Adriana Novoa and Alex Levine offer here a history and interpretation of the reception of Darwinism in Argentina, illuminating the ways culture shapes ...

El holismo intencional captura rasgos intuitivos de nuestra vida mental, pero no explica cómo es posible la comunicación entre agentes. Aceptar el holismo parcial o molecularismo intencional como solución al problema, invoca la distinción entre juicios analíticos y sintéticos. En este artículo se propone que es consistente sostener el molecularismo, el rechazo a la distinción analítico/sintético y la posibilidad de la comunicación. Se defiende que la argumentación de Brandom para hacer consistentes las tres tesis presenta problemas metodológicos. Además, se proponen (...) dos criterios que identifican la capacidad de una creencia para individuar el contenido de otras creencias, sin apelar a la distinción analítico/sintético. (shrink)

En este artículo se quiere ahondar en la propuesta que Jean Luc Marion ofrece sobre el ídolo en relación con el icono y cómo esta puede aportar al pensamiento artístico. Para esto, abordaremos la relación del ídolo con los distintos rostros que pretenden mostrarse como tal y luego el pensamiento sobre el icono cristiano. En este sentido, nos adentraremos en la propuesta estética cristiana y la posibilidad de pensar un arte a posteriori, es decir, que surge desde un acontecimiento, extendiéndolo (...) y haciéndolo más visible. (shrink)

This article analyzes how scientific thinking evolved in Argentina during the 1820s and 1830s. I will focus on liberals’ association of science with the emergence of a new male sensibility that feminized the role of men in society. This gendered scientific culture explains how liberals clashed in the 1830s with the policies of the governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas, whose hyper masculinist model based on the authority of the father was perceived not only as anti-civilization, but also (...) as anti-science. This association of gender and science helps us to explain how the introduction of Darwinian ideas that seemed to support a more masculinist representation of evolution, now ruled by laws of survival and competition, was perceived as a contradiction of past ideas by the 1870s. (shrink)

The exportation of unethical practices to low- and middle-income countries has been conceived as a prevalent practice which needs to be examined more closely. Such a practice might point towards the exploitation of vulnerable population groups. We conducted a survey among Mexican research ethics committee members to explore the issue of ethics dumping in Mexico by understanding how its existence and contributing factors and norms are perceived by these ethics committee members. We designed an exploratory survey based on a five-point (...) Likert scale, following an established, validated and published methodology. The questionnaire included both open close-ended questions. The aspects covered in the questionnaire were introductory questions on the existence of ethical issues; general perception on ethics dumping in Mexico; lack of voluntariness, undue inducement, and therapeutic misconception as exploitation risks; existence of exploitative practices; norms facilitating ethics dumping; acceptable levels of benefit to Mexico; boundaries of ethics dumping. The survey was administered to a sample of research ethics committee members from public and private Mexican hospitals in 2016. Most of the ethics committee members believed clinical trials are generally ethically sound, though almost a majority think that ethics dumping is a common occurrence and that it is a serious issue. Most agree that ethics dumping needs to be addressed. They also identified other issues such as ethical issues related to patient participation and ethics committees. Further, most committee members agree that undue inducement and therapeutic misconception affect voluntariness, and that both individuals and communities receive appropriate benefits. From the perspective of Mexican research ethics committee members, ethics dumping commonly exists in Mexican clinical trials, as well as several related issues such as ethical issues on patient participation and ethics committees, as well as voluntariness issues. Further, most members believed these issues need to be addressed. However, most were also of the opinion that clinical trials are generally ethically compliant. This points to the need for further studies on the reasons for these perspectives. (shrink)

En este artículo se intenta mostrar cuál es la posible relación entre la esfera política y la esfera ética en el pensamiento de Aristóteles. ¿Son la política y la ética investigaciones absolutamente distinguibles o, por el contrario, son un solo proyecto investigativo? Para responder a esta pregunta, se sugiere que primero debe responderse la cuestión acerca de la naturaleza misma del bien último. ¿Es el fin de las acciones un fin dominante o inclusivo? Se analiza una de las propiedades de (...) la eudaimonía, a saber, la autarquía, y se mostrará cómo, dependiendo de la respuesta que se dé a la segunda pregunta, es posible contestar la primera. (shrink)

