This paper explores space as a core source of aesthetic pleasure in various codes of football. The paper begins by applying Kant’s distinction between the agreeable and the pleasurable to sport, arguing that the appreciation of sport entails more than just excitement. Pleasure comes from an appreciation of the rules, strategies and history of the game. The significance of the rules of various codes of football in articulating our experience of space will be taken as fundamental to such appreciation. Drawing (...) on the phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty and the ‘topoanalysis’ of Gaston Bachelard, it will be argued that the aesthetic appreciation of football lies, not simply in recognising the complexity and subtlety of the movement of players and ball about the pitch, but more significantly in the creative and poetic imagination that the player embodies, and the striving of the player to create places within the course of play within which they can exercise their own competence as a player, and inhibit the compete.. (shrink)

. In this article I review the efforts of eighteen scientists and theologians, recorded in this book, to describe the relation of God to the universe during a conference sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation at Windsor Castle in 2001. Theologians from several branches of Christian faith articulate their understanding of panentheism, revealing a considerable diversity. I deal with each author in relation to six issues: the way God acts, how God's intimate relation to the world is to be described, (...) the relation of God to spacetime, whether God is dependent upon the world, what type of language is used, and the problem of dipolar panentheism. I identify significant differences between these authors, suggest where fruitful dialogue is possible, and distinguish between intelligibility and plausibility in comparing dipolar panentheism with other types. (shrink)

Introduction Nonconsequentialist ethicists have noted that small harms, goods, or claims should not count against large claims. For example, given a choice between saving one life and a large group of people with minor headaches, we ought to save the one life, no matter how large the group is. This principle has been called limited aggregation. The principle of limited aggregation might have implications on public health policy, given that public health policy involves weighing the claims of individuals against one (...) another. Aims and Methods I aim to show that limited aggregation has implications for policies on e-cigarettes and alternative nicotine delivery systems. The methodology used in this study involves critical analysis of existing literature and pre-theoretical moral views. Results This study does not use empirical research. Conclusions In deciding to allow or encourage the use of e-cigarettes or alternative nicotine delivery systems, we sometimes must weigh benefits to each existing smoker affected by the policy against risks to each nonsmoker affected. I argue in this paper that when these risks, to each individual nonsmoker, are sufficiently small, we ought not to count them against more significant benefits to smokers. This applies even when the number of nonsmokers affected by a policy exceeds the number of smokers. Implications This paper implies that policymakers ought to be sensitive to the scale of benefits or risks introduced by a policy on individuals. If the negative side effects, on each affected individual, of a proposed policy are sufficiently small, they do not count against the beneficial goals of that policy. Depending on the expected effects of each given e-cigarette policy, this may give policymakers defeasible reasons to prioritize the needs of current smokers, who may each gain a lot from various means of smoking cessation, over nonsmokers, who each may only have a small chance of picking up smoking. (shrink)

What I call ambiguities of system due to the sheer complexity of Whitehead’s metaphysics and his analysis of process in terms of concrescence and transition threaten its coherence in terms of what we know empirically of the quantum and classical dimensions of nature. Ambiguities of equivocation pertaining to Whitehead’s use of the terms “contemporary” and “objectification,” as the latter is employed in relation to prehension and satisfaction, also threaten its coherence. The article proposes ways to reduce these threats and uncertainty (...) about coherence by clarifying ambiguities and by attending to the way Whitehead’s terms are predicated on the quantum and classical dimensions. (shrink)

The purpose of this research paper is to identify which types of corporate philanthropy (CP): cause-related marketing (CRM) or sponsorship, create higher moralcapital under two conditions: proactive or reactive (following a scandal). Results showed that CP created higher moral capital for a proactive company than for a reactive company. Both CRM and sponsorship were perceived as more sincere in the proactive company than the reactive company. However, CRM was seen as self-serving in the reactive company, but not the proactive company. (...) The study demonstrated that companies need to take into account the different types of CP, as it has an effect on their moral capital. Socially proactive firms should engage in both CRM and sponsorship philanthropy, as both types can generate high moral capital, which creates better company reputation. However, CP may not be the most effective or appropriate strategy for creating moral capital following negative publicity. (shrink)

