This chapter describes how philosophical theorizing about justice can be connected with empirical research in the social sciences. We begin by drawing on some received distinctions between ideal and non-ideal approaches to theorizing justice along several different dimensions, showing how non-ideal approaches are needed to address normative aspects of real-world problems and to provide practical guidance. We argue that there are advantages to a transitional approach to justice focusing on manifest injustices, including the fact that it enables us to set (...) aside some reasonable disagreements about justice. The ‘bottom-up’ approach we advocate, for which we borrow Wolff’s term ‘real-world political philosophy’, is an empirically-informed normative analysis that attends to specific, identifiable injustices, and thus is partial, though not isolationist. We illustrate our approach by considering how different models of the nature of disability suggest different kinds of remedy for injustices faced by persons living with disabilities. We reflect on the nature and significance of vulnerabilities, and we assess the role of public opinion in normative theorizing, suggesting a particular significance for the opinions and experiences of marginalized groups. We finally reflect on the relevance of European legal and institutional frameworks for theorizing justice in Europe. (shrink)

After a brief comparison of Aliseda's account with different approaches to abductive reasoning, I try to relate abduction, understood in terms like those of Aliseda, to another concept which also occupies a very important role in scientific change: idealization. In particular, I try to reveal some interesting aspects related to notions like approximation and empirical progress.

In this article we aim to open a new line of debate about religion in public schools by focusing on religious ideals. We begin with an elucidation of the concept ‘religious ideals’ and an explanation of the notion of reasonable pluralism, in order to be able to explore the dangers and positive contributions of religious ideals and their pursuit on a liberal democratic society. We draw our examples of religious ideals from Christianity and Islam, because these religions have most adherents (...) in Western liberal democracies that are the focus of this article. The fifth and most important section ‘‘Reasonable pluralism and the inclusion of religious ideals in public secondary schools’’ provides three arguments for our claim that public schools should include religious ideals, namely that they are important to religious people, that they are conducive for the development of pupils into citizens of a liberal democracy, and that the flourishing of pupils as adults is advanced by encountering religious ideals. We also offer a more practical reason: religious ideals can more easily be included within public education than religious dogmas and rules. (shrink)

Latin American religious political thought includes colonial Spanish and Portuguese ideologies that preceded independence but have survived into the post-independence era, authoritarian ideologies supportive of military governments in the twentieth century, and progressive liberation theologies. In this article, I present a distinct tradition: a version of classical liberal thought. This tradition is skeptical of big government, opposed to caste systems, supportive of a high degree of federalism, uneasy with militarism, and supportive of democratic institutions while affirming religious social norms. This (...) ideology was developed in northeastern Brazil in the early nineteenth century by a Carmelite activist named Frei Caneca (Brother Mug), who published a newspaper titled the Typhis Pernambucano (Tiphys of the State of Pernambuco). (shrink)

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's spiritual masterpiece, The Divine Milieu, in a newly-revised translation by Siôn Cowell, is addressed to those who have lost faith in conventional religion but who still have a sense of the divine at the heart of the cosmos. "The heavens declare the glory of God," sings the Psalmist. Teilhard would agree. "We are surrounded," he says, "by a certain sort of pessimist who tells us continually that our world is foundering in atheism. But should we not (...) say rather that what it is suffering from is unsatisfied theism?" He sees a universe in movement where progress is the spiritualisation of matter and its opposite is the materialisation of spirit. Teilhard opts for progress. The Divine Milieu is both the divine centre and the divine circle, the divine heart and the divine sphere. The Divine Milieu is an essay on the notion of grace. It is written for those who listen primarily to the voices of the Earth: its purpose is to provide a link to traditional Christianity (as expressed in Baptism, Cross and Eucharist) in order to demonstrate that the fears prevalent in contemporary world society as it abuses its very foundation - Mother Earth - may be better understood by the Gospel path. Teilhard's primary purpose is to show a way forward which he sees as the "Christian religious ideal". (shrink)

In this article, we offer a detailed study of two important episodes in the early history of high-energy physics, namely the development of the Chew and the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio models. Our study reveals that both models resulted from the combination of an old Hamiltonian, which had been introduced by earlier researchers, and two new approximation methods developed by Chew and by Nambu and Jona-Lasinio. These new approximation methods, furthermore, were the key component behind the models’ success. We take this historical investigation (...) to support two philosophical theses about the manner in which scientific modelling operates in high-energy physics. Both of these theses run counter to a view that is commonly accepted among philosophers of science: the view that all approximations can be embedded within an equivalent idealized system, and that whatever role the former might play in scientific modelling is therefore parasitic on the much more substantial work performed by the latter. Our first thesis, which we call “Distinctness,” states that approximation methods constitute an independent category of theoretical output from idealized systems. We thus believe that approximations and idealized systems constitute two independent types of objects, both of which are essential to the practice of modelling. Our second, more radical thesis is called “Content Determination.” Our claim here is that approximation methods can in fact be essential to assigning determinate physical content to the idealized systems with which they jointly operate. As we show, this is due to the fact that quantum field theory allows for a very thin characterization of idealized systems only, making the use of approximations necessary to supply additional content. We conclude the paper with a few reflections about the manner in which our two theses can be used to articulate David Kaiser’s views on the “vanishing of scientific theory” in physics after WWII. (shrink)