Se busca aclarar el tratamiento de Adam Smith al llamado problema de la “suerte moral”. Como la posición no es evidente ni simple, se muestra que la tesis afirma la existencia de la suerte moral consecuencial con base en el recurso al espectador imparcial. Para ello, se pone de relieve el sentido metódico de su proceder, y se ana-lizan ciertas cuestiones claves, como el carácter de la apelación a la naturaleza y de las justificaciones teleológicas. Se distinguen cuatro momentos estructurales (...) (cons-tatación de la paradoja, explicación, justificación social y decisión de la cuestión a partir del espectador imparcial) y se alega que solo en el último se decide su posición. (shrink)

El objetivo de este artículo es ofrecer una explicación de la legitimidad de ciertos argumentos ad hominem acudiendo a la epistemología de las virtudes. La tesis central es que hay argumentos ad hominem que son aceptables si se conciben como argumentos inductivos cuya fuerza está determinada por una apelación justa a los vicios epistémicos del interlocutor. Se argumenta que algunos argumentos ad hominem abusivos son aceptables si descansan en un señalamiento justo de la carencia de virtudes epistémicas confiabilistas por parte (...) del interlocutor. Así mismo, algunos argumentos ad hominem circunstanciales serían aceptables si descansan en un señalamiento justo de la carencia de virtudes responabilistas por parte del interlocutor. El artículo también expone cómo otros intentos de reivindicación de los argumentos ad hominem adolecen de algunos problemas. (shrink)

RESUMEN En este artículo, se defiende un relativismo conceptual sin esquemas conceptuales. En primer lugar, se presenta la crítica de Davidson al relativismo conceptual. Luego, se construye un contraejemplo que cuestiona la eficacia del principio de caridad y se argumenta que, si se trata de sostener el holismo con el fin de evitar el relativismo, habría que aceptar un relativismo moderado que trace la distinción entre un background de creencia y redes internas de creencias. Este relativismo es compatible con el (...) abandono de la idea de un esquema conceptual y, por tanto, no implica ningún tipo de inconmensurabilidad ni de intraducibilidad. ABSTRACT The article defends a conceptual relativism without conceptual schemes. First, it presents Davidson's critique of conceptual relativism. Ten, it goes on to build a counterexample questioning the efficacy of the principle of charity, and argues that upholding holism in order to avoid relativism would entail accepting a moderate relativism that distinguishes between a background of belief and internal networks of beliefs. This relativism is compatible with abandoning the idea of a conceptual scheme, and, therefore, does not imply any type of incommensurability or untranslatability. (shrink)

BackgroundUpper limb impairment is common after stroke, and many will not regain full upper limb function. Different technologies based on surface electromyography (sEMG) have been used in stroke rehabilitation, but there is no collated evidence on the different sEMG-driven interventions and their effect on upper limb function in people with stroke.AimSynthesize existing evidence and perform a meta-analysis on the effect of different types of sEMG-driven interventions on upper limb function in people with stroke.MethodsPubMed, SCOPUS, and PEDro databases were systematically searched (...) for eligible randomized clinical trials that utilize sEMG-driven interventions to improve upper limb function assessed by Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA-UE) in stroke. The PEDro scale was used to evaluate the methodological quality and the risk of bias of the included studies. In addition, a meta-analysis utilizing a random effect model was performed for studies comparing sEMG interventions to non-sEMG interventions and for studies comparing different sEMG interventions protocols.ResultsTwenty-four studies comprising 808 participants were included in this review. The methodological quality was good to fair. The meta-analysis showed no differences in the total effect, assessed by total FMA-UE score, comparing sEMG interventions to non-sEMG interventions (14 studies, 509 participants, SMD 0.14, P 0.37, 95% CI –0.18 to 0.46, I255%). Similarly, no difference in the overall effect was found for the meta-analysis comparing different types of sEMG interventions (7 studies, 213 participants, SMD 0.42, P 0.23, 95% CI –0.34 to 1.18, I273%). Twenty out of the twenty-four studies, including participants with varying impairment levels at all stages of stroke recovery, reported statistically significant improvements in upper limb function at post-sEMG intervention compared to baseline.ConclusionThis review and meta-analysis could not discern the effect of sEMG in comparison to a non-sEMG intervention or the most effective type of sEMG intervention for improving upper limb function in stroke populations. Current evidence suggests that sEMG is a promising tool to further improve functional recovery, but randomized clinical trials with larger sample sizes are needed to verify whether the effect on upper extremity function of a specific sEMG intervention is superior compared to other non-sEMG or other type of sEMG interventions. (shrink)

