فصلنامه اخلاق زیستی
پیاپی 34 (زمستان 1398)

The principle of respect for individual autonomy is one of the most challenging issues in contemporary biomedical ethics. Given the conflict of this principle with the principles of Islamic ethics, this study aims to analyze the principle and its adaptation to Qur'anic anthropology.

In this analytical research, the concepts, theories and philosophical foundations of the principle of respect for individual autonomy are analyzed in three levels and then, its conformity with Qur'anic anthropology will be investigated.

The philosophical basis of the principle of respect for individual autonomy is human freedom to establish moral rules and non-compliance with upstream laws. At first glance, it conflicts with Islamic principles that regard God as the legislator of ethical principles and moral rules, but based on the Quranic concepts, there is no conflict between this principle and the Qur'anic view, in general. Because, according to the Qur'an, God has blessed his soul with man and taught him all of God's names. The basis of man's inclination to God is the divine nature which is the foundation of all human beings and religion is also based on it. Therefore, as in Kant's philosophy, following the principles of practical reason does not mean as obeying upstream laws, out of human existence, obedience to God and religion's commandments do not so.

The results show that the philosophical basis of the principle of respect for individual autonomy is the free will of man and does not conflict with his religious nature.

This study attempts to answer the question of what constitutes the right to health as a human right and how it can practically help to normalize this right.

In this analytical study, firstly, the definition and position of human dignity as the basis of human rights are explained. Subsequently, the normative impact of human dignity on the right to health will be addressed and analyzed in the light of international documents and judicial procedure.

The link between human dignity and human rights can be explored in different ways. Historical origin, theoretical derivation, interpretive approach, and source of legitimacy are the components that explain the relationship between human dignity and human rights. Undoubtedly, every legal system needs a theoretical basis; international documents and judicial procedure show that human dignity, by affecting the right to health as a human right, not only is the source of its legitimacy and specifies its theoretical framework but, it is capable of standardizing and expanding it through extensive interpretation. Today, the right to health encompasses a wide range of human rights, including the right to safe drinking water and food, healthy environmental and occupational conditions, access to health information and education as well as health care.

The findings show that the basis for the right to health is not merely human survival but inherent dignity of man. This foundation of the right to health enables judicial bodies to use this tool to support more conditions under the right to health and health care

Given the importance of human dignity, the Belmont Declaration in support of human subjects in biomedical researches has been developed and consisted of three ethical principles: respect for individual autonomy, beneficence and justice. This study was conducted to adapt these principles with Islamic values and principles.

In this comparative study, the ethical principles in Belmont Declaration are compared with Islamic principles.

From the Islamic view, human dignity and individual autonomy should be respected in biomedical research on human subjects, without regarding human beings as tools for research. The principle of beneficence is a necessary principle and according to the no harm rule, to maximize the benefits of research, the possible burdens and harms should be minimized. Also, in addition to considering the maximum benefits of human subjects, the interests of researchers and those who have fund the research should also be taken into account. Justice and fairness require that while maximizing the benefits of research, its potential risks and harms are minimized and if complications occur, the research on disadvantaged people must be stopped and compensated. Since harm to human is against ethical and Islamic principles, human beings must be protected from the harms of research and individuals such as children, demented people and prisoners must be protected as special groups, because they do not have sufficient capacity or individual autonomy.

The principles mentioned in the Belmont Declaration are essential for biomedical researches on human subjects and are consistent with Islamic values and principles

The organizational silence has been known as one of the barriers to organizational development and can be improved by good character and teamwork. This study aimed to determine the effect of managers' good character on staff silence with mediating role of teamwork in Mohaghegh Ardebili University staff.

This descriptive-correlational study is based on structural equation modeling. The study sample consisted of 175 employees of Mohaghegh Ardabili University in 2019 who were selected based on Krejcie and Morgan table and stratified-proportional sampling method. Barker & Koy’s Managers Good Character (2003), Lencioni’s Teamwork (2000) and Vakula and Bouradas’s Organizational Silence (2005) questionnaires were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS 24 and LISREL 8.8 statistical soft wares.

Direct effect of managers' good character on organizational silence (t=-3.19, β=-0.41), direct effect of teamwork on organizational silence (t=-4.48, β=-.48) and the direct effect of managers' good character on teamwork was significant (t=3.39, β=0.36). The coefficient of indirect effect of managers' good character on organizational silence was 0.17 which shows the significant role of teamwork in influencing managers' good character on organizational silence.

