The present text surveys and reevaluates the meaning and scope of Ortega y Gasset’s philosophy. The chapters reveal the most important aspects of his history such as the Neokantian training he went thru in Germany as well as his discovery of Husserl’s phenomenology around 1912. The work also covers his original contributions to philosophy namely vital and historical reason - and the cultural and educational mission he proposed to achieve. The Spanish – and to a certain extent the European – (...) circumstance was the milieu from which his work emerged but this does not limit Ortega’s scope. Rather, he believed that universal truths can only emerge from the particulars in which they are embedded. The publication in 2010 of a critical edition of his Complete Works opened worldwide access for many unpublished manuscripts, and some of his lectures. There is renewed interest among students and researchers in Ortega and this book uniquely delivers scholarship on his content in English. (shrink)

Segundo Bernard Lonergan, a possibilidade de objectivarmos a estrutura imanente do sujeito cognoscente e agente exige um percurso de auto-transcendência cognitiva e de auto-transcendência moral. Esse dinamismo de "auto-apropriação da auto-consciência intelectual e racional começa por uma teoria do conhecimento, estende-se até uma metafísica e uma ética e ascende até uma concepção e uma afirmação de Deus, a qual é confrontada finalmente pelo problema do mal, exigindo a transformação de uma inteligência que confia em si mesma num intellectus quaerens idem". (...) Assim, o presente artigo pretende ser uma introdução ao reconhecimento do alcance e do impacto atribuído por Bernard Lonergan quer à gnosiologia quer à ontologia. Para tal, procede-se a uma apresentação do significado próprio do "acto de intelecção" e do sentido dos diferentes modos de operação consciente do sujeito, bem como a uma identificação das diversas configurações da experiência que essa compreensão revela, nomeadamente em ordem a uma explicitação das noções concretas, irrestritas e dinâmicas de "ser proporcionado" e de "ser transcendente". /// Taking into account that for Bernard Lonergan, the immanent structure of the human being as an agent and as a subject requires a process of cognitional and moral self-transcendence, the article intends to show how for Lonergan this dynamism of self-appropriation of one's own intellectual and rational self-consciousness begins as cognitional theory, expands into a metaphysics and an ethics, mounts to a conception and an affirmation of God, only to be confronted with the problem of evil and its inevitable demand for the transformation of the self-reliant intelligence into anintellectus quaerens fidem. The article, therefore, explores the relationship between the several meanings of "insight", the different modes of conscious operations of the subject, and the diverse configurations of experience, as disclosed by the dynamic, concrete, and irrestricted notions of "proportionate being" and "transcendent being". (shrink)

Ao contrário do enigma que pode ser nomeado, representado e decifrado, o mistério é indizível e inefável. O Mistério não é uma obscuridade que pode ser dissipada pela luz meridiana da razão, mas é o próprio fundamento da racionalidade. O mistério refere-se ao excesso essencial de uma divina e incomensurável Ação criadora.

A filosofia do conhecimento de Leonardo Coimbra desenvolve-se sob a noção de uma relação dialéctica intuitivo-racional e lógico-poética. Toma a realidade, não de forma parcial e redutora, mas de forma integral, na relação progressiva e ascendente do pensar com o ser, através daquilo que se revela nos diferentes níveis da experiência humana: físico, bio-psicológico, científico, estético, ético, metafísico e religioso.Um conhecimento que não se reduz ao plano cognitivo e discursivo da razão lógico-analítica, mas também abrange o plano afectivo da razão (...) analógica e poético-mistérica. Através das experiências noético-emocionais da Alegria, Dor e Graça, a gnosiologia criacionista parte do conhecimento pré-categorial do ver intuitivo, para o conhecimento discursivo do ver conceptual, terminando na experiência-síntese metafísico-religiosa da visão ginástica em que se dá a contemplação do divino. (shrink)

