this reason, in this chapter it is aimed to create awareness about sustainability issue and commonly used tools for management of it. In this context, definition of sustainability and four corporate sustainability management tools (Environmental Management System - EMS, Sustainable Value Stream Mapping - Sus-VSM, Total Quality Environmental Management - TQEM and Sustainable Balanced Score Card - SBSC) have been explained.


Author(s):  
Johan Buitendag

The indispensability of habitat in our definition of human personhood: In search of an eco-theological understanding of human life. The endeavour of this article is to arrive at a theological responsible conception of life. Life cannot be described adequately only in terms of body and soul (and/or spirit), or even in terms of human personhood. The point is that it is constitutive for life to take the human being’s environment sociologically as well as ecologically into account. This article does not plead for a nature religion as advocated by the Deep Green Movement and all its variations of naturalism and supernaturalism, but asks for a revaluation of a Christian anthropology which approaches the Bible with a green hermeneutics. Perhaps the expression, ‘bio-cultural’ paradigm requests to be substituted with an eco-sociological niche of the human person. An eco-sociological (eco-theological) understanding of homo religiosus is therefore to assume human life as ontologically ‘distributed’.


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