This article deals with the methodologies commonly used in the framework of the structural approach to social representations. It concerns free and hierarchical evocations, the characterization questionnaire, the similarity analysis, the basic cognitive schemes model, the attribute-challenge technique and the test of context independence. More than a simple review of these methodologies, it offers a critical approach concerning the problems encountered and related to: thresholds or “cutoff points” used to diagnose the structure and the accuracy of the structural diagnosis, grouping (...) methods employed to reduce the corpus of verbal associations, the dilemma between reliability and feasibility, especially in field research, the adequacy and number of modalities of response in the framework of the structural diagnosis. Following this evaluation, this article suggests potential solutions to overcome these methodological limitations. Moreover, as methodological issues are closely related to theoretical questions, the link between social representation theory and identity approaches is discussed. (shrink)

The editors of the JRE solicited short essays on the COVID‐19 pandemic from a group of scholars of religious ethics that reflected on how the field might help them make sense of the complex religious, cultural, ethical, and political implications of the pandemic, and on how the pandemic might shape the future of religious ethics.

E n e s t e e n s a y o a r g u me n t o q u e l ametafilosofía de los pragmatistas es lacontribución más importante de estosf i l ós of os a l a hi s t or i a de l a f i l os of í ay es t ambi én l o que l os di st i ngue deot ros f i l ósof os. Los f i (...) l ósof os cl ási cosamericanos y losfilósofos pragmatistas hispanos, Ortegay Gasset y Risieri Frondizi, propusieronque l a f i l osof í a debe de part i r desdel a experi enci a, es deci r, un punt o departida práctico. Despues de explicar quésignifica sostener que la experiencia es elpunto de partida, examino las razonesque tienen estos filósofos para sostenerque la experiencia es el punto de partidaapropiado si se quiere que la filosofía seaempírica y relevante. In this paper the metaphilosophy of pragmatists is the most important contribution of these philosophers to the history of philosophyand is also what distinguishes them fromother philosophers. The classic Americanphilosophers and the Hispanic philosophers, Ortega yGasset and Risieri Frondizi, proposed thatphilosophy must start from experience.After explaining what it means to takeexperience as the starting point, I examinethe reasons that pragmatists philosophershave for holding the view that experienceshould be the starting point if philosophyis to be empirical and relevant. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Queering Buen AmorGregory S. Hutcheson (bio)The naturalization of both heterosexuality and masculine sexual agency are discursive constructions nowhere accounted for but everywhere assumed....—Judith Butler, Gender TroubleAmérico Castro’s España en su historia: Cristianos, moros y judíos (1948) not only instigated the “culture wars” that rocked Hispanism in the mid-twentieth century, but also made the fourteenth-century Libro de buen amor a centerpiece of debate.1 In a crucial chapter of his study, (...) Castro tackles head-on Eurocentric readings of the Libro de buen amor by arguing for its cultural hybridity, or in more extreme terms, its fixedness in the cultural prerogatives of Arabic-speaking al-Andalus. “Los métodos usados para entender la poesía románico-cristiana fallan,” he affirms in an opening salvo, “porque el Libro de Buen Amor es un reflejo castellano de modelos árabes [The methods used to comprehend Romance-Christian poetry are doomed to failure because the Libro de buen amor is a Castilian reflection of Arabic models]...” [España en su historia 355]. By relocating the author’s poetic impulse in the Arab world, Castro seeks to explain not only the Libro de buen amor’s open, “arabesque” structure—its spontaneous gliding from holy to profane, serious to comical, generic-abstract to concrete-sensible—but also the ambiguous nature of buen amor. For Castro, buen amor is the simultaneous compulsion toward spiritual transcendence and sexual fulfillment, best understood within the context of an Islamic theological system in which sexual desire is not categorically opposed to godliness.Not surprisingly, Castro’s scholarship was judged harshly by his critics as historical revisionism of the most pernicious sort, a deliberate erosion of those values and certainties that make it possible to read Spain as a full player in the march of Western civilization. Most vehement in his attack was Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz, who authored the two volumes of his España: Un enigma histórico (1956) as both an explicit defense against the “magnetic seduction” [1: 9] of Castro’s prose and a reaffirmation of national consciousness. Sánchez-Albornoz’s take on the Libro de buen amor falls neatly in line with the thinly disguised nationalism of his opus as a whole. He rejects soundly Castro’s claims of cultural hybridity in favor of a Libro de buen amor located safely on this side of the cultural “abyss” between Latin Christendom and the Islamic world. What is more, he resists the queernesses that spin out of Castro’s scholarship, the threat of contamination of the national character in unspeakable ways. If Spain had been exposed to the cultural proclivities of al-Andalus, Sánchez-Albornoz argues, so too would it have been exposed to al-Andalus’s “ambiguous” notion of love, a love “que no excluía