The objective of this article was to address the Augustinian call to philosophical life. In discussion with academic skepticism, Saint Augustine exhorts his friend Romanian to search for wisdom and, for this, to also dismiss distrust and excessive confidence in reason, since he argues both against the skeptical position, or despair of finding the truth, and dogmatism or the assurance of having definitely found the truth. In fact, Saint Augustine points out the difficulty of taking knowledge for granted and, therefore, (...) does not rule out skepticism, but rather incorporates it as the initial phase of knowing and as an antidote to the naivety of giving absolute scope to the human faculty of human knowing. In the perspective of this balance, Saint Augustine exhorts Romanian to finish deciding to lead a philosophical life. To travel this path, in continuity with his Neoplatonic readings, he considers beauty as a guide: spiritual beauty is accessed by passing through the cosmic; the contemplating soul, insofar as it corresponds to what is contemplated, can thus reach the ascending path of its own transformation. The method of accessing the texts is philological, that is, it seeks at the same time to decipher the letter of the philosophical plot and to establish a contextual understanding of it. A method of this nature is inseparable from the conceptual framework; indeed, the formation of a philosophical knowledge, which tries to find the limits of the understanding of revelation, puts the person in tension of perfection, that is, it guides them towards their own transcendence. (shrink)

Este artículo propone un recorrido por la naturaleza del mito, sus propiedades distintivas y, de manera particular, los requisitos del mito escatológico. Se establece su relación intrínseca con la tragedia, como campo de expresión de la gravedad de lo humano. La correlación entre el misterio y el drama, dada en el cruce del tiempo y la atemporalidad, se ejemplifica en las obras de Sófocles, con el fin de desembocar en el tratamiento particular de Edipo en Colono (1992) y la presentación (...) de un esbozo de su escatología, previa a la exposición platónica. (shrink)

The work of Sophocles shows the human suffering which might be caused by evil without the presence of guilt. Within the historic confrontation of the Athenian political stage, the presentation of the tragic conflict opposes the illustrated omnipotence: to present that what is divine as incomprehensible is one of the traditional features of Sophocles’ work and his announcement of anti-modernity. “Not-understanding” is the banner of silence when faced with the limit of natural reason. As a response to sophist thought, which (...) replaced the divine paradigm, the preponderance of the gods in the work of Sophocles might be seen as an affirmation. What is characteristic of the traditional restoration proposed by Sophocles is not only the appearance of the Gods in his works, but the particular way in which they reveal themselves. Knowing that what is divine is not characteristic of men because it is not a feature of the former to be understood to a lesser degree than that of its own nature. That is exactly the stage where the struggle between the reality of knowing and the relative appearance of knowing occurs. Bearing this interpretative intention in mind, the aim of the paper is to highlight the way in which evil reveals itself in Oedipus the King, as a device chosen by the gods to trigger the unfolding of the nature of the hero. (shrink)

Resumen: Entre el pensamiento de José Gaos y el de Eduardo Nicol se cierne una diferencia sustancial en torno al concepto de la filosofía. Para el primero, ésta es una suerte de confesión personal; mientras que para Nicol la filosofía debe ser producto de una hazaña dialógica y el conocimiento tiene que ser objetivo.: José Gaos’s and Eduardo Nicol’s concepts of philosophy differ substantially. For the former, philosophy is a sort of personal confession, whereas for the later it must be (...) the outcome of dialogical achievement, and as for knowledge, this has to be objective. (shrink)

Partimos de la consideración de los saberes de las humanidades, y de la con-secuente formación humanística, para observar su injerencia y justificación en los resultados culturales, según la narrativa de Thomas Mann. Con el marco de la situación histórica del autor y dentro de la confrontación entre el burgués y el artista, analizamos el diagnóstico del autor sobre la época capitalista y su agotamiento; nos detenemos en la idea de evolución-transición operada por el arte, en particular por la música, como (...) lenguaje para renovar la tradición. La descripción de las formas ficcionales se realiza a través del aparente contraste de Doktor Faustus entre el narrador testigo, Serenus Zeitblom, y el protagonista, Adrián Leverkuhn, que revela la unidad de visión. Las conclusiones refieren a la dudosa energía de los saberes de las humanidades, y a la complicidad de sus mutaciones, bajo paradigma de racionalidad instrumental, para favorecer la crisis del individuo occidental. (shrink)

