Cualquiera que sea la opinión que uno tenga sobre la participación de la Iglesia católica en los debates políticos del Ecuador, nadie negará que ha sido y sigue siendo un actor importante de estos debates. Conocer sus ideas políticas contribuye a entender mejor este rol y a juzgarlo con más fundamento y menos apasionamiento. Por esto, el actual volumen reúne textos selectos de cinco pensadores católicos ecuatorianos representativos, desde fines del siglo XIX hasta las últimas décadas del siglo XX. Hablamos (...) de: • Monseñor Federico González Suárez (1844 – 1917). Historiador, arqueólogo, Obispo de Ibarra (1895 – 1905) y Arzobispo de Quito (1906 – 1917). • Cardenal Carlos María de la Torre (1873 – 1968). Arzobispo de Quito (1933-1967) y Cardenal desde 1953. • Julio Tobar Donoso (1894 – 1981). Jurista, diplomático, historiador. • Cardenal Pablo Muñoz Vega (1903 – 1994). Arzobispo de Quito (1967- 1985) y Cardenal desde 1969. • Monseñor Leonidas Proaño (1910 – 1988). Obispo de Riobamba (1954-1985) y candidato al Premio Nobel de la Paz en 1986. El objetivo de esta publicación es ofrecer una síntesis coherente del pensamiento político de estos autores, a pesar de las diferencias que entre ellos existen. No ofrecemos una compilación sobre “el” pensamiento político católico, así dicho en general, porque sería exhaustivo y pretencioso. Nos limitaremos a presentar una síntesis que nos introduzca a las principales cuestiones sociales y políticas que han preocupado a estas cinco figuras. Este trabajo tiene naturalmente sus límites debidos al amplio espacio de tiempo considerado, las múltiples cuestiones políticas implicadas y la productividad de los autores, todos ellos pensadores a la vez que personas de acción. (shrink)

El artículo presenta un análisis de cuatro temas centrales de Sen: su visión sobre el ser humano, la libertad individual, la evaluación moral y los derechos, y la igualdad. Con esto quiero mostrar que estas ideas no sólo son consistentes, sino que explican muchas de las reflexiones sobre temas sociales y económicos que lo han convertido en un referente en estas áreas. En las conclusiones presentaré una síntesis e interpretación de estas ideas fundamentales, mostrando cómo constituyen un núcleo filosófico y (...) qué relaciones mantienen entre ellas. Mi objetivo no es encasillarlo en algunas de las corrientes de filosofía actuales, sino destacar la solidez y pertinencia de su aporte filosófico, algo sumamente útil en un tiempo como el nuestro, deseoso de ideas frescas para los acuciantes problemas de siempre. (shrink)

El pensamiento de los pueblos de la Antigüedad se compuso de lenguajes, sistemas de valores y planteamientos que escapan no sólo a los convencionalismos lingüísticos actuales, también resultan ajenos a las categorías propias de la filosofía, la religión y la mitología misma. Un caso revelador es la (hek3) egipcia, traducida a lenguas contemporáneas como magia, magic, Zauber o Magie; en dicho traslado, se le adhiere una serie de connotaciones propias de la mentalidad judeocristiana y evolucionista. Una magia sin más, producto (...) del hombre crédulo, perezoso de mente y supersticioso. Sin embargo, tal reducción no se preocupa en estudiar aspectos de gran trascendencia como el proceso de transmisión que la palabra sufrió al cabo de los siglos, omitiendo el papel que jugó la magia persa dentro de la reflexión de filósofos, historiadores y poetas de la Hélade. La (hek3)fue una manera de concebir el universo que no puede reducirse sólo a creencias pseudoreligiosas, fue una sofisticada estructura para entender las cosas que, sencillamente, desconocemos. El presente artículo es una invitación a revisar los productos culturales de siglos lejanos, sin perder de vista que la incomprensión no se da exclusivamente con lo distante, sino en las entrañas mismas de nuestro tiempo. (shrink)

