La actual fase de desarrollo económico, basada en la incorporación de conocimientos, muestra la importancia de la introducción de innovaciones en los procesos productivos, un hecho que no es únicamente tecnoeconómico sino que incorpora, igualmente, un proceso social, político y cultural. Este proceso de incorporación de innovaciones no es lineal sino complejo, y requiere asegurar la vinculación territorial entre poseedores de conocimiento y usuarios del mismo. El debate sobre la construcción de sistemas territoriales de innovación no ha sido suficientemente amplio (...) entre nosotros y, mucho menos aún, la incorporación de algunas de las recomendaciones que se derivan del nuevo enfoque interactivo de la innovación, razón por la cual parece oportuno reflexionar acerca de la necesidad de eliminar algunas de las rutinas de funcionamiento aún presentes, como el sistema de evaluación de la actividad de investigación, que no incentiva la vinculación con los sistemas productivos locales a fin de lograr un avance más sustantivo de la transferencia de conocimientos. (shrink)

Over recent years, the eSport phenomenon has grown in players and audience. The broadcast of certain eSport events have become worldwide mass events. Conceiving eSport gaming as an actual sports practice is not yet common, but it is current issue that deserves careful attention. This article stands on the idea that eSport gaming could be considered a sport and it examines some reasons on that regard. First of all, the piece will elucidate what the practice of gaming involves and if (...) there are reasons to consider the claim that it can be an actual sports practice. Secondly, it will address the distinctive features that eSport gaming as a sport may have. Thirdly, it wants to explore and explain an example of an eSport worldwide success which is the case of League of Legends. And finally, it will introduce and briefly discuss some sports issues this new sports practice would encounter in the near future and which might derive into policy matters. (shrink)

En este artículo expondré cómo la innovación educativa en estos momentos se asienta en la tecnología y los contenidos, es decir, en los Servicios de Informática y las Bibliotecas Universitarias. Y cómo al mismo tiempo estos servicios universitarios deben actualizarse para atender estas demandas. En un artículo anterior argumenté que la tecnología era el motor de la actual innovación educativa, por lo que aquí no voy a entrar en ello. En este artículo defenderé el papel de las bibliotecas universitarias como (...) fuerzas dinamizadoras y difusoras de esa innovación educativa apoyada en las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones, precisamente valiéndose de esas mismas tecnologías. Hablo de innovación educativa, no de investigación en educación. La tecnología y la biblioteca, basándose en los avances científicos, pueden hacer realidad la innovación educativa sustentada en los estudios y modelos pedagógicos. El artículo está estructurado en dos grandes bloques y un apartado final. Un primer bloque en el que trataré de la difusión de la innovación educativa, engarzando tres piezas: definiendo el concepto de aprendizaje mejorado con tecnología, argumentando a favor del conocimiento abierto y finalmente esbozando la biblioteca de la universidad digital. En el segundo bloque expongo la política y la estrategia institucional de la Universidad de Alicante de estos últimos cinco años al respecto, detallando cinco líneas de trabajo: el Repositorio Institucional (RUA), el OpenCourseWare (OCW-UA), el Portal Audiovisual y los distintos portales en la nube, la fragUA y las Competencias Informáticas e Informacionales (CI2). Finalmente reflexionaré sobre todo ello y plantearé una especie de conclusiones. (shrink)

Drawing on the natural-resource-based view, we propose that employee stakeholder integration is linked to environmental performance through firms’ proactive environmental strategies, and that this link is contingent on shared vision. We tested our model with a cross-country and multi-industry sample. In support of our theory, results revealed that firms’ proactive environmental strategies translated employee stakeholder integration into environmental performance. This relationship was pronounced for high levels of shared vision. Our findings demonstrate that shared vision represents a key condition for advancing (...) the corporate greening agenda through proactive environmental strategies. We discuss implications for the CSR and the environmental management literatures, with a particular focus on the NRBV and stakeholder integration debates. (shrink)

