Opposing Viewpoints is the leading source for libraries and classrooms in need of current-issue materials. The viewpoints are selected from a wide range of highly respected sources and publications.

This series covers today's most current national and international issues and the most important opinions of the past and present. The purpose of the series is to introduce readers to all sides of contemporary controversies.

This is the introduction to the special issue of the Spanish journal Ágora-Papeles de Filosofía (31/2, 2012) devoted to new Ibero-American contributions to metatheoretical structuralism.

En este trabajo se asume: que una teoría factual es un sistema conceptual para representar parcelas deI mundo; que la principal manera de expresar tales sistemas es mediante el lenguaje; y que, consecuentemente, en la comparación de teorías rivales tienen importancia los factores de índole ontosemántica. Desde esa perspectiva se analizan dos problemas que surgen de la aceptación de la tesis de la inconmensurabilidad, a saber: a) el de establecer las condiciones ontosemánticas que dan sentido a la comparabilidad de teorías (...) inconmensurables; y b) el de la consideración de un enfoque ontosemántico compatible con el hecho de que algunas modificaciones en una teoría no conlleven variación de significado y referencia, mientras otras sí.In this work it is assumed: that a factual theory is a conceptual system for representing patches of the world; that the principal way of expressing a system of that sort is by means of language; and that, consequently, factors of ontosemantic kind are important for the comparison between rival theories. Given this perspective, two problems, whieh come up from the acceptance of the incommensurability thesis are analyzed: a) to establish the ontosemantic conditions that give sense to the comparability of incommensurable theories; and b) to consider an ontosemantic picture compatible with the fact that some modifications in a theory are not followd by variance of meaning and reference, while other modifications are. (shrink)

Des revues et des ouvrages spécialisés ont préconisé l’exploitation des textes littéraires dans l’apprentissage du français langue étrangère. Mais les recherches et les pratiques pédagogiques axées sur les apports de la littérature dans l’enseignement de la prononciation sont rares. En didactique des langues, les enseignants ont tendance à négliger, très souvent, l’acquisition des compétences orales, face à la concurrence de la langue écrite, de la grammaire ou du vocabulaire. Dans cet article, nous présentons les expériences sur le développement de la (...) production orale et la correction de la prononciation en relation avec la littérature dans le dispositif de formation Campus Virtuel FLE à l’Université de León. À l’heure du numérique nous aurons recours aux multiples ressources, outils, environnements informatiques et médias sociaux en relation avec les domaines suivants : 1. Le projet Littérature Française Multimédia FLE, une base de données audiovisuelle en ligne sur la littérature française pour l’enseignement et apprentissage du FLE ; 2. Les tâches sur la littérature pour l’acquisition des compétences orales ; 3. Le corpus Oral FLE Prononciation des productions orales des apprenants hispanophones ; 4. Les techniques et méthodes de correction de la prononciation à l’aide des médias sociaux. (shrink)

Con ocasión del trigésimo aniversario de la publicación de Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason (1993) del filósofo canadiense John L. Schellenberg (1959-), este artículo tiene como objetivo examinar el argumento del ocultamiento divino, algunas objeciones a sus premisas realizadas por connotados filósofos contemporáneos, la última reformulación del argumento por parte Schellenberg y, finalmente, la elaboración de una revisión crítica a sus supuestos fundamentales, inspirándonos en el pensamiento de Tomás de Aquino. Estos supuestos señalan, por un lado, que Dios –al ser (...) perfectamente amoroso– debe manifestarse a cualquier persona y en cualquier tiempo y, por otro, que existen agnósticos y ateos sin resistencia que no tienen culpa de su increencia. (shrink)

