I elaborated a bibliographic report for the last issue of "Estudios Nietzsche," which is a monographic issue on Nietzsche and Women. -/- I aimed to select and combine important publications from multiple traditions and schools within Nietzsche scholarship. I hope it becomes a valuable resource to find literature on the topic for both teaching and research purposes.

The aim of this paper is to relate the critical core of Jesus Conill’s last book, Bodily Intimacy and the Human Person. From Nietzsche to Ortega and Zubiri, with the problem of nihilism, as a structure that survives in our contemporary societies, especially in the context of neurosciences, technology and our way of relating to both. After outlining the key insights of the book, especially its innovative conception of bodily intimacy, I will retrieve some contributions from Nietzsche’s notes regarding nihilism, (...) to show that after the “death of God”, other instances take his place, the logics of nihilism remain intact and underly the majority approach of neurosciences. I will conclude that the elements presented by Conill for a strong intimacy and subjectivity will be necessary for the task, still pending, of overcoming nihilism. (shrink)

El presente trabajo expone el diálogo entre nietzsche y la escuela darwinista, destacando el contraste entre dos nociones de «vida» opuestas: vida como lucha por la supervivencia o vida como voluntad de poder. En oposición a la selección natural, que según nietzsche no favorece a los fuertes y poderosos sino a lo mediano y al «gran número», el filósofo alemán idea un proyecto de cría, una formación tanto fisiológica como moral que aspira a una auténtica elevación del ser humano, mediante (...) la superación de las interpretaciones nihilistas y la transvaloración de los valores desde una perspectiva vitalista. (shrink)

El artículo se propone elucidar el papel que juegan los usos de “raza” en los escritos de Nietzsche, situándolos e interpretándolos en conjunto con el léxico de transformación del ser humano y de su crítica de la cultura. Para ello, se estudia su empleo junto a otros conceptos fronterizos e ideas análogas como el tratamiento de la cuestión judía, su crítica del nacionalismo, la figura de los buenos europeos, la metáfora de la bestia rubia, los tipos humanos y el pensamiento (...) de la cría. Se concluye que “raza” posee un indudable carácter fisiológico y evolutivo, pero a través del proceso de incorporación (Einverleibung), el ámbito de la cultura y la moral intervienen de manera fundamental en su conformación, y como concepto, forma parte del mismo proyecto de transvaloración de los valores, la reforma de la cultura y de la humanidad. El artículo finaliza con una reflexión de la llamada a superar la raza (Über-Rasse). (shrink)

La interpretación de la dialéctica hegeliana que el joven Marcuse lleva a cabo en sus escritos tempranos «Sobre el problema de la dialéctica I y II» (1930-1931) y «Ontología de Hegel y teoría de la historicidad» (1932) contrarresta las críticas de Heidegger a la dialéctica de Hegel. La lectura de ambos autores también diverge en su comprensión acerca del estatuto y el alcance del fenómeno de la temporalidad en la filosofía hegeliana. Sin embargo, cuando dilucida el concepto de historicidad (Geschichtlichkeit) (...) en Hegel, Marcuse advierte la tensión existente en su sistema entre el concepto ontológico de «vida» y la idea del «saber absoluto». A partir de su entrada en el Institut für Sozialforschung, el autor berlinés abandonará la tematización del concepto de historicidad —tarea que había ocupado un lugar central en sus primeros escritos— por considerar que dicho concepto, demasiado distorsionado por la tradición ontológico-existencial, es inconciliable con la dialéctica materialista. (shrink)

El filósofo checo Karel Kosík (1926-2003) llevó a cabo en su obra una recepción crítica del pensamiento de Martin Heidegger. En determinados capítulos de "Dialéctica de lo concreto" (1963), así como en otros ensayos tardíos, elaboró una crítica de la analítica existencial heideggeriana, principalmente a la concepción de la estructura del ser del Dasein como “preocupación” o “cuidado” (Sorge). Nos ocupamos aquí de dilucidar el sentido y el alcance de esta crítica a "Ser y tiempo" (1927).

