The Utilitarian ideal is equal regard for all individuals — those now living and those not yet born. This paper shows that operationalizing this ideal is problematic: the existence of preferences that regard all individuals equally and respect the Pareto ordering is undecidable on the basis of the axioms used in almost all of formal economics; in particular, such preferences cannot be “construc...

For many years educational programs have dealt with ethics. However, can ethics be taught? Secondly, how should it be taught? The notion that ethics is a process of communication that gives way to new understandings and commitments to our social life has been utilized herein to explore several questions. Should ethics teaching be via standalone modules or embedded in ethics discussion within cu...

Despite its central role in modern cosmology, doubts are often expressed as to whether cos-mological innation is really a falsiiable theory. We distinguish two facets of innation, one as a theory of initial conditions for the hot big bang and the other as a model for the origin of structure in the Universe. We argue that the latter can readily be excluded by observations, and that there are als...

Considering the fact that the number of WWW servers and users keeps exploding the title of this paper sounds strange, to say the least. However, while every organisation without their own proper URL starts to feel like an outcast, there are clouds over the future of the WWW. After all, the number of "broken links'' keeps rising every month, not just in absolute numbers but also percentage-wise....

What is the scope of identity? The intuitive response is that it applies everywhere, since every object is identical to itself. In this sense, identity is a general concept. In this chapter, I argue for the generality of identity by critically examining some attempts at relativizing it. I argue that each alleged instance of relativization ultimately presupposes identity, and as a result, identi...

Redox metabolism has long been considered to play important roles in aging and the development of age-related diseases. Both dietary and pharmacological manipulations of redox metabolism have been associated with the extension of lifespan. Increasing new evidence s also suggests that the process of aging may derive from imperfect clearance of oxidatively damaged material. The accumulation of th...

When I first started working in the field of epilepsy, over 25 years ago, therapeutic options were much more limited than they are today. Surgery had not yet reached an established place in the management of intractable epilepsy and the pharmaceutical industry seemed little interested in producing better drugs for treating the condition with fewer side-effects. By comparison, with the pressure ...

Socrates (in the Meno) denied that virtues like courage could be taught, whereas Protagoras defended this claim. Compassion is discussed below in this context; it is distinguished from related, but different, moral qualities, and the role of imagination is emphasised. 'Sympathy's and role-modelling views of compassion's acquisition are criticised. Compassion can indeed be taught, but neither by...

Despite its central role in modern cosmology, doubts are often expressed as to whether cosmological inflation is really a falsifiable theory. We distinguish two facets of inflation, one as a theory of initial conditions for the hot big bang and the other as a model for the origin of structure in the Universe. We argue that the latter can readily be excluded by observations, and that there are a...

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) is nearly 100% curable. However, the ability of medical and public health interventions to control TB, particularly in developing countries, is often doubted. METHODS We reviewed data for the amenability of TB to control. We considered separately control of deaths, prevalence, rate of infection and incidence. RESULTS Tuberculosis mortality can be reduced by more...