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Three Roles Of Narratives In The Treatment Of Chronic Pain, Nina Atanasova Jan 2021

Three Roles Of Narratives In The Treatment Of Chronic Pain, Nina Atanasova

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

In this paper, I discuss the roles narratives play in the diagnostics, treatment, and recovery of chronic pain patients. I show that the successes of this narrative approach to the treatment of chronic pain support the biopsychosocial model of disease. The central example of narrative interventions discussed in the paper is pain neuroscience education. This is an intervention which aims at helping chronic pain patients reconceptualize their pain experiences so as to align them with neuroscientific knowledge of pain. Multiple clinical trials have established the success of these interventions in pain reduction. This shows that neuroscience pain education is in …


Is Proxy Consent For An Invasive Procedure On A Patient With Intellectual Disabilities Ethically Sufficient?, Sonya Charles, Stephen Corey, Peter Bulova Apr 2016

Is Proxy Consent For An Invasive Procedure On A Patient With Intellectual Disabilities Ethically Sufficient?, Sonya Charles, Stephen Corey, Peter Bulova

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Compensation Principle, William Simkulet Jan 2015

The Compensation Principle, William Simkulet

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

In "Should Race Matter?," David Boonin proposes the compensation principle: When an agent wrongfully harms another person, she incurs a moral obligation to compensate that person for the harms she has caused. Boonin then argues that the United States government has wrongfully harmed black Americans by adopting pro-slavery laws and other discriminatory laws and practices following the end of slavery, and therefore the United States government has an obligation to pay reparations for slavery and discriminatory laws and practices to those who have been harmed by them - in particular, to contemporary black Americans. Here I argue that the compensation …


On Robust Alternate Possibilities And The Tax Evasion Case, William Simkulet Jan 2015

On Robust Alternate Possibilities And The Tax Evasion Case, William Simkulet

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

In his recent article “Defending Hard Incompatibilism Again,” Pereboom (2008) presents what he calls the “Tax Evasion” case, a Frankfurt-style case designed to show the falsity of the principle of alternate possibilities (PAP). According to Pereboom, PAP requires robust alternate possibilities such that an agent could have acted in a manner in which she knew she would have lacked moral responsibility for her actions. However, according to his “Tax Evasion” case, the tax evader lacks such robust alternate possibilities, and yet is still uncontroversially morally responsible for his actions. Here I argue Pereboom’s account of robust alternate possibilities is deficient, …


The Deontic Cycling Problem, William Simkulet Jan 2014

The Deontic Cycling Problem, William Simkulet

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

In his recent article "Deontic Cycling and the Structure of Commonsense Morality," Tim Willenken argues that commonsense ethics allows for rational agents having both ranked reasons (A > B, B > C, and A > C) and cyclical reasons (A < B, B < C, and A > C). His goal is to show that not all plausible views are variations of consequentialism, as consequentialism requires ranked reasons. I argue instances of apparent deontic cycling in commonsense morality are the byproducts of incomplete characterizations of the cases in question.


Under The Veil, William Simkulet Jan 2014

Under The Veil, William Simkulet

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Moral And Professional Accountability For Clinical Ethics Consultants, William Simkulet Jan 2014

Moral And Professional Accountability For Clinical Ethics Consultants, William Simkulet

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


In Control, William Simkulet Jan 2014

In Control, William Simkulet

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

In George Sher’s recent article “Out of Control”, he discusses a series of 9 cases that he believes illustrates that some agents are uncontroversially morally responsible for actions they “cannot help” but perform (2006: 285). He argues these agents exert partial control over these actions insofar as their actions are determined from their character; but this is no control at all. Here I argue that in each of these cases the agent exerts morally relevant control over her actions and that none of these are genuine instances of moral luck, nor counterexamples to the control principle.


The Ethics Of Vaginal Birth After Cesarean, Sonya Charles Jul 2012

The Ethics Of Vaginal Birth After Cesarean, Sonya Charles

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications

The decline in providers and facilities that will allow a trial of labor after cesarean forces many women to choose a repeat cesarean. The choice is frequently not much of a choice, however, since the full range of options are often not on the table. This limited 'choice' violates obstetricians' obligations both to respect patients' autonomy and to offer them good care. There has been a vigorous but so far not very fruitful debate in the last few years about the lack of access to a trial of labor after cesarean. Some recently released documents express concern about the limited …


Contraception, Abortion, And Health Care Reform: Finding Appropriate Moral Ground, Dena S. Davis Jan 2010

Contraception, Abortion, And Health Care Reform: Finding Appropriate Moral Ground, Dena S. Davis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

In this essay, I make the argument that abortion and contraception are fundamentally different actions that occupy fundamentally different moral space, and that justify fundamentally different political action. I conclude that, while it is morally licit, even morally obligatory, for people who believe that embryos are people like us, to attempt to impede access to abortion, it is morally illicit to attempt to block access to contraception (including sterilization).


