Economists and philosophers disagree about the concept of choice used in economics. Some behavioural economists argue that economic models of choice will improve as they become more and more psychologically realistic. Don Ross argues that this argument fails because its hidden assumption – that the economic concept of choice is the same as the psychological counterpart – is false. Ross conjectures that the economic concept of choice concerns a population-scale pattern of behavioural changes in response to incentives. We conduct a (...) survey experiment to test two predictions that Ross’s conjecture generates. The statistical analysis of our data confirms our predictions, although with some qualifications. In interpreting our results, we distinguish two versions of commonsensible realism, strong and weak, and propose the weak one as a plausible explanation of our results. Weak commonsensible realism also produces further testable hypotheses. Some methodological implications of our study are discussed. (shrink)

The aim of the present study was to describe how registered nurses in nursing homes ensure legal security, good and safe nursing care and uphold the dignity of nursing home residents with severe dementia without violating residents’ integrity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 charge nurses in a county in central Sweden. The transcribed interviews were examined using manifest and latent content analyses. The manifest analysis identified actual local routines involving coercive treatment and registered nurses’ descriptions of complications and alternative (...) measures. The latent analysis resulted in three themes describing nursing strategies: one with coercive treatment, one with coercive treatment under specific circumstances and one to prevent coercive treatment. Interpretations of legal terms regarding coercive treatment and inadequate gerontological nursing training and understaffing seem to preserve the use of coercive treatment. (shrink)

This paper presents a framework for ethical and responsible standardisation by adapting Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) principles to standard-setting. While standardisation is sometimes viewed as technical and neutral, it has profound social and political effects. We identify relevant potential shortcomings in standardisation: overlooked social impacts, short-run market capture, and loss of expertise during certification. Further, we emphasise the distinct context of standardisation: its commercial roots, and the distinct way it serves as a sphere of knowledge-creation. Taking these points together, (...) we land on a four-part framework: Inclusivity, Anticipation, Stewardship, and Leadership. The paper reviews institutional measures to embed the framework in committee processes. (shrink)

The formerly established medically-based idea of disability, with its charity-based approach to treatment and services, is being replaced by a human rights-based approach in which people with impairments are no longer considered medical problems, totally dependent on the beneficence of non-impaired people in society, but have fundamental rights to support, inclusion, and participation. This interdisciplinary book examines the diverse concerns that people with impairments face in the context of human rights, provides insights into new developments on important issues relating human (...) rights to disability, and features new approaches and solutions to vital problems in the current debate. (shrink)

Background: Autonomy and participation are threatened within the group of older people living in nursing homes. Evidence suggests that healthcare personnel act on behalf of older people but are still excluding them from decision-making in everyday care. Objective: The purpose was to describe registered nurses’ experience of caring for older people in nursing homes to promote autonomy and participation. Research design: A descriptive design with a phenomenological approach was used. Data were collected by semi-structured individual interviews. Analysis was inspired by (...) Giorgi’s method. Participants and research context: A total of 13 registered nurses from 10 nursing homes participated. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the Regional Research Ethics Committee. Informed consent was achieved and confidentiality guaranteed. Findings: The essence of caring for older people in nursing homes to promote autonomy and participation consisted of registered nurses’ awareness of older people’s frailty and the impact of illness to support health and well-being, and awareness of acknowledgement in everyday life and trusting relationships. Paying attention to older people by being open to the persons’ wishes were aspects that relied on registered nurses’ trusting relationships with older people, their relatives and surrounding healthcare personnel. The awareness reflected challenges in caring to promote older people’s right to autonomy and participation in nursing homes. Registered nurses’ strategies, hopes for and/or concerns about development of everyday life in nursing homes were revealed and mirrored their engagement in caring for older people. Discussion and conclusion: Awareness of older people’s frailty in nursing homes and the importance of maintained health and well-being were described as the main source for promoting autonomy and participation. Everyday life and care in nursing homes needs to be addressed from both older people’s and healthcare personnel’s perspectives, to promote autonomy and participation for residents in nursing homes. (shrink)

