•  410
    The intensified nurse migration leads to severe problems for the health care systems in many developing countries. Using the Philippines as an example, this paper will address the question of global nurse migration from a philosophical perspective. John Rawls' liberal and Michael Walzer's communitarian theory of justice will be examined in view of the ethical problem of nurse migration. In line with Rawls' A Theory of Justice, nurse migration undermines the ability of the people in developing co…Read more
  •  35
    Grundsätze zum Umgang mit Interkulturalität in Einrichtungen des Gesundheitswesens
    with Tim Peters, Tatjana Grützmann, Walter Bruchhausen, Michael Coors, Fabian Jacobs, Michael Knipper, Frank Kressing, and Gerald Neitzke
    Ethik in der Medizin 26 (1): 65-75. 2014.
  •  21
    The paper attempts to philosophically assess the recent U.S. presidential race and to look at some aspects of the underlying beliefs of Barack Obama that aided him in his campaign. The philosophical framework used in order to interpret the political events are mainly from the Critical Theory of Theodor W. Adorno and the neo-Marxist approach of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri. Further observations will concentrate on the logic and attraction of the electoral process and the dialectical logic of S…Read more
  •  15
    Towards a Redefinition of the Public Sphere
    Proceedings of the XXIII World Congress of Philosophy 69 205-209. 2018.
    The public sphere plays a crucial role in the functioning of liberal democracy. As a sphere conceived ideally independent of state control and economic influence, it serves as the sounding board of social and political concerns, where communications take place, ideas are exchanged, and arguments are put forward. The liberal notion of the public sphere relies on values such as inclusivity, transparency, equality, and rationality. This paper explores the limits of the liberal notion of the public …Read more
  •  7
    Ist der Patient ein Mensch? (edited book)
    with Helmut Hofbauer, Hendrik Jan Ankersmit, and Walter Feigl
    LIT Verlag. 2015.
    "Ist der Patient ein Mensch?" is a collection of articles. Its central topic is the question if the object of modern medicine is still the human being or if just organs and tissues are treated by medical doctors? The drawing on the book cover shows a lung instead of a human patient lying in a hospital bed. The approaches to this topic are diverse and surprising. E.g. the surgeon Ankersmit argues that it is impossible for him to see the human being in the body lying on the operation table because…Read more
  •  5
    Menschen leben ihr Leben in Beziehung mit anderen Menschen. Nicht zuletzt die Art und Weise, in der der Mensch mit anderen Menschen verkehrt, macht das Wesen des Menschen aus. Wie aus einer berühmten Passage aus der Politik des Aristoteles hervorgeht, zeichnet den Menschen die Zugehörigkeit zur Gemeinschaft der Polis aus: »Wer aber keine Gemeinschaft eingehen kann, oder einer solchen, weil er sich selbst genug ist, nicht bedarf, ist kein Glied des Staates, vielmehr entweder ein wildes Thier, ode…Read more
  •  3
    Delayed decision-making?
    with Dominik Harrer and Michael Fuchs
    Ethik in der Medizin 34 (4): 627-643. 2022.
    Ein Topos in institutionellen Stellungnahmen zu „Genome Editing am Menschen“ ist die Forderung nach einem Moratorium. Dieses soll einerseits dazu dienen, zu einer angemessenen Risikoabklärung zu gelangen, und andererseits einer gesellschaftlichen und ethischen Diskussion hinreichend Raum zu geben, um zu entscheiden, ob die vom Moratorium betroffenen Eingriffe überhaupt grundsätzlich erwünscht sind. Dabei scheint das Moratorium eine kompromisshafte Lösung zu sein, auf die sich die Mitglieder in w…Read more
  •  2
    Debating Genome Editing Technologies
    In Matthias Braun, Hannah Schickl & Peter Dabrock (eds.), Between Moral Hazard and Legal Uncertainty: Ethical, Legal and Societal Challenges of Human Genome Editing, Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. pp. 187-201. 2018.
    Ethical statements and position papers on genome editing often refer to “the public” that should get involved, and a public discussion that should take place. It is not self-evident what this reference to the public means and why such a public engagement should take place. This chapter explores the concept of the public as discussed in key position papers on genome editing and puts it into relationship with the notion of the public in political theory. The fuzzy notion of the public is presented…Read more
  •  1
    Angstbewältigung
    In Michael Fuchs (ed.), Handbuch Alter Und Altern: Anthropologie – Kultur – Ethik, J.b. Metzler. pp. 309-316. 2021.
