Coherence is today a source of moral authority. Being coherent frees us from external influences and gives us the capacity to decide for ourselves, but also places us in a privileged position with regard to others. We will turn our attention now to coherence as a foundation of authority in organisations. And to do that, organisations must be divided into different levels and different dimensions. Coherence will only be possible when the worker is capable of weighing up the distance between (...) the organisation's specific vision and the operational processes that effectively take place within it. All companies, as a sum of possibilities, respond to the intention of those who govern them insofar as their assets permit it, and their ultimate value resides therein; the possibility of being recognised for their way of being, their corporate ethos. (shrink)

One field in ethics that has been developed during recent decades is virtue ethics, represented most importantly by Alasdair MacIntyre's work After Virtue. Virtue ethics is not opposed to principle-based ethics, but rather complements its task and develops it more fully. In the field of US bioethics, this option has proved to be even more fruitful, especially in the work of Edmund Pellegrino and David Thomasma. Virtue ethics is also being reappraised in relation to the ethics of organisations and business. (...) It is considered that the best way of running a company does not depend solely on a group of ethical principles or agreed criteria, but on the effective exercise of certain qualities of character. Indeed, minimal ethics do not guarantee the excellence of organisations, or even their correct development. They guarantee certain standards of coexistence, but this is not sufficient to carry forward a collective enterprise in a creative way. It is impossible to achieve the aims of an organisation without ambition, magnanimity, humility, prudence, responsibility and courage. This group of intangible elements are virtues. This article explores the process of decision-making in the light of Aristotelian ethics, in particular his work Nicomachean Ethics. Making decisions is a common task on the managerial agenda. The decisions of a manager affect individuals, the future of the organisation and, of course, they have consequences for the organisation and its surroundings. Aristotle dedicates Book III of the work in question to studying the art of deliberation and examining which virtues must be taken into account when reaching the best decision. Aristotle tells us that we deliberate about things that are within our power and can be done. There can be no deliberation upon exact and sufficient knowledge; however, we deliberate upon the things that are brought about by our own efforts, although not always in the same way. Leading an organisation is not a mechanical matter, but rather a process that requires creativity and responsibility. There are many different ways of doing it. Following the Aristotelian doctrine, this article aims to examine the elements that must be taken into consideration for correct decisions to be made. The following virtues play a fundamental role in this process: prudence, fortitude, justice and temperance, referred to below as called cardinal virtues. (shrink)

Jean Paul Sarte, Franz Kafka i Milan Kundera: tres mirades diferents sobre la realitat, tres percepcions del món que participen d'un mateix rerafons filosòfic, d'una mateixa sensibilitat: l'absurd. Tres obres que neixen, creixen i maduren sota l'eclipsi de Déu, en l'atmosfera de la buidor més penetrant i la negació radical del sentit. L'ésser és estantís, feble, pura representació, i la vida humana una comèdia tragicòmica que comença per casualitat i s'acaba també per pura casualitat. Però l'home ha de viure, i (...) si el món no té sentit, caldrà forjar-lo amb les pròpies mans, caldrà projectar una idea per la qual valgui la pena viure i morir (Kierkegaard). Tres iniciatives, tres expectatives, que es configuren sota l'escola de l'absurd i la mort de Déu (Nietzsche). Davant d'aquesta concepció del món marcada pel desencís i l'angoixa hi ha la metafísica de la plenitud de l'ésser (sant Tomàs d'Aquino), que descriu l'univers com un dinamisme perfectiu que té una direccionalitat pròpia, una causa primera i un fi darrer. La lògica del sentit versus la lògica de la buidor. (shrink)

