It has often been noted that Leo Strauss developed his understanding of political philosophy through a critical engagement with Heidegger. Yet most analyses focus on Strauss’s American works while neglecting his earlier response during the crisis years of the Weimar Republic. The article seeks to overcome this limitation by ‘deconstructing’ Strauss’s American definitions of political philosophy in light of both his Weimar understanding of politische Wissenschaft and his 1922 discovery of Heidegger’s Aristotle. I argue that Strauss’s conception of political philosophy (...) originated in Heidegger’s subversion of the traditional distinction between theory and praxis. I thus propose a way to read Strauss from the start following his own changing views of that distinction. (shrink)

The Purpose in Life Test is a measure of purpose in life widely used in many cultures and countries; however, cross-cultural assessments are scarce. The present study aimed to evaluate the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the PIL in the general population of seven Latin American countries. A total of 4306 people participated, selected by non-probabilistic convenience sampling, where Uruguay has the highest mean age ; while Ecuador has the lowest mean age. Furthermore, in each country, there is a higher proportion (...) of women than men. Using Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the factorial structure does not show evidence of invariance among the included countries. However, based on the Multi-Group Factor Analysis Alignment, there is evidence that a three-dimensional structure of the PIL is the same in the participating countries. Results based on item response theory indicate that most PIL items can significantly differentiate responses according to the level of life purpose. In addition, people with low life purpose will tend to choose the lower response alternatives on the PIL; while people with higher life purpose will choose higher response alternatives. The findings indicate that the PIL has the potential to increase knowledge about how people conceive and experience their purpose in life in different countries. (shrink)

Summary This paper provides an interpretation of the movement of Arendt's thought in her Denktagebuch, from 1950 to 1973. This movement results in an incipient political philosophy based on new concepts of freedom, equality, and solidarity. As a contribution to debates on the normative foundations of Arendt's political thought, the paper seeks to show that her incipient political philosophy is based on an ethical understanding of the human condition as constituted by its openness to the divine, the worldly, and the (...) (human) Other. Despite its fragmentary nature and its politically problematic indebtedness to theological traditions, Arendt's private thought nevertheless allows us to rethink her place in the history of European ideas. Beyond that, it also provides a powerful alternative to the view that ethical and political thought must remain ?political not metaphysical? (shrink)

Among the great philosophers of the twentieth century, only one, perhaps, shared Leo Strauss’s understanding of “ideas” as fundamental problems: his teacher Husserl. Throughout his work, Strauss heeded Husserl’s call to return to the “things themselves” and “the problems connected with them.” I argue that “natural right” is one such phenomenon or problem which Strauss seeks to recover—and reactivate—from centuries of sedimented interpretations. I further propose that “natural right” may be a “sense-formation” analogous to Husserl’s “geometry.” If this is true, (...) Natural Right and History may be modeled on Husserl’s Crisis of European Sciences. (shrink)

This work documents the ethical dilemmas faced by anthropologists and researchers in general when investigating Amerindian communities.

IntroductionStress is associated with disease and reduced leukocyte telomere length. The objective of this research is to determine if self-perceived stress is associated with telomere length in Costa Rican adults and the gender differences in this association. Findings may help explain how some populations in apparent socioeconomic disadvantage and with limited access to specialized medical services have a remarkably high life expectancy.MethodologyData come from the pre-retirement cohort of the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study, a population based survey conducted (...) in the households to 2,327 adults aged 53 to 66 years. The DNA to measure LTL was extracted from blood cells in laboratories of the University of Costa Rica whereas the Blackburn laboratory at the University of California performed the telomere length measurement applying the quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The relationship between telomere length and perceived stress was measured using least-squares multiple regression. Perceived stress was measured by a set of questions about family, job, finances and, health reasons to be stressed. Models included the control variables: age and sex of the participant, whether he or she resides in the Nicoya area, a “blue zone” known for its high longevity, and the aforementioned sociodemographic, health and lifestyles characteristics.ResultsStress perception and LTL are significantly different by sex. Women perceived higher stress levels than men in almost all aspects studied, except work. Women have significantly longer telomeres. Shorter telomeres are significantly associated with caregiving stress in men and with parental health concerns in women. Counter-intuitive telomere lengthenings were observed among women who feel stressed about caring for family members; and among men who feel stressed due to their family relationships as well as concerns about their own health.DiscussionResults confirm that people with self-perceived stress due to caregiving or health issues have shorter telomeres. The relationship between stress and telomere length differs between men and women. Gender relations exert a strong modifier effect on the relationship between stress and LTL: gender is related to perceived stress, telomere length, and apparently also to the way stress and LTL are related. (shrink)

