The focus is on the meaning of ὑπόϑεσις in Irenaeus of Lyons’ Adversus haereses. Our case is to argue that two different elements converge in ὑπόϑεσις or its translations in the Latin version of AH. The first stems from the Greek literary field, in which ὑπόϑεσις means the “subject” or “plot” of a dramatic or poetic composition. The second is related to the philosophical meaning of ὑπόϑεσις as “that which is placed under” or “foundation”. On the one hand, Irenaeus uses (...) ὑπόϑεσις theologically to express the plot of the historia salutis, so that the term can be understood as teaching or doctrine. On the other hand, this ὑπόϑεσις is at the same time a regula, the normative foundation of all the elements that take part in God’s economy of salvation. (shrink)

This Article investigates the determinants of dividend policy in firms with concentrated ownership structures. A review of the empirical literature shows that dividend payout ratios are lower in firms with controlling shareholders. We explain this finding as a consequence of the legal rules governing cash distributions, which leave the dividend decision in the hands of the firm insiders, and the lack of monitoring mechanisms for checking the power of controlling shareholders. The analysis of the empirical evidence on dividend policy points (...) to the existence of an unresolved agency conflict between controlling shareholders and outside investors. We conclude that controlling shareholders are currently using the dividend policy to expropriate minority shareholders. (shrink)

Con remisión a las obras de Michel Foucault y de Jacques Lacan, en el presente artículo se trazan los límites de la teoría de la performatividad de Judith Butler con respecto al sujeto de lo político y a su capacidad de acción tomando como referente fenomenológico la consulta que se llevara a cabo en Cataluña el 9 de noviembre de 2014. Dichos límites se hacen manifiestos mediante la distinción entre acción y acto políticos o entre subversión en tanto que transgresión (...) de la norma que da lugar a la reconfiguración del orden socio-simbólico e interrupción en tanto que transgresión de la norma que constituye un acontecimiento radicalmente otro de dicho orden. (shrink)

Immigration, one of the most important contemporary phenomena, coupled with political and social factors that generate a series of imaginary social around the immigrant's own transit and immigration. This essay intends to approach the issue from a comprehensive perspective, analyzing the pillars of the host society, while giving prominence to the vision of an immigrant. To do so, it addresses the characteristics of the process, the definition of social imaginary, the elements of conflict and risk endured by the immigrant, the (...) construction of ethnic identity, the quest for new imaginary, associations as imaginary spaces emerging, the role of the state. (shrink)

Este artículo introduce el tema del Software Libre, de gran vigencia sobre todo en Internet. Desde un enfoque sociológico, muestra la importancia del conocimiento tecnológico en nuestras sociedades, y señala los retos principales que todos debemos afrontar para que ese conocimiento tecnológico sea auténticamente democrático. Una misión en la que el Software Libre, como herramienta y como movimiento social, tiene un papel protagonista.This article introduces the topic of the Free Software, of great force especially in Internet. From a sociological approach, (...) it shows the importance of the technological knowledge in our societies, and indicates the principal challenges that we all must confront in order that this technological knowledge is authentic democratic. A mission in which the Free Software, as tool and as social movement, has a role protagonist. (shrink)

En esta presentación se determinan las unidades fónicas segmentales -y su frecuencia- presentes en el habla glosolálica de tres hispanohablantes, y se establece que en ella aplica la hipótesis de que el tipo silábico universal y más frecuente es CV. Para concretar estos objetivos se contabilizaron los segmentos y las estructuras silábicas presentes en 57 grupos fónicos, correspondientes a 2 minutos y 44 segundos de habla glosolálica. En consonancia con el diseño de investigación descrito, hemos dispuesto este trabajo como sigue: (...) en primer lugar se presenta el marco de referencia en que se inscribe esta presentación; posteriormente se presentan los objetivos que se pretende alcanzar; en seguida, se presenta paso a paso la metodología adoptada; luego se presenta el análisis y los resultados obtenidos, con comentarios para cada clase natural; y, finalmente, a modo de conclusión, se presenta un resumen y discusión de los hallazgos, y posibles proyecciones del trabajo realizado. This presentation will determine the segmental phone units -and their frecuency- present in the glossalic speech of three Spanish speakers. It will also establish that in glossalic speech the hypothesis of the universal and most frecuent syllabic pattern CV can be applied. To accomplish the objectives, we counted the segments and syllabic structures occurring in 57 phonic groups corresponding to 2 minutes and 44 seconds of glossalic speech. In line with the described research design, we have ordered this work as follows: first, we present a frame of reference which fits this presentation; second, the objectives to be achieved; third, the step by step methodology adopted; then, the analysis and results, with comments for each natural class; and finally, as a conclusion, a summary and discussion of the discoveries, and the possible projections of this work. (shrink)

