In this article, Adriana Cavarero and Nidesh Lawtoo resume a dialogue on mimetic inclinations in view of furthering a relational, embodied and affective conception of subjectivity that challenges homo erectus from the immanent perspective of homo mimeticus. If a dominant philosophical tradition tends to restrict mimesis to an illusory representation of reality, Plato was the first to know that mimesis also operates as an affective force, or pathos, that dispossesses the subject. While Plato tended to emphasize the pathological implications (...) of mimesis, Cavarero and Lawtoo agree that both mimesis and inclinations go beyond good and evil and can be put to both pathological and democratic use. Picking up a dialogue started during a walk in New York City, Cavarero and Lawtoo, take their shared interests in Joseph Conrad's relating narratives as an occasion to discuss good and bad mimetic inclinations in contemporary politics and ethics. Joined in conclusion by the Gendered Mimesis team (Willow Verkerk, Isabelle Dahms and Giulia Rignano), topics addressed include new fascism, surging democracy, ethical responsibility for vulnerable others, hypermaternity and public happiness in a precarious world. (shrink)

This pathbreaking work pursues two interwoven themes. Firstly, it engages in a deconstruction of Ancient philosopher's texts--mainly from Plato, but also from Homer and Parmenides--in order to free four Greek female figures from the patriarchal discourse which for centuries had imprisoned them in a particular role. Secondly, it attempts to construct a symbolic female order, reinterpreting these figures from a new perspective. Building on the theory of sexual difference, Cavarero shows that death is the central category on which the whole (...) edifice of traditional philosophy is based. By contrast, the category of birth provides the thread with which new concepts of feminist criticism can be woven together to establish a fresh way of thinking. Cavarero develops a philosophical narrative which, by re-interpreting each of the four figures of ancient thought, uncovers several images of the female desire for self-representation. Plato himself had not forseen that one day female subjectivity would assert its autonomy, plundering and throwing into confusion the patriarchal text in order to tell another story. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to propose a hermeneutics of the judicial text based on Paul Ricoeur’s philosophy. For this purpose, the paper will propose, firstly, how to approach the judicial decision as text; secondly, the paper will argue from Paul Ricoeur’s notion of “Hermeneutic Arc,” how explanation and understanding as a hermeneutic method are given in the judicial decision. The final purpose is to show how in some cases the comprehension of ourselves could go through the hermeneutics made (...) to the judicial text. (shrink)

Confusa, difusa, profusa, la «muerte del hombre» después de cinco décadas de su proclamación sigue siendo una cuestión punzante para no pocos lectores de Foucault. Sin embargo, llama la atención que la mayoría de esos preocupados lectores no considera las rectificaciones que el autor hace a esa formulación. Examinar esas rectificaciones, en relación con los desplazamientos del pensamiento de Foucault, es el propósito de estas reflexiones e inflexiones.

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

A propósito de su reciente visita a Colombia, invitado por la Corte Constitucional y la Universidad de La Sabana, los profesores Leonardo García Jaramillo y Vicente F. Benítez-R. entrevistaron al profesor Jeremy Waldron. Waldron fue Chichele Professor en la Universidad de Oxford, discípulo y contradictor de Dworkin, y es uno de los autores más influyentes del debate teórico político y constitucional contemporáneo. Actualmente es University Professor de la Universidad de New York. La traducción al español de la entrevista es (...) también de Leonardo García Jaramillo y Vicente F. Benítez-R... (shrink)

