This book proposes a bold idea. Living beings are distinguishing distinctions. Single cells and multicellular organisms maintain themselves distinct by drawing distinctions. This is what organisms are and what they do. From this starting point, key issues examined range across ontology, epistemology, phenomenology, logic, and ethics. Topics discussed include the origin of life, the nature and purpose of biology, the relation between life and logic, the nature and limits of formal logic, the nature of subjects, the subject-object relation, subject-subject relationships (...) and the deep roots of ethics. The book provides a radical new foundation to think about philosophy and biology and appeals to researchers and students in these fields. It powerfully debunks mechanical thinking about living beings and shows the vast reservoir of insights into aliveness available in the arts and humanities. (shrink)

Analytic pragmatism is a framework of analysis elaborated by Robert Brandom, whose goal is to explain the relations between meaning and use according to a systematic and general method of inquiry. In April 2009, a workshop was organized to discuss the recent developments of this new theoretical approach. Brandom delivered three lectures, where he explored some aspects of analytic pragmatism and addressed the motivating themes of this enterprise, while the contribution from the other speakers ranged over specific aspects of the (...) theory. This special issue is the outcome of that workshop. In this introduction we briefly outline the context of the debate and present the contribution to this issue selected from a much wider range of papers, using the reviewing process of Philosophia. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Frühmittelalterliche Studien Jahrgang: 47 Heft: 1 Seiten: 87-128.

As part of an ongoing study of causal models in the history of science, a counterfactual scenario in the history of modern astronomy is explored with the aid of computer simulations. After the definition of “linking advance”, a possible world involving technological antecedence is described, branching out in 1510, in which the telescope is invented 70 years before its actual construction, at the time in which Fracastoro actually built the first prototelescope. By using the principle of the closest possible world, (...) we estimate that in this scenario the discovery of the elliptical orbit of Mars would by anticipated by only 28 years. The second part of the paper involves an estimate of the probability of the previous scenario, guided by the principle that the actual world is the mean and using computer simulations to create possible worlds in which the time spans between advances is varied according to a gamma distribution function. Taking into account the importance of the use of the diaphragm for the invention of the telescope, the probability that the telescope were built by 1538 for a branching time at 1510 is found to be smaller than 1%. The work shows that one of the important features of computational simulations in philosophy of science is to serve as a consistency check for the intuitions and speculations of the philosopher. (shrink)

What is commonly referred to as the Adoption Problem is a challenge to the idea that the principles of logic can be rationally revised. The argument is based on a reconstruction of unpublished work by Saul Kripke. As the reconstruction has it, Kripke extends the scope of Willard van Orman Quine's regress argument against conventionalism to the possibility of adopting new logical principles. In this paper we want to discuss the scope of this challenge. Are all revisions of logic subject (...) to the Adoption Problem? If not, are there significant cases of logical revision that are subject to the Adoption Problem? We will argue that both questions should be answered negatively. (shrink)

En los escenarios universitarios cada vez resulta menos extraño toparse con investigaciones que indagan por la escritura filosófica proveniente de centros no hegemónicos de producción de conocimiento. Nosotros, que hemos tenido la oportunidad de acercarnos al pasado del ejercicio de la filosofía en el actual territorio colombiano, quisimos hacer una convocatoria pública de escritos dedicados a identificar temas, preguntas y formas en que la variopinta comunidad de la filosofía local está escribiendo su propia historia.

Comparing food taboos across 78 cultures, this paper demonstrates that meat, though a prized food, is also the principal target of proscriptions. Reviewing existing explanations of taboos, we find that both functionalist and symbolic approaches fail to account for meat's cross-cultural centrality and do not reflect experience-near aspects of food taboos, principal among which is disgust. Adopting an evolutionary approach to the mind, this paper presents an alternative to existing explanations of food taboos. Consistent with the attendant risk of pathogen (...) transmission, meat has special salience as a stimulus for humans, as animal products are stronger elicitors of disgust and aversion than plant products. We identify three psychosocial processes, socially-mediated ingestive conditioning, egocentric empathy, and normative moralization, each of which likely plays a role in transforming individual disgust responses and conditioned food aversions into institutionalized food taboos. (shrink)

The main objective of the article is to understand the notion of power in Foucault as an action on action in a relationship of forces. In principle, the power of sovereignty and biopower in classical times are investigated. Where it is perceived that the former has negative and repressive connotations, while this one has positive and productive connotations of facts, happenings. Then, an analysis of Foucault's power is analyzed, where it is possible to verify that there is no construction of (...) a Theory of Power in Foucault, but only an ascending analysis of power, thus departing from specificity for general aspects. Finally, we will analyze the power relationship, seen as an action over action, in this action-reaction movement, there is its need, its becoming, its truth, which is the exercise of power, functioning. Thus, from the molecular to the complex composition, from the invisible to the visible, from the body to the population, power is understood, that is, power relations in the Foucaultian web. (shrink)

