Resumen. Este artículo profundiza en la categoría filosófica de “archivo”[1], proponiéndola como un vector relevante en el análisis filosófico y político contemporáneo. Esto, fundamentalmente, a partir del trabajo de Jacques Derrida y al tratamiento que adquiere esta cuestión en el psicoanálisis, asumiendo que es desde las lecturas de Freud que Derrida le atribuye al archivo injerencia en el ámbito filosófico y político.[1] Ponemos comillas por única vez para establecer una diferencia respecto del significado que viene del uso del vocablo archivo (...) en el lenguaje ordinario. En adelante se asume un significado técnico que se explicará en el cuerpo del artículo. (shrink)

El presente artículo busca tensionar la idea de representación, fundamentalmente a partir de la obra del filósofo francés Jean-Luc Nancy y del argelino-francés Jacques Derrida. En esta línea, se verá cómo en Nancy la representación no será un tema de presencia, sino más bien de «invisibilidad», del acontecimiento invisible que, no obstante, abre a un espacio metafísico expansivo en el que habitaría el misterio de la representación misma. Una segunda parte del trabajo persigue indagar en la noción de lo monstruoso (...) derridiano, entendido como lo que no se puede figurar ni representar. Lo monstruoso, en este sentido y aunque infigurable, sería precisamente el otro al que se le niega la acogida. (shrink)

El siguiente trabajo se organiza en torno a una cuestión fundamental: la manera en que podría articularse una reflexión sobre lo ético y lo político si consideramos la violencia como vector central de lo ético-político mismo. En otras palabras, doy cuenta de cómo la violencia se estabiliza como el fenómeno principal al interior de la vida social produciendo la instalación de un cierto ethos en las sociedades contemporáneas. Llevo a cabo esta búsqueda a partir de los trabajos de la filósofa (...) judíoestadounidense Judith Butler y del rescate de los aspectos éticopolíticos que se desprenden de su obra. (shrink)

El siguiente trabajo profundiza el acontecimiento del duelo en la filosofía de Jacques Derrida. En esta perspectiva, se comienza por el libro Glas de 1974, donde se anunciaría el duelo por la muerte del sentido. Posteriormente, se profundizará en los fantasmas derridianos y la responsabilidad con los desaparecidos. En tercer lugar, emerge la figura del don, que abre al duelo hacia la espera infinita. Finalmente, y desde la lectura derridiana de los psicoanalistas Abraham y Török, se trabajará la figura de (...) la “cripta” como falso inconsciente. Se concluye con una reflexión sobre Chile y los desaparecidos por la dictadura de Pinochet. This article focus on the event of mourning in the philosophy of Jacques Derrida. It begins, accordingly, with the 1974 book Glas, where Derrida announces his mourning for the death of meaning. The article then focus on the Derridean ghosts and the responsibility towards the missing. Thirdly, the figure of gift emerges, one that opens mourning towards the infinite hold. Endly, from the Derridean lecture of phsychoanalysts Abraham and Török, the figure of “crypt” will be presented as a false inconscious. It concludes with a reflection on Chile and the missing people by Pinochet’s dictatorship. (shrink)

Marc Crépon es director de investigación en el Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique y director del Departamento de Filosofía de l’École normale supérieure de París. Entre sus publicaciones se encuentran: La culture de la peur, I. Démocratie, identité, sécurité ; La culture de la peur, II. La guerre des civilisations ; Le consentement meurtrier ; La vocation de l’écriture ; La gauche c’est quand?.