las ‘amistades particulares,’ ni la sentimental inclinación, e incluso la pasión carnal, de varón a varón [that did not exclude ‘special friendships,’ nor sentimental inclination–and even carnal passion [End Page 104] –between one man and another]” [458].2 Here Sánchez-Albornoz slams the closet door shut by constructing Spain as the bastion of straight desire and Juan Ruiz as its virtual posterboy: “En el clérigo de Hita triunfaba la robusta, natural y simplista concepción heterosexual del amor de la Castilla de su época [There triumphed in the cleric of Hita a robust, natural, uncomplicated heterosexual concept of love characteristic of the Castile of his period]” [458–59].I begin with the Castro/Sánchez-Albornoz polemic because it exposes the presence and functions of “normativity” in Libro de buen amor studies throughout much of the twentieth century. With few exceptions, readings prior to Castro’s overlooked what was odd about the Libro de buen amor in order to engage in an obsessive archaeology of sameness, a plotting of conventional values and meanings that served to render the work as familiar, if not necessarily equal to other master works of the Western canon. Félix Lecoy emerged as the doyen of this critical school, publishing in 1938 an excruciatingly detailed study of the work’s language, structure, and sources whose primary objective was... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Queering Buen AmorGregory S. Hutcheson (bio)The naturalization of both heterosexuality and masculine sexual agency are discursive constructions nowhere accounted for but everywhere assumed....—Judith Butler, Gender TroubleAmérico Castro’s España en su historia: Cristianos, moros y judíos (1948) not only instigated the “culture wars” that rocked Hispanism in the mid-twentieth century, but also made the fourteenth-century Libro de buen amor a centerpiece of debate.1 In a crucial chapter of his study, (...) Castro tackles head-on Eurocentric readings of the Libro de buen amor by arguing for its cultural hybridity, or in more extreme terms, its fixedness in the cultural prerogatives of Arabic-speaking al-Andalus. “Los métodos usados para entender la poesía románico-cristiana fallan,” he affirms in an opening salvo, “porque el Libro de Buen Amor es un reflejo castellano de modelos árabes [The methods used to comprehend Romance-Christian poetry are doomed to failure because the Libro de buen amor is a Castilian reflection of Arabic models]...” [España en su historia 355]. By relocating the author’s poetic impulse in the Arab world, Castro seeks to explain not only the Libro de buen amor’s open, “arabesque” structure—its spontaneous gliding from holy to profane, serious to comical, generic-abstract to concrete-sensible—but also the ambiguous nature of buen amor. For Castro, buen amor is the simultaneous compulsion toward spiritual transcendence and sexual fulfillment, best understood within the context of an Islamic theological system in which sexual desire is not categorically opposed to godliness.Not surprisingly, Castro’s scholarship was judged harshly by his critics as historical revisionism of the most pernicious sort, a deliberate erosion of those values and certainties that make it possible to read Spain as a full player in the march of Western civilization. Most vehement in his attack was Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz, who authored the two volumes of his España: Un enigma histórico (1956) as both an explicit defense against the “magnetic seduction” [1: 9] of Castro’s prose and a reaffirmation of national consciousness. Sánchez-Albornoz’s take on the Libro de buen amor falls neatly in line with the thinly disguised nationalism of his opus as a whole. He rejects soundly Castro’s claims of cultural hybridity in favor of a Libro de buen amor located safely on this side of the cultural “abyss” between Latin Christendom and the Islamic world. What is more, he resists the queernesses that spin out of Castro’s scholarship, the threat of contamination of the national character in unspeakable ways. If Spain had been exposed to the cultural proclivities of al-Andalus, Sánchez-Albornoz argues, so too would it have been exposed to al-Andalus’s “ambiguous” notion of love, a love “que no excluía las ‘amistades particulares,’ ni la sentimental inclinación, e incluso la pasión carnal, de varón a varón [that did not exclude ‘special friendships,’ nor sentimental inclination–and even carnal passion [End Page 104] –between one man and another]” [458].2 Here Sánchez-Albornoz slams the closet door shut by constructing Spain as the bastion of straight desire and Juan Ruiz as its virtual posterboy: “En el clérigo de Hita triunfaba la robusta, natural y simplista concepción heterosexual del amor de la Castilla de su época [There triumphed in the cleric of Hita a robust, natural, uncomplicated heterosexual concept of love characteristic of the Castile of his period]” [458–59].I begin with the Castro/Sánchez-Albornoz polemic because it exposes the presence and functions of “normativity” in Libro de buen amor studies throughout much of the twentieth century. With few exceptions, readings prior to Castro’s overlooked what was odd about the Libro de buen amor in order to engage in an obsessive archaeology of sameness, a plotting of conventional values and meanings that served to render the work as familiar, if not necessarily equal to other master works of the Western canon. Félix Lecoy emerged as the doyen of this critical school, publishing in 1938 an excruciatingly detailed study of the work’s language, structure, and sources whose primary objective was... (shrink)

