Many believe that the ethical problems of donation after cardiocirculatory death (DCD) have been "worked out" and that it is unclear why DCD should be resisted. In this paper we will argue that DCD donors may not yet be dead, and therefore that organ donation during DCD may violate the dead donor rule. We first present a description of the process of DCD and the standard ethical rationale for the practice. We then present our concerns with DCD, including the following: (...) irreversibility of absent circulation has not occurred and the many attempts to claim it has have all failed; conflicts of interest at all steps in the DCD process, including the decision to withdraw life support before DCD, are simply unavoidable; potentially harmful premortem interventions to preserve organ utility are not justifiable, even with the help of the principle of double effect; claims that DCD conforms with the intent of the law and current accepted medical standards are misleading and inaccurate; and consensus statements by respected medical groups do not change these arguments due to their low quality including being plagued by conflict of interest. Moreover, some arguments in favor of DCD, while likely true, are "straw-man arguments," such as the great benefit of organ donation. The truth is that honesty and trustworthiness require that we face these problems instead of avoiding them. We believe that DCD is not ethically allowable because it abandons the dead donor rule, has unavoidable conflicts of interests, and implements premortem interventions which can hasten death. These important points have not been, but need to be fully disclosed to the public and incorporated into fully informed consent. These are tall orders, and require open public debate. Until this debate occurs, we call for a moratorium on the practice of DCD. (shrink)

Aunque el denominado problema de marco generó múltiples debates a finales del siglo pasado, aún es un problema fundamental para el avance en las Ciencias Cognitivas, en general, y para la Inteligencia Artificial, en particular. En este trabajo, y restringiéndonos al aspecto lógico del problema, postulamos que la discusión actual y subyacente a este aspecto gira en torno a cómo determinar lo que no cambia en términos de acciones y propiedades dentro de un sistema lógico formal. Es sobre este aspecto, (...) y en función de sus dificultades (i) definicional y (ii) resolutiva, que en este trabajo argumentaremos que el denominado “criterio temporal” no solamente puede estimarse como uno los principales requerimientos teóricos para (i) resolverlo sino también para (ii) explicitar más claramente su dificultad principal, a saber, “lo que es relevante” frente al cambio en el tiempo. De esta manera, sostenemos que el razonamiento lógico-temporal resulta necesario para construir cualquier solución íntegramente satisfactoria del aspecto lógico del problema de marco entendido como el modo en que, inmediatamente, determinamos relevancia frente al cambio. (shrink)

This paper focuses on the description and analysis of three codices from Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid with the aim of redefining their origin, dating, authorship, and content. Connecting their production to the environment of the Sacromonte affair and identifying Pedro de Castro’s hand allows to expand what was known so far about his attempts to learn Arabic and delve into the most controversial aspects of the Lead Books. The grammatical and religious contents, in addition to the copious marginal notes linked (...) to the sources he used, provide valuable information on his selection of works. Grammatical materials such as al-Āŷurrūmiyya, of which different versions are preserved in these codices, were being published in Rome and Leiden and would be widely disseminated. The building up of his library, to which these codices must have belonged, runs in parallel to the construction of an orientalist knowledge in modern Europe. (shrink)

The technical possibilities of biomedicine open up the opportunity to intervene in ageing itself with the aim of mitigating, reducing or eliminating it. However, before undertaking these changes or rejecting them outright, it is necessary to ask ourselves if what would be lost by doing so really has much value. This article will analyse the desirability of ageing from an individual point of view, without circumscribing this question to the desirability or undesirability of death. First, we will present the three (...) most widely used arguments to reject biomedical interventions against ageing. We will argue that only the last of these arguments provides a consistent answer to the question of the desirability of ageing. Second, we will show that the third argument falls prey to a conceptual confusion that we will call the paradox of ageing: although ageing entails negative health effects, it leads to a life stage with valuable goods. Both valuations, one positive and the other negative, refer to two different dimensions of ageing: the chronological and the biological. We will defend that, by not adequately distinguishing these two types of ageing, it does not become apparent that all the valuable goods exclusive to ageing derive only from its chronological dimension. Third, we will argue that, if we just conceive ageing biologically, it is undesirable. We will elaborate on the two kinds of undesirable effects biological ageing has: direct and indirect. Finally, we will respond to potential objections by adducing that these are insufficient to weaken our argument. (shrink)

