Direct realists about episodic memory claim that a rememberer has direct contact with a past event. But how is it possible to be acquainted with an event that ceased to exist? That’s the so-called cotemporality problem. The standard solution, proposed by Sven Bernecker, is to distinguish between the occurrence of an event and the existence of an event: an event ceases to occur without ceasing to exist. That’s the eternalist solution for the cotemporality problem. Nevertheless, some philosophers of memory claim (...) that the adoption of an eternalist metaphysics of time would be too high a metaphysical price to be paid to hold direct realist intuitions about memory. Although I agree with these critics, I will try to show two things. First, that this kind of “common sense argument” is far from decisive. Second, that Bernecker’s proposal remains the best solution to the cotemporality problem. (shrink)

Niccolò Machiavelli's support for what he calls governo largo, or popular government, is usually contrasted with the diffidence towards it of Francesco Guicciardini, the Florentine aristocrat. The article argues that both these authors grounded their vision on Polybius' theory of “mixed government,” though adapting it in different directions. In examining this difference, the article reaches the conclusion that it concerns far less the degree of popular participation in political decision-making and government than the value that Machiavelli and Guicciardini respectively ascribe (...) to it in comparison with that of safety-liberty. In this respect, their theories may be viewed as anticipating the tensions between democracy and the rule of law, the co-presence of which provides the essential foundation of the structure of present-day constitutional democracies. (shrink)

Tanto desde el punto de vista teórico como desde una perspectiva práctica, el fenómeno de la "estetización" no parece ser portador de buenos augurios. En el ámbito teórico, la estetización ha sido vinculada con la crisis de los discursos orientados en términos de verdad, mientras que en el terreno práctico, ella ha sido asociada a ciertos procesos culturales que conducirían a la debacle de los principios normativos. Dejando de lado la problemática teórica, el presente trabajo se concentra en el debate (...) en torno al fenómeno práctico de la estetización de la política. En primer lugar, nos remontamos a la historia de la condena filosófica de la estetización de la esfera política para ocuparnos luego, en un segundo momento, de algunas posiciones esteticistas y antiesteticistas de finales del siglo XX. Posteriormente, procuramos avanzar en una redescripción de esta problemática que nos permita rescatar un sentido productivo de lo estético para el pensamiento político. Para esto último, nuestro trabajo se apoya en las reflexiones de la actual coeditora de la Neue Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung, Juliane Rebentisch. Tomando como parámetro algunos de los supuestos de sus investigaciones, aquí intentaremos demostrar hasta qué punto la estetización de la vida política puede contribuir al desarrollo de una concepción renovada de esta última. Both from a theoretical and from a practical perspective, the phenomenon of "aestheticization" does not seem to anticipate anything particularly good. On a theoretical level, it has been linked to the crisis of discourse-oriented in terms of truth, while in the practical, has been associated with certain cultural processes that lead to the the collapse of the normative principles. Leaving aside the theoretical issues, this paper focuses on the debate on the phenomenon of the aestheticization of the political culture. First, it goes back to the history of philosophical condemnation of the aestheticization of the political sphere. In a second time, he deals with some conceptions of the late twentieth century. Subsequently, the paper seeks to advance a redescription of this problem that allows rescue a productive sense of aesthetics for political thought. For the latter, our article is based on the reflections of Juliane Rebentisch and attempts to show how the aestheticization of political life can help to develop a new concept of the same. (shrink)

Our question, in this paper, is about the plausibility of the expressivist account of one’s self- attribution of mental states. More to the point, we will strictly follow the principle of charity as a mean to show that an expressivist philosopher can have good and reasonable answers to the set of objections put together in so called “Geach’s point”. Using this method, we hope to give enough evidences that an expressivist philosopher has enough resources to build a plausible explanation for (...) one’s attribution of mental states to herself. (shrink)

This article aims to analyze some aspects of the work Manual para a Vida Feliz, the result of classes given by Epictetus, and recorded by his student Ariano. We will consider the situations that, according to Epictetus, depend on the individual and those that do not depend on their action. In particular, this analysis will focus on fragments 1 to 6 of the manual, given the length to be analyzed in an article. To account for the proposed object, this analysis (...) will be carried out, based on Hadot's (2015) perspective on the subject. The research method used will be bibliographic review. As for the methodology, it will be deductive in nature. Our studies show that his teachings are based on the essential principles of Stoic philosophy. Therefore, the only good that exists, for him, is the moral good. Furthermore, all human action is based on judgment and nature is coherent with itself. From this perspective, what depends on the individual, in this life, is what is under their control and everything that is beyond their control does not depend on them. Therefore, worrying about what is not under your control is considered useless and a waste of time. (shrink)

