The great chain of being is still here

The Great Chain of Being

William Blake’s iconic painting Jacob’s Ladder was inspired by the Old Testament story in the book of Exodus (28:10-19). Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, was fleeing from his twin brother Esau who had vowed to kill him. On his way to a relative’s house, Jacob lay down for the night. As he was dreaming, he had a vision of a ladder between heaven and earth. God’s angels were on it...

Power is Still the Great Motivator – With a Difference

Enhancement for well-being is still ethically challenging

Enhancement is generally understood as being intended to improve well-being. The motivation to enhance is the desire to change a person for the better. However, even when increased well-being is the motivation, it is unclear how to morally evaluate any given intervention. Four examples illustrate why any enhancement intervention, including those motivated by the desire to increase well-being, s...

Arthritis in Down's syndrome is still being missed

Cases We describe 8 cases, 4 females with an age range of 4.2 – 15.6 (mean 9.3) years at diagnosis. Time from symptom onset to diagnosis ranged from 0.9 – 8.7 (mean 3.3) years, despite attending up to 16 (mean 6.2) clinics with documented symptoms and signs of arthritis. Misdiagnoses included developmental delay, soft tissue injury, hypermobility, multiple epiphyseal dysplasia and behavioural p...

Do the Great While it is Still Small: Humanistic Teaching in the Elementary School