By the beginning of the 19th century Hegel's dialectic turned contradiction (conceived as unity of a concept with its determined negation) into distinguished inference. In the course of 20th century a family of systems known as "paraconsistent" formalized dialectical logic according to the contemporary paradigm of inference, oriented to truth-preserving, and not powered anymore solely by contradiction. In this way, nevertheless, Hegel's idea of logic as unfolding of concepts ordered by degree of "determination" reached at every step of the process, (...) was put aside. We attempt to recover the importance of that idea for the hegelian concept of "logical necessity", pointing out in addition that it may well play the role of an order relation for dialectical inference. (shrink)

esumen: Dada la aplicabilidad que tiene la noción de natura- leza para cualquier discusión filosófica, teológica, moral, jurídi- ca, etc., este trabajo es un intento por profundizar en el concep- to de naturaleza como principio de movimiento en el pensa- miento de Santo Tomás de Aquino. Aprovechando el legado filosófico de Santo Tomás y con el rigor y la precisión metafísi- ca que le caracteriza, se pretende profundizar en las notas meta- físicas esenciales de la naturaleza y en su relación (...) con el cono- cimiento. La visión de la naturaleza como realidad objetiva y el concepto de naturaleza como universal en la mente humana. El paso del plano físico al metafísico. También se pone de mani- fiesto que, para Santo Tomás, la fuente de todo dinamismo no puede ser otra que el ser de los entes, es decir, el hecho de que el ser es necesario en la comprensión de la naturaleza como principio de operaciones de las creaturas. Palabras clave: naturaleza - ser - principio - operación - bien. (shrink)

In this article, we will present a number of technical results concerning Classical Logic, ST and related systems. Our main contribution consists in offering a novel identity criterion for logics in general and, therefore, for Classical Logic. In particular, we will firstly generalize the ST phenomenon, thereby obtaining a recursively defined hierarchy of strict-tolerant systems. Secondly, we will prove that the logics in this hierarchy are progressively more classical, although not entirely classical. We will claim that a logic is to (...) be identified with an infinite sequence of consequence relations holding between increasingly complex relata: formulae, inferences, metainferences, and so on. As a result, the present proposal allows not only to differentiate Classical Logic from ST, but also from other systems sharing with it their valid metainferences. Finally, we show how these results have interesting consequences for some topics in the philosophical logic literature, among them for the debate around Logical Pluralism. The reason being that the discussion concerning this topic is usually carried out employing a rivalry criterion for logics that will need to be modified in light of the present investigation, according to which two logics can be non-identical even if they share the same valid inferences. (shrink)

In this note we shall argue that Milne’s new effort does not refute Truthmaker Maximalism. According to Truthmaker Maximalism, every truth has a truthmaker. Milne has attempted to refute it using the following self-referential sentence M: This sentence has no truthmaker. Essential to his refutation is that M is like the Gödel sentence and unlike the Liar, and one way in which Milne supports this assimilation is through the claim that his proof is essentially object-level and not semantic. In Section (...) 2, we shall argue that Milne is still begging the question against Truthmaker Maximalism. In Section 3, we shall argue that even assimilating M to the Liar does not force the truthmaker maximalist to maintain the ‘dull option’ that M does not express a proposition. There are other options open and, though they imply revising the logic in Milne’s reasoning, this is not one of the possible revisions he considers. In Section 4, we shall suggest that Milne’s proof requires an implicit appeal to semantic principles and notions. In Section 5, we shall point out that there are two important dissimilarities between M and the Gödel sentence. Section 6 is a brief summary and conclusion. (shrink)

In some recent articles, Cobreros, Egré, Ripley, & van Rooij have defended the idea that abandoning transitivity may lead to a solution to the trouble caused by semantic paradoxes. For that purpose, they develop the Strict-Tolerant approach, which leads them to entertain a nontransitive theory of truth, where the structural rule of Cut is not generally valid. However, that Cut fails in general in the target theory of truth does not mean that there are not certain safe instances of Cut (...) involving semantic notions. In this article we intend to meet the challenge of answering how to regain all the safe instances of Cut, in the language of the theory, making essential use of a unary recovery operator. To fulfill this goal, we will work within the so-called Goodship Project, which suggests that in order to have nontrivial naïve theories it is sufficient to formulate the corresponding self-referential sentences with suitable biconditionals. Nevertheless, a secondary aim of this article is to propose a novel way to carry this project out, showing that the biconditionals in question can be totally classical. In the context of this article, these biconditionals will be essentially used in expressing the self-referential sentences and, thus, as a collateral result of our work we will prove that none of the recoveries expected of the target theory can be nontrivially achieved if self-reference is expressed through identities. (shrink)

