A descriptive-exploratory analysis of assurance practices is presented in this paper, by analysing the patterns of sustainability assurance reporting in two national contexts with different levels of assurance activity over a period of 11 years. The study is based on theoretical insights drawn from institutional sociology and normativity production. It is framed both in the Italian situation, where assurance statements consistently include a narrow set of formal and procedural communications, and in an unsettled situation in the U.S., where assurance activity (...) is more incipient, but where experimentation in substantial assurance disclosure practices has more room to develop. Its main implication is that the diffusion of sustainability assurance and the creation of sustainability assurance disclosure norms are not without its cost: information quality does not increase with patterned practice. The results also point towards the noteworthy role of specific professionals in the earlier and later stages of assurance practice norms. They reveal a significant influence of non-Big4 firms in the diffusion of sustainability assurance disclosure norms. In contrast, the Big4 firms appear to be positively associated with the narrowing down of the assurance focus to a selected subset of this activity in later stages of the development of the assurance norm. In this regard, this study provides insight into the circumstantial—but relevant—carrier role of the Big4 firms in determining what “assurance” means. (shrink)

The original article was published without open access and with the copyright notice indicating © Springer Nature B.V. The article is now open access with the copyright residing with the authors.

The ambiguous-cue task is composed of two-choice simultaneous discriminations involving three stimuli: positive (P), ambiguous (A) and negative (N). Two different trial types are presented: PA and NA. The ambiguous cue (A) served as an S- in PA trials, but as an S+ in NA trials. When using this procedure, it is typical to observe a less accurate performance in PA trials than in NA trials. This is called the ambiguous-cue effect. Recently, it was reported in starlings that the ambiguous-cue (...) effect decreases when the stimuli are presented on an angled (120°) panel. The hypothesis is that the angled panel facilitates that the two cues from each discrimination are perceived as a compound, precluding value transfer via a second-order conditioning mechanism. In this experiment, we used pigeons and a flat panel. Nevertheless, our data were quite similar to the previous data in starlings. We conclude that the form of the panel cannot explain the ambiguous-cue effect. Several alternatives to be explored in future experiments are suggested. The riddle of the ambiguous-cue problem still remains unsolved. (shrink)

The “philosophy of conscience” is the fundamental paradigm of modern philosophy from Descartes to Kant. Such paradigm has been the object of continuous criticism starting with the so call “philosophy of suspicion” and latter on by the “linguistic turn”, which in this article is considered from the perspective of the discursive ethics of Habermas. Although these criticisms force us to abandon the primacy and the monologism of the “philosophy of conscience”, we should not forget the value of the moral conscience (...) itself in spite of all its resituations. This is what I try to claim in this work, following the arguments of Wellmer, Muguerza, Bilbeny or Renaut, among other critics, revisiting, from this perspective, the confrontation between Kant and Hegel, which has been brought up again by the liberal/communitarian debate, leading finally my discussion to the relation between individualism and cosmopolitanism. (shrink)

Teniendo como punto de partida el importante intercambio crítico entre John Rawls y Jürgen Habermas desplegado en The Journal of Philosohy en marzo de 1995, el presente escrito tiene por objetivo explorar el lugar que ocupa el consenso en la fundamentación del pensamiento político de ambos autores. De modo tal que pueda ponerse en evidencia el carácter intersubjetivo que subyace tanto en los planteos de la teoría de la justicia de Rawls como en la ética del discurso habermasiana. Lo anterior, (...) en efecto, implica un ejercicio conceptual que decanta en el esclarecimiento de dos sendas argumentativas, ambas herederas de una interpretación de Kant, encauzadas a dar solución a la fundamentación de principios morales en las sociedades plurales contemporáneas. (shrink)

Evaluation processes are a basic component of creativity. They guide not only the pure judgement about a new artefact but also the generation itself, as creators constantly evaluate their own work. This paper proposes a model for automatic story generation based on the evaluation of stories. A model of how quality in stories is evaluated is presented, and two possible implementations of the generation guided by this evaluation are shown: exhaustive space exploration and constrained exploration. A theoretical model and its (...) implementation are explained and validation of the evaluation function through comparison with human criteria is described. (shrink)

A indústria cultural tem nos aniversários mais diversos oportunidades de (auto) celebração com virtualidades cada vez mais exploradas. Neste caso interessa-nos a celebração dos 150 anos do nascimento de Freud, embora outros exemplos, à primeira vista até mais originais, fossem possíveis (como a ainda recente azáfama em torno dos 250 anos do terramoto de Lisboa). O que torna o caso dos 150 anos de Freud tão interessante é ver como em seu torno se procedeu à habitual evocação festiva, típica da...

