As análises aqui propostas enfocam, em primeira instância, a leitura do corpus merleau-pontiano, proposta por R. Barbaras em seu Introduction à une phénoménologie de la vie, segundo a qual os vaivens e ambivalências da reflexão de Merleau-Ponty acerca do corpo se explicam pela desconsideração de seu caráter primordialmente vivente. Em segundo lugar, abordamos a filosofia de Merleau-Ponty a partir do propósito de encontrar no corpo uma modalidade originária e absoluta de movimento como abertura de possibilidades, fundante em relação ao objeto (...) que se move e ao espaço, aberto pelo próprio movimento. Em terceiro lugar, pondo em relevo a noção de nascimento, propomos que esta singular modalidade de movimento buscada por Merleau-Ponty encontra sua caracterização mais apropriada no movimento natural e vital, o que permite conciliar, ao menos parcialmente, as perspectivas de ambos os filósofos. (shrink)

Resumen: Este trabajo se propone examinar algunos límites de la célebre descripción merleau-pontiana del cuerpo vivido en términos de “esquema corporal” y “cuerpo habitual”, teniendo en cuenta referencias alternativas del corpus textual del filósofo a ciertas dimensiones de la experiencia corporal que desbordan tal marco. Tras analizar en primer término estas primeras definiciones que esbozan el perfil de un cuerpo hábil y competente correlativo de un entorno pragmático, consideramos seguidamente instancias de comportamientos no teleológicos ni funcionales y espacialidades no objetivas (...) ni instrumentales para concluir mostrando la relación de estos análisis con la tematización merleau-pontiana más amplia de los horizontes naturales de la experiencia. En un segundo plano evaluamos las críticas de exégetas tales como A. Lingis y J. Butler a ciertos déficits de las tesis merleau-pontianas, y relacionamos estas últimas con desarrollos filosóficos que manifiestan ciertas afinidades específicas, tales como los de E. Levinas y R. Caillois.: This paper intends to examine some of the limitations of the well-known MerleauPontian account of the lived body in terms of "body schema" and "habitual body", by taking into account some alternative references of the philosopher’s textual corpus to certain dimensions of corporeal experience that exceed such frames. After analyzing these former definitions that outline the profile of a skillful and competent body correlative of a pragmatic environment, we consider cases of non-teleological and non-functional behaviors and non-objective and non-instrumental spatialities to end up by showing the relationship between these analyses and the wider Merleau-Pontian account of the natural horizons of experience. Secondarily, we evaluate critiques such as A. Lingis’ and J. Butler’s aiming to certain deficits of Merleau-Pontian theses, and we identify certain relations that these theses hold with philosophical developments showing certain specific affinities, such as E. Levinas’ and R. Caillois’. (shrink)

El artículo confronta el análisis merleau-pontiano de los cuatro caracteres del “cuerpo propio” en Phénoménologie de la Perception con el tratamiento original que Husserl realizó de los mismos puntos en Ideen II. Se examinan sus respectivos análisis de la permanencia absoluta, las sensaciones dobles, las cenestesias y las cinestesias para determinar el diferente significado que comporta el “cuerpo propio” para cada autor. Se observa así que las “ubiestesias” no desempeñan para Merleau-Ponty el rol constitutivo del cuerpo propio que tienen para (...) Husserl. Esto conduce a distinguir, siguiendo a Husserl, dos sentidos diferentes de propiedad. Mientras que Husserl asocia el cuerpo propio con un sentido secundario de propiedad, derivado de un sentido yoico originario, para Merleau-Ponty la experiencia más básica del yo y de lo propio es vivida por un sujeto cor-poral al percibir y moverse.The article confronts the MerleauPontyan analyses of the four features of the “body proper” in Phénoménologie de la Perception with the original Husserlian consideration of the same issues in Ideen II. I examine their analyses of absolute permanency, double sensations, cenesthesis and kinesthesis, to determine the different meaning that the “body proper” acquires for each author. It is thus observed that “localized sensations” do not play for Merleau-Ponty —as they do for Husserl— the constitutive role of the body proper. This leads to distinguish, following Husserl, two different senses of ownership. Whereas Husserl associates the “body proper” with a secondary sense of ownership deriving from an originary sense of self, for Merleau-Ponty the most basic experience of myself and of ownership is lived by a corporeal subject in perception and movement. (shrink)

