Investigar a los buenos profesores es complejo porque se corre el riesgo de generalizar trivializando sus características, por lo mismo, es fundamental no caer en la tentación de pensar que son ideales, puesto que son seres humanos que viven su existencia al igual que cada uno de nosotros, sólo que con compromiso y amor por lo que hacen. Gracias a las historias de vida pudimos entender el proceso de la profesionalización docente, develar sus principales complejidades y señalar tendencias válidas para (...) cualquier profesor que pueden ajustarse con flexibilidad a esos patrones. La construcción analítica nos aportó luces para entender y explicar qué es lo que hace a un profesor un Buen Profesor. Esto es, la valoración del sentido común, la improvisación, la conciencia del cambio, la reflexión y la acción pedagógica. Sus características pueden ser intencionalmente promovidas en las distintas etapas de formación profesional porque tienen la cualidad de generar entusiasmo, contagio con un compromiso pedagógico, social y político por el trabajo bien hecho. (shrink)

La Educación Parvularia en Chile y principalmente su gestión pedagógica, se sitúa en un nuevo escenario que exige de los educadores competencias más humanas que de funcionalidad técnica para adaptarse a las impresiones, la emergencia, la incertidumbre y la complejidad de los procesos epistemológicos infantiles; comprender cómo aprenden los niños, cómo acceden al conocimiento y qué estrategias utilizan para hacerlo, es fundamental para contribuir a un sistema educativo de calidad. Si bien en Chile se han intentado algunas reformas e innovaciones (...) curriculares para la Educación Parvularia con el firme propósito de mejorar la calidad del sistema educativo, aún no está claro, qué es aquello que entorpece el logro de los aprendizajes y pone en peligro la calidad del sistema. En este contexto, resulta interesante centrar la mirada en los juegos infantiles, describir el tipo de interacciones sociales y con el entorno que se producen en estas dimensiones lúdicas e intentar descubrir los indicios epistemológicos que en ellas surjan; descubrir en los espacios de informalidad en que se desarrollan los juegos infantiles algunas aproximaciones que nos contextualicen epistemológicamente, nos permitirá comprender que las prácticas adultistas utilizadas en los espacios educativos formales no impactan significativamente los procesos de aprendizaje de los niños. (shrink)

Brain monitoring combined with automatic analysis of EEGs provides a clinical decision support tool that can reduce time to diagnosis and assist clinicians in real-time monitoring applications (e.g., neurological intensive care units). Clinicians have indicated that a sensitivity of 95% with specificity below 5% was the minimum requirement for clinical acceptance. In this study, a high-performance automated EEG analysis system based on principles of machine learning and big data is proposed. This hybrid architecture integrates hidden Markov models (HMMs) for sequential (...) decoding of EEG events with deep learning-based postprocessing that incorporates temporal and spatial context. These algorithms are trained and evaluated using the Temple University Hospital EEG, which is the largest publicly available corpus of clinical EEG recordings in the world. This system automatically processes EEG records and classifies three patterns of clinical interest in brain activity that might be useful in diagnosing brain disorders: (1) spike and/or sharp waves, (2) generalized periodic epileptiform discharges, (3) periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges. It also classifies three patterns used to model the background EEG activity: (1) eye movement, (2) artifacts and (3) background. Our approach delivers a sensitivity above 90% while maintaining a specificity below 5%. We also demonstrate that this system delivers a low false alarm rate, which is critical for any spike detection application. (shrink)

Se presenta en este texto una propuesta didáctica realizada en la asignatura Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales en Educación Primaria, de 3º de Grado en Educación Primaria de la Universidad de Córdoba (España). Uno de los objetivos de dicha intervención, como de la propia disciplina de Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales, incide en el trabajo de las nociones temporales en la formación del futuro profesorado de Educación Primaria que, en este caso, se han abordado desde la comparación entre el pasado (...) y el presente a través de la prensa. Para el análisis de dichos materiales, tanto históricos como actuales, se ha potenciado una perspectiva de género, promoviendo que el alumnado se pregunte por las relaciones de género en una temática concreta, como es el mundo laboral. (shrink)

