We appreciate the opportunity to respond to Schneiderman and colleagues’ opinions on the recent Multiorganization Policy Statement, “An Official ATS/AACN/ACCP/ESICM/SCCM Policy Statement: Responding to Requests for Potentially Inappropriate Treatments in Intensive Care Units”. We will first point out three areas in which Schneiderman and colleagues seem to perceive a disagreement where there is none, then we will respond to their main criticisms of the Multiorganization Policy Statement. In doing so, we will point out areas in which we believe Schneiderman and (...) colleagues have either misunderstood or misrepresented the statement. First, we agree with Schneiderman and... (shrink)

En uno de los ataques más reiterados a Darwin, que todavía subsiste en la literatura actual, se señala que la teoría de la selección natural es tautológica, analítica o, al menos, irrefutable. En docenas de artículos, diversos autores han señalado las condiciones en que la selección natural quedaría refutada, intentando mostrar que no carece de contenido empírico. La estrategia seguida en este trabajo será otra. Teniendo en cuenta que la crítica de tautologicidad o irrefutabilidad ha sido esgrimida contra leyes fundamentales (...) de otras teorías, insertaré la discusión en un marco metateórico más amplio. Para discutir el estatus del segundo principio de la mecánica clásica, Moulines introduce el concepto de "principio guía". Los principios guía no serían contrastables directamente, sino a través de especializaciones. Desde mi punto de vista, considerar a la selección natural como principio guía permitiría explicar por qué muchos la han considerado tautológica y cómo esto no implica vacuidad. One of the most repeated objections to Darwin, still present in contemporary literature, outlines that theory of natural selection is tautological, analytical or at least irrefutable. There are many authors that point out the conditions in which natural selection would be refuted, trying to prove that it doesn't lack of empirical content. This essay will work on a different strategy. Taking into account that tautological or irrefutable criticism has been put forward against other theories' fundamental laws; I will insert the argumentation in a wider theoretical frame. To argue about the status of the second principle about classic mechanical Moulines introduces the 'guiding principle' concept. The guiding principles wouldn't be directly contrastable. The only way in which they could be contrastable would be through special laws. From my point of view natural selection, considered as the guiding principle, would explain why many thinkers had considered it a tautology and how this does not imply vacuity. (shrink)

Neutral Counterpart Theories of slurs hold that the truth-conditional contribution of a slur is the same as the truth-conditional contribution of its neutral counterpart. In, DiFranco argues that these theories, even if plausible for single-word slurs like ‘kike’ and ‘nigger’, are not suitable for complex slurs such as ‘slanty-eyed’ and ‘curry muncher’, figurative slurs like ‘Jewish American Princess’, or iconic slurring expressions like ‘ching chong’. In this paper, we argue that these expressions do not amount to genuine counterexamples to neutral (...) counterpart theories of slurs. We provide a positive characterization of DiFranco's examples that doesn't deviate from the core of those theories. (shrink)

El concepto de "comunidad" en Kant es mucho más complejo de lo que un pensamiento político apresurado nos sugiere. De las dos posibles acepciones que dicho concepto comporta, communio y commercium, referidas respectivamente a una comunidad sustancial predominante sobre el individuo y a una interacción recíproca entre individuos en sí mismos sustanciales, Kant se decanta por la segunda de ellas. Sin embargo, de ello no puede deducirse que la posición kantiana sea asimilable sin más a la de los defensores del (...) liberalismo, enfrentados a las posturas comunitaristas. Kant aspira también a la formación de una esfera de lo común en la cual quedarían englobadas las nociones de justicia, verdad, belleza y bondad. Sin embargo, dicha esfera común no preexiste a la interacción entre los individuos en el marco de la sociedad civil; por el contrario, se conforma a partir de los encuentros morales exitosos en ese mismo marco. La posición de Kant podría ser definida como un republicanismo crítico, que aspira a la formación de lazos de civilidad entre los ciudadanos al tiempo que somete a crítica las formas dogmáticas de expresión de la comunidad. Este tipo de comunidad dinámica de seres racionales establece sus nexos mediante la formación de un sentido común capaz de fundamentar los consensos, sin lo cual la racionalidad crítica sería una actividad puramente destructiva. Kant´s notion of community is more complex than what is suggested by a hasty political thought. In the alternative between the two possible meanings of this notion, communio and commercium , Kant advocates for the latter. However, we cannot deduce from this that the kantian stance should be equated without further ado with that of those who defend liberalism, as opposed to the communitarians. Kant aims also at the formation of a sphere of commonness which encompasses the concepts of justice, truth, beauty and the good. Nevertheless, such a sphere doesn't preexist to the interaction of individuals in the context of civil society; on the contrary, it springs from the successful moral encounters in that same context. Kant´s stance could be described as critical republicanism, one that aims at the formation of civil links among citizens at the same time that criticizes all forms of dogmatic expression of community. Such a type of dynamic community of rational beings establishes its links through the construction of a common sense able to lay the foundations of consent. Without this, critical rationality would be a purely destructive activity. (shrink)

