Según los Anales Eclesiásticos de Ortiz de Zúñiga la Hermandad del Cristo de la Corona gozó de gran devoción popular durante los siglos del barroco, estableciéndose en la antigua capilla del Sagrario de la catedral hispalense desde sus orígenes. Tras la inauguración del nuevo templo en 1661 la hermandad se trasladó a su actual capilla en el nuevo Sagrario en 1716. La nueva capilla, con sus dos retablos, han configurado desde el pasado la imagen actual del nazareno de la Hermandad (...) de la Corona. La escultura, talla anónima del último tercio del siglo XVI, presenta el abrazo de Cristo a la cruz antes de su muerte, rescatando modelos iconográficos procedentes de Italia o Alemania a través de los grabados, y desarrollados a través de representaciones pictóricas, como las de Sebastiano del Piombo. (shrink)

La archidiócesis hispalense estuvo marcada en el último tercio del siglo XVII por el gobierno del arzobispo don Jaime de Palafox y Cardona (1685-1701), cuyo pontificado estuvo marcado por los continuos pleitos que mantuvo con los diferentes cabildos de la ciudad. Su actividad como patrono y mecenas de las artes quedó difuminada por su intensa labor en la defensa de la inmunidad eclesiástica, pero sus devociones personales hacia el Santísimo Sacramentado, a Santa Teresa de Jesús, a Santa Rosalía, además de (...) la admiración y respeto que sintió por el sacerdocio, tendrán una fuerte repercusión en la religiosidad y la estética de la Sevilla de finales de siglo XVII, manifestándose en diversas expresiones artísticas en la ciudad y en la promoción de edificios dedicadosa dichas advocaciones. (shrink)

El cardenal don Francisco de Solís Folch de Cardona murió en Roma el 12 de abril de 1775. Con una dilatada carrera cortesana y eclesiástica vivió una vida holgada, sus excesos económicos, su tren de vida y sus atenciones a los necesitados fueron las características más relevantes de su personalidad como prelado. Al igual que en Roma, Sevilla celebró solemnes exequias en su memoria, y un año más tarde se depositó su corazón en el convento de capuchinas de Santa Rosalía, (...) como era su deseo. Antes de su último viaje a Italia, en 1766 dejó rubricado un documento con sus últimas voluntades, en él dejaba como heredero universal al deán y cabildo de la catedral de Sevilla, y nombrados a todos sus albaceas, provocando entre ellos una serie de conflictos de difícil solución. El artículo concluye con la aportación de un anexo con la transcripción de una copia del testamento del cardenal don Francisco de Solís Folch y Cardona que solicitó su hermano y albacea, don Alonso de Solís Folch de Cardona, IV duque de Montellano. (shrink)

Brette contends that the neural coding metaphor is an invalid basis for theories of what the brain does. Here, we argue that it is an insufficient guide for building an artificial intelligence that learns to accomplish short- and long-term goals in a complex, changing environment.

From religion to philosophy to science, all human systems of definition are formed by human brains. The nature and limits of the human brain are the nature and limits of those systems. This essay shows how the human brain works normally then unusually, and what this reveals about the limits of human knowledge. There are many conditions and instances where the brain processes information unusually, including mental disorders, physical events, and drug use. This essay focuses on the neurological events called (...) mystical experiences. (shrink)

RESUMEN La comprensión aristotélica de la prudencia constituye un antecedente fundamental para entender el giro hermenéutico de la fenomenología heideggeriana. Se examina cómo la interpretación fenomenológica de Heidegger sobre esta virtud dianoética puede entenderse si se consideran a cuatro aspectos: la prioridad de la praxis respecto de los saberes teóricos, el reconocimiento de un horizonte de verdad más amplio que la verdad proposicional del logos apophantikos, el valor del instante kairológico en el que discurre la acción humana y el anticipo (...) de la temporalidad y, cómo no, la importancia de la finitud, la libertad y la autenticidad del existir fáctico del hombre. ABSTRACT Aristotle's conception of phronesis is crucial in order to understand the hermeneutic turn in Heidegger's phenomenology. The article examines how Heidegger's phenomenological interpretation of this dianoetic virtue could be understood if four aspects are taken into account: the priority of praxis over theoretical knowledge, the recognition a horizon of truth that is broader than the propositional truth of the logos apophantikos, the importance of kairos, in which human action occurs, and the anticipation of temporality, and, of course, the importance of the finitude, freedom, and authenticity of man's factual existence. (shrink)

