Conceptualization and measurement of organizational commitment involve different dimensions that include economic, affective, as well as moral aspects labelled in the literature as: ‘continuance’, ‘affective’ and ‘normative’ commitment. This multidimensional framework emerges from the convergence of different research lines. Using Aristotle’s philosophical framework, that explicitly considers the role of the will in human commitment, it is proposed a rational explanation of the existence of mentioned dimensions in organizational commitment. Such a theoretical proposal may offer a more accurate definition of ‘affective (...) commitment’ that distinguishes feelings from rational judgments. The use of a philosophical explanation coherent with psychological findings also allows the discovery of a wider moral concept of ‘normative commitment’. (shrink)

CONTENIDO: Pensar temáticamente la filosofía - Nosotros y la filosofía - El método en la construcción del discurso filosófico - El mundo circundante: estudio sobre la conciencia, la toma de conciencia y la realización de la conciencia - El puesto de la estética en la filosofía - Sobre el concepto de naturaleza en empédocles - La pregunta por la técnica en serenidad de M. Heidegger - Cuatro paradojas en el proyecto de la filosofía latinoamericana - La secularización de la cultura: (...) una exigencia para la modernidad - El concepto de imagen y de política en paradiso de José Lezama Lima. (shrink)

CONTENIDO: Kant y la pedagogía - De la objetividad a la objetivación - De la tensión entre el investigador y el método - Interdisciplinariedad e investigación cualitativa en educación - Formación y subjetividad: epistemología, lenguaje y pedagogía - La pedagogía ante la tecnología como estructura del mundo de la vida - Alcances y limitaciones de la inteligencia artificial en pedagogía - A propósito de la informática en el mundo de la pedagogía y de la educación - La representación del conocimiento (...) y la inteligencia artificial - La lógica de las ciencias como didáctica: ¿un bastión de modernidad? - La educación del futuro como futuro de la educación - De la epistemología de la pedagogía a la filosofía de la educación. (shrink)

I. El filósofo perseguido. 1. Metafísica del perseguidor ; 2. Filosofía de Jacob ; 3. Falsos mesías ; 4. Profeta, no rey-filósofo -- II. El pueblo perseguido. 1. Amalec o la persecución sin fin ; 2. Resistencia secreta ; 3. Israel o ser perseguido ; 4. El gobierno de la gran nación.

CONTENIDO: Génesis, estructura y función de la epistemología - Cuestiones fundamentales de filosofía de las ciencias - Fundamentos de epistemología - Epistemología, problemas, teorías y verdad - Epistemología, tecnología y ciencias sociales - La tecnología, estructura de mundo de la vida. El problema del sentido y la ontología del presente - La neonarrativa en ciencias sociales - La lectura heideggeriana de la sentencia: ¡Dios ha muerto¡ - ¿Epistemología u ontología? - De la lógica a la retórica - La lógica y (...) el final de la guerra. (shrink)

En Carl Schmitt en la Segunda República Española Gabriel Guillén Kalle analiza aspectos particulares de Carl Schmitt en ese periodo de nuestra nación en entreguerras. El autor reconoce que la recepción republicana fue primordialmente jurídica, mas esta perspectiva conlleva observar ese concepto de lo polítíco que atraviesa su obra entera. Guillén propone una estrategia para la relectura de Schmitt en ese periodo y para ello analiza a los principales autores que se ocuparon de él, sin desdeñar a algunos menos conocidos (...) como puede ser Zozaya. Un tema importante para nuestra nación es el control de constitucionalidad que Schmitt, siguiendo a Constant con la teoría del poder moderador, encuentra en el Presidente del Reich, y que en la segunda República española se dejó en un organismo, el Tribunal de Garantías Constitucionales que pretendía colocarse por encima de las pasiones, aunque por su composición -poco jurídica- condujo al fracaso. También es de interés cómo Medina sitúa el pensamiento schmittiano de los órdenes concretos en el idealismo objetivo necesitando de dualismos para su existencia. (shrink)

