This paper examines the role of speculative motives in the determination of commodity prices and specifically food related commodity prices. The motivation for this study is the considerable flow of funds into commodities, the widespread view that the process of financialization has led to greater levels of speculation and that speculation is the primary cause of regular spikes in food prices since the turn of the century. We consider two forms of short-term trading, a biasing influence and a correcting influence, (...) relative to the fundamental price. While both forms of short-term trading are relevant, they are small in terms of their influence on overall prices. We do however find some evidence of an increased role being played by Manipulators during the period most associated with financialization. (shrink)

Abstract:There is a storied history of Native and Indigenous feminisms on Turtle Island (North America). We are fortunate that many of those stories birthed from an ancestral tradition of storytelling and survivance were captured in the canonical feminist anthology This Bridge Called My Back: Writings of Radical Women of Color. In celebration and commemoration of 40 years since This Bridge was first published we visit with three of the books original Native and Indigenous contributors–Chrystos, Max Wolf Valerio, and Jo (...) Carrillo–to recount old as well as new stories as they explore what Native and Indigenous feminisms mean to them and their continued work for Indigenous visibility. The conversation provides a unique intergenerational vision for conceptualizing contemporary Native and Indigenous feminisms all the while building upon the legacy and path set forth by amazing Native and Indigenous women trailblazers. (shrink)

In a recent paper, Cumpa : 319–324, 2014) argues that a scientific turn in metaphysics requires the acceptance of a materialist criterion of fundamentality, according to which the most fundamental metaphysical category is the one that provides us with a reconciliation of the ordinary world and the physical universe. He concludes that the dominant category of substance cannot be the most fundamental category, for it does not satisfy this criterion of fundamentality. The most fundamental category is instead the category of (...) fact. Although convincing, the defense of factualism over substantialism offered by Cumpa takes into account the case of classical physics without considering the physical universe of quantum mechanics. My aim in this paper is to offer a completion to Cumpa’s factualist approach. To achieve my aim, I show that substances cannot provide a satisfactory account of the relationship between the ordinary world and the physical universe even in the case of quantum mechanics, whereas a factualist approach does. (shrink)

My aim in this paper is to discuss the logical form of exemplification. In order to achieve this goal, I analyze three views on the logical form of exemplification, namely, Gustav Bergmann's logical realism, Wilfrid Sellars's meta-linguistic expressivism, and Javier Cumpa's logical eliminativism. I start by examining the account advanced by Bergmann in his 1960 essay "Ineffability, Ontology, and Method," according to which the logical form of exemplification is represented by the juxtaposition of logical signs in a sentence. Then I (...) consider two alternatives to Bergmann's realism, namely, Sellars's meta-linguistic expressivism, according to which exemplification is a quasi-semantical relation that is accounted for at a meta-linguistic level; and Cumpa's molecular theory of exemplification—which I will call logical eliminativism—according to which exemplification is an eliminable constituent of facts. I conclude that neither the account advanced by Sellars nor the one provided by Cumpa is preferable to Bergmann's account of the logical form of exemplification, while offering a defense of the latter. (shrink)

Humanity is threatened by global risks that cross borders and national institutions in a way that has never been experienced before. Disasters, far from being purely natural phenomena, constitute the greatest danger in a context of political, social and scientific uncertainty. A new risk-based governance appears, ranging from the introduction of problematic exceptional measures and an increased vulnerability and inequality in risk exposure. This proposal aims to deepen the analysis of the relationship between law, politics and catastrophe as the focal (...) point of the evolution of risk prevention and management and its significance for the transformations of our understanding of democracy. The research proposes to engage catastrophes by conceiving them as powerful amplifiers and epiphanies of injustices, assuming that the role of the state should be inserted into a wider reading that must include the problem of unequal distribution of risks. (shrink)

In questo eccellente saggio Carolle Metry‑Tresson offre un approfondito studio dell’aporetismo radicale che contraddistingue la strutturazione teoretica delle Aporie e soluzioni sui principî primi di Damascio, ultimo diadoco della scuola neoplatonica ateniese. In tale trattato, noto anche con il titolo sintetico di Peri archon, lo scolarca si cimenta in una serrata investigazione sui principî primi, caratterizzata dalla centralità dell’aporia, quale principio di movimento e fondamento metodol...