La comprensión aristotélica de la prudencia constituye un antecedente fundamental para entender el giro hermenéutico de la fenomenología heideggeriana. Se examina cómo la interpretación fenomenológica de Heidegger sobre esta virtud dianoética puede entenderse si se consideran a cuatro aspectos: la prioridad de la praxis respecto de los saberes teóricos, el reconocimiento de un horizonte de verdad más amplio que la verdad proposicional del logos apophantikos, el valor del instante kairológico en el que discurre la acción humana y el anticipo de (...) la temporalidad y, cómo no, la importancia de la finitud, la libertad y la autenticidad del existir fáctico del hombre. (shrink)

This short peer-reviewed text is a concise look at the psychology of how human beings make decisions, including how they form their worldviews and make arguments.

This paper aims to provide two abductive considerations adducing in favor of the thesis of Necessitism in modal ontology. I demonstrate how instances of the Barcan formula can be witnessed, when the modal operators are interpreted 'naturally' -- i.e., as including geometric possibilities -- and the quantifiers in the formula range over a domain of natural, or concrete, entities and their contingently non-concrete analogues. I argue that, because there are considerations within physics and metaphysical inquiry which corroborate modal relationalist claims (...) concerning the possible geometric structures of spacetime, and dispositional properties are actual possible entities, the condition of being grounded in the concrete is consistent with the Barcan formula; and thus -- in the geometric setting -- merits adoption by the Necessitist. (shrink)

El artículo trata de plasmar cómo la influencia de Pablo de Tarso en Heidegger puede explicar no sólo la concepción de la Zeitlichkeit como sentido del ser del ente que es el Dasein, sino el concepto de tiempo después de la Kehre. Si aquella concepción escatológica hizo del futuro el éxtasis principal de la existencia que se sabe tan abierta y proyectiva como caída y deyectada por la muerte adveniente, esta otra dimensión mesiánica insiste más en el tiempo que resta, (...) en el presente que nos queda. De este modo, en las dos grandes etapas de Heidegger podrían encontrarse resonancias de las dos determinaciones del kairós que, en nuestra opinión, traslucen las epístolas paulinas. (shrink)

Part of the appeal of the biological approach to personal identity is that it does not have to countenance spatially coincident entities. But if the termination thesis is correct and the organism ceases to exist at death, then it appears that the corpse is a dead body that earlier was a living body and distinct from but spatially coincident with the organism. If the organism is identified with the body, then the unwelcome spatial coincidence could perhaps be avoided. It is (...) argued that such an identification would be a mistake. A living organism has a different part/whole relationship and persistence conditions than the alleged body. A case will be made that the concept ‘human body’ is a conceptual mess, vague in an unprincipled manner, and that an eliminativist stance towards dead bodies is the appropriate response. CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this? (shrink)

Many arguments have been made against gene editing. This paper addresses the commonly invoked argument that gene editing violates human dignity and is ultimately a subversion of human nature. There are several drawbacks to this argument. Above all, the concept of what human dignity means is unclear. It is not possible to condemn a practice that violates human dignity if we do not know exactly what is being violated. The argument’s entire reasoning is thus undermined. Analyses of the arguments involved (...) in this discussion have often led to the conclusion that gene editing contravenes the principle of genetic identity (genetic immutability) thereby subverting a requisite of human dignity and ultimately threatening human nature. This paper refutes these arguments and shows that any opposition to gene editing cannot rely on the human dignity argument. (shrink)