This paper makes the case for the relevance of C. G. Hempel’s 1942 proposal of the usage of «covering laws» in History. To do so, it argues that such a proposal reflects how 18 and 19th centuries «philosophy of History» became methods or epistemology of History. This carried a change in meaning of «History»: no longer a succession of past events but the study of documented human action (including of scientific kind in general), its distinction vis-à-vis philosophy, sociology etc., becomes (...) a minor matter as far as logic of research is concerned. Also present in this paper is the conception of theory as a conceptual mode of narrative, and the defense of a development of theories alongside their practice, not apart from them. Authors considered besides Hempel range from Max Weber to Sigmund Freud, from Arthur C. Danto to Albert O. Hirschmann. (shrink)

This article aims to clarify the sharp contrast between the “short path” of Heideggerian ontology and the “long path” adopted by Ricoeur as a representation of the many necessary mediations in the constitution of his philosophical anthropology. Heidegger breaks into contemporary thought with the publication of his treatise “Being and Time” (1927) as a kind of direct settlement in the field of ontology. In contrast, Ricoeur is seen - and sees himself - as a thinker of conceptual mediations in his (...) long itinerary, since adherence to Husserlian phenomenology and subsequent hermeneutic inflection, passing through confrontations with Freudian psychoanalysis, structuralism and analytical philosophy, to the creation of the book “Oneself as Another” (1990). However, the two philosophers built their works on the common horizon of hermeneutics; therefore, are there possible points of convergence between them? And how could we interpret the relevance of this possible interlocution? These questions cannot be answered without a thorough comparative reading. This text does not intend to answer them, but only to suggest elements for further investigations. (shrink)

Although Novak recognizes himself as a disciple of Maritain, especially in his thesis on the Christian origins of democracy, the differences between the two in their views on the capitalist economy are evident. However, in his famous book, The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, and in other previous works, Novak tries to show some possible bridges between Maritain’s thought and the virtues of American capitalism. This attempt is actually part of a larger project by Novak: that of showing the essential compatibility (...) of Catholicism with capitalism. The purpose of this article is to show, based on Novak’s thought in relation to Maritain, the possibilities and difficulties of this attempt. (shrink)

La presente obra constituye el esfuerzo por rastrear la historia del pensamiento cosmovisional y filosófico latinoamericano, desde las cosmovisiones pre-colombinas hasta las corrientes filosóficas más actuales: las filosofías de la liberación, la postmodernidad y la postcolonialidad. Aunque el autor ha procurado en su voluminosa obra hacer referencia a todas las numerosas corrientes de pensamiento que se han ido dando en el amplio panorama cultural latinoamericano, se ha centrado sobre todo en rastrear la denominada filosofía americanista.

Night: The presence of the absence, the dissolution of the person in the night, the horror of being, the reality of the unreal, it takes us more to the absence of God than to God, to the absence of every entity. Dawn: Not being conscious of the existence of that unchangeable supposed centre of the person within time does not mean that we cannot be able to explain the not static changeable and relational personal identity in other ways. Day: It (...) is me who flows, but I am not in the flow like a support from where life flows, I am flowing in my own reality. This is not similar to an egology, it does not mean that everything exists and is loved to me, but it does mean that everything is seen and loved for me. (shrink)

Influenced by Thomas Kuhn, Alasdair MacIntyre develops a conceptually relativistic theory of research traditions, aimed at describing the structure of these traditions and finding a principle that makes it possible to resolve the disputes among them. The article discusses this theory and analyzes its compatibility withThomism, a tradition that MacIntyre claims to belong to, and with liberalism, a tradition he emphatically criticizes.