Este trabajo describe la experiencia docente sobre el trabajo de campo experimental que se lleva a cabo desde la asignatura Nuevos Espacios Escenográficos del Máster de Producción Artística que se imparte en la Universitat Politècnica de València. La asignatura se fundamenta en las nuevas actitudes escénicas contemporáneas y el concepto de teatro expandido, siendo este el motivo de realizar la practica fuera del aula y colaborar entre instituciones para encontrar un espacio multidisciplinar donde desarrollar la propuesta que debe integrar la (...) vivencia e interacción con el público. (shrink)

“Involuntary Memory: Marcel Proust and the Poetic Discovery of the Inner Self. An Analysis from the Philosophical Perspective of Walter Benjamin”. In this article, we undertake, from the perspective of Walter Benjamin’s philosophical work, the phenomenon of involuntary memory discovered by Marcel Proust in the writing process –exercise of subjectification– of In Search of Lost Time. In the analysis the following approaches are developed: the relation between oblivion and memory, the poetic discovery of involuntary memory, the conditions for the revelation (...) of mnemic images –images of the inner world–, the recovery of the lost time and of the narration in the novel, and the auratic character of the involuntary memory’s images. (shrink)

La neurociencia promete explicar asuntos filosóficos, tanto éticos como filosóficos en general, desde la actividad del cerebro. En este artículo nos proponemos exponer el carácter naturalista de la neurofilosofía, enumerar los problemas de esta propuesta, mostrar como una ontología dualista permite tratar estos problemas de forma más eficaz y ofrecer algunas alternativas a tal dualismo.Neuroscience promises us to explain philosophical issues, from ethics to general philosophy, as brain activity. I this paper we will propose expose the naturalistic view of neurophilosphy, (...) show many problems of this proposal, how a dualistic ontology helps solve efficently these problems and provide some alternative views to such dualism. (shrink)

Este artículo propone una interpretación amplificada de la serie La Peste en Ceppaloni (1977-1997) del artista-arquitecto ítalo argentino Clorindo Testa: un conjunto de mapas, dibujos y murales que trabaja en torno a la incidencia de los problemas ecológicos en la condición humana y su hábitat. El texto plantea en su desarrollo una triple aproximación a la obra: la narrativa-visual, la arqueológica y la antropológica. Desciframos la estructura de mito dibujado que se desarrolla en el Medievo en la ciudad italiana de (...) Ceppaloni, de donde procede la familia de Testa, y el rol de sus protagonistas: roedores, “untadores”, el propio arquitecto, la villa medieval y su castillo, así como el itinerario de la peste negra durante el siglo xiv. Esta serie tiene un correlato en el trabajo de este autor que recupera la figuración para recobrar una idea de humanismo. En su manifiesto creativo; arte, arquitectura y ecología cohabitan. Testa simultanea en esta serie lo popular y lo erudito con múltiples técnicas. La síntesis resultante forma parte del imaginario de la sociedad. Los dos relatos de la obra —la plaga y el deterioro ecológico— coexisten actualmente, y por ello resulta sugestiva su revisión en una suerte de exaltación del presente. (shrink)

La innovación educativa debe de oficializarse. No es sólo cuestión de unos pocos locos que no tienen otra cosa mejor a la que dedicar su tiempo que experimentar con las ideas y herramientas que los avances tecnológicos ponen a nuestro alcance. Las universidades deben reconocer y potenciar esas buenas prácticas innovadoras. Deben alinearlas con su misión y establecer estrategias que nos conduzcan a su cumplimiento. Pero la política interna de cada universidad debe basarse en unos fundamentos que la justifiquen y (...) debe ser compartida por toda la comunidad universitaria. Así, este articulo se estructura en tres bloques. Un primer bloque, estrategias de mejora de la enseñanza+aprendizaje por medio de la tecnología, que establece esos principios sobre los que se sustenta la política de la Universidad de Alicante. El segundo bloque está dedicado a explicar la estrategia y política institucional de la Universidad de Alicante en el período 2005-2008, como algo ya establecido y pasado. El tercer bloque avanza el planteamiento y líneas estratégicas para el período 2009-2012. El artículo se cierra con unas reflexiones que nos permitan escarmentar de la experiencia y no cometer los mismos errores que han permitido a otros aprender y avanzar en la dirección correcta. (shrink)

