This short contribution is written on the occasion of the book discussion of Sophie Loidolt’s Phenomenology of Plurality: Hannah Arendt on Political Intersubjectivity at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory. It presents an attempt to read the two key notions Loidolt elaborates in her book – spaces of meaning and spaces of the public and private – from a critical perspective offered by Judith Butler’s taking up of Arendt’s work. Offering Butler’s conception of social ontology through several major points (...) of contestation with Arendt, I argue against an all too simple reduction of her understanding of the political and normativity to poststructuralist ones. (shrink)

The aim of the article is to offer a reading of Judith Butler’s understanding of the precarious, the notion which gives rise to her particular understanding of precarity. The first part of the article discusses the transition from the theory of performativity to the theory of precarity and claims that the body provides the link between a performative act and a precarious life. The second part scrutinizes the idea of the precarious as it appears in conjunction with life. Precariousness and (...) precarity are related to dispossessability and dispossession, and to a politically induced inequality. The article concludes with a claim that the notion of the precarious offers itself as a possible point of departure for an entirely different conceptualization of equality, and as a strong basis for coalitional action or collective struggle. The specific positioning of the body and the political desire for radical equality in Butler’s thought makes theories of performativity and precarity interrelated. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to focus specifically on the description of the homo politicus as a sovereign individual who governs itself. Searching to understanding of neoliberalism as a governing rationality through which everything becomes economized.

The text presents a short account of the history of the philosophically relevant key concepts of feminist theory – sex and gender. Those concepts were crucial in the process of the constitution of gender studies as well as for the manouvering of feminist practice. On the other hand, however, as Judith Butler demonstrates exceptionally, these concepts are also the points of a fruitful debate, opening the possibility for resignification, different ways of thinking about the fundamental assumptions of feminist theory. While (...) it leaves feminist theory devoid of a firm,fixed position, ensuing instability, it offers a specific, subversive potential for a theory in general, while expanding the domains of inclusiveness in practice. (shrink)

Insistiranje na tome da ljudska prava i prava coveka nisu jedno i isto, kako bi se u prvi mah moglo zakljuciti na temelju pojma "covek" koji se javlja u oba naziva, predstavlja okosnicu ovog rada. Razvijanjem ovog motiva u tekstu nastojim da pokazem sledece: da je pojam "covek", iako po definiciji inkluzivan i u apstraktnom smislu nediskriminativan, u vreme kada i prakticki ulazi u upotrebu zapravo zasnovan na precutnom iskljucivanju i da je samo na temelju tog iskljucivanja mogao da oznacava (...) "slobodne i jednake". Iako paralelni ili istovremeni nastanak i implementacija prava coveka i nacionalnih prava isprva deluje protivrecno, nastojim da pokazem da je taj paradoks samo prividan, buduci da je sam pojam coveka ogranicen i iskljucujuci, te utoliko kompatibilan s ekskluzivnoscu koja je nuzni uslov pojma nacije. Posledice nacionalizama - svetski ratovi, pre svega - iznele su na videlo nemogucnost opstanka koncepcije slobode i jednakosti zasnovane na bratstvu ljudi, i nemogucnost demokratije koja je samo parcijalna iako hini univerzalnost. Kodifikovanje univerzalnih ljudskih prava predstavlja odgovor na ovu unutrasnju diskrepanciju u jednakoj meri u kojoj je reakcija na razornost svih tipova nacionalizama. Pojam zivota, koji u tekstu obrazlazem, korespondira temeljnom zahtevu na pravo na zivot, koje vise ne pripada "coveku", vec svakome/svakoj. (shrink)

Tekst nastoji ponuditi drugačiju paradigmu razumijevanja identiteta genealoškim čitanjem figure guvernante u Engleskoj XIX. stoljeća. Pokazujući da je ovu figuru nemoguće razumjeti ukoliko se uklone iz vida klasne pretpostavke njenog rodnog identiteta, i specifične pozicije koju je zauzimala na tržištu rada i u proizvodnji drugih žena, tekst nastoji dovesti u pitanje kontekst patrijarhata kao kontekst koji omogućava definiranje identiteta žene. Umjesto tog okvira, tekst pokušava uvesti drugačiji okvir koji se razrađuje kao sustav privatnog i javnog.

