scholarly journals Love thy neighbour? Allocating vaccines in a world of competing obligations

2020 ◽  
pp. medethics-2020-106887
Author(s):  
Kyle Ferguson ◽  
Arthur Caplan

Although a safe, effective, and licensed coronavirus vaccine does not yet exist, there is already controversy over how it ought to be allocated. Justice is clearly at stake, but it is unclear what justice requires in the international distribution of a scarce vaccine during a pandemic. Many are condemning ‘vaccine nationalism’ as an obstacle to equitable global distribution. We argue that limited national partiality in allocating vaccines will be a component of justice rather than an obstacle to it. For there are role-based and community-embedded responsibilities to take care of one’s own, which constitute legitimate moral reasons for some identity-related prioritisation. Furthermore, a good form of vaccine nationalism prioritises one’s own without denying or ignoring duties derived from a principle of equal worth, according to which all persons, regardless of citizenship or identity, equally deserve vaccine-induced protection from COVID-19. Rather than dismissing nationalism as a tragic obstacle, it is necessary to acknowledge that a limited form of it is valuable and expresses moral commitments. Only then can one understand our world of competing obligations, a world where cosmopolitan duties of benevolence sometimes conflict with special obligations of community membership. Once these competing obligations are recognised as such, we can begin the work of designing sound ethical frameworks for achieving justice in the global distribution of a coronavirus vaccine and developing practical strategies for avoiding, mitigating or resolving conflicts of duty.

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Povinelli ◽  
Gabrielle C. Glorioso ◽  
Shannon L. Kuznar ◽  
Mateja Pavlic

Abstract Hoerl and McCormack demonstrate that although animals possess a sophisticated temporal updating system, there is no evidence that they also possess a temporal reasoning system. This important case study is directly related to the broader claim that although animals are manifestly capable of first-order (perceptually-based) relational reasoning, they lack the capacity for higher-order, role-based relational reasoning. We argue this distinction applies to all domains of cognition.


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Siegel ◽  
Michael S. Christian ◽  
Adela S. Garza ◽  
Aleksander P. J. Ellis

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauris Christopher Kaldjian

The communication of moral reasoning in medicine can be understood as a means of showing respect for patients and colleagues through the giving of moral reasons for actions. This communication is especially important when disagreements arise. While moral reasoning should strive for impartiality, it also needs to acknowledge the individual moral beliefs and values that distinguish each person (moral particularity) and give rise to the challenge of contrasting moral frameworks (moral pluralism). Efforts to communicate moral reasoning should move beyond common approaches to principles-based reasoning in medical ethics by addressing the underlying beliefs and values that define our moral frameworks and guide our interpretations and applications of principles. Communicating about underlying beliefs and values requires a willingness to grapple with challenges of accessibility (the degree to which particular beliefs and values are intelligible between persons) and translatability (the degree to which particular beliefs and values can be transposed from one moral framework to another) as words and concepts are used to communicate beliefs and values. Moral dialogues between professionals and patients and among professionals themselves need to be handled carefully, and sometimes these dialogues invite reference to underlying beliefs and values. When professionals choose to articulate such beliefs and values, they can do so as an expression of respectful patient care and collaboration and as a means of promoting their own moral integrity by signalling the need for consistency between their own beliefs, words and actions.


Author(s):  
Erwin Erwin ◽  
Nasarudin Nasarudin ◽  
Husnan Husnan

The purpose of this research is to explain the importance of the student organizations and describe their efforts to improve the speaking skills of students at the Mahad Khalid Bin Al Waleed at the University of Muhammadiyah Mataram. This research uses the qualitative approach with the descriptive type. The result shows the student organizations play an important role based on their objectives and functions. The objectives are to help the foundation and all parties in the Ma'had develop the students’ potential and qualification, and to be the place for the students to share their problems and complaints, while the functions are as one of the media to develop students’ quality, both the members of the non-member, and as the good examples and pioneers of any good deeds. The efforts done by student organizations in improving speaking skills are such as by making activities that lead to improving students' speaking skills like sticking vocabularies in each class and Friday activities such as language game, Arabic debate and short lecture.


2020 ◽  
pp. 70-74
Author(s):  
Anastasia Katkova ◽  
Elena Andriyanova

Currently, the leading socio-psychological problem in modern health care is role overloads and role conflicts among medical professionals. Role-based problems can lead to neuropsychiatric stress and become a source of professional stress for doctors. Therefore, in order to provide social assistance and support to doctors, it is necessary to study the sociopsychological factors that determine role conflicts in the professional activity of a doctor and further implement a socially oriented approach in the conditions of modernizing the modern healthcare system.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document