Political philosophy has historically been a surprisingly unreal subject and distributive justice as a sub-field has fared no better, indeed some of the primary discussions have focused on the distribution of plover eggs and claret and taken place on desert islands. There is some sense to this, abstracting away from society and normal circumstances can […]
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S. and Marper v. the UK 17 – 0 for civil liberties and common sense
The European Court of Human Rights have today in a unanimous 17 – 0 decision decided that the retention of DNA profiles and tissue samples from people who have been arrested, but not charged with or convicted of any crime is a breach of their right to respect for private life (Article 8 of the […]
Fit notes? Undecaffeinated coffee?
I’m not sure whether it’s an urban legend or actual fact, but I once heard a story about someone who was offered coffee on an aeroplane in either decaffeinated or undecaffeinated versions. Oh, how I laughed at the mindless pleonasm. I only mention it because I was awoken this morning by the sound of someone talking […]
Hurrah… The Complete JME back archive now available online
The complete JME back archive is now available online. You can now get all the important articles from the first issue in 1975 and onwards, to there is now no excuse for not citing that important articles from 1975 just because it requires a walk to the library! […]
Must read opinion piece on Ouch! (the BBC web-site on disability)
Sir Thomas William Shakespeare, 3rd Baronet of Lakenham a.k.a. Tom Shakespeare the sociologist and disability activist is recounting his experiences of NHS rehabilitation after spinal surgery. This is a must read piece for anyone interested in the irrationality of health care systems and will also be an excellent basis for a discussion with students about […]
Personhood in Colorado: Update
I’m not sure if it’s definite yet, but at time of writing (10am GMT on the fifth), it looks like Colorado voters have overwhelmingly rejected proposals to alter the constitution to extend the definition of “person” to the point of fertilisation. Would it be too provocative to express happiness about this small victory for moral and […]
There’s going to be some kind of vote in America…
You may be aware that some Americans are going to be casting votes on… oh, something or other, this week. In Colorado, they’ll be doing the presidential shtick – but they’ll also be voting on whether to accept an amendment to the State constitution that would extend the definition of “person” to include all humans […]
What Can Doctors Do?
An area of research with which I’ve been toying for quite a long time now is to try to provide an answer to the question “What are doctors for?”. (Admittedly, the possibility of a cheap’n’nasty Heidegger pun in the title, Wozu Doktor?, has a reasonably high place in the list of the project’s attractions… Ho-hum. It’s […]
Bioethics Briefing Book
The Hastings Center has produced Birth to Death and Bench to Clinic: The Hastings Center Bioethics Briefing Book for Journalists, Policymakers, and Campaigns It contains 36 overviews of issues in bioethics of high public interest, such as abortion, health care reform, human and sports enhancement, organ transplantation, personalized medicine, medical error, and stem cells. The […]
And the language of bioethics is… ?
Going to conferences can often be a frustrating experience. Going may be good for refreshing your academic network but there is rarely any deep discussion of the topics on the agenda and many of the presentations are to be blunt rather boring. I therefore count myself very lucky to have attended 3 interesting conferences within […]