En el presente artículo abordamos la confrontación que ciertos autores pertenecientes al llamado marxismo occidental mantuvieron con la concepción de la vida cotidiana de “término medio” (Durchschnittlichkeit) de "Ser y tiempo" (1927). Nos centramos principalmente en la obra del filósofo checo Karel Kosík (1926-2003), quien, a lo largo de su trayectoria intelectual, llevó a cabo una recepción crítica de la analítica existencial heideggeriana, así como también en los aspectos divergentes y convergentes entre la concepción de la cotidianidad de Martin Heidegger (...) y de György Lukács. En la última sección, se apuntan las posibles sendas de encuentro para un develamiento fenomenológico-marxista de la “verdad” de la cotidianidad. (shrink)

El filósofo checo Karel Kosík (1926-2003) desempeñó un rol prominente en el seno del movimiento de oposición a los regímenes de Novotný y Husák, contribuyendo tanto a la gestación como a la pervivencia de los anhelos expresados por la población checoslovaca durante la Primavera de Praga. Junto a la contextualización histórica de su obra, se pone también de manifiesto cómo Marx y Heidegger incidieron con igual relevancia en la conformación de su pensamiento. La filosofía de Kosík reviste por ello una (...) singularidad propia que la aleja de las versiones tradicionales del humanismo marxista predominantes a mediados del siglo pasado en el bloque oriental y occidental. (shrink)

El artículo aborda el itinerario biográfico e intelectual del primer Marcuse con el trasfondo del influjo de la Lebensphilosophie diltheyana, la analítica ontológica del Dasein y la hermenéutica de la facticidad heideggerianas en su pensamiento. Hasta su entrada en el Institut für Sozialforschung en 1932, la obra de Marcuse aspira a combinar la ontología fundamental de la historicidad con una antropología filosófica de inspiración marxiana. Sin embargo, Marcuse va a ir abandonando progresivamente cualquier pretensión de fundamentar ontológicamente el materialismo histórico (...) y se orientará hacia el desarrollo de una teoría dialéctica de la sociedad ónticamente situada. (shrink)

Coincidiendo con su entrada como miembro del equipo de trabajo del Institut für Sozialforschung, Herbert Marcuse comienza a desarrollar una teoría materialista de la sociedad alejada del heideggerianismo de su juventud. Durante el período comprendido entre 1933 y 1936, el autor berlinés escribe una serie de artículos cuestionando la deriva política de la filosofía existencial en Alemania. En ellos se confronta con las versiones vulgarizadas de la Lebensphilosophie y de la fenomenología -encabezadas por Heidegger- que proveyeron una suerte de fundamentación (...) filosófica a la “concepción del mundo” (Weltanschauung) del realismo heroico y a las políticas socio-económicas del Estado total-autoritario. (shrink)

El artículo comienza explorando la peculiar función política y legislativa que Nietzsche otorga a los filósofos y a la filosofía, de. A continuación, se explora la nítida inspiración platónica de estas ideas y se localizan ejemplos directos en los textos de Platón, de tal manera que se desvela el origen griego de muchos términos intempestivos de la filosofía nietzscheana. La filosofía y la cultura se presentan como sistemas de aculturación, sobre la base de paralelismos entre la cría de animales y (...) la aculturación humana. Construyendo sobre la base de las conexiones Nietzsche-Platón, se incide en las tensiones entre ‘primeras’ y ‘segundas naturaleza’. Los aportes finales de Catherine Malabou se muestran cruciales para captar los circuitos de retroalimentación entre organismo y entorno, que se descubren como vínculos genealógicos entre lo biológico y lo simbólico. Platón, Nietzsche y Malabou comparten el deseo de redefinir y reorientar procesos formativos que ya en marcha en la sociedad. En último término, se trata de desvelar y tomar poder sobre la función ‘selectiva’ de la filosofía en su proceso de culturización. (shrink)

En el particular contexto filosófico de la Alemania de entreguerras, el joven H. Marcuse llevó a cabo una original recepción en clave marxista de la fenomenología existencial y de la Lebensphilosophie (I). En sus primeros artículos, «Contribuciones a una fenomenología del materialismo histórico» (1928) y «Sobre filosofía concreta» (1929), esa recepción se orientó al proyecto de elaboración de una fenomenología dialéctica y, vinculado con ello, al intento de fundamentar la acción radical en el concepto ontológico de historicidad (Geschichtlichkeit) sin descuidar (...) su componente material (II, III, IV). Asimismo, en la situación de caída (Verfallen) del Dasein, Marcuse va a otorgar una misión primordial a la filosofía concreta (V). (shrink)

El artículo analiza desde una perspectiva crítica las tentativas de interpretar a Nietzsche como un precursor del transhumanismo. Tras una breve contextualización del fecundo debate en torno a Nietzsche y el transhumanismo, se evalúa el carácter fraccional o parcial del alegato de Stefan Sorgner en favor de un “transhumanismo nietzscheano”. Después, se investiga la tensión entre humanidad, la superación del ser humano y su cría en los escritos de Nietzsche. Una vez ejecutado este análisis, y sin ánimo de caer en (...) el anacronismo, se sostiene que Nietzsche anticipa ciertamente un germen de la idea de post-humanidad, en su crítica de la cultura humanista y en su invitación a transformar el ser humano y superar el nihilismo, pero no asimilable a la vertiente tecnológica del transhumanismo. Para concluir, se sugiere una prospectiva de análisis del transhumanismo desde una perspectiva nietzscheana, tomando como ejemplo la imagen de las “sombras de Dios”. (shrink)

