Putting migrant remittances into house construction and rebuilding is generally seen as either conspicuous consumption or productive investment, but in both cases the perspective is economistic. This article argues that only when the cultural dimension of economic action is understood will it be possible to comprehend migrant spending on houses. Specifically, this article seeks to understand why, in the case of the rural Tagalog village in this study, located in upland Batangas Province in the Philippines, overseas labour migrants build houses (...) that they do not even live in, but are given to parents or simply left unoccupied. The explanation is framed in relation to the meanings of houses in a culture of bilateral kinship, which the Philippines shares with most parts of Southeast Asia, but inflected by distinct colonial influences. The article demonstrates the ways in which houses as memorials serve as idioms of ties of relatedness within kin groups and the broader community, ties that are being transformed by global migration and experienced differently yet maintained, renegotiated yet sustained transnationally. (shrink)

If the laws of nature are as the Humean believes, it is an unexplained cosmic coincidence that the actual Humean mosaic is as extremely regular as it is. This is a strong and well-known objection to the Humean account of laws. Yet, as reasonable as this objection may seem, it is nowadays sometimes dismissed. The reason: its unjustified implicit assignment of equiprobability to each possible Humean mosaic; that is, its assumption of the principle of indifference, which has been attacked on (...) many grounds ever since it was first proposed. In place of equiprobability, recent formal models represent the doxastic state of total ignorance as suspension of judgment. In this paper I revisit the cosmic coincidence objection to Humean laws by assessing which doxastic state we should endorse. By focusing on specific features of our scenario I conclude that suspending judgment results in an unnecessarily weak doxastic state. First, I point out that recent literature in epistemology has provided independent justifications of the principle of indifference. Second, given that the argument is framed within a Humean metaphysics, it turns out that we are warranted to appeal to these justifications and assign a uniform and additive credence distribution among Humean mosaics. This leads us to conclude that, contrary to widespread opinion, we should not dismiss the cosmic coincidence objection to the Humean account of laws. (shrink)

Certain results, most famously in classical statistical mechanics and complex systems, but also in quantum mechanics and high-energy physics, yield a coarse-grained stable statistical pattern in the long run. The explanation of these results shares a common structure: the results hold for a 'typical' dynamics, that is, for most of the underlying dynamics. In this paper I argue that the structure of the explanation of these results might shed some light --a different light-- on philosophical debates on the laws of (...) nature. In the explanation of such patterns, the specific form of the underlying dynamics is almost irrelevant. The conditions required, given a free state-space evolution, suffice to account for the coarse-grained lawful behaviour. An analysis of such conditions might thus provide a different account of how regular behaviour can occur. This paper focuses on drawing attention to this type of explanation, outlining it in the diverse areas of physics in which it appears, and discussing its limitations and significance in the tractable setting of classical statistical mechanics. (shrink)

Can stable regularities be explained without appealing to governing laws or any other modal notion? In this paper, I consider what I will call a ‘Humean system’—a generic dynamical system without guiding laws—and assess whether it could display stable regularities. First, I present what can be interpreted as an account of the rise of stable regularities, following from Strevens [2003], which has been applied to explain the patterns of complex systems (such as those from meteorology and statistical mechanics). Second, since (...) this account presupposes that the underlying dynamics displays deterministic chaos, I assess whether it can be adapted to cases where the underlying dynamics is not chaotic but truly random—that is, cases where there is no dynamics guiding the time evolution of the system. If this is so, the resulting stable, apparently non-accidental regularities are the fruit of what can be called statistical necessity rather than of a primitive physical necessity. (shrink)

