Objective: Our study is a cross-sectional study that aims to evaluate the presence and levels of anti-phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) antibodies in healthy volunteers and idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) patients and to assess the relationship between these levels and clinical parameters. -/- Methods: Serum anti-PLA2R antibody levels, complete blood count, urea, creatinine (Kre), total protein,albumin, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, total cholesterol, C-reactive protein (crp), sedimentation, proteinuria were measured from 71 IMN patients and 48 healthy volunteers. -/- (...) Results: Of the values compared between the two groups, the urea, creatinine, and modified diet renal disease (MDRD) were similar, total protein, albumin, LDL-cholesterol, TG, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and complete urinalysis protein values were statistically significantly high in the patient group, as expected in nephrotic syndrome (p<0.01). The anti-PLA2Rantibody levels measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in patient and control groups were found to be negative. The anti-PLA2R level was found to be 0.104 (0.093-0.129) ng/ml in the IMN group, while it was 0.141 (0.117-0.177) ng/ml in the control group (P=0,001). Although the P value was significant, the anti-PLA2R antibody level was found to be high in the control group and was outside the reference range of the kit. -/- Conclusion: There is a need to conduct more sensitive studies with a higher number of patients in order to distinguish between primary and secondary nature and to investigate the presence of anti-PLA2R in IMNpatients, which constitute the majority of nephrotic syndromes in adults. Antibody titer levels were observed to be low and it was revealed that the measurement range of the antibody kit used in the study should be more sensitive. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence and robotics is pervasive in daily life and set to expand to new levels potentially replacing human decision-making and action. Self-driving cars, home and healthcare robots, and autonomous weapons are some examples. A distinction appears to be emerging between potentially benevolent civilian uses of the technology (eg unmanned aerial vehicles delivering medicines), and potentially malevolent military uses (eg lethal autonomous weapons killing human com- batants). Machine-mediated human interaction challenges the philosophical basis of human existence and ethical conduct. Aside (...) from technical challenges of ensuring ethical conduct in artificial intelligence and robotics, there are moral questions about the desirability of replacing human functions and the human mind with such technology. How will artificial intelligence and robotics engage in moral reasoning in order to act ethically? Is there a need for a new set of moral rules? What happens to human interaction when it is mediated by technology? Should such technology be used to end human life? Who bears responsibility for wrongdoing or harmful conduct by artificial intelligence and robotics? -/- Whilst Kant may be familiar to international lawyers for setting restraints on the use of force and rules for perpetual peace, his foundational work on ethics provides an inclusive moral philosophy for assessing ethical conduct of individuals and states and, thus, is relevant to discussions on the use and development of artificial intelligence and robotics. His philosophy is inclusive because it incorporates justifications for morals and legitimate responses to immoral conduct, and applies to all human agents irrespective of whether they are wrongdoers, unlawful combatants, or unjust enemies. Humans are at the centre of rational thinking, action, and norm-creation so that the rationale for restraints on methods and means of warfare, for example, is based on preserving human dignity as well as ensuring conditions for perpetual peace among states. Unlike utilitarian arguments which favour use of autonomous weapons on the basis of cost-benefit reasoning or the potential to save lives, Kantian ethics establish non-consequentialist and deontological rules which are good in themselves to follow and not dependent on expediency or achieving a greater public good. -/- Kantian ethics make two distinct contributions to the debate. First, they provide a human-centric ethical framework whereby human exist- ence and capacity are at the centre of a norm-creating moral philosophy guiding our understanding of moral conduct. Second, the ultimate aim of Kantian ethics is practical philosophy that is relevant and applicable to achieving moral conduct. -/- I will seek to address the moral questions outlined above by exploring how core elements of Kantian ethics relate to use of artificial intelli- gence and robotics in the civilian and military spheres. Section 2 sets out and examines core elements of Kantian ethics: the categorical imperative; autonomy of the will; rational beings and rational thinking capacity; and human dignity and humanity as an end in itself. Sections 3-7 consider how these core elements apply to artificial intelligence and robotics with discussion of fully autonomous and human-machine rule-generating approaches; types of moral reasoning; the difference be- tween ‘human will’ and ‘machine will’; and respecting human dignity. (shrink)

