Linking the process of rational decision making to emotions, an award-winning scientist who has done extensive research with brain-damaged patients notes the dependence of thought processes on feelings and the body's survival-oriented regulators. 50,000 first printing.

Damasio, an eminent neuroscientist explores the science of human emotion and what the great Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza can teach of how and why we feel. Damasio shows how joy and sorrow, those most defining of human feelings, are in fact the cornerstones of our survival and culture.

Objectives To describe the distress experienced by Spanish podiatrists related to ethical dilemmas, organisational matters, and lack of resources. Design A 2008 email survey of a representative sample of 485 Spanish podiatrists presenting statements about different ethical dilemmas, values and goals at the workplace. Results The response rate was 44.8%. Of all the respondents, 57% described sometimes having to act against their own conscience as distressing. Time constraints is the main cause of moral distress (67%) and 58% of respondents said (...) that they found it distressing that patients have long waits for treatment. Distress related to inadequate treatment due to economical constraints or ineffectiveness was described by 60% of the podiatrists. Another 51% reported that time spent on administration and documentation is distressing. Female doctors experienced more distress than their male colleagues. Last, 36% of respondents reported that their workplace lacked strategies for dealing with ethical dilemmas. Conclusion These study results identify moral distress among Spanish podiatrists mainly related to time constraints, patient demands and lack of resources. Moral distress varies with sex and age. Organisational strategies such as moral deliberation and responsive evaluation offer the potential to address moral distress. (shrink)

This article is an introduction to the selection of papers on "Business Ethics in Spain" included in this monographic issue of the Journal of Business Ethics. Specifically, this article is a survey of the development of the social, political, cultural and economic background of business in Spain since 1940, in order to show how the ethical values, attitudes and problems of the Spanish managers changed in these years. First, the global evolution of this background is explained, and then several relevant (...) problems are discussed, namely those of the attitudes of business towards the State and the law (with an aside on the attitudes of society towards profit and wealth), corruption, and the grey economy, taxes, and irregular labour. The article concludes with a survey of the scientific developments of business ethics in Spain. (shrink)

This paper develops the very basic notions of analysis in a weak second-order theory of arithmetic BTFA whose provably total functions are the polynomial time computable functions. We formalize within BTFA the real number system and the notion of a continuous real function of a real variable. The theory BTFA is able to prove the intermediate value theorem, wherefore it follows that the system of real numbers is a real closed ordered field. In the last section of the paper, we (...) show how to interpret the theory BTFA in Robinson's theory of arithmetic Q. This fact entails that the elementary theory of the real closed ordered fields is interpretable in Q. (shrink)

San Isidoro de Sevilla destaca por poseer un saber universal. Esta universalidad de su saber también es expresada en su reflexión sobre el ministerio sacerdotal. A través de una triple aproximación «teológica», «pastoral» y «espiritual», invita a los obispos y presbíteros a vivir su ministerio de una forma «eclesial», «virtuosa» y «santa».

We defend, from a contractarian perspective, that the fair price of an insurance policy is the amount that the contracting parties agree when they are both equally uncertain about the insured event. Drawing on the approach developed by R. Sugden in _The Community of Advantage_, we answer two standard objections raised against contractarianism in the actuarial sciences: (1) people are not wise enough to assess their actuarial risks; (2) they are not rational enough to decide which insurance policy suits them (...) better. We show under which circumstances people can make fair actuarial agreements, without presupposing any objective risk or rationality benchmarks. (shrink)

The paper presents a metaphysical characterization of spatiotemporal backgrounds from a realist perspective. The conceptual analysis is based on a heuristic sketch that encompasses the common formal traits of the major spacetime theories, such as Newtonian mechanics and general relativity. It is shown how this framework can be interpreted in a fully realist fashion, and what is the role of background structures in such a picture. In the end it is argued that, although backgrounds are a source of metaphysical discomfort, (...) still they make a spacetime theory easy to interpret. It is also suggested that this conclusion partially explains why the notion of background independence carries a lot of conceptual difficulties. (shrink)

Pure shape dynamics (PSD) is a novel implementation of the relational framework originally proposed by Julian Barbour and Bruno Bertotti. PSD represents a Leibnizian/Machian approach to physics in that it completely describes the dynamical evolution of a physical system without resorting to any structure external to the system itself. The chapter discusses how PSD effectively describes a de Broglie-Bohm N-body system and the conceptual benefits of such a relational description. The analysis will highlight the new directions in the quest for (...) an understanding of the nature of the wave function that are opened up by a modern relationalist elaboration on de Broglie's and Bohm's original insights. (shrink)