This doctoral dissertation investigates the notion of physical necessity. Specifically, it studies whether it is possible to account for non-accidental regularities without the standard assumption of a pre-existent set of governing laws. Thus, it takes side with the so called deflationist accounts of laws of nature, like the humean or the antirealist. The specific aim is to complement such accounts by providing a missing explanation of the appearance of physical necessity. In order to provide an explanation, I recur to fields (...) that have not been appealed to so far in discussions about the metaphysics of laws. Namely, I recur to complex systems’ theory, and to the foundations of statistical mechanics. The explanation proposed is inspired by how complex systems’ theory has elucidated the way patterns emerge, and by the probabilistic explanations of the 2nd law of thermodynamics. More specifically, this thesis studies how some constraints that make no direct reference to the dynamics can be a sufficient condition for obtaining in the long run, with high probability, stable regular behavior. I hope to show how certain metaphysical accounts of laws might benefit from the insights achieved in these other fields. According to the proposal studied in this thesis, some regularities are not accidental not in virtue of an underlying physical necessity. The non-accidental character of certain regular behavior is only due to its overwhelming stability. Thus, from this point of view the goal becomes to explain the stability of temporal patterns without assuming a set of pre-existent guiding laws. It is argued that the stability can be the result of a process of convergence to simpler and stable regularities from a more complex lower level. According to this project, if successful, there would be no need to postulate a (mysterious) intermediate category between logical necessity and pure contingency. Similarly, there would be no need to postulate a (mysterious) set of pre-existent governing laws. Part I of the thesis motivates part II, mostly by arguing why further explanation of the notions of physical necessity and governing laws should be welcomed (chapter 1), and by studying the plausibility of a lawless fundamental level (chapters 2 and 3). Given so, part II develops the explanation of formation of simpler and stable behavior from a more complex underlying level. (shrink)

It is not uncommon in the history of science and philosophy to encounter crucial experiments or crucial objections the truth-value of which we are ignorant, that is, about which we suspend judgment. Should we ignore such objections? Contrary to widespread practice, I show that in and only in some circumstances they should not be ignored, for the epistemically rational doxastic attitude is to suspend judgment also about the hypothesis that the objection targets. In other words, suspension of judgment “propagates” from (...) the crucial objection to the hypothesis. In this paper I study under which conditions this phenomenon occurs, and discuss its significance for the topics of skepticism, scientific realism, and peer disagreement. (shrink)

In situations where we ignore everything but the space of possibilities, we ought to suspend judgment—that is, remain agnostic—about which of these possibilities is the case. This means that we cannot sum our degrees of belief in different possibilities, something that has been formalized as an axiom of non-additivity. Consistent with this way of representing our ignorance, I defend a doxastic norm that recommends that we should nevertheless follow a certain additivity of possibilities: even if we cannot sum degrees of (...) belief in different possibilities, we should be more confident in larger groups of possibilities. It is thus shown that, in the type of situation considered (in so-called ‘classical ignorance’, i.e. “behind a thin veil of ignorance”), it is epistemically rational for advocates of suspending judgment to endorse this comparative confidence; while on the other hand it is shown that, even in classical ignorance, no stronger belief—such as a precise uniform probability distribution—is warranted. (shrink)

Como introducción al monográfico sobre reduccionismo y emergencia brindamos aquí un contexto teórico al debate contemporáneo. Hablaremos primero del acercamiento naturalista en filosofía (§2), así como de dos de las características más importantes de la emergencia: autonomía y universalidad (§3). Finalmente, basándonos en la literatura contemporánea (principalmente en Patricia Palacios y Jessica Wilson, además de Mario Bunge y Alicia Juarrero) presentamos algunas de las definiciones y distinciones más importantes para entender mejor el debate sobre la emergencia (§4).

How can a metaphysics of abstract entities be built upon a metaphysics of time? In this paper, I address the question of how to accommodate abstract entities in a presentist world. I consider both the traditional metaontological approach of unrestricted fundamental quantification and then ontological pluralism. I argue that under the former we need to impose two constraints in the characterization of presentism in order to avoid undesired commitments to abstract entities: we have to characterize presentism as a thesis only (...) about the concrete, and we also need to avoid the widely held distinction between tensed and tenseless senses of existence. Under ontological pluralism, instead, I argue that we can naturally accommodate any view of abstract objects in a presentist world. (shrink)