Resumen Este trabajo reconstruye la caracterización de “positivismo” en tres obras centrales de Horkheimer. Se afirma que, en el uso del término, Horkheimer incurre en una doble equivocidad, pues lo utiliza indistintamente para referirse al positivismo decimonónico y al del siglo XX; además, no reconoce las diferencias internas entre las posiciones de los positivistas contemporáneos. Asimismo, se muestra que muchos rasgos que se consignan como propios del positivismo del siglo XX no tienen justificación en los textos de esa tradición, de (...) manera que la categoría horkheimeriana de “positivismo” se convierte en una entidad interpretativa respecto de la cual la Escuela de Fráncfort se considera antagónica. A partir de lo anterior se realiza una crítica a las interpretaciones del autor.This paper reconstructs the characterization of “positivism” in Horkheimer’s works. We argue that in the use of this term, Horkheimer makes a misinterpretation, then he uses it in order to refer to both nineteenth century positivism and the positivism of the twentieth century; at the same time, he does not recognize the significant contrasts between the positions of the twentieth century positivists. We also show that many of the features Horkheimer sets out for twentieth century positivists find no correlation in texts belonging to this tradition, which makes Horkheimer’s concept of “positivism” an interpretative entity in opposition to Frankfurt School. From the foregoing, we carry out a critique of the interpretations made by the author. (shrink)

With the advance of biomedicine, certain individuals and groups are vulnerable because of their incapacities to defend themselves. The International Bioethics Committee as a UNESCO working group has for the last several years dedicated to deepen this principle of human vulnerability and personal integrity. This book serves to supplement this effort with a religious perspective given a great number of the world's population is affiliated with some religious traditions. While there is diversity within each of these traditions, all of them (...) carry in them the mission to protect the weak, the underprivileged, and the poor. Thus, here presented is a collection of papers written by bioethics experts from six major world religions-Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism-who were gathered to discuss the meaning and implications of the principle of vulnerability in their respective traditions. (shrink)

This article explores the possibilities of reinforcing ethics education at the university level within the context of new internationalisation processes. The situation in Spain is used as a case study. The article begins with a review of the rationale behind this issue and goes on to analyse the place of the ethical dimension in education in the proposals for adapting Spanish university degree programmes to the European Higher Education Area. Fieldwork carried out at three higher education institutions reveals that, while (...) professors accept the institutional function of the university in ethics education, their hazy conception of the matter weakens the likelihood of a pedagogical approach in‐keeping with the level of importance given to such a function. (shrink)

We have recently stated the reasons why we claim that biological ageing is undesirable. Räsänen has responded to our article by arguing that this process has certain desirable aspects and, therefore, our position is inconsistent. Räsänen develops two arguments to defend his position. We will call the first the argument from the totality of the ageing process and the second the argument from the reduced goods of the ageing process. In this reply, we will give reasons to show that both (...) arguments fail. The first, on the one hand, starts from a dubious conception of ageing and, on the other hand, even accepting this conception, its reformulation is morally empty. The second incurs in an absurd conclusion. (shrink)

The price of copper is unstable but it is considered an important indicator of the global economy. Changes in the price of copper point to higher global growth or an impending recession. In this work, the forecasting of the spot prices of copper from the New York Commodity Exchange is studied using a machine learning method, support vector regression coupled with different model schemas (recursive, direct and hybrid multi-step). Using these techniques, three different time series analyses are built and its (...) performance are compared. The numerical results show that the hybrid direct-recursive obtains the best results. (shrink)

Fear to contamination is an easy-to-provoke, intense, hard-to-control, and extraordinarily persistent fear. A worsening of preexisting psychiatric disorders was observed during the COVID-19 outbreak, and several studies suggest that those with obsessive–compulsive disorder may be more affected than any other group of people. In the face of worsening OCD symptoms, there is a need for mental health professionals to provide the support needed not only to treat patients who still report symptoms, but also to improve relapse prevention. In this line, (...) it is recommended to improve alternative strategies such as online consultations and digital psychiatry. The aim of this study is to develop augmented reality stimuli that are clinically relevant for patients with cleaning OCD and assess their efficiency to obtain emotionally significant responses. Four AR stimuli were developed: a plastic bag full of garbage, a piece of bread with mold, a dirty sports shoe, and a piece of rotten meat. All stimuli were shown to a clinical group and a control group. Relevant results were the design of the AR stimuli. These stimuli were validated with the statistical difference in perceived anxiety in the meat stimuli between the clinical and control groups. Nevertheless, when looking at effect sizes, all stimuli present effect sizes from small to large, with both shoe and bread between small and medium effect sizes. These results are a valuable support for the clinical use of these AR stimuli in the treatment of cleaning OCD. (shrink)

Background:The high level of satisfaction of users of a health service is largely due to the fact that they receive excellent care from healthcare professionals. Compassionate care is an essential...

