Recent developments in biogerontology--the study of the biology of ageing--suggest that it may eventually be possible to intervene in the human ageing process. This, in turn, offers the prospect of significantly postponing the onset of age-related diseases. The biogerontological project, however, has met with strong resistance, especially by deontologists. They consider the act of intervening in the ageing process impermissible on the grounds that it would (most probably) bring about an extended maximum lifespan--a state of affairs that they deem intrinsically bad. In a bid to convince their deontological opponents of the permissibility of this act, proponents of biogerontology invoke an argument which is grounded in the doctrine of double effect. Surprisingly, their argument, which we refer to as the 'double effect argument', has gone unnoticed. This article exposes and critically evaluates this 'double effect argument'. To this end, we first review a series of excerpts from the ethical debate on biogerontology in order to substantiate the presence of double effect reasoning. Next, we attempt to determine the role that the 'double effect argument' is meant to fulfil within this debate. Finally, we assess whether the act of intervening in ageing actually can be justified using double effect reasoning.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11017-013-9257-1 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Small molecules that targeting p53 Y220C protein: mechanisms, structures, and clinical advances in anti-tumor therapy.
Mol Divers
January 2025
School of Sciences, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing, 211198, People's Republic of China.
The p53 protein is regarded as the "Guardian of the Genome," but its mutation is tumor progression and present in more than half of malignant tumors. The pro-metastatic property of mutant p53 makes a strong argument for targeting mutant p53 with new therapeutic strategies. However, mutant p53 was considered as a challenging target for drug discovery due to the lack of small molecular binding pockets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFostering moral reflectivity in community pharmacists through moral case deliberation using the dilemma method.
Int J Clin Pharm
January 2025
Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, PO Box 80082, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Background: Moral case deliberation has been successfully implemented in multidisciplinary groups of secondary care professionals to support ethical decision making. It has not yet been reported for community pharmacists.
Aim: This study investigated whether moral case deliberation fosters moral reflectivity in community pharmacists.
Self /other recognition and distinction in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: A pilot study using a double mirror paradigm.
PLoS One
January 2025
Professeur Honoraire au Collège de France, Paris, France.
Background: Abnormalities in body perception in patients affected by anorexia nervosa have been widely studied, but without explicit reference to their relationship to others and the social processes involved. Yet, there are a several arguments supporting impairments in interpersonal relationships in these patients. Notably, some evidence suggests that self/other distinction (SOD), the ability to distinguish one's own body, actions and mental representations from those of others could be impaired.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPartially dissociative role of the left inferior frontal gyrus and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in reasoning.
PLoS One
December 2024
Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Article Synopsis
- Reasoning involves drawing conclusions from information, with two main types: deductive (drawing specific conclusions from general principles) and inductive (generalizing from specific instances).
- Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that different brain areas, specifically the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), are used for these reasoning types, but results have been inconsistent.
- This study utilized high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) on these brain areas to assess their roles in reasoning, finding that IFG stimulation can impair deductive reasoning tasks, while DLPFC stimulation improves performance on challenging inductive reasoning tasks.
Arnold tongues, shrimp structures, multistability, and ecological paradoxes in a discrete-time predator-prey system.
Chaos
December 2024
Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Khandwa Road, Simrol, Indore 453552, Madhya Pradesh, India.
This paper explores a discrete-time system derived from the well-known continuous-time Rosenzweig-MacArthur model using the piecewise constant argument. Examining the impact of increasing carrying capacity and harvesting efforts, we uncover intricate phenomena, such as periodicity, quasiperiodicity, period-doubling, period-bubbling, and chaos. Our analysis reveals that increasing the carrying capacity of prey species can lead to both system stabilization and destabilization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!