Much recent philosophy of physics has investigated the process of symmetry breaking. Here, I critically assess the alleged symmetry restoration at the fundamental scale. I draw attention to the contingency that gauge symmetries exhibit, that is, the fact that they have been chosen from an infinite space of possibilities. I appeal to this feature of group theory to argue that any metaphysical account of fundamental laws that expects symmetry restoration up to the fundamental level is not fully satisfactory. This is (...) a symmetry argument in line with Curie’s first principle. Further, I argue that this same feature of group theory helps to explain the ‘unreasonable’ effectiveness of mathematics in physics, and that it reduces the philosophical significance that has been attributed to the objectivity of gauge symmetries. (shrink)

I summarize, in this informal interview, the main approaches to the ‘Past Hypothesis’, the postulation of a low-entropy initial state of the universe. I’ve chosen this as an open problem in the philosophical foundations of physics. I hope that this brief overview helps readers in gaining perspective and in appreciating the diverse range of approaches in this fascinating unresolved debate.

Certain results, most famously in classical statistical mechanics and complex systems, but also in quantum mechanics and high-energy physics, yield a coarse-grained stable statistical pattern in the long run. The explanation of these results shares a common structure: the results hold for a ‘typical’ dynamics, that is, for most of the underlying dynamics. In this paper I argue that the structure of the explanation of these results might shed some light—a different light—on philosophical debates on the laws of nature. In (...) the explanation of such patterns, the specific form of the underlying dynamics is almost irrelevant. The constraints required, given a free state-space evolution, suffice to account for the coarse-grained lawful behaviour. An analysis of such constraints might thus provide a different account of how regular behaviour can occur. This paper focuses on drawing attention to this type of explanation, outlining it in the diverse areas of physics in which it appears, and discussing its limitations and significance in the tractable setting of classical statistical mechanics. (shrink)

This paper aims to support the claim that analytic metaphysics should be more cautious regarding the constraints that truthmaking considerations impose on metaphysical theories. To this end, I reply to Briggs and Forbes (2017), whoargue that certain truthmaking commitments are incurred by a Humean metaphysics and by the Growing-Block theory. First, I argue that Humean Supervenience does not need to endorse a standard version of truthmaker maximalism. This undermines Briggs and Forbes’s conclusion that Humean Supervenience and the Growing-Block theory are (...) incompatible. Second, I argue that the Growing-Block theory does not commit us to any weaker version of truthmaker maximalism, which also undermines Briggs and Forbes’s conclusion. Finally, I point out other reasons to think that any version of truthmaker maximalism is disputable, undermining a fortiori Briggs and Forbes’s conclusion and supporting the moral that metaphysical theories—or at least Humean Supervenience, the Growing-Block theory, and presentism—are little constrained by truthmaking commitments. (shrink)

En esta entrada se mencionan las principales cuestiones en los fundamentos de la mecánica estadı́stica y la termodinámica, y las cuestiones filosóficas en las que repercuten estas áreas de la fı́sica. Al final se añaden lecturas recomendadas, enfatizando las traducidas al español.

In situations where we ignore everything but the space of possibilities, we ought to suspend judgment—that is, remain agnostic—about which of these possibilities is the case. This means that we cannot sum our degrees of belief in different possibilities, something that has been formalised as an axiom of non-additivity. Consistent with this way of representing our ignorance, I defend a doxastic norm that recommends that we should nevertheless follow a certain additivity of possibilities: even if we cannot sum degrees of (...) belief in different possibilities, we should be more confident in larger groups of possibilities. It is thus shown that, in the type of situation considered (in so-called “classical ignorance”, i.e. “behind a thin veil of ignorance”), it is epistemically rational for advocates of suspending judgment to endorse this comparative confidence, while on the other hand it is shown that, even in classical ignorance, no stronger belief—such as a precise uniform probability distribution—is warranted. (shrink)

Brief overview of the debates held in the workshop on scientific representation, in Prague, May 2018.