In this paper we discuss the extent to which the very existence of substructural logics puts the Tarskian conception of logical systems in jeopardy. In order to do this, we highlight the importance of the presence of different levels of entailment in a given logic, looking not only at inferences between collections of formulae but also at inferences between collections of inferences—and more. We discuss appropriate refinements or modifications of the usual Tarskian identity criterion for logical systems, and propose an (...) alternative of our own. After that, we consider a number of objections to our account and evaluate a substantially different approach to the same problem. (shrink)

When discussing Logical Pluralism several critics argue that such an open-minded position is untenable. The key to this conclusion is that, given a number of widely accepted assumptions, the pluralist view collapses into Logical Monism. In this paper we show that the arguments usually employed to arrive at this conclusion do not work. The main reason for this is the existence of certain substructural logics which have the same set of valid inferences as Classical Logic—although they are, in a clear (...) sense, non-identical to it. We argue that this phenomenon can be generalized, given the existence of logics which coincide with Classical Logic regarding a number of metainferential levels—although they are, again, clearly different systems. We claim this highlights the need to arrive at a more refined version of the Collapse Argument, which we discuss at the end of the paper. (shrink)

In this paper, we present a non-trivial and expressively complete paraconsistent naïve theory of truth, as a step in the route towards semantic closure. We achieve this goal by expressing self-reference with a weak procedure, that uses equivalences between expressions of the language, as opposed to a strong procedure, that uses identities. Finally, we make some remarks regarding the sense in which the theory of truth discussed has a property closely related to functional completeness, and we present a sound and (...) complete three-sided sequent calculus for this expressively rich theory. (shrink)

El reconocimiento de los Derechos de la Naturaleza es mucho más que una novedad sudamericana. Expresa un cambio sustancial en las formas de valorar y entender a la Naturaleza. Desde allí surgen muchos otros cambios sustanciales, examinados uno a uno en esta obra. Se abren las puertas a los aportes interculturales, abordándose por ejemplo los entendimientos sobre sobre la Naturaleza y la Pachamama. Quedan en evidencia distintas corrientes en el desarrollo sostenible, y surge la necesidad de construir otras políticas públicas (...) sobre el ambiente. Se reclama un retorno de la biología de la conservación a su compromiso inicial con la protección de la Naturaleza. Se cuestiona repetidamente la pretensión de reducir los valores de la Naturaleza a las dimensiones mercantiles, y la insistencia en las compensaciones económicas como sucedáneo de la conservación y la restauración ambiental. Adicionalmente, al entender a la Naturaleza como sujeto de derechos, indefectiblemente se debe construir una justicia ecológica que avance de la mano con una justicia ambiental, y una ampliación de la ciudadanía hasta incluir el ambiente. Estos y otros temas son tratados en esta obra, desde una perspectiva biocéntrica, donde todos los seres vivos son sujetos de valor. Se transitan los avances y retrocesos observados en distintos países latinoamericanos, y en especial en Ecuador. Se aplica una mirada multidisciplinaria, y además se articulan los aportes académicos con las prácticas y vivencias de los movimientos sociales. Es, a fin de cuentas, un reclamo para tomarse muy en serio, y sin concesiones, los derechos de la Naturaleza. (shrink)

Rejecting the Cut rule has been proposed as a strategy to avoid both the usual semantic paradoxes and the so-called v-Curry paradox. In this paper we consider if a Cut-free theory is capable of accurately representing its own notion of validity. We claim that the standard rules governing the validity predicate are too weak for this purpose and we show that although it is possible to strengthen these rules, the most obvious way of doing so brings with it a serious (...) problem: an internalized version of Cut can be proved for a Curry-like sentence. We also evaluate a number of possible ways of escaping this difficulty. (shrink)

I begin by proposing a notion of mathematical understanding; then I take a brief look at four approaches to the task of teaching infinity to mathematical novices—four approaches, that is, to “popular” philosophy and mathematics—and assess whether they provide such an understanding. But I don’t mean this to be a recommendation for or against any author. Rather, I want to submit the idea that mathematical understanding is an important dimension of popularizing efforts, all of which can be valuable, to be (...) sure, along other dimensions. (shrink)

