El artículo analiza las ideas filosóficas de Lisandro de la Torre, dirigente político y destacado legislador argentino de vasta trayectoria pública entre 1890 y 1937, a partir de algunas conferencias y escritos de sus últimos años. En el enfoque de su cosmovisión se toman en cuenta, por un lado, la relación entre filosofía, ciencia y religión, y, por otro, la concepción antropológica, mostrando la influencia de perspectivas filosóficas como el panteísmo y el positivismo. El estudio somete a crítica la desvinculación (...) entre política y filosofía que hacía el propio de la Torre. Antes bien, concluye en que ambas esferas se encuentran conectadas y constituyen una raíz fundante del pensamiento latorrista.The article analyses Lisandro de la Torre's philosophical ideas. He was an important Argentinian politician, who had an active public life, mainly, as a legislator, between 1890 and 1937. The study is based upon some lectures and writings from his last years. His cosmological view is examined through the relation among philosophy, science and religion, on one hand, and through his anthropological account, on the other hand. The influence of pantheism and positivism is pointed out in both perspectives. It is criticised de la Torre's claim about politics as an anti-philosophical activity by arguing that philosophy and politics may be considered as foundations of his thought. (shrink)

Entrevista a Miguel Valderrama por Raúl Rodríguez Freire.

Areté cumple diez años. Es, por cierto, un aniversario modesto, pero que no deja de ofrecer una buena ocasión para pensar en una celebración académica. Fue con esa intención que decidimos, hace ya dos años, preparar un volumen especial que estuviese dedicado a esclarecer desde diferentes perspectivas la noción que da nombre a nuestra revista: la noción de areté. Invitamos a participar en él a nuestros colaboradores y amigos, pero también a otros filósofos que han dedicado parte de su obra (...) a estudiar los orígenes o las repercusiones de dicha noción en la historiade la filosofía. (shrink)

Se explora cr.ticamente el pensamiento del fil.sofo colombiano Jorge Aurelio Díaz acerca de la religi.n. En particular, se examina, por un lado, la cuestión del lugar y el papel de la religi.n en la modernidad, a partir de la pregunta por la racionalidad y el valor cognitivo de la creencia religiosa, y, por otro lado, la diferencia entre misticismoy religión. Se plantear.n y discutir.n algunos aspectos problemáticos de lamanera en que Díaz comprende ambos asuntos.

RESUMEN Se explora críticamente el pensamiento del filósofo colombiano Jorge Aurelio Díaz acerca de la religión. En particular, se examina, por un lado, la cuestión del lugar y el papel de la religión en la modernidad, a partir de la pregunta por la racionalidad y el valor cognitivo de la creencia religiosa, y, por otro lado, la diferencia entre misticismo y religión. Se plantearán y discutirán algunos aspectos problemáticos de la manera en que Díaz comprende ambos asuntos. ABSTRACT The paper (...) carries out a critical examination of Colombian philosopher Jorge Aurelio Díaz's philosophical thought regarding religion. Specifically, it examines the place and role of religion in modernity on the basis of the question regarding the rationality and cognitive value of religious belief, as well as the difference between mysticism and religion. The article sets forth and discusses some problematic aspects of the manner in which Díaz understands both of these issues. (shrink)

