Texto presentado en el Congreso Internacional “Recepciones de Ortega y Gasset en Chile” celebrado en el Centro Cultural de España en Santiago durante los días 30 y 31 de mayo de 2018, en Santiago de Chile. Forma parte de la compilación recogida en número especial de la Revista de Filosofía Otrosiglo, en junio del 2023.

A partir del libro referido en el subtítulo, se ocupa este breve ensayo de la conjunta cuestión de lo humano y lo animal. Luego de atender a las condiciones que el autor del libro propone para el examen de esa cuestión en la huella del pensamiento de Jacques Derrida, la discusión se centra en la tesis de un “humanismo trascendental”, que es sometida a prueba confrontándola con dos momentos del programa crítico kantiano, pertenecientes a la Fundamentación de la metafísica de (...) las costumbres y a la tercera Crítica, respectivamente, en que el tema de lo humano asume particular relevancia. En el segundo de esos momentos cabría leer una vacilación acerca de lo humano, con epicentro en la fórmula “a la vez animal”. (shrink)

En este trabajo se propone una articulación de la “cuestión de ley” en el modo en que la aborda Kafka, teniendo particularmente a la vista la conversación entre Josef K. y el sacerdote en El proceso, que contiene una exégesis del relato Ante la ley, y la concepción kantiana de la ley moral según se detalla esta en la segunda Crítica y en la Fundamentación de la metafísica de las costumbres. Se sugiere que esta articulación se da en el carácter (...) in-determinado de la ley como tal, por una parte, y, por otra, en la determinación del existente en su singularidad por la ley, que conlleva un índice de problematicidad en virtud de aquella indeterminación. (shrink)

_El exilio como síntoma_ es un libro complejo. Lo es por su tema, lo es por el tratamiento del tema, cuidadoso, lúcido, “desde dentro”, por la mucha literatura, las muchas fuentes con las que —rigurosamente— se va tramando, por su escritura plural, autobiográfica y heterográfica a la vez, de ensayo y testimonio, de comentario y —casi me atrevería a decir— de responso, el responso de un duelo resistente...

The relevance of Martin Heidegger’s thinking to Paul Celan’s poetry is well known. Between Celan and Heidegger proposes that, while the relation between them is undeniable, it is also marked by irreducible discord. Pablo Oyarzun begins with a deconstruction of Celan’s Todtnauberg, written after the poet visited Heidegger in his Schwarzwald cabin. The poem stands as a milestone, not only in the complex relationship between the two men but also in the state of poetry and philosophy in late (...) modernity, in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Discussion then turns to The Meridian, Celan’s acceptance speech for the prestigious Büchner Prize for German language literature. Other issues are insistently addressed—place, art, language, pain, existence, and the Heideggerian notion of dialogue—as Oyarzun revisits several essential poems from Celan’s oeuvre. A rare translation of Oyarzun’s work into English, Between Celan and Heidegger affirms the uniqueness of Celan’s poetry in confrontation both with Heidegger’s discourse on Dichtung (a poetic saying centered in the idea of gathering) and with Western philosophical notions of art, technē, mimesis, poiesis, language, and thinking more broadly. (shrink)

Resumen: En lo que sigue ofrezco una exploración de dos “conceptos tensos”: “pueblo” y “populismo”. En la primera sección abordaré la noción de “pueblo” a través de lo que se podría considerar su gramática populista. Luego desarrollaré algunas reflexiones sobre la división de campo que el populismo instala con su apelación al “pueblo” o a cualquiera de las otras nociones que tengan una función similar en su retórica. Analizaré, pues, la cuestión del antagonismo, la partición del espacio social y del (...) espacio del poder entre “ellos” y “nosotros”. Por último, plantearé la cuestión de la democracia como aquello que, en última instancia, está en juego en el desafío ambiguo del populismo.: In what follows I offer an exploration of two “tense concepts”: “people” and “populism”. In the first part I address the notion of “people” through what might be considered its populist grammar. Then I develop some reflec-tions on the field division that populism introduces with its appeal to the “people” or any of the other notions that have a similar function in their rhetoric. I will therefore analyze the antagonism, the partitioning of social space and the space of power between a “them” and an “us”. Finally, I raise the question of democracy as what is ultimately at stake in the ambiguous challenge of populism. (shrink)