El artículo de Bunge The concept of a problem, que pertenece a una serie de entregas más amplias titulada Inverse problems publicada en el primer volumen de Scientia in verba Magazine, concluye interesantemente la tesis de esta forma: «The problematics of a field is the set of ideas and procedures that, far from being above criticism, raise problems worth being investigated. The degree of maturity of a discipline may be estimated by the state of its problematics. A discipline with more (...) problems than achievements is immature, while one without problems is either embryonic or already spent. For example, accounting hardly raises any research problems, while quantum physics keeps sparking off interesting controversies. A practical spinoff of the preceding is this: those who need a voluminous to get or keep a job should work on unproblematic subjects, while those who look for intellectual stimulation should work on problematic». Aunque estoy de acuerdo por mucho con el uso de las fórmulas y el diagnóstico, sobre todo con respecto al vacío de literatura filosófica sobre el concepto de “problema” como tal y la necesidad de clarificación cuando consideramos las condiciones generales del concepto y las variedades de uso a través de varios campos, debo apartarme de algunos enunciados cuya severidad y precisión me hacen dudar de cualquier utilidad general en el texto como un todo. Me propongo por lo tanto hacer algunos ajustes cuando considere que es necesario, en el uso de las fórmulas, no obstante su novedad y buen lenguaje a ser explotados y revisados en el futuro. (shrink)

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

How precisely to understand and evaluate counterfactuals can be an intricate issue. The aim of this article is to examine a new set of difficulties for evaluating counterfactuals that arise in the context of the dynamical spacetimes described by the theory of general relativity. The initial value formulation provides us with a methodology to pin down the specific combination of features of the theory at the origin of the difficulties, namely, non-linearity and certain non-local aspects, in particular when combined with (...) the global and/or quasi-local character of physical quantities in general relativity. Finally, we connect the philosophical question about counterfactuals with concrete applied physical issues in general relativity about extracting meaningful predictions by constructing appropriate initial data sets, leading us to question the very suitability of the Cauchy approach to fully account for the explanatory power of the theory. (shrink)

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

Words like "terrorism" and "war" no longer encompass the scope of contemporary violence. With this explosive book, Adriana Cavarero, one of the world's most provocative feminist theorists and political philosophers, effectively renders such terms obsolete. She introduces a new word—"horrorism"—to capture the experience of violence. Unlike terror, horrorism is a form of violation grounded in the offense of disfiguration and massacre. Numerous outbursts of violence fall within Cavarero's category of horrorism, especially when the phenomenology of violence is considered from (...) the perspective of the victim rather than that of the warrior. Cavarero locates horrorism in the philosophical, political, literary, and artistic representations of defenseless and vulnerable victims. She considers both terror and horror on the battlefields of the _Iliad_, in the decapitation of Medusa, and in the murder of Medea's children. In the modern arena, she forges a link between horror, extermination, and massacre, especially the Nazi death camps, and revisits the work of Primo Levi, Hannah Arendt's thesis on totalitarianism, and Arendt's debate with Georges Bataille on the estheticization of violence and cruelty. In applying the horroristic paradigm to the current phenomena of suicide bombers, torturers, and hypertechnological warfare, Cavarero integrates Susan Sontag's views on photography and the eroticization of horror, as well as ideas on violence and the state advanced by Thomas Hobbes and Carl Schmitt. Through her searing analysis, Caverero proves that violence against the helpless claims a specific vocabulary, one that has been known for millennia, and not just to the Western tradition. Where common language fails to form a picture of atrocity, horrorism paints a brilliant portrait of its vivid reality. (shrink)

El presente trabajo analiza el esquema de las Asociaciones Público Privadas consagradas en la ley 1508 de 2012, como un instrumento de vinculación del capital privado y modalidad de gestión pública dentro de la actividad contractual. Para ello, se propone resaltar aspectos esenciales de las mismas que permitan responder a la pregunta: ¿Cuál es la importancia de las app como modelo de gestión pública en la actividad contractual, para la concreción de los fines del Estado? La finalidad se cimienta en (...) analizar la importancia de estas como esquemas y herramientas de gestión pública dirigidas al cumplimiento de los fines del Estado, desde el elemento cuantitativo del Estado Social de Derecho, en especial desde el fin de servicio a la comunidad, proponiéndose ahondar en la normatividad vigente colombiana que versa en torno a las mismas, donde se vislumbra la importancia de estas estructuras y se detallan las diferencias entre los esquemas de iniciativa privada como verdadera novedad e iniciativa pública. (shrink)