El ser humano precisa de la técnica para vivir y desarrollarse en todas sus dimensiones, biológicas, sociales y espirituales. La técnica, por su parte, cobra sentido cuando es puesta precisamente al servicio del desarrollo humano. Pero lo técnico ha ido desplegándose a lo largo de la historia en diversas modalidades: de la simple técnica hemos pasado a la tecnología, después a la tecnociencia, de ahí a la biotecnología y, en última instancia, a la antropotecnia. En los últimos años algunos pensadores (...) han propuesto emplear lo técnico sobre el propio ser humano, para transformarlo en un ser posthumano. Tanto Husserl como la escuela de Frankfurt habían denunciado ya la pérdida del sentido provocada por la absolutización de la razón instrumental. Nosotros detectamos que el riesgo del sinsentido se intensifica cuando lo técnico se aplica sin criterio, sin otra razón que la puramente instrumental, sobre el propio ser humano. Argumentamos que, si este proyecto antropotécnico se cumpliese, probablemente lo técnico mismo perdería su sentido y vería posiblemente debilitado su propio crecimiento. Entendemos que la respuesta, con todo, no ha de ir en la línea neoludita, sino en la línea de la actitud que Heidegger denominó serenidad. (shrink)

Oxford Philosophical Texts Series Editor: John Cottingham The Oxford Philosophical Texts series consists of authoritative teaching editions of canonical texts in the history of philosophy from the ancient world down to modern times. Each volume provides a clear, well laid out text together with a comprehensive introduction by a leading specialist, giving the student detailed critical guidance on the intellectual context of the work and the structure and philosophical importance of the main arguments. Endnotes are supplied which provide further commentary (...) on the arguments and explain unfamiliar references and terminology, and a full bibliography and index are also included. The series aims to build up a definitive corpus of key texts in the Western philosophical tradition, which will form a reliable and enduring resource for students and teachers alike. David Hume's aim in writing An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding was to introduce his philosophy to a European culture in which many educated people read original works of philosophy. He gives an elegant and accessible presentation of strikingly original and challenging views about the limited powers of human understanding, the attractions of scepticism, the compatibility of free will and determinism, and weaknesses in the foundations of religion. Hume's philosophy was highly controversial in the eighteenth century and remains so today. The text printed in this edition is that of the Clarendon critical edition of Hume's works. A substantial introduction by the editor explains the intellectual background to the work and surveys its main themes. The volume also includes detailed explanatory notes on the text, a glossary of terms, a full list of references, and a section of supplementary readings. (shrink)

Se investiga en este trabajo la posibilidad de hacer una fenomenología de la experiencia del mal gradualmente considerada desde la más conspicua consideración del acto criminal, hasta los comportamientos más sutiles en relación con la maldad. Se apunta, además, que uno de estos niveles de maldad menos evidentes podría acontecer en lo que aquí se denomina sospecha de la intención que se define como el intento de intromisión en la libertad interna del otro. Se observa así la fertilidad del trabajo (...) fenomenológico para el tratamiento interdisciplinar de la conducta humana. (shrink)

El término Gelassenheit aparece en la obra de Heidegger como temple de ánimo vinculado al modo de vida del ser humano en la época de la consumación de la metafísica, en la época técnica. Nos proponemos aquí rastrear el origen semántico del concepto de serenidad en la analítica existenciaria de Ser y Tiempo y en concreto en relación a la autenticidad, al cuidado y a la existencia cadente. Se descubre así que el trabajo de 1927 aporta las líneas decisivas de (...) la serenidad relativas, en definitiva, a la pregunta sobre cómo se ha de soportar la existencia. (shrink)

El artículo analiza los rendimientos filosóficos del hecho de que el significado sea _por convención_ en Aristóteles. En el _kata syntheken_ quizá podrían resultar amalgamadas algunas de las apreciaciones que Heidegger entiende por facticidad. La facticidad a la que la filosofía no puede por menos de atender y que el de Messkirch vio ya anticipada por Aristóteles no sólo en su filosofía práctica sino también en cómo el Estagirita asumió el papel capital de la comunidad política en la determinación de (...) lo que sea todo _semainein_. (shrink)

