Courts often hold legislation unconstitutional, but nearly always only part of the statute offends. The problem of partial unconstitutionality is therefore pervasive and persistent. Yet the exclusive doctrinal tool for dealing with this problem—severability doctrine—is deeply flawed. To make matters worse, severability doctrine is purportedly necessary for any workable system of judicial review...

The doctrine of informed consent is evolving. It has taken different routes in different jurisdictions. However, these different paths are converging to a general consensus. The Bolam test, which has been the primary exposition of this doctrine in this country, sets the standard of care as a matter of medical judgement. However, recent cases, particularly Rogers v Whitaker, shift the perspectiv...

the Christian theology of religions. Introduction A remarkable revival of Trinitarian theology emerged in the twentieth century. Karl Rahner, on the Catholic side, and Karl Barth, on the Protestant side, played key roles in the “ecumenical rediscovery” of the Trinity. In addition to rethinking elements of this central doctrine (e.g., nature of divine personhood, Filioque, etc.), this resurgence...

The neuron doctrine, formulated in 1891, attacked in 1906 by Golgi and fiercely defended by Cajal, provided a powerful tool for analyzing the pathways of the brain. It has often been described as though it were merely the cell theory applied to nervous systems. In this essay I show that the neuron doctrine claims more than does the cell theory, and that in many instances, where it goes beyond t...

Jehovah's Witnesses' (JWs) refusal of blood transfusions has recently gained support in the medical community because of the growing popularity of "no-blood" treatment. Many physicians, particularly so-called "sympathetic doctors", are establishing a close relationship with this religious organization. On the other hand, it is little known that this blood doctrine is being strongly criticized b...

In eighteenth-century post-Leibnizian German philosophy, the debate on immortality did not concern only fate of soul after death but also body. Leibniz had famously maintained that no animal ever dies, for is never entirely deprived its living spite Bilfinger’s almost isolated defense, this doctrine became dominant, even among Leibniz’s followers. Christian Wolff, long considered a mere popular...

The vast diversity of the proposed definitions of parody, both before and after the twentieth century, can be an emblem of the lack of a thorough agreement amongst the literary critics about the definition of this literary technique (genre?!). While there is not a comprehensive all-accepted definition of parody, modern and postmodern literatures both exhibit a wide application of it. After look...

in descartes theological writing, he promotes two jointly puzzling theses: t1) god freely creates the eternal truths (i.e. the creation doctrine) and t2) the eternal truths are necessarily true. according to t1 god freely chooses which propositions to make necessary, contingent and possible. however the creation doctrine makes the acceptance of t2 tenuous for the creation doctrine implies that ...

My solution to the problem of Dion and Theon (Burke 1994a) employs the doctrine of sortal essentialism.1 Jim Stone (2002) objects to my solution and proposes to weaken the doctrine so as to block my employment of it. Others question a different element of my solution: the maximality of personhood and thinkerhood. After opposing Stone's weakening of sortal essentialism, and responding in a preli...

The deific-decree exception to Washington's M'Naughten insanity standard first appeared in case law a quarter century ago in State v. Crenshaw. A few subsequent cases have attempted to refine the contours of the deific decree; however, the deific-decree doctrine has had only limited utility as a basis for the insanity defense. After about a decade of no activity in this area, the Washington cou...