En este ensayo, nos proponemos explorar los diferentes significados de los conceptos de vivibilidad y vida en el pensamiento de Judith butler. si bien es crucial para su obra temprana —butler se refiere por primera vez a este concepto en su introducción del libro, El género en disputa de 1999—, el concepto en sí emerge con más claridad y elaboración en su obra tardía. nuestra pregunta principal sería: ¿cuál es el hilo conductor que une las diferentes concepciones de vida en (...) el trabajo de butler? ¿cuáles son los lazos entre la vida abyecta, invivible, precaria, indolora, desechada y desposeída? De estas dos preguntas surgen otras más: como la cuestión de gradación de vivibilidad — qué vida importa, y “cuánto,” y cómo pensar este tipo de cuantificación de algo no-cuantificable—; y la cuestión de la universalidad. estas preguntas, obviamente, tienen que contar con evidencias bajo las cuales la vida es cualificada, calificada y contada como vivible. estas condiciones abarcan las normas que organizan las posibilidades de reconocimiento y los órdenes de reconocimiento tanto como la distribución diferencial de la humanidad. Y además engloban las maneras en las que estamos constituidos políticamente, pero también, las maneras en las que el “nosotros” se define como social y corporal. La cuestión de la vida vivible está, por ende, enmarañada con la problemática de la contraposición entre la voluntad individual y la idea del “nosotros”, que, como seres, necesitamos —en palabras de la propia butler— “para mantener y reproducir las condiciones de propia vivibilidad”. (shrink)

The paper examines the meanings of the notion of reform. Is reform an act or a process; what is an object of reform and how is it performed; is the scope of its performance limited or does it permeate deeper social structures? The approach to reform in this paper is genealogical, through the analysis of the processes of institutionalisation of the prison in Great Britain in 18th and 19th centuries. Although the elaboration of these processes revolves around a particular era (...) and place, this micro-sample gives rise to conclusions that surpass historically conditioned analysis. The aim of this paper is to show that reform has to be understood as an expression and effect of a profound transformation of the political, as well as the complex, multilateral and dispersive process which penetrates into and alters extant social relations. (shrink)

This book presents a multi-faceted reconsideration of dominant approaches to violence and social critique. Its unifying thread is a dedication to overcoming violence and domination on a scale larger than individual micro-resistances, even as many contributors reject programmatic thought and “self-possessed” political action.

The article examines the patient-doctor relationship, relying on Michel Foucault’s concept of the clinical gaze. We argue that during the last decades, a profound transformation of the social nature of medicine took place, one that Foucault’s understanding of the clinical gaze cannot adequately account for. First, the article offers an elaboration of the three-node network of clinical gaze, the clinic, and nosology to explain the positioning of the doctor and the patient within the specific social ontology generated by the rise (...) of medicine. We then discuss intensive but irresolute developments brought by technological advancements, especially the X-ray tube. Finally, we argue that in the contemporary clinic, equipped with a plethora of sophisticated devices, the position of the doctor endured the most radical transformation in comparison with Foucault’s proponent of the clinical gaze at the dawn of modern medicine. (shrink)

The article examines the patient-doctor relationship, relying on Michel Foucault’s concept of the clinical gaze. We argue that during the last decades, a profound transformation of the social nature of medicine took place, one that Foucault’s understanding of the clinical gaze cannot adequately account for. First, the article offers an elaboration of the three-node network of clinical gaze, the clinic, and nosology to explain the positioning of the doctor and the patient within the specific social ontology generated by the rise (...) of medicine. We then discuss intensive but irresolute developments brought by technological advancements, especially the X-ray tube. Finally, we argue that in the contemporary clinic, equipped with a plethora of sophisticated devices, the position of the doctor endured the most radical transformation in comparison with Foucault’s proponent of the clinical gaze at the dawn of modern medicine. (shrink)

This volume offers novel and provocative insights into vulnerability and exclusion, two concepts crucial for the understanding of contemporary political agency. In twelve critical essays, the contributors explore the dense theoretical content, complex histories and conceptual intersection of vulnerability and exclusion. A rich array of topics are covered as the volume searches for the ways that vulnerable and excluded groups relate to each other, where the boundary between the excluded and the included arises, and what the stakes of ‘invulnerability’ might (...) be. Drawing on the works of Hegel, Helmuth Plessner and Hannah Arendt to situate the project in a solid historical context, the volume likewise tackles pressing and contemporary issues such as the state of human capital under neoliberalism, the flawed nature of democracy itself, and the vulnerability inherent in extreme precarity, extreme violence, and interdependence. The contributions come from philosophers with a range of backgrounds in social philosophy and critical social sciences, who use related conceptual tools to tackle the political challenges of the 21st century. Together, they present a ground-breaking overview of the main challenges which social exclusion presents to contemporary global societies. (shrink)

