While philosophical questions about health and disease have attracted much attention in recent decades, and while opinions are divided on most issues, influential accounts seem to embrace negativism about health, according to which health is the absence of disease. Some subscribe to unrestricted negativism, which claims that negativism applies not only to the concepts of health and disease as used by healthcare professionals but also to the lay concept that underpins everyday thinking. Whether people conceptualize health in this manner has (...) implications for medical care and public health, and so we set out to examine this claim in two studies. Participants were asked to assess and compare the health states of two people presented in two vignettes. We found that both lay people and medical students conceptualize health as something more than the absence of disease. We argue that our findings highlight a need to rethink unrestricted negativism and indicate a need to rethink the way the debate has traditionally focused on disease. (shrink)

While many profound philosophical questions arise about psychopaths, I wish to draw attention to two limitations in current debates. First, philosophers mainly deal with offender and forensic populations neglecting so-called ‘successful’ psychopaths. Second, philosophers mainly focus on the issue of empathy and responsibility, while relatively little attention is paid to volitional aspects. I address these two limitations together and argue that ‘successful’ psychopaths are volitionally constrained. In order to grasp and explore this deficiency, I argue in favour of a more (...) refined and fine-grained understanding of identifications. (shrink)

In this paper I criticize libertarianism and skepticism about free will. The criticism of libertarianism takes some steps towards filling in an argument that is often mentioned but seldom developed in any detail, the argument that libertarianism is a scientifically implausible view. I say "take some steps" because I think the considerations I muster (at most) favor a less ambitious relative of that argument. The less ambitious claim I hope to motivate is that there is little reason to believe that (...) extant libertarian accounts satisfy a standard of naturalistic plausibility, even if they do satisfy a standard of naturalistic compatibility. The argument against skepticism about free will tries to show (1) perhaps the most prominent form of skeptical argument against the existence of free will does not work, and (2) there is a good general argument against skepticism about free will. (shrink)

There is a familiar chain of reasoning that goes something like this: if everything is caused, no one is free, and thus, no one can be morally responsible. Reasoning like this has made scientific explanations of human behavior (e.g., biology, psychology, and neuroscience) threatening to familiar ideas of responsibility, blameworthiness, and merit. Rather than directly attacking the chain of reasoning that gives rise to these worries, I explore an alternative approach, one that begins by considering the "use" of moral responsibility. (...) What role does the concept play for us? What structure, if any, would an ideal set of practices and attitudes about moral responsibility have to it? I outline a new account of responsibility and consider what it might mean for traditional worries about causal, scientific explanations of human behavior. (shrink)

: A philosopher formerly based in Zagreb, now at the Université de Paris VIII (Saint-Denis), Rada Ivekovic explains the genesis of her interest in comparative philosophy, situated in the context of a convergence of Asian, Islamic, and European forms of thought which emerged among certain philosophers in the former Yugoslavia. She discusses the relationship between this area of specialization and her work as a feminist philosopher.

A philosopher formerly based in Zagreb, now at the Université de Paris VIII, Rada Iveković explains the genesis of her interest in comparative philosophy, situated in the context of a convergence of Asian, Islamic, and European forms of thought which emerged among certain philosophers in the former Yugoslavia. She discusses the relationship between this area of specialization and her work as a feminist philosopher.

A philosopher formerly based in Zagreb, now at the Université de Paris VIII, Rada Iveković explains the genesis of her interest in comparative philosophy, situated in the context of a convergence of Asian, Islamic, and European forms of thought which emerged among certain philosophers in the former Yugoslavia. She discusses the relationship between this area of specialization and her work as a feminist philosopher.