Background: Waiving parent permission can be an option in some epidemiological and social research with adolescents. However, exemptions have not been uniformly considered or applied. Our aim is to critically assess the different factors that could be taken into account when making decisions about waiving active parental permission in observational research with adolescents.DiscussionIn some cases alternatives to parental permission could be applied to protect the rights of both adolescents and parents and also to assure the benefits to adolescents as a (...) group that can come from appropriately conducted studies. However, the criteria of ensuring minimal risk can be difficult to define and apply and a distinction between harm and discomfort is reviewed. Waiving active parental permission could be acceptable when the risk of harm is minimal; when the research questions are related to an activity for which adolescents are not legally considered to be children; when the risk of harm or discomfort may increase if parental permission is required; and when risk of discomfort is low because the questionnaire is not potentially offensive for some adolescents and/or for some parents.SummaryStringent rules concerning parental permission in some studies could be detrimental to adolescents. A framework and a decision tree guide are proposed to help researchers and Research Ethics Committees in their decisions on whether active parental permission must be obtained. (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)

This paper presents the design and validation process of a set of instruments to evaluate the impact of an informal learning initiative to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics vocations in students, their families, and teachers. The proposed set of instruments, beyond assessing the satisfaction of the public involved, allow collecting data to evaluate the impact in terms of changes in the consideration of the role of women in STEM areas and STEM vocations. The procedure followed to develop the set (...) of instruments consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a preliminary version of the questionnaires was designed based on the objectives of the Girls4STEM initiative, an inclusive project promoting STEM vocations between 6 and 18 years old boys and girls. Five specific questionnaires were designed, one for the families, two for the students and two for the teachers. A refined version of each questionnaire was obtained with evidence of content validity after undergoing an expert judgment process. The second phase was the refinement of the instruments, to ascertain the evidence of reliability and validity so that a final version was derived. In the paper, a high-quality set of good practices focused on promoting diversity and gender equality in the STEM sector are presented from a Higher Education Institution perspective, the University of Valencia. The main contribution of this work is the achievement of a set of instruments, rigorously designed for the evaluation of the implementation and effectiveness of a STEM promoting program, with sufficient validity evidence. Moreover, the proposed instruments can be a reference for the evaluation of other projects aimed at diversifying the STEM sector. (shrink)

Desde la publicación de la encíclica Laudato si ‘(LS) del Papa Francisco en 2015, se han llevado a cabo múltiples acciones para fomentar una visión integral de la ecología en la Iglesia Católica. El objetivo fue el desarrollo de una propuesta curricular que incluye el desarrollo sostenible e integral en la enseñanza de la religión católica. El curso CHANCES ofrece un nuevo paradigma de la enseñanza de la religión católica, mostrando cómo desde ella se pueden descubrir motivaciones profundas, y potenciar (...) actitudes y virtudes, que pueden contribuir al desarrollo de competencias en sostenibilidad. (shrink)

Unamuno es un apasionado de su ser. En su dialéctica que es hegeliana en el sentido de limitación-tensión, él es el protagonista y, frente a él, un mundo de sombras shakespearianas en el que se perfilan como antagonistas Dios, el mundo, el otro y todo aquello que limite, ya sea en el espacio, ya sea en el tiempo, ya sea ontológica o psicológicamente, su yo. El mundo le acucia a conocerlo para incorporarlo a sí mismo. Apasionadamente lo encuentra y desencuentra (...) en su trascenderse vivido como trágica limitación del conocimiento y del ser. Dios es lo que él querría ser en su mundo, hecho de la misma materia que los sueños. Y pelea con esa idea y ese todopoderoso antagonista, que le ha vencido desde la eternidad, con el espíritu rebelde de un perdedor. «El otro» le persigue en su existencia desde un sentimiento edípico, antagonista vivido con instintos camitas , raíz en última instancia de su culpabilidad de ser, de ser el bueno y no el otro, de ser querido y no «todo lo querido», causa, en fin, de ese afán de totalidad que es el comedón de su sentimiento trágico de la vida. Toda esta dialéctica existencial apasionadamente subjetiva no podrá ser plasmada nada más que en literatura. La pesantez de los conceptos filosóficos rompería los sueños. Y cubre su filosofía con los ropajes de Mab, la reina de los sueños de Romeo yJulieta, cuyos vestidos son de alas de saltamonte y telas de arafla y sus collares de líquidos rayos de luna. Sus sueños son él y, sus personajes, productos de su fantasía en el más estricto sentido freudiano. A través de sus sueños, se puede llegar al alma de este Caballero de la Trágica Figura que peleó contra gigantescos monstruos del conocimiento montado en el dudoso Caballo de Clavileño de la fe. En los mundos de Don Miguel hay dos sueños, Niebla y San Manuel Bueno, mártir, que se nos presentan como claves para interpretar los hitos de su pensamiento y, a través de éste, la evolución del propio Unamuno. (shrink)

