En este trabajo, el autor se propone exponer y comentar la metafísica de Numenio de Apamea, filósofo neopitagórico del siglo II d. C. En primer término, estudia la ascensión al Ser, que se sitúa más allá de la esencia, Principio de todo aquello que es. Después revisa los niveles de la divinidad en este autor, que resultan ser tres, que vienen a plasmar tres funciones diversas: los Dioses primero (el Bien en sí), segundo (el Demiurgo) y tercero (el alma del (...) mundo). Se propone aquí que en realidad se trata de dos Dioses, siendo el primero totalmente inactivo y el segundo poseyendo dos funciones. Finalmente, se estudian los argumentos numenianos a favor de la inmortalidad del alma. (shrink)

Este trabajo se propone recuperar las tesis antropológicas centrales del De natura hominis de Nemesio de Emesa, autor cristiano del siglo V. La perspectiva desde la cual se aborda dicha obra es la filosofía moral, como ha sugerido Telfer. Siguiendo dicha horma, el autor busca poner de realce cómo las características centrales del ser humano que plantea Nemesio se relacionan con las virtudes morales.

In this short text, a distinguished philosopher turns his attention to one of the oldest and most fundamental philosophical problems of all: How it is that we are able to sort and classify different things as being of the same natural class? Professor Armstrong carefully sets out six major theories—ancient, modern, and contemporary—and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each. Recognizing that there are no final victories or defeats in metaphysics, Armstrong nonetheless defends a traditional account of universals as the (...) most satisfactory theory we have.This study is written for advanced students, but as Armstrong goes considerably beyond his earlier work on this topic, it will interest professional scholars as well. Carefully plotted and clearly written, Universals is both a paradigm of exposition and a case study on the value of careful analysis of fundamental issues in philosophy. (shrink)

In this important study D. M. Armstrong offers a comprehensive system of analytical metaphysics that synthesises but also develops his thinking over the last twenty years. Armstrong's analysis, which acknowledges the 'logical atomism' of Russell and Wittgenstein, makes facts the fundamental constituents of the world, examining properties, relations, numbers, classes, possibility and necessity, dispositions, causes and laws. All these, it is argued, find their place and can be understood inside a scheme of states of affairs. This is a comprehensive and (...) rigorously this-worldly account of the most general features of reality, argued from a distinctive philosophical perspective, and it will appeal to a wide readership in analytical philosophy. (shrink)

In this article, the author makes attempts to demonstrate that, from the educational standpoint, the relationship between philosophy and literature cannot be overlooked. Even the most remote cultures testify their transmission of moral teaching through literary accounts. In this sense, the author promotes this methodology hence argues that the axial concept structured by ethics is the concept of acknowledgment. Secondly, the author explains how the concept of acknowledgment has been present in contemporary ethical discourses and proposes which he considers fundamental (...) on the basis of a theory of knowledge which closely relates understanding and will together. He sustains that fundamental acknowledgment is that which is established by the recognition that the other is a person, a thesis which precedes the acknowledgment of the other as a legitimate interlocutor or a responsible subject. Next, the author aims his effort to explain two ways (among many other possible ones) in which literature applies to education as empathy and as paradigm. With respect to empathy, he argues that the self-recognition the reader can establish with a literary character is essential. In this sense, he considers that the empathy attainable can be only analogical, as it can only be partial. Empathy requires a point in common, which the author places in ?humanity?; thus, a certain form of equality between the empathic subject at the subject he attempts to be relate to, becomes possible. As for paradigms, the author sustains that literature is abundant in models and icons of virtue and vice and that such paradigms turn out to be essential for the ethical-moral upbringing of an individual. He takes up the concept of paradigm as analogical representation, that is, as a model-sign of man, and on these grounds, he reassumes some theses which have become recurrent in contemporary moral philosophy, as is the case with Max Scheler, Karol Wojtyla, Luis Pareyson, and Fernando Salmerón, among others. The author argues that the reader can recognize himself in the character; the later can then exert an aspirational force, which allows a connection to be established, by which the reader tries to approach the paradigm. (shrink)

This chapter explores the debate between contemporary projectivists or expressivists, and the advocates of sensibility theory. Both positions are best viewed as forms of sentimentalism — the theory that evaluative concepts must be explicated by appeal to the sentiments. It argues that the sophisticated interpretation of such notions as “true” and “objective” that are offered by defenders of these competing views ultimately undermines the significance of their meta-ethical disputes over “cognitivism” and “realism” about value. Their fundamental disagreement lies in moral (...) psychology; it concerns how best to understand the emotions to which sentimentalist theories must appeal. (shrink)