In this chapter we will try to show how the introduction of Darwinian evolutionary theory transformed metaphysics, and in particular, the philosophical understanding of the temporality of being. In the interests of brevity, we will focus on two particularly significant aspects of the impact of Darwinism on Latin America. We will consider, first, how the new evolutionary thought transformed past notions of temporality. Second, we will discuss the ways in which the ideas of regression and extinction, viewed as essential components (...) of the evolutionary process, problematized the nature of progress and civilization. We trace these developments in the work of three central figures of Latin American thought: José Martí, José Rodó, and Euclides da Cunha. All three of these men were extraordinarily versatile thinkers, and each has been the subject of voluminous secondary literature. But the first two, unlike some other influential figures—such as, famously, Domingo Sarmiento of Argentina—were hardly self-professed Darwinians. Still, we have chosen to discuss them because of this last fact, and not despite it. As for da Cunha, though he accepted the basic canons of the new evolutionary theory, he remained ambivalent about its application. All three struggled, each in his own way, to come to terms with the Darwinian legacy, and each found his thinking profoundly shaped by this struggle; they offer us three different, unique perspectives on the impact of Darwinism. The magnitude of the new evolutionism can only be understood if we consider the wide range of discussion it triggered in consequence of its profound philosophical impact. (shrink)

RESUMEN Largamente desatendida o malinterpretada, la noción de caos en la filosofía de Nietzsche es una pieza constitutiva de la particular concepción del ser que este autor habría dejado apenas esbozada. El artículo se propone elaborar este concepto en la obra nietzscheana, siguiendo algunas de las metáforas que lo iluminan. Desde allí se busca plantear los rasgos centrales de una ontologia del caos, de sesgo no metafísico, que, al afirmar el carácter acontecimental de la realidad, puede verse como precursora de (...) la ontología hermenéutica contemporánea. ABSTRACT The notion of chaos, which has long been neglected or misinterpreted, is a constitutive element of a peculiar conception of being that the philosopher only had time to outline. The objective of this article is to elaborate on this concept in Nietzschean philosophy, guided by some of the metaphors that shed light on it. This serves as the basis to set forth the main characteristics of a non-metaphysical ontology of chaos that asserts the eventful nature of reality and can thus be seen as a precursor of contemporary hermeneutic ontology. (shrink)

ArgumentThe spread of Darwinian ideas by the late nineteenth century in Argentina transformed the intellectual elites' notion of progress and civilization. While before Darwin, union, harmony, and assimilation were the ideas most commonly associated with the civilizatory process; variation, struggle, and divergence dominated the post-Darwin discussion. More importantly, unlike in Europe, in Argentina the theory not only triggered interest in the process of speciation, but also its relationship with extinction. Extinction became the benchmark of progress, and the sign of success (...) for the nation. If the country was civilizing itself, the “natural” elimination of inferior individuals, unfit for the struggle for existence, had to be proved and displayed. The origin of modernity was here associated with the existence of evolutionary waste that revealed the work of natural selection on behalf of national improvement. (shrink)

This paper aims to show that: 1) theory of evolution is ontologically neutral inside the debate about metaphysical naturalism and theism; and 2) that it is consistent to hold simultaneously methodological naturalism and theism. In order to achieve this, I shall first examine Plantinga’s argument that tries to show that there is consistency between theism and evolution, but, on the contrary, there is inconsistency between the theory of evolution and naturalism. I accept the first part of this argument, but I (...) reject the second part. I defend that Plantiga’s argument is valid if and only if it is supposed a theory of truth by correspondence. Finally, I shall argue that if such notion is replaced by James’s pragmatist conception of truth, it is possible to conclude 1 and 2. (shrink)

La Escolástica Tardía marca un hito en la historia del pensamiento filosófico. En este periodo se establecen las bases de un profundo proceso de transformación en la forma de observar la naturaleza a través de una minuciosa recolección de datos, experimentos y posteriores análisis. El enfoque franciscano da prioridad a aquel sentido práctico del filosofar que se funda sobre la existencia real y desembarca en la acción. Los pensadores franciscanos analizan las realidades del mundo con un dinamismo pragmático sumamente original.

