En el presente artículo se describe la postura epistemológica de Hilary Putnam en las "Conferencias John Dewey", particularmente su oposición a la concepción de la representación mental como "interfaz", que imposibilitaría el contacto directo con (y por consiguiente el conocimiento de) las cosas del mundo externo. Tomando como punto de partida el hecho de la comunicación lingüística, se concluye, por el contrario, en la necesidad de admitir la peculiar mediación del concepto mental, en tanto signo formal. De este modo, la (...) "interfaz" aparece con características análogas a las que la gnoseología realista atribuye a los signos instrumentales. Para este análisis, se recurre a elementos propios de la epistemología de corte aristotélico-tomasiana dado que, en el marco doctrinario de Putnam, se recurre a ellos indirectamente y -según opinión de la autora- bajo una perspectiva sesgada o equívoca, que merece su esclarecimiento. (shrink)

En este trabajo, presentamos las líneas claves de la posición sostenida por Hilary Putman y los principales contrastes que el autor señala respecto de la visión de Jürgen Habermas, en el marco de un caluroso debate acerca de la relación entre los valores y las normas. Entre los temas abordados, destacan la posibilidad (o no) de separar valores y normas, cual sea el contenido universal de los enunciados éticos, en qué se funda la obligatoriedad de las normas y qué papel (...) desempeña la discusión en la situación ideal de habla, base de la ética del discurso habermasiana. Según entendemos, el debate pone de manifiesto tanto las debilidades parciales de ambas posiciones, cuanto las fecundas y latentes posibilidades de complementariedad. (shrink)

El artículo intenta realizar una síntesis de la cuestión de la libertad y los valores, su sentido ético y su anclaje onto-antropológico con el fin de señalar el contexto amplio en que éstos se sitúan en el pensamiento de Francisco Leocata. Uno de los objetivos principales de la obra de Leocata ha sido fortalecer el concepto de persona, su racionalidad y sus raíces metafísicas en respuesta a corrientes filosóficas contemporáneas que ponen en peligro la consistencia y el destino de la (...) existencia humana. (shrink)

Se analizan algunas consecuencias del escepticismo humeano concernientes a laexistencia de un Yo substancial y permanente anterior a la experiencia y coordinadorde ella. Se presentan dos propuestas: la teoría de los agregadosautoorganizativos favorecida por Francisco Varela y la tesis de las ideascognoscentes de William James. Luego se examinan tres problemas que suscitanposturas a-yoicas del tipo James-Varela: el problema de la identidad, el de latemporalidad y el de la intencionalidad como propósito. Se plantean algunassoluciones y se sugiere que la consideración de (...) un paradigma a-yoico está todavíasujeta a una filosofía especulativa.We analyze some implications of Humean scepticism regarding the existence of apermanent and substantial Self that would precede and coordinate experience.Two proposals are presented: Francisco Varela’s theory of selforganizingaggregates and William James’ thesis about ideas that know. We then examinethree problems raised by “no-self” stances of the James-Varela kind, viz., theproblems of identity, of temporality and of intentionality . We sketchsome solutions and we suggest that the consideration of a “no-self” paradigm isstill a matter of speculative philosophy. (shrink)

Although alterations in Ras signalling are found in about 30% of human cancers, the transforming activity of oncogenic Ras is not fully understood. In a recent paper, a putative Ras1 effector in S. pombe, named Scd1, was reported to localize to mitotic apindies. Scd1 physically associates with Moe1, a factor that may contribute to the inherent inatability of microtubules (MTs) and appears to be needed for proper apindle function. Altered MT dynamics within the spindle are likely to affect spindle assembly (...) and chromosome capture, processes that need to be delicately controlled if cells are to guard against genome instability adn transformation. BloEssays 23: 307‐310,2001.©2001 John Willey & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