The title above identifies two issues in Charles Hartshorne's panentheistic understanding of God that, in my judgment, have not been sufficiently clarified. The purpose of this paper is to provide additional clarification, that the adequacy of this type of theism may be more carefully judged by its admirers and by its detractors from their respective perspectives. The first part will identify central elements of Hartshorne's reasoning about God's relation to the world. The second part examines how Hartshorne speaks of a (...) divine "transcendence" in a naturalistic metaphysics that is thoroughly empirical. The third part will examine the ways that God is related to the world's evil and whether God is in some way .. (shrink)

El propósito de este artículo es profundizar en el pensamiento de Arendt y estudiar su interpretación del mundo griego, en diálogo con el estado actual de la historia de la antigua Grecia, en especial por lo que se refiere a los conceptos de acción, nomos y libertad, así como a la importancia del espacio político del ágora. Además, se tiene el objetivo de rebatir esa amplia recepción que le atribuye una suerte de ingenua grecomanía y de mostrar las limitaciones que (...) ella misma observa en el planteamiento político de la polis. Lo que se descubre es que Arendt no encuentra en la antigua Grecia ninguno de los contrapesos de la acción que considera necesarios para que ésta no caiga en la _hybris_, como son el perdón, la promesa y la autoridad, o que el concepto romano de _lex_, debido a su carácter relacional, resulta mucho más cercano a su comprensión de la política que el griego de _nomos_. (shrink)

G.H. Mead and A.N. Whitehead agree that all causation occurs in a present, that the self is social, and that philosophical description of the new physics of relativity and quantum mechanics is a complicated task. I explore this complexity in relation to the knowledge of events unable to be observed here and now, especially past historical events. The integration of the two philosophers’ views is shown in reference to Whitehead’s criteria of respect for facts and coherence. By reference to the (...) work of Palmyre Oomen I show the inconsistency of Whitehead’s treatment of the prehensibility of God’s consequent nature with his claim that God is not an exception to the metaphysical principles. The integration of Mead’s and Whitehead’s views permits plausible talk about past, present, and future consisent with our scientific knowledge. (shrink)

La tesis principal que aquí se defiende es que, para Popper, la validez del conocimiento estuvo vinculada siempre a la dimensión pragmática del contexto de descubrimiento (e incluso dependía de ella). Constituye, pues, un error afirmar que, para él, 1) dicha validez estaba ligada a un "empirismo encubierto" (opuesto a la tesis sobre la carga teórica de toda observación), según lo ha planteado Ana Rosa Pérez Ransanz, y que 2) en sus ideas, los factores pragmáticos carecían de importancia epistemológica, como (...) lo ha afirmado Ambrosio Velasco. Para justificar esta tesis, se examinan tres argumentos expuestos en The Logic of Scientific Discovery, enfatizando el que se refiere al carácter disposicional de los términos con los que, para Popper, se formulan los enunciados descriptivos. The main thesis I assert here is that for Popper validity of knowledge was always linked to (and even supported by) the pragmatic dimension of the context of discovery. I hold it's wrong to claim that for this author 1) validity of knowledge was linked to a "hidden empiricism" (opposed to the theory-laden character of observation), such as Ana Rosa Pérez Ransanz had propounded, and 2) pragmatic issues were epistemologically irrelevant in his philosophy, such as Ambrosio Velasco has argued. To justify my thesis I examine three arguments exposed in The Logic of Scientific Discovery, emphasizing especially Popper's argument about the dispositional character of the concepts in which descriptive statements are formulated. (shrink)

One of the big questions about indefinites is why they can escape scope islands. In the recent approach of Brasoveanu and Farkas :1–55, 2011) scopal relations with syntactically dominating quantifiers are hard wired into the semantic definition of the existential quantifier, which immediately explains why the semantic scope of indefinites may exceed their syntactic scope. In this paper, I argue for the revival of an alternative approach which places the explanatory burden on the idea that indefinites are essentially referential expressions, (...) similar to definites, and not plain existential quantifiers. I propose one fully explicit variant of such theories and argue that it comes with a number of conceptual and empirical advantages over competing theories. (shrink)

