Tuesday, March 5, 2013

"Intention foresight distinction is a false distinction" as it relates to Geoengineering Climate


A must watch video on Geoengineering Climate from The Oxford Martin School, "Geoengineering – the problem of competing values in environmental and technological governance Mar 2013", brings to light some of the debatable, controversial and critical issues surrounding GE and helps to bring awareness on the topic.   


I think for me this was a gem as it relates to geoengineering climate: 


"intention foresight distinction is a false distinction"


In other words, pretending not to know or be "unclear" about the consequences of given actions do not excuse or legalize said actions.


Here a study on intention foresight distinction:


NARRATIVES OF ‘TERMINAL SEDATION’, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INTENTION-FORESIGHT DISTINCTION IN PALLIATIVE CARE PRACTICE 
Abstract  

The moral importance of the ‘intention–foresight’ distinction has long been a matter of philosophical controversy, particularly in the context of end-of-life care. 

Previous empirical research in Australia has suggested that general physicians and surgeons may use analgesic or sedative infusions with ambiguous intentions, their actions sometimes approximating ‘slow euthanasia’.  

In this paper, we report findings from a qualitative study of 18 Australian palliative care medical specialists, using in-depth interviews to address the use of sedation at the end of life. The majority of subjects were agnostic or atheistic. In contrast to their colleagues in acute medical practice, these Australian palliative care specialists were almost unanimously committed to distinguishing their actions from euthanasia. 

This commitment appeared to arise principally from the need to maintain a clear professional role, and not obviously from an ideological opposition to euthanasia. 

While some respondents acknowledged that there are difficult cases that require considered reflection upon one's intention, and where there may be some ‘mental gymnastics,’ the nearly unanimous view was that it is important, even in these difficult cases, to cultivate an intention that focuses exclusively on the relief of symptoms. 

 We present four narratives of ‘terminal’ sedation – cases where sedation was administered in significant doses just before death, and may well have hastened death. 

Considerable ambiguities of intention were evident in some instances, but the discussion around these clearly exceptional cases illustrates the importance of intention to palliative care specialists in maintaining their professional roles.

Geoengineering – the problem of competing values in environmental and technological governance Mar 2013 (An Oxford Martin School webcast)

NARRATIVES OF ‘TERMINAL SEDATION’, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INTENTION-FORESIGHT DISTINCTION IN PALLIATIVE CARE PRACTICE CHARLES D. DOUGLAS1,*, IAN H. KERRIDGE2, RACHEL A. ANKENY3
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8519.2011.01895.x/full


You are invited to visit my weekly:
#Geoengineering #Climate Issues
http://paper.li/oscare2000/1347466963


Para una corta introducción visite:
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoingenier%C3%ADa 

Los invito a que lean también mi semanario en español:

GEOINGENIERIA DEL CLIMA - Temas sobre la Geoingeniería Climática - Modificación del Clima 
http://paper.li/oscare2000/1360165668

Y en inglés con algunos articulos en español: #Geoengineering #Climate Issues
http://paper.li/oscare2000/1347466963

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