El artículo aborda la pandemia del covid-19 como elemento contingente y su efecto de develamiento respecto de algunas manifestaciones contemporáneas de la ideología neoliberal en Latinoamérica. De esta forma, en base a conceptos filosóficos y psicoanalíticos de orientación lacaniana planteados fundamentalmente por Slavoj Žižek, se examinan los usos críticos de la noción de ideología en sus diversas manifestaciones: miedo al otro, imposición de la lógica del empresario de sí, destrucción de lazos sociales, extractivismo de recursos naturales y fetichización de los (...) discursos de unidad frente a la pandemia. La hipótesis radica en que la pandemia presenta una oportunidad para repensar la subjetividad contemporánea, mediante la confrontación con el Real que bordea a la simbolización y, en definitiva, a la captura ideológica, a fin de poner en cuestión la afirmación de que no hay alternativa. (shrink)

El azar de la guerra ha permitido rescatar un corpus epistolar femenino escrito en Cuba en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. Esta contribución muestra, a través de algunos documentos, cómo mujeres cubanas de distinto estatus social, etnia y formación narran desde su experiencia personal y según su competencia escrituraria, la experiencia de las contiendas que dieron la independencia a la isla. Los textos permiten trazar una imagen de la mujer y de los usos lingüísticos que caracterizan al español (...) cubano del siglo XIX. (shrink)

O presente artigo é um estudo de escolástica barroca colonial que combina elementos lógicos, raciocínios práticos e probabilismo, para compreender o movimento processual das deliberações jurídico-políticas sobre “guerra e paz” no pensamento de Juan de Solorzano Pereira. Pensador escolástico do período barroco ibero-americano que residiu por mais de duas décadas nas Índias ocidentais, que elaborou e sistematizou o Direito Indiano, De Indiarum iure. Corpo sistemático e erudito no qual se encontram compiladas cédulas reais, leis, disposições ou mandatos régios; os (...) quais eram destinados a guiar os assuntos próprios de governo nas Índias ocidentais, fundamentados na guerra justa e na paz republicana. Na Filosofia do Direito Indiano de Solórzano Pereira, a opinião provável sobre fatos e direitos não se restringe aos atos perfeitos e os absolutos que se acreditam ter em opiniões mais prováveis do passado e do presente, porque a probabilidade nessa filosofia do direito está aberta ao futuro condicional, onde novas opiniões podem produzir dúvidas nos fatos e no direito, podendo se tornar em opiniões mais coerentes, seguras e mais prováveis que as anteriores, pela aceitabilidade racional sobre o direito em questão. Erros abrem brechas e podem ser motivos suficientes para modificar direitos por usucapião, retenção, prescrição, restituição. (shrink)

El presente trabajo investiga las tesis sobre el poder civil de Alonso de la Veracruz que buscan incorporar en la comunidad política española a los habitantes autóctonos del Nuevo Mundo, tesis que suelen relacionarse con F. de Vitoria y el tomismo español, y que últimamente son consideradas parte del republicanismo novohispano elaborado desde la periferia americana. Se busca demostrar que su propósito era aplicar una teoría de derechos naturales, sin que ello implique participación política de los indios americanos. Se analiza (...) la postura del fraile frente a la diversidad cultural y la guerra contra los indios. The paper explores Alonso de la Veracruz's theses on civil power, which sought to integrate the native inhabitants of the New World into the Spanish political community. These theses, which have usually been associated with F. de Vitoria and Spanish Thomism, have recently come to be considered part of a Novohispanic republicanism developed in the American periphery. The article seeks to show that the purpose of such theses was to apply a theory of natural rights that did not entail the political participation of the indigenous population, as well as to analyze Veracruz's position regarding cultural diversity and the war against the indigenous peoples. (shrink)

En esta investigación se analiza la expresión escrita individual de las élites miliares que participan en las guerras de la independencia de Cuba. La producción escrituraria es un reflejo de la variedad social coetánea, por lo que permite tanto estudiar la vitalidad de fenómenos sociolingüísticos como determinar los rasgos que constituyen la base de la variedad cubana del español. Además, la selección de cartas cruzadas entre mandos militares y afectos a la causa evidencia la gestación del modelo de _cubanía_ que (...) simboliza la nueva patria. (shrink)