Since antiquity, there have been different philosophical and scientific theories about erotic desire and sexual experience. In this work, we will identify the metaphysics of sexuality in the Judeo-Christian perspective of creation and in the irrationalist perspective of Schopenhauer’s atheistic pessimism. Christian theology sacralizes heterosexuality, rejecting the Gnostic antagonism between matter and spirit. In dialogue with contemporary feminist movements, we will try to present the different rational models that justify sexual differentiation and gender identity. We will develop an empathetic and (...) non-homophobic dialogue with constructivist and existentialist theories that separate gender difference from the deterministic biologism of sexual difference. We will seek to verify the contribution of Christian personalist models to a spirituality of gender identity that reconciles culturalist theses and essentialist theses in the intelligibility of gender identity. (shrink)

In this paper, I will argue that there is a version of possibilism—inspired by the modal analogue of Kit Fine’s fragmentalism—that can be combined with a weakening of actualism. The reasons for analysing this view, which I call Modal Fragmentalism, are twofold. Firstly, it can enrich our understanding of the actualism/possibilism divide, by showing that, at least in principle, the adoption of possibilia does not correspond to an outright rejection of the actualist intuitions. Secondly, and more specifically, it can enrich (...) our understanding of concretism, by proving that, at least in principle, the idea that objects have properties in an absolute manner is compatible with transworld identity. (shrink)

Este ensayo reflexiona sobre la relación entre sociedad compleja y ciencias sociales. Entendemos que la pregunta por los límites epistemológicos de la investigación social es la pregunta por el papel de la investigación social en el marco de la sociedad compleja. En esta formulación hay por lo m..

Secrecy and ethics are often seen as opposing forces within organizations. Secret work is viewed as unethical, as it excludes others from knowing and is associated with self-interested behavior. We contend that this view does not account for the dynamic inherent to secrecy and to the fact that ethics is embedded in social relations. This paper suggests an alternative view. We consider secrecy as a social process which allows employees to maintain their ethics when faced with managerial policies that affect (...) the quality of their work. Building on an in-depth case study of a team of journalists who worked in secret after their managers decided to prioritize the interests of shareholders and advertising firms, we show how these journalists managed to maintain collective ethics through secrecy and to do their work according to their own moral principles. This paper offers two primary contributions. First, we show a mutually beneficial relationship between ethics and secrecy in organizations, wherein secrecy helps maintaining ethics in everyday work. Second, the paper shows how secrecy can lead to ethical resistance, via a transformation of the power relationship with managers. (shrink)

This paper analyses the relationship between religion and the field of medicine and health care in light of other recent studies. Generally, religion and spirituality have a positive impact on disease. For patients diagnosed with malignancies and chronic diseases, religion is an important dimension of healing. From ancient times, God has been considered an inspiration for the physician's knowledge and healing resources. Some authors have proposed a brief history of spiritual and religious states that the doctor can apply to his (...) patient. Religiosity and spirituality allow patients to receive better social support and to benefit greatly from resources provided by religious organizations (cultural activities, jobs, and health care counseling). The two terms "religion" and "spirituality" have different meanings but are always in connection. Many studies emphasize that people with greater religiosity and spirituality have a lower prevalence of depression and suicide, better quality of life, and greater survival. Additionally the article discusses the complementary health care benefits of religious fasting. Caloric and protein restrictions promoted by religious fasting were associated with improvement in control or prophylaxis of many diseases and with longevity. (shrink)

In this paper, I review and compare major literature on goals in argumentation scholarship, aiming to answer the question of how to take the different goals of arguers into account when analysing and evaluating public political arguments. On the basis of the review, I suggest to differentiate between the different goals along two important distinctions: first, distinguish between goals which are intrinsic to argumentation and goals which are extrinsic to it and second distinguish between goals of the act of arguing (...) and goals of argumentative interactions. Furthermore, I propose to analyse public political arguments as multi-purposive activity types and reconstruct the argumentative exchanges as a series of simultaneous discussions. This enables us to examine public political arguments from a perspective in which the intrinsic goals of argumentation are in principle instrumental for the achievement of the socio-political purposes of argumentation, and consequently, it makes our assessment of the argumentative quality of the argument also indicative of the quality of the socio-political processes to which the arguments contribute. (shrink)

