In the context of a larger project whose purpose was to comparatively analyze the associations of returnees in different autonomous communities, the need arose to specifically analyze the websites of these groups from a semiotic, discursive and communicational approach. The project required the creation of an analysis model based on a bibliographic review that would allow studying the sites in a comprehensive manner and that would take into account the new communicational paradigms. After exploring analysis models based on obsolete paradigms, (...) this research shows the design and validation of a website analysis proposal, in which two perspectives are differentiated and correlated: the technical aspects of the cyber genre and its discursive characteristics. (shrink)

This book presents practical holism as a framework for understanding the ways in which our society and individual lives are affected by moral, legal, political, economic, and other considerations. Only nomadic thought is able to capture the interactions among all those crucial aspects.

: "We are invisible": this melancholic assertion alludes to the "non-place" that we occupy as Latin American philosophers or, in general, as philosophers in the Spanish or Portuguese languages. We tend to survive as mere ghosts teaching courses and writing texts, perhaps some memorable ones, which, however, seldom spark anybody's interest, among other reasons, because almost no one takes the time to read them. In saying this, I do not mean to call upon a useless pathos, nor do I mean (...) to complain, or thrust forth a challenge. I am simply confirming a fact, and a widely acknowledged one at that. I wish to inquire a little into this invisibility. Later I will look into how the experience of our much acclaimed essay may help in fighting it. (shrink)

This book offers an account of exile in terms of the perspectives of morality, politics, literature, anthropology, and history. It also explores the moral implications of exile and how it connects to the meaning of life.

Carlos Pereda's "Mexico Unveiled" is a fresh, idiosyncratic synthesis of twentieth-century Mexican philosophy that puts contemporary debates about Mexican identity politics into a critical perspective. In three engaging essays written in a peerless prose style, Pereda considers the persistent influence of European colonialism on Mexican intellectual life, the politics of inclusion, and the changing ideas of what it means to be Mexican. He identifies three "vices"—social habits, customs, and beliefs inherited from European colonialism—that have influenced the development of (...) Mexican national identity: subaltern fervor, craving for novelty, and nationalist zeal. Pereda demonstrates that these three tendencies have led Mexican intellectuals, and Mexican society more generally, to uncritically adopt a politics of exclusion and destructive nationalist attitudes. To do all of this, Pereda invites readers to follow him along as he explores an often surprising series of arguments and counterarguments. Using a strategy he calls "nomadic" thinking—the act of moving beyond our cultural preconceptions and habits of thinking—he guides readers through a number of examples drawn from Mexican philosophy and culture that illustrate these tendencies. At its core, "Mexico Unveiled" is an accessible and entertaining introduction to the philosophical themes that have long occupied Pereda's life and work and Mexican philosophy more generally. (shrink)

In this article, Carlos Pereda introduces the concept of “colonial reason” and explores how philosophical practices and modes of thought are entwined with colonial political structures of exploitation, exclusion, and oppression. Pereda argues that philosophy in Latin America risks perpetuating and reinforcing the colonial gesture, either by turning to the European centers of thought (thus pursuing debates that always take place elsewhere) or by isolating itself and idealising the “own.” According to Pereda, both approaches fail to dismantle (...) colonial violence within philosophy. In his alternative approach, Pereda outlines principles and methodological criteria for the decolonisation of reason and philosophy. He emphasises the importance of methodological prudence that discerns between innocent, paralysing, and strategic uses of identity expressions and advocates for modes of reading and argumentation that conceive philosophy as an inclusive and ongoing dialogue. In Pereda’s terminology, this entails fostering “permeable reason” that manifests itself through “nomadic thinking,” a form of thinking that is capable of questioning itself and being questioned. (shrink)

1. Estrategia de las dos inculturas -- 2. Hay que defender la primacía de la moral? -- 3. La identidad personal en conflicto, el reconocimiento del otro, también en conflicto? -- 4. Historia y desprecio.

Las palabras no pocas veces embrollan, y llevan por el mal camino a creencias, deseos, emociones y, previsiblemente, a acciones. Así, con frecuencia, provocan sucesivos desastres en nuestras vidas. Por eso, a menudo antes de comenzar a discutir sobre cualquier cosa, hay que tener en cuenta la regla de prudencia que advierte.

