Although a great deal has been written on Plato's ethics, his cosmology has not received so much attention in recent times and its importance for his ethical thought has remained underexplored. By offering accounts of Timaeus, Philebus, Politicus and Laws X, the book reveals a strongly symbiotic relation between the cosmic and human sphere. It is argued that in his late period Plato presents a picture of an organic universe, endowed with structure and intrinsic value, which both urges our respect (...) and calls for our responsible intervention. Humans are thus seen as citizens of a university that can provide a context for their flourishing even in the absence of good political institutions. The book sheds light on many intricate metaphysical issues in late Plato and brings out the close connections between his cosmology and the development of his ethics. (shrink)

Bart Streumer thinks that we cannot believe the global normative error theory. Streumer's argument presupposes a Cartesian theory of belief fixation. The Cartesian theory entails that we can understand a proposition without believing it. But the Cartesian theory of belief fixation is false, and the Spinozan theory is true. The Spinozan theory of belief fixation entails that we cannot understand a proposition without believing it. The present paper argues that Streumer's claim is false, and we can believe the global normative (...) error theory because the Spinozan theory is correct. The paper then applies the Spinozan theory of belief fixation to the “Now what?” problem for global normative error theory and responds to objections. (shrink)

In this paper, I articulate and solve a puzzle originally presented by Gideon Rosen. The puzzle challenges us to produce a causal criterion that distinguishes concrete objects from abstract objects, even though it seems like abstract objects are constituents of events that enter into causal relations. My solution is to identify concrete objects with objects that have dispositions to manifest causal powers.

Empirical research in bioethics has developed rapidly over the past decade, but has largely eschewed the use of technology-driven methodologies. We propose “design bioethics” as an area of conjoined theoretical and methodological innovation in the field, working across bioethics, health sciences and human-centred technological design. We demonstrate the potential of digital tools, particularly purpose-built digital games, to align with theoretical frameworks in bioethics for empirical research, integrating context, narrative and embodiment in moral decision-making. Purpose-built digital tools can engender situated engagement (...) with bioethical questions; can achieve such engagement at scale; and can access groups traditionally under-represented in bioethics research and theory. If developed and used with appropriate rigor, tools motivated by “design bioethics” could offer unique insights into new and familiar normative and empirical issues in the field. (shrink)

In this article we present a training program based on the empirical research conducted in the project 'argumentational integrity'. After a brief sketch of the problem dimensions concerning unfair argumentation we give an overview of the training concept and the underlying empirical research. Exemplification of the instructional design is given for the second and the fifth training dimension (standards of argumentational integrity and reactions to unfair contributions). Finally we indicate how the training is to be evaluated and present initial results (...) demonstrating that in comparison with an untrained control group participants in the training significantly improve their skills in identifying and naming argumentative rule violations. (shrink)

This paper re-evaluates the role that Plato confers to pleasure in the "Philebus." According to leading interpretations, Plato there downplays the role of pleasure, or indeed rejects hedonism altogether. Thus, scholars such as D. Frede have taken the "mixed life" of pleasure and intelligence initially submitted in the "Philebus" to be conceded by Socrates only as a remedial good, second to a life of neutral condition, where one would experience no pleasure and pain. Even more strongly, scholars such as Irwin (...) have seen the "Philebus'" arguments against false pleasures as an actual attack on hedonism, showing -- in Irwin's words -- "why maximization of pleasure cannot be a reasonable policy for the best life." Against these claims, I argue that the mixed life of pleasure and intelligence is presented in the "Philebus" as a first best and not just as a second best for humans, and that, accordingly, Socrates proposes to incorporate -- rather than reject -- pleasure as one of the intrinsically desirable aspects of the happy life. Thus, I offer alternative readings of controversial passages that have given rise to the prevalent interpretation criticized here, and advance positive evidence that at least some pleasures are seen by Plato as inherently good. In addition, I demonstrate that Plato's arguments against false pleasures do not by themselves constitute an attack on hedonism. Rather, they can be seen as a strategy to show the hedonist that, in order to be a maximal, or even a consistent, hedonist, he should go for true, and not fake pleasures, if after all pleasure is the object of his pursuit. But, since this cannot be achieved without intelligence, then the mixed life of pleasure and intelligence is to be accepted even by hedonist themselves. (shrink)

