This essay explores the debate concerning the idea of democracy in the French Revolution. It shows that this idea is based upon representative democracy as well as direct democracy, maintaining a complex and precarious equilibrium between the two. It investigates the different political-institutional means used in those years, the parliamentary debates and the three constitutions, focusing on concepts such as representation, electoral mandate and primary assemblies. Representative democracy and direct democracy turn out to be neither distant from nor alternative to (...) each other, but interdependent and mutual. (shrink)

Tradicionalmente, las primas de los contratos de seguros se han considerado justas o equitativas cuando se corresponden exactamente con el riesgo de las pólizas, medido este último mediante la esperanza matemática de la siniestralidad. En este artículo llevamos a cabo una crítica de este enfoque aparentemente objetivo y proponemos una justificación alternativa de la denominada equidad actuarial, basada en argumentos contractualistas. Para ello nos apoyamos en ciertas intuiciones de Jean Domat, un jurista francés del siglo XVII, acerca de la incertidumbre (...) compartida, integradas dentro del marco general proporcionado por la teoría contractualista del economista y filósofo contemporáneo Robert Sugden. (shrink)

No presente artigo se apresenta uma análise do conceito marxiano de força de trabalho como uma categoria, um referente ideal geral de natureza teórica, cuja elaboração por Marx potencialmente faculta o rastreamento de traços essenciais para a compreensão crítica do caráter particular assumido pela individualidade nos contornos das formas de sociabilidade do capital. Nesse sentido, a discussão dos textos marxianos, bem como de obras de outros autores que abordam o tema ou questões conexas a este, tem como objetivo enumerar analiticamente, (...) de modo indiciário, as determinações que fazem da força de trabalho livre individual existente como mercadoria do capital uma verdadeira protoforma ou “paradigma” da individuação a partir da modernidade. Para tanto serão tratados quatro conjuntos conceituais, vetores da trajetória desse tipo histórico de elaboração social da individualidade, conforme pode se depreender do estudo das obras de Marx aqui abordadas: 1) a força de trabalho como Daseinsform do capital e força de sua produção; 2) o modo particular de alienação da força de trabalho (Veräußerung); 3) o caráter complexo do “objeto” do qual o capital se apropria; e 4) a relação que o indivíduo tem consigo mesmo como proprietário privado de força de trabalho. (shrink)

v. 1. Introducción a la teología moral. La conciencia moral -- v. 2. La violencia, el amor y la sexualidad -- v. 3. Etica y religión.

This article serves as an introduction to the collection of papers in this monographic issue on “What the European tradition can teach about Corporate Social Responsibility” and presents the rationale and the main hypotheses of the project. We maintain that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an ethical concept, that the demands for socially responsible actions have been around since before the Industrial Revolution and that companies have responded to them, especially in Europe, and that the content of CSR has evolved (...) over time, depending on historical, cultural, political, and socio-economic drivers and particular conditions in different countries and also at different points in time. Therefore, there is not – and probably cannot be – a unique, precise definition of CSR: one global standard for CSR is unlikely. (shrink)

In this paper we will examine some ethical aspects of the role that computers and computing increasingly play in new genetics. Our claim is that there is no new genetics without computer science. Computer science is important for the new genetics on two levels: from a theoretical perspective, and from the point of view of geneticists practice. With respect to , the new genetics is fully impregnate with concepts that are basic for computer science. Regarding , recent developments in the (...) Human Genome Project have shown that computers shape the practices of molecular genetics; an important example is the Shotgun Method's contribution to accelerating the mapping of the human genome. A new challenge to the HGP is provided by the Open Source Philosophy , which is another way computer technologies now influence the shaping of public policy debates involving genomics. (shrink)

Although virtues have gained a firm presence in the theory and practice of corporate management, humility is not ranked as one the chief virtues in the business world. In spite of this, it is an important virtue, contributing to the manager’s moral and professional quality and the development of the company’s human team. This paper explains the basic traits of humility in general and how they manifest in the manager’s life and profession, and shows, within the ethics of virtues, that (...) it is not just a personal desideratum but a fundamental quality of a good manager and good management. (shrink)

The essay examines Thomas Hill Green’s idealistic reading of Aristotle’s Metaphysics and De anima, starting from his “monopsychist” view of human understanding. His criticism of the Aristotelian notion of substance leads him to a recalibration of hylomorphism and a “noetization” of matter, which could be seen as an averroizing move. Green holds that there is only one “Eternal Consciousness” and that the individual thinking subjects are particular manifestations of it. As for Averroes’ unity of intellect, this idea derives from a (...) “left-wing” account of the potency of thought. But there are several other ontological, ethical, religious, and political consequences in making potency something essentially spiritual. The comparison between the two philosophers could help to throw light on the ‘obscure’ conception of “Eternal Consciousness”. (shrink)