The principle of sufficient reason can be taken as a guide to the progress of philosophical and scientific knowledge. Thus, we could establish a link between scientific disciplines and philosophy, which would result in a mutually enriching dialogue. However, it can be shown that the use of the principle of sufficient reason is not suitable for the philosophical and scientific research, so neither can be used to establish a dialogue. It is argued, therefore, that other principles must be deepened, e.g., (...) causality, to establish a link between science and philosophy. (shrink)

The German philosophical tradition has always been open to challenges that can be seen as a continuum. This text discusses Friedrich Nietzsche as a master of wild challenges and Martin Seel as a master of friendly challenges, often blurring the line between them. In doing so, it challenges traditional truth debates by raising questions about the circumstances of truth and the practical aspects of truth orientation. Because Seel uses challenges as hermeneutical resources, he conceives of challenge as a method for (...) encouraging new approaches in philosophical thought. (shrink)

La Monadología expone la metafísica más madura de Leibniz de una forma sintética y concentrada. Se propone una lectura sistemática a partir de los principios implicados en la metafísica leibniziana, que muestra la analogía entre el conocimiento humano y el divino, así como la peculiar manera que tiene Leibniz de construir su sistema. La imagen del universo del hombre se emplea para explicar la imagen del universo de Dios y cómo influye en la creación.

Una de las categorías empleadas en la sistematización de las posturas en teología filosófica es “teísmo clásico”, con la que se hace referencia a un grupo indeterminado de autores que mantendrían posturas comunes acerca de Dios y la religión. Hay numerosos intentos de definición del teísmo clásico: se recogen cinco que parecen especialmente relevantes, y se valora la caracterización de Dios que atribuyen al teísmo clásico. Esta valoración revela que sólo coinciden en un atributo: la inmutabilidad. Se analizan las razones (...) y consecuencias de esta característica, lo que da pie a mostrar que tomar como punto de partida para las discusiones teológicas una definición del teísmo clásico es un modo problemático de proceder; a partir de esto se sugieren métodos alternativos que tengan en cuenta la relevancia tanto de las religiones en las que surgen las posturas denominadas clásicas, así como los sistemas propios de los principales autores identificados como teístas clásicos. Abstract: One of the categories used in the systematization of positions in philosophical theology is “classical theism,” which refers to an indeterminate group of authors who uphold common views regarding God and religion. There are numerous attempts to define classical theism; five particularly relevant definitions are examined, along with an evaluation of the characterization of God they attribute to classical theism. This assessment reveals that these definitions converge on only one attribute: immutability. The reasons for and consequences of this characteristic are analyzed, leading to the conclusion that using a definition of classical theism as a starting point for theological discussions is a problematic approach. Based on this, alternative methods are suggested that take into account both the relevance of the religious traditions in which so-called classical positions arise, and the specific systems of the major authors identified as classical theists. (shrink)

En esta nota crítica (i) se hace una breve descripción de cada uno de los artículos que componen Orayen: de la forma lógica al significado, (ii) se señalan algunas cuestiones que no están claras en ellos o en las réplicas de Orayen y, (iii) en la medida de lo posible, se indica si los autores desarrollan ulteriormente los problemas abordados en sus artículos. The aim of this critical note is threefold: (i) it briefly describes and comments on each of the (...) articles of Orayen: de la forma lógica al significado; (ii) identifies some issues that may not be clear enough or not fully developed whether in the articles or even in Orayen's replies; (iii) as far as possible, it refers to further studies made by the authors themselves on the same, or quite related, subjects addressed by them in their papers. (shrink)

Las preguntas importantes, o que parecen importantes, no tienen por qué tener respuestas importantes, incluso no tienen por qué tener respuestas. Me propongo explorar qué respuestas, importantes o no importantes, puede recibir, si es que puede recibir alguna respuesta, la importante pregunta “¿qué es un buen argumento?”.Important questions, or questions that seem important, need not have important answers, moreover, they need not have answers at all. I propose to explore what answers, whether important or not, we could obtain, if some (...) answer can be obtained at all, to the important question “what is a good argument?”. (shrink)

G. W. Leibniz fue un lector frecuente de la obra filosófica de Suárez, lectura que dejó una huella profunda en su metafísica. En concreto, el uso que Leibniz hace de los principios se puede ver como una aplicación práctica del tratamiento que hace Suárez de los principios en las Disputaciones metafísicas.

No cabe duda: ha habido y hay muchas y muy diferentes culturas o, si se prefiere, porque las culturas se suelen constituir y desplegar en el tiempo, muchas y muy diferentes tradiciones. Por difusos que sean sus límites y por vagos que sean sus modos de organizarse internamente, en algún grado, cada cultura, cada tradición, condiciona y, no pocas veces, hasta conforma lo que los miembros de una o varias sociedades, incluso en muy largos períodos, desean, creen, sienten, esperan... y, (...) en consecuencia, actúan. Sin embargo, ¿cuáles son algunos de los efectos más persistentes de esta multiplicidad de culturas, de tradiciones: del tan ruidosamente aplaudido, y también no menos ruidosamente lamentado multiculturalismo? [Fragmento]. (shrink)

Partiendo de algunas reflexiones de L. Villoro se reconstruyen varios engaños-fetiches muy arraigados: la alternativa consensos/disensos, el entusiasmo nacionalista o los usos y costumbres como la última palabra, un concepto no razonable de razón. Respecto de este último engaño se enriquece la discusión con algunas observaciones de J. Muguerza.

