A reflection on the philosophical traditions at the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon and in the city of Monterrey.

This volume contains Gianfrancesco Pico's Life of his uncle Giovanni Pico and also Giovanni's Oration. Gianfrancesco's Life opens a collection that omits Giovanni's Conclusions but includes the speech that we - unlike Pico - know as an Oration on the Dignity of Man. He wrote the Oration to introduce the Conclusions, but his nephew's editorial decision cut the theses off from the speech that their author had connected with them. Several times in the Oration, the orator mentioned "theorems" to be (...) proposed in the Conclusions: he clearly saw the book and the speech as tools for the same task. Either Gianfrancesco missed his uncle's intentions, which seems unlikely, or he meant to seal off his other writings - including the Oration - from a book that he found embarrassing for himself and his relative and too risky to make public. This is the fact of the matter: Gianfrancesco left the Conclusions unpublished while publishing the Oration in a collection introduced by his Life. Both the speech and the biography are presented here, in this edition, in the same way - apart from the Conclusions: this reflects the situation in 1496 and respects Gianfrancesco's choice, even though his decision blocked understanding of the speech for many years. Today, with access to all the relevant texts in many versions, readers can move from one work to another as needed. (shrink)

An ardent treatise for the Dignity of Man, which elevates Humanism to a truly Christian level, making this writing as pertinent today as it was in the Fifteenth Century.

We propose here the first translation into Portuguese of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s small treatise De Ente et Uno (1491). The translation is preceded by a brief presentation in which the work is contextualized within the scope of the thought of its young author and in the Florentine philosophical environment of the end of the Quattrocento. In the aftermath of the controversies between defenders of Plato and defenders of Aristotle, a quarrel brought by Greek and Byzantine intellectuals into Italy, who (...) exacerbated the differences between the two philosophers, there were also others who tried to show the essential concord between them, a purpose of which Pico’s treatise is one of the most expressive and relevant documents, seeking to prove the equivalence between Plato’s One and Aristotle’s Being. (shrink)

Este trabajo intenta analizar la concepción, naturaleza jurídica y garantía de los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales, en América Latina, así como las condiciones y medidas que pueden contribuir a su efectividad. Presenta tambien una propuesta de indicadores que pueden utilizarse en la supervision de la efectividad de esos derechos y de la proteccion que ellos han alcanzado, proporcionando información sobre la situactón latinoamericana y caribeña actual.

Nerve processes elongate, branch and form synaptic contacts in a highly regulated and specific manner. Long‐distance axon elongation is restricted to the main phase of axon formation during development, but can be reinduced upon lesions in the adult (regeneration). It correlates with the expression of defined genes, including proteins involved in signalling (e.g. src, NCAM, integrins), transcription factors (e.g. c‐jun) and structural proteins (e.g. actin and tubulin isoforms). Activation of an axon elongation program may require bcl‐2. The formation and growth (...) of local branches (sprouting) is controlled by mechanisms in the target region. In addition, the expression of growth‐associated proteins such as GAP‐43 and CAP‐23 in neurons lowers the threshold for nerve sprouting and potentiates its vigour. Recent studies suggest that nerve sprouting and long‐distance elongation depend on the expression of different intrinsic components in neurons. One implication of these findings is that the differential expression of genes facilitating local branching may affect structural plasticity in the intact adult nervous system. (shrink)

This paper traces the development of “cultural philosophy,” distinguishes it from the “philosophy of culture,” discusses African and Filipino philosophical dimensions, and then makes the concluding remarks. This paper argues that while cultural philosophy is a significant development in the history of ideas, any given culture must opt to develop its own philosophical tradition.