Resumen: De las muchas posibilidades de lectura de Antígona de Sófocles destacamos la naturaleza del conflicto trágico, que tiene sus raíces en valores anteriores al orden social establecido y que puede considerarse material útil para una refundación del estatuto político en la posmodernidad. A partir del comentario de texto señalamos que Antígona no atenta contra el orden social, sino que espera consolidarlo en un fundamento imperturbable; que encarna la crítica de la racionalidad instrumental, inaugurada por la sofística y reavivada sucesivamente (...) en la modernidad; que afirma existencialmente una ética del amor fraterno como humanización del orden del universo. Proponemos ampliar la noción de hermano consanguíneo y extenderla a la idea de hermano como “el otro” en el marco de las sociedades posmodernas, espacios de intención multicultural, para tener un principio de rescate ético. En esta re-lectura se actualizan las nociones arcaicas de religiosidad, honra fúnebre y piedad familiar.: Of the many possible readings of Sophocles' Antigone, we highlight the nature of the tragic conflict, which has its roots in previous values to the established social order, and which can be considered useful material for re-founding the political status in postmodernity. From the text commentary, we note that Antigone does not attack the social order, but she hopes to consolidate it on an imperturbable basis that embodies the critique of instrumental rationality, inaugurated by sophistry and revived successively in modernity. This affirms existentially the ethics of fraternal love as a humanization of the order of the universe. We propose to extend the notion of consanguineous brother and extend it to the idea of brother as “the other” in the framework of postmodern societies, spaces of multicultural intention, to have a principle of ethical rescue. In this re-reading, the archaic notions of religiosity, funeral honor, and family piety are updated. (shrink)

Ofrecemos una lectura de Un hogar sólido de Elena Garro en relación con los postulados de la tragedia griega, en particular las nociones de destino, culpa y conocimiento, para resaltar la posición femenina que presenta la autora a través de la cual cuestiona las convenciones de su época. Primero presentamos la idiosincrasia de los personajes para resaltar la materia trágica que aporta la protagonista de la pieza y fundamentar su carácter de heroína. En la circunstancia existencial de las mujeres se (...) plantea la oposición del destino y la libertad, aunque la búsqueda de la autonomía será el camino de la afirmación de la identidad. La autora confronta a la protagonista con la determinación del destino, expone su decisión y verifica su caída; en las diferencias propuestas entre la tragedia griega y la tragedia mexicana, se critican las estructuras socioculturales y los estereotipos de género. Elena Garro confirma el papel político del teatro y la misión del héroe en la comunidad. (shrink)

In this article we establish that in mythical thought there is, as a natural quality, an expression of universality. Following Cassirer’s Philosophy of Symbolic Forms, we show that through the expressive function of myth it is possible to develop an expressive way of thinking or a pre-logical type of knowledge. We then propose an interpretation of Oedipus at Colonus in order to show that it offers a plausible resource to relate the individual and the community, and that the framework in (...) this tragedy works as a complex sign and symbolic path to delineate a form of expressive relationship through which it is possible to propose the unification of the individual with the community. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to deepen in the perception of divinity and its consequent complexities. Theoretically, we consider the Cassirer’s Philosophy of Religion in Language and Myth and in Mythical Thought to apply them to the Ajax by Sophocles. In the methodological framework, we identify a phenomenological order of perceiving deity, composed by four phases: spiritual force, perception of the part, of the parte, and of the personality. In the hermeneutic of the tragedy, we achieved four results: (1) (...) the revelation of destiny and self-revelation of deity express, at the same time, an intentionality of the god; (2) the natural order of the events is structured following divine intention; (3) the tragedy, as community text, revels a religious experience and a cosmological order that needs to be considered. (shrink)

In recent decades, psychological research on the effects of mindfulness-based interventions has greatly developed and demonstrated a range of beneficial outcomes in a variety of populations and contexts. Yet, the question of how to foster subjective well-being and happiness remains open. Here, we assessed the effectiveness of an integrated mental training program The Art of Happiness on psychological well-being in a general population. The mental training program was designed to help practitioners develop new ways to nurture their own happiness. This (...) was achieved by seven modules aimed at cultivating positive cognition strategies and behaviors using both formal and informal practices. The program was conducted over a period of 9 months, also comprising two retreats, one in the middle and one at the end of the course. By using a set of established psychometric tools, we assessed the effects of such a mental training program on several psychological well-being dimensions, taking into account both the longitudinal effects of the course and the short-term effects arising from the intensive retreat experiences. The results showed that several psychological well-being measures gradually increased within participants from the beginning to the end of the course. This was especially true for life satisfaction, self-awareness, and emotional regulation, highlighting both short-term and longitudinal effects of the program. In conclusion, these findings suggest the potential of the mental training program, such as The Art of Happiness, for psychological well-being. (shrink)

