Evolutionary studies have provided several explanations about how pain and suffering can be fitted into that framework, which tries to make sense of every biological and human feature in terms of evolution, survival, and fitness. These explanations point usually to how such apparently negative aspects become useful and contribute to an evolution that after all has delivered good outcomes. Such an approach might eventually render the theodicy question less sharp and critical for believers who are trying to cope with the (...) scandal of so great suffering in our world and history. Theologically we can welcome such new insights, less noticed in former tradition, but at the same time we need to be cautious before a development which could render less clear the message of Christian salvation. In any case, the new data and knowledge clearly invite to revise and reformulate the Christian salvific message, to better answer before the mystery of evil and suffering. (shrink)

A simple complete axiomatic system is presented for the many-valued propositional logic based on the conjunction interpreted as product, the coresponding implication (Goguen's implication) and the corresponding negation (Gödel's negation). Algebraic proof methods are used. The meaning for fuzzy logic (in the narrow sense) is shortly discussed.

Republican theorists have paid little attention to the normative problems of secession conflicts. So far, there is no such thing as a democratic republican theory of right of secession ; nor any comprehensive analysis of current TRS has ever been undertaken from a democratic republican point of view. This article tries to fill this second gap as a first step in order to fill that first one. In doing so, it shows how secession conflicts pose threats for two core democratic (...) republican values: freedom and inclusion. The threats are, concretely, those of exclusion, blackmailing minorities, arbitrary permanent majorities, and instability. The article also shows how, due to their respective pro-unionist or pro-secessionist biases, no current TRS seems to be able to handle those threats; and briefly outlines how a democratic republican TRS, based on a non-unilateralist logic, could be developed. (shrink)

This paper proposes an hermeneutic interpretation of the fragmentary discourse of one of the authors of reference of the critical theory. The analysis develops from the theory of the incomplete translation of Benjamin. The Benjamin style of writing and its thesis in constant review process can be understood as precursors of the deconstruction. Our hypothesis is that this special Benjamin position is not developed by chance, but it is the result of a specific way of understanding the construction of the (...) critical theory. (shrink)

Podríamos definir el autoconcepto como el proceso a través del cual se va adquiriendo una imagen que acaba condicionando nuestra conducta. Las prostitutas inmigrantes viven en una situación de especial vulnerabilidad, este aspecto puede inferir en la configuración de su autoconcepto dificultando su bienestar social.//////////We could define self concept as the process through which we acquire our self image that ends up conditioning our conduct. Immigrant prostitutes live in a situation of special vulnerability, this aspect can interfere in the process (...) of building their self concept, making their social well-being difficult. (shrink)

Puede argumentarse que el hecho de que las democracias liberales occidentales no hayan sido ni sean en general lo suficientemente inclusivas es lo que permite desvelar en ellas una cierto componente de violencia. Sus más recientes justificaciones filosóficas, entre las que destaca la de Richard Rorty, contribuyen a fomentar esta argumentación en la medida que se declaran, con todas las cautelas ciertamente, etnocéntricas. Nos parece que el hecho de que sea factible cuestionar esta justificación ¿a la que denominamos, en la (...) línea de otros autores, ética postliberal- abre la posibilidad de una perspectiva crítica de la propia democracia liberal actual, no sólo sobre la base de razonamientos filosóficos, sino también con el concurso de consideraciones históricas. Iniciamos esta exposición con la propuesta de que ética postliberal y barbarie no tienen por qué ser consideradas antitéticas, sino que, por el contrario, pueden resultar coincidentes en algún sentido específico (sección segunda). A continuación, y con el objetivo de mostrar de qué sentido se trata, se abordan algunos textos de Rorty con la consecuencia final de que, al exhibir una vinculación más clara con el corpus del liberalismo clásico de lo que ellos mismos pretenden sugerir, pueden ser criticados por el tratamiento que hacen del pluralismo en un sentido análogo al de las críticas ya recibidas por el liberalismo clásico (sección tercera). Esta conclusión queda corroborada cuando se cotejan las tesis de Rorty con las críticas de Bikhu Parekh al monismo moral del liberalismo (sección cuarta). El abrazo del etnocentrismo, característico de la ética liberal y de la postliberal, constituye una determinación ideológica de las políticas de no inclusión llevadas a cabo por las democracias liberales occidentales en contradicción directa con los valores que declaran defender, y ello resulta particularmente visible en el caso de las relaciones de éstas con el Islam (sección quinta). Por último, en nuestras conclusiones, ponemos de manifiesto que el encaje contextualista al que la ética postliberal quiere someter a la democracia liberal no resulta suficiente para una defensa adecuada de la misma sobre todo si, además, tenemos en cuenta la praxis histórica real de Occidente en ámbitos no occidentales (sección sexta). (shrink)