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated an imbalance between the clinical needs of the population and the effective availability of advanced life support (ALS) resources. Triage protocols have thus become necessary. Triage decisions in situations of scarce resources were not extraordinary in the pre-COVID-19 era; these protocols abounded in the context of organ transplantation. However, this prior experience was not considered during the COVID-19 outbreak in Spain. Lacking national guidance or public coordination, each hospital has been forced to put forth independent (...) and autonomous triage protocols, most of which were, nonetheless, based on common ethical principles and clinical criteria. However, controversial, non-clinical criteria have also been defended by Spanish scientific societies and public institutions, including setting an age cut-off value for unilaterally withholding ALS, using ‘social utility’ criteria, prioritising healthcare professionals or using ‘first come, first served’ policies. This paper describes the most common triage criteria used in the Spanish context during the COVID-19 epidemic. We will highlight our missed opportunities by comparing these criteria to those used in organ transplantation protocols. The problems posed by subjective, non-clinical criteria will also be discussed. We hope that this critical review might be of use to countries at earlier stages of the epidemic while we learn from our mistakes. (shrink)

Since 2002, legislation in Spain has allowed for the creation and documentation of end-of-life decisionmaking. Over the intervening years, the actual implementation of such documents is very low. Through extensive analysis of the literature, this article explores the current status of the use of and attitudes toward advance directives in Spain and then proposes strategies for improvement in their implementation.

Eight focus groups were conducted in four public hospitals in Madrid to explore healthcare professionals’ perceptions of advance directives in order to improve the understanding of their lack of success among physicians and patients. A purposive sample of sixty healthcare professionals discussed ADs and reasons for their infrequent use. Three main themes were identified: perceptions about their meaning, appraisals of their use in clinical practice, and decision-making about them. Healthcare professionals perceived a lack of clarity about their definition and implementation. (...) There is insufficient awareness of their efficacy in improving the quality of clinical relationships and decision-making, and they are often perceived only as a bureaucratic procedure. Advance directives are not integrated in the clinical practice of Madrid’s healthcare specialist services because their application is exceedingly complex, because of insufficient education about them, and because of lack of procedural clarity. Consequently, healthcare professionals are not aware of how ADs could improve clinical decision-making, of when and for whom their use is appropriate, and of who has responsibility for providing ADs-related information to patients. These circumstances contribute to patients’ lack of interest in completing these documents and to physicians’ sceptical views about their usefulness. (shrink)

Soteria has been traditionally an overlooked concept in the study of Greek religion, precisely due to its centrality in Christianity. The abundant pieces of evidence often were either examined teleologically as possible precedents of Christian salvation, or neglected for fear of projecting it into Greek religion. With the exception of the notable scholarship on ruler cults using the title Soter, the many testimonies of soteria and related terminology have been usually dispatched with the plat...

Almost all scholars of the Enlightenment consider Hobbes, Spinoza, and Locke as the founding theorists of the “secular modern state.” In contrast to the widely held view of the modern state, I argue that far from being “secular” it was the product of the sacralization of politics, which resulted from the way these philosophers interpreted the Scriptures as part of their philosophical inquiries. The analysis of the “linguistic turn” in their biblical interpretations reveals how they tried to undermine the power (...) of the Church to claim greater freedoms for the state. Their philosophical inquiries initiated the secularization of the Christian religion and the sacralization of politics as two correlative developments, rather than the secularization of the state per se, as is usually supposed. The philosophical arguments proposed by Hobbes, Spinoza, and Locke helped to resolve the religious battles of Europe’s many confessions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but are still pertinent to our c... (shrink)

This book presents the idea of Nomos of the Earth as the key idea that organizes the whole of Schmitt’s discourse about politics.

SUMMARYIn recent years, Ernst H. Kantorowicz's work The King's Two Bodies has been the object of both historical and philosophical research. Kantorowicz decided to subtitle his book ‘A Study in Medieval Political Theology’, but few scholars have actually recognised his work as research in ‘political theology’. The aim of this article, then, is to uncover the sense in which his book might be considered a work of ‘political theology’, especially in the sense coined by Carl Schmitt in 1922. Such a (...) discussion ultimately aims to contribute to the foundation of political-theology research, a subject that has been widespread among European intellectuals in the twentieth century and which continues to be a focus of interest. This article argues that Kantorowicz's book can be interpreted as a practice of—and also an enriching addition to—Schmitt's thesis on political theology, even if it does not mention Schmitt's name. Such a conclusion is only possible by accepting that there was a heated dialogue between Kantorowicz and Schmitt through Erik Peterson's work. The article further discusses its approach with other scholars that, even though they are based on similar hypotheses, make different conclusions. (shrink)