The American Journal of Bioethics, Volume 11, Issue 10, Page 39-41, October 2011.

We describe the main issue debated at the IV Blasco Disputatio: whether our knowledge of metaphysical possibility and necessity rests on knowledge of essence. But before getting to this specific issue, we offer a broader introduction to the more general problems in the epistemology of modality. In this way, we establish a background against which the contributions to this SI can be better appreciated.

In World Poverty and Human Rights, Thomas Pogge argues that the global rich have a duty to eradicate severe poverty in the world. The novelty of Pogges approach is to present this demand as stemming from basic commands which are negative rather than positive in nature: the global rich have an obligation to eradicate the radical poverty of the global poor not because of a norm of beneficence asking them to help those in need when they can at little cost (...) to themselves, but because of their having violated a principle of justice not to unduly harm others by imposing on them a coercive global order that makes their access to the objects of their human right to subsistence insecure. In this paper, I claim that although Pogge is right in arguing that negative duties are crucial in an account of global justice, he is wrong in saying that they are the only ones that are crucial. Harming the global poor by causing their poverty provides a sufficient but not a necessary condition for the global rich to have a duty of justice to assist them. After engaging in a critical analysis of Pogges argument, I conclude by suggesting the need for a robust conception of cosmopolitan solidarity that includes positive duties of assistance which are not mere duties of charity, but enforceable ones of justice. (shrink)

El autor de este artículo lee el Apologeticum de Tertuliano como un texto de transición ideológica entre los primeros escritos mesiánicos del cristianismo y la teología política del siglo IV, i.e. una obra que fusiona teología imperial y cristianismo. Dejando de lado las disputas teológicas con el judaísmo, Tertuliano propone una discusión frontal con los romanos sobre la relación del concepto de divinidad con el poder político y quiere mostrar que la teología y la ética de los cristianos son mucho (...) más apropiadas para una realidad como el Imperio romano que las que ha impuesto la tradición politeísta. En este razonamiento se destaca la correspondencia entre monoteísmo y monarquía universal. The author of this paper reads Apologeticum by Tertullian as a text of ideological transition between the early messianic Christian writings and political fourth century theology, i.e. a work that combines Imperial theology and Christianity. Leaving apart the theological disputes with Judaism, Tertullian proposes a frontal discussion with the Romans on the relationship of the concept of divinity with political power and wants to show that theology and Christian ethics are much more appropriate for a reality as Roman Empire which has imposed the polytheistic tradition. His argumentation stands out the reciprocation between monotheism and universal monarchy. (shrink)

An inquiry into the current ways of knowing, their ramifications, and institutional and noninstitutional artistic practices that provide channels for education from below. Artistic Ecologies: New Compasses and Tools aims to both analyze and speculate about potentials of artistic ecologies, collective learning, and engaged pedagogies to engender new institutionalities. Going beyond tensions between individuals and institutions, Artistic Ecologies examines avenues for collective learning. If learning for life is emancipation—understood not just as a matter of power but of freedom—the essential question (...) that emerges is: What knowledge makes us free and how can institutions help produce it? In search of an answer, this publication’s textual and visual contributions explore sites and practices through which new institutionalities can emerge. Artistic Ecologies comprises essays analyzing current ways of knowing and their ramifications (Marina Garcés, Yayo Herrero and Pirate Care) and portraying alternative ways of forming knowledge through institutional and non-institutional artistic practices (DAAR—Decolonizing Architecture Art Research, Yael Davids, Max Jorge Hinderer Cruz, The Sensing Salon). Artistic contributions in various formats—poems, drawings, visual essays—by Luna Acosta, CAConrads, Eva Ďurovec, Teuta Gatolin, Margherita Isola, and Jammers illustrate heterodox channels for questioning the dominant forms of knowledge and educating from below. (shrink)