La siguiente reseña explora el libro más reciente del historiador Tomás Pérez Vejo, el cual se adentra en un relato de nación construido a partir de los acervos pictóricos. El imaginario visual que se construye desde las exposiciones y críticas de pintura marca un ciclo crístico de nacimientos, tormentos, liberaciones y resurrecciones, cuyo interés primordial es su poderosa impronta en la historia oficial nacional y en cómo esta permea aún el presente.

Since Darwin, Biology has been framed on the idea of evolution by natural selection, which has profoundly influenced the scientific and philosophical comprehension of biological phenomena and of our place in Nature. This book argues that contemporary biology should progress towards and revolve around an even more fundamental idea, that of autonomy. Biological autonomy describes living organisms as organised systems, which are able to self-produce and self-maintain as integrated entities, to establish their own goals and norms, and to promote the (...) conditions of their existence through their interactions with the environment. Topics covered in this book include organisation and biological emergence, organisms, agency, levels of autonomy, cognition, and a look at the historical dimension of autonomy. The current development of scientific investigations on autonomous organisation calls for a theoretical and philosophical analysis. This can contribute to the elaboration of an original understanding of life - including human life - on Earth, opening new perspectives and enabling fecund interactions with other existing theories and approaches. This book takes up the challenge. (shrink)

Nos proponemos analizar el pensamiento de Álvaro García Linera, uno de los intelectuales más interesantes en lengua española, y que mayor difusión está teniendo en los últimos tiempos. Para ello, tomaremos como punto de referencia cuatro de las ideas centrales dentro de la filosofía del boliviano: proyecto político, estado, hegemonía y dominación (analizando las dos últimas de manera conjunta). Comenzaremos exponiendo las influencias de García Linera, así como las peculiaridades de sus planteamientos, para centrarnos posteriormente en la etapa de su (...) producción intelectual más reciente, y acabar con una conclusión que mencionará también algunas de las críticas más importantes que se han vertido hacia el antiguo vicepresidente. (shrink)

This paper attempts to delineate a kind of realism, which incorporates some anti-realistic insights regarding the perspective, situated, and historical character of our forms of knowing and being in the world, and which resonates with the basic tenets of Christian theism. The first part of the paper analyzes the challenges anti-realism poses to Christian theism, particularly regarding the role, which the doctrine of creation played in securing the correspondence theory of truth as well as the fundamental experience of God as (...) the foundation of order and meaning. Using Heidegger’s hermeneutics in the second part, it is shown that epistemic pluralism can be made compatible with realism. Given that this form of hermeneutic realism still has problems with integrating the transcendence of God, as well as his/ her presence and action in the “world,” the notion of continuous co-creation as the basis for a pluralist realism that is amenable to Christian theism is explored in the final part. (shrink)

Quisiéramos vivir “bajo el sol de Dios” (Ecl. 8, 15), pero nos descubrimos bajo el sol de Satanás. Nadie más que Bernanos lo ha visto, y también lo ha sabido, pues la literatura alcanza lo que ni la filosofía ni la teología logran expresar, especialmente en lo que respecta al tormento del mal. Oculto bajo la figura del “maquignon picard”, y por tanto de un hombre ordinario, el diablo no se deja ver; prefiere disfrazarse. No existe el mal de un (...) lado y el bien del otro en Bernanos, sino más bien “el mal bajo la figura del bien”. Tal es su suprema astucia, y también su modo más seguro de desenmascararnos. Confundiendo las fronteras, haciéndose pasar por nadie siendo alguien, prefiriendo el “Frío” del hielo al calor de las llamas, y yaciendo con el abad Donissan para quitarle su aliento, Satanás nos acecha siempre, menos para mostrarse que para atraparnos. Una “lectura filosófica” de estas páginas fulgurantes de Sous le soleil de Satan (encuentro del abad Donissan con el maquignon picard) elevará a Bernanos al rango de los más grandes pensadores católicos. Nadie lo había dudado. Pero leerlo y releerlo permite confirmarlo.. (shrink)

