Bert Gordijn

EMPIRICAL ETHICS AND ITS ALLEGED META-ETHICAL FALLACIES

This paper analyses the concept of empirical ethics as well as three meta-ethical fallacies that empirical ethics is said to face: the is-ought problem, the naturalistic fallacy and violation of the fact-value distinction. Moreover, it answers the question of whether empirical ethics (necessarily) commits these three basic meta-ethical fallacies.

Medical enhancement and posthumanity

Bert Gordijn and Ruth Chadwick: Introduction Part One: Medical Enhancement I. Urban Wiesing: The History of Medical Enhancement: from Restitutio ad Integrum to Transformatio ad Optimum? II. Ruth Chadwick: Therapy, Enhancement and Improvement III. Kevin FitzGerald, SJ: Medical Enhancement: A Destination of Technological, Not Human, Betterment IV. Nicholas Agar: How to Defend Genetic Enhancement Part Two: Posthumanity V. Andy Miah: A Critical History of Posthumanism VI. Dieter Birnbacher: Posthumanity, Transhumanism and Human Nature VII. Nick Bostrom: Why I want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up VIII. Charles T. Rubin: What is the Good of Transhumanism? Part Three: Current Developments IX. Mary Deveraux: Cosmetic Surgery X. Walter Glannon: Decelerating and Arresting Human Aging XI. Rebecca Dresser: Germline Genetic Modification XII. Ellen M. McGee: Bioelectronics and Implanted Devices XIII. Bert Gordijn: Converging NBIC Technologies for Improving Human Performance Michael J. Selgelid: Afterword. Advancing Posthuman Enhancement Dialogue

Scientific and philosophical perspectives in neuroethics

Foreword Neil Levy Introduction James J. Giordano 1. Developments in neuroscience: where have we been, where are we going? D. F. Swaab 2. Origins of the modern concept of neuroscience: Wilhelm Wundt, empiricism, and idealism - implications for contemporary neuroethics Niko Kohls and Roland Benedikter 3. On the cusp: the hard problem of neuroscience and its practical implications Ralph D. Ellis 4. The mind-body issue Dieter Birnbacher 5. Personal identity and the nature of the self Paolo Costa 6. Religious issues and the question of moral autonomy Antonio Autiero and Lucia Galvagni 7. Toward a cognitive neurobiology of the moral virtues Paul M. Churchland 8. From a neurophilosophy of pain, to a neuroethics of pain care James J. Giordano 9. Transplantation and xenotransplantation: ethics of cell therapy in the brain revisited Gerard J. Boer 10. Neurogenetics and ethics: how scientific frameworks can better inform ethics Kevin FitzGerald and Rachel Wurzman 11. Neuroimaging: thinking in pictures John VanMeter 12. Can we read minds? Ethical challenges and responsibilities in the use of neuroimaging research Eric Racine, Emily Bell and Judy Illes 13. Possibilities, limits, and implications of brain-computer interfacing technologies Thilo Hinterberger 14. Neural engineering: the ethical challenges ahead Bert Gordijn and Alena M. Buyx 15. Neurotechnology as a public good: probity, policy, and how to get there from here Alexis M. Jeannotte, Kathryn N. Schiller, Leah M. Reeves, Evan G. DeRenzo and Dennis K. McBride 16. Globalization - pluralist concerns and contexts: shaping international policy in neuroethics Robert H. Blank 17. The human condition and strivings to flourish: treatments, enhancements, science and society Adriana Gini and James J. Giordano 18. The limits of neurotalk Matthew B. Crawford Afterword Walter Glannon Index.

Ethical Aspects of Tissue Engineering: A Review

Tissue engineering (TE) is a promising new field of medical technology. However, like other new technologies, it is not free of ethical challenges. Identifying these ethical questions at an early stage is not only part of sciences responsibility toward society, but also in the interest of the field itself. In this review, we map which ethical issues related to TE have already been documented in the scientific literature. The issues that turn out to dominate the debate are the use of human embryonic stem cells and therapeutic cloning. Nevertheless, a variety of other ethical aspects are mentioned, which relate to different phases in the development of the field. In addition, we discuss a number of ethical issues that have not yet been raised in the literature.

Handbook of Global Bioethics

Handbook of Global Bioethics Volumes 1and 2 Section 1: Introduction.- Global Bioethics.- History of Global Bioethics.- Structure of the Compendium.- Section 2: Principles of Global Bioethics.- Human dignity and human rights.- Benefit and harm.- Autonomy and individual responsibility.- Persons without the capacity to consent.- Respect for human vulnerability and personal integrity.- Privacy and Confidentiality.- Non-discrimination and stigmatization.- Respect for cultural diversity and pluralism.- Solidarity and cooperation.- Social responsibility and health.- Sharing of Benefits.- Protection of the environment, the biosphere and biodiversity.- Section 3: Cultural Perspectives.- African perspectives.- Arab perspectives.- European perspectives.- Latin American perspectives.- North American perspectives.- Section 4: Religious Perspectives.- Buddhism.- Catholicism.- Confucianism.- Judaism.- Orthodox Christianity.- Protestantism.- Taoism.- Section 5: Specific Issues from a Global Perspective.- Bioethics education.- Bioethics and human rights.- Biobanking.- Biometrics.- Clinical research in resource-poor settings.- Codes of conduct.- Commodification of human tissue.- Corruption.- Disasters.- Dual use.- Enhancement.- Fair trade.- Genetic modification.- Human cloning.- Immigrants and displaced persons.- Informed consent.- Migration of health personnel and brain drain.- Organ trafficking and transplant tourism.- Poverty.- Scientific misconduct and research integrity.- Synthetic biology.- Section 6: Future Perspectives.- Future Perspectives.- Volumes 3 and 4 Section 7: Countries and Regions.- Argentina.- Australia.- Brazil.- Bulgaria.- Burkina Faso.- Cameroon.- Canada.- China.- Colombia.- Congo, Democratic Republic of the.-Croatia.- Denmark.- Dominican Republic.- Egypt.- Ethiopia.- Iceland.- India.- Indonesia.- Iran, Islamic Republic of.-Kazakhstan.- Lithuania.- Malawi.- Malta.- Netherlands.- New Zealand.- Norway.- Oceania.- Philippines.- Portugal.- Singapore.- Slovakia.- South Africa.- Spain.- Sri Lanka.- Switzerland.- Syrian Arab Republic.- Turkey.- Ukraine.- USA.- Index.