PurposeAnomic feelings are predicted to play a moderating role in the relationship between organisational justice perceptions and the citizenship use of the organisation's internet access, or cybercivism. The purpose of this paper is to hypothesise that, just as AFs are supported in prior research as able to intensify the negative effects of organisational justice on cyberloafing, they will also intensify the positive effects of OJ on cybercivism.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 270 of the 1,547 respondents at a public university.FindingsExcept in the (...) case of procedural justice, the results support that AF act as a moderator of the OJ‐cybercivism link because, among employees with comparatively less AF, the perceptions of the OJ under study had a stronger impact on cybercivism.Research limitations/implicationsTo generalise from a convenience sample of 17 per cent to the entire University is unfeasible, let alone the “public sector” as a whole for a whole culture/country. Therefore, the paper only aims to be an early exploration of actual phenomenon, and to provide new insights necessary to understand the impact of pervasive new media and information and communication technologies on individual behaviour in virtual work settings.Practical implicationsThe findings contribute to an improved understanding of the influence of OJ on cybercivism. As a moderator, anomia is supported in our sample as one of the key “controllers” of the OJ predictions on cybercivism and sets a new scenario in seeking electronic business effectiveness. By encouraging convincing values and equity in the workplace, organisational management seems be on the right path to create the proper context for cybercivism to occur.Originality/valueEmployee AFs are shown to be a moderator in the relationship between OJ and cybercivism. This is the first empirical test of this interaction. (shrink)

Este artigo revisa a idéia de filosofia “medieval” and põe ênfase na variedade de significados daquela palavra. O autor crê que necessitamos de uma nova terminologia para aquele período da história do pensamento e sugere, por razões históricas, as expressões “United Age” e “Formation Age”. Em todo o artigo prevalece uma tentativa de compreender a natureza da atividade filosófica e da história da filosofia.

Nos proponemos, en este artículo, sentar las bases necesarias para investigar la correlación entre algunas formas de epojé y las reducciones a las que dichas suspensiones abren, y que corresponden a una concreción cada vez más rica. Nuestra aproximación de la concreción fenomenológica se apoya, abiertamente, en la mereología. Tras un breve repaso de algunos conceptos mereológicos aplicados al giro transcendental de la fenomenología, trataremos de apresar, mereológicamente, la especificidad de la problemática finkeana en su VIª Meditación Cartesiana. Habremos pues (...) de diseccionar las partes de la correlación transcendental cruzándolas con el particular lugar que, en esa concreción, ocupa esa “parte” no concrescente que es el yo fenomenologizante. Ella conformará la “parte” antecedente del “todo” de la cinestesia fenomenologizante que tratamos de elucidar, y cuyo consecuente será el todo de la correlación transcendental. Intentamos así contribuir al esclarecimiento del proceso de reducción fenomenológica, sentando las bases para una investigación sobre las articulaciones concretas entre epojé y reducción.The aim of this paper is to lay the ground for understanding the correlation between some forms of epochè and the reduction they open to, which corresponds, each time, to a richer type of concreteness. Our approach of phenomenological concreteness is mereological. Therefore, after remembering some basic concepts of the husserlian mereology and their possible use within transcendental phenomenology, we try to grasp the specificity of the questions posed by Eugen Fink in his 6 th Cartesian Meditation. We shall expose the parts of the transcendental correlation and then account for the particular role played, “within” this concretion, by this particular “part” which is the phenomenologizing ego. The phenomenologizing ego will be the antecedent “part” or term within this “whole” consisting on the phenomenologizing kinesthesis. Thereafter, the consequent term of such a kinesthesis corresponds to the whole of the transcendental correlation. We thus intend to throw some light on the process of phenomenological reduction and set the basis for further investigations regarding the concrete articulation between epochè and reduction. (shrink)

This paper presents a reconstruction of and some constructive comments on Thomas Pogge’s conception of global justice. Using Imre Lakatos’s notion of a research program, the paper identifies Pogge’s “hard core” and “protective belt” claims regarding the scope of fundamental principles of justice, the object and structure of duties of global justice, the explanation of world poverty, and the appropriate reforms to the existing global order. The paper recommends some amendments to Pogge’s program in each of the four areas.

In his important new book National responsibility and global justice, David Miller presents a systematic challenge to existing theories of global justice. In particular, he argues that cosmopolitan egalitarianism must be rejected. Such views, Miller maintains, would place unacceptable burdens on the most productive political communities, undermine national self-determination, and disincentivize political communities from taking responsibility for their fate. They are also impracticable and quite unrealistic, at least under present conditions. Miller offers an alternative account that conceives global justice in (...) terms of a minimum set of basic rights that belong to human beings everywhere. Primary responsibility for securing such rights for an individual lies with his or her state, but in so far as these rights go unprotected, responsibilities for fulfilling them may fall on outsiders. While less ambitious that cosmopolitan egalitarian justice, Miller argues that his own view would nevertheless enable us to articulate what is most morally objectionable about our current world. In this article it is argued that none of Miller's critiques of cosmopolitan egalitarianism is effective, and that while certainly preferable to the status quo, a world governed by Miller's principles is not an attractive ideal. (shrink)