The project of growing meat artificially represents for some the next best thing to humanity. If successful, it could be the solution to several problems, such as feed- ing a growing global population while reducing the environmental impact of raising animals for food and, of course, reducing the amount and degree of animal cruelty and suffering that is involved in animal farming. In this paper, I argue that the issue of the morality of such a project has been framed only (...) in terms of the best conse- quences for the environment, animals, and humans, or in terms of deontic princi- ples. I argue that to appreciate how deep and difficult this issue is, it is necessary to consider it in terms of a virtue-oriented approach. Such an approach will reveal aspects that are not apparent, not contemplated by typical approaches, but are essen- tial to our understanding of the morality of lab-grown meat. As I argue, evaluating the issue from a virtue-oriented perspective suggests that the project of in vitro meat should not be supported because it stems from unvirtuous motivations. (shrink)

L'article explore la conception husserlienne de l'historicité dans le contexte de l'idéalisme transcendantal, en se basant sur les quinze premiers paragraphes de la Krisis. Husserl reconfigure la subjectivité transcendantale en intégrant l'historicité comme un élément essentiel de l'auto-conscience et de l'intersubjectivité. Le texte aborde les apories philosophiques qui surgissent en tentant de réconcilier la téléologie avec la factualité historique, et montre comment l'expérience du mal devient un catalyseur de la réflexion téléologique. On y examine également la distinction entre temporalité et (...) historicité, tout en réfléchissant à la critique de l'ethnocentrisme husserlien et à sa perspective téléologique. Enfin, l'article analyse la responsabilité philosophique de faire face à la crise de la modernité, en proposant une vision de l'histoire comme une tâche collective et génératrice. (shrink)

El artículo examina la concepción de “lo que viene después del sujeto” en las filosofías de Jean-Luc Marion y Jean-Luc Nancy, enfocándose en cómo cada uno aborda el estatuto del cuerpo y la subjetividad. Marion introduce el concepto de adonado, destacando la receptividad y la donación del fenómeno, mientras que Nancy propone una noción de “individuo” centrada en la exposición y la interacción. A través de un análisis comparativo, se muestra cómo ambos filósofos redefinen el sujeto en el contexto de (...) la fenomenología contemporánea, siendo Marion una superación a los supuestos en los que Nancy continúa. (shrink)

En este texto se examina la alteración de la subjetividad kantiana propuesta por Jean-Luc Marion. Marion cuestiona la noción de un sujeto estable y autónomo, argumentando que el sujeto debe estar en constante relación con lo saturado y lo otro. Rechaza la idea de un yo cogito cartesiano y busca una reconcepción del ser en relación con el otro y lo trascendente. Marion destaca la importancia del amor como centro de la subjetividad y plantea que el sujeto no busca tanto (...) su subsistencia como el amor y ser amado. El texto explora las implicaciones de esta perspectiva en relación con la temporalidad y la manifestación fenomenológica. Marion propone una reconfiguración del sujeto que se revela en la relación con lo saturado y la co-constitución con el otro. (shrink)

Many moral philosophers have criticized intensive animal farming because it can be harmful to the environment, it causes pain and misery to a large number of animals, and furthermore eating meat and animal-based products can be unhealthful. The issue of industrially farmed animals has become one of the most pressing ethical questions of our time. On the one hand, utilitarians have argued that we should become vegetarians or vegans because the practices of raising animals for food are immoral since they (...) minimize the overall happiness. Deontologists, on the other hand, have argued that the practices of raising animals for food are immoral because animals have certain rights and we have duties toward them. Some virtue ethicists remain unconvinced of deontic and consequentialist arguments against the exploitation of animals and suggest that a virtue-based approach is better equipped to show what is immoral about raising and using animals for food, and what is virtuous about ethical veganism. (shrink)

Este artículo explora la noción de "inquietud" en la fe cristiana según Blaise Pascal. El autor distingue tres tipos de inquietud en Pascal: la inquietud metafísica ante la muerte, la inquietud espiritual por el extravío del mundo en la diversión, y la inquietud de la salvación y el pecado para el creyente. Pascal describe una auténtica angustia ante la finitud (la muerte) y también ante el pecado (la separación de Dios). Pero más allá, hay en Pascal una inquietud propia del (...) cristiano, que "redobla" su responsabilidad al estar ligado a Dios. En "La conversión del pecador" (1653) aparece la inquietud "de" la fe, el temor ante la posibilidad de creer. Luego, en la experiencia del "Memorial" (1654), surge la inquietud "en" la fe, el miedo a perder a Dios una vez que se ha creído y amado. No basta con creer, sino con perseverar creyendo, en la incertidumbre. El "Memorial" no consagra sólo el recuerdo del pasado, sino la fidelidad a lo sucedido. La paz desaparece en la segunda versión, mostrando que la fe no es un estado permanente. La inquietud es constitutiva de la existencia creyente para Pascal. No se trata de alcanzar la certidumbre, sino de continuar creyendo cuando ya se ha creído. (shrink)

