This doctoral dissertation deals with the psychotherapeutic factor that permeates the whole Epicurean philosophical program. It is the aim of this study to research and to rehabilitate its healing function. Since the Garden’s philosophy is a very systematic one, the question about the natural reality, φύσις, had to be addressed firstly. Anti-nihilism, materialism, eternal atoms, infinite void, perpetual movement, clinamen and the plurality worlds are key notions of the axiomatic and scientific Epicurus’ physics. Once we had gained clarity about those (...) core concepts, the central role of human beings in the system was to be discussed. As natural, yet exceptional, atomic compounds, men and women do have flesh and soul and are, therefore, completely mortal. Nevertheless, they possess numerous qualities, originating in their ψυχή, which render them unique : freedom, rationality and even a material community with the gods. According to Epicurus, there is a fourth element constituting the souls of both people and deities, so that a physical continuity and material formation are preserved through the entire nature. Gods are studied from a naturalistic physiologic perspective and at the very same time they act exemplary and, freed from any providential, governing tasks, they provide a regula uitae in order to achieve a pleasant, authentic happiness. In fact, this research tries to demonstrate that complete curation is not to be linked to an eternal extra-corporeal soul, but arises from the removal of pain and fear, aponia and ataraxia. These two are the paramount pleasures, far distant from a gross hedonism. Ethics are, then, presented as a soothing practice, having a nuclear medical purpose. Taking this into account, it was necessary to explore the historical connections between philosophy and rational Hellenic medicine before Epicurus. After that, multiple therapeutic forms conceived or applied by the Samian philosopher were analyzed. The λόγος proved to be the unifying element among them and involved not only human reason but also analogy. Epicurus’ diagnose is very sad: we are in pain. To reverse that, he presented exercises such as meditation, confession, self-examination, laugh therapy, emotional intelligence, intrusive thoughts control, companionship, solidarity and friendship. There are still two additional therapies completing the above mentioned: an Epicurean thanatology, because we miss the point when considering (im)mortality and forget about sensation as the ground of any life; and an ars desidrandi, because we should accept only natural and necessary desires, instead of chasing whimsy dreams with vain hopes. All this will help us regain our primal bodily and mental health and happiness, our essential, frugal and glad wellbeing. By means of prudence and reflection, governing our body and cultivating our mind we will liberate ourselves and taste a durable, profound, stable joy, comparable to that of the gods. (shrink)

This article reports on the methodology for setting the Mexican User Satisfaction Index for Social Programs as tested in seven national social programs. The evaluation is based on Structural Equation Modeling. How satisfaction takes the central place of the SEM, which postulates its causes and effects, contributes to the increased validity and reliability of satisfaction indicators that allow benchmarking between social programs. The MUSI model is an adaptation of the American Customer Satisfaction Index model. The MUSI methodology includes qualitative and (...) quantitative techniques. The estimation model is by the Partial Least Squares. In each of the seven social programs, no statistical evidence was found to reject the main relationships postulated by the ACSI’s model: that Perceived Quality impacts Satisfaction, and Satisfaction impacts Trust. The improvement opportunity areas were also identified for each program. These results give valid and reliable feedback to public policies. (shrink)

Este texto tiene por objetivo mostrar algunas de las condiciones que facilitan o complican el acceso al derecho a la educación, así como la permanencia de la escuela para familias jornaleras agrícolas migrantes en los tiempos del SARS-CoV- 2, considerando que gran parte del proceso de aprendizaje recae sobre las propias familias. Se realiza un análisis desde la cultura y la gramática escolar, contemplando las características de la escuela para estas familias y las posibilidades que tienen de responder a las (...) condiciones derivadas del programa oficial mexicano “Aprende en casa”. Se realizó un estudio cualitativo de alcance descriptivo, con entrevistas a hombres y mujeres de estas familias, con relación al conocimiento que tienen acerca de la pandemia, sobre las condiciones para hacer posible el cuidado necesario para no contagiarse y la escolarización para niñas y niños; se retomó información sobre las características de las familias y sus dinámicas, derivadas de investigaciones anteriores. Se encontró que algunos jornaleros y sus familias tienen acceso a información, que asumen la consigna de cuidado en tanto posibilidades materiales; y que por lo que ellos y ellas conocen, son pocas las posibilidades de escolarización en esta época. Se concluye con la necesidad de generar estrategias colectivas y buscar el apoyo de empresarios, sociedad civil y autoridades educativas. (shrink)

