Comparative thanatologists study the responses to the dead and the dying in nonhuman animals. Despite the wide variety of thanatological behaviours that have been documented in several different species, comparative thanatologists assume that the concept of death is very difficult to acquire and will be a rare cognitive feat once we move past the human species. In this paper, we argue that this assumption is based on two forms of anthropocentrism: an intellectual anthropocentrism, which leads to an over-intellectualisation of the (...) CoD, and an emotional anthropocentrism, which yields an excessive focus on grief as a reaction to death. Contrary to what these two forms of anthropocentrism suggest, we argue that the CoD requires relatively little cognitive complexity and that it can emerge independently from mourning behaviour. Moreover, if we turn towards the natural world, we can see that the minimal cognitive requirements for a CoD are in fact met by many nonhuman species and there are multiple learning pathways and opportunities for animals in the wild to develop a CoD. This allows us to conclude that the CoD will be relatively easy to acquire and, so, we can expect it to be fairly common in nature. (shrink)

In their target article, Mikhalevich & Powell (M&P) argue that we should extend moral protection to arthropods. In this commentary, we show that there are some unforeseen obstacles to applying the sort of individualistic welfare-based ethics that M&P have in mind to certain arthropods, namely, insects. These obstacles have to do with the fact that there are often many more individuals involved in our dealings with insects than our ethical theories anticipate, and also with the fact that, in some sense, (...) some insects count as more than an individual and, in another sense, they sometimes count as less than an individual. (shrink)

Previous studies have explored the impact of magic tricks on different basic cognitive processes yet there is a need of examining effectiveness of a cognitive training program through magic tricks for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The present study examines the effectiveness and feasibility of the MAGNITIVE program, a manualized intervention for cognitive training through the learning of magic tricks. A total of 11 children with ADHD participated in separated groups of two different community settings, and were assessed at (...) pre-treatment, post-treatment, and a 3-month later follow-up in different tasks involving processing speed, sustained attention, selective attention, and mental flexibility. Using non parametric statistical analyses and Reliable Change Index, the results showed that these children receiving MAGNITIVE particularly improved their performance in sustained attention, shifting attention, and mental flexibility, changes were also observed in processing speed performance yet further research is needed in terms of selective attention and inhibition, given the great individual differences within this sample. Changes were maintained when the program was finished. In terms of viability, the study proved a good treatment integrity in different contexts, adherence to the curriculum, and high levels of engagement satisfaction. In this second clinical trial, MAGNITIVE program appears to be a feasible training program for children with ADHD, as an alternative for medication when possible. (shrink)

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the attitudes of medical personnel towards terminally ill patients and their right to be fully informed. DESIGN: Self-administered questionnaire composed of 56 closed questions. SETTING: Three general hospitals and eleven health centres in Granada (Spain). The sample comprised 168 doctors and 207 nurses. RESULTS: A high percentage of medical personnel (24.1%) do not think that informing the terminally ill would help them face their illness with greater serenity. Eighty-four per cent think the patient's own home is the (...) best place to die: 8.9% of the subjects questioned state that the would not like to be informed of an incurable illness. CONCLUSION: In our opinion any information given should depend on the patient's personality, the stage of the illness and family circumstances. Our study confirms that a hospital is not the ideal environment for attending to the needs of the terminally ill and their families. (shrink)

Despite countless anecdotes and the historical significance of insight as a problem solving mechanism, its nature has long remained elusive. The conscious experience of insight is notoriously difficult to trace in non-verbal animals. Although studying insight has presented a significant challenge even to neurobiology and psychology, human neuroimaging studies have cleared the theoretical landscape, as they have begun to reveal the underlying mechanisms. The study of insight in non-human animals has, in contrast, remained limited to innovative adjustments to experimental designs (...) within the classical approach of judging cognitive processes in animals, based on task performance. This leaves no apparent possibility of ending debates from different interpretations emerging from conflicting schools of thought. We believe that comparative cognition has thus much to gain by embracing advances from neuroscience and human cognitive psychology. We will review literature on insight and discuss the consequences of these findings to comparative cognition. (shrink)