I will present the rationale followed for the conceptualization and the following development the Dual PECCS system that relies on the cognitively grounded heterogeneous proxytypes representational hypothesis [Lieto 2014]. Such hypothesis allows integrating exemplars and prototype theories of categorization as well as theory-theory [Lieto 2019] and has provided useful insights in the context of cognitive modelling for what concerns the typicality effects in categorization [Lieto, 2021]. As argued in [Lieto et al., 2018b] a pivotal role in this respect is played (...) by the use of the conceptual spaces framework and by its integration with a symbolic knowledge representation layer. (shrink)

This article seeks to problematize Agamben’s interpretation of sovereignty in light of the “archaeological method” he uses in his Homo Sacer project. In contrast to Agamben’s exposition, which treats biopolitics as the original and ontological paradigm of Western politics, the essay discusses how, historically, sovereign power has been conceived as a “double body”—transcendent and immanent, sacred and sacrificial, absolute and perpetual—from whose tension conceptual and political metamorphoses of sovereignty arise. The first attribute of sovereignty—absoluteness, on which Agamben has often focused—should (...) be seen as an ordering and essentially modern function of its second “body”: the perpetuity of power. The article illustrates, then, how the retrospective projections through which the Italian philosopher constructs his ontological reading of sovereignty depend on some logical and epistemological lacunae that characterize his “archaeological method,” which is based, essentially, on an arbitrary use of historical analogies. (shrink)

No presente artigo começo fazendo considerações sobre a história das inovações de desenvolvimentos genéticos, abordando as questões relativas ao descobrimento e elucidação do DNA, sobre a influência da genética para o pensamento evolucionista, a decodificação do genoma humano, a técnica DGPI e também sobre o CRISPR-Cas9. Depois, o texto passa a ter um tom mais filosófico, donde exponho e reflito a partir da perspectiva habermasiana em Sobre o futuro da natureza humana: a caminho de uma eugenia liberal? – Nesse sentido, (...) minhas reflexões são especialmente sobre a relação entre a estética e a eugenia e também sobre a responsabilidade moral dos indivíduos geneticamente modificados, precisamente pensados na esfera e hipótese da eugenia positiva. (shrink)

Water values serve as an entry point into the intricacies of public policies and management approaches. Values are contingent assessments that emerge out of socio-ecological relations and reflect particular demands, legacies and opportunities. The concept of value positionality is introduced as the synthesis of multiple expressions of worthiness cherished by a social group. Positionality is a metaphor that connects the phenomenological understanding of water value with the politics of everyday life and the broader politico-institutional framework. It entails a cluster of (...) meanings expressed through territorialised interactions across time, locations and scales. Positionalities converge or depart according to value praxis, that is, the clash of competing valuation approaches seeking legitimisation. (shrink)

Heidegger tries to explain our emotional life applying three schemes: causal explanation, mental internalisation of emotions and metaphorical expression. None of the three schemes explains emotion though. Either because the causal nexus does not always occur or because objects and people in the external world are carriers of emotional agents or because language is already on a metaphorical level. Moreover, how is it possible that there are presently emotions constituting our life without our being aware of their existence? From the (...) analysis of boredom in its three varieties (“bored by X”, “get oneself bored”, and “it is boring”) we will get to the depth where emotions lie, trying to rouse them and to keep them awake. Although it surfaces with the force and energy of the present, every emotion has its past and future constitution. How can we understand the future of a present emotion along with its past? (shrink)

El presente trabajo de investigación se inicia tras el nacimiento de la historieta española en la segunda mitad del XIX, nuevo medio de expresión que surge ligado a la prensa satírica y de humor, creada y realizada expresamente para un público lector adulto. Es ya desde la realidad del nuevo medio como se establecen las bases para el acercamiento a la historieta española durante los años 1900 a 1951, en los que tiene lugar su primer desarrollo, afianzamiento y conversión en (...) un fenómeno de masas. Asimismo se analizan los inicios del tejido industrial que soporta la estructura editorial de la historieta, que se contextualiza respecto del conjunto de la sociedad española, en total dependencia no solo de la economía, sino también de los movimientos políticos y sociales que durante el medio siglo de estudio sacudieron España, en un flujo acelerado de acontecimientos que se concreta en los regímenes políticos que vertebraron el país: monarquía constitucional de Alfonso XIII, dictadura militar de Primo de Rivera, república parlamentaria, guerra civil y, finalmente, la dictadura personal del general Franco. (shrink)