En este artículo se propone repensar la cuestión específica de la autoridad y captar cómo se entrelaza con la acción y la performatividad. Primero, se lleva a cabo una exposición de la acción según el pensamiento de Arendt y se muestra su carácter rupturista, natalicio y performativo. Luego, se aborda el problema de la performatividad en Butler y cómo no puede ser explicada exclusivamente desde la perspectiva de los actores. A continuación, se conecta lo anterior con la cuestión de la (...) autoridad y se plantea una reconsideración de ésta que nos puede ayudar a comprender cómo los espectadores pueden tener un rol activo y productivo en el éxito de la acción y en su incidencia en el mundo. (shrink)

This article proposes to reread authority from a traditionally anti-authoritarian perspective such as the anarchist one and, specifically, from Bakunin’s thought. To this end, I analyze some little studied texts of the Russian anarchist and show that, despite his criticisms of authority, he did not want to abolish authority but to rethink and transform it. Bakunin’s proposal consisted in seeking an alternative face to hegemonic authority, which he explores from its most everyday and relational dimension and where it appears as (...) a close, spontaneous and more democratic reality that is based on freedom. Afterwards, the question of authority is examined from its more practical side, where the question of authority connects with the so-called “moral authority” and serves to question the classic hierarchical relationship between theory and action. In his reinterpretation of authority Bakunin finds a kind of power that goes beyond power and traditional authority. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungDer Aufsatz bietet einen Beitrag zur theologischen Anthropologie. Er geht der Frage nach, welcher anthropologische Sinn der Rede von Mächten im Horizont der Macht Gottes bei Luther zukommt. Untersucht werden ausgewählte Schriften Luthers zwischen 1519 und 1525. Dabei zeigt sich, dass der Mensch als Beziehungswesen im Streben nach Erfüllung seiner selbst Einfallstor für Mächte ist, deren er nicht Herr ist. Dazu gehören z.B. die Macht von Bildern und die Macht des Ansehens. Ihre Entmächtigung hängt ab von einer Veränderung im Verständnis (...) von Erfüllung. Der Aufsatz will in diesem Zusammenhang einen Beitrag zum Thema Aufklärung und Entmythologisierung aus dem Evangelium leisten.SummaryThis paper offers a contribution to theological anthropology. It investigates the anthropological meaning of discourse on powers within the context of Luther's understanding of the power of God. The interpretation is based on selected writings by Luther from the period from 1519 to 1525. The outcome suggests that as beings-in-relation human beings are themselves in their striving for self-fulfilment the entrance gate for powers over which they have no control. Among these are the power of images and the power of recognition. Their disempowerment depends on a change in the understanding of fulfillment. The paper attempts to offer a contribution towards the topic of enlightenment and demythologization on the basis of the gospel. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungDer theologische Gedanke der »Schöpfung aus dem Nichts« bringt das »allein aus Gnade« für die Schöpfungslehre in zugespitzter Weise zum Ausdruck. In der Wahrnehmung des Nichts treffen sich eine auf die Grenzen ihres Erkennens reflektierende Naturwissenschaft, eine metaphysisch fragende Philosophie und die Theologie. In der Art und Weise der Wahrnehmung und in der Benennung aber unterscheiden sie sich zutiefst. Der vorliegende Aufsatz geht dann den soteriologischen Implikationen des metaphysischen Gedankens des Nichts beim frühen Heidegger nach und stellt sie in das (...) Licht der Lehre vom Nichtigen bei Karl Barth. Auf diesem Hintergrund werden psychologisch und soziologisch beobachtete und interpretierte Phänomene auf ihre soteriologischen Implikationen hin in den Blick genommen. Dabei wird deutlich, welche radikale Wahrnehmung und welch befreiende Zumutung der theologische Gedanke der Schöpfung aus dem Nichts in sich birgt.SummaryThe theological concept of creatio ex nihilo pointedly expresses the sola gratia for the doctrine of creation. Natural sciences reflecting upon the boundaries of their knowledge, philosophy inquiring metaphysical problems and theology converge on the perception of nothingness. But they differ deeply in their way of perceiving and entitling it. The present article deals with the soteriological implications of the metaphysical concept of nothingness in the early Heidegger in the light of Karl Barth's account of nothingness . Against this background, different phenomena observed and interpreted by psychology and sociology are examined as to their soteriological implications. Thus, the radical way of perception and the liberating challenge implied in the concept of creatio ex nihilo become apparent. (shrink)

Book publishers seem to have found a new niche judging by the number of review copies coming our way. This column just aims to give a line or two on some of them to help the reader decide whether to buy, borrow or leave it for now.