En este trabajo sostenemos que las consecuencias de los profundos cambios derivados del desarrollo de la ciencia y la tecnología han puesto en cuestión algunas de las concepciones más arraigadas sobre la naturaleza humana. Tras examinar algunos aportes recientes al debate sobre este tema central –provenientes del campo de la filosofía iberoamericana y de la filosofía feminista-, proponemos incorporar a la discusión ideas muy vigentes del legado de John Dewey. Nuestro autor, al cuestionar ciertos supuestos metafísicos tradicionales, invita a pensar (...) la condición humana desde una perspectiva evolutiva e histórica, que se sustenta en su innovadora noción de experiencia como interacción mutuamente transformadora entre los seres humanos y su entorno. De aquí que, frente a toda concepción esencialista, sostenga que la condición humana es susceptible de ser modificada por la acción humana misma. (shrink)

Este ensayo considera el tema de sabotaje en Hitchcock, en especial su película británica Sabotaje, en términos de la teoría silogística de Manuel Asensi. También analiza temas subversivos semejantes en dos obras contemporáneas, Malditos bastardos de Quentin Tarantino y Volver de Pedro Almodóvar. Los sabotajes literales en la película de Hitchcock (la colocación de bombas en relación con el cine) se combinan con la matanza de un esposo (tratándole como un pedazo de carne) para figurar un cine radical no solo (...) como un arte anti-aurético (en el sentido del arte mecánicamente reproducido de Walter Benjamin) sino también como un texto atético, en términos de Asensi, para desconstruir el silogismo entimemático que informa el modelo del mundo (la sociedad y la política son como una obra artística de formas puras) al fondo del fascismo histórico. Malditos bastardos y Volver van más allá de Sabotaje de Hitchcock al ofrecer un hospedaje al subalterno en pos de los silogismos saboteados. La crítica como sabotaje nos ayuda a ver la dimensión subversiva de estas y otras películas. Al mismo tiempo, el análisis de los sabotajes cinematográficos pone en relieve el impacto político de la teoría de Asensi de la crítica como sabotaje.El fondo teórico de este artículo es el libro Crítica y sabotaje de Manuel Asensi que demuestra que las obras literarias y fílmicas tienen una función performativa. Son discursos que modelizan sujetos en el mundo. Tales modelizaciones ocurren de una manera inconsciente puesto que cada discurso contiene un silogismo que implica un modelo del mundo. La crítica como sabotaje es un instrumento para revelar estos silogismos modelizantes escondidos en las obras. Algunos textos como las películas estudiadas en este artículo explícitamente sabotean los modelos del mundo que históricamente han servido para reprimirnos, de modo que la crítica como sabotaje se une a la visión de Walter Benjamin del arte nuevo capaz de estallar el aura (los valores del culto inseparables del fascismo) asociado con el arte clásico. El cine para Benjamin, siendo un arte mecánicamente reproducido, ténia esta potencia explosiva. Es precisamente la misma visión saboteadora que encontramos en las películas analizadas en este ensayo. (shrink)