Resumo: O objetivo do presente artigo é analisar o problema da fraqueza da vontade no quadro conceitual da filosofia moral kantiana. A fim de realçar uma característica da filosofia kantiana relevante para a posição conceitual do problema, servimo-nos do contraste com as análises de Donald Davidson sobre o fenômeno da fraqueza da vontade. Depois de evidenciado o modo como o fenômeno pode ser admitido no sistema kantiano, procuramos defender uma hipótese quanto ao modo como ele poderia ser aí explicado. Trata-se (...) da hipótese de que uma derivação desatenta e negligente a partir da Lei Moral poderia tornar compreensíveis os diversos estágios da maldade em sentido amplo do ser humano, e de que os dois primeiros estágios poderiam ser considerados correspondentes ao fenômeno usualmente chamado de fraqueza da vontade.Abstract: The aim of the present paper is to examine the problem of weakness of will in the conceptual framework of Kantian's moral philosophy. In order to present a feature of Kantian's philosophy which is important for the theoretical placing of the problem, I draw on the contrast with Davidson's analyses of the phenomenon of weakness of will. After indicating the way in which the phenomenon can be admitted in the Kantian system, I try to defend a hypothesis about the way in which it could be explained in this system. It is the hypothesis that an inattentive and negligent derivation from the Moral Law could explain the different stages of the evilness in broad sense of the human being, and that the two first stages can be judged correspondent to the phenomenon usually called weakness of will. (shrink)

In this paper, I characterize a new kind of testimonial injustice, a phenomenon I call ‘testimonial void’, which involves a substantial extension of the limits of the original concept put...

In this paper I will present an analysis of the impact that the notion of “bounded rationality”, introduced by Herbert Simon in his book “Administrative Behavior”, produced in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In particular, by focusing on the field of Automated Decision Making (ADM), I will show how the introduction of the cognitive dimension into the study of choice of a rational (natural) agent, indirectly determined - in the AI field - the development of a line of research (...) aiming at the realisation of artificial systems whose decisions are based on the adoption of powerful shortcut strategies (known as heuristics) based on “satisficing” - i.e. non optimal - solutions to problem solving. I will show how the “heuristic approach” to problem solving allowed, in AI, to face problems of combinatorial complexity in real-life situations and still represents an important strategy for the design and implementation of intelligent systems. (shrink)

The concept of authenticity as a predicate of performances of musical works is discussed in the context of the Western classical tradition.I claim that the concept of a performance of a musical work raises issues of relativity and indeterminacy, since its application is not completely free from music-historical contextuality and from considerations of aesthetic value.I challenge the argument for the necessity of authenticity in performance that eschews the problem of determining the extension of the concept authentic performance of a work' (...) by reducing the concept to that of the correct instantiation of that work.I suggest that the way the present socio-musical context defines the boundaries of correction and authenticity in performance derives from a balance, and a tension, between two types of interest in performance as an artistic practice: an interest in the performed work as the artistic product of its composer, which favours fidelity to the work; and an interest in the performance as the artistic product of the performer, which favours the latter's creative freedom.I argue for the relevance of certain moral obligations to composers on the part of performers, but also for the defeasible character of these obligations, thus blocking the view according to which historical authenticity is an absolute moral imperative.I distinguish personal authenticity, as creativity and sincerity on the part the performer, from historical authenticity, as the performance's faithfulness to the work performed, to its composer, or to the sound, performance practice or musical experience that were typical of the work's original context. I argue against the view that the historically authentic performance has an advantage over other kinds of performance in terms of propensity to generate more aesthetically successful results.The promotion of historical authenticity by the historically informed performance movement is analyzed as artistic ideology and practice. I conclude that the priority of historical authenticity is not a defensible artistic ideal, since it is ultimately incompatible with aesthetic priorities. (shrink)

