we are called together in indianapolis, under the shadow of the poet Mari Evans, to reflect on the influence and constraints of place, and the transformative and liberatory power of imagination. In her essay, "Ethos and Creativity," Evans looks back on a lifetime spent in Indianapolis. She shares her experiences of uplifting and revelatory art performances, alongside a multitude of spirit-numbing indignities as a result of anti-black racism. The metaphor she chooses to elicit the experience of this racism is that (...) of steel thread encased in luxurious fabric. No matter the beauty and exhilaration of the city, its character has been shaped and framed by an inflexible cord that tethers it to a legacy of white supremacy... (shrink)

The catalyst for much of classical pragmatist political thought was the great waves of migration to the United States in the early 20th century. José-Antonio Orosco examines the work of several pragmatist social thinkers, including John Dewey, W. E. B. Du Bois, Josiah Royce, and Jane Addams, regarding the challenges large-scale immigration brings to American democracy. Orosco argues that the ideas of the classical pragmatists can help us understand the ways in which immigrants might strengthen the (...) cultural foundations of the United States in order to achieve a more deliberative and participatory democracy. Like earlier pragmatists, Orosco begins with a critique of the melting pot in favor of finding new ways to imagine the civic role of our immigrant population. He concludes that by applying the insights of American pragmatism, we can find guidance through controversial contemporary issues such as undocumented immigration, multicultural education, and racialized conceptions of citizenship. (shrink)

This chapter examines the connection between culture and democracy with an eye toward developing a foundation for American citizenship that is informed by the experiences of Latinos/as in the United States. It begins by surveying arguments from philosophers within the American pragmatist tradition that correlate the stability of a democratic political regime with habits, tastes, and attitudes of a given people. These thinkers, namely Horrace Kallen, Jane Adams, and John Dewey, have developed two models to conceptualize the relationship of immigrant (...) communities to democratic citizenship and governance: cultural pluralism and multiculturalism. The chapter intends to demonstrate that Latino cultural citizenship is a form of cultural pluralism and, as such, does not seek to transform liberal representative democracy in any deep, significant sense. We can see this when we hold up Latino cultural citizenship to the radical challenge posed by progressive thinkers, such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Martin Luther King Jr., who argued that social justice in the United States cannot be achieved unless we move beyond liberal multiculturalism, and the idea of what it means to be an American is altered to reflect the experiences of non-white peoples. (shrink)

In this essay, l examine Cesar Chavez’s thoughts on the effects of Mexican immigration on the United States. I argue that neo-nativist authors are wrong in thinking that a growing Latino population will develop into a distinct political bloc that will destabilize the nation. Instead, I maintain that Chavez suggests how a strong Latino presence might occasion a shift of values in the United States toward a culture ofpeace. I argue that Chavez develops a logic of nonviolent practice, drawing on (...) aspects of Mexican culture and political history, that is meant to guide the struggle for social justice in the United States. I explore how Chavez structured the nonviolent campaigns of the United Farm Workers around this logic of nonviolence in hopes of being a model that would revitalize the tradition of American nonviolent protest. (shrink)

This article contains four essays from the Anarres Project, a forum for conversations, ideas, and initiatives that promote a future free of domination, exploitation, oppression, war, and empire. In the spirit of philosophy in the contemporary world, the selection includes recent work on the pandemic and related struggles for justice in the past year. An introduction to the project is included.

After almost two years of armed conflict between Arab militias and African farmers in Sudan, the United Nations Security Council passed resolution 1556 in July 2004, calling upon the Sudanese government to end the violence or face possible diplomatic and economic sanctions. The militias, known as the Janjiwid, arose after African farmers in the Darfur region formed the Sudanese Liberation Army and attacked the government in February 2003. Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, claim that the government gave the (...) militias logistical assistance to attack the farmers. Since 2003, tens of thousands have been killed and more than a million people displaced from their homes, pushed into concentration.. (shrink)

It is sometimes claimed that democracy is a “Western” form of government that can only grow in certain places and under certain conditions. Indeed, in some of his works, Samuel Huntington claims that democracy and the rule of law are social ideals that are rooted in very specific European cultures and may not function well, or at all, outside of those settings. Jared Diamond, author of the popular Guns, Germs, and Steel, goes even further, suggesting that the rise of industrialized (...) democracies had much to do with the geography and the environment in which these social ideals evolved, giving the West distinct advantages over other societies with different terrains and natural resources (see Diamond). Democracy .. (shrink)

