First published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Technological developments involving robotics and artificial intelligence devices are being employed evermore in elderly care and the healthcare sector more generally, raising ethical issues and practical questions warranting closer considerations of what we mean by “care” and, subsequently, how to design such software coherently with the chosen definition. This paper starts by critically examining the existing approaches to the ethical design of care robots provided by Aimee van Wynsberghe, who relies on the work on the ethics of care by Joan (...) Tronto. In doing so, it suggests an alternative to their non-principled approach, an alternative suited to tackling some of the issues raised by Tronto and van Wynsberghe, while allowing for the inclusion of two orientative principles. Our proposal centres on the principles of autonomy and vulnerability, whose joint adoption we deem able to constitute an original revision of a bottom-up approach in care ethics. Conclusively, the ethical framework introduced here integrates more traditional approaches in care ethics in view of enhancing the debate regarding the ethical design of care robots under a new lens. (shrink)

This paper articulates and argues for the plausibility of the Presentation View of Perceptual Knowledge, an under-discussed epistemology of perception. On this view, a central epistemological role of perception is that of making subjects aware of their surroundings. By doing so, perception affords subjects with reasons for world-directed judgments. Moreover, the very perceived concrete entities are identified as those reasons. The former claim means that the position is a reasons-based epistemology; the latter means that it endorses a radically anti-psychologist conception (...) of reasons. First, I articulate and motivate the Presentation View. Then, I defend the view from three incarnations of a major objection levelled within the ranks of reasons-based epistemologies: McDowell’s version of the accusation that a view like this falls prey to the Myth of the Given. I argue that all three incarnations fail to show the Presentation View to be inadequate. The first version holds that a general characterization of the Myth clearly shows that it is an incoherent idea. The second version holds that endorsing the Myth makes it impossible to construe non-conceptual items as items that can stand in rational relations to judgements and beliefs. The third version holds that endorsing the Myth leads to a conception where perceptual experiences merely cause, but do not warrant, our perceptual beliefs and judgements. I explain in detail how the Presentation View has the elements to respond to each of these objections. (shrink)

Respect for human embryos is often defended on the basis of the potentiality argument: embryos deserve respect because they already possess potentially the features that in adults are fully actualized. Opponents of this argument challenge it by claiming that if embryos should be respected because they are potentially adults, then gametes should be respected because they are potentially embryos. This article rejects this reductio ad absurdum argument by showing that there are two different types of potentiality involved so that the (...) transitivity of potentiality does not hold up in this case. Respect for embryos does not logically entail respect for gametes. (shrink)

In order to understand the nature of human embryos I first distinguish between active and passive potentiality, and then argue that the former is found in human gametes and embryos (even in embryos in vitro that may fail to be implanted) because they all have an indwelling power or capacity to initiate certain changes. Implantation provides necessary conditions for the actualization of that prior, active potentiality. This does not imply that embryos are potential persons that do not deserve the same (...) respect as actual persons. To claim that embryos become persons is to understand the predicate person as a phase sortal, roughly equivalent to adult person. This entails that we would not be essentially persons. In order to explain the traditional understanding of person as a proper sortal rather than a phase sortal, the author distinguishes between proximate and remote potentiality, and shows that, unlike feline embryos, human embryos, by their genetic constitution, possess the remote potentiality to later exercise the typically human activities. It follows that they are already persons essentially. (shrink)

The article presents a review of the role of language in Hobbes’ s philosophy and its relantionship with the nominalism of Occam. The article examines the relation of words with objects and finishes with a criticism of nominalism for its instrumental use of language and its confusion of logic with truth.El artículo presenta una revisión del rol del lenguaje en la filosofía de Hobbes y su relación con el nominalismo de Occam. El artículo examina la relación de las palabras con (...) los objetos y finaliza con una crítica al nominalismo por su uso instrumental del lenguaje y su confusión de la lógica con la verdad. (shrink)

"Modernity versus Postmodernity," Jü rgen Habermas. Critical Rejoinders: Fred Dallmayr. Christopher Norris. David C. Hoy. James Schmidt. Joel Whitebook. ThematicReformulations: James Bohman. Diana Coole. Jay M. Bernstein. David Ingram.

