Mariam Shehata

The present paper aims to explore the medieval philosopher Abū al-Barakāt al-Baghdādī’s (d. pre- 560 AH/1164-5) position concerning the problem of divine foreknowledge and human free will and argues Abū al-Barakāt to have considered the argument for compatibility between divine foreknowledge and human free will to be invalid. One can defend either divine foreknowledge or human free will; no other solution is available. By examining his accounts on this issue through the logic and metaphysics of his book al-Muʿtabar fi-l-ḥikma, Abū al-Barakāt defense of human free will shall become evident.

İşbu makale Ebü’l-Berekât el-Bağdâdî’nin (ö. 560/ 1164-65’ten önce) ilâhî önbilgi ve insanın özgür iradesi sorununa dair konumunu tetkik etme amacındadır. Metin, Ebü’l-Berekât’ın ilâhî önbilgi ve insanın özgür iradesinin bağdaşması argümanın geçerli olmadığını düşündüğünü iddia ediyor. Bir kişi ya ilâhî önbilgiyi ya da insanın özgür iradesini savunabilir, başka bir çözüm yoktur. Kitâbu’l-Mu‘teber fi’l-hikme adlı kitabının mantık ve metafizik bölümleri içerisindeki bu meseleye dair açıklamalarını inceleyerek, Ebü’l- Berekât’ın ikinci alternatifi seçtiği belirgin kılınacaktır.

Objective To determine the attitudes of Egyptian patients regarding their participation in research and with the collection, storage and future use of blood samples for research purposes. Design Cross-sectional survey. Study population Adult Egyptian patients (n=600) at rural and urban hospitals and clinics. Results Less than half of the study population (44.3%) felt that informed consent forms should provide research participants the option to have their blood samples stored for future research. Of these participants, 39.9% thought that consent forms should include the option that future research be restricted to the illness being studied. A slight majority (66.2%) would donate their samples for future genetic research. Respondents were more favourable towards having their blood samples exported to other Arab countries (62.0%) compared with countries in Europe (41.8%, p<0.001) and to the USA (37.2%, p<0.001). Conclusions This study shows that many individuals do not favour the donation of a blood sample for future research. Of those who do approve of such future research, many favour a consent model that includes an option restricting the future research to the illness being studied. Also, many Egyptians were hesitant to have their blood samples donated for genetic research or exported out of the Arab region to the USA and European countries. Further qualitative research should be performed to determine the underlying reasons for many of our results