This essay argues for the importance of an organismic perspective in plant biology and considers some of its implications. These include an increased attention to plant-environment interaction and an emphasis on integrated approaches. Furthermore, this essay contextualizes the increased emphasis on the concept of organism in recent years and places the concept in a longer history. Recent developments in biology and worsening environmental crises have led researchers to study plant responses to changing environments with whole plant approaches that situate plants (...) in their environments, emphasizing the intricate and dynamic interaction between them. This renewed attention to the organism recalls the debates of the early twentieth century, when organicism was one of the three main frameworks in biology (along with vitalism and mechanism). Some scholars see this renewed importance today as a “return” of this earlier period. This essay argues that including insights from plant biology will benefit philosophy of biology research that examines the concept of organism and organicism now and in earlier periods. A comprehensive account of the concept of organism should involve a botanical conception of the organism as well as a zoological one (which is more frequently considered). Although this essay does not aim to present a conceptual analysis, it presents examples of how an organismic perspective can be useful for understanding concepts (such as phenotype, stress, etc.) and research processes (such as experiment set-ups, data processes, etc.) in plant biology. Philosophy of biology investigations that aim at a comprehensive understanding of the concept of organism can benefit greatly from examinations of cases in plant biology, both now and in the past. (shrink)

This article demonstrates a priori cosmopolitan values of restraint and harm limitation exist to establish a cosmopolitan “no-harm” duty in warfare, predating utilitarianism and permeating modern international humanitarian law. In doing so, the author exposes the atemporal and ahistorical nature of utilitarianism which introduces chaos and brutality into the international legal system. Part 2 conceptualises the duty as derived from the “no-harm” principle under international environmental law. Part 3 frames the discussion within legal pluralism and cosmopolitan ethics, arguing that divergent (...) legal jurisdictions without an international authority necessitates a “public international sphere” to mediate differences leading to strong value-commitment norm-creation. One such norm is the “no-harm” duty in warfare. Part 4 traces the duty to the Stoics, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, African traditional culture, Hinduism, and Confucianism. Parts 5 and 6 explain how the duty manifests in principles of distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law. (shrink)

Felsefe tarihinin hiç şüphesiz en önemli filozoflarından biri olan Aristoteles (M.Ö. 384-322), aynı zamanda bilim tarihinin de en önemli kişilerindendir. Yaşadığı dönemde henüz bilim ve felsefe ayrılmamıştır; bununla birlikte Aristoteles, bilimsel ve sistemli düşünmenin, örnekleme yapmanın, bilim insanının doğaya öğrenmek için yaklaşmasının ilkelerini, ilk kez bu derece düzenli şekilde ortaya koyan kişi olmuştur. Dört neden kuramı söz konusu ilkelerin temelini oluşturmaktadır. Bu çalışmada günümüz biyolojisinin en kapsamlı tartışmalarından biri olan ‘fenotipin ne olduğu ve nasıl oluştuğu’ konusunun, Aristoteles’in dört neden kuramı (...) ile ilişkisi incelenmiştir. Genotip, fenotip ve çevrenin son derece karmaşık yolları içeren etkileşim ağı, araştırılması için birden fazla nedensel sorgulamayı gerektirir ki bu sorgulama bir anlamda Aristoteles’in dört neden kuramının, maddi, formel ve fail nedenlerinin bir arada sorgulanmasına benzerdir. (shrink)

Çevre sorunlarının katlanarak arttığı ve biyoloji biliminin büyük sıçramalarla geliştiği günümüzde organizma kavramının incelenmesi, hem kendi doğamızı (dolayısıyla da diğer canlılarla etkileşimlerimizi) hem de günümüz biyolojisindeki değişimleri daha iyi anlayabilmemiz için faydalı olacaktır. Bu çalışma, organizma kavramını özellikle organizma-çevre etkileşimi üzerinden inceleyerek günümüz biyolojisindeki önemini vurgulayacaktır. Organizma kavramı özellikle Modern Sentezden, Genişletilmiş Evrimsel Senteze geçişle birlikte ayrı bir önem kazanmıştır. Köklerini yirminci yüzyılın başlarındaki organizma-merkezci biyolojiden alan bu kavramın gelişimi, son birkaç on yıldır biyoloji biliminde gerçekleşmiş olan gelişmelerle (özellikle gelişim (...) biyolojisi, sistem biyolojisi ve ekoloji dallarında) iyice dinamikleşmiştir. Organizma kavramının gelişimini incelemek sadece biyoloji biliminin felsefesi açısından değil, bunun yanında, insan olarak kendi biyolojik varlığımızı -organizma- ve çevremizle (hem abiyotik hem de biyotik) olan etkileşimlerimizi, tekrar düşünmek açısından değerlidir. (shrink)