This paper calls into question one fundamental claim at the basis of an alleged puzzle for veritistic accounts of the value of idealized models: the claim that idealized models cannot be veridical representations of the world. Catherine Elgin has argued that the value of idealized models can only be explained if we construe them as exemplars, which do not represent the world. I argue that Elgin’s proposal is problematic and cannot accommodate central cases of idealization. Nevertheless, there is value in (...) Elgin’s proposal. I rescue her notion of selectiveness in exemplification and incorporate it within a revised account of representation. I provide independent motivation in favour of a form of veritism, which motivates a revision of Elgin’s case against it. I argue that an account based on selective representation has the resources to rescue veritism from the problems raised by Elgin. In the proposal I advance, idealized models are literally veridical representations of the world. (shrink)

El artículo analiza la relación entre religión y política en el Leviatán de Hobbes. Primero, se recuerda la idea de religión en Hobbes y su lugar en su filosofía política; esto es, que sea una teología política. En segundo lugar, se examina la conformación de una república cristiana y su fundamento en las Escrituras. En tercer lugar, se explica por qué la mejor forma de gobierno para Hobbes es el absolutismo de los soberanos en la tierra, similar al de Dios (...) en los Cielos. Para terminar con una crítica a la recepción del cristianismo en Hobbes. (shrink)

In recent years, a number of prominent thinkers have argued that democratic arrangements tend to favour the flourishing of toleration among groups with radically different comprehensive worldviews. This article examines one of the most insightful arguments, advanced by Sheldon Leader, for grounding the practice of toleration on the value of democracy. It shows that Leader's attempt to ground the practice of toleration on a common understanding of democracy faces a number of fundamental obstacles. Such obstacles could only be overcome if (...) both liberals and their opponents were to reach an agreement on the value of democracy and thereby converge in their support for toleration. It argues that, far from providing a common ground that liberals and their opponents can share, the so?called ?shareable understanding? of democracy appeals primarily to liberals. (shrink)

The public and private distinction is essential to our moral and political vocabularies as it continues to structure our social and legal practices. Public and Private provides a multidisciplinary perspective on this distinction which has been at the centre of controversial debate in recent years. The focus of the debate has been on delineating acceptable boundaries between public and private in economic, social and cultural spheres. What is the nature and scope of citizenship? What are the implications of new reproductive (...) technologies? And what is the fate of state sovereignty in a globalised world economy? At first glance these questions may appear unrelated, yet they all raise underlying and serious concerns regarding the scope and proper boundaries between the public and the private. Public and Private will stimulate the current debate with its original approach and provide a valuable resource for all those interested in the role the public and private play in structuring our societies. (shrink)

BackgroundReflexive pitch perturbation experiments are commonly used to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying vocal motor control. In these experiments, the fundamental frequency–the acoustic correlate of pitch–of a speech signal is shifted unexpectedly and played back to the speaker via headphones in near real-time. In response to the shift, speakers increase or decrease their fundamental frequency in the direction opposing the shift so that their perceived pitch is closer to what they intended. The goal of the current work is to develop (...) a quantitative model of responses to reflexive perturbations that can be interpreted in terms of the physiological mechanisms underlying the response and that captures both group-mean data and individual subject responses.MethodsA model framework was established that allowed the specification of several models based on Proportional-Integral-Derivative and State-Space/Directions Into Velocities of Articulators (DIVA) model classes. The performance of 19 models was compared in fitting experimental data from two published studies. The models were evaluated in terms of their ability to capture both population-level responses and individual differences in sensorimotor control processes.ResultsA three-parameter DIVA model performed best when fitting group-mean data from both studies; this model is equivalent to a single-rate state-space model and a first-order low pass filter model. The same model also provided stable estimates of parameters across samples from individual subject data and performed among the best models to differentiate between subjects. The three parameters correspond to gains in the auditory feedback controller’s response to a perceived error, the delay of this response, and the gain of the somatosensory feedback controller’s “resistance” to this correction. Excellent fits were also obtained from a four-parameter model with an additional auditory velocity error term; this model was better able to capture multi-component reflexive responses seen in some individual subjects.ConclusionOur results demonstrate the stereotyped nature of an individual’s responses to pitch perturbations. Further, we identified a model that captures population responses to pitch perturbations and characterizes individual differences in a stable manner with parameters that relate to underlying motor control capabilities. Future work will evaluate the model in characterizing responses from individuals with communication disorders. (shrink)