In his reflection on the nature of evil, the Neoplatonic philosopher Proclus affirms that evil itself is “also beyond the abso­lute non-being”. With this assumption, he intends to reinforce the thesis of the non-existence of absolute evil, conceived as totally separate from good, and contrasted with the collat­eral and parasitic existence of evil mixed with good. He thus maintains a distinction between absolute evil and relative evil, conceived with reference to the distinction between absolute non-being and relative non-being. In Proclus, (...) the thesis of the non-existence of absolute evil is presented as a necessary consequence of the non-dualist theory of evil in the sphere of a protology that identifies the first Principle of all things in the primary Good, and which aims to reconcile the absolute primacy of the latter with the presence of evil in some orders of reality. (shrink)

Reasonable disagreement is one of the most critical issues in contemporary political philosophy, especially within liberal-democratic constitutionalism. In emphasising the role of disagreement in the relationship between discourse and politics, many scholars such as Jeremy Waldron and Richard Bellamy – against the background of the Rawlsian idea of “reasonable pluralism” – defend the thesis of moral disagreement as the core of political deliberation. By refusing the idea of neutrality, these authors maintain that political discourse cannot be established by simply removing (...) our moral disagree- ment on political values. This essay engages the issue of “discourse and politics” by focusing on some relevant topics: the deliberative conception of democracy; the Rawlsian idea of public reason as a forum for deliberation and discourse; the fact of disagreement and its inuence on the deliberative process. In order to investigate such issues, the paper follows three ways. First, it aims at examining John Rawls’ idea of public reason, by presenting it as a tool to resolve reasonable disagreement in the context of constitutional essentials. The second section deals with reasonable disagreement from a liberal point of view, by trying to focus on some critical remarks which Bellamy raises against Rawlsian political lib- eralism. The third section briefly analyses Waldron’s arguments in defence of reasonable disagreement, as a critique of the deliberative model of democracy. From this perspective, Waldron presents deliberative democracy’s failure in considering political dissent and moral disagreement as two problematic aspects of democracy. (shrink)

_Riassunto_: La riflessione su Machiavelli di Luigi Antonello Armando presenta tratti di novità e originalità. Dell’opera più nota, _Il principe_, Armando sostiene che se ne è fatta una lettura che ignora la rilevanza dell’espressione “al tutto nuovo” riferito a un principe “senza padre” e che dalla fortuna (occasione) ha avuto soltanto la possibilità non ostacolata di imprimere la forma agli eventi, divenendo così artefice per virtù propria dell’inizio “di una storia possibile”. Della “mente” di un tal principe, che potrà essere (...) “savio” e proporsi come modello e non farsi imitatore di modelli fuorvianti, l’Autore s’interessa appassionatamente, facendone il fulcro del proprio impegno di interprete. Si cerca, in queste pagine, di confrontare la proposta interpretativa dell’Autore con la concezione drammatica dell’uomo e della storia di Machiavelli. _Parole chiave_: Niccolò Machiavelli; Politica; Potere _Machiavelli’s The Prince. A reading suggestion_ _ __Abstract_: Luigi Antonello Armando’s reflections on Machiavelli present elements of novelty and originality. Regarding Machiavelli’s most famous work, _The Prince_, Armando argues that it has been read in a way that overlooks the significance of the expression “_al tutto nuovo_” (“_completely new_”), referring to a prince “without a father,” who, through fortune (opportunity), was given only the unimpeded possibility to shape events, thus becoming the creator, through his own virtue, of the beginning “of a possible history”. The Author passionately focuses on the “mind” of such a prince, who can be “wise” and present himself as a model rather than imitating misleading models. In these pages, an attempt is made to compare the Author’s interpretative proposal with Machiavelli’s dramatic conception of man and history. _Keywords_: Niccolò Machiavelli; Politics; Power. (shrink)

Oui, sous le rayon d'un soleil dilué de nuages roses, j'ai rédigé la plupart de ces textes Rue du Poète. Il convient de ne point nous méprendre à penser que le poète se complaît dans une indolente béatitude. Poiêsis, c'est l'action, l'expression même des mouvements et des relations qui déterminent notre univers, nos lieux d'échange, au présent, le plus souvent insaisissable, de ce que l'on prend pour le réel et cet imaginaire vers lequel l'homme projette sa mémoire, son " récit (...) ", son désir, son attente afin de " se " créer du devenir. La mort veille toujours en coulisse mais l'existence lui ravit la vedette et la tentation de vivre édifie le monde tel que l'autre l'induit en nous jour après jour, au coeur d'une cité partagée. Fragiles, " labiles ", métaphoriques, leurrés par l'illusion de se reconnaître, les êtres et leur vie, les être et leur ville... En parler? Pourquoi non? (shrink)

We ordinarily believe that the inhabitants of the world - including ourselves - persist over time. Such an idea, however, has puzzled philosophers for centuries. How can we change and still be the same? More specifically, is there any constitutive condition of our identity over time? And if so, does this condition involve mental aspects, physical aspects, or something else? Or is rather personal identity primitive and unanalyzable, so that our persistence is nothing but a brute fact? This volume is (...) a collection of new essays from leading figures in the field analyzing the persistence of persons and the criteria of personal identity over time. It presents an extensive discussion of the most relevant views on personal identity in contemporary metaphysics and provides new treatments of the constitutive conditions of personal persistence. (shrink)

The paper exhibits the relation between Heidegger’s idea of Andenken and one of the main concepts of Gadamer’s hermeneutics, viz., tradition, in the following way: tradition is interpreted from Andenken. In order to clarify this relation it was necessary to present the features of tradition pr..