Les idéaux et pratiques d’amélioration personnelle visant à atteindre un sens de réalisation de soi ont imprégné la culture populaire depuis le milieu du xxe siècle, en grande partie grâce au travail des psychologues humanistes américains. Cet article explore la popularisation de ces notions, arguant qu’elles découlent en partie d’une appropriation américaine particulière du concept d’« actualisation de soi» du neurologue et psychiatre allemand Kurt Goldstein. Premièrement, l’article examine la rencontre de Goldstein avec la psychologie américaine, retraçant son intérêt précoce (...) pour la psychothérapie, les étapes de sa migration forcée vers l’Amérique, et la réception de son travail au sein de la psychologie américaine. Deuxièmement, il propose une analyse des interprétations et applications de l’approche holistique de Goldstein et de son concept d’auto-réalisation par les praticiens humanistes, notamment la théorie de la motivation d’Abraham Maslow et l’approche centrée sur le client de Carl Rogers en psychothérapie. Enfin, l’article se termine par une discussion critique de la distinction entre l’approche de Goldstein, qui met l’accent sur le processus créatif d’un « débat» entre l’organisme et le milieu, et la psychothérapie humaniste, qui souligne la responsabilité individuelle. (shrink)

Dans une approche psycho-développementale et systémique, cet article examine l’expérience grand-parentale en contexte de troubles du spectre autistique ( tsa ) de l’enfant en considérant la pluralité des relations familiales (conjugale, co-grand-parentale, parents/enfant(s), grand(s)-parent(s)/petit(s)-enfant(s), etc.) dans lesquelles les grands-parents sont inscrits. L’analyse des entretiens menés auprès de six grands-parents (quatre familles) montre notamment l’important engagement et le soutien instrumental et émotionnel des grands-parents auprès des parents et de leur petit-enfant porteur de tsa. Ces résultats sont discutés en lien avec l’accompagnement (...) des enfants présentant un tsa et leurs familles, dans une perspective systémique. (shrink)

Dans sa thèse de médecine de 1943 sur le normal et le pathologique, Georges Canguilhem se sert largement des idées de Kurt Goldstein lorsqu’il définit la normalité comme la capacité de l’organisme à créer de nouvelles normes de vie dans un débat polarisé avec son milieu. Pourtant, il déclara ensuite que les conceptions de Goldstein avaient constitué pour lui un « encouragement et non une inspiration ». Les archives personnelles de Canguilhem nous permettent effectivement de considérer le rapport de Canguilhem (...) à Goldstein comme une convergence plutôt que comme une influence mais surtout, l’usage que Canguilhem fait de Goldstein nous permet de mieux saisir la portée de ses propres idées. Nous interrogeons dans une première partie la conception holiste de l’organisme de Goldstein, dans ses rapports à la gestalt-théorie et à Kant, conception qui se réfère au processus d’actualisation de l’essence de l’organisme dans son rapport avec le milieu. Ceci nous permet d’appréhender l’usage que fait Canguilhem de certains concepts et idées de Goldstein pour élaborer son propre concept de normativité vitale. Dans une deuxième partie, nous nous proposons de comprendre la manière dont Canguilhem pose le problème du rapport de la connaissance à la normativité vitale à partir de sa lecture des textes du neurologue allemand. (shrink)

Being and value, by J. Zaragüeta y Bengoechea.--The origin of man, by X. Zubiri.--Negation, by J. Gaos.--The juridical notion of the human person and the rights of man, by L. Legaz y Lacambra.--History and truth, E. Nicol.--Vital anxiety, by J. J. López Ibor.--The moralization of power through its self--imitation, by J. L. Aranguren.--The doctor-patient relationship in the general framework of interhuman relationships, by P. Laín Entralgo.--On the singular character of the historical destiny of Europe, by L. Díez del Corral.--On (...) taking things for granted, by J. Ferrater Mora.--The idea of metaphysics, by J. Marías. (shrink)