El VI Congreso Internacional de Narrativa Fantástica 2019 se realizó en la capital del Perú del 23 al 25 de octubre de 2019. Fue organizado por el Centro de Estudios Literarios Antonio Cornejo Polar y auspiciado por el Instituto Raúl Porras Barrenechea. Elton Honores asumió la función principal para la administración del evento. La convocatoria consideró las propuestas del subgénero fantástico, desde las creaciones artísticas de Borges, Poe y Oesterheld. También, se interrelacionó lo fantástico con conceptos conexos como los de (...) ciencia ficción y terror. Su intención fue que se forjara un vínculo interdisciplinario, debido a que se integraron análisis sobre las producciones cinematográficas y literarias a nivel mundial, así como se procuró implementar con paradigmas circundantes como los de real maravilloso, realismo mágico, tradiciones míticas, minificción, historieta y cómic. La organización idónea del congreso se concretó con éxito, de tal manera que las bases se corroboraron en las pesquisas. Las ponencias fueron aceptadas por corresponder con los temas sugeridos y se hizo una distribución de catorce mesas para las más de cuarenta contribuciones. En estas, se involucraron investigadores latinoamericanos y norteamericanos de forma presencial. Asimismo, se desarrollaron las conferencias magistrales de Amatto y Honores. Sin embargo, retomaré cinco trabajos que sintetizan el objetivo y los tópicos desarrollados en este congreso. Estos abordan la noción del terror desde lo cinematográfico, la ciencia ficción desde lo literario, la epistemología efectuada en torno a autores latinoamericanos y la extrapolación del terror a partir de Poe y Lovecraft. (shrink)

Este artículo retoma los criterios convergentes que debaten la configuración epistemológica de la posmodernidad en América Latina. Para ello, me valgo principalmente de los postulados de George Yúdice, Raúl Bueno y Beatriz Sarlo, quienes coinciden en formular y demostrar que todo intento de sincretizar lo que se está desarrollando en este movimiento es inadecuado. Por esa razón, será de importancia considerar este paradigma desde la filología, la etnografía, lo social y lo cultural, ya que muchos de sus componentes tendrán un (...) soporte capitalista, el cual será revelado con pormenores en el decurso de este trabajo. (shrink)

Digital COVID certificates are a novel public health policy to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. These immunity certificates aim to incentivize vaccination and to deny international travel or access to essential spaces to those who are unable to prove that they are not infectious. In this article, we start by describing immunity certificates and highlighting their differences from vaccination certificates. Then, we focus on the ethical, legal, and social issues involved in their use, namely autonomy and consent, data protection, equity, and (...) international mobility from a global fairness perspective. The main conclusion of our analysis is that digital COVID certificates are only acceptable if they meet certain conditions: that they should not process personal data beyond what is strictly necessary for the aimed goals, that equal access to them should be guaranteed, and that they should not restrict people’s autonomy to access places where contagion is unlikely. We conclude that, if such conditions are guaranteed, digital COVID certificates could contribute to mitigating some of the most severe socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic. (shrink)

This paper aims to analyse how the discourse of CEO letters and other factors influence community involvement and Social Licence to Operate (SLO) in the mining industry. The analysis is based on qualitative information disclosed in sustainability reports and CEO letters from 32 mining firms. Content analysis was undertaken to obtain data for the study, and then a regression analysis and a multiple correspondence analysis were used to test the hypotheses defined in the study. The results indicate that the CEO (...) discourse influences how a firm expresses the importance of gaining its SLO, the philanthropic activities in which companies become involved and the destinations of the investments in the communities in which they operate. The results also show changes in the discourse between 2011 and 2015, which are, in part, explained by the difficult situation experienced by the sector during this period. The paper contributes to the Corporate Social Responsibility literature by integrating different theories from this field into the SLO framework. The analysis carried out and the results obtained are useful for both CEOs and Sustainability Managers, especially in managing their relationships with the communities where they operate or intend to operate. (shrink)

This paper aims to analyse how the discourse of CEO letters and other factors influence community involvement and Social Licence to Operate (SLO) in the mining industry. The analysis is based on qualitative information disclosed in sustainability reports and CEO letters from 32 mining firms. Content analysis was undertaken to obtain data for the study, and then a regression analysis and a multiple correspondence analysis were used to test the hypotheses defined in the study. The results indicate that the CEO (...) discourse influences how a firm expresses the importance of gaining its SLO, the philanthropic activities in which companies become involved and the destinations of the investments in the communities in which they operate. The results also show changes in the discourse between 2011 and 2015, which are, in part, explained by the difficult situation experienced by the sector during this period. The paper contributes to the Corporate Social Responsibility literature by integrating different theories from this field into the SLO framework. The analysis carried out and the results obtained are useful for both CEOs and Sustainability Managers, especially in managing their relationships with the communities where they operate or intend to operate. (shrink)