ABSTRACTWe investigated the time course of selective attention to face regions during judgment of dis/approval by low and high social anxiety undergraduates (with clinical levels on que...

El objetivo de este texto es una aproximación teórica de la infancia en las principales concepciones de la filosofía occidental, la nueva historia social de la infancia en el continente y las principales poéticas estéticas del cine latinoamericano durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Para este propósito se analizan las nociones de la infancia desde trabajos con un enfoque histórico-hermenéutico, de análisis crítico de discurso y evaluación de las nociones con base en los aportes de los campos teóricos abordados. (...) Estos cruces permiten pensar los lugares de la infancia como instrumento para lograr un sueño político, las concepciones del tiempo, los derechos liberales de la Ilustración, y el acontecimiento fenomenológico. El fin de esta revisión crítica es un llamado a tejer líneas de fuga de la historia, a recrear mecanismos de resistencia audiovisual que apueste por una estética imperfecta, que desdibuje herencias, que marque procesos sociales en los que la infancia tenga una voz auténtica. Al enfocar la imagen de la infancia resulta crucial que el cine, más allá de mostrar realidades fácticas concretas, tenga un margen de ficción que aprovecha para darnos una poética sentimental de las infancias olvidadas y reinventar la estetización de las nuevas infancias en re-existencias autónomas desde la pluralidad de miradas del continente. (shrink)

The Creative Citizenship project was founded to promote critical, ethical, and creative thinking in early childhood, and to recognize and encourage children as social actors and peacebuilders. In concert with the methodology of North American philosopher Matthew Lipman's Philosophy for Children (P4C), Creative Citizenship seeks to promote in children the ability to think critically, ethically, and creatively in and from their own realities, and to exercise multidimensional thinking skills in the various areas of their daily lives. The research documented here (...) adopted a qualitative approach in so far as it sought to inquire about the character of those relationships, particularly among boys and girls, that promote their identity as social agents. As such, it examined training processes and generated theoretical perspectives in the interest of promoting social transformation through the empowerment of multidimensional thinking. The article begins with a review of the concept of Creative Citizenship and ends with that of Peacebuilding. Three theoretical categories have been applied in order to situate the inquiry within the framework of the realities of childhood, and to chart the pedagogical interventions by adults that occurred throughout the implementation of the project. The first focuses on the development of children’s thinking per se, the second on children's capacities for creative problem-solving in social environments, and the third on the concept of peacebuilding as a commitment to practicing philosophical dialogue among children, which is understood as a form of discourse that builds the capacities of citizens to undertake individual and collective actions that allow them, in turn, to create and re-create scenarios of peaceful coexistence. (shrink)

Este artículo trabaja con el concepto de juventud aceptado dentro de la sociología y la psicología social y lo lleva a un contexto concreto, la sociedad chilena. El concepto se modifica a partir de una serie de mecanismos de carácter negativo y se crea un particular imaginario social. Ese imaginario social representa a los jóvenes, en la mayoría de los casos, como un sector marginal y conflictivo de la sociedad. El análisis este universo social, legitimado por la familia, los medios (...) de comunicación y otras agencias de socialización, resulta indispensable para comprender la situación y buscar alternativas.This article works with the concept of youth accepted inside the sociology and the social psychology and takes it to a concrete context, the Chilean society. The concept is modified from a series of mechanisms of negative character and there is created an imaginary social individual. This imaginary social one represents the young men, in the majority of the cases, as a marginal and troubled sector of the society. The analysis of this social universe, legitimized by the family, the mass media and other agencies of socialization, turns out to be indispensable to understand the situation and to look for alternatives. (shrink)