El artículo plantea una reflexión acerca del alcance y el impacto de las políticas de desarrollo rural en la juventud andaluza, a través de los resultados que arroja la línea de investigación en ese ámbito que los autores han desarrollado en los últimos años. Esta ilustra sobre el contexto, las expectativas y las representaciones de la juventud —a menudo negativas—, desde los tiempos posteriores a la gran recesión iniciada en el 2008 hasta la actualidad. Asimismo, se recoge la perspectiva de (...) los gestores de tales políticas y se muestran los resultados de dos experiencias dirigidas a aumentar la participación de la juventud y su integración con las estructuras del desarrollo rural. Todo ello evidencia el limitado impacto que percibe la juventud, así como las dificultades y las inconsistencias a las que se enfrentan las políticas de desarrollo rural para revertir tal situación, pese al potencial que encierran y a sus logros en otros momentos y ámbitos. (shrink)

El baile de las Águilas y San Juan Pelós es una manifestación clave del acervo cultural mallorquín que ha sobrevivido hasta el presente a pesar de las censuras eclesiásticas y prohibiciones por parte del poder civil. Los habitantes de Pollensa participan en este acto comunitario, de raíz religiosa, como parte de la solemnidad del Corpus Christi. Esta investigación ahonda en su evolución histórica para contribuir a la explicación de su vigencia, relación con las instituciones, función social y significado desde el (...) punto de vista antropológico. Desde un origen didáctico, este complejo teatral bascula hacia un rito de solidaridad útil para mantener la cohesión y reproducción del grupo. Como consecuencia de las sucesivas disputas por el control del pensamiento y la conducta, así como de los cambios en la estructura económica y política del pueblo, el contenido material de la ceremonia atravesará distintas fases de transformación, desembocando en su función vigente como seña de identidad local a través de la reproducción de una tradición ancestral. (shrink)

"Le philosophe chilien Javier Agüero Águila a consacré ses recherches à la psychanalyse, à la philosophie française contemporaine - avec une attention toute particulière à la pensée de Jacques Derrida -, à la « philosophie politique » : la violence, la démocratie et les droits de l'homme, l'hospitalité, la communauté et l'extranéité, la marginalité mais encore l'héritage, la mémoire, l'oubli, le pardon, etc. C'est autour du pardon que ce livre s'organise, engageant un débat sur le processus chilien (...) de transition et de démocratisation mis en oeuvre après la dictature militaire de Pinochet" (4ème de couv.). (shrink)

While punishment is a longstanding object of philosophical scrutiny, other controversial aspects of the justice system, such as policing, have flown under the radar. In this paper, we consider possible reasons why philosophers interested in crime and punishment have neglected policing. We make the case for a broader account of the political morality of the justice system, with a particular emphasis on policing. We sketch the outlines of an egalitarian version of such a theory, highlighting parallels between policing and the (...) welfare state. Finally, we turn to recent calls for police abolition. Evaluating such radical claims requires, we argue, going beyond the traditional confines of the philosophy of punishment and considering a more holistic and interdisciplinary theory of criminal justice. (shrink)

En esta entrevista se formularon preguntas al magíster Iván Martínez, docente universitario destacado por sus conocimientos especializados en infraestructuras de redes y por sus múltiples participaciones en eventos académicos. Los interrogantes que se le plantearon se basaron en sus recientes enfoques de estudio, como el empleo de la herramienta informática de Microsoft Azure. En la conversación se llega a comprender cuál es su utilidad y cómo esta puede servir al usuario en distintos ámbitos, como el laboral. Por otro lado, el (...) ingeniero de Sistemas concluye con el modo en que sus saberes son transferidos a sus alumnos con mucha prerrogativa. (shrink)

Este estudio es una aproximación al tema del trabajo desde el pensamiento sociológico de Zygmunt Bauman. Uno de los textos más conocidos de Bauman al respecto es Trabajo, consumismo y nuevos pobres; sin embargo, este es un tema que el sociólogo trata en otras obras. Aquí se pretende dar una visión en la que se tienen en cuenta la globalidad de sus escritos. Además, se dan unas claves que permiten comprender el enfoque que Bauman tiene del trabajo: se hace una (...) breve explicación de su perspectiva sociológica y de la importancia de la modernidad en su pensamiento. Por último, se expone cómo el trabajo cambia de sentido e importancia en la modernidad sólida y en la líquida. (shrink)