Me propongo aquí una reflexión sobre la crisis del humanismo que afecta profundamente a la sociedad y la cultura contemporáneas en todas sus dimensiones. De un modo falsamente optimista, se ha opuesto a esta crisis la figura de un post humanismo triunfante, resultado de los desarrollos de la tecnología contemporánea y sus posibilidades de intervención en el cuerpo y el alma del hombre. Haré aquí una evaluación crítica de ese optimismo, sin por ello reivindicar el viejo humanismo y su razón (...) colonizadora. Trataré de plantear a través de Heidegger y Agamben la condición post humanista y post histórica –en el sentido moderno– en la que nos encontramos. Pero luego intentaré pensar junto a Nietzsche y Bataille una figura del hombre que no es nueva, sino una figura más antigua y creo más profunda, que quedó sepultada bajo la irrupción tectónica del humanismo y su empresa civilizatoria. (shrink)

O objetivo do presente artigo é o de analisar a contraposição instituída por Galileu ao aristotelismo tomista vigente na Idade Média e apresentar seu atomismo em alternativa à física das qualidades secundárias. O físico florentino, cujas preocupações restringiram-se ao campo da Física, vê-se envolvido numa querela de ordem religiosa que o leva à condenação por traição, cuja pena consistiu na abjuração pública e na prisão domiciliar perpétua. Iremos analisar, baseados nos estudos de Pietro Redondi, como a história da condenação de (...) Galileu, na verdade, não está necessariamente vinculada à defesa do heliocentrismo copernicano. Para além das fronteiras dessa noção, existiu todo uma trama tecida pelo protecionismo religioso, primazia eclesiástica, vedetismo e inveja. (shrink)

The objective of this article is to demonstrate how the historical debate between materialism and idealism, in the field of Philosophy, extends, in new clothes, to the field of Quantum Physics characterized by realism and anti-realism. For this, we opted for a debate, also historical, between the realism of Albert Einstein, for whom reality exists regardless of the existence of the knowing subject, and Niels Bohr, for whom we do not have access to the ultimate reality of the matter, unless (...) conditioning it to the existence of an observer endowed with rationality, position adopted in the Interpretation of Complementarity – posture that was expanded in 1935 when Bohr assumed a “relationalist” conception, according to which the quantum state is defined by the relationship between the quantum object and the entire measuring device. This is an extremely important debate, as it further consolidates the results of nascent Quantum Mechanics, guaranteeing Bohr the leadership of the orthodoxy based on the interpretation of complementarity. Here, when dealing with Quantum Theory, we will not make any distinction between the terms Quantum Physics, Quantum Theory or Quantum Mechanics. The entire discussion will be held under the name “Quantum Theory”. Theory that tries to analyze and describe the behavior of physical systems of reduced dimensions, close to the sizes of molecules, atoms and subatomic particles. We hope that the reader will appreciate the genius of these two titans in this field of Physics when they magnificently formulate the arguments that support the object of their defenses. (shrink)

O objetivo do presente texto é o de apresentar as bases do atomismo metafísico a partir da produção do conhecimento na Antiguidade Clássica. Não se trata de abrir qualquer tipo de discussão acerca da produção do conhecimento contemporâneo sobre a realidade do átomo. Trata-se de apresentar os fundamentos teóricos de base grega, cujos reflexos foram sentidos nos desenvolvimentos posteriores do atomismo metafísico. Sendo assim, a pretensão não é a de apresentar um trabalho específico de História da Filosofia ou de História (...) da Ciência, mas sim, de um estudo da Filosofia da Ciência no contexto de sua história; pois, diante da questão sobre qual seria a competência epistêmica que delimita a Filosofia em sua essência, não encontramos outra maneira de tentar determiná-la a não ser consultando sua própria história. (shrink)

Transhumanism proposes human enhancement while regarding the human body as unfit for the future. This fulfills age-old aspirations for a perfect and durable body. We use “alienation” as a concept to analyze this mismatch between human aspirations and our current condition. For Hannah Arendt alienation may be accounted for in terms of earth- and world-alienation, as well as alienation from human nature, and especially from the given (“resentment of the given”). In transhumanism, the biological body is an impediment to human (...) accomplishment. At most, this movement accepts “clean” bodies, not bodies with excretions. We argue that real human bodies are valued in the event of giving birth, so a modified concept that Arendt proposed, natality, seems a suitable way to explore the dialectic alienation-reconciliation involving the body (Arendt’s “A child has been born unto us”), when re-read by some feminist scholars. (shrink)