La reconnaissance des droits civiques des vieillards en institution peut-elle contribuer à une progressive reconquête de leur autonomie sociale ? Dans un contexte d’inégalité de sexe, que devient la citoyenneté des femmes âgées dépendantes ? À Genève, le projet pilote « Voter en EMS ! Réseau de politologues pour l’animation politique en institution » offre aux résidents l’occasion de renouer avec le débat public et leurs droits politiques. Premier bilan exploratoire.

A survey conducted in 2023 surveyed 3,017 high school and college students. It found that almost one-third of them confessed to using ChatGPT for assistance with their homework. The rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Gemini has led to a surge in academic misconduct. Students can now complete their assignments and exams just by asking an LLM for solutions to the given problem, without putting in the effort required for learning. And, what is more worrying, educators (...) do not have the proper tools to detect it. The more advanced AI tools become, the more human-like text they generate, and the more difficult they are to detect. Additionally, some educators find it difficult to adapt their teaching and assessment methods to avoid plagiarism. This paper is focused on how LLMs and AI-Generated Content (AIGC) have affected education. It first shows the relationship between LLMs and academic dishonesty. Then, it reviews state-of-the-art solutions for preventing academic plagiarism in detail, including a survey of the main datasets, algorithms, tools, and evasion strategies for plagiarism detection. Lastly, it identifies gaps in existing solutions and presents potential long-term solutions based on AI tools and educational approaches to address plagiarism in an ever-changing world. (shrink)

BackgroundWith the emergence of Brain Computer Interfaces, clinicians have been facing a new group of patients with severe acquired brain injury who are unable to show any behavioral sign of consciousness but respond to active neuroimaging or electrophysiological paradigms. However, even though well documented, there is still no consensus regarding the nomenclature for this clinical entity.ObjectivesThis systematic review aims to 1) identify the terms used to indicate the presence of this entity through the years, and 2) promote an informed discussion (...) regarding the rationale for these names and the best candidates to name this fascinating disorder.MethodsThe Disorders of Consciousness Special Interest Group of the International Brain Injury Association launched a search on Pubmed and Google scholar following PRISMA guidelines to collect peer-reviewed articles and reviews on human adults published in English between 2006 and 2021.ResultsThe search launched in January 2021 identified 4,089 potentially relevant titles. After screening, 1,126 abstracts were found relevant. Finally, 161 manuscripts were included in our analyses. Only 58% of the manuscripts used a specific name to discuss this clinical entity, among which 32% used several names interchangeably throughout the text. We found 25 different names given to this entity. The five following names were the ones the most frequently used: covert awareness, cognitive motor dissociation, functional locked-in, non-behavioral MCS and higher-order cortex motor dissociation.ConclusionSince 2006, there has been no agreement regarding the taxonomy to use for unresponsive patients who are able to respond to active neuroimaging or electrophysiological paradigms. Developing a standard taxonomy is an important goal for future research studies and clinical translation. We recommend a Delphi study in order to build such a consensus. (shrink)

For the period 2015–2019 and based on a Spanish sample of 145 listed companies, this paper provides insights into how narcissistic chief executive officers (CEOs) influence the proportion of women in top management teams (TMTs). As a further analysis and in line with social psychology and upper echelons theories, we study whether the power and gender of a CEO and the female proportion in the firm's board moderate the relationship. Our results reveal that narcissistic CEOs are less likely to support (...) women in TMTs, confirming that CEO personality traits influence team structure. Further results suggest that this aversion increases as the CEO's power grows and is a woman, and when female proportion in board decreases. The results have an impact on the gender equality goal, demonstrating that the behavior of women toward promoting gender equality in TMTs depends both on the specific position of women in the firm's hierarchy and on their personal psychological attributes. We find that women directors support social identity values and that narcissistic female CEOs act like queen bees. (shrink)