In explaining the outcome of the 2016 EU referendum in the United Kingdom, can theories emphasizing the importance of economic factors be reconciled with the fact that many people appeared to vote against their economic self-interest? This article approaches this puzzle through case study research that draws on fieldwork and a process of reciprocal knowledge exchange with local communities in five local authorities in England and Wales. It argues that the Leave vote can be attributed partly to political discontent associated (...) with trajectories of relative economic decline and deindustrialization. Building on the growing literature about the role of narratives and discourses in navigating uncertainty, it contends that these localized economic experiences, interpreted through local-level narratives, paved the way for local-level discourses of resilience and nationwide optimistic messaging about the economic impacts of Brexit to resonate. Local and national-level discourses discounting the potential economic costs of leaving the European Union played a crucial role in giving precise, somewhat paradoxical, political content to the sense of discontent. The article contributes to the growing focus on place and community in understanding political behavior and invites further research on local discourses linking macro-level trajectories and micro-level voting decisions. (shrink)

La historiografia reciente ha traído un cambio de perspectivas acerca de la filosofia medieval y su compleja configuración. En el mismo horizonte donde sólo la teología regía como la única verdad y perspectiva acerca del hombre y el mundo, otras disciplinas claman por defender su relevancia en la construcción de la cosmología medieval. En este caso podremos estudiar cómo la medicina sostuvo una especial relación con la filosofia. en el proceso de su definición como reformulación "pagana" de la escatología medieval (...) y como un nuevo modelo antropológico. (shrink)

The present article inquires into the uses of Medea’s tragedy as a representation of political sedition in the XVII century, especially in Hobbes’ works who introduces the myth with few variations three times in his work. We are interested in the semantic shifts in the use of a tragedy that, for multiple reasons –to which we will later return– works as an epochal catalyzer of the political and moral dangers with which regicide is symbolically burdened. This constant role, identifiable in (...) the versions of Euripides, Seneca, and Corneille, combines differently -through history- the pairing of seduction and sedition that we try to reconstruct as a convergent element of the tragic vision of politics that runs through Hobbes work. Finally, we explore how classic tragedy is used by Bramhall in his debate with Hobbes, highlighting the connection between tragic and heretical readings of the philosopher. (shrink)

Populism has become one of the most worrying political phenomena, and given its complexity, one of the most controversial and debated today in social sciences. This article deconstructs and compares the discourses of the Spanish parties that are generally classified as populist —the left-leaning Podemos, the right-wing Vox and the Basque and Catalan secessionist parties EH Bildu, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and Junts per Catalunya— according to five dimensions of populism: i) antagonism, ii) morality, iii) idealised construction of society, iv) (...) exaltation of popular sovereignty, and v) personalist leadership. This article shows that, despite significant ideological and programmatic differences, all these parties share many discursive features and a similar way of articulating their communications, interpreting social and political dynamics, as well as instrumentalizing crises to build new political identities. (shrink)

Throughout its great history, the feminist movement has thought the different facets of the repressive apparatus of the State, as a political problem and as part of its strategy of struggle and survival. In different contexts, antipunitivism —that is, the political response to the philosophy of punishment as the way to act to social issues— has emerged as a crucial element in the diatribes of antisystemic feminisms. However, we could not claim that there is something like a structuring and structured (...) tradition of antipunitivist feminism. Rather, what we observe is a set of concerns and political approaches of some feminisms to the strategies of punishment, in the moments in which the logics of patriarchal domination intersect with the gender-generic selectivity of the repressive apparatuses of the States. In the present work we would like to make the effort to deliberate the interaction between these approaches in order to enunciate what elements would compose an antipunitivist feminism. (shrink)

