V recenzi knihy „Medical law and ethics“ od Jonathana Herringa, jsem si vytkl za cíl seznámit čtenáře s otázkami zdravotnického práva a etiky, o nichž autor ve své práci pojednává. Pro odbornou i laickou veřejnost může být kniha cenným zdrojem poznání, neboť autor na jednom místě z různých úhlů pohledu rozebírá témata, která vyvolávají celou řadu právních a etických otázek (problematika euthanasie, výzkumu na člověku, klonování, sterilizace, apod.). V jedenácti kapitolách své recenze na tato témata poukazuji a přidávám k nim komentář svůj, jakož i dalších autorů a judikatury. and In a review of the book "Medical law and ethics" by Jonathan Herring, I made it my goal to familiarize the reader with the issues of medical law and ethics, which author discuss in his work. The book should be a valuable source of knowledge for both, experts and laymen, because the author dealt with many topics from different angles, that raise a number of legal and ethical issues (the issue of euthanasia, research on humans, cloning, sterilization, etc..). I focus on these topics in eleven chapters of my review and I also add my comment, as well as comments of other authors and case law.
This article seeks to interpret moral facts as facts of life using the cognitivist naturalist approach set out by Philippa Foot in her Natural Goodness. It outlines the main features of the non-cognitivist rejection of the existence and observability of moral facts. It then reconstructs Foot’s conception of the natural normativity that is articulated in natural historical judgements, which can then be used to define a good or a defective individual with regard to what is exemplary of a life form. Hence Foot highlights a type of evaluation that is not dependent on our pro/con attitudes or emotional states. Practical rationality is tied up with the word ‘good’, which obtains its content from manifestations of the human life form and is aimed at the good life. This article shows that it is only in spheres that directly or indirectly concern life that it makes sense to talk of moral goodness or badness and that facts of life are moral facts.
Photosynthesis, as a fundamental element in the life process, is integrated in the evolution of living systems on the basis of hydrogen cycles on various hierarchic levels. Conversion of radiant energy enables the oxidation of water, whereby free oxygen accumulates in the atmosphere. Hydrogen is (reversibly) stored in organic materials formed under reductive CO2-fixation and by the incorporation of the other elements, which are necessary for living systems. All endergonic processes in living cells are finally driven by the energy released through the clean recombination of protons and electrons with oxygen to water. Duration of the stored energy and the complexity of the systems thus produced is correlated negatively with the conversion efficiency of the radiation energy. Entropy is a unifying principle in the evolution of living systems, inclusive human societies.
Water resources are usually treated as potential resources, directly exploitable by human population on the Earth. Among them, surface water and groundwater can be effectively managed for operational use. Soil water which belongs to the class of subsurface water represents the major volume of terrestrial water resources. The concept of soil water resources as a water source for biosphere was introduced recently by Budagovsky (1985) and is related to the fact, that the soil water is the most important factor of the existence and development of terrestrial vegetation. As a measure of soil water resources, Budagovsky proposed the evapotranspiration rate from the land surface during the frostless period representing the sum of water evaporation by soil and transpiration from stomata of the leaves of terrestrial plants. The primary importance of soil water is in its role as a source of water for biosphere, for the first stage of trophic chain on the Earth. In this review, the role of soil water in biotic and abiotic cycle on the Earth is discussed. Possible directions of the future study of soil water resources in relation to the environment are proposed. and Za zdroje vody na Zemi sa považujú spravidla tie potenciálne zdroje, ktoré môžu byť využité ľudstvom priamo. Priamo môžu byť využité povrchové a podzemné vody. Najväčší objem vody súše na Zemi je reprezentovaný vodami podpovrchovými. Budagovskij (1985) navrhol koncepciu pôdnych vôd ako zdroja vody pre biosféru; táto koncepcia je založená na skutočnosti, že pôdne vody sú najvýznamnejším zdrojom vody pre suchozemskú vegetáciu. Ako mieru zdrojov pôdnej vody Budagovskij navrhol evapotranspiráciu z pevniny počas bezmrazového obdobia, ako súčet výparu z pôdy a transpirácie cez prieduchy suchozemských rastlín. Najvýznamnejšou úlohou vody v pôde je to, že je zdrojom vody pre biosféru, pre prvú časť trofického reťazca na Zemi. Táto práca pojednáva o úlohe vody v pôde v biotickom a abiotickom cykle na Zemi. Sú naznačené tiež možné smery výskumu zdrojov vody v pôde v kontexte k biosfére.