Volume 24, Issue 7, July 2024, Page 6-12.

We propose a biochemical mechanism for celiac disease and non‐celiac gluten sensitivity that may rationalize many of the extradigestive disorders not explained by the current immunogenetic model. Our hypothesis is based on the homology between the 33‐mer gliadin peptide and a component of the NMDA glutamate receptor ion channel – the human GRINA protein – using BLASTP software. Based on this homology the 33‐mer may act as a natural antagonist interfering with the normal interactions of GRINA and its partners. The (...) theory is supported by numerous independent data from the literature, and provides a mechanistic link with otherwise unrelated disorders, such as cleft lip and palate, thyroid dysfunction, restless legs syndrome, depression, ataxia, hearing loss, fibromyalgia, dermatitis herpetiformis, schizophrenia, toxoplasmosis, anemia, osteopenia, Fabry disease, Barret's adenocarcinoma, neuroblastoma, urinary incontinence, recurrent miscarriage, cardiac anomalies, reduced risk of breast cancer, stiff person syndrome, etc. The hypothesis also anticipates better animal models, and has the potential to open new avenues of research. (shrink)

ABSTRACT:While the literature on psychedelic medicine emphasizes the importance of set and setting alongside the quality of subjective drug effects for therapeutic efficacy, few scholars have explored the therapeutic frameworks that are used alongside psychedelics in the lab or in the clinic. Based on a narrative analysis of the treatment manual and post-session experience reports from a pilot study of psilocybin-assisted treatment for tobacco smoking cessation, this article examines how therapeutic frameworks interact with the psychedelic substance in ways that can (...) rapidly reshape participants' identity and sense of self. We identified multiple domains relating to identity shift that appear to serve as smoking cessation mechanisms during psilocybin sessions, each of which had an identifiable presence in the manualized treatment. As psychedelic medicine becomes mainstream, consensual and evidence-based approaches to psychedelic-assisted identity shift that respect patient autonomy and encourage empowerment should become areas of focus in the emergent field of psychedelic bioethics. (shrink)

Ketamine is a dissociative drug that has been used medically since the 1970s primarily as an anesthetic agent but also for various psychiatric applications. Anecdotal reports and clinical research suggest substantial potential for ketamine as a treatment in conjunction with psychological interventions. Here, we review historical and modern approaches to the use of ketamine with psychotherapy, discuss the clinical relevance of ketamine’s acute psychoactive effects, propose a unique model for using esketamine with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and suggest considerations for (...) moving medication-assisted psychotherapy forward as a field. (shrink)

The use of the circle to signify wine was common medieval logicians. The author of this article studies the true sense in which those masters used it, making use of literature and the work of great logicians, such as Albert of Saxony and William of Ockham, to do so.

This article examines the account of the relationship between sin and suffering provided by J. L. A. Garcia in “Sin and Suffering in a Catholic Understanding of Medical Ethics,” in this issue. Garcia draws on the (Roman) Catholic tradition and particularly on the thought of Thomas Aquinas, who remains an important resource for Catholic theology. Nevertheless, his interpretation of Thomas is open to criticism, both in terms of omissions and in terms of positive claims. Garcia includes those (...) elements of Thomas that are purely philosophical, such as natural law and acquired virtue, but neglects the theological and infused virtues, the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, and the beatitudes. These omissions distort his account of the Christian life so that he underplays both the radical problem posed by sin (and suffering), and the radical character of the ultimate solution: redemption in Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit. (shrink)

The Averroistic Monopsychism could not be incorporated to the Christian thought to darken the idea of the immortality of the personal soul. Albert the Great, tries to make a synthesis of the Arab doctrines and the Doctrine of Divine Illumination. The conclusion is a proposal -not systematize- but where it is possible to found the distinction at personal level between intellect agent and possible intellect, in analogous way to the distinction essence/act of being.

La realización del sí mismo representa un cometido que interpela a nuestra propia identidad humana. La heterogeneidad y riqueza de las voces que hablan sobre el cómo responder a ello demandan una deliberación atenta y mesurada. Para algunos, esta tarea supone un alto costo intersubjetivo que eventualmente nos vemos orillados a pagar. Para otros, es apremiante establecer un límite a tal importe para, precisamente, salvaguardar al sí mismo. En esta escena, la propuesta reflexiva de Albert Camus nos ofrece un (...) sensato balance que nos permite situar las coordenadas en las que la conducción de la particular existencia se traduce en una realización compartida. (shrink)