Este trabajo se propone analizar y confrontar las perspectivas teóricas divergentes de G. Canguilhem y de M. Foucault en torno al estatus pistemológico de las ciencias modernas del cuerpo humano. Ambos filósofos investigaron factores extracientíficos determinantes en la constitución del objeto mismo de la fisiología: aquel cuerpo humano calificado como «normal» que la técnica médica adopta como ideal terapéutico. Sin embargo, Canguilhem apeló en sus análisis a fundamentos subjetivos y biológicos (tales como el padecimiento humano y la «normatividad vital»), mientras (...) que su discípulo otorgó mayor relevancia a los factores políticos de normalización social. (shrink)

La fenomenología crítica se presenta como una diversificación temática, una redefinición de los objetivos y una revisión del método de la fenomenología clásica. Este trabajo se enfoca en el tercero de estos aspectos para mostrar de qué modo la reformulación merleau-pontiana del método fenomenológico (a partir de su énfasis en el carácter corporal y relacional del yo) abrió la posibilidad de integrar dos perspectivas usualmente consideradas incompatibles, y en cuya intersección se sitúan precisamente los estudios fenomenológico-críticos. Estas dos perspectivas conciernen, (...) por un lado, a la reflexión fenomenológica con su foco en la experiencia vivida en primera persona, y por otro a investigaciones de las ciencias humanas o estudios constructivistas, genealógicos o críticos que subrayan la constitución social, histórica y política de la identidad y la experiencia. Si la fenomenología crítica enfatiza la necesidad de una rectificación o ampliación crítica del método de la fenomenología clásica, nos preguntamos si los análisis de las condiciones sociales de la constitución de la experiencia no necesitan recurrir a alguna modalidad de descripción fenomenológica precisamente para ser críticos. (shrink)

Se examinan de modo sistemático las críticas de Merleau-Ponty, en la Phénoménologie de la perception, a la teoría kantiana de la experiencia, atendiendo al papel de los conceptos en la conformación de la experiencia objetiva, la relación entre la sensibilidad y el entendimiento, así como la redefinición del carácter formal de la sensibilidad. Se discuten posibles objeciones a la interpretación merleau-pontiana de la teoría kantiana y se evalúa, así mismo, el alcance relativo de ciertas referencias positivas de Merleau-Ponty a nociones (...) kantianas tales como afinidad, sinopsis e imaginación. (shrink)

RECERCA se presenta este año 2004, siguiendo la linea abierta en su nueva época, como espacio de análisis y reflexión filosófico-crítica del presente. Ninguna publicación actual se resiste a subrayar que si bien la filosofía ha estado siempre comprometida con su tiempo, tal compromiso ha variado en intensidad y métodos en las tres últimas décadas. El número que tiene en sus manos viene a confirmar estos cambios dado que todos los artículos, pese a que abordan problemas y esferas distintas —bioética, (...) interculturalidad, religión, solidaridad, ecología, empresa, ciudadanía-, ponen de manifiesto que ya no es la filosofia únicamente la que escoge los temas de análisis y reflexión, sino que es la propia realidad la que le pide que entre en cada una de las esferas, problemas y situaciones que vive la sociedad para tratar de poner "orden", orientar y ayudar a la solución de las dificultades con las que nos tenernos que ver. Y, es más, no se pide que sea "la filosofia" desde su espacio la que proporcione orientaciones distantes, más bien, lo que se reclama es una "filosofía desde las propias praxis", por tanto, una reflexión que se realice desde la filosofía pero en plena integración y conocimiento de la situación, por tanto, arremangándose en la praxis. (shrink)

