The realm of freedom in materialist tradition depends on the liberation of work through the reappropriation of the means and conditions of life. The appropriation of technology is especially important. Indeed, it is a means to provide a leisurethat has nothing to do with laziness and indulgence and has much to do with activity in freedom. Since capitalism is based on the denial of leisure, it is all the more necessary to obtain leisure now that we live in a society (...) where there never had been so many chances of liberation from work and, at the same time, people never had worked so much. (shrink)

El reino de la libertaden la tradición materialista pasa por la liberación del trabajo a través de la reapropiación de las condiciones de existencia y, principalmente, de la tecnología como medio de proporcionar un ocioque nada tenga ya que ver con la pereza y el abandono y mucho con la actividad en libertad. Pues ya que el capitalismo se fundamenta en la negación del ocio resulta necesaria su consecución ahora que vivimos en una sociedad en la que nunca había habido (...) tantas posibilidades de liberación del trabajo y, a la vez, nunca se había trabajado tanto. (shrink)

Partimos de dos modelos generales del quehacer filosofico, para presentar, a la vez, un trabajo a destiempo que desglosa en varias secciones los pasajes hacia la unidad de lo que venimos a denominar como pensamiento posthumanista. Por tanto, la estructura de este libro y las proposiciones mismas que se defienden en el tiene y tienen una forma fractal, como las munecas rusas, esto es, una forma en la que se reitera y explora en diferentes niveles de emergencia problemas analogos. Simon (...) Royo Hernandez (Madrid, 1967) es profesor TAR en la Universidad Nacional de Educacion a distancia (UNED) donde ha sido tambien profesor tutor de la asignatura Historia de la Filosofia antigua en el Grado de Filosofia. Ha sido profesor de Educacion Secundaria y actualmente simultanea su labor en la UNED con la de Ayudante de Servicios Generales del Ministerio de Trabajo y Empleo. Entre sus numerosas publicaciones cabe destacar: -"Nietzsche and Unamuno: The Meaning of the Earth." New Nietzsche Studies. Nietzsche"s Ecology & Kant, Neokantianism, Nietzsche. Volume 5:1/2 Spring/Summer 2002, pp.42-56. New York, USA. (shrink)

The relationship of part to whole is one of the most fundamental there is; this is the first and only full-length study of this concept. This book shows that mereology, the formal theory of part and whole, is essential to ontology. Peter Simons surveys and criticizes previous theories, especially the standard extensional view, and proposes a more adequate account which encompasses both temporal and modal considerations in detail. 'Parts could easily be the standard book on mereology for the next twenty (...) or thirty years.' Timothy Williamson, Grazer Philosophische Studien. (shrink)

Simone Weil (1909-1943) was a defining figure of the twentieth century; a philosopher, Christian, resistance fighter, anarchist, feminist, labor activist and teacher. She was described by T. S. Eliot as "a woman of genius, of a kind of genius akin to that of the saints," and by Albert Camus as "the only great spirit of our time." Originally published posthumously in two volumes, these newly reissued notebooks, are among the very few unedited personal writings of Weil's that still survive today. (...) Containing her thoughts on art, love, science, God and the meaning of life, they give context and meaning to Weil's famous works, revealing a unique philosophy in development and offering a rare private glimpse of her singular personality. (shrink)

Simone Weil is one of the most profound thinkers of the twentieth century. Her writings encompass an extraordinary breadth of subjects, including philosophy, religion, sociology, and politics. A political activist and resistance fighter, her accomplishments are even more astonishing in light of her death in 1943 at the age of thirty-four. Whilst Weil was concerned with deep philosophical questions - the nature of human thought and human faculties, the limits of language, and thought's contact with reality through mediation, science and (...) beauty - the full significance of her work has frequently been obscured by her categorization as a purely religious writer or Christian mystic. Simone Weil: Basic Writings is an expertly edited anthology of her most important writings, presenting Weil's philosophy as it relates to politics, the nature of work, human nature in its duality, necessity, beauty and goodness. D. K. Levy and Marina Barabas have translated all the extracts anew, including translations of important notes and references missing from existing English language editions of Weil's work. Following an extensive introduction by D. K. Levy which places Weil's life and thought in context, each section opens with a short introduction situating the chosen passages within Weil's oeuvre. Simone Weil: Basic Writings is an outstanding starting point for anyone seeking an introduction to Weil's philosophy, and also essential reading for students and scholars of Weil's thought in related disciplines. (shrink)

Ethics, religion, and spirituality -- Spirituality in care -- Spirituality and ethics -- Love -- The community of care : fit for purpose -- Values, virtues, and the patient -- Challenging faith -- Spirituality and the domain of justice.

Gravity and Grace was the first ever publication by the remarkable thinker and activist, Simone Weil. In it Gustave Thibon, the priest to whom she had entrusted her notebooks before her untimely death, compiled in one remarkable volume a compendium of her writings that have become a source of spiritual guidance and wisdom for countless individuals.

Particle indistinguishability has always been considered a purely quantum mechanical concept. In parallel, indistinguishable particles have been thought to be entities that are not properly speaking objects at all. I argue, to the contrary, that the concept can equally be applied to classical particles, and that in either case particles may (with certain exceptions) be counted as objects even though they are indistinguishable. The exceptions are elementary bosons (for example photons).