As proposições condicionais receberam atenção teórica concentrada, embora intermitente, desde a Antiguidade. A atenção durante últimos quarenta anos tem sido intensa. Nesse artigo, apresentaremos os principais desenvolvimentos da análise lógica acerca das proposições condicionais e discutiremos como elas desempenham papel central em muitas teorias filosóficas. Na primeira parte dessas observações introdutórias, mostraremos como os antigos, principalmente as escolas megárica e estoica, envolveram-se com a questão dos condicionais e quão importante isso foi para os posteriores desenvolvimentos da análise lógica dos condicionais (...) no medievo e na Idade Moderna. Por fim, apresentaremos, já na contemporaneidade, C. I. Lewis expondo sua teoria da implicação estrita em franca oposição à doutrina da implicação que ele julgava errada. Espera-se que este trabalho sirva como a apresentação panorâmica de um campo que em lógica ainda é muito frutífero e fecundo para aprofundamentos e novas ideias. (shrink)

En el Cratilo platónico se plantea por primera vez la cuestión del fundamento de la significación lingüística; se lo hace en el marco de la oposición entre naturaleza y convención, en la que se basó también el debate posterior acerca del tema. En el trabajo que sigue se presenta un repaso de los aspectos teóricos más importantes de los argumentos de las tesis naturalista y convencionalista expuestas y defendidas en ese y en otros textos de la tradición antigua, y se (...) esboza una tipología de las variedades que en esa tradición se ofrecen de aquellas dos posiciones. (shrink)

A obra Eletric Waves foi o ponto de partida para a análise filosófico-metodológica das teorias científicas por parte de H. Hertz e a culminância dessa prática deu-se com a sua obra póstuma The Principles of Mechanics. Nas introduções a essas duas obras um tema metacientífico se apresenta como núcleo central. Nelas Hertz trata das diferentes representações, imagens ou modelos dos fenômenos físicos: no caso da primeira obra, dos fenômenos eletromagnéticos; no caso da segunda, dos fenômenos mecânicos. E a questão que (...) tenta resolver é a seguinte: qual é a origem da pluralidade de imagens nas teorias científicas? Seria ela inevitável? É sobre esse tipo de questões que se fixa o presente trabalho na intenção de apresentar o papel da noção de representação na concepção de ciência de Heinrich Hertz. (shrink)

Some transhumanists argue that we must engage with theories and facts about our evolutionary past in order to promote future enhancements of the human body. At the same time, they call our attention to the flawed character of evolution and argue that there is a mismatch between adaptation to ancestral environments and contemporary life. One important trait of our evolutionary past which should not be ignored, and yet may hinder the continued perfection of humankind, is the peculiarly human way of (...) bearing and raising children. The suffering associated with childbirth and a long childhood have demanded trade-offs that have enhanced our species, leading to cooperation, creativity, intelligence and resilience. Behaviors such as mother–infant engagement, empathy, storytelling, and ritual have also helped to create what we value most in human beings. Therefore, the moral, cognitive, and emotional enhancements proposed by these transhumanists may be impaired by their partial appropriation of evolution, insofar as the bittersweet experience of parenthood is left aside. (shrink)

Seeing total darkness is a peculiar perceptual state: in it, the subject is visually aware of something while seeming to fail to be aware of anything. Recent treatments of the topic (Sorensen 2008, Soteriou 2000) leave this particular puzzle unsolved. Here, I attempt a solution. Following Dretske, I begin by suggesting that the perceptual report ‘S sees (total) darkness’ is ambiguous between two distinct kinds of perceptual states: epistemic and non-epistemic. This will lead to an examination of the metaphysics of (...) what is supposed to be seen. I show, on the one hand, the difficulty of reducing the perception of total darkness to the perception of a particular instantiation of a property, and on the other, that it has important similarities with the perception of (non-particular) ‘stuff’. I propose, finally, that the solution to the puzzle might involve postulating a novel ontological status for total darkness: that of a ‘concrete universal’. Potential implications of interest for particularism and for naïve realism are suggested. (shrink)