This study presents and develops in detail (a new version of) the argumental conception of meaning. The two basic principles of the argumental conception of meaning are: i) To know (implicitly) the sense of a word is to know (implicitly) all the argumentation rules concerning that word; ii) To know the sense of a sentence is to know the syntactic structure of that sentence and to know the senses of the words occurring in it. The sense of a sentence is (...) called immediate argumental role of that sentence. According to the argumental conception of meaning a theory of meaning for a particular language yields a systematic specification of the understanding of every sentence of the language which consists in a specification of the immediate argumental role of the sentence. The immediate argumental role is a particular aspect of the use of a sentence in arguments. But it is not the whole use in arguments, nor is the whole use in arguments reducible to the immediate argumental role. That is why, by accepting the argumental conception of meaning, we can have epistemological holism without linguistic holism. The argumental conception distinguishes between the understanding and the correctness of a language. Such a distinction makes it possible to account for our understanding of paradoxical languages. Redundancy theory of truth, realistic conceptions of truth or epistemic conceptions of truth are all compatible with an argumental conception of sense. But here it is argued that an epistemic conception of truth is preferrable. Acceptance of the argumental conception of meaning and of an epistemic conception of truth leads to a rejection of the idea of analytic truth. The argumental conception is pluralistic with respect to the understandability of different logics, and neutral with respect to their correctness. (shrink)

News about the first baby born after a mitochondrial replacement technique (MRT; specifically maternal spindle transfer) broke on September 27, 2016 and, in a matter of hours, went global. Of special interest was the fact that the mitochondrial replacement procedure happened in Mexico. One of the scientists behind this world first was quoted as having said that he and his team went to Mexico to carry out the procedure because, in Mexico, there are no rules. In this paper, we explore (...) Mexico's rule of law in relation to mitochondrial replacement techniques and show that, in fact, certain instances of MRTs are prohibited at the federal level and others are prohibited at the state level. According to our interpretation of the law, the scientists behind this first successful MRT procedure broke federal regulations regarding assisted fertilization research. (shrink)

This article aims to elucidate, albeit in a preliminary way, the concept of liquidity in Zygmunt Bauman and its effects onsociety. The deductive-inductive method will be used. As for the methodology, this will be of a bibliographic nature. This study is in line with what the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017), in his texts, postulates that Modernity can be divided into two phases: Solid Modernity and Liquid Modernity. The first began in the 15th century and lasted until the 19th century; the (...) second began in the 20th century and continues to the present time. To describe modern society from the end of the 20th century, Bauman uses the metaphor of 'liquidity', aiming to point out that the contemporary world is going through a period of uncertainty, ephemerality and instabilities. According to Bauman, the modern ideal coined between the 15th and 19th centuries postulated the primacy of reason and the autonomy of capitalist man and such assumptions led society to liquid modernity. In this liquid “contemporaneity”, nothing is lasting, everything is volatile, ephemeral; consumption is the social parameter, whether of the individual, the family, the State or religion. (shrink)

Abstract Background The first live birth following the use of a new reproductive technique, maternal spindle transfer (MST), which is a mitochondrial replacement technique (MRT), was accomplished by dividing the execution of the MST procedure between two countries, the USA and Mexico. This was done in order to avoid US legal restrictions on this technique. -/- Sources of data Academic articles, news articles, documents obtained through freedom of information requests, laws, regulations and national reports. -/- Areas of agreement MRTs are (...) new reproductive techniques that present novel ethical and legal challenges, since genetic material from three people is employed to create a child. -/- Areas of controversy Could the first MST procedure that culminated in a live birth negatively impact reproductive medicine in Mexico? -/- Growing points The USA and Mexico need specific and clear legislation on MRTs, in order for such techniques not to be governed by prior existing legislation on assisted reproduction that is inadequate for dealing with the new challenges that these techniques present. -/- Areas timely for developing research There is a pressing need for work to be done on the international governance of new reproductive techniques. (shrink)

I address the objection that the concept of racism has become overly inflated. Critics of the conceptual inflation of “racism” argue that theories of institutional racism engage in untoward conceptual inflation insofar as they undermine our moral understanding of racial phenomena, hinder our ability to explain the causes of racial inequality, and even undercut struggles for racial justice. I develop an original account of institutional racism and show that it is immune to all three versions of the conceptual inflation challenge.