En este artículo, el autor busca poner de manifiesto cómo es que la ética de la virtud está enmarcada en una “teoría ética”, por lo cual no es necesario completarla con una teoría ética externa a ella, como serían el pragmatismo, el emotivismo o el criticismo. Ya la ética de la virtud posee una teoría ética que la vuelve consistente, y muestra de ello es la filosofía moral de Rosmini, que puede encuadrarse dentro de la tradición clásica de la filosofía (...) moral. (shrink)

Este trabajo estudia el concepto de virtud moral a partir de dos obras de san Gregorio de Nisa, a saber, De professione Christiana yDe perfectione, pertenecientes a la etapa inmediatamente anterior a la madurez de su autor, signada sobre todo por el De vita Moysis,que mucha atención ha merecido. Sin embargo, algunas de las tesis características de esta última obra se encuentran ya trazadas en las primeras dos, especialmente la propuesta de que la virtud es una tarea inabarcable e infinita, (...) como infinita es la naturaleza de Dios. Por ello, el artículo estudia, primero, en qué consiste la infinitud divina de acuerdo con el Niseno, siguiendo para ello, específicamente, el Contra Eunomium; luego, hace lo propio en relación a la antropología filosófica que, desde la visión de este trabajo, resulta ser el puente entre el ámbito metafísico y el moral, pues infinita es también la labor moral del hombre, y, finalmente, expone en qué consiste la virtud moral en las dos obras mencionadas. (shrink)

En este trabajo, el autor busca describir críticamente de qué manera el filósofo Giuseppe Buroni entiende el concepto de filosofía itálica, que por aquellos años ya había sido cultivado por autores como Mamiani y, sobre todo, por Rosmini. El sello de la filosofía itálica se encuentra plasmado sobre todo en la distinción entre los ámbitos inteligible y sensible, es preciso mantener separados, aunque eventualmente se entrecrucen. De acuerdo con Buroni, esta postura puede rastrearse al menos ya en Parménides, pero aparece (...) “formalizada” sobre todo en la filosofía de Platón, al que se dedica este artículo. Una manera de abordar esta distinción de planos ontológicos resulta ser la distinción gnoseológica entre opinión (δόξα) y ciencia (ἐπιστήμη). Cabe apuntar, por último, que la bibliografía sobre Buroni en los tiempos más recientes es muy escasa, y seguramente esto se debe a que sus obras filosóficas no han sido reeditadas desde su publicación original en el siglo XIX. En la actualidad, sin embargo, quien esto escribe y Samuele F. Tadini cuidamos una edición crítica en italiano y castellano de la obra más importante del filósofo placentino: Dell´essere e del conoscere (Sobre el ser y el conocer). Esta circunstancia explica por qué la bibliografía de este artículo no resulta abundante. (shrink)

En este trabajo, el autor tiene la intención de defender la genuinidad del νοῦς y, por tanto,del λόγος, como fundamento de la ley moral natural. Esta genuinidad puede encontrarseen la infinitud como horizonte hermenéutico que le brinda al hombre la noción de ente enuniversal. Algunas corrientes contemporáneas de corte cientificista niegan que el hombretenga dicho elemento infinito y, por tanto, una facultad así considerada. Por esto, elautor discute una de ellas, a saber, con la sociobiología, a la que contrasta con (...) la visióniusnaturalista de la ley moral. (shrink)

En este artículo, se busca poner de realce un tema poco advertido en la filosofía moral de Antonio Rosmini. Se trata de la diferencia entre juicio ético y juicio práctico: podrían parecer expresiones sinónimas, pero en realidad guardan una enorme diferencia, análoga a la que se da entre la dimensión teórica (filosófica) y práctica de la vida diaria. El artículo muestra, siguiendo los textos rosminianos, especialmente el Trattato della coscienza morale, que los juicios éticos son fórmulas morales que constituyen la (...) ciencia de la moral, pero no su realización, mientras que los juicios prácticos son el acto voluntario por el cual se vuelve efectiva una formulación ética, o por el que se aplica una fórmula moral y modifica el estatuto real del mundo. El juicio ético es un juicio teórico y, por ende, se diferencia netamente del juicio práctico que da inicio al acto moral. Puede decirse que ambos versan sobre la dimensión moral, por lo que pertenecen al género de los juicios morales, pero se diferencian en cuanto los éticos son meramente éticos, mientras que cuando se vuelven principio del acto moral, toman el nombre de prácticos. (shrink)

