After Wittgenstein's criticism of foundationalism, it is common use to defend the prevalence of action or of practical reason over the theoretical outlook at the world. The substitution of human praxis in the world for a set of self-evident propositions as foundations of theoretical knowledge seems to imply a radical form of pragmatism. Against this view, and recording some ideas of Vico, the paper claims that the rebuttal of Descartes' epistemological theory of the spectator does not imply any kind of (...) pragmatism. (shrink)
The paper focuses on Wittgensteinian criticism of the epistemological approach of the study of emotions that was begun by Descartes. Witt-genstein distinguishes, as Aristotle did, between matter and form of emotions, and he maintains that emotions and physiological reactions are not two different events, but only one which can be described in two different ways.
This paper discusses the relevance in Ethics of the notion of human being. It distinguishes between the sphere of real moral moral practices and the philosophical foundation of such practices. It discusses also the difference bet-ween the modern concept of person and that of human being and establishes their role in moral thought. Finally, it focuses on the classical concept of per-son.
This paper attempts to establish an articulation of ethics, logic and philosophy of psychology in the Tractatus. After showing the ethical purpose of the Tractatus, his picture theory of meaning, and his philo-sophy of psychology -stressing the role of projection- Arregui sets him-self the task of analyzing the mystical. His insistence on projection allows him to underline the function of the transcendental subject and, therefore, to offer an interpretation of the texts about the mystical, dif-ferent to the usual ones.
El propósito de estas páginas es establecer un paralelismo entre el gusto y la verdad práctica, y lo que se ha venido llamando la dimensión reflexiva de la verdad y la verdad teórica. La tesis que se va a defender es que la dimensión reflexiva de la verdad práctica es el gusto porque éste es la constatación de la adecuación, congruencia o armonía entre la subjetividad y un objeto o entre el sujeto y sus acciones, es decir, la constatación de (...) que la verdad práctica se ha logrado porque hay una adecuación entre el sujeto y sus acciones. (shrink)
RESUMENSuele mantenerse que la tesis de la inconmensurabilidad enunciada por Kuhn en La estructua de las revoluciones científicas constituye el núcleo de las doctrinas relativistas. Frente a esta tesis, el artículo argumenta que admitir la incomensurabilidad entre tradiciones culturales diferentes o, incluso, negar que existan criterios absolutos y eternos de racionalidad no implica de suyo relativismo. Se recogen y critican los argumentos de Popper y Gombrich en contra del llamado "mito del marco conceptual" y se examina la postura de Putnam, (...) para concluir que éste se encuentra mucho más cerca de la inconmensurabilidad que lo que él mismo admite. En conra de la interpretación de la inconmensurabilidad que convierte a las culturas en totalidades cerradas y aisladas, se argumenta que la doctrina de la inconmensurabilidad no niega la existencia de comunicación intercultural: la caracteriza. En la misma línea se subraya que la inconmensurabilidad no impide el reconocimiento de lo humanoPALABRAS CLAVECULTURA-PARADIGMA-INCONMENSURABILIDAD-RELATIVISMOABSTRACTIt is usually maintained that Kuhn's claims on inconmensurability made up the core of the relativist doctrines. Against this view, the paper argues that the inconmensurability between the different cultural traditions or, even, the denial of the existence of eternal and absolute standars of rationaliti do not commit to relativist thesis. Popper and Hombrich's arguments are challenged and Putnam's view is examined in order to prove that he is closer to Kuhn than what he himself seems to think. In face of the reading of the idea of incommensurability that looks cultures as isolated and closed wholes, it is maintained that theinconmensurability thesis does not deny the existence of cultural communication: rather it characterizes how they communicate. Following the same line of thought, it is emphazised that the existence of inconmensurability between different cultures does not make impossible the recognition of the specific human phenomena.KEYWORDSCULTURE-PARADIGM-INCOMMENSURABILITY-RELATIVISM. (shrink)