La historia de la filosofía redescubierta a través del singular prisma de la fenomenología del cuerpo no se presenta ya como la historia de las grandes ideas, sino de algunas pequeñas preguntas: una historia de los restos, las sombras y los márgenes de la filosofía. Merleau-Ponty saca a la luz fragmentos de esa otra historia sirviéndose de un único procedimiento cuya práctica constante no parece expresar tanto un método como una obsesión, cuando insiste en formular a los filósofos del pasado (...) la misma pequeña pregunta con la que interpelaba a su amigo Althusser mientras discutían por la madrugada: "Pero usted también tiene un cuerpo, ¿no es así?". Cada filosofía, señala Merleau-Ponty, es una elección filosófica, pero "por más que los filósofos escojan, su elección siempre está acompañada, como al margen, de la sospecha de lo que han dejado de lado". Ese margen acompaña a cada filósofo como su propia sombra. Esta obra explora las distintas aproximaciones de Merleau-Ponty a ciertas obras canónicas de la historia de la filosofía. Acompañar el diálogo de su fenomenología con las célebres teorías del conocimiento de Aristóteles, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Bergson o Husserl significa simultáneamente esbozar una historia de las filosofías del cuerpo y el sentir. Esteban A. García es Doctor en Filosofía por la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Se desempeña como Profesor de Gnoseología en la misma universidad y como Investigador Independiente en el Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina). Es autor de los libros Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Filosofía, corporalidad y percepción (2012); Percepción y lectura en la filosofía de Simone Weil (2015) y de numerosas publicaciones en las áreas de fenomenología, filosofía francesa contemporánea y filosofía moderna. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to present a business ethics case from the viewpoint of discursive ethics. Dialogue and subsequent agreement constitute two key ideas of European identity and are two basic concepts of discursive ethics thinking. Our choice for this type of approach was determined by several reasons, of which there are three that should be pointed out, as they can be considered an heritage of the European way of thinking:1) the need for a rational dialogue, in which (...) all those affected -- or, failing that, the people acting in their name -- are represented, as a way to find solutions to conflicts;2) the importance of respecting a set of conditions ensuring equal opportunities and total symmetry among the participants; and3) obliged respect for the universalization principle, which establishes that a decision is morally correct when it can or could be accepted by all those whom it affects, present or future.In order to present this case, the following steps are taken. Firstly, a brief summary of the case will be provided, defining the different ways of approaching the problem and the resulting map of interests. Secondly, the different interests and values, which came into play, are analysed. Finally, we go over the different approaches that were made to reach a solution before considering dialogue, which turned out to be the most decisive. (shrink)

In recent years, applied ethics has taken on board the various dimensions of public reason that can no longer be reduced to the political construction of a common will. While the question of a just society has traditionally been found in the political dimension, the state and its institutions, current globalization has broken this state monopoly over what is public, opening the way for other institutional actors with the same or greater power to intervene in the public space, actors that (...) have little or nothing to do with representation, majority rule, etc. As the current financial downturn clearly demonstrates, states are pandering to the markets, striving to ‘get their houses in order’ to meet the demands imposed by the global financial magnates. It seems, at least to most citizens, that public politics, like the state’s capacity to deal with social and economic rights, no longer depends on either governments or their ability to govern. So should they be left out of a public reason that is capable of explaining whether they are just or otherwise? The ethical perspective –known to be a critical perspective– cannot remain silent about this new scenario. The present proposal attempts to combine applied ethics, which takes in the logic of social practices, with new contributions from institutional design theories that set out to analyse the power and responsibility of these institutions from ‘inside’, as institutional actors. In this short paper my analysis focuses on the ethical dimension of institutional design, specifically in a proposal for an institutional ethics that is a fundamental part of any applied ethics. The paper aims to explain in what way we can speak of an institutional morality to demonstrate that these civil society institutional actors hold some of the responsibility for facing the problems of defining and managing what is public. (shrink)

As a tenacious and rigorous reader of the Cartesian corpus, Merleau-Ponty payed special attention to its ambiguities. On the one hand, the intellectualism of the Cartesian theory of perception (Dioptrique) goes along with a mechanistic physiology (Traité de l’Homme) and also with the substantial dualism of the first Méditations Métaphysiques. On the other, Descartes always insisted on hylomorphism, composition, permixtio and even substantial union. Thereby, the human body becomes endowed with such peculiar properties as its inner binding, indivisibility and a (...) biological self-interest, instilling a certain teleology into a part of extension. (shrink)

