The Journal of Philosophy, Science & Law

Abstract: While the overwhelming majority of professions do not regulate the use of performance enhancements, athletics has become a lightning rod. Analysis of the current policies regulating athletic enhancements reveals that drawing the line on what is permitted is an ethically and politically arbitrary process, and sport governing bodies hold athletes to a different standard. The World Anti-Doping Agency uses ?the spirit of sport? as criteria for banning enhancements while recent findings in genomics reveals the spirit of being human is to take advantage of what is available for survival. These contradictions question the reasoning and validity of the current regulations of athletic enhancements... More...

October 4, 2010

Cognition Enhancing Drugs: Just Say Yes?
Gary Miller

In the 1980s, an earnest spokesman for the Partnership for a Drug Free America presented our nation’s children and teens with a sizzling egg in a frying pan and, with the voice of a stern-but-caring father, warned, “This is your brain on drugs…Any questions?” Questions, however, would go unanswered. More...

August 11, 2010

Knowledge and Mystery: The Impact of
Contemporary Science on Metaphysics
Pierre Darriulat

The article, meant to address philosophers and scientists as well as the interested layman, expresses the views of a physicist on the strong impact that contemporary science has on the traditional approach to metaphysics, implying an in-depth revision of many concepts that have been happily used for centuries... More...

August 9, 2010

A Review of Todd E. Feinberg’s From Axons to Identity: Neurological Explorations of the Nature of the Self

By Alexander Murphy-Nakhnikian

June 14, 2010

Masters of Hyperreality: Injustice in the Discourse of Deconstruction
Sean Noah Walsh

In an address at the Cardozo Law School in 1989, Jacques Derrida offered a normative evaluation of deconstruction, the term to which he is now inextricably associated. Speaking to philosophers, literary theorists, and legal scholars, Derrida explained the relationship between deconstruction and justice, saying, “Justice in itself, if such a thing exists, outside or beyond law, is not deconstructible. No more than deconstruction itself, if such a thing exists... More...

June 7, 2010

Does Singer's “Famine, Affluence and Morality”
Inescapably Commit Us to His Conclusion?
Roger Chao

In his 1972 work Famine, Affluence and Morality, Peter Singer presents an argument that we of the developed world, can and ought to do more for the developing nations to alleviate their poverty. ... More...

April 12, 2010

The Flexibility of Description and NESS Causation
Eric Adams

Two arsonists start separate fires to the same house. Each fire is sufficient to destroy the house on its own. Neither is therefore sine qua non necessary to the loss. A growing number of scholars suggest that the sufficiency of the two fires deems them causes-in-fact of the loss. The most influential sufficiency analysis of recent years is the NESS test developed by Hart and Honore... More...

April 5, 2010

A Review of J. Angelo Corlett’s Race, Rights, and Justice

By Walter J. Riker

January 20, 2010

Animal Research, Animal Welfare, and the Three R’s
Bernard E. Rollin

The last 50 years have witnessed a dazzling array of social and ethical revolutions in Western society. Such movements as feminism, civil rights, environmentalism, affirmative action, consumer advocacy, pro-and anti-abortion activism, homosexual rights, children’s rights, the student movement, antiwar activism and public rejection of biotechnology have changed the way in which governments and public institutions comport themselves. This is equally true for private enterprise: to be successful, businesses and institutions must be seen as operating solidly in harmony with changing and emerging social ethics. ... More...

October 8, 2009

A Review of Efficiency Instead of Justice? Searching for the Philosophical Foundations of the Economic Analysis of Law

By William B. Griffith

September 8, 2009

Autonomy as an Element of Human Dignity in South African Case Law
Donrich W Jordaan

Human dignity features prominently in various international human rights instruments. In addition, human dignity is also a central concept in biolaw and bioethics - fields that are becoming increasingly relevant as the biological revolution dawns on mankind. But what exactly is meant by human dignity? Especially in the fields of biolaw and bioethics, human dignity has been used to support various divergent points of view. This apparent absence of a clear meaning creates questions about the usefulness of this concept, and valid fears that it can easily serve to camouflage ... More...

July 30, 2009

A Review of Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved

By Andrew McAninch

April 6, 2009

An Analysis of the Legal Classification of Animals: Toward a Step-wise Deconstruction of the Property Status of Animals

By Ernest Waintraub

November 5, 2008

NEJM, Drug Companies, and the FDA: The Conflict Underlying Levine v. Wyeth

"Nothing new under the sun.” Product manufacturers, drug companies, and even tug boat owners want to set their own standards when it comes to the products they make or the work they do. Additionally, they want those standards to protect them from tort liability. Even in the 1930’s, a tug boat company tried to argue that the custom of the industry at that time should protect them from liability. Most tug boats did not have radios on board to warn them of imminent storms... More...