Jean Paul Sarte, Franz Kafka i Milan Kundera: tres mirades diferents sobre la realitat, tres percepcions del món que participen d'un mateix rerafons filosòfic, d'una mateixa sensibilitat: l'absurd. Tres obres que neixen, creixen i maduren sota l'eclipsi de Déu, en l'atmosfera de la buidor més penetrant i la negació radical del sentit. L'ésser és estantís, feble, pura representació, i la vida humana una comèdia tragicòmica que comença per casualitat i s'acaba també per pura casualitat. Però l'home ha de viure, i (...) si el món no té sentit, caldrà forjar-lo amb les pròpies mans, caldrà projectar una idea per la qual valgui la pena viure i morir (Kierkegaard). Tres iniciatives, tres expectatives, que es configuren sota l'escola de l'absurd i la mort de Déu (Nietzsche). Davant d'aquesta concepció del món marcada pel desencís i l'angoixa hi ha la metafísica de la plenitud de l'ésser (sant Tomàs d'Aquino), que descriu l'univers com un dinamisme perfectiu que té una direccionalitat pròpia, una causa primera i un fi darrer. La lògica del sentit versus la lògica de la buidor. (shrink)

En este trabajo vamos a estudiar el significado del termino "ser" y del termino "vida" en los textos de Santo Tomas de Aquino. Vamos a tratar de descifrar el contenido semantico de estos vocablos y poner de relieve la relacion significativa entre ambos. Que es el ser? Que es la vida? Que vinculo existe entre ser y vida? Que es primero desde el punto de vista ontologico? Que es mas perfecto? Estas son algunas de las cuestiones que planteamos en el (...) presente articulo. (shrink)

La història del pensament occidental travessa ara per ara un punt d'inflexió, un instant de vacil·lació, de dubte i de recerca. El fil conductor de la Modernitat s'ha exhaurit i l'esperit desencisat cerca noves formes de pensar i noves cosmovisions. Les idees rectores de la Modernitat han caigut de l'escambell i la corba del pensament travessa un moment delicat, un instant que cal meditar pausadament. Aquest moment inestable i fugisser és la postmodernitat. S'acosta una nova era de l'esperit, però encara (...) no ha pres forma. Manca creativitat, manquen idees, manca passió per la veritat. En aquest assaig recollim algunes idees de Kierkegaard que poden il·luminar el panorama gris i enrarit de la filosofia actual. (shrink)

The framework presented by Bayefsky and Berkman is based on having clear and accurate genetic information to offer parents, for them to either decide to prepare for birth or to terminate the...

Coherence is today a source of moral authority. Being coherent frees us from external influences and gives us the capacity to decide for ourselves, but also places us in a privileged position with regard to others. We will turn our attention now to coherence as a foundation of authority in organisations. And to do that, organisations must be divided into different levels and different dimensions. Coherence will only be possible when the worker is capable of weighing up the distance between (...) the organisation's specific vision and the operational processes that effectively take place within it. All companies, as a sum of possibilities, respond to the intention of those who govern them insofar as their assets permit it, and their ultimate value resides therein; the possibility of being recognised for their way of being, their corporate ethos. (shrink)

One field in ethics that has been developed during recent decades is virtue ethics, represented most importantly by Alasdair MacIntyre's work After Virtue. Virtue ethics is not opposed to principle-based ethics, but rather complements its task and develops it more fully. In the field of US bioethics, this option has proved to be even more fruitful, especially in the work of Edmund Pellegrino and David Thomasma. Virtue ethics is also being reappraised in relation to the ethics of organisations and business. (...) It is considered that the best way of running a company does not depend solely on a group of ethical principles or agreed criteria, but on the effective exercise of certain qualities of character. Indeed, minimal ethics do not guarantee the excellence of organisations, or even their correct development. They guarantee certain standards of coexistence, but this is not sufficient to carry forward a collective enterprise in a creative way. It is impossible to achieve the aims of an organisation without ambition, magnanimity, humility, prudence, responsibility and courage. This group of intangible elements are virtues. This article explores the process of decision-making in the light of Aristotelian ethics, in particular his work _Nicomachean Ethics_. Making decisions is a common task on the managerial agenda. The decisions of a manager affect individuals, the future of the organisation and, of course, they have consequences for the organisation and its surroundings. Aristotle dedicates Book III of the work in question to studying the art of deliberation and examining which virtues must be taken into account when reaching the best decision. Aristotle tells us that we deliberate about things that are within our power and can be done. There can be no deliberation upon exact and sufficient knowledge; however, we deliberate upon the things that are brought about by our own efforts, although not always in the same way. Leading an organisation is not a mechanical matter, but rather a process that requires creativity and responsibility. There are many different ways of doing it. Following the Aristotelian doctrine, this article aims to examine the elements that must be taken into consideration for correct decisions to be made. The following virtues play a fundamental role in this process: prudence, fortitude, justice and temperance, referred to below as called cardinal virtues. (shrink)

