El presente artículo examina los argumentos aristotélicos en favor de la teleología para poner de manifiesto su estructura argumentativa que, a juicio del autor, es una inferencia a la mejor explicación. Finalmente se intenta relacionar la estrategia aristotélica con el tratamiento actual que se ha hecho de la finalidad desde la Filosofía de la Ciencia.

RESUMEN La teleosemántica es el intento de naturalizar el contenido mental mediante el recurso al concepto de función biológica. En el presente artículo se argumenta que la teleosemántica carece de los recursos necesarios para hacer frente a tres problemas: la indeterminación del contenido, el carácter abstracto de este y la inutilidad biológica de algunas de las representaciones que pueden albergar organismos como los humanos. ABSTRACT Teleosemantics is the attempt to naturalize mental content by resorting to the concept of biological function. (...) The article argues that teleosemantics lacks the necessary resources to solve three problems: the indeterminacy of content, its abstract nature, and the biological uselessness of some of the representations of certain organisms such as human beings. (shrink)

RESUMENEl presente artículo analiza las diferentes teorías que sobre el concepto de función se han vertido en los últimos cuarenta años y sus problemas. Respecto de los dos grandes enfoques (histórico-etiológico y sistémico) se sostiene que el primero, pese a su hegemonía histórica, presenta considerables dificultades y que la reflexión actual se centra cada vez más en la perspectiva sistémica. Esta última puede enfrentarse mejor a los diversos problemas que genera el concepto de función biológica y es siempre preferible.PALABRAS CLAVEFUNCIÓN (...) BIOLÓGICA, FUNCIÓN SISTéMICA, EXPLICACIÓN FUNCIONAL, EXPLICACIÓN BASADA EN MECANISMOS, TELEOLOGíAABSTRACTThis paper analyzes the different theories on biological function and the problems they brought up over the last forty years. Concerning the two most important points of view on functions (aetiological theory and systemic theory) I hold that the aetiological theory, despite its historical hegemony, presents substantial difficulties and that the present philosophical thinking is centred on systemic theories. Systemic theories are capable of solving the various problems generated by the biological function concept which is preferable.KEYWORDSBIOLOGICAL FUNCTION, SySTEMIC FUNCTION, FUNCTIONAL EXPLANATION, MECHANISTIC EXPLANATION TELEOLOGY. (shrink)

RESUMENEl presente artículo analiza las diferentes teorías que sobre el concepto de función se han vertido en los últimos cuarenta años y sus problemas. Respecto de los dos grandes enfoques (histórico-etiológico y sistémico) se sostiene que el primero, pese a su hegemonía histórica, presenta considerables dificultades y que la reflexión actual se centra cada vez más en la perspectiva sistémica. Esta última puede enfrentarse mejor a los diversos problemas que genera el concepto de función biológica y es siempre preferible.PALABRAS CLAVEFUNCIÓN (...) BIOLÓGICA, FUNCIÓN SISTéMICA, EXPLICACIÓN FUNCIONAL, EXPLICACIÓN BASADA EN MECANISMOS, TELEOLOGíAABSTRACTThis paper analyzes the different theories on biological function and the problems they brought up over the last forty years. Concerning the two most important points of view on functions (aetiological theory and systemic theory) I hold that the aetiological theory, despite its historical hegemony, presents substantial difficulties and that the present philosophical thinking is centred on systemic theories. Systemic theories are capable of solving the various problems generated by the biological function concept which is preferable.KEYWORDSBIOLOGICAL FUNCTION, SySTEMIC FUNCTION, FUNCTIONAL EXPLANATION, MECHANISTIC EXPLANATION TELEOLOGY. (shrink)

Teleosemantic theories of content constitute a mixed family of different proposals and accounts about what consists mental content. In the present paper, I would like examine the scope and limits of a particular and well defined teleosemantic theory such as Millikan’s account. My aim entails presenting arguments in order to show how her theory of mental content is unnable of giving a complete account of the whole mental life almost for adult human agents without commiting certain adaptationist assumptions. I am (...) going to present my arguments in the following order. In section 1 I present an outline of the Millikan’s theory of mental content. In section 2, after defining useless content I pay attention to her treatment of it. In section 3 I set out my queries concerning to the fixation of useless content defended by Millikan. Finally, I conclude that the theory about useless content doesn’t identify content in terms of sufficient and necessary conditions. (shrink)

El presente artículo expone y analiza las principales ideas epistemológicas abordadas por Comenius en su Prodromus pansophiae. En primer lugar, se subraya el valor e interés filosófico de la obra de Comenius y se relaciona con la problemática intelectual y filosófica de su momento. En segundo lugar, se procede a un análisis del texto destacando su concepción antropológica y la dependencia de una determinada concepción metafísica para el desarrollo de sus ideas epistemológicas. En tercer lugar, se analiza la pansofía como (...) logro metafísico y epistemológico de Comenius. Finalmente, se concluye con un análisis acerca del método presente en el proyecto epistemológico elaborado en el Prodromus. (shrink)