We sometimes fail unwittingly to do things that we ought to do. And we are, from time to time, culpable for these unwitting omissions. We provide an outline of a theory of responsibility for unwitting omissions. We emphasize two distinctive ideas: (i) many unwitting omissions can be understood as failures of appropriate vigilance, and; (ii) the sort of self-control implicated in these failures of appropriate vigilance is valuable. We argue that the norms that govern vigilance and the value of self-control (...) explain culpability for unwitting omissions. (shrink)

I analyze the relationship between women and nationalism and argue that women's "identity" and relationship to the "Other" is different from that of men, because within the nation women, though included, are so as subordinate to men. I argue, further, that the structures of nationalism are fundamentally homosocial, and antagonism toward women is one of the first forms of attack on the "Other" (including of course towards women of one's own nation). It is constitutive of "extreme nationalism" and is, as (...) subordinate inclusion, the pattern of other excusions. (shrink)

This paper aims to clarify the nature of understanding in medicine. The first part describes in more detail what it means to understand something and links a type of understanding (i.e., objectual understanding) to explanations. The second part proceeds to investigate what objectual understanding of a disease (i.e., biomedical understanding) requires by considering the case of scurvy from the history of medi- cine. The main hypothesis is that grasping a mechanistic explanation of a condi- tion is necessary for a biomedical (...) understanding of that condition. The third part of the paper argues that biomedical understanding is necessary, but not sufficient for understanding in a clinical context (i.e., clinical understanding). The hypothe- sis is that clinical understanding combines biomedical understanding of a disease or pathological condition with understanding illness, which involves some degree of personal understanding of the patient. It is argued that, in many cases, clinical understanding necessitates adopting a particular second-personal stance and using cognitive resources in addition to those involved in biomedical understanding. (shrink)

This is a short introduction by the three authors, Gabriela Basterra, Rada Iveković and Boyan Manchev, to the issue of the French journal "Rue Descartes" (N. 67), titled "Quel sujet du politique?" or approximately, "Who is the subject (or Who is the agency) of the political [dimension]?". The question is posed in the specific political and philosophical context of 2008, and is dealt with through History and Political philosophy.

Neil Levy (2007) argues that empirical data shows that psychopaths lack the moral knowledge required for moral responsibility. His account is intriguing, and it offers a promising way to think about the significance of psychopaths for work on moral responsibility. In what follows we focus on three lines of concern connected to Levy's account: his interpretation of the data, the scope of exculpation, and the significance of biological explanations for anti-social behavior.

The importance of socio-economic impacts from the introduction and use of genetically modified crops is reflected in increasing efforts to include them in regulatory frameworks. Aiming to identify and understand the present knowledge on SEI of GM crops, we here report the findings from an extensive study of the published international scientific peer-reviewed literature. After applying specified selection criteria, a total of 410 articles are analysed. The main findings include: limited empirical research on SEI of GM crops in the scientific (...) literature; the main focus of the majority of the published research is on a restricted set of monetary economic parameters; proportionally, there are very few empirical studies on social and non-monetary economic aspects; most of the research reports only short-term findings; the variable local contexts and conditions are generally ignored in research methodology and analysis; conventional agriculture is the commonly used comparator, with minimal consideration of other substantially different agricultural systems; and there is the overall tendency to frame the research upon not validated theoretical assumptions, and to over-extrapolate small-scale and short-term specific results to generalized conclusions. These findings point to a lack of empirical and comprehensive research on SEI of GM crops for possible use in decision-making. Broader questions and improved methodologies, assisted by more rigorous peer-review, will be required to overcome current research shortcomings. (shrink)

Our EcoDialogue Center is an educational space for human sustainability within the University of Veracruz. We propose that creating sustainable knowledge requires re-thinking how we conceive ourselves as human beings. This requires paying attention to what we call “the quality of being,” which means caring about and attending to the physical–emotional–mental–spiritual as the foundation of education. This way we can create a space where we can dialogue contemplatively where all dimensions of our lives interact; the physical, the emotional, the communitarian, (...) the social politic, the planetarium, and the spiritual being act with social–environmental responsibility. (shrink)