ResumenLa disputa del positivismo materializó la polémica entre frankfurtianos y popperianos. Pero esta oposición ha sido tan malentendida como exagerada. Entre ambas filosofías existen interesantes vinculaciones y afinidades que remiten a una raíz común: Kant. En concreto, es su optimismo ilustrado el que, según trataré de argumentar, contagia las filosofías de Horkheimer y de Popper, ambas presididas por una decidida confianza en la razón. Filosofías que representan contemporáneamente, aun desde posiciones dispares, la esencial conexión de la razón con la libertad (...) del género humano.Palabras Clave: Razón, Ilustración, dialéctica, historia, libertadAbstractThe positivist dispute exposed the argument between Horkheimer and Popper. But this opposition has been both misunderstood and exaggerated. Between these two philosophies there are interesting affinities which lead to a common root: Kant. Specifically, his illustrated optimism is the one that, as I will try to prove, is present in the philosophies of Horkheimer and Popper, since both are dominated by a determined confidence in reason. These philosophies represent in our time, from different positions, the essential connection between reason and freedom in mankind.Keywords Reason, Enlightenment, dialectics, history, freedom. (shrink)

Resumen La capacidad de la angustia de desvelar lo oculto está en relación con la esencial actividad des-encubridora del Dasein. Así, la reflexión respecto de la angustia se enmarca en el proyecto trascendental de la fenomenología, aun desde la renovación hermenéutica operada por Heidegger. La angustia podría ser entonces una forma preteórica de reducción, lo que aquí se llamará reducción ontológica. De esta manera, la angustia pone en valor las disposiciones afectivas en el proyecto alético, siempre inacabado, de pensar lo (...) hasta ahora no pensado.The ability of anguish to reveal the hidden is, evidently, in relation to the essential uncovering activity of Dasein. This proposal continues the transcendental perspective of phenomenology even from the Heidegger’s hermeneutic renewal. Anguish could be a pre-theoretical way of reduction; what we will call here ontological reduction. In this way, the anguish puts in value the affective dispositions in the project of thinking something which, until now, has not been thought. (shrink)

As a continuation of the work of the third author in [5], we make further observations on the features of Galois cohomology in the general model theoretic context. We make explicit the connection between forms of definable groups and first cohomology sets with coefficients in a suitable automorphism group. We then use a method of twisting cohomology (inspired by Serre’s algebraic twisting) to describe arbitrary fibres in cohomology sequences—yielding a useful “finiteness” result on cohomology sets. Applied to the special case (...) of differential fields and Kolchin’s constrained cohomology, we complete results from [3] by proving that the first constrained cohomology set of a differential algebraic group over a bounded, differentially large, field is countable. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain (...) in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

Although Chinese law imposes informed consent for medical treatments, the Chinese understanding of this requirement is very different from the European one, mostly due to the influence of Confucianism. Chinese doctors and relatives are primarily interested in protecting the patient, even from the truth; thus, patients are commonly uninformed of their medical conditions, often at the family’s request. The family plays an important role in health care decisions, even substituting their decisions for the patient’s. Accordingly, instead of personal informed consent, (...) what actually exists is ‘family informed consent’. From a Western perspective, these features of Chinese law and Chinese culture might seem strange, contradicting our understanding of doctor-patient relationship and even the very essence of self-determination and fundamental rights. However, we cannot forget the huge influence of cultural factors in these domains, and that ‘Western’ informed consent is grounded on the individualistic nature of Western culture. This article will underline the differences between the Western and the Chinese perspectives, clarifying how each of them must be understood in its own cultural environment. But, while still respecting Chinese particularities, this paper advocates that China adopt patient individual informed consent because this is the only solution compatible with human dignity and human rights. (shrink)