Aunque debería parecer evidente, la necesaria relación entre Universidad y verdad se ve con frecuencia obscurecida por las tendencias relativistas y por la primacía de lo práctico y lo útil propias de nuestra época. Sobre este trasfondo y para redescubrir y calibrar la importancia de la verdad como misión esencial de la Universidad, el artículo intenta describir en primer lugar la situación cultural presente en relación con la verdad; indaga, en un segundo momento, en un sentido de verdad que se (...) enmarca en el orden del amor —y no sólo del pensamiento—; y finalmente justifica por qué la Universidad sólo puede ser tal en la medida en que se dedica a buscar, encontrar y comunicar la verdad en una tensión y con un ímpetu que tienen que darse precisamente en el orden del amor. (shrink)

Este trabajo se propone en primer lugar explicitar el rol fundamental que la reflexión de Merleau-Ponty otorga a los otros sujetos corporales como copartícipes en mi percepción del mundo. Avanzando más allá de esta figura primaria de la alteridad relativa a una comunidad intercorporal anónima, las secciones segunda y tercera pretenderán reconocer el lugar que corresponde en esta filosofía a otras figuras fundadas y derivadas, tales como la del conflicto y la alternancia de los roles del sujeto y el sujeto (...) objetivado y, por último, la de un posible vínculo de reconocimiento recíproco entre sujetos personales, únicos y singulares. In the first place, this paper intends to elucidate the fundamental role that Merleau-Ponty's reflection grants to other corporeal subjects as copartners in my perception of the world. Moving beyond this primary figure of alterity, that of an intercorporeal anonymous community, the second and third sections will aim to recognize the place that this philosophy grants to other founded and secondary figures, such as the conflict and alternation of the roles of the subject and the objectified subject, and finally, a possible relationship of reciprocal recognition between personal, unique and singular subjects. (shrink)

Este trabajo desarolla un análisis comparativo de ciertos temas comunes a las teorías de la percepción de Aristóteles y de Merleau-Ponty. Se sostiene que, de distintos modos y discutiendo en cada caso con diferentes doctrinas «intelectualistas», ambas teorías atribuyen a la percepción sensible capacidades complejas de discriminación, unificación y autopercatación sin mediación de funciones intelectuales. A partir de estos elementos comunes a ambas teorías es posible esbozar una consideración del cuerpo sentiente que no lo reduce a su materialidad, así como (...) una concepción de un sí mismo no restringido al pensamiento. (shrink)

Este trabajo presenta la teoría merleau-pontyana de la sexualidad contenida en su _Phénoménologie de la perception_, primeramente en el contexto de otros tempranos abordajes fenomenológicos de la misma cuestión y luego dentro del marco gnoseológico de la obra. A continuación, se evalúa el alcance de las primeras críticas que J. Butler realizó a tal teoría en términos de androcentrismo, naturalización de la diferencia sexual y de la dominación masculina. Se deslindan así los recursos y los límites que comporta la descripción (...) merleau-pontyana del cuerpo sexuado como “expresión” y “estilo corporal” para la elaboración de una concepción no esencialista de la sexualidad afín a la teoría performativa. (shrink)

Este trabajo intenta delinear los ejes centrales de la concepción merleaupontyanade la naturaleza, poniendo especial atención en los últimos cursos del filósofoacerca de la historia del concepto (La nature). El análisis hace escala en lascosmologías presocráticas, la concepción aristotélica de la physis y la interpretación merleaupontyana del mecanicismo y la teleología moderna. Primeramente nos referimos a la crítica de las categorías con que tradicionalmente se hapensado a la physis, crítica fundada en su originaria adscripción a lo humanamente instituido y construido. (...) En segundo lugar, relativizamos esta crítica apartir de la posible consideración de la técnica humana como imitación y extensión de la naturaleza. La evaluación de ambos movimientos de este argumentocircular da lugar a una particular relación de Ineinander o entrelazamiento entre lo natural y lo humano. Reparamos, por último, en la necesidad enfatizadapor Merleau-Ponty de recobrar el significado primordial de la naturaleza como“suelo” y “excedente”. (shrink)

