The origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is the subject of many hypotheses. One of them, proposed by Segreto and Deigin, assumes artificial chimeric construction of SARS‐CoV‐2 from a backbone of RaTG13‐like CoV and receptor binding domain (RBD) of a pangolin MP789‐like CoV, followed by serial cell or animal passage. Here we show that this hypothesis relies on incorrect or weak assumptions, and does not agree with the results of comparative genomics analysis. The genetic divergence between SARS‐CoV‐2 (...) and both its proposed ancestors is too high to have accumulated in a lab, given the timeframe of several years. Furthermore, comparative analysis of S‐protein gene sequences suggests that the RBD of SARS‐CoV‐2 probably represents an ancestral non‐recombinant variant. These and other arguments significantly weaken the hypothesis of a laboratory origin for SARS‐CoV‐2, while the hypothesis of a natural origin is consistent with all available genetic and experimental data. (shrink)

The causative agent of COVID‐19 SARS‐CoV‐2 has led to over 4 million deaths worldwide. Understanding the origin of this coronavirus is important for the prevention of future outbreaks. The dominant point of view that the virus transferred to humans either directly from bats or through an intermediate mammalian host has been challenged by Segreto and Deigin, who claim that the genome of SARS‐CoV‐2 has certain features suggestive of its artificial creation. Following their response to our commentary, here we continue the (...) discussion of the proposed arguments for this hypothesis. We show that neither the existence of a furin cleavage site in SARS‐CoV‐2, nor the presence of specific sequences within the nucleotide insertion encoding that site are evidence for intelligent design. We also explain why existing genetic data, viral diversity and past human history suggest that a natural origin of the virus is the most likely scenario. Genetic evidence suggesting otherwise is yet to be presented. (shrink)

Feedback loops have been identified in a variety of regulatory systems and organisms. While feedback loops of the same type (negative or positive) tend to have properties in common, they can play distinctively diverse roles in different regulatory systems, where they can affect virulence in a pathogenic bacterium, maturation patterns of vertebrate oocytes and transitions through cell cycle phases in eukaryotic cells. This review focuses on the properties and functions of positive feedback in biological systems, including bistability, hysteresis and activation (...) surges. BioEssays 30:542–555, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

States are rapidly modifying law and policy to increase access to the opioid antidote naloxone, and the provision of naloxone rescue kits for use in the event of overdose is becoming increasingly common. As of late 2014 the majority of states had passed laws increasing naloxone access, and nearly as many have modified emergency responder scope of practice protocols to permit Emergency Medical Technicians and law enforcement officers to administer the medication. While the text of these laws is generally similar, (...) their implementation varies among states.This article outlines experiences and lessons learned from two diverse states, Massachusetts and North Carolina. In Massachusetts naloxone access initiatives were well underway before formal legislative action occurred, while in North Carolina the passage of a naloxone access law served as a catalyst for the creation of new programs and facilitated the scale-up of existing ones. In both states legislative action was necessary to permit the prescription and dispensing of naloxone to the friends and family members of people who use opioids, a key legal change. (shrink)

Explaining how stereotypes and norms influence role-identities during reflected appraisal processes, we develop a theory about diverse groups of minority men—the “minority masculinity stress theory”—and apply it to Asian American men. We conceptually integrate hegemonic masculinity, stereotypes, and mental health to examine how Asian American men experience masculinity and how their experiences are uniquely stressful. We analyze elicited text from an open-ended questionnaire to explain two experiences of masculinity-related stress: trying to live up to the masculine ideal and enacting work-related (...) role-identities. Regarding the former, we discuss four illustrations—toughness, body image, restrictive emotionality, and heterosexuality—and two involving the latter—achiever and provider. We found that Asian American men receive stereotypical reflected appraisals that contradict potentially positive self-concepts and emphasize achievement beyond typical standards of hegemonic masculinity. Moreover, Asian American men’s role-identities contradict hegemonic masculinity, resulting in reflected appraisals that predispose them toward stress. (shrink)

