In the last few decades, increasing attention has been given to gender issues in urban design. However, research on the urban environment continues to show large gender inequalities, which are especially evident when studying the use and enjoyment of the public space. This study aims to identify predominant patterns of use in public places and to explore the possible existence of traditional gender roles in the urban space. The study uses, three public spaces in the city of Barcelona as a (...) case study, an innovative combination of systematic observation techniques and network analysis procedures. Variables collected by EXOdES, a dedicated software analysis tool for systematic observation, are represented as nodes of a network system and analyzed using network analysis tools. Findings confirmed that, in spite of the progressive consolidation of feminist urbanism, uses in the public realm resulting from traditional gender roles remained explicitly recognizable. Whereas women’s occupation of space was related to playground and resting areas, generally involving care activities concerned with children or elderly people, men were primarily located in resting and sports areas, practicing sports, or participating in leisure activities. These patterns of use were more prone to emerge when users were part of a group than when they were alone. From a gender perspective, a contribution of the study is that it informed about main aspects of the analyzed public spaces reconfirming the existence of traditional roles in society, and the significance of exploring the public space as a key scenario where social features are explicitly exposed. From a methodological perspective, the processing of observational data with network analysis tools proved to be relevant and suitable for dealing with the intricacies of urban place analysis. Compared to more classical approaches and systems, these techniques allowed to identify and interpret complex systems composed of many variables and relationships in a relatively straightforward manner, which turns it into a useful aid for urban designers and architects. (shrink)

In June 2021, new waves of the current COVID-19 pandemic are still messing up our lives and magnetizing the compass of our life. No other epidemics or pandemics have been politicized at such a level since ancient times. The full political spectrum from right to left has tried to ride this pandemic and upset the public health response efforts. Statistics and politics have changed our daily approach to this brutal infection, but even crueler has been the palpable miscommunication. Massive and (...) uncontrolled lockdowns and not climate change are destroying the economy of our planet. Intolerance against vaccine opponents and hesitant families has been vocalized with martial tones in both social media and news channels. In this book, the author analyzes the pandemic in a historical context, emphasizes the importance of facemasks, but also highlights our human approach to anti-mask psychology. It would be appalling to call mistakes in public health decisions "learned lessons" because it reduces the gravity of the consequences of inadequate communication. Our youth is our future. The mental issues arising from a lack of social interaction and in-person education are dreadful. Vaccines are powerful and represent the most outstanding progress in medicine. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but vaccine acceptance or herd immunity is not the answer, or probably, not the only one. There is true hope that we are going back to our world, but the COVID-19 pandemic may be an occasion to reconsider the traditional family in the center of our lives and daily politics. A tolerance towards any race needs to be contagious, militant, and blazing to vehemently rebuild and revitalize the American Dream. (shrink)

Many authors in the field of Environmental Philosophy have claimed to be inspired by Spinoza's monism, which has traditionally been considered a form of pantheism because nature and God coincide. This idea has deep normative implications, as some environmental ethicists claim that wounding nature is the same as wounding God, which implies a resacralization of nature. In particular, we will focus on Arne Næss's Ecosophy (or Deep Ecology) to offer a current relevant example of the pantheist (or panentheist) worldview. However, (...) a new demarcation distinguishes pantheism from panentheism; in the latter, nature and God belong together but do not fully coincide, as in pantheism. Nevertheless, whether Spinoza is a panentheist, pantheist, or neither has yet to be fully determined, as well as whether his doctrine serves as a proper foundation for an ecology that attempts the aforementioned resacralization of nature. This article attempts to clarify these issues. (shrink)

Asking “What is time?” can be both a simple and a profound question. In this article we intend to introduce the reader to the philosophy of time. To do so, we will deal with McTaggart's paradox. By explaining it and introducing the basic concepts to understand it, we will be able to get an idea of what this branch of philosophy is all about. The main intention of this article is not to explain anything new but to clarify the background (...) of a debate by explaining its roots. By taking a deep dive into the concept of time, we will see that it is not a simple concept at all. In any subsequent possible definition with regards to concepts such time for education or time for ethics, a logical clarification of what time is important and will color all further predication of the concept of time. Considering the impact of digital transformation in our lives in general, and in education in particular, a philosophy of time brings major elements such as paradoxes, which are not of practical character but important for the semantic of the words, such as “duration”, “temporal position” of events, etc. (shrink)