La pensée de Ricardo Sánchez Ortiz de Urbina n’a cessé de s’approfondir, sans toujours laisser le temps à ses lecteurs de reprendre leur souffle. La halte que représente « Que diez años es mucho… », dut ainsi être accueillie avec soulagement et reconnaissance! Situé à mi-parcours entre les écrits proprement stromatologiques et ceux qui donneront naissance à Orden oculto (2021), ne laissant rien pressentir des plus récentes percées, ce texte néanmoins rassemble avec patience et rigueur des années de réflexion sur (...) le sens d’une philosophie qui s’opère au niveau de l’eikôn et du microscopique, sans renoncer à son caractère systématique. Il constitue un préalable nécessaire à la bonne compréhension de l’épistémologie phénoménologique que RSOU bâtira quelques années plus tard. Surtout, il fournit un complément indispensable à ce que nous nous proposons d’appeler sa « perspective stromatologique » : celle qui entend révéler, dans la Sache, une diversité de couches (stromata) tenues ensemble par une structure « foliatile », la superposition ou le millefeuille des niveaux ainsi articulés. Seulement une philosophie des stromata phénoménologiques ne fait pas encore un monde. D’autres paramètres conceptuels sont requis, plus englobants ; qui n’avaient peut-être encore jamais fait l’objet d’un traitement systématique sous la plume de Ricardo. Le risque de confusion entre ces termes est désormais conjuré. (shrink)

I discuss puzzles involving coinciding material objects (such as statues and their constitutive lumps of clay) and propose solutions.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:BOOK REVIEWS 259 to the non-Latin reader; instead, it turns out to be a sort of catalogue of opinions on a wide variety of philosophical topics held by many of the thinkers active in the period: between St: Paul and. Marsilius of Padua. But a few facts and figures will, I think, show why' La filosofia medievale is more properly characterized as Liber Sententiarum than Antologia di testi...... Of (...) the book's 440 pages, 306 are occupied by actual text materials, the balance being. taken up with. bit-bibliographical prefatory remarks to each of the selections, an index, and the Table of Contents. Since selections from the works of thirty-five mediaeval authors are presented (!), an equable distribution of the 306 pages would leave something less than nine pages to be devoted to each writer. But as some of the selected figures, e.g., Augustine, Aquinas, and Ockham, have as many as 29 pages devoted to their writings, the others are given wholly inadequate representation. Now from this it can be easily seen that at best, i.e., where the full upper limit of space is assigned to the writings of any one of the mediaevals, his attack and stand on some chosen philosophical issue might be fairly represented. But when we look to the few men who are thus singled out for special consideration and note that their allotments of pages are spent on a great number of topics, drawn from many different works, the effect within the scope of a single "lengthy" selection mirrors perfectly the patchy and kaleidoscopic character of the entire collection. On the positive side, it must be noted at once that the translations are excellent: faithful and clear. The prefaces, albeit quite general, are accurate and informative; while the bibliographies, particularly those that deal with primary sources, are up-to-date and helpful. Further, it was most gratifying to find that this volume included selections culled from the writings of such oft-referred to, but never-anthologized figures as Peter Damian (289 pages), Gilbertus Porretanus (5~ pages), Vincent of Beauvais (4 pages), and Siger of Brabant (3 pages). An error occurs in the Table of Contents where Giustino, Atenagora, and Tertulliano, who should be listed under "L'apologetica cristiana," are cited under "Nuovo mestamento." To sum up: in a foredoomed attempt to be exhaustive of i momenti pith importanti del travaglio speculativo... dell'umanit~t per oltre 13 secoli, dall'avvento del Cristianesimo alle soglie della Rinascenza (Foreword), the eight collaborating editors of La filosofia medievale bit off much more than even their considerable talents could possibly have chewed--let alone properly digested. As a result, this book of readings, despite the excellences pointed out above, comes off a Book o] Sentences upon which (unlike Peter the Lombard's) only one Commentary can be written: inadequate. HERMAN SHAPIRO San lose State College Juan de Vald~s: la sua vitae il suo pensiero religioso. Con una completa bibliografia delle opere del Vald~s e degli scritti intorno a lui. Seconda edizione riveduta ed aggiornata. By Edmondo Clone. (Napoli: Fausto Fiorentino Editore, 1963. Pp. 225. = Collana di Studi e Testi di Letteratura, VII.) The Spaniard Juan de Vald~s (ca. 1495-1541) is one of the most significant personalities of Reformation times. He represents the flowering of Erasmian religious thought. Vald~s however keeps referring his readers to St Paul rather than to Erasmus. For Vald~s "the 260 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY Christian business" is not knowledge but experience. He founds religious certainty on individual inspiration and emphasizes charity against external written law. A man inspired by God becomes autonomous and acquires a mind of his own--independent of external authorities. This valuable study (pp. 5-109) is followed by an extensive bibliography (pp. 113--209) in which it could be added that Vald~s' Al[abeto Cristiano was reprinted in 1948 by the Editorial "La Aurora" of Buenos Aires. In 1946 this publisher considered (in the Preface to his reprint of Vald~s' Dicilogo de Doctrina Cristiana, p. 12) republishing also Vald6s' Ciento y diez consideraciones divinas. PAUL T. FUrIRMAN~ Columbia Theological Seminary Descartes. Oeuvres philosophiques. Tome I (1618-1637.) Textes 6tablis, pr6sent6s et... (shrink)

