This review provides an overview of the ethics of extinctions with a focus on the Western analytical environmental ethics literature. It thereby gives special attention to the possible philosophical grounds for Michael Soulé’s assertion that the untimely ‘extinction of populations and species is bad’. Illustrating such debates in environmental ethics, the guiding question for this review concerns why – or when – anthropogenic extinctions are bad or wrong, which also includes the question of when that might not be the case (...) (i.e. which extinctions are even desirable). After providing an explanation of the disciplinary perspective taken (section “Introduction”), the concept of extinction and its history within that literature are introduced (section “Understanding extinction”). Then, in section “Why (or when) might anthropogenic extinctions be morally problematic?”, different reasons for why anthropogenic extinctions might be morally problematic are presented based on the loss of species’ value, harm to nonhuman individuals, the loss of valuable biological variety and duties to future generations. This section concludes by also considering cases where anthropogenic extinctions might be justified. Section “How to respond to extinctions?” then addresses a selection of topics concerning risks and de-extinction technologies. Finally, the section on “Extinction studies” introduces other viewpoints on the ethics of extinction from the extinction studies literature, followed by the “Conclusion”. (shrink)

Neuroscience research has shown that meditation practices have effects on brain structure and function. However, few studies have combined information on the effects on structure and function in the same sample. Long-term daily meditation practice produces repeated activity of specific brain networks over years of practice, which may induce lasting structural and functional connectivity changes within relevant circuits. The aim of our study was therefore to identify differences in FC during the resting state between 23 Sahaja Yoga Meditation experts and (...) 23 healthy participants without meditation experience. Seed-based FC analysis was performed departing from voxels that had shown structural differences between these same participants. The contrast of connectivity maps yielded that meditators showed increased FC between the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex but reduced FC between the left insula and the bilateral mid-cingulate as well as between the right angular gyrus and the bilateral precuneus/cuneus cortices. It thus appears that long-term meditation practice increases direct FC between ventral and dorsal frontal regions within brain networks related to attention and cognitive control and decreases FC between regions of these networks and areas of the default mode network. (shrink)

El presente estudio pretende describir las actitudes más frecuentes, que demuestran estudiantes de educación media, frente a la lectura y los factores que inciden en el gusto o disgusto por ella, pues es de vital importancia poder conocer y descubrir las dificultades que puedan tener los estudiantes en su proceso lector, ya que un temprano conocimiento de aquellas dificultades posibilita la prevención de dificultades específicas de aprendizaje, miedos o desórdenes de hábitos lectores. El estudio se realizó por medio de la (...) observación y entrevista individual que indagaban sobre la lectura en el discurso y la lectura en la práctica. (shrink)

This handbook explores the ways biomedicine and pop culture interact while simultaneously introducing the reader with the tools and ideas behind this new field of enquiry. From comic books to health professionals, from the arts to genetics, from sci-fi to medical education, from TV series to ethics, it offers different entry points to an exciting and central aspect of contemporary culture: how and what we learn about scientific knowledge and its representation in pop culture. Divided into three sections the handbook (...) surveys the basics, the micro-, and the macroaspects of this interaction between specialized knowledge and cultural production: After the introduction of basic concepts of and approaches to the topic from a variety of disciplines, the respective theories and methods are applied in specific case studies. The final section is concerned with larger social and historical trends of the use of biomedical knowledge in popular culture. Presenting over twenty-five original articles from international scholars with different disciplinary backgrounds, this handbook introduces the topic of pop culture and biomedicine to both new and mature researchers alike. The articles, all complete with a rich source of further references, are aimed at being a sincere entry point to researchers and academic educators interested in this somewhat unexplored field of culture and biomedicine. (shrink)

