The ultimate source of explanation in biology is the principle of natural selection. Natural selection means differential reproduction of genes and gene combinations. It is a mechanistic process which accounts for the existence in living organisms of end-directed structures and processes. It is argued that teleological explanations in biology are not only acceptable but indeed indispensable. There are at least three categories of biological phenomena where teleological explanations are appropriate.

Timelines is an inquiry into the nature of time, both as an apparent feature of the external physical world and as a fundamental feature of our experience of ourselves in the world. The principal argument of Timelines is that our coventional ideas about time are largely mistaken and that what we think of as independent physical time is actually our calibration of a certain relation between events. Namely, the relation between time-keeping events and the causal sequential differences of physical processes (...) which are real and independent of us. (shrink)

The question whether ethical behavior is biologically determined may refer either to thecapacity for ethics (e.i., the proclivity to judge human actions as either right or wrong), or to the moralnorms accepted by human beings for guiding their actions. My theses are: (1) that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature; and (2) that moral norms are products of cultural evolution, not of biological evolution.Humans exhibits ethical behavior by nature because their biological makeup determines the presence (...) of the three necessary, and jointly sufficient, conditions for ethical behavior: (i) the ability to anticipate the consequences of one's own actions; (ii) the ability to make value judgements; and (iii) the ability to choose between alternative courses of action. Ethical behavior came about in evolution not because it is adaptive in itself, but as a necessary consequece of man's eminent intellectual abilities, which are an attribute directly promoted by natural selection. (shrink)

The question whether ethical behavior is biologically determined may refer either to the capacity for ethics (i.e., the proclivity to judge human actions as either right or wrong), or to the moral norms accepted by human beings for guiding their actions. I herein propose: (1) that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature; and (2) that moral norms are products of cultural evolution, not of biological evolution. Humans exhibit ethical behavior by nature because their biological makeup (...) determines the presence of three necessary conditions for ethical behavior: (i) the ability to anticipate the consequences of one’s own actions; (ii) the ability to make value judgments; and (iii) the ability to choose between alternative courses of action. Ethical behavior came about in evolution not because it is adaptive in itself, but as a necessary consequence of man’s eminent intellectual abilities, which are an attribute directly promoted by natural selection. That is, morally evolved as an exaptation, not as an adaptation. Since Darwin’s time there have been evolutionists proposing that the norms of morality are derived from biological evolution. Sociobiologists represent the most recent and most subtle version of that proposal. The sociobiologists' argument is that human ethical norms are sociocultural correlates of behaviors fostered by biological evolution. I argue that such proposals are misguided and do not escape the naturalistic fallacy. The isomorphism between the behaviors promoted by natural selection and those sanctioned by moral norms exist only with respect to the consequences of the behaviors; the underlying causations are completely disparate. (shrink)

Increased concern for the environment has increased the number of investment opportunities in mutual funds specialized in promoting responsible environmental attitudes. This article examines the performance and risk sensitivities of US green mutual funds vis-à-vis their conventional peers. We also analyze and compare this performance relative to other socially responsible investing (SRI) mutual funds. In order to implement this analysis, we apply a CAPM-based methodology and find that in the 1987–2009 period, environ- mental funds had lower performance than conventional funds (...) with similar characteristics. However, if we focus on a more recent period (2001–2009), green funds achieved adjusted returns not significantly different from the rest of SRI and conventional mutual funds. (shrink)

Should the philosophy of biology deal with organismic, or with molecular aspects , or with both ? We are, of course, not the first to appreciate the ...

Medical stem cell research is currently the cause of much moral controversy. Those who would confer the same moral status to embryos as we do to humans consider that harvesting such embryonic cells entails sacrificing embryos. In this paper, the author analyses critically the arguments given for such a perspective. Finally, a theory of moral status is outlined that coherently and plausibly supports the use of embryonic stem cells in therapeutic research.

Sobre el libro: El presente libro recoge las ponencias presentadas en la reunión anual del Seminario Spinoza que tuvo lugar en la Facultad de Filosofía de la UNED los días 13 y 14 de marzo de 2009, así como la presentación del cuadro de Espinosa pintado por Sorolla procedente de la Donación Simarro y perteneciente al fondo artístico de la Universidad Complutense, que tuvo lugar en El Escorial en el verano de 2008. Los trabajos se articulan en cuatro apartados: la (...) política, la ciencia, la proyección de Espinosa en la Ilustración y la iconografía de Espinosa, y sitúan a Espinosa en su siglo, destacando su carácter anómalo en relación con el resto de autores de su entorno. Espinosa no se adaptó a la crisis, sino que se esforzó por comprenderla sin ceder en sus ideales, lo que permitió que las ilusiones renacentistas se desarrollaran en la ilustración, superando el hiato de la crisis barroca. (shrink)