Most jurisdictions require that a mental capacity assessment be conducted using a functional model whose definition includes several abilities. In England and Wales and in increasing number of countries, the law requires a person be able to understand, to retain, to use or weigh relevant information and to communicate one’s decision. But interpreting and applying broad and vague criteria, such as the ability ‘to use or weigh’ to a diverse range of presentations is challenging. By examining actual court judgements of (...) capacity, we previously developed a descriptive typology of justifications used in the application of the Mental Capacity Act criteria. We here critically optimise this typology by showing how clear definitions—and thus boundaries—between the criteria can be achieved if the ‘understanding’ criterion is used narrowly and the multiple rationales that fall under the ability to ‘use or weigh’ are specifically enumerated in practice. Such a typology-aided practice, in theory, could make functional capacity assessments more transparent, accountable, reliable and valid. It may also help to create targeted supports for decision making by the vulnerable. We also discuss how the typology could evolve legally and scientifically, and how it lays the groundwork for clinical research on the abilities enumerated by the MCA. No data are available. This paper does not report any original data. (shrink)

Perceptual conscious experiences result from non-conscious processes that precede them. We document a new characteristic of the cognitive system: the speed with which visual meaningful stimuli are prioritized to consciousness over competing noise in visual masking paradigms. In ten experiments (N = 399) we find that an individual's non-conscious visual prioritization speed (NVPS) is ubiquitous across a wide variety of stimuli, and generalizes across visual masks, suppression tasks, and time. We also find that variation in NVPS is unique, in that (...) it cannot be explained by variation in general speed, perceptual decision thresholds, short-term visual memory, or three networks of attention (alerting, orienting and executive). Finally, we find that NVPS is correlated with subjective measures of sensitivity, as they are measured by the Highly Sensitive Person scale. We conclude by discussing the implications of variance in NVPS for understanding individual variance in behavior and the neural substrates of consciousness. (shrink)

For over a century, Haeckel's Gastraea theory remained a dominant theory to explain the origin of multicellular animals. According to this theory, the animal ancestor was a blastula‐like colony of uniform cells that gradually evolved cell differentiation. Today, however, genes that typically control metazoan development, cell differentiation, cell‐to‐cell adhesion, and cell‐to‐matrix adhesion are found in various unicellular relatives of the Metazoa, which suggests the origin of the genetic programs of cell differentiation and adhesion in the root of the Opisthokonta. Multicellular (...) stages occurring in the complex life cycles of opisthokont protists (mesomycetozoeans and choanoflagellates) never resemble a blastula. Here, we discuss a more realistic scenario of transition to multicellularity through integration of pre‐existing transient cell types into the body of an early metazoon, which possessed a complex life cycle with a differentiated sedentary filter‐feeding trophic stage and a non‐feeding blastula‐like larva, the synzoospore. Choanoflagellates are considered as forms with secondarily simplified life cycles. (shrink)

Traditionally, cognitive, motivational, and volitional determinants have been used to explain and predict health behaviors such as physical activity. Recently, the role of affect in influencing and regulating health behaviors received more attention. Affects as internal cues may automatically activate unconscious processes of behavior regulation. The aim of our study was to examine the association between affect and physical activity in daily life. In addition, we studied the influence of the habit of being physically active on this relationship. An ambulatory (...) assessment study in 89 persons (33.7% male, 25 to 65 years, M = 45.2, SD = 8.1) was conducted. Affect was assessed in the afternoon on 5 weekdays using smartphones. Physical activity was measured continuously objectively using accelerometers and subjectively using smartphones in the evening. Habit strength was assessed at the beginning of the diary period. The outcomes were objectively and subjectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) performed after work. Multilevel regression models were used to analyze the association between affect and after work MVPA. In addition, the cross-level interaction of habit strength and affect on after work MVPA was tested. Positive affect was positively related to objectively measured and self-reported after work MVPA: the greater the positive affect the more time persons subsequently spent on MVPA. An inverse relationship was found for negative affect: the greater the negative affect the less time persons spent on MVPA. The cross-level interaction effect was significant only for objectively measured MVPA. A strong habit seems to strengthen both the positive influence of positive affect and the negative influence of negative affect. The results of this study confirm previous results and indicate that affect plays an important role for the regulation of physical activity behavior in daily life. The results for positive affect were consistent. However, in contrast to previous reports of no or an inverse association, negative affect decreased subsequent MVPA. These inconsistencies may be—in part—explained by the different measurements of affect in our and other studies. Therefore, further research is warranted to gain more insight into the association between affect and physical activity. (shrink)

The modern legal and ethical movement against traditional welfare paternalism in medical decision-making extends to how decisions are made for patients lacking decisional capacity, prioritising surrogates’ judgment about what patients would have decided over even their best interests. In England and Wales, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 follows this trend of prioritising the patient’s prior wishes, values and beliefs but the dominant interpretation in life-sustaining treatment cases does so by in effect calling those values the ‘best interests’ of the patient (...) and focusing nearly exclusively on the ‘subjective’ viewpoint of the patient. In this article, we examine the recent Court of Protection judgment inBarnsley Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v MSP[2020] EWCOP 26, which adhered closely to this approach, to suggest that it could have unexpected negative consequences. These include insufficient information gathering about and attention to patients’ objective medical interests, inadequacy of the evidentiary standard used for the substituted decision-making and, in some cases, even prioritising a surrogate’s current substituted judgment over the potential for an actual judgment by the patient. (shrink)