Sono numerosissime le carenze per l'adeguata comprensione dei termini e dei metodi utilizzati nella ricerca, delle tecniche statistiche per analizzare i dati e dei criteri per valutare l'affidabilità dei risultati scientifici raggiunti. Alla estraneità dei termini, si aggiunge, per i giovani che si avviano allo studio delle scienze umane e sociali, la difficoltà spesso insormontabile, di reperire una fonte di consultazione rapida. Proprio per consentire di superare tale carenza, l'Autore compone un agile Dizionario, che illustra termini e concetti riguardanti la (...) metodologia della ricerca, i disegni sperimentali, i test, la statistica, superando le confusioni create dai termini con significati sovrapposti, sinonimi e pseudo-sinonimi. Annotation Supplied by Informazioni Editoriali. (shrink)

The causal theory of action is widely recognized in the literature of the philosophy of action as the "standard story" of human action and agency -- the nearest approximation in the field to a theoretical orthodoxy. This volume brings together leading figures working in action theory today to discuss issues relating to the CTA and its applications, which range from experimental philosophy to moral psychology. Some of the contributors defend the theory while others criticize it; some draw from historical sources (...) while others focus on recent developments; some rely on the tools of analytic philosophy while others cite the latest empirical research on human action. All agree, however, on the centrality of the CTA in the philosophy of action. The contributors first consider metaphysical issues, then reasons-explanations of action, and, finally, new directions for thinking about the CTA. They discuss such topics as the tenability of some alternatives to the CTA; basic causal deviance; the etiology of action ; teleologism and anticausalism; and the compatibility of the CTA with theories of embodied cognition. Two contributors engage in an exchange of views on intentional omissions that stretches over four essays, directly responding to each other in their follow-up essays. As the action -oriented perspective becomes more influential in philosophy of mind and philosophy of cognitive science, this volume offers a long-needed debate over foundational issues. Contributors: Fred Adams, Jesús H. Aguilar, John Bishop, Andrei A. Buckareff, Randolph Clarke, Jennifer Hornsby, Alicia Juarrero, Alfred R. Mele, Michael S. Moore, Thomas Nadelhoffer, Josef Perner, Johannes Roessler, David-Hillel Ruben, Carolina Sartorio, Michael Smith, Rowland Stout The hardcover edition does not include a dust jacket. (shrink)

Managers often ask why their firm should have an ethics program, especially if no one has complained about unethical behavior. The pursuit of business ethics can cost money, they say. It can lose sales to less scrupulous competitors and can drain management time and energy. But as Harvard business professor Francis Aguilar points out, ethics scandals (such as over Beech-Nut's erzatz "apple juice" or Sears's padded car repair bills) can severely damage a firm, with punishing legal penalties, bad publicity, (...) and irreparably injured customer relations. Equally important if less obvious, unethical behavior can undermine a firm's organizational spirit. On the other hand, Aguilar argues, in a well run firm, ethical programs can actually enhance corporate performance, strengthening the company at every level and supercharging employee risk taking and innovation. In Managing Corporate Ethics, Aguilar shows managers how to create ethical programs within their organizations that not only discourage large-scale wrongdoing, but can contribute substantially to the achievement of corporate excellence. Aguilar's program is down-to-earth and comprehensive, and based on his extensive research on highly successful, ethical companies, both large and small. He recommends action on three fronts: first, get senior management to provide effective ethical leadership; second, set up an ethics program that promotes concern for the interests of people affected by the firm's operations and that provides safeguards against corrupting business pressures; and third, staff the company with ethical people and surround the organization with ethical advisors (including legal, financial, accounting, tax, and marketing consultants). To illuminate this three-step program, Aguilar incorporates the lessons learned in his in-depth study of ten prominent firms with proven successful ethics programs--among them Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Nucor Steel, Cray Research, ServiceMaster, and Texas Instruments. He examines Lincoln Electric's attention to compensation and job security to ensure quality products and to reduce the pressure or temptation to act unethically. He shows how General Mills, while pushing product line managers to compete aggressively, uses corporate staff units to guard against illegal or unacceptable claims (testing cake recipes, for example, to see if a product's quality fails under the less-than-perfect conditions of a normal kitchen). And he details how Armstrong World Industries uses pep talks, inspirational stories, role models, and ready access to management to promote ethical standards among employees. Throughout, Aguilar demonstrates convincingly that an ethical program pays dividends: that employees, suppliers, customers, and the community at large know when they are being treated in a positive and constructive manner, and are likely to respond in kind. Packed with real life examples of successful (and failed) ethical programs, Managing Corporate Ethics is a valuable roadmap to an often overlooked source of business success. (shrink)