¿Toda regla social es una convención aceptada por un acuerdo de voluntades? A esta pregunta, Ramón Ortega responde negativamente en su libro Compromiso mutuo y derecho: un enfoque convencionalista. Según el autor, el carácter normativo del derecho no estaría justificado por la "vaga, oscura y controvertida noción de aceptación" de Hart, sino por otra, más general: el compromiso mutuo, tomada de la metafísica social de Margaret Gilbert. Pero ¿cuál es la diferencia entre el hecho de que dos o más personas (...) acepten una convención y que exista entre ellas un compromiso mutuo? Pensemos en un famoso y sutil ejemplo tomado de la propia Gilbert: Ana y Miguel caminan uno cerca del otro al salir de un curso. (shrink)

This paper aims to analyse the enslavement of Moriscos from the Alpujarras during the initial months of the war of Grenade. This research is based on unknown historical records of the Archivo General de Simancas, which include a rich information about this issue. Other local and notarial sources treasured in several andalussian archives are also used in order to study the kingdom of Granada as a slave market during 1569-1571. These historical sources let to study the exports of Morisco slaves (...) to the main cities of the Guadalquivir valley during these years. (shrink)

Several political philosophers have recently pointed out that current electoral democracies fail to facilitate accurate and reliable feedback on the performance of public officials. Rather than rejecting democracy as a hopeless ideal, we defend an institutional reform called Service Responsibility, which introduces a superior incentive structure that better aligns the interests of citizens and public officials. Service Responsibility requires increasing or decreasing the income of public officials insofar as they succeed or fail to achieve democratically chosen goals. Later, we consider (...) an alternative institutional scheme, recently proposed by Claudio López-Guerra: Piloting Responsibility. According to this alternative proposal, public officials must utilize a public provider whenever they seek out a basic service. We show that Piloting Responsibility fails to realize the democratic ideal because it generates a perverse incentive structure for public officials. We conclude that Service Responsibility outperforms both the status quo and Piloting Responsibility as an institutional scheme for ensuring competent governance and public justification. (shrink)

La generación del 98 surgió como consecuencia de una compleja situación económica, social, cultural y política sufrida por nuestro país. La derrota en la Guerra de Cuba y las consecuentes pérdidas coloniales fueron el detonante más inmediato que culmina-ron en un ánimo enrarecido y con aires decadentes. Fruto de este angosto clima surgió una nueva visión de la filosofía y la novela, esto es, una perspectiva hermenéutica diferente de la realidad del momento. En este sentido, haremos mención a cuatro (...) de las obras principales que contribuyeron a dicha construcción teórica, al tiempo que desgranaremos su vertiente filosófica y la incidencia de las mismas en el conocido como problema de España. Pero, ¿qué ocurre con la visión femenina? ¿Cómo fueron las representaciones de las mujeres en estas obras? ¿qué tenían que decir las mujeres de esta generación? Para repensar las humanidades en la actualidad, es pertinente y esencial revisar los cimientos más inmediatos de nuestra filosofía y nuestra literatura, a la par que se torna crucial revisar la perspectiva femenina pues, solo de este modo, podremos tener una visión integradora de la importancia y la actualidad de las humanidades. (shrink)

Pese a que se trata de una de las obras de Machiavelli menos conocidas y estudiadas en la actualidad, el tratado Dell’arte della guerra (1521) encontró una rápida difusión en la Europa de su siglo. Publicada en París en 1546 (en traducción de Jean Charrier), la obra fue analizada críticamente algunas décadas más tarde en la versión definitiva del Discours d’Estat contre Machiavel (Ginebra, 1585) del jurista calvinista Innocent Gentillet. Sintetizando los argumentos que Gentillet ofreció en este tratado frente (...) al ejército de milicias ciudadanas propuesto por Machiavelli, mostramos su interrelación con las críticas dirigidas por el hugonote al resto de escritos maquiavelianos (en particular Il Principe y los Discorsi). Se trata, de acuerdo a nuestra interpretación, de la primera crítica sistemática al pensamiento político y social de Machiavelli. Al mismo tiempo, supone la respuesta virulenta de la Francia nobiliaria al republicanismo neo-romano defendido por el florentino. (shrink)