o presente artigo objetiva abordar acerca da crítica consistente ao autoritarismo violento, degradante, racista e desumano dos “anos de chumbo” da ditadura militar no Brasil, constante na literatura afro-brasileira dramática negro-brasileira a partir, sobretudo, de três teatros peculiares, a saber: o Teatro Experimental Negro, o Teatro Profissional do Negro e o Grupo Teatro Palmares Iñaron. Metodologicamente, esclarece-se que esta escrita emprega uma abordagem qualitativa de natureza básica e é de cunho teórico exploratório quanto ao objetivo principal, pois se debruça ao (...) debate, visando aprimorar teorias, conceitos e ideias a partir do bojo de fontes secundárias que tratam da temática principal. Neste sentido, empregou-se o método procedimental bibliográfico utilizando-se da hermenêutica com a técnica de leituras pertinentes à temática proposta. Cabe salientar que, apesar da tentativa histórica do cânone da literatura autoritária e eurocentrada, não foi e nem tem sido capaz de silenciar os ecos objetivos e/ou subjetivos expressos na literatura afro-brasileira, nem mesmo durante o período mais duro e racista da ditadura militar no Brasil. (shrink)

La conmemoración, en el año 2017 del cuarto Centenario de la muerte de Francisco Suárez, constituye un motivo cultural que invita a repensar la persistencia de su legado doctrinal jurídico en la Filosofía y la Teoría del Derecho de la actualidad. En este ensayo se analizan su concepción de la ley, a partir de sus elementos constitutivos y de sus implicaciones. Así como las relevantes observaciones de Suárez sobre las características del lenguaje lega. Este trabajo se propone ofrecer un balance (...) de aquellos aspectos de la reflexión de Francisco Suárez sobre el Derecho que pueden implicar mayor interés para la cultura jurídica del presente. Se analiza, con especial atención, el carácter innovador de la concepción jurídica de Suárez con respecto a la tradición medieval y a las doctrinas de su tiempo. Se pueden advertir así rasgos anticipadores del pensamiento de Suárez con respecto a determinadas concepciones filosófico-jurídicas contemporáneas. (shrink)

In this article we examine the way in which the American Alt-Right movement has made Friedrich Nietzsche its most influential philosopher. The authors ascribed to the Alt-Right evidence a strong liking for the German philosopher's ideas, which resonate forcefully in many their principal policies: specifically, the characterisation of our contemporaneity as “decadent”, the comparison between “superior men” and the project to construct a “white ethnostate”, and the advocacy of Christianity, as opposed to Christianism, as an identity structure for defining white (...) civilisation. Having trawled the main Alt-Right forums of ideological expression and analysed the key writings of their theorists, references and spokespersons, we aim to present a systematic explanation of how this advocacy has been built on certain Nietzschean themes. We also argue that this is a partial, superficial and contradictory reading of Nietzsche, as well as a narrow and distorted interpretation. (shrink)

Esse texto é um escrito que, ao final, é um termo médio entre um Artigo e um Ensaio. O objetivo é expor nossa compreensão sobre o sentido d“o material” e as implicações onto(epistemo)lógicas desta concepção no pensamento de Karl Marx. Em plano geral, primeiramente, nosso texto discorre sobre o que nomeamos de “a questão primeira”, qual seja: o que é “o material” no interior e no contexto dos escritos de Marx? Para cumprir essa tarefa procedemos com leituras de textos marxianos (...) visando identificar, neles, passagens importantes aonde o conceito de “material” é pressuposto, citado ou implicado. No segundo momento do texto, afirmamos que os resultados das análises do sentido d“o material” nos possibilitam induzir e/ou deduzir que o materialismo de Marx é dialético. Por fim, apresentamos algumas conclusões que decorrem do aceite da validade e veracidade da tese de que Marx pensa dialeticamente, de que seu materialismo é dialético. (shrink)

El propósito de este trabajo consiste en exponer las tareas más apremiantes que, a juicio del autor, debe asumir la Filosofía del Derecho del presente y del inmediato futuro. Para ello, se analizan las dos tareas que se consideran de interés prioritario: la primera versa en torno a lo que entraña el desafío tecnológico propio de la sociedad digital que habitamos y que se concreta en la respuesta que desde la filosofía jurídica debe avanzarse respecto a la omnipresencia en todos (...) los ámbitos sociales, económicos, políticos, culturales y jurídicos de la Inteligencia Artificial (IA). Hace referencia la segunda al riesgo cultural que entraña la pretensión de determinados movimientos que se autoconsideran portavoces de los signos del universo tecnológico y los desarrollos de la tecnociencia, para inferir la propuesta ideológica del final del humanismo y el inicio de la era posthumanista. El trabajo concluye asignando a la Filosofía del Derecho la función de ser la conciencia de la IA que es Inteligencia sin conciencia; y de reivindicar la persistente necesidad de respetar y realizar los valores humanistas frente a su pretendida abolición por el posthumanismo. (shrink)

Badiou and Derrida have dedicated much of their thought to politics and the nature of the political. Calcagno shows how their views diverge and converge, providing some very intriguing developments in Continental philosophy.

