Several scholars have argued that Leibniz’s infinite analysis theory of contingency faces the Problem of Lucky Proof. This problem will be discussed here and a solution offered, trying to show that Leibniz’s proof-theory does not generate the alleged paradox. It will be stressed that only the opportunity to be proved by God, and not by us, is relevant to the issue of modality. At the heart of our proposal lies the claim that, on the one hand, Leibniz’s individual concepts are (...) saturated conceptual conjunctions, i.e., infinite conjunctions that contain either the concept itself or its privation for every primitive concept; and that, on the other hand, also certain universal concepts of states and acts are infinite conjunctions of primitive concepts and privations, even if insaturated ones. This will suffice to allow that some truths regarding individuals can’t be demonstrated, although they are included in the concept of their subject. (shrink)

Politicians around the globe wrangle about how to deal with trade imbalances. In the Eurozone, members running a trade deficit accuse members running a surplus of forcing them into deficit. Yet pol...

SummaryThe aim of this article is to shed light on the methodological relationship between the history of ideas and the history of emotions, starting from the conception of weeping in the eighteenth-century French reflection. This period was critical for the defining of the modern concept of emotion because it encompassed the development of a new aesthetic and moral code centred on the exasperation of sensitivity and an exaggerated use of tears. This study brings out, in terms of methodology, the importance (...) that the analysis of tears assumed from two points of view: on the one hand, it places the problem in a framework determined by history and culture (the object of study for the history of emotions); on the other, it recognises the unavoidable axiological and moral element that characterised crying (the object of study for the history of ideas). After a brief reconstruction of the discussion of tears in the history of emotion—from the histoire des mentalités to the ‘emotional turn’—and in the history of ideas, respectively, the article outlines some potential areas for research in an interdisciplinary perspective. (shrink)

The paper presents a Peircean criticism of Wittgenstein’s views on death. By exploring the notion of ‘limit’ central to both Wittgenstein and Peirce, the paper claims that a Peircean pragmatic notion of death can retain the advantages of Wittgenstein’s ‘limit’ notion of death without incurring the shortcomings of the latter, which I identify with semantic and metaphysical externality. I conclude by sketching out some consequences of the Peircean view for a metaphysics of death.

Cuando hablamos de iconos nos referimos a representaciones que producen un cierto impacto en nosotros aunque no sean perfectas; del icono se esperan armonía, belleza, simplicidad. Cuando el icono no es una imagen sino una persona humana, se convierte en referente: observamos aspectos de su personalidad con los que nos identificamos aunque nos coincidan exactamente con los nuestros. A lo largo de la historia de la ciencia, las mujeres han sido iconos referenciales fundamentalmente por dos cosas, su calidad humana y (...) su excelencia científica. (shrink)

En este estudio se intenta comprender el asociativismo deportivo de mujeres, en el contexto de un deporte dicho masculino; se trata de una investigación etnográfica junto a un equipo de futsal femenino de la ciudad de Porto Alegre, en Brasil. Conducidos por el objetivo de comprender cómo y por qué algunas mujeres se asocian para practicar un deporte socialmente considerado como masculino, constatamos que el asociativismo estudiado se vincula al placer de la práctica deportiva y a la homosexualidad. Identificamos una (...) heterogeneidad en lo que se refiere a la forma de vivir el deporte y nos percatamos de que, en ese universo, la homosexualidad es vivida, pero se le da una visibilidad controlada; observamos, también, que el contexto deportivo estudiado se constituye en un espacio de ocio particular, donde la homosexualidad se acepta, siendo, por lo tanto, un espacio privilegiado para que las mujeres homosexuales vivan sus momentos de ocio. (shrink)

This article provides a contribution to the concept of a peace ethics which understands human peacemaking as a churchly practice accepting and joining in God's reconciling works. From a pacifist stance, the author argues that ecclesial ethics allows a forceful reframing of the just war tradition as it is developed in the largely unknown Reformed confessions of the l61 h century. A theological exploration of the peace church's pathos drives the author towards a rediscovery of the church's central worshiping practices, (...) such as eucharist, as distinctively peacemaking practices. Following John Calvin's and Karl Barth's ethical account, the mode of peacemaking is defined as a hastening that waits. (shrink)