Lo studio sul rapporto tra Dante e la tradizione arabo-islamica è solitamente associato a due influenti studiosi del Novecento, Miguel Asín Palacios e Bruno Nardi. Nonostante le differenze, entrambi affermano che la struttura fondamentale della Commedia intende mostrare come la ragione naturale dell’uomo e la filosofia siano inferiori alla rivelazione religiosa e alla teologia. Il contributo, affermando che l’architettura del poema dantesco si fonda sulla classificazione delle scienze formulata dai filosofi islamici, intende mostrare che la struttura allegorica della commedia non (...) è basata sulla distinzione tra filosofia e teologia ma sulla distinzione, tutta interna alla filosofia, tra praxis e theoria. Come i filosofi razionalisti, Dante nega che ci sia una forma di conoscenza più elevata che non sia raggiungibile attraverso la dimostrazione e il ragionamento filosofico ma solo attraverso il discorso religioso rivelato. Questa classificazione islamica delle scienze può aiutare a rivedere il ruolo giocato da Statius e Matelda nell’allegoria dantesca e identificare con maggior precisione il luogo della religione.The study of Dante in relation to the medieval Arabo-Islamic tradition is most notably associated with two influential twentieth-century scholars, Miguel Asín Palacios and Bruno Nardi. Despite differences, both hold that Commedia’s fundamental structure aims to show natural human reason and philosophy falling short of religious revelation and theology. This essay, arguing that the architectural design of Dante’s poem is based on the classification of the philosophical sciences formulated by the Islamic rationalist philosophers, shows that Commedia’s allegorical structure is not based upon the distinction between philosophy and theology but rather upon a distinction within philosophy between praxis and theoria. Like the Islamic rationalist philosophers, Dante denies that there is a higher human knowledge unattainable through philosophical demonstration but accessible through revealed religious discourse. This Islamic classification of the sciences will also help us see the role played by Statius and Matelda in Dante’s allegory and to identify the locus of religion. (shrink)