The first stem cell-based tissue-engineered organ replacement: implications for regenerative medicine and society

“In June 2008, a young woman with end-stage bronchial disease received a decellularized donor tracheal graft that had been repopulated with autologous cells, many of which ... were derived from mesenchymal stem cells; 6 months later, she is well and actively caring for her two young children.” Anthony Hollander Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, School of Medical Sciences, University Walk, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK Paolo Macchiarini Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Hospital Clinic, c Villaroel 170, E-08036 Barcelona, Spain Bert Gordijn Ethics Institute, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland

A Review of Contemporary Work on the Ethics of Ambient Assisted Living Technologies for People with Dementia

Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies can provide assistance and support to persons with dementia. They might allow them the possibility of living at home for longer whilst maintaining their comfort and security as well as offering a way towards reducing the huge economic and personal costs forecast as the incidence of dementia increases worldwide over coming decades. However, the development, introduction and use of AAL technologies also trigger serious ethical issues. This paper is a systematic literature review of the on-going scholarly debate about these issues. More specifically, we look at the ethical issues involved in research and development, clinical experimentation, and clinical application of AAL technologies for people with dementia and related stakeholders. In the discussion we focus on: (1) the value of the goals of AAL technologies, (2) the special vulnerability of persons with dementia in their private homes, (3) the complex question of informed consent for the usage of AAL technologies.

The Convergence of Virtual Reality and Social Networks: Threats to Privacy and Autonomy

AbstractThe rapid evolution of information, communication and entertainment technologies will transform the lives of citizens and ultimately transform society. This paper focuses on ethical issues associated with the likely convergence of virtual realities (VR) and social networks (SNs), hereafter VRSNs. We examine a scenario in which a significant segment of the world’s population has a presence in a VRSN. Given the pace of technological development and the popularity of these new forms of social interaction, this scenario is plausible. However, it brings with it ethical problems. Two central ethical issues are addressed: those of privacy and those of autonomy. VRSNs pose threats to both privacy and autonomy. The threats to privacy can be broadly categorized as threats to informational privacy, threats to physical privacy, and threats to associational privacy. Each of these threats is further subdivided. The threats to autonomy can be broadly categorized as threats to freedom, to knowledge and to authenticity. Again, these three threats are divided into subcategories. Having categorized the main threats posed by VRSNs, a number of recommendations are provided so that policy-makers, developers, and users can make the best possible use of VRSNs.

Challenges and Opportunities of Lifelog Technologies: A Literature Review and Critical Analysis

In a lifelog, data from various sources are combined to form a record from which one can retrieve information about oneself and the environment in which one is situated. It could be considered similar to an automated biography. Lifelog technology is still at an early stage of development. However, the history of lifelogs so far shows a clear academic, corporate and governmental interest. Therefore, a thorough inquiry into the ethical aspects of lifelogs could prove beneficial to the responsible development of this field. This article maps the main ethically relevant challenges and opportunities associated with the further development of lifelog technologies as discussed in the scholarly literature. By identifying challenges and opportunities in the current debate, we were able to identify other challenges and opportunities left unmentioned. Some of these challenges are partly explained by a blind spot in the current debate. Whilst the current debate focuses mainly on lifelogs held by individuals, lifelogs held by governmental institutions and corporations pose idiosyncratic ethical concerns as well. We have provided a brief taxonomy of lifelog technology to show the variety in uses for lifelogs. In addition, we provided a general approach to alleviate the ethical challenges identified in the critical analysis.

The potential of tissue engineering for developing alternatives to animal experiments: a systematic review

An underexposed ethical issue raised by tissue engineering is the use of laboratory animals in tissue engineering research. Even though this research results in suffering and loss of life in animals, tissue engineering also has great potential for the development of alternatives to animal experiments. With the objective of promoting a joint effort of tissue engineers and alternative experts to fully realise this potential, this study provides the first comprehensive overview of the possibilities of using tissue‐engineered constructs as a replacement of laboratory animals. Through searches in two large biomedical databases (PubMed, Embase) and several specialised 3R databases, 244 relevant primary scientific articles, published between 1991 and 2011, were identified. By far most articles reviewed related to the use of tissue‐engineered skin/epidermis for toxicological applications such as testing for skin irritation. This review article demonstrates, however, that the potential for the development of alternatives also extends to other tissues such as other epithelia and the liver, as well as to other fields of application such as drug screening and basic physiology. This review discusses which impediments need to be overcome to maximise the contributions that the field of tissue engineering can make, through the development of alternative methods, to the reduction of the use and suffering of laboratory animals. Copyright