En este artículo se presenta el guión de una conferencia que Roberto Lehmann-Nitsche, pocos años después de radicarse en la Argentina, desarrolló en 1901 acerca del folklore mapuche. La intervención se realizó a solicitud de la Deutschen Frauen Verein, una asociación de mujeres alemanas con sede en la ciudad de Buenos Aires, y abordó aspectos teóricos sobre esta disciplina, entonces en expansión, desde la perspectiva germana. Además, realizó una catalogación de los materiales empíricos documentados por este antropólogo durante los primeros (...) años de su residencia en el país. El texto original, hasta el momento inédito, se entrega en su versión en alemán y en traducción al español. En la presentación se proporciona un análisis que permite reconocer cómo en esta intervención se integran apreciaciones que Lehmann-Nitsche también sostuvo en posteriores publicaciones científicas y de divulgación por él realizadas. Como se sabe, su producción en el campo del folklore comprendió dos vertientes: por un lado, el folklore criollo y por otro, el devenido de arte verbal y tradiciones de los pueblos indígenas preexistentes, en especial textos correspondientes a géneros narrativos y adivinanzas en las lenguas propias y en castellano. En relación con este último aspecto, se retoman aportes de autores filiados en la tradición germana a fin de indicar afinidades y vínculos, con algunos americanistas que eran sus contemporáneos. (shrink)

Louise Brown's birth in 1978 heralded a new era not just in reproductive technology, but in the relationship between science, cells, and society. For the first time, human embryos could be created, selected, studied, manipulated, frozen, altered, or destroyed, outside the human body. But with this possibility came a plethora of ethical questions. Is it acceptable to destroy a human embryo for the purpose of research? Or to create an embryo with the specific purpose of destroying it for research? In (...) an attempt to construct ethical and legal frameworks for the new era of cellular reprogramming, legislators and ethicists have tried to distinguish between different kinds of biological entity. We treat cells differently depending on whether they are human or animal, somatic cells or gametes, and on whether they are embryos or not. But this approach to the ethics of cellular reprogramming is doomed to failure for the simple reason that cellular reprogramming in itself destroys the distinctions that the law requires to function. In this article, we explore the historical trajectory of cellular reprogramming and its relationship with ethics and society. We suggest that the early hype of embryo research has not obviously fulfilled expectations, but since new avenues of research are continuously opening, it is hard to say definitely that these promises have been broken. We explore the forthcoming challenges posed by the creation of DNA from scratch in the laboratory, and the implications of this for understandings of identity, privacy, and reproduction. We conclude that while ethics used to seek answers in biological facts, this is no longer possible, and a new approach is required. (shrink)

The paper analyses the place of the End in Mary Shelley’s 1826 science fiction novel The Last Man, in which the image of a world devoid of humanity, as portrayed by the last man writing the last book, is drawn before the reader through a conceptual rethinking of notions such as the loss of the world, prophecy of the future, and oblivion of the past, as well as the return of the irretrievable through the siren song.

The paper explores the contact between the literary notion of the end of the world as depicted in H.G. Wells’s science fiction novel _The Time Machine_ and the concept of extinction, in the sense developed by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier, who at the turn of the 19 th century formulated a thesis about the structure of the world with a built-in end. The time traveller in Wells’s novel is driven into the distant future by an obsessive desire to know (...) the fate of the world. He encounters it on the shores of an already dead sea, where he is greeted by the image of a dying world, unmoving in the dull red light of a never-setting sun. Cuvier, on the other hand, encounters the end of the world as a reader of traces of history as told by nature through its layering and piling up. Within these layers, Cuvier recognises moments of repetitive interruptions that have left behind not only whole species and genera, but also entire worlds in the great natural history. The key question, then, is the status of the end within the proposed mechanism of return and repetition. (shrink)

Psychonarratology is an approach to the empirical study of literary response and the processing of narrative. It draws on the empirical methodology of cognitive psychology and discourse processing as well as the theoretical insights and conceptual analysis of literary studies, particularly narratology. The present work provides a conceptual and empirical basis for this interdisciplinary approach that is accessible to researchers from either disciplinary background. An integrative review is presented of the classic problems in narratology: the status of the narrator, events (...) and plot, characters and characterization, speech and thought, and focalization. For each area, Bortolussi and Dixon critique the state of the art in narratology and literary studies, discuss relevant work in cognitive psychology, and provide a new analytical framework based on the insight that readers treat the narrator as a conversational participant. Empirical evidence is presented on each problem, much of it previously unpublished. (shrink)

The recent publications reported in 2022 reveal the possibility of obtaining mouse embryos without the need for egg or sperm. These ‘artificial embryos’ can recapitulate some stages of development ex utero – from neurulation to organogenesis – without implantation. Synthetic mouse embryos might serve as a valuable model to gain further insights into early developmental stages. Indeed, it is expected for these models to be replicated by employing human cells. This promising research raises ethical issues and expands the horizon of (...) ethics in regard to the development of the human embryo. From this point of view, we state some of the new open venues for bioethical research. (shrink)