DNA methylation can be considered a component of epigenetic memory with a critical role during embryo development, and which undergoes dramatic reprogramming after fertilization. Though it has been a focus of research for many years, the reprogramming mechanism is still not fully understood. Recent results suggest that absence of maintenance at DNA replication is a major factor, and that there is an unexpected role for TET3-mediated oxidation of 5mC to 5hmC in guarding against de novo methylation. Base-resolution and genome-wide profiling (...) methods are enabling more comprehensive assessments of the extent to which ART might impair DNA methylation reprogramming, and which sequence elements are most vulnerable. Indeed, as we also review here, studies showing the effect of culture media, ovarian stimulation or embryo transfer on the methylation pattern of embryos emphasize the need to face ART-associated defects and search for strategies to mitigate adverse effects on the health of ART-derived children. DNA methylation, critical for embryo development, suffers significant changes after fertilization, including demethylation, remethylation and TET3-mediated oxidation of 5 mC to 5 hmC. In addition to infertility and environmental insults, ART could impact DNA methylation and ART related consequences in the offspring have been reported. (shrink)

Legal and political controversies persist about the performance of Kelsenian-type constitutional courts in democratic systems. One of the reasons is that the design of these institutions cannot easily accommodate simultaneous but conflicting demands for the strong protection of democracy and human rights, judicial independence and constitutional restraint. Challenging the dominant approach to the design of contemporary constitutional courts, this article proposes a new way to balance these three values through reforms to the structure of Kelsenian institutions. The proposal seeks to (...) institutionalize constitutional restraint, embedding it into courts’ internal functioning rules while, concurrently, emancipating constitutional judges from political control through a reform of appointment procedures. It is argued that the combined effects of these two reforms will produce constitutional courts that are more independent and able to protect the core elements of a democratic political community while, at the same time, increasing constitutional deference to the democratically elected legislator. (shrink)

Este artículo analiza la apropiación que Theodor W. Adorno ha realizado de la dialéctica hegeliana, a modo de exhibir su potencialidad como crítica inmanente. Aunque el artículo señala las grandes divergencias entre ambos pensadores, el énfasis está puesto en sus continuidades como vía para demostrar la actualidad de la dialéctica como ejercicio teórico. Con este fin, el artículo se divide en cinco secciones que desarrollan: (1) la complejidad del pensamiento dialéctico como bicéfalo en la relación entre sujeto y objeto; (2) (...) la posibilidad de concebir a la dialéctica como crítica inmanente a partir de la idea de Hegel de “el puro mirar atentamente” (das reine Zusehen); (3) la plausibilidad de la cercanía a lo verdadero a través del concepto de no-verdad; (4) la negación determinada y la exposición como dos nervios esenciales del pensamiento dialéctico; (5) el modo en el cual la dialéctica negativa adorniana exhibe cómo actualizar el pensamiento hegeliano a una coyuntura determinada, haciéndole justicia a su filosofía. (shrink)

La parroquia es un tema central en la exhorta-ción Evangelii Gaudium del papa Francisco. Esta pequeña célula de la Iglesia universal si quiere ser trasformada en su raíz, ha de volver a la fuente y recuperar la frescura original del Evangelio. Esto provocará que nuestras parro-quias sean comunidades más creíbles, en contacto con los lugares y con la vida del pueblo, evitando que se conviertan “en una prolija estructura separada de la gente o en un grupo de selectos que se (...) miran a sí mismos”. En el seno de la Iglesia, toda renovación debe tender a la misión como objetivo, para no caer en una especie de introversión eclesial. La misión es inseparable del discipulado, por lo cual no debe entenderse como una etapa posterior a la formación. No podemos quedarnos tranquilos en espera pasiva en nuestros templos. (shrink)

En este contexto se sitúa el presente escrito. Se pretende describir el estado de una problemática antigua y nueva. Antigua, porque se remonta a los cimientos mismos de la filosofía y del pensar humano, varios miles de años antes de Cristo. Nueva, porque no han terminado en el siglo XX las discusiones sobre dicha problemática, ni las aplicaciones posibles que se derivan de ella. Se trata del principio de identidad. El presente trabajo partirá de la definición del principio de identidad (...) según Aristóteles. Se matizarán algunos aspectos de tal principio según otros autores que han perseguido sobre todo fines didácticos al presentarlo, ya sea para el desarrollo de la teología como para el de la epistemología o la metafísica. Finalmente, se expondrá —de una manera bastante elemental— la utilización y las conclusiones que algunos autores contemporáneos han efectuado con relación a la identidad. El trabajo se enmarca, así, en casi una pura descripción elemental que sienta las bases para una posterior profundización. (shrink)