Private schools are working tirelessly to provide a quality education without support from the government. This article aims to evaluate the internal and external job stress of high school teachers in private schools in Leyte, Philippines, and determine its governing factors. The study involved a complete enumeration process in selecting the participants and gathering primary data. In analyzing and extracting relevant information from the data, standard descriptive metrics, correlation analysis, and Chi-square test for independence were employed with the aid of (...) statistical software. The findings of the study depicted that private teachers are both internally and externally moderately stressful in their jobs. The Chi-square test revealed that employment status and years in service are associated with the private teachers’ internal job stress and it is significant at a 10% level. In addition, it is depicted that gender, monthly salary, and years in service are significantly dependent on the teachers’ external job stress at a 10% level. Conclusively, the school heads and management of private schools must lessen the work assignments to avoid exhaustion and increase benefits to improve the well-being of teachers. Moreover, it is suggested that teachers in private schools must be provided with training and seminars, incentives, supplies for teaching, and other benefits that improve their productivity and become globally competitive educators. (shrink)

La aspiración a formar sociedades justas se choca con alarmantes niveles de pobreza y desigualdad, un problema al cual toda reflexión sobre la justa sociedad debe ofrecer una respuesta convincente. Esta ponencia afirma (1ª parte) que la experiencia que tenemos de las injusticias – como la pobreza – puede dar origen a una reflexión sobre la justicia. Luego (2ª parte) presenta el concepto de pobreza según el enfoque de las capacidades de Amartya Sen y lo completa con una interpretación filosófica (...) de la pobreza como privación radical de libertad individual. Finalmente (3ª parte) analiza y critica la forma en que la teoría de la justicia de John Rawls no aborda el problema de la pobreza y propone un principio de justicia previo a los dos de Rawls – el principio “cero” – que recoge el desafío que la pobreza plantea al concepto de sociedad justa. (shrink)

A theory of truth is usually demanded to be consistent, but -consistency is less frequently requested. Recently, Yatabe has argued in favour of -inconsistent first-order theories of truth, minimising their odd consequences. In view of this fact, in this paper, we present five arguments against -inconsistent theories of truth. In order to bring out this point, we will focus on two very well-known -inconsistent theories of truth: the classical theory of symmetric truth FS and the non-classical theory of naïve truth (...) based on ᴌukasiewicz infinitely valued logic: PAᴌT. (shrink)

La pobreza y la democracia guardan relaciones complejas y ya bastante estudiadas por los científicos sociales. En este artículo no volveré sobre estos enfoques, ni tampoco insistiré en los problemas de gobernabilidad que nacen de la pobreza, sino que presentaré la crítica filosófico-política al ideal democrático que resulta cuando consideramos a la pobreza como privación de libertad individual. A la pobreza se la puede entender desde múltiples perspectivas filosóficas, pero el interpretarla como privación de libertad individual, como lo hace Amartya (...) Sen, la pone en relación directa y problemática con un sistema de gobierno que precisamente hace de las libertades, y de la libertad humana en general, su nervio central. Quisiera sostener que la existencia de la pobreza pone en duda que vivamos en sociedades democráticas porque cuestiona la finalidad y la esencia de estas comunidades, a la vez que les desafía a pensar cómo pueden convertirse realmente en sociedades justas. Comenzaré con una interpretación filosófica de la pobreza a partir de algunas ideas de Sen (sección 1). Seguiré con el análisis de la relación que se podría establecer entre la privación de libertad y la comunidad política según tres filósofos de la tradición occidental: Aristóteles, Baruch de Espinosa y John Locke (sección 2), y terminaré presentando tres desafíos que la pobreza presenta a nuestras democracias (sección 3). (shrink)

Este documento ofrece una propuesta desde la perspectiva de la bioética para la elaboración de un protocolo de triaje en el contexto de la pandemia de COVID-19. Dicha propuesta incluye recomendaciones sobre las normas procedimentales y normas sustantivas que deben regir la asignación y reasignación de recursos terapéuticos en condiciones de escasez extrema.

Mario Bunge remarks that technology is essentially connected with science and its method, otherwise it would be pure technique. But he also points out that it is not reduced to science because it incorporates other components. He was especially concerned with investigating the connection between technology and science. Based on their characterization, these other components are explored—the inverse approach. This perspective allows a more detailed epistemological characterization of the technologies.