By Charlene L. Smith

July 14, 2008

A Review of James Davis’s Terms of Inquiry: On the Theory and Practice of Political Science

By Lisa Johnson

May 2, 2008

Law and Biology
Morris B. Hoffman

Ten years ago E.O. Wilson, the Harvard entomologist, wrote a remarkably ambitious book called Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, in which he predicted that the ever-accelerating insights of evolutionary biology would drive a fundamental convergence of the social and natural sciences. [1] This essay is considerably less ambitious. I’d like to report on the rather remarkable inroads into the law, and into the legal academy, made by post-Darwinian evolutionary thinking—thinking that is itself deeply resonant with the now well-entrenched law and economics movement. [2] This resonance is beginning to shed light on the mysteries of human behavior, and therefore on the mysteries of human institutions, including law. ... More...

April 14, 2008

A Guide to Biotechnology Law and Business
by By Robert A. Bohrer

Reviewed by Lawrence M. Sung, J.D., Ph.D.

Perhaps the most challenging final examination question I have experienced was through during my undergraduate astronomy course where the professor asked, “Describe the origins of the universe. Be brief.” Such a task demands a complicated dynamic of content and expression that applies aptly to the endeavor to address the legal and business aspects of biotechnology in a comprehensive, yet detailed, manner. However, Professor Bohrer successfully earns a high mark with his effort. Beyond the substance, he offers a clear, well-written work...More...

December 5, 2007

A Precautionary Tale: Towards a Sustainable Philosophy of Science
Dr. Andrew Michael Baker

Sustainable management of dwindling resources is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the human species. Successfully addressing this challenge requires holistic perspective: a nebulous connection across disparate realms of science, economics and sociopolitics. Here, I examine some important historical philosophical ideas in our understanding of science... More...

July 11, 2007

An Indigenous Yoruba - African Philosophical Argument
Against Capital Punishment
by Dr. Moses Òkè

The paper notes that whereas the issue of capital punishment is very old and not alien to any human society, and whereas there is an abundance of literature on Western philosophy of punishment, very little philosophical work on punishment from the African perspective can be cited. By way of filling a part of the lacuna in the literature, the paper examines the Yorùbá culture for its perspectives on the death penalty.More...

Doing Right in a Shrinking World: How Corporate American Balance Ethics & Profit in a Changing Economy by Louis DeThomasis and Neal St. Anthony
Reviewed by Dale Hershey

People in business sometimes make decisions that are unethical. They sometimes consciously deceive customers, mislead investors, spoil the environment, mistreat employees, hurt fellow workers, and do other things reprehensible. How can they be discouraged from doing these harmful things? That is the question to be answered by responsible business leaders, educators, politicians, judges, and writers. Books on the subject of business misconduct are too often simplistic and general in their prescriptions....More...

April 16, 2007

Conflicts of Interest in Scientific Research Related to Regulation or Litigation
by David B. Resnik, JD, PhD

This article examines conflicts of interest in the context of scientific research related to regulation or litigation. The article defines conflicts of interest, considers how conflicts of interest can impact research, and discusses different strategies for dealing with conflicts of interest. While it is not realistic to expect that scientific research related to regulation or litigation will ever be free from conflicts of interest, society should consider...More...

March 12, 2007

The Foundations of Federalism: An Exchange
by Randall P. Bezanson
Steven C. Moeller
One hears the word “federalism” with some frequency these days. The debates over medical marijuana, capital punishment, abortion, assisted suicide, capital punishment, school financing, and even environmental policy, all have vital federalism dimensions. On these and other issues, the word “federalism” has transformed from a tired shibboleth for political conservatism into a more interesting, if complex, focus for conversation and debate.More...

December 11, 2006

Expert Ethics Testimony
by Taiwo A. Oriola
The propriety of expert ethics testimony in the courtroom is as contentious in academic scholarship as any typical ethical debate could be. More...

July 1, 2006

Nano-Conceptions: A Sociological Insight
by Gian Carlo Delgado-Ramos
This report, which comprises the conceptions of diverse actors involved in nanotechnology issues, is a product of the Nano-Conceptions survey carried out on April 2006. More...

African Jurisprudence and the Challenge of Positivist Historiography by Idowu William
The general name for the body of thoughts on law – its nature, scope, functions, and limitations - is called jurisprudence. In its philosophical essence, jurisprudence is concerned with the theory or the science of law. More...