Por mucho que el biotecnólogo desee crear un sistema en el que todo el mundo que protege al ser humano esté bajo control, siempre habrá resquicios imprevistos que dejarán pasar lo que no estaba previsto, que le afectarán física y psíquicamente y que, por tanto, lo modificarán y lo alterarán. Frente al don recibido, tanto la naturaleza en sentido cósmico como la propia existencia, enfatiza recuperar el sentido de la reverencia y el respeto y no perder de vista que todo (...) forma un complejo interdependiente muy frágil e inestable que nos supera. Somos la parte y no el Todo, y como parte consciente e inteligente que somos, nos corresponde estar alerta y tener cuidado de lo que hay, sanar los males y prevenir las enfermedades, mejorar la calidad de vida del máximo número de personas en el mundo, respetando, eso sí, la lógica interna del Todo. (shrink)

Antonio Argandoña, Norbert Bilbeny, Victòria Camps, Miquel Calsina, Àngel Castiñeira, Cristian Palazzi, Ferran Requejo, Raimon Ribera, Begoña Román, Ferran Sàez, Miquel Seguró, Francesc Torralba, Josep Maria Vallès, Rosamund Thomas Ramon Llull Journal of Applied Ethics 2012 3(3):9-16.

Antonio Argandoña, Norbert Bilbeny, Victòria Camps, Miquel Calsina, Àngel Castiñeira, Cristian Palazzi, Ferran Requejo, Raimon Ribera, Begoña Román, Ferran Sàez, Miquel Seguró, Francesc Torralba, Josep Maria Vallès, Rosamund Thomas Ramon Llull Journal of Applied Ethics 2012 3(3):9-16.

Antonio Argandoña, Norbert Bilbeny, Victòria Camps, Miquel Calsina, Àngel Castiñeira, Cristian Palazzi, Ferran Requejo, Raimon Ribera, Begoña Román, Ferran Sàez, Miquel Seguró, Francesc Torralba, Josep Maria Vallès, Rosamund Thomas Ramon Llull Journal of Applied Ethics 2012 3(3):9-16.

La primera cuestión a plantear en la resolución de conflictos es la percepción que las partes tienen de éste. Nos centraremos en el análisis del caso «0», en el cual las partes, o al menos una de ellas, no percibe o se niega a percibir el conflicto. Proponemos que este paso sea primero y prioritario para cualquier análisis de resolución de conflictos.

While the control of cell migration by biochemical and biophysical factors is largely documented, a precise quantification of cell migration parameters in different experimental contexts is still questionable. Indeed, these phenomenological parameters can be evaluated from data obtained either at the cell population level or at the individual cell level. However, the range within which both characterizations of cell migration are equivalent remains unclear. We analyse here to which extent both sources of data could be integrated within a unified description (...) of cell migration by considering the motility of the endothelial cell line EAhy926. Using time-lapse video-microscopy and associated analysis of digital image time series, we quantified EAhy926 random motility coefficient, migration speed and trajectory persistence time in two different migration assays: the in vitro wound healing assay, and the cell-populated agarose drop assay. In order to analyse the agreement between independent quantifications of cell motility based either on individual cell analysis or cell population dynamic analysis, a theoretical multi-agents cellular model was developed and discussed as a possible theoretical framework able to unify these multi-scale data. Model simulations especially reveal the potential bias induced by cell proliferation and cell-cell adhesion when cell migration parameters are estimated from the extensively used in vitro wound healing assay. (shrink)