In 1971, Chicano activist Armando Réndon began to chart new directions for Chicana/o politics that move away from a narrow emphasis on cultural and ethnic nationalism. He argues that urban Chicana/o neighborhoods ought develop community-based organizations to provide support services for residents and to advocate local concerns to elected officials. In the first part of this essay, I reconstruct Réndon's concept of a 'barrio union' as an example of participatory democracy. I situate his concept of neighborhood democracy within Mexican American (...) and Progressive movement history, and then highlight contemporary experiments with this model that are particularly successful in transforming traditionally marginalized individuals into active democratic participants. I then suggest that the barrio union is a repository of cultural, ethical, and political ideals that might be used by progressive Chicana/o activists to challenge the meaning of dominant institutions and political traditions within the United States, particularly the ways in which we conceive of race and American citizenship. (shrink)

In this interview, Lani Roberts provides a philosophical justification for the study of diversity issues and highlights the pedagogical methods needed to prepare students to live and thrive in a diverse society. This article is a partial transcript of a recorded interview.

A discussion of José-Antonio Orosco’s new book, Star Trek’s Philosophy of Peace and Justice: A Global, Anti-Racist Approach. Orosco has been finding wisdom in Star Trek episodes since he watched late night reruns with his mother. Then, recently, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek’s debut, Orosco began to teach the series as source material for peace philosophy. Philosophical concepts can be brought to bear on Star Trek stories; but Orosco argues that (...) the stories also assert philosophical meanings that are instructive to peace studies. Martin Luther King Jr. was a fan of the first season, famously encouraging the late Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022) to persist in the role of Nyota Uhura after she had decided to resign. In our book discussion, Orosco centers the importance of Critical Race Theory as a tool for exploring Star Trek’s presentation of peace and justice. Andrew Fiala questions Orosco about Star Trek’s militarism. Jennifer Kling asks how the treatment of refugees intersects with Starfleet’s Prime Directive, which commands noninterference with intergalactic populations. (shrink)

This paper provides a detailed analysis of how, according to Kant, the moral badness of some third parties’ actions can be established with certainty (by anyone, not only by the agent’s own conscience or by God). This account helps clarify why Kant affirms that some forms of wrongdoing (of which there are a “multitude of woeful examples”) can be demonstrated to be immoral, while excluding the possibility of proving the moral goodness of any action. The paper concludes by arguing that (...) the possible certainty of judgements imputing immorality to actions of others is not rational but rather moral. (shrink)

v. 1. Edad Media. 4. ed. -- v. 2. La época del Renacimiento. 2. ed. -- v. 3. El siglo del Barroco. 3. ed.

This essay argues that Latinx philosophers are not only already providing important and original contributions to standard open-borders debates, but also changing the very nature of the ethics of migration. In making this case, the essay is divided into two parts. The first summarizes some of the important and original contributions of Latinx philosophers to the standard open-borders debate. Among the highlights are Jorge M. Valadez’s “conditional legitimacy of states” argument; José-Antonio Orosco’s communitarian-based argument for a more (...) liberalized admissions policy; Javier S. Hidalgo’s claim that people have a moral right (and often an obligation) to disobey immigration laws; J. Angelo Corlett’s defense of immigration restrictions on grounds that such restrictions serve to protect Indigenous people’s sovereignty and rightful claims to territory; and Amy Reed-Sandoval’s freedom of movement argument based on the collective right of trans-border communities. The second section outlines four ways Latinx philosophers have pushed discussions within the ethics of migration beyond the standard open-borders debate. First, they have made persuasive arguments about why we ought to reject, or at least be suspicious of, approaches to migration justice that begin by assuming the legitimacy of states. Second, they argue that the issue of enforcement has been overlooked in standard open-borders debates. Third, they argue that philosophers must not avoid dealing with the social (as opposed to merely juridical) implications of labeling people “illegal” or “anchor babies.” Fourth, they show how current debates over the ethics of migration are too Euro- or Anglo-centric and therefore could benefit from the inclusion of non-European and non-Anglo voices. (shrink)

Este artículo analiza la relación entre individuo y sociedad en Theodor W. Adorno. Para ello se centra en las tensiones y mediaciones entre teoría de la sociedad y psicoanálisis. Su punto de partida es el horizonte histórico concreto del vínculo que une a ambos: la conjunción de crisis e integración. Después presenta la constitución social de la subjetividad desde la perspectiva de teoría crítica, la economía psíquico-libidinal como matriz psicosocial de dicha constitución, la tesis de la debilitación del individuo en (...) un capitalismo monopolista autoritario, su expresión en el carácter autoritario y el narcisismo herido, para acabar señalando los límites históricos del sujeto neurótico y modelo edípico y los elementos de una posible actualización de las aportaciones de una psicología social psicoanalítica. (shrink)

The study of these fundamental questions, which were in part already addressed in a first monographic section dedicated to Ḥasdai Crescas in the last issue of this journal, is expanded in its perspective and scope by the articles contained in this second dossier.