There are various proposals for a general characterization of holism1. In this paper I propose the following: a variety of holism is the view that every X of an appropriate kind, which is part of a relevant whole W, cannot be legitimately separated or taken in isolation from W. Then, I distinguish two general kinds of holism, depending on two different reasons which can debar us from taking X in isolation from W. One reason can be that separating X from (...) W always amounts to transforming X into something else. Correspondingly, a strong holism is the view that if the whole W is modified anywhere, X ceases to be X and becomes something else. Another reason why it may be illegitimate to consider X in isolation from W can be that if we separate X from W, nothing that we know entitles us to exclude that X might be transformed into something else. Correspondingly, virtual holism is the view that if the whole W is modified anywhere, we can never rule out that X ceases to be X and becomes something else. (shrink)

Este texto pretende discutir, do ponto de vista kantiano, o que pode ser ensinado e o que pode ser aprendido em Filosofia. Seu objetivo é construir os argumentos hipotéticos de Kant em face do método estruturalista de leitura de textos filosóficos. Para circunscrever este tema, aparentemente muito amplo, tomaremos como fio condutor um célebre texto de aula de I. Kant, publicado por G. B. Jäsche sob o título Manual dos Cursos de Lógica Geral. Kant ministrou este curso por mais de (...) quarenta anos, até o término de suas atividades docentes em 1797, e nele apresenta considerações bastante fecundas e atuais sobre o ensino da História da Filosofia e sobre a formação do filósofo. A partir da distinção entre conhecimento histórico e conhecimento racional, e da distinção entre o conceito de filosofia na escola e o conceito de filosofia no mundo (AK 9:24), procuraremos apresentar as contribuições kantianas que podem ainda ser consideradas pertinentes para se discutir o modo de ensinar Filosofia e a formação do filósofo. (shrink)

The author presents a theory of meaning centred upon the notion of "immediate argumental role", which distinguishes between understandability and correctness of a language. First, the theoretical and quasi-empirical criteria of adequacy and the relevant data for such a theory are described. Then the sense of a word is defined as given by a set of argumentation rules. The immediate argumental role of a sentence is determined by its syntactic structure and by the senses of the component words. The immediate (...) argumental role of a sentence is distinguished from its global argumental role. Different conceptions of truth are compatible with the resulting theory of sense, but the author gives some reasons for preferring an epistemic conception of truth. The possibility of understandable and meaningful paradoxical languages and of many different understandable logics is a consequence of such a view. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that some human reproductive genome editing interventions can be therapeutic in nature, and thus that it is false that all such interventions just create healthy individuals. I do this by showing that the conditions established by a therapy definition are met by certain reproductive genome editing interventions. I then defend this position against two objections: (a) reproductive genome editing interventions do not attain one of the two conditions for something to be a therapy, and (b) (...) some reproductive genome editing interventions are therapeutic but in a nonstandard way. In the Conclusion I call for a more nuanced discussion of the nature of reproductive genome editing interventions. (shrink)

La educación en el periodo digital en el que vivimos está alcanzando retos nunca antes vistos, precedidos por fenómenos que involucran no solamente a unidades sociales tradicionales, sino también a las nuevas comunidades virtuales; innovar es difícil, es un reto, no obstante, hay que pensar en nuevos métodos de enseñanza que impacten a la actual generación de estudiantes, los mismos que llegan con nuevas necesidades y expectativas. La construcción del conocimiento desde el sujeto y el mundo virtual que lo rodea, (...) establece la base para el desarrollo de un nuevo modelo de enseñanza, donde el salón de clase es la representación particular de un nuevo ecosistema físico-cibernético compuesto por las tres grandes dimensiones que forman parte de esta nueva convergencia tecno-social (humano – información – maquina); permitiendo una interrelación entre el estudiante, la información, la máquina y el profesor; usando métodos Biocibernéticos de influencia, control y replica, mediante el vector masivo de impacto (i); además, el desarrollo de nuevas estrategias asistidas por la cibernética y la actualización del contenido académico acorde al nuevo ambiente de enseñanza. De ahí la importancia de este estudio, el cual nos lleva a la necesidad de un nuevo modelo transformador de instrucción académica, el cual no se base en un conglomerado de herramientas tecnológicas, más establezca un nuevo modelo educativo y transformador, basado en el “pensamiento colaborativo” y la ubicuidad de la información, estableciendo así la relación entre el sujeto y objeto de estudio, permitiéndonos de esta manera establecer el nuevo paradigma educativo Biocibernético en el periodo digital. (shrink)