La tarea que supone elaborarse a sí mismo conlleva un desafío que constantemente nos pone a prueba, pero cuando el costo de este cometido se deposita en la espalda de alguien más, hasta desvalorizarlo, menoscabarlo y anularlo, tiene lugar la inquietante experiencia de la humillación. El presente texto se propone indagar sobre esta manera de proceder, en la que un deformado anhelo de la consecución de sí reclama la humillación del otro. De la mano de Albert Camus, Cornelius Castoriadis (...) y Richard Rorty, el trabajo ofrece una mirada que insiste en el mérito de una constitución de sí sin disminuir al otro, pues, ante una escena de esta naturaleza, el juicio crítico se ve comprometido a dar una respuesta que sea capaz de reivindicar el valor de nuestra condición humana, frente a las iniciativas que pretenden desestimarla. (shrink)

El presente texto ofrece un examen sobre la correspondencia que existe entre el deterioro moral y el comportamiento hostil. Con este propósito, la reflexión transita por la querella de carácter ético que tiene lugar en La peste de Albert Camus y por el desvelamiento de una violencia contemporánea que se viste bajo el aspecto de una apremiante autoafirmación de sí, un destape que Byung-Chul Han lleva a cabo en su Topología de la violencia. La llamada que ambos autores lanzan (...) sobre la disposición del espíritu humano que resulta capaz de confirmar este sombrío vínculo o de emanciparnos de él, se convierte en un cometido ante el que el juicio crítico necesita responder. (shrink)

El pensamiento filosófico de Camus coloca al tema de la vida y su sentido en el centro de toda reflexión pertinente para el existir humano. Efectivamente, la vida y lo que hace de ella un suceso valioso ocupa al entendimiento para responder ante los hechos que parecen reducir la existencia humana a un evento inquietantemente insignificante. Esto es precisamente lo que produce la experiencia de lo absurdo, cuyo proceder comporta un aspecto deshumanizador que logra ponerse de manifiesto a través de (...) acontecimientos muy puntuales que alertan y miden el alcance de nuestra comprensión. En Camus, la referencia a vivencias como la del totalitarismo moderno advierten un modo peculiar, y hasta entonces desconocido, de violentar la vida humana hasta un punto en el que, frente a lo descabellado de los hechos, el pensamiento queda como acallado. No obstante, el juicio crítico se vuelve más urgente, sobre todo, cuando notamos que la psicología que subyace a estas prácticas se reproduce en nuestra época bajo otras formas igual de brutales y preocupantemente alarmantes, como lo es el caso de la tortura institucionalizada. En este sentido, es posible que la crítica de Camus sea tan efectiva ahora como en su tiempo, particularmente, cuando la práctica de la vida comporta un aspecto hostil que a la vez pone a prueba a nuestro discernimiento y a nuestra capacidad de coexistir. (shrink)

La riqueza de una dimensión humana como la libertad merece el compromiso de cuidar de ella, y nuestra manera de atender a esta tarea pone a prueba el valor que le conferimos a nuestro propio ser. El pasar por alto este cometido se traduce en una experiencia de atropello, que termina por enrolarnos a todos en un interminable ciclo de hostilidad. Albert Camus nos ofrece una mirada que nos permite reconocer el mérito de ocuparnos de nuestro ser libre, sin (...) atribuirle a nuestra libertad un carácter absoluto bajo el que se esconde la intención de obtener un provecho sobre los demás. De manera que nuestra libertad se realiza en la medida en que nos proporciona un bien que no es monopolio de ninguno, al contrario, beneficia a cada quién en tanto que lo hemos alcanzado en conjunto. (shrink)

Presents a guide to the basics of quantum mechanics and measurement.

As the subtitle “A Syncretistic Account of Fictional Entities” makes clear, Alberto Voltolini intends in this book to argue for a syncretic view of the ontology and the semantics of fiction. In the process, he offers sympathetic and clear presentations of the main contenders in the field, discussing first ontological matters (chapters 1–4) and then semantic questions (chapters 5–6), and concluding with an ‘ontological’ argument for the allegedly syncretic brand of realism about fictional entities he has by then endorsed. The (...) book will therefore be very useful for all those who want to have a guided overview of the state of the art in the field, and very helpful if used as a main text for an introductory graduate course. (shrink)

In the seventh and most recent edition of their classic book, Principles of Biomedical Ethics, Tom Beauchamp and James Childress define a virtue as a character trait that is “socially valuable and reliably present” and a moral virtue as such a trait that is also both “dispositional” and “morally valuable”. The virtues that they single out as “focal” within biomedical ethics are compassion, discernment, trustworthiness, integrity, and conscientiousness. Not all is well in their treatment of virtue. Beauchamp and Childress seem (...) to worry that an ethical theory in which virtues are fundamental will neglect duties, rights, and societal needs. Further, they insist that there is no reason to think that, within ethical theory, one family of ethical concepts is the most important, nor that one theoretical approach is correct, or even superior to others. I will try to show, that there are strong reasons to see language, concepts, and matters of virtue as fundamental within normative ethical theory, both generally and in such specialized subareas as medical ethics. These reasons reveal themselves when we analyze concepts at the core of the alternative approaches to theorizing ethics that Beauchamp and Childress identify. (shrink)