This is the first publication on complete and stand alone arithmetization of bivalent logic.

For over a decade neuroscience has uncovered that appropriate decision-making in daily life decisions results from a strong interplay between cognition and covert biases produced by emotional processes. This interplay is particularly important in social contexts: lesions in the pathways supporting these processes provoke serious impairments on social behavior. One important mechanism in social contexts is empathy, fundamental for appropriate social behavior. This paper presents arguments supporting this connection between cognition and emotion, in individual as well as in social contexts. (...) The central claim of this paper is that biologically inspired cognitive architectures ought to include these mechanisms. A taxonomy of computational models addressing emotions is presented, together with a brief survey of the research published in this area. The Prisoner Dilemma game is used as a case study exposing the trade-off between individual rationality and cooperative behavior. Experiments using a simple implementation of empathy and emotion expression, employing an Iterated Prisoner Dilemma setup, illustrate the emergence of a cooperative behavior mutually beneficial for both players. (shrink)

Este artículo aborda la recepción temprana del filósofo esloveno Slavoj Žižek en el debate teórico chileno entre los años 1998-2013. El interés de este articulo no consiste meramente en enlistar las menciones a Žižek en el contexto local, sino problematizar los intereses históricos de las escenas teóricas locales y el alcance político de la teoría materialista dialéctica de Žižek, considerando que esta recepción se masifica al aproximarse el movimiento estudiantil del 2011 bajo la necesidad de acudir a nuevos referentes teóricos (...) para entender la realidad contingente. (shrink)

DEUS EXISTE OU SERIA A FÉ RELIGIOSA APENAS UM DELÍRIO UNIVERSAL? Em O ceticismo da fé, o teólogo e arqueólogo Rodrigo Silva traz um estudo profundo sobre a “existência” de Deus. O objetivo primário desta obra, entretanto, não é um convencimento sobre Deus, mas acompanhar crentes e descrentes nessa jornada sem-fim inerente a todo ser humano em busca da “verdade”. Pois a fé comporta, sim, muitas dúvidas. René Descartes que o diga. Mesmo não sendo teólogo, nem pretendendo produzir uma (...) declaração de fé religiosa, ele ajudou Rodrigo Silva a ter umdos mais brilhantes insights confessionais: “o homem deve desconfiar de tudo para poder acreditar em alguma coisa”.Não se pretende aqui enganar o leitor ou insultar sua inteligência, nem apresentar qualquer soberba confessional. Rodrigo Silva é crente, sim, mas a inspiração para este trabalho veio justamente de sua descrença. E apesar das respostas que encontrou nesses quase trinta anos de estudo, o autor não foge de algumas questões polêmicas e provocadoras que envolvem Deus, como “Por que ele se esconde?”, “Por que um Deus de amor matou e mandou matar tanta gente no Antigo Testamento?” e “Onde eleestava durante o massacre de Auschwitz?”.Este livro convida o leitor, seja o ateu ou o religioso mais convicto, a questionar, a pensar, a se comprometer sinceramente com a dúvida, a fim de que a sua sistematização o conduza a grandes certezas. (shrink)