In their recent article, Brown et al analyse several ethical aspects around immunity passports and put forward some recommendations for implementing them. Although they offer a comprehensive perspective, they overlook two essential aspects. First, while the authors consider the possibility that immunological passports may appear to discriminate against those who do not possess them, the opposite viewpoint of immune people is underdeveloped. We argue that if a person has been tested positive for and recovered from COVID-19, becoming immune to it, (...) she cannot be considered a hazard to public health and, therefore, the curtailment of her fundamental rights is not legitimate. Second, they omit that vaccine distribution will create similar problems related to immunity-based licenses. Vaccine certificates will de facto generate a sort of immunity passport. In the next phases of the pandemic, different immunity statuses will be at stake, because the need to identify who can spread COVID-19 is unavoidable. If a person does not pose a threat to public health because she cannot spread the infection, then her right to freedom of movement should be respected, regardless of how she acquired that immunity. (shrink)

Should we use human germline genome modification only when serious diseases are involved? This belief is the underlying factor in the article written by Kleiderman, Ravitsky and Knoppers to which I now respond. In my opinion, the answer to this question should be negative. In this paper, I attempt to show that there are no good reasons to think that this technology should be limited to serious diseases once it is sufficiently proven to be safe and efficient. In fact, opting (...) otherwise would negatively harm human beings’ right to the highest standard of health that unmodified embryos could promote. Therefore, the issue should not be so much to define adequately what a serious disease is, but rather to elucidate whether this concept should play any role beyond the context of preimplantation genetic testing. This paper argues that we should not accept the similarity between technologies such as PGT and HGGM because they face different challenges and offer totally different possibilities. Therefore, we are in urgent need to build a completely new ethical architecture that covers the application of germline editing in human embryos. As a part of that process, a much deeper debate on the necessity of distinguishing different disease types is required. (shrink)

Should we be allowed to refuse any involvement of artificial intelligence technology in diagnosis and treatment planning? This is the relevant question posed by Ploug and Holm in a recent article in Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. In this article, I adhere to their conclusions, but not necessarily to the rationale that supports them. First, I argue that the idea that we should recognize this right on the basis of a rational interest defence is not plausible, unless we are willing (...) to judge each patient’s ideology or religion. Instead, I consider that the right must be recognized by virtue of values such as social pluralism or individual autonomy. Second, I point out that the scope of such a right should be limited at least under three circumstances: if it is against a physician’s obligation to not cause unnecessary harm to a patient or to not provide futile treatment, in cases where the costs of implementing this right are too high, or if recognizing the right would deprive other patients of their own rights to adequate health care. (shrink)

The search for a systems‐level picture of metabolism as a web of molecular interactions provides a paradigmatic example of how the methods used to characterize a system can bias the interpretation of its functional meaning. Metabolic maps have been analyzed using novel techniques from network theory, revealing some non‐trivial, functionally relevant properties. These include a small‐world structure and hierarchical modularity. However, as discussed here, some of these properties might actually result from an inappropriate way of defining network interactions. Starting from (...) the so‐called bipartite organization of metabolism, where the two meaningful subsets (reactions and metabolites) are considered, most current works use only one of the subsets by means of so‐called graph projections. Unfortunately, projected graphs often ignore relevant biological and chemical constraints, thus leading to statistical artifacts. Some of these drawbacks and alternative approaches need to be properly addressed. (shrink)

Volume 19, Issue 7, July 2019, Page 49-50.