Trente ans après la fin définitive de la dictature et l'approbation de la Constitution de 1978, après trente-sept ans de franquisme, le moment semble venu pour l'Espagne moderne de revenir sur les années de dictature. L'ombre du franquisme n'avait jamais disparu, mais elle revient, puissante, avec l'opposition des partis de droite à la « Loi sur la mémoire historique » et le refus de l'Église de reconnaître une quelconque responsabilité dans les exactions du franquisme. La rencontre entre la Mémoire et (...) la Loi est au cœur de cet article.Thirty years alter dictatorship finally came to an end with the adoption of the 1978 Constitution and after thirty seven years of Francoism, the time seems to have come for modern Spain to look back on those years. The shadow of Francoism had never entirely disappeared, and it has returned, powerfully, with oppo­sition from the right-wing parties to the "Historical Memory Law" and the Church' s refusal to admit to any responsibility in the abuses of power meted out by the Franco regime. The encounter between Memory and Law is the core issue of this article. (shrink)

Marcel Proust ha passat a la història de la cultura occidental com un escriptor, principalment novelista. Amb tot, la seva obra mestra. A la recerca del temps perdut, un dels cims de la literatura mundial, conté nombroses reflexions que permeten identificar clarament també un Proust pensador. Reconstruir la filosofia de Proust tot resseguint la mirada sobre el món que representa a la recerca?. és l'objectiu d'aquest assaig. A partir dels aforismes, sovint metafòrics, del Narrador proustià, Jaume Urgell ens ofereix (...) una anàlisi de la posició de l'escriptor francès en el context de la filosofia del segle XX. Expressant-se de vegades com a hereu d'un pensament anti-racionalista, en ocasions com a a coetani del existencialisme europeu i sovint precursor tant del pensament ironista com de mites de la quotidianitat més contemporània, Marcel Proust ens llega una obra plena de significats i alhora lliure de qualsevol convencionalisme, cosncient de les seves pròpies màscares i alhora innocent en el seu desenvolupament. Aquest assaigpresenta també algunes de les contribucions més rellevants en l'estudi de l'obra proustiana, com són les de Samuel Beckett, Gilles Deleuze i Richard Rorty, i desbrossa les incursions de Proust en el camp de la psicologia, l'ètica i l'estètica. Jaume Urgell És llicenciat en ciències empresarials i MBA per ESADE i Màster en Administració Pública per la Universitat de Harvard. Té un Diploma d'Estudis Avançats en Filosofia i Literatura per la UB. Dedica la seva vida intel·lectual a la literatura, la filosofia, la política i les relacions internacionals, i ha publicat diversos llibres i articles sobre aquestes matèries. (shrink)

Dans cet article, j’essaie de montrer la pertinence de la Phénoménologie de la perception pour répondre aux défis de la philosophie dans un monde à la fois déchirée et globalisateur. Si on laisse de côté la dimension théorétique du monde, nous recupérons le fond obscure de l’existence, fond de tous les espaces. Il s’agirait d’un espace primigène dans lequel on trouve le lien affectif propre de l’expérience des enfants et des primitives. Mais le vécu de ces espaces implique une perte (...) du espace de jeu qui fait possible le monde comme ouverture et intersubjectivité. La réponse de Merleau-Ponty devant le psychologisme suppose un tournant envers la philosophie traditionnelle parce qu´il réussit à garder près de sa conscience les consciences «autres» du schizophrène ou de l’enfant. (shrink)

Over the past decades, the psychological science has accumulated a large corpus of empirical knowledge about police interviews, deception detection, and suspects’ confessions. However, it is unclear whether European police forces’ practices and beliefs are consistent with recommendations derived from this empirical literature. The study described in this report is part of a larger research project examining European police investigators’ practices and beliefs. An online survey was administered to Guardia Civil (n = 89) and Policía Nacional investigators (n = 126). (...) The survey inquired about the length, frequency and electronic recording of interviews, the suspects’ use of their right to remain silent, investigators’ self-reported skills in distinguishing between truthful and deceptive statements, their estimates of the frequency of (false) confessions, and their use of specific interview tactics. The outcomes provide insights into investigators’ knowledge and practices, highlight specific needs, and allow for a comparison between European and North American police forces. (shrink)

El objetivo del libro no es otro, pues, que «retracer l’histoire de l’alchimie au Moye Âge». De acuerdo con esta perspectiva histórica, el libro esta estructurado en cuatro grandes capítulos. Primero: La réception de l’alchimie arabe au Moyen Âge ; segundo: Les principaux corpus alchimiques arabo-latins ; tercero: L’alchimie latine y, finalmente, el cuarto: L’alchimie à la fin du Moyen Âge: La transition vers la Renaissance. Una introducción, la conclusión, veinte páginas de bibliografia, el index nominum i el general completan (...) el libro. (shrink)

L'oeuvre de ce Catalan s'inscrit à la rencontre de Saint-Augustin, Saint Anselme, Saint Bernard... Sebond parvient à définir une sorte de "socratisme chrétien". Dans son "Liber creaturarum" il apparaît à la fois comme théologien, philosophe humaniste et apologiste de la foi.