Background: In the university context, assessing students’ attitude, knowledge and opinions when applying an innovative methodological approach to teach professional ethics becomes fundamental to know if the used approach is enough motivating for students. Research objective: To assess the effect of a blended-learning model, based on professional ethics and related to clinical practices, on physiotherapy students’ attitude, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics. Research design and participants: A simple-blind clinical trial was performed (NLM identifier NCT03241693) (control group, n = (...) 64; experimental group, n = 65). Both groups followed clinical practices for 8 months. Control group performed a public exposition of a clinical case about professional ethics. By contrast, an 8-month blended-learning programme regarding professional ethics was worked out for experimental group. An online syllabus and online activities were elaborated, while face-to-face active participation techniques were performed to discuss ethical issues. Students’ attitudes, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics were assessed. Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the University Ethic Committee of Human Research and followed the ethical principles according to the Declaration of Helsinki. Findings: After the programme, attitudes and knowledge towards learning professional ethics of experimental group students significantly improved, while no differences were observed in control group. Moreover, opinions reported an adequate extension of themes and temporization, importance of clinical practices and interest of topics. Case study method and role playing were considered as the most helpful techniques. Conclusion: The blended-learning programme proposed, based on professional ethics and related to clinical practices, improves physiotherapy students’ attitudes, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics. (shrink)

El llamado “pacto de postguerra” fue una de las mayores transformaciones institucionales de la historia europea que delimitó los cauces por los que discurrió su política durante varias décadas. En este artículo se ofrece, primero, una descripción de los fundamentos básicos del pacto que ahonda particularmente en el caso británico. En segundo lugar, se aborda el debate socialista británico que generó esta reforma del capitalismo. El desafío del ala derecha del laborismo fue replicado por los miembros del Partido Comunista de (...) Gran Bretaña y de la primera New Left. Se reconstruyen aquí los argumentos del debate prestando especial atención a los disputados conceptos de “democracia”, “propiedad” y “socialismo”. (shrink)

In this article, the authors bring two personal journeys together: one author’s liberationist journey, sparked by a search for justice and liberation in the slums of Guatemala City, and the other’s lifelong commitment to practical theology and spatial justice in South Africa. A practical theology of liberation is the result of life experiences in countries of the Global South amidst the search for justice and liberation. The worlds that come together in this article are René Girard’s mimetic theory, liberation theology (...) and practical theology. This article raises the question of the cross-contextuality of practical theology and the theological application of mimetic theory to develop innovative theological methodologies that respond to the collective woundedness of the urban context in the Global South.Contribution: The main contribution of this article is the use of three seemingly different theological approaches in conjunction. This article opens the door to inform practical theology with René Girard’s mimetic theory and liberation theology. (shrink)

The problem of agential guidance consists in explaining the possibility of guiding an action in purely reductive causal terms. After examining Harry Frankfurt’s articulation of this problem, the standard systemic reductive causal answer is explored and found wanting. Two general explanatory challenges are singled out as decisive in assessing the viability of a causal answer to the problem of agential guidance: first, the correct identification of the actual sources of action guidance in the form of guiding intentions, and, second, the (...) recognition of the limitations of a content-based strategy to identify an action under guidance. (shrink)

In this chapter, we examine some foundational issues at the intersection of the metaphysics of agency and the metaphysics of causation. We explore three broad issues concerning the metaphysics of causation and intentional agency. We first consider the best way to think about the relationship between exercising agency and causation. Specifically, is intentional agency best identified with a causal process or should we take intentional agency to be either the causal initiation of some outcome or the effect of a cause? (...) Next, we consider whether it is best to understand causation as a productive relation or as mere difference-making. Finally, we consider where to locate the effective causes in agency. We consider three alternatives: events, substances, and powers manifesting in processes. In examining the alternatives, we present reasons for taking intentional agency to be a productive causal process involving constellations of manifesting reciprocal causal powers collectively generating an outcome. (shrink)