The aim of this paper is to present a reflection on the idea of religiousness or religious sentiment in Benjamin Constant de Rebecque and the importance of this in free societies. For the author, the religious sentiment avoids the evils of selfishness and individualism and, at the same time, the dangers of political despotism and religious. In this sense, religion is seen as necessary to free societies. However, it must be separated from the priestly factions. Constant presents a strategy of (...) fusing a perspective of Enlightenment - with the concepts of progress and civilization - with aspects of the thought of Edmund Burke who advocated a more local interest. Thus, the "Greeks" - an "ideal type" avant la lettre - are presented with real people in history, which can help to think of our civilization. An "intermediate political principle", avoiding the excesses of philosophical abstraction. (shrink)

Seria oportuno, ou mesmo viável, confrontar Tomás de Aquino, frade dominicano do século XIII, e Paulo Freire, mestre e filósofo de nossos dias? Este livro aposta que sim. Verifica e convida a verificar como dois gênios, bem atentos aos diferentes momentos históricos, souberam enfrentar os problemas fundamentais da inteligência, do estudo, da cultura, da linguagem e da consciência. Entra pela análise harmoniosa dos textos e contextos das grandes obras de Tomás de Aquino e de Paulo Freire. Empenha-se na descrição cuidadosa (...) dos seus paradigmas intelectuais e pedagógicos. Assim, o livro oferece uma boa contribuição a professores e estudantes de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas. E será muito bem-vindo para todos aqueles que se interessam pelo universo da educação, da pedagogia e da cultura, além da busca metódica de ciência, técnica e sabedoria em vista da desejada globalização humana do nosso planeta Terra"--Provided by Publisher. (shrink)

Noche: La presencia de la ausencia, la disolución de la persona en la noche, el horror de ser, la realidad de lo irreal hacen que la noción de il y a �más que a Dios nos lleve a la ausencia de Dios, a la ausencia de todo ente�. Amanecer: No ser consciente de la existencia de ese supuesto centro inalterable de la persona dentro del tiempo no quiere decir que no seamos capaces de explicar la alterable y relativa identidad personal (...) de otras maneras. Día: Soy yo quién fluye, pero yo no estoy en el flujo como un apoyo de donde la vida fluya; yo estoy fluyendo en mi propia realidad. Esto no es similar a una egología, no significa que todo exista y sea amado por mí, sino que quiere decir que todo es visto y amado por mí. (shrink)

Este trabajo defenderá la universalidad de la metáfora en arte (Arthur Danto), contra quienes piensan (Davidson, Carrol, Vilar) que en él la atribución de propiedades expresivas es literal y no metafórica. Se defiende la tesis de que la metáfora artística es como un símbolo tensivo que apunta a significados (epífora) y al mismo tiempo crea presencia (diáfora). Gracias a ambos elementos el arte crea presencia, crea realidad o transfigura lo usual y le otorga súbitas y asombrosas posibilidades de presencia, a (...) las cuales se corresponde no sólo con los sentidos, sino también con el afecto, el entendimiento y la imaginación. (shrink)

In 1836, at 19 years of age, Colombian philosopher José Eusebio Caro wrote a sociological and anthropological treatise titled Mecánica social that illustrates in context the reception of French philosophy in 19th-century Colombian philosophical thought. The purpose of this paper is to present critically Caro’s theory of the will and to bring to light the philosophical sources from which he draw, especially physiology and its role as theoretical basis for both ideology and a new “scientific” anthropology that could, in turn, (...) provide support for a science of morals and legislation, a major goal of French radical liberal thought. (shrink)

Family, bioethics, and contemporary assertion of rights Família, bioética e reivindicação contemporânea de direitos The starting point of this article is a historical approach to the contemporary origins of the current right recognition movement in relation to the family. Also, through a philosophical-legal research into its essential features, the author proposes an interdisciplinary reflection on the links between such movement and a new anthropological and legal conception of family driven by a particular use of biotechnology. Some alternative critical proposals to (...) this way of thinking by authors from the legal, psychoanalytic and philosophical fields are also explored. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion on the need for broadening the philosophical and anthropological bases of the debate on the family in order to overcome the ideological bias of legal reforms underway. Para citar este artículo / to reference this article / para citar este artigo Hoevel C. Familia, bioética y reivindicación contemporánea de los derechos. pers. bioét. 2018; 22: 247-262. DOI: 10.5294/pebi.2018.22.2.4. (shrink)

My argument is that the concept of social system itself is no longer a unique heritage of the human and social sciences. In other words, this is about the complexity or complexitation of the foundation of social sciences and its disciplines, that is: the idea of social systems itself. Therefore, I s..