"El éxito de Maquiavelo se manifiesta de forma clara en su virulenta influencia en el pensamiento político español de la segunda mitad del siglo XVI y primera mitad del siglo XVII. No es nada sorprendente que en aquellas centurias fuese leído y muy conocido en la Península, pues la política española estaba muy vinculada a Italia. Asimismo, la influencia del maquiavelismo llega hasta la actualidad y cubre prácticamente todo el mundo latinoamericano. Este volumen, por primera vez, ofrece un panorama más (...) amplio de la influencia de la teoría política del florentino tanto en España como en América. Los capítulos de este volumen han sido elaborados por especialistas académicos de uno y otro lado del mundo hispano. En el fondo, lo que este libro alienta es la idea de que cualquier comprensión teórica en español en la actualidad debe pasar por una reflexión en sentido global euroamericano."--P. [4] of cover. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework that will help in understanding and evaluating, along social and ethical lines, the issue of killing day-old male chicks and two alternative directions of responsible innovations to solve this issue. The following research questions are addressed: Why is the killing of day-old chicks morally problematic? Are the proposed alternatives morally sound? To what extent do the alternatives lead to responsible innovation? The conceptual framework demonstrates clearly that there is a (...) moral “lock-in”, and why the killing of day-old chicks is indeed an issue. Furthermore, it is shown that both alternative directions address some important objections with regard to the killing of day-old chicks, but that they also raise new dilemmas. It also becomes clear that the framework enables and secures anticipation, reflection, deliberation with and responsiveness to stakeholders, the four dimensions of responsible innovation, in a structured way. (shrink)

The hopes and fears expressed in the debate on human enhancement are not always based on a realistic assessment of the expected possibilities. Discussions about extreme scenarios may at times obscure the ethical and policy issues that are relevant today. This paper aims to contribute to an adequate and ethically sound societal response to actual current developments. After a brief outline of the ethical debate concerning neuro-enhancement, it describes the current state of the art in psychopharmacological science and current uses (...) of psychopharmacological enhancement, as well as the prospects for the near future. It then identifies ethical issues regarding psychopharmacological enhancements that require attention from policymakers, both on the professional and on the governmental level. These concern enhancement research, the gradual expansion of medical categories, off-label prescription and responsibility of doctors, and accessibility of enhancers on the Internet. It is concluded that further discussion on the advantages and drawbacks of enhancers on a collective social level is still needed. (shrink)

In 2035 global egg demand will have risen 50% from 1985. Because we are not able to tell in the egg whether it will become a male or female chick, billons of one day-old male chicks will be killed. International research initiatives are underway in this area, and governments encourage the development of an alternative with the goal of eliminating the culling of day-old male chicks. The Netherlands holds an exceptional position in the European egg trade, but is also the (...) only country in the European Union where the downside of the egg sector, the practice of killing day-old male chicks, is a recurrent subject of societal debate. ‘Preventing the killing of young animals’ and ‘in ovo sex determination’ are the two alternative approaches available to solve this problem. It is clear that both approaches solve the problem of killing day-old male chicks, either by keeping them alive or by preventing them from living, but they also raise a lot of new animal welfare-related dilemmas. A thorough analysis was undertaken of these dilemmas and the results are presented in this article. The analysis resulted in an ethical framework based on the two main approaches in bioethics: a consequentialist approach and a deontological approach. This ethical framework was used to develop an online survey administered to ascertain Dutch public opinion about these alternative approaches. The results show that neither alternative will be fully accepted, or accepted by more than half of Dutch society. However, the survey does provide an insight into the motives that are important for people’s choice: food safety and a good treatment of animals. Irrespective of the approach chosen, these values should be safeguarded and communicated clearly. (shrink)

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a famous dystopia, frequently called upon in public discussions about new biotechnology. It is less well known that 30 years later Huxley also wrote a utopian novel, called Island. This paper will discuss both novels focussing especially on the role of psychopharmacological substances. If we see fiction as a way of imagining what the world could look like, then what can we learn from Huxley’s novels about psychopharmacology and how does that relate to the (...) discussion in the ethical and philosophical literature on this subject? The paper argues that in the current ethical discussion the dystopian vision on psychopharmacology is dominant, but that a comparison between Brave New World and Island shows that a more utopian view is possible as well. This is illustrated by a discussion of the issue of psychopharmacology and authenticity. The second part of the paper draws some further conclusions for the ethical debate on psychopharmacology and human enhancement, by comparing the novels not only with each other, but also with our present reality. It is claimed that the debate should not get stuck in an opposition of dystopian and utopian views, but should address important issues that demand attention in our real world: those of evaluation and governance of enhancing psychopharmacological substances in democratic, pluralistic societies. (shrink)

Data from various settings suggest that there is an upper limit of about four on the number of individuals who can interact in spontaneous conversation. This limit appears to be a consequence of the mechanisms of speech production and detection. There appear to be no differences between men and women in this respect, other than those introduced by women’s lighter voices.