In this paper I re-examine the status of the mind-body relation in several of Plato’s late dialogues. A range of views has been attributed to Plato here. For example, it has been thought that Plato is a substance dualist, for whom the mind can exist independently of the body; or an attribute dualist, who has left behind the strong dualistic commitments of the Phaedo by allowing that the mind may be the subject of spatial movements. But even in cases where (...) a classification of Plato as a holder of a particular ontology of the mind has been left undefined, it has been a shared assumption that in the late dialogues the mind itself must be immaterial. I take issue with these various views and show that none of them is necessitated by the text. In the first place, I argue there is strong evidence against the view that Plato should, in his late period, be committed not only to substance dualism, but also to attribute dualism. Furthermore, it is possible that Plato may have allowed that the mind itself be a three-dimensional corporeal entity (in a way that sets up a precedent for later Stoic developments). But even if this is not the only possible reading of the text, it is shown how at any rate the mind must be seen in late Plato as the principle of organization of a body and ontologically inseparable from it. Despite prima facie affinities with Aristotle here, we shall see a Plato emerge for whom the mind (without exception) and the body cannot exist without one another – a thesis more radical than that of Aristotle’s. To bring out the provocative nature of this suggestion, I start, in section I, by laying out the state of the question and compare what I shall argue is the late Platonic view with standard interpretations of his previous work, stressing the historical force that I expect this thesis to have. Afterwards, in three respective sections, I proceed to pay heed to relevant passages in the Timaeus, Philebus and Laws in order to establish the main point of this paper. Finally, in section V, I consider the challenge apparently introduced against my thesis by Plato’s occasional talk of immortality and eschatology in those dialogues, and argue instead that many of those passages add further strength to the view defended in this essay. (shrink)

If there is no theory of taste in Rousseau, the question of taste nevertheless is present throughout all his work. It appears at first as a criticism addressed to worldy society, and then gives way, in the writings of his maturity, to an analysis of the social conditions of general good taste. In spite of the classical terminology of its texts, they in fact develop a conception sui generis of taste. Rousseau does not refer to an order of perfection to (...) explain and base the good taste. Taste is, according to him, a collective phenomenon which manifests the state of social affections. The taste, as much the social and the individual, is called “good” when the judgment on what pleases or what displeases is not subject to opinion. Autonomy of taste and good taste are confounded, voluptuousness and relative equality are then the conditions. (shrink)

Depuis la publication des Dits et écrits, la place de la littérature dans l’oeuvre de Michel Foucault a une position bien assignée dans les recherches académiques, où l’on souligne surtout l’approche nietzschéenne de la lecture qu’a proposé le philosophe. Prenant appui sur des nouvelles publications et sur des manuscrits inédits, notre texte envisage ce thème sous un autre prisme, à partir du structuralisme de l’analyse littéraire et de l’enjeu philosophique de la revue Tel Quel dans son rapport avec le Nouveau (...) Roman. En repérant l’importance du concept de « distance » dans ses écrits sur la littérature, nous discuterons comment plusieurs des notions créées par Foucault se trouvent en dialogue avec cette constellation théorique plus large. Nous y établirons ainsi le rapport entre la structure et l’événement, la paire conceptuelle au centre des débats philosophiques des années 1960, qui nous guidera dans la compréhension des tensions et des adhésions de la méthodologie foucaldienne à l’égard de l’analyse structurale. A abordagem da « distância » nos escritos literários de Michel Foucault, ou como inscrever o acontecimento na estrutura Desde a publicação dos Ditos e Escritos, o lugar da literatura na obra de Michel Foucault possui uma posição bem definida nas pesquisas acadêmicas, nas quais se ressalta sobretudo a abordagem nietzscheana da leitura proposta pelo filósofo. Recorrendo a novas publicações e aos manuscritos inéditos do Fonds Foucault-BnF, este texto enfocará o tema da literatura sob um outro prisma, à partir do estruturalismo da análise literária e do contexto filosófico da revista Tel Quel em sua relação com o Nouveau Roman. Enfatizando a importância do conceito de “distância” em seus escritos sobre a literatura, discutir-se-á como várias das noções criadas por Foucault se encontram em diálogo com esta constelação teórica mais ampla. A relação entre a estrutura e o acontecimento, enquanto par conceitual que se encontrava no centro dos debates filosóficos nos anos 1960, nos guiará na compreensão das tensões e das adesões da metodologia foucaltiana no que tange à análise estrutural.Palavras-chave: Análise literária. Estruturalismo. Distância. Acontecimento. Tel Quel; BnF Inéditos. (shrink)