The Presence of Hypotheses in the Scientific Literature
by Norman A. Desbiens, M.D.
The statement of a hypothesis is felt to be a crucial component of properly conducted research. (U.S.E.P.A, 2005) (A.A.A.S., 1990) Once a hypothesis has been conceived, a researcher can then design a study that attempts to support or refute it and determine the level of precision needed to do so, after which the number of study units required can be determined. More...

March 20, 2006

Taking Ourselves Seriously: The Relevance of Dworkinian Principlism in Genetic Research
by James A. Rice
The advances that have been made in the area of genetic technology over the past several years have caused a reflection into the grounds for emerging policy decisions that have emerged as a result of these stunning scientific breakthroughs. Inevitably, controversies have emerged as a result of these rapidly developing genetic discoveries. More...

Food for Thought: The Debate over Eating Meat* Edited by Steve F. Sapontzis
Reviewed by William O. Stephens. More...

September 2005

What Is Man, That The Judges Are Mindful Of Him?: Lessons From The PVS Cases
by Charles Foster
"What is man, that thou are mindful of him?", asked the Psalmist. And the same question should be asked whenever judges ponder whether or not the life of a medically compromised patient should be ended. More...

Science, Technology, and Democracy: edited by Daniel Lee Kleinman
reviewed by E. J. Woodhouse
What role can lay people play in democratizing science and technology? That question is explored in eight essays first presented at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. More...

May 2005

Epistemic and Non-epistemic Aspects of the Factfinding Process in Law
by Vern R. Walker, J.D
Legislators, regulators, and judges attempt to create factfinding processes that integrate both epistemic and non-epistemic goals. Moreover, the rule of law requires that those factfinding processes be principled, equitable, and reasonably transparent. More...

Disentangling Daubert: An Epistemological Study in Theory and Practice
by Susan Haack
Sometimes the word ["science"] degenerates into a vague honorific, synonymous with the advertiser's "reliable" or "guaranteed"... More...

Daubert and the Acceptability of Legal Decisions
by Carl F. Cranor, Ph.D.
In a series of cases beginning with Daubert v. Merrell-Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. the U.S. Supreme Court gave federal judges a heightened duty to review scientific evidence and expert testimony that are proposed for admission into civil and criminal litigation. More...

Two Concepts of Reliability
by Dale A. Nance, J.D.
In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.[2] and Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael,[3] the United States Supreme Court set the law of expert testimony on a quest for “reliability.” More...

Punishing Experts, or Protecting the Courts?
by Louise Andrew, M.D., J.D.
We believe that there are several misstatements and factual reporting errors in the article Punishing Medical Experts for Unethical Testimony: A Step in the Right Direction or a Step too Far?, by David Resnik. More...

December 7, 2004

A Challenge to the Admissibility of Firearms and Toolmark Identifications: Amicus Brief Prepared on Behalf of the Defendant in United States V. Kain, Crim. No. 03-573-1 (E.D. PA. 2004)
by Adina Schwartz, J.D., Ph.D.
The following amicus brief was prepared in connection with a Daubert challenge in federal court to the admission of a firearms and toolmark examiner's testimony that cuts in a fence and grate were made by the defendant's bolt cutters, to the exclusion of all other bolt cutters in the world. More...

Gene patents: "What God hath wrought!"
by Richard M. Lebovitz, Ph.D., J.D.
Abstract: Although the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") has granted patents on genes for over 20 years, the prudence of gene patenting continues to stir controversy. More...

Punishing Medical Experts for Unethical Testimony: A Step in the Right Direction or a Step too Far?
by David B. Resnik, J.D., Ph.D.
On July 19, 2002, the North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) revoked the license of Gary James Lustgarten, M.D. for allegedly unethical conduct in expert testimony he provided in a medical malpractice case in North Carolina. More...

August 12, 2004

Law and Morality in Assisted Reproductive Technology Case study on the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust v Mr & Mrs A & Others
by Chantal Gill’ard, M.A.*
There is a beautiful feminist adage that goes, ’the personal is political’. What this aphorising adage conveys is that in post-industrial Great Britain... More...

Scientific Consensus and Public Policy: The Case of Pfiesteria
by Darrin W. Belousek, Ph.D.
Abstract. This paper examines normative and political aspects of the peer review, scientific consensus and public policy processes related to harmful algal blooms of Pfiesteria in estuarine waters of North Carolina and Maryland in the 1990s. More...

