Further Reflections from the Future Directions in Feminist Phenomenology Conference By Katy Fulfer Public attention to assisted death in medical contexts seems to be exploding. In June the Quebec legislature tabled a care-at-the-end-of-life bill that includes provisions for physician-assisted death. In the state of Washington, there was a 17% rise in the number of individuals [...]
With the generous help of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy (especially Rob Read), I've started a new podcast, The Life Of The Mind/Brain, examining issues that arise at the intersection of the cognitive sciences and society. The first episode focuses on the amazing work coming out of Adrian Owen's lab which, as has been mentioned [...]
Leading scholars in feminist phenomenology are coming to Western University to participate in the Future Directions in Feminist Phenomenology conference, organized by Helen Fielding (Philosophy/Women's Studies) and sponsored in part by the Rotman Institute. The conference opened today, May 23, and will continue until May 25. Prior to the conference start, graduate students in philosophy, [...]
Recently, the Vancouver Sun reported on an ongoing legal case that potentially has important implications for neuroethics and the law. Kenny Ng, the patient at the center of the controversy, was injured in a car accident seven years ago and diagnosed, after rigorous clinical assessment, as being in a vegetative state. His wife would like [...]
A recent BBC documentary profiles the extraordinary work of Western’s Dr. Adrian M. Owen on detecting unrecognized awareness in individuals diagnosed as being in a vegetative state (VS). Owen and his research team have developed a way for patients who are behaviorally non-responsive, and so incapable of revealing overt signs of awareness, to show that [...]
An Interview with Dr. Lainie Ross Dr. Lainie Ross is the Carolyn and Matthew Bucksbaum Professor of Clinical Ethics; Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, Surgery and The College; and Associate Director of the Maclean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, at the University of Chicago. On November 2nd, Dr. Ross joined us at the Rotman Institute as [...]
By Katy Fulfer In Friday's Globe and Mail, Preston Manning (CEO of a conservative think-tank in Canada) lamented the Canadian Parliament's decision to not re-open the definition of legal personhood. Many Canadians viewed the attempt to discuss legal personhood (which currently is granted upon birth) as an attack on abortion rights. (Find Manning's commentary at the [...]
An interview with Rotman Institute Doctoral Entrance Scholarship recipient Andrew Peterson Andrew Peterson is one of two recipients of the 2011/12 Rotman Institute of Philosophy Doctoral Entrance Scholarship. Valued at $10,000, these scholarship assist some of the strongest doctoral candidates entering their study at Western with support for their innovative research in philosophy and science. [...]
In a recent Slate magazine article, Douglas Pet highlights several worries with the international surrogacy industry, particularly in respect to the poor women who contract out their gestational labor. Pet focuses on India, and rightfully so--one report predicts that by the end of 2012, the medical travel industry in India (also a hotspot for organ transplants) [...]
In a recent Viewpoint piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Prasad et al. discuss some the challenges in turning medical practice away from established therapies. They begin by observing that in the ideal case, an old practice is replaced by a new one after the new practice is robustly evaluated in comparative [...]