ABSTRACT The term fuzzy logic has two different meanings -broad and narrow. In Zadeh's opinion, fuzzy logic is an extension of many- valued logic but having a different agenda—as generalized modus ponens, max-min inference, linguistic quantifiers etc. The question we address in this paper is whether there is something in Zadeh's specific agenda which cannot be grasped by “classiceli”, “traditional” mathematical logic. We show that much of fuzzy logic can be understood as classical deduction in a many-sorted many-valued Pavelka- Lukasiewicz (...) style rational quantification logic. This means that, besides the linguistic or approximation aspects, the logical aspect is present too and can be made explicit. (shrink)

Es bien conocida la primera filosofía de Ortega y Gasset en torno al "raciovitalismo" y al liberalismo. En cambio, su segunda navegación, en expresión suya, no ha alcanzado aún perfiles precisos ante el público interesado. Nada mejor para ello que revisitar la obra póstuma que mejor representa tal vez la tarea filosófica del último Ortega: "La idea de principio en Leibniz y la evolución de la teoría deductiva". En este libro, por un lado se examinan las raíces alemanas con especial (...) atención a Fichte y a Heidegger y la teoría del conocimiento que Ortega va diseñando. Por otro, se analiza la estructura textual del libro mientras se profundiza en algunos de los logros más generales de la "segunda navegación" de Ortega, como el tema de "ideas y creencias", el constructivismo cognitivo y la teoría de la historia. En una tercera parte, se incide en diversas consecuencias de la obra de Ortega, en la hermenéutica y en el pensamiento cívico sobre España, así como en la crítica filosófica. (shrink)

This study analyzes the dissemination and readership of two medieval medical works in Catalan. Combining the use of diverse sources such as the manuscripts themselves, post-mortem inventories, and the prologues written by the translators, the study shows how the diffusion of these works exemplifies the two main audiences to which vernacular texts were addressed. These were, on the one hand, literate but not Latinate surgeons and other practitioners interested in the new medicine emanating from the emerging universities; and on the (...) other, nobles and burghers interested in issues of health and disease and in natural philosophy in general. The framework for the study is the general process of consolidation of the new medical system which developed in late medieval Latin Europe. (shrink)

Theology and other human sciences present concerns against artificial intelligence (AI) that are often limited to ethical issues, as they appear as the most pressing problems and challenges derived from these new technologies. However, by reviewing the published literature, the article shows that theologians have ventured into broader areas, with a specific focus on the anthropological consequences of current technological advances. New developments and achievements in AI invite further exploration from a theological perspective, and they offer some opportunities and useful (...) applications for theologians. The article moves from the ethical territory toward the more neutral but highly engaging dialogue between science, technology, and religion, their interactions and mutual enrichment. Within this transdisciplinary area, new insights are gained about the role a more committed theology can play in issues like designing the best approaches between religious faith and intelligent systems to achieve a sustainable and equitable future. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to provide a brief reading of Tractatus 6.421 and its consequences in 6.432 and following, adding to it an sketch of so-lution, which takes hold on the idea, present in his lessons and conver-sations, of "super-mechanism".