La tesis que se defiende en este artículo es que a la dignidad humana le pertenece una libertad contingente. En primer lugar se acota la noción de libertad contingente frente a la noción voluntarista de libertas indifferentiae y a la noción intelectualista de voluntas ut natura. En segundo lugar se analizan las condiciones de posibilidad del pecado y de la mejora moral, y las paradojas que resultan cuando estos fenómenos se intentan explicar desde la libertad de indiferencia o desde la (...) visión intelectualista. La libertad contingente comparece entonces como la voluntad que introduce la contingencia en el obrar porque puede decidirse en pro y/o en contra de una y la misma cosa; puede relacionarse respecto al propio comportamiento. Para terminar, desde lo que se ha explicado se analiza un caso particular, a saber, si es posible decidirse a creer algo o creer en algo. (shrink)

The paper focuses on the contrast between the ontologies of the subject, such as the Aristotelian one, with the ontologies of the process, such as that of Quine. It attempts to justify the Aristotelian approach paying special attention to Quine's criticism.

Practical truth is not so much the truth of propositions as that inherent in getting things rightly done. The purpose of the contribution ist threefold: firstly, to trace back practical truth to its Platonic origins; secondly, to show how Aristotle -refering, unlike to Plato, expressis verbis to the concept of practical truth- was faithfiil to those Platonic origins while at the same time departing from Plato on account of his less intellectualist approach of right amd wrong doing; and thirtly to (...) show how Johannes Duns Scotus', in developing his conception of human theology as a practical science, explicitly drew on Aristotle's concept of practical truth but departed from him in those respects in which he rather sided with Plato. (shrink)

The paper deals with he tension between morality and efficacy both from the point of view of economics (and politics) on the one hand and ethics (and politics) on the other.

Este artículo se dirige a contrastar las metafísicas de Raimon Panikkar y Fernando Inciarte. Al examinar, en las dos primeras partes, sus formas de contestar a la pregunta metafísica fundamental por_ lo que es_, encontramos las respuestas aparentemente contrapuestas de una _metafísica_ de la _sustancia_ y una metafísica del sistema basada en la _intuición cosmoteándrica_ que tiene como categoría clave la _relación_. En la tercera parte se relacionan ambos planteamientos para indagar qué papel juega la noción de sistema (...) en ellos y determinar finalmente que el pensamiento de la sustancia no está tan lejos del pensamiento de sistema como puede parecer. (shrink)

Since Seligman's 1971 statement that the vast majority of phobias are about objects essential to the survival of a species, a multitude of laboratory studies followed, supporting the finding that humans learn to fear and detect snakes (and other animals) faster than other stimuli. Most of these studies used schematic drawings, images, or pictures of snakes, and only a small amount of fieldwork in naturalistic environments was done. We address fear preparedness theories, and automatic fast detection data from mainstream laboratory (...) data and compares it with ethobehavioural information relative to snakes, predator-prey interaction, and snakes’ defensive kinematics strikes in order to analyse their potential matching. From this analysis four main findings arose, namely that: 1) Snakebites occur when people are very close to the snake and are unaware or unable to escape the bite; 2) Human visual detection and escape response is slow compared to the speed of snake strikes; 3) In natural environments, snake experts are often unable to see snakes existing nearby; 4) animate objects in general capture more attention over other stimuli and dangerous but recent objects in evolutionary terms are also able to be detected fast. The issues mentioned above pose several challenges to evolutionary psychology-based theories expecting to find special-purpose neural modules. The older selective habituation hypothesis (Schleidt, 1961), that prey animals start with a rather general predator image from which specific harmless cues are removed by habituation might deserve reconsideration. (shrink)

I must admit that I was long tempted to choose a different title for this lecture—one which seemed to give a better idea of its contents. On the other hand, the title I found so attractive did not seem suited to the note of solemnity which normally accompanies an inaugural lecture. I was forced to suppress it—until today, at any rate; for today I have the opportunity of justifying it, and I hope to make the most of it. The title (...) I wanted to use was ‘The Thing with the Thing’. (shrink)

Deconstructivism constantly remits to two metaphysical problems of enormous importance: the reference of the ideal to the real, and the relationship of the changeable to the permanent. Both problems have been the object of concern of professor Millán-Puelles: the first one (reality/the ideal), in his book Teoría del objeto puro; and the second one (change/-permanence), in La estructura de la subjetividad.

The paper focuses on the contrast between the ontologies of the subject, such as the Aristotelian one, with the ontologies of the process, such as that of Quine. It attempts to justify the Aristotelian approach paying special attention to Quine's criticism.

The paper deals with he tension between morality and efficacy both from the point of view of economics (and politics) on the one hand and ethics (and politics) on the other.

Practical truth is not so much the truth of propositions as that inherent in getting things rightly done. The purpose of the contribution its threefold: firstly, to trace back practical truth to its Platonic origins; secondly, to show how Aristotle -refering, unlike to Plato, expressis verbis to the concept of practical truth- was faithful to those Platonic origins while at the same time departing from Plato on account of his less intellectualist approach of right and wrong doing; and thirdly to (...) show how Johannes Duns Scotus', in developing his conception of human theology as a practical science, explicitly drew on Aristotle's concept of practical truth but departed from him in those respects in which he rather sided with Plato. (shrink)