Every ASEAN member envisions itself to become economically and politically efficient and stable—of becoming a First World country. No doubt there are many ways of approaching this vision and making it a reality. But I will argue in this paper that education can play a major role in transforming the region into a First World technopole or economic power through what Alvin Toffler calls the philosophy of “educational futurism.” Educational futurism states that we tailor our present educational plans on our (...) future dreams or visions. (shrink)

Pensadores griegos y orientales, filósofos antiguos, medioevales y modernos, han tocado el tema de lo corporal de manera fragmentaria que reducen lo corpóreo a mero instrumento. Para evitar este tipo de interpretaciones, queda el expediente de acudir a la síntesis holística; a la versión del "cuerpo total" que somos. La economía imperante es la del "cuerpo poseído". Se tasa, vende y desecha en el mercado la fuerza de trabajo. Se ejerce sobre él una violencia que nos rebasa en todos los (...) frentes; es radical, porque atenta contra la integridad y la dignidad de los cuerpos. Restañar las heridas corporales de nuestros pueblos requiere de la formulación y siembra del conocimiento de la Ética del cuerpo que deberá ir acompañada por un proceso de reconstrucción simbólica de la idea de "cuerpo" en el que todos participemos. Si armonizan necesidades y capacidades corporales propias y ajenas y compaginan nuestras acciones con el respeto al entorno natural, casa del cuerpo, podremos vislumbrar que vamos sobre el camino correcto. The Greek and Eastern thinkers, ancient, medieval and modern philosophers, have dealt with the body only in a fragmentary way that sees it as a mere instrument. To avoid this kind of interpretation we resort to a holistic synthesis-the "total body" version that we really are. The dominant economics is the one of the "possessed body" that can be priced, sold and disposed of as working force. An overpowering violence is applied to it; it is a radical violence as it attempts on bodies' integrity and dignity. The healing of the wounded bodies of our people requires formulating and planting the seeds of the body's ethics that will accompany the reconstruction of an idea of body to be shared by all of us. If we harmonize our own and others' body's needs and abilities, and our actions are in accordance with our natural surroundings, we will be able to make out the right path. (shrink)

In tracing historically the development of Filipino philosophy as traditionally conceived, the author discovered that the early Filipino philosophers were Enlightenment thinkers. This was the direct consequence of the Filipino colonial experience and the explanation why the trajectory of Filipino philosophy is basically Western in orientation.

In treatises or advanced textbooks on theoretical physics, it is apparent that the way mathematics is used is very different from what is to be found in books of mathematics. There is, for example, no close connection between books on analysis, on the one hand, and any classical textbook in quantum mechanics, for example, Schiff, [11], or quite recent books, for example Ryder, [10], on quantum field theory. The differences run a good deal deeper than the fact that the books (...) on theoretical physics are not written in the definition-theorem-proof style characteristic of pure mathematics. Although a good many propositions are proved in the books on physics, there are almost with exception no existential proofs, and consequently there is no really serious systematic use of quantifiers. Another important characteristic is the free use of infinitesimals. In fact, most results would not lose anything, from a physicist's point of view, by leaving them in approximate form, i.e., instead of strict equalities or inequalities, using equalities or inequalities only up to an infinitesimal.The discrepancy between the way mathematics is ordinarily done in theoretical physics and the way it is built up from a foundational standpoint in any of the standard modern views raises the question of whether it might be possible to construct quite directly a rigorous foundation that reflects a significant part of this standard practice in theoretical physics. Other parts of standard practice in physics, for example, the use of physically intuitive but nonrigorous arguments, are not present in our system. (shrink)

Este artículo analiza los diálogos posibles entre el pensamiento de Giorgio Agamben y la novela _Frankenstein_ de Mary Shelley. Así, el filósofo italiano describe aspectos centrales que indagan los modos en que el biopoder captura la nuda vida. En efecto, a través del concepto de _máquina_ –la antropológica, el lenguaje y la gubernamental– se describen los dispositivos capaces de volver la potencia de vida a los cálculos del poder. Por otro lado, _Frankenstein_ construye una serie de escenas en la que (...) la voz de la Cosa interpela a su creador, Víctor Frankenstein, en una dimensión ética por su negligencia y falta de cuidado. La interpelación se dirige a un personaje pero, tomando los términos de Agamben, Víctor Frankenstein forma parte de una maquinaria mayor de la que él mismo termina siendo víctima. La ficción explicita además la falla de la maquinaria biopolítica por cuanto su protagonista se afirma en la vida procurando hallar sentidos posibles de existencia. (shrink)