I defend impact-based accounts of institutional racism against the criticism that they are over-inclusive. If having a negative impact on non-whites suffices to make an institution racist, too many institutions (including institutions whose affirmative action policies inadvertently harm its intended beneficiaries) would count as racist. To address this challenge, I consider a further necessary condition for these institutions to count as racist—they must stand in a particular relation to racist ideology. I argue that, on the impact-based model, institutions are racist (...) if they have a negative racial impact AND this impact is legitimized by racist ideology. Racist ideologies limit social criticism of and collective action against institutions that have a negative racial impact, and in so doing, lend stability to systems of racial domination. (shrink)

Some Comments on de Melo-Martin and Harris.

Book review: ANTOGNAZZA, M.R. 2016. Leibniz: A very short introduction. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 175 p.

Alberto Coffa used the phrase "the Copernican turn in semantics" to denote a revolutionary transformation of philosophical views about the connection between the meanings of words and the acceptability of sentences and arguments containing those words. According to the new conception resulting from the Copernican turn, here called "the Copernican view", rules of use are constitutive of the meanings of words. This view has been linked with two doctrines: (A) the instances of meaning-constitutive rules are analytically and a priori true (...) or valid; (B) to grasp a meaning is to accept its rules. The pros and cons of different versions of the Copernican view, ascribable to Wittgenstein, Carnap, Gentzen, Dummett, Prawitz, Boghossian and other authors, will be weighed. A new version will be proposed, which implies neither (A) nor (B). (shrink)

Human eggs for basic, fertility and stem-cell research are in short supply. Many experiments that require their use cannot be carried out at present, and, therefore, the benefits that could emerge from these are either delayed or never materialise. This state of affairs is problematic for scientists and patients worldwide, and it is a matter that needs our attention. Recent advances in chimera research have opened the possibility of creating human/non-human animal chimeras intended for human gamete production (chimeras-IHGP). In this (...) paper, I examine four arguments against the creation of such chimeras and prove that all of them are found wanting. I conclude by showing that there is a strong moral reason for scientists to pursue this research avenue. (shrink)

El humanismo tradicional del siglo XX, inspirado por la cultura del libro, se distanció sistemáticamente de la nueva sociedad de la información digital; el Internet y las herramientas de procesamiento de información revolucionaron el mundo, la sociedad en el transcurso de este periodo desarrolló ciertas características adaptativas, basadas en la convivencia (Humano – Maquina), esta transformación establece su base en el impacto de tres segmentos tecnológicos: Los dispositivos, las aplicaciones y la infraestructura de comunicación social, las cuales están envueltas en (...) diversos cambios físicos, conductuales y cognitivos del ser humano; así como el surgimiento de nuevos modelos de influencia y control social, mediante la nueva comunicación ubicua; no obstante en este nuevo proceso de convivencia se desarrollan nuevos modelos como el “pensamiento colaborativo” y el “InfoSharing”; que gestionan la información social bajo tres dimensiones ontológicas Humano (h) – Información (i) – Maquina (m), el cual es la base de un nuevo ecosistema físico-cibernético, donde coexisten y se desarrollan nuevas unidades sociales llamadas “Comunidades virtuales”. Esta nueva infraestructura de comunicación y gestión social de información a dado descubierto áreas de vulnerabilidad denominada “Perspectiva social del riesgo”, impactando a todas las unidades sociales por medio del vector masivo de impacto (i); El entorno virtual “H + i + M”; y sus componentes, así como el ciclo de vida de la gestión de información social nos permite entender la trayectoria de la integración “Tecno – Social”, y estableciendo de la nueva cibernética, dentro de la convergencia de la tecnología con la sociedad y su nuevos retos de convivencia, encaminados en una nueva visión holística y no pragmática, ya que el componente humano (h) en este entorno virtual es el precursor del futuro y necesita ser estudiado no como una aplicación, sino como el eje de una nueva sociedad. (shrink)