One of the main lines of research that emerged within the framework of studies on ancient philosophy consists of outlining the main proposals of its most representative authors. At least in part, the philosophers so-called today Middle-Platonists are studied from this perspective. Thus, the article proposes a schematization of the Middle-Platonist ethics starting from the metaphysical-anthropological approaches common to the main representatives of these philosophers. By analysing the concepts of God, Idea and man, the article seeks to highlight which are (...) the main ethical theses of the Middle-Platonists, namely, the subjection of sensitivity to reason, the importance of moral virtue and human directionality in relation to the ultimate end. (shrink)

A substantial guide providing an overview of both physicalism and metaphysical naturalism, reviewing both questions of formulation and justification for both doctrines. Includes a diagnostic strategy for understanding talk of naturalism as a metaphysical thesis.

We perceive smells as perduring complex entities within a distal array that might be conceived of as smellscapes. However, the philosophical orthodoxy of Odor Theories has been to deny that smells are perceived as having a distal location. Recent challenges have been mounted to Odor Theories’ veracity in handling the timescale of olfactory perception, how it individuates odors as a distal entities, and their claim that olfactory perception is not spatial. The paper does not aim to dispute these criticisms. Rather, (...) what will be shown is that Molecular Structure Theory, a refinement of Odor Theory, can be further developed to handle these challenges. The theory is further refined by focusing on distal perception that requires considering the perceptual object as mereologically complex persisting odor against a background scene conceived of as a smellscape. What will be offered is an expansion of Molecular Structure Theory to account for distal smell perception within natural environments. (shrink)

Inside What Would Plato Do?, you'll find the basics of philosophy, written in an easy, digestible way we can all understand, along with questions to help you apply these important theories to your own life. So, after you've learned about a philosophical concept, you'll then be challenged to test yourself and see how the results can impact your daily life. For instance, after learning about Kant's theory of morality and the importance of intention you're challenged with questions like: Can good (...) people do bad things? Was there a time when you intended to do something helpful that ended up being hurtful? Does that make you a good person (because you intended to do good) or a bad person (because the results were bad)? What Would Plato Do? will not only help you better understand some of the greatest thinkers ever but will also help you think of the world around you in a whole new way! (shrink)

This paper is a review of the influence that lógos has had on ancient Greek, Jewish, and Christian writings. During the philosophical era known as Middle Platonism, the concept/ontology of the lógos played a unique role in enabling Pagan, Jewish, and Christian intellectuals to communicate on a small space of common ground.

En este artículo el autor pretende hacer depender a la axiología en la ontología, presuponiendo para esto una ontología analógica. A partir de ahí, el autor sostiene que el valor es analógico, y pasa a situar la axiología en un punto intermedio entre el objetivismo y el subjetivismo de las corrientes más hegemónicas. Posteriormente, el autor sostiene que la analogicidad del valor se da en los valores de tipo relativos, pero que hay un valor absoluto, que el autor identifica con (...) la dignidad de la persona humana.In this article, the author tries to found axiology upon ontology presupposing thus, an analogical ontology. From this point of view, the author is stucked to the idea that the value is analogical and places axiology between the objectivism and the subjectivism of the most hegemonic tendencies. Subsequently, the author maintains that the value’s analogy is in the values of a relative kind, but there is also an absolute value, which the author relates to the human being’s dignity. (shrink)

En este trabajo, el autor expone una visión de la filosofía hilemórfica o analógica de la mente, que se yergue como alternativa de superación entre el monismo materialista y el dualismo cartesiano. Procede localizando, primero, el lugar que le corresponde a esta visión filosófica en el marco de otras corrientes de filosofía de la mente. Posteriormente, y en seguimiento de algunos filósofos hilemorfistas, expone las tesis principales de esta postura filosófica.

Reflection Principles are commonly thought to produce only strong axioms of infinity consistent with V = L. It would be desirable to have some notion of strong reflection to remedy this, and we have proposed Global Reflection Principles based on a somewhat Cantorian view of the universe. Such principles justify the kind of cardinals needed for, inter alia , Woodin’s Ω-Logic.