We propose a method to associate a coalitional interval game with each strategic game. The method is based on the lower and upper values of finite two-person zero-sum games. Associating with a strategic game a coalitional interval game we avoid having to take either a pessimistic or an optimistic approach to the problem. The paper makes two contributions to the literature: It provides a theoretical foundation for the study of coalitional interval games and it also provides, studies, and characterizes a (...) natural method of associating coalitional interval games with strategic games. (shrink)

We propose a method to associate a coalitional interval game with each strategic game. The method is based on the lower and upper values of finite two-person zero-sum games. Associating with a strategic game a coalitional interval game we avoid having to take either a pessimistic or an optimistic approach to the problem. The paper makes two contributions to the literature: It provides a theoretical foundation for the study of coalitional interval games and it also provides, studies, and characterizes a (...) natural method of associating coalitional interval games with strategic games. (shrink)

8 March, now known as International Women’s Day, is a day for feminist claims where demonstrations are organized in over 150 countries, with the participation of millions of women all around the world. These demonstrations can be viewed as collective rituals and thus focus attention on the processes that facilitate different psychosocial effects. This work aims to explore the mechanisms involved in participation in the demonstrations of 8 March 2020, collective and ritualized feminist actions, and their correlates associated with personal (...) well-being and collective well-being, collective efficacy and collective growth, and behavioral intention to support the fight for women’s rights. To this end, a cross-cultural study was conducted with the participation of 2,854 people from countries in Latin America and Europe, with a retrospective correlational cross-sectional design and a convenience sample. Participants were divided between demonstration participants and non-demonstrators or followers who monitored participants through the media and social networks. Compared with non-demonstrators and with males, female and non-binary gender respondents had greater scores in mechanisms and criterion variables. Further random-effects model meta-analyses revealed that the perceived emotional synchrony was consistently associated with more proximal mechanisms, as well as with criterion variables. Finally, sequential moderation analyses showed that proposed mechanisms successfully mediated the effects of participation on every criterion variable. These results indicate that participation in 8M marches and demonstrations can be analyzed through the literature on collective rituals. As such, collective participation implies positive outcomes both individually and collectively, which are further reinforced through key psychological mechanisms, in line with a Durkheimian approach to collective rituals. (shrink)

La sociedad del riesgo que han conceptualizado exhaustivamente sociólogos tan influyentes como Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens, Niklas Luhmann y Scott Lash es el referente sobre el cual el libro “Catástrofes Medioambientales. La reacción social y política” construye su eje problemático. Este es el objeto de estudio que da continuidad a los doce artículos que componen el texto, y lo que los integra en una obra coherente a pesar a de su diversidad. Estamos en este sentido ante un texto cuyas espec..

Trust in vaccination is eroding, and attitudes about vaccination have become more polarized. This is an observational study of Twitter analyzing the impact that COVID-19 had on vaccine discourse. We identify the actors, the language they use, how their language changed, and what can explain this change. First, we find that authors cluster into several large, interpretable groups, and that the discourse was greatly affected by American partisan politics. Over the course of our study, both Republicans and Democrats entered the (...) vaccine conversation in large numbers, forming coalitions with Antivaxxers and public health organizations, respectively. After the pandemic was officially declared, the interactions between these groups increased. Second, we show that the moral and non-moral language used by the various communities converged in interesting and informative ways. Finally, vector autoregression analysis indicates that differential responses to public health measures are likely part of what drove this convergence. Taken together, our results suggest that polarization around vaccination discourse in the context of COVID-19 was ultimately driven by a trust-first dynamic of political engagement. (shrink)

SUMMARYThis article considers how chemical analyses were employed not only to study and describe mineral waters, but also to promote new spas, and to reinforce the scientific authority of experts. Scientists, jointly with bath owners, visitors and local authorities, created a significant spa market by transforming rural spaces into social and economic sites. The paper analyses the role developed by the chemist Antonio Casares in the commodification of mineral water in mid-19th century Spain. His scientific publications and water analyses put (...) a new economic value on some Spanish mineral waters and rural springs. First the paper explores the relationship between geographic factors, regulation, and spa development in 19th century Spain, and considers how scientific work improved the economy of some rural areas. Then the transformation of numerous country springs into spas, and the commodification of baths as places between science and leisure is examined. Finally the location of spas across the borders of medicine and chemistry is shown, together with the complex field operations required to study mineral waters. This paper reveals an intense circulation of knowledge between the field, laboratories and scientific publications, as well as the essential role developed by experts like Casares, who not only contributed to the study of rural springs but also to their economic transformation. (shrink)