Se estudia la producción poética primera de la escritora barcelonesa Susana March (1915-1990) perteneciente a la Generación del 36. Su actividad poética más fecunda cabe datarla en el periodo de 1938-1953. Razones de estrechez económica la obligaron, junto con su marido Ricardo Fernández de la Reguera, a producir una literatura de carácter comercial. Se analizan sus poemarios: Rutas, Poemas de la Plaza Real y La pasión desvelada.

En este artículo se presenta una revisión de los diferentes enfoques de enseñanza de la ecuación de segundo grado para Educación Secundaria que se conjetura serían necesarios con el fin de aumentar la calidad del aprendizaje con el rigor y el tratamiento requerido, resaltando el valor de este tópico en sí mismo y de sus aplicaciones. Además, se aportan los resultados de un estudio descriptivo exploratorio realizado sobre los conocimientos de la ecuación de segundo grado de alumnado de Enseñanza Secundaria (...) para finalmente extraer la conclusión de que su conocimiento no quedó consolidado y se precisa hacer cambios. (shrink)

G.E. Moore's philosophical legacy is ambiguous. On the one hand, Moore has a special place in the hearts of many contemporary analytic philosophers. He is, after all, one of the fathers of the movement, his broadly commonsensical methodology informing how many contemporary analytic philosophers practise their craft. On the other hand, many contemporary philosophers keep Moore's own substantive positions at arm's distance. According to many epistemologists, one can find no finer example of how to beg the question than Moore's case (...) against the sceptic. And, according to many moral philosophers, one can find no more vivid case of philosophical extravagance than Moore's non-naturalism. Given this ambiguity, one wonders: How should we assess Moore's legacy in epistemology and ethics – the two areas of philosophy in which Moore did most of his work?That is the task of this welcome collection of 16 essays. The list of contributors to the book is impressive: Crispin Wright, Ernest Sosa, Ram Neta, William Lycan, C.A.J. Cody, Paul Snowdon, Michael Huemer and Roy Sorenson consider Moore's work in epistemology. Stephen Darwall, Terry Horgan, Mark Timmons, Richard Fumerton, Charles Pigden, Robert Shaver, Joshua Gert, Jonathan Dancy and the editors of the book explore Moore's views in ethics. As one might expect, given this list of contributors, the quality of the essays is very high. Moreover, there is a decidedly constructive tone to many of them. While not willing to overlook Moore's mistakes, many of the essays endeavour to explore what is valuable in Moore's thought, critically engaging with positions that, not too long …. (shrink)

Observations of animals engaging in apparently moral behavior have led academics and the public alike to ask whether morality is shared between humans and other animals. Some philosophers explicitly argue that morality is unique to humans, because moral agency requires capacities that are only demonstrated in our species. Other philosophers argue that some animals can participate in morality because they possess these capacities in a rudimentary form. Scientists have also joined the discussion, and their views are just as varied as (...) the philosophers’. Some research programs examine whether animals countenance specific human norms, such as fairness. Other research programs investigate the cognitive and affective capacities thought to be necessary for morality. There are two sets of concerns that can be raised by these debates. They sometimes suffer from there being no agreed upon theory of morality and no clear account of whether there is a demarcation between moral and social behavior; that is, they lack a proper philosophical foundation. They also sometimes suffer from there being disagreement about the psychological capacities evident in animals. Of these two sets of concerns—the nature of the moral and the scope of psychological capacities—we aim to take on only the second. In this chapter we defend the claim that animals have three sets of capacities that, on some views, are taken as necessary and foundational for moral judgment and action. These are capacities of care, capacities of autonomy, and normative capacities. Care, we argue, is widely found among social animals. Autonomy and normativity are more recent topics of empirical investigation, so while there is less evidence of these capacities at this point in our developing scientific knowledge, the current data is strongly suggestive. (shrink)