Esta investigación reconoce la paz como un escenario en el que el conflicto está presente y en el que las diferentes posiciones deben aprender a convivir. Para ello, se plantea la pregunta: ¿Cómo se han transformado las prácticas pedagógicas de docentes y profesores en los últimos 20 años para la reconstrucción del tejido social en territorios afectados por el conflicto armado en Colombia? Estas prácticas buscan mediar las relaciones entre los individuos y sus tensiones, enseñando resiliencia y la capacidad de (...) mitigar los efectos negativos que las expresiones de violencia pueden tener en el desarrollo de los jóvenes que viven en este contexto. (shrink)

Healthcare professionals often face ethical conflicts and challenges related to decision-making that have necessitated consideration of the use of conscientious objection (CO). No current guidelines exist within Spain’s healthcare system regarding acceptable rationales for CO, the appropriate application of CO, or practical means to support healthcare professionals who wish to become conscientious objectors. As such, a procedural framework is needed that not only assures the appropriate use of CO by healthcare professionals but also demonstrates its ethical validity, legislative compliance through (...) protection of moral freedoms and patients’ rights to receive health care. Our proposal consists of prerequisites of eligibility for CO (individual reference, specific clinical context, ethical justification, assurance of non-discrimination, professional consistency, attitude of mutual respect, assurance of patient rights and safety) and a procedural process (notification and preparation, documentation and confidentiality, evaluation of prerequisites, non-abandonment, transparency, allowance for unforeseen objection, compensatory responsibilities, access to guidance and/or consultative advice, and organizational guarantee of professional substitution). We illustrate the real-world utility of the proposed framework through a case discussion in which our guidelines are applied. (shrink)

La Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios, en su misión de aportar a la transformación de las realidades sociales, plantea en su enfoque educativo la estrategia que procura articular la teoría con la práctica —praxeología—. Por ello, la investigación formativa es un planteamiento que viabiliza que tanto estudiantes y docentes vivan y sientan realmente el conocimiento y que, a su vez, articulen e incidan en las comunidades. A este respecto, presentaremos una experiencia que da cuenta del enfoque praxeológico. La intención de (...) Uniminuto es, entonces, que el conocimiento transforme y genere reflexiones y acciones de cara a las necesidades de los contextos. La universidad de hoy no puede ni debe sustraerse a una mirada sobre el territorio, sus problemáticas y potencialidades, por tanto, estudiantes y docentes deben constituirse en conectores de espacios académicos con la realidad social. (shrink)

Is the societal-level of analysis sufficient today to understand the values of those in the global workforce? Or are individual-level analyses more appropriate for assessing the influence of values on ethical behaviors across country workforces? Using multi-level analyses for a 48-society sample, we test the utility of both the societal-level and individual-level dimensions of collectivism and individualism values for predicting ethical behaviors of business professionals. Our values-based behavioral analysis indicates that values at the individual-level make a more significant contribution to (...) explaining variance in ethical behaviors than do values at the societal-level. Implicitly, our findings question the soundness of using societal-level values measures. Implications for international business research are discussed. (shrink)

This article provides current Schwartz Values Survey (SVS) data from samples of business managers and professionals across 50 societies that are culturally and socioeconomically diverse. We report the society scores for SVS values dimensions for both individual- and societal-level analyses. At the individual-level, we report on the ten circumplex values sub-dimensions and two sets of values dimensions (collectivism and individualism; openness to change, conservation, self-enhancement, and self-transcendence). At the societal-level, we report on the values dimensions of embeddedness, hierarchy, mastery, affective (...) autonomy, intellectual autonomy, egalitarianism, and harmony. For each society, we report the Cronbach’s α statistics for each values dimension scale to assess their internal consistency (reliability) as well as report interrater agreement (IRA) analyses to assess the acceptability of using aggregated individual level values scores to represent country values. We also examined whether societal development level is related to systematic variation in the measurement and importance of values. Thus, the contributions of our evaluation of the SVS values dimensions are two-fold. First, we identify the SVS dimensions that have cross-culturally internally reliable structures and within-society agreement for business professionals. Second, we report the society cultural values scores developed from the twenty-first century data that can be used as macro-level predictors in multilevel and single-level international business research. (shrink)