    Strategien der Angstbewältigung sind abhängig davon, was unter dem Phänomen der Angst verstanden wird. Als eines der grundlegendsten psychischen Phänomene ist die Angst ein Untersuchungsgegenstand unterschiedlicher Disziplinen, die dabei ihre jeweils eigenen Zugänge haben. Das interdisziplinäre Handbuch der Angst beispielsweise beschreibt in der Abteilung »Epistemologie der Angst« nicht weniger als elf unterschiedliche Disziplinen, die sich der Angst widmen: Theologie, Philosophie, Psychologie, …Read more
  •  1
    Irreversibilität
    In Michael Fuchs (ed.), Handbuch Alter Und Altern: Anthropologie – Kultur – Ethik, J.b. Metzler. pp. 175-183. 2021.
    Die Existenz von Organismen wird allgemein in Form eines Lebenszyklus dargestellt: Sie führt vom Stadium der Zygote über die Fortpflanzungsfähigkeit und das Alter bis zum Tod. Das Leben eines Individuums wird daher wesentlich als irreversibel von der Geburt bzw. der Entstehung auf den Tod gerichtet verstanden. Die philosophische Tradition hat lange Zeit versucht, wenn nicht diese Irreversibilität zu erklären, so doch zumindest ihr einen Sinn zu geben.
  • Book Review (review)
    Kritike 5 (1): 136-138. 2011.
  • Global Bioethics Quo Vadis? Escaping the Alternatives between Moral Imperialism and Moral Relativism
    Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 22 (3): 99-101. 2012.
    The debate about the direction, coherence and possible imperialism of universal norms in global bioethics has been going on for years. Proponents of universal norms have fiercely stated their cases focusing on human rights, autonomy and/or further principles in bioethics. Equally forceful has been the opposition to such universal principles arguing mainly on grounds of cultural diversity. The alternative is commonly presented as one between moral relativism and moral imperialism; solutions that …Read more
  • Ambiguity is inherent in the concept of hope especially when used in the field of politics. While a functionalist view of politics can only understand hope in terms of manipulation, an Aristotelian view of politics may require hope for its operation. The ambiguity of hope, then, is traced to ancient Greek and Roman thought, in Hesiod and Ovid. This ambiguity can also be found in 20th century German philosophy. Ernst Bloch is just as enthusiastic about hope as Theodor W. Adorno is skeptical about…Read more
  • Contextualizing Bioethics
    Unesco Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights and Observations About Filipino Bioethics. Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 19 (2): 42-47. 2009.
    This paper examines the question of the universality of bioethical norms by contrasting the UNESCO Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights with aspects of Filipino bioethics. Starting with an exploration of the vagueness of the concept and scope of bioethics, this paper will in turn discuss the UDBHR and distinguish it from key notions in Filipino bioethics. The outlook of Filipino bioethics that I have observed differs significantly from the UDBHR emphasis on the principles autonomy and justi…Read more
  • Organ Donation as a Question of Justice: The UN/EU Report on Organ Trafficking in the Context of the Philippines
    Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 20 (5): 150-154. 2010.
    A recent joint study by the Council of Europe and the United Nations focused on the criminality surrounding organ donations. Published in October 2009, it points out the various violations of the international prohibition on the trafficking of organs. This paper will first analyze this study and then contextualize it in the current discourse about organ donation in the Philippines. Finally, the issue of organ donation will be put in the wider discourse of justice in organ transplantation.Organ d…Read more
  • This paper examines the question of the universality of bioethical norms by contrasting the UNESCO Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights with aspects of Filipino bioethics. Starting with an exploration of the vagueness of the concept and scope of bioethics, this paper will in turn discuss the UDBHR and distinguish it from key notions in Filipino bioethics. The outlook of Filipino bioethics that I have observed differs significantly from the UDBHR emphasis on the principles autonomy and justi…Read more
  • Bioethics: A view on the contemporary discussion in Germany compared to Asia
    Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 16 (4): 125-130. 2006.
    What is understood by the term “bioethics” varieswidely. Whereas in Germany the focus of the discussioncentres on biotechnological issues like PreimplantationGenetic Diagnosis , research on human stem cellsand cloning, in Asia the concept is understood morebroadly including among others environmental ethics,animal rights and medical ethics. This article tries to setout the discussion going on in Germany on two ratherdifferent levels: On the one hand, it is a legal discussionon whether research o…Read more