May 21, 2004

Playing Politics with Bioethics: Now That's Repugnant
by Yvette Pearson, Ph.D.
In a recent Washington Post editorial, Leon Kass claimed that neither he nor the President's Council on Bioethics (PCB) is "playing politics with science." More...

Law and Nature -- by David Delaney
reviewed by Bill Shields, J.D.
It is my usual practice in reading scholarly books to first study the references cited by the author. This gives me some idea of the author's scope of research... More...

The Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society: Summary of the October 22-23, 2003 Meeting
by Amanda Sarata, Fay Shamanski, Suzanne Goodwin, and Sarah Carr
The development and use of genetic technologies raises a broad range of human health and societal issues. In 2002, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services... More...

March 31, 2004

"Tobacco and Health" - Expert Witness Report Filed on behalf of Plaintiffs in: "The United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Philip Morris, Inc., et al., Defendants," Civil Action No. 99-CV-02496 (GK) (Federal case)
by Robert N. Proctor, Ph.D.
Historical Background: The tobacco plant is native to the Americas. Sailors accompanying Christopher Columbus on his voyage to the New World found Arawak and Taino Indians smoking the herb... More...

The Intersections of Trade and Environmental Health: Discussion of the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine
by Christine Coussens, Ph.D.
The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine was formed in 1998 to provide a neutral setting for individuals with different backgrounds and perspectives to discuss sensitive issues of mutual interest. More...

January 21, 2004

A comparison of ethical attitudes of English and German health professionals and lay people towards involuntary admission: Implications for the new Mental Health Act (England & Wales)
by Peter Lepping, M.D., Tilman Steinert, M.D., and Ralf-Peter Gebhardt, Ph.D
Objectives: To identify ethical attitudes about involuntary admission (known in Great Britain as formal admission) in mental health professionals and lay-people in England and Germany, especially looking at possible differences... More...

November 11, 2003

Inter Arma Silent Leges: An Examination of the Legal Rights of American Citizens Detained as Enemy Combatants in the War on Terror
by Daniel Torres
In response to the attacks on American soil on September 11, 2001, the United States launched a "War on Terror" to rid the world of international terrorist networks who posed a threat to innocent civilians and democratic civilization. More...

Truth in Legal Practice
by William M. Shields, J.D.
I read with interest Susan Haack's article on truth in the law. To the extent that I followed the philosophical points being made, I suspect that I am in agreement with Dr. Haack. In this note I offer brief comments from the standpoint of a practicing lawyer. More...

October 30, 2003

Life, Death, and Politics: The Long Good-bye
by Barbara A. Noah, J.D
It is well settled under Florida law that individuals have a right to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment. As recognized in judicial decisions and by statute, Florida's law and its state constitution clearly support this right of refusal... More...

September 11, 2003

truth, truths, "truth", and "truths" in the law
by Susan Haack, Ph.D.
The best way to get a clear view of questions about truth -- in the law or anywhere else -- is to start, not with debates over "modernism" versus "post-modernism," and the whole dubious history of ideas they presuppose, but with a few simple distinctions. More...

July 29, 2003

Preserving Fertility in Young Cancer Patients: a Medical, Ethical and Legal Challenge
by Philip M. Rosoff, M.D. and Melanie L. Katsur, J.D.
Modern cancer treatment, while often producing lifelong cures, can also result in permanent damage to many organ systems. Although more than 70% of children and young adults can be cured of their cancers... More...

July 8, 2003

Ethical and Social Issues in Engineering and Computing — The Spring Regional Meeting of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology
by Brian M. O'Connell, J.D.
The IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) is comprised of an international membership of over 2000 practitioners and academics. In addition to those working within mainstream engineering fields, the Society includes among its members... More...

June 10, 2003

Ethical Issues in Maternal-Fetal Medicine: Edited by Donna L. Dickenson
by Barbara A. Elliott, Ph.D.
Donna Dickenson has edited a remarkably broad and ground-extending book titled Ethical Issues in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. The authors represent eight disciplines with international perspective, including philosophy, political science, sociology, obstetrics, pediatrics, general practice, ethics and law. More...

May 9, 2003

A Response to Avner Levin's "The Problem of Observation"
by Bill Shields, J.D.
With regard to the representation of quantum mechanics in the article, I have no serious scientific reservations, except to note that Bohr's particular version of the Problem of Observation was not and is not universally accepted. More...

April 8, 2003

Embyronic Stem Cells: Science Ethics and Public Policy: Conference Report
by Anne-Taylor Cahill
The Center for Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan College wishing to examine the thorny issue of the therapeutic use of embryonic stem cells, gathered together... More...