Bourrat and Griffiths :33, 2018) have recently argued that most of the evidence presented by holobiont defenders to support the thesis that holobionts are evolutionary individuals is not to the point and is not even adequate to discriminate multispecies evolutionary individuals from other multispecies assemblages that would not be considered evolutionary individuals by most holobiont defenders. They further argue that an adequate criterion to distinguish the two categories is fitness alignment, presenting the notion of fitness boundedness as a criterion that (...) allows divorcing true multispecies evolutionary individuals from other multispecies assemblages and provides an adequate criterion to single out genuine evolutionary multispecies assemblages. A consequence of their criterion is that holobionts, as conventionally defined by hologenome defenders, are not evolutionary individuals except in very rare cases, and for very specific host-symbiont associations. This paper is a critical response to Bourrat and Griffiths’ arguments and a defence of the arguments presented by holobiont defenders. Drawing upon the case of the hologenomic basis of the evolution of sanguivory in vampire bats, I argue that Bourrat and Griffiths overlook some aspects of the biological nature of the microbiome that justifies the thesis that holobionts are evolutionarily different to other multispecies assemblages. I argue that the hologenome theory of evolution should not define the hologenome as a collection of genomes, but as the sum of the host genome plus some traits of the microbiome which together constitute an evolutionary individual, a conception I refer to as the stability of traits conception of the hologenome. Based on that conception I argue that the evidence presented by holobiont defenders is to the point, and supports the thesis that holobionts are evolutionary individuals. In this sense, the paper offers an account of the holobiont that aims to foster a dialogue between hologenome advocates and hologenome critics. (shrink)

The paper defends an interactive theory of the distinctiveness of criminal law. It argues that criminal law’s distinctive behavior can be connected to the interaction between five traits: it is an institutional practice administered by a large and special bureaucracy, playing a substantial role in authorizing the use of coercive police force, leading to a harsh sanctioning regime linked, at least in part, with core wrongs and notions of personal responsibility. Although none of these features is exclusive to criminal law, (...) their interaction leads to modes of behavior that set it apart from other institutions. The paper argues that putting attention on the effects of this interaction provides us with powerful tools to both understand and asses the value and problems of criminal law. (shrink)

Ortega trasladó sus ideas pedagógicas a su quehacer como profesor universitario. Muchos de sus discípulos y colaboradores han dejado constancia de ello, como aquí se refiere. Fue para ellos, sobre todo ejemplo, ejemplo de vida, de orientación vital, de sinceridad intelectual en su quehacer filosófico. En este artículo no analizamos la filosofía de Ortega, lo que hemos hecho en otros textos, sino el impacto que causó la «persona» Ortega en sus colaboradores y discípulos. Aunque es algo estudiando, nunca se ha (...) presentado de esta forma sintética que muestra la envergadura del impacto que Ortega produjo en el mundo intelectual de la Edad de Plata de la cultura española. (shrink)

Contemporary biological research has suggested that some host–microbiome multispecies systems (referred to as “holobionts”) can in certain circumstances evolve as unique biological individual, thus being a unit of selection in evolution. If this is so, then it is arguably the case that some biological adaptations have evolved at the level of the multispecies system, what we call hologenomic adaptations. However, no research has yet been devoted to investigating their nature, or how these adaptations can be distinguished from adaptations at the (...) species-level (genomic adaptations). In this paper, we cover this gap by investigating the nature of hologenomic adaptations. By drawing on the case of the evolution of sanguivory diet in vampire bats, we argue that a trait constitutes a hologenomic adaptation when its evolution can only be explained if the holobiont is considered the biological individual that manifests this adaptation, while the bacterial taxa that bear the trait are only opportunistic beneficiaries of it. We then use the philosophical notions of emergence and inter-identity to explain the nature of this form of individuality and argue why it is special of holobionts. Overall, our paper illustrates how the use of philosophical concepts can illuminate scientific discussions, in the trend of what has recently been called metaphysics of biology. (shrink)

