10. Lošinjski dani bioetike - Hrvatsko filozofsko društvo

nutku nerazumljivih patofizioloških procesa moglo pomoći jednom dijelu
»otpisanih« pacijenata.
“MIRACULOUS” HEALINGS OR SPONTANEOUS REMISSION
Belief in supernatural healing very often represents the last hope to
people suffering from incurable diseases. Almost 82% of Americans believe
that personal prayer can cure serious diseases while 73% believe the
same for intercessory prayer. In addition to the descriptions in the Sacred
Scripture, we have witnessed “miraculous” healings as key evidence in
canonisation procedures for almost 600 saints in the period between the
17th and the 20th century. The best documented are the cases of healings in
Lourdes, but they have also been reported in Fatima. In our region, despite
the fact that the official Church authorities do not recognise it, since the
first apparitions in 1981 until now over 40 million pilgrims have visited
Međugorje. They gave 445 statements in the Peace Centre regarding physical
healings. In medical scientific works “miraculous” healings are mostly
referred to as “spontaneous remission”. Studying the cases of “miraculous”
or spontaneous healings is worth the effort since the controlled application
of the currently incomprehensible pathophysiological processes could be
of help to some “incurable” patients.
VOJIN RAKIĆ
Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, Serbia /
Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju, Univerzitet u Beogradu, Srbija
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ETHICAL ASPECTS OF THE UTILIZATION OF
NEURO-PHARMACOLOGY AND NEURO-SURGERY
FOR THE PURPOSES OF ENHANCEMENT
My presentation will focus on the ethical aspects of the utilization of
neuro-pharmacological means for non-medical purposes (e.g., Ritalin as
a motivation and efficiency enhancer or Prozac as a “recreational” mood
enhancer). The opportunities of a similar (non-medical) use of some forms
of neuro-surgery (mostly “Deep Brain Stimulation”) will also be covered.
I will argue in favor of denoting the use of neuro-pharmacological and