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Natural Kinds, Similarity, and Individual Cases: Ontological Presuppositions and Ethical Implications

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Psychological, Emotional, Social and Cognitive Aspects of Implantable Cardiac Devices

Abstract

The ethical implications of medical research and clinical practice are addressed by (a) questioning the ontological presuppositions of such notions as kinds and similarity, both object-to-object and object-to-category; (b) applying this strategy to the particular case of medicine and biomedical science, with a focus on the notion of kinds of patients; and (c) suggesting a way for researchers and clinicians to take advantage of the ontological perspective, connecting creative approaches to responsible, ethical choices.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, Milan, 20122, Italy

    Paolo Valore Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Paolo Valore Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Paolo Valore Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiac Center, Morriston Hospital, University of Swansea, Swansea, United Kingdom

    Riccardo Proietti

  2. eCampus University Faculty of Psychology, Novedrate (Como), Italy

    Gian Mauro Manzoni

  3. Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy

    Giada Pietrabissa

  4. Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy

    Gianluca Castelnuovo

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Valore, P. (2017). Natural Kinds, Similarity, and Individual Cases: Ontological Presuppositions and Ethical Implications. In: Proietti, R., Manzoni, G., Pietrabissa, G., Castelnuovo, G. (eds) Psychological, Emotional, Social and Cognitive Aspects of Implantable Cardiac Devices. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55721-2_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55721-2_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55719-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55721-2

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