Symbiosis plays a fundamental role in contemporary biology, as well as in recent thinking in philosophy of biology. The discovery of the importance and universality of symbiotic associations has brought new light to old debates in the field, including issues about the concept of biological individuality. An important aspect of these debates has been the formulation of the hologenome concept of evolution, the notion that holobionts are units of natural selection in evolution. This review examines the philosophical assumptions that underlie (...) recent proposal of the hologenome concept of evolution, and traces those debates back in time to their historical origins, to the moment when the connection between the topics of symbiosis and biological individuality first caught the attention of biologists. The review is divided in two parts. The first part explores the historical origins of the connection between the notion of symbiosis and the concept of biological individuality, and emphasizes the role of A. de Bary, R. Pound, A. Schneider and C. Merezhkowsky in framing the debate. The second part examines the hologenome concept of evolution and explores four parallelisms between contemporary debates and the debates presented in the first part of the essay, arguing that the different debates raised by the hologenome concept were already present in the literature. I suggest that the novelty of the hologenome concept of evolution lies in the wider appreciation of the importance of symbiosis for maintaining life on Earth as we know it. Finally, I conclude by suggesting the importance of exploring the connections among contemporary biology, philosophy of biology and history of biology in order to gain a better understanding of contemporary biology. (shrink)

Holobionts are symbiotic assemblages composed by a host plus its microbiome. The status of holobionts as individuals has recently been a subject of continuous controversy, which has given rise to two main positions: on the one hand, holobiont advocates argue that holobionts are biological individuals; on the other, holobiont detractors argue that they are just mere chimeras or ecological communities, but not individuals. Both parties in the dispute develop their arguments from the framework of the philosophy of biology, in terms (...) of what it takes for a “conglomerate” to be considered an interesting individual from a biological point of view. However, the debates about holobiont individuality have important ontological implications that have remained vaguely explored from a metaphysical framework. The purpose of this paper is to cover that gap by presenting a metaphysical approach to holobionts individuality. Drawing upon a conception of natural selection that puts the focus on the transgenerational recurrence of the traits and that supports the thesis that holobionts are units of selection, we argue that holobionts bear emergent traits and exert downward powers over the entities that compose them. In this vein, we argue, a reasonable argument can be made for conceiving holobionts as emergent biological individuals. (shrink)

Given one conception of biological individuality (evolutionary, physiological, etc.), can a holobiont – that is the host + its symbiotic (mutualistic, commensalist and parasitic) microbiome – be simultaneously a biological individual and an ecological community? Herein, we support this possibility by arguing that the notion of biological individuality is part‐dependent. In our account, the individuality of a biological ensemble should not only be determined by the conception of biological individuality in use, but also by the biological characteristics of the part (...) of the ensemble under investigation. In the specific case of holobionts, evaluations of their individuality should be made either host‐relative or microbe‐relative. We support the claim that biological individuality is part‐dependent by drawing upon recent empirical evidence regarding the physiology of hosts and microbes, and the recent characterization of the ‘demibiont’. Our account shows that contemporary disagreements about the individuality of the holobiont derive from an incorrect understanding of the ontology of biological individuality. We show that collaboration between philosophers and biologists can be very fruitful in attempts to solve some contemporary biological debates. (shrink)

El propósito de este artículo es desarrollar una relectura al mecanicismo moderno. Esto implica que una adecuada comprensión de este consiste, ante todo, en considerarlo como un proyecto antes que un sistema doctrinal consolidado. Para ello se toma como eje la filosofía de Leibniz, la cual, a diferencia del cartesianismo, identifica las inconsistencias que implica concebir el mecanicismo como un sistema filosófico completo, principalmente al pretender justificar mecánicamente el mundo natural, esto es, a partir de la figura, el tamaño y (...) el movimiento. Todo lo anterior no implica un rechazo completo del mecanicismo por parte de Leibniz, sino que permite concebirlo como un medio para desarrollar su filosofía, proponiendo una complementariedad entre la causa final y la causa eficiente. de este modo, el mecanicismo es reubicado como un problema metodológico para la ciencia natural antes que como un problema metafísico. This article aims to develop a second reading to the modern mechanicism. This implies that an appropriate understanding of mechanicism consists, above all, in considering it as a project, instead of a consolidated doctrinal system. To do so, we take Leibniz's philosophy as our building blocks, since unlike the Cartesianism, it does identify the inconsistencies implied when we conceive mechanicism as a complete philosophical system, mainly under the pretension to justify the natural world mechanically, that is, based on the figure, size and movement. It does not imply that Leibniz rejects entirely mechanicism, but allows us to understand it as a mean to develop his philosophy, proposing a complementary relationship between final cause and efficient cause. This way, mechanicism is re-posed as a methodological issue for the natural science instead of a metaphysical issue. (shrink)

