Introduction It has been known for quite a while that traditional ethical theories have very counterintuitive and paradoxical implications for questions concerning procreation and our moral duties to future generations. Classical Utilitarianism, for example, seems to imply that we have a moral duty to procreate and that we should try to have as many off-springs as possible. More disturbingly, i...

This paper studies the causal effect of status differences on moral disengagement and violence. To measure violent behavior, in the experiment, a subject can inflict a painful electric shock on another subject in return for money. We exogenously vary relative status in the realm of sexual attractiveness. In three between-subject conditions, the assigned other subject is either of higher, lower ...

Philosophy journals have been full of discussions of Four-Dimensionalism in recent years. The rich resources of the Four-Dimensional metaphysics have been brought to bear upon many traditional philosophical problems. Alas, the implications of Four-Dimensionalism for bioethics have gone largely unexplored. Hud Hudson (1999, 2001) is the rare exception. Relying upon a Four-Dimensional metaphysics...

Objective: The ways people use for social rank (dominance vs prestige) could explain difference attitude toward five moral foundations. The aim of this study was to investigate the differential relationship between prestige, dominance and moral foundations. Methods: This study conducted with 150 participants who respond to the moral foundation questionnaire and dominance-prestige scale. Multip...

Continuing a dialogue begun in an earlier issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics (1988 Mar; 14(1): 3-4, 18-24), the authors reaffirm their position that third trimester fetuses should be given the same moral status as persons, and respond to Gillon's criticism that their view would not permit killing the fetus to save the mother. They argue that newborns possess the moral and legal status of p...

Recent advances in reprogramming technology do not bypass the ethical challenge of embryo sacrifice. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) research has been and almost certainly will continue to be conducted within the context of embryo sacrifice. If human embryos have moral status as human beings, then participation in iPS research renders one morally complicit in their destruction; if human emb...

The current study investigated ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) activity during impression formation of individuals varying on distinct dimensions of social status. In a block-design functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment, participants were presented with photographs of faces paired with a colored background indicating their lower, same, or higher financial status, or low...

The moral status of the human embryo is still a controversial problem, regarding medical, philosophically and religious context. The embryo is considered as the principal element of the human biotechnology and his ontological status is essential for our attitude towards embryos in case of abortion, prenatal diagnosis, in vitro fertilization, embryo manipulation, therapeutic cloning, artificial ...