Based on Newton’s laws reformulated in the Hamiltonian dynamics combined with statistical mechanics, we formulate a statistical mechanical theory supporting the hypothesis of a closed universe oscillating in phase-space. We find that the behavior of this universe as a whole can be represented by a free entropic oscillator whose lifespan is nonhomogeneous, thus implying that time is shorter or longer according to the state of this universe given through its entropy. We conclude that time reduces to the entropy production of (...) this universe and that a nonzero entropy production means that local fluctuations could exist giving rise to the appearance of masses and to the curvature of the space. (shrink)

El recientemente publicado libro de Adrián Almazán Gómez, Técnica y tecnología. Cómo conversar con un tecnolófilo, constituye un intento de aprender del pasado para auspiciar un futuro que supere la crisis de encaje entre tecnosfera y biosfera en que consiste nuestro presente. El planteamiento en el libro de figuras como el campesino y el artesano, así como de una marcada oposición entre naturaleza y ciencia, invita a un debate y a una profunda indagación que problematice la Modernidad.

Some of the most interesting questions about Kant, and more particularly about his moral philosophy, arise when he is placed alongside the giants of antiquity. Where does he come together with Plato? Where with Aristotle? Where does he diverge from each? He comes together with Plato in a shared conception of Ideas. When he first outlines how he is using the term ‘Idea’ in the Critique of Pure Reason , he insists that he is using it in none other than (...) its original Platonic sense; and he explains away certain discrepancies with the comment: It is by no means unusual… to find that we understand [an author] better than he has understood himself. As he has not sufficiently determined his concept, he has sometimes spoken… in opposition to his own intention. (shrink)

Wittgenstein's examination of Private Language Argument and Solipsism in the Philosophical Investigations implies no critics to his earlier theory maintained in the Tractatus. On the contrary, both are inspired by the same idea, namely, the impossibility of finding a thinking subject merely on the ground of thought itself.

Among the wide variety of experiences linked to academic work, there are some intense affective experiences that are more directly related to the conceptual development that the learners will achieve because they are intrinsically linked to the activity displayed during the acquisition of knowledge, such is the case of curiosity, confusion and surprise. These epistemic emotions that occur during learning activities are aimed at the conceptual content of the individual's beliefs. The objective of this work is to theoretically explore the (...) idea that the conceptual development that occurs in educational contexts depends on the development of an affective tendency with an intersubjective base that serves as a background to the advent of epistemic emotions in social learning situations. The confidence with which a learning situation is faced is a general tendency (an epistemic attitude) fruit of the individual's trajectory that functions as a background for the activities in which knowledge is acquired. An adequate understanding of the relationships between epistemic emotions, confidence and knowledge can generate ideas that promote the consolidation of this attitude as a facet of learning in school. As pedagogical implications of this conceptual model, some common epistemic emotional patterns are presented in asymmetrical relationships between teachers and children. (shrink)

Wakandan women can play stereotypically male roles because of the political construction of Wakandan identity. Wakandan women emerge, for starters, in a radically different cultural context than women of color in other countries and cultures. Despite their tacit representation of feminist ideals, Wakandan women resist the full‐throated feminism we associate with the modern era: the no‐husband, no‐children feminism championed by the French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. In 1966 Black Panther, the Marvel comic superhero, made his debut during the height of (...) second‐wave feminism. Back in Wakanda, M'Baku's renouncement of Shuri's non‐domestic activities makes an implicit appeal to the feminine mystique. Recognizing feminist and womanist elements within Wakanda helps explain the masculine and feminine performances of Wakandan women. Demystifying Wakanda requires us to recognize and reckon with The Panther Mystique : uncoerced appropriations of masculine and feminine norms for the sake of collective, communal freedom. (shrink)

For one of the current scholars of Thomism, Serge T. Bonino, research on Thomas Aquinas’ philosophy of being has polarized into two tendencies, the axis of which is the Dominican Thomistic school. One of them is represented by the harsh criticisms that the French medievalist Étienne Gilson made of the positions of this school. The second, on the other hand, is characterized by a staunch defense of the theses of the main commentators of this school. During the 20th century, one (...) of Gilson’s students, the Canadian Lawrence Dewan, openly opposed Gilsonian Thomism on the basis of the traditional interpretation. Today, some of his students consider this Dewanian proposal as a “nouvelle métaphysique thomiste,” assuming that it is a movement that brings a genuine renewal. In this article we will show that this movement, although it claims to be a novelty, is nothing more than the revitalization of the formalist theses of the Dominican school, and therefore cannot be considered a valid interpretation of Thomas Aquinas. (shrink)