Este artículo analiza los argumentos biologicistas a través de los cuales Paul Valéry interpreta el fenómeno de la vida. Para ello, se empieza por mostrar el poder creativo que revela la naturaleza en virtud de las leyes de estructuración y orden que comienzan a hacerse visibles a nivel de las estructuras moleculares que dan forma al universo. Después de eso, se estudia la redefinición que el autor hace del concepto de materia, a la luz de los hallazgos científicos alcanzados en (...) su época. Luego, son expuestas las características esenciales de la vida, determinadas por la integración complementaria entre la ley de conservación y la ley de transformación de la naturaleza. Asimismo, son presentados los planteamientos por los cuales el fenómeno de la muerte es tomado como una propiedad característica de la vida, al igual que los argumentos por los cuales la vida es considerada como producto del azar. Finalmente, se hace referencia a la precariedad y finitud de la vida, explicitadas por Valéry desde la teoría del evolucionismo. (shrink)

What does a truly democratic experience of political action look like today? In this provocative new work, Adriana Cavarero weighs in on contemporary debates about the relationship between democracy, happiness, and dissent. Drawing upon Arendt's understanding of politics as a participatory experience, but also discussing texts by Émile Zola, Elias Canetti, Boris Pasternak, and Roland Barthes, along with engaging Judith Butler, Cavarero proposes a new view of democracy, based not on violence, but rather on the spontaneous experience of a (...) plurality of bodies coming together in public. Expanding upon the themes explored in previous works, Cavarero offers a timely intervention into current thinking about the nature of democracy, suggesting that its emergence thrives on the nonviolent creativity of a widespread, participatory, and relational power that is shared horizontally rather than vertically. From digital democracy to selfies to contemporary protest movements, Cavarero argues that we need to rethink our focus on individual happiness and turn toward rediscovering the joyful emotions of birth through plural interaction. Yes, let us be happy, she urges, but let us do so publicly, politically, together. (shrink)

Adriana Novoa and Alex Levine offer here a history and interpretation of the reception of Darwinism in Argentina, illuminating the ways culture shapes ...

This essay addresses moral aspects of using carbon offsets for counteracting individuals’ luxury emissions. After introducing and outlining the main topics and terms related to carbon offsetting, this essay answers three objections that have been levied against carbon offsetting: objections from the indulgences analogy, objections from the directness of the duty not to harm, and separateness objections. The essay argues that advocates for offsetting have resources to defend against these criticisms by pointing to particularities of individual emissions’ harmfulness, as well (...) as the preemptive nature of offsetting. The essay then shows that in spite of these defenses there is reason to regard not emitting as a better option because of a host of problems that plague offsetting in its current forms. The essay concludes that offsetting enhances individuals’ options for discharging their duty not to harm, but that standards of justice and efficacy need to be adopted. (shrink)

The human voice does not deceive. The one who is speaking is inevitably revealed by the singular sound of her voice, no matter “what” she says. We take this fact for granted—for example, every time someone asks, over the telephone, “Who is speaking?” and receives as a reply the familiar utterance, “It’s me.” Starting from the given uniqueness of every voice, Cavarero rereads the history of philosophy through its peculiar evasion of this embodied uniqueness. She shows how this history—along with (...) the fields it comprehends, such as linguistics, musicology, political theory, and studies in orality—might be grasped as the “devocalization of Logos,” as the invariable privileging of semantike over phone, mind over body. Female figures—from the Sirens to the Muses, from Echo to opera singers—provide a crucial counterhistory, one in which the embodied voice triumphs over the immaterial semantic. Reconstructing this counterhistory, Cavarero proposes a “politics of the voice” wherein the ancient bond between Logos and politics is reconfigured, and wherein what matters is not the communicative content of a given discourse, but rather who is speaking. (shrink)

Deliberative Transformative Moments (DTM) is a new concept that serves as an amendment to the DQI. With this new concept it is easier to get at the quick give-and-take of discussions of small groups of ordinary citizens. As an illustration, we apply the concept to discussions about the peace process among Colombian ex-combatants, ex-guerrillas and ex-paramilitaries. Specifically, we show how personal stories can transform a discussion from a low to a high level of deliberation and how they can have the (...) opposite effect. To increase the level of deliberation in the general population, we recommend that good illustrations of DTM’s should be part of the school programs from an early age on, so that children learn how to discuss with others who have different opinions and values. (shrink)