First, there will be as close and detailed an analysis as possible of the first two chapters of the second book of Posterior Analytics, which constitute the canonical place of the controversy, in Order to determine the meaning that should be restored there to the clause εἰ ἔστιν. After this, we will try to corroborate the conclusion we arrive at concerning the clause mentioned above by applying it to the subsequent passages of the same book where this question is raised (...) again, either implicitly or explicitly. Finally, an examination will be made of the rest of the passages of the Aristotelian corpus, where the critic has found the occurrence of the alleged “hypothesis of existence”, chiefly in the second book of the Prior Analytics, in order to verify if such passages also offer the possibility of a reading consistent with that offered by the first two chapters initially studied. The conclusion will be that no traces of existential concern are found in any of the places searched, nor in general, in any of the connected texts within the Aristotelian corpus, and that the reading of the clause εἰ ἔστιν and of the corresponding scientific hypotheses from an existential angle are the result of a modern contamination whose origin will be diagnosed. (shrink)

The task of speaking the truth is an infinite labor: to respect it in its complexity is an obligation that no power can afford to shortchange, unless it would impose the silence of slavery (Foucault 1989, p. 308).... the attainment of truth is the outcome of the development of complex and elaborate methods of searching, methods that... in many respects go against the human grain, so they are adopted only after long discipline in a school of hard knocks (Dewey [1925] (...) 1988, pp. 234-35). (shrink)

In the so-called digital culture, there is a constant presence of radical transformations on the cognitive and affective dimensions of the relations established among teachers and students. Upon this ubiquitous accessibility of information, the very historical and hierarchically verticalized relation between teachers and students has been increasingly questioned. Upon this situation, the authors in this article aim at stating that the revitalization of concepts developed by Paulo Freire, mainly the ones discussed in the books: ‘Pedagogy of Hope’, that sought a (...) re-encounter with ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’, ‘Extension or Communication’ and ‘Pedagogy of Freedom’ became essential to understanding how the relationship between teachers and students can be mutually re-signified. In these times of digital culture, we argue that the revitalization of the critical thinking proposed by Freire is able to foment a dialogical communication both in the pedagogical link shared by teachers and students and in the transformation of information into substantially and ethically experienced concepts. Such substantial and ethical experiences are the ones able to attest that the pedagogy of hope and the pedagogy of freedom are possible, provided they are constituted with the students and not for them. (shrink)

O presente texto é oriundo da disciplina “Ontologia e Ciências Humanas: O Kant de Heidegger”, ministrada pelos professores Gustavo Silvano Batista e Eduardo José Marandola Junior entre janeiro e fevereiro de 2024, no Programa de Pós-Graduação Interdisciplinar (ICHSA) da Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas (FCA) da Unicamp no campus de Limeira-SP. Nele procuro analisar no segundo Heidegger em sua crítica pós-metafísica, portanto após a sua discussão sobre a metafísica kantiana, a maturação da ideia do Dasein. Nessa leitura específica de Heidegger destaco (...) o momento, apesar de não conclusivo, em que o Ser aparece como um ser-com, no qual vislumbro a possibilidade de diálogo, de encontro com outras percepções de mundo, entre elas, a oralidade na perspectiva de Amadou Hampaté Bâ. Com isso indico que apesar dos nítidos distanciamentos existem campos proximais, nos quais para a tradição oral ocorre o interesse pelo outro, o que estabelece a base necessária para que a palavra aconteça. (shrink)

Strategies purporting to determine the meaning of inner states of belief-content in terms of their inferential role usually assume the inner structure of the human inferential competence to be that of first order logic plus identity. Considerations of computational complexity and cumbersomeness of representation tend to undermine the plausibility of combining such strategies with this assumption. In this paper I contend that appealing to rules of default reasoning won’t make things turn out any better for the inferential role functionalist.