O presente artigo quer encontrar um modo de pensar a filosofia a partir de uma escrita marcada pelo que vamos seguir entendendo como “pessoas”. Jacques Derrida será o norte teórico desse texto, ao que ele próprio traz em linhas muito precisas ao longo de sua obra em torno da expressão “digno de seu nome”. Se há dignidade ou se algo detém uma dignidade e por ela um nome, se a palavra dignidade [Würdigkeit] ainda nos remete, como em Kant, à noção (...) incondicional de “pessoa” e se ela pode nesse registo e, como veremos, ser estendida ao todo-outro e ainda assim inscrever uma “majestade”, é dessa forma que a expressão “digno de seu nome” atravessa a obra de Derrida quando ele inicia um incansável trabalho com a palavra, especialmente em seus escritos tardios, cuja significação não é mais objetável. (shrink)

L’évolution du processus de communication met en attention un concept qui permet une analyse plurivalente sur les espaces multiculturels – la culture communicationnelle. Ce concept rend possible le déchiffrage des relations entre ethos, logos et pathos, contient l’échange d’information obtenue par un message dans un contexte qui libère le processus communicationnel des barrières nationales. La culture communicationnelle est une résultante du processus de globalisation, entraînant les acteurs sociaux vers de nouvelles coordonnées axiologique par l’internationalisation des économies et des cultures. Au (...) neveu global, on observe l’apparition de nouveaux standards éthiques dont les actants de la communication ont besoin au moment du passage au-delà des espaces culturels nationaux. La communication joint d’un caractère bivalent étant un instrument d’émancipation de l’individu mais aussi le moyen de contrôle des autorités économiques et politiques par l’impôt de certains modelés de comportement et de certaines représentations sociales. (shrink)

Market-based social governance schemes that establish standards of conduct for producers and traders in international supply chains aim to reduce the negative socioenvironmental effects of globalization. While studies have examined how characteristics of social governance schemes promote socially responsible producer behavior, it has not yet been examined how these same characteristics affect consumer behavior. This is a crucial omission, because without consumer demand for socially produced products, the reach of the social benefits is likely to be limited. We develop a (...) comprehensive model that links twocharacteristics of market-based social governance schemes—(1) stringency and enforcement of requirements, and (2) promotion—to two conditions required for governance schemes to generate significant social benefits: (1) socially responsible behavior of participating firms; and (2) consumer demand for socially produced products which, in turn, expands products produced according to social governance schemes, and thus, the quantity of social benefits. We discuss market-based social governance schemes in the context of fair trade coffee. (shrink)

Fortuna y Providencia son las fuerzas dinámicas para crear el cambio social. Estas fuerzas constituyen el leit motiv del quehacer humano, y una pretensión pedagógica de educar al hombre para alcanzar la felicidad.Fortune and Providence are the dynamic forces of social change. Those forces constitute humans chore leit motiv, and a pedagogical intention of educating the man, in order to attain happiness.

This article explores the ways in which Nietzsche’s conception of subjectivity, as rehearsed in The Birth of Tragedy, draws close to other modern models of split subjectivity as described by Hegel, Freud, or Althusser. Although the subjectivity depicted by Nietzsche is constituted in the tension between reaffirming and dissolving its boundaries, and this tension may seem to put the possibility of identity at risk, in effect individuation and dissolution function as symmetrical contraries. Rather than disrupting the boundaries of reason, the (...) Dionysian contributes to Apollonian equilibrium by temporarily destroying Apollonian rigidity, so that the polis can periodically overcome limitations, assimilate its others and gather new strength. Identity is thus seemingly reinforced through the controlled illusion of its shattering: it is protected from the irruption of real otherness. Unlike Nietzsche’s dialectical dramaturgy, Greek tragedy depicts an incipient rationality wounded by contradictions, institutionalizing conflict. Because of the ambiguity of the Greek tragic world, the fissures of its organizing powers and the ambivalent agency of tragic subjects, a parallel between Attic tragedy and modern subjectivity may illuminate the latter. (shrink)