RESUMEN: La violencia es considerada a menudo un elemento consustancial al ámbito internacional: algo que el derecho internacional puede quizá reducir pero no eliminar completamente. Este trabajo se hace eco de las críticas feministas al derecho internacional poniéndolas en relación con los conceptos elaborados por los estudios sobre masculinidades. Que el derecho internacional sea una disciplina históricamente manejada por hombres encuentra su proyección sobre cinco ámbitos: 1) el concepto de estado en tanto que actor principal del derecho internacional, 2) el (...) sistema de fuentes, en particular, los tratados internacionales; 3) la aplicación de las normas internacionales a través de tribunales o paneles de arbitraje; 4) la importancia de la guerra y 5) la doctrina de la responsabilidad de proteger. ABSTRACT: Violence is often seen as an inherent element in the international arena: something that international law can perhaps reduce but not eliminate completely. This work echoes feminist critiques of international law by putting them in relation to the concepts elaborated by studies on masculinities. That international law is a discipline historically handled by men finds its projection on five areas: 1) the concept of state as the main actor of international law, 2) the system of sources, in particular, international treaties; 3) the application of international standards through courts or arbitration panels; 4) the importance of war and 5) the doctrine of the responsibility to protect.PALABRAS CLAVE: filosofía del derecho internacional, estudios sobre masculinidades, violencia, relaciones internacionales, pacifismo jurídicoKEYWORDS: philosophy of international law, masculinity studies, violence, international relations, legal pacifism. (shrink)

Este artículo estudia la hipotética penetración del islamismo –vertiente degradada del Islam- en algunos sectores de la extrema izquierda en Latinoamérica y reflexiona sobre su habilidad para desarrollar tanto una teoría como una práctica islamizadas de la revolución. El objetivo de esto es indagar en un aspecto inusual de la seguridad, el factor ideológico, habitualmente soslayado por preferirse los elementos estratégicos y tácticos. Para ello primero se investigan someramente algunos cambios del terrorismo ligados al islamismo en Latinoamérica. Después se analiza (...) la doctrina mediante la que el islamismo puede conectar con la extrema izquierda mediante los conceptos de revolución, guerra revolucionaria, guerra asimétrica y yihad. Finalmente están las conclusiones del artículo. (shrink)