This paper defends the claim that pragmatic encroachment—the idea that knowledge is sensitive to the practical stakes of believing—can explain a distinctive kind of epistemic injustice: the injustice that occurs when prejudice causes someone to know less than they otherwise would. This encroachment injustice, as we call it, occurs when the threat of being met with prejudice raises the stakes for someone to rely on her belief when acting, by raising the level of evidential support required for knowledge. We explain (...) this notion of encroachment injustice, connect it to the empirical literature on implicit bias, and defend it against important objections. (shrink)

(2014). Cross-world luck at the time of decision is a problem for compatibilists as well. Philosophical Explorations: Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 112-125. doi: 10.1080/13869795.2014.912673.

This is the first major work in English to explore at length the meaning, context, aims, and vital importance of Thomas Hobbes's concepts of the law of nature..

The field of Latin American philosophy has established itself as a relevant subfield of philosophical inquiry. However, there might be good reasons to consider that our focus on the subfield could have distracted us from considering another subfield that, although it might share some geographical proximity, does not share the same historical basic elements. In this paper, I argue for a possible and meaningful conceptual difference between Latin American Philosophy and Indigenous philosophy produced in Latin America. First, I raise what (...) I call Mariátegui’s Solidarity Challenge to show that there might be some neglectful treatment of the philosophical views of different Indigenous groups. I then depart from Mariátegui and engage in a critical exercise to show that even he would be guilty of failing in his own solidarity demands. I follow that by drawing out some implications of the argument. I first sketch how this differentiation would play out against the political project of “Mestizaje,” a project that seems to inform some of the Latin American philosophical tradition. I then speculate about the kinds of duties that the field of Latin American philosophy might have towards the field of Indigenous Philosophy produced in Latin America. (shrink)

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el impacto del aprendizaje adaptativo ante Covid-19 en la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas Administrativas de la Universidad Autónoma del Carmen.Para este estudio se realizó una revisión documental de los conceptos teóricos abordados y posteriormente se hizo un análisis descriptivo de una muestra de 291 estudiantes.Los resultados muestran que la mayoría de los estudiantes logró un desempeño satisfactorio, usando de manera preferente la plataforma Teams, aunque también se utilizaron otras plataformas como apoyo. Con esto (...) se concluye que la comunidad universitaria se adaptó rápidamente al entorno virtual impuesto por la pandemia. (shrink)

This research analyses the influence of the perception of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR image) on consumer–company identification (C–C identification). This analysis involves an examination of the influence of CSR image on brand identity characteristics which provide consumers with an instrument to satisfy their self-definitional needs, thereby perceiving the brand as more attractive. Also, the direct and mediated influences (through their effect on brand attitude), of CSR-based C–C identification on purchase intention are analysed. The results offer empirical evidence that CSR generates (...) more C–C identification because it improves brand prestige and distinctiveness; brand coherence is also a powerful antecedent of brand attractiveness in the context of CSR communication. Finally, CSR-based C–C identification is able to generate directly better attitude towards the brand and greater purchase intention. (shrink)

Los derechos de las personas LGTBI están de actualidad en la sociedad del si- glo XXI. Es nuestro propósito estudiar las normas sobre orientación sexual e identidad de género en los países del Norte de Europa (Reino Unido, Irlanda, Islandia, Finlandia, Dinamarca, Noruega, Suecia, Estonia, Letonia y Lituania). Nos dedicaremos sobre todo al estudio del grado de reconocimiento del derecho al cambio de género en las leyes nacionales, así como si esas legislaciones res- petan o no el Convenio Europeo de (...) Derechos Humanos y la legislación de la Unión Europea, a través de las resoluciones del Tribunal Derechos Humanos y del Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea. (shrink)

Photos. "This is a masterly book which brings together the two major Bacons--the politician and the philosopher. . .

Laura Specker Sullivan (2022) makes a fairly compelling case for the value of the perspectives of Buddhist practitioners in neuroethics. In this study, Tibetan Buddhist monks have been asked, among other things, whether consciousness, in brain-injured patients in a minimally conscious state, entails a duty to preserve life. In our view, some of the participants’ responses could be used to inform the bioethical debate on death determination.