Critical aspects in the field of education are currently related to low levels of socioemotional competences and high rates of school dropouts. However, there are no standard practices or guidelines for helping countries to assess and train social and emotional competences. To overcome this limitation, the project Learning to be (L2B) aims to propose a comprehensive model of the assessment and development of social and emotional competences that bring together policymakers, researchers, teachers, school authorities and learners from different participating countries: (...) Finland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain. The project attempts to create an international framework for regulating activities and supporting teachers working on the social and emotional competences of the students and to provide tools which can be used across countries. The aim of the paper is to describe how L2B has been developed in Spain by analyzing the contributions of the international framework and extracting the specific needs in the Spanish context. Specifically, we describe two products of the project: a) the process for creating a toolkit, a tool focused on creating activities and materials for helping teachers develop social and emotional competences of students and b) the results of an exploratory study in Spain in which social and emotional competences are assessed and compared to the international framework. First, we explain the definition of social and emotional competences used for creating the toolkit. Second, we analyze responses of Spanish students to questionnaires administered before applying the toolkit in the schools. The paper describes social and emotional competences in Spain and evaluates the overlap between relevant variables in Spain and those used for developing the toolkit, the international tool. Specific needs in Spain are discussed, as well as the contribution of the project for promoting the improved development of students’ social and emotional competences, improving learning outcomes and stronger social cohesion in schools and local communities, as well as the utility of the results for creating new educational policies. (shrink)

Understanding the ways in which Muslims are turned into “a problem” requires an analytic incorporating the insights gained through the concepts of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism into a larger frame. The “Muslim Question” can provide such a frame by attending to the systematic character of this form of racism, explored here through biopolitics. This article develops a conceptualization of Europe’s “Muslim Question” along three lines. First, the “Muslim Question” emerges as an accusation of being an “alien body” to the nation, (...) often expressed through the Trojan horse legend. Second, the “Muslim Question” is elaborated through demands of integration and assimilation, in which the production of difference entangles with calls and measures to regulate Muslims. And third, the “Muslim Question” is brought to life upon the terrain of gender and sexuality, as the imaginary of threat at the heart of the “Muslim Question” is a replacement conspiracy centered on birthrates. (shrink)

This article analyzes the spinozist mereology, that is, how parts arerelated according to Spinoza. In order to do this it will be crucial toexplore the concepts of part and whole, considering both the Ethics andthe letters of our philosopher — specially that letter in which we findthe famous example of the worm in blood. The hypothesis that I wantto defend is that, if we consider the degrees of individuation, part andwhole are not mere inadequate ideas of imagination.

We investigate the possibility of inducing the cosmological constant from extra dimensions by embedding our four-dimensional Riemannian space-time into a five-dimensional Weyl integrable space. Following the approach of the space-time-matter theory we show that when we go down from five to four dimensions, the Weyl field may contribute both to the induced energy-tensor as well as to the cosmological constant Λ, or more generally, it may generate a time-dependent cosmological parameter Λ(t). As an application, we construct a simple cosmological model (...) in which Λ(t) has some interesting properties. (shrink)

La Habana es una ciudad vieja que en algún momento fue moderna. Para muchos estudiosos, las ciudades, al igual que sus habitantes, nacen, se desarrollan y mueren. Sucumben cuando en ellas no se producen acciones que las rescaten, las conserven arquitectónicamente y las hagan vivir. Visualmente, nuestra ciudad hoy fallece. Más allá de los propósitos de un grupo de obras en el Centro Histórico, custodiadas por la memoria del historiador de la ciudad, La Habana es mucho másque ese perímetro declarado (...) por la Unesco, en 1982, Patrimonio de laHumanidad y Ciudad Maravilla, en el 2016. Desde entonces, poco a poco, sus luces se han ido apagando en un mar de oscuridad grande, que urge restablecer con una política que, verdaderamente, refuerce las estructuras existentes, antes de que sea demasiado tarde. (shrink)