Stephen F. Haller’s Apocalypse Soon? Wagering on Warnings of Global Catastrophe
by Elizabeth A. Corley, Ph.D.
How do we make policy decisions to avert potential global catastrophes when predictions from scientific models are highly uncertain? In his book... More...

March 3, 2003

Defending Against Biochemical Warfare: Ethical Issues Involving the Coercive Use of Investigational Drugs and Biologics in the Military
by William J. FitzPatrick, Ph.D. and Lee L. Zwanziger, Ph.D.
The threat of biological or chemical warfare raises urgent questions about how best to protect both civilian populations and military personnel from biochemical attacks. More...

The Problem of Observation
by Avner Levin
There is perhaps no area more popular or in demand among legal academics and faculties of law recently than the amorphous area known alternatively as 'law and science'... More...

January 23, 2003

A Biotechnology Patent Pool: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
by David B. Resnik, J.D.
Abstract: This paper discusses the idea of forming a patent pool in order to address some of the licensing problems in the biotechnology industry. The pool would be an independent... More...

James Franklin's The Science of Conjecture: Evidence and Probability before Pascal
Reviewed by Doug Jesseph, Ph.D.
Decision under conditions of uncertainty is an unavoidable fact of life. The available evidence rarely suffices to establish a claim with complete confidence... More...

November 8 2002

What Role Should Rules, Guidelines, and Education Play in the Responsible Conduct of Research? A National Conference Addresses the Issue
by Jennifer Douglas-Vidas, M.A. and Marsha E. Reichman, Ph.D.
On September 23-24, 2002, the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), convened a national conference ... More...

October 21, 2002

David Guston's Between Politics and Science: Assuring the Integrity and Productivity of Research
by Kimarie R. Stratos, J.D
Instead of a new world order, we have "a new world of inordinate disorder," Norman Neureiter told an audience at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service... More...

July 8, 2002

For "Just Results": Questioning National Missile Defense Research in Alaska
by Norman K. Swazo, Ph.D.
With the election of the Bush Administration there is added commitment to research and development of a national missile defense system (NMD)... More...

Are Health Professionals Prepared for the Task of Integrating Genetics into Healthcare?
by Susanne B. Haga, Ph.D. and Joann A. Boughman, Ph.D.
On May 13, 2002, more than 200 individuals from academia, public health, industry, government, patient advocacy groups... More...

May 7, 2002

Immortality and Sentencing Law
by Richard Haigh and Mirko Bagaric
The time may not be far away where we may be able to live much longer than we do now — potentially forever. This will have an enormous impact on the way people live their lives as the underlying premise... More...

March 27, 2002

Bioethics and Bioterrorism
by Brent Garland, M.S., J.D.
A day-long conference was convened to discuss bioethical concerns arising in the wake of September 11th and the subsequent anthrax mailing incidents. More...

February 19, 2002

Commercial Surrogacy and the Redefinition of Motherhood
by Bryn Williams-Jones
Since the 1970s, there has been rapid and wide ranging development in the field of new reproductive technologies (NRT). With donor insemination (DI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF), previously infertile couples have been given new hope and the chance to have children. More...

January 9, 2002

Balancing Scientific Freedom and National Security after September 11th
by Michelle R. Detwiler
An audience of approximately 300 scientists, professors, government employees, and other citizens gathered in Washington, D.C. for a public symposium... More...

December 7, 2001

Financial Conflict of Interest and Medical Research: Beware the Medical-Industrial Complex
by Cary P. Gross, MD
It has been a generation since the foundations of medical research in the United States have been shaken to the point of necessitating reform in the system of oversight. More...

Reconciling Science and Society
by Tanya Williams, Scott Siera, and Arri Eisen, Ph.D.
The Fourth National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference held at Emory University October 4-7th, 2001, marked the a stage in the vital conversation between science and society. More...

November 1, 2001

An Epistemologist in the Bramble-Bush: At the Supreme Court With Mr. Joiner
by Susan Haack, Ph.D.
"Judges become leery of expert witnesses," ran headlines in the Wall Street Journal a couple of years ago; they are "Skeptical of Unproven Science" -- the "Testimony of Dilettantes." More...

The Evolving Role of Scientific Experts in the Courts
by Mark S. Frankel, Ph.D.
Criticism of the way the courts have handled--or mishandled--cases that have involved complex scientific and technical evidence has received extensive coverage in the press. More...

Ethics and the Patenting of Human Genes
by Annabelle Lever, Ph.D.
Human gene patents are patents on human genes that have been removed from human bodies and scientifically isolated and manipulated in a laboratory. More...

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