Philosophy of science has undergone a naturalistic turn, moving away from traditional idealized concerns with the logical structure of scientific theories and toward focusing on real-world scientific practice, especially in domains such as modeling and experimentation. As part of this shift, recent work has explored how the project of philosophically understanding science as a natural phenomenon can be enriched by drawing from different fields and disciplines, including niche construction theory in evolutionary biology, on the one hand, and ecological and enactive (...) views in embodied cognitive science, on the other. But these insights have so far been explored in separation from each other, without clear indication of whether they can work together. Moreover, the focus on particular practices, however insightful, has tended to lack consideration of potential further implications for a naturalized understanding of science as a whole (i.e., above and beyond those particular practices). Motivated by these developments, here we sketch a broad-ranging view of science, scientific practice and scientific knowledge in terms of ecological-enactive co-construction. The view we propose situates science in the biological, evolutionary context of human embodied cognitive activity aimed at addressing the demands of life. This motivates reframing theory as practice, and reconceptualizing scientific knowledge in ecological terms, as relational and world-involving. Our view also brings to the forefront of attention the fundamental link between ideas about the nature of mind, of science and of nature itself, which we explore by outlining how our proposal differs from more conservative, and narrower, conceptions of “cognitive niche construction.”. (shrink)

A partir do pensamento filosófico, podemos ver o homem apregoando juízos de valores a determinadas formas de conduta dentro da sociedade, ou seja, julgar se determinada coisa é boa, ruim, agradável, desagradável, bonito, feio, etc. E entre esses vários juízos de valores podemos distinguir o juízo moral e o estético. Como nosso trabalho está baseado no juízo estético, falaremos do ideal de beleza na arte grega e das demonstrações de preocupação com a modalidade corporal e com as percepções sobre os (...) detalhes do corpo que os artistas gregos tinham, reveladas através de uma estética da beleza que deveria ser refletida nas obras escultóricas. (shrink)

The argument from inductive risk has been embraced by many as a successful account of the role of values in science that challenges the value-free ideal. We argue that it is not obvious that the argument from inductive risk actually undermines the value-free ideal. This is because the inductive risk argument endorses an assumption held by proponents of the value-free ideal: that contextual values never play an appropriate role in determining evidence. We show that challenging the value-free ideal ultimately requires (...) rejecting this assumption. (shrink)

El papel de filosofía y humanidades en forjar un “ideal de humanidad” se refiere no sólo a las difíciles relaciones que éstas tradicionalmente han tenido con los poderes mundanos, sino, sobre todo, a su papel protagónico como guías de un ideal de humanidad y valores espirituales en tiempos de crisis. Kant defendió el papel de los ideales racionales de la “facultad de filosofía” a fines del s. XVIII, ante la teología, el derecho y la medicina. La reflexión de Fichte cuando (...) la nación alemana luchaba por su existencia luego de su derrota por los ejércitos napoleónicos a inicios del s. XIX, da un impulso decisivo a los valores del idealismo alemán. Un siglo después, ante la misma nación alemana, nuevamente derrotada en la primera guerra mundial y sin hallar respuestas a su aflicción en las ciencias exactas ni en su cultura determinada por la técnica, Husserl ve en “el ideal de Humanidad de Fichte” la respuesta a aquello que puede darle su ultima satisfacción: la producción teleológica de un mundo humano, en el que pueda realizarse un orden mundial moral, único fin, fundamento y valor absoluto de la humanidad. Hoy nos hallamos en otro momento de peligro: no sólo el del positivismo naturalista desplazando desde el s. XIX a la formación humanística. El mayor de los peligros es ahora la alianza de ese naturalismo con el mundo globalizado del presente, bajo el imperio de la estan-darización burocrática y corporativa al servicio de la producción desenfrenada de dinero.The role of philosophy and the human sciences in forging an “ideal of humanity” concerns not only the tensions that they traditionally have had with worldly powers. It mostly deals with their primal role as guides of an ideal of humanity and spiritual values in times of crisis. Kant defended the central role of the “Faculty of Philosophy”’s rational ideals by the end of the 18th century, as opposed to Theology, Jurisprudence and Medicine. Fichte’s reflection when the German nation was fighting for its survival after its defeat by the Napoleonic armies at the beginning of the 19th century, gives a decisive impulse to the values brandished by German Idealism. A century later, facing the same German nation newly defeated at World War I, and without any answers to its affliction either in exact sciences nor in its culture determined by technology, Husserl finds in “Fichte’s Ideal of Humanity“ the answer to that which can give it its lasting satisfaction: the teleological production of a human world, in which a world moral order may arise, as humanity’s sole goal, foundation, and absolute value. Today we find ourselves in another moment of danger: not only that of a naturalistic positivism displacing a humanistic education. The greatest of all dangers is currently the alliance of this naturalism with the Golden calf installed in the globalized world of today, under the empire of the bureaucratic and corporative standardization at the service of the frenzied production of money. (shrink)