Este artículo quiere investigar el lugar que tienen los afectos en el modo de hacer filosofía en América Latina. Para esto, la investigación se centra en las reflexiones de un grupo de filósofos que se autodenomina Equipo Jesuita de Reflexión Filosófica de América Latina, activo desde 1981. Utilizaré textos de su primera etapa cuando el equipo quiso expresamente reflexionar sobre una filosofía propia de América Latina, proyecto que denomina “filosofía inculturada”. Espero mostrar que las reflexiones de este grupo abordan tanto (...) el acto integral del filosofar como el pensamiento filosófico teórico. En el primer sentido, propone una “deontología del filósofo latinoamericano” cuyo método incluye como uno de sus pasos esenciales el “dejarse afectar” por la realidad según el principio de la simpatía, el cual generará otros sentimientos o afectos respecto a la realidad como encuadre para el filosofar. Pero el equipo no deja muy en claro la relación entre afectos y compromiso: ¿quién precede a quién? (shrink)

Opinionated state of the art paper on scientific explanation. Analysis and discussion of the most relevant models and theories in the contemporary literature, namely, the deductive-nomological model, the models of inductive-statistical and statistical relevance, the pragmatic theory of why questions, the unifying theory of standard arguments, and the causal/non-causal counterfactual theory.

Transhumanists, like other elites in modernity, place great value on human creativity, and advances in human enhancement and AI form the basis of their propos- als for boosting it. However, there are problems with this perspective, due to the unique ways in which humans have evolved, procreated and socialized. I first describe how creativity is related to past evolution and developmental aspects in children, stressing pretend play and the ambivalent character of creativity. Then, I outline proposals for enhancing creativity, be (...) it in embodied humans on the way to a superior species, in AI- related beings (virtual reality, robotics), or even in any degree of mixture in human- machine interaction. In the final section, I describe intrinsic limits to these proposals, such as the absence of a good understanding of human psychology by the proponents of enhancement; the lack of interest in the subjective side of creativity (for one’s own sake); delayed maturation and the ambivalence of pretend play in childhood; and the contrariness typical of new human generations. As for the enhancement of creativity, it is argued that creativity in its social context may be the victim of its own past success. On the other hand, an asymmetry between virtual beings and children is described— the latter can behave in a nasty way, it is part of their growth and creativity, whereas the former are not supposed to cause any harm to human beings. In sum, despite impressive progress in several scientific and technological interventions in creativity, philosophical questions emerge that place many constraints on transhumanist dreams of endless creativity. (shrink)

The origins and development of the problem of mental causation are outlined. The underlying presuppositions which give rise to the problem are identified. Possible strategies for solving, or dissolving the problem are examined.

This work-in-progress aims to explain as accurately as possible the philosophical meaning given by Wittgenstein to the silence in both of his major books, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, and the Philosophical Investigations. REMARKS ARE WELL RECEIVED.

Regarding the linguistic turn in History of Ideas, there are logical topics to be considered in order to increase the accuracy of reconstruccions oriented to describe and explain conceptual formations of the past. This paper propose an overview of these topics and a methodological approach to deal with its difficulties.

In this paper, we argue that computer simulations can provide valuable insights into the performance of voting methods on different collective decision problems. This could improve institutional design, even when there is no general theoretical result to support the optimality of a voting method. To support our claim, we first describe a decision problem that has not received much theoretical attention in the literature. We outline different voting methods to address that collective decision problem. Under certain criteria of assessment akin (...) to extensions of the Condorcet Jury Theorem, we run simulations for the methods using MATLAB, in order to compare their performance under various conditions. We consider and respond to concerns about the use of simulations in the assessment of voting procedures for policymaking. (shrink)

El Libro de Arena, de J. L. Borges imagina un libro poblado de infinitas páginas. Esta infinidad se manifiesta de varias formas, cada una de las cuales puede ser asimilada con alguna propiedad de los conjuntos numéricos. Exploraremos dicha similitud y veremos emerger el Libro de Arena como un símbolo complejo, pero no autónomo. En efecto, no sólo el libro y sus páginas, sino asimismo los personajes y cada elemento puesto en escena se articulan en el desarrollo del relato y (...) allí pierden su apariencia de objetos para revelarse como funciones en la producción del sentido final. (shrink)

In the Andean and Amazonian regions of South America new environmental ethics have emerged that postulate intrinsic values in the non-human. These biocentrisms do not derive directly from the deep ecology of Arne Naess, presenting several differences, but there are also important similarities, which are briefly noted. Southern biocentrism recognizes the rights of Nature but does so in an intercultural perspective, is much more politicized, and is part of ̳ontological openings‘ to alternatives of ecological community that go beyond modernity.