This paper examines the philosophical discourse surrounding the role of models in bioinspired disciplines, focusing on biorobotics as a case study. I address the ongoing debate on the distinctions between ‘model of’ and ‘model for’ within the context of biomimetics, a field that seeks inspiration from nature to address different scientific and technological goals. I will develop the argument that in biorobotics it is quite impossible to indicate what a model per se is. Instead, a bio-inspired model, such as a (...) robot, can be seen as a ‘model for’ or a ‘model of’, depending on the epistemic activity and scientific and technological game (in the sense of Wittgenstein) this is part of. By doing so, I contribute to the broader discussion on modelling practices as well as to exploring the epistemology of biomimetics. First, I outline biomimetics’ peculiarities and address mimetic symmetry, the challenge of integrating bio-inspired technologies into biological systems. Second, I recall the distinction between ‘model for’ and ‘model of’. Third, I examine biorobotics’ modelling practices. Fourth, I explore the interconnection of ‘model for’ and ‘model of’ in biorobotics. Fifth, using the notion of technological game (Wittgenstein) and epistemic actions (Chang), I investigate reconsider the mimetic asymmetry problem. (shrink)

RESUMEN El presente artículo tiene por objetivo realizar una breve reflexión sobre la propuesta filosófica de Peter Sloterdijk a partir del concepto de "hiperpolítica". Para tal fin, comenzaremos por analizar su esquema de tres etapas históricas y sus correspondientes modelos políticos de referencia. A partir de lo anterior, problematizaremos qué quiere decir concretamente el prefijo hiper-, lo cual nos conducirá a la emergencia de un nuevo prefijo rector de lo político que aparece en su obra posterior: a saber, lo antro-político (...) y el protagonismo de la antropo-técnica, como prisma comprensivo y alternativa de acción para las actuales sociedades posindustriales y postmetafísicas. ABSTRACT This article aims to make a brief reflection on the philosophical proposal of Peter Sloterdijk from the concept of "Hiperpolitics". For that end, we'll start analizing his scheme of three historical stages and their corresponding political reference models. From the above, we'll problematize what exactly does the prefix "hyper" mean, which will lead us to the emergence of a new governing prefix of the political that appears in his later work: namely, the antro-political and the protagonism of the anthropo-technical as comprehensive prism and action alternative for actual postindustrial and postmetaphysical societies. (shrink)

Presentation to the ethic@'s issue: n. 01, v. 19, (2020).

Love and pride are passions related to ideas of entities capable of well-being. In the case of love, those entities are people we are related to, whose characters, qualities or traits we admire; pride, by its turn, is a passion related to the self. In spite of that, Hume is explicit in stating that love is naturally attended by a desire for the goodness and happiness of the beloved being; but it does not make sense to say that we desire (...) our own happiness and well-being because we are proud of ourselves. How can we explain this asymmetry? First, I will deal with the problem of the contrast between the unrelatedness of the emotion of pride and the desire of our own happiness and the relatedness of passion of love and the desire of happiness of the beloved person. After, I will link the conclusions reached with Hume’s famous claim that we cannot be happy in solitude. Our own happiness depends not only on our own well-being and success, but also on the well-being and happiness of the people we love, and both of which are related to the well functioning of society in the long run. (shrink)

BRAUNSTEIN, Jean-François. La philosophie devenue folle. Le genre, l’animal, la mort. Paris: Grasset, 2018. 400 p. ISBN 9782246811930.

Background: Existing ethical guidelines recommend that, all else equal, past receipt of a medical resource (e.g. a scarce organ) should not be considered in current allocation decisions (e.g. a repeat transplantation).DiscussionOne stated reason for this ethical consensus is that formal theories of ethics and justice do not persuasively accept or reject repeated access to the same medical resources. Another is that restricting attention to past receipt of a particular medical resource seems arbitrary: why couldn't one just as well, it is (...) argued, consider receipt of other goods such as income or education? In consequence, simple allocation by lottery or first-come-first-served without consideration of any past receipt is thought to best afford equal opportunity, conditional on equal medical need. There are three issues with this view that need to be addressed. First, public views and patient preferences are less ambiguous than formal theories of ethics. Empirical work shows strong preferences for fairness in health care that have not been taken into account: repeated accessto resources has been perceived as unfair. Second, while difficult to consider receipt of many other prior resources including non-medical resources, this should not be used a motive for ignoring the receipt of any and all goods including the focal resource in question. Third, when all claimants to a scarce resource are equally deserving, then use of random allocation seems warranted. However, the converse is not true: mere use of a randomizer does not by itself make the merits of all claimants equal.SummaryMy conclusion is that not ignoring prior receipt of the same medical resource, and prioritizing those who have not previously had access to the medical resource in question, may be perceived as fairer and more equitable by society. (shrink)