La realización del sí mismo representa un cometido que interpela a nuestra propia identidad humana. La heterogeneidad y riqueza de las voces que hablan sobre el cómo responder a ello demandan una deliberación atenta y mesurada. Para algunos, esta tarea supone un alto costo intersubjetivo que eventualmente nos vemos orillados a pagar. Para otros, es apremiante establecer un límite a tal importe para, precisamente, salvaguardar al sí mismo. En esta escena, la propuesta reflexiva de Albert Camus nos ofrece un sensato (...) balance que nos permite situar las coordenadas en las que la conducción de la particular existencia se traduce en una realización compartida. (shrink)

Se presenta un estudio cuyo propósito es analizar la pertenencia, tendencia y desafíos de los estudios generales en currículos de programas académicos de Universidades peruanas. El estudio, realizado según el diseño fenomenológico, estuvo conformada por docentes universitarios conocedores del currículo elegidos hasta lograr la saturación. Se aplicó un cuestionario de preguntas abiertas enfocado en la apreciación de los informantes en el objeto de la investigación y como resultados se encontró que los estudios generales contribuyen: al desarrollo de habilidades blandas en (...) la formación integral del estudiante, a la identificación de fortalezas e intereses sobre la profesión, a la vida ciudadana, al descubrimiento y la reafirmación de la vocación; de ahí su pertinencia curricular. (shrink)

El presente texto ofrece un examen sobre la correspondencia que existe entre el deterioro moral y el comportamiento hostil. Con este propósito, la reflexión transita por la querella de carácter ético que tiene lugar en La peste de Albert Camus y por el desvelamiento de una violencia contemporánea que se viste bajo el aspecto de una apremiante autoafirmación de sí, un destape que Byung-Chul Han lleva a cabo en su Topología de la violencia. La llamada que ambos autores lanzan sobre (...) la disposición del espíritu humano que resulta capaz de confirmar este sombrío vínculo o de emanciparnos de él, se convierte en un cometido ante el que el juicio crítico necesita responder. (shrink)

La importancia que ha adquirido el ChatGPT en el mundo académico universitario en la actualidad es muy trascendente. El estudio propone validar algunas de las variables predictoras, como la eficiencia en la adquisición de información, creatividad, competencia en la escritura, competencia lingüística, rendimiento académico y satisfacción con el propósito de generar instrumentos para la investigación con atributos de fiabilidad y validez. El estudio se realizó en Perú, con una muestra de 400 estudiantes universitarios de ambos sexos. Se utilizaron pruebas de (...) análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio. Para este estudio, se utilizaron análisis factoriales exploratorios y confirmatorios. De este modo, futuras investigaciones permitirán explorar y comprender plenamente la utilidad del ChatGPT en diversos contextos y su impacto en la educación superior. (shrink)

On the Causal Theory of Action (CTA), internal proper parts of an agent such as desires and intentions are causally responsible for actions. CTA has increasingly come under attack for its alleged failure to account for agency. A recent version of this criticism due to François Schroeter proposes that CTA cannot provide an adequate account of either the executive control or the autonomous control involved in full-fledged agency. Schroeter offers as an alternative a revised understanding of the proper role of (...) consciousness in agency. In this paper we criticize Schroeter’s analysis of the type of consciousness involved in executive control and examine the way in which the conscious self allegedly intervenes in action. We argue that Schroeter’s proposal should not be preferred over recent versions of CTA. (shrink)

La tarea que supone elaborarse a sí mismo conlleva un desafío que constantemente nos pone a prueba, pero cuando el costo de este cometido se deposita en la espalda de alguien más, hasta desvalorizarlo, menoscabarlo y anularlo, tiene lugar la inquietante experiencia de la humillación. El presente texto se propone indagar sobre esta manera de proceder, en la que un deformado anhelo de la consecución de sí reclama la humillación del otro. De la mano de Albert Camus, Cornelius Castoriadis y (...) Richard Rorty, el trabajo ofrece una mirada que insiste en el mérito de una constitución de sí sin disminuir al otro, pues, ante una escena de esta naturaleza, el juicio crítico se ve comprometido a dar una respuesta que sea capaz de reivindicar el valor de nuestra condición humana, frente a las iniciativas que pretenden desestimarla. (shrink)