Internalists who argue against reliabilism usually construct thought experiments designed to show how reliability is not necessary or sufficient for justification. Defenders of reliabilism have responded with debunking explanations of the intuitions that people are expected to have when considering anti-reliabilist thought experiments. One defender is Jennifer Nagel, who argues that internalist counterexamples to reliabilism play off of a shift between belief-formation processes that are unconscious and those that involve self-reflection on the contents of one’s conscious states. Nagel aims to (...) show how thought experiments commonly appealed to by internalists rest on a mistake by carefully examining some of the most well-known examples in the literature. However, Nagel’s analysis does not apply on certain counterexamples to reliabilism, such as Cohen’s New Evil Demon. In this paper, I will show that when applied to NED-intuitions, Nagel’s analysis fails, so her argument does not extend to all anti-reliabilist counterexamples. (shrink)

The new developments in our social context, the recent pandemic outbreak, caused a series of changes in everyday practices. The student population represents a particular case, both their safety and future education were under duress during this period. However, their views over the situation have not been present in the scientific literature. The present qualitative research aimed to explore students' perceptions, attitudes, views, and representations on the Covid-19 pandemic. Three focus groups, each containing twelve participants, were organised to explore these (...) aspects and students’ particular experiences. Focus group sessions were audio-recorded and the transcripts were analysed. The results revealed four dimensions of the students' representations: change – as a constant of the present, prospective scenarios, the pulse of the moment, and surrounding risks. The limitations and the importance of the study are discussed. The consequences of these representations are particularly important due to the influence they can have on people’s practices during the crisis and the extent of measures’ acceptance. The results offer precious insights on why some communication strategies used by the authorities had a low compliance rate, what should be done differently, and what should be considered in order to promote adaptive health behaviors during the latter phases of the pandemic. (shrink)

El presente trabajo tiene por objeto analizar el vínculo paradójico entre justicia y derecho en la filosofía derrideana. El énfasis de la separación entre justicia y derecho presenta el riesgo de un hiato. La justicia quedaría así confinada a una pura exterioridad, sin contacto con lo jurídico e incurriendo en un idealismo. Intentaremos ofrecer un modo de articulación a través de la figura del espectro.

CRISIS, RENOVACIÓN PARTIDARIA Y TRANSFORMACIONES POLÍTICAS EN EL PERONISMO DE CÓRDOBA, 1983 - 1987.

En el siguiente artículo se analiza "Hopeful Monsters or, The Unfulfilled Figure in Hayden White´s Conceptual System", donde Kellner demuestra que la teoría de la figuralidad está latente desde el inicio de la teoría de Hayden White. Además, aplica el análisis figural a la propia obra de White afirmando que la teoría de los tropos será cumplimentada por el emplotment que, a su vez, será cumplimentado por el figuralismo. Luego se sigue el desarrollo de Kellner que muestra que en los (...) pasajes de White hay dos usos diferentes del concepto de unfulfillment: una noción de incumplimiento como figura que no llegó a su máxima potencia y una noción de incumplimiento como lo sublime indecible. Se examina específicamente la cuestión judía, asumiendo la misma como una figura incumplida y se rescatan las contribuciones del romanticismo y del iluminismo a su cumplimentación. Por último, se realizan algunas críticas a la insistencia de Kellner en el papel post teológico del figuralismo y al lugar del incumplimiento ligado a lo sublime como trascendiendo lo histórico. ARK: ark:/s18537960/eimr/sd31. (shrink)

Throughout history, the world has been concerned with progress in different areas, and Medicine has not been the exception. Nevertheless, has this progress been positive in the sense of entailing benefits? The question emerges considering that through this progress, human beings have been able to modify natural processes. Considering this, the research question is: What is the role that medicine—a human and scientific discipline—must play, and which is the concept of what a human being must have in a world where (...) utilitarianism prevails over non-material benefits? Also, what are the implications of that role and concept on the decision-making about health, notions about humanity and, areas which require responsibility? The rise of artificial procedures which generate life, simultaneously defying time leads to the main objective of this paper: To present ideas on the current perception about the medical practice; in terms of responsibility about the human side of the patient, related to artificial practices. A second objective is to approach a social topic that motivates to reflect on new and recurring practices in the medical field. This topic will be studied from a hermeneutical perspective to establish relations and an interpretative approach between them, through Thiebaut’s work and Tría’s Philosophy of the Limit, considering the concept of human being and considering that there are limits which should be respected. Afterwards, the focus will be on the medical praxis and its sense of responsibility regarding human beings. (shrink)