A pesar de matices y variaciones de significado, la intencionalidad husserliana sigue al servicio de la verdad como adaequatio, adaptada al orden monádico de la conciencia trascendental. Sin embargo, en la conciencia interna del tiempo se ve la dificultad de interpretar intencionalmente la esfera pasiva de la conciencia, con lo cual peligra la vocación por la verdad de la intencionalidad. A partir de la constitución eidética, se busca una génesis pasiva del sentido ideal intencional, sin perder su referencia egológica. Despite (...) the nuances and variations in meaning, Husserlian intentionality continues to be at the service of truth as adaequatio, adapted to the monadic order of transcendental consciousness. However, the internal consciousness of time reveals the difficulty of interpreting the passive sphere of consciousness intentionally, which jeopardizes intentionality's vocation for truth. On the basis of eidetic constitution, a passive genesis of ideal intentional meaning is sought, which does not lose its reference to the ego. (shrink)
Through the lens of Guatemala’s Jorge Carpio Nicolle case I analyze the mechanisms that preserve impunity in Latin American nations struggling to emerge from violent conflict and embrace, the rule of law. I reveal how the infective influence of parallel powers, the ineffectiveness of the judicial process, and obstructive legal doctrine destroy domestic efforts to prosecute those responsible for human rights violations. The Carpio case exposes the role of international courts in providing justice when domestic courts fail to do (...) so, and it demonstrates the importance of human rights groups in pursuing this justice. (shrink)
Resumen: En este artículo reviso la interpretación de Eduardo Nicol de la teoría de la propiedad de Francisco Suárez. Para ello, presento la posición de Suárez acerca de la propiedad y la propiedad privada atendiendo dos cuestiones fundamentales. La primera es si la propiedad y la propiedad privada son derechos; la segunda es si ambos pertenecen a la naturaleza humana o no. Al final, argumento que la lectura de Nicol es insostenible, pues difícilmente puede admitirse que Suárez defendió algún tipo (...) de comunismo.: In this paper I revisit Eduardo Nicol’s interpretation of Suarez’s theory of property. To this purpose, I present Suárez’s account of property and private property focusing on two main aspects. The first is whether property and private property are rights; the second is whether they belong to the human nature or not. Finally, I argue that Nicol’s reading of Suárez is untenable for it can hardly be accepted that Suárez defended some kind of communism. (shrink)
Resumen: Entre el pensamiento de José Gaos y el de Eduardo Nicol se cierne una diferencia sustancial en torno al concepto de la filosofía. Para el primero, ésta es una suerte de confesión personal; mientras que para Nicol la filosofía debe ser producto de una hazaña dialógica y el conocimiento tiene que ser objetivo.: José Gaos’s and Eduardo Nicol’s concepts of philosophy differ substantially. For the former, philosophy is a sort of personal confession, whereas for the later it must be (...) the outcome of dialogical achievement, and as for knowledge, this has to be objective. (shrink)
In this article, we argue that it can be fruitful for philosophers interested in the nature and moral significance of racism to pay more attention to psychology. We do this by showing that psychology provides new arguments against Garcia's views about the nature and moral significance of racism. We contend that some scientific studies of racial cognition undermine Garcia's moral and psychological monism about racism: Garcia disregards (1) the rich affective texture of racism and (2) the diversity of what makes (...) racial ills morally wrong. Key Words: racism • emotions • implicit bias • psychology • racial ills • pluralism. (shrink)
It is a well-established fact that most new, non-traditional religious groups are treated negatively in the mass media. However, Falun Gong, the qi gong group that was banned in China in 1999, is a marked exception to this general tendency. Why should this be the case? In the present paper, we examine the various factors that combine to make Falun Gong the exception to the rule. We also call attention to this organization’s pattern of attacking critics, as well as their (...) pattern of attacking anyone who offers an interpretation of events that is at odds with Falun Gong’s interpretation. However, this heavy-handed tactic has the potential to backfire, and to prompt the media to reperceive them as a bully rather than as an innocent victim. (shrink)
This paper comments on the strategies and goals of a politics of recognition as celebrated by Nancy Nicol’s important documentary coverage of the gay and lesbian movement for family rights in Quebec. While agreeing that ending legal discrimination against lgbt families is important, I suggest that political recognition of same-sex families and their children is a too limited goal for queer families and their allies. Moreover, it is a goal, I argue, that often trades on trades on troublesome assumptions about (...) gender, class, race, age and normative commitments to monogamy as these relate to distinctions between, for example, “fit” and “unfit” parents. (shrink)