En 1931, Rudolf Carnap publicó un artículo titulado "Die Überwindung der Metaphysik durch logische Analyse der Sprache" donde calificaba algunas expresiones de la conferencia de Martin Heidegger, "Was ist Metaphysik?", como 'sinsentidos'. Distinguía así entre expresiones (enunciados) 'con' y 'sin' sentido. Denunció que las que violaran el criterio empirista de significado serían del segundo tipo: 'pseudo-expresiones'. Sin embargo, Carnap reconocía desconocer la fuente exacta de los sinsentidos al comentar que expresaban algo, pero 'como lo hace un artista'. En 1936, Heidegger (...) reaccionaba explorando el 'como lo hace un artista' de Carnap en una conferencia en Zürich, "Der Ursprung des Kunstwerkes", donde distinguía, basado en la 'diferencia ontológica' de Sein und Zeit (1927), entre expresiones (lenguaje) 'de comunicación' y 'del ser'. En 1955, Heidegger fundaría esa distinción en términos de áreas de investigación, 'filosofía' y 'poesía', en la conferencia de Normandia, "Was ist das-die Philosophie?". En ella, Heidegger, no obstante, concluía, al igual que Carnap, no saber cómo distinguirlas, dado que el lenguaje acoge a ambas. Esta disputa por la prioridad entre tipos de expresión continúa en nuestros días (Stove 1991; Smith 1992; Lacoue-Labarthe 2002; Gadenne 2008; y Nef 2009). En este escrito, quisiera contribuir a la controversia ensayando una reconciliación entre lo que llamaré 'la concepción formal del mundo', representada por el realismo lógico, el empirismo lógico y las fenomenologías realista y trascendental, y 'la concepción informal del mundo', representada por la filosofía del lenguaje ordinario, la hermenéutica, la deconstrucción, el contextualismo y la poesía. La conclusión será una eliminación de las prioridades mediante una defensa biológica de la libertad de expresión. Em 1931, Rudolf Carnap publicou um artigo intitulado "Die Überwindung der Metaphysik durch logische Analyse der Sprache" onde qualificava algumas expressões da conferência de Martin Heidegger, "Was ist Metaphysik?", como 'sem sentido'. Distinguia assim entre expressões (enunciados) 'com' e 'sem' sentido. Denunciou que aquelas expressões que violassem o critério empirista de significado seriam do segundo tipo: 'pseudo-expressões'. Todavia, Carnap reconhecia desconhecer a fonte exata dos sem-sentidos ao comentar que expressavam algo, mas 'como o faz um artista'. Em 1936, Heidegger reagia explorando o 'como o faz um artista' de Carnap em uma conferência em Zürich, "Der Ursprung des Kunstwerkes", onde distinguia, baseado na 'diferença ontológica' de Sein und Zeit (1927), entre expressões (linguagem) 'de comunicação' e 'de ser'. Em 1955, Heidegger estabeleceria essa distinção em termos de áreas de investigação, 'filosofia' e 'poesia', na conferência de Normandia, "Was ist das-die Philosophie?". Nela, Heidegger concluia, contudo, do mesmo modo que Carnap, não saber como distingui-las, dado que a linguagem acolhe a ambas. Esta disputa pela prioridade entre tipos de expressão continua en nossos dias (Stove 1991; Smith 1992; Lacoue-Labarthe 2002; Gadenne 2008; y Nef 2009). Neste artigo, gostaria de contribuir à controvérsia procurando uma reconciliação entre o que chamarei 'a concepção formal do mundo', representada pelo realismo lógico, o empirismo lógico e as fenomenologias realista e trascendental, e 'a concepção informal do mundo', representada pela filosofia da linguagem ordinária, a hermenéutica, a desconstrução, o contextualismo e a poesia. A conclusão será uma eliminação das prioridades mediante uma defesa biológica da liberdade de expressão. (shrink)

Esta investigación está contextualizada en torno a la influencia que ejercen las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación, en la educación informal. En concreto, nuestro objetivo es reflexionar sobre la televisión. Para ello, partimos de un análisis teórico, que nos permite entender cómo ha cambiado el significado de algunos conceptos claves, como educación y comunicación, en la postmodernidad globalizada. Con los datos derivados de diversas investigaciones, determinamos cuál es el impacto de la televisión en los niños y adolescentes, (...) valoramos sus efectos educacionales y su influencia en diversos aspectos de la persona, fundamentalmente en su conducta. No obstante los resultados negativos que reflejan estos trabajos, debemos tener en cuenta los efectos positivos de la televisión, que resultan menos subrayados y que pueden ser más abundantes si son cabalmente planeados, desde el ámbito educativo. Finalmente, esta investigación nos permite constatar que hay una asignatura pendiente: dar un nuevo impulso a nuestro desarrollo humano y ético, con ayuda de las tecnologías. Partiendo de la importancia de la “escuela paralela”, creemos que es posible elaborar un nuevo modelo educativo integral, que responda a los retos que nos plantea la sociedad moderna. (shrink)

Resumen El presente artículo pretende poner de relieve a partir de la obra In Canticum canticorum de Gregorio de Nisa, el recorrido que el autor realiza en torno al tema de la visión mística. De esta manera se podrá analizar algunos conceptos que lo comprenden: luz y su antítesis noche; así como también detenerse en la formulación de los términos ojos-visión; lo cual nos remitirá a la pregunta, ¿qué es lo que se ve? y/o ¿quiénes contemplan a Dios como El (...) es? De este modo, la contemplación en la obra del Niseno obtendrá alcances significativos desde una lectura antropológica cristiana.This paper intends to highlight, from Gregory of Nyssa’s In Canticum canticorum, the author’s journey around the issue of mystic vision. In this way, some of his concepts can be analyzed: light and its antithesis night, along with making a stop in the formulation of the terms eyes-vision, which will lead us to the question, what is that which is seen? and/or, who contemplates God as He is? So, contemplation in the work of the Nicene will have meaningful approaches from a Christian anthropological reading. (shrink)