RESUMEN Se aborda la llamada Kantkrise de Heinrich von Kleist, entendida como el colapso epistemológico de toda posibilidad de acceso a la cosa en sí debido a su carácter radicalmente indecidible. Sin embargo, tal imposibilidad sigue conservando una vigencia negativa, como una brecha que adquiere para Kleist el carácter del suceso y, por consiguiente, de la soberanía de la contingencia. Esta se convierte en el principio fundamental de la producción literaria de Kleist, reconocible en el lema "el frágil ordenamiento del (...) mundo", en la frágil constitución del sujeto y la inminencia constante de su destitución. ABSTRACT The article addresses Heinrich von Kleist's so-called Kantkrise, understood as the epistemological collapse of any possibility of access to the thing-in-itself, given its radically undecidable nature. However, that impossibility maintains a negative validity as a gap that takes on the character of an event and, therefore, of the sovereignty of contingency in Kleist. This becomes the fundamental principle of Kleist's literary production, as expressed in his motto "the fragile order of the world", that is, the fragile constitution of the subject and the constant imminence of its destitution. (shrink)

En primer término, se aborda la relación asimétrica de humanidades y ciencias en las instituciones contemporáneas de conocimiento sugiriendo la inconveniencia de acentuar la diferencia entre unas y otras, en la medida en que ambos órdenes epistémicos están sometidos hoy a los mismos condicionamientos estructurales. El efecto que estos tienen sobre las humanidades es analizado a través de dos aspectos críticos. En segundo término, se discute la significación epistémica de la ocurrencia como principio común de ciencias y humanidades apelando a (...) la obra de Georg Christoph Lichtenberg a manera de caso ejemplar. En esta, experimentalismo y ensayo, singularidades, ficción y variación dan cuenta de un mismo brote epistémico en humanidades (y literatura) y ciencias. (shrink)

Resumen El artículo aborda el problema de la traducción a partir de los temas del ocasionalismo y de la decisión. Muestra en particular que, en la experiencia de la traducción, la decisión no remite a un sujeto soberano, sino a un sujeto que se pone entre paréntesis. Por esta razón, la traducción es también una teoría critica del sujeto.This article addresses the problem of translation based on the topics of occasionalism and decision. It shows, in particular, that in the experience (...) of translation the decision does not refer to a sovereign subject but to a subject that is placed in parentheses. For this reason, the theory of translation is also a critical theory of the subject. (shrink)

Se aborda la llamada Kantkrise de Heinrich von Kleist, entendida como el colapso epistemológico de toda posibilidad de acceso a la cosa en sí debido a su carácter radicalmente indecidible. Sin embargo, tal imposibilidad sigue conservando una vigencia negativa, como una brecha que adquiere para Kleist el carácter del suceso y, por consiguiente, de la soberanía de la contingencia. Esta se convierte en el principio fundamental de la producción literaria (dramatúrgica, narrativa y ensayística) de Kleist, reconocible en el lema “el (...) frágil ordenamiento del mundo”, en la frágil constitución del sujeto y la inminencia constante de su destitución. (shrink)

In this paper contingency is estimated as an essentially identifying trait of the world emerging from the radical upheavals of the late 18th century and the beginnings of the 19th century. If contingency is the mark of the world as world, the question arises how human beings should, or merely could deal with it. For the purpose of discussing this issue, the usual alternative of violence and dialogue is considered. Nevertheless, the intention is not merely to oppose violent to rational (...) conduct. Taking recourse to two authors who had a particularly acute sense of contingency, Heinrich von Kleist and Paul Celan, the aim of this paper, on the one hand, is to discuss a concept of violence that is not merely instrumental, nor attributable to merely subjective intentions, but that has the significance of the principle of overcoming contingency by way of absolutely forcing order or absolutely renouncing to it. On the other hand, it involves discussing a concept of dialogue that is essentially different to what may be called the institution of Western dialogue, characterized by the disembodiment of the word, and therefore to suggest the concept of a radically embodied dialogue as a way to positively deal with contingency. (shrink)