La reflexión de Friederich Schleiermacher sobre la universidad se centra en las dificultades que observa para superar el estancamiento de la educación alemana a principios del siglo XIX y establece, en ella, dos niveles: por un lado, la excesiva burocratización de la vida universitaria, que le quita lo que tiene precisamente de vital y, por otro, desde la perspectiva propiamente del profesor, la imposibilidad de cultivar el talento de los alumnos mediante clases farragosas, en las que se repite lo que (...) ya está escrito y en las que la memoria es la única medida del conocimiento. La mayoría de los profesores se encuentran en esta situación porque los conocimientos se perciben de manera fragmentaria y, por lo tanto, se transmiten sin el contenido de su unidad profunda. La Facultad de Filosofía tiene el cometido de construir el camino hacia la unidad de conocimiento y fundamentar el sentido profundo de la vida universitaria. Por ello, los cimientos de la universidad moderna descansan sobre el profesor que investiga y transmite en sus clases el pathos de aquella tarea; también descansan sobre el alumno, a quien hay que ayudar a comprender la dimensión de su talento y desde allí, emprender la tarea de la auto-educación. (shrink)

In human groups performing oscillatory tasks, it has been observed that the frequency of participants' oscillations reduces when compared to that acquired in solo. This experimental observation is not captured by the standard Kuramoto oscillators, often employed to model human synchronization. In this work, we aim at capturing this observed phenomenon by proposing three alternative modifications of the standard Kuramoto model that are based on three different biologically-relevant hypotheses underlying group synchronization. The three models are tuned, validated and compared against (...) experiments on a group synchronization task, which is a multi-agent extension of the so-called mirror game. (shrink)

Resumen: En este artículo presentamos a san Agustín como punto de partida de la reflexión de Husserl respecto del tiempo y la correlación entre memoria y Erinnerung. La investigación fenomenológica de Husserl acerca de la conciencia interna del tiempo parte de la reflexión de san Agustín por el mismo problema. En estas obras, el tiempo se puede medir porque hay una distentio animi. En Husserl, Die Erinnerung nos coloca ante una conexión infinita de “antes”, pues toda percepción se encuentra en (...) una relación de multiplicidad de percepciones. Ambos pensadores están unidos por la vocación de dar cuenta de la propia inmanencia.: This article presents Saint Agustin as a starting point for Husserl’s reflection on time and the correlation between memory and Erinnerung. Husserl’s phenomenological research on the internal consciousness of time starts from the reflection of St. Augustine on the same problem. In this works, time can be measured because there is distentio animi. In Husserl, Die Erinnerung places us in the face of an infinite “before” connection, because all perceptions are to be found on a relationship of multiplicity of perceptions. Both thinkers are united by the vocation to account for their own immanence. (shrink)

La presencia de Platón y del pensamiento platónico se ha mantenido de manera incesante a lo largo de la historia de la cultura. En esta historia, el siglo XX refleja el rechazo y la aceptación, la recepción, en suma, de un modo inusitado tal vez porque, durante este siglo, la humanidad se vio cara a cara con los infiernos que supo crear: un mundo en ruinas hacía imposible intuir la perfecta quietud de las Formas. La recepción de Platón en el (...) siglo XX bucea en la recepción de Platón en aquel mundo contradictorio: ¿cómo se integra su pensamiento fundacionalmente metafísico con la deconstrucción de la metafísica? ¿Cuáles son los alcances de la crítica que la teoría política hace, desde la época de los totalitarismos, al autor de la República? ¿Qué valor cognoscitivo y pedagógico puede tener en mito platónico para filósofos cristianos que se ocupan del pensamiento platónico? ¿Cómo recibe la poesía hispanoamericana su voz de demiurgo? Estas preguntas, de las que se ofrecen diversas respuestas en este libro, son tratadas con rigor académico y confrontadas doblemente con las fuentes: en primer término, con Platón y luego con quienes son estudiados en el presente volumen, aunque desde ángulos muy diversos: M. Heidegger, H. G. Gadamer, K. Popper, E. Cassirer, L. Marechal. La seguridad del tratamiento metodológico y lingüístico que se refleja en esta obra hace que sea altamente recomendable para alumnos de grado y de posgrado en Filosofía, Teoría Política, Literatura y Humanidades en general. (shrink)