This article aims to present the understanding of spiritual exercises in Pierre Hadot and its importance. In order to give an account of the proposed object we will resort to bibliographical and documentary research. In the present work, we emphasize that the definition of spiritual exercises is complex, as the author himself says. According to Hadot (2014), this term arose with the ancient Greeks, and not with Christianity and is linked to the practice of caring for oneself. According to him, (...) the Stoics already had the habit of turning to themselves and reflecting their own existence through exercises. In his quest to give a definition for the expression 'Spiritual Exercises', Hadot (2014) in his writings presents some reasons why he chose the term. According to him, reading the collection A Poetry as a spiritual exercise, as well as the contact with the work of Élisabeth Brisson, and with the book of Paul Rabbow [Seelenführung. Methodik der Exerzitien in der Antike], led him to understand the depth of the expression 'Spiritual Exercise', although this does not express the density of reality experienced in the experience of encounter with oneself and with the world. (shrink)

This study aims to deepen the philosophical aspects of the relationship between the work of Pierre Hadot and Michel Foucault, with regard to the concepts of "Spiritual Exercises" and "Self-Care". We intend to analyze how Pierre Hadot interpreted the appropriation that Michel de Foucault made of his text "spiritual exercises", when presenting the notion about the definition of "Care of the self". We elucidate the main divergences and convergences present between the philosophical reflections of these two authors, which are of (...) great relevance for the understanding of current phenomena. The methodology adopted was exploratory theoretical-bibliographic research, halfway betweena comment and an essay. Our studies point to the theme of 'the self' as the central point of the research, with “Self-Care” as the bias capable of leading us to knowledge and, in this way, taking us to the direction of existence through the rationality ofthe “Exercises” Spiritual ”. Our two authors, in their discussions about “taking care of oneself”, evoke in part the thinking of the Greeks, who are the source of the definition of this principle. Therefore, the term “epimeleia heauton” will guide us, that is, to undertake in the face of the world of life, in the practice of thorough and permanent criticism in the face of one's own conduct. In other words, by means of these spiritual exercises, thus being able to contemplate oneself rationally on a path towards "oneself" and through "oneself". Furthermore, all of this implies a constant effort on the will and desire, in order to architect authentic autonomy on a daily basis. We do not intend to exhaust the whole subject, however, the relationship to be developed will bring us closer to dominance over ourselves and make us reflect on the state of "having oneself in the hands.". (shrink)

The impact and relationship between technologies and society establish the development of certain adaptive models, based on coexistence (Human-information-Machine), as well as several behavioral and cognitive changes of the human being, and new models of influence and social control through ubiquitous communication. which is the basis of a new social units called "virtual communities". The rupture of social norms that accompanies rapid social change, and subsequently the appearance of sub-cultural values establishes gaining status of participation in criminal activities, the components (...) of social unites in general conform to social norms by social ties. the individuals or groups see themselves unfairly disadvantaged compared to other similar individuals, within physical-cybernetic ecosystem environment, which supports the interconnection and transformation of social phenomenon of digital dimension, with several implications in cyber hate crime. Thereby establishing the theoretical basis for further research looking which social vulnerability, identify the trajectory of the massive vector of impact "Information", which is a component of social cybernetics from the following three dimensions: (P) Propagation - (R) Replica - (C) Control called the "Cyber Hate Crime Pathway" that links hate crimes within the cyber-physical ecosystem, and where different types of social vulnerability are established. This study incorporates an epistemology approach of the relation between social and cybernetic theories, that will allow establishing a scientific base for future research in the field of new phenomena that will continue to appear within the Physical-Cybernetic ecosystem. It will also allow the contributions and implications to science derived from the product of this research establish a global holistic field applied to criminal justice system, academic and the new entities of social cybernetic. (shrink)

Can an epistemic conception of truth and an endorsement of the excluded middle (together with other principles of classical logic abandoned by the intuitionists) cohabit in a plausible philosophical view? In PART I I describe the general problem concerning the relation between the epistemic conception of truth and the principle of excluded middle. In PART II I give a historical overview of different attitudes regarding the problem. In PART III I sketch a possible holistic solution.