« Plus on est démocrate, plus il faudrait être chrétien ; car le culte fervent et pratique du Dieu fait homme est le contrepoids indispensable de cette tendance perpétuelle de la démocratie à constituer le culte de l’homme se croyant Dieu. L’apothéose de la raison souveraine du peuple souverain, ce poison inhérent au développement de la démocratie moderne, ne rencontre..

Recent preclinical studies have shown the feasibility of specific variants of nuclear transfer to prevent mitochondrial DNA disorders. Nuclear transfer could be a valuable reproductive option for carriers of mitochondrial mutations. A clinical application of nuclear transfer, however, would entail germ-line modification, more specifically a germ-line modification of the mitochondrial genome. One of the most prominent objections against germ-line modification is the fear that it would become possible to alter ‘essential characteristics’ of a future person, thereby possibly violating the child's (...) right to an open future. As only the nuclear DNA would contain the ingredients for individual characteristics, modification of the mtDNA is often considered less controversial than modification of the nuclear DNA. This paper discusses the tenability of this dichotomy. After having clarified the concept of germ-line modification, it argues that modification of the mtDNA is not substantively different from modification of the nuclear DNA in terms of its effects on the identity of the future person. Subsequently the paper assesses how this conclusion affects the moral evaluation of nuclear transfer to prevent mtDNA disorders. It concludes that the moral acceptability of germ-line modification does not depend on whether it alters the identity of the future child—all germ-line modifications do—but on whether it safeguards the child's right to an open future. If nuclear transfer to prevent mtDNA disorders becomes safe and effective, then dismissing it because it involves germ-line modification is unjustified. (shrink)

How did bioethics manage to grow, flourish and ultimately do so well from a very unpromising birth in the 1970s? Many explanations have been advanced. Some ascribe the field9s growth to a puzzling, voluntary abnegation of moral authority by medicine to non-physicians. Some think bioethics survived by selling out to the biomedical establishment—public and private. This transaction involved bestowing moral approbation on all manner of biomedicine9s doings for a seat at a well-stocked funding table. Some see a sort of clever (...) intellectual bamboozlement at work wherein bioethicists pitched a moral elixir of objective expertise that the morally needy but unsophisticated in medicine and the biological sciences were eager to swallow. While each of these reasons has its defenders, I think the main reason that bioethics did well was that it did good. By using the media to move into the public arena, the field engaged the public imagination, provoked dialogue and debate, and contributed to policy changes that benefitted patients and healthcare providers. (shrink)

Oxford Scholarly Classics brings together a number of great academic works from the archives of Oxford University Press. Reissued in a uniform series design, they will enable libraries, scholars, and students to gain fresh access to some of the finest scholarship of the last century.

Randomised clinical trials provide the most valid means of establishing the efficacy of clinical therapeutics. Ethical standards dictate that patients and clinicians should not consent to randomisation unless there is uncertainty about whether any of the treatment options is superior to the others ("equipoise"). However, true equipoise is rarely present; most randomised trials, therefore, present challenging ethical dilemmas. Minimising the tension between science and ethics is an obligation of investigators and clinicians. This article briefly reviews several techniques for addressing this (...) issue and suggests that unbalanced randomisation, a technique rarely employed in current clinical trial practice, may be useful for enhancing the ethical design of human experimentation. (shrink)

To begin with, can we possibly call esthetic activity a cognitive function , that is, do the products of esthetic activity possess, along with their other characteristics, a certain cognitive value?

It would be no exaggeration to say that our art is presently undergoing a revolutionary stage in its development. The revolutionary renewal that has seized all spheres of life is being ever more forcefully represented in artistic culture as well. That culture is beginning to free itself from bureaucratic regimentation, incompetent pressure from above, inflated authorities, lifeless cliches, and opportunism of the moment. Art is actively seeking its place in perestroika, and is in turn in many respects defining the moral (...) climate of perestroika. Recent works such as Fire [Pozhar] by V. Rasputin, the Sad Detective Story [Pechal'nyi detektiv] by V. Astaf'ev, The Execution Block [Plakha] by Ch. Aitmatov, the paintings of G. Korzhev and V. Sidorov, the sculpture of V. Klykov, etc., are actively working for renewal. (shrink)

The essential purpose of the present article is to put forward a new theory concerning the last scene of the Septem, 1005–78. The problem of the play's ending as a whole has been very thoroughly discussed by P. Nicolaus, Die Frage nach der Echtheit der Schlussszene von Aischylos' Sieben gegen Theben ; since I have no wish to duplicate Nicolaus's work I shall deal only very briefly with those aspects of the problem on which I find myself in agreement with (...) him and with other scholars. (shrink)