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

Cada vez está más cerca el 1 de enero de 2005, fecha en la cual, según lo dispone el Acto Legislativo 03 de diciembre 19 de 2002, debe entrar a regir el nuevo sistema de procesamiento penal: el sistema acusatorio. En el acto legislativo y en el proyecto de Código de Procedimiento Penal que desarrolla dicho sistema de procesamiento, si bien es cierto el Jurado de Conciencia se enuncia como uno de los órganos llamados a administrar justicia, no se le (...) asigna esquema de funcionamiento alguno -número de integrantes, forma de elección, posesión, instalación, operatividad, etc.- como tampoco se señala qué delitos estarían sometidos al juzgamiento con participación de dicha Institución. (shrink)

Coference papers from the X National Seminar of Theory and History of the Art carried out in Medellín to address certain implications that the question entails, for both art and philosophy. For art: Why and since when do we think that art without aesthetics is something reprehensible or desirable? For philosophy: Is it irremovable or not the turn that the philosophical aesthetic took towards the experience of art from the eighteenth century? At the heart of these questions is a basic (...) concern: Who needs more aesthetics (taste, pleasure, beauty): art or human life?. (shrink)

Montaigne compone una ética moderna definida por el ejercicio de su pensamiento autocritico que acompañado de un método filosófico aborda la construcción de sÍ mismo como una "manera" filosófica. Las reflexiones intentan responder simultáneamente a dos cuestiones: ¿cómo le es posible proveerse de una ética que le permita una existencia ordenada y sensata, cuando la condición humana está signada por el desorden y la extravagancia? ¿Cómo le es posible fundar una ética moderna -antes que Descartes- con una posición escéptica?

How precisely to understand and evaluate counterfactuals can be an intricate issue. The aim of this article is to examine a new set of difficulties for evaluating counterfactuals that arise in the context of the dynamical spacetimes described by the theory of general relativity (GR). The initial value formulation provides us with a methodology to pin down the specific combination of features of the theory at the origin of the difficulties, namely, non-linearity and certain non-local aspects (typically captured by ellipticity (...) at the analytical level), in particular when combined with the global and/or quasi-local character of physical quantities in GR. Finally, we connect the philosophical question about counterfactuals with concrete applied physical issues in GR about extracting meaningful predictions by constructing appropriate initial data sets, leading us to question the very suitability of the Cauchy approach to fully account for the explanatory power of the theory. (shrink)

Leaders play a critical role in setting the tone for ethical climate in organizations. In recent years, there has been an increased skepticism about the role played by corporate executives in developing and implementing ethics in business practices. Sales and marketing practices of businesses, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, have come under increased scrutiny. This study identifies a type of leadership style that can help firms develop an ethical climate. Responses from 333 salespeople working for a North American subsidiary of (...) an international pharmaceutical company were used to analyze the impact of instrumental leadership on ethical climate. We also examined the effect of ethical climate on effort, satisfaction with the supervisor, and job satisfaction. Managerial implications are provided. (shrink)

In On Nature and Language Noam Chomsky develops his thinking on the relation between language, mind and brain, integrating current research in linguistics into the burgeoning field of neuroscience. This 2002 volume begins with a lucid introduction by the editors Adriana Belletti and Luigi Rizzi. This is followed by some of Chomsky's writings on these themes, together with a penetrating interview in which Chomsky provides the clearest and most elegant introduction to current theory available. It should make his Minimalist (...) Program accessible to all. The volume concludes with an essay on the role of intellectuals in society and government. Nature and Language is a significant landmark in the development of linguistic theory. It will be welcomed by students and researchers in theoretical linguistics, neurolinguistics, cognitive science and politics, as well as anyone interested in the development of Chomsky's thought. (shrink)