This paper argues that racism should not only be conceived as a moral concept whose main aim is to condemn severe wrongs in the domain of race. The paper advances a complementary interpretation of racism as an explanatory concept--one that plays a key role in explaining race-based social problems afflicting members of subordinate racialized groups. As an explanatory concept, the term 'racism' is used to diagnose and highlight the causes of race-related social problems. The project of diagnosing race-based social problems (...) contributes to the pragmatic anti-racist end of developing better political and policy strategies for solving these social problems. The paper defends this interpretation of racism as an explanatory concept through a critical engagement with Urquidez's moral-philosophical account of racism. (shrink)

Neste artigo apresentamos, de forma concisa e em português, alguns elementos-chave dos principais debates contemporâneos na filosofia da memória. Nosso principal objetivo é tornar essas discussões mais acessíveis aos leitores de língua portuguesa, fornecendo uma atualização importante para esforços anteriores (Sant’Anna & Michaelian, 2019a). Começamos introduzindo a noção de viagem no tempo mental, a qual estabelece a base empírica para a metodologia empregada em trabalhos recentes, antes de apresentar dois debates centrais. Primeiro, o debate entre causalistas e simulacionistas sobre a (...) teoria da lembrança filosoficamente correta (§2). Segundo, o debate entre continuístas e descontinuístas sobre a relação entre lembrança episódica e certas formas de imaginação (em particular, o pensamento episódico acerca do futuro) (§3). Na segunda parte do artigo, apresentamos e exploramos dois tópicos de discussão crescente: a natureza do sentimento de passado característico da memória episódica (§4) e questões de meta-nível relativas ao próprio caráter das controvérsias exploradas na primeira parte do artigo (§5). (shrink)

What is an inference? Logicians and philosophers have proposed various conceptions of inference. I shall first highlight seven features that contribute to distinguish these conceptions. I shall then compare three conceptions to see which of them best explains the special force that compels us to accept the conclusion of an inference, if we accept its premises.

“Identità” qui si intende nel senso già precisato da Aristotele di “identità numerica”, che si ha “quando i nomi sono parecchi, ma la cosa è una sola” e, non nel senso di “identità specifica”, che si ha invece “quando gli oggetti, pur essendo parecchi, non rivelano differenze quanto alla specie”.1 In questo articolo intendo fornire al lettore indicazioni introduttive (non certo esaustive) sul posto che la nozione di identità numerica occupa nella logica contemporanea e nell’area di riflessione filosofica del Novecento (...) più strettamente legata alla logica, la filosofia analitica. Nella terza parte proporrò qualche spunto per un’indagine originale. (shrink)

El artículo se concentra en indagar las diferentes declaraciones de Marx sobre la justicia, con la intención de determinar tres cuestiones: en primer lugar, saber si nuestro autor cuenta con una concepción de la justicia; en segundo lugar, establecer si la reflexión acerca de lo que es justo ocupa un lugar privilegiado en su obra; y, en tercer lugar, ver si a partir de ahí puede colegirse la existencia de una teoría marxiana de la justicia. De especial interés resulta la (...) presencia de argumentos con implicaciones éticas y morales en estos asuntos. (shrink)

In response to the COVID‐19 pandemic philosophers and governments have proposed scarce resource allocation guidelines. Their purpose is to advise healthcare professionals on how to ethically allocate scarce medical resources. One challenging feature of the pandemic has been the large numbers of patients needing mechanical ventilatory support. Guidelines have paradigmatically focused on the question of what doctors should do if they have fewer ventilators than patients who need respiratory support: which patient should get the ventilator? There is, however, an important (...) higher level allocation problem. Namely, how are we to ethically distribute newly obtained ventilators across hospitals: which hospital should get the ventilator(s)? In this paper, we identify a set of principles for allocating newly obtained ventilators across hospitals. We focus particularly on low and middle income countries, who frequently have limited pre‐existing intensive care capacity, and have needed to source additional ventilators. We first provide some background. Second, we argue that the main population healthcare aim during the COVID‐19 pandemic should be to save the most lives. Next, we assess a series of potential heuristics or principles that could be used to guide allocation: allocation to the most densely populated cities, random allocation, allocation based on the ratio of patients to ICU personnel, prioritisation in terms of intrahospital mortality, prioritisation of younger populations, and prioritisation in terms of population mortality. We conclude by providing a plausible ranking of the principles, while noting a number of epistemological challenges, in terms of how they best further the aim of increasing the probability of saving the most lives. (shrink)

This paper is about the role of self-knowledge in the cognitive life of a virtuous knower. The main idea is that it is hard to know ourselves because introspection is an unreliable epistemic source, and reason can be a source of insidious forms of self-deception. Nevertheless, our epistemic situation is such that an epistemically responsible agent must be constantly looking for a better understanding of her own character traits and beliefs, under the risk of jeopardizing her own status as a (...) knower, ruining her own intellectual life. (shrink)