It is common to distinguish between “holist” and “reductionist” views of brain function, where the former envisions the brain as functioning as an indivisible unit and the latter as a collection of distinct units that serve different functions. Opposing reductionism, a number of researchers have pointed out that cortical network architecture does not respect functional boundaries, and the neuroanatomist V. Braitenberg proposed to understand the cerebral cortex as a “great mixing machine” of neuronal activity from sensory inputs, motor commands, and (...) intrinsically generated processes. In this paper, we offer a contextualization of Braitenberg’s point, and we review evidence for the interactions of neuronal activity from multiple sensory inputs and intrinsic neuronal processes in the cerebral cortex. We focus on new insights from studies on audiovisual interactions and on the influence of respiration on brain functions, which do not seem to align well with “reductionist” views of areal functional boundaries. Instead, they indicate that functional boundaries are fuzzy and context dependent. In addition, we discuss the relevance of the influence of sensory, proprioceptive, and interoceptive signals on cortical activity for understanding brain-body interactions, highlight some of the consequences of these new insights for debates on embodied cognition, and offer some suggestions for future studies. (shrink)

Moral psychology is the study of how human minds make and are made by human morality. This state of the art volume covers contemporary philosophical and psychological work on moral psychology, as well as notable historical theories and figures in the field of moral psychology, such as Aristotle, Kant, Nietzsche, and the Buddha. The volume’s 50 chapters, authored by leading figures in the field, cover foundational topics, such as character, virtue, emotion, moral responsibility, the neuroscience of morality, weakness of will, (...) and the nature of moral judgments and reasons. The volume also canvases emerging work in applied moral psychology, including adaptive preferences, animals, mental illness, poverty, marriage, race, bias, and victim blaming. (shrink)

This article addresses the relationships between dialectic and learning within the constellations of the conceptual universes of Adorno and Vygotsky. In that order, we proceed to analyze the set of links between the main dialectical categories that structure the dialectical approach that characterizes both representatives of the Marxist thought tradition (process, totality, mediation, fields of force, antagonism, praxis) and the communicating vessels that go from epistemology to aesthetics and that demonstrate the relevance of the tasks of thought in the face (...) of social transformation. Finally, the article addresses the question of an (im)possible analytical horizon that arises, from both thinkers, to emphatically think about social emancipation and its challenges today. (shrink)

This text gives a critical account of various, often conflicting interpretations of slash fiction - stories based on characters from popular TV show, The Star Trek, written by fans. What makes slash fiction, a subgenre of fan fiction, specific is a homoeroticization of characters that in the original narratives are either explicitly or implicitly heterosexual. Whether such?homoerotic pairing? has any foundation in the original Star Trek narrative, remains an open question. Answers to this question vary greatly. An affirmative answer, however, (...) begs a further question: whether these narratives are?homosexual representations? in a strict gay/lesbian sense? The authors propose that slash represents a non-hegemonic narrative which transgresses borders set up in the original narrative - queering, reexamining thus both sex and gender. (shrink)

I discuss the ontology and normativity of affordances by suggesting that their ontology can be dualist and that their normativity, although socioculturally shaped, has an affective biological value….

The article is devoted to the little-studied component of architectural creativity - architectural graphics. At the same time, the purpose of the article is three-dimensional: to consider the categorical, historical and postmodern problems of architectural graphics, which will allow to outline a holistic picture of this cultural phenomenon. The article uses the methods of typological, historical and synchronous-cult analysis of both specific architectural artifacts and trends in the development of architectural graphics in general. It has been proven that architectural graphics, (...) as a unique type of graphics, are a means of expressing the creative ideas of an architect. They define, define and correct the direction of his professional searches. Graphics influence the creativity of a design as it serves as a graphical visualization of an architecture. Architectural graphics are the line between the design calculation and the creative imagination of the author. He performs artistic and engineering tasks at the same time. The article deals with the problem of architectural graphics as a specific creative activity, which, as a result of historical development, has formed into a separate genre direction. A number of conceptual and terminological issues are touched upon, including the definition of the very concept of «architectural graphics». The priority features of architectural graphics and variants of its stylistic solutions by different architects and designers have been identified. (shrink)