Este artículo presenta los vínculos entre el pensamiento de Edith Stein y Simone Weil, ambas destacadas filósofas del siglo XX, respecto a la concepción de la ciencia y técnica moderna. La tesis que guiará nuestro trabajo es que las dos pensadoras recuperan la concepción de la ciencia como contemplación del orden del mundo. Esta perspectiva permite cambiar la mirada fisicalista con respecto a la naturaleza y detener los daños que la excesiva intervención de la técnica ha provocado en la naturaleza. (...) De este modo, la ciencia se transforma en puente que conduce al Creador. En el trabajo, se analizan los conceptos de finalidad; la consideración del espacio y la geometría como integradores de la realidad; la percepción como origen del conocimiento y la dimensión trascendente de la ciencia. Cada uno de estos aspectos es analizado desde la óptica del orden intrínseco de las cosas y de la persona dado por el Creador. (shrink)

The design of the bronchial tree has largely been proposed as a model of optimal design from a physical-functional perspective. However, the distributive function of the airway may be more related to a geometrical than a physical problem. The bronchial tree must distribute a three dimensional volume of inspired air on a two dimensional alveolar surface, included in a limited volume. It is thus valid to ask whether an optimal bronchial tree from a physical perspective is also optimum from a (...) geometrical point of view. In this paper we generate a simple geometric model for the branching pattern of the bronchial tree, deducing relationships that permit estimation of the departures from the geometrical optimum of each bifurcation. We also, for comparative purposes, estimate the departures from the physical optimum. From the geometrical assumptions: i) a symmetrical dichotomic fractal design, ii) with minimum volume and iii) maximum dispersion of the terminal points; and several simulations we suggest that the optimality is characterized by a bifurcation angle Θ ∼ 60° and a length reduction scale γ = (1/2)1/3 = 0.7937. We propose distances from the physical and geometrical optimality defined as Euclidean distances from the expected optima. We show how the advanced relationships and the distances can be used to estimate departures from the optimality in bronchographs of four species. We found lower physical and geometrical departures in the distal zone than those of the proximal zones, as well as lower physical than geometrical departures from optimality. (shrink)

Participants recruited for high levels of imaginative absorption were administered a questionnaire based on Calkins' original study that first established a wide continuum of childhood synaesthesias and synaesthetic associations, along with separate questionnaires assessing childhood imaginary companions, positive altered states of consciousness and negative states of nightmares and night terrors. Their inter-relation and relation to measures of adult imaginative absorption helps to establish these states as aspects of an underlying imagistic dimension, while their relative differentiation is explored through different forms (...) of adult absorption, early stressors from childhood, and degree of parental support for creative activities. The connection of this wider continuum of adult recalled childhood synasesthesias, imaginary companions, and altered states of consciousness to adult imaginative absorption is consistent with recent neuro-imaging synaesthetic research supporting its relation to symbolic cognition, metaphor, and creativity. (shrink)

El presente trabajo se enmarca en la propuesta fenomenológica de Jean Luc Marion, comenzando por la crítica que él realiza a Husserl y Heidegger. Luego de adentrarnos en lo fundamental de su propuesta fenomenológica, ‘cuanto de reducción, tanto de donación’, podremos acercarnos a comprender la llamada que genera y su fenomenalización por medio de la respuesta que se apila en nuestra carne. Frente a lo propuesto por Marion, esperamos encontrar una posibilidad de acercarnos a indicios del pensamiento filosófico de Cristo (...) sobre el rol del tercero y su testimonio. El trabajo se centra, por lo tanto, en los rastros que nos deja el pensamiento de Cristo, que puede ser esbozado a partir de una escapatoria al pensamiento griego. (shrink)