Adam Smith and David Hume agree that first-level general rules of morality may be discovered by induction, and that reflection on these rules may influence human behavior. But Hume thinks a deeper, second level of moral general rules may also be discovered, and used to correct erroneous first-level rules. Thus on Hume's view, some reasoned reflection may be needed in order to feel the proper moral sentiment. Smith holds that, because of human inclination toward selfishness, first-level moral rules should be (...) habitually used to override immediate impulse in the motivation of behavior. This is a valuable habit, but since most people are not able to form such rules for themselves, it is a good idea for them to follow moral rules provided by religion. There is something respectable, according to Smith, in sincerely following flawed moral rules provided by religion. Hume disagrees, holding that it is foolish and blameworthy, indeed dangerous, to follow flawed moral rules provided by religion. (shrink)

El libro compilado por Manuel Tizziani y Joel Sidler presenta los resultados de un proyecto de investigación sobre la difusión, edición y recepción de la Ilustración y el liberalismo en España y el Río de la Plata, un trabajo financiado por la Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Argentina). Allí se desempeñan tanto sus coordinadores y la mayoría de sus autores, como su única autora, la profesora Ana Orecchia.

La intertextualidad es uno de los objetos inmanentes de toda poética, cada texto literario es el germen de uno anterior, por lo que los modos en que se incluye en las textualidades pueden ser múltiples. Los trabajos de investigación en formas breves de Denevi, Blaisten, Amable y Liniers nos conducen a configurar la categoría de “fragmentos extranjeros” que nos permite identificar las variantes de co-presencia literaria que presentan los textos. Hablamos, entonces, de traducción e injerto como dos líneas posibles. El (...) objetivo de este trabajo es revisar qué tipo y de qué manera surgen fragmentos extranjeros en un corpus propuesto por dichos autores. El marco teórico de referencia alude a Genette, Deleuze, Derrida. (shrink)

The late 4 th Century CE Egyptian poet Claudian with all probability enjoyed a thorough rhetorical education in both his mother tongue Greek and in the language of most of his extant literary work: Latin. Hence, for a long time the identification of possible traces of Greek literature in his poems has been the object of many, yet often inconclusive discussions. This paper argues that the political situation and the social status of the Latin language at the end of the (...) 4 th century also need to be considered: The apparent evocation of the specifically Latin literature and tradition was of great importance to Claudian in order to reinstate Roman identity, independently of his actual literary sources, as exemplified by Claudian’s use of the Greek epic poet Oppian. (shrink)

Market-based social governance schemes that establish standards of conduct for producers and traders in international supply chains aim to reduce the negative socioenvironmental effects of globalization. While studies have examined how characteristics of social governance schemes promote socially responsible producer behavior, it has not yet been examined how these same characteristics affect consumer behavior. This is a crucial omission, because without consumer demand for socially produced products, the reach of the social benefits is likely to be limited. We develop a (...) comprehensive model that links twocharacteristics of market-based social governance schemes—(1) stringency and enforcement of requirements, and (2) promotion—to two conditions required for governance schemes to generate significant social benefits: (1) socially responsible behavior of participating firms; and (2) consumer demand for socially produced products which, in turn, expands products produced according to social governance schemes, and thus, the quantity of social benefits. We discuss market-based social governance schemes in the context of fair trade coffee. (shrink)