Both the current research literature and a tradition stemming from Husserl himself agree that it was Brentano’s notion of intentionality which „gave rise“ to Husserl’s phenomenology. I rely on extensive primary materials, including unpublished sources from four archives, to revisit this thesis. Already a survey of the historical circumstances of Brentano’s second decade in Vienna, when Husserl studied under him, hints at possible discrepancies in the reception of Brentano’s thought, which are further deepened by the editing policy employed by his (...) orthodox students. I analyze an unpublished lecture manuscript of Brentano to find three different notions of intentionality, including a strikingly a-phenomenological one, which I then relate to the discussion by modern scholarship and try to identify those notions of intentionality which were encountered by Husserl as a student of Brentano. Given this heterogeneous matrix of influences, it is far from surprising that a closer look at Husserl’s philosophical juvenilia shows that he misunderstood Brentano’s notion of intentionality and attempted to employ it in a different theoretical context (maybe motivated by an idiosyncratic notion of inner perception). Finally, the notion of intentionality Husserl later attributed to Brentano was probably mitigated to him by indirect sources, including lecture manuscripts copied by the extravagant and less-know student of Brentano, Hans Schmidkunz, and a debate between a contemporary logician Christoph Sigwart and Brentano’s orthodox disciples. The analysis of these transmission mechanisms could reveal a distinct transformation which proved to be instrumental in the development of Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology. The allegedly decisive influence of Brentano’s notion of intentionality at Husserl thus seems to consist in a productive misunderstanding (which apparently corresponds to Brentano’s surprisingly dismissive evaluation of Husserl after Husserl’s departure from Vienna). (shrink)

Este artículo explora algunas de las relaciones entre dialéctica y filosofía dentro del programa de una dialéctica modificada de Theodor W. Adorno ¿Cómo pensar la tensión entre las categorías dialécticas y la filosofía desde el prisma de una dialéctica negativa? ¿Qué significa desde el pensamiento de Adorno a liberar a la filosofía y a la dialéctica de su carácter afirmativo? Elaborar estas preguntas es el objetivo de este trabajo.

Ovaj rad opisuje promene naucne paradigme u demografiji do kojih je doslo u kontekstu drustveno-politickih procesa tokom zadnje dve decenije dvadesetog veka. Promena se posmatra u domenu analize reproduktivnog ponasanja gde je, kako tvrdi autorka, teorija demografske tranzicije ostala dominantan okvir analize ali je prednost dobila njena modifikovana verzija koja primat daje idejnim u odnosu na struktrualne varijable u objasnjavanju reproduktivnog ponasanja; i u domenu socijalne politike, gde je, po recima autorke, napusten koncept planiranja porodice a na njegovo mesto stupio (...) koncept populacione politike. Autorka, medjutim, tvrdi da alarmirajuca upozorenja i ostra retorika o populacionim problemima nisu doveli do formulisanja specificnih mera populacione politike te da su demografski diskursi koji su u to vreme prepravili javni prostor bili mnogo znacajniji za politiku identiteta - nacionalnog i rodnog - nego za socijalnu politiku. (shrink)

This text gives a critical account of various, often conflicting interpretations of slash fiction - stories based on characters from popular TV show, The Star Trek, written by fans. What makes slash fiction, a subgenre of fan fiction, specific is a homoeroticization of characters that in the original narratives are either explicitly or implicitly heterosexual. Whether such?homoerotic pairing? has any foundation in the original Star Trek narrative, remains an open question. Answers to this question vary greatly. An affirmative answer, however, (...) begs a further question: whether these narratives are?homosexual representations? in a strict gay/lesbian sense? The authors propose that slash represents a non-hegemonic narrative which transgresses borders set up in the original narrative - queering, reexamining thus both sex and gender. (shrink)