Fourteenth- and fifteenth-century current historiography doesn't seem to offer a satisfactory reconstruction of medieval terminism, so as to be able to solve the problems of interpretation regarding to the notion of ‘intensio’. In order to analyse appropriately the relationship between the notion of ‘intensio’ and the mathematical representation of its ‘latitudo’, a thorough examination of the semantic nature of the notions of intensive qualities and of their logical behaviour is here attempted.

Riassunto: Il dibattito in filosofia della mente è caratterizzato dal crescente interesse per nuove forme di eliminativismo, note con il nome di teorie enattiviste radicali della mente. Secondo la concezione enattivista radicale, il contenuto intenzionale di uno stato mentale è empiricamente sottodeterminato, pertanto non può essere utilizzato quale elemento di una spiegazione naturalistica del comportamento. Tuttavia, sebbene il riferimento ai contenuti intenzionali non sia conciliabile con il naturalismo ontologico, esso è invece compatibile con una forma di naturalismo metodologico. Seguendo l’analisi (...) semantica proposta da Carnap per i termini teorici, è possibile concepire uno stato mentale come un veicolo simbolico il cui significato è stabilito per mezzo di osservazioni e scelte convenzionali. Attraverso un caso di studio riguardante le funzioni cognitive della corteccia somatosensoriale, l’articolo fornisce le indicazioni programmatiche per un’interpretazione delle spiegazioni intenzionali del comportamento in accordo con la metodologia delle scienze naturali. Parole chiave: Contenuto mentale; Enattivismo radicale; Intenzionalità; Naturalismo; Teleosemantica; Teoria della spiegazione T he Methodological Status of Intentional Contents: The philosophy of mind debate is characterized by increasing consensus regarding a new type of eliminativism, also known as the radical enactivist theory of mind. According to the radical enactivist view, the intentional content of a mental state is empirically undetermined, therefore it cannot figure as part of a naturalistic explanation of behavior. However, although the notion of intentional content is not compatible with any form of ontological naturalism, it is compatible with a form of methodological naturalism. Following Carnap’s semantic analysis of theoretical concepts, it is possible to conceive of intentional mental states as a symbolic vehicles whose meaning can be conventionally established on the basis of empirical observation. In order to support this claim, I refer to a case study on the cognitive functions of somatosensory cortex. This article provides arguments for building an intentional explanation of behavior based on methodological approaches in the natural sciences. Keywords: Mental Content; Radical Enactivism; Intentionality; Naturalism; Teleosemantics; Theory of Explanation. (shrink)

This article deals with different versions of a story in Tractate Eruvin of the Babylonian Talmud. This story has different versions in various sources, including in one page from the Genizah fragment Cambridge U-L T-S F2 23, numbered C98948 in the Friedberg Jewish Manuscript Society. Each version changes our understanding of the story’s content, and in this article we will display these variations and examine the feasibility that they reflect about the original version. The story ends with the phrase Lo (...) shamiʿa li, for which we shall offer a new alternative meaning.Contribution: The main contribution of this article is in revealing the importance of comparing the different versions to the same story which implies a change in the content of the story. This has future implications when considering a story that has different versions. In addition, exploring and examining a particular phrase can offer a different interpretation or meaning than it was commonly thought. These insights are based on story and phrase found in the theological text, so that the article fits to the focus and scope of this journal. (shrink)

The paradigmatic modern comprehension of physical movement falls short in thematizing the intervention in it of final causality. Even in Aristotle’s philosophical physics the final cause is confused with a formal notion. This paper seeks to understand the final physical cause as a real principle, non mental, guiding formal variation, which doesn’t act —or attract— without the other causes distinguished by the Stagirite, the influence of which in kinetic tricausalities is the ultimate reason for the evolutive unfolding of these in (...) the physical universe. (shrink)

Traducción española de la cuestión 4 del articulo 32 de la Suma (Cuestiones ordinarias) de Enrique de Gante (t 1293), el lugar más importante en su obra referente a su posición respecto a la doctrina de los atributos divinos de Maimónides.