Œuvre de maturité de François Suarez (1548-1617), Des lois et du Dieu législateur a été publié en latin en 1612. Parmi les dix livres que comprend cet ouvrage, nous avons choisi de présenter pour la première fois les deux premiers en langue française. À partir de l'héritage retravaillé de la philosophie politique antique et médiévale, Suarez élabore une théorie originale de la loi et de la communauté en renouvelant leur rapport à l'éthique et à la jurisprudence. Dans une période marquée (...) notamment par la controverse de Valladolid (1550) et la Contre-Réforme, l'auteur redéfinit le contenu et la finalité des concepts fondamentaux de la théorie politique (l'état de nature, le droit naturel, le droit subjectif, la loi naturelle, le pacte social, la souveraineté, l'État et le droit des gens) en les articulant à une compréhension historique de l'homme conçu comme être libre, raisonnable et fini. Suarez instaure ainsi les conditions d'un basculement du théologico-politique dans la modernité dont les effets se feront sentir, entre autres, chez Grotius et l'École du droit naturel. Les conséquences de ce mouvement seront perceptibles jusqu'au XVIIIe siècle avec Wolf. Des lois et du Dieu législateur permet précisément d'apprécier à sa juste mesure la place privilégiée qu'il convient de redonner à la théorie suarézienne de la loi dans l'histoire de la pensée politique. (shrink)

Cognition is context-sensitive, as the same sensory information is processed differently depending on its context (e.g., on its probabilistic association with goal-directed actions and their outcomes). Despite this, the concept of context in studies of higher-order cognitive processes, like cognitive control, is often simplified to nominal stimulus categories (like a target vs. distractor). Here we propose that quantifying contextual information to model cognitive demands is (1) fruitful as it can provide novel insight into the nature of cognitive control, (2) accessible (...) as simple probability models offer a tool for quantifying context and (3) analytically useful as a fine-grained quantification of context can be entered into more complex models as regressors that allow a direct way of appropriately exploring many of the defining tenants of cognitive control (e.g., rapidly changing trial-by-trial neural dynamics). Here, we briefly describe the logic of using context-sensitive measures of cognitive control and highlight recent studies from this approach using simple information theory metrics. (shrink)

The moral enhancement of human beings is a constant theme in the history of humanity. Today, faced with the threats of a new, globalised world, concern over this matter is more pressing. For this reason, the use of biotechnology to make human beings more moral has been considered. However, this approach is dangerous and very controversial. The purpose of this article is to argue that the use of another new technology, AI, would be preferable to achieve this goal. Whilst several (...) proposals have been made on how to use AI for moral enhancement, we present an alternative that we argue to be superior to other proposals that have been developed. (shrink)

Bravo, F. La dialéctica en Teilhard de Chardin.--Carías, R. El conocimiento de Dios en Max Scheler.--Cappelletti, A. J. El fuego y el logos en la filosofía de Heráclito.--Li Carrillo, V. Estructuralismo y antihumanismo.--Rosales, A. Martín Heidegger y la crisis de la filosofía transcendental.--Rosales, A. La crítica de Heidegger al idealismo moderno.--Rosales, A. El giro del pensamiento de Heidegger.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction: The Design Argument The Design Argument in Antiquity Christian Authors Hume's Onslaught William Paley's Natural Theology The Bridgewater Treatises Intelligent Design: A Political Movement Eyes to See No “There” There Blood and Tears Gambling to Non‐existence Natural Selection Natural Selection and Design Postscript: Counterpoint Notes References.

This collection of specially commissioned essays puts top scholars head to head to debate the central issues in the lively and fast growing field of philosophy ...

This article discusses some of the claims of the earlier and later versions of the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor (CTM) and addresses some of the criticism that has been leveled against it. It is argued that much of this criticism arises from common misconceptions as to the real claims made by the theory. However, CTM is still in need of further exploration and empirical support. In this connection, we identify some areas where research is still needed and supply our own (...) developments. We argue for a more complex classification of metaphor types, which takes into account various complementary taxonomic perspectives, including the nature of source and target and the genericity and complexity of the metaphoric operation. We also explore metaphor in relation to cognitive prominence and conceptual interaction issues. Finally, we deal with the problem of constraints on metaphor and make a proposal for three complementary kinds of constraint. (shrink)

Rescate y edición de cuatro artículos olvidados de María Zambrano publicados en el diario _Crítica_ de Buenos Aires en marzo de 1937. Los artículos se corresponden con los capítulos de la segunda parte de _Los intelectuales en el drama de__ España_, el libro que Zambrano escribió y publicó en Chile en la editorial Panorama en 1937. En este trabajo se da cuenta del estado de la cuestión relativo al periodo chileno de Zambrano, se procede al estudio de los artículos encontrados, (...) sobre todo en lo que tiene que ver con su correspondencia con los capítulos de la segunda parte del libro chileno y se dan las coordenadas de su circunstancia editorial. (shrink)

The "antecedents, continuity and projections" of Neoplatonism are revised, priming the individual and communitary intertextuality, as the medium of study most valid for a train of thought that gives priority to the doctrinal body rather than to the individual. In this way are seen the diverse neoplatonic systems (Greek, Byzantine, Gnostic...) although it is also noted that, when this doctrinal aspect is weakened, Neoplatonism may externally influence the doctrines and philosophical authors who are very different from its spirit (Christians, Jews, (...) Islamic, renaissentists, modern and contemporary). (shrink)