Diseases of complex origin have a component of quantitative genetics that contributes to their susceptibility and phenotypic variability. However, after several studies, a major part of the genetic component of complex phenotypes has still not been found, a situation known as “missing heritability.” Although there have been many hypotheses put forward to explain the reasons for the missing heritability, its definitive causes remain unknown. Complex diseases are caused by multiple intermediate phenotypes involved in their pathogenesis and, very often, each one (...) of these intermediate phenotypes also has a component of quantitative inheritance. Here we propose that at least part of the missing heritability can be explained by the genetic component of intermediate phenotypes that is not detectable at the level of the main complex trait. At the same time, the identification of the genetic component of intermediate phenotypes provides an opportunity to identify part of the missing heritability of complex diseases. (shrink)

Andrés el Capellán: dialéctica y juego en el amor. Resumen de Tesis de doctorado en Filosofía de Nicolás José Martínez Sáez.

En este trabajo se ofrece una propuesta de aplicación práctica del concepto de Pathosformeln acuñado por el historiador del Arte alemán Aby Warburg para los estudios literarios, estableciendo un vaso comunicante desde las imágenes representativas y visuales estudiadas por éste, hacia las imágenes mentales originadas en las descripciones de un texto literario, y las emociones que ellas comunican. Para ello, se escoge un variado corpus de ocho crónicas latinoamericanas, desde modernistas hasta el siglo XXI, cuyo tema sea la prostitución travesti, (...) acotando luego el ejemplo de aplicación a la exacerbación de la feminidad por parte de los protagonistas, y el punto de vista de los narradores al respecto, apoyado a su vez en la noción de performatividad de género de Judith Butler. Mediante citas textuales y comparación entre las representaciones de la prostituta travesti en estos textos de no ficción, se discute la aplicabilidad del concepto, así como las diferencias con el ampliamente estudiado uso de éste en la historiografía de las artes visuales. (shrink)

This study analyses the performance and market timing of US socially responsible (SR) mutual funds in relation to business cycle regime shifts and different grouping criteria: Ethical strategy focus, SR attributes scores and Morningstar category. Different methodologies are applied and results highlight the importance of considering specific benchmarks related to the investment style in evaluating the SR fund performance. Our results show that, in aggregate, the abnormal performance of SR funds is negative and significant in expansion periods, but no significant (...) differences are found in recession periods. When specific benchmarks are considered, performance improves in recession periods, particularly for environmental funds, those with high SR attributes scores, and funds from the nine Morningstar style box categories. Market timing of SR funds takes positive values and is partially significant. Previous evidence of negative timing after a recent financial crisis vanishes when specific benchmarks are considered. For comparative purposes the performance of conventional US mutual funds is also analysed. There are no significant differences between the performance of SR and conventional mutual funds when a fair comparison is made within the same style categories. When all the SR funds are considered, they underperform conventional funds in expansion sub‐periods, but in recession sub‐periods they perform better, although the differences observed are not significant. (shrink)

En el panorama actual de la filosofía ético-política, la ascesis ha sido una de las nociones más influyentes, tomando un lugar determinante a partir de la empresa de Nietzsche en su tratamiento sobre los ideales ascéticos. Ciertamente, con la herencia foucaultiana de este concepto como prácticas de sí, filosofías como la de Judith Butler, Peter Sloterdijk, Elettra Stimilli, entre otros, han admitido como supuesto ontológico central que el cómo los humanos se relacionan consigo mismos es clave para comprender las maneras (...) en que nuestras realidades son configuradas, y que dicha relación tiene lugar en las prácticas que realizamos día a día. No obstante, en diversas religiones y filosofías de la antigüedad, la ascesis ocupaba un rol aparejado con otras nociones, como la de gnosis (que se instaura como un conocimiento especial de la manera en que la realidad está organizada), con vistas a asegurar que los individuos pudiesen ascender a formas de vida que procurasen su salvación. Frente a esta diferencia tan radical en uno y otro momento de la historia de la filosofía, intentaremos trazar ciertas notas que nos permitirían comparar una y otra interpretación de la ascesis, sacando así a luz los aspectos que caracterizan la concepción contemporánea de la ascesis misma. _Palabras clave: _ascesis, vida, educación, filosofía contemporánea, práctica. (shrink)