The events surrounding COVID-19, combined with the mandatory quarantines widely imposed in Asia and Europe since the virus outbreak, have reignited discussion of the balance between individual rights and liberties and public health during epidemics and pandemics. This article analyses this issue from the perspectives of precaution and necessity. There is a difficult relationship between these two seemingly opposite principles, both of which are frequently invoked in this domain. Although the precautionary principle encourages the use of quarantines, including mandatory quarantines, (...) and associated restrictive measures, the principle of necessity puts a break on such measures. The COVID-19 pandemic reveals once again the different interrelations between these two principles. However, the alleged conflict between the PN and the PP is based on a superficial analysis. The relation between these two principles is far more complex, as this article will demonstrate. (shrink)

Object relative clauses are harder to process than subject relative clauses. Under Grillo’s Generalized Minimality framework, complexity effects of object relatives are construed as intervention effects, which result from an interaction between locality constraints on movement and the sentence processing system. Specifically, intervention of the subject DP in the movement dependency is expected to generate a minimality violation whenever processing limitations render the moved object underspecified, resulting in compromised comprehension. In the present study, assuming Generalized Minimality, we compared the processing (...) of object relatives with the processing of subject control in ditransitives, which, like object relatives, instantiates a syntactic dependency across an intervening DP. This comparison is justified by the current debate on whether Control should be analyzed as movement: if control involves movement of the controller DP, as proposed by Hornstein, a parallel between the processing of object relatives and subject control in ditransitives may be anticipated on the basis of intervention. In addition, we explored whether general cognitive factors contribute to complexity effects ascribed to movement across a DP. Sixty-nine adult speakers of European Portuguese read sentences and answered comprehension probes in a self-paced reading task with moving-window display, comprising four experimental conditions: Subject Relatives; Object Relatives; Subject Control; Object Control. Furthermore, participants performed four supplementary tasks, serving as measures of resistance to interference, lexical knowledge, working memory capacity and lexical access ability. The results from the reading task showed that whereas object relatives were harder to process than subject relatives, subject control was not harder to process than object control, arguing against recent movement accounts of control. Furthermore, we found that whereas object relative complexity effects assessed by response times to comprehension probes interacted with Reading Span, object relative complexity effects assessed by comprehension accuracy and reading times did not interact with any of the supplementary tasks. We discuss these results in light of Generalized Minimality and the hypothesis of modularity in syntactic processing. (shrink)

The Director-General of the WHO has suggested that China’s approach to the COVID-19 crisis could be the standard of care for global epidemics. However, as remarkable as the Chinese strategy might be, it cannot be replicated in other countries and certainly not in Europe. In Europe, there is a distribution of power between the European Union and its member states. In contrast, China’s political power is concentrated in the central government. This enables it to take immediate measures that affect the (...) entire country, such as massive quarantines or closing borders. Moreover, the Chinese legal framework includes restrictions on privacy and other human rights that are unknown in Europe. In addition, China has the technological power to easily impose such restrictions. In most European countries, that would be science fiction. These conditions have enabled China to combat epidemics like no other country can. However, the WHO might have been overoptimistic. The Chinese standard of care for treating COVID-19 also raises problematic issues for human rights, and the real consequences of these actions remain to be seen. (shrink)

Nos Sonhos de um Visionário explicados pela Metafísica (1766), Kant faz críticas à especulação em nome da experiência e critica o conhecimento científico em nome da moral. Ele afirma que a causa, o efeito e a substância são relações fundamentais que não se pode captar nem intuir. Não é dada à razão capacidade para conhecer tais relações fundamentais.