All contemporary frameworks of mental capacity stipulate that we must begin from the presumption that an adult has capacity. This presumption is crucial, as it manifests respect for autonomy and guards against prejudice and paternalism on the part of the evaluator. Given its ubiquity, we might presume that we all understand the presumption’s meaning and application in the same way. Evidence demonstrates that this is not the case and that this has led to harm in vulnerable persons. There is thus (...) strong reason to question our presumptions about the presumption of capacity. We distinguish between two main ways of understanding and applying the presumption of capacity, and advocate for the one that we argue mitigates risk of harm. Our proposed interpretation offers many advantages in that it is consonant with actual practice of capacity evaluations, precludes confused and abusive avoidance of needed evaluations, and preserves the respect for autonomy motivating the presumption in the first place. (shrink)

Entre los muchos filósofos de la Ilustración escocesa que hablan favorablemente de la filosofía estoica están Francis Hutcheson y Adam Smith, dos hombres que se relacionaron en la Universidad de Glasgow, como profesor y agradecido estudiante. Como un primer paso para establecer hasta qué punto los filósofos de la Ilustración Escocesa fueron deudores de los estoicos, en este artículo investigo las posturas de Hutcheson y Smith con el fin de demostrar que, al menos en algunas materias relacionadas con la corrección (...) de tener pasiones y expresarlas, ambos filósofos escoceses fueron hostiles hacia típicas doctrinas estoicas. (shrink)

Este artículo pretende generar claridades sobre el planteamiento sistémico, llevado a los universos de la escuela y la familia. Se plantean lugares de encuentro entre estos dos sistemas interconexionados por el pensamiento sistémico y la comunicación, rescatando que la escuela y la familia han sido determinantes en la configuración de subjetividades y sociedades. Estas reflexiones permiten concluir que las manifestaciones recíprocas de la familia y la escuela esculpen maneras de ser y de estar en el mundo.

The COVID-19 pandemic put a large burden on many healthcare systems, causing fears about resource scarcity and triage. Several COVID-19 guidelines included age as an explicit factor and practices of both triage and ‘anticipatory triage’ likely limited access to hospital care for elderly patients, especially those in care homes. To ensure the legitimacy of triage guidelines, which affect the public, it is important to engage the public’s moral intuitions. Our study aimed to explore general public views in the UK on (...) the role of age, and related factors like frailty and quality of life, in triage during the COVID-19 pandemic. We held online deliberative workshops with members of the general public. Participants were guided through a deliberative process to maximise eliciting informed and considered preferences. Participants generally accepted the need for triage but strongly rejected ‘fair innings’ and ‘life projects’ principles as justifications for age-based allocation. They were also wary of the ‘maximise life-years’ principle, preferring to maximise the number of lives rather than life years saved. Although they did not arrive at a unified recommendation of one principle, a concern for three core principles and values eventually emerged: equality, efficiency and vulnerability. While these remain difficult to fully respect at once, they captured a considered, multifaceted consensus: utilitarian considerations of efficiency should be tempered with a concern for equality and vulnerability. This ‘triad’ of ethical principles may be a useful structure to guide ethical deliberation as societies negotiate the conflicting ethical demands of triage. (shrink)

El presente artículo examina el concepto de necesidad causal y de contingencia en Roberto Kilwardby (ca. 1215-1279).Este autor, en su Comentario a los Segundos Analíticos de Aristóteles y en el De ortu scientiarum, parece particularmente interesado en el precario estatuto epistemológico de la ética y de la física en tanto que estas disciplinas versan sobre acontecimientos contingentes. Con el fin de reconciliar el conocimiento científico en sentido estricto con formas conjeturales de conocimiento, Kilwardby sitúa el problema de la contingencia en (...) un contexto auténticamente gnoseológico, más que metafísico, llegando así a una explicación altamente original de la contingencia. (shrink)

