Editorial Open Access

Choice Meaning and Context: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Saadettin Sel1, Joachim Storsberg2, Mark A. Brown3 and Christian Schmidt4
  • 1 University of Heidelberg, Germany
  • 2 Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP), Germany
  • 3 Colorado State University, United States
  • 4 Editorial Office, Am. J. Immunol., Australia

Editorial

The human intellect is a powerful instrument to be applied to problems.  Expressed differently, sharpening one’s acumen by regular exposure to conundra can be likened to exercising a muscle or refining a tool such as creating brushes to suit certain tasks.  Such applications hinge on a reasonable understanding of a given problem and the presentation of opposing viewpoints of the problem at hand, analogous to the presentation of counter-arguments in the judicial system or finding the synthesis from thesis and antithesis as in the Hegelian Dialectics.
Of note is that these modi of approaching a given problem have stood the test of time and proved to be practical solutions in the wider sense of the term.  One can, perhaps, argue that such proven practices could be described as ’natural flowerings of behavior in its customary forms’ (Scalia, 1989; 292 U.S. 98).  Concordantly, scholarly writing, including discussing legal aspects of problems, benefit from a balanced view.  We shall incorporate the points made elsewhere, including the references provided in Brown et al. (2016), as if they were stated here, to avoid repetition.
While we will not venture into the lingering enigma of why there is no enforceable right to Health Care in the United States (Sandhu, 2007), a significant body of literature seems to be in support of the notion that, after fundamental requirements, such as housing and a steady supply of consumables are addressed, further growth of the economy can be linked to ’a more perfect Union’ (Baltzell, 2013; Diener and Seligman, 2004). This notion is further supported by the recent enactment of the 21st Century Cures Act underscores the apparent contradiction of views in legislation (Avorn and Kesselheim, 2015).
If indeed so, terms to describe the Constitution of the United States as ’adaptable to measures’ (Ross, 2017) seem to be in stark contrast to the unchanged words of the Preamble of The Constitution, where ’in Order to form a more perfect Union’ (Baltzell, 2013), the citizenry ’granting these powers for the public good’ (17 U.S. 316).
It may perhaps be more opportune to call into question the meaning of terms at one time, such as the phrase ’more perfect Union’.  Considering the above-described ’natural flowerings of behavior in its customary forms’ (Scalia, 1989; 292 U.S. 98), or, expressed alternatively by the term common sense, leaves little room to doubt that the Founding Fathers of The Constitution to the United States wished to leave a better world ’to [...] our Posterior’ (Baltzell, 2013).  In an unbroken line of reasoning to this day, no Supreme Court disagreed with the notion that ’No legislature can bargain away the public health or the public morals’ (101 U.S. 814).
Author’s Contributions
Mark A. Brown: Provided critical input and assisted in revising and improving the paper.
Saadettin Sel and Joachim Storsberg: Provided critical input and assisted in revising and improving the paper.
Christian Schmidt: Wrote the first draft of the paper, provided critical input and assisted in revising and improving the paper.
Ethics
Mark A. Brown, Joachim Storsberg, Saadettin Sel and Christian Schmidt:  Report no conflicts of interest.
Mark A. Brown and Christian Schmidt: Are members of the Editorial Board of The American Journal of Immunology and are waived from the Article Processing fee for this contribution; both receive no remuneration, either individually or collectively, for their editorial work.
References
Avorn, J. and A.S. Kesselheim, 2015. The 21st century cures act-will it take us back in time? New England J. Med., 372: 2473-2475. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1506964
Baltzell, G. W. 2013. Constitution for the United States-we the people.
Brown, M.A., J. Storsberg and C. Schmidt, 2016. Where the future is being made today. Am. J. Immunol., 12: 17-19. DOI: 10.3844/ajisp.2016.17.19
Diener, E. and M.E. Seligman, 2004. Beyond money: Toward an economy of well-being. Psychol. Sci. Public Interest, 5: 1-33.
McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819)
Pokora v. Wabash Railway Co. 292 U.S. 98 (1934).
Ross, W.G., 2017. The enduring constitutional legacy of the first world war.
Scalia, A., 1989. The rule of law as a law of rules. Univ. Chicago Law Rev., 56: 1175-1188.
Sandhu, P.K., 2007. A legal right to health care: What can the United States learn from foreign models of health rights jurisprudence? California Law Rev., 95: 1151-1192. DOI: 10.15779/Z380M7R
Stone v. Mississippi 101 U.S. 814 (1879)

American Journal of Immunology
Volume 13 No. 2, 2017, 89-90

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajisp.2017.89.90

Submitted On: 4 May 2017 Published On: 24 May 2017

How to Cite: Sel, S., Storsberg, J., Brown, M. A. & Schmidt, C. (2017). Choice Meaning and Context: Two Sides of the Same Coin?. American Journal of Immunology, 13(2), 89-90. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajisp.2017.89.90

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Keywords

  • Policy
  • Immunology