Eschatological beliefs have matured alongside both biblical composition and Christian history. This evolution can be traced using cultural evolutionary studies. The process reflects attempts to adapt to new conditions and challenges—sometimes giving place to more focused views, but also sometimes to failures and dysfunctional forms or fruitless variations. It becomes a theological duty to assess this evolution better. The key element is the reception of these eschatological beliefs, to discern what expressions of them are more helpful in encouraging Christian fidelity, (...) coping with distress, and engaging with individual and societal challenges. In this article, we outline a research programme that links eschatology to anthropology, and that tries to analyse beliefs according to state‐of‐the‐art methods, such as evolutionary cultural studies and research on the believing process. We also contribute a case study based on the concept of hell to test the proposed approach. (shrink)

Mucho se ha escrito sobre la imposibilidad de representar el Holocausto como quiebra en el proceso civilizador. Sin embargo, la convocatoria al silencio pronto fue rota por una controversia de relatos que difieren en sí sustancialmente. Desde entonces, el debate sobre la pertinencia de narraciones de corte realista, melodramática o cómica, cuando no fantástica, su legitimidad o ilegitimidad y el uso de material de archivo en los filmes sigue generando importantes dudas a la hora de abarcar la representatividad del horror. (...) Precisamente, al ser una cuestión de extremada sensibilidad para la historia en general y la europea en particular, el Holocausto no deja de interpelarnos con nuevos y antiguos interrogantes. Preguntas que se agudizan más si cabe a la hora de seleccionar fragmentos o filmes para trabajarlos desde el aula.. (shrink)

La autonomía es parte esencial de la fundamentación moral de la sociedad contemporánea y ha dado lugar en el ámbito asistencial a un nuevo modelo de relación y de toma de decisiones clínicas. El objetivo de este artículo es exponer el significado de la autonomía del paciente a través de la distinción de tres dimensiones: autonomía decisoria, autonomía informativa y autonomía funcional o ejecutiva, la periodización de su evolución normativa a lo largo de tres etapas, y la propuesta de cuestiones (...) o desafíos que merecen ser objeto de estudio y aplicación en el futuro. (shrink)

El pensamiento utópico es un producto especialmente significativo de la modernidad occidental y, por tanto, no debe sorprender que la crisis que se ha cebado sobre ella lo arrastre consigo como pieza herida de muerte. A medida que nuestra postmodernidad, largamente anunciada desde Nietzsche, ha ido configurándose como nueva etapa en la que las pretensiones de la razón moderna evidencian el resquebrajamiento de lo que parecían sus bases más sólidas, el pensamiento utópico a través del cual plasmó sus ideales resulta (...) fuertemente cuestionado, tanto que apenas si es posible una honrosa salida de la escena cultural mediante revisión autocrítica de sus planteamientos. Achicado al máximo el espacio para la utopía en la reflexión filosófica contemporánea, ni siquiera cabe una cura de adelgazamiento de pensar utópico para hacerlo sostenible en medio de nuestras perplejidades. Hoy, y en cualquier caso venciendo un pudor difícilmente superable, cuesta asumir la defensa de lo utópico, y si se ha puesto muy complicado hablar de utopía es por el riesgo de caer bajo la doble acusación de ingenuidad y de cinismo. ¿Quién lo iba a decir, cuando el pensamiento utópico logró afirmarse como ariete de la crítica del orden establecido frente al pragmatismo de los defensores del statu quo? (shrink)

La filosofía de la historia se halla en un momento crucial. Ha de repensar categorías fundamentales -como la de progreso-, y debe hacerlo con tanta voluntad de escucha como espíritu crítico, recogiendo aportaciones que enriquezcan sus perspectivas. Es el caso de algunas que continúan procediendo de la herencia judeocristiana -matriz de la conciencia histórica de Occidente1- y, más concretamente, provenientes del Apocalipsis. Estas páginas se inician con propuestas en torno al acceso hermenéutico a ese último libro de la Biblia. La (...) recepción de su legado por una hermenéutica filosófica iluminará la tarea de plantear el postulado del progreso bajo el impacto de lo que supone el punto de vista de la redención, abordando en términos filosóficos la coimplicación de sentido de la existencia de los individuos y sentido de la historia. (shrink)