The aim of the present study was to carry out a qualitative and quantitative synthesis of the existing literature studying the relationship between emotional intelligence and risk behavior. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the scientific evidence available relating both constructs. Particular attention was paid to identifying possible differences in this relationship as a function of the different conceptualizations of EI and the risk domain. The study was conducted following the Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines. Our results revealed a (...) significant negative relationship between EI and health-related risk behaviors. However, this relationship was not observed in other risk domains such as finance and gambling. The relationship between EI and risk behavior differed according to the risk domain studied, which supports the notion that risk is a domain-specific construct. The results associated with the health-related risk behaviors are consistent with existing literature about the positive impact of emotional abilities on the health domain. A more complete understanding of the emotional mechanisms that underlie risk behavior could help to establish action guidelines and improve programmes to prevent and reduce the negative effects of risk behavior on our society. (shrink)

The Purpose in Life Test is a measure of purpose in life widely used in many cultures and countries; however, cross-cultural assessments are scarce. The present study aimed to evaluate the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the PIL in the general population of seven Latin American countries. A total of 4306 people participated, selected by non-probabilistic convenience sampling, where Uruguay has the highest mean age ; while Ecuador has the lowest mean age. Furthermore, in each country, there is a higher proportion (...) of women than men. Using Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the factorial structure does not show evidence of invariance among the included countries. However, based on the Multi-Group Factor Analysis Alignment, there is evidence that a three-dimensional structure of the PIL is the same in the participating countries. Results based on item response theory indicate that most PIL items can significantly differentiate responses according to the level of life purpose. In addition, people with low life purpose will tend to choose the lower response alternatives on the PIL; while people with higher life purpose will choose higher response alternatives. The findings indicate that the PIL has the potential to increase knowledge about how people conceive and experience their purpose in life in different countries. (shrink)

El presente texto aborda la crisis de la modernidad desde la perspectiva delcinismo clásico. Para ello se usa El dedo de Diógenes: La anécdota en filosofía–de Pablo Oyarzún– como una interpretación fundamental que permite cuestionarla conceptualización moderna respecto del poder. También se analizan losaportes del cinismo desde la óptica de la teoría crítica.The present paper approaches the crisis of modernity from the perspective ofclassic cynicism. We find in Pablo Oyarzún’s book, El dedo de Diógenes: Laanécdota en filosofía, a (...) fundamental interpretation that allows one to questionthe modern conceptualization with respect to power. In addition, the contributionsof cynicism are analyzed from the perspective of critical theory. (shrink)

En el siguiente artículo, me propongo explicar y analizar las que me parecen ser las tesis filosóficas principales del libro de Pablo Oyarzún Entre Celan y Heidegger, así como proponer algunas pistas para reflexionar en torno a problemáticas relevantes que esta obra contribuye a identificar y a formular. Dos son los principales argumentos que elaboro con el fin de llevar a cabo este trabajo. El primero concierne el concepto de "sentido", que Oyarzún intenta desarrollar en tensión con lo que (...) entiende ser la "lectura hermenéutica" de la poesía de Celan , que presupone según él que el poema, como cualquier otra creación de lenguaje, quiere decir algo y por lo tanto es portador de significados accesibles para la comprensión. Frente a eso, Oyarzún opone la inaccesible insignificancia del lenguaje poético, la "pizca" de sentido cuya propiedad fundamental consiste en irrumpir en medio de la circulación y transmisión de sentido y resistir a la comprensión -pero, de ese modo, la posibilita como comprensión, dado que solo lo que la resiste logra ponerla en movimiento. El segundo argumento concierne a la significación del "dolor", que precisamente no ha de poseer ninguna "significación", so pena de ser neutralizado y obliterado como dolor. Solo la absurda crudeza del dolor, a título de acontecimiento traumático que retorna excediendo la identidad temporal de una conciencia colectiva -es la función de la "data" en la poesía de Celan-, puede dar origen a una memoria y a una historia auténticas. This paper seeks to elaborate and analyze the main philosophical import of Pablo Oyarzun's book, Entre Celan y Heidegger. Along the way, I will hint at possibilities for thinking through certain key issues that have been identified and formulated by the author. In doing so, this essay will follow two major lines of argumentation. The first trajectory will consider the concept of "sense" as it is exhibited in Oyarzun's discussion of "hermeneutic readings" of Celan's poetry in particular . According to Oyarzún, hermeneutic readings operate under the assumption that a given poem, like any other linguistic creation, possesses a definite meaning and signifies in a way that is accessible to the understanding. In response, Oyarzún elaborates the inaccessible insignificance at work in poetic language. The primary function of this insignificance can be seen in the way it bursts open the circuit of sense, thereby resisting the understanding -and, as will be seen, only that which resists the understanding can in turn put it into play. The second trajectory will then consider the meaning of "suffering" as something that must be deprived of signification if it is to overcome being neutralized and obliterated. Indeed, only the traumatic event of absurd suffering is tenacious enough to return and exceed the temporal identity of collective consciousness . Finally, I would like to suggest that it is only with suffering that authentic memory and history arise. (shrink)