El presente artículo está centrado en la teoría de sistemas de Niklas Luhmann, y su aporte a la teoría de la complejidad. A partir de la necesidad de observar y generar una nueva teoría que pudiese dar cuenta de las diversas relaciones que surgen de los fenómenos sociales, Luhmann trata de construir una teoría, introduciendo diversos conceptos que le permiten reducir la complejidad; pero a la vez, esa misma operacionalización posibilitó en Luhmann una creciente complejización de sus ideas, siendo uno (...) de los primeros intelectuales que se interesó y que aportó significativamente a la teoría de la complejidad. (shrink)

Rationale, aims and objectives Given the increasing prevalence of cataract and demand for cataract extraction surgery, patients must often wait to undergo this procedure. We validated a previously developed priority scoring system in terms of clinical variables, pre-intervention health status, appropriateness of surgery and gain in visual acuity (VA) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).Methods Explicit prioritization criteria for cataract extraction created by a variation of the Research and Development (RAND) and University of California Los Angeles appropriateness methodology were retrospectively (...) applied to a prospective cohort of 5257 patients on waiting lists to undergo cataract by phacoemulsification at 17 hospitals in Spain. Demographic data, clinical data and data related to surgical technique were collected by trained ophthalmologists. Patients were evaluated by their ophthalmologist before the intervention and 6 weeks afterward. They also completed, by mail, the Visual Function Index (VF-14) before the intervention and 3 months afterward.Results High-priority patients experienced greater improvement in VA and HRQoL than those classified as intermediate or low-priority (P < 0.0001), even after adjusting by VA and the VF-14 score at baseline. The time to intervention was the same for high-priority patients as it was for intermediate and low-priority patients.Conclusions The priority score we developed identified patients most likely to experience the greatest improvements from cataract extraction. Use of this tool could provide a fairer and more rational way to prioritize patients for cataract extraction. (shrink)

Durante la época colonial, en algunos países de Iberoamérica, se desarrolló un movimiento teológico que tuvo como centro el pensamiento escotista. Si bien la complejidad de las ideas de este franciscano abarcó muchos aspectos de las verdades de fe, su impronta se manifestó claramente en un poema escrito por un religioso chileno: Gregorio Farías. Este, siguiendo los parámetros de la épica heroica de corte sacro, dio a luz una obra conocida como la “Scotida”. Allí puso en valor el tema de (...) la Inmaculada Concepción antes de su promulgación dogmática, abordando los ejes que justifica su inclusión en el depósito de la fe. Este estudio analiza los aspectos mariológicos más relevantes de esta obra, anterior a la bula Innefabilis Deus.Durante la época colonial, en algunos países de Iberoamérica, se desarrolló un movimiento teológico que tuvo como centro el pensamiento escotista. Si bien la complejidad de las ideas de este franciscano abarcó muchos aspectos de las verdades de fe, su impronta se manifestó claramente en un poema escrito por un religioso chileno: Gregorio Farías. Este, siguiendo los parámetros de la épica heroica de corte sacro, dio a luz una obra conocida como la “Scotida”. Allí puso en valor el tema de la Inmaculada Concepción antes de su promulgación dogmática, abordando los ejes que justifica su inclusión en el depósito de la fe. Este estudio analiza los aspectos mariológicos más relevantes de esta obra, anterior a la bula Innefabilis Deus. (shrink)

This research evaluates the improvements that the use of Active Teaching and Learning Methodologies entails regarding the acquisition of professional skills of future graduates of the Masters dealing with intervention in Architectural Heritage, including product and resource improvements. The objectives address students’ training, oriented toward professional activity, determining the effectiveness of innovation. The real problems were exposed to be faced at a professional level and were solved through different parts, which were developed in different phases. The results obtained allowed us (...) to conclude that teaching and performing practical tasks related to professional competencies are verified as an advance in the subject. (shrink)