The criminalization of femicide in Mexico has been introduced as a tool to address the violence, discrimination, and oppression against women. The criminalization strategy has a symbolic function: going beyond deterring the crime to be used as tool for education. In that sense, the criminalization of femicide emerges as an educational tool used to introduce new principles and societal values, highlighting the reality of discrimination and subordination against women, thereby transforming an individual conduct into a watershed issue worthy of collective (...) condemnation. At the same time, official data reveals that over the past two decades, the rate of murders of women involving firearms has increased by 375%. This highlights the necessity for a comprehensive criminalization strategy that acknowledges the widespread criminal use of firearms as a significant factor in gender-related killings of women. Therefore, to raise awareness (as the femicide laws intend), every policy emanating from the State, or its affiliate institutions must incorporate a gender perspective. This includes specific programs targeting armed gender-based violence, considering the entire weapons cycle, including gun production, their use, and transfer processes. Moreover, this gender-sensitive approach must also acknowledge that the possession of small arms is linked to violent masculinities and that women, beyond being victims, might also play roles as perpetrators of armed violence. The symbolic purpose of femicide laws should then become a platform for developing further appropriate effective policies and strategies to reduce gender-based violence, with special consideration of gendered armed violence. This article will analyze the possibility for extending the symbolic purpose of femicide law to produce a gendered small arms control strategy in Mexico. Considering the educational alternative that the femicide law provides, the following paper will evaluate the criteria needed to develop a comprehensive and intersectional program for gun control in Mexico. (shrink)

The New Economic Windows Series, derived from Massimo Salzano's ideas and work, incorporates material from textbooks, monographs and conference proceedings that deals with both the theoretical and applied aspects of various sub-disciplines ...

Los ejes categoriales que vertebran los artículos reunidos en este dossier colaboran, desde diversas perspectivas, en discusiones y revisiones teórico-prácticas operadas en el siglo XX y profundizadas en el presente desde las humanidades y las ciencias sociales en América Latina y el Caribe. Cada uno de los trabajos se escapa, en sus desarrollos, a la homologación directa de los conceptos propuestos: EXISTENCIAS/CUERPOS/COMUNIDAD. Los tres conceptos implican la necesidad y voluntad epistémico-política de abordar la singularidad de la existencia y de los (...) cuerpos con la pluralidad de las formas de vida. En este sentido, los aportes de cada uno de los colaboradores son significativos. (shrink)

En ese artículo de naturaleza bibliográfica explicamos porque el diálogo intercientífico permite que se transcienda la homogeneidad de una epistemología involucrada en sí misma, expandiéndose para la transdisciplinariedad cultural y epistemológica. Analizamos dos nuevos modelos de paradigma alternativo, a saber: el vivir bien y el desarrollo endógeno sustentable. Consideramos que esas concepciones filosóficas tienen el desafío de desarrollar nuevas posibilidades epistemológicas y metodológicas que permitan el cambio de la realidad social e histórica. Palabras clave: Diálogo Intercientífico. Epistemología Transdisciplinar. Desarrollo Endógeno (...) Sustentable. Vivir Bien. (shrink)

This paper critically investigates the implementation of the UN guiding principles on business and human rights (UNGPs) into the corporate setting through the concept of ‘translation’. In the decade since the creation of the UNGPs, little academic research has focussed specifically on the corporate implementation of human rights. Drawing on qualitative case studies of two multinational corporations—an oil and gas company and a bank—this paper unpacks how human rights are translated into the corporate context. In doing so, the paper focuses (...) on the “resonance dilemma” translators encounter, the strategies used to make human rights understandable and palatable, and the difficulties that emerge from this process. We contend that the process of making human rights understandable and manageable can change their form and content, which may act as an obstacle to human rights realisation and corporate accountability for human rights. (shrink)