In 2015 the United Kingdom (UK) became the first nation to legalize egg and zygotic nuclear transfer procedures using mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRTs) to prevent the maternal transmission of serious mitochondrial DNA diseases to offspring. These techniques are a form of human germline genetic modification and can happen intentionally if female embryos are selected during the MRT clinical process, either through sperm selection or preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). In the same year, an MRT was performed by a United States (U.S.)-based (...) physician team. This experiment involved a cross-border effort: the MRT procedure per se was carried out in the US, and the embryo transfer in Mexico. The authors examine the ethics of MRTs from the standpoint of genetic relatedness and gender implications, in places that lack adequate laws and regulation regarding assisted reproduction. Then, we briefly examine whether MRTs can be justified as a reproductive option in the US and Mexico, after reassessing their legalization in the UK. We contend that morally inadequate and ineffective regulations regarding egg donation, PGD, and germline genetic modifications jeopardize the ethical acceptability of the implementation of MRTs, suggesting that MRTs are currently difficult to justify in the US and Mexico. In addition to relevant regulation, the initiation and appropriate use of MRTs in a country require a child-centered follow-up policy and more evidence for its safety. (shrink)

In a recent publication Tom Douglas and Katrien Devolder have proposed a new account of genetic parenthood, building on the work of Heidi Mertes. Douglas and Devolder’s account aims to solve, among other things, the question of who are the genetic parents of an individual created through somatic cell nuclear transfer (i.e. cloning): (a) the nuclear DNA provider or (b) the progenitors of the nuclear DNA provider. Such a question cannot be answered by simply appealing to the folk account of (...) genetic parenthood, according to which the genetic parents of an individual are those individuals who produced the egg and sperm, respectively, which fused to create the embryo. It cannot be so as in cloning there is no fertilization as such. In this article I critically examine Douglas and Devolder’s new account of genetic parenthood and demonstrate that it is vulnerable to counterexamples that exploit the lack of a condition specifying that genetic parents should cause a child’s coming into existence. (shrink)

Chi ha l'abitudine di sfogliare le riviste filosofiche sa che "metafisica" non è più una parola che scotta. I maestri dell'inizio del secolo (gli empiristi logici sono l'esempio più tipico) identificarono la metafisica con il non-senso e usarono la parola come un marchio di infamia. Non mancavano precedenti nella storia della filosofia. Ma oggi gli allievi di quei maestri preferiscono rifarsi ad un uso diverso, meno fazioso, del termine per indicare con esso un'indagine filosofica, che non solo non deve essere (...) trascurata, ma concerne i fondamenti di molte altre ricerche, ed è quindi per molti versi centrale. (shrink)

Ideas on meaning, rules and mathematical proofs abound in Wittgenstein’s writings. The undeniable fact that they are present together, sometimes intertwined in the same passage of Philosophical Investigations or Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics, does not show, however, that the connection between these ideas is necessary or inextricable. The possibility remains, and ought to be checked, that they can be plausibly and consistently separated. I am going to examine two views detectable in Wittgenstein’s works: one about proofs, the other (...) about meaning and rules. The first is the denial of the objectivity of proof. The second is a conception of meaning stemming from the rule-following considerations. I shall argue that, though Wittgenstein seems to conjoin the two views, they can be, and should be, separated1. (shrink)

Is a rational dispute over the validity of a fundamental logical law possible? In his lecture ‘Logics and Metalogics’, Timothy Williamson criticizes Dummett’s approach to this problem and maintains that a semantic theory does not provide a way of settling disputes over the validity of fundamental logical laws. I argue that Dummett’s view is different from the view criticized by Williamson. Dummett does not think that a semantic theory alone can settle a dispute over the validity of a fundamental logical (...) law. Such disputes, according to Dummett, should be settled by the theory of meaning. A semantic theory in the sense that is usual among logicians is a theory of logical consequence . A meaning theory is a theory of understanding . (shrink)