Resumen El presente artículo pretende poner de relieve a partir de la obra In Canticum canticorum de Gregorio de Nisa, el recorrido que el autor realiza en torno al tema de la visión mística. De esta manera se podrá analizar algunos conceptos que lo comprenden: luz y su antítesis noche; así como también detenerse en la formulación de los términos ojos-visión; lo cual nos remitirá a la pregunta, ¿qué es lo que se ve? y/o ¿quiénes contemplan a Dios como El (...) es? De este modo, la contemplación en la obra del Niseno obtendrá alcances significativos desde una lectura antropológica cristiana.This paper intends to highlight, from Gregory of Nyssa’s In Canticum canticorum, the author’s journey around the issue of mystic vision. In this way, some of his concepts can be analyzed: light and its antithesis night, along with making a stop in the formulation of the terms eyes-vision, which will lead us to the question, what is that which is seen? and/or, who contemplates God as He is? So, contemplation in the work of the Nicene will have meaningful approaches from a Christian anthropological reading. (shrink)

El artículo nos ofrece una mirada al hombre y a su vasto espectro del pensamiento, asumiendo la dificultad de intentar ‘atrapar’ el núcleo duro del proyecto bensoniano. Bateson es un personaje que transrecorrió disciplinas -comunicación, etnología y antropología, psiquiatría/psicología, genética, filosofía, biología, zoología, etología y etiología, cibernética- instalándose en lo que él llama la historia natural de las ideas o ecología de la mente. El presente artículo expone un apronte a este vasto pensamiento Batesoniano, y en particular su epistemología para (...) el cambio cultural. (shrink)

(Updated 5/23/24) This unpublished paper, which readers should feel free to cite, is posted primarily for the historical record. In recent work that has, deservedly, received some attention, Paul R. Daniels presents and defends a non-standard theory of persistence that he dubs transdurantism, according to which persisting objects are temporally extended simples. This is exactly what I do in work dating back to Spring 2004. (This work includes this version of this paper, as well as later version that was presented (...) to the University of Rochester's Philosophy Department in 2005.) While this might be a total coincidence, I doubt that it is, especially given that 'transdurantism' appears as a name for a theory of persistence associated with me in at least two places in the literature, one of which includes a citation of this paper. The paper begins with a discussion of what I call 'locative relations' (the relations borne by material objects to the regions of space and time they occupy), which draws relevant distinctions that others have failed to draw. The results of this discussion are then used in constructing spatial analogues for the three established theories of persistence--endurantism, perdurantism, and exdurantism--as well as for transdurantism. Next, these four views concerning persistence are explicitly formulated and a defense of their formulation is offered. Finally, transdurantism's advantages and disadvantages relative to the other theories are discussed. The main goal of the paper is to challenge the trichotomy between the established theories by arguing that transdurantism is also a viable view concerning persistence through time. [Note: Befitting its status as a historical document, with the exception of some light editing to fix typos that might impede understanding, no changes have been made to the paper.]. (shrink)

Resumen En el presente artículo se abordará la medicina espiritual de San Gregorio de Nisa como un aporte para los retos de una Iglesia en salida. Para ello se partirá de una aproximación a la Iglesia en salida misionera, para luego abordar al Niseno y examinar en sus textos la importancia de la medicina en su reflexión especulativa, mística y pastoral, así como para la comprensión de su quehacer teológico como medicina espiritual. Finalmente, se recogerán algunos aportes para los desafíos (...) de una Iglesia en salida.This article will analyze the approach to the spiritual medicine of Saint Gregory of Nyssa, like a contribution for the challenges of an outgoing Church. For this purpose, it will start with an approach to the Church in a missionary outing, to then approach Gregory’s life and examined in his texts the importance of medicine and his speculative, mystical and pastoral reflection, as well as for the understanding of its theological work as spiritual medicine. Finally, some contributions will be collected for the challenges of an outgoing Church. (shrink)

Landini discusses the second edition of Principia Mathematica, to show Russella (TM)s intellectual relationship with Wittgenstein and Ramsey.