El Test de Turing es un método tan controvertido como desafiante en Inteligencia Artificial. Se basa en la imitación de la conducta lingüística de humanos, y tiene como objetivo recabar evidencia empírica en favor de la tesis de que las máquinas programadas podrían pensar. Alan Turing, su creador, ha sido catalogado como conductista por la mayor parte de los comentaristas. En este capítulo muestro que no lo es. Por el contrario, Turing es un funcionalista, porque todo el énfasis del juego (...) de la imitación está en el engaño de la máquina hacia los humanos. Por ello el género es importante en dicho juego, al menos en su versión preliminar. (shrink)

El tema vertebrador como se indica en el título es el sentido de la vida. Se ofrece una serie de reflexiones sobre la relación de la persona con la matematización de la cultura. El conocimiento científico del mundo no es banal, sino que a partir de él la persona en su «voluntad de sentido» mira a esa realidad con la que interactúa. Adentrarnos en el significado de algunos fenómenos matemáticostecnológicos relacionados con la inteligencia artificial, captar los mensajes sociales que se (...) producen y penetrar en su sentido profundo puede ofrecernos claves para la comprensión (y auto-comprensión) de la persona en su estar en la sociedad actual. (shrink)

En Ciencia de la lógica, Hegel finaliza la lógica objetiva con un largo estudio de las categorías modales (realidad, necesidad y posibilidad). Nuestra propuesta es que tal estudio hay que entenderlo en confrontación directa con la situación dejada por Kant en los principios del entendimiento puro de KrV. Para defender tal tesis expondremos, en primer lugar, la exposición kantiana del problema; en segundo lugar, el desarrollo de la lógica de la esencia dentro de la obra; y, por último, la nueva (...) interpretación que propone Hegel de las categorías modales. (shrink)

En este trabajo examinamos el tópico de la responsabilidad en el derecho penal internacional a la luz de la filosofía de John Searle, y del fallo dictado por la Corte Penal Internacional en el caso de Thomas Lubanga. En el primer acápite analizamos la declaración de responsabilidad penal en función de la teoría de actos de habla de Austin y de Searle, tratándola como un acto ilocucionario cuyo significado es dependiente de un marco institucional específico. Luego, en el segundo acápite, (...) mostramos de qué forma tal marco puede reconstruirse como un ejemplo paradigmático de la realidad social construida descrita por Searle, especialmente en virtud del nexo entre mente, lenguaje y sociedad. A nuestro juicio, los conceptos de intencionalidad colectiva, atribución de funciones de estatus y poderes deónticos son fundamentales para entender tal nexo. En efecto, tal como argumentamos en la tercera sección, los sistemas de poderes deónticos asociados al derecho internacional no solo explican la aparición de Tribunales penales internacionales, como la Corte Penal Internacional, sino además el carácter imprescriptible de los crímenes de lesa humanidad. Los acuerdos internacionales que promueven y protegen los derechos humanos, y que tratan la imprescriptibilidad de aquellos crímenes, son objeto de análisis en la sección final, en donde exponemos algunas reflexiones finales a partir del caso Lubanga. (shrink)

Neste trabalho, pretendemos avaliar criticamente algumas das teses de John McDowellsobre a natureza da virtude, tal como expostas em seu artigo “Virtue and Reason” e, ao fazê-lo,expor algumas de suas limitações. Mais especificamente, tratarei o que vejo como problemas emsua apresentação da virtude como uma forma de conhecimento, e sua proposta – corporificada natese da unidade das virtudes – de que as virtudes comumente reconhecidas deveriam ser vistascomo manifestações parciais da virtude enquanto tal. Também enfocarei a assertiva de McDowellde que (...) o conhecimento que constitui a virtude não pode ser visto como tendo um conteúdoproposicional que se preste a uma codificação em princípios de conduta – a tese de nãocodificabilidade– e a relação da postura pessoal de McDowell com a empreitada mais ampla daética de virtudes. (shrink)