When it originated in the late 19th century, psychometrics was a field with both a scientific and a social mission: psychometrics provided new methods for research into individual differences, and at the same time, these psychometric instruments were considered a means to create a new social order. In contrast, contemporary psychometrics - due to its highly technical nature and its limited involvement in substantive psychological research - has created the impression of being a value-free discipline. In this article, we develop (...) a contrasting characterization of contemporary psychometrics as a value-laden discipline. We expose four such values: that individual differences are quantitative (rather than qualitative), that measurement should be objective in a specific sense, that test items should be fair, and that utility of a model is more important than its truth. Our goal is not to criticize psychometrics for employing these values, but rather to bring them into the open and to show that these values are not inevitable and are in need of systematic evaluation. (shrink)

We are immersed within an odorous sea of chemical currents that we parse into individual odors with complex structures. Odors have been posited as determined by the structural relation between the molecules that compose the chemical compounds and their interactions with the receptor site. But, naturally occurring smells are parsed from gaseous odor plumes. To give a comprehensive account of the nature of odors the chemosciences must account for these large distributed entities as well. We offer a focused review of (...) what is known about the perception of odor plumes for olfactory navigation and tracking, which we then connect to what is known about the role odorants play as properties of the plume in determining odor identity with respect to odor quality. We end by motivating our central claim that more research needs to be conducted on the role that odorants play within the odor plume in determining odor identity. (shrink)

The central insight of Darwin's Origin of Species is that evolution is an ecological phenomenon, arising from the activities of organisms in the 'struggle for life'. By contrast, the Modern Synthesis theory of evolution, which rose to prominence in the twentieth century, presents evolution as a fundamentally molecular phenomenon, occurring in populations of sub-organismal entities - genes. After nearly a century of success, the Modern Synthesis theory is now being challenged by empirical advances in the study of organismal development and (...) inheritance. In this important study, D. M. Walsh shows that the principal defect of the Modern Synthesis resides in its rejection of Darwin's organismal perspective, and argues for 'situated Darwinism': an alternative, organism-centred conception of evolution that prioritises organisms as adaptive agents. His book will be of interest to scholars and advanced students of evolutionary biology and the philosophy of biology. (shrink)

First collected in Italy in 1985, _Art's Claim to Truth_ is considered by many philosophers to be one of Gianni Vattimo's most important works. Newly revised for English readers, the book begins with a challenge to Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Hegel, who viewed art as a metaphysical aspect of reality rather than a futuristic anticipation of it. Following Martin Heidegger's interpretation of the history of philosophy, Vattimo outlines the existential ontological conditions of aesthetics, paying particular attention to the works of (...) Kandinsky, which reaffirm the ontological implications of art. Vattimo then builds on Hans-Georg Gadamer's theory of aesthetics and provides an alternative to a rationalistic-positivistic criticism of art. This is the heart of Vattimo's argument, and with it he demonstrates how hermeneutical philosophy reaffirms art's ontological status and makes clear the importance of hermeneutics for aesthetic studies. In the book's final section, Vattimo articulates the consequences of reclaiming the ontological status of aesthetics without its metaphysical implications, holding Aristotle's concept of beauty responsible for the dissolution of metaphysics itself. In its direct engagement with the works of Gadamer, Heidegger, and Luigi Pareyson, _Art's Claim to Truth_ offers a better understanding of the work of Vattimo and a deeper knowledge of ontology, hermeneutics, and the philosophical examination of truth. (shrink)

This is a book grounded in the real ethical challenges of modern business practice, with a world-religious perspective so necessary in an era of globalization.

John Foster’s book, The Nature of Perception, is written to defend his Idealist, or Berkeleyan, theory of perception. One view that he is concerned to reject is what he usefully calls the ‘Cognitivist’ theory of perception. I am named as one of its defenders. His critique of the theory serves me as a good starting point and as a stimulus for a new defense of the theory.

In Nicomachean Ethics X.7–8, Aristotle defends a striking view about the good for human beings. According to Aristotle, the single happiest way of life is organized around philosophical contemplation. According to the narrowness worry, however, Aristotle's contemplative ideal is unduly Procrustean, restrictive, inflexible, and oblivious of human diversity. In this paper, I argue that Aristotle has resources for responding to the narrowness worry, and that his contemplative ideal can take due account of human diversity.