En el último lustro, la percepción e interés por India ha cambiado sustancialmente. Primero, la imagen orientalista del país como una sociedad subdesarrollada, atrapada en una suerte de premodernidad religiosa y espiritual, está dando paso a la de una India moderna, con una pujante clase media y sustanciales fortalezas económicas y tecnológicas. Por ilustrar nuestro argumento, India superó en 2023 a Reino Unido, su antigua potencia colonial, como la quinta economía mundial; es además la que más crece dentro del G20 (...) y ya pisa los talones a Japón por el cuarto puesto. A su vez, alcanzó el hito tecnológico de convertirse en el primer país en conseguir de manera exitosa alunizar en el polo sur de la Luna. Segundo, el interés por India como actor internacional es claro y va de la mano con el auge de China como superpotencia global. Por tamaño y por el contraste en sus regímenes políticos, a India se la ve como el contrapeso natural a su iliberal vecino en la región del Indo-Pacífico. (shrink)

BackgroundYouth substance use is a public health problem globally, where alcohol is one of the drugs most consumed by children, and youth prevention is the best intervention for drug abuse.ObjectiveReview the latest evidence of alcohol use prevention programs in empirical research, oriented to all fields of action among children and youth.MethodsA narrative and critical review was carried out within international databases in August 2021 and was limited to empirical studies that appeared in the last five years. A flow diagram was (...) used according to the PRISMA statements. Empirical research articles in English with RCTs and quasi-experimental design that included alcohol, children, and young people up to 19 years of age were included. The authors examined the results and conceptual frameworks of the Prevention programs by fields of action.ResultsTwenty-two articles were found from four fields of action: school, family, community, and web-based, representing 16 alcohol prevention programs. School-based alcohol prevention programs are clinically relevant [Theory of Planned Behavior, Refuse, Remove, Reasons, Preventure, The GOOD Life, Mantente REAL, Motivational Interviewing, Primavera, Fresh Start, Bridges/Puentes], they are effective in increasing attitudes and intentions toward alcohol prevention behavior, while decreasing social norms and acceptance of alcohol, reducing intoxication, and increasing perceptions with regards to the negative consequences of drinking.DiscussionThis narrative and critical review provides an updated synthesis of the evidence for prevention programs in the school, family, community, and web-based fields of action, where a more significant number of programs exist that are applied within schools and for which would have greater clinical relevance. However, the prevention programs utilized in the other fields of action require further investigation. (shrink)

O presente artigo enfrenta a questão da distinção entre sentido e significado nas Investigações Filosóficas. Considerando a mudança radical na virada linguístico-pragmática ocorrida no pensamento de Wittgenstein, que passa a situar tanto o sentido quanto o significado no âmbito do uso que fazemos da linguagem, procura-se mostrar que distinguir as noções de sentido e de significado, nas Investigações Filosóficas, não somente é possível, mas também é de fundamental importância para uma mais ampla compreensão desses termos no pensamento do segundo Wittgenstein. (...) Por conseguinte, contrapõe-se a leitura atenta do parágrafo 556 das Investigações Filosóficas à interpretação tradicional, que não se preocupa em distinguir sentido de significado, desejando apontar e fundamentar tal proposta. (shrink)

Tesis doctoral presentada en el departament de Lògica Història i Filosofia de la Ciencia de la Universitat de Barcelona per optar al títol de Doctor en Filosofia.

What different relativist claims about a given domain are to be distinguished? Which of them is best placed to account for intuitive facts about disagreement in that domain? In a recent paper in this journal, ‘Indexical Relativism versus Genuine Relativism’ (2004), Max Kölbel distinguishes two forms of relativism, andargues that one of them, indexical relativism, faces problems in accounting for disagreement. In the first part of this discussion I present my own taxonomy of relativist positions in a given domain, which (...) is based on David Lewis’s 1980 essay, and I compare it with Kölbel’s and other recent suggestions. In the second part, I argue that the presuppositional defence of indexical relativism against related objections that I have elaborated elsewhere is also effective against Kölbel’s recent charges. (shrink)

Consider a cat on a mat. On the one hand, there seems to be just one cat, but on the other there seem to be many things with as good a claim as anything in the vicinity to being a cat. Hence, the problem of the many. In his ‘Many, but Almost One,’ David Lewis offered two solutions. According to the first, only one of the many is indeed a cat, although it is indeterminate exactly which one. According to the (...) second, the many are all cats, but they are almost identical to each other, and hence they are almost one. For Lewis, the two solutions do not compete with each other but are mutually complementary, as each one can assist the other. This paper has two aims: to give some reasons against the first of these two solutions, but then to defend the second as a self-standing solution from Lewis’s considerations to the contrary. (shrink)