The article explores two questions: what is feminist bioethics, and how different it is from standard bioethics. Development of feminist bioethics, it is argued, began as a response to standard bioethics, challenging its background values, and philosophical perspectives. The most important contribution of feminist bioethics has been its re-examination of the basic conceptual underpinnings of mainstream bioethics, including the concepts of?universality?,?autonomy?, and?trust?. Particularly important for feminists has been the concept of autonomy. They challenge the old liberal notion of autonomy that (...) treats individuals as separate social units and argue that autonomy is established through relations. Relational autonomy assumes that identities and values are developed through relationships with others and that the choices one makes are shaped by specific social and historical contexts. Neither relational autonomy, nor feminist bioethics, however, represents a single, unified perspective. There are, actually, as many feminist bioethics as there are feminisms-liberal, cultural, radical, postmodern etc. Their different ontological, epistemological and political underpinnings shape their respective approaches to bioethical issues at hand. Still what they all have in common is interest in social justice-feminists explore mainstream bioethics and reproductive technologies in order to establish whether they support or impede gender and overall social justice and equality. Feminist bioethics thus brings a significant improvement to standard bioethics. (shrink)

The article explores two questions: what is feminist bioethics, and how different it is from standard bioethics. Development of feminist bioethics, it is argued, began as a response to standard bioethics, challenging its background values, and philosophical perspectives. The most important contribution of feminist bioethics has been its re-examination of the basic conceptual underpinnings of mainstream bioethics, including the concepts of?universality?,?autonomy?, and?trust?. Particularly important for feminists has been the concept of autonomy. They challenge the old liberal notion of autonomy that (...) treats individuals as separate social units and argue that autonomy is established through relations. Relational autonomy assumes that identities and values are developed through relationships with others and that the choices one makes are shaped by specific social and historical contexts. Neither relational autonomy, nor feminist bioethics, however, represents a single, unified perspective. There are, actually, as many feminist bioethics as there are feminisms-liberal, cultural, radical, postmodern etc. Their different ontological, epistemological and political underpinnings shape their respective approaches to bioethical issues at hand. Still what they all have in common is interest in social justice-feminists explore mainstream bioethics and reproductive technologies in order to establish whether they support or impede gender and overall social justice and equality. Feminist bioethics thus brings a significant improvement to standard bioethics. (shrink)

Nomy Arpaly rejects the model of rationality used by most ethicists and action theorists. Both observation and psychology indicate that people act rationally without deliberation, and act irrationally with deliberation. By questioning the notion that our own minds are comprehensible to us--and therefore questioning much of the current work of action theorists and ethicists--Arpaly attempts to develop a more realistic conception of moral agency.

Este artículo de reflexión plantea la decisión implícita en el acto educativo y, sobre todo, evaluativo: ¿comprender o juzgar? Á partir de un hecho educativo cotidiano se plantea la alternativa filosófica e irresoluble entre el determinismo y la libertad, proponiendo un enfoque compatibilista que significa que pese a que la acción humana individual hace parte de cadenas causales, somos libres de quebrar o innovar en cualquiera de los eslabones de dichas cadenas, posibilitando así la responsabilidad moral y la ética, y (...) permitiendo un acto realmente formativo. Los aportes de Descartes y Kant, así como de Pestalozzi y Makarenko permitirán proponer la educación como anticipación en un contexto preciso. (shrink)

Este trabajo presenta como objetivo revelar la influencia de los contextos socioeconómicos en las maneras de afrontamiento al cáncer como enfermedad. Se muestra un análisis sobre el cáncer como problema social y de salud; se analiza el papel de algunos entes sociales involucrados, el acceso de los enfermos a las terapias y de los productores de fármacos a las nuevas tecnologías. Se reflexiona acerca de la sobreevaluación de los fármacos que dificulta el acceso a novedosas y efectivas terapias; la supeditación (...) del saber tecnocientífico a los intereses del capital; la creciente contaminación ambiental como detonante al incremento de casos; y la escasez de tecnologías para la prevención y el saneamiento en países subdesarrollados. Finalmente se refiere el programa cubano de lucha contra el cáncer, su situación actual y proyecciones. This paper aimes at revealing the influence of the socioeconomic contexts on the way cancer is faced as a disease. An analysis about cancer as a social and health problem is presented; the role of some social organizations involved the sick's access to therepies and drug producers' access to new technologies. It is reflected on the over-asessment of drugs which makes access to new and effective therapies difficult; the subordination of the technoscientific knowledge to the interests of the capital; the growing environmental pollution as a trigger for cases increase; and the limited technological resources for prevention and cleanup in underdeveloped countries. Finally, it is made reference to the Cuban cancer fighting program, its current status and scope. (shrink)