The article analyses the close link between perspectivism, genealogy, and physiology in Nietzsche’s philosophy. The cardinal thesis is that the point of view of value is more fundamental than that of truth. The genealogical method enables the study of the conditions of conservation and growth of points of view and values, following the conductive thread of the body, with the aim of creating new springs of meaning and leaving nihilism behind. Special attention is paid to the tension between dogmatism and (...) relativism. Lastly, I present Nietzsche's notion of “breeding” (Züchtung), which enables a radical questioning of culture and highlights the physiological character of morals. Keywords: perspectivism, value, breeding, moral, point of view, interpretation. (shrink)

This chapter offers an indirect defence of the Evansian conception of egocentric space, by showing how it resolves a puzzle concerning the unity of egocentric spatial perception. The chapter outlines several common assumptions about egocentric perspectival structure and argues that a subject’s experience, both within and across her sensory modalities, may involve multiple structures of this kind. This raises the question of how perspectival unity is achieved, such that these perspectival structures form a complex whole, rather than merely disunified set (...) of individually, distinctively structured experiences. The shortcomings of variety of accounts are considered: switch accounts ; sensory accounts; transformation accounts; and ultimate accounts. These shortcomings are addressed by a further kind of account provided by the Evansian conception – an agentive account – according to which egocentrically structured experiences present the world in relation to parts of a single thing, the body as a dynamic unity. (shrink)

Con la obra de los jóvenes hegelianos (Junghegelianer) concluye el período clásico de la filosofía alemana. Bruno Bauer (1809-1882) fue uno de sus máximos exponentes, considerado en muchos aspectos como mentor del movimiento. En el primer apartado del presente artículo, se contextualiza la figura de Bauer en el trasfondo de las disputas generadas en el seno de la escuela hegeliana. A continuación, se analizan con mayor detenimiento dos nociones centrales en su pensamiento, especialmente durante el período comprendido entre 1829 y (...) 1848: su dialéctica de la autoconciencia infinita (unendlichen Selbstbewußtsein) y la forma adoptada por su crítica pura. (shrink)

La filosofía de Nietzsche anticipó notablemente el umbral de la modernidad biológica al conceptualizar el alcance fisiológico de la moral, la política y la religión, así como su instrumentalización con fines de control social. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar el estímulo que ha representado la filosofía de Nietzsche para algunos de los principales pensadores de la cuestión biopolítica, en concreto, Michel Foucault, Roberto Esposito y Peter Sloterdijk, y desvelar en qué medida sus núcleos conceptuales convergen y divergen. La (...) aportación concreta reside en señalar algunos de los vínculos que articulan el tema de la disciplina y la cría con la configuración de la biopolítica como una de las principales corrientes filosóficas actuales, analizar las interpretaciones que dichos pensadores han formulado sobre la cuestión de la Züchtung y resaltar así la capacidad heurística de la filosofía nietzscheana para el diagnóstico de nuestro presente. -/- Nietzsche notably anticipated the threshold of biological modernity, when he conceptualized the physiological scope of morals, politics and religion, as well as their instrumentalization with the aim of social control. The aim of this paper is to analyze the stimulus that Nietzsche’s philosophy has represented for some of the main philosophers of biopolitics, namely Michel Foucault, Roberto Esposito and Peter Sloterdijk, and to reveal to what extent their core concepts converge and diverge. The specific contribution is to point out some of the links between the theme of discipline and breeding (Zucht und Züchtung) and the configuration of biopolitics as one of the main philosophical currents, to analyze whether and how those philosophers have interpreted the question of Züchtung in Nietzsche’s philosophy, and to stress the heuristic capacity of Nietzschean philosophy for the diagnosis of current social issues. Keywords: Nietzsche; breeding; discipline; Foucault; biopower; norm; Esposito; community; Sloterdijk; anthropotechnics. (shrink)

Politická reflexia uskutočňovaná v akademických kruhoch predstavuje rad vlastných charakteristík v porovnaní s inými druhmi intelektuálnej činnosti. Nejde len o j e j viac-menej prirodzené preniknutie do domácich mocenských vzťahov, ale o mimoriadnu citlivosť j e j obsahu a rozvoja na spoločenské a politické podmienky inštitucionálneho kontextu. O politickej kultúre krajiny sa môžeme naučiť veľa práve na základe analýzy toho, o čom j e j intelektuáli diskutujú - a o čom nediskutujú, ako aj o teoretických nástrojoch, ktoré pritom využívajú.