Seeking A Seat At The Table: Has Law Left Environmental Ethics Behind, As It Embraces Bioethics?,, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson Jan 2008

Seeking A Seat At The Table: Has Law Left Environmental Ethics Behind, As It Embraces Bioethics?,, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Bioethics evolved from theoretical philosophy into an applied field. Decision makers in health and medical sciences involve bioethicists in decisions and policy making. Although people study environmental ethics, mainly in philosophy programs, environmental ethicists are not involved in decision making. I explore the development of bioethics and environmental ethics, primarily considering the role of law in their development. I ask whether laws and legal opinions encouraging the use of bioethicists in decision making promoted the development of applied bioethics, and correspondingly, whether the absence of laws and opinions promoting environmental ethicists retarded the development of applied environmental ethics. Finally, I …


A Chilling Of Discourse, David R. Barnhizer Jan 2006

A Chilling Of Discourse, David R. Barnhizer

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

I argue that the key consequence of the collectives of multicultural, postmodernists, radical feminists, critical race activists, sexuality advocates and others working for radical change is not only the politicization of knowledge in what is after all a realm of politics we call law, but the incoherence of knowledge and the loss of the quality and integrity of our pursuit of knowledge through scholarship. One result is that much of the scholarship and teaching found in the humane and political or noncumulative disciplines such as law are forms of self-interested propaganda in which honesty is muted or excluded and truth-seeking …


How Many Times Do I Have To Tell You?! Epa's Ongoing Struggle With Data From Third-Party Pesticide Toxicity Studies Using Human Subjects, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson Jan 2004

How Many Times Do I Have To Tell You?! Epa's Ongoing Struggle With Data From Third-Party Pesticide Toxicity Studies Using Human Subjects, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This article addresses EPA's current and historic policy struggle regarding the position the Agency should take with respect to pesticide toxicity studies done by third parties in their attempts to register pesticides. Chemical companies often conduct these studies, or seek third-parties to do so, and submit the results to EPA in support of applications for pesticide registration. Although EPA had a high level joint Science Advisory Board/FIFRA Science Advisory Panel make recommendations to it on this subject in 1999, last year EPA asked the National Academy of Sciences to conduct additional, almost certainly duplicative review. Specifically, EPA has asked the …


Symposium Issue: "Who's Afraid Of Commodification?", Dena S. Davis Jan 2001

Symposium Issue: "Who's Afraid Of Commodification?", Dena S. Davis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Unfortunately, a great deal of the talk about "commodification" has been clumsy and sloppy. The term has been used as a magic bullet, as if saying "But that's commodification!" is the same as having made an argument. In fact, commodification of human persons, human bodies, human labor, human relationships, is a complex matter.


Ethics, Loyalty And Harm To Third Parties: A Debate Based On Spaulding V. Zimmerman, Lloyd B. Snyder, Scott Rawlings Jan 2000

Ethics, Loyalty And Harm To Third Parties: A Debate Based On Spaulding V. Zimmerman, Lloyd B. Snyder, Scott Rawlings

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This discussion poses the question: should an attorney ever provide information to an opposing party to prevent that party from suffering great harm if the information will have an adverse effect on the attorney's own client? The case that sets the stage for this discussion is Spaulding v. Zimmerman, 243 Minn. 346 (1962).


Of Cell Phones And Electronic Mail: Disclosure Of Confidential Information Under Disciplinary Rule 4-101 And Model Rule 1.6, Karin M. Mika Jan 1999

Of Cell Phones And Electronic Mail: Disclosure Of Confidential Information Under Disciplinary Rule 4-101 And Model Rule 1.6, Karin M. Mika

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Regardless of the known security risks, it is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine a law firm in the twentieth century operating without the technological advancements that make it possible to communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time. These advancements often enable immediate responses that are beneficial to attorneys and clients alike. Cellular phone usage and electronic mail are an integral mode of communication between firm members, negotiating attorneys, as well as between attorneys and their clients. While it has developed into a mode of communication making the practice of law more efficient, it is doubtful that most attorneys give …