A mediados del siglo xvii, Girolamo Graziani publica en Módena Il Conquisto di Granata, un poema épico de 26 cantos en los que se narran los acontecimientos que rodearon el asedio del Reino de Granada en sus últimos diez años. Este poema, por tanto, describe el ambiente caballeresco y el tema de la lucha entre cristianos y musulmanes a través de múltiples episodios en los que no faltan los fieros y gigantescos moros, las doncellas guerreras y toda suerte de fábulas (...) y encantamientos. En este estudio determinaremos la arquitectura espacial de este poema épico, definiendo la ciudad de Granada como centro de todo movimiento, en el que todas las acciones se valorarán y medirán a partir de la distancia y de la relación que tengan con ese lugar. Au milieu du xviie siècle, Girolamo Graziani publie à Modène Il Conquisto di Granata, un poème épique de 26 chansons qui raconte les événements des dix dernières années du siège du royaume de Grenade. Ce poème décrit donc l’atmosphère chevaleresque et la lutte entre chrétiens et musulmans en plusieurs épisodes où abondent Maures féroces et gigantesques, jeunes filles guerrières, fables diverses et enchantements. Cette étude porte sur l’architecture spatiale de cette épopée, la définition de la ville de Grenade en tant que centre de tout mouvement, l’évaluation et la mesure de toutes les actions en fonction de la distance et de la relation qu’elles ont avec ce lieu. (shrink)

Quentin Smith has argued that the new tenseless theory of time is faced with insurmountable problems and should be abandoned in favour of the tensed theory of time. Smith;s main argument attacks the fundamental premise of the tenseless theory: that tenseless truth conditions for tokens of tensed sentences adequately capture the meaning of tensed sentences. His position is that tenseless truth conditions cannot explain the logical relations between tensed sentences, thus the tensed theory must be accepted. Against Smith, this paper (...) adopts an alternative approach to the explanation of the entailment relations between sentences which contain indexicals. The approach drops the reliance upon tokens and instead relies on the evaluation of sentence types with respect to a context rather than upon actual or possible utterances of tokens of the types. This (new) version of the tenseless theory of time can adequately explain the relevant entailment relations between tensed sentences. (shrink)