Background: Sharing information with relatives of elderly patients in primary care and in hospital has to fit into the complex set of obligations, justifications and pressures concerning the provision of information, and the results of some studies point to the need for further empirical studies exploring issues of patient autonomy, privacy and informed consent in the day-to-day care of older people.Objectives: To know the frequency with which “capable” patients over 65 years of age receive information when admitted to hospital, the (...) information offered to the families concerned, the person who gives consent for medical intervention, and the degree of satisfaction with the information received and the healthcare provided.Method: A descriptive questionnaire given to 200 patients and 200 relatives during the patients’ stay in hospital.Results: Only 5% of patients confirmed that they had been asked whether information could be given to their relatives. A significantly higher proportion of relatives received information on the successive stages of the care offered than did patients themselves. As the age of the patients increased, so the number who were given information, understood the information and were asked for their consent for complementary tests decreased. The degree of satisfaction with the information offered was high for both patients and relatives , despite the irregularities observed.Conclusions: The capacity of elderly patients to participate in the decision-making process is frequently doubted simply because they have reached a certain age and it is thought that relatives should act as their representatives. In Spain, the opinion of the family and doctors appears to play a larger role in making decisions than does the concept of patient autonomy. (shrink)

In the context of technological dissemination sessions aimed at prospective students at the Polytechnic University of Baja California in the city of Mexicali, Baja California, the importance of engineering and its role in scientific and technological progress was stressed, as well as its role in scientific and technological progress as drivers of economic development in the region. A group of 2,154 students from 20 different institutions of public high school education answered a survey designed as an evaluation tool for a (...) career path or technology area of interest. The survey results show that students have a low preference for engineering careers. Moreover, these results were augmented with an additional study on the high attrition of students in engineering schools in the city of Mexicali, Baja California, also conducted by the authors. It raises the importance of teaching science in the early education levels, which aims to prepare scientists and technologists needed for the development of research and innovation as a foundation for economic prosperity and welfare of an emerging economy such as Mexico. (shrink)

Judging similarities among objects, events, and experiences is one of the most basic cognitive abilities, allowing us to make predictions and generalizations. The main assumption in similarity judgment is that people selectively attend to salient features of stimuli and judge their similarities on the basis of the common and distinct features of the stimuli. However, it is unclear how people select features from stimuli and how they weigh features. Here, we present a computational method that helps address these questions. Our (...) procedure combines image-processing techniques with a machine-learning algorithm and assesses feature weights that can account for both similarity and categorization judgment data. Our analysis suggests that a small number of local features are particularly important to explain our behavioral data. (shrink)

BackgroundMoral distress (MD) is the psychological damage caused when people are forced to witness or carry out actions which go against their fundamental moral values. The main objective was to evaluate the prevalence and predictive factors associated with MD among health professionals during the pandemic and to determine its causes.MethodsA regional, observational and cross-sectional study in a sample of 566 professionals from the Public Health Service of Andalusia (68.7% female; 66.9% physicians) who completed the MMD-HP-SPA scale to determine the level (...) of MD (0-432 points). Five dimensions were used: i) Health care; ii) Therapeutic obstinacy-futility, iii) Interpersonal relations of the Healthcare Team, iv) External pressure; v) Covering up of medical malpractice.ResultsThe mean level of MD was 127.3 (SD=66.7; 95% CI 121.8-132.8), being higher in female (135 vs. 110.3; p<0.01), in nursing professionals (137.8 vs. 122; p<0.01) and in the community setting (136.2 vs. 118.3; p<0.001), with these variables showing statistical significance in the multiple linear regression model (p<0.001; r2=0.052). With similar results, the multiple logistic regression model showed being female was a higher risk factor (OR=2.27; 95% CI 1.5-3.4; p<0.001). 70% of the sources of MD belonged to the dimension "Health Care" and the cause "Having to attend to more patients than I can safely attend to" obtained the highest average value (Mean=9.8; SD=4.9).ConclusionsFemale, nursing professionals, and those from the community setting presented a higher risk of MD. The healthcare model needs to implement an ethical approach to public health issues to alleviate MD among its professionals. (shrink)