En el siguiente artículo, me propongo explicar y analizar las que me parecen ser las tesis filosóficas principales del libro de Pablo Oyarzún Entre Celan y Heidegger, así como proponer algunas pistas para reflexionar en torno a problemáticas relevantes que esta obra contribuye a identificar y a formular. Dos son los principales argumentos que elaboro con el fin de llevar a cabo este trabajo. El primero concierne el concepto de "sentido", que Oyarzún intenta desarrollar en tensión con lo que (...) entiende ser la "lectura hermenéutica" de la poesía de Celan, que presupone según él que el poema, como cualquier otra creación de lenguaje, quiere decir algo y por lo tanto es portador de significados accesibles para la comprensión. Frente a eso, Oyarzún opone la inaccesible insignificancia del lenguaje poético, la "pizca" de sentido cuya propiedad fundamental consiste en irrumpir en medio de la circulación y transmisión de sentido y resistir a la comprensión -pero, de ese modo, la posibilita como comprensión, dado que solo lo que la resiste logra ponerla en movimiento. El segundo argumento concierne a la significación del "dolor", que precisamente no ha de poseer ninguna "significación", so pena de ser neutralizado y obliterado como dolor. Solo la absurda crudeza del dolor, a título de acontecimiento traumático que retorna excediendo la identidad temporal de una conciencia colectiva -es la función de la "data" en la poesía de Celan-, puede dar origen a una memoria y a una historia auténticas. This paper seeks to elaborate and analyze the main philosophical import of Pablo Oyarzun's book, Entre Celan y Heidegger. Along the way, I will hint at possibilities for thinking through certain key issues that have been identified and formulated by the author. In doing so, this essay will follow two major lines of argumentation. The first trajectory will consider the concept of "sense" as it is exhibited in Oyarzun's discussion of "hermeneutic readings" of Celan's poetry in particular. According to Oyarzún, hermeneutic readings operate under the assumption that a given poem, like any other linguistic creation, possesses a definite meaning and signifies in a way that is accessible to the understanding. In response, Oyarzún elaborates the inaccessible insignificance at work in poetic language. The primary function of this insignificance can be seen in the way it bursts open the circuit of sense, thereby resisting the understanding -and, as will be seen, only that which resists the understanding can in turn put it into play. The second trajectory will then consider the meaning of "suffering" as something that must be deprived of signification if it is to overcome being neutralized and obliterated. Indeed, only the traumatic event of absurd suffering is tenacious enough to return and exceed the temporal identity of collective consciousness. Finally, I would like to suggest that it is only with suffering that authentic memory and history arise. (shrink)

A partir de la divergencia de M. Foucault con Th. Hobbes con respecto a la guerra como principio y fundamento del poder, se muestra la importancia de esa diferencia conceptual para los análisis políticos contemporáneos. Foucault sostiene que, en las sociedades modernas de Occidente, la comunidad política, y más precisamente la política misma, ha sido el terreno de la guerra librada por otros medios. Por extensión, esta tesis significa invertir el principio de von Clausewitz; a saber, que la guerra es (...) la continuación de la política por otros medios. On the basis of the difference between M. Foucault and Th. Hobbes regarding war as a principle and foundation of power, the article shows the importance of this conceptual difference for contemporary political analyses. Foucault argues that in modern Western societies, the political community and, more specifically, politics itself, has been the space of a war waged by other means. By extension, this thesis entails the inversion of von Clausewitz's principle, namely, that war is the continuation of politics by other means. A partir da divergência de M. Foucault com Th. Hobbes sobre a guerra como princípio e fundamento do poder, mostra-se a importância dessa diferença conceitual para as análises políticas contemporâneas. Foucault sustenta que, nas sociedades modernas do Ocidente, a comunidade política, e mais precisamente a política em si, tem sido o terreno da guerra travada por outros meios. Por extensão, esta tese significa inverter o princípio de von Clausewitz; a saber, que a guerra é a continuação da política por outros meios. (shrink)