El trabajo somete a discusión algunos elementos y argumentos del ensayo "Anti-Nietzsche. La crueldad de lo político" de Jorge Polo Blanco. Analizo el libro de Polo considerando el problema de la diversidad de caracterizaciones parciales que obtiene la figura de Nietzsche en el pensamiento filosófico contemporáneo y el desafío que supone actualizar a Nietzsche a la luz de nuestras sensibilidades democráticas. Examino los capítulos del libro apuntando algunas de las incorrecciones y aspectos más dudosos de su argumentario “anti-nietzscheano” e incidiendo (...) en la importancia del estudio de fuentes (Quellenforschung) y de la historia de las ediciones de la obra de Nietzsche para una interpretación filosófica rigurosa. Palabras clave: Nietzsche, Política, Democracia, Crítica genética, Fuentes, Ediciones. -/- Abstract: This article discusses some elements and arguments of Jorge Polo Blanco’s book, Anti-Nietzsche. La crueldad de lo político. I analyze Polo’s book while considering the problem of the diversity of characterizations that Nietzsche receives in contemporary philosophical thought and the challenge of evaluating his philosophy in light of our democratic sensibilities. I examine the different chapters and identify some of the inaccuracies and most dubious aspects of Polo’s “anti-Nietzschean” argument. In doing so, I stress the importance of source research (Quellenforschung) and the history of the editions for rigorous philosophical analyses. Keywords: Nietzsche, Politics, Democracy, Genetic Criticism, Sources, Editions. (shrink)

The article presents the sources and definitions of the concepts «system» and «lifeworld», emphasizing how the colonization of the lifeworld by the system appears as a pathological process, in the presence of which a critical stance must be maintained. Facing the increase of the systemic complexity, it is necessary to ensure the symbolic reproduction of the lifeworld through communicative action. Although we share with Habermas the meaning of his critique of the colonization, we present some objections to the dichotomous opposition (...) of both spheres, inasmuch as it confers the economical and administrative systems with an ontological status that ultimately safeguards them from any possible critique. (shrink)

This article explores the new meaning of suffering in the cosmological and ethical doctrine of eternal return in Nietzsche’s philosophy. The role of suffering is key to understanding why Nietzsche considered the eternal return «the great cultivating [or breeding] thought.» The eternal return transforms affectivity and selects new human values and ways of experiencing suffering, approving the «discipline of suffering» and condemning guilt, punishment, and resentment. The cultivating sense of the eternal return reconciles opposing forces and emotions, such as joy (...) and suffering, and brings to light the tragic insight of life. -/- Este artículo explora el nuevo significado que adquiere el sufrimiento a partir de la doctrina cosmológica y ética del eterno retorno en la filosofía de Nietzsche. El papel del sufrimiento nos permite comprender por qué Nietzsche consideraba el eterno retorno «el gran pensamiento criador». El eterno retorno opera una transformación de la afectividad y selecciona nuevos valores y modos de experimentar el sufrimiento, aprobando la «disciplina del sufrimiento» y condenando la culpa, el castigo y el resentimiento. El sentido cultivador del eterno retorno reconcilia fuerzas y emociones opuestas, como la alegría y el sufrimiento, y saca a la luz la visión trágica de la existencia. (shrink)

The article aims to critically analyze the conventional tripartite division within Nietzsche’s philosophy that is expressed hyperbolically in the form of personification: the young Nietzsche of the Wagnerian phase, the “positivist” or “enlightened” Nietzsche, and the mature Nietzsche. I aim to contribute to the plea for continuity, paying special attention to a variety of texts in which he acknowledges the continuity of his intellectual development as a coherent unit. This significant retrospection does not indicate rupture or rejection but recognition of (...) a single path. The last section is dedicated to the particular book that is Ecce Homo, understood as a self-presentation strategy. (shrink)