La interpretación narrativa es un modo de conectar la obra de arte con la historia y a partir de ahí configurar la identidad narrativa en términos dinámicos. La interpretación narrativa es un camino viable para el pensar cuando éste trata de dar cuenta de formas problemáticas de arte, como el arte actual, ya que tiene la ventaja de trabajar con el contexto de la obra en vez de tratarla aisladamente. Una obra es lo que es gracias a sus conexiones con (...) obras anteriores y posteriores. La narratividad es probablemente el mejor modo de establecer, explicar y comprender estas conexiones. El objetivo de este artículo es mostrar que puede haber un tipo de interpretación que configure la identidad narrativa de la obra y que esta identidad no se restringe a la identificación, sino que crea una identidad dinámica para la obra. (shrink)

This contribution aims at discussing constitutional democracy in the age of populisms, by explaining how populist movements oppose liberal-democratic constitutionalism and by presenting the thesis of a so-called ‘populist constitutionalism’, as proposed by Mark Tushnet. In the first section, a general and analytic exploration of populist phenomena will be drawn, by focusing on the so-called thesis of a ‘populist’ constitutionalism. In the second part, Tushnet’s arguments for a populist constitutionalism will be presented, through the analysis of his two main contributions: (...) Taking the Constitution Away from the Courts, in which Tushnet develops his critique of legal constitutionalism and judicial review as an undemocratic power by unelected justices, and Authoritarian Constitutionalism, a recent article in which Tushnet distinguishes between ‘authoritarian’ and ‘populist’ definitions of constitutionalism. In conclusion, such arguments will be discussed, by proposing a critical response to Tushnet’s position and presenting some risks of a majoritarian and populist constitutional democracy. (shrink)

A Parábola dos Três Anéis é famosa em suas versões de Boccaccio e Lessing. Partilham a ideia fundamental de que apenas uma religião é verdadeira, mas a condição humana não nos permite saber qual é a verdadeira. É uma ideia inerentemente moderna enfatizar os limites do conhecimento humano enquanto se argumenta contra formas puras de ceticismo e relativismo. O resultado da parábola é a amizade em ambas as versões, mas a questão da verdade permanece no centro da estrutura conceitual subjacente (...) às histórias. Pelo contrário, os estudiosos passaram a dar muito mais relevância ao lado ético do diálogo, para que o relacionamento interpessoal não seja apenas o resultado de um processo cognitivo. O encontro pessoal deve ser anterior à questão da verdade. Esta nova abordagem é desafiada pela natureza do relacionamento com o outro. Deveria ser simétrico e mútuo? As opiniões sobre o diálogo inspiradas por Lévinas devem responder negativamente. Se quisermos manter a relevância da amizade, deveríamos preferir a ideia de diálogo de Buber. No nosso mundo, apesar disso, as desigualdades são tais que a simetria e a mutualidade não podem ser a condição padrão do diálogo e devemos ser antecipadamente responsáveis pelo outro (no sentido da servidão lévinasiana pelo outro). Uma mediação entre estes dois pontos de vista pode ser encontrada na noção de interindependência de Panikkar, como argumentarei. Na verdade, esta noção combina a interdependência presente na relação Eu-Tu de Buber e a independência ou separação sublinhada por Lévinas na relação com o outro entendida em termos de relação entre termos absolutos. (shrink)

Este artigo contribui para uma nova leitura do misticismo de Meister Eckhart, comparando-o com passagens chave do Itinerarium e da Legenda Maior de São Boaventura. A interpretação especulativa baseada na cristianização de Eckhart de Parmênides e na dialética é compensada pelo destaque da passividade do intelecto e da agência do amor divino no Nascimento de Deus dentro das profundezas da alma. A dialética se mostra, assim, como sendo apenas um momento de partilha com um todo feito também de liturgia e (...) ética. Pode-se argumentar que a veia ética específica do êxtase de Eckhart combinada com o papel da passividade no Nascimento de Deus poderia tornar seu misticismo de alguma forma próximo da concepção da ética em Levinas. (shrink)

Introduction: Novel coronavirus is having a devastating psychological impact on patients, especially patients with cancer. This work aims to evaluate mood disorders of cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy during COVID-19 in comparison with cancer patients who underwent radiation therapy in 2019.Materials and Methods: We included all the patients undergoing radiation therapy at our department in two-time points and during the COVID-19 outbreak. All the patients were asked to fulfill a validated questionnaire, the Symptom Distress thermometer, and the Beck Depression Inventory (...) v.2. We took into account the COVID-19 outbreak and also sex, age, week of radiation treatment, and disease.Results: We included 458 patients, with a median age of 64 years. STAI-Y1 median score was 40, whereas the median score of SDT was five and BDI-2 median score was 11. STAI-Y1, SDT, and BDI-2 were significantly correlated with the COVID-19 outbreak, sex, week of treatment, and disease.Conclusions: The prevalence of mood disorders in patients undergoing radiation therapy is higher than expected and even higher during the COVID-19 outbreak. These measurements could be useful as a baseline to start medical humanities programs to decrease these scores. (shrink)