Pierre Bourdieu is widely regarded as one of the most influential sociologists of his generation, and yet the reception of his work in different cultural contexts and academic disciplines has been varied and uneven. This volume maps out the legacy of Pierre Bourdieu in contemporary social and political thought from the standpoint of classical European sociology and from the broader perspective of transatlantic social science. It brings together contributions from prominent scholars in the field, providing a range of perspectives on (...) the continuing relevance of Bourdieu's oeuvre to substantive problems in social and political analysis. (shrink)

We demonstrate that the quantum-mechanical description of composite physical systems of an arbitrary number of similar fermions in all their admissible states, mixed or pure, for all finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, is not in conflict with Leibniz's Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles (PII). We discern the fermions by means of physically meaningful, permutation-invariant categorical relations, i.e. relations independent of the quantum-mechanical probabilities. If, indeed, probabilistic relations are permitted as well, we argue that similar bosons can also be discerned in all (...) their admissible states; but their categorical discernibility turns out to be a state-dependent matter. In all demonstrated cases of discernibility, the fermions and the bosons are discerned (i) with only minimal assumptions on the interpretation of quantum mechanics; (ii) without appealing to metaphysical notions, such as Scotusian haecceitas, Lockean substrata, Postian transcendental individuality or Adamsian primitive thisness; and (iii) without revising the general framework of classical elementary predicate logic and standard set theory, thus without revising standard mathematics. This confutes: (a) the currently dominant view that, provided (i) and (ii), the quantum-mechanical description of such composite physical systems always conflicts with PII; and (b) that if PII can be saved at all, the only way to do it is by adopting one or other of the thick metaphysical notions mentioned above. Among the most general and influential arguments for the currently dominant view are those due to Schrodinger, Margenau, Cortes, Dalla Chiara, Di Francia, Redhead, French, Teller, Butterfield, Giuntini, Mittelstaedt, Castellani, Krause and Huggett. We review them succinctly and critically as well as related arguments by van Fraassen and Massimi. (shrink)

I show that frequentism, as an explanation of probability in classical statistical mechanics, can be extended in a natural way to a decoherent quantum history space, the analogue of a classical phase space. The result is a form of finite frequentism, in which Gibbs’ concept of an infinite ensemble of gases is replaced by the quantum state expressed as a superposition of a finite number of decohering microstates. It is a form of finite and actual frequentism (as opposed to hypothetical (...) frequentism) insofar as all the microstates exist, in keeping with the decoherence-based Everett interpretation, and some versions of pilot-wave theory. (shrink)

The central claim of this article is that post-truth requires a political and socio-economical perspective, rather than a moral or epistemological one. The article consists of two parts. The first part offers a critical examination of the dominant analyses of post-truth in terms of shifting standards of the origin and the evaluation of facts. Moreover, the claim that postmodernism is the cause of post-truth is examined and refuted. In the second part an alternative perspective is developed, centring around the notion (...) of gatekeepers. Rather than linking post-truth to bullshit and postmodernism, it should be understood as a symptom of a contemporary shift in the gatekeepers of truth and knowledge. Knowledge and truth are always mediated in society through the hands of gatekeeping institutions such as journalism or science. Post-truth is a symptom of a broader transformation of the gatekeeping institutions of our current society. It therefore requires a political philosophy of these institutional shifts and the new risks they involve. (shrink)

Into wrestling with that question, Simone Weil put the very substance of her mind and temperament.

_The Radical Orthodoxy Reader _presents a selection of key readings in the field of Radical Orthodoxy, the most influential theological movement in contemporary academic theology. Radical Orthodoxy draws on pre-Enlightenment theology and philosophy to engage critically with the assumption and priorities of secularism, modernity, postmodernity, and associated theologies. In doing so it explores a wide and exciting range of issues: music, language, society, the body, the city, power, motion, space, time, personhood, sex and gender. As such it is both controversial (...) and extremely stimulating; provoking much fruitful debate amongst contemporary theologians. To assist those encountering Radical Orthodoxy for the first time, each section has an introductory commentary, related reading and helpful questions to encourage in-depth understanding and further study. (shrink)

Explorar y debatir múltiples perspectivas sobre los acontecimientos del pasado es una orientación curricular tan aceptada entre los investigadores, como poco frecuente en nuestras aulas de historia. Como en entregas anteriores de esta serie de artículos, se analiza aquí esta orientación curricular a la luz de las investigaciones y experiencias publicadas, tratando de esclarecer en qué consiste, sus claves, sus prácticas más habituales y por qué resulta valiosa para los estudiantes. La multiperspectividad está en la misma esencia de la historia (...) como disciplina. Se opone a la memoria, caracterizada por relatos cerrados que imponen una única versión del pasado. En esta tensión entre disciplina y memoria, la práctica de la enseñanza de la historia ha apostado habitualmente por la segunda. Pero aprender a analizar, valorar y debatir las distintas versiones del mundo del pasado tiene mucho más valor curricular. Multiperspetividad no sólo significa comprender la verdadera naturaleza polémica, abierta y crítica de la historia, sino que es la misma base de la ciudadanía democrática. (shrink)

Se ofrecen los materiales de una experiencia de empatía histórica para 4º de ESO, en la que los estudiantes deben construir una explicación para la aparente posición favorable al abosolutismo de gran parte del pueblo español con el regreso de Fernando VII en 1814. A partir de fuentes primarias, tanto textos como imágenes, los estudiantes van explorando diferentes aspectos de las circunstancias, ideas e intereses que convergen en aquellos acontecimientos y que constituirán la materia prima de su razonamiento histórico.

"What is required if men and women are to feel at home in society and are to recover their vitality? Into wrestling with that question, Simone Weil put the very substance of her mind and temperament. The apparently solid edifices of our prepossessions fall down before her onslaught like ninepins, and she is as fertile and forthright in her positive suggestions . . . she can be relied upon to toss aside the superficial and to come to grips with the (...) essential and the profound." -- Time Literary Supplement. (shrink)