During replication, the topology of DNA changes continuously in response to well‐known activities of DNA helicases, polymerases, and topoisomerases. However, replisomes do not always progress at a constant speed and can slow‐down and even stall at precise sites. The way these changes in the rate of replisome progression affect DNA topology is not yet well understood. The interplay of DNA topology and replication in several cases where progression of replication forks reacts differently to changes in DNA topology ahead is discussed (...) here. It is proposed, there are at least two types of replication fork barriers: those that behave also as topological barriers and those that do not. Two‐Dimensional (2D) agarose gel electrophoresis is the method of choice to distinguish between these two different types of replication fork barriers. (shrink)

La complejidad de la Crítica de la razón pura comienza a disolverse al contemplar su gestación desde los textos precríticos. Este artículo analiza la evolución de los “conceptos” de espacio y tiempo en los textos anteriores a la Crítica. Con ello se logran dos cosas: la primera, facilitar la lectura de la Crítica de la razón pura y la segunda demostrar que la reflexión que guía el comienzo de la filosofía trascendental no es otra que la fundamentación filosófica de la (...) física. (shrink)

Es posible defender que el pensamiento político de Suárez se halla en tránsito desde lo medieval a una Modernidad diferente. El núcleo de dicha interpretación es la tesis de que la consecución del bien común inserto en la facticidad de la realidad humana concreta es el motor de la teoría política suareciana. Desde ahí se analizan sus elementos fundamentales: primero, el origen comunitario del poder político a partir de la naturaleza social de la persona, creada así por Dios. Segundo, la (...) articulación operativa de dicho poder a través de su entrega absoluta a un gobernante y la preferencia por la Monarquía como forma de gobierno. Tercero, la aceptación de la resistencia al tirano en determinados casos y condiciones. Así, cabe sostener que la flagrante contradicción entre la translatio total del poder político y la simultánea admisión de la resistencia a este supone, en última instancia, negar la primera, erigir esta última como límite del poder, y abrir la puerta a un modelo de democracia directa. (shrink)

El artículo indaga en los canales de influencia de los centros de estudio privados o think tanks en el proceso de formación de agenda política en Chile. Un esquema de clasificación para las organizaciones existentes en el país es propuesto, caracterizando los rasgos de centros académicos, centros de apoyo, centros partidarios y centros de gestión. Se busca describir el desenvolvimiento de las distintas organizaciones y determinar el rol de la gestión de saber experto en la definición de asuntos para la (...) agenda política. (shrink)

Traducimos al español el artículo de Marc Richir «Du rôle de la phantasia au théâtre et dans le roman», publicado en la revista Littérature, n.º 132 en diciembre de 2003. El artículo empieza conceptuando la diferencia fenomenológica entre phantasia e imaginación según Husesrl. Más adelante, el autor se detiene en el examen de la llamada phantasia «perceptiva», distinta tanto de la percepción como de la imaginación. La phantasia «perceptiva» le permite a Richir, junto a Husserl, abordar el análisis fenomenológico del (...) teatro y de sus paradojas, necesario preámbulo al análisis de lo que está en juego, fenomenológicamente, tanto en la escritura como en la lectura de una novela. (shrink)

El presente ensayo resume la crítica del filósofo Gilbert Simondon al antropocentrismo moderno y a las concepciones sobre la técnica desarrolladas en el siglo XX por ciertas corrientes filosóficas que provienen, según él, de lo que denomina un humanismo fácil, que circunscriben el desarrollo técnico a la racionalidad instrumental y a la distinción entre medios y fines. La propuesta de Simondon para salir del marco de estas visiones que considera reduccionistas, es ampliar nuestra mirada sobre la técnica, no centrarnos en (...) la relación entre medios y fines y adentrarnos en el conocimiento sobre los modos de existencia de los objetos técnicos. La mirada de Simondon nos invita a repensar nuestra relación con la técnica y, más allá incluso, a revisar nuestras concepciones ontológicas inclinándose por las que hoy conocemos como ontologías relacionales. La técnica para el filósofo francés es un puente entre nuestro pasado ritual y nuestra actualidad que persiste en la co-existencia de todos los seres, vivos y no vivos que conforman el tecno ecosistema. (shrink)