Pérez Carballo adopts an epistemic utility theory picture of epistemic norms where epistemic utility functions measure the value of degrees of belief, and rationality consists in maximizing expected epistemic utility. Within this framework he seeks to show that we can make sense of the intuitive idea that some true beliefs—say true beliefs about botany—are more valuable than other true beliefs—say true beliefs about the precise number of plants in North Dakota. To do so, however, Pérez Carballo argues that (...) we must think of the value of epistemic states as consisting in more than simply accuracy. This sheds light on which questions it is most epistemically valuable to pursue. (shrink)

This essay surveys the present position of postmodernism with respect to the effect of its ideas upon historiography. For this purpose it looks at a number of writings by historians that have been a response to postmodernism including the recently published collection of articles, The Postmodern History Reader. The essay argues that, in contrast to scholars in the field of literary studies, the American historical profession has been much more resistant to postmodernist doctrines and that the latters' influence upon the (...) thinking and practice of historians is not only fading but increasingly destined to fade. The essay also presents a critical discussion of the current philosophy of postmodernism in its bearing upon historiography, directed chiefly against its claim that the world has undergone an epochal transition from the modern to a postmodern age; its theory of language and linguistic idealism; its opposition to historical realism and denial of the actuality of the past as a possible object of reference; and its theory of historical narrative as unconstrained fictional construction. This discussion includes a consideration of the work of postmodernist thinkers such as J.-F. Lyotard, of the recent books by David Roberts and Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr. which espouse a postmodernist theory of history, and of the narrativist theory of Hayden White. The essay also notes some of the reasons for postmodernism's appeal; and while it does not deny that postmodernist philosophy may have served a useful purpose in provoking historians to be more self-critical and aware of their presuppositions and procedures, it maintains that its skeptical and politicized view of historical inquiry is deeply mistaken, out of accord with the way historians themselves think about their work, and incapable of providing an understanding of historiography as a form of thought engaged in the attainment of knowledge and understanding of the human past. (shrink)

We live in an era where our health is linked to that of others across the globe, and nothing brings this home better than the specter of a pandemic. This paper explores the findings of town hall meetings associated with the Canadian Program of Research on Ethics in a Pandemic , in which focus groups met to discuss issues related to the global governance of an influenza pandemic. Two competing discourses were found to be at work: the first was based (...) upon an economic rationality and the second upon a humanitarian rationality. The implications for public support and the long-term sustainability of new global norms, networks, and regulations in global public health are discussed. (shrink)

This book is a unique exploration of the idea of the "second person" in human interaction, the idea that face-to-face interactions involve a distinctive form of reciprocal mental state attributions that mediates their dynamical unfolding. Challenging the view of mental attribution as a sort of "theory of mind", Pérez and Gomila argue that the second person perspective of mental understanding is the conceptually, ontogenetically, and phylogenetically basic way of understanding mentality. Second person interaction provides the opportunity for the acquisition (...) of concepts of mental states of increasing complexity. The book reviews the growing interest in a variety of second person phenomena, both in development and in adulthood, presenting research that shows how participants in human interaction attribute psychological states of a referentially transparent kind to each other. This review documents the spontaneous preference for face-to-face interaction, from eye contact to joint attention, from forms of vitality to communicative intentions, from interaction detection to joint action, and from synchrony to interpersonal coordination. Also looking at the implications and applications of the second person perspective within fields as diverse as art and morality, this book is fascinating reading for students and academics in social and cognitive psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, and philosophy. (shrink)

I develop a non-representationalist account of mathematical thought, on which the point of mathematical theorizing is to provide us with the conceptual capacity to structure and articulate information about the physical world in an epistemically useful way. On my view, accepting a mathematical theory is not a matter of having a belief about some subject matter; it is rather a matter of structuring logical space, in a sense to be made precise. This provides an elegant account of the cognitive utility (...) of mathematics. Further, it makes explicit how the brand of non-representationalism I develop is compatible with there being substantive rationality constraints on our mathematical theorizing. (shrink)

Belief merging aims at combining several pieces of information coming from different sources. In this paper we review the works on belief merging of propositional bases. We discuss the relationship between merging, revision, update and confluence, and some links between belief merging and social choice theory. Finally we mention the main generalizations of these works in other logical frameworks.