The first part of the text is a précis of the monograph Phenomenology of Plurality: Hannah Arendt on Political Intersubjectivity, a phenomenological analysis of Arendt’s core notion of plurality that unites the fields of phenomenology, political theory, social ontology, and Arendt studies. In the second, larger part, the author responds to the comments given by Sanja Bojanić and Adriana Zaharijević, in order to clarify some key concepts and positions presented in the book.

Blanca Rodríguez López, Nuria Sánchez Madrid and Adriana Zaharijević, 2021, Rethinking Vulnerability and Exclusion. Historical and Critical Essays, Palgrave Macmillan, 232 pp.

In his unpublished 1979 Lectures on the Philosophy of Mind, Saul Kripke offers a knowledge argument against materialism focusing on deaf people who lack knowledge of auditory experience. Kripke's argument is a precursor of Frank Jackson's better‐known knowledge argument against materialism (1982). The paper sets out Kripke's argument, brings out its interest and philosophical importance, and explores some similarities and differences between Kripke's knowledge argument and Jackson's.

In this article, caring, remembering and sharing memory are presented as moral responses, the case study being Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Memory connects memories and images, while care connects individuals, which is an ethical issue. When a person’s memory is lost, the care of others becomes the only thread connecting them to the world. AD deprives a person of memories, body control, makes it impossible to remember, communicate, move, recognize the environment, and disrupts consciousness. Caring for a patient with a neurodegenerative (...) brain disease requires constant reminding and reiteration; the presence of a caring person reminds of what the patient themselves can no longer remember. Lost memories do not mean that life or relational values have also lost their meaning. The description of the memory movement emphasizes the importance of repetition in the moral act. Highlighting the matter of care, also in scientific work, is the aim of this text. To care is to remember, on behalf of the AD patient, about the patient’s life. Within bioethical research, moral responses are an important point for projects which seek to improve the condition of patients—not only the condition of health but also the comfort of life. This improvement will not be possible without attentive, committed caregivers and their responsible attitude in the face of the phenomenon of memory loss. (shrink)

This essay answers two questions that continue to drive debate in moral and legal philosophy; namely, ‘Is a risk of harm a wrong?’ and ‘Is a risk of harm a harm?’. The essay’s central claim is that to risk harm can be both to wrong and to harm. This stands in contrast to the respective positions of Heidi Hurd and Stephen Perry, whose views represent prominent extremes in this debate about risks. The essay shows that there is at least one (...) category of risks – intentional impositions of risk on unconsenting agents – which can be both wrongful and harmful. The wrongfulness of these risks can be established when, on the balance of reasons, one ought not to impose them. The harmfulness of these risks can be established when the risks are shown to set back legitimate interests. In those cases where risks constitute a denial of the moral status of agents, risks set back agents’ interest in dignity. In these ways, the essay shows that there are instances when a risk can constitute both a wrong and a harm. (shrink)

This paper presents a series of 4 single subject experiments aimed to investigate whether children with autism show more social engagement when interacting with the Nao robot, compared to a human partner in a motor imitation task. The Nao robot imitates gross arm movements of the child in real-time. Different behavioral criteria (i.e. eye gaze, gaze shifting, free initiations and prompted initiations of arm movements, and smile/laughter) were analyzed based on the video data of the interaction. The results are mixed (...) and suggest a high variability in reactions to the Nao robot. The results are as follows: For Child2 and Child3, the results indicate no effect of the Nao robot in any of the target variables. Child1 and Child4 showed more eye gaze and smile/laughter in the interaction with the Nao robot compared to the human partner and Child1 showed a higher frequency of motor initiations in the interaction with the Nao robot compared to the baselines, but not with respect to the human-interaction. The robot proved to be a better facilitator of shared attention only for Child1. Keywords: human-robot interaction; assistive robotics; autism. (shrink)