La compasión es una actitud que ha sido objeto de ataques, que ha sido catalogada como un egoísmo encubierto o bien como una pose lastimera que poco o nada contribuye para el auxilio debido a las personas en desgracia. Pero, es precisamente el despojo y los daños que las personas sufren los que llevan a pensar cómo es posible «salvar» esas vidas, no permitir que se pierdan y afirmar que la vida vale la pena. En virtud de ello, la compasión (...) o misericordia ha de ser repensada con miras a concederle el lugar adecuado dentro del mundo sanitario. Su significado ético pasa, por tanto, por una elucidación racional –qué es- y los rasgos que la caracterizan –fragilidad, desgracia, reconocimiento, solidaridad-. El símbolo da que pensar, y la reflexión ética, en este caso, se nutre de la parábola del Buen Samaritano. (shrink)

[ES] Este escrito se enfoca en la contribución, particularmente importante, de Gundisalvo a la metafísica, que presenta en tres fases: primeramente, una vista general sucinta de la historia de la terminología metafísica relevante desde el periodo de la última Antigüedad hasta la Edad Media, muestra cómo, por primera vez, Gundisalvo interpretó la metafísica como el nombre de una disciplina ; en un segundo paso, el escrito analiza la fundamentación epistemológica específica de la metafísica como una ciencia autónoma, concretamente la ontología, (...) en el capítulo sobre la metafísica en la obra de Gundisalvo De divisione Philosophiae, otorgando atención particular a su crítica de la teología del siglo XII, tal como fue desarrollada por la Escuela de Chartres; terceramente, el escrito examina un texto crucial del tratado sobre la división de las ciencias: en él, Gundisalvo incluyó la de otro modo desconocida traducción de un pasaje del Libro de las Demostraciones de Avicena, el cual discute el espinoso asunto de la subordinación de las disciplinas filosóficas a la metafísica. Este tema es uno que continuaría recibiendo bastante atención en épocas posteriores, tal como demuestran los ejemplos de Roberto Kilwardby y Juan Duns Escoto, de los que ambos autores pueden ser considerados como continuadores del proyecto metafísico de Gundisalvo. [EN]This paper focuses on Gundissalinus’s particularly important contribution to metaphysics which it presents in three steps: firstly, a succinct overview of the history of the relevant metaphysical terminology from the Late Ancient period to the Middle Ages shows how, for the first time, Gundissalinus interpreted metaphysics as the name of a discipline ; in a second step, the paper analyzes the specific epistemological foundation of metaphysics as an autonomous science, namely as ontology, in the chapter on metaphysics in Gundissalinus’s De divisione philosophiae, paying particular attention to his criticism of twelfth-century theology as this was developed in the School of Chartres; thirdly, the paper examines a crucial text from the treatise on the division of the sciences: in it, Gundissalinus included an otherwise unknown translation of a passage from Avicenna’s Book of Demonstration which discusses the thorny issue of the subordination of the philosophical disciplines to metaphysics. This subject is one which would continue to receive plenty of attention in later times, as the examples of Robert Kilwardby and John Duns Scotus demonstrate, both of which authors may be considered to have continued Gundissalinus’s metaphysical project. (shrink)

This paper raises the question – based on the works of Marc Richir and Dominique Pradelle – if and how phenomenology deals with an “anti-Copernican” revolution, considering that the motif of a “Copernican” revolution seems to have gone through some modifications that reflect a certain deposition of the constitutive role of the subject. Its fundamental thesis is that a certain dimension “beyond” the Copernican revolution does not reestablish a “Ptolemaic” realism but rather opens a dimension “beneath”: beneath the subject and (...) the object where can take place a mutual relationship between an a-subjective constitutive power and a pre-empirical foundational being. This dimension “beneath” means that the alternative does not concern a “pre-Copernican” realism on the one hand and an “idealism” leaving in the shadows the relationship between the transcendental method and an ontological perspective on the other, but rather puts forward a constructive circularity between the transcendental constitution and an ontological foundation. It follows that “normativity” is not achieved on the basis of pre-given objectivity – because it would mean a petition principia – but draws upon the “pre-immanent generativity”. (shrink)

Fregeans follow Frege in accepting informativeness and substitution failure as reliable criteria for the existence of senses as objects of thought. In this paper I show that if we accept this, we must also accept the existence of an infinite hierarchy of senses as objects of thought. This is a bad result since it turns Fregeanism into a doctrine according to which object-related thoughts either have an infinite number of objects as contents or none at all. This shows, against the (...) Fregean, that senses cannot themselves be constituents of thought. Los fregeanos aceptan, siguiendo a Frege, que los criterios de informatividad y falla de sustitución son guías confiables de la existencia de sentidos como objetos del pensamiento. En este artículo muestro que si aceptamos esta tesis también debemos aceptar la existencia de una jerarquía infinita de sentidos como objetos del pensamiento. Esta es una mala consecuencia pues convierte al fregeanismo en una doctrina según la cual los pensamientos dirigidos a objetos o bien tienen un número infinito de objetos como contenido o ninguno. Esto muestra, contra los fregeanos, que los sentidos no pueden ellos mismos ser objeto del pensamiento. (shrink)