This chapter is a work in applied metaphysics. Recent discussions of monism and metaphysical dependence are deployed to develop a view—the doctrine of divine priority (DDP)—that is a viable alternative to the doctrine of divine simplicity (DDS). DDS and the traditional motivation for it are discussed, then DDP is introduced by way of an analogy involving Jonathan Schaffer’s distinction between two forms of monism. It is argued that DDP is an alternative to DDS by showing that it is consistent with (...) the traditional motivation for the latter view, and argued that DDP is a viable alternative by showing that objections to its peculiar implications rest on assumptions that can reasonably be rejected. In the concluding section, the findings of the main discussion are summarized and DDP’s potential theological import is illustrated with a brief discussion of a possible solution to the Problem of the Trinity it affords. (shrink)

In Complicity and Moral Accountability, Gregory Mellema presents a philosophical approach to the moral issues involved in complicity. Starting with a taxonomy of Thomas Aquinas, according to whom there are nine ways for one to become complicit in the wrongdoing of another, Mellema analyzes each kind of complicity and examines the moral status of someone complicit in each of these ways. Mellema's central argument is that one must perform a contributing action to qualify as an accomplice, and that it is (...) always morally blameworthy to perform such an action. Additionally, he argues that an accomplice frequently bears moral responsibility for the outcome of the other's wrongdoing, but he distinguishes this case from cases in which the accomplice is tainted by the wrongdoing of the principal actor. He further distinguishes between enabling, facilitating, and condoning harm, and introduces the concept of indirect complicity. Mellema tackles issues that are clearly important to any case of collective and shared responsibility, yet rarely discussed in depth, always presenting his arguments clearly, concisely, and engagingly. His account of the nonmoral as well as moral qualities of complicity in wrongdoing--especially of the many and varied ways in which principles and accomplices can interact--is highly illuminating. Liberally sprinkled with helpful and nuanced examples, Complicity and Moral Accountability vividly illustrates the many ways in which one may be complicit in wrongdoing. "In Complicity and Moral Accountability, Gregory Mellema has made an immensely important contribution to the discussion of group morality and collective responsibility both within and far beyond professional academic philosophy. His clearly written book will be essential reading." --Fergus Kerr, Honorary Fellow, University of Edinburgh. (shrink)

In The Decline of the West Spengler puts forward a type of philosophical anthropology, an account of the structures of human experiential consciousness and a method of “physiognomic” analysis, which I argue has dimensions that can be understood as akin to existential phenomenology. Humanity, for Spengler, is witness to the creative flux of “Becoming” and constructs a world of phenomena bounded by death, underpinned by the two prime feelings of dread and longing and structured by the two forms of Destiny (...) (Time) and Direction (Space). Human existence, Spengler argues, is future-directed and open in the sense that there is a certain degree of freedom in the ways in which humanity can actualize its existential possibilities. In the course of elaborating the existential implications of this future-orientation, Spengler introduces the concept of care (Sorge), the fundamental experiential structure. (shrink)

Putnam discusses each of the fifteen odes found in the book, studying the work both as a whole and as a series of interactive units.

In the mid-twentieth century, Jérome Gaïth drew attention to the possible influence of Plotinus’ Enneads VI 8 (39) on Gregory of Nyssa’s theory of Divine will. In this treatise, despite being aware of the inappropriateness of all language to describe the One, Plotinus ascribes to it the classical traits of human action: will, freedom, self-determination, though raised to an absolute degree. In the present study we will analyse the reception and transformation of this theory in Nyssen and its anthropological corollaries, (...) in which he extends the virtuality of human freedom to an ontological level. Resumen: A mediados del siglo XX, Jérome Gaïth señalaba la posible influencia de Enéadas VI 8 (39) de Plotino sobre la teoría de la voluntad divina de Gregorio de Nisa. En ese tratado, a pesar de ser consciente de la impropiedad de todo lenguaje para describir lo Uno, Plotino le atribuye los clásicos distintivos del obrar humano: voluntad, libertad, autodeterminación, aunque elevados al grado absoluto. En el presente estudio analizaremos la recepción y transformación de esta teoría en el Niseno y sus corolarios antropológicos, en los que extiende la virtualidad de la libertad humana al plano ontológico. (shrink)