El presente artículo, sin mayores pretensiones teóricas, intenta presentar tres coordenadas filosóficas sobre el sujeto moderno que se hicieron cargo de las consecuencias del debate en torno a la modernidad/postmodernidad desde Latinoamérica y Chile. Pablo Oyarzún, Martín Hopenhayn y Eduardo Sabrovsky, representan un intento por comprender esta situación en la perspectiva histórico- crítica de la filosofía contemporánea.

Minimal Negation is defined within the basic positive relevance logic in the relational ternary semantics: B+. Thus, by defining a number of subminimal negations in the B+ context, principles of weak negation are shown to be isolable. Complete ternary semantics are offered for minimal negation in B+. Certain forms of reductio are conjectured to be undefinable (in ternary frames) without extending the positive logic. Complete semantics for such kinds of reductio in a properly extended positive logic are offered.

Este artículo contiene los resultados de una investigación dialectológica desarrollada en un área costera del sur de Chile . El análisis permite observar una mayor estabilidad del léxico tradicional de raíz hispana referente a embarcaciones y navegación. Más innovaciones y variaciones geográficas se observan en el léxico de la pesca, debido a los cambios ocurridos en ese ámbito referencial en las últimas décadas. El estudio verifica también unos pocos indigenismos procedentes del mapudungun, lengua que en esta área ha perdido bastante (...) vitalidad. This paper presents the conclusions of a dialectological research developed in a coastal area in the south of Chile . The analysis of the material shows remarkable traditional lexical stability derived from Hispanic roots related to navigation and small fishing vessels. More changes and geographical variations are observed with respect to the fishing terminology as a result of the changes in that referential domain during the last decades. Some indigenous terms from Mapudungun, language that has lost much vitality in this area of the country, are also recognized in this study. (shrink)

We say that a sentence A is a permissive consequence of a set X of premises whenever, if all the premises of X hold up to some standard, then A holds to some weaker standard. In this paper, we focus on a three-valued version of this notion, which we call strict-to-tolerant consequence, and discuss its fruitfulness toward a unified treatment of the paradoxes of vagueness and self-referential truth. For vagueness, st-consequence supports the principle of tolerance; for truth, it supports the (...) requisite of transparency. Permissive consequence is non-transitive, however, but this feature is argued to be an essential component to the understanding of paradoxical reasoning in cases involving vagueness or self-reference. (shrink)

RésuméAu cœur de la théorie de Sophia Moreau sur la discrimination répréhensible réside le devoir moral de traiter les autres comme des êtres égaux. Cet essai soulève quelques questions sur les contours de ce devoir et suggère des moyens de renforcer la théorie. En particulier, il suggère d'intégrer une vision cosmopolite de la portée de ce devoir, d’éclairer les caractéristiques à la base du statut moral égal des personnes afin d'en identifier les fondements, ainsi que d'identifier certaines considérations relatives à (...) des intérêts d'importance afin d'en préciser le contenu. La relation entre la théorie de Moreau et le discours sur les droits humains est également brièvement examinée, et une discussion plus approfondie de ce dernier est recommandée. (shrink)

How should political power and influence be allocated in democratic systems? That is, roughly, the core of the boundary problem in democratic theory. As of late, some authors have begun paying increased attention to the methodological aspects of this dispute. This paper attempts to make a twofold contribution to this ‘methodological turn’. On the one hand, it identifies and analyzes five desiderata of a successful principle of democratic inclusion. Any such principle, I argue, must be grounded in a clearly identifiable (...) set of values, must provide a clear standard of inclusion, must specify the relevant modalities of inclusion, must provide sound bridging principles, and must be extensionally adequate. In the first half of the paper, these desiderata are developed and critically scrutinized. On the other hand, I also extract three lessons from the previous discussion. First, that a unique answer to the boundary problem (i.e. one grounded in one single principle) is unlikely. Second, that a satisfactory answer to the boundary problem need not necessarily appeal, as some have argued, to distinctively democratic values. And third, that intuitions about political exclusion (i.e. those requiring or permitting the exclusion of some individuals) should be treated with special caution. (shrink)