El presente estudio busca clarificar el papel de la phantasia en la refundacion de la fenomenologia transcendental de Marc Richir (en particular desde Phenomenologie en esquisses, de 2000). A partir del analisis de la phantasia y de la imaginacion ��que toma apoyo en las Lecciones de Husserl de 1904/1905�� el autor pone de manifiesto la relacion de la phantasia tanto con la percepcion como con el lenguaje, al tiempo que trata de elucidar el estatuto temporal de dichos elementos.

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En el siglo que venimos de cerrar, el problema de la relación entre fe y razón ha encontrado una de sus respuestas mas sugerentes con la reconciliación de sobre naturaleza y naturaleza propuesta por la llamada "Nouvelle Théologie" y llevada a cabo por Karl Rahner y su enfoque "transcendental?antropológico". Sin embargo, esta respuesta no carece de antecedentes en la historia de la Teología y la Filosofía como lo demuestra el interesante caso de Ramón Sibiuda quien, con su Liber creaturarun redactado (...) hacia el 1436, propone precisamente una Antropología Filosófica como acceso privilegiado a la Teología y sus misterios de fe. El presente estudio esclarece las líneas generales de la argumentación de Sibiuda subrayando la actualidad de sus conceptos clave, como lo son la experiencia y el deseo natural hacia Dios. (shrink)

José Ortega y Gasset y Hannah Arendt fueron dos pensadores para quienes la capacidad de ensimismarse y juzgar la circunstancia era fundamental en un nivel tanto personal como social. En un mundo cada vez más mediado por tecnologías digitales que transforman al individuo en una cosa medible, predecible, y controlable debido a los datos que se dejan con su uso, se hace imprescindible pensar y juzgar cómo queremos que nuestra vida sea con dichas tecnologías. Además, es necesario demostrarles a otros (...) nuestra capacidad de agencia y decisión frente a la circunstancia técnica. (shrink)

Este escrito examina el particular enfoque dado por Arthur Schopenhauer a la cuestión de la libertad y su relación problemática con la voluntad humana, la causalidad y el conocimiento. Dicha interacción se enjuicia al no presentar la claridad y suficiencia teórica pretendida por el alemán para tal conjunto teórico. Para esto, se estudia el escrito Sobre la libertad de la voluntad premiado por la Real Sociedad Noruega de las Ciencias en 1839, recogido en el primer capítulo del texto Los dos (...) problemas fundamentales de la ética en la edición española. (shrink)

Los estudiosos que se han ocupado durante el último siglo de la transmisión del saber en la obra de Gundisalvo, han prestado mucha -por no decir exclusiva- atención a su recepción e integración de elementos arábigo-judíos. Sin embargo, para entender adecuadamente este proceso de integración parece imprescindible analizar también la recepción de la tradición latino-cristiana en la obra del arcediano, ya que ésta condiciona dicho proceso. Partiendo de la recepción de la metodología de las ciencias según Boecio por Gundisalvo, el (...) presente estudio pretende demostrar cómo los problemas que Gundisalvo encontró en su propia tradición influyen en su recepción y traducción de la filosofía arábigo-judía. (shrink)