Investigar a los buenos profesores es complejo porque se corre el riesgo de generalizar trivializando sus características, por lo mismo, es fundamental no caer en la tentación de pensar que son ideales, puesto que son seres humanos que viven su existencia al igual que cada uno de nosotros, sólo que con compromiso y amor por lo que hacen. Gracias a las historias de vida pudimos entender el proceso de la profesionalización docente, develar sus principales complejidades y señalar tendencias válidas para (...) cualquier profesor que pueden ajustarse con flexibilidad a esos patrones. La construcción analítica nos aportó luces para entender y explicar qué es lo que hace a un profesor un Buen Profesor. Esto es, la valoración del sentido común, la improvisación, la conciencia del cambio, la reflexión y la acción pedagógica. Sus características pueden ser intencionalmente promovidas en las distintas etapas de formación profesional porque tienen la cualidad de generar entusiasmo, contagio con un compromiso pedagógico, social y político por el trabajo bien hecho. (shrink)

Este trabajo intenta analizar las tensiones e interrelaciones entre el paradigma del reconocimiento y el paradigma de la redistribución. En concreto se analiza críticamente la obra de Nancy Frazer. En este sentido, se propone el paradigma de la inclusión, para un tercer ámbito, el de la política. Este paradigma se basaría en el ideal de la igual dignidad y la tricotomía inclusión/exclusión/participación. También se plantean reservas a la noción de paridad participativa, que según Fraser, hace conmensurables todas las demandas de (...) justicia. La conclusión es que redistribución y reconocimiento son irreductibles, están interrelacionados y en tensión. Para los casos de soluciones contrapuestas, se propone la noción de inconmensurabilidad que sostienen los defensores del pluralismo de valores -Berlin,Gray-. En casos de conflicto, redistribución y reconocimiento abocarían a una respuesta similar a cómo se debería resolver un dilema. (shrink)

Grecia y nosotros.--Ideales de la vida humana en la antigua Grecia.--El guerrero tirteico.--Héroe griego y santo cristiano.

O artigo defende a tese da necessidade de uma base normativa nacional no Brasil acerca das normas de conduta ético-social do pesquisador objetivando regulamentar, prevenir e punir os desvios na execução de produções acadêmicas e comportamentos antiéticos de docentes e discentes. O ideal é que a base normativa não permaneça dependente dos Fundos de Amparo à Pesquisa apenas dos entes federativos ou de instituições isoladas.

Human flourishing is the topic of an increasing number of books and articles in educational philosophy. Flourishing should be regarded as an ideal aim of education. If this is defended, the first step should be to elucidate what is meant by flourishing, and what exactly the concept entails. Listing formal criteria can facilitate reflection on the ideal of flourishing as an aim of education. We took Aristotelian eudaimonia as a prototype to construct two criteria for the concept of human flourishing: (...) human flourishing is regarded as intrinsically worthwhile and flourishing means ‘actualisation of human potential’. The second criterion has three sub-criteria: flourishing is about a whole life, it is a ‘dynamic state’ and flourishing presupposes there being objective goods. (shrink)

Las siguientes páginas versan sobre la idea de democracia en la obra de José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955), mostrando el _giro_ que se produce en su pensamiento. De ideal ético o imperativo moral, la democracia pasa a ser considerada por el filósofo español un “ideal” político en su obra de madurez intelectual. En su mocedad, un Ortega _Moderno _concibe la democracia en un sentido ilustrado, es decir, como ideal, como labor de cultura y como imperativo moral, mostrando su deuda con (...) la filosofía práctica de Kant, y vinculando aquella a la idea de comunidad (_gemeinschaft_), afirmando en 1909 lo siguiente: _socialización de la cultura, comunidad del trabajo, resurrección de la moral: esto significa para mí democracia._ En un segundo momento, y toda vez que Ortega ha perdido su _fe viva _en la _Modernidad_ y en el ideal ético de mocedad, comenzará a dialogar con la tradición del pensamiento político liberal occidental, concibiendo la democracia principalmente como una norma de derecho político, así como alertando de sus posibles excesos o desvaríos. (shrink)

In this paper we present a new framework of idealization in biology. We characterize idealizations as a network of counterfactual and hypothetical conditionals that can exhibit different “degrees of contingency”. We use this idea to say that, in departing more or less from the actual world, idealizations can serve numerous epistemic, methodological or heuristic purposes within scientific research. We defend that, in part, this structure explains why idealizations, despite being deformations of reality, are so successful in scientific practice. For (...) illustrative purposes, we provide an example from population genetics, the Wright-Fisher Model. (shrink)