A proposta do presente trabalho é analisar desde uma perspectiva antropológica a decisão vocacional entre seminaristas catarinenses. O trabalho de campo através da “objetivação participante” foi desenvolvido no Seminário Filosófico de Santa Catarina, e ampliado para ex-seminaristas, estagiários e padres. Analisando discursos e práticas foi possível perceber como que o despertar da vocação e as decisões implicadas na caminhada vocacional estão relacionados às condições históricas, econômicas e sociais. O primeiro capítulo resgata a história da implantação das dioceses e seminários no (...) Brasil, especificamente em Santa Catarina, possibilitando perceber como que a estrutura da Igreja Católica, em diálogo com as estruturas sociais, condiciona determinados tipos de recrutamento e de representações sobre a vocação sacerdotal. Considerando a multiplicação no número de padres nas últimas três décadas, buscou-se compreender algumas estratégias da Igreja para manter e reproduzir o corpo clerical, principalmente em relação ao papel da família, dos padres e dos coroinhas no processo do despertar e do recrutamento para o seminário. O segundo capítulo explora como aspectos econômicos estão presentes durante o processo de formação dos seminaristas destacando a importância da família, paróquias, comunidades e madrinhas para manter financeiramente o candidato ao sacerdócio. A análise indica como que estes jovens se envolvem num sistema de trocas para manutenção financeira, aonde a dialética de “dar, receber e retribuir” é fundamental para a decisão na caminhada vocacional. Por fim, o terceiro capítulo expõe como a experiência religiosa do sujeito subjaz às representações da vocação e possibilitam compreender a relação entre estruturas postas e a capacidade inventiva dos sujeitos envolvidos no processo de inculcação da vocação. (shrink)

Resumen En este artículo desarrollo la idea de Gadamer de que el gusto tiene una dimensión más moral que estética. A partir de esta tesis, apoyado en Aristóteles y Paul Ricoeur, trataré de mostrar que, efectivamente, en la experiencia que es el fenómeno del gusto discernimos unas cosas respecto de otras, hacemos distinciones que rebasan con mucho la mera dimensión estética, y nos instalamos en las dimensiones ética y política de la vida humana.In this article I develop Gadamer’s idea on (...) taste having a greater moral dimension than an aesthetic one. From this thesis, and relying on Aristotle and Paul Ricoeur, I aim to demonstrate that it is, in effect, in the experience of the phenomenon of taste where we are able to discern certain things from other; where we make distinctions which go way beyond the mere aesthetic dimension, and place ourselves in the ethical and political dimensions of human life. (shrink)

It is widely accepted that knowledge is incompatible with the presence of non-neutralized defeaters. A common way of addressing this issue is to introduce a condition to the effect that there are no non-neutralized defeaters for the belief that _p_ (i.e. a “no-defeaters condition”). I argue that meeting this condition leaves open a possibility for defeaters to squander our knowledge. The no-defeaters condition can be fortuitously met, and as a result it can be met luckily. I shall argue that this (...) kind of luck is inconsistent with knowledge. In order to prevent this pernicious form of luck I introduce a “defeaters-responsiveness” condition, according to which subjects ought to be disposed to adequately address defeaters if they were to arise (even if they in fact do not arise). (shrink)

Hannah Arendt is recognized as one of the most creative and original thinkers of the twentieth century. This study provides an original reconstruction of Arendt's political philosophy, and is the first to systematically evaluate the four major concepts underlying her work--modernity, action, judgment, and citizenship. Taking each concept in turn, The Political Philosophy of Hannah Arendt examines the integrity of Arendt's argument, providing a philosophical account of her theory of participatory democracy based on freedom, plurality, and solidarity. Beginning from the (...) interpretation of these concepts in her work, d'Entreves assesses Arendt's importance to contemporary debates on the nature and scope of democratic citizenship, and explores the conditions necessary for an active and democratic political culture to flourish. D'Entreves draws out the tensions and ambiguities in Ardendt's work, arguing that Arendt's conception of active citizenship and communication provides the best starting point for the exercise of political agency. (shrink)