The article explores the question whether the way in which Juri Lotman uses the categories of semiotic explosion and unpredictability enables and necessitates the need to give space not only to different descriptions, but also to various self-descriptions (auto-communications) of religion in culture. In other words, the question is posed whether his concept of the semiosphere aids in making sense of the synchronic and diachronic contradictions and controversies in religion – both within what is perceived as a religion and between (...) what are understood to be religions. The focus lies especially on whether Lotman’s semiotic theory of culture has a potential of advancing mutual recognition and supportive respect, that is – solidaristic tolerance between different religious and non-religious ways of being human. The claim is made that this is indeed the case as he models the human situation so that the ‘outside of the system’ is not understood only as a continuation of reality, but visualizes and includes within the system a space for a radical intrusion of possibility – for the truly unpredictable – on the level of culture, humanity, as well as the individual. Therefore, Lotman’s theory of culture could be developed further, in the direction of a translation device between different cultures (of religion), opening up new perspectives for dealing with the challenging semiotic situation in which we all find ourselves living in today. (shrink)

In recent years, research into generative artificial intelligence (AI) for clinical practice and medical research has expanded rapidly. Generative AI models hold great promise in virtually all areas of healthcare. However, alongside their potential benefits, there are significant concerns about the risks and ethical challenges associated with their use. The aim of this chapter is to provide an instructive and stimulating overview of the ethical aspects of generative AI in medicine. It begins with a brief overview of its potential benefits (...) and risks, followed by an ethical evaluation framework for its development and implementation in healthcare. It then examines two critical cross-cutting issues that need to be carefully addressed as generative AI is integrated into clinical practice: the transformation of the social structure of medicine and the trustworthiness of generative AI systems. The fourth step focuses on the ethical challenges that generative AI poses for medical research. The chapter concludes with a forward-looking perspective on the ethics of generative AI in medicine. (shrink)

Predictive interventions and practices are becoming a defining feature of medicine. The author points out that according to the inner logic and external supporters of modern medicine, participating in healthcare increasingly means participating in knowing, sharing, and using of predictive information. At the same time, the author addresses the issue that predictive information may also have problematic side effects like overdiagnosis, health-related anxiety, and worry as well as impacts on personal life plans. The question is raised: Should we resort to (...) stigmatization if doing so would increase participation in predictive interventions, and thereby save healthcare costs and reduce morbidity and premature death? The paper concludes that even if such a strategy cannot be ruled out in some forms and contexts, we ought to be very cautious about the dangers of shame and stigmatization. (shrink)

_English summary:_ The ethics of Knud E. Logstrup (1905-1981), the Danish theologian and philosopher, are among the most important ethical approaches of the 20th century. In the manner of H. Jonas and E. Levinas, his universalistic justification of ethics is embedded in the horizon of the phenomenology of Husserl and Heidegger. Johann-Christian Poder explains the basic elements of Logstrup's ethical thinking and shows that Logstrup assumes that there is evidence of the ethical which constitutes humankind's relationship to himself and the (...) world. For him, the ethical is part of the ethical-ontological structure of human beings as homo moralis. From a theological perspective, this is the imperative and indicative presence of the creature-like destiny of human beings which is God's work. Logstrup's ethics are an impressive and provocative invitation to take the irreducible alienness of the ethical experience seriously._ German description:_ Die Ethik des danischen Theologen und Philosophen Knud E. Logstrup (1905-1981) gehort zu den grossen ethischen Ansatzen des 20. Jahrhunderts. Seine universalistische Ethikbegrundung steht - ahnlich H. Jonas und E. Levinas - im Horizont der von Husserl und Heidegger initiierten Phanomenologie. Johann-Christian Poder erschliesst die Grundelemente von Logstrups ethischem Denken und zeigt, wie Logstrup von einer das menschliche Selbst- und Weltverhaltnis konstitutiv charakterisierenden Evidenz des Ethischen ausgeht. Das Ethische gehort fur ihn zur ethisch-ontologischen Struktur des Menschen als _homo moralis_. In theologischer Perspektive handelt es sich dabei um die von Gott gewirkte imperative und indikative Prasenz der schopfungsmassigen Bestimmung des Menschen. Logstrups Ethik ist eine eindruckliche und denkerisch provokative Einladung, die nicht-reduzierbare Fremdheit der ethischen Erfahrung ernstzunehmen. (shrink)