Philippe Huneman has recently questioned the widespread application of mechanistic models of scientific explanation based on the existence of structural explanations, i.e. explanations that account for the phenomenon to be explained in virtue of the mathematical properties of the system where the phenomenon obtains, rather than in terms of the mechanisms that causally produce the phenomenon. Structural explanations are very diverse, including cases like explanations in terms of bowtie structures, in terms of the topological properties of the system, or in (...) terms of equilibrium. The role of mathematics in bowtie structured systems and in topologically constrained systems has recently been examined in different papers. However, the specific role that mathematical properties play in equilibrium explanations requires further examination, as different authors defend different interpretations, some of them closer to the new-mechanistic approach than to the structural model advocated by Huneman. In this paper, we cover this gap by investigating the explanatory role that mathematics play in Blaser and Kirschner’s nested equilibrium model of the stability of persistent long-term human-microbe associations. We argue that their model is explanatory because: i) it provides a mathematical structure in the form of a set of differential equations that together satisfy an ESS; ii) that the nested nature of the ESSs makes the explanation of host-microbe persistent associations robust to any perturbation; iii) that this is so because the properties of the ESS directly mirror the properties of the biological system in a non-causal way. The combination of these three theses make equilibrium explanations look more similar to structural explanations than to causal-mechanistic explanation. (shrink)

Despite the increase in the research field of ethics in artificial intelligence, most efforts have focused on the debate about principles and guidelines for responsible AI, but not enough attention has been given to the “how” of applied ethics. This paper aims to advance the research exploring the gap between practice and principles in AI ethics by identifying how companies are applying those guidelines and principles in practice. Through a qualitative methodology based on 22 semi-structured interviews and two focus groups, (...) the goal of the current study is to understand how companies approach ethical issues related to AI systems. A structured analysis of the transcripts brought out many actual practices and findings, which are presented around the following main research topics: ethics and principles, privacy, explainability, and fairness. The interviewees also raised issues of accountability and governance. Finally, some recommendations are suggested such as developing specific sector regulations, fostering a data-driven organisational culture, considering the algorithm’s complete life cycle, developing and using a specific code of ethics, and providing specific training on ethical issues. Despite some obvious limitations, such as the type and number of companies interviewed, this work identifies real examples and direct priorities to advance the research exploring the gap between practice and principles in AI ethics, with a specific focus on Spanish companies. (shrink)

This paper aims to offer a new argument in defence bacterial species pluralism. To do so, I shall first present the particular issues derived from the conflict between the non-theoretical understanding of species as units of classification and the theoretical comprehension of them as units of evolution. Secondly, I shall justify the necessity of the concept of species for the bacterial world, and show how medicine and endosymbiotic evolutionary theory make use of different concepts of bacterial species due to their (...) distinctive purposes. Finally, I shall show how my argument provides a new source of defence for bacterial pluralism. (shrink)