Research suggests that the ability to understand one’s own and others’ minds, or mentalizing, is a key factor for mental health. Most studies have focused the attention on the association between global measures of mentalizing and specific disorders. In contrast, very few studies have analyzed the association between specific mentalizing polarities and global measures of mental health. This study aimed to evaluate whether self and other polarities of mentalizing are associated with a multidimensional notion of mental health, which considers symptoms, (...) functioning, and well-being. Additionally, the level or depth of mentalizing within each polarity was also analyzed. A sample of 214 adolescents was evaluated on measures of self- and other- mentalizing, multi-informed measures of psychopathology and functioning based on Achenbach’s system, and measures of psychological well-being. Results revealed no association between mentalizing polarities and higher-order symptom factors. Self-mentalizing was associated with self-esteem and motivation to life goals, and other-mentalizing was associated to general, social and role functioning. This association between aspects of self-other mentalizing and self-other function has important implications for treatment and prevention. Deeper mentalizing within each polarity revealed stronger associations with functioning and well-being. Because mentalizing polarities are associated with functioning and well-being but not with symptoms, a new hypothesis is developed: mentalizing does not contribute to resiliency by preventing symptoms, but by helping to deal with them, thus improving functioning and well-being independently of psychopathology. These findings support that promoting mentalizing across development may improve mental health, even in non-clinical population. (shrink)

Lloyd (2011) presents highly suggestive results regarding the specificity of the link between particular brain areas and cognitive tasks. Some of his evidence is derived from the analysis of data from the BrainMap database (available: www.brainmap.org), which has become a fundamental resource for the conduct of functional neuroimaging meta-analysis. In the present note, some observations regarding the possibilities and pitfalls of meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging data are given as a complement to Lloyd's excellent exposition of the topic. Additionally, some comments (...) are made on the particular meta-analytic results presented by Lloyd.Functional neuroimaging studies usually present their findings in the form .. (shrink)

This is a reply to G.K. Harrison's article «Hyper Libertarianism and Moral Luck». There he argues for the advantage of hyper-libertarianism upon reason-responsive compatibilism in virtue of its integration of moral luck in a principled way. I shall try to show that his argument is unsound. Crucial to my reply will be that Harrison's idea of moral luck is an unjustifiedly narrow one. Although the aim of establishing an appropriate connection between the issues of moral luck and free will is (...) worth pursuing, I shall argue that moral luck cannot solve the free will dispute in the way Harrison intends. (shrink)

Environmental ethics is often seen as a branch of applied ethics whose task is to offer solutions to emerging ethical dilemmas in the context of ecology. In this paper, we challenge this assumption, showing how the object of environmental ethics raises questions that go beyond that of applied ethics. We explore how the environmental issues bring up the need to inquire into the ontological status of Nature and the place of human beings in it, raising more general and far-reaching questions (...) that do not get entrapped in the mere application. In this regard, it appears that “dwelling”, in its ontological sense, is at the bottom of these questions, creating a bridge between the ontological and the practical realm. Finally, we review classical environmental ethics’ paradigms highlighting the elements that go beyond applied ethics. And so, taking into account the different environmental ethics paradigms, we have two options: reducing the scope of the discipline and exclude the models that exceed it, or reconsidering it as an environmental philosophy tout court. (shrink)

For centuries, the Sorites Paradox has spurred philosophers to think and argue about the problem of vagueness. This volume offers a guide to the paradox which is both an accessible survey and an exposition of the state of the art, with a chapter-by-chapter presentation of all of the main solutions to the paradox and of all its main areas of influence. Each chapter offers a gentle introduction to its topic, gradually building up to a final discussion of some open problems. (...) Students will find a comprehensive guide to the fundamentals of the paradox, together with lucid explanations of the challenges it continues to raise. Researchers will find exciting new ideas and debates on the paradox. (shrink)