The Disintegration of Community analyzes the social and cultural writings of Jorge Portilla (1919−1963) and demonstrates the continued relevance of his thought to contemporary debates on the politics of social and cultural identity, the nature of community, and the political role of affect and moods. Sánchez and Gallegos address questions as timely today as they were for Portilla: What drives the impulse toward political nationalism? What sustains the myths that organize our political lives? Under what conditions do communities disintegrate? (...) An appendix offers original English translations of three of Portilla's fascinating and hitherto untranslated essays, including Portilla's 1952 essay, "The Spiritual Crisis of the United States.". (shrink)
What do Shen Yun, New Tang Dynasty TV, Human Harvest, The Art of Courage, Avenues of Escape, In the Name of Confucius, and The Bleeding Edge have in common, beyond their anti-China focus?—All, it turns out, are bankrolled by the Canadian government’s Canada Media Fund. In the present paper, we will provide a preliminary outline of these activities, and, in the words of our subtitle, ask: Why is the Canadian Government bankrolling an anti-China propaganda campaign?
In Hong Kong, transfer students encounter different challenges unfolding in their transition from community college to university study. However, limited research has been conducted to explore their discipline-specific challenges. To address this gap, in this study three engineering and science faculties were selected from which to collect data through 35 in-depth interviews with transfer students, followed by a thorough thematic analysis. With the concept of in-betweenness, three main themes were identified: “shifted the focus of study” academic excellence in community college; (...) future career in the university; and university life); “encountered challenges in the transition” non-matching program articulation; heavy study workload and its associated consequences; and non-specific administration arrangement and support from university); and “students’ voices to enhance learning experiences” modify the study duration; improve program articulation; improve social adjustment; and overseas exchange). The results of this study indicate the challenges faced by transfer students in their transition from community college to university and have implications for universities to design and implement appropriate strategies to prepare for the future. (shrink)
This paper examines the ethical and religious dimensions of mathematical practice in the early modern era by offering an interpretation of Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole’s Nouveaux éléments de géométrie. According to these important figures of seventeenth-century French philosophy and theology, mathematics could achieve extra-mathematical or non-mathematical goals; that is, mathematics could foster practices of moral self-improvement, deepen the mathematician’s piety and cultivate epistemic virtues. The Nouveaux éléments de géométrie, which I contend offers the most robust account of the virtues (...) cultivated by mathematics in the period, was envisaged by its authors to cultivate moral, Christian and epistemic virtues that could serve in the fulfilment of moral and Christian obligations. In this paper, I set out the goals of mathematical inquiry for the Port-Royalists and describe the specific virtues they believed a revised edition of the Elements of Euclid could foster. I show that Arnauld and Nicole believed that an acquaintance with mathematics could render a student of Euclid more just, truth-loving, attentive and humble, and better able to discern truth from falsity. (shrink)
Hegel's Science of Logic has received less attention than his Phenomenology of Spirit, but Hegel himself took it to be his highest philosophical achievement and the backbone of his system. The present book focuses on this most difficult of Hegel's published works. Béatrice Longuenesse offers a close analysis of core issues, including discussions of what Hegel means by 'dialectical logic', the role and meaning of 'contradiction' in Hegel's philosophy, and Hegel's justification for the provocative statement that 'what is actual is (...) rational, what is rational is actual'. She examines both Hegel's debt and his polemical reaction to Kant, and shows in great detail how his project of a 'dialectical' logic can be understood only in light of its relation to Kant's 'transcendental' logic. This book will appeal to anyone interested in Hegel's philosophy and its influence on contemporary philosophical discussion. (shrink)