Relationships between degree/area of academic formation and religious and Darwinian views are controversial. This study aimed to compare the religious beliefs and acceptance of Darwinian evolution between two contrasting South American scientific communities (Chile and Colombia), accounting for different degrees and areas of academic formation. In 2018, 115 last year bachelor students (surveyed as freshmen in 2014 for a previous study) from Chile, and 283 first/last year bachelor students, graduate students, and professors from Colombia, all belonging to biology, chemistry, or (...) physics, were surveyed. Chilean students/faculty were significantly more agnostic/atheist, more accepting of Darwinian evolution, and less creationist than their Colombian counterparts. Academic degree and area differently affected these views in both countries, as only in Chile there was a clear tendency among biologists and physicists with higher degrees to hold less religious and creationist views. Marked differences between the history, socioeconomic contexts, and especially in high school and university curricula of both countries might explain these results. (shrink)

RESUMEN Una vez que el foco de la reflexión pasa de las teorías ideales a la aplicación de la justicia social, centrada en las instituciones de las sociedades democráticas, se requiere prestar especial atención a los estilos de vida. Estos tienen una alta incidencia en cómo la justicia es realizada y afectan tanto a la desigualdad económica como a la disponibilidad de los recursos naturales. En nuestras sociedades es posible establecer restricciones a los estilos de vida, especialmente en aquellos casos (...) en que, por el efecto de algunas dinámicas sociales, aquellos se desacoplan de las concepciones del bien. Se defiende que, en tales casos, la base normativa que permite exigir el respeto a los estilos de vida se disuelve y por ello es posible justificar su restricción. ABSTRACT Now that the focus of reflection has shifted from ideal theories to the application of social justice, centered on the institutions of democratic societies, it is necessary to pay special attention to lifestyles, since they not only influence the realization of justice, but also have an effect on economic inequality and the availability of natural resources. In our societies, it is possible to place restrictions on lifestyles, especially in those cases in which, influenced by certain social dynamics, they disengage from conceptions of the good. The article argues that, in those cases, the normative base grounding the demand that lifestyles be respected is dissolved, thus justifying their restriction. (shrink)

This paper aims to enhance security in IoT device networks through a visual tool that utilizes three projection techniques, including Beta Hebbian Learning (BHL), t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) and ISOMAP, in order to facilitate the identification of network attacks by human experts. This work research begins with the creation of a testing environment with IoT devices and web clients, simulating attacks over Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) for recording all relevant traffic information. The unsupervised algorithms chosen provide a set (...) of projections that enable human experts to visually identify most attacks in real-time, making it a powerful tool that can be implemented in IoT environments easily. (shrink)

Background: The high level of satisfaction of users of a health service is largely due to the fact that they receive excellent care from healthcare professionals. Compassionate care is an essential component of excellent care. But what do nurses understand compassion to be? Research objectives: To analyse the concept of compassion from the perspective of nurses in the Andalusian Public Health System, Spain. Research design: This is a qualitative study following the grounded theory model. Four focus groups and 25 in-depth (...) interviews were conducted. Participants and research context: A total of 68 nursing professionals working in the Andalusian Public Health System (Spain) participated. Theoretical sampling was used, with participants being recruited using the snowball technique. Ethical considerations: This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Centro-Almería Health District (CEICA 27/9/17). Findings: From the analysis of the data, four themes emerged that helped to understand the concept of compassion according to nurses: ‘Negative perception of the term compassion’, ‘Compassion and empathy as synonyms’, ‘Beyond empathy’, and ‘Effects of having a compassionate attitude’. Discussion: Nurses perceive the concept of compassion differently to each other and even contradictorily. This concept is imbued with cultural elements, which adds confusion to understanding it, and is even perceived as something negative similar to pity. Conclusion: Nurses confuse the concepts of empathy and compassion as if they were synonymous. Before considering training in compassion for healthcare professionals, it is essential to clarify the concept of compassion through educational interventions. (shrink)