Until now, the mass spread of fake news and its negative consequences have implied mainly textual content towards a loss of citizens' trust in institutions. Recently, a new type of machine learning framework has arisen, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) – a class of deep neural network models capable of creating multimedia content (photos, videos, audio) that simulate accurate content with extreme precision. While there are several areas of worthwhile application of GANs – e.g., in the field of audio-visual production, human-computer (...) interactions, satire, and artistic creativity – their deceptive uses, at least as currently foreseeable, are just as numerous and worrying. The main concern is linked to the so-called “deepfakes”, fake images or videos that simulate real events with extreme precision. When trained on a human face, GANs can make the face assume hyper-realistic movements, expressions and (verbal and non-verbal) communication abilities. This technology poses an urgent threat to the governance of democratic processes concerning the production of public opinions and political discourses, with significant potential for reality-altering and disinformation. After a short introduction of their current technical state-of-the-art, in this paper we want to enquire the GANs` socio-technical system alongside different and intertwined philosophical accounts. Firstly, we will argue about the conditions that make perceived a GANs-generated content as trustworthy, arguing also about the general effects GANs might have on the perceived trustworthiness of individuals. Thereafter, we will discuss about the inadequacy to approach GANs only as perception-altering technology. Against this backdrop, we will propose a theoretical turn that considers the human-machine relationships of trustworthiness as elements of a broader hybrid socio-technical systems. This turn come up with political repercussions that we will discuss in the last part of the paper. (shrink)

A menudo, el destello de los beneficios que reporta la inteligencia artificial en numerosos espacios, eclipsa los impactos medioambientales de esta tecnología. En este sentido, en un contexto marcado por la superación de los límites planetarios, es conveniente iniciar una senda reflexiva que aspire a plantear una inteligencia artificial sostenible. El compromiso con la responsabilidad y el cultivo del cuidado modelan un marco ético para la realización de la sostenibilidad como un ideal moral indispensable para el presente y el futuro (...) de los intelectos sintéticos. El reconocimiento y la estimación de la vulnerabilidad de la biosfera constituyen dos piezas claves para comprender los efectos de una agencia moral mediada por la tecnología. (shrink)

In this paper I aim to elucidate Wittgenstein’s claim that the so-called dream argument is senseless. Unlike other interpreters, who understand the sentence “I am dreaming” as contradictory or self-defeating, I intend to elucidate in what sense one should understand it as senseless or, more precisely, as nonsensical. In this sense, I propose to understand the above-mentioned claim in light of Wittgenstein’s criticism of skepticism from the _Tractatus logico-philosophicus_ to his last writings. I intend to show that the words “I (...) am dreaming” are nonsensical in the same sense as the alleged proposition “There are physical objects” or the expression of doubt about the existence of external objects. (shrink)

This chapter discusses the question of whether we will ever have an Artificial General Superintelligence (AGSI) and how it will affect our species if it does so. First, it explores various proposed definitions of AGSI and the potential implications of its emergence, including the possibility of collaboration or conflict with humans, its impact on our daily lives, and its potential for increased creativity and wisdom. The concept of the Singularity, which refers to the hypothetical future emergence of superintelligent machines that (...) will take control of the world, is also introduced and discussed, along with criticisms of this concept. Second, it is considered the possibility of mind uploading (MU) and whether such MU would be a suitable means to achieve (true) immortality in this world—the ultimate goal of the proponents of this approach. It is argued that the technological possibility of achieving something like this is very remote, and that, even if it were ever achieved, serious problems would remain, such as the preservation of personal identity. Third, the chapter concludes arguing that the future we create will depend largely on how well we manage the development of AI. It is essential to develop governance of AI to ensure that critical decisions are not left in the hands of automated decision systems or those who create them. The importance of such governance lies not only in avoiding the dystopian scenarios of a future AGSI but also in ensuring that AI is developed in a way that benefits humanity. (shrink)