Em defesa de uma desordem pedagógica: a institucionalização da infância no cinema e no cotidiano escolar Resumo: Nos livros imagem-movimento e imagem-tempo, Deleuze analisou o cinema a partir de múltiplas variações possíveis, mas privilegia a perspectiva de um pensamento no qual a articulação de imagens e signos está ligada à expressão de significado ou de uma ideia. Nessa perspectiva, o fluxo de expressão de significados entre o encontro de nossas experiências com os filmes A Guerra dos Botões e As (...) Pequenas Flores Vermelhas, nos levou a problematizar a institucionalização da infância a partir das seguintes perguntas: O que é isso institucionalizado mundo? nós ajudamos a construir? Como se pode ser criança nessa lógica contemporânea que estrutura e institucionaliza, de maneira comercial, a rotina escolar? A hipótese que pretendemos defender é que o atual processo de institucionalização incorporado nos princípios neoliberais tende a reforçar as características narcísicas e individualistas. Diante disso, defendemos a busca de formas de resistência a esse processo que hoje chamamos de ordem pedagógica. Palavras-Chave: Neoliberalismo. Institucionalização da infância. Cinema. In defense of a pedagogical disorder: the institutionalization of childhood in cinema and school daily life: In the books image-motion and image-time, Deleuze analyzes cinema from multiple possible variations, but he privileges the perspective of a thought in which the articulation of images and signs is connected with the expression of meaning, or an idea. In this perspective, that is, in the flow of expression of meanings that the encounter of our experiences with the films The War of the Buttons and The Little Red Flowers led us to problematize the institutionalization of childhood from the following questions: What is this institutionalized world? do we help build? How can one be a child in this contemporary logic that structures and institutionalizes, in a commercial manner, the school routine? The hypothesis we intend to defend is that the current process of institutionalization embedded in neoliberal principles tends to reinforce narcissistic and individualistic characteristics. Given this, we defend the search for forms of resistance to this process that today we call pedagogical order. Keywords: Neoliberalism. Institutionalization of childhood. Cinema. En defensa de un trastorno pedagógico: la institucionalización de la infancia en el cine y la vida cotidiana escolar Resumen: En los libros imagen-movimiento e imagen-tiempo, Deleuze analiza el cine a partir de múltiples posibles variaciones, pero privilegia la perspectiva de un pensamiento en el que la articulación de imágenes y signos está conectada con la expresión de significado, o una idea. En esta perspectiva, es decir, en el flujo de expresión de significados que el encuentro de nuestras experiencias con las películas La guerra de los botones y Las pequeñas flores rojas nos llevó a problematizar la institucionalización de la infancia a partir de las siguientes preguntas: ¿Qué es este mundo institucionalizado? ¿Ayudamos a construir? ¿Cómo se puede ser un niño en esta lógica contemporánea que estructura e institucionaliza, de manera comercial, la rutina escolar? La hipótesis que pretendemos defender es que el proceso actual de institucionalización incrustado en los principios neoliberales tiende a reforzar las características narcisistas e individualistas. Ante esto, defendemos la búsqueda de formas de resistencia a este proceso que hoy llamamos trastorno pedagógico. Palabras clave: Neoliberalismo. Institucionalización de la infância. Cine. Data de registro: 11/12/2019 Data de aceite: 18/11/2020. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Defending a Phenomenological–Behavioral Perspective: Culture, Behavior, and ExperienceMarino Pérez-Álvarez (bio), José M. García-Montes (bio), Adolfo J. Cangas (bio), and Louis A. Sass (bio)KeywordsBehavior, contextual phenomenology, culture, experienceWe should like to express our sincere thanks to all the authors for their commentaries on our articles. Given the restrictions of space (a limitation they too had to contend with), we can only respond to a few aspects of their interesting remarks. (...) We shall reply of course on the basis of our own approach—an approach that sets out to integrate culture, behavior, and experience, and that might be termed contextual phenomenology, phenomenological behaviorism, or perhaps most accurately (albeit more awkwardly), the phenomenological–behavioral perspective.In her commentary, Ibáñez-Guerra (2008), referring to the target articles “Phenomenology and behaviorism” (Pérez-Álvarez, Sass, and Cangas 2008) and “The role of superstition in psychopathology” (García-Montes et al. 2008), wonders whether our maintaining of the spirit of Skinner, as well as our recourse to phenomenology, might not themselves represent forms of superstitious behavior. She points out that it is not always a good idea to put new wine in old barrels. For her, the new wine and new barrels would be represented by social constructivism, of which she is reminded by some aspects of our work. But in making her own case, Ibáñez-Guerra (2008) reveals certain common prejudices concerning behaviorism, prejudices that have apparently persisted even after reading our article. Thus, for example, she does not see operant behavior as incorporating intentionality (what, in the target article, is presented in terms of final causality), because she assumes that intentionality would necessarily imply a mentalist and dualist notion involving a supposed internal mental entity that causes behavior. Skinner (1974) himself noted and rejected this very assumption in a passage that clearly distinguishes his own approach from what he calls a “stimulus-response formula”: “Possibly no charge,” he wrote,is more often leveled against behaviorism or a science of behavior than that it cannot deal with purpose or intention. A stimulus-response formula has no answer, but operant behavior is the very field of purpose and [End Page 281] intention. By its nature it is directed toward the future: a person acts in order that something will happen, and the order is temporal.(pp. 55–6)The place Skinner gives to intentionality and purpose is elaborated in our target article.Furthermore, Ibáñez-Guerra (2008) assumes that, on methodological grounds, Skinner rejects all that is not observable, or at least that cannot be operationalized. This, however, is simply incorrect, at least as regards Skinner’s radical behaviorism. As the reader may recall, radical (as opposed to methodological) behaviorism is neither operationalist nor does it reject private or subjective events because of their unobservability. Indeed, Skinner specifically acknowledges that such events are in fact observable—at least for one person: the subject him- or herself. The question for Skinner is to understand how the part of the world that is only observable and experiential for oneself is constructed or formed. In the end, it turns out that radical behaviorism is more radical, in the Aristotelian ontological sense (see Pérez-Alvarez, Sass, and García-Montes 2008), than post-modern constructionism. Indeed, as we remarked, radical behaviorism can still surprise us today. Similarly, phenomenology is starting to be missed in the clinical context (Andreasen 2007). We believe that radical behaviorism and phenomenology, mutually readjusted, are in fact excellent wines for the times we live in—if only we knew how to appreciate them.In their commentary on “Phenomenology and behaviorism: A mutual readjustment,” Fletcher and Hayes (2008) argue that the philosophy and theory of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)/Relational Frame Theory (RFT) already contain the salutary aspects of phenomenology that we highlight in our target article. Their insistence on reducing the affinities we find between phenomenology and behaviorism to ACT/RFT consists, in our view, in a scientific–technical argument that is more scientistic than strictly philosophical in nature. Their insistence on the scientific–technical argument itself implies an unclarified philosophical assumption. On what grounds do experimental data constitute the last word? Has... (shrink)