Saint Paul's "thorn in the flesh" has been the subject of much controversy in medical, historical and religious literature. It was crucial for the development of Paul's theology and, therefore, its study is important for a better understanding of early Christianity. The purpose of this article is to review the available evidence on this issue, perform a historical and medical critical analysis and suggest plausible diagnosis that have not been previously published in scientific literature. Our research on primary sources seem (...) to indicate that in 41–42 AD Paul of Tarsus developed a clinical picture with a pain similar to that of a thorn injury and bad physical appearance. It could also have a chronic course with a limited number of relapses and few global. It could remind Job’s illness and provoke humiliation in Paul and repulse in his audience. Multiple diseases could explain some of these data, but fewer explain all of them. Though a definitive diagnosis cannot be achieved, we think that cutaneous disorders are the most obvious candidates for a humiliating and painful disease which, however, would permit long journeys during more than a decade. Disorders with cutaneous involvement like lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, urticaria/angioedema, leukocytoclastic vasculitis or nodular vasculitis should be added to other possibilities previously reported. (shrink)

La solidaridad, entendida como una operación social y comunicativa destinada a mantener la cohesión de las personas en el marco de la sociedad moderna, pone en evidencia la permanencia de un orden social estratificado que produce exclusión de ciertos derechos sociales. El presente artículo, intenta discutir más a fondo esta definición ofreciendo un análisis empírico y multidimensional de las conductas solidarias en Chile. Mediante análisis bivariados y de MANOVA de los datos de la “Encuesta de solidaridad 2010” (N=1389) generada por (...) el centro de medición MIDE UC de la Pontificia Universidad Católica, llegamos a la conclusión que existen ciertas variables del esquema de estratificación social que en la actualidad predicen y direccionan la orientación de la solidaridad en Chile. Esto sugiere que la solidaridad no solamente responde a una esquematización estratificada de la sociedad moderna, sino además agrega que diferentes ejes de estratificación social influencian las dimensiones de la solidaridad. (shrink)

It is the aim of this paper to offer, in Catalan, a bio-bibliographical note on Hermann Diels, on the occasion of the first centenary of his death, highlighting his contributions to multiple areas of the Altertumswissenschaften, especially on the pre-Socratic philosophers; in this regard, both his intellectual bonds and path are described; then the Fragmente and his philosophical attitude are examined; finally and in the appendix, we offer as a humble tribute to his memory the first Catalan translation of a (...) text of his own: a brief but panoramic essay on the history of ancient Greek philosophy. (shrink)

This paper will describe firstly the difference existing between the Platonic-Aristotelian and the Epicurean conception of a philosophical system as an ordered whole and the importance of immediate applicability which characterizes the Epicurean experience of thinking, along with its healing, life-changing power.

This paper inquires the systematical consequences in the Nietzschean critics of the biological determination of life. We proposed an analysis about central topics of this determination: the finalism, the life and chaos. This approach allows us to relieve a systematical conception of what Nietzsche understands by “necessity”. This conception of necessity is not metaphysic in the traditional sense, but implies a subversion of all special metaphysic. Beyond this, it entails a critical to the transcendental and normative version, own of Kantian (...) thought, about the question of life. These confrontations seek to clarify the gnoseological and ontological areas put in check, on the status of the concept of life. (shrink)

Classic and modern philosophy propose different views on the question of self-knowledge. Ancient philosophy identifies self-knowledge with the knowledge of the soul, which is the principle of unity in man. Modern philosophy is intereseted in subjectivity, but has a problematic view of it. Some currents, like Idealism, consider that a total reflexcion is possible, in which the subjectivity becomes totally present to itself, but others, as Empiricists, are skeptical and even deny the existence of a true subject. The difficulties of (...) the Idealistic project have are uncovered by some contemporary philosophers, like Heidegger and post-modern thinkers. Polo shows how the denial of a reflective and objective knowledge of the person is compatible with the claim that the person is a radical and transcendental act of intellect. The key of this proposal is the affirmation that there are different kinds of acts of the intellect, according to their theme. (shrink)

The radical posthumanism of Kurzweil aims to achieve immortality. Fukuyama and Habermas criticize posthumanism defending the idea of an inalterable human nature. Pinker, for his part, considers that there is a human nature, but susceptible to modifications. There is a limit to human nature: it is found in the mortal nature of each member of the human species. Sloterdijk will introduce a nuance and insist on the natality of the creative acts of man, standing in continuity with the Nietzschean concept (...) of overman. (shrink)