Todos los Acuerdos de Libre Comercio (ALCs) concluidos recientemente por la Unión Europea (UE) incluyen capítulos sobre Comercio y Desarrollo Sostenible (CDS) donde se recogen compromisos mutuos en materia laboral y medioambiental. Las disposiciones sobre medio ambiente mencionan expresamente los acuerdos multilaterales que cada Parte se compromete a cumplir, como el Acuerdo de París sobre cambio climático. Sin embargo, la falta de un mecanismo de ejecución efectiva en caso de incumplimiento de las disposiciones sobre CDS merma la credibilidad de los (...) compromisos de sostenibilidad. El ALC de la UE con Nueva Zelanda representa un punto de inflexión en esta tendencia, ya que introduce un nuevo modelo de aplicación. Con respecto a los compromisos climáticos, en particular, el ACL incluye objetivos ambiciosos que, unido al nuevo enfoque de aplicación, podrían incorporarse a futuros ALCs de la UE, contribuyendo así de forma importante a la lucha global contra el cambio climático. (shrink)

ARISTOTLE'S Ethics are not focused on a group of moral principles; they are developed from the affirmation of an end which subordinates all human activities. This end is sought for itself and is called "the good and the best".

La finalidad de este artículo es facilitar al lector un enfoque general sobre una de las emociones más primitivas del mundo, El miedo. Desde su definición, pasando por sus funciones, y los autores que han estudiado sobre él, y a través de ellos hacer un recorrido por algunas corrientes.

Nossa intenção neste artigo é mostrar como Claude Lefort concebe a democracia como, mais do que um regime político, uma forma histórica privilegiada por ser aquela em que a sociedade se exprime politicamente sem anular um elemento fundamental para a preservação de sua liberdade: o conflito. Para tanto, partimos dos estudos lefortianos sobre Maquiavel para investigar como o autor extrai do republicanismo o sentido dessa conflitualidade fundamental e como ele vê nessa forma política a gestação de uma mutação histórica decisiva: (...) o esvaziamento do lugar do poder. (shrink)

Michel Foucault, no curso Em defesa da sociedade, explica a relação entre o biopoder e o racismo. Dentre as modalidades de racismo praticadas desde o século XIX, Foucault inclui o socialismo, sendo que neste há um racismo de tipo evolucionista, biológico, que funciona plenamente em relação aos doentes mentais, aos criminosos, aos adversários políticos etc., que foi necessário sempre que o socialismo teve de insistir no problema da luta contra o inimigo e da eliminação do adversário no interior da sociedade (...) capitalista, e apareceu porque foi a única maneira, nesse caso, de pensar uma razão para matar o adversário. Por outro lado, Maurice Merleau-Ponty publicou, em 1947, o livro Humanismo e Terror, no qual invoca o problema da violência praticada pela União Soviética, pondo em evidência a teoria e a prática da violência pelo regime comunista. Para Merleau-Ponty, quando se vive numa época em que a base tradicional de uma sociedade se destrói e o homem deve reconstruí-la e reconstruir também as relações humanas, a liberdade de cada um desaparece e a violência aparece. Isso seria como foi o princípio do comunismo, com Lênin. O que Merleau-Ponty questiona é se a violência praticada em 1947 pelo mesmo regime tem o mesmo sentido que tinha no leninismo. O objetivo deste trabalho é verificar se há e quais são os pontos de toque entre a visão foucaultiana do racismo de Estado praticado pela URSS e a violência revolucionária identificada por Merleau-Ponty na mesma URSS. (shrink)

El desplazamiento del mito de la cultura ofrece alternativas (ciencia, historia, política) que corren el riesgo de reproducir planteamientos irracionales que, en el seno de aquella forma, se encuentran superados. El pensamiento mítico ofrece soluciones novedosas para ciertos problemas actuales.

Los aspecto psicológicos que afectan a la persona en tiempo de crisis son amplios, la ausencia de futuro, el empobrecimiento y sobre todo y en gran medida la falta de empleo, son factores que tienen consecuencias psicológicas importantes.