Background: Patient participation in clinical ethics support services has been marked as an important issue. There seems to be a wide variety of practices globally, but extensive theoretical or empirical studies on the matter are missing. Scarce publications indicate that, in Europe, patient participation in CESS varies from region to region, and per type of support. Practices vary from being non-existent, to patients being a full conversation partner. This contrasts with North America, where PP seems more or less standard. While (...) PP seems to be on the rise in Europe, there is no data to confirm this. This study sought a deep understanding of both habits and the attitudes towards PP in the Netherlands, including respondents’ practical and normative perspectives on the matter. Methods and Results: We developed a national survey on PP for Dutch CESS staff. Our survey comprised a total of 25 open and close-ended questions, focused on four topics related to PP goals of CESS, status quo of PP, ideas and ideals concerning PP, and obstacles for PP. Discussion: The four most important findings were that: Patient participation in Dutch CESS is far from standard. Views on patient participation are very much intertwined with the goals of ethics support. Hesitations, fears and perceived obstacles for PP were not on principle and Most respondents see PP as a positive opportunity, yet requiring additional training, practical guidance and experience. Conclusions: Various normative reasons require PP. However, PP seems far from standard and somewhat rare in Dutch CESS settings. Our respondents did not raise many principled objections to PP. Instead, reasons for the lack of PP are intertwined with viewpoints on the goals of CESS, which seemingly focus on supporting health care professionals. Training and practical guidance was thought to be helpful for gaining experience for both CESS staff and HCPs. (shrink)

The rise of modern natural sciences was based on the belief that knowledge about nature would increase steadily and that sooner or later it would prove useful for people and society. How these expectations shaped the self-image and the development of the natural sciences is the subject of this book. It turns out that expectations have repeatedly changed: from the universal ideal of utility of the 17th and 18th centuries to the promise of technical progress that is decisive today. The (...) unshakable belief in the usefulness of the natural sciences has always been accompanied by the insight that progress in knowledge can only be guaranteed if research is not based solely on short-term needs. In her story of the modern understanding of science, Désirée Schauz draws a bow from early modern natural research to the natural sciences of the 20th century. With its long-term perspective and its conceptual historical instruments, this book not only makes an important contribution to the modern history of science, but also provides a historically sound basis for current debates on science and innovation policy."-- publisher's website. (shrink)

A basic issue in political economy is the question of how a decentralized economy is possible: How can a system survive and, moreover, be efficient, if all decisions are taken independently, that is, without any explicit coordination? The issue has two sides to it. On the one hand, it is a “thought experiment,” falsifiable only on logical grounds, an object of debate for the sake of pure intellectual interest, even for people who might not live in a market economy. On (...) the other hand, for those who do or might live in such an economy, a thought experiment of this kind contains a critical political dimension, for the conclusions derived from it will usually be appealed to in arguing about the ideal organization of the economy. (shrink)

El actual debate sobre el papel de la "esfera pública" en la política moderna no asume un concepto único de lo "público". La reconstrucción habermasiana de la esfera pública enfatiza la apertura inclusiva de la interacción discursiva a través de la sociedad civil, pero también sus efectos políticos al proveer legitimación reflexiva y una formación racional de la opinión. La esfera pública también se relaciona con el aparecer en común y actuar juntos; o es vinculada con la cultura política, con (...) los códigos sociales de expresión y los modos de presentación entre otros, con la opinión pública y con los múltiples públicos de la sociedad civil moderna. Tocqueville propone una interpretación matizada y multidimensional del espíritu público en la revolución democrática moderna. De ese modo, va más allá de las interpretaciones del espacio público racionalistas e idealizadas (como un ámbito comprehensivo de consenso discursivo); a través de la interpretación de Tocqueville de la sociedad y la cultura pública democráticas, se esboza la posibilidad de una esfera pública descentrada y asimétrica. Current debate over the role of "public sphere" in modern politics does not presuppose a single conception of the "public". Habermas' reconstruction of public sphere stresses the inclusive openness of discursive interaction through civil society, but also its political effects in providing reflexive legitimization and a rational formation of opinion. Public sphere is related also to appearing in common and acting together; or it is linked with public political culture, with social codes of expression and modes of presentation between others, with public opinion and with the multiple publics of modern civil society. Tocqueville proposes a qualified and multidimensional interpretation of the public spirit in modern democratic revolution. So, he goes beyond rationalist and idealized interpretations of public sphere (as a comprehensive realm of discursive consensus); through Tocqueville's interpretation of democratic society and political culture, the possibility of a de-centered and asymmetrical public sphere is outlined. (shrink)

The article argues that it is important to offer children ideals. Ideals are defined as imagined excellences, which are so desirable that people will try to actualise them. These characteristics show the importance of ideals for people: ideals give direction and meaning to their lives. The motivating power of ideals can, however, also lead to fanaticism. Education should therefore involve several worthy ideals that children can commit themselves to as well as critical reflection on the ways in which people are (...) committed to and try to actualise them. (shrink)