La muerte de Hegel es tomada frecuentemente por los intérpretes como el acontecimiento que marca el final de la metafísica. Lo que generalmente se asume con ello no es sólo una determinada periodización de la historia de la filosofía, sino también una muy determinada interpretación de su “final” como agotamiento de algo que ha llegado al final de sus fuerzas y se desvanece como algo caduco y obsoleto. Pero si esto es así, ¿cómo explicar entonces los constantes repuntes del hegelianismo (...) a lo largo del s. XX? ¿Son las últimas apariciones de una sombra del pasado que se deja ver por última vez antes de desvanecerse por completo? ¿O son más bien las manifestaciones de un espíritu vivo que se niega a ser enterrado como un “perro muerto”? ¿Es verdaderamente la muerte de Hegel como la del perro, o más bien como la de espíritu que mira a la muerte a los ojos y emerge renovado de ella? ¿Son las diversas reacciones contra Hegel que se suceden a lo largo del pensamiento postmetafísico la clara expresión histórica de una nueva conciencia filosófica que ha conseguido romper el lazo con la metafísica, o son más bien el síntoma de una nueva enajenación del espíritu destinada a escribir un nuevo capítulo de la Historia universal? El objetivo de este artículo es evidenciar el hegelianismo como el momento decisivo y final del despliegue del espíritu en el camino hacia la autoconciencia universal. (shrink)

This paper sets forth Marx’s critique of equality as an essential dimension of modern citizenship. For this purpose, the paper traces a link between the early Marxian critique to the citizen “celestial sphere” with the ways in which production and circulation processes are articulated to set up modern societies, according to the commercial logic and the logic of capital. According to our thesis, Marx’s political economy provides someelements to better understand, and in a more comprehensive way, his early criticism, particularly (...) about the relationship between the public and the private, and about the place of the citizen equality in the capitalist society. (shrink)

Este artículo intenta establecer ciertas convergencias críticas entre la filosofía de la praxis de Karl marx, expuesta en sus clásicos Manuscritos de París de 1844, y la reflexión contemporánea de hans Jonas, propuesta en El principio de la responsabilidad, a propósito de la circunstancia humana que se desprende de los desarrollos de la industria moderna, tanto en lo que concierne a la depredación de la naturaleza, como en lo tocante al extravío humano que ello supone. en particular, espero mostrar que (...) el tercero de estos manuscritos marxianos contiene lo que vengo a llamar una “ontología relacional”, desde la cual se iluminan las reivindicaciones éticas contemporáneas de la responsabilidad, así como se pueden encontrar elementos para sostener sus orientaciones antropológicas y aspiraciones epistémicas. el holismo jonasiano y su consecuente crítica del antropocentrismo, y su perspectiva de futuro –o la exigencia de hacer del bien y la justicia algo más que un compromiso con el presente– pueden encontrar en el diálogo con la filosofía de la praxis una ocasión para evaluar su urgencia por los principios últimos de fundamentación a favor, más bien, de una conciencia comprometida con rastrear los términos efectivos en que se confirma la objetualidad de lo humano y la humanidad de la naturaleza. (shrink)

A general view in philosophy of science says that the appropriateness of an object to act as a surrogate depends on the user’s decision to utilize it as such. This paper challenges this claim by examining the role of surrogative reasoning in high-throughput sequencing technologies as they are used in contemporary microbiome science. Drawing on this, we argue that, in technology-driven surrogates, knowledge about the type of inference practically permitted and epistemically justified by the surrogate constrains their use and thus (...) puts a limit to the user’s intentions to use any object as a surrogate for what they please. Ignoring this leads to a serious epistemic misalignment, which ultimately prevents surrogative reasoning. Thus, we conclude that knowledge about the type of surrogate reasoning that the technologies being used allow is fundamental to avoid misinterpreting the consequences of the data obtained with them, the hypothesis this data supports, and what these technologies are surrogates of. (shrink)