"There is a growing unease among geographers with the notion of geography as spatial analysis but, as yet, no book has appeared which is able to assimilate and develop the profound methodological developments and changes in philosophy which have occurred since the sixties. Ideology, Science and Human Geography re-examines the nature of geography after the positivist revolution and provides a critique of the discipline from the perspective of the social sciences in general. For Gregory, the new geography's commitment to the (...) paradigms of natural science was simply a reaffirmation of the Victorian tradition of geography. The ideological consequences of this are discussed in relation to recent changes in the social sciences to argue that a scientific geography must provide explanations which are at once structural, reflexive and committed. In questioning many of the assumptions of quantitative methodology the book seeks, above all, to reinstate man into the study of geography." -- Publisher's description. (shrink)

The Oxford Companion to the Mind is a classic. Published in 1987, to huge acclaim, it immediately took its place as the indispensable guide to the mysteries - and idiosyncracies - of the human mind. In no other book can the reader find discussions of concepts such as language, memory, and intelligence, side by side with witty definitions of common human experiences such as the 'cocktail-party' and 'halo' effects, and the least effort principle. Richard Gregory again brings his wit, wisdom, (...) and expertise to bear on this most elusive of subjects. Research into the mind and brain has moved on in bounds in recent years, and interest in the subject has never been so high. There has been a shift in focus away from Freud's concept of the unconscious onto consciousness itself. The new edition of the Companion includes three 'mini symposia' - on consciousness, brain scanning, and artificial intelligence - with contributions from a number of specialists, and encompassing a range of approaches. Cultural as well as scientific in approach, this accessible book offers authoritative descriptions and analysis. With new entries on controversial topics such as artificial life, attachment theory, caffeine, cruetly, drama, extra-terrestrial intelligence, genetics of mental illness, imagination, lying, puzzles, and twins, this highly-anticipated second edition explores the most intriguing of subjects. (shrink)

After a period of relative exhaustion, French phenomenology has experienced a powerful revival in the last ten years, with the emer-gence of a “cosmological” paradigm in phenomenology. While this situation is obviously to be welcomed, it also presents contemporary phenomenologists with the challenge of acquiring a compass that will enable them to find their bearings in this rapidly reconfiguring philosophical landscape, and according to principles that still partly elude those who are committed to them. In so doing, the aim of (...) this study is twofold: firstly, to put forward a series of hypotheses as to the way in which it is being structured - and thus to elaborate a typology of contemporary French phenomenologies; and secondly, to attempt to determine the stakes and also the presuppositions of this new philosophical “deal” which, perhaps, remains transitory and, as such, rich in a future that, for the time being, it is only possible to presage. (shrink)

Presenting the first book-length study in English of Aristotle's Sophistical Refutations, this work takes a fresh look at this seminal text on false reasoning.

We often ascribe possibility to the scenes that are displayed by mental or nonmental sensory images. The paper presents a novel argument for thinking that we are prima facie justified in ascribing metaphysical possibility to what is displayed by suitable visual images, and it argues that many of our imagery‐based ascriptions of metaphysical possibility are therefore prima facie justified. Some potential objections to the arguments are discussed, and some potential extensions of them, to cover nonvisual forms of imagery and nonmetaphysical (...) forms of possibility, are endorsed. (shrink)

This introduction to modern work in analytic philosophy uses the example of the proper name to give a clear explanation of the logical theories of Gottlob Frege, and explain the application of his ideas to ordinary language. McCulloch then shows how meaning is rooted in the philosophy of mind and the question of intentionality, and looks at the ways in which thought can be "about" individual material objects.

Using Sartre is an introduction to the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre which promotes Sartrean views but adopts a consistently analytical approach to him. Concentrating on his early philosophy, up to and including Sartre's masterwork Being and Nothingness, Gregory McCulloch demonstrates how much analytical philosophers miss when they neglect Sartre and the continental tradition in philosophy. In the classic spirit of analytical philosophy, Using Sartre is a clear and pithy exposition of Sartre's early work. Written specifically for beginners and non-specialists, the (...) book is sure to spark new interest in Sartre and the existentialists while also making a significant contribution to the analytical philosophy of mind. It indicates how the analytical and continental approaches to philosophy may be brought into closer relation to one another. (shrink)