According to relevance theory, irony comprehension invariably entails the identification of some opinion or thought and the identification of the speaker’s dissociative attitude. In this paper, it is argued that it is also essential for hearers to identify not only that propositional attitude, but also the affective attitude that the speaker holds towards the source of this echo so that an optimallyrelevant interpretive outcomeis achieved. This notion comprises feelings and emotions of a non-propositional quality which affect the propositional effects obtained (...) in ironical communication. The paper further argues for the need to incorporate non-propositional effects into the traditional propositional object of pragmatic research. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Intelligent Design Darwin's Scientific Revolution Natural Selection Chance and Necessity: Mutation and Natural Selection “Only a Theory” Evolution Is a Fact Irreducibly Complex? The Disguised Friend References and Recommended Readings.

La religión parece presentarse en franco declive en nuestras sociedades modernas. No en vano, numerosos sociólogos vaticinaron el fin de la religión en favor de la ciencia y el saber técnico. No obstante, tales profecías no solo no parecen cumplirse, sino que la actualidad presenta un resurgir de la espiritualidad y la religión en lugares que no se esperaba y como respuesta al hastío de tanto materialismo. Así lo atestiguan sociólogos de contrastada experiencia y que parecen indicar que la tan (...) aplaudida tesis de la secularización posee más de ideología que de realidad social. Atendemos pues en este artículo a tal situación con el fin de comprender mejor qué es lo que está ocurriendo en las modernas sociedades que parecen tenerlo todo y, en cambio, carecen de aspectos importantes como el sentido que guía una existencia. (shrink)

ABSTRACTWhat makes a good teacher and what motivates a person to want to teach are timeless questions that concern us all. This study focuses on those who are currently training to become teachers,...

In attempting to integrate the authors' proposed model with results from analogous human event-related potential (ERP) research, we found difficulties with: (1) its apparent disregard for supraordinate representations at posterior multimodal association cortices, (2) its failure to address contextual task effects, and (3) its strict architectural dichotomy between memory storage and control functions.

. Introductory Remarks THEODOSIUS DOBZHANSKY The problems of reduction in biology are currently of considerable theoretical interest and practical ...

Language and speech depend on a relatively well defined neural circuitry, located predominantly in the left hemisphere. In this article, I discuss the origin of the speech circuit in early humans, as an expansion of an auditory-vocal articulatory network that took place after the last common ancestor with the chimpanzee. I will attempt to converge this perspective with aspects of the Mirror System Hypothesis, particularly those related to the emergence of a meaningful grammar in human communication. Basically, the strengthening of (...) auditory-vocal connectivity via the arcuate fasciculus and related tracts generated an expansion of working memory capacity for vocalizations, that was key for learning complex utterances. This process was concomitant with the development of a robust interface with visual working memory, both in the dorsal and ventral streams of auditory and visual processing. This enabled the bidirectional translation of sequential codes into hierarchical visual representations, through the development of a multimodal interface between both systems. (shrink)

This paper considers, firstly, to what extent the administration of oxytocin can augment the capacity of empathy in human beings; and secondly, whether or not such practice ought to be allowed. In relation to the latter, the author develops an argument in favour of this intervention by virtue of its consistency with the belief that, if a therapeutic treatment is to be considered acceptable, it is essential that it maximizes the well-being of those affected and that it does not compromise (...) the autonomy of the patient. Having rejected several objections related to the nature of this intervention, the author finally questions its morality on the basis of a concern with its universalizability. (shrink)

¿Puede Tomás de Aquino, pensador del siglo XIII, decirnos algo a nuestra realidad política latinoamericana actual? Un texto entre dos contextos es el pretexto para generar una reflexión en torno al derecho a la rebelión, desde la perspectiva de la no-violencia y el derecho a la desobediencia civil. Un camino desde la justicia y el buen gobierno en el Aquinate, seguido del bien común político y las virtudes políticas en el Angélico para desembocar en el derecho a la rebelión, es (...) la ruta que se traza para esta exposición. Una lectura desde la propuesta exegética hermenéutica del Dr. René Padilla, es decir, una comprensión intuitiva, una comprensión gramático-histórica y una comprensión contextualizadora son el cómo y modo del presente trabajo. (shrink)

Fenomenología de la Vida Afectiva, une publication coordonnée par Celia Cabrera et Micaela Szeftel dans la collection dirigée par Jorge Roggero à la maison d’édition argentine Sb, part de la nécessité de penser phénoménologiquement l’affectivité : non seulement pour briser la limitation de l’affectif en philosophie comme quelque chose d’éventuel et de relégué dans l’obscurité de l’expérience, mais aussi pour s’intéresser radicalement au caractère fondamental du « fait » de l’affectivité qui t...

Los castillos ideológicos pueden parecer fortalezas inexpugnables, construidas sobre sólidas verdades, pero la historia nos da abundantes ejemplos de su desmoronamiento, debido simplemente a que no responden a lo que realmente son el hombre y el mundo, a la verdad objetiva de las cosas.