Este artigo pretende investigar a maneira pela qual o filósofo alemão Edmund Husserl, em Meditações Cartesianas (1929), modaliza e pretende solucionar o problema do solipsismo a partir dos expedientes de sua fenomenologia transcendental. Neste registro, a “tensão” a ser efetivamente superada está na passagem do ego transcendental ao alter ego: de que maneira poder-se-ia escapar ao solipsismo se, em regime de redução fenomenológica transcendental, descubro-me como ego transcendental e, portanto, como o fiador último da experiência? Tendo em vista essas considerações, (...) o interesse do presente artigo será o de, partindo da descrição do ego cogito husserliano por meio do método da redução fenomenológica transcendental, descobrir como, refutando a objeção de solipsismo, Husserl teria chego à descoberta do alter ego e em seguida teria mapeado a possibilidade da intersubjetividade transcendental e, consequentemente, do mundo objetivo. (shrink)

Nosso objetivo neste artigo é expor a maneira como Merleau-Ponty desenvolve, no texto “Nota sobre Maquiavel”, o argumento de que o pensamento político de Maquiavel é essencialmente humanista, uma vez que problematiza, entre outras coisas, as relações do homem com o homem e as relações dos homens com sua situação e com a história, tendo como fio condutor de tal problematização o papel a ser desempenhado pelo príncipe na direção do Estado e, consequentemente, das vidas de seus súditos.

The purpose of the article is to show that the foundations of a dualistic theology of Christian roots are found in the point of connection between platonic metaphysics, gnostic myths and exegesis. It highlights the way in which platonic metaphysics was developed in a completely different way than what is known as “Metaphysics of Exodus”. It considers that myth ─as an expressive vehicle of religious experience and having a polyvalent logic─ was a decisive element for the transmission of gnostic tradition. (...) Thus, the article concentrates on the gnostic understanding of “The Prologue of John”, which focuses on the Christological function of Jesus, bearing in mind the difficulties involved in the indifference with which this tradition dealt with Incarnation. The tools for the exegesis are taken from Hellenic tradition as a form to clarify the gnostic intuition concerning the stages of the propagation of the divine, both before and after the Fall. (shrink)

Resumen Este artículo estudia la transformación de las bases del escepticismo antiguo en el pensamiento agustiniano; para presentar el proceso se parte de la crisis que supuso la ruptura con experiencia maniquea, se distingue su preocupación y consideración sobre el modo y los límites del conocimiento y se analiza la función de la imagen mítica de Proteo en Contra Académicos; esta imagen permite ponderar la capacidad de la representación mítica como contrafuerte del carácter discursivo del saber humano. Mediante este recurso, (...) san Agustín afirma que la razón no puede quedar aislada de otros modos complementarios de comprensión, hace propio el núcleo de la actitud escéptica y amplía la noción de racionalidad para la filosofía cristiana.This paper studies the transformation of the foundations of ancient skepticism in Augustinian thought; to present the process we start from the crisis that led to the break with Manichaean experience, we distinguished their concern and consideration about the mode and limits of knowledge and analyzed the function of Proteo's mythical image in Contra academicos; this image allows us to weigh the capacity of mythical representation as a buttress of the discursive character of human knowledge. Through this resource, St. Augustine affirms that reason cannot be isolated from other complementary modes of understanding, appropriates the core of the skeptical attitude and broadens the notion of rationality for Christian philosophy. (shrink)

In this article we follow the reception made by Augustine of Hippo of the Manichean myth; in this we see his visceral reaction against the doctrine of Mani, since –in addition to the apologetic elements properly– there is a clear attempt to take psychological distance from a religious experience that marked it in depth, in every way. In this controversial context we can also discern central aspects of a text that had liturgical value and which, as such, was of capital (...) importance to the Manichaean communities. This Augustinian reading has as horizon the near collapse of the Roman Empire of the West and the ever-increasing confrontation of Constantinople with Persian Empire, the mobility of its borders and the partly political and partly religious persecutions that Manichaeism underwent. (shrink)

This work empirically tests the concept of the ‘whistleblowing triangle,’ which is modeled on the three factors encapsulated by the fraud triangle, in the Indonesian context. Anchored in the proposition of an original research framework on the whistleblowing triangle and derived hypotheses, this work aims to expand the body of knowledge on this topic by providing empirical evidence. The sample used is taken from audit firms affiliated with both the big 4 and non-big 4 companies operating in Indonesia. The results (...) of analysis using the PLS-PM method found a significant relationship between the components of the whistleblowing triangle and the intention of blowing the whistle. We found that financial incentives are the most significant predictor of auditors’ intention to blow the whistle in Indonesia. Other components, such as opportunity and rationalization, also play an important role in supporting auditors’ intention to blow the whistle. Our findings also suggest that related pressures are the top priority for audit firms in Indonesia to consider in increasing whistleblowing intention. We expand the previous literature on whistleblowing which has been derived from the components of the fraud triangle :28–56, 2016; Smaili and Arroyo in J Bus Ethics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3663-7, 2017) by adding empirical evidence. (shrink)