Contents: Preface. Introduction. J. ECHEVERRIA, A. IBARRA and T. MORMANN: The Long and Winding Road to the Philosophy of Science in Spain. REPRESENTATION AND MEASUREMENT. A. IBARRA and T. MORMANN: Theories as Representations. J. GARRIDO GARRIDO: The Justification of Measurement. O. FERNÁNDEZ PRAT and D. QUESADA: Spatial Representations and Their Physical Content. J.A. DIEZ CALZADA: The Theory-Net of Interval Measurement Theory. TRUTH, RATIONALITY, AND METHOD. J.C. GARCÍA-BERMEJO OCHOA: Realism and Truth Approximation in Economic Theory. W.J. GONZALEZ: Rationality in Economics and (...) Scientific Predictions: A Critical Reconstruction of Bounded Rationality and Its Role in Economic Predictions. J.P. ZAMORA BONILLA: An Invitation to Methodonomics. LOGICS, SEMANTICS, AND THEORETICAL STRUCTURES. J.L. FALGUERA: A Basis for a Formal Semantics of Linguistic Formulations of Science. A. SOBRINO and E. TRILLAS: Can Fuzzy Logic Help to Pose Some Problems in the Philosophy of Science? J. de LORENZO: Demonstrative Ways in Mathematical Doing. M. CASANUEVA: Genetics and Fertilization: A Good Marriage. C.U. MOULINES: The Concept of Universe from a Metatheoretical Point of View. List of Contributors. Index of Names. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Striving To Do Good:Well-Springs, Realities, and Paradoxes of Medical Humanitarian WorkRenée C. FoxThe voices that speak from the pages of these testimonial narratives are those of physicians who are engaged in medical humanitarian work. The preponderance of them are based in U.S. academic medical centers where they have clinical, teaching, and research responsibilities from which they regularly "commute" to care for patients in what the euphemistic language of "global (...) health" terms "resource-limited," rather than "poor" countries." This "hybrid life," as one of the physicians (Robert Riviello) refers to it, has transported them periodically to numerous African societies (to Algeria, Ethiopia, Gabon, Morocco, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda), to Haiti, to India and Nepal, and to Guatemala and Mexico. Three of the "stories" are written by physicians at work in the countries where they were born (Prasanta Tripathy in Eastern India, Sridevi Seetharam and colleagues in Southern India, and Paul Pierre, in Haiti).Only one group of physician-coauthors (Maricruz Merino, Jonathan Iralu, and Sonya Shin) write about their experiences in practicing medicine among poor and socially disadvantaged patients on the American mainland—in the setting of the Navajo Indian reservation in Gallup, New Mexico.All these physicians describe their involvement in humanitarian medicine as emanating from their commitment to "social justice," to "saving lives," and to "caring for the poor"; to their universalistic convictions about "human solidarity," and the non- otherness of others; to their indignation about the inequities and injustices of the world, particularly with regard to access to health care (in the words of Jeffrey Deal, "[They] deserve better. They all do"); and to their "passionate" desire, not just their "sense of duty," to help rectify these wrongs (Richard Keiden). I was struck by the fact that none of them uses the word "suffering" to describe the plight of the persons whom they feel they have been called to medically assist.Three of the physicians express the wellsprings of their motivation in religious terms. Richard Keiden refers to a "guiding principle of Judaism" on which his medical humanitarian work has been founded—"tzedakah"—which "translates as charity but actually means righteousness," is based on a "concept of social justice," and is "an obligation, not a choice." Robert Riveillo says that at the time of his graduation from high school he envisioned his "life's work as a long-term missionary surgeon"; he invokes "loving mercy," as well as justice, "in this work of solidarity" that he has undertaken; and he poignantly admits that "most days I still long to pack my things, my family, and our efforts and move to Africa for a life of direct service." What Jeffrey Deal writes is the most explicitly and ardently religious of all. He identifies his work as a physician in Sudan with Jesus's "desire for us to care [End Page 115] for the poor and downtrodden in His stead." He is haunted by his "failure" to deliver alive a "partially born" baby girl who for him incarnated "the least of the least" of whom Jesus "spoke passionately." And in touching "ever so briefly... [that] one, tiny being [he] encountered... [on ] that hot morning in Sudan," he attests, he "touched Jesus."Jeffrey Deal is not the only one who was so stricken by the death of a baby or a child. For a number of these physicians (Sadath Sayeed, Maneesh Batra, and for Sridevi Seetharam, Lisa Adams and their colleagues), it was a tragedy that they found hard to bear with "detached enlightenment" (Sayeed), or to accept. The most demonstrably heartbroken and morally outraged among them is Sadath Sayeed, who "wept uncontrollably" over the death of a baby boy, born "at home" in Haiti, "probably in one of the hundreds of make-shift tent cities." The baby was not breathing continuously, and was "handed" to him to care for. At the close of the "story " about this experience that he recounts, Sayeed lashes out with fury and angst at those who were likely to ask him, "How was it in Haiti?" Do you want to hear "my real answer?" he replies:... [L]et me summarize my last patient for you: Good luck Dad... (shrink)