Los tratados de Santo Tomás sobre la ley y sobre el derecho están desarrollados desde metodologías distintas y en un plano epistemológico diverso. No obstante, la tradición tomista con frecuencia los ha mezclado y confundido, desvirtuando su significado y valor doctrinal. Es frecuente que se recurra a la doctrina sobre el mundo de lo jurídico usando su exposición sobre las cuestiones "de iure". Pero no se repara en que dio un significado novedoso al "ius" de los jurisconsultos romanos, al identificarlo (...) con los contenidos de comportamientos justos y no con lo que hoy denominamos el mundo jurídico. Se trata, por tanto, de un tema especifico de la moral. Por otra parte, los moralistas recurren con frecuencia a estas doctrinas para demostrar la objetividad del derecho natural, pero esto no es correcto, pues las acciones justas pueden serlo sólo por estar legisladas y no porque expresen valores inmutables de la naturaleza. El autor trata de explicar ambos tratados resaltando su originalidad y peculiaridad, sin fáciles concordismos ni improcedentes generalizaciones. (shrink)

La fundación de la revista La Ciencia Tomista se debe a los superiores de la Provincia dominicana de España. Con ella pretendían hacerse presentes en el mundo de la cultura española, a semejanza con otras revistas entonces publicadas por las instituciones religiosas renovadas tras el Concordato de 1851. Y también pretendían integrarse en el tomismo renovado bajo los auspicios de León XIII. El primer director de la revista fue el Fr. Alonso-Getino, quien le confirió su carácter de revista de alta (...) divulgación científica, filosófica y teológica y de atalaya de los movimientos culturales en España. El director de la revista fue elegido contando con sus méritos de joven profesor e investigador en el área de la historia de la teología española. Esos méritos se acrecentaron con los años y se convirtió en adalid de la investigación histórica dominicana. Su brillante carrera quedó, sin embargo, truncada por los acontecimientos de la guerra civil española y por la condenación por la S. C. del Santo Oficio de una obra suya en la que había puesto sus mejores sentimientos.La Ciencia Tomista journal was created by the religious superiors of the Province of Spain. They tried with it to be present in the world of the Spanish culture, as other journals published then by religious institutions renewed after the 1851 concordat did. They also tried to integrate into an updated Thomism sponsored by Leo XIII. Fr Alonso-Getino was the Director of the journal and the one who gave it the character of a high popular scientific, philosophical and theological journal, being a watchtower of the cultural movements in Spain. The journal director was chosen taking in account his merits as a young professor and researcher into the history of the Spanish theology. Those merits increased year after year and he became a leader of the Dominican historical investigation. However, his brilliant career was cut short by the Spanish war and the censure by the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office of one of his books in which he had set his best feelings. (shrink)

La edición Leonina de las obras de Santo Tomás ha cumplido 125 años de existencia. Lo que hoy representa es diferente de lo que fue el propósito de León XIII, quien la diseñó y organizó como un servicio a la renovación de la filosofía y la teología tomistas, pero no como un estudio crítico de toda la tradición manuscrita. La historia de los volúmenes publicados hasta hoy -35 de los 50 programados- es un índice expresivo de los progresos efectuados en (...) la ecdótica durante este tiempo. La misma Comisión ha tenido que revisar algunos de sus primeros volúmenes.En este trabajo se hace una historia detallada de cada uno de los volúmenes publicados y de los principios y técnicas con que fueron elaborados. Se divide la historia en cuatro períodos que corresponden a cuatro generaciones de investigadores y de técnicas usadas para acercarse a los autógrafos del autor. Al final, se hace una descripción de los notables méritos de esta edición y del trabajo todavía pendiente. (shrink)