Este texto analiza las concepciones que J. S. Mill y K. Marx defienden sobre la libertad, con el fin de establecer si entre ellas hay puntos de convergencia, a pesar de las diferentes motivaciones que las impulsan. En este sentido, la tesis que se propone es que ambos pensadores coinciden en la defensa que realizan de la libertad, dado que le otorgan un papel destacado a la autodeterminación, el libre desarrollo de la individualidad y a la existencia de condiciones materiales (...) para su concreción. Así las cosas, las distancias que las separan no constituyen ningún óbice al momento de abogar por lo que consideran como el valor fundamental del ser humano. (shrink)

This study delved into the Senior High School Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) track in Bohol Province for the 2022-2023 school year, aiming to evaluate policy implementation, recognize barriers, and propose interventions. Employing a mixed-method approach, integrating quantitative-descriptive surveys and qualitative-descriptive research methods as recommended by Creswell and Plano Clark (2017), the findings unveiled a predominantly positive perception of policy implementation across various dimensions of the TVL track. These encompass curriculum development, teacher training, resource allocation, industry partnerships, assessment and evaluation, student support services, (...) monitoring and quality assurance, policy adaptation and improvement, stakeholder engagement, legal framework and compliance, data collection and analysis, and inclusivity and equity. Despite variations among teachers and administrators, a general commitment to policy implementation emerged. The study identified barriers in curriculum and instruction, readiness and preparedness, resource limitations, and teaching and learning, emphasizing evidence-based strategies and interdisciplinary approaches to surmount challenges. It underscores the crucial role of research and policy development in elevating the quality and efficacy of TVL education. (shrink)

In recent decades, investigation of brain injuries associated with amnesia allowed progress in the philosophy and science of memory, but it also paved the way for the hubris of assuming that memory is an exclusively neural phenomenon. Nonetheless, there are methodological and conceptual reasons preventing a reduction of the ecological and contextual phenomenon of memory to a neural phenomenon, since memory is the observed action of an individual before being the simple output of a brain (or, at least, so we (...) will argue), and there is no good reason to suppose that it is necessary to postulate a more basic reality to memory lying behind the mere individual actions. (shrink)

El propósito de este trabajo consiste en destacar el papel central que tiene el problema de la divisibilidad del alma en los dos enfoques bajo los que se presenta la investigación psicológica aristotélica: el hilemórfico y el cardiocéntrico. Mientras que el primero sostiene que el alma es la forma o esencia del cuerpo entero, el segundo aboga por la localización del alma en el corazón, pues asegura que allí se manifiestan los principios de las partes o facultades anímicas. A simple (...) vista, podría suponerse que existe una incompatibilidad entre ambos enfoques, ya que no tendría mucho sentido afirmar que el alma se halla en todo el cuerpo y, al mismo tiempo, decir que se encuentra exclusivamente en uno de sus órganos específicos. Entonces, la tesis de este trabajo es que el pneuma ofrece la clave para la conciliación de estos dos enfoques, dado que es el instrumento empleado por las partes del alma para desplegar sus funciones por todo el cuerpo. El corazón, como sede material de dichas partes, irradia el pneuma en forma de sangre por todo el organismo; y éste, hasta que no se extingue esa operación vital, preserva su esencia, causa formal o razón de ser de su existir. De este modo, el hilemorfismo resulta sustentado por el cardiocentrismo. (shrink)

In this paper we present a introduction to the volume on philosophy of memory.

The present paper offers a libertarian reading of one of the most important Chinese novels of the twentieth century, The Travels of Laocan, written by Chinese entrepreneur Liu E between 1903 and 1906. I start with an exposition of the ideas associated with the concept of “Asian values,” the evident cultural unviability of this notion, and how “Asian authoritarianism” has been rationalized and justified on the basis of a Hobbesian conception of human nature. Next, I examine Liu E’s life and (...) career as an entrepreneur in a highly interventionist society. Finally, I focus on his magnum opus, The Travels of Laocan, a fictionalized autobiography that explains Liu E’s philosophical and libertarian ideas. (shrink)

Os presentistas nos dizem que os únicos objetos percorridos pelos quantificadoresde escopo mais amplo são aqueles que existem no presente, o que leva seus críticos aperguntarem o que torna verdadeiros os enunciados sobre o passado, como “Sócrates foi umfilósofo”. Em defesa do presentismo, e seguindo a proposta de Fiocco (2007), argumentamosque o que torna verdadeiro um enunciado sobre o passado é uma proposição, que proposiçõesnão existem no tempo, e que nada na teoria presentista compromete seus defensores com atese de que (...) o que não existe no tempo não existe. (shrink)