Background If trials of therapeutic interventions are to serve society's interests, they must be of high methodological quality and must satisfy moral commitments to human subjects. The authors set out to develop a clinical - trials compendium in which standards for the ethical treatment of human subjects are integrated with standards for research methods. Methods The authors rank-ordered the world's nations and chose the 31 with >700 active trials as of 24 July 2008. Governmental and other authoritative entities of the (...) 31 countries were searched, and 1004 English-language documents containing ethical and/or methodological standards for clinical trials were identified. The authors extracted standards from 144 of those: 50 designated as ‘core’, 39 addressing trials of invasive procedures and a 5% sample of the remainder. As the integrating framework for the standards we developed a coherent taxonomy encompassing all elements of a trial's stages. Findings Review of the 144 documents yielded nearly 15 000 discrete standards. After duplicates were removed, 5903 substantive standards remained, distributed in the taxonomy as follows: initiation, 1401 standards, 8 divisions; design, 1869 standards, 16 divisions; conduct, 1473 standards, 8 divisions; analysing and reporting results, 997 standards, four divisions; and post-trial standards, 168 standards, 5 divisions. Conclusions The overwhelming number of source documents and standards uncovered in this study was not anticipated beforehand and confirms the extraordinary complexity of the clinical trials enterprise. This taxonomy of multinational ethical and methodological standards may help trialists and overseers improve the quality of clinical trials, particularly given the globalisation of clinical research. (shrink)

In current dairy farming it is possible to run a profitable farm without having to adapt the system to the needs of dairy cows. In such systems the interests of the farmer and animals often diverge. Consequently, specific animal welfare problems occur. Foot disorders in dairy cattle are an illustrative example resulting from the specific methods of housing and management in current dairy farming. Foot disorders and the resulting lameness are considered the most important welfare problem in dairy farming. However, (...) these foot disorders not only typify welfare problems related to certain housing systems, but they also lead to the premature culling of cows. The assessment of the impact of foot disorders on the welfare of dairy cows raised the question of whether premature culling affects animal welfare since it affects the longevity of a cow. We argue that this aspect of longevity is morally relevant as an animal welfare issue. In this paper we aim to explore whether longevity is both (a) a morally relevant aspect in the discussion on killing animals and (b) a constitutive element of animal welfare. In other words, we aim to explore whether longevity is an independent moral argument in an animal welfare discussion. We claim that longevity is not merely important as an indicator of animal welfare, but is also a constitutive element of animal welfare. We argue that we need a more integrated approach to animal welfare and that an assessment that includes the aspect of time is necessary. This view involves a shift from views on animal welfare in terms of functioning or feeling well to a view on animal welfare that includes the aspect of natural living in which species-specific development is important. To show the impact of these points of view, we look at the practical implications for choices concerning the management of foot disorders in dairy cattle. (shrink)

In a previous paper linking Simondon to biological and systems-theoretical discourses in autopoiesis and debates about contemporary technogenesis, I have argued that Simondon’s ontology of individuation furnishes a basis to theorize the “agency” of the environment that comes to the fore as we humans enter, as we do increasingly today, into alliances with sophisticated, computational technologies.1 In concert with researchers like Andy Clark and N. Katherine Hayles, I embrace the “technical distribution” of cognition and perception as a way of understanding (...) the complex couplings between humans and machines that are typical in our contemporary world, but that have, in fact, been part of human techno-genesis since .. (shrink)

The diverse essays in Joseph Cropsey’s Political Philosophy and the Issues of Politics are unified by their common theme, the complex relationship between thought and politics. The book’s organization reflects its theme, moving from politics to thought. The essays of the first three sections of the book reformulate the way we view ourselves and the political-moral issues confronting us, at the same time that they strengthen our moral resources in the face of our regime’s tendency to weaken them. For example, (...) Cropsey counters the gross hedonism implied in the desire to overcome alienation when he recommends that justice replace alienation as a dominant term in political discourse. Although our regime was originally organized to function without relying on virtue to produce public advantage, Cropsey includes moral virtue, along with legality and raison d’etat, in the elements upon which statesmanship draws. The third section of the book culminates in a critique of the acquisitive egoism of capitalism from the perspective of magnanimity rather than from that of brotherly love. The former perspective favors "the moral fortitude of the individual [and] the community". Cropsey asks, however, "[i]s it possible for a nation simply to adopt the moral principle of its choice?" or do its laws and customs, its defining documents, not imply a morality? Cropsey’s most extensive treatment of the relationship between what constitutes a nation and its capacity for growth through the activity of thought is found in his introductory essay on the American regime. There he shows how a people’s national identity is modified by clarifications and interpretations of a nation’s constitutive documents. The power of thought, however, is not without limit, for the original constitution acts upon its critiques so as to assimilate them to its own moral tendencies. (shrink)