Despite ample research on corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR), there is a lack of consensus on the nature of the relationship between these two concepts and on how this relationship manifests across institutional contexts. Drawing on the national business systems approach, this article systematically reviews 218 research articles published over a 27-year period to map how CG–CSR research has evolved and progressed theoretically and methodologically across different institutional contexts. To shed light on the full gamut of the (...) CG–CSR relationship, we categorize and explore the nature of this relationship along two strands: (a) CSR as a function of CG and (b) CG as a function of CSR. Through this review, we identify key themes where CG–CSR research has lagged and account for under-explored contexts in this domain. Finally, we put forth a comprehensive agenda for progressing future research in the field. (shrink)

"Plato's Statesman reconsiders many questions familiar to readers of the Republic: questions in political theory - such as the qualifications for the leadership of a state and the best from of constitution (politeia) - as well as questions of philosophical methodology and epistemology. Instead of the theory of Forms that is the centrepiece of the epistemology of the Republic, the emphasis here is on the dialectical practice of collection and division (diairesis), in whose service the interlocutors also deploy the ancillary (...) methods of myth and of models (paradeigmata). Plato here introduces the doctrine of due measure (to metrion) and a conception of statecraft (politikē) as an architectonic expertise that governs subordinate disciplines such as rhetoric and the military - doctrines later developed by Aristotle. Readers will find a sustained defence of the importance of expertise (technē or epistēmē) in the conduct of affairs of state, a robust (although not unqualified) defence of the rule of law, and an unsparing but nuanced critique of democratic government. The chapters in this volume provide a comprehensive and detailed philosophical engagement with the entirety of Plato's wide-ranging dialogue, with successive chapters devoted to the sections of the dialogue as it unfolds, and an introduction that places the dialogue in the context of Plato's philosophy as a whole. While not a commentary in the traditional sense, the volume engages with Plato's Statesman in its entirety" -- Publisher's description. (shrink)

We propose a couple of general ways of constructing authentication schemes from actions of a semigroup on a set, without exploiting any specific algebraic properties of the set acted upon. Then we give several concrete realizations of this general idea, and in particular, we describe several authentication schemes with long-term private keys where forgery is NP-hard. Computationally hard problems that can be employed in these realizations include the Graph Colorability problem, the Diophantine problem, and many others.

We introduce two versions of proof systems dealing with systems of inequalities: Positivstellensatz refutations and Positivstellensatz calculus. For both systems we prove the lower bounds on degrees and lengths of derivations for the example due to Lazard, Mora and Philippon. These bounds are sharp, as well as they are for the Nullstellensatz refutations and for the polynomial calculus. The bounds demonstrate a gap between the Null- and Positivstellensatz refutations on one hand, and the polynomial calculus and Positivstellensatz calculus on the (...) other. (shrink)

In today’s ‘networked’ public sphere, arguers are faced with countless controversies roaming out there. Knowing what is at stake at any point in time, and keeping under control the contribution one’s arguments make to the different interrelated issues requires careful craft Keeping in touch with Pragma-Dialectics. In honor of Frans H. van Eemeren. John Benjamins, Amsterdam, 2011). In this paper, I explore the difficulty of determining what is at stake at any moment of the argumentative situation and explore the challenge (...) that that creates for examining the strategic shape of arguments. I argue that a meaningful examination of networked argumentative encounters requires that the boundaries of an encounter remain ‘fluid. In dealing with the fluid boundaries, I suggest to identify “argumentative associates” and “standing standpoints”. (shrink)

Stakeholder theory has gained currency in the business and society literature in recent years in light␣of its practicality from the perspective of managers and scholars. In accounting for the recent ascendancy of␣stakeholder theory, this article presents an overview of␣two traditional conceptualizations of corporate social␣responsibility (CSR) (Carroll: 1979, ‹A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Performance', The Academy of Management Review 4(4), 497–505 and Wood: 1991, ‹Corporate Social Performance Revisited', The Academy of Management Review 16(4), 691–717), highlighting their predominant inclination toward providing (...) static taxonomic CSR descriptions. The article then makes the case for a stakeholder approach to CSR, reviewing its rationale and outlining how it has␣been integrated into recent empirical studies. In light of this review, the article adopts a stakeholder framework – the Ethical Performance Scorecard (EPS) proposed by Spiller (2000, ‹Ethical Business and Investment: A Model For Business and Society', Journal of Business Ethics 27, 149–160) – to examine the CSR approach of a sample of␣Lebanese and Syrian firms with an interest in CSR␣and␣test relevant hypotheses derived from the CSR/stakeholder literature. The findings are analyzed and implications drawn regarding the usefulness of a stakeholder approach to CSR. (shrink)