Resumen: En el presente artículo me propongo elucidar el significado del concepto “pathos de la distancia” y sus implicaciones ético-políticas, destacando, además, su sentido y coherencia con el conjunto del pensamiento nietzscheano. La tesis fundamental es que el pathosde la distancia, como característica básica del ideal noble, muestra cómo el concepto de preeminencia política en Nietzsche se diluye siempre en un concepto de preeminencia anímica. La reflexión se enmarca dentro de la crítica nietzscheana de la cultura, la política y la (...) educación, y su propuesta de reforma de los valores dominantes de la sociedad, entre ellos, los que configuran la subjetividad y la individualidad. Se estudian las diversas dimensiones del pathos de la distancia: como articulación jerárquica, como principio de individuación, como parte la Gran Política y como elemento del pensamiento de la cría. Palabras clave: Pathos de la distancia, Valor, Moral, Gran Política, Cría. (shrink)

Recent experimental work has shown that the truth-value judgments of color predications, i.e. utterances of the form “the leaves on my tree are green” or “these walls are brown,” are influenced by slight changes in the context of utterance (Hansen and Chemla 2013, Ziółkowski, 2021). Most explanations of this phenomenon focus on the semantics of color adjectives. However, it is not clear if these explanations do justice to the nuances of the empirical data on context-sensitivity of color predications (Ziółkowski, 2021). (...) In contrast to the adjectival explanations, Agustin Vicente (2015) has recently proposed that the context-sensitivity of color predications can be explained by invoking the polysemy of the noun. In this paper, we present the results of three studies designed to empirically test this hypothesis: a traditional survey experiment (Study 1), an exploratory correlational study inspired by the semantic integration paradigm (Study 2a), and a follow-up experiment (Study 2b) that was designed to mitigate possible shortcomings of Study 2a. The results of our studies present preliminary evidence against Vicente’s theory. (shrink)

Multicellular organisms contain numerous symbiotic microorganisms, collectively called microbiomes. Recently, microbiomic research has shown that these microorganisms are responsible for the proper functioning of many of the systems (digestive, immune, nervous, etc.) of multicellular organisms. This has inclined some scholars to argue that it is about time to reconceptualise the organism and to develop a concept that would place the greatest emphasis on the vital role of microorganisms in the life of plants and animals. We believe that, unfortunately, there is (...) a problem with this suggestion, since there is no such thing as a universal concept of the organism which could constitute a basis for all biological sciences. Rather, the opposite is true: numerous alternative definitions exist. Therefore, comprehending how microbiomics is changing our understanding of organisms may be a very complex matter. In this paper we will demonstrate that this pluralism proves that claims about a change in our understanding of organisms can be treated as both true and untrue. Mainly, we assert that the existing concepts differ substantially, and that only some of them have to be reconsidered in order to incorporate the discoveries of microbiomics, while others are already flexible enough to do so. Taking into account the plurality of conceptualisations within different branches of modern biology, we will conduct our discussion using the developmental and the cooperation–conflict concepts of the organism. Then we will explain our results by referring to the recent philosophical debate on the nature of the concept of the organism within biology. (shrink)

There remains no consensus among social scientists as to how to measure and understand forms of information deprivation such as misinformation. Machine learning and statistical analyses of information deprivation typically contain problematic operationalizations which are too often biased towards epistemic elites' conceptions that can undermine their empirical adequacy. A mature science of information deprivation should include considerable citizen involvement that is sensitive to the value-ladenness of information quality and that doing so may improve the predictive and explanatory power of extant (...) models. (shrink)

El artículo aborda el itinerario biográfico e intelectual del primer Marcuse con el trasfondo del influjo de la Lebensphilosophie diltheyana, la analítica ontológica del Dasein y la hermenéutica de la facticidad heideggerianas en su pensamiento. Hasta su entrada en el Institut für Sozialforschung en 1932, la obra de Marcuse aspira a combinar la ontología fundamental de la historicidad con una antropología filosófica de inspiración marxiana. Sin embargo, Marcuse va a ir abandonando progresivamente cualquier pretensión de fundamentar ontológicamente el materialismo histórico (...) y se orientará hacia el desarrollo de una teoría dialéctica de la sociedad ónticamente situada. (shrink)

El concepto de “maquinación” (Machenschaft) ocupa un lugar central en la obra de Heidegger durante el período comprendido entre 1936 y 1940. En su análisis de la esencia de la época moderna, el filósofo checo de orientación marxista Karel Kosík se apropia de importantes elementos conceptuales procedentes de esta etapa del pensamiento de Heidegger. En concreto, emplea nociones análogas a la de “maquinación”, como “sistema de manipulabilidad”. Ponemos de relieve las semejanzas y puntos de fricción en la descripción de la (...) esencia de la época moderna de ambos pensadores, así como sus respectivas propuestas para poner coto a la primacía técnica y al pensamiento calculador y las resonancias políticas derivadas de sus análisis. (shrink)