Transference theorists propose to explain causation in terms of the transference of a physical element. I argue, in two steps, that this is not possible. First, I show that available accounts of ‘transference’ ultimately convey that transference -and, consequently, causation- is the (non-relational) identity over time of the transferred element (a universal, a trope, or even an absolute substance). But, second, I try to defend, it is conceptually impossible that causation is (non-relational) identity.

Two leaves of typescript and 7 leaves of galley proofs with corrections in Einstein's hand for the article "Relativity" in American Peoples Encyclopedia.

The author builds a realistic theory of democracy to end the false idea that corruption, state crime, and public immorality are democracy's products, not the natural and inevitable fruits of oligarchic regimes. Important theories of the state and constitution exist, but none can be called a theory of democracy.

(2001). Disability: Societal Responses to Difference and Interdisciplinary Interventions by Bioethicists. The American Journal of Bioethics: Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 62-63.

In this article, we illustrate experimentally an important consequence of the stochastic component in choice behaviour which has not been acknowledged so far. Namely, its potential to produce ‘regression to the mean’ (RTM) effects. We employ a novel approach to individual choice under risk, based on repeated multiple-lottery choices (i.e. choices among many lotteries), to show how the high degree of stochastic variability present in individual decisions can distort crucially certain results through RTM effects. We demonstrate the point in the (...) context of a social comparison experiment. (shrink)

This essay asks if there is a role for an active public in ratcheting down the harsh politics of crime control in the United States and the United Kingdom that has led to increased use of the criminal law and greater severity in punishment. It considers two opposing answers offered by political and legal theorists and then begins to develop a participatory democratic framework for institutional reform.

RESUMENInforme bibliográfico de las obras de Maurice Merleau-Ponty hasta 1996, que revisa y actualiza repertorios anteriores. El informe incluye también trabajos inéditos y documentos de su legado personal.PALABRAS CLAVEMERLEAU-PONTY-FILOSOFIA FRANCESA-FENOMENOLOGIAABSTRACTBibliographical report of Maurice Merleau-Ponry's works up to 1996, wich revises and updates previous bibliographies. The report also includes unpublished papers and documents from his personal legacy. KEYWORDSMERLEAU-PONTY- FRENCH PHILOSOPHY-PHENOMENOLOGY.

RESUMENLa interpretación actual de la ciencia cartesiana ya no concibe ésta como una mera deducción desde los principios metafísicos, sino que reivindica el papel de la experiencia en ella. El presente artículo tratará de dar un paso más, defendiendo que existe una dimensión instrumental en la ciencia cartesiana. Para ello, se analizará la modificación que Descartes realiza en la Dióptrica de la relación artificial-natural y que posibilita una lectura instrumentalista.PALABRAS CLAVEDESCARTES, ARTIFICIAL, NATURAL, INSTRUMENTALISMO, CIENCIAABSTRACTThe current interpretation of the Cartesian science (...) no longer sees it as a mere deduction from the metaphysical principles, but claims the role of experience in it. This paper will try to go one step further, arguing that there is an instrumental dimension in the Cartesian science. With this purpose in mind, we will analyze the modification performed by Descartes in the Dioptrics regarding the artifitial-natural relation, which enables this instrumentalist reading.KEYWORDS DESCARTES, ARTIFICIAL, NATURAL, INSTRUMENTALISM, SCIENCE. (shrink)

Resumen:Por un lado, el trabajo pretende mostrar de qué modo el “tono” de Arendt en sus trabajos académicos, tal y como lo señalara Scholem en una de sus misivas críticas a la autora, lejos de ser frívolo o burlón (como se apuntaba en esa crítica) produce una brecha perturbadora, por la cual los lectores y las lectoras de Hannah Arendt pueden desvelar hipocresías y actuar con una nueva responsabilidad. Por otro lado, el artículo señala diversos conceptos filosóficos, algunos ya sometidos (...) a investigación por Arendt, que en sí mismos presentan la fuerza de crear un mundo y unos seres humanos, con la energía teórica y real necesaria como para transformarlos: “pensar”, “actuar”, “amar”, son algunos de ellos. En este último sendero, utilizaremos la ayuda de sus discípulas, Fina Birulés y Marina Garcés.Palabras clave: Hannah Arendt; Tono; Filosofía moral; Responsabilidad; Compasión; Historia. (shrink)