"Plato's Statesman reconsiders many questions familiar to readers of the Republic: questions in political theory - such as the qualifications for the leadership of a state and the best from of constitution (politeia) - as well as questions of philosophical methodology and epistemology. Instead of the theory of Forms that is the centrepiece of the epistemology of the Republic, the emphasis here is on the dialectical practice of collection and division (diairesis), in whose service the interlocutors also deploy the ancillary (...) methods of myth and of models (paradeigmata). Plato here introduces the doctrine of due measure (to metrion) and a conception of statecraft (politikē) as an architectonic expertise that governs subordinate disciplines such as rhetoric and the military - doctrines later developed by Aristotle. Readers will find a sustained defence of the importance of expertise (technē or epistēmē) in the conduct of affairs of state, a robust (although not unqualified) defence of the rule of law, and an unsparing but nuanced critique of democratic government. The chapters in this volume provide a comprehensive and detailed philosophical engagement with the entirety of Plato's wide-ranging dialogue, with successive chapters devoted to the sections of the dialogue as it unfolds, and an introduction that places the dialogue in the context of Plato's philosophy as a whole. While not a commentary in the traditional sense, the volume engages with Plato's Statesman in its entirety" -- Publisher's description. (shrink)

We show that given ù many supercompact cardinals, there is a generic extension in which the tree property holds at ℵ ω²+1 and the SCH fails at ℵ ω².

After providing an overview of Corporate Social Responsibility research in different contexts, and noting the varied methodologies adopted, two robust CSR conceptualizations - one by Carroll, 497-505) and the other by Wood, 691-717) - have been adopted for this research and their integration explored. Using this newly synthesized framework, the research critically examines the CSR approach and philosophy of eight companies that are considered active in CSR in the Lebanese context. The findings suggest the lack of a systematic, focused, and (...) institutionalized approach to CSR and that the understanding and practice of CSR in Lebanon are still grounded in the context of philanthropic action. The findings are qualified within the framework of existing contextual realities and relevant implications drawn accordingly. (shrink)

ABSTRACT:This paper explores how corporations, through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, can help to effect positive developmental change. We use research on institutional change, deinstitutionalization, and institutional work to develop our central theoretical framework. This framework allows us to suggest more explicitly how CSR can potentially be mobilized as a purposive form of institutional work aimed at disrupting existing institutions in favor of positive change. We take the gender institution in the Arab Middle East as a case in point. (...) Our suggestion is that the current context of the Arab Spring, which combined with increasingly obvious endogenous institutional contradictions, has created a fertile ground for shaping change processes within the gender institution. Finally, we provide concrete examples of CSR initiatives that regional corporate actors can engage in for positive developmental change supporting women. (shrink)

In this paper I shed light on the multi-purposive nature of debates in the European Parliament. As a case in point, I examine a debate on immigration in the wake of a migratory crisis in the Italian island of Lampedusa in early 2011. I analyze the points of view argued for by MEPs, aiming at identifying the different institutional goals that are typically pursued and characterizing the ways in which these goals shape the argumentative exchanges. The link between the multiple (...) goals communicators have and the discourse choices they make can be assumed on the basis of previous research. In line with the pragma-dialectical view of argumentative discourse taking place in the context of more or less institutionalized argumentative activity types, institutional goals are understood as those goals that can be attributed to arguers on the basis of the type of activity in which they are engaged. In identifying the institutional goals, I follow Craig and consider not only goals which are intentional, formal, and directly responsible for a certain discourse choice, but also goals which are functional, strategic, and only indirectly responsible for discourse choices. The analysis shows that the MEPs pursued three kinds of goals: goals that are 1) assigned to them by the occasion of the debate; 2) related to the powers of Parliament; and 3) associated with the different identities they assume in Parliament. While the pursuit of the occasion-related and powers-related goals gave rise to multiple simultaneous discussions, the pursuit of the identity-related goals guided the MEPs’ choices and formulations in these discussions. (shrink)

Given a supercompact cardinal κ and a regular cardinal Λ < κ, we describe a type of forcing such that in the generic extension the cofinality of κ is Λ, there is a very good scale at κ, a bad scale at κ, and SCH at κ fails. When creating our model we have great freedom in assigning the value of 2κ, and so we can make SCH hold or fail arbitrarily badly.

