A Critical Analysis of Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), the German philosopher, is considered as the father of modern ethics and one of the great philosophers in the history of philosophy. He wanted to establish a firm foundation for moral philosophy. He contributed something new to modern ethics which was not attempted by earlier ethicists. He wanted to show by using reason that morality is based on a single supreme universal principle, which is binding to all rational beings. Precisely, Kant wanted to establish the first principle of morality which neglects all consideration of self-interest and even particular human problems. In the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant claimed that his intention is to seek out and establish the supreme principle of morality, and that supreme principle is the categorical imperative. He puts the supreme principle of morality or the categorical imperative in at least five ways. These are formula of universal law (FUL), formula of universal law (FLN), formula of humanity (FH), formula of humanity (FA), and formula of realm of ends (FRE). However, Kant affirms that there is one canonical and general formulation of the categorical imperative and it is the FUL. For him, the other formulas are not distinct ethical principles; rather they are the reformulations or variant formulations of the single categorical imperative. Kant put this position in his works, The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. So, in this paper, I will mainly concentrate on the fundamental doctrine of the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. As I have tried to make clear before, Kant’s aim in the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is to search for and establish the supreme principle of morality (i.e., categorical imperative). He attempted to do this at the end of the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. But, to me, the way he attempted to justify the categorical imperative is problematic. Thus, in this paper, I argue that Kant did not put the categorical imperative or morality on a solid ground

A Critical Reflection on W.V.O. Quine’s Naturalized Epistemology

W. V. O. Quine is the prominent advocate of naturalized epistemology, a collection of philosophical views that employ scientific methods, results, and practices to solve epistemological problems. In this paper, I explore whether Quine’s argument to replace epistemology by science is convincing. In naturalized epistemology, Quine totally rejects the normative aspect of epistemology; he focuses on the descriptive part of epistemology. Other thinkers such as Kim, Stroud, Almedir, Rorty argues that epistemology without norm is epistemology in name only. Furthermore, all philosophical questions cannot be answered by applying scientific methods, because philosophy’s scope is broader than science. Thus, Quine’s attempt to scientized philosophy in general and epistemology, in particular, is unattainable

The Environmental Crisis and Its Root Cause

This paper attempts to identify the root cause of the current environment crisis. Although there have been strong debates between scholars about what has caused this environmental crisis, there is a strong agreement that the causes of the environmental crisis are mainly anthropogenic rather than natural. There are certainly a number of important factors, added together, that have contributed to the present day massive environmental crisis. However, all these different factors that have led to the environmental crisis ultimately initiated by modernity. Thus, the the root cause of the current environmental crisis is modernity. This is to mean that the present-day large-scale environmental crisis is increasingly connected with modernity in such a fundamental and strong manner that it cannot be studied in isolation from it; modernity with its specific attributes such as its capitalistic or industrial character as well as the complex, highly administered technological system of modern society is held responsible for the present worldwide environmental crisis

THE CONCEPT OF MODERNITY: A BRIEF REVIEW

This paper explores the concepts of modernity as interpreted by classical theorists of modernity such as Karl Marx, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim and contemporary theorists of modernity such as Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck. All of the three classical theorists of modernity introduce a single dominant force which is the basic dynamic of transformation for understanding the inherent features of modernity. For Marx, the major transformative power shaping the modern world is capitalism. As a result, for him, modernity shows itself in capitalism. For Durkheim, the major transformative power shaping the modern world is industrialism. Weber focuses on rationalization as expressed in technology, capitalism and bureaucracy. Hence, he saw that one of the main drivers of change throughout modernity is rationality. For Giddens, modernity is developed due to the interactions of many institutions and each level specified by classical theorists plays a part. Thus, for him, modernity has four institutional dimensions: capitalism, industrialism, surveillance, and military power. Beck discusses modernity by distinguishing two phases of modernity. The first of which is simple modernity which is very much coextensive with industrial society. The axial principle of industrial society is the distribution of goods. The second phase, emerged out of simple modernity and began in the second half of the twentieth century, is reflexive modernity. Thus, the axial principle of the second modernity is the distribution of dangers. But, the second modernity, for Beck, is still, and at the same time, an industrial society since it is mainly industry that is involved in the creation of risk. In general, the concept of modernity discussed by both the three classical theorists of modernity and the two contemporary thinkers are mutually inclusive rather than exclusive. As a result, modernity has four main parts: capitalism, industrialism, surveillance and military power

Dual Contraceptive Method Utilization and Associated Factors Among HIV Positive Women Attending ART Clinic in Finote-Selam Hospital: Cross-Sectional Study

Worldwide, the human immune deficiency virus is the leading cause of death for women of childbearing age. Around two-thirds of all pregnant women living with the human immune deficiency virus experience an unintended pregnancy. The correct and consistent use of dual contraceptive methods is important to prevent unintended pregnancy and transmission of sexually transmitted infections. However, little is known about the utilization of dual contraceptive methods among HIV-infected women. Thus, this study aimed to assess dual contraceptive utilization and associated factors among HIV-positive women attending antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Finote Selam Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Facility-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from September 1 to October 30, 2019, in Finote Selam Hospital among HIV-positive women. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study participants and the data were gathered by an interviewer-administered structured pretested questionnaire. Factors associated with dual contraceptive use were identified through binary logistic regression. Finally, a p-value < 0.05 was taken as a cutoff point to declare a significant association, and the direction and strength of the association were determined by the adjusted odds ratio. The study showed that 21.8% of HIV-positive women attending ART care in Finote Selam Hospital utilize dual contraceptive methods. Dual contraceptive utilization was significantly associated with having a child (AOR: 3.29; CI 1.45, 7.47), having family support to use dual contraceptives (AOR: 3.02; CI 1.39, 6.54), having multiple sexual partners (AOR: 0.11; CI 0.05, 0.22), and urban residence (AOR: 3.64; 1.82, 7.3). The study revealed that low utilization of dual contraceptive methods. This will continue major public health problems in the study area unless future interventions conducted

