Xavier Symons
Biographic Data
| ID | 5127233 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Xavier Symons |
| GIVEN NAMES | Xavier |
| FAMILY NAME | Symons |
| SIGNATURE | SYMONS X |
| AFFILIATIONS | Australian Catholic University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9495-4395 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 16 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
On Old Age
Cicero's treatise On Old Age offers an optimistic account of aging and responds to the prejudiced arguments of those who might otherwise ridicule older members of Roman society. While Cicero's rhetoric is, at times, scientifically naive and moralistic, this article argues that there are important insights that can be gained from carefully theorizing later life as a distinct and valuable stage of human existence-a stage of life that ought not be r…
The virtues of limits and environmental sustainability in healthcare
The spectre of human‐induced climate change has drawn attention to the need to discover new, environmentally sustainable approaches to healthcare. This article draws upon David McPherson's The Virtues of Limits (2021) to develop a virtue ethics for sustainability in healthcare. I explore how a virtuous appreciation of the value of healthcare resources can lead us to exercise stewardship in our use of those resources, whereas a failure to apprecia…
Conscientious objection
Conscientious objection is a critical topic that has been sparsely discussed from a global health perspective, despite its special relevance to our inherently diverse field. In this Analysis paper, we argue that blanket prohibitions of a specific type of non-discriminatory conscientious objection are unjustified in the global health context. We begin both by introducing a nuanced account of conscience that is grounded in moral psychology and by p…
The role of conscience and virtue
Flourishing at the end of life
Flourishing is an increasingly common construct employed in the study of human wellbeing. But its appropriateness as a framework of wellbeing at certain stages of life is contested. In this paper, we consider to what extent it is possible for someone to flourish at the end of life. People with terminal illness often experience significant and protracted pain and suffering especially when they opt for treatments that prolong life. Certain aspects …
Genetic disenhancement and xenotransplantation
One objection to xenotransplantation is that it will require the large-scale breeding, raising and killing of genetically modified pigs. The pigs will need to be raised in designated pathogen-free facilities and undergo a range of medical tests before having their organs removed and being euthanised. As a result, they will have significantly shortened life expectancies, will experience pain and suffering and be subject to a degree of social and e…
Defending genetic disenhancement in xenotransplantation
First among equals? Adaptive preferences and the limits of autonomy in medical ethics
Respect for patient autonomy is a central principle of medical ethics. However, there are important unresolved questions about the characteristics of an autonomous decision, and whether some autonomous preferences should be subject to more scrutiny than others. In this paper, we consider whether inappropriately adaptive preferences —preferences that are based on and that may perpetuate social injustice—should be categorised as autonomous in a way…
On the importance of consistency
Giubilini et al offer some helpful reflections on the conscientious provision of medical care and whether and in what circumstances professional associations ought to support the conscientious provision of abortion in circumstances where abortion is banned or heavily restricted. I have several reservations, however, about the argument developed in the article. First, the essay makes questionable use of the case of Savita Halappanavar to justify i…
Aristotelian Flourishing and Contemporary Philosophical Theories of Wellbeing
Several philosophical theories of wellbeing claim Aristotelian ancestry and employ an Aristotelian construct of flourishing. Yet it is not clear how we should interpret Aristotle’s notion of flourishing or eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία). In this article, we offer an analysis of Aristotle’s notion of eudaimonia and consider to what extent it can be categorized within the framework of contemporary philosophical theories of wellbeing. We stress the active …
Abortion, euthanasia, and the limits of principlism
Why Conscience Matters
Conscience is an idea that has significant currency in liberal democratic societies. Yet contemporary moral philosophical scholarship on conscience is surprisingly sparse. This paper seeks to offer a rigorous philosophical account of the role of conscience in moral life with a view to informing debates about the ethics of conscientious objection in medicine. I argue that conscience is concerned with a commitment to moral integrity and that restri…
Persuasion, not coercion or incentivisation, is the best means of promoting Covid-19 vaccination
Savulescu (forthcoming) argues that it may be ethically acceptable for governments to require citizens be vaccinated against COVID-19. He also recommends that governments consider providing monetary or in-kind incentives to citizens to increase vaccination rates. In this response, we argue against mandatory vaccination and vaccine incentivisation, and instead suggest that targeted public health messaging and a greater responsiveness to the concer…
Reflective disequilibrium
One prominent view in recent literature on resource allocation is Persad, Emanuel and Wertheimer’s complete lives framework for the rationing of lifesaving healthcare interventions (CLF). CLF states that we should prioritise the needs of individuals who have had less opportunity to experience the events that characterise a complete life. Persad et al argue that their system is the product of a successful process of reflective equilibrium—a philos…
Respect for persons and the allocation of lifesaving healthcare resources
Many ethicists argue that we should respect persons when we distribute resources. Yet it is unclear what this means in practice. For some, the idea of respect for persons is synonymous with the idea of respect for autonomy. Yet a principle of respect for autonomy provides limited guidance for how we should distribute scarce medical interventions. In this article, however, I sketch an alternative conception of respect for persons—one that is based…
Extending Awareness of Catholic Healthcare Ethics Among Junior Clinicians
Aristotelian Flourishing and Contemporary Philosophical Theories of Wellbeing
Several philosophical theories of wellbeing claim Aristotelian ancestry and employ an Aristotelian construct of flourishing. Yet it is not clear how we should interpret Aristotle’s notion of flourishing or eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία). In this article, we offer an analysis of Aristotle’s notion of eudaimonia and consider to what extent it can be categorized within the framework of contemporary philosophical theories of wellbeing. We stress the active …