Este dossiê representa a continuidade de um projecto centrado no património dos agentes ligados à produção, circulação e recepção do livro. A partir da história e dos espólios de empresas editoriais e de coleccionadores, bibliófilos e/ou divulgadores, a introdução problematizante e os depoimentos convocam a memória dos agentes e debatem as ameaças que pendem sobre essa herança cultural riquíssima e possíveis soluções. As boas práticas de vários países impõem uma reflexão inadiável para o contexto português: que vias de cooperação inter-institucional (...) concretas para garantir o depósito, tratamento e comunica­ção duma dimensão fulcral do património e da memória colectiva. A relevância desta ques­tão deve-se a estar inextricavelmente ligada a um reconhecimento sustentável do estatuto patrimonial e histórico dos acervos dos editores e doutros agentes ligados à edição e ao livro enquanto espaços vitais para a construção da cultura impressa e para a história do livro e da edição. Os depoimentos referidos são de Carlos da Veiga Ferreira, Fernando Paulouro Neves e Francisco Pedro Lyon de Castro. (shrink)

The Study of Time XVI: Time's Urgency celebrates the 50th anniversary of the International Society for the Study of Time. It includes a keynote speech by renowned physicist Julian Barbour, a dialogue between British author David Mitchell, Katie Paterson and ISST's previous president Paul Harris. The volume is divided into dialogues and papers that directly address the issue of urgency and time scales from various disciplines. This book offers a unique perspective on the contemporary status of the interdisciplinary study of (...) time. It will open new paths of inquiry for different approaches to the important issues of narrative structure and urgency. These are themes that are becoming increasingly relevant during our times. (shrink)

El surgimiento y consolidación en el seno de la clase obrera de un estrato social —la burocracia sindical— que, aunque tenga su origen en dicha clase, con el tiempo adquiere privilegios e intereses que lo llevan a defender posiciones contrarias a la independencia política de los trabajadores, desarticulándolos políticamente y subordinándolos al Estado burgués, es un fenómeno universal del capitalismo. En este artículo, describiremos los intentos realizados por el zarismo ruso de crear artificialmente una burocracia sindical bajo la égida de (...) la policía entre 1898 y 1905. La peculiaridad de la experiencia rusa durante los años inmediatamente anteriores a la revolución de 1905 reside en el hecho de que no tuvo lugar, como ocurrió usualmente en otros países, mediante el otorgamiento de la libertad de huelga, de reunión y de asociación a los trabajadores y mediante la cooptación gradual de su estrato dirigente por el Estado burgués, sino como resultado de una iniciativa del Ministerio del Interior, y dentro de él de la Policía Secreta (Ojrana), en contraposición tanto a la política oficial del zarismo, que no legalizó los sindicatos hasta 1906, como a la del Ministerio de Finanzas, que controlaba a los inspectores de fábrica y era particularmente sensible a las presiones de los capitalistas. Las contradicciones de dicha política estallaron con la masacre perpetrada por el zarismo durante el “Domingo Sangriento” del 9 de enero de 1905, que dio comienzo a la primera revolución rusa y condujo a la legalización parcial de la actividad sindical. (shrink)

Si no me falla la memoria, fue el dibujante Álvaro Barrios quien afirmó que el trabajo del artista contemporáneo colombiano se desarrolla según una agenda de trabajo. Si miramos algunos fenómenos del arte último en Colombia, podemos señalar que su agenda está determinada por el intento de comprensión de los procesos de la violencia en el país, a partir de una amplia gama de aproximaciones al concepto de memoria que ha tenido resonancia en las disciplinas humanísticas, las investigaciones académicas, el (...) uso político del concepto por parte de la legislación estatal, y una gran diversidad de eventos artísticos. Desde el ámbito del arte, exposiciones como Destierro y reparación (2008), Tapices de Mampuján (2010), La guerra que no hemos visto (2009) o La piel de la memoria (2011), han discutido sobre la violencia en Colombia desde la aproximación a los procesos de comprensión de la memoria y nuestro pasado reciente. Así, la imbricación de violencia y memoria se manifiesta en la visión del pasado y en los efectos que este puede desplegar sobre el presente, en tanto se ha considerado, incluso, a la memoria como una instancia de reconciliación social. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to account for Michel Henry’s critique of Merleau-Ponty as regards the own body and the flesh. To that end, I start by displaying Merleau-Ponty’s position on these matters. Then I present Henry’s critique, which are focused on Phenomenology of Perception and The Visible and the Invisible. After that, I consider these objections in general and concentrate on the meaning of Merleau-Ponty’s latest work on Descartes’ dioptric, in particular. Finally, I argue that his unfinished work (...) opens more fruitful channels of dialogue than the works criticized by Henry. (shrink)