This paper analyses how the Cold War influenced the discourses on basic research and on Science and Technology Policies of some leaders of the Argentine research community. It explores two key intersections to study the Cold War: the first between politics and policies; the second between the global and the regional/national. The basic assumption is that, just as there was no one Cold War, specific regional and national traits lent specific meanings to basic research. In dialogue with the literature on (...) Latin American history of STPs, on Cold War and on the conceptual history of science, the paper identifies three discursive configurations around S&T: the first refers to the semi-peripheral scientific context; the second is associated with the ‘democracy-totalitarianism’ dichotomy, and the third is linked to the ‘development-dependence’ dichotomy. Finally, the paper also traces some connections between these discourses and the institutional models proposed by different key actors of the research community to implement STPs. (shrink)

In 1942, American Nobel Prize-winning physicist Arthur Compton pointed out that, “Because in this field of cosmic ray studies certain unique advantages are given by their geographical position, this field of physics has been especially emphasized in South America.” This paper seeks to interrogate the making of Latin America's uniqueness with respect to cosmic-ray research through an analysis that considers Compton's geographical argument, but also goes beyond it, referring to the interactions of nature, knowledge, practices, scientific communities, and diplomacy. To (...) begin with, it highlights the place-based strategies and practices associated with cosmic-ray research. Once research in the field at different altitudes demonstrated that cosmic rays traveled from outer space to the Earth surface, their nature was scrutinized by expeditions that covered broad vertical and horizontal expanses. The study of cosmic rays in Latin America displayed the mobilization of that strategy, which reinforced the reliability of certain sites located at high altitudes and close to the geomagnetic equator in projected investigations. Moreover, such analysis of cosmic rays involved research practices in the field, the emergence of (local, regional, or international) research traditions, and the creation of spaces of knowledge at different scales. By centering on the interaction of knowledge and place, this paper shows that an exploration of the “up-and-down journeys” of cosmic-ray research in Latin America expands our understanding of the geographies and practices of 20th-century physics. (shrink)

Polyphony of Anxiety. The Interview with Stefano Micali about His Book Phenomenology of Anxiety.

This paper presents a series of 4 single subject experiments aimed to investigate whether children with autism show more social engagement when interacting with the Nao robot, compared to a human partner in a motor imitation task. The Nao robot imitates gross arm movements of the child in real-time. Different behavioral criteria were analyzed based on the video data of the interaction. The results are mixed and suggest a high variability in reactions to the Nao robot. The results are as (...) follows: For Child2 and Child3, the results indicate no effect of the Nao robot in any of the target variables. Child1 and Child4 showed more eye gaze and smile/laughter in the interaction with the Nao robot compared to the human partner and Child1 showed a higher frequency of motor initiations in the interaction with the Nao robot compared to the baselines, but not with respect to the human-interaction. The robot proved to be a better facilitator of shared attention only for Child1. Keywords: human-robot interaction; assistive robotics; autism. (shrink)

This essay focuses on anthropomorphism as both a form of hype and fallacy. As a form of hype, anthropomorphism is shown to exaggerate AI capabilities and performance by attributing human-like traits to systems that do not possess them. As a fallacy, anthropomorphism is shown to distort moral judgments about AI, such as those concerning its moral character and status, as well as judgments of responsibility and trust. By focusing on these two dimensions of anthropomorphism in AI, the essay highlights negative (...) ethical consequences of the phenomenon in this field. (shrink)

This paper presents a series of 4 single subject experiments aimed to investigate whether children with autism show more social engagement when interacting with the Nao robot, compared to a human partner in a motor imitation task. The Nao robot imitates gross arm movements of the child in real-time. Different behavioral criteria were analyzed based on the video data of the interaction. The results are mixed and suggest a high variability in reactions to the Nao robot. The results are as (...) follows: For Child2 and Child3, the results indicate no effect of the Nao robot in any of the target variables. Child1 and Child4 showed more eye gaze and smile/laughter in the interaction with the Nao robot compared to the human partner and Child1 showed a higher frequency of motor initiations in the interaction with the Nao robot compared to the baselines, but not with respect to the human-interaction. The robot proved to be a better facilitator of shared attention only for Child1. Keywords: human-robot interaction; assistive robotics; autism. (shrink)

Relating Narratives is a major new work by the philosopher and feminist thinker Adriana Cavarero. First published in Italian to widespread acclaim, Relating Narratives is a fascinating and challenging new account of the relationship between selfhood and narration. Drawing a diverse array of thinkers from both the philosophical and the literary tradition, from Sophocles and Homer to Hannah Arendt, Karen Blixen, Walter Benjamin and Borges, Adriana Cadarero's theory of the `narratable self' shows how narrative models in philosophy and (...) literature can open new ways of thinking about formation of human identities. By showing how each human being has a unique story that can be told about them, Adriana Cavarero inaugurates an important shift in thinking about subjectivity and identity which relies not upon categorical or discursive norms, but rather seeks to account for `who' each one of us uniquely is. (shrink)

