Loredana Terec-Vlad

Science and technology have made huge progress, enhancing the human species in the evolution process. The topics related to change, knowledge and new technologies implemented by the individual were considered taboo over 30 years ago; however, nowadays the focus is increasingly laid on the human condition and welfare. Considered to be the latest trend in contemporary philosophy, transhumanism has faced plenty of criticism in terms of human enhancement. It is not surprising that some researchers in the field believe that the access to information and power can lead to a new totalitarian system; therefore, they are sceptical regarding the fact that the society tacitly accepts the invasion of robotics in everyday life. Within this paper we plan to emphasize the fact that human enhancement is not only about human welfare but, on the contrary, scientific information can cause serious harm to the society and the human species, given that the access to information and new technologies may entail consequences such as the division of the society into: inferior species and superior species. On the other hand, despite the positive aspects of the scientific discoveries, they also have hidden sides, which I plan to analyze throughout this paper.

The book „Actiune comunicativa, justitie deliberativa si restaurativa. Perspective socio-juridice asupra medierii si probatiunii” published by Antonio Sandu and Elena Unguru under the aegis of Tritonic Publishing House calls for philosophical, sociological and legal reflections, being a transdisciplinary lesson about justice. The aim of this paper is to analyse the changes within the social reality; understanding the societal avatars is the result of an interpretative agreement achieved through communicative action. The paper has two parts, which provide an exhaustive analysis of mediation and probation.

The aim of this article is to highlight the issue of religiousness from the epistemological perspective. This involves, on the one hand, a scientific approach, and on the other hand the relation between science and religion as the basis of the spirituality of the entire existence, by approaching the religious exposure at social level. If at the scientific level religion occupies a secondary place in terms of the object of research, at the social and anthropological level it plays a vital role by approaching the divine-human relationship of all human expressions in relation to the creation and the Creator. Addressing this type of knowledge in such a sensitive field indicates the moment when the question surrounded by a whole plea that defines the relation between mystical and metaphysical knowledge is raised. We cannot not pretend to know religion as we know biology, but we also cannot say that we will know religion as we know mathematics, even if in they all lead to the same result. Since they are metaphysical or transcendental, religious sciences require a special approach regarding the object of research, because everything that is said or approved will permanently reflect uncertainty and ambiguity within not knowing, precisely by the very essence of the great mystery of the central point that gives vitality to the whole circle of religious knowledge. We shall systematically present the relation between the religious content and what can be perceived and known by using all our systems of understanding and exposure in order to provide a satisfactory answer both from the symbolic point of view as well as by indicating the type of knowledge applied for finding the epistemological relevance.

The invasion of the new technologies in our lives and the current dependence upon them makes us believe that in a not too distant future we will be made of more technology than biological matter. If until recently computers had hardly been discovered, today we are witnessing a real technological revolution in all the fields: biology, medicine etc. The evolution of the new technologies has raised various questions related to the future of mankind and the current human species, which determines us to make speculations regarding a future event that may occur. For this reason, in this paper I shall analyze the concept of artificial intelligence and singularity and I shall also outline the relationship between the ontological argument and the possible worlds. The idea of possible world can serve as a way of describing a metaphor in the philosophy of science, as singularity can exist in a possible world only if one creates the conditions of a new concept regarding fiction. We believe that technological singularity will change the values of the current society and the individual will have to face a world that depersonalizes the individual, as transhumanism draws the theoretical frameworks of a ‹‹brave new world››. In this paper, we have also analyzed the logical explanation of God's existence and the explanation of singularity through artificial intelligence. Therefore, we shall bring up for discussion the idea of virtual universe in the context of downloaded consciousness, which can be operated through artificial intelligence. Our conclusions refer to the fact that eternal life could exist artificially, but it cannot be demonstrated in terms of the ontological argument.

The human individual has been preoccupied with the phenomenon of death since death expresses the end of the existence on earth. The issue of life and death has not lost its actuality, whereas nowadays life extension is considered the ultimate goal of scientists. The aim of this article is to highlight the problems that will arise along with the achievement of eternal life. In this regard, I shall focus on human enhancement and the principle of procreative beneficence as means of achieving this objective. In addition, I shall bring into question the fact that the principles of bioethics are being violated along with human enhancement: the principle of respect for autonomy and beneficence, avoiding harm-causing behaviours and the principle of justice. Given that the researchers in the field of transhumanism argue that the penetration of the new technologies into the private sphere of the individual is inevitable, I shall present arguments that prove the fact that the principles of bioethics are being violated along with the achievement of eternal life, given that human enhancement is only accessible for an elite both in terms of costs as well as in terms of the Christian values.

In the contemporary society, ethical issues raise more and more controversial debates. This has also emerged regarding the concept of euthanasia, given that it involves the decision of the patient who is facing the last phase of his life. Since this issue raises more and more debates, we consider it appropriate to bring into discussion the ethical aspects involved by the decision of dying a dignified death. In this article, we consider it would be appropriate to bring into discussion the ethical aspects involved by the decision of dying a dignified death. The aim of this article is to analyze the concept of euthanasia starting from the idea that a person in the terminal phase of an illness should have the right to decide about his own death. Researchers’ opinions are divided, the euthanasia being interpreted as involving different areas such as medicine, philosophy, Law and theology. In the context where the question of the individual quality of life is raised, is there the right to choose a dignified death? The Romanian legal framework has not regularized this practice yet, but countries such as Switzerland have reached the conclusion that the dignity of the individual and his right to die a dignified death should be among the privileges granted within the individual freedoms. Because it is a rather old practice, in the contemporary society euthanasia has drawn t he attention of all the fields, and various researchers have expressed their views regarding the end of life; hence the problematic relation between euthanasia and the freedoms and rights provided by democracy. What delimitates the particularity of this practice is exactly the trans-disciplinary dimension, the analytical coordinates that we intend to picture in this approach which we consider it to be closely related to the social reality.

The volume “Etica profesionala si transparenta in administratia publica”, published by the philosopher Antonio Sandu under the aegis of Editura Didactica si Pedagogica, in Bucharest, invites the students to find out the secrets of applied ethics through the considerable amount of reading material and the practical applications. Antonio Sandu synthesized the most important aspects of applied ethics in an original manner, in order to let the students and other interested persons discover the secrets of deontology and acquire specific skills in explaining and interpreting the phenomena faced by the administrative system.