Comentando una carta de Husserl a Lévy Brühl, Merleau-Ponty subraya que la eidética de la historia no nos dispensa de la investigación histórica. Esta concepción siempre ha estado presente en su obra, y se ha ido modelando de diferentes maneras y componiendo combinaciones variadas según va desarrollando su fenomenología, su filosofía de la historia, y su ontología. En cada uno de esos estadios presenta, respectivamente, una concepción situacionista, una concepción estructuralista, y una concepción sensible de la esencia. Sin embargo, la (...) desmesura de lo vivido respecto de lo pensado no debe interpretarse como una derrota del pensamiento sino como creación. (shrink)

In this article, we formally define and investigate the computational complexity of the definability problem for open first-order formulas with equality. Given a logic $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{L}}$, the $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{L}}$-definability problem for finite structures takes as an input a finite structure $\boldsymbol{A}$ and a target relation $T$ over the domain of $\boldsymbol{A}$ and determines whether there is a formula of $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{L}}$ whose interpretation in $\boldsymbol{A}$ coincides with $T$. We show that the complexity of this problem for open first-order formulas is coNP-complete. We also (...) investigate the parametric complexity of the problem and prove that if the size and the arity of the target relation $T$ are taken as parameters, then open definability is $\textrm{coW}[1]$-complete for every vocabulary $\tau $ with at least one, at least binary, relation. (shrink)

In this paper we give some formal examples of ideas developed by Penco in two papers on the tension inside Frege's notion of sense (see Penco 2003). The paper attempts to compose the tension between semantic and cognitive aspects of sense, through the idea of sense as proof or procedure – not as an alternative to the idea of sense as truth condition, but as complementary to it (as it happens sometimes in the old tradition of procedural semantics).

The following text aims to pose the question provoked by the of discrepancy between infancy as defined in the work of Jean-Francois Lyotard and childhood per se, and to do so in the epochal context of an educational temporality governed by the attributes of acceleration, “profitable,” knowledge, cognitivism, rampant inequalities, an ethos of “success” at any cost, a univocal relationship between knowledge and utilitarianism, and a severe conflict between egalitarian organization and experience and the demand for performance. The loss of (...) infancy in childhood is perhaps the loss of infancy in humanity, depriving it of free time, the possibility of fiction, creation, play, and art. The question that permeates the article is, what does it mean to listen to the voices of infancy in childhood? What is being articulated there? How might we appreciate those voices as a starting point for the reinvention of a different form of education? Our fundamental objective is to construct a politics and a poetics of time that, in their aesthetic and ethical expression, indicate the possibility of a different educational journey for children and childhood, based on the sense of the existence of a time for which it is never too late. (shrink)

BackgroundThe positive component of Mental Health Literacy refers to a person’s awareness of how to achieve and maintain good mental health. Although explored recently, the term still lacks a clear definition among healthcare practitioners.AimTo identify the attributes and characteristics of PMeHL, as well as its theoretical and practical applications.MethodsLiterature search and review, covering the last 21 years, followed by concept analysis according to the steps described by Walker and Avant approach.ResultsPositive component of Mental Health Literacy is considered one component of (...) MHL, integrating positive mental health. The concept’s attributes include: competence in problem-solving and self-actualization; personal satisfaction; autonomy; relatedness and interpersonal relationship skills; self-control; and prosocial attitude. Four case scenarios were used to clarify the antecedents and consequences of PMeHL.ConclusionPositive component of Mental Health Literacy is considered a component of MHL, which deserves attention throughout the lifespan, in different contexts and intervention levels. Considering PMeHL as a multi-faceted and dynamic construct will help understand the mechanisms that improve mental health and promote healthy behaviors. Priority should be given to robust primary research focused on nursing interventions that enhance and sustain PMeHL in people and families. (shrink)

El presente estudio se realizó con el objetivo de evaluar el impacto del estrés emocional en la adecuada toma de decisiones y práctica médica oportuna y de calidad de los estudiantes que cursan el quinto año de la carrera en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Se utilizó una lista de valoración para las competencias de la simulación de reanimación cardiopulmonar avanzada, y un Cuestionario de Maslach Burnout Inventory para valorar los sentimientos, actitudes y de (...) desgaste profesional. Los resultados muestran que aquellos que estaban expuestos a mayor cantidad de labores recientes y estrés fueron más propensos de incidir en errores médicos durante la toma de decisiones y su aprendizaje. This study was conducted with the aim of assessing the impact of emotional stress in the appropriate decision-making and quality medical practice of fifth year medical students from the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. It was used an assessment list for cardiopulmonary resuscitation simulation competence and a Maslach Burnout Inventory Questionnaire was used to assess feelings, attitudes and professional wear and tear. Results show those who were exposed to a greater number of recent tasks and to greater stress were more likely to make medical mistakes while making decisions and learning. (shrink)