Presenting a fascinating analysis of the idea of what can't be said, this book ascertains whether the notion of there being a truth, or a state of affairs, or knowledge that can't be expressed linguistically is a coherent notion. The author distinguishes different senses in which it might be said that something can't be said. The first part looks at the question of whether ineffability is a coherent idea. Part two evaluates two families of arguments regarding whether ineffable states of (...) affairs actually exist: the argument from mysticism and the argument from epistemic boundedness. Part three looks more closely at the relation between mystic and non-mystic stances. In the fourth and final part the author distinguishes five qualitatively different types of ineffability. _Ineffability and Philosophy_ is a significant contribution to this area of research and will be essential reading for philosophers and those researching and studying the philosophy of language. (shrink)

In this challenging study, André Gallois proposes and defends a thesis about the character of our knowledge of our own intentional states. Taking up issues at the centre of attention in contemporary analytic philosophy of mind and epistemology, he examines accounts of self-knowledge by such philosophers as Donald Davidson, Tyler Burge and Crispin Wright, and advances his own view that, without relying on observation, we are able justifiably to attribute to ourselves propositional attitudes, such as belief, that we consciously hold. (...) His study will be of wide interest to philosophers concerned with questions about self-knowledge. (shrink)

Experiences of absence are common in everyday life, but have received little philosophical attention until recently, when two positions regarding the nature of such experiences surfaced in the literature. According to the Perceptual View, experiences of absence are perceptual in nature. This is denied by the Surprise-Based View, according to which experiences of absence belong together with cases of surprise. In this paper, I show that there is a kind of experience of absence—which I call frustrating absences—that has been overlooked (...) by the Perceptual View and by the Surprise Based-View and that cannot be adequately explained by them. I offer an alternative account to deal with frustrating absences, one according to which experiencing frustrating absences is a matter of subjects having desires for something to be present frustrated by the world. Finally, I argue that there may well be different kinds of experiences of absence. (shrink)

Este texto trabaja a partir de la poesía de José Manuel Arango. Dada la formación filosófica del poeta, se buscó en su obra una reflexión con respecto a las preguntas fundamentales al ser humano y que la filosofía ha intentado responder desde la antigüedad: qué idea del hombre, del mundo y de la existencia hay en su poesía, de tal forma que pudiera establecerse un puente entre la filosofía y la literatura; y derivada de esta última, pero igualmente importante, se (...) indagó por la reflexión estética que allí subyace, su concepción del arte, del artista y particularmente de la poesía. Y ambas preguntas tendieron, a su vez, a un fin común: encontrar la posibilidad de verdad que hay en su obra. (shrink)

Desde que su mentor, Norberto Bobbio, le encargara la traducción de la segunda edición de la Teoría pura del derecho, la carrera de Mario G. Losano ha sido tan larga como polifacética. En esta entrevista, conversamos sobre su formación y sobre el contexto cultural que envolvió el inicio de su carrera académica en Italia. Posteriormente, nos centramos en dos de los principales temas de su producción académica. Por un lado, profundizamos en sus estudios kelsenianos, destacando el enfoque histórico que caracteriza (...) su aproximación a los problemas iusfilosóficos. Y, por otro lado, abordamos el asunto de los orígenes y el desarrollo de la informática jurídica, de la cual el profesor Losano ha sido un destacado precursor. (shrink)

Desde que su mentor, Norberto Bobbio, le encargara la traducción de la segunda edición de la Teoría pura del derecho, la carrera de Mario G. Losano ha sido tan larga como polifacética. En esta entrevista, conversamos sobre su formación y sobre el contexto cultural que envolvió el inicio de su carrera académica en Italia. Posteriormente, nos centramos en dos de los principales temas de su producción académica. Por un lado, profundizamos en sus estudios kelsenianos, destacando el enfoque histórico que caracteriza (...) su aproximación a los problemas iusfilosóficos. Y, por otro lado, abordamos el asunto de los orígenes y el desarrollo de la informática jurídica, de la cual el profesor Losano ha sido un destacado precursor. (shrink)