El presente artículo se enmarca en el campo de la comprensión acerca del sentido que se le otorga a la escuela. En este caso se contextualiza la pregunta en estudiantes mapuche que asisten a un colegio rural de alta vulnerabilidad socioeconómica. A través de un enfoque cualitativo se buscó principalmente comprender el sentido que le dan niños y niñas a la escuela y las motivaciones que tienen para asistir. Participaron 20 niños y niñas en dos grupos focales. Luego de los (...) análisis iniciales se procedió a volver al campo realizando diez entrevistas individuales. Los resultados muestran que el sentido de la escuela se configura tanto por motivaciones internas como expectativas que tienen los padres sobre el futuro de sus hijos. Desde la mirada de los estudiantes, tanto profesores como padres motivan a los estudiantes a salir de la ruralidad, a seguir estudios superiores como una fórmula de éxito social. (shrink)

The present collection brings together for the first time Rowe's most significant contributions to the philosophy of religion. This diverse but representative selection of Rowe's writings will provide students, professional scholars as well as general readers with stimulating and accessible discussions on such topics as the philosophical theology of Paul Tillich, the problem of evil, divine freedom, arguments for the existence of God, religious experience, life after death, and religious pluralism.

The primary objective of the research was to validate the Emotional Leadership Questionnaire for Training, as proposed by McKee et al. (2008). The study included a sample of 97 school principals. An analysis of the original questionnaire was conducted, which comprises four factors and 25 items. Of these, three items and 13 factors were retained. The results demonstrated an optimal fit of the model and high-reliability indices. This instrument provides a practical self-perception tool to assess emotional leadership, underscoring the importance (...) of empathy, adaptability, and self-knowledge in the training of school principals. The content validity was established through the assessment of 15 experts using Lawshe's formula, which demonstrated the validity of all items and dimensions. The reliability was evaluated through Cronbach's alpha and Omega indices, which yielded values between 0.77 and 0.86 and between 0.79 and 0.87, respectively. These results indicate high reliability for all factors. Construct validity was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis. (shrink)

Reseña de Porciello, Andrea. En los orígenes del neoconstitucionalismo. El antipositivismo de Lon. L. Fuller. (Trad. Celia Diéz Fuentes). Lima: Palestra Editores, 2019, pp. 316.

In the first section I briefly consider some stituations in which standard desert-claims would be disputed, with the aim of revealing why and by whom they are asserted or denied. Having attained some understanding of the point of different desert-statements, I propose an accound of their content that entails the thesis that statements of positive desert (deserving something desirable) sharply differ in meaning from statements of negative desert (deserving something undesirable), even when expressed in the same form. In the second (...) section I use this ambiguity thesis to argue against an appealing way of defending Hegel's claim that a wrongdoer has a right to be punished and against Kant's defense of the view that there is a duty to punish those who deserve it. I also show how an understanding of negative desert that recognizes the ambiguity thesis enables us to defend the ordinary view of mercy against Kantian criticisms and to reject the popular misconception that mercy is necessarily at odds with justice. In the third section I use the ambiguity thesis to rebut the common claim (found in Mill and Aristotle, among others) that it is unjust for a person to have or be given mone benefits than she deserves. I conclude by showing how an understanding of positive desert that recognizes the ambiguity thesis leads to a rejection both of certain complaints against traditional systems of private property and also of certain moralistic scruples that might give pause to those who acknowledge the moral duty to assist the needy. (shrink)