Evaluation of entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae against dengue virus mosquitoes Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

In this study, the bio-potential of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae was tested against Aedes aegypti under laboratory conditions. The study includes the analysis of the attractive response, survival and fecundity rate of non-blood and blood fed female mosquitoes exposed to the volatiles of two M. anisopliae strains. The attractive response was analysed using a two-choice behavioural bioassay, with three different sizes of dry spore plates (full, 1/4 and 1/16 plates). The survival and fecundity bioassay was conducted simultaneously in plastic pots. Log-rank survival curve analysis was used for statistical comparisons of the attractive response, survival and fecundity. Non-blood and blood fed mosquitoes were highly attracted to M. anisopliae30 volatiles compared with that of the M. anisopliae-131 strain. Moreover, attraction was dependent on the size of the dry spore plate. Survival was completely abolished in unfed mosquitoes 5 and 6 days after treatment with 109 spores/mL of M. anisopliae-30 and M. anisopliae -131, respectively, whereas almost 80% of untreated unfed females survived more than 28 days. Survival in blood fed mosquitoes treated with same dose of M. anisopliae-30 and M. anisopliae-131was abolished after 6 and 7 days, respectively, while over 80% of untreated blood fed females survived more than 28 days in the controls. Mean number of eggs laid by blood fed mosquitoes treated with 109 spores/mL of M. anisopliae-131 was 26 ± 3 compared to control (67 ± 4). However for M. anisopliae-30, 19 ± 3 eggs were laid compared to control 72 ± 5 eggs. This study concludes that both the strains of M. anisopliae reduce egg laying capacity and survival rate in Ae. aegypti. As such, these strains can be useful for the development of mycoinsecticides for the control of the dengue fever vector mosquito, Ae. aegypt

Systematic review on the frequency of occurrence in nerve branches and the side of the face involved in trigeminal neuralgia and its clinical implication

PurposeThe purpose of this systematic review is to answer the focused question, “What is the commonly affected nerve branch and the side of the face involved in trigeminal neuralgia?”Types of studies reviewedThis systematic review included studies reporting commonly affected trigeminal nerve branches and the side of the face involved in trigeminal neuralgia. To find the potential studies published, the authors utilized specific search databases such as PubMed, and Google scholar.ResultsAmong 132 published studies, the authors selected only 11 to be included for this systematic review. The sample size ranged from 50 to 43,518 study subjects. This review identified that the mandibular branches of the trigeminal nerve were the most affected, followed by the maxillary branch. The review also identified that the right side of the face was predominantly affected.Conclusion and practical implicationsThe authors of this review identified a higher occurrence of trigeminal neuralgia in the mandibular division of the nerve, commonly affected on the right side of the face. Further prospective-based research and meta-analysis are required to validate the commonly occurring trigeminal nerve branch and sidedness of the face involved with its clinical implications in trigeminal neuralgia

Diet, Emission and Diabetes : A treelet transform pattern analysis on Västerbotten Intervention Program

Objective: Researches which studied the relation of dietary greenhouse gas emissions with health outcomes are few, inconsistent and most of them are modelling studies which have not investigated empiric dietary emission patterns. In this study, we employ a posteriori data dimension reduction method, treelet transform, to identify dietary and diet related emission patterns concurrently. We aim to evaluate if these patterns are correlated, if they areassociated with diabetes and if emission patterns can be used as a proxy for dietary patterns for assessment of association with diabetes. Design: Food items from dietary questionnaire were aggregated to 34 food groups. GHGE was estimated by linking food intakes with life cycle assessment data on emission. Dietary and emission patterns were identified by employing treelet transform on food intake and corresponding greenhouse gas emission data. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to investigate associations between quintiles of dietary patterns and diabetes. Adjusted mean values of emission estimates were obtained for the identified dietary patterns. Adjusted proportions of diabetes across quintiles of emission patterns were computed. Setting: Västerbotten Intervention Program Subjects: women (n 38,118); men (n 36,042) between the age of 35 and 65 years Results: Four dietary and four corresponding emission patterns in women, five dietary and five corresponding emission patterns in men were identified. Moderate to strong correlations were observed between dietary and corresponding emission patterns. Prudent dietary pattern (PP) in women was inversely associated with dysglycemia [ORQ5 vs. Q1 = 0.82 (95% CI 0.69—0.97, Ptrend =0.003)]. PP in women was also inversely associated with diabetes [ORQ5 vs.Q1 = 0.37 (95% CI 0.17—0.78, Ptrend = 0.002)]. However, adherence to this dietary pattern was associated with higher dietary emission. Finally, none of the corresponding emission patterns, were associated with adjusted proportions of either dysglycemia or diabetes. Conclusion: Treelet transform produces correlated dietary and emission patterns which are sparse and easily interpretable. However, some differences in loading structures between dietary and emission patterns result in different conclusion regarding the association with diabetes, rendering the usage of emission patterns as proxies of dietary patterns inappropriate. Results from our study also show that healthy dietary patterns do not necessarily reduce greenhouse gas emission