The hologenome concept of evolution is a hypothesis about the evolution of animals and plants. It asserts that the evolution of animals and plants was partially triggered by their interactions with their symbiotic microbiomes. In that vein, the hologenome concept posits that the holobiont (animal host + symbionts of the microbiome) is a unit of selection. -/- The hologenome concept has been severely criticized on the basis that selection on holobionts would only be possible if there were a tight transgenerational (...) host-genotype-to-symbiont-genotype connection. As our current evidence suggests that this is not the case for most of the symbiont species that compose the microbiome of animals and plants, the opportunity for holobiont selection is very low in relation to the opportunity for selection on each of the species that compose the host microbiome. Therefore, holobiont selection will always be disrupted ‘from below’, by selection on each of the species that compose the microbiome. -/- This thesis constitutes a conceptual effort to defend philosophically the hologenome concept. I argue that the criticism according to which holobiont selection requires tight transgenerational host-genotype-to-symbiont-genotype connection is grounded on a metaphysical view of the world according to which the biological hierarchy needs to be nested, such that each new level of selection includes every entity from below. Applied to hologenomes, it entails that the hologenome is a collection of genomes, and selection of hologenomes is assumed to entail cospeciation of the host with the species that constitute its microbiome. -/- Against that interpretation, I propose the ‘stability of traits’ account, according to which hologenome evolution is the result of the action of natural selection in a non-nested hierarchical world. In that vein, hologenome evolution does not entail cospeciation, and thus it does not require tight transgenerational host-genotype-to-symbiont-genotype connection. By embracing a multilevel selection perspective, I argue that hologenome evolution results from the simultaneous action of natural selection on each of the lineages that compose the microbiome, and on the assemblage composed by the host genome plus the functional traits of its microbiome. Hologenome selection occurs when the evolution of the traits of the microbiome result from their effects on the fitness of the host, and it can take the form of multilevel selection 1, or multilevel selection 2. In both cases, hologenome selection entails the evolution of microbiome traits, as well as evolution of the host genome, rather than cospeciation of lineages. (shrink)

Are properties universal or particular? According to Universalism, properties are universals because there is a certain fundamental tie that makes properties capable of being shareable by more than one thing. On the opposing side, Particularism is the view that properties are particulars due to the existence of a fundamental tie that makes properties incapable of being shared. My aim in this paper is to critically examine the connections between the notions of the fundamental tie and universality and particularity. I argue, (...) first, that universality and particularity can characterize a property if and only if there is a universalist or a particularist fundamental tie, and, second, that it is unclear that these should be the fundamental ties that connect ordinary and scientific properties to their respective bearers. Then I develop an alternative approach to properties and the fundamental tie, which is neutralist because it dispenses with universality and particularity as features of properties, and naturalist because it naturalizes the possession of properties by replacing metaphysical fundamental ties with a scientific one, in particular, a physical process. I show how this approach improves our understanding of properties and instantiation. (shrink)

States restrict immigration on a massive scale. Governments fortify their borders with walls and fences, authorize border patrols, imprison migrants in detention centers, and deport large numbers of foreigners. Unjust Borders: Individuals and the Ethics of Immigration argues that immigration restrictions are systematically unjust and examines how individual actors should respond to this injustice. Javier Hidalgo maintains that individuals can rightfully resist immigration restrictions and often have strong moral reasons to subvert these laws. This book makes the case that (...) unauthorized migrants can permissibly evade, deceive, and use defensive force against immigration agents, that smugglers can aid migrants in crossing borders, and that citizens should disobey laws that compel them to harm immigrants. Unjust Borders is a meditation on how individuals should act in the midst of pervasive injustice. (shrink)

Categories play a major role in contemporary metaphysics. They have not only been invoked in a number of philosophical theories but are themselves objects of epistemological and metaphysical scrutiny. In this article, we will discuss the following questions: How do we know when something belongs to a certain category? Is there a fundamental category of the world? Can we give a satisfactory account of the number of categories and the completeness of systems of categories? Are categories the genuine subjects of (...) ontology? (shrink)

El filósofo español José Ortega y Gasset escribió numerosos textos sobre pedagogía, tema que fue una preocupación principal en él desde su juventud. Aquí se analizan sus ideas pedagógicas a partir de conceptos como «pedagogía del paisaje», «pedagogía de la alusión» y «pedagogía de la contaminación». La influencia de la filosofía krausista de Francisco Giner de los Ríos en el pensamiento orteguiano fue notable en este sentido, como podrá verse. Mantuvieron una estrecha relación y, sobre todo, les unió un mismo (...) afán de modernización de la sociedad española, como muestra su epistolario, casi todo inédito, que aquí se utiliza. (shrink)

