No-Fly Zones: A New Model for Male Sexuality

The predominant paradigm nowadays for understanding male sexuality is derived from Kinsey's assumption that men can be classified as individuals with specific scores on a scale, scores that predict whether future partners will be male or female. Each man is defined by an essence, homo- or heterosexual or somewhere in between. However this is an incorrect view of male sexuality, because it makes us unable to say why a man is attracted to or has sex with a specific person: the same person can be attractive or unattrative depending on circumstances, and he can act or not act on his inclination depending on circumstances. The more correct view of male sexuality is thus of “fly” and “no-fly” zones, which understands male sexuality as defined by variable situations, not a score of the individual in all situations. This conception allows us to avoid the theoretical mistakes of the current assault on “sexual assault.”     

Legitimate Compassion or Compassionate Legitimation? Reflections on the Policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide

This commentary explores the background to, and implications of, the recently published Director of Public Prosecutions guidelines for prosecutors in respect of cases of encouraging or assisting suicide. It considers the extent of the provisions and questions the legitimacy of their focus on the compassionate motivation of the assistant, and the apparent prohibition on healthcare professionals providing such help. It concludes by suggesting that a permissive change in the law would provide better safeguards for those who seek assisted dying.     

The governance of human genetic research databases in mental health research

The field of mental health offers a valuable context in which to examine new challenges presented by human genetic research databases to the legal, ethical and regulatory frameworks for human genetic research. Longitudinal prospective genetic research of psychiatric disorders often involves access to human genetic research databases and to stored tissue for future uses that cannot be specified at the time the patient consents to their collection. The potential of such research to contribute to an improved understanding and treatment of complex genetic diseases such as schizophrenia presupposes sound ethical, legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure public trust and preparedness to participate in such research. This article provides a brief overview of some of the ethical and legal challenges posed by human genetic research databases and their implications for how genetic research should be conducted in the field of mental health.     

Propaganda by the deed: Terrorism and anarchist theory in late nineteenth‐century Europe

Abstract

This essay examines the development of anarchist theory by radical intellectuals such as Peter Kropotkin and Elisee Reclus in response to certain acts of violence in late nineteenth‐century Europe. It argues that propaganda by the deed, as a strategy for political action, became central to the elaboration of anarchist theory and that a philosophical justification of individual, as well as collective, violence developed logically out of it. This becomes especially apparent in the thought of Reclus whose writings, until recently largely neglected, reveal important dimensions of European anarchism and help to clarify how propaganda by the deed fits into the larger framework of anarchist theory. Those anarchists who were frequently ambivalent when confronted with the reality of acts of violence, notably Kropotkin, but also Most and even Goldman, misunderstood the nature of their own conception of such “propaganda.”     

Hidden Law‐Making in the Province of Medical Jurisprudence

Judges articulate their role in controversial cases of medical ethics in terms of deference to Parliament, lest their personal morality be improperly brought to bear. This hides a wide range of law‐making activities, as parliamentary sovereignty is diffused by ‘intermediate law‐makers’, and judicial activity is more subtle than the deference account implies. The nature of litigation raises questions about the contributions of other legal personnel and also the nature of the parties' interests in test‐cases. While judges demonstrate an awareness of some of these issues and anxiety about the constitutional legitimacy of their work, a more nuanced account is needed of their proper role. This may be built on Austin's theory of tacit legislation. It may draw from human rights law. However, considerable work is required before the complexities of hidden law‐making can be properly incorporated into the province of medical jurisprudence.