scholarly journals Quality of Life Philosophy II: What is a Human Being?

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1176-1185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Ventegodt ◽  
Niels Jørgen Andersen ◽  
Maximilian Kromann ◽  
Joav Merrick

The human being is a complex matter and many believe that just trying to understand life and what it means to be human is a futile undertaking. We believe that we have to try to understand life and get a grip on the many faces of life, because it can be of great value to us to learn to recognize the fundamental principles of how life is lived to the fullest. Learning to recognize the good and evil forces of life helps us to make use of the good ones.To be human is to balance between hundreds of extremes. Sometimes we have to avoid these extremes, but at other times it seems we should pursue them, to better understand life. With our roots in medicine, we believe in the importance of love for better health. The secret of the heart is when reason and feelings meet and we become whole. Where reason is balanced perfectly by feelings and where mind and body come together in perfect unity, a whole new quality emerges, a quality that is neither feeling nor reason, but something deeper and more complete.In this paper, we outline only enough biology to clarify what the fundamental inner conflicts are about. The insight into these conflicts gives us the key to a great deal of the problems of life. To imagine pleasures greater than sensual pleasures seems impossible to most people. What could such a joy possibly be? But somewhere deep in life exists the finest sweetness, the greatest quality in life, the pure joy of being alive that emerges when we are fully present and life is in balance. This deep joy of life is what we call experiencing the meaning of life.

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1210-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Ventegodt ◽  
Niels Jørgen Andersen ◽  
Joav Merrick

This paper presents a positive philosophy of life developed to support and inspire patients to take more responsibility for their own lives and to draw more efficiently on their known or hidden resources. The idea is that everybody can become wiser, use themselves better, and thus improve quality of life, subjective health, and the ability to function.To be responsible means to see yourself as the cause of your own existence and state of being. To be the one who forms your own life to your liking, so that others do not shape it in the way they prefer to see you. Seen this way, taking responsibility in practice is one of the most difficult things to do. One of the greatest and most difficult things to do in this context is to be able to love. To be the one who loves, instead of being the one who demands love, care, awareness, respect, and acceptance from somebody else.Since almost all of us have had parents who maybe loved us too little and mostly conditionally, we all harbor a deep yearning to be loved as we are, unconditionally. A lot of our energy is spent trying to find recognition and acceptance, more or less as we did as children from our parents, who created the framework and defined the rules of the game. But today, reality is different. We have grown up and now life is about shaping our own existence. So we must be the ones who love. This is what responsibility is all about. Taking responsibility is, quite literally, moving the barriers in our lives inside ourselves. Taking responsibility for life means that you are willing to see that the real barriers are not all these external ones, but something that can be found within yourself. Of course there is an outside world that cannot be easily shaped according to your dreams. But a responsible point of view is that although it is difficult, the problem is not impossible; it is your real challenge and task. If there is something you really want, you can achieve it, but whether it happens depends on your wholehearted, goal-oriented, and continuous attempts. This paper describes the philosophy about seizing the meaning of life and becoming well again, even when there is little time left.


2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1164-1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Ventegodt ◽  
Niels Jørgen Andersen ◽  
Joav Merrick

In the Danish Quality of Life Survey, we asked 10,000 people about their quality of life with the validated SEQOL questionnaire with more than 300 questions on their quality of life. How did they feel? How content were they with their lives? How happy were they? Did they feel their needs were fulfilled? And many more questions. We asked the questions we believed to be important for their quality of life (QOL). The results were quite surprising and forced us to recontemplate the following philosophical questions: What is quality of life, happiness, and meaning in life? What is a human being? Do we need a new biology? Is the brain the seat of consciousness? How do we seize the meaning of life and by doing so, will we become well again? What are the key concepts of quality of life? The meaning of life is connectedness and development. It is about realizing every opportunity and potential in one’s existence. The opportunities must be found and acknowledged. What do you find when you find yourself deep down? You find your real self and your purpose in life. You realize that you are already a part of a larger totality. Antonovsky called it “coherence”. Maslow called it “transcendence”. Frankl called it “meaning of life”. We call it simply “being”.To test if these philosophical questions are actually relevant for medicine, we looked at the consequences for patients being taught the quality of life philosophy. Quite surprisingly we learned from our pilot studies with “quality of life as medicine” that just by assimilating the basic concepts of the quality of life philosophy presented in this series of papers, patients felt better and saw their lives as more meaningful. The improvement of the patient’s personal philosophy of life seems to be the essence of holistic medicine, helping the patient to assume more responsibility for his or her own existence.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-78
Author(s):  
Petr Adamec ◽  
Marián Svoboda

This paper deals with the results of sociological survey focused on identification of the attitudes of elderly people to further education. The research was carried out in September 2010. Experience of elderly people with further education, their readiness (determination) for further education as well as their motivation and barriers in further education were also subjects of this research. Detecting elderly population’s awareness of universities of the third age and finding out their further education preferences were an integral part of the research. Research sample consisted of citizens over 55 years living in the South Moravian region. The survey results are structured by socio-demographic features e.g.: age, sex, educational attainment etc. and provide an interesting insight into the attitudes of the target group to one of the activities that contributes to improvement of their quality of life.