RESUMENEl artículo se propone registrar los puntos principales de la controvertida relación que Theodor Adorno mantuvo, entre 1950 y 1966, con los jóvenes músicos reunidos en torno a los Cursos Internacionales para la Nueva Música realizados en Darmstadt. Se expondrá el modo en que en la música serial, a pesar de su progresismo, que el filósofo medía por el trato con la modernidad radical representada por la escuela vienesa de Schönberg, resonaban elementos que neutralizaban las fuerzas productivas de la nueva (...) música. Al final se elucidará la justificación política que acompañaba a los síntomas estéticos de envejecimiento que Adorno atribuía al círculo de compositores de postguerra.PALABRAS CLAVEADORNO, ESTÉTICA NEGATIVA, RACIONALIZACIÓN, ARTE AUTÓNOMO,MÚSICA SERIALABSTRACTThe paper proposes to record the main points of the controversial relationship Theodor Adorno held, between 1950 and 1966, with the young musicians gathered around the International Courses for the New Music performed in Darmstadt. Here is presented the way in which in serial music, despite its progressivism, which the philosopher measured in the treatment with the radical modernity represented by the Viennese School of Schönberg, resounded elements that neutralized the productive forces of the new music. Finally, I intend to elucidate the political justification that accompanied the aesthetics symptoms of aging that Adorno attributed to the circle of post-war composers.KEYWORDSADORNO, NEGATIVE AESTHETICS, RATIONALIZATION, AUTONOMOUS ART, SERIAL MUSIC. (shrink)

The discovery-justification distinction stands as a pivotal issue within 20th-century philosophy of science. It subtly underpins many foundational topics and concepts pertinent to our comprehension of knowledge. Thomas Kuhn's contributions are indispensable in this regard, with his critiques playing a pivotal role in shaping both his initial model of scientific progress and its subsequent revisions. Kuhn addressed this dichotomy head-on in the first of his Thalheimer Lectures, presented in 1984. In this paper, we revisit Pablo Melogno's (2019) examination of Kuhn's (...) engagement with this theme. Concurring with Melogno, our analysis extends his interpretation by exploring Larry Laudan's objections to certain research programs focused on a logic of discovery. We further scrutinize specific assumptions about discovery heuristics that have been misinterpreted within Laudan's methodological framework, particularly the one stemming from Herbert Simon's pioneering work. By synthesizing these perspectives, we aim to set up a preliminary framework for a more refined understanding of how history and philosophy of science inform the epistemic practices of agents operating with bounded rationality. (shrink)

Surnames of grandparents were collected from children in the primary schools of the AlbanianItalian and Greek–Italian villages of southern Italy and Sicily. The coefficients of relationships by isonymy show almost no relationship with ethnicity. Ethnolinguistic minorities of southern Italy and Sicily are geographically subdivided into two main clusters: the first cluster comprises the Albanian, Croat and Greek communities of the Adriatic area; and the second cluster comprises the Albanian and Greek communities of the Ionian, Thirrenian and Sicilian areas.

Emotional disorder symptoms are highly prevalent and a common cause of disability among children and adolescents. Screening and early detection are needed to identify those who need help and to improve treatment outcomes. Nowadays, especially with the arrival of the COVID-19 outbreak, assessment is increasingly conducted online, resulting in the need for brief online screening measures. The aim of the current study was to examine the reliability and different sources of validity evidence of a new web-based screening questionnaire for emotional (...) disorder symptoms, the DetectaWeb-Distress Scale, which assesses mood, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidality, and global distress. A total of 1,499 participants completed the DetectaWeb-Distress Scale and specific questionnaires for emotional disorder symptoms, suicidal behaviors, and well-being through a web-based survey. Results indicated that a structural model of 10 correlated factors fits reasonably better in comparison to the remaining models; measurement invariance for age and gender; good internal consistency ; and significant positive correlation with other measures of anxiety, depression, PTSD, or distress, and negative correlation with well-being measures, displaying support for convergent-discriminant validity. We also found that girls scored higher than boys on most of the subscales, and children had higher scores for social anxiety, specific phobia, panic disorder, and obsessive–compulsive symptoms, whereas adolescents scored higher on depressive symptoms, suicidality, and generalized anxiety, but the effect sizes were small to medium for all comparisons. The DetectaWeb-Distress Scale is a valid, innovative, and useful online tool for the screening and evaluation of preventive programs for mental health in children and adolescents. (shrink)