En este trabajo centrado en la Ética se resaltará la dimensión de alteridad de la esencia del ser humano y, por lo tanto, en el caso de Spinoza, de la noción de deseo. A partir de esta alteridad constitutiva, el modo dicotómico de pensar lo social y lo individual es reconsiderado mediante un deseo que, sin dejar de ser singular, es y persevera en relación con los demás. Con el fin de no reducir la noción de deseo a una de (...) sus expresiones, se distinguirá entre las diversas formas del deseo, en particular el anhelo, y el deseo-cupiditas. Asimismo se perfilará la noción de un deseo de razón en contraste con las figuras de la impotencia. Las vías abiertas conducen a la valoración de un pensador que nos legó una noción de deseo que implica simultáneamente afirmación y codependencia, insertándolo en debates éticos, políticos y psicológicos actuales. (shrink)

La enseñanza de las confrontaciones producidas a lo largo del siglo XX, y en especial durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial sigue siendo un tema controvertido en la didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales. Tomando como referencia el currículo de cuarto de la ESO, y en especial el bloque décimo de la materia de Geografía e Historia, esta comunicación selecciona una serie de materiales didácticos cartográficos de indudable utilidad en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la relación entre el pasado, el presente y (...) la proyección al futuro a través de estas dos disciplinas referentes. Además del estándar de aprendizaje referido al Holocausto, esta propuesta didáctica –fundamentada en los proyectos europeos Youthmetre y EuropeanValuesStudy- procura dar cumplimiento a la comprensión de las causas por las que una Europa en guerra durante el siglo XX ha podido llegar a una unión económica y política en el siglo XXI. (shrink)

El artículo trata acerca de la contribución del pensamiento último de Julio De Zan a la filosofía de la democracia y el cosmopolitismo. Las perspectivas abordadas se refieren al rol de la sociedad civil, a la legitimación del poder político y al cosmopolitismo democrático. Todas ellas son interpretadas en torno a la concepción de la sociedad civil contemporánea como el espacio público de construcción del poder democrático. Se destaca la defensa de De Zan de un orden político global no centrado (...) en el Estado tradicional y sustentado en el progreso hacia una comunidad ética de tipo kantiano, como así también su vigorosa invocación de la soberanía como idea desustancializada. (shrink)

Últimamente se han desarrollado nuevos y estimulantes enfoques teóricos sobre los movimientos sociales. Este artículo se basa en las teorías que investigan el papel de los movimientos sociales como creadores de marcos de interpretación, de nuevos «marcos de injusticia» desde los que reinterpretar la realidad y subvertir los códigos culturales dominantes. Estas teorías se aplican a la reconstrucción del actual proceso de deslegitimación de la violencia contra las mujeres. Es posible objetivar tres momentos clave en la redefinición de un hecho (...) tan arraigado y casi universal como la violencia contra las mujeres. Partimos de la interpretación patriarcal de la violencia contra las mujeres para después reconstruir los tres pasos seguidos en la construcción de un nuevo marco interpretativo, el de la denominada violencia de género. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the Spanish mobile phone industry to determine how mobile phone companies and certain institutions can improve protection for children who use mobile phones. We carried out a multivariate statistical analysis using anonymous primary data from mobile phone companies, and institutions and associations that protect children, to compare these stakeholders’ opinions and to put forward solutions. We proved that, even though some European countries have made an effort to provide safer ICT services, all (...) stakeholders still need to cooperate and agree on solutions to the commercial problems associated with children using mobile phones. This can be done by signing codes of conduct. We found that even though some companies implement measures to protect children from accessing harmful content via their mobile phones, they do so for reasons of legal and not social responsibility. (shrink)

The seat belt analogy argument is aimed at furthering the success of coercive vaccination efforts on the basis that the latter is similar to compulsory use of seat belts. However, this article demonstrated that this argument does not work so well in practice due to several reasons. The possibility of saving resources in health care does not usually apply in our societies, and the paternalist mentality that contributed to the implementation of seat belt–wearing obligation was predominant 30 years ago, but (...) it does not apply at this moment. Furthermore, the risk/benefit analysis is totally different in both scenarios. In the case of seat belts, there is no way to discriminate between the users. In the case of vaccines, individuals present with unique circumstances that may differ substantially from those of another and might be foreseen a priori. This means that an analysis must be performed individually before vaccination is imposed. Finally, one must keep in mind that seat belts are often the only way in which we can protect third parties against a tragic hit by the occupant of another vehicle and are very efficient tools for this purpose. Vaccines, in contrast, do not always create sterilising immunity and are definitely not the only way by which we can avoid spreading a virus; immunity certificates, isolation, or even confinement may also serve as viable methods to achieve this purpose. (shrink)