Why Conscience Matters
Conscience is an idea that has significant currency in liberal democratic societies. Yet contemporary moral philosophical scholarship on conscience is surprisingly sparse. This paper seeks to offer a rigorous philosophical account of the role of conscience in moral life with a view to informing debates about the ethics of conscientious objection in medicine. I argue that conscience is concerned with a commitment to moral integrity and that restri…
Extending Awareness of Catholic Healthcare Ethics Among Junior Clinicians
Persuasion, not coercion or incentivisation, is the best means of promoting Covid-19 vaccination
Savulescu (forthcoming) argues that it may be ethically acceptable for governments to require citizens be vaccinated against COVID-19. He also recommends that governments consider providing monetary or in-kind incentives to citizens to increase vaccination rates. In this response, we argue against mandatory vaccination and vaccine incentivisation, and instead suggest that targeted public health messaging and a greater responsiveness to the concer…
Reflective disequilibrium
One prominent view in recent literature on resource allocation is Persad, Emanuel and Wertheimer’s complete lives framework for the rationing of lifesaving healthcare interventions (CLF). CLF states that we should prioritise the needs of individuals who have had less opportunity to experience the events that characterise a complete life. Persad et al argue that their system is the product of a successful process of reflective equilibrium—a philos…
Respect for persons and the allocation of lifesaving healthcare resources
Many ethicists argue that we should respect persons when we distribute resources. Yet it is unclear what this means in practice. For some, the idea of respect for persons is synonymous with the idea of respect for autonomy. Yet a principle of respect for autonomy provides limited guidance for how we should distribute scarce medical interventions. In this article, however, I sketch an alternative conception of respect for persons—one that is based…
Why Conscience Matters
Conscience is an idea that has significant currency in liberal democratic societies. Yet contemporary moral philosophical scholarship on conscience is surprisingly sparse. This paper seeks to offer a rigorous philosophical account of the role of conscience in moral life with a view to informing debates about the ethics of conscientious objection in medicine. I argue that conscience is concerned with a commitment to moral integrity and that restri…
Abortion, euthanasia, and the limits of principlism
Conscientious objection
Conscientious objection is a critical topic that has been sparsely discussed from a global health perspective, despite its special relevance to our inherently diverse field. In this Analysis paper, we argue that blanket prohibitions of a specific type of non-discriminatory conscientious objection are unjustified in the global health context. We begin both by introducing a nuanced account of conscience that is grounded in moral psychology and by p…
The role of conscience and virtue
Flourishing at the end of life
Flourishing is an increasingly common construct employed in the study of human wellbeing. But its appropriateness as a framework of wellbeing at certain stages of life is contested. In this paper, we consider to what extent it is possible for someone to flourish at the end of life. People with terminal illness often experience significant and protracted pain and suffering especially when they opt for treatments that prolong life. Certain aspects …
Genetic disenhancement and xenotransplantation
One objection to xenotransplantation is that it will require the large-scale breeding, raising and killing of genetically modified pigs. The pigs will need to be raised in designated pathogen-free facilities and undergo a range of medical tests before having their organs removed and being euthanised. As a result, they will have significantly shortened life expectancies, will experience pain and suffering and be subject to a degree of social and e…
Defending genetic disenhancement in xenotransplantation
First among equals? Adaptive preferences and the limits of autonomy in medical ethics
Respect for patient autonomy is a central principle of medical ethics. However, there are important unresolved questions about the characteristics of an autonomous decision, and whether some autonomous preferences should be subject to more scrutiny than others. In this paper, we consider whether inappropriately adaptive preferences —preferences that are based on and that may perpetuate social injustice—should be categorised as autonomous in a way…
On the importance of consistency
Giubilini et al offer some helpful reflections on the conscientious provision of medical care and whether and in what circumstances professional associations ought to support the conscientious provision of abortion in circumstances where abortion is banned or heavily restricted. I have several reservations, however, about the argument developed in the article. First, the essay makes questionable use of the case of Savita Halappanavar to justify i…
Aristotelian Flourishing and Contemporary Philosophical Theories of Wellbeing
Several philosophical theories of wellbeing claim Aristotelian ancestry and employ an Aristotelian construct of flourishing. Yet it is not clear how we should interpret Aristotle’s notion of flourishing or eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία). In this article, we offer an analysis of Aristotle’s notion of eudaimonia and consider to what extent it can be categorized within the framework of contemporary philosophical theories of wellbeing. We stress the active …
The virtues of limits and environmental sustainability in healthcare
The spectre of human‐induced climate change has drawn attention to the need to discover new, environmentally sustainable approaches to healthcare. This article draws upon David McPherson's The Virtues of Limits (2021) to develop a virtue ethics for sustainability in healthcare. I explore how a virtuous appreciation of the value of healthcare resources can lead us to exercise stewardship in our use of those resources, whereas a failure to apprecia…
On Old Age
Cicero's treatise On Old Age offers an optimistic account of aging and responds to the prejudiced arguments of those who might otherwise ridicule older members of Roman society. While Cicero's rhetoric is, at times, scientifically naive and moralistic, this article argues that there are important insights that can be gained from carefully theorizing later life as a distinct and valuable stage of human existence-a stage of life that ought not be r…
Political science (12 works) · Law (10 works) · Medicine (9 works) · Epistemology (8 works) · Ethics in medical practice (8 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Environmental ethics (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Bioethics (6 works)