Failure Case Studies And Ethics In Engineering Mechanics Courses, Norbert J. Delatte Jul 1997

Failure Case Studies And Ethics In Engineering Mechanics Courses, Norbert J. Delatte

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Often, engineering students do not study engineering failures or discuss ethics until they take upper division undergraduate courses or graduate level courses. One drawback to this approach is that problems analyzed in introductory courses are often contrived, uninteresting, and bear little relation to the problems encountered in engineering practice. At the point when educators need to grab the student's interest in engineering most, they should show the excitement and relevance of the profession. Another is that the students encounter the issues of ethics, responsibility, and accountability that are often highlighted by a failure, late in their engineering education. As a …


Cochlear Implants And The Claims Of Culture: A Response To Lane And Grodin, Dena S. Davis Jan 1997

Cochlear Implants And The Claims Of Culture: A Response To Lane And Grodin, Dena S. Davis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Because I reject the notion that physical characteristics constitute cultural membership, I argue that, even if the claim were persuasive that deafness is a culture rather than a disability, there is no reason to fault hearing parents who choose cochlear implants for their deaf children.


Reap What You Sow, Gordon J. Beggs Jan 1996

Reap What You Sow, Gordon J. Beggs

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Unfortunately, with the adoption and revision of formal ethics codes, moral teaching has virtually disappeared from American legal ethics. Law professors, generally, do not consider it their responsibility to teach morality, and our profession today lacks a common moral standard. The Judeo-Christian principles expressed in Proverbs, however, provide a timely challenge to lawyers by advocating values that include justice, purity, mercy, honesty and civility.


Proverbial Practice: Legal Ethics From Old Testament Wisdom, Gordon J. Beggs Jan 1995

Proverbial Practice: Legal Ethics From Old Testament Wisdom, Gordon J. Beggs

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The Old Testament book of Proverbs supplied foundational moral values for our nation's legal ethics. With the adoption and revision of formal codes, moral teaching has virtually disappeared from legal ethics. This essay suggests that the wisdom of Proverbs offers a timely challenge to the character of the legal profession by advocating values which include justice, purity, mercy, humility, honesty, candor, truthful testimony, and civility.


Embryos Created For Research Purposes, Dena S. Davis Jan 1995

Embryos Created For Research Purposes, Dena S. Davis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The creation of embryos for research use has drawn a great deal of criticism. It is difficult to defend an ethical distinction between what one can do to "spare" embryos and what one can do to "research" embryos. The strongest ground on which to argue against the creation of embryos for research is a symbolic one, having to do with respect for human life. Ronald Dworkin's work in Life's Dominion on the symbolic meaning of the abortion debate throws a helpful light on this dispute. By understanding the basic question to be, Does the creation of research embryos weaken or …


Aba Delegates Amend Model Rule , Susan J. Becker Jan 1995

Aba Delegates Amend Model Rule , Susan J. Becker

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The ABA House of Delegates has amended Model Rule 4.2 regarding whom attorneys may ethically contact directly during the course of litigation or other legal matters. This article discusses the ramifications of this change.


Professional Ethics Opinion 89-3, Attorney Responsibility To Disabled Or Dysfunctional Client, David F. Forte Nov 1989

Professional Ethics Opinion 89-3, Attorney Responsibility To Disabled Or Dysfunctional Client, David F. Forte

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

When an attorney files suit on behalf of a client and later has reason to believe the client is incompetent, what should the attorney do? Can the case be settled? Can the attorney move for the appointment of a guardian ad litem? The article is an excerpt from an ethics opinion which answers these questions.


Ethics And The Settlement Of Civil Rights Cases: Can Attorneys Keep Their Virtue And Their Fees?, Lloyd B. Snyder Jan 1986

Ethics And The Settlement Of Civil Rights Cases: Can Attorneys Keep Their Virtue And Their Fees?, Lloyd B. Snyder

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The Civil Rights Attorneys' Fees Award Act of 1976 authorizes an award of fees to the prevailing party in a civil rights action. The United State Supreme Court, in Evans v. Jeff D., has interpreted the Fees Act to authorize the parties in a civil rights action to negotiate settlement of fees and merits jointly. The Court did not determine whether joint fees-merits negotiation is ethical. The author of this article contends that joint negotiation is ethical. He further contends that it is ethical for plaintiff's attorney to reject an offer of settlement if the offer is coupled with a …