Il peut sembler de mauvaise méthode et même de mauvais augure pour la recherche en général de voir un article de plus limiter son propos à la justification du choix, heureux ou malheureux, de son titre. Au risque de décevoir et de perdre les premiers lecteurs, ce pourrait bien être le cas ici : sont mis en relation et même dans une relation privilégiée, celle de types-idéaux distincts de la réalité empirique fluctuante, les concepts de passivité et d?inconscient (en tous (...) les cas de raisonnement inconscient, soit une place très particulière accordée à l?inconscient, comme on va le voir). Or, s?il est sûr que ces concepts ne se recouvrent pas, il n?est pas du tout certain qu?ils se recoupent même a priori. Les lignes qui suivent seront donc consacrées à la jonction possible d?un concept de passivité et d?un concept d?inconscient, jonction qui trouve peut-être sa meilleure occasion dans la psychophysiologie de Wilhelm Wundt. Mais pour qui s?est penché un peu sur ces questions, l?entreprise semble plutôt désespérée. Le premier obstacle, de taille, est le suivant : si l?on entend par passivi­té l?ensemble des activités pré-réflexives de la conscience, il se pourrait fort que la catégorie de la passivité telle qu?elle est élaborée en site empiriste au xix e siècle ne recoupe a priori aucun concept d?inconscient, pour la simple raison qu?elle apparaîtrait dans le cadre de psychologies génétiques qui. (shrink)

Como sabemos, a República de Platão tem como um dos pontos cardinais a busca pela Justiça. Os temas abordados ao longo do diálogo convergem para o desejo do ateniense de construir uma cidade calcada no modelo que ele considera justo. Platão encontra inspiração para seu conteúdo político na Cosntituição de Esparta, formulada pelo legendário legislador Licurgo no século IX a.C.. As semelhanças entre a obra platônica e o conjunto de leis espartanas tornam-se inevitáveis se cotejarmos ambos os textos. A reforma (...) militarista, estabelecida por Licurgo após uma consulta feita ao Oráculo de Delfos, e o pensamento revelado pelo filósofo de Atenas, quatro séculos mais tarde, guardam muitas analogias. (shrink)

In this paper we present a new framework of idealization in biology. We characterize idealizations as a network of counterfactual and hypothetical conditionals that can exhibit different "degrees of contingency". We use this idea to say that, in departing more or less from the actual world, idealizations can serve numerous epistemic, methodological or heuristic purposes within scientific research. We defend that, in part, this structure explains why idealizations, despite being deformations of reality, are so successful in scientific practice. For (...) illustrative purposes, we provide an example from population genetics, the Wright-Fisher Model. (shrink)

In Denmark, teaching the famous fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen poses a challenge in primary education because cultural heritage status and oversimplified readings make it difficult to engage students in authentic readings. A strategy could be to use philosophical dialogues from the tradition of philosophy with children because this is a student-centred approach to teaching where students explore questions and ideas together, and where the teacher assumes the role not as authority, but as facilitator of the dialogue. This kind (...) of dialogic teaching has been encouraged as especially suitable for literary education where teachers aim to engage students in reading the literature with an open mind. However, this article presents a case study that gives reason for caution. It analyses materials for philosophical dialogues on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales and concludes that despite the dialogic ideals, the teaching design caves in to the weight of the cultural and historical impact of Hans Christian Andersen and his work. (shrink)

Las siguientes páginas versan sobre la idea de democracia en la obra de José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955), mostrando el giro que se produce en su pensamiento. De ideal ético o imperativo moral, la democracia pasa a ser considerada por el filósofo español un “ideal” político en su obra de madurez intelectual. En su mocedad, un Ortega Moderno concibe la democracia en un sentido ilustrado, es decir, como ideal, como labor de cultura y como imperativo moral, mostrando su deuda con (...) la filosofía práctica de Kant, y vinculando aquella a la idea de comunidad (gemeinschaft), afirmando en 1909 lo siguiente: socialización de la cultura, comunidad del trabajo, resurrección de la moral: esto significa para mí democracia. En un segundo momento, y toda vez que Ortega ha perdido su fe viva en la Modernidad y en el ideal ético de mocedad, comenzará a dialogar con la tradición del pensamiento político liberal occidental, concibiendo la democracia principalmente como una norma de derecho político, así como alertando de sus posibles excesos o desvaríos. (shrink)

In this paper we present a new framework of idealization in biology. We characterize idealizations as a network of counterfactual conditionals that can exhibit different degrees of contingency. We use the idea of possible worlds to say that, in departing more or less from the actual world, idealizations can serve numerous epistemic, methodological or heuristic purposes within scientific research. We defend that, in part, it is this structure what helps explain why idealizations, despite being deformations of reality, are so (...) successful in scientific practice. (shrink)