Dear readers, perhaps you have not realized it, but your lives so far have been spent in a period called ‘postmodern’.The word is well-known to you. It has been around for many years. It almost always occurs unexpectedly, half way through an article, in the middle of a conversation, in the course of an argument on radio or television. Something, when all is said and done, is postmodern, someone is what he or she is because he or she is postmodern; (...) a strange and inexplicable phenomenon can be explained as postmodern. This changeable, suggestive, authoritative term, which seems to allude to something precise and technical and which, at the same time, suggests the epoch-making, says all that is good and all that is bad of something. Postmodern is an accusation. Postmodern is praise. What is postmodern is degenerate, has got worse, is hardly serious, of low quality, a poor imitation, irresponsible, frivolous. Nevertheless, what is postmodern is also still more topical, even more modern, forward-looking, amusing and light, cultured without being boring, sophisticated without being elitist, complex without being obscure. (shrink)

On the occasion of the almost contemporary publication of two interesting books on Thomas Paine, SCIENZA & POLITICA has addressed the two authors – Matteo Battistini and Maurizio Griffo – with some questions about the different approaches of their works. The result is a long-distance dialogue, which explores not only the significance of the American revolutionary and constitutional events, but also the influence that the English legacy and the French revolutionary experience have exercised on the American political thinker. A (...) Tale of Two Paines handles the problem of its attribution either to liberalism or to democratic radicalism; it also faces the preoccupation with the defence of liberty in the historical reconstruction of the State in the light of the affirmation of the sovereignty of society. (shrink)

There is a recent surge in interest in agential accounts of perception, i.e. accounts where activity plays a central role in accounting for the nature of perceptions. Within this camp, Lisa Miracch...

There is a recent surge in interest in agential accounts of perception, i.e. accounts where activity plays a central role in accounting for the nature of perceptions. Within this camp, Lisa Miracch...

Double‐checking one's reasoning is a perfectly normal way of responding to a disagreement between peers. I argue that conciliationist approaches lack the resources to accommodate this phenomenon adequately. On the one hand, conciliationists cannot claim that double‐checking is a rationally impermissible response to disagreement because a compelling case for its permissibility appeals to arguments analogous to those often used by conciliationist in favour of their own view. On the other, they lack the resources to accommodate double‐checking as a rationally permissible (...) response to disagreement. To show this, I draw a distinction between strong and moderate versions of conciliationism. The strong version accepts, whereas the moderate version rejects, that the conciliatory obligation exhausts the rational requirements engendered by disagreements. Strong conciliationists cannot explain the motivation for someone to double‐check if they have followed the conciliationists advice. Moderate conciliationists who try to make space for double‐checking are forced to concede that disputants can respond rationally to disagreement without lowering their confidence in the disputed belief. (shrink)

With this study, we aim to test the predictive relationships between determinants of major choice and academic expectations and to analyze gender differences, using six items of the Determinants of Major Choice Scale and the Academic Perceptions Questionnaire to assess AEs. A convenience sample of Portuguese and Spanish first-year students, mostly composed of women, was selected from two public universities. The invariance of the multivariate regression model with latent variables of the effect of DMC on AEs, with determinants linked to (...) Personal Characteristics and Mediating Agents as AE predictors, was tested across gender with LISREL. The invariance test of the multivariate regression model across gender fit the data well and revealed an equivalence of slopes between women and men, which allows a unique interpretation of the model’s predictive relationships for both genders. We also found statistically significant predictive relationships of PCs for six AE factors and MAs for five AE factors. The results showed theoretical relationships with the self-determination theory. At a practical level, they indicated the importance of PCs and MAs to design AE intervention programs in Higher Education institutions. (shrink)

Analizaremos en este artículo cómo Charles de Saint-Évremond (1613-1703), sin renunciar a la religiosidad, propone una ética que no reniega del mundo terrenal, como preconizaba la Iglesia en la Francia de finales del siglo XVII. El filósofo no sólo rehabilita los placeres mundanos, sino que restablece como rasgo antropológico del hombre el carácter de zoon politikón que ya subrayó Aristóteles e influenciaría a Epicuro. Del Estagirita toma también su fórmula del término medio en una ética cotidiana: no caer en el (...) ascetismo, pero tampoco entregarse en exceso a los placeres mundanos, no moverse demasiado pero tampoco permanecer quieto. El ser humano puede que sea egoísta, pero el concurso con los demás, de un modo razonado y bien calculado, además de motor económico y social, nos sitúa en el mundo y nos reencuentra con Dios. Entendemos que es un filósofo fundamental, como otros «menores» de finales del siglo XVII para explicar el despegue del Siglo de las Luces. (shrink)