The atomic hypothesis according to Ludwig Boltzmann. The scientific and philosophical importance of a controversial position at the close of the 19th century. This paper examines Boltzmann’s standpoint in the controversy over the existence of atoms between himself on the one hand and Mach, Ostwald, Helm and to some extent Duhem on the other hand. The latter wanted to develop a physics only constructed with perceptible phenomena. Because of the lack of empirical evidence of the atoms at that time they (...) did not accept them for the construction of physics. In contrast, Boltzmann found the acceptance of atoms to be a fruitful assumption, since for him the construction of physics required going beyond perceptible phenomena. Two different conceptions of nature and of the ways to know nature clashed in this disagreement between Boltzmann and his opponents. Op-posing one-sided positions, Boltzmann supported the hypothetical character of science, in which more than one basic hypothesis can be advanced: he was open to the possibility of fundamental revolutions in science. (shrink)

Este artículo analiza el fenómeno migratorio intrarregional abordando dinámicas de inclusión social informal al interior del sistema laboral. A partir del análisis de 32 relatos de vida a inmigrantes peruanos que han ascendido laboralmente en Chile, se propone que la baja ubicación de peruanos en el sistema de estratificación social chileno, condiciona su grado de dependencia a una inclusión informal al sistema laboral. Sin embargo, como efecto de la regularización de su estatus migratorio, del mayor conocimiento del campo laboral y (...) de la formalización de su capital social, es posible el despliegue de reacciones agenciales en función de una trayectoria ascendente en el mercado del trabajo. (shrink)

La presente investigación tuvo por objetivo analizar la percepción del profesorado en el constructo igualdad de género. Se diseñó un estudio cuantitativo exposfacto utilizando la Escala de Igualdad de Género Oculta que se aplicó sobre una muestra incidental de 391 docentes de la Comunidad de Madrid. Para el análisis de datos se aplicaron las pruebas de Student, ANOVA y MANOVA. Los resultados revelaron diferencias significativas en las principales dimensiones de la escala IGOE. La dimensión Situación de Género en la Escuela (...) actuó como la principal transmisora de estereotipos, actitudes y conductas sexistas mediante el currículo oculto. (shrink)

In this article we will argue that given certain conditions for the evolution of bi- ological controllers, these will necessarily evolve in the direction of incorporating consciousness capabilities. We will also see what are the necessary mechanics for the provision of these capabilities and extrapolate this vision to the world of artifi- cial systems postulating seven design principles for conscious systems. This article was published in the journal Neural Networks special issue on brain and conscious- ness.

The hypothesis that terrorism often emerges when mass collective action declines and radicals take up arms to compensate for the weakness of a mass movement has been around for some time; however, it has never been tested systematically. In this article the authors investigate the relationship between terrorist violence and mass protest in the context of the Spanish transition to democracy. This period is known for its pacts and negotiations between political elites, but in fact, it was accompanied by high (...) levels of terrorist violence and popular mobilization. To test the hypothesis, the authors have created two data sets, one on victims of terrorism and another on participation in demonstrations. The data clearly confirm that terrorism erupted in Spain when participation in demonstrations started to decline. This result sheds new light on the nonstructural conditions associated with the onset of terrorist violence. (shrink)

Western scholars have written on the theory of Buddhist argumentation. They have also analyzed examples of arguments found in philosophical and polemical writing. However, little has been written to date about what might have transpired when Buddhists and their opponents met in face-to-face debates in classical India. Drawing on Chinese and Tibetan historical and biographical writings about famous Indian debates, this essay analyzes the structure and conventions of these accounts as a literary form. While it is difficult to assess the (...) historicity of particular narratives, an analysis of this literature as a whole gives us clues about what might have occured when Indian scholars faced their adversaries in live debates. These sources provide us with a picture of the etiquette, rules of engagement, and strategies that may have been used in such encounters. They also suggest what constituted defeat in ancient Indian verbal contests, and they point to some of the real-political and material benefits of victory. The essay ends by reflecting on the function of these narratives vis-à-vis Tibetan Buddhist scholastic identity. (shrink)

Alfred Schmidt se coloca fuera del dogma del “marxismo soviético”. Considera textos inéditos en la vida de Marx, que permiten comprender los resultados en las obras centrales. Desde el concepto de naturaleza, discute la relación sujeto-objeto y necesidad- libertad. La naturaleza está mediada socio- ..