This introductory talk focuses on Heidegger’s late work, especially his 1959 collection of essays Unterwegs zur Sprache – On the way to language. My thesis is the following: Heidegger's late work marks a general shift from a metaphysical, i.e. a total, definite and centre-oriented description of the world, which is still present in Sein und Zeit, to a strictly situational ontology characterized by its openness, ambiguity and absence of centre. This constellation of our life-world is language, insofar language is the (...) guiding, yet indefinite way of our involvement or engagement in open affairs. I spell out this main tenet by sketching what I call the situatedness, institutionality and responsiveness of language in the later Heidegger. These points are further developed in an essay project currently under review. © Adrian Wieczorek. (shrink)

Do salient normative claims about politics require moral premises? Political moralists think they do, political realists think they do not. We defend the viability of realism in a two-pronged way. First, we show that a number of recent attacks on realism, as well as realist responses to those attacks, unduly conflate distinctively political normativity and non-moral political normativity. Second, we argue that Alex Worsnip and Jonathan Leader-Maynard’s recent attack on realist arguments for a distinctively political normativity depends on assuming moralism (...) as the default view, which places an excessive burden on the viability of realism, and so begs the question. Our discussion, though, does not address the relative merits of realism and moralism, so its upshot is relatively ecumenical: moralism need not be the view that all apt normative political judgments are moral judgments, and realism need not be the view that no apt normative political judgments are moral judgments. (shrink)

El estudio de la etnicidad ha presentado tradicionalmente una serie de dificultades. La razón última de ello estriba en la naturaleza dinámica y difusa de las identidades sociales. Este artículo reconstruye el origen intelectual de tales dificultades y la importancia de la idea de contingencia para una consideración normativa de la etnicidad. Tras repasar los principales modelos de ciudadanía moderna, el texto analiza el papel de los inmigrantes en la estructura de derechos civiles y concluye con una reflexión sobre las (...) posibilidades abiertas en la sociedad española para un modelo pluralista de integración. (shrink)

The recent publications reported in 2022 reveal the possibility of obtaining mouse embryos without the need for egg or sperm. These ‘artificial embryos’ can recapitulate some stages of development ex utero – from neurulation to organogenesis – without implantation. Synthetic mouse embryos might serve as a valuable model to gain further insights into early developmental stages. Indeed, it is expected for these models to be replicated by employing human cells. This promising research raises ethical issues and expands the horizon of (...) ethics in regard to the development of the human embryo. From this point of view, we state some of the new open venues for bioethical research. (shrink)

An understanding of the factors behind the evolution of multicellularity is one of today’s frontiers in evolutionary biology. This is because multicellular organisms are made of one subset of cells with the capacity to transmit genes to the next generation and another subset responsible for maintaining the functionality of the organism, but incapable of transmitting genes to the next generation. The question arises: why do somatic cells sacrifice their lives for the sake of germline cells? How is germ/soma separation maintained? (...) One conventional answer refers to inclusive fitness theory, according to which somatic cells sacrifice themselves altruistically, because in so doing they enhance the transmission of their genes by virtue of their genetic relatedness to germline cells. In the present article we will argue that this explanation ignores the key role of policing mechanisms in maintaining the germ/soma divide. Based on the pervasiveness of the latter, we argue that the role of altruistic mechanisms in the evolution of multicellularity is limited and that our understanding of this evolution must be enriched through the consideration of coercion mechanisms. (shrink)

Adrian Piper argues that the Humean conception can be made to work only if it is placed in the context of a wider and genuinely universal conception of the self, whose origins are to be found in Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. This conception comprises the basic canons of classical logic, which provide both a model of motivation and a model of rationality. These supply necessary conditions both for the coherence and integrity of the self and also for unified agency. (...) The Kantian conception solves certain intractable problems in decision theory by integrating it into classical predicate logic, and provides answers to longstanding controversies in metaethics concerning moral motivation, rational final ends, and moral justification that the Humean conception engenders. In addition, it sheds light on certain kinds of moral behavior – for example, the whistleblower – that the Humean conception is at a loss to explain. (shrink)

Recording devices are generally taken to present problems for the standard Kaplanian semantics for indexicals. In this paper, I argue that the remote utterance view offers the best way for the Kaplanian semantics to handle the recalcitrant data that comes from the use of recording devices. Following Sidelle I argue that recording devices allow agents to perform utterances at a distance. Using the essential, but widely ignored, distinction between tokens and utterances, I develop the view beyond the initial sketch given (...) by Sidelle, and I answer the main objections raised against the view. The paper is structured as follows. Section 1 gives a succinct presentation of Kaplanian semantics and of the problem raised by the use recording devices, Section 2 presents the remote utterance view and Section 3 answers the objections put forward against the view and further develops it. I conclude that the remote utterance view can handle the data that comes from the use of recording devices with only modest modifications of the Kaplanian semantics. (shrink)