One of the main problems that Paul Horwich’s Minimalist theory of truth must face is the generalization problem, which shows that Minimalism is too weak to have the fundamental explanatory role Horwich claims it has. In this paper, I defend Horwich’s response to the generalization problem from an objection raised by Bradley Armour-Garb. I also argue that, given my response to Armour-Garb, Horwich’s proposal to cope with the generalization problem can be simplified. -/- L’un des principaux problèmes auxquels la théorie (...) minimaliste de la vérité de Paul Horwich doit faire face est le problème de la généralisation. Horwich soutient que le minimalisme a un rôle explicatif fondamental, mais le problème de la généralisation montre que cette théorie est trop faible pour tenir ce rôle. Dans cet article, je défends la réponse d’Horwich au problème de la généralisation à partir d’une objection soulevée par Bradley Armour-Garb. Je prétends également que ma réponse à Armour-Grab nous permet de formuler d’une manière plus simple la réponse d’Horwich au problème de la généralisation. (shrink)

In this paper I introduce Horwich’s deflationary theory of truth, called ‘Minimalism’, and I present his proposal of how to cope with the Liar Paradox. The proposal proceeds by restricting the T-schema and, as a consequence of that, it needs a constructive specification of which instances of the T-schema are to be excluded from Minimalism. Horwich has presented, in an informal way, one construction that specifies the Minimalist theory. The main aim of the paper is to present and scrutinize some (...) formal versions of Horwich’s construction. (shrink)

This edited collection presents the state of the art in research related to lexical combinations and their restrictions in Spanish from a variety of theoretical approaches, ranging from Explanatory Combinatorial Lexicology to Distributed Morphology and Generative Lexicon Theory. Section 1 offers a presentation of the main theoretical and descriptive approaches to collocation. Section 2 explores collocation from the point of view of its lexicographical representation, while Section 3 offers a pedagogical perspective. Section 4 surveys current research on collocation in Catalan, (...) Galician and Basque. Collocations and other lexical combinations in Spanish will be of interest to students of Hispanic linguistics. ". (shrink)

While a growing number of works have been published about the use of mixed methods research in nursing, scarce attention has been devoted to the issue of the quality of mixed methods within the discipline. The quality appraisal of mixed methods research poses two problems to nursing science: first, current quality criteria are not nursing‐specific and consequently, they might not facilitate the application of mixed methods research findings into nursing practice. Second, criteria were theoretically derived and as such, they might (...) not faithfully account for the decisions that nurse researchers take when appraising mixed methods research studies. This qualitative, within‐case study explored the views of nurse researchers about mixed methods research in general and, more specifically, the question of quality in mixed methods research. An international sample of 13 nurse researchers was interviewed via Skype and phone. Thematic analysis revealed that the participants favored universal, cross‐disciplinary quality criteria, and not criteria specific to the nursing discipline, and a consensual and standardized approach to appraising the quality of mixed methods research. Recommendations are put forward to strengthen the quality appraisal of mixed methods research studies by nurse researchers, as well as future works on this topic within nursing science. (shrink)

In (2010), John Shand presents a challenge to the intuitive view that a wrong act performed intentionally is always morally worse, and then more culpable, than that same act performed unintentionally, so that the opposite can hold in certain circumstances. My aim here is to dissolve any appearance of paradox or counter-intuitiveness of the phenomenon in question by articulating an alternative explanation which rests upon a (plausible and helpful) distinction between two significantly different kinds of moral assessment.

El objetivo del presente artículo es enfocarse en la idea de profundidad desarrollada por Arne Næss, que tiene que ver con su metodología de investigación y con algunas de sus implicaciones antropológicas/cosmológicas. Lejos de ser una dimensión meramente psicológica (como sostiene Warwick Fox), el tema de la profundidad es, en la filosofía de, un tema metodológico y ontológico, que fundamenta y constituye el marco teórico del Movimiento de la Ecología Profunda. No podemos interpretar el tema de la “profundidad” sin tener (...) en cuenta la “ontología relacional” que el mismo Næss ha desarrollado, en la que el “self ecológico” constituye una “unión relacional dentro del campo total”. A partir de este punto de vista, entonces, podemos interpretar la historia del Movimiento de la Ecología Profunda (y su futuro), ilustrando su política a la luz del tema de la profundidad. (shrink)