In the recent literature on contextualism and relativism, one often finds disputes as to which kind of consideration would be relevant for positing a feature of a context as a parameter in the ‘‘circumstance of evaluation’: via the presence of an operator in the language which shifts that feature (Stanley) or by being a feature of a context with respect to which the truth of ‘‘propositions’’ expressed in the context is relative (McFarlane). This kind of dispute arises from two different (...) independent roles that elements in ‘‘circumstances of evaluation’’ are sometimes assumed to have. I distinguish indices from points of evaluation, and motivate its significance in the debate. (shrink)

Reponse to Peter Milne (2005)'s argument agaist maximalism about truthmaking.

In recent years, some people have held that a radical relativist position is defensible in some philosophically interesting cases, including future contingents, predicates of personal taste, evaluative predicates in general, epistemic modals, and knowledge attributions. The position is frequently characterized as denying that utterance-truth is absolute. I argue that this characterization is inappropriate, as it requires a metaphysical substantive contention with which moderate views as such need not be committed. Before this, I also offer a more basic, admittedly less exciting (...) alternative characterization of the position, in terms of departing from the Kaplan–Lewis–Stalnaker two-dimensional framework. (shrink)

There are certain metaphysically interesting arguments ‘from vagueness’, for unrestricted mereological composition and for four-dimensionalism, which involve a claim to the effect that idioms for unrestricted quantification are precise. An elaboration of Lewis’ argument for this claim, which assumes the view of vagueness as semantic indecision, is presented. It is argued that the argument also works according to other views on the nature of vagueness, which also require for an expression to be vague that there are different admissible alternatives of (...) the relevant sort, such as epistemicism, as defended by Williamson. Recent attempts to resist the argument are discussed and rejected. (shrink)

According to relativism, these appearances of faultless disagreement are to be endorsed. According to moderate relativism, this can be done within the general Kaplan-Lewis-Stalnaker two-dimensional framework, in which the basic semantic notion is that of a sentence s being true at a context c at the index i: it may in effect be the case that s is true at c but false at c∗. According to indexical relativism, this is so in virtue of the content of sentence s at (...) c being different from that of s at c∗. (shrink)

In recent discussions on contextualism and relativism, some have suggested that audience-sensitivity motivates a content relativist version of radical relativism, according to which a sentence as said at a context can have different contents with respect to the different perspectives from where it is assessed. The first aim of this note is to illustrate how this is not so. According to Egan himself, the phenomenon motivates at least refinement of the characteristic moderate contention that features of a single context determine (...) the appropriate truth-value of the sentence. The second aim of this note is to explore how this may not be so. (shrink)

BackgroundThe Patient Health Questionnaire-9 is the most well-known self-report measure to screen for depressive symptomatology, although discerning which is the factor structure that represents the best fit remains a challenge.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the Spanish version of the PHQ-9 in a large sample of Ecuadorian college students.MethodsA total of 5,394 students from three Ecuadorian universities were surveyed using a computerized questionnaire within a 4-week assessment period. The PHQ-9 was tested (...) for factorial structure, reliability, and correlations with other mental health-related measures.ResultsThe hierarchical model that included a general factor and three nested factors had a better fit, and such a hierarchical structure remained invariant across sex and age. Total omega value was 0.90 for the total scale and hierarchical omega values were 0.68 for the general factor, as well as 0.34, 0.38, and 0.44 for the respective nested factors. Moreover, PHQ-9 scores were significantly higher among women, although effect sizes of comparison of those sex differences were very small. Finally, the PHQ-9 scores correlated with multiple mental health indicators.DiscussionThe Spanish version of the PHQ-9 showed good psychometric properties among Ecuadorian college students. The hierarchical structure showed the best fit for the data, including not only a dominant general factor, but also the somatic, cognitive/affective and concentration/motor subcomponents. In conclusion, the PHQ-9 tool seems to represent an easy-to-implement screening questionnaire to design preventive programs for those Ecuadorian college students at risk of developing depressive disorders. (shrink)