O debate contemporâneo nas teoria das relações internacionais é marcado por duas perspectivas: de um lado a perspectiva do realismo político que concebe a paz como um ideal inacessível e a guerra como meio necessário para a aquisição e manutenção do poder; e de outro lado a perspectiva do normativismo ou idealismo que pensa o fim das relações internacionais para além dos conflitos de interesse e da luta por poder. A primeira perspectiva trata as relações internacionais em nível do ser, (...) a segunda em nível do dever ser. Tendo em vista esse cenário, a nossa ideia neste artigo consiste em abordar o problema da guerra e da paz a partir de um estudo interdisciplinar mediante contribuições do Direito Internacional Público e da Filosofia de Kant. Num primeiro momento analisaremos o paradoxo da guerra, em seguida o papel do Direito Internacional Público para a problemática da paz, e por último as contribuições de Kant para a redefinição normativa do direito internacional a partir do seu projeto republicano da liga de paz. (shrink)

Ao tratar da ação do homem contemporâneo no que diz respeito à Revolução Russa, Hannah Arendt elabora abordagens no campo da filosofia política. Trata-se de abordagens que, certamente, podem iluminar o tempo presente, principalmente quando comemoramos o centenário dessa importante ruptura ocorrida em1917. Aautora, em suas análises, procura demonstrar que as experiências dos conselhos na Rússia, configurados em Sovietes, se fortaleceram a partir dos movimentos de 1905 por meio de ondas de greves espontâneas. Arendt faz referência ao caráter republicano dos (...) Sovietes. Ou seja, havia um ideal de fundação de uma república baseada na estrutura organizacional dos Sovietes, traduzidos em espaços de liberdade. A movimentação dos Sovietes e do Partido Bolchevique culminou com a tomada do poder. Os rumos assumidos pelo governo de Lênin abriram precedentes para o desenvolvimento posterior quando o Partido, com toda a sua máquina, se tornaria onipotente. Com a ascensão de Stalin ao poder, instaurou-se o domínio total. Isto é, o totalitarismo alcançou o seu clímax com a perseguição e destruição daqueles que foram considerados inimigos objetivos e com a criação de campos de concentração. Com a ascensão de Nikita Khrushchev ao poder, iniciaram-se alguns sinais de destotalitarização da União Soviética. (shrink)

The content and boundaries of moral education the state may require schools to offer is a matter of contention. This article investigates whether the state may obligate schools to promote the pursuit of moral ideals. Moral ideals refer to (a cluster of) characteristics of a person as well as to situations or states that are believed to be morally excellent or perfect and that are not yet realised. Having an ideal typically means that the person is dedicated to realising the (...) type of situation or person to which the ideal refers. Therefore generating student enthusiasm for moral ideals may be an effective way to realise a morally excellent society. This article defends the position that schools may be required to promote the recognition of ideals that all reasonable citizens endorse. Reasonable citizens will not, however, accept that the state obligates schools to promote the pursuit of moral ideals. (shrink)

What role do nurses play in euthanasia? How do they experience this role and what should be their ideal role? These are the questions of a study undertaken to gain insight into the role of nurses in euthanasia. Answers to these questions were derived from 20 semistructured in-depth interviews with nurses employed in a Dutch hospital. To make clear the role of nurses in euthanasia, the issue was split up into four phases: observation of a request for euthanasia; decision making; (...) carrying out of the request; and after-care. This article is a brief report on the most important results regarding these four phases. Special attention will be paid to nurses who have conscientious objections. To evaluate the study results, an unambiguous interpretation of the concept of ‘euthanasia’ is of most importance. For that reason, Dutch laws and other regulations concerning euthanasia will be explained. (shrink)

RESUMEN La mecánica de Newton fue considerada durante siglos y de manera virtualmente universal como el modelo absoluto del conocimiento científico. Sin embargo, durante el siglo XX, los desarrollos en física suscitaron la necesidad de ampliar el marco conceptual y teórico en torno a aspectos fundamentales como el poder predictivo de los modelos científicos o el rol del observador en la descripción de los fenómenos físicos; esto, a su vez, revitalizó el antiguo debate entre el determinismo y el indeterminismo. En (...) la actualidad, la discusión disciplinaria, lejos de alcanzar un consenso, ha dado lugar a nuevos tipos de preguntas que reflejan un cambio en lo que Cassirer llama el ideal de conocimiento. A partir de una síntesis histórica del debate de las últimas décadas, el presente artículo busca señalar algunas perspectivas contemporáneas del indeterminismo en ciencia. ABSTRACT Newtonian mechanics was for centuries virtually universally regarded as the absolute model of scientific knowledge. However, during the 20th century, developments in physics prompted the need to broaden the conceptual and theoretical framework around fundamental issues such as the predictive power of scientific models or the role of the observer in the description of physical phenomena; this in turn revitalised the long-standing debate between determinism and indeterminism. Today, the disciplinary discussion, far from reaching a consensus, has given rise to new kinds of questions that reflect a change in what Cassirer calls the ideal of knowledge. From a historical synthesis of the debate of the last decades, the present article seeks to point out some contemporary perspectives on indeterminism in science. (shrink)