It has been argued that some animals are moral subjects, that is, beings who are capable of behaving on the basis of moral motivations. In this paper, we do not challenge this claim. Instead, we presuppose its plausibility in order to explore what ethical consequences follow from it. Using the capabilities approach, we argue that beings who are moral subjects are entitled to enjoy positive opportunities for the flourishing of their moral capabilities, and that the thwarting of these capabilities entails (...) a harm that cannot be fully explained in terms of hedonistic welfare. We explore the implications of this idea for the assessment of current practices involving animals. (shrink)

This book shows that the debate over the compatibility of externalism and self-knowledge has led to the investigation of a variety of topics, including the a...

It is generally assumed that humans are the only animals who can possess a concept of death. However, the ubiquity of death in nature and the evolutionary advantages that would come with an understanding of death provide two prima facie reasons for doubting this assumption. In this paper, my intention is not to defend that animals of this or that nonhuman species possess a concept of death, but rather to examine how we could go about empirically determining whether animals can (...) have a concept of death. In order to answer this question, I begin by sketching an account of concept possession that favours intensional classification rather than mere extensional discrimination. Further, I argue that the concept of death should be construed as neither binary nor universal. I then present a proposal for a set of minimal conditions that must be met to have a concept of death. I argue that having a minimal understanding of death entails first expecting a dead individual to be alive, and then grasping its non-functionality and irreversibility. Lastly, I lay out the sort of observational and experimental evidence that we should look for to determine whether animals have the capacity for a minimal comprehension of death. (shrink)

Latin American philosophy is best understood as a type of applied philosophy devoted to issues related to the culture and politics of Latin America. This introduction provides a comprehensive overview of its central topics. It explores not only the unique insights offered by Latin American thinkers into the traditional pre-established fields of Western philosophy, but also the many 'isms' developed as a direct result of Latin American thought. Many concern matters of practical ethics and social and political philosophy, such as (...) Lascasianism, Arielism, Bolívarism, modest and immodest feminisms, republicanism, positivism, Marxism, and liberationism. But there are also meta-philosophical 'isms' such as originalism and perspectivism. Together with clear and accessible discussions of the major issues and arguments, the book offers helpful summaries, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary of terms. It will be valuable for all readers wanting to explore the richness and diversity of Latin American philosophy. (shrink)

Comparative thanatologists study the responses to the dead and the dying in nonhuman animals. Despite the wide variety of thanatological behaviours that have been documented in several different species, comparative thanatologists assume that the concept of death is very difficult to acquire and will be a rare cognitive feat once we move past the human species. In this paper, we argue that this assumption is based on two forms of anthropocentrism: an intellectual anthropocentrism, which leads to an over-intellectualisation of the (...) CoD, and an emotional anthropocentrism, which yields an excessive focus on grief as a reaction to death. Contrary to what these two forms of anthropocentrism suggest, we argue that the CoD requires relatively little cognitive complexity and that it can emerge independently from mourning behaviour. Moreover, if we turn towards the natural world, we can see that the minimal cognitive requirements for a CoD are in fact met by many nonhuman species and there are multiple learning pathways and opportunities for animals in the wild to develop a CoD. This allows us to conclude that the CoD will be relatively easy to acquire and, so, we can expect it to be fairly common in nature. (shrink)

Could animals behave morally if they can’t mindread? Does morality require mindreading capacities? Moral psychologists believe mindreading is contingently involved in moral judgements. Moral philosophers argue that moral behaviour necessarily requires the possession of mindreading capacities. In this paper, I argue that, while the former may be right, the latter are mistaken. Using the example of empathy, I show that animals with no mindreading capacities could behave on the basis of emotions that possess an identifiable moral content. Therefore, at least (...) one type of moral motivation does not require mindreading. This means that, a priori, non-mindreading animals can be moral. (shrink)