We need modal imagination in order to extend our conception of reality - and, in particular, of human beings - beyond our immediate experience in the indexical present; and we need to do this in order to preserve the significance of human interaction. To make this leap of imagination successfully is to achieve not only insight but also an impartial perspective on our own and others' inner states. This perspective is a necessary condition of experiencing compassion for others. This is (...) the primary thesis I will try to defend in this discussion. (shrink)

In this article, I explore the ethical dimensions of same-sex reproduction achieved through epigenome editing—an innovative and transformative technique. For the first time, I analyse the potential normativity of this disruptive approach for reproductive purposes, focusing on its implications for lesbian couples seeking genetically related offspring. Epigenome editing offers a compelling solution to the complex ethical challenges posed by traditional gene editing, as it sidesteps genome modifications and potential long-term genetic consequences. The focus of this article is to systematically analyse (...) the bioethical issues related to the use of epigenome editing for same-sex reproduction. I critically assess the ethical acceptability of epigenome editing with reproductive purposes from multiple angles, considering harm perspectives, the comparison of ethical issues related to gene and epigenome editing, and feminist theories. This analysis reveals that epigenome editing emerges as an ethically acceptable means for lesbian couples to have genetically related children. Moreover, the experiments of a reproductive use of epigenome editing discussed in this article transcend bioethics, shedding light on the broader societal implications of same-sex reproduction. It challenges established notions of biological reproduction and prompts a reevaluation of how we define the human embryo, while poses some issues in the context of gender self-identification and family structures. In a world that increasingly values inclusivity and diversity, this article aims to reveal a progressive pathway for reproductive medicine and bioethics, as well as underscores the need for further philosophical research in this emerging and fertile domain. (shrink)

I want to argue that self-deception is a species of a more general phenomenon, which I shall call pseudorationality, which in turn is necessitated by what I shall describe as our highest-order disposition to literal self-preservation. By "literal self-preservation," I mean preservation of the rational intelligibility of the self, in the face of recalcitrant facts that invariably threaten it.

A growing body of empirical evidence suggests that folk knowledge attribution practices regarding some epistemological thought experiments differ significantly from the consensus found in the philosophical literature. More specifically, laypersons are likely to ascribe knowledge in the so-called Authentic Evidence Gettier-style cases, while most philosophers deny knowledge in these cases. The intuitions shared by philosophers are often used as evidence in favor (or against) certain philosophical analyses of the notion of knowledge. However, the fact that these intuitions are not universal, (...) as non-philosophers do not sympathize with verdicts made by philosophers, is problematic and requires some explanation. Recently, a promising theoretical approach emerged that could be used to explain away unexpected folk knowledge attributions. According to the protagonist projection hypothesis, when subjects answer questions about some hypothetical scenario, their judgments might result from adopting the cognitive perspective of the protagonist in the given scenario. Previous experimental findings suggest protagonist projection might be responsible for problematic knowledge attributions in Gettier-style cases. This paper reports data collected in an experiment which focused on five different Authentic Evidence Gettier-style scenarios and investigated the impact of protagonist projection on folk knowledge ascriptions in such cases. The results bring some support to the protagonist projection hypothesis, but do not allow to explain away a substantial number of problematic folk knowledge attributions. (shrink)

Francis Ysidro Edgeworth’s unduly neglected monograph New and Old Methods of Ethics (1877) advances a highly sophisticated and mathematized account of social well-being in the utilitarian tradition of his 19th-century contemporaries. This article illustrates how his usage of the ‘calculus of variations’ was combined with findings from empirical psychology and economic theory to construct a consequentialist axiological framework. A conclusion is drawn that Edgeworth is a methodological predecessor to several important methods, ideas, and issues that continue to be discussed in (...) contemporary social well-being studies. (shrink)