Author(s):  
Jurijs Mašošins

A human person’s work plays a very important role in improving the quality of life, and therefore it is essential to ensure an equal treatment in the establishment, performance and termination of employment relationships. The purpose of this article is to look at so-called indirect discrimination problems in employment relationships. This type of discrimination can be found in cases where seemingly neutral circumstances put a group of people together on one of the many grounds of discrimination (most often the gender difference) in a particularly disadvantaged position in comparison to others. If direct discrimination arises as a result of the deliberate action of the employer, it may look indirect - without the employer being aware of it, and thus it can be difficult to prevent it. Cases where such neutral circumstances are objective and legally justified cannot be regarded as indirect discrimination.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-260
Author(s):  
ALFRED M. BONGIOVANNI

To the Editor.— The commentary by Singer1 must not go unchallenged. This member of the American Academy of Pediatrics takes exception to this statement, and he in no way espouses "religious mumbo-jumbo" which Singer applies to his possible opponents. Nor does this writer espouse the application of heroic measures to the preservation of human life under all circumstances. There is such latitude in Singer's discussion that "quality of life" can mean almost anything. I will not belabor the many aspects of Singer's rhetoric but must make two points.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 310-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Banovic ◽  
Lavanya Athithan ◽  
Gerry P McCann

Aortic stenosis and diabetes mellitus are both progressive diseases which, if left untreated, result in significant morbidity and mortality. There is evidence that the prevalence of diabetes is substantially increased in patients with aortic stenosis and those with diabetes have increased rates of progression from mild to severe aortic stenosis. There are good data supporting the hypothesis that aortic stenosis and diabetes mellitus are associated with diabetes mellitus being detrimental towards the quality of life and survival of patients. Thus, a thorough understanding of the pathogenesis of both of these disease processes and the relationship between them aids in designing appropriate preventive and therapeutic approaches. This review aims to give a comprehensive and up-to-date insight into the influence of diabetes mellitus on patients with degenerative aortic stenosis, as well as the prognosis and therapeutic approach to these patients.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 992-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison M. Kerr

More than 20 years of clinical and research experience with affected people in the British Isles has provided insight into particular challenges for therapists, educators, or parents wishing to facilitate learning and to support the development of skills in people with Rett syndrome. This paper considers the challenges in two groups: those due to constraints imposed by the disabilities associated with the disorder and those stemming from the opportunities, often masked by the disorder, allowing the development of skills that depend on less-affected areas of the brain. Because the disorder interferes with the synaptic links between neurones, the functions of the brain that are most dependent on complex neural networks are the most profoundly affected. These functions include speech, memory, learning, generation of ideas, and the planning of fine movements, especially those of the hands. In contrast, spontaneous emotional and hormonal responses appear relatively intact. Whereas failure to appreciate the physical limitations of the disease leads to frustration for therapist and client alike, a clear understanding of the better-preserved areas of competence offers avenues for real progress in learning, the building of satisfying relationships, and achievement of a quality of life.


Author(s):  
N.P. Pavliuk

One of the major problems in modern health care are cerebrovascular disease, which occupy a leading place in the structure of mortality and disability in the population. Among the many clinical features of chronic ischemia of the brain is a key manifestation of cognitive impairment that often determine the severity of condition and quality of life of the patient and his relatives. Diagnosis of cognitive impairment is very important, as the timely appointment of therapy may prevent or at least delay the development of dementia.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Sheila D. Simon

While it seems easy to choose from among the many academic programs available to the person, he has to be very careful in his choice because it may affect the kind of life he will have in the future. The study aimed to determine the career choices, occupational status and quality of life of Agricultural Science graduates. Using descriptive correlational research design, data were obtained from 337 total population graduates of Capiz State University, Pontevedra Campus, Philippines. Questionnaires – checklist were personally delivered, and sent either regular or electronic mail. Frequency count, percentage, ranking and mean were used in the analysis of descriptive data while Chi-square was employed as inferential analysis. Results showed that graduates’ career choices relate to occupational status. Moreover, the standard of living is parallel with their perceived quality of life. The university student services office may develop a scheme in assisting students to decide which career to pursue based on their abilities and inclinations. A study on the employability of graduates can be undertaken to verify further and validate the findings.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 767-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Dobríková ◽  
Dušana Pčolková ◽  
Layla Khalil AlTurabi ◽  
Daniel J. West

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