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

We reconstruct “the classical transformational theory” of Chomsky, and fit it into the structuralist theory of science. We describe both the formal and the empirical features of this classical account, so that one basic hypothesis of this theory – where central notions are used – can be formulated, and in which Chomsky’s “classical” distinction between surface structure and deep structure is clarified. In the empirical claim of this theory are words, sentences and high-structured entities in an inseparable way intertwined. We (...) claim that the formal structure of a natural language is not approximately the same as that of an empirical theory in general. We clarify two special points which affect the structure of the notion of an empirical theory, namely: the delineation of intended applications and the fit between data and models. We hold that the concept of the empirical claim for a linguistic theory should be generalized in comparison with the “standard” structuralist approach. (shrink)

Además del desafío propiamente jurídico que plantean la interamericanización del derecho y los proyectos que propugnan por un constitucionalismo transformador de las desigualdades sociales y políticas que aquejan a los países de la región, se plantean retos de naturaleza política. Sobresalen la inclusión social y la debida representación política. Dentro de los retos filosóficos se encuentra la depuración de conceptos que sofistiquen y precisen las categorías con las cuales describimos nuevos fenómenos en América Latina.

Se investiga el alcance y los límites de la concepción política de Jacques Rancière. En primer lugar, se hace una presentación esquemática de lo que el filósofo francés entiende por “política” (en donde se trata la distinción entre policía y política, el desacuerdo y la subjetivación). En segundo lugar, y tomando una disposición máscrítica, se busca evidenciar el alcance y los límites de esta concepción de la política como interrupción. Con ello se ponen de presente las ventajas y los problemas (...) del pensamiento político rancieriano. Por último, vinculando estas reflexiones con lahistoria y la memoria, se busca proponer una nueva concepción de la política como interrupción que supere los límites antes mencionados. (shrink)

La Araucanía tiene una población rural que alcanza al 31% del total, lo que la convierte en una de las regiones con mayor ruralidad del país. Así mismo, La Araucanía es el referente histórico y territorial del pueblo mapuche, cuya población alcanza al 23,4% del total regional, de la cual el 70% son habitantes rurales. La Araucanía en las últimas cinco décadas ha experimentado profundas transformaciones derivadas de la aplicación de diversos modelos político-económicos y sus respectivas políticas públicas, que han (...) afectado al mundo rural. Estas políticas públicas incluyen un proceso de reforma agraria, contrarreforma agraria, división de la propiedad mapuche, instalación de una economía abierta, fomento forestal de plantaciones artificiales y la promulgación de una nueva ley indígena, entre otras. Este artículo pretende identificar y hacer una revisión de las principales políticas y sus consecuencias, con el propósito de sugerir orientaciones para elaborar programas públicos pertinentes. (shrink)

The main purpose of this study is the scientific practice of Edgard Roquette-Pinto at the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro during the 1910’s and 1920’s in the XXth Century. The article examines the relationship between laboratory science and nation building. Driven by Physicians-Anthropologists like Edgard Roquette-Pinto among others, the investigations performed at the Anthropology Laboratory there reveal the dynamic of the borders between Laboratory and Field Sciences, and the new biological parameters adopted at that time. The investigative agenda involved (...) plants, animals and human bodies, and it was related to the current Anthropology concept aligned with the debate of Nation construction. The physiological studies amplified the scientific exchange with different institutions, emphasizing cultural exchange between Brazil and Paraguay, and the role played by Edgard Roquette-Pinto there as he inaugurated the Physiological course at Faculty of Medicine at University of Asunción. (shrink)

Entre octubre de 1867 y abril de 1868 Nietzsche escribe una larga anotación en donde consigna toda una serie de importantes reparos al sistema filosófico de Schopenhauer. Estos apuntes gozan de significativa importancia ya que, vistos desde una amplia perspectiva, muestran la preocupación del joven filósofo por clarificar a partir de esa temprana época el horizonte conceptual del cual parte; a su vez, desde un punto de vista más específico, nos permiten rastrear algunos de los elementos iniciales que motivarán la (...) posterior crítica radical a la filosofía schopenhaueriana. En este ensayo se analizan los distintos cuestionamientos formulados por Nietzsche frente a la homologación de la voluntad como cosa en sí y la argumentación con la que se define su tránsito hacia el plano de la representación. (shrink)