Most moral theories share certain features in common with other theories. They consist of a set of propositions that are universal, general, and hence impartial. The propositions that constitute a typical moral theory are (1) universal, in that they apply to all subjects designated as within their scope. They are (2) general, in that they include no proper names or definite descriptions. They are therefore (3) impartial, in that they accord no special privilege to any particular agent's situation which cannot (...) be justified under (2) and (3). These three features do not distinguish moral theories from other theories, nor indeed from most general categorical propositions we assert. Yet, in recent years, these features of moral theories have been the target of a certain concerted and sustained criticism, namely, that to be committed to such a moral theory, or to aspire to act in accordance with its requirements, results in what has come to be known as moral alienation. Moral alienation, according to this criticism, consists in (i) viewing one's ground projects from an impersonal, "moral point of view" engendered by one's acceptance of the theory; (ii) being prepared to sacrifice these projects to the requirements of moral principle; and (iii) making such a sacrifice specifically and self-consciously in order to conform to these requirements. Moral alienation is said to manifest itself in one (or both) of two ways, depending on the nature of the project thus susceptible to sacrifice. One may be alienated from oneself, if the project consists of tastes, convictions, or aspirations that are centrally definitive of one's self. In this case one's commitment to the project can be at best conditional on its congruence with one's moral theory. It is claimed that this must make for a rather tepid and unenthusiastic commitment indeed. Alternatively, one may be alienated from others, if the project is an interpersonal relationship such as a friendship, marriage, or collegial relationship. In this case one's responses to the other are motivated by one's awareness of what one's moral theory requires. It is claimed that this obstructs a genuine and unmediated emotional response to the other as such. My aim here will be to argue that this very compelling criticism - call it the moral-alienation criticism - is nevertheless misdirected. The real culprit is not any particular moral theory, but rather a certain familiar personality type that may or may not adopt it. (shrink)

Romanian pedagogical theory rests on the assumption that any educational content can be taught and learned faster and better by recourse to a battery of teaching methods. In the present study we question that assumption and show that the methods generally recommended have no didactic merits when it comes to teaching philosophy and the human sciences. In order to prove that we commence by rendering manifest the origins, the specificity and the presuppositions of the teaching methods described in the literature. (...) Afterwards we determine the specificity of the objects of study of philosophy and the human sciences in general. On these bases we develop a series of three arguments that show why, given the particularity of both, the recourse to methods for teaching philosophy and the human sciences is inadequate. (shrink)

The history of economic thought witnessed several prominent economists who took seriously models and concepts in physics for the elucidation and prediction of economic phenomena. Econophysics is an emerging discipline at the intersection of heterodox economics and the physics of complex systems, with practitioners typically engaged in two overlapping but distinct methodological programs. The first is to export mathematical methods used in physics for the purposes of studying economic phenomena. The second is to export mechanisms in physics into economics. A (...) conclusion is drawn that physics transfer is often justified at the level of mathematical transfer but unjustified at the level of mechanistic transfer. (shrink)

According to the No-Luck-Thesis knowledge possession is incompatible with luck – one cannot know that p if the truth of one’s belief that p is a matter of luck. Recently, this widespread opinion was challenged by Peter Baumann, who argues that in certain situations agents do possess knowledge even though their beliefs are true by luck. This paper aims at providing empirical data for evaluating Baumann’s hypothesis. The experiment was designed to compare non-philosophers’ judgments concerning knowledge and luck in one (...) case that Baumann takes to be in favor of his claim and other cases where, according to him, absence of knowledge coincides with luck. The results show that the cases do not differ in a significant way between each other with respect to verdicts regarding knowledge and luck. In all cases subjects were more reluctant to judge that the ‘Gettierized’ belief is knowledge and more likely to judge that it is true by luck in comparison to a belief that is an uncontroversial instance of knowledge. However, the negative relationship between knowledge and luck ascriptions predicted by the No-Luck-Thesis was almost absent. The data raise some doubts about the No-Luck-Thesis, but the reasons for doubt are different than what Baumann expected. (shrink)

Most published discussions in contemporary metaethics include some textual exegesis of the relevant contemporary authors, but little or none of the historical authors who provide the underpinnings of their general approach. The latter is usually relegated to the historical, or dismissed as expository. Sometimes this can be a useful division of labor. But it can also lead to grave confusion about the views under discussion, and even about whose views are, in fact, under discussion. Elijah Millgram’s article, “Does the Categorical (...) Imperative Give Rise to a Contradiction in the Will?” is a case in point. In it, he takes the New Kantians to task for various flaws in their interpretation of Kant’s moral theory, to be detailed shortly. He concludes with a question and a suggestion. In order to properly dissect the first, “universal law” formulation of the Categorical Imperative, he argues, we first need to understand “why an agent wills the universalization of his maxim” (549). He also suggests that in order to answer this question, we must recur to what Kant himself actually says (550). His question is a good one, and his advice on how to go about answering it is sound. But to take Millgram’s advice is to call this division of labor into question, at least for this case. For it demands close and sustained exegesis, not only of his argument against the New Kantians, but also – in order to assess whether and where they go wrong – of Kant’s text itself. (shrink)