During a year spent in Seattle as a Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy, Rhiannon Tudor Edwards was “overwhelmed” by the choices offered among coffee, TV channels, and health care options, she recounts in her essay, “Blind Faith and Choice” (Health Affairs, Nov./Dec. 2005). But when Edwards, a senior research fellow in health economics at the University of Wales, developed a...

In this reflection about mathematics I shall confine myself to arithmetic, the study of the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . . Everyone has at least the feeling of familiarity with arithmetic, and the issues that concern the human search for truth in mathematics are already present in arithmetic. Here is an illustration of research in arithmetic. About 2500 years ago, the Pythagoreans defined a num...

Than it started – first surgery, then chemotherapy, then radiation, and all over again for several times. Although I was only 11, my mum and my dad explained to me what was going to happen, why my mum needed to remove her breast, why she was going to loose her hair, and why she might be sad from time to time. At first it was OK to deal with it because I was a kid and kids see everything with a ...

This contribution discusses Leibniz’s conception of faith and its relation to reason. It shows that, for Leibniz, faith embraces both cognitive and non-cognitive dimensions: although it must be grounded in reason, it is not merely reasonable belief. Moreover, for Leibniz, a truth of faith (like any truth) can never be contrary to reason but can be above the limits of comprehension of human reas...

A ‘doxastic venture’ model of faith – according to which having faith involves believing beyond what is rationally justifiable – can be defended only on condition that such venturesome believing is both possible and ethically acceptable. I show how a development of the position argued by William James in ‘The will to believe ’ can succeed in meeting these conditions. A Jamesian defence of doxas...

Background To build on current research involving faith-based interventions (FBIs) for addressing mental and physical health, this study a) reviewed the extent to which relevant publications integrate faith concepts with health and b) initiated analysis of the degree of FBI integration with intervention outcomes. Methods Derived from a systematic search of articles published between 2007 and ...

At a time when many countries might not achieve the health targets of the Millennium Development Goals and the post-2015 agenda for sustainable development is being negotiated, the contribution of faith-based health-care providers is potentially crucial. For better partnership to be achieved and for health systems to be strengthened by the alignment of faith-based health-providers with national...

the rule of necessity to respect the principle of good faith in performance of the contract is the result of :union: rights and ethics. good faith in performance of the contract with subjective and objective criteria and using cost-benefit analysis, wealth maximization, game theory, efficiency and welfare standards, leading to the achievement of the objectives set by the parties of contract. la...