This unique book presents a new interpretation of probability, rooted in the traditional interpretation that was current in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Part of rethinking philosophy today, the author believes, is to rethink our logical concepts. The author questions the ontological existence of the proposition as the content of sentential utterances—written or spoken—as it was originally proposed by John Searle. While a performative is an utterance where the speaker not only utters a sentential or illocutionary content such as a statement, but also performs the illocutionary force such as the act of stating, the author reasserts John Austin’s constative as the general label (...) (genus) of specific utterances (species) that can be rendered true or false such as a statement, assertion, description, and prediction. In the remainder of the paper, the author tries to show that it is a category mistake for someone to assert a statement or to state an assertion. (shrink)

This article addresses the critique of the modern conception of history and time through a reading of Hannah Arendt. Arendt’s work provides an alternative to the thought with universal pretensions that has dominated the panorama of modernity. She thinks the historical through contradiction and gives a place to human experience next to facts. In thinking the event Arendt shows the insufficiency of the modern chronological appropriation of the past and the limits of using theory as a given framework of interpretation. (...) Understanding the historical event is to challenge the chronology assumed in our forms of understanding and representing the real. Her work blurs the tacit boundary that lurks in modern forms of representation between a ‘dynamic’ present and a ‘congealed’ past. Arendt’s thinking provides a critique of the modern notions of time and history as of the use of theory as a fixed framework of interpretation. (shrink)

It is not only important for a Filipino teacher or scholar of philosophy to transform oneself into a Filipino philosopher by innovating within one's favorite philosopher , by rejecting a philosophical position and formulating one's own , or by examining old philosophical questions and offering one's own novel perspectival solutions. It is more important to transform oneself into a world-class philosopher.

At the peak of this heated confrontation between Nero and Seneca, in which the latter exhorts the emperor to seek the people's love and trust rather than their hatred, Nero retorts that it is meet for the people to fear their prince . This is unsurprising and represents Nero as merely the latest in a long line of tragic tyrants . In the exchange that follows, however, is the slightly puzzling : ‘metuant necesse est’:: ‘quicquid exprimitur graue est’. It is (...) not only that Nero simply reiterates a concept already asserted in the line before which had prompted Seneca's ‘at plus diligi’. More than that, Seneca's exprimitur is a non sequitur after ‘metuant necesse est’. exprimere is to ‘squeeze out’, ‘to extort’, ‘to elicit’, but in Latin metus is hardly ever ‘extorted’, exprimere, on the other hand, is commonly said of sincere or pretended assent, applause, jubilation, or forced admission. The verb occurs again at 494 ‘humiles … uoces exprimit nostri metus’; 581 ‘exprimere ius est, ferre quod nequeunt preces?’; elsewhere in Sen. Oed. 529 ‘ulline poena uocis expressae fuit’; Clem. 1.1.7 ‘omnibus … nunc ciuibus tuis … haec confessio exprimitur esse felices’; Plin. Pan. 2.2 ‘uoces illas quas metus exprimebat’. (shrink)

The author interprets Lopez's work as a case of mythologizing a historical figure for the Filipino masses. It is therefore a proletarian myth in contrast to bourgeois myths which Roland Barthes talks about. Myth indeed is a language - a metalanguage - and Lopez made use of it to express the theme of emulation and the responsibility of the proletarian man through traits that endure in the Filipino psyche: his loob (inner self), budhi (conscience), hiya (shame), and sense of responsibility. (...) The author agrees with Barthes that history and myth do not mix. Where a piece of work does not portray historical facts faithfully it should not be taken as a historical document but - in the context of Lopez's awit - as a piece of literary work that must be enjoyed. (shrink)

This article is a reflection on chance as a scientific object, starting from a materialistic point of view. I analyze the relationship between motion and complexity by introducing the notion of an open system and the categories that result from it: state of nature and observable, to review the debate on chance and certainty.