We introduce a deductive system Bal which models the logic of balance of opposing forces or of balance between conflicting evidence or influences. ‘‘Truth values’’ are interpreted as deviations from a state of equilibrium, so in this sense, the theorems of Bal are to be interpreted as balanced statements, for which reason there is only one distinguished truth value, namely the one that represents equilibrium. The main results are that the system Bal is algebraizable in the sense of [5] and (...) its equivalent algebraic semantics BAL is definitionally equivalent to the variety of abelian lattice ordered groups, that is, the categories of the algebras in BAL and of ℓ–groups are isomorphic (see [10], Ch.4, 4). We also prove the deduction theorem for Bal and we study different kinds of semantic consequence associated to Bal. Finally, we prove the co-NP-completeness of the tautology problem of Bal. (shrink)

This article discusses three major dilemmas embedded in women's labor migration by focusing on undocumented Latina migrants in Israel. The first is that to break the cycle of blocked mobility in their homelands, migrant women must take jobs that they would have never taken in their countries of origin, despite uncertainty about possible economic outcomes. The second dilemma is that the search for economic betterment leads Latina migrants to risk living and working illegally in the host country, forcing them to (...) remain on the margins of society. The third dilemma relates to the role of mothers who, to secure a better future for their children, are forced to leave them behind, thus subverting the traditional definition of motherhood. The absence of an egalitarian notion and the practice of citizenship for non-Jews leave undocumented labor migrants in Israel without prospects for incorporation into the society. (shrink)

Adriana Ayers studies the evolution of kotex advertising, focusing specifically on the way in which African American women were figured into changing advertisers’ conceptions of womanhood. The article analyzes images featured in various women’s magazines to examine how ideas surrounding menstruation were packaged and sold to women.

A partir de imagens de crianças encontradas no cinema dos primeiros tempos, propomos uma reflexão sobre as relações entre a infância e cinema. Segundo Walter Benjamin (2009), tanto a infância quanto o cinema são invenções da modernidade: o conceito de infância como um período importante de formação do sujeito nasce de forma inseparável das tecnologias de produção e reprodução da imagem que nos dão a ver as crianças de uma forma inédita, primeiro na fotografia e depois no cinema. A partir (...) disso, nos perguntamos se seria possível pensar na “invenção” do cinema como também um gesto de infância? Nos propomos a pensar uma ideia de infância do cinema para além de um reducionismo teleológico. Para tanto, partimos de uma visão psicanalítica sobre o processo de entrada na linguagem, que coincide com o movimento de individuação do sujeito, na infância. A partir desta perspectiva, estabelecemos uma analogia entre a infância e o desenvolvimento do cinema como momentos igualmente marcados pela entrada na linguagem: de um estado atravessado fortemente pela visualidade, pela experimentação, pela descoberta e pela brincadeira, em direção a uma entrada no sistema simbólico estruturado da linguagem através de constantes negociações com as convenções e os limites do mundo adulto. (shrink)

El presente artículo propone una lectura paralela de dos narconovelas colombianas recientes: El ruido de las cosas al caer (2011) de Juan Gabriel Vásquez y El cielo a tiros (2018) de Jorge Franco. El objetivo del análisis consiste en identificar las convergencias entre ambas obras e interpretarlas a la luz de la evolución del paradigma narco vigente en la narrativa colombiana de los años 1990 y 2000.

In this article, we interpret sex education from the perspective of feminist care ethics, emphasizing the concept of caring democracy, advanced by Joan Tronto one of the most influential feminist political theorists. According to Tronto, these theories show that a deficit of care and a lack of democracy are mutually conducive. We argue that, as in other areas of life, a lack of care in sexuality and sex education leads to social inequalities that eventually translate into an unequal approach to (...) freedom, equality, and justice, and to a deficit of democracy in the lives of some people. At the same time, we believe that, as a moral theory, care ethics, with its emphasis on the needs of men and women, can be adequately applied to the design of research projects, as well as to sexuality policies and practices. This may contribute to overcoming the stalemate in the debate on sex education and other topics in Slovakia. (shrink)