What are things like the Supreme Court? Gabriel Uzquiano has defended that they are groups, entities which are somehow composed of members (at certain times) but which, unlike sets (or pluralities), allow for fluctuation in membership. The main alternative holds that 'the Supreme Court' refers (at any time) to the set (or plurality) of their members (at the time). Uzquiano motivates his view by posing a metaphysical puzzle for this reductive alternative. I argue that a parallel reasoning would also find (...) a corresponding 'puzzle' in the case of singular terms like 'The Chief Supreme Court Justice'. (shrink)

A presente proposta tem como seu principal objetivo mostrar como a emergência de hábitos autocontrolados de emoções podem ser explicados segundo a gramática especulativa de Peirce. Como resultado, espero mostrar, uma possível aplicação da gramática especulativa, sobre o qual muito é especulado, mas pouco é aplicado; segundo, sugerir uma possível teoria da linguagem entendida como uma forma controlada de nossos sentimentos de tal modo a permitir que sejam compartilhadas e comunicadas. Além disso, e ainda mais importante, isto mostraria que a (...) divisão tradicional entre a faculdade da razão e a faculdade emocional não é tal, antes deve ser dito que a razão, ou melhor a razoabilidade, surge e afunda suas raízes nessa faculdade e cresce dela em um continuum. Assim, qualquer educação que vise o autocontrole deve começar com uma educação estética ou, se preferir, com uma educação sentimental. (shrink)

The paper proposes and defends the following characterization of response dependent property: a property is response-dependent iff there is a response-dependence biconditional for a concept signifying it which holds in virtue of the nature of the property. Finding out whether a property is such is to a large extent a posteriori matter. Finally, colors are response dependent: they are essentially tied to issuing the relevant experiences, so that having those experiences does give access to their, dispositional, nature. Finally, some important (...) contrary views are critically discussed in the paper. (shrink)

Response to Max Kölbel: "A Criterion for Objectivity", Theoria. Revista de Teoría, Historia y Fundamentos de la Ciencia: Volume > 15 > Issue: 2.

Th e simple proposal about rigidity for predicates can be stated thus: a predicate is rigid if its canonical nominalization signifi es the same property across the different possible worlds. I have tried elsewhere to defend such a proposal from the trivialization problem, according to which any predicate whatsoever would turn out to be rigid. Benjamin Schnieder (2005) aims fi rst to rebut my argument that some canonical nominalizations can be fl exible, then to provide fi ve arguments to the (...) eff ect that they are all rigid, and fi nally to propose a general explanation of why they are all rigid. I show fi rst why my argument has not been rebutted, then why Schnieder’s fi ve arguments for their rigidity all fail, and fi nally why the alleged “explanation” cannot be such, as the facts alluded to are neutral with respect to the rigidity or fl exibility of the nominalizations. (shrink)

Timothy Williamson famously offered an argument from these Tarskian principles in favor of bivalence. I show, dwelling on (Andjelkovic & Williamson, 2000), that the argument depends on a contentious formulation of the Tarskian principles about truth (and falsity), which the supervaluationist can reject without jeopardizing the Tarskian insight. In the mentioned paper, Adjelkovic and Williamson argue that, even if the appropriate formulation seems to make room for failure of bivalence in borderline cases, this appearance is illusory, once one grants an (...) independent further principle involving biconditionals. I finally argue that the formulation of this is, however, contentious in a similar manner. (shrink)

Some philosophers seem to think that borderline cases provide further cases of apparent faultless disagreement. My aim here is to argue against such a suggestion. I claim that with respect to borderline cases, people typically do not respond by taking a view—unlike what is the case in genuine cases of apparent faultless disagreement. I argue that my claim is indeed respected and actually accounted for by paradigm cases of semantic and epistemic views on the nature of vagueness. And I also (...) argue that my claim turns out to be, initial appearances notwithstanding, compatible with other claims in the literature—to the effect that, in appropriate circumstances, there are indeed, or there might well be, “macho,” admissible, forced, and hesitant responses to borderline cases. (shrink)

This paper is in five sections. In the first one, I summarize some views on truthmaking I will be presupposing, emphasizing however the various controversies on which I will remain neutral. In section two and three, I present the characterization of a response-dependent property. In section four, I present two ways in which a property can be response-dependent, in the characterized sense. In final section five, I present how these correspond to different versions of moderate relativism, namely indexical and nonindexical (...) contextualism. Thus the view presented here contrasts not only with pluralism about truth, but also with radical relativism about truth, as recently defended by John MacFarlane. (shrink)

