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The moral relevance of lived experience

As care ethics tries to value the particular bodily experience of patients and caregivers it is by no means very clear how to do so. Recently a book was published by Steven C. van den Heuvel et al., Theological ethics and moral value Phenomena (Routledge, 2018). You are welcome to read a sample: On the basis of an observation of a care scene in the complexity of a general hospital, Frans Vosman proposes to use political phenomenology to address those experiences. He criticizes bioethics for its abstraction of experience. As an alternative, he suggests discovering Gestalt-like figures in care scenes. Continue reading The moral relevance of lived experience

Dancing for peace

In August 2016, the Dutch TV programme Nieuwsuur aired a report by Roozbeh Kaboly (TV journalist and producer for Dutch National Television) about a 26-year-old dancer. While millions of Syrians had fled their war-torn country, Ahmad Joudeh was one of those who had to stay behind because he was, as he explained, too poor to escape the war.
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Girl, The everyday struggle of a transgender

The Belgian film Girl (Lukas Dhont, 2018) shares the intimate life of a fifteen year old girl named Lara. She dances at a renowned ballet academy in Belgium, and she hopes to fulfil her dream of becoming a professional ballerina. The film opens with her admission interview, wherein it is explained that she will be granted a trial period – because Lara isn’t just any girl, she is a transgender girl, born male.

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