The concept of autonomy is crucial for the theoretical characterization of robots and, more in general, complex technological artifacts. The aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual and logical framework in which it is possible to define two concepts of autonomy: autonomy of performance and autonomy of process. The analysis is carried out exploiting the logical resources of the counterfactual semantics-developed by Lewis' and Stalnaker's seminal works-and branching structures of the possible courses of actions. It allows to differentiate (...) the autonomy of a robotic arm from the autonomy of a highly complex machine-like rovers for the explorations of the planets. The clarification of the concept of autonomy is, moreover, an essential precondition for the investigation concerning the ethics of artificial agents. (shrink)

En el marco de los estándares profesionalizantes de la academia, con sus “rankings” y productividad científica, las humanidades subsisten. Una explicación de este fenómeno es que, según la ontología social, las razones para la acción independiente de deseos son piezas clave en la educación. Por ello, dichas razones, que constituyen obligaciones, también serían claves para el desarrollo de las humanidades. Aquí examino de qué forma el individualismo y la competencia tensionan la dinámica entre deseos y obligaciones. Ciertamente, el mercado valora (...) más la satisfacción de deseos que la teorización sobre la intencionalidad colectiva y su producto: la civilización humana. (shrink)

En este artículo analizo como, dadas algunas tesis filosóficas compartidas, comparar a Searle y Descartes crea un efecto déjà vu. La primera tesis es la mente consciente que existe en primera persona. La segunda es que aquella se define mediante un concepto primitivo. La tercera es que la intencionalidad implica condiciones de satisfacción internistas. La cuarta es el cuerpo-máquina. Segundo, argumento que ambos hablan desde cosmovisiones incompatibles –la metafísica deísta versus los “hechos básicos”; y como un hecho “básico” biológico indica (...) la no separabilidad entre mente y cuerpo (cerebro)–, Searle ni es dualista cartesiano ni de propiedades. Palabras clave: dualismo cartesiano; dualismo de propiedades; Searle; mente consciente primitiva; intencionalidad; hechos básicos. (shrink)

The Purpose in Life Test is a measure of purpose in life widely used in many cultures and countries; however, cross-cultural assessments are scarce. The present study aimed to evaluate the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the PIL in the general population of seven Latin American countries. A total of 4306 people participated, selected by non-probabilistic convenience sampling, where Uruguay has the highest mean age ; while Ecuador has the lowest mean age. Furthermore, in each country, there is a higher proportion (...) of women than men. Using Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the factorial structure does not show evidence of invariance among the included countries. However, based on the Multi-Group Factor Analysis Alignment, there is evidence that a three-dimensional structure of the PIL is the same in the participating countries. Results based on item response theory indicate that most PIL items can significantly differentiate responses according to the level of life purpose. In addition, people with low life purpose will tend to choose the lower response alternatives on the PIL; while people with higher life purpose will choose higher response alternatives. The findings indicate that the PIL has the potential to increase knowledge about how people conceive and experience their purpose in life in different countries. (shrink)

a doubtful law does not bind -- Second corollary : uncertain law cannot impose certain obligation -- Commentary on the Treatise on conscience.

Can philosophy elaborate a discourse on hope? This question leads the monographic issue of the Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Politica that we introduce in this article. Its intent is to explore the relationship between philosophy and political reality not (only) in the light of a critique of the present, but (also) of a generative variant of the inaugural gesture of thinking.

The environmental damage that has been generated by human activity is a cause for concern, so pro-environmental behavior has been identified as one of the possible solutions. However, it has been seen that there are psychological barriers that prevent or hinder this behavior. For this reason, in order to have an instrument to evaluate these psychological barriers in our context, the objective of this research was to adapt the Dragons of Inaction Psychological Barriers scale to the Colombian population. The sample (...) was made up of 810 university students from Bogotá and Chía, Colombia; 367 males and 443 females between 15 and 48 years of age. In general, an exploratory factor analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis were carried out, which demonstrated the existence of a five-factor structure with 20 items. Item and reliability analyses were performed, which demonstrated that the instrument has a high internal consistency; and two invariance studies were carried out, which showed that the factor structure is invariant for all study groups. In addition, the total instrument was scored. In conclusion, this adaptation of the DIPB presents adequate validity and reliability, and allows guiding future research on inaction barriers in the Latin American context, while providing an input for a first diagnosis of this construct in Colombia. (shrink)