IntroductionThe assisted reproductive technology field deals with consistent and predictable gaps in knowledge. Expressing lack of knowledge with a sentence like “I don’t know” can be challenging for doctors. This study examined physicians’ negative epistemic disclaimer “non lo so” in Italian ART doctor-couple interactions. In particular, it aimed to reveal specific features of “non lo so”: function, topic, temporality, responsibility, and interactional aspects.MethodsThis was a video-based observational study. We used microanalysis of face-to-face dialogue to analyze 20 purposively selected triadic consultations (...) from a corpus of 85. This inductive analysis focused on the function, the content and some selected interactional aspects of the “non lo so”, quantifying and capturing the interaction between these qualitative features.ResultsWe found 82 doctors’ “non lo so” in the corpus. We discovered three main functions of this expression: propositional, relational, discursive. The most frequent topics raising doctors’ “non lo so” were costs, treatment-related aspects, and timing issues. In more than half of the cases, present issues emerged. The majority of “non lo so” was framed using the “I,” with doctors’ taking personal responsibility. Patients played a role in these expressions from doctors: Patients initiated more than one third of them, and in one fourth of the cases, patients followed up immediately.ConclusionOur findings may be related to characteristics of the specific field of ART. Doctors in this setting must frequently express a direct lack of knowledge to their patients, and when they do, they mean it literally. Patients contribute to such disclosures, and their responses suggest that they find them acceptable, showing that they may expect limitations in their potential to conceive. (shrink)

Poco más de dos décadas después de la publicación de Political Liberalism del filósofo estadounidense John Rawls, Thom Brooks y Martha Nussbaum se dieron la tarea de editar una compilación de seis ensayos que muestran la actualidad de este libro. Los escritos que participan en esta recopilación se aproximan al texto rawlsiano de manera variopinta, tanto a nivel disciplinar como en lo referido a la finalidad con la cual lo abordan. A grandes rasgos, estos se dividen en tres grupos: el (...) primer grupo, cuya pretensión es realizar una revisión crítica de la obra o de conceptos medulares de esta ; el segundo conjunto, donde se realiza una labor exegética capaz de responder a múltiples críticas que ha enfrentado el texto desde su publicación y, finalmente, un artículo ―el tercer grupo― que muestra la consistencia práctica en el modo en que Rawls concibió el derecho constitucional estadounidense. (shrink)

A Note on the Task of the Historian of PhilosophyAccording to this paper, the history of philosophy should be conceived as a normative as well as a descriptive discipline. If it is true that our approach to a philosophical problem will always engage us in the history of this particular problem, this does not mean, however, that the history of philosophy furnishes us with a positive basis on which the problem in question might be treated. The history of philosophy is (...) the history of what has been and thus it still demands philosophical thinking.Nota sul compito dello storico della filosofiaNel considerare la storia della filosofia come una mera “disciplina ausiliaria” della filosofia si rischia di introdurre in quest’ultima un’idea di storia come scienza positiva i cui presupposti sarebbero esentati da un’interrogazione filosofica. Come qualunque altra scienza, la storia della filosofia deve rinunciare a ogni pretesa di neutralità. Come la filosofia stessa la storia della filosofia non può basarsi su una qualsiasi positività. Inoltre, lo studio di un problema filosofico è sempre legato allo studio della sua storia. La storia della filosofia è normativa tanto quanto descrittiva, dal momento che è la storia delle esigenze di fronte a cui si trova regolarmente il pensiero filosofico. (shrink)

A Note on the Task of the Historian of PhilosophyAccording to this paper, the history of philosophy should be conceived as a normative as well as a descriptive discipline. If it is true that our approach to a philosophical problem will always engage us in the history of this particular problem, this does not mean, however, that the history of philosophy furnishes us with a positive basis on which the problem in question might be treated. The history of philosophy is (...) the history of what has been and thus it still demands philosophical thinking.Nota sul compito dello storico della filosofiaNel considerare la storia della filosofia come una mera “disciplina ausiliaria” della filosofia si rischia di introdurre in quest’ultima un’idea di storia come scienza positiva i cui presupposti sarebbero esentati da un’interrogazione filosofica. Come qualunque altra scienza, la storia della filosofia deve rinunciare a ogni pretesa di neutralità. Come la filosofia stessa la storia della filosofia non può basarsi su una qualsiasi positività. Inoltre, lo studio di un problema filosofico è sempre legato allo studio della sua storia. La storia della filosofia è normativa tanto quanto descrittiva, dal momento che è la storia delle esigenze di fronte a cui si trova regolarmente il pensiero filosofico. (shrink)