El propósito del artículo es el de determinar, en la reflexión de Augusto Del Noce, la significación que ha tenido el deno-minado personalismo en el pen-samiento filosófico en general, y en el campo de la teología cató-lica, en particular. La primera parte del escrito se ocupa del ideario del mentor del personalismo, Jules Lequier. En esta instancia, se pre-cisa no sólo que el personalismo ha sido configurado en torno a la oposición libertad-necesidad, sino que, a partir de esta dialéctica opo-sitiva, (...) el pensamiento del filósofo francés se ve obligado a constreñir la noción de libertad a una libertas minor. En un segundo momento, el trabajo establece la continuidad de la concepción personalista de Lequier, concretamente en el per-sonalismo actual de Juan Manuel Burgos. (shrink)

A major collection of essays by a multidisciplinary panel of experts exploring the various interpretations of the European crisis and the future of the European Union.

Los corridos prohibidos se han configurado en Colombia como un género musical popular que alude a temáticas relacionadas con el conflicto armado, el narcotráfico y la violencia asociada. Durante una estancia en campo en las selvas del Guaviare se escuchó una composición anónima que narraba la vida problemática de un paramilitar que protagonizó un combate con un guerrillero por el control territorial del mismo lugar. Este hallazgo motivó la indagación sobre el potencial narrativo de este corrido y permitió establecer la (...) existencia de otra composición dedicada al protagonista guerrillero. Así, se presenta un contraste entre ambos corridos a partir del análisis narratológico de las letras transcritas, el cual se ha complementado y confrontado con fuentes documentales e investigación etnográfica para develar la historia cantada y contada de la guerra entre paramilitares y guerrilleros en la zona durante los últimos años del siglo xx y los primeros del xxi. Se concluye que los corridos prohibidos se constituyen en fuentes para la memoria del conflicto al posibilitar la transmisión y reproducción cotidiana de las historias de guerra que recrean no solo escenas de violencia sino a sus protagonistas como héroes o villanos, es decir, una memoria alternativa para la comprensión diferenciada y situada del conflicto armado colombiano. (shrink)

DERECHO DE RESPUESTA COMO FORMADOR DE OPINIÓN PÚBLICA: La jurisprudencia norteamericana y su relación con la argentina.

El propósito de este ensayo es hacer una revisión del diálogo Sofista en cuanto al tratamiento filosófico del problema del error y de los enunciados falsos. En este sentido, primero se revisarán los aspectos más relevantes de la deducción de la Forma del No-ser como alteridad; luego, se revisarán algunos detalles atinentes a la Teoría de la Comunicación de las Formas y a la reflexión en torno al lenguaje con miras a mostrar de qué modo la integración de estos elementos (...) permite dilucidar tales problemas. False statements in Plato's SophistThe purpose of this paper is to review the dialogue "Sophist" in relation to the philosophical treatment of problems of error and false statements. In this sense, first the most relevant aspects of the deduction of the Form of Not-Being as otherness will be reviewed; then, some details about the Communication Theory of Forms and the speculation about language will be reviewed, in order to establish how articulating these elements is fundamental to elucidate such problems. (shrink)

En este trabajo se mostrará la posibilidad de establecer dos líneas interpretativas contemporáneas acerca del Poema sobre la Naturaleza de Parménides de Elea tomando como criterio para su delimitación el tratamiento que recibe el problema del “ser” dado que esta noción es clave para configurar todos los temas de la reflexión parmenídea. En este sentido, se presentará una perspectiva que despliega el “ser” en el ámbito de los problemas sobre la noción de existencia (lectura existencial) frente a otra que encuentra (...) en el “ser” la expresión de esencia o naturaleza última (lectura esencial), al tiempo que se revisarán sus implicaciones con relación al establecimiento y diferenciación de las vías de investigación. The question of Being in the Poem about Nature of Parmenides of Elea. Two interpretative alternativesThis paper concerns about the possibility of the establishment of two contemporary interpretational views for approaching Parmenides’ Poem On Nature assuming as a criterion the different treatments about the problem of being, because this notion is the key for configuration of all themes in parmenidean reflection. Therefore, on one viewpoint “being” is at the center of existential questions (this will be called “existential reading”), and, on the other hand, “being” is taken in the sense ofessence or ultimate nature (this will be call “essential reading”); at the same time the implications related to building and differentiating the routes of investigation will be reviewed. (shrink)