The results showed that the managers’ good character reduces the silence among the staff of Mohaghegh Ardabili University with mediating role of teamwork. Accordingly, it is recommended that managers take into consideration the principle of respect for human dignity, by promoting their moral virtues and professional ethics and provide the background for teamwork.

Increasing the productivity of the organization requires employees with motivation and commitment. The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between workplace spirituality and organizational belonging in the staff of public hospitals of Isfahan city in 2019.

In this descriptive-correlational study, the statistical population included 580 employees of public hospitals in Isfahan. The sample size was estimated 230 people using Kerjesi and Morgan tables and the sampling was done by cluster random sampling. To collect data, Milliman et al's workplace spirituality and Schaufeli & Bakker's organizational affiliation standard questionnaires were used. Data analysis was performed using correlation and regression tests in SPSS software 16 at the significance level of 0.05.

There was a significant positive correlation between workplace spirituality and employees' organizational affiliation (r=0.527, p<0.01). Among the components of spirituality in the workplace, alignment with organizational values, sense of dependence and meaningful work were most associated with organizational belonging, respectively (r=0.446, r=0.508, p<0.01).

The findings show that spirituality in the workplace significantly predicts the organizational belonging of employees. Therefore, it is recommended that hospital managers enhance employees' sense of organizational belonging and productivity by strengthening the components of spirituality in the workplace.

Euthanasia is one of the most important and challenging topics in the field of biomedical ethics. This study was conducted to compare the situation of "physician-assisted suicide" in the laws of different countries and to explain its position in the Iran legal system.

In this comparative study, after purposeful search and review of related studies, the issue of "physician-assisted suicide" in the laws of 12 different countries was compared and then, the need to criminalize it in the legal system based on ethical and Islamic principles was discussed.

Countries' position towards criminalization or decriminalization of "physician-assisted suicide" is different. It has been criminalized in England and Wales, Germany and Canada, absolutely, and in countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and the state of Victoria, Australia, conditionally. Although most of the United States has criminalized it, the states of Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, and California, along with Switzerland, Colombia, Luxembourg and India, have taken steps to legalize it. Despite the religious sanctity of suicide and its immorality in Islamic teachings, it has not been explicitly criminalized in the Iran legal system.

Given the relative silence of the legislature about suicide, the legal gap of "physician-assisted suicide" is observed. Thus, based on moral and Islamic teachings and other criteria of criminology in religious communities, it is appropriate to consider the criminalization of this issue and its conditions in the Iran legal system.

One of the most important risks for adolescents in useing the internet is to visit pornographic sites that are easily accessible to them. The aim of this study is to investigate the ethical and legal considerations in combating and criminalizing adolescent pornography in cyberspace.

In this analytical study, texts and related published articles purposeful searched to examine the effects and factors influencing virtual pornography in adolescents and to discuss ethical and legal considerations in dealing with this abnormal.

The effects of cyber pornography on adolescents include preference for premarital sexual behavior, promotion of sexual discourse among them, irresponsible behavior and poor family relationships. Ease of access, anonymity of users, lack of media literacy and lack of supervision are some of the factors influencing the formation of virtual pornography. By adopting criminal and non-criminal solutions in the form of situational, social prevention and regulatory measures, this crime can be prevented. On the other hand, it is necessary that the legislatore considers ethical principles such as respect for human dignity, prohibition of harm and caution in dealing with vague matters, in matters related to cyberspace, as well as enacting laws in line with technological progress.

Although it is not possible to completely prevent adolescents from facing pornography in cyberspace, it can be controlled by strengthening components such as education of children and monitoring how they use cyberspace and also establishing rules based on ethical principles.

Similar to the other sciences, there are theoretical and technical challenges in neurolaw science. This study provides an overview of the current limitations of fMRI-based lie detection technique in the context of neurolaw.

In this narrative review the current limitations of fMRI-based lie detection technique are discussed in summary to depict a scientific realm of neurolaw in this regard.

Some of the technical limitations that neurolaw faces are derived from deficiencies in current neuroscience techniques and employing neuroscientific evidence in judicial procedurs. Currently, the complexity of the human brain, on the one hand and some errors of the neuroscience tools, on the other hand, have been led to a legal conservative approach in employing neuroscience findings. It seems that the main limitations resulted from the problems with fMRI-based experiments. Regarding to some major drawbacks in fMRI research, neuroscientific evaluations of subjective experiences have not been properly validated by judges for three reasons: shortage of the findings; involvement of other subjective experiences in the legal review of events; unusual mental states of individuals in legal events.

Thus, despite the useful application of fMRI evidence in law, such presumptions are still used alongside other evidence in judicial proceedings (adjunct presumption) and lie-detection techniques are not judicially admissible yet