BackgroundSome persons conceived with donor gametes react negatively when they found their birth via donor conception. They request access to information about and seek to communicate with the donor. However, some countries mandate donor anonymity. Other countries allow donor-conceived persons to access donor information, but they can only use this access if their parents have disclosed donor conception to them. We investigated a thorny issue of donor conception: whether donor conception should be shifted from an anonymous basis to a non-anonymous (...) basis.MethodsWe review the issues and concerns regarding donor conception. We then consider the impact of direct-to-consumer genetic testing on donor conception, as well as the influence of donor conception on offspring’s identity and the potential of different types of donors. To discuss the future policy of donor conception, the policies on the anonymity of gamete donors were investigated using publicly-available documents in 15 countries.ResultsThe aim of mandating donor anonymity is to protect the privacy of the donor and intended parents. However, the diffusion of direct-to-consumer genetic testing may make it impossible to maintain anonymity. Birth via donor conception shapes the offspring’s identity, and the donor may further influence the development of offspring’s identity through communications. It remains important to disclose donor conception to donor-conceived offspring and to provide them with donor information. However, that information might be insufficient for some donor-conceived persons. Here are benefits to having open-identity donors and known donors. Such donors can make an agreement with the parents regarding future communication with the offspring, although both sides should respect privacy. Subsequent counseling for all parties involved can result in better tripartite communication agreements.ConclusionsIn sum, ethical and practical issues that complicate donor anonymity are driving a shift to non-anonymous donor conception, in which all parties come to a communication agreement. To pave the way for such a donor conception system, transitional measures can be put into place. For countries that already adopted non-anonymous donor conception, ensuring the communication agreements is important to protect the rights of parents, donor, and offspring. (shrink)

This article is concerned with the Spinozian topic of understanding human actions and its interpretation by Nietzsche in The Gay Science 333. Nietzsche doesn’t read directly Spinoza’s work but rather the volume of Kuno Fischer’s History of Modern Philosophy dedicated to the XVIIth century philosopher; this can be confirmed by the way in which the text is quoted. Even if Nietzsche reduces greatly the power of understanding to one of its aspect translating intelligere as erkennen, it is necessary to emphasize (...) that the aphorism presents a novelty that can enrich the study of the relationship between these two philosophers. Nietzsche identifies conscious thought with the “last scenes of reconciliation” between different drives of a previous unconscious process. Even if the point of departure of this survey is the centrality of affects in both thinkers, it will also identify a precise limit which distances Spinoza’s understanding of the affects from the centrality of drives in Nietzsche’s philosophical project. (shrink)

The application of genetic editing techniques for the prevention or cure of disease is a highly promising tool for the future of humanity. However, its implementation contains a number of ethical and legal challenges that should not be underestimated. On this basis, some sectors have already asked for a veto on any intervention that modifies the human germ line, while supporting somatic line editing. In this paper, I will support that this suggestion makes no sense at all, because the somatic/germ (...) line disjunctive has no moral relevance and, therefore, it should not play any role in legal terms. I will provide a number of reasons to hold this assumption, such as the non‐sacred nature of the germ line, the difference between germ line and human genome modification, or the moral importance of the presence of a will to create modified descendants. While doing so, I will provide some examples of the different approaches to germ line editing adopted by different regulations so as to demonstrate that, contrary to what is sometimes stated, a general ban on this practice is not the rule, but the exception. Additionally, I will show how alternative options which currently exist, such as a selective ban based on criteria different to the germ line/somatic line distinction, match better with the need to conciliate research needs and legitimate ethical concerns. Finally, I will introduce some further suggestions to this same purpose. (shrink)