Durante el decenio que Hans Kelsen ejerció como docente de Derecho Internacional en Colonia y Ginebra, entre 1930 y 1940, desarrolló un cuerpo teórico del Derecho Internacional con una marcada vocación pacifista. Ante los graves sucesos bélicos de la II Guerra Mundial, Kelsen clamó, desde su obra la necesidad de una profunda reforma de las instituciones internacionales para conseguir la paz mundial. En este artículo se trata de exponer algunos de los rasgos fundamentales de esa teoría del Derecho Internacional que (...) se encuentran en la base de una contundente propuesta pacifista, prestando especial atención a los conceptos de guerra, coacción y autotutela. (shrink)

En el debate científico-ético contemporáneo en torno a la mejora humana biotecnológica, las nociones de identidad y dignidad humanas son utilizadas de forma habitual por parte del sector de pensamiento más conservador, para rechazar la aplicación de las nuevas tecnologías biomédicas sobre el ser humano con el objetivo de llevar a cabo una mejora de carácter no-terapéutico. Sin embargo, ¿sirven éstas como argumento para rechazar una mejora humana de carácter perfeccionador? En este artículo se analizará el significado de ambas nociones (...) en el debate bioético contemporáneo, así como la validez de su uso como argumento para rechazarla. (shrink)

Lorenz proposed in his (1935) articulation of a theory of behavioral instincts that the objective of ethology is to distinguish behaviors that are “innate” from behaviors that are “learned” (or “acquired”). Lorenz’s motive was to open the investigation of certain “adaptive” behaviors to evolutionary theorizing. Accordingly, since innate behaviors are “genetic”, they are open to such investigation. By Lorenz’s light an innate/acquired or learned dichotomy rested on a familiar Darwinian distinction between genes and environments. Ever since Lorenz, ascriptions of innateness (...) have become widespread in the cognitive, behavioral, and biological sciences. The trend continues despite decades of strong arguments that show, in particular, the dichotomy that Lorenz invoked in his theory of behavioral instincts is literally false: no biological trait is the product of genes alone. Some critics suggest that the failure of Lorenz’s account shows that innateness is not well-defined in biology and the practice of ascribing innateness to various biological traits should be dropped from respectable science. Elsewhere (Ariew 1996) I argued that despite the arguments of critics, there really is a biological phenomenon underlying the concept of innateness. On my view, innateness is best understood in terms of C.H. Waddington’s concept of “canalization”, i.e. the degree to which a trait is innate is the degree to which its developmental outcome is canalized. The degree to which a developmental outcome is canalized is the degree to which the developmental process is bound to produce a particular endstate despite environmental fluctuations both in the development’s initial state and during the course of development. The canalization account differs in many ways to the traditional ways that ethologists such as Konrad Lorenz originally understood the concept of innateness. Most importantly, on the canalization account the distinction between innate and acquired is not a dichotomy, as Konrad Lorenz had it, but rather a matter of degree difference that lies along a spectrum with highly canalized development outcomes on the one end and highly environmentally sensitive development outcomes on the other end. Nevertheless, I justified the canalization account on the basis of a set of desiderata or criteria that I suggested falls-out of what seemed uncontroversial about Lorenz’s account of innateness (briefly): innateness is a property of a developing individual, innateness denotes environmental stability, and innate-ascriptions are useful in certain natural selection explanations (more below). From that same set of desiderata I argued (in my 1996) that neither the concept of heritability nor of norms of reactions—two concepts from population genetics—suffice to ground innateness. In this essay, I wish to provide further support of the canalization account in two ways. First, I wish to better motivate the desiderata by revisiting a debate between Konrad Lorenz and Daniel Lehrman over the meaning and explanatory usefulness of innate ascriptions in ethology. Second, I wish to compare my canalization account of innateness with accounts proposed by contemporary philosophers, one by Stephen Stich (1975), another by Elliott Sober (forthcoming), and a third by William Wimsatt (1986). (shrink)