In this paper I shed light on the multi-purposive nature of debates in the European Parliament. As a case in point, I examine a debate on immigration in the wake of a migratory crisis in the Italian island of Lampedusa in early 2011. I analyze the points of view argued for by MEPs, aiming at identifying the different institutional goals that are typically pursued and characterizing the ways in which these goals shape the argumentative exchanges. The link between the multiple (...) goals communicators have and the discourse choices they make can be assumed on the basis of previous research. In line with the pragma-dialectical view of argumentative discourse taking place in the context of more or less institutionalized argumentative activity types, institutional goals are understood as those goals that can be attributed to arguers on the basis of the type of activity in which they are engaged. In identifying the institutional goals, I follow Craig and consider not only goals which are intentional, formal, and directly responsible for a certain discourse choice, but also goals which are functional, strategic, and only indirectly responsible for discourse choices. The analysis shows that the MEPs pursued three kinds of goals: goals that are 1) assigned to them by the occasion of the debate; 2) related to the powers of Parliament; and 3) associated with the different identities they assume in Parliament. While the pursuit of the occasion-related and powers-related goals gave rise to multiple simultaneous discussions, the pursuit of the identity-related goals guided the MEPs’ choices and formulations in these discussions. (shrink)

We show that given ω many supercompact cardinals, there is a generic extension in which there are no Aronszajn trees at ℵω+1. This is an improvement of the large cardinal assumptions. The previous hypothesis was a huge cardinal and ω many supercompact cardinals above it, in Magidor—Shelah [7].

Given a regular cardinal λ and λ many supercompact cardinals, we describe a type of forcing such that in the generic extension there is a cardinal κ with cofinality λ, the Singular Cardinal Hypothesis at κ fails, and the tree property holds at κ+.

We construct a model in which the singular cardinal hypothesis fails at ℵωℵω. We use characterizations of genericity to show the existence of a projection between different Prikry type forcings.

Formulating and translating corporate social responsibility strategy into actual managerial practices and outcome values remain ongoing challenges for many organizations. This paper argues that the human resource management function can potentially play an important role in supporting organizations to address this challenge. We argue that HRM could provide an interesting and dynamic support to CSR strategy design as well as implementation and delivery. Drawing on a systematic review of relevant strategic CSR and HRM literatures, this paper highlights the important interfaces (...) between CSR and HRM and develops a conceptual model, the CSR-HRM co-creation model, which accounts for the potential HRM roles in CSR and identifies a range of outcome values resulting from a more effective integration of the role of HRM within CSR. The paper concludes with relevant theoretical and managerial recommendations that advance our understanding of the potential interfaces between HRM and CSR and how HRM can support a systematic and progressive CSR agenda. (shrink)

In the current paper, our aim is to explore the latent power dynamics surrounding corporate social responsibility in developing countries. To do this, we synthesize an analytic framework that borrows from both cross-cultural management literature as well as feminist considerations of power. We then use the framework to examine three streams of CSR literature. Our analysis uncovers the prevalence of arguments and discussions about indigenous and power-over themes rather than more generative, endogenous, and power-to themes. The paper concludes with the (...) suggestion for more space in the CSR literature for examining the realities and potentialities of local SME CSR expressions to counterbalance the overwhelming focus on MNCs. Such counterbalancing can better lead to the recognition that power and domination are not the only important dynamics to examine in CSR research. Just as important is the need for a more nuanced consideration of the role and contributions of different actors to the continuously unfolding CSR discourse. (shrink)