Voluntary sustainability standards that establish global rules for firms’ environmental and/or social conduct and allow for verification of firm compliance via third-party certification hold the promise to govern firms’ sustainability conduct in a globalizing world economy. However, the recent proliferation of competing and overlapping global sustainability standards that have been developed by various stakeholders with different agendas, creates uncertainties for firms that likely reduce their propensity to adopt any standard. Without widespread adoption these standards cannot effectively govern firm conduct and (...) in contrast create barriers for firms’ access to export markets. We suggest that the uncertainties associated with competing standards and the effect of these uncertainties on standard certification decisions are especially large for firms in emerging economies because these firms lack access to information about current and future standards and the resources to obtain certifications to multiple standards. We theoretically propose and empirically identify three distinct sources of sustainability standard uncertainty: diversity of customer requirements, dynamism of customer requirements, and the unpredictability of the future evolution of standard and propose that each of these sources reduces firms’ propensity to obtain certification to any standard. Our empirical results based on certifications to food safety standards by a sample of 97 Mexican food exporting firms confirm that three distinct sources of sustainability standard uncertainty exist and that all of them negatively impact certification. We discuss ethical implications and offer recommendations for both suppliers as well as standard setting organizations. (shrink)

Résumé Le mouvement dit « M15 », parce que né le 15 Mai 2011, continue de se réunir régulièrement en Espagne pour contester la politique d’austérité du gouvernement et essayer de créer de nouvelles formes de vie. Ses origines sont multiples mais il s’enracine dans une opposition frontale, toujours active et de plus en plus nombreuse. Il s’emploie à créer des formes de coopération nouvelles.

Orígenes de Alejandría fue un importante referente de la Iglesia oriental, destacado por su enorme saber. Se lo ubica y valora como el primer exégeta que hizo obra científica y como uno de los más grandes pensadores del cristianismo antiguo, ya que en todos los dominios fue capaz de marcar un momento decisivo para el pensamiento contemporáneo suyo y posterior. Maestro de Alejandría y de Cesarea, realizó la primera gran síntesis de teología especulativa y conocimiento de la realidad.En sus reflexiones, (...) fue amplio en la introducción de elementos de la sabiduría de otras tradiciones, entre las que se cuentan la cristiana y judía, así como también la griega y bárbara. Todas estas tradiciones espirituales han coincidido en la afirmación de que el alma humana vive y persiste después de separarse del cuerpo, constituyéndose –nuevamente, según el alejandrino- en un cuerpo etéreo que abandona el cuerpo material. De este modo, alega la supervivencia del alma a la muerte física y la posibilidad de desplazarse en diferentes dimensiones o planos.En este caso, nos detendremos en estudiar, a partir de ciertos pasajes de su obra, aquellos contenidos que posibilitan la comprensión de los tópicos fundamentales para nuestra investigación en torno a los elementos antropológicos que aporta en sus trabajos. Se pondrá especial atención en las nociones de principio, preexistencia, el cuerpo etéreo de la preexistencia, sus transformaciones y su relación con la materia, el hombre en su totalidad y en su trascendencia, y finalmente su vinculación con la restauración final o ἀποκατάστασις. (shrink)

The Divine Names explores the different names and metaphoric expressions used in the Bible to refer to God. Dionysius the Areopagite is known as an exponent of positive theology, in the sense that he offers an argumentative and explicit account of the nature of God, relying on the Scripture as a source of knowledge and truth, in contrast to the declared inability of apophatic or negative theology to communicate any knowledge of the divine. Indeed, the Areopagite resorts to the study (...) of biblical terms and to the coinage of hapax, neologisms often derived of known terms with added privative prefixes, in order to refer in some way to the sacred. Our research aims at showing that, for Dionysius, the purpose of pursuing the knowledge of God is not only to grasp the order of the different spheres of existence—present across the Corpus Dionysiacum—but also to connect with Him in hénosis, a living experience of permanent tension towards the Supreme. By focusing in the study of the names of God through exegesis, this paper aims at clarifying eutony, a constant tension towards God, as the central theme of the Byzantine theologian’s thought. (shrink)

When constructed in linear terms, cultures and identities misrepresent other people, constructing crisp boundaries that separate groups as if completely different. To demonstrate the negative impact of such views, I analyze cultural texts such as songs, films, and Web pages, showing the intercultural complexity existing in different constructions of Mexicanness as part of the dialogue arising in the political, social, and cultural interaction between Mexico and the United States. I emphasize the contrast between examples that reinforce identities that can be (...) interpreted as fuzzy and inclusive, against those promoting and generating discrimination and exclusion. (shrink)