Gender-based differences in body image dissatisfaction are not conclusive. Women’s body experiences and their impact on sexual satisfaction may advance knowledge on how heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian women internalize heterosexist values. In this study, we quantitatively examined the degree of body image and sexual dissatisfaction experienced by heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian women, to determine whether body dissatisfaction can predict sexual dissatisfaction. Three hundred and fifty-four women completed an online survey measuring body and sexual dissatisfaction. No sexual orientation-based differences were observed (...) in body or sexual dissatisfaction; however, body concerns were found to have less influence on sexual dissatisfaction in lesbian women compared to heterosexual and bisexual women. Standards of beauty remain constant among all women, yet removing themselves from the male gaze may be interpreted as a protective factor which shields women from expressing concern about their appearance during sexual activity. (shrink)

La contribution de Michel Troper à la théorie générale du droit et à la théorie constitutionnelle est aujourd'hui reconnue et célébrée un peu partout dans le monde. Un talent d'architecte se tient à l'origine de cette audience rarement égalée dans la sphère francophone : celui qu'il faut pour accommoder toutes les exigences, quel que soit l'ordre de valeur dans lequel on les trouve : originalité, rigueur, souci de la fonction, esthétisme, solidité, adaptation, intelligence, inquiétude, esprit critique, renoncement, réalisme... A ces (...) mérites, on ajoutera une curiosité insatiable, un goût prononcé pour l'échange et le débat, un refus distingué de l'académisme, un sens exigeant de l'amitié et une méfiance profônde pour les adjectifs... C'est cet édifice de qualités que les élèves, collègues et amis de Michel Troper sont heureux de célébrer en lui offrant ces Mélanges. (shrink)

This volume is devoted to Lewis's work in metaphysics and epistemology. Topics covered include properties, ontology, possibility, truthmaking, probability, the mind-body problem, vision, belief, and knowledge. The purpose of this collection, and the volumes that precede and follow it, is to disseminate more widely the work of an eminent and influential contemporary philosopher. The volume will serve as a useful work of reference for teachers and students of philosophy.

Most courts around the world have been refusing wrongful life actions. The main argument invoked is that the supposed compensable injury cannot be classified as such, since life is always a blessing no matter how hard and painful it is.In opposition to mainstream scholars and the dominant case law, this article sustains that life must be distinguished from living conditions, the former being the real injury at stake, since some living conditions are so intolerable that in themselves they justify a (...) compensation within wrongful life actions. (shrink)

The use of reproductive techniques and the eventual reproductive negligence from the provider of reproductive services gave rise to situations in which the intended parents are deprived of raising a child genetically connected to them. Courts have been dealing with cases of those for years, but have systemically denied claimants compensation, failing to recognise as damage the loss of genetic connection. In 2017, for the first time, the Singapore High Court provided compensation for that damage, labelled “loss of genetic affinity”. (...) This paper will argue that the damage in question is the loss of genetic connection and results from a violation of reproductive rights because a key element of reproductive rights is to have children with whom we keep a genetic bond and raise them. The paper will explain why the arguments classically argued against such compensation are unfounded and it will argue for a compensation covering both patrimonial and non-patrimonial damages. (shrink)

Religion, science, and naturalism -- Perception and religious experience -- Panexperientialism, freedom, and the mind-body relation -- Naturalistic, dipolar theism -- Natural theology based on naturalistic theism -- Evolution, evil, and eschatology -- The two ultimates and the religions -- Religion, morality, and civilization -- Religious language and truth -- Religious knowledge and common sense.