This article explores the development of the concept of Phenomenological Psychology in the work of the philosopher Edmund Husserl and, more specifically, in the work "Phenomenological Psychology" that corresponds to vol. IX of the complete works of the philosopher, denominated Husserliana. We present the husserlian through the formation of the concept of Phenomenological Psychology and how its understanding makes possible answers to questions about psychology scientificity, which has been present since its foundation as a modern science, at the end of (...) the XIX century. We conclude that it is necessary to construct an intermediate field between Phenomenology and scientific studies in Psychology, through the rediscovery of Husserl's theory over the possibility of a Scientific Psychology of eidetic-transcendental bases and the usage of the phenomenological method, as well as the intersubjective character of human psyque as the basis of this possibility. (shrink)

Las «metáforas», «analogías» o «alegorías» tienen un lugar bien ganado en la tradición filosófica. Han sido atacadas por dar lugar a una interpretación poco rigurosa de las nociones que describen, pues permite asociarles propiedades que originalmente no se había pensado (ni resulta deseable) que formen parte de su concepto. Sin embargo, a pesar del reclamo en favor de procedimientos estrictos de definición, el uso de una imagen apropiada suele ser el mejor modo de explicar esas cuestiones que cada siglo escapan (...) a la disección que el filo de las mejores definiciones pretendía darle. Tal es el caso de las ilustraciones usadas por Charles S. Peirce en sus artículos "Algunas consecuencias de cuatro incapacidades" y "Cómo esclarecer nuestras ideas" para dar cuenta del pensamiento. Primero veremos el papel que juegan estas imágenes en la argumentación conque Peirce establece dos principios importantes de su filosofía: el de que toda cognición se encuentra determinada por otras cogniciones previas, y el de que no tenemos ningún poder de introspección. Luego hallaremos que dos de las imágenes presentan cierta incompatibilidad en un aspecto especialmente relevante desde el punto de vista de lo que tratan de ilustrar. Para finalizar, consideraremos una explicación que sea consistente con los textos y que permita resolver la discrepancia, brindando una mejor comprensión conjunta de ambas ilustraciones . (shrink)

En este artículo se revisan las principales perspectivas conceptuales y prácticas sociales y políticas que defienden a la Naturaleza como sujeto de derechos, en contraste con las posturas convencionales que la entienden únicamente como objeto de valoración por los seres humanos. Se analizan los aportes sobre los valores intrínsecos en el ambiente, su expresión en posturas biocéntricas y los contrastes con el antropocentrismo propio de la Modernidad. Se consideran sus expresiones concretas en América Latina, especialmente en la nueva Constitución de (...) Ecuador. Seguidamente se distinguen dos perspectivas en la justicia: una ambiental, que se fundamente en los derechos humanos a un ambiente sano y a una mejor calidad de vida, y otra ecológica para los derechos que le corresponden a la Naturaleza. Se repasan sus implicancias en distintas redefiniciones de una comunidad de la justicia ampliada a los seres vivos no-humanos. Se advierte que estos son distintos ensayos en romper el cerco del antropocentrismo característico de la Modernidad. (shrink)

"This book presents a theoretical discussion of problems and issues encountered in the Native American community from a perspective that accepts Native knowledge as legitimate. Native American cosmology and metaphor are used extensively in order to deal with specific problems such as alcoholism, suicide, family, and community problems. The authors discuss what it means to present material from the perspective of a people who have legitimate ways of knowing and conceptualizing reality and show that it is imperative to understand intergenerational (...) trauma and internalized oppression in order to understand the issues facing Native Americans today."--pub. website. (shrink)

This monography provides an overview of the conceptual developments that leads from the traditional views of infinite (and their paradoxes) to the contemporary view in which those old paradoxes are solved but new problems arise. Also a particular insight in the problem of continuity is given, followed by applications in theory of computability.

State of the art paper on the problem of induction: how to justify the conclusion that ‘all Fs are Gs’ from the premise that ‘all observed Fs are Gs’. The most prominent theories of contemporary philosophical literature are discussed and analysed, such as: inductivism, reliabilism, perspective of laws of nature, rationalism, falsificationism, the material theory of induction and probabilistic approaches, according to Carnap, Reichenbach and Bayesianism. In the end, we discuss the new problem of induction of Goodman, raised by the (...) grue predicate. (shrink)