O artigo parte do temerário diagnóstico que Jonas faz da visão unilateral do progresso tecnológico, o qual não leva em consideração seus efeitos negativos que podem deixar como herança, a longo prazo, terríveis e irreversíveis sequelas. Tendo em vista a velocidade que acontece esse desenvolvimento e a incapacidade moral dos seres humanos em lidar com esse novo cenário, chamaremos atenção ao rompimento feito por Jonas com o ideal de que toda tecnologia em toda e qualquer circunstância e custo é somente (...) para o bem, e o modo que ele traz o fazer tecnológico para o campo da moralidade. Chamando atenção ao perigo eminente das apostas que são feitas nesse modo de agir, que coloca em risco a possibilidade futura de vida no planeta, no segundo movimento de nosso texto, daremos atenção ao princípio responsabilidade como ponto fulcral da ética jonasiana que visa a garantia futura da vida, seja ela humana ou não, mas que enfrenta dificuldades ao defender a primazia do mau prognóstico de seus efeitos cumulativos. Ao final, será problematizada essa inserção que ele faz, pois Hans Jonas recebe severas críticas ao recorrer ao temor como procedimento heurístico em seu tratado ético, sendo acusado de se opor aos avanços e desenvolvimentos tecnológicos, sua proposta normativa é entendida por alguns como uma aversão ao progresso tecnológico. (shrink)

En su exposición Marcelo Boeri aborda el problema de la “utopía” política de Platón a partir de una reconstrucción argumentativa según la cual el significado del “ser posible” de la “ciudad ideal” descrita en la República puede ser comprendido a partir del recurso a la relación entre el paradigma y su copia. Sin embargo, la siguiente consideración, no se centrará en una evaluación de esta estrategia hermenéutica, sino, más bien, en ciertas suposiciones y afirmaciones que resultan difícilmente aceptables o, al (...) menos, muy discutibles. Esto es importante, puesto que, en cierto modo, el enfoque total del problema pierde claridad. (shrink)

In The Explanatory Dispensability of Idealizations, Sam Baron suggests a possible strategy enabling the indispensability argument to break the symmetry between mathematical claims and idealization assumptions in scientific models. Baron’s distinction between mathematical and non-mathematical idealization, I claim, is in need of a more compelling criterion, because in scientific models idealization assumptions are expressed through mathematical claims. In this paper I argue that this mutual dependence of idealization and mathematics cannot be read in terms of symmetry (...) and that Baron’s non-causal notion of mathematical difference-making is not effective in justifying any symmetry-breaking between mathematics and idealization. The function of making a difference that Baron attributes to mathematics cannot be referred to physical facts, but to the features of quantities, such as step lengths or time intervals taken into account in the models. It appears, indeed, that it does not follow from Baron’s argument that idealizations do not help to carry the explanatory load at least for two reasons: mathematics is not independent of idealizations in modelling and idealizations help mathematics to carry the explanatory load of a model in different degrees. (shrink)

Sophisticated dispositionalism proposes a naturalist reduction of mental content by claiming that the semantic content of a mental symbol is determined by the causes of the occurrence of this symbol under ideal conditions, i.e., conditions under which only the referent of a symbol can cause its tokening. However, Paul Boghossian developed the open-endedness objection in order to show that it is not possible to specify these ideal conditions in non-semantic terms, entailing that the naturalist reduction of mental content proposed by (...) sophisticated dispositionalism is not viable. My goal in this paper is to argue that the open-endedness objection is flawed. (shrink)

In this book, René González de la Vega argues that tolerance under the structure of modern deontological liberalism becomes a "suicidal ideal" or an irrational attitude, mainly because its claims are contradictory to the core normative elements of this account of the liberal thought.

What is life, and where does it come from? The question is very old, but it reemerged in the seventeenth century with the crisis of the Aristotelian-Galenic paradigm. Matter was now stripped of any impulse and capacity for self-organization; therefore, it was necessary to find something that would take into account the strength and information that it seemed to hold, especially in what were considered vital phenomena. Georg Ernst Stahl and Friedrich Hoffmann, both professors in Halle and responsible for two (...) of the most famous medical systems of the first half of the eighteenth century, offered solutions to the problem that only appear to be very different. The first invoked the soul as an ideal place of production of the energy that allowed the human body to fight the putrefactive forces in the natural world; the second referred to the concept of ether, to which he attributed modes of action basically similar to those that tradition attributed to vegetative and sensitive souls. This paper highlights the positions of the two physicians, setting them in the climate of the revisitation of ancient certainties that characterized natural philosophy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. (shrink)