El artículo se inicia con un análisis acerca de la relación que Hayek establece entre los fundamentos del liberalismo clásico y las teorías darwinianas. De esta manera, identificamos un campo semántico que resultaría decisivo para una genealogía del factor competencia, reconociendo a este último como la hipótesis principal que fundamenta la naturalización del capitalismo. A partir de esto ofrecemos una revisión y actualización de la célebre obra El apoyo mutuo de Kropotkin con el objetivo de invalidar desde una perspectiva histórica (...) la comprensión de la sociedad como un territorio de lucha salvaje entre los seres humanos por la subsistencia. (shrink)

L'idée directrice de cet ouvrage est qu'une inflexion décisive caractérise les avancées théoriques proposées par Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jan Patocka et Renaud Barbaras. S'il s'agit bien encore, en effet, avec ces trois auteurs de refonder la phénoménologie (geste classique depuis Husserl), ce mouvement de refondation n'implique plus le strict recentrage de la phénoménologie sur ses possibilités propres. Il y va bien plutôt d'une refondation-extension (par là même post-phénoménologique) exigeant un déport, un mouvement vers une métaphysique, vers une autre métaphysique à déterminer. (...) On verra que l'écart entre phénoménologie et métaphysique n'en est pas pour autant annulé, mais qu'il est bien plutôt pensé à nouveaux frais comme lieu toujours reconfiguré du dépassement de l'opposition initiale - un lieu aux bordures mouvantes qui a la particularité d'entretenir, d'aggraver même le polemos entre post-phénoménologie et métaphysique non substantielle. C'est en thématisant ce lieu que les post-phénoménologies que nous étudions ici révèlent le lien intime entre phénomènes-de-monde et être non positif. (shrink)

_ Source: _Volume 48, Issue 1, pp 1 - 28 This paper is an attempt to think through Derrida’s newly discovered _Geschlecht III_, the third and missing installment of Derrida’s four part series on Heidegger and _Geschlecht_. I argue that Derrida’s reading of Heidegger in _Geschlecht III_ needs to be situated within the philosophico-political context of Derrida’s 1984–85 seminar—given under the general title _Philosophical Nationality and Nationalism_—from which _Geschlecht III_ is extracted. In the first part of the paper, I reconstruct (...) Derrida’s general problematic of national-humanism as he lays it out in the opening sessions of the seminar, before arriving at his reading of Heidegger, who will be part of “a sequence of German national-philosophism,” as Derrida calls it. In the second part, the paper turns explicitly to _Geschlecht III_ where, as I show, Derrida’s thoroughgoing denunciation of a national-humanism in Heidegger becomes all the more telling when seen through the theoretical matrix of the seminar. (shrink)

This paper tracks Derrida’s allusion to the “phoenix motif” in the recently published Life Death seminar, showing how it foreshadows and overlaps with the political problematic of “national humanism” made explicit in Geschlecht III. I argue that, be it in Hegel, Fichte, Nietzsche, or Heidegger, biological life is always in the service of a spiritual life that finds its breath in a certain reappropriation of the German idiom. Following Derrida, I argue that this “philosophy-of-life German” (cet allemand philosophe de la (...) vie) introduces a sinister equivocality between these thinkers and National Socialism, and this in spite of all their prudence to shield their discourses from such a co-option. (shrink)

This paper tracks Derrida’s allusion to the “phoenix motif” in the recently published Life Death seminar, showing how it foreshadows and overlaps with the political problematic of “national humanism” made explicit in Geschlecht III. I argue that, be it in Hegel, Fichte, Nietzsche, or Heidegger, biological life is always in the service of a spiritual life that finds its breath in a certain reappropriation of the German idiom. Following Derrida, I argue that this “philosophy-of-life German” introduces a sinister equivocality between (...) these thinkers and National Socialism, and this in spite of all their prudence to shield their discourses from such a co-option. (shrink)