Este artículo pasa revista a las principales contribuciones de Víctor Sánchez de Zavala a la lingüística y a la filosofía, a traves del análisis de las ideas centrales de su pensamiento expuestas en sus libros y artículos. Despues de una breve introdueción a su biografía académica, se analiza y explica el papel esencial que Víctor Sánchez de Zavala tuvo en la introducción de la gramatíca generativa en España. Se examina en este sentido su trabajo corno profesor, editor, traductor y escritor (...) y la Iínea central de su trabajo lingüístico. La segunda parte del artículo analiza las hipótesis fundamentales de la teoda pragmática desarrollada por este filósofo y lingüísta a lo largo de toda su vida. En esta sección, por otra parte, se presenta y discute su novedoso enfoque global de la actividad lingüística expuesta en su obra póstuma, de reciente aparieión: Hacia la pragmática (psicoIógica), Madrid, Visor.This paper reviews Víctor Sánehez de Zavala’s main contributions to linguistics and philosophy through a close look at the central ideas developed in his articles and books. In the first part, after a brief introduction to his academic biography, the leading role of Víctor Sánchez de Zavada in the introduction of formal linguistics in Spain is analysed and justified. His work as editor, professor, translator and writer is examined through his main publications. The second part of the paper is devoted to provide an analysis of the central hypotheses on which this theory of psychologicaI pragmatics is based. Furthermore, this second part examines his novel and global approach to linguistic activity, developed in his posthumous book Towards a psychological pragmatics. (shrink)

En este artículo se examinan algunos aspectos de la cultura arabigoislámica de los cuales Juan Ruiz, Arcipreste de Hita, presunto autor del Libro de buen amor, demuestra poseer cierto conocimiento. De resultas se sugiere que, mientras los materiales literarios constituyentes del Libro son de raigambre occidental, su estructura se debe a una combinación de ciertos géneros literarios orientales, de lo cual el Libro resultaría ser una obra culturalmente híbrida. Además, se sugiere que el Libro debe interpretarse según tres niveles de (...) significado, de acuerdo con la metodología desarrollada por Averroes para captar la verdad, y que, de esos tres niveles, el más elevado, a saber, el filosófico, nos conduce a una crítica velada de la doctrina del celibato eclesiástico, adoptada por la iglesia occidental sólo un siglo antes de la época en que el Arcipreste escribiera su obra. (shrink)

En este artículo se examinan algunos aspectos de la cultura arabigoislámica, de los cuales Juan Ruiz, Arcipreste de Hita, presunto autor del Libro del Buen Amor, demuestra poseer cierto conocimiento. De resultas se sugiere que, mientras los materiales literarios constituyentes del Libro son de raigambre occidental, su estructura se debe a una combinación de ciertos géneros literarios orientales, de lo cual el Libro resultaría ser una obra culturalmente híbrida. Además, se sugiere que el libro debe interpretarse según tres niveles de (...) significado, de acuerdo con la metodología desarrollada por Averroes para captar la verdad, y que, de esos tres niveles, el más elevado, a saber , el filosófico, nos conduce a una crítica velada de la doctrina del celibato eclesiástico, adoptada por la iglesia occidental solo un siglo antes de la época en que el Arcipreste escribiera su obra. (shrink)

La fenomenología de la razón escudriña todos los procesos racionales que intervienen en la aprehensión del objeto real y de su constitución, y las consiguientes relaciones noético-noemáticas. Sólo la razón pura colegida, primero como fuerza que depura los procesos de la evidencia y las posiciones del sujeto, y sólo la razón entendida también como proceso que ratifica la verificabilidad del darse el objeto y de todos los demás procesos y relaciones, se revela como la única instancia posible capaz de asegurar (...) la validez del conocimiento y del objeto del conocimiento. Por otro lado, la razón juega un papel decisivo en lo que respecta al sujeto de razón. Ésta es la nota constitutiva y respectiva del ser humano, el poder que lo separa del entramado de facticidades y contingencias de las que se compone la realidad, de suerte que éste no es un factum más entre todas las objetividades, tal como postulan la psicología y las ciencias naturales. El hombre es un ser mundano, está efectivamente en el mundo. Ahora bien, “su ser en” y “su estar en” son modificados por el poder de la razón. Su modo de ser mundano es serlo racionalmente. Únicamente de este modo el Umwelt deviene Lebenswelt.The phenomenology of reason inspects all rational processes involved in the apprehension of real object and its constitution, and the respective noetic-noematic relationships. Only the pure reason comprehended, first of all, as a strength which purifies the mentioned processes, the evidence and the subject positions. Secondly the reason, also comprehended as a process which confirms the object verificability which gives itself and the other processes and relationships, appears as the only possible power, which is able to guarantee the validity of the knowledge, and so the object of knowledge. On the other hand, the reason plays a very important role in the subject of the reason. This is the constitutive and respective note of the human being, the power that separates it from the labyrinth of facts and contingencies which makes up reality, so that this isn’t a fact among all objectivities, as postulated by psychology and natural sciences. The human being is a worldly being; he is really in the world. Now then, “his being-in” and “his staying-in” are modified by the strength of the reason. His way of being worldly is being rationaly. Only in this way the “Umwelt” becomes “Lebenswelt”. (shrink)