Se muestra como las tesis de la filosofía de la historia de Benjamin, permiten que pensemos la historia y la acción política en forma distinta a como han sido concebidas en la historiografía y la política tradicional. Así mismo, en contra de lo que podría sugerir una lectura inicial de la tesis, lo que Benjamin denomina como la acción política revolucionaria, necesitaría de una acción desligada de la violencia para poder romper con el continuo de la historia. Por último, señalamos (...) como los límites de pensar la política desvinculada de la noción del progreso histórico, permite que ésta pueda contribuir al reconocimiento de las víctimas y olvidados de la historia. (shrink)

ABSTRACTThis article analyzes different positions on the relationship between politics and the experience of time, both those which defend the legitimacy of institutions and those which claim to liquidate them. Recognizing the links between certain theological arguments and certain modalities of time and politics, the article describes and analyzes three different theses: the one that defends institutions against the erosion of subjectivity in capitalist societies, the one that proposes a mystical anarchism with a messianic profile and, finally, the thesis that (...) argues for the need to accelerate the contradictions of capitalism in order to overcome it and, at the same time, to preserve its conquests. Finally, I vindicate certain experiences that involve and prioritize the body against sense or meaning. To do this, I make use of some ideas of Agamben and Hans U. Gumbrecht. (shrink)

doi: 10.5294/pebi.2015.19.2.1 Los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio pierden vigencia en el 2015. La ONU ya tiene preparado el paso siguiente: los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible, que adoptó en su Asamblea General en cuya apertura estuvo como invitado el papa Francisco...

Paulino Garagorri fue un discípulo muy próximo a Ortega y Gasset después de la vuelta a España de este último tras la Guerra Civil. En su obra, no demasiado extensa, pero de gran nivel intelectual, interpreta de manera rigurosa el pensamiento de Ortega y Gasset. Dos tesis fundamentales centran su estudio sobre la reforma de la filosofía llevada a cabo por Ortega. Primero, la nueva idea de realidad y; segundo, la nueva idea de conocimiento en el pensamiento orteguiano. Otros temas (...) que trató Garagorri fueron: las relaciones entre Ortega y Unamuno; segundo, la realidad de la muerte desde la perspectiva de la vida humana; por último, el concepto de “ideas enteras”, en contraposición a las ideas especializadas y a las ideas generales.Paulino Garagorri was a disciple very close to Ortega y Gasset, after his return to Spain, after the Civil War. In his work, not too extensive, but of great intellectual level, interprets rigorously the thinking of Ortega y Gasset. Two fundamental theses center their study on the reform of the philosophy carried out by Ortega. First, the new idea of reality and; second, the new idea of knowledge in Ortega's thinking. Other topics dealt with by Garagorri were: the relations between Ortega and Unamuno; second, the reality of death from the perspective of human life; finally, the concept of "whole ideas", as opposed to specialized ideas and general ideas. (shrink)

Samuel Langhorne Clemens o Mark Twain es el autor del Diario de Adán y Eva, Un yanki en la corte del rey Arturo, Las aventuras de Tom Sawyer, Las aventuras de Huckleberry Finn y otras. Este escritor norteamericano asumió la práctica literaria como un asunto que va más allá del entretenimiento: escribió para interpelar al lector. Y este detalle salta a la vista con un libro que rara veces es referenciado: Sobre la decadencia del arte de mentir, texto que aborda (...) una enfermedad axiológica en el mundo moderno: los peligros que acarrea seguir al pie de la letra los postulados universales de un Deber y una Verdad abstracta. A continuación se hace un análisis de este problema. (shrink)