In Book v of Plato’s Laws, he defends that a virtuous life is better than a vicious one, based on the idea that the former involves more pleasure than the latter (733a-734e). The use of this kind of argumentation seems to contradict other passages of the Laws, in which it will be objected that pleasure can work as a criterion of election. This essay aims to show that this recourse does not presuppose any kind of hedonism. In order to prove (...) this, I hold that in the Laws (i) education tries to integrate our natural tendencies in the good life; (ii) this integration is possible because some pleasures can be pursued for their own sake because they are harmless. Based on these principles, I argue that (iii) the argument of Book v appeals to the possibility of choosing pleasure if they are not involved in other criteria of election. (shrink)

Escrito originalmente en catalán alrededor de 1397-1398, _La inconsistencia de los dogmas cristianos_ (_Sefer Biṭṭul Iqqarei Ha-Noṣrim_) de Ḥasdai Crescas es una obra polemística que cuestiona el dogma cristiano utilizando argumentos filosóficos y lógicos, y no citas de la Biblia. En sus páginas, Crescas demuestra un profundo conocimiento de la teología y el dogma cristiano. Esta obra, como la totalidad de la obra cresquiana, es inseparable del contexto histórico del que brota: las persecuciones de 1391 y su corolario de conversiones (...) masivas y de fundamentalismo misional cristiano. Nuestro propósito en este artículo es abordar su estudio indagando en la interpretación crítica de la doctrina cristiana del pecado original que Crescas realiza, su conexión con el ideario del propio autor, así como con el contexto del que la obra brota. (shrink)

This book clarifies the meaning of the most important and pervasive concepts and tools in bioethical argumentation and assesses the methodological suitability of the main methods for clinical decision-making and argumentation. The first part of the book is devoted to the most developed or promising approaches regarding bioethical argumentation, namely those based on principles, values and human rights. The authors then continue to deal with the contributions and shortcomings of these approaches and suggest further developments by means of substantive and (...) procedural elements and concepts from practical philosophy, normative systems theory, theory of action, human rights and legal argumentation. Furthermore, new models of biomedical and health care decision-making, which overcome the aforementioned criticism and stress the relevance of the argumentative responsibility, are included. (shrink)

O fenômeno da incorporação do corpo lexical político aristotélico transliterado do grego ao contexto latino do século XIII nos remete a problemas sobre as presenças e ausências terminológicas, não somente na tradução da Política, feita por Guilherme de Moerbeke, e nos comentários de Alberto Magno e Tomás de Aquino ao texto latino de Aristóteles, mas também à possível reverberação desses vocábulos políticos moerbekianos em alguns leitores da Política, no século XIV. Não se trata apenas de veri*cação de quem usou ou (...) não usou tais ou quais termos, nem mesmo da elaboração de juízos sobre esses usos, como que para rotular pensadores; antes, trata-se de tentar individuar, a partir dos usos terminológicos, o surgimento de um novo modo de pensar e compreender a esfera da vida humana que é a dimensão pública, ou melhor, política. Tentaremos compreender, neste artigo, especificamente como emerge, a partir dessa tradução latina da Política, um novo quadro conceitual, a saber: a esfera política. Constataremos que a tradução da Política de Moerbeke consolida um novo vocabulário e um novo quadro conceitual que será, doravante, um dos fundamentos do pensamento político. (shrink)

Ptolomeu de Lucca no De Regimine Principum apresenta uma nova maneira de conceber a ordenação política da cidade, a partir do referencial teórico da tradução latina da Política de Aristóteles. Ptolomeu apresenta novas práticas e ações para os indivíduos que constituem o corpo político da cidade. Há, pode-se supor, uma nova compreensão do contexto político do ponto de vista da estrutura institucional, mas também do ponto de vista dos indivíduos. A noção de regime politicum começa a ser delineada em alguns (...) capítulos em livros II e III, e é o principal assunto do livro IV, onde ela é apresentada como uma novidade conceptual, quer em relação à tradição latina antes da tradução da Política, quer em relação ao aristotelismo político. A novidade é a proposta de Ptolomeu para a disposição política da cidade composta em várias partes. Em tal disposição, o papel e ação dos cidadãos ganham centralidade na estruturação e condução da cidade. Este trabalho pretende mostrar que Ptolomeu é muito inovador em relação à tradição aristotélica, mais especialmente no que respeita ao regime, na qual participação política das pessoas adquire centralidade. (shrink)