Papers by Shehzad Ali
Review of Human Rights, 2020
Employing an ontological approach to the coronavirus pandemic, this essay problematizes the relat... more Employing an ontological approach to the coronavirus pandemic, this essay problematizes the relationship between modernity and the Nature. I suggest that the notion of scientific conquest of the Nature is not only flawed, but also counter-productive to our progress. Moreover, I suggest that this notion is adding to the development of the authoritarian state with mass-surveillance infrastructure.
Key words: coronavirus, ontology, modernity, Nature, state surveillance.
Review of Human Rights, 2017
In April 2018, Alfie Evans, a 23-month-old child, died in the UK. He suffered from a degenerative... more In April 2018, Alfie Evans, a 23-month-old child, died in the UK. He suffered from a degenerative neurological illness. His parents wanted to get further treatment for him outside the country, but the hospital authorities and courts denied permission. This article addresses three dimensions of the case: a) state intervention in individual’s health decision-making, b) potential violation of a human right, and c) the problematic nature of the state policy of socialized medicine. I engage René Girard anthropological theory of violence and mimesis to argue that this case highlights how states enact sacrificial violence upon the terminally ill as a part of maintaining coherent public order.
Keywords: bioethics, human rights, socialized medicine, terminal illness, violence.
Book Reviews by Shehzad Ali
Žižek, Slavoj. Pandemic! COVID-19 Shakes the World, 2020
Slovenian Lacanian-Marxist Philosopher Slavoj Žižek has published his most recent work on the COV... more Slovenian Lacanian-Marxist Philosopher Slavoj Žižek has published his most recent work on the COVID-19 pandemic. It is quite timely, relevant, as well as ambitious. The book covers a wide variety of issues with primary focus on the origin and possible implication of the disease. The author argues that today probably we need more whistle-blowers like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden in order to know what has really happened inside China at the outbreak of the disaster. Therefore, he advocates this idea that if free speech were allowed in China, there would have been no pandemic. And he rightly points out that if the government of China could believe in its own people the situation would have been different. In the third chapter of the book he argues that today's situation is such that even if we recover from this disaster the world will never be the same again. He highlights that three key factors a) contemporary problems of refugees in the Middle East, b) the devilish presence of Putogan (a term he uses for President Erdogan and President Putin) and, c) the existence of this current pandemic has led Europe on the verge of a perfect storm.
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Papers by Shehzad Ali
Key words: coronavirus, ontology, modernity, Nature, state surveillance.
Keywords: bioethics, human rights, socialized medicine, terminal illness, violence.
Book Reviews by Shehzad Ali
Key words: coronavirus, ontology, modernity, Nature, state surveillance.
Keywords: bioethics, human rights, socialized medicine, terminal illness, violence.