El bien común como fin absoluto de la persona implica una totalidad de bienes humanos que pueden englobarse bajo la razón de felicidad humana plena. Como el bien común es la razón justificativa de todo uso recto del poder político, de toda motivación de las leyes que rigen un pueblo y de todos los procesos de creación y reparto de bienes económicos, cabe decir que la felicidad humana es término final de todo gobierno, de todo el orden jurídico y del (...) económico. Sto. Tomás aplicó la concepción eudemónica aristotélica a la filosofía política, a la jurídica y a la económica. Y, además, se sirvió de esta doctrina para explicar teológicamente el tema de la felicidad eterna sobrenatural. En la edad moderna el pensamiento liberal se ha separado de esta teoría, pues no conoce otra promoción de la felicidad que la subjetiva del individuo. Esto se comprueba por la exposición de dos teóricos de la filosofía liberal política: N. Nozick, y Michael Novak. Aunque a veces se haya querido dar una interpretación liberal a la filosofía política de Santo Tomás, sus presupuestos son radicalmente distintos. (shrink)

Los avances científico-tecnológicos han abierto una brecha en cuanto a los tratamientos médicos y los valores morales que deben sustentar la atención de salud. El profesional de enfermería no está exento de estos peligros, por lo que se ha generado un nuevo modelo ético que se integre al proceso de atención de enfermería. Con el objetivo de determinar los conocimientos y opiniones de estos profesionales, del área de cirugía de mínimo acceso, acerca de la aplicación del modelo en el contexto (...) de estos servicios, se diseñó una investigación de tipo observacional descriptiva con empleo de metodología cualitativa. Como técnica de exploración se usó la entrevista en profundidad, así como un panel de expertos para la construcción de la guía de entrevista. Se entrevistó a 34 enfermeras que laboraban en el Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso durante el período del estudio. Se concluye que la práctica de la cirugía de mínimo acceso es propicia para que médicos y enfermeras hagan una mayor observancia del derecho de autonomía de los pacientes. Se reconoce la capacidad de este personal para tomar decisiones independientes de los médicos en cuanto a las acciones de cuidado, lo que implica una mayor responsabilidad. Scientific and technological advances have opened a gap between medical treatments and the moral values that should support health care. The nurse is not exempt from these dangers. As such, a new ethical model that integrates to the process of nursing care has emerged. In order to determine the knowledge and opinions of the professionals who work in minimal access surgery services on the implementation of this model, a descriptive, observational study was designed utilizing qualitative methodology. In-depth interviewing was used as the primary testing technique. A panel of experts from the National Center of Minimal Access Surgery was consulted to develop the interview guide. Thirty-four nurses from the National Center for Minimal Access Surgery were interviewed over the course of the study period. Results suggest that the setting of minimal access surgery is conducive to medical professionals making greater observance of the right to patient autonomy. The ability of this staff to make independent decisions regarding medical care action is recognized, which implies greater responsibility. (shrink)

Este trabajo analiza unos treinta documentos testamentarios de la familia de la Puerta de Osuna, que nos revelan que la salvación del alma era una de las grandes preocupaciones humanas en los siglos pasados. Además de la mentalidad de la época ante la llegada del momento trascendental de la muerte, se obtienen multitud de datos sobre las costumbres funerarias, el coste de los entierros y misas, las obras sociales y de caridad a la que los difuntos destinaban parte de (...) sus bienes, así como una gran cantidad de referencias de la vida religiosa de la Villa Ducal, de sus conventos y monasterios. Más importantes aún si cabe son las conclusiones que nos aportan los justificantes de los recibís firmados por los ejecutores de las diversas obras funerarias ante los albaceas testamentarios designados para tal efecto, ya que, debido al temor que siempre se ha tenido ante la muerte, las ocurrencias y curiosidades que se desvelan en dicho momento tan circunstancial nos pueden llegar a sorprender. (shrink)