It is tempting to assume that being a moral creature requires the capacity to attribute mental states to others, because a creature cannot be moral unless she is capable of comprehending how her actions can have an impact on the well-being of those around her. If this assumption were true, then mere behaviour readers could never qualify as moral, for they are incapable of conceptualising mental states and attributing them to others. In this paper, I argue against such an assumption (...) by discussing the specific case of empathy. I present a characterisation of empathy that would not require an ability to attribute mental states to others, but would nevertheless allow the creature who possessed it to qualify as a moral being. Provided certain conditions are met, a behaviour reader could be motivated to act by this form of empathy, and this means that behaviour readers could be moral. The case for animal morality, I shall argue, is therefore independent of the case for animal mindreading. (shrink)

Twin-earth thought experiments, standardly construed, support the externalist doctrine that the content of propositional attitudes involving natural-kind terms supervenes upon properties external to those who entertain them. But this doctrine in conjunction with a common view of self-knowledge might have the intolerable consequence that substantial propositions concerning the environment could be knowable a priori. Since both doctrines, externalism and privileged self-knowledge, appear independently plausible, there is then a paradox facing the attempt to hold them concurrently. I shall argue, however, that (...) externalist claims about the dependence of content on environmental factors presuppose certain theses about the semantics of natural-kind terms that, if sound, would make those claims eligible for empirical justification instead. In fact, that is the only interpretation of their epistemic status that could square with the standard conclusion from twin-earth cases. Furthermore, it can be shown to solve the paradox of externalism and self-knowledge in a more doxastically conservative way--accommodating precisely each of the well-accepted intuitions about knowledge, closure and the individuation of content given up by available competitors. (shrink)

Ethics and integrity should be intertwined within the concept of Responsible Research. Integrity Officers should also be Ethics Officers, enforcing compliance with rules and norms, but also raising awareness on the meaning of ethics in researchers’ daily work. Paul Ricoeur’s definition of Ethics – “the aim of living a good life with and for others in just institutions” (Ricoeur in Oneself as Another. University of Chicago Press, 1994 ) –, points out the relational dimension of Ethics that matters to all (...) the stakeholders in scientific research. The dialogical interaction between Ethics and Integrity can help to prevent researchers from assuming self-regulation as the only possible path to be followed. In this paper, the challenges and the opportunities posed by this approach will be outlined and discussed, mainly, the challenges of building trust bottom up, while setting up restrictions to comply with rules and norms top down. Concerning the opportunities, the focus will be on making better science and building a solid network among the various stakeholders of the research system. (shrink)

In this paper, we analyse the Wittgensteinian critique of the orthodoxy in animal ethics that has been championed by Cora Diamond and Alice Crary. While Crary frames it as a critique of “moral individualism”, we show that their criticism applies most prominently to certain forms of moral individualism (namely, those that follow hedonistic or preference-satisfaction axiologies), and not to moral individualism in itself. Indeed, there is a concrete sense in which the moral individualistic stance cannot be escaped, and we believe (...) that it is this particular limitation that justified Crary’s later move to a qualified version of moral individualism. At the same time, we also argue that there are significant merits to the Wittgensteinian critique of moral individualism, which pertain to its attack on the rationalism, naturalism, and reductionism that characterise orthodox approaches to animal ethics. We show that there is much of value in the Wittgensteinians’ call for an ethics that is more human; an ethics that fully embraces the capacities we are endowed with and one that pays heed to the richness and complexity of our moral lives. (shrink)

When conflicts regarding industrial operations erupt between countries, relationships between corporations and stakeholders may be affected. We combine insights from stakeholder theory and studies on government and corporate social responsibility to investigate how intergovernmental politics shapes stakeholder engagement. Relying on attribution theory and a qualitative analysis of the Finnish Metsä-Botnia (hereafter Botnia) company during the intergovernmental conflict between Uruguay and Argentina, we explore the mediating role of political attributions—defined as the stakeholder network actors’ inferences regarding governmental motives—in the process by (...) which intergovernmental politics shapes stakeholder engagement. We induce three types of political attributions: instrumentalizing, which points to the undeclared instrumental motives of governments; radicalizing, which refers to the beliefs that governments immoderately intensify confrontation; and acting in bad faith, which relates to the perceptions that governments act in inconsistent and/or morally inappropriate ways. Our results show how these attributions combine in specific configurations to explain how intergovernmental politics shapes stakeholder engagement throughout the conflict. Our study theorizes the role of governments as stakeholders in stakeholder engagement and expands organizational studies of attribution to the stakeholder and global levels. (shrink)