Traducción y notas de Alexander Fidora y Jordi Pardo Pastor . Nuestra traducción sigue el texto latino de Alexander Fidora y Andreas Niederberger, Von Bagdad nach Toledo ? "Das Buch der Ursachen" und seine Rezeption fin Mittelalter. Mainz, Dieterich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 2001, donde se ofrece una nueva edición del texto latino presentado en su día por Adriaan Pattin revisándolo teniendo en cuenta las importantes sugerencias del arabista Richard Taylor . Éstas, a su vez, resultan, en su mayoría. del cotejo (...) del importante manuscrito latino de Aosta, Seminario Maggiore. Ai° D 20.Como las dos recientes traducciones castellanas del Liber de cau sis tan sólo tienen en cuenta el texto de Pattin, y parecen desconocer las propuestas de Taylon hemos creído conveniente publicar esta tercera traducción, señalando los cambios más importantes respecto a la edición de Pattin siempre y cuando éstos afecten a la traducción. Además, hay que advertir que ambas traducciones dividen el texto del Liber en 219 sentencias; sin embargo. esta división es una ficción editora introducida por Celsao Pera en su edición de la Sancti Thomae de Aquino In Librum de causis expositio, Roma. 1955, que no tiene ningún fundamento en los manuscritos. A pesar de que esta división pueda parecer "pedagógica", como afirma Cruz Cruz en su traducción citada, p. 26, n. 29, prescindimos de ella, ya que sugiere que el texto sigue una lógica puramente axiomática. mientras que su argumentación es harto más compleja. Con todo, ambas traducciones siguen siendo muy útiles y de alta calidad. y también han sido consultadas con gran provecho para esta versión.El texto latino conduce a una aparente paradoja, ya que constata que la causa sigue su efecto . Se trata aquí de un problema de la traducción latina de Gerardo de Cremona quien vierte el término árabe waliya por sequitur, en vez de "estar junto" o "cerca de". Lo que el texto original quiere expresar, por consiguiente, es que la causa acompaña su efecto, no que ésta le siga. No hace falta, pues, cambiar el pronombre ipsum por ipsam? como ha hecho Pattin, refiriéndolo así a la primera causa. (shrink)

We propose a bibliographic review that allows an approach to three concepts: movement, body and space, in order to suggest, in form of enquiries, some relationships that can be traced between them. We dare to question the denial of each one of them as a possible inauguration of the other two. The pause in movement as a gesture that reveals the body and space. The absence of the body as an agent that gives rise to movement and space. The potential (...) charge of a space that has not yet been determined, allowing the movement of bodies to be performed with creative freedom. Planteamos una revisión bibliográfica que permite un acercamiento a tres conceptos: movimiento, cuerpo y espacio, con el fin de proponer, en forma de inquietudes, relaciones que pueden trazarse entre ellos. Nos atrevemos a cuestionar la negación de cada uno como posible inauguración de los otros dos. La detención del movimiento como gesto que desvela el cuerpo y el espacio. La ausencia del cuerpo como agente que hace surgir el movimiento y el espacio. La carga potencial de un espacio que aún no se determina como aquello que permite el movimiento de los cuerpos con la libertad de crear. (shrink)

Hannah Arendt y José Ortega y Gasset vieron con preocupación la emergencia de nuevos sujetos históricos modernos: el animal laborans y el hombre-masa, respectivamente. En este artículo se intentará mostrar cómo sus críticas son iluminadoras para entender la dirección que las sociedades están tomando hacia la hiperconexión digital, articulando sus diagnósticos con los del filósofo contemporáneo Matthew Crawford. Se propondrá que, en sociedades mediatizadas digitalmente, se busca reemplazar la política por una administración tecnocrática y burocrática bajo un imperativo de seguridad. (...) Esto conduce a una situación pospolítica que trae aparejada una pérdida de agencia y autodeterminación reduciendo así la vida humana. (shrink)

According to James Woodward’s influential interventionist account of causation, X is a cause of Y iff, roughly, there is a possible intervention on X that changes Y. Woodward requires that interventions be merely logically possible. I will argue for two claims against this modal character of interventions: First, merely logically possible interventions are dispensable for the semantic project of providing an account of the meaning of causal statements. If interventions are indeed dispensable, the interventionist theory collapses into a counterfactual theory (...) of causation. Thus, the interventionist theory is not tenable as a theory of causation in its own right. Second, if one maintains that merely logically possible interventions are indispensable, then interventions with this modal character lead to the fatal result that interventionist counterfactuals are evaluated inadequately. Consequently, interventionists offer an inadequate theory of causation. I suggest that if we are concerned with explicating causal concepts and stating the truth-conditions of causal claims we best get rid of Woodwardian interventions. (shrink)

Este artículo es un estudio piloto para una comparación sistemática entre el texto árabe y latino del Qānūn fī aṭ-Ṭibb de Avicena. Con este propósito, ofrecemos una edición preliminar de un pasaje del Tercer Libro de esta gran enciclopedia médica en la traducción latina preparada por Gerardo de Cremona en Toledo en la segunda mitad del siglo XII. El análisis de este fragmento nos permite describir con rigor aspectos clave de la técnica de traducción de Gerardo de Cremona, al mismo (...) tiempo que pone de relieve problemas interpretativos vinculados a la difícil exégesis de las teorías médicas árabes sobre la enfermedad conocida como frenitis o frenesí. (shrink)