The American Society for Bioethics and Humanities promulgated standards for clinical ethics consultants and is currently developing a national Quality Attestation in Clinical Ethics Consultation to assist facilities in ensuring that those performing clinical ethics consultations meet minimum standards. As the field moves towards such professionalization, there is a need to provide access to qualified clinical ethicists at a broad range of medical facilities. Currently, however, there are insufficient numbers of trained clinical ethicists to staff all healthcare facilities, and many (...) facilities lack the necessary resources to hire staff clinical ethicists. In this review, we describe several models for providing expert clinical ethics support to remote facilities that lack access to qualified clinical ethicists. Based on this analysis, we recommend telemedicine as the optimal model providing expert support to local ethics committee members tasked with providing clinical ethics consultation services. (shrink)

"Who knows how much longer it will be, but others have crossed over to the US, and have found a job, and have even sent for their families. I am not the only one crossing, I am number 57 out of 72, but we do not walk together, all 72—that would call too much attention to us. We walk at a good pace, each one with their thoughts, we walk from sun to sun without stopping almost; others have done it." (...) These are the words of renowned writer Elena Poniatowska on 72migrantes.com, a virtual altar honoring the 72 migrants massacred in a ranch in San Fernando, a municipality in the border state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, in August 2010. Attempting to recreate the thoughts of unidentified victim number 57 on his trek towards the... (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to study Leonardo Polo's conception of the principle of identity. This identity is also called Origin; however, an adequate understanding of that expression requires a careful study of the way man comes to be aware of it.

We report three experimental studies of reasoning with double conditionals, i.e. problems based on premises of the form: If A then B. If B then C. where A, B, and C, describe everyday events. We manipulated both the logical structure of the problems, using all four possible arrangements (or ''figures" of their constituents, A, B, and C, and the believability of the two salient conditional conclusions that might follow from them, i.e. If A then C , or If C then (...) A . The experiments showed that with figures for which there was a valid conclusion, the participants more often, and more rapidly, drew the valid conclusion when it was believable than when it was unbelievable. With figures for which there were no valid conclusions, the participants tended to draw whichever of the two conclusions was believable. These results were predicted by the theory that reasoning depends on constructing mental models of the premises. (shrink)

This paper offers new arguments to reject the alleged dream of immortality. In order to do this, I firstly introduce an amendment to Michael Hauskeller’s approach of the “immortalist fallacy”. I argue that the conclusion “we do not want to live forever” does not follow from the premise “we do not want to die”. Next, I propose the philosophical turn from “normally” to “under these circumstances” to resolve this logical error. Then, I review strong philosophical critiques of this transhumanist purpose (...) of immortality in the literature. There are two key questions related to the possibility of fulfilling this goal: the hard problem of consciousness and the personal identity dilemma. Finally, I defend a specific type of indefinite life and justify that it is more desirable than our current limited life. (shrink)

Effective corporate social responsibility policies are a requirement for today's companies. Policies have not only to be formulated, they also have to be delivered by corporate employees. This paper uses existing research findings to identify two types of factors that may impact on employee motivation and commitment to CSR ‘buy-in’. The first of these is contextual: employee attitudes and behaviours will be affected by organizational culture and climate, by whether CSR policies are couched in terms of compliance or in terms (...) of values, and by whether such policies are integrated into business processes or simply an ‘add-on’ that serves as window-dressing. The second set of factors is perceptual. Motivation and commitment will be affected by the extent to which they can align personal identity and image with that of the organization, by their perceptions of justice and fairness both in general and in terms of how CSR performance is rewarded, and by their impressions concerning the attitude of top management to CSR issues and performance. (shrink)