In this paper, we argue that scientists working on the animal morality debate have been operating with a narrow view of morality that prematurely limits the variety of moral practices that animals may be capable of. We show how this bias can be partially corrected by paying more attention to the touch behaviours of animals. We argue that a careful examination of the ways in which animals engage in and navigate touch interactions can shed new light on current debates on (...) animal morality, like the study of consolation behaviour, while also revealing further forms that animal morality may take and that have been neglected so far, like capacities of tolerance or trust. This defence is structured as an analysis of the three main functions of touch: the discriminative function, the affiliative function, and the vigilance function. (shrink)

This comprehensive collection of original essays written by aninternational group of scholars addresses the central themes inLatin American philosophy. Represents the most comprehensive survey of historical andcontemporary Latin American philosophy available today Comprises a specially commissioned collection of essays, manyof them written by Latin American authors Examines the history of Latin American philosophy and itscurrent issues, traces the development of the discipline, andoffers biographical sketches of key Latin American thinkers Showcases the diversity of approaches, issues, and styles thatcharacterize the field.

Many of the philosophical questions raised by Latin American thinkers are problems that have concerned philosophers at different times and in different places throughout the Western tradition. But in fact the issues are not altogether the same-- for they have been adapted to capture problems presented by new circumstances, and Latin Americans have sought resolutions in ways that are indeed novel. This book explains how well-established philosophical traditions gave rise in the "New World" to a distinctive manner of thinking. There (...) was no clean sweep of the past and an attempt to start over: rather, Latin American thinkers mostly welcomed European ideas at whatever pace such traditions happened to arrive. It is then no surprise that, for instance, Scholasticism became the accepted view under Spanish rule, and began to lose its grip only when the rulers did.But what does seem surprising is the radical way in which those traditions were transformed to account for problems that, though familiar, were now seen intake light of new circumstances. A distinctive Latin American way of thinking about such problems emerged from the project of "recycling" European philosophical traditions, some of which were already obsolete in Europe at the time their transplant took place. Thus theories commonly taken to be incompatible within Western traditions in philosophy were absorbed by Latin American thought-- and, in their newly acquired forms, such theories are even now at the basis of proposed solutions to many practical and philosophical problems.The book explores that recycling process. Above all, it aims to determine whether the various cultures that met in the "New World" could now be said to have come to share a common identity. This is in fact an issue which has preoccupied Latin Americans since at least the beginning of the 19th century, when their countries won their independence. But, in connection with this, it is also important to ask how Latin Americans have thought about the relationship between philosophy and rationality, and about other issues belonging to the major areas of philosophy such as epistemology, moral philosophy, and political philosophy, as well their application to vital social issues, including education and the emancipation of women. These are all taken up by the author, who pays special attention to questions of gender discrimination, justice, human rights, reparation for historically dispossessed peoples, and the role of education-- all matters of continuing concern in Latin American thought, from its earliest stirrings to the present day. (shrink)

In their target article, Mikhalevich & Powell (M&P) argue that we should extend moral protection to arthropods. In this commentary, we show that there are some unforeseen obstacles to applying the sort of individualistic welfare-based ethics that M&P have in mind to certain arthropods, namely, insects. These obstacles have to do with the fact that there are often many more individuals involved in our dealings with insects than our ethical theories anticipate, and also with the fact that, in some sense, (...) some insects count as more than an individual and, in another sense, they sometimes count as less than an individual. (shrink)