El siguiente ensayo rastrea las reflexiones de Friedrich Hölderlin en torno a lo mítico. El argumento, expuesto una y otra vez en su correspondencia, sus ensayos y poemas, continuamente refinado y corregido, es que, expresado en lenguaje poético, el mito permite recuperar una visión del mundo fragmentada con el ímpetu analítico finisecular. El concepto de lo mítico de Hölderlin no solo está profundamente influido por el contexto histórico e intelectual en los lindes del Frühromantik, la filosofía de Fichte, la estética (...) de Schiller y la Revoluciónfrancesa como notas principales, sino también por las experiencias de la niñez, las lecturas de los colegios conventuales o los encuentros en Tubinga o Fráncfort. Finalmente, el texto muestra cómo estas indagaciones cristalizan en distintos motivos de su producción lírica. (shrink)

Este trabajo ha sido seleccionado de entre los participantes en la VI Olimpiada de Filosofía que organiza FICUM en la modalidad de secundaria y bachillerato, para promocionar la filosofía entre los jóvenes.

This study presents the Italian adaptation of the Measure of Moral Orientation, second revision. Based on Carol Gilligan’s theory of the Ethics of Care, the MMO-2 was designed to measure two complementary moral stances, namely, Care and Justice. For this study, questionnaire responses from 683 university students were assessed against an Italian-adapted MMO-2 scale. Data were analyzed through exploratory structural equation modeling first as separate scenarios and then as a single model. The final model comprises 4 intercorrelated pairs of latent (...) variables and shows highly satisfactory goodness of fit indices with moderate construct validity and reliability. Strengths, limitations, and directions for the future developments of the MMO-2 are discussed. (shrink)

We propose various methods for combining or amalgamating propositional languages and deductive systems. We make heavy use of quantales and quantale modules in the wake of previous works by the present and other authors. We also describe quite extensively the relationships among the algebraic and order-theoretic constructions and the corresponding ones based on a purely logical approach.

In this paper we study interpretations and equivalences of propositional deductive systems by using a quantale-theoretic approach introduced by Galatos and Tsinakis. Our aim is to provide a general order-theoretic framework which is able to describe and characterize both strong and weak forms of interpretations among propositional deductive systems also in the cases where the systems have different underlying languages.

In his later writings, Althusser brings to light a repressed materialistic current in Western philosophy, ranging from Epicurus to Heidegger and Derrida. In this article, I argue that the comparison between Epicurus's conception of Nature and Heidegger's concepts of _Geworfenheit_ and _Es gibt_ allows Althusser to lay the foundation for a new notion of event. Through the analysis of this philosophical connection, Althusser aims both to think of Time and History in a non-teleological way and to create the conditions for (...) a political praxis that does not apply any kind of metaphysical principles to a constantly changing reality. (shrink)

Objective: Mindfulness disposition is associated with various psychological factors and prevent emotional distress in chronic diseases. In the present study, we analyzed the key role of mindfulness dispositions in protecting the individual against psychological distress consequent to COVID-19 social distancing and quarantining. Methods: An online survey was launched on March 13, 2020, with 6,412 responses by April 6, 2020. Socio-demographic information, exposure to the pandemic, and quarantining were assessed together with psychological distress and mindfulness disposition. Multivariate linear regression analysis was (...) performed to study the influence of predictive factors on psychological distress and quality of life in Italian responders during the early days of lockdown. Pearson correlations were calculated to study the relations between mindfulness and psychiatric symptoms. Results: Multivariate linear regression run on socio-demographics, COVID-19-related variables, and mindfulness disposition as moderators of overall psychological distress showed that mindfulness was the best predictor of psychological distress (β = -0.504; p =.000). High negative correlations were found between mindfulness disposition and overall Global Severity Index (r = -.637; p =.000), while moderate to high associations were found between mindfulness and all SCL-90 sub-scales. Discussion: Findings showed that high dispositional mindfulness enhances well-being and helps in dealing with stressful situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Mindfulness-based mental training could represent an effective intervention to stem the post-traumatic psychopathological beginnings and preventing the onset of chronic mental disorders. (shrink)