There is vast evidence that accounts for the association between entrepreneurial orientation and the probability of starting a business. However, there are not many studies that test how psychological factors moderate this relationship. A variable that has been little studied in this relationship is Grit. Grit is considered a personality trait defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Grit considers two sub-dimensions, one linked to the consistency of interests and the other linked to perseverance in the effort. The objective (...) of this article is to analyze the moderating role that both sub-dimensions of grit plays in the relationship between EO and PSB, considering its interaction with sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, and culture. This cross-sectional study has a sample of 1,761 participants, active workers. The EO scale and a Grit Scale were applied. In addition, participants were asked, based on their perception, how likely they were to start their own business within the next 5 years. A simple moderation analysis was considered to test the moderating role of grit in the relationship between EO and PSB. Subsequently, a double moderation analysis was carried out in order to identify which sociodemographic variables moderate the moderating effect of grit on the relationship in question. The results show that only the Grit-Passion component of grit moderates the relationship between EO and PSB. Regarding the sociodemographic variables, neither age, culture, nor gender showed a moderating effect on the moderation exercised by Grit-Passion in the relationship between OE and PSB. The results are discussed in terms of psychological capital, particularly with an emphasis on explaining why only the Grit-Passion shows a moderating effect on the relationship between EO and PSB, in detriment of Grit-Perseverance. In addition, the power of grit in the field of entrepreneurship is discussed, considering that its moderating effect is transversal to variations in age, gender and culture, as well as its relevance when considering interventions and pedagogical models in the field of entrepreneurship. (shrink)

This article provides new information on the printing and readership history of the fifth edition of De iure belli ac pacis. Building on our earlier research on the way that the dispute between Willem Janszoon Blaeu and Johannes Janssonius influenced the publication of the 1631 edition of the text, this article studies how Blaeu harnessed his position to make the 1632 edition more reputable than the earlier version published by his rival. The article considers how, over four centuries, readers have (...) appreciated the quality of the production and three engaged with the text for radically different ends: Remigius Faesch, Baron von Boineburg, and Wendell Phillips. The article draws attention to the changes and continuities in reading and annotation patterns and offers preliminary insights into the themes that these influential readers focused on. We hope that it will inspire readers to bring further copies to our attention. (shrink)

Noel Carroll _The Philosophy of Horror; or Paradoxes of the Heart_ New York: Routledge, 1990 ISBN 0415902169 288 pp.

Resumen El artículo aborda el problema de la traducción a partir de los temas del ocasionalismo y de la decisión. Muestra en particular que, en la experiencia de la traducción, la decisión no remite a un sujeto soberano, sino a un sujeto que se pone entre paréntesis. Por esta razón, la traducción es también una teoría critica del sujeto.This article addresses the problem of translation based on the topics of occasionalism and decision. It shows, in particular, that in the experience (...) of translation the decision does not refer to a sovereign subject but to a subject that is placed in parentheses. For this reason, the theory of translation is also a critical theory of the subject. (shrink)

Traducción al español del artículo de Marc Richir «Phénoménologie et poésie», publicado en Serta: Revista Iberorrománica de Poesía y Pensamiento Poético, n.º 4, 1999, pp. 407-420. El artículo propone articular (comparando y diferenciando) la reflexión fenomenológica sin conceptos, propia de la fenomenología (que convoca esencias fenomenológicas), y la reflexión estética sin conceptos, en que se basa la poesía (que convoca categorías como singularidad y acontecimiento). El lugar de la afectividad en ambos tipos de reflexiones es uno de los factores dirimentes. (...) Por último, el autor aborda la cuestión de lo sublime y del esquematismo de la fenomenalización, al margen de toda intriga pulsional y psicoanalítica. (shrink)

Una idea central del presente trabajo es que la unidad del mito con el logos debe comprenderse en la unidad dramática del diálogo platónico. Pero esto no impide distinguir la existencia de dos clases diferentes de discurso: racional y mítico. La escatología no puede abordarse racionalmente por la incertidumbre que hace imposible en este caso el conocimiento del futuro que le está reservado al alma. Esto determina una situación retórica que hace necesaria la clase de persuasión que transmite el mito (...) escatológico. (shrink)