We show that the complete first order theory of an MV algebra has equation image countable models unless the MV algebra is finitely valued. So, Vaught's Conjecture holds for all MV algebras except, possibly, for finitely valued ones. Additionally, we show that the complete theories of finitely valued MV algebras are equation image and that all ω-categorical complete theories of MV algebras are finitely axiomatizable and decidable. As a final result we prove that the free algebra on countably many generators (...) of any locally finite variety of MV algebras is ω-categorical. (shrink)

This article integrates previously missing components of government quality into the governance-piracy nexus in exploring governance mechanisms by which global obligations for the treatment of IPRs are effectively transmitted from international to the national level in the battle against piracy. It assesses the best governance tools in the fight against piracy and upholding of intellectual property rights (IPRs). The instrumentality of IPR laws (treaties) in tackling piracy through good governance mechanisms is also examined. Findings demonstrate that: (1) while all governance (...) tools under consideration significantly decrease the incidence of piracy, corruption-control is the most effective weapon; (2) but for voice and accountability, political stability and democracy, IPR laws (treaties) are instrumental in tackling piracy through government quality dynamics of rule of law, regulation quality, government effectiveness, corruption-control, and press freedom. Hence, the need for a policy approach most conducive to expanding development is to implement an integrated system of both IPRs and corollary good governance policies. Moreover, our findings support the relevance of good governance measures in developing countries wishing to complement their emerging IPR regimes. (shrink)

Our economic system, the market economy, is a part of a broader system or “society.” We frequently study the operation of the market economy as if it were autonomous, even though there are many complex and mutual relationships between society, the economic system and the other systems – political, cultural, religious, legal, etc. – that form part of society. In a market economy we may identify several components: a frame or background in which the economic activity takes place, a set (...) of ideas and theories, the values shared by this society, the set of institutions, norms and rules that control the economic behavior of people, and the incentives or motivations of the economic agents. The play of these elements defines the operation of a market economy. Is ethics an institution, or does it belong to the set of values and ideas? In this paper I will discuss the role of institutions, norms and rules in society, with special reference to the economic system, in order to gain insight into the relationship between institutions and ethics. I study first the concept and features of social institutions and norms; second, institutional change, and third, the relationship between ethics and institutions. (shrink)

Apresentação - Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, v. 13, n. 39, jul./set. 2015.

Il est devenu un lieu commun de déclarer l a nature essentiellement indéfinissable de la philosophie. Dans cet article, nous essayons de réfut er cette thèse selon des critères à la fois philosophiques et pédagogiques, développant l'analyse dans le cadre des programmes actuels de l'enseignement secondaire, mais tenant compte des exigences, en général, d'une vraie introduction à la philosophie.

A cabal organização técnica do mundo corresponde à era da metafísica consumada –como a viu Heidegger, mas não Habermas– e à instrumentalização do pensamento que automatiza a existência humana, tornando-a inteiramente dependente do cálculo que move a disponibilização de tudo em conformidade com a vontade de poder da “armação”. A tecnificação da vida, com os constrangimentos que derivam da rigidez de sua própria lógica, não se apresenta como mero produto ou desdobramento de necessidades naturais do humano tornado “sujeito” da técnica. (...) A esse respeito, a metafísica do humanismo –e seu braço operativo, a ciência moderna enquanto tecnociência– consiste na antropologia da determinação técnica do mundo pela volição humana. (shrink)

Saint Paul's "thorn in the flesh" has been the subject of much controversy in medical, historical and religious literature. It was crucial for the development of Paul's theology and, therefore, its study is important for a better understanding of early Christianity. The purpose of this article is to review the available evidence on this issue, perform a historical and medical critical analysis and suggest plausible diagnosis that have not been previously published in scientific literature. Our research on primary sources seem (...) to indicate that in 41–42 AD Paul of Tarsus developed a clinical picture with a pain similar to that of a thorn injury and bad physical appearance. It could also have a chronic course with a limited number of relapses and few global. It could remind Job’s illness and provoke humiliation in Paul and repulse in his audience. Multiple diseases could explain some of these data, but fewer explain all of them. Though a definitive diagnosis cannot be achieved, we think that cutaneous disorders are the most obvious candidates for a humiliating and painful disease which, however, would permit long journeys during more than a decade. Disorders with cutaneous involvement like lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, urticaria/angioedema, leukocytoclastic vasculitis or nodular vasculitis should be added to other possibilities previously reported. (shrink)

After a short description of the major sociological theories based on the concept of risk (Douglas, Beck, Luhmann, Giddens) I propose to integrate the concept of risk with the concept of trust. On a less theoretical level I propose to consider governance as the institutional response to the growing complexity of the risk society. Above all, network governance – that is institutional steering based on a high community participation – seems to give good results in the field of health care (...) policies, as has been shown in the Emilia-Romagna area (Italy). (shrink)