This article attempts to read the very concept of reading as articulated and problematized by Derrida’s newly discovered Geschlecht III. I argue that Derrida enacts a reading of Heidegger in Geschlecht III in ways that help us understand the strong sense Derrida gives this word. In the article’s first part, I dwell on Derrida’s—and Heidegger’s—methodological precautions that problematize the traditional concept of reading so as to open the way for a reading of Heidegger that does not bank on the metaphysical (...) presuppositions the very same Heidegger warns us against time and again. In the second part, I turn to Derrida’s topotypological examples that show us what traditional methodology problematically presupposes when “reading” Heidegger. The article ends by turning to the Derridean notion of “overprinting”—and the uncanny effects of doubling it implies—as a way to think about what it means to read and countersign Heidegger’s text. (shrink)

This article attempts to read the very concept of reading as articulated and problematized by Derrida’s newly discovered Geschlecht III. I argue that Derrida enacts a reading of Heidegger in Geschlecht III in ways that help us understand the strong sense Derrida gives this word. In the article’s first part, I dwell on Derrida’s—and Heidegger’s—(quasi)methodological precautions that problematize the traditional concept of reading so as to open the way for a reading of Heidegger that does not bank on the metaphysical (...) presuppositions the very same Heidegger warns us against time and again. In the second part, I turn to Derrida’s topotypological examples that show us what traditional methodology problematically presupposes when “reading” Heidegger. The article ends by turning to the Derridean notion of “overprinting”—and the uncanny effects of doubling it implies—as a way to think about what it means to read and countersign Heidegger’s text. (shrink)

Texto produzido com base na experiência de redação de um Memorial Acadêmico. Reflexão sobre o sentido do Memorial, como um olhar retrospectivo sobre o passado acadêmico e o significado de sua reconstrução feita, inevitavelmente, sob a ótica do presente. Sendo diferente do sentido que possuía no momento em que foi vivido, o passado só pode ser recuperado como reconstrução póstuma.

This paper elaborates on the link between different types and degrees of experience that can be gone through within a form of life or collectivity—the so-called levels of immersion—and the development of distinct types of tacit knowledge and expertise. The framework is then probed empirically and theoretically. In the first case, its ‘predictions’ are compared with the accounts of novices who have gone through different ‘learning opportunities’ during a pre-operational training programme for running a huge nickel industrial plant in Brazil. (...) These are also analysed vis-à-vis the experience of an expert who has designed and experienced the outcomes of two pre-operational training sessions in the nickel industry before developing and managing the one discussed here. Theoretically, the framework is used to pinpoint exactly what interactional experts who have developed their expertise through linguistic socialisation alone are able to do as well as to analyse the case of technical connoisseurs. The results indicate that the proposed framework is useful. It supports the design and improvement of training programmes for the development of tacit knowledge while at the same time bringing about a refined analysis of claims concerning the abilities of types of experts and expertise. (shrink)

How can we identify and estimate workers’ tacit knowledge? How can we design a personnel mix aimed at improving and speeding up its transfer and development? How is it possible to implement tacit knowledge sustainable projects in remote areas? In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to distinguish between types of tacit knowledge, to establish what they allow for and to consider their sources. It is also essential to find a way of managing the tacit knowledge ‘stock’ and (...) distribution within the workforce. In short, a conceptual framework is needed to manage tacit knowledge. Based on previous works and 2 years of action research, this paper introduces such a framework and describes its partial application to support the pre-operational training and hiring in a large industrial plant in Brazil. Two contributions emerge from the research. First, the concept of ‘levels of similarity’ is introduced as a means to qualify the experience of workers and estimate the associated tacit knowledge. Second, the capability of carrying out three types of judgement properly and speedily is put forward as being a core ability of those who possess what has been called ‘collective tacit knowledge’ (Collins in Organ Stud 28(2):257–262, 2007). In practical terms, the results indicate the opportunity for companies to capitalize on the experience and tacit knowledge of their workers in a systematic way and with due recognition. Ultimately, positive impacts are expected in their absorptive capacity as well as in their management and human resources systems, accident prevention, productivity and the development of sustainable projects in remote areas. (shrink)

I propose and defend the conjecture that what explains why Gettiered subjects fail to know is the fact that their justified true belief depends essentially on unknown propositions. The conjecture follows from the plausible principle about inference in general according to which one knows the conclusion of one’s inference only if one knows all the premises it involves essentially.