This paper aims at creating an adequate theoretical basis for a systematic integration of institutional insights into the pragma-dialectical analysis of argumentative exchanges that occur in institutionalised contexts. The argumentative practice of Prime Minister’s Question Time in the British House of Commons is examined, as a case in point, in order to illustrate how the knowledge of the characteristics of an institution, its rules and conventions can be integrated into the pragma-dialectical analysis. The paper highlights the role that theoretical concepts (...) and tools such as strategic manoeuvring, argumentative activity types and dialectical profiles play in this integration. (shrink)

The spotlight in the CSR discourse has traditionally been focused on multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper builds on a burgeoning stream of literature that has accorded recent attention to the relevance and importance of integrating small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the CSR debate. The paper begins by an overview of the CSR literature and a synthesis of relevant evidence pertaining to the peculiarities and special relational attributes of SMEs in the context of CSR. Noting the thin theoretical grounding in (...) the literature on offer, the paper then presents relevant CSR theoretical perspectives that could be useful in conducting further research on SMEs. In light of this framework, the paper outlines the findings of an empirical study highlighting the peculiar CSR orientations of SMEs in a developing country context in comparison to some of their MNC counterparts. The study is qualitative in nature, capitalizing on a comparative research design to highlight differences in CSR orientations between SMEs and MNCs. The findings are presented and implications are drawn regarding the peculiar relational attributes of SMEs in the context of CSR generally, and developing countries more specifically, and how this inclination can be further nurtured and leveraged. (shrink)

A sociedade está passando por uma época de mudanças significativas em todos os níveis. A Igreja que está nesse contexto histórico também vive um momento importante de mudança. A escolha recente do Cardeal Bergoglio para se tonar papa, a escolha do nome papal "Francisco", as atitudes práticas e os discursos deste Papa indicam este caminho de mudança. Esta proposta se insere no contexto de uma sociedade marcada pelo consumo desenfreado, pela idolatria ao dinheiro e, como ele mesmo afirma, por uma (...) "globalização exclusiva" de modo especial das classes mais pobres. Por isso, propõe uma globalização da esperança que visa a superar a globalização da exclusão e do pessimismo diante dessa realidade social. Essa esperança de mudança tem os seus protagonistas principais: os humildes, pobres e excluídos. Por isso, para acentuar esta nova proposta do pontificado, tomarei como referência um discurso que Francisco fez para os movimentos sociais da Bolívia em sua visita pastoral àquele país, visto que a tônica do discurso foi marcada pela palavra "mudança". (shrink)

The current society is ruled by the capitalist economic system. Its main feature is the centrality of the profit. Human life and other species of life, nowadays take the risk of being manipulated to obtain that profit. So, the reality of health risks to be swayed by this market mentality and end up reducing the person and the human body as a marketing object. By facing this reality should reaffirm in us that life is worthy in itself, and therefore must (...) be respected in its integrity. Thus, the Bioethics reflection, despite any interests, must place the human life in the center in order to establish the criteria of morality in the researches. The technical advance is important as it is used to promote the person and not to manipulate the market and profits of big business investors. (shrink)

The situation of mixed marriages is presented today in a whole new way. That’s because in recent decades relations between the churches have changed so revolutionarily. The always greater contact between its members provide more and more occasions for these marriages to happen. Aware of this situation the churches sought throughout history solutions in order to solve this problem. Before they closed in their own communities and sought to prevent or prohibit such marriages to happen. So it is true that (...) the code of Canon Law of 1917 showed total distrust in these marriages. But social, economic changes and the new urban settings caused these barriers to be broken. Thus, the greater contact between people became inevitable and allowed an increase in the number of these marriages. As a result the standards about mixed marriages have become more flexible. Besides, marriage is natural right of all. In the Catholic Church this flexibility made itself specifically from the Second Vatican Council, which recognized the value of the other communities in the mystery of salvation. The conclusions of the Council had its influence felt on the promulgation of the 1983 code. However, the Church continues advising against mixed marriages. This is because they still offer danger to the faith of the couple, to the education of the children and to own holiness that the experience of marriage requires. But for couples who have lived in this marriage she seeks to safeguard by its own unit. (shrink)