El pensamiento filosófico de Camus coloca al tema de la vida y su sentido en el centro de toda reflexión pertinente para el existir humano. Efectivamente, la vida y lo que hace de ella un suceso valioso ocupa al entendimiento para responder ante los hechos que parecen reducir la existencia humana a un evento inquietantemente insignificante. Esto es precisamente lo que produce la experiencia de lo absurdo, cuyo proceder comporta un aspecto deshumanizador que logra ponerse de manifiesto a través de (...) acontecimientos muy puntuales que alertan y miden el alcance de nuestra comprensión. En Camus, la referencia a vivencias como la del totalitarismo moderno advierten un modo peculiar, y hasta entonces desconocido, de violentar la vida humana hasta un punto en el que, frente a lo descabellado de los hechos, el pensamiento queda como acallado. No obstante, el juicio crítico se vuelve más urgente, sobre todo, cuando notamos que la psicología que subyace a estas prácticas se reproduce en nuestra época bajo otras formas igual de brutales y preocupantemente alarmantes, como lo es el caso de la tortura institucionalizada. En este sentido, es posible que la crítica de Camus sea tan efectiva ahora como en su tiempo, particularmente, cuando la práctica de la vida comporta un aspecto hostil que a la vez pone a prueba a nuestro discernimiento y a nuestra capacidad de coexistir. (shrink)

Over the last years, some of Spinoza studies have shifted to a consideration of the relational character of his ethics by focusing on the notion of autonomy. This concept is foreign to Spinoza's vocabulary. Therefore, I will attempt to explain what Spinozan relational autonomy is and its connection with the most important ethical concept in his philosophy: freedom. Following considerations about Spinozan freedom, I claim that it entails a relational character and that, for this reason, it is equal to relational (...) autonomy. We are free when our joint action is based on adequate ideas of what we have in common with others. (shrink)

A Evolução Biológica é considerada um eixo unificador da Biologia, por estabelecer conexões entre diferentes áreas, tornando o conhecimento biológico mais coerente e inteligível. A Evolução frequentemente é considerada polêmica, com mal-entendidos historicamente difundidos que dificultam sua compreensão. Embora não seja objetivo da Evolução deslegitimar a fé, a religião foi abalada pela publicação de “A Origem das Espécies”. Com o intuito de aproximar o conhecimento evolutivo do cotidiano das pessoas, o programa de extensão “Evolução Para Todos” realiza divulgação científica abordando (...) diferentes temáticas sob a ótica evolutiva. Durante a mesa-redonda “Desmistificando o Ensino de Evolução”, um formulário online foi preenchido voluntariamente pelos ouvintes. Foi possível investigar a influência religiosa na compreensão da teoria evolutiva na concepção de 201 participantes. A maioria deles compreende a ancestralidade comum entre humanos e chimpanzés, e considera que a religião é a principal causa de polêmica em torno da Biologia Evolutiva. Para muitos participantes, é possível conciliar crenças religiosas e Evolução, entretanto uma pequena parcela deles adotou uma postura negacionista em relação a princípios evolutivos e considerou-a incompatível com seus dogmas religiosos. Estes resultados destacam a importância da divulgação científica na desconstrução de paradigmas e na socialização do conhecimento científico para além do meio acadêmico. (shrink)

La nueva era de exploración espacial ha sopesado una y otra vez las posibilidades que tiene nuestro planeta de ser el lugar cósmico en el que las únicas formas de vida inteligentes del universo se hayan desarrollado. La astrofísica y la astrobiología lo ha hecho con números. Esta inquietud existencial se ha plasmado en una serie de escalas científicas que miden la importancia relativa del posible impacto sobre nuestra civilización de un encuentro con vida extraterrestre inteligente. Lamentablemente las consecuencias medidas (...) se han limitado a factores científicos y un hipotético control de daños, y a la credibilidad para con estos por parte de la opinión pública. Han olvidado sin embargo su trascendencia antropológica, moral y filosófica para nuestra especie. (shrink)