Part of being a good professional is, so we contend, to have ideals. Ideals essentially complement the deontic considerations that are usually taken as the main components of professional moral deliberation. Yet the notion of professional ideals is problematic. As professional ideals they refer to a profession collectively, while as professional ideals they are first of all strong personal commitments of individual professionals. As collective aspirations, professional ideals have a kind of external normative thrust on individual professionals, but people cannot (...) be forced to identify with ideals on demand. Endorsing ideals can only come from within. On the basis of an analysis of ?professional ideals? and ?professional identity?, we conclude that professional ideals are necessary constituents of the personal identity of professionals. This explains the dual character of professional ideals: they are pursued by a collective and constitute the group professional identity but they also need to be endorsed by individual professionals in order to be able to say that the ideals are their own. We end with a short and tentative description of some practical implications for the fostering and education of professional ideals. (shrink)

Well known as a theorist of law as well as the main drafter of the 1920 Austrian Constitution, Hans Kelsen's contribution to political theory has been paid considerably less attention. Yet not only do his writings on politics offer a significant picture of the 1920s political dilemmas of both the German Weimar Republic and post- war Austria, they also can be of considerable importance for contemporary political theory in as far as Kelsen opens up new perspectives on the links between (...) ethical principles and political institutions. Political institutions rest on ethical principles that define the legitimate expectations that citizens nourish towards them. Such a relationship becomes manifest when claims are raised in public communication. The article aims to sketch the key aspects of Kelsen's political theory, to highlight the historical context in which it was developed, and to highlight the insights that it promises for current political research. (shrink)

A obra O direito dos povos fecha a trilogia de reflexões de Rawls sobre a justiça, sustentando que povos razoáveis podem conviver de maneira pacífica em um mundo justo. Seu objetivo fundamental é estudar as possibilidades de estender o conceito de justiça como eqüidade para o âmbito externo denominado de Sociedade dos Povos. Elabora ideais e princípios para a política exterior de povos razoavelmente justos,instaurando um programa de direito internacional público. O presente artigo visa apresentar a importância de sua teoria (...) para uma sociedade internacional caracterizada pela pluralidade de doutrinas abrangentes e tentar responder as objeções tendo como base os próprios escritos de Rawls. (shrink)

My article has the title ‘Are there democratic values?’ In one sense the question is ironic: there are democratic values. And new ones appear every day. Nevertheless the question has a literal sense if you consider certain aspects of the regime or mode of existence of values in contemporary thought.The idea that values are no longer what they used to be is not new: the classical line of argument on this question underlines the contrast between, on the one hand, the (...) philosophy of the Ancients, for whom evaluation referred to a normative nature, to ideals, criteria of perfection, embedded in the order of things and, on the other, the philosophy of the Moderns, for whom we are the ones who make the decisions (we are the ones who do the evaluating). Objectivism of values on the one hand, humanist subjectivism on the other. I would like to leave aside this problem and the difficulties which it raises (notably: who is Ancient and who is Modern?), and try to approach in another way whether there is a specifically contemporary mode of being for values. (shrink)

Taxonomy Based modeling was applied to describe drivers' mental models of variable message signs (VMS's) displayed on expressways. Progress in road telematics has made it possible to introduce variable message signs (VMS's). Sensors embedded in the carriageway every 500m record certain variables (speed, flow rate, etc.) that are transformed in real time into 'driving times' to a given destination if road conditions do not change. VMS systems are auto-regulative Man-Machine (AMMI) systems which incorporate a model of the user: if the (...) traffic flow is too high, then drivers should choose alternative routes. In so doing, the traffic flow should decrease. The model of the user is based on suppositions such as: people do not like to waste time, they fully understand the displayed messages, they trust the displayed values, they know of alternative routes. However, people also have a model of the way the system functions. And if they do not believe the contents of the message, they will not act as expected. We collected data through interviews with drivers using the critical incidents technique (Flanagan, 1985). Results show that the mental models that drivers have of the way the VMS system works are various but not numerous and that most of them differ from the 'ideal expert' mental model. It is clear that users don't have an adequate model of how the VMS system works and that VMS planners have a model of user behaviour that does not correspond to the behaviour of the drivers we interviewed. Finally, Taxonomy Based Modeling is discussed as a tool for mental model remediation. (shrink)

O artigo reexamina a teoria ideal e anão-ideal em Platão na perspectiva da filosofiapolitica, com referências ao pensamento de Kante de Rawis. Aborda questões como teoria eprática, conceito de justiça, o problema da igual-dade e outros aspectos.

Abstract: To respond to globalization-related challenges, many contemporary political theorists have argued for forms of democracy beyond the level of the nation-state. Since the early 1990s, however, political theory has also witnessed a renewed normative defense of nationhood. Liberal nationalists have been influential in claiming that the state should protect and promote national identities, and that it is desirable that the boundaries of national and political units coincide. At first glance, both positions—global democracy and nationalism—seem to contradict each other. We (...) do not share this oppositional picture. Developing a more harmonic picture of nationalist ideals and cosmopolitan visions is the aim of this essay. (shrink)