Este trabajo es un ejercicio de aproximación a la bildung de un personaje, Simón Rodríguez. La bildung de un extaño según nuestra mirada. Un ejercicio otro, distinto, al menos, sobre un venezolano, latinoamericano por antonomasia, un pensador cosmopolita; del cual se ha dicho que fue el filósofo (el Sócrates de Caracas y/o de América), un político, un educador. En él realizamos una suerte de hermenéutica del texto escrito, narrado, y de la acción contada por testigos oculares. La carta, la biografía, (...) el ensayo filosófico y pedagógico no sirvieron de pretextos para presentar a un Rodríguez, además del estraño, escritor. Finalmente, puede decirse, que se intenta contribuir, en alguna medida, con el estudio de la vida, del pensamiento y de la obra del así llamado, Don Simón Rodríguez. (shrink)

Riassunto: Nel presente articolo si analizzerà come, a fronte del paradigma transumanista che opera per una progressiva inclusione dell’uomo nel suo stesso processo di ‘miglioramento’ del mondo, è sempre più pressante la domanda sulla dinamica tra verità (truth) e fiducia (trust) nella relazione uomo-macchina e nella riflessione etica degli enti che orientano gli odierni processi di innovazione bio-tecnologica. Le visioni che emergono – frutto rispettivamente del paradigma transumanista e di un’ecologia umana che restituisce all’uomo il senso della sua storia e (...) del suo vivere in relazione – non sono banalmente antitetiche: poggiano su due visioni dell’uomo scientifico profondamente diverse. Si propone quindi che un modo costruttivo per coniugare verità e fiducia nella nostra società contemporanea, dipenderà sempre più dall’idea di uomo che con la scienza vogliamo servire, coniugando il progresso bio-tecnologico con l’incompletezza biologica che caratterizza l’uomo. Parole chiave: Transumanesimo; Estraneità; Dignità; Verità; Fiducia. Resumen: Analizaremos cómo, ante el paradigma transhumanista, que intenta incluir al ser humano en el proceso de “mejora” del mundo, es cada vez más apremiante la pregunta por la relación entre la verdad (truth) y la confianza (trust). Nos referimos a la relación entre una narrativa verdadera sobre la tecnología y la confianza que en dicha tecnología podemos depositar. Esta pregunta se plantea en el ámbito de la relación hombre-máquina, así como en la reflexión ética sobre la innovación biotecnológica. Emergen aquí dos visiones, que no son simplemente antitéticas: la propia del paradigma transhumanista y la propia de una ecología humana que nos devuelve el sentido histórico y social de nuestra vida. Estas dos visiones se corresponden también con dos concepciones profundamente diferentes del ser humano. Entendemos, pues, que una forma constructiva de combinar la verdad y la confianza en nuestra sociedad contemporánea dependerá cada vez más de la idea de ser humano a la que la ciencia pretenda servir. Para servir realmente al ser humano, la ciencia habrá de combinar el progreso biotecnológico con la incompletitud biológica que nos caracteriza. Palabras clave: transhumanismo; extrañeza; dignidad; verdad; confianza. (shrink)

Graham Priest has influentially claimed that the Sorites paradox is an Inclosure paradox, concluding that his favored dialetheic solution to the Inclosure paradoxes should be extended to the Sorites paradox. We argue that, given Priest’s dialetheic solution to the Sorites paradox, the argument purporting to show that that paradox is an Inclosure is unsound, and discuss some issues surrounding this fact.

This paper argues that the traditional characterization of the notion of paradox — an apparently valid argument with apparently true premises and an apparently false conclusion — is too narrow; there are paradoxes that do not satisfy it. After discussing, and discarding, some alternatives, an outline of a new characterization of the notion of paradox is presented. A paradox is found to be an apparently valid argument such that, apparently, it does not present the kind of commitment to the conclusion (...) that should be implied by an acceptance of the truth of the premises and the validity of the argument. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the relevance of adequate decision making at both public health and healthcare levels. A bioethical response to the demand for medical care, supplies and access to critical care is needed. Ethically sound strategies are required for the allocation of increasingly scarce resources, such as rationing critical care beds. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the so-called ‘last bed dilemma’. In this paper, we examine this dilemma, pointing out the main criteria used to solve it and (...) argue that we cannot face these ethical issues as though they are only a dilemma. A more complex ethical view regarding the care of COVID-19 patients that is focused on proportional and ordinary treatments is required. Furthermore, discussions and forward planning are essential because deliberation becomes extremely complex during an emergency and the physicians’ sense of responsibility may be increased if it is faced only as a moral dilemma. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to focus on the idea of depth developed by Arne Næss, which is related both to his research methodology and some of its anthropological/cosmological implications. Far from being purely a psychological dimension, in Næss’s perspective, the subject of depth is a methodological and ontological issue that underpins and lays the framework for the deep ecology movement. We cannot interpret the question of “depth” without considering the “relational ontology” that he himself has developed in which (...) the “ecological self” is viewed as a “relational union within the total field.” Based on this point of view, I propose that we are able to reinterpret the history of the deep ecology movement and its future, while rereading its politics, from the issue of depth. (shrink)