La Ética aplicada se suele referir a los problemas prácticos e intereses de los seres humanos. Sin embargo, las cuestiones éticas se han ido ampliando en los últimos años. A pesar de que el punto de vista moral sigue anclado en un enfoque antropocéntrico, el medio ambiente y los seres vivos son ahora objeto de alguna consideración moral. La justicia, como principio moral, puede ampliarse también hasta incluir a los no humanos, sus intereses y su bienestar. Desde un enfoque antropocéntrico (...) moderado, el artículo defiende en este tema una consideración moral asimétrica; pues sólo podemos entender los derechos de los animales como resultado de los deberes de los humanos hacia la propia especie. Son deberes directos hacia las generaciones futuras de humanos, deberes indirectos hacia los no humanos. Por tanto, la justicia entre especies amplía la idea de justicia entre generaciones. (shrink)

Este artículo analiza y critica los argumentos de Carl Schmitt contra la democracia liberal, y pone en cuestión su aprovechamiento por parte del pensamiento progresista contemporáneo. Primero se examina la conexión conceptual de la concepción schmittiana de lo político con la transformación del Estado liberal en el Estado totalitario. Luego se cuestiona el supuesto filosófico que subyace en la crítica de Schmitt al liberalismo: la tesis de la imposibilidad de alcanzar soluciones racionales y pacíficas a los conflictos políticos. Se analizan (...) en este contexto los dos recursos deliberativos más importantes de que dispone el liberalismo para abordar los conflictos políticos: los acuerdos y los compromisos de intereses. Por último, el artículo concluye con algunas reflexiones sobre el significado político del "neoschmittianismo" contemporáneo. This article analyses Carl Schmitt's arguments against liberal democracy, and questions the potential of these arguments for contemporary progressive political thought. The article shows the conceptual connection of the schmittian concept of the political with the transformation of the liberal State into a totalitarian State. Subsequently it tries to show that the main premise of Schmitt's critique of liberalism is false, namely the belief that it is impossible to reach a dialogical and peaceful solution to political conflicts, either by agreement or by compromise. Finally the article includes some reflections on the political significance of contemporary "neo-schmittianism". (shrink)

RESUMENEl artículo analiza el papel desempeñado por los argumentos de pendiente resbaladiza en los debates prácticos. Por un lado, estos argumentos suelen ejemplificar una forma d razonamiento imperfecto o paradójico. De hecho, la Filosofía clásica griega ya identificó las principales dificultades del sorites, el argumento del «montón». Por otro lado, la pendiente resbaladiza llama de nuevo la atención de la Filosofía contemporánea, ya que ocupa un lugar destacado en determinadas cuestiones morales, como pueden ser la eutanasia, los límites de la (...) investigación biomédica, o las posibles consecuencias de la intervención humana sobre el medio ambiente natural y sobe otras especies, no humanas. De esta forma, la Ética aplicada examina los riesgos y efecto son deseables de decisiones que, el comienzo, eran o parecían perfectamente aceptables, y lo hace así a pesar de que la metáfora de la pendiente resbaladiza no pueda aportar suficientes evidencias para frenar aquellas decisiones que comportan riesgos. Aun así, la pendiente sirve para expresar el peligro, la tragedia, los efectos negativos que amenazarían nuestra existencia, o la de las generaciones futuras. Por lo tanto, imágenes como la «caja de Pandora», la «ruptura de los diques», el «alud», no solo transmiten que algunas acciones pueden poner en riesgo la vida sino que, además, ilustran el uso práctico de los argumentos imperfectos.PALABRAS CLAVEpendiente resbaladiza, argumentación práctica, Ética aplicada.ABSTRACTThe article would analyze the role of the slippery-slope arguments in practical debates. On the one hand, they usually exemplify the imperfect, paradoxical reasoning; in fact, the ancient Greek Philosophy already identified the central flaws of the sorites, the «heap» argument. On the other hand, the metaphor of the slippery-slope draws again the attention of contemporary Philosophy, since it has a central part in some ethical issues, as happens with questions like euthanasia, the limits of biomedical research, and the possible consequences of the human action on the natural environment, and on non-humans. So, applied Ethics considers risks and undesirable effects of decisions that, at the very beginning, are, or seem acceptable, in spite of the fact that the slippery-slope could not allege enough evidences to prevent from this risky decision. However, it expresses how danger, tragedy, negative outcome would intrude in our existence, or in the existence of the next generations. Therefore, images like the «Pandora’s box», the «broken docks», the «avalanche», etc, not only suggest that some actions could definitively endanger life, but they illustrate the practical use of imperfect arguments.KEY WORDSslippery- slope, practical argumentation, applied Ethics. (shrink)