This is an article in Thomas J.J. McCloughlin (Ed.) The Nature of Science in Biology: A Resource for Educators. Graphikon Teo, Dublin. -/- Abstract: Philosophers usually tend to think of animals when they think about life, plants often only appear in their works as on the margins, in the background; they are rarely in the centre. However, plant life involves unique processes, including remarkable modes of interaction between plants and their environments. Needless to say, plants are vital parts of ecosystems. (...) Serious attention to plants provides novel and interesting perspectives on many topics in philosophy of biology, including individuality, organisation and disease. Plant biology should have a substantial part in philosophy education. To support this assertion, this paper briefly describes three topics related to plant-environment interaction and explains some of their philosophical implications. These topics are growth, plant hormones and plant-plant microbiota interactions, all of which present crucial aspects related to some prevalent topics in philosophy of biology such as individuality, systems thinking, and holobiont. (shrink)

A phenome occurs through the many pathways of the complex net of interaction between the phenome and its environment; therefore researching and understanding how it arises requires investigation into many possible causes that are in constant interaction with each other. The most comprehensive investigations in biology are the ones in which many biologists from different sub-areas—evolutionary biology, developmental biology, molecular biology, physiology, genetics, epigenetics, ecology—have collaborated. Still, biologists do not always need to collaborate or look for the most comprehensive explanations. (...) A more standard investigation in biology occurs within a single subarea, and uses well-defined experiments with very specific conditions. This paper is about causation and related explanation in plant phenome research and its relevance to Aristotle’s Theory of Four Causes. I argue that there are causes which resemble Aristotle’s formal, material, and efficient causes in phenotype explanation and occurrence; but causes which resemble Aristotle’s final causes occur in phenotype explanation only, not in the occurrence. (shrink)

Bu makale, yazarın daha önce İngilizce olarak yayınlanmış kitap bölümünü Türkçeye çevirip genişletmesiyle hazırlanmıştır. Özet: Filozoflar yaşamla ilgili düşündüklerinde, bunu genellikle hayvanlar üzerinden yapmaya meyillidirler; bitkiler, çalışmalarında çoğunlukla arka plandadır, nadiren çalışmaların merkezinde oldukları görülür. Oysaki bitkiler, ekosistemlerin hayati derecede önemli parçalarıdır ve bitki yaşamı, bitki ve çevresi arasındaki etkileşimin çok ilginç halleri de dahil olmak üzere eşsiz süreçler içerir. Bitki biyolojisi, biyoloji felsefesi derslerinde önemli bir yere sahip olmalıdır. Ancak böylece öğrenciler, organizmaların ve organizma-çevre etkileşimlerinin kompleksite ve dinamikliğini, doğadaki (...) çeşitliliği ve genel olarak, yaşamın süreçlerini daha zengin, kapsamlı ve iyi bir şekilde öğrenebilirler. Bunların yanında, bitkilere yeterli ilginin gösterilmesi, biyoloji felsefesinde bireylik, organizasyon ve hastalık gibi birçok konuda yeni ve ilginç yaklaşımlar sağlayacaktır. Bu tezi desteklemek için, bitki-çevre etkileşimi ile ilgili üç konu örnek olarak ana hatlarıyla anlatılacak ve bu konuların felsefi yansımaları açıklanacaktır. Birbirleriyle ilişkili olan bu üç konu: Büyüme, bitki hormonları ve bitki-bitki mikrobiyom etkileşimleridir. Bu konular; bireylik, sistem düşüncesi ve holobiyont tartışmaları gibi biyoloji felsefesindeki temel konulara önemli yaklaşımlar sunar. (shrink)