El Libro de Job constituye un documento privilegiado para pensar el problema del sufrimiento del justo y el dolor del inocente en relación con el problema más general de la justificación de Dios ante la existencia del mal, que es el tema central de la Teodicea. ¿Por qué ha de sufrir el justo? En el presente texto, más que intentar dar respuesta a esta pregunta, intentamos mostrar cómo, en la interpelación de Job a su Dios, un occidental puede reconocer insospechadamente (...) la especificidad misma de su concepción de la moral, puede identificar las condiciones bajo las cuales lo moral es pensado en Occidente. Se pretende poner de manifiesto las razones por las que la actitud de Job ante el Todopoderoso resulta ejemplar para Occidente. Y, de paso, se pretende igualmente mostrar cómo el Libro de Job contribuye a destacar la diferencia esencial entre el espíritu medio-oriental del judaísmo y el occidental greco-cristiano. La intención del texto es, en definitiva, llamar la atención sobre el aspecto del episodio de Job por el que éste, como Sócrates o Jesús, escapa a la voracidad de la historia y deviene para siempre un contemporáneo. (shrink)

Interpersonal relations play a critical role in both the conception and dynamics of Brazilian citizenship. Under the influence of neoliberalism, patients must build strategies to access high‐quality health care services. This study aimed to analyze the role of interpersonal relations involved in the access to and delivery of health care services in Brazil amid the influence of austerity policies and the role of nurses in enhancing citizenship through nursing care. Thirty‐one patients in a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (...) participated in qualitative interviews. A lexical analysis was conducted to analyze the interview data using Alceste® software, version 2012. The results were interpreted in light of both theoretical constructs of the Brazilian citizenship and biological subcitizenship propositions. Two lexical classes revealed contents about strategies used by patients to access high‐quality health care. In the context of budget cuts due to austerity policies, cultural aspects of Brazilian citizenship have influenced access to high‐quality health care services by creating two distinct conditions. Some patients acted as super‐citizens, while others acted as subcitizens. Nurses across the globe must spearhead the struggle for universal and equitable health care access at all levels, without losing sight of wider sociocultural aspects. (shrink)

Resenha: MELO, Amarildo José de. Jansenismo no Brasil : traços de uma Moral rigorista. Santuário em Aparecida/SP. 2014, 343p.

This paper argues that a necessary condition on inferential knowledge is that one knows all the propositions that knowledge depends on. That is, I will argue in support of a principle I call the Knowledge from Knowledge principle: (KFK) S knows that p via inference or reasoning only if S knows all the propositions on which p depends. KFK meshes well with the natural idea that (at least with respect to deductively valid or induc- tively strong arguments) the epistemic status (...) of one’s belief in the conclusion of an argument is a function of the epistemic status of the attitudes one has to the premises of that argument. One gets what one puts in: S’s belief in the conclusion C of an argument A has epistemic status E for S only if S’s belief in each of the premises C depends on also has epistemic status E.1 This is compatible, of course, with the epistemic status of S’s conclusion being greater than the epistemic status of the premises on which the conclusion of her reasoning depends. Furthermore, even though KFK applies more straightforwardly to non-suppositional inferences, we can also plausibly apply the principle to sup- positional reasoning if we treat S’s assuming for the sake of argument that p,2 as S assuming for the sake of argument that she knows that p.3 Although extremely plausible, philosophers have failed to present a concerted case in support of KFK. Most of their energy goes to articulating and/or defending some form of closure principle for knowledge.4 What is more, recently versions of this principle have been dismissed as problematic but I think without the reasons in its support been fully appreciated. This paper is an e fort to change the current state of affairs. Its focus is positive, however: my goal is to make the best case I can in support of KFK.5 To that end, the paper presents the reasons we have to accept KFK (§1), consid- ers an objection to the principle (§2), and situates the principle in the broader normative context of knowledge norms (§3). (shrink)