Whistleblowers who need to decide whether or not they should report wrongdoing usually experience several anxieties and pressures before making a final decision. As whistleblowers continue to attract the attention of a wide range of stakeholders, more research is necessary to understand the effects of the perceived seriousness of threats and perceived seriousness of wrongdoing, as well as the effect of the rationalization process on the intention to blow the whistle. We make the original proposal that the rationalization process can (...) affect how PST and PSW trigger whistleblowing intentions. We tested our model using employees of tax offices operating in an emerging economy. We suggest several research findings, which can be summarized as follows: PST reduces individuals’ intention to blow the whistle. That is, the greater the threat perceived by whistleblowers, the higher the likelihood they will choose to remain silent; we find evidence of a positive relationship between PSW and whistleblowing intention, whereby PSW increases individuals’ intention to blow the whistle. That is, the more serious the wrongdoing perceived by potential whistleblowers, the more likely they are to choose to blow the whistle; and we find evidence of the important role of rationalization in moderating the relationships between PST, PSW, and whistleblowing intention. The implications of these findings for business ethics scholars, managers, and end-users interested in whistleblowing are also presented. (shrink)

Con objeto de establecer las bases de un castigo penal justo, H.L.A. Hart propone una visión alternativa a las versiones tradicionales. El planteamiento de Hart muestra que los enfoques principales no han superado problemas de incuestionable importancia: la justificación moral del castigo penal y su aplicación justa. En este sentido, el trabajo de Hart se sitúa entre el consecuencialismo y el retribucionismo. De esta manera, si un castigo está justificado debe tener buenas consecuencias para la sociedad castigando sólo a quien (...) lo merece. Finalmente, la propuesta de Hart conectará con su concepción del Derecho dando a los individuos las capacidades de guiar su propia vida con previsión, confianza, seguridad y libertad. In order to establish the basis of a fair criminal punishment, H.L.A. Hart proposes an alternative view to the traditional versions. Hart’s approach shows that the main approaches have not overcome problems of unquestionable importance: the moral justification of criminal punishment and its fair application. In this sense, Hart’s work is between consequentialism and retributivism. In this way if a punishment is to be justified must have good consequences on society punishing only those who deserve it. Finally, Hart’s approach will connect with his own conception of law giving individuals the capacities to guide their own life with foresight, confidence, security and freedom. (shrink)

This paper examines the various theories of intergenerational justice and its implications in the practical context of pension systems. In this context the sustainability of the system appears to be compromised by demographic projections. This fact has an unquestionable relevance for the future of this very important public service and the intergenerational commitment that this implies. In this sense if a pension system wants to be fair it has to look in three directions: pensioners, workers and future generations. So, a (...) liberal-egalitarian theory becomes necessary to share the risks of demographic and financial shocks between different generations and to reduce inequality as much as possible. (shrink)

Los historiadores y científicos sociales que han estudiado el nacionalismo en las últimas décadas han dejado bien establecido que la existencia de naciones no es un hecho natural ni un rasgo constante en la historia humana, sino un fenómeno reciente y, en cierto modo, artificial, promovido por elites culturales que persiguen objetivos políticos. Lo cual de ningún modo quiere decir que tal actividad sea ilegítima, ni tampoco que la construcción ofrecida bajo el nombre de "nación" sea completamente caprichosa y pueda (...) tener éxito sin relación con rasgos culturales preexistentes. En el caso español, es indiscutible que existía una cierta identidad cultural previa a la era de las naciones. En el mundo antiguo y en el medieval se hablaba de "Hispania", aunque éste fuera un concepto no político, sino meramente geográfico, y por supuesto no coincidiera con la actual España, pues hacía referencia a toda la Península incluida Portugal. (shrink)

El A. es profesor en la Universidad de Pavía , donde enseña Literatura Latina Tardo Antigua e Historia de la Lengua Latina; su centro de interés se ubica en las relaciones entre cultura clásica y literatura cristiana. El libro nos ofrece una visión de conjunto de la literatura tardo antigua en lengua latina, lo que significa, a su vez, una instantánea de las transformaciones que sacuden a la sociedad de la parte occidental del Imperio, entre los siglos III al VI, (...) es decir, entre la crisis social y económica que preanuncia la decadencia y las primeras manifestaciones de la cultura monacal. (shrink)