El presente artículo tiene por objeto la elaboración de una bibliografía que ilustre la tarea editorial que realizó Lester Embree sobre la figura y el pensamiento de Alfred Schutz. Dicha bibliografía abarca las ediciones sobre textos de Schutz que preparó Embree, algunos inéditos hasta entonces, así como la totalidad de obras que escribió, editó y coeditó sobre Schutz y sus aportaciones en forma de capítulos de libros y artículos de revista a la investigación relacionada con el pensamiento de Alfred Schutz. (...) Acompaña al repertorio bibliográfico un breve comentario acerca de algunas de las principales obras de Embree recogidas en el mismo que nos permite hacer un recorrido por las cuestiones relativas al pensamiento de Schutz que más le interesaron al fenomenólogo americano. También constataremos el interés predominante de Embree por las ciencias culturales y su esfuerzo en promover una mayor colaboración entre fenomenólogos y científicos sociales de diferentes disciplinas.This article aims to present a bibliography that illustrates the editorial work that Lester Embree wrote about Alfred Schutz and his thought. This bibliography covers the editions of Schutz’s texts that Embree prepared, some unpublished until then, as well as all the works that he wrote, edited and coedited about Schutz and his contributions to the research of Alfred Schutz’s thought in form of chapters of collective works and papers in Journals. We include a brief comment about some of the main works of Embree taken from the bibliography which allows us to explore with the american phenomenologist some questions regarding Schutz’s thought. We will also take note of Embree’s interest in cultural sciences and his endeavours to promote a deeper collaboration between phenomenologists and social scientists from different disciplines. (shrink)

Francisco Leocata, Situación y perspectivas de la filosofía moral actual, Buenos Aires, Don Bosco, 2017, 258 pp., ISBN 978-950-514-811-0.

What is considered normal determines clinical practice in medicine and has implications at an individual level, doctor-patient relationship and health care policies. With the increase in medical information and technical abilities it is urgent to have a clear concept of normality in medicine so that crucial discussions can be held with unequivocal terms.The different meanings for normality were analyzed throughout the literature and grouped according to their relevance in the academic community in models, namely the Biostatistical Theory (BST), Health, Ideal, (...) Process and Biological advantage. The BST is the most established naturalistic approach, however normal variability can arguably constitute a problem. Health is similar and raises the question of setting the boundaries of pathology. Normality as an Ideal is an useful tool but is naturally unrealistic. As a Process it is comprehensible but is hard to frame for practical purposes. If considered as a Biological Advantage, seems intuitive but abnormality should tend to disappear.After, three examples were presented to discuss these models. They were Anemia, Psychiatric diseases and Psychopathy. In the case of Anemia the BST was applied and the arbitrary boundaries but with social impact were exposed. Psychiatric diseases was discussed under the process of self-organization and non-suffering ideal. With Psychopathy the boundaries of biological advantage are questioned.This review appeals to the importance of redesigning of the concept of normality in medicine according to current times and stresses the importance of integrating concepts such as variability and autonomy. (shrink)

El estudio evalúa el rol de las prácticas de servicio comunitario donde la reflexión intencional acompaña el programa. Mediante un diseño cuali-cuantitativo, se revelan los efectos de las prácticas reflexivas sobre el desarrollo reflexivo de los alumnos y asimismo pone de manifiesto el impacto de es..

This papers intends to show that Aristotle's theory on the political nature of man implies a specific difference in relation to other animals and that this does not arise from his understanding of human beings as naturally vulnerable animals that would seek in political life an artifice to redress their insufficiency or individual vulnerability to live. The qualitative difference of human beings in relation to other animals - including political species, such as bees or ants - drives them to an (...) equally specific type of life, whose foundation obeys values that ca be universalized. The political application of these values does not correspond to what is done in the domestic sphere, nor does it correspond to the mere transposition to a quantitatively superior community, because the universality of political values is extracted from what is understood by human beings as necessary for the realization of man as man, not man as an element of nature. (shrink)

Artificial gametes, derived from stem cells, have the potential to enable in vitro fertilization of embryos. Currently, artificial gametes are only being generated in laboratory animals; however, considerable efforts are underway to develop artificial gametes using human cell sources. These artificial gametes are being proposed as a means to address infertility through assisted reproductive technologies. Nonetheless, the availability of artificial gametes obtained from adult organisms can potentially expand the possibilities of reproduction. Various groups, such as same-sex couples, post-menopausal women, and (...) deceased donors, could potentially utilize artificial gametes to conceive genetically related offspring. The advent of artificial gametes raises significant bioethical questions. Should all these reproductive scenarios be accepted? How can we delineate the range of future reproductive choices? A normative bioethical framework may be necessary to establish a consensus regarding the use of human artificial gametes. This review aims to present the current state of research on the biological roadmap for generating artificial gametes, while also summarizing proposed approaches to establish a normative framework that delineates ethically acceptable paths for reproduction. (shrink)