What is the so-called “question of ontology?” Is the question of ontology genuinely a question about “categories” (Lowe 2006), “structure” (Sider 2011), “existence” (Thomasson 2015), or rather “reality” (Fine 2009)? In this article, I defend the neo-Sellarsian approach to the question of ontology, a novel, naturalistic approach according to which the foundational question of ontology is about “understanding the manifest and the scientific images of the world, and their multiple relationships.” First, I argue for the thesis of Impure Eliminativism, a (...) form of constructive pluralism about the question of ontology by which the substantivity of questions of ontology which are not the neo-Sellarsian one is to be built upon certain relations with the neo-Sellarsian question of ontology. Second, I argue for the categorial plasticity of the two images and their relations in connection with the hypothesis of Weak Epistemic Factualism. Third, and lastly, I argue for a person-based ontology framed in terms of the crucial notions of “fact” and “understanding” in response to the eliminativist categorizations of the two images and their relationships proposed by substantialism and structuralism. (shrink)

1. Categories and the Scientific Turn of Metaphysics: The Notion of World-Fundamentality What are the fundamental inhabitants of the world? This question, as old as it is new, is about the fundamental structure of our world. Is our world a world of Aristotle's ordinary substances, Locke's physical substances, Husserl's wholes, Wittgenstein's facts, Sellars's processes, or Quine's sets? In order to distinguish the sort of metaphysical fundamentality at stake in this discussion from other possible types of fundamentality, I shall call it (...) from now on "world-fundamentality." In this article I want to make a proposal in the context of this metaphysical dispute. The proposal is the addition of a new criterion of world-fundamentality to the existing catalog of independence and simplicity, among some other prominent classical examples. I call this criterion "the materialist criterion of world-fundamentality" because it states that metaphysicians should not decide the question of whether our world is a world of facts rather than a world of sets or other categories without considering the explanatory power of such categories to account for the relation between "the manifest image" and "the scientific image," to use the words of Wilfrid Sellars. (shrink)

According to the cohabitation account, all the persons that result from a fission event cohabit the same body prior to fission. This article concerns a problem for this account. Suppose Manuel and Jimena are suffering from an equally painful migraine. Unlike Jimena, however, Manuel will undergo fission. Assuming you have a spare painkiller, whom should you give it to? Intuitively, you have no more reason to give it to one or the other. The problem is that the cohabitation account suggests (...) otherwise. According to the account, there are two persons cohabiting Manuel’s body, in which case you should arguably give them the pill, since doing so alleviates the pain of more beings. One response argues that the two persons cohabiting Manuel’s body share one pain. Thus, giving them the pill alleviates no more pain than giving it to Jimena, and therefore you have no more reason to do one or the other. The goal of this article is to show that this response fails. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to defend a naturalistic approach to instantiation and the Principle of Instantiation. I argue that the instantiation of an ordinary property F consists of two coordinated relationships at the levels of the manifest and scientific images, namely, constituency and entailment. Also, I offer an account of the Principle of Instantiation related to this conception of instantiation based on the notion of scientific prediction.

Is structure a fundamental and indispensable part of the world? Is the question of ontology a question about structure? Structure is a central notion in contemporary metaphysics [Sider 2011. Writing the Book of the World. Oxford: Clarendon Press]. Realism about structure claims that the question of ontology is about the fundamental and indispensable structure of the world. In this paper, I present a criticism of the metaphysics of realism about structure based on a version of Russell’s famous regress argument against (...) nominalism [Russell 1911. “On the Relation of Universals and Particular.” In Logic & Knowledge. Reprint, London: George Allen & Unwin]. First, I argue that the three general tests for the fundamentality of structure proposed by realism about structure rely on a particular empirical test for structure, namely, the so-called ‘similarity test for structure.’ Second, I argue that the similarity test is not well-founded because it leads to a vicious regress. Third, I argue that the regress affects the whole metaphysics of realism about structure, and that no structural notion can be said to be fundamental in connection with any of the other tests. Lastly, I argue that the question of ontology as a question about structure is not substantive. (shrink)