Resumen: El propósito de este artículo es describir -con fundamento en teorías de la comunicación y en estudios de semiótica- las relaciones interculturales que generan los protagonistas de la novela de Patricio Manns El corazón a contraluz: un colono rumano y su joven cautiva selk’nam; y los protagonistas de la novela de Isabelle Autissier El amante de la Patagonia: una joven criada de procedencia escocesa enamorada de un pescador yámana. Esas relaciones, y en primer lugar las lingüísticas, son favorecidas, o (...) frenadas, por factores personales, y también por factores influyentes del contexto histórico -desde fines del siglo XIX hasta comienzos del XX-, caracterizado por la situación de conflicto entre colonos europeos y pueblos nativos de Tierra del Fuego.: The purpose of this paper is to describe -with basis in communication theories and semiotic studies- the intercultural relations that are generated by the protagonists of the Patricio Manns’s novel El corazón a contraluz: a rumano colonist and their young selk´nam captive; and by the protagonists of the Isabelle Autissier’s novel El amante de la Patagonia: a young servant coming from Scotland in love of a yámana fisher. Those relations, the linguistics in the first place, are favoured or obstructed by personal factors, as well as by influential factors of the historical context -from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century-, distinguished by the conflict’s situation between the European colonists and native peoples of Tierra del Fuego. (shrink)

Resumen Los enfoques tradicionales en el estudio de la comunión fática han examinado el concepto en términos de la función social, la función del lenguaje así como su ocurrencia en las etapas iniciales y de cierre de una interacción. Intentos por clasificar la comunión fática en términos universalistas predeterminados corrieron el riesgo de alejarse del concepto de entendimientos cotidianos donde interactuantes emplean el uso del lenguaje dinámico para lograr los objetivos de comunicación específicos en contextos particulares. Los enfoques contemporáneos tratan (...) de redefinir la comunión fática en términos interpersonales. La investigación sobre el uso del lenguaje fático en América Latina ha sido muy limitada, con contadas excepciones. Con la finalidad de investigar el tema en el contexto mexicano, donde todavía se considera en términos convencionales, examinamos un corpus formado por 92 instancias de comunión fática, recabadas en Guadalajara, México. Sostenemos que en el corpus antes aludido se emplea la comunión fática a fin de expresar y destacar la cortesía positiva en maneras poco convencionales, dado que el término tiene un alcance muy amplio en el que abarca: la anticortesía, el uso del lenguaje creativo, los juegos lingüísticos, la ironía, y los anglicismos. (shrink)

In this chapter we use methods of corpus linguistics to investigate the ways in which mathematicians describe their work as explanatory in their research papers. We analyse use of the words explain/explanation (and various related words and expressions) in a large corpus of texts containing research papers in mathematics and in physical sciences, comparing this with their use in corpora of general, day-to-day English. We find that although mathematicians do use this family of words, such use is considerably less prevalent (...) in mathematics papers than in physics papers or in general English. Furthermore, we find that the proportion with which mathematicians use expressions related to ‘explaining why’ and ‘explaining how’ is significantly different to the equivalent proportion in physics and in general English. We discuss possible accounts for these differences. (shrink)

Teoría del derecho / G.R.Morchon. - v.1.

Objectives: Recent legislative changes within the United Kingdom have stimulated professional debate about access to patient data within research. However, there is currently little awareness of public views about such research. The authors sought to explore attitudes of the public, and their lay representatives, towards the use of primary care medical record data for research when patient consent was not being sought.Methods: 49 members of the public and four non-medical members of local community health councils in South Wales, UK gave (...) their views on the value and acceptability of three current research scenarios, each describing access to data without patient consent.Results: Among focus group participants, awareness of research in primary care was low, and the appropriateness of general practitioners as researchers was questioned. There was general support for research but also concerns expressed about data collection without consent. These included lack of respect and patient control over the process. Unauthorised access to data by external agencies was a common fear. Current data collection practices, including population based disease registers elicited much anxiety. The key informants were equally critical of the scenarios and generally less accepting.Conclusions: This exploratory study has highlighted a number of areas of public concern when medical records are accessed for research without patient consent. Public acceptability regarding the use of medical records in research cannot simply be assumed. Further work is required to determine how widespread such views are and to inform those advising on confidentiality issues. (shrink)