Body checking, characterized by the repeated visual or physical inspection of particular parts of one’s own body (e.g. thighs, waist, or upper arms) is one of the most prominent behaviors associated with eating disorders, particularly Anorexia Nervosa (AN). In this paper, we explore the explanatory potential of the Recalcitrant Fear Model of AN (RFM) in relation to body checking. We argue that RFM, when combined with certain plausible auxiliary hypotheses about the cognitive and epistemic roles of emotions, is able to (...) explain key characteristics of body checking, including how body checking behavior becomes habitual and compulsive. (shrink)

En este capítulo se analiza la figura de la obtención vegetal: su alcance, dimensión, requisitos y caracterización frente a otros derechos de propiedad intelectual, para así abordar su ámbito de protección y su tratamiento en el ámbito internacional. Se pretende en este sentido plantear que la tendencia regulatoria en materia de obtenciones vegetales en Colombia no sólo va en contravía de los intereses de los pueblos indígenas, sino además de su patrimonio colectivo que les ha garantizado una gran diversidad que (...) hoy por hoy es sustento de su alimentación. Con lo anterior se lleva a cabo un singular esfuerzo para tratar de forma comprensiva este asunto, buscando la primacía del consentimiento libre, previo e informado de las comunidades potencialmente afectadas. (shrink)

RESUMEN: El presente trabajo pretende estudiar la cuestión de los universales tal como Tomás de Aquino la aborda en su trabajo De ente et essentia. Busca dilucidar el modo de ser propio de los universales en tanto que accidente de la esencia absoluta presente en el entendimiento. Esto no conduce a un nominalismo ya que la esencia entendida es idéntica a la naturaleza existente en el individuo particular, desde el punto de vista de su ser absoluto. Es, en efecto, el (...) ser absoluto de la esencia y su indiferencia con respecto a su darse, ya sea en el particular, ya sea en el entendimiento, lo que posibilita la posesión intencional del ser de lo otro que es precisamente aquello en lo que el conocer consiste en cuanto tal. ABSTRACT: The following work attempts to review the issue of the universals such as Thomas Aquinas did in his work De ente et essentia. It pretends to elucidate the specific way of being of the universals as an accident of the absolute essence present in the mind. This does not lead to nominalism because the understood essence is identical to the nature existing in the particular. This way of being of the essence is what precisely allows knowledge as an intentional possession of reality. (shrink)

Between the mid-1960s and the early 1970s, the quotidian dimension took political centrality in Japan thanks to the leading role of the New Left movement and its ideology. This went hand in hand with an appreciation of the philosophical approaches of Marxist intellectuals such as Jun Tosaka and Gorō Hani, who saw the quotidian as a fundamental space for historical transformation. We know how Tosaka and Hani developed an everyday-centred philosophy of history through their writings, but we know little about (...) how formats other than the written word – such as cinema – contributed to thinking historical reality from the same ideological approach. To address this gap in our understanding, this article analyses the intersection of two highly representative films with Tosaka and Hani’s historical thought: Secrets Within Walls ( Kabe no naka no himegoto, Kōji Wakamatsu, 1965) and Ceremonies ( Gishiki, Nagisa Ōshima, 1971). These films’ cinematic allegorisation of post-war Japan’s everyday relationships was a way to reflect on the political character of that period. (shrink)