Este artículo se ocupa de reconstruir y evaluar los principales argumentos epicúreos contra la idea de que la muerte es un mal para quien muere. Para combatir la vida angustiada por el temor a la muerte, Epicuro y Lucrecio despliegan una serie de razonamientos que aspiran a mostrar la irracionalidad o falta de justificación de este temor. Compartiendo la idea de que una vida eudaimónica requiere que asumamos nuestra naturaleza mortal, se defiende, sin embargo, que esto no nos fuerza a (...) aceptar la tesis mucho más radical de que “la muerte no es nada para nosotros”. En particular, se arguye que los argumentos discutidos invalidan el temor al hecho mismo de estar muerto, pero no otros temores a no seguir viviendo. (shrink)

La psiquiatría nace con el siglo XIX, la fenomenología con el XX. Desde el advenimiento de la segunda ha querido la primera ver en ella una vía para la superación del positivismo que la atenazaba desde su mismo origen. Uno de sus intentos más logrados fue el del psiquiatra Ludwig Binswanger a lo largo de los años veinte del pasado siglo. Recorrió en ese tiempo las Investigaciones lógicas de Husserl y ensayó su acercamiento a la psicología estructural. Proponemos que una (...) deficiente lectura de las posibilidades de la fenomenología ―comprensible en su prematuridad, desgraciada en su ímpetu anti-(neo)kantiano― impidió que reconociera su horizonte trascendental y así pudiera entrever caminos de acceso al mundo, a la persona y a su concreto sufrimiento. Para concluir presentamos el intento que supone el proyecto La mirada filosófica como mirada médica por recuperar aquella problematicidad y ahondar en una aproximación respetuosa al padecer, tal como aparece, sin violentarlo por el concepto. (shrink)

This study explored the challenges of informed consent and understanding of the research process among Black and Latino men under community supervision. Between February and October 2012, we conducted cognitive face-to-face interviews using open-ended questions on the significant areas of research participation among 259 men aged 35 to 67 under community supervision in Bronx, New York. Content analysis of the open-ended questions revealed limited knowledge concerning the understanding of research participation. The study participants appeared to generally understand concepts such as (...) compensation after research participation and confidentiality. Participants demonstrated a lack of understanding of certain aspects of the research process—informed consent, human subject, Institutional Review Board, and clinical trials. These findings are informative to researchers conducting studies with criminal justice populations and Institutional Review Boards reviewing research studies. (shrink)

Quien esto escribe no tiene manías o predilecciones aristocráticas. Al contrario, siempre se ha obstinado en creer que no vale menos la gente de los lugares que la más encopetada de la corte. Mutatis mutandis, todo le parece lo mismo: la mujer del alcalde es igual a una emperatriz o reina, la del escribano equivale a la duquesa más en moda de Madrid y el majo Fulanito se le antoja más brioso y gallardo, buen jinete, seductor, afable y ameno que (...) el más perfecto dandy de cuantos ha conocido.. (shrink)

In recent years, some authors have proposed quantitative measures of the coherence of sets of propositions. Such probabilistic measures of coherence (PMCs) are, in general terms, functions that take as their argument a set of propositions (along with some probability distribution) and yield as their value a number that is supposed to represent the degree of coherence of the set. In this paper, I introduce a minimal constraint on PMC theories, the weak stability principle, and show that any correct, coherent, (...) and complete PMC cannot satisfy it. As a matter of fact, the argument offered in this paper can be applied to any coherence theory that uses a priori procedures. I briefly explore some consequences of this fact. (shrink)