The aim of the present paper is to reinforce some of the affirmations made by Vera Lucia Raposo in a recent paper published by the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. According to her, germline gene editing does not violate human dignity at all. This article offers some complementary ideas supporting her statement. In particular, four main arguments are stressed. Firstly, not only is the idea of human dignity unclear, but the idea of the human genome suffers from a general lack of (...) concreteness, which has dramatic consequences for the debate. Secondly, it is highlighted that if we believe that the immutability of the human genome underpins human dignity, then it should be our duty to use the tools of genetic modification to reverse any accidental changes that occur in nature. Thirdly, it is showed that if the alteration of germline constitutes an attack on human dignity, then we should also refrain from performing medical practices such as chemotherapy, which cause precisely this effect. Finally, we argue that modification of germline is not contrary to human dignity but an excellent expression of our autonomy. (shrink)

The notion of the human embryo is not immutable. Various scientific and technological breakthroughs in reproductive biology have compelled us to revisit the definition of the human embryo during the past 2 decades. Somatic cell nuclear transfer, oocyte haploidisation and, more recently, human stem cell-derived embryo models have challenged this scientific term, which has both ethical and legal repercussions. Here, we offer a legal perspective to identify a universally accepted definition of ‘embryo’ which could help to ease and unify the (...) regulation of such entities in different countries. (shrink)

El último, quizás, de los Antiguos y uno de los primeros entre los Modernos, Leibniz (1646-1716) concibió arriesgadamente el universo, y la ciencia que lo describe, como una explanada infinita, aquella ciudad simbólica, llena de calles y de plazas, desde las que se puede salir y a las que se puede acceder desde cualquier rincón, una ciudad bulliciosa, poliédrica, poblada de vibraciones, resonancias y ecos producidos por sujetos únicos, irrepetibles e inviolables. Para ello, formuló técnicamente la imposible noción de lo (...) infinito en términos finitos manejables, elaboró una potente ontología de las correspondencias entre sistemas, su ley de la continuidad, que hace operativamente idénticos los contrarios, y describió el inagotable e indiferenciado caudal de energía que conforma la secreta esencia de este mundo estallando o expresándose de las formas concretas más variadas, que a nuestra inteligencia es dado medir en los fenómenos que observamos. Analogías de analogías# in infinitum. (shrink)

La aparición de las modernas técnicas de modificación genética (CRISPRCas9) ha abierto maravillosas expectativas en el campo de la biomedicina. Sin embargo, su aplicación sobre la línea germinal humana despierta todavía una fuerte oposición por parte de amplios colectivos. A menudo se aduce que factores como el riesgo que implica esta técnica, su propia futilidad, la amenaza implícita a la integridad del genoma humano, o la posibilidad de que acaben dando naturaleza a una nueva eugenesia justifican la necesidad de trazar (...) una prohibición o, al menos, una moratoria sobre ellas. En este texto debatiremos la solvencia de cada uno de estos argumentos, concluyendo que, en realidad, no hay buenos motivos para oponerse a la técnica que nos ocupa. (shrink)

Anna Smajdor’s proposal of whole body gestational donation (WBGD) states that female patients diagnosed as brain-dead should be considered for use as gestational donors. In this response, Smajdor’s proposal is rejected on four different accounts: (a) the debated acceptability of surrogacy despite women's autonomy, (b) the harm to dead women ́s interests, (c) the interests of the descendants, and (d) the symbolic value of the body and interests of relatives. The first part argues that WBGD rests on a particular conception (...) of the instrumentalization of bodies that cannot be circumvented simply by the patient’s consent and relinquished autonomy. The second part argues the importance of avoiding any harm to dead women’s interests. The third part identifies the importance of the interest of the foetus in the light of Procreative-Beneficence principle that Smajdor overlooks. And finally, the fourth part considers the symbolic value of the human body and the interest of relatives. The main goal of this commentary is not to show that WBGD cannot be implemented; rather, it is to show that there are not any good arguments in favour of doing so. (shrink)