-rupture /ˈrəpCHər/ ; to breach or disturb a harmonious feeling, situation, or relationship From the Latin ruptura, from rumpere 'to break.' The verb dates from the mid 18th century.To rupture is to break from previously established ways of knowing. It is to trouble what is taken for granted, to reimagine the nature and scope of knowledge. When we speak of rupture, we are speaking of epistemological shifts1—reinscribing what knowledge is, how it can be acquired, and the extent to which knowledge (...) pertinent to any given subject informs concepts such as community, morality, politics, and identity. Rupture is a moment, a disruption in an epistemological... (shrink)

This paper argues that kant's general epistemology incorporates a theory of algebra which entails a less constricted view of kant's philosophy of mathematics than is sometimes given. To extract a plausible theory of algebra from the "critique of pure reason", It is necessary to link kant's doctrine of mathematical construction to the idea of the "schematism". Mathematical construction can be understood to accommodate algebraic symbolism as well as the more familiar spatial configurations of geometry.

There is a common concern in some of the writings of Husserl and Gadamer. It is the concern to defend the legitimacy and dignity of the "human sciences." They argue from the methodological standpoint that the method of the natural sciences leaves out the relationship between the object of inquiry and the inquirer. This relationship plays a key role in "understanding," which is the concem of the human sciences. In explicating it, Husserl and Gadamer stress the role of the community (...) and the lifeworld as the context of understanding. Parallels to Husserl's and Gadamer's ideas can be found in analytical philosophy. (shrink)

Kant claims in the religion that morality leads ineluctably and inevitably to religion. I argue that a moral agent can resist the movement towards religion and still remain moral. My strategy differs from many found in the literature insofar as I do not believe we need to attack the notion of the highest good. I argue instead that the promotion of the highest good can be a moral duty for a rational nonbeliever.

Originally published in 1949. This meticulously researched book presents a comprehensive outline and discussion of Aristotle’s mathematics with the author's translations of the greek. To Aristotle, mathematics was one of the three theoretical sciences, the others being theology and the philosophy of nature . Arranged thematically, this book considers his thinking in relation to the other sciences and looks into such specifics as squaring of the circle, syllogism, parallels, incommensurability of the diagonal, angles, universal proof, gnomons, infinity, agelessness of the (...) universe, surface of water, meteorology, metaphysics and mechanics such as levers, rudders, wedges, wheels and inertia. The last few short chapters address ‘problems’ that Aristotle posed but couldn’t answer, related ethics issues and a summary of some short treatises that only briefly touch on mathematics. (shrink)

In this paper I want to posit and defend the idea of a moral contract that one makes with oneself. Such an idea is not as absurd as it would at first appear to be. On the contrary, moral reasoning in practice can be sensibly interpreted in terms of contracting oneself to behave in a certain way. Indeed, the idea of the moral self can be seen as a fundamental element in any moral system.

A main identifying factor of professions is professionals' willingness to comply with ethical and professional standards, often defined in a code of ethics and conduct. In a period of intense nursing mobility, if the public are aware that health professionals have committed themselves to the drawing up of a code of ethics and conduct, they will have more trust in the health professional they choose, especially if this person comes from another European Member State. The Code of Ethics and Conduct (...) for European Nursing is a programmatic document for the nursing profession constructed by the FEPI (European Federation of Nursing Regulators) according to Directive 2005/36/EC On recognition of professional qualifications , and Directive 2006/123/EC On services in the internal market, set out by the European Commission. This article describes the construction of the Code and gives an overview of some specific areas of importance. The main text of the Code is reproduced in Appendix 1. (shrink)

The Tao Te Ching begins enigmatically with the following lines:The Tao that can be told of is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

Prologue: Quest for the Personal In the lectures which formed the basis of this book I began, as Chapter i indicates, with a brief review of how the current ...