"My work has had nothing to do with gay liberation," Michel Foucault reportedly told an admirer in 1975. And indeed there is scarcely more than a passing mention of homosexuality in Foucault's scholarly writings. So why has Foucault, who died of AIDS in 1984, become a powerful source of both personal and political inspiration to an entire generation of gay activists? And why have his political philosophy and his personal life recently come under such withering, normalizing scrutiny by commentators as (...) diverse as Camille Paglia, Richard Mohr, Bruce Bawer, Roger Kimball, and biographer James Miller? David M. Halperin's Saint Foucault is an uncompromising and impassioned defense of the late French philosopher and historian as a galvanizing thinker whose career as a theorist and activist will continue to serve as a model for other gay intellectuals, activists, and scholars. A close reading of both Foucault and the increasing attacks on his life and work, it explains why straight liberals so often find in Foucault only counsels of despair on the subject of politics, whereas gay activists look to him not only for intellectual inspiration but also for a compelling example of political resistance. Halperin rescues Foucault from the endless nature-versus-nurture debate over the origins of homosexuality ("On this question I have absolutely nothing to say," Foucault himself once remarked) and argues that Foucault's decision to treat sexuality not as a biological or psychological drive but as an effect of discourse, as the product of modern systems of knowledge and power, represents a crucial political breakthrough for lesbians and gay men. Halperin explains how Foucault's radical vision of homosexuality as a strategic opportunity for self-transformation anticipated the new anti-assimilationist, anti-essentialist brand of sexual identity politics practiced by contemporary direct-action groups such as ACT UP. Halperin also offers the first synthetic account of Foucault's thinking about gay sex and the future of the lesbian and gay movement, as well as an up-to-the-minute summary of the most recent work in queer theory. "Where there is power, there is resistance," Michel Foucault wrote in The History of Sexuality, Volume I. Erudite, biting, and surprisingly moving, Saint Foucault represents Halperin's own resistance to what he views as the blatant and systematic misrepresentation of a crucial intellectual figure, a misrepresentation he sees as dramatic evidence of the continuing personal, professional, and scholarly vulnerability of all gay activists and intellectuals in the age of AIDS. (shrink)

Conceptual engineering is the design, implementation, and evaluation of concepts. Conceptual engineering includes or should include de novo conceptual engineering (designing a new concept) as well as conceptual re-engineering (fixing an old concept). It should also include heteronymous (different-word) as well as homonymous (same-word) conceptual engineering. I discuss the importance and the difficulty of these sorts of conceptual engineering in philosophy and elsewhere.

In this innovative study, Lea David critically investigates the relationship between human rights and memory, suggesting that, instead of understanding human rights in a normative fashion, human rights should be treated as an ideology. Conceptualizing human rights as an ideology gives us useful theoretical and methodological tools to recognize the real impact human rights has on the ground. David traces the rise of the global phenomenon that is the human rights memorialization agenda, termed 'Moral Remembrance', and explores what (...) happens once this agenda becomes implemented. Based on evidence from the Western Balkans and Israel/Palestine, she argues that the human rights memorialization agenda does not lead to a better appreciation of human rights but, contrary to what would be expected, it merely serves to strengthen national sentiments, divisions and animosities along ethnic lines, and leads to the new forms of societal inequalities that are closely connected to different forms of corruptions. (shrink)

Liberal thinkers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were alert to the political costs and human cruelties involved in European colonialism, but they also thought that European expansion held out progressive possibilities. In Progress, Pluralism, and Politics David Williams examines the colonial and anti-colonial arguments of Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham, and L.T. Hobhouse. Williams locates their ambivalent attitude towards European conquest and colonial rule in a set of tensions between the impact of colonialism on European states, the (...) possibilities of progress in distant and diverse places, and the relationship between universalism and cultural pluralism. In so doing he reveals some of the central ambiguities that characterize the ways that liberal thought has dealt with the reality of an illiberal world. Of particular importance are appeals to various forms of universal history, attempts to mediate between the claims of identity and the reality of difference, and the different ways of thinking about the achievement of liberal goods in other places. Pointing to key elements in still ongoing debates within liberal states about how they should relate to illiberal places, Progress, Pluralism, and Politics enriches the discussion on political thought and the relationship between liberalism and colonialism. (shrink)

Facial recognition is an artificial intelligence-based technology that, like many other forms of artificial intelligence, suffers from an accuracy deficit. This paper focuses on one particular use of facial recognition, namely identification, both as authentication and as recognition. Despite technological advances, facial recognition technology can still produce erroneous identifications. This paper addresses algorithmic identification failures from an upstream perspective by identifying the main causes of misidentifications (in particular, the probabilistic character of this technology, its ‘black box’ nature and its algorithmic (...) bias) and from a downstream perspective, highlighting the possible legal consequences of such failures in various scenarios (namely liability lawsuits). In addition to presenting the causes and effects of such errors, the paper also presents measures that can be deployed to reduce errors and avoid liabilities. (shrink)