Many scholars in the area of citizenship education take deliberative approaches to democracy, especially as put forward by John Rawls, as their point of departure. From there, they explore how students’ capacity for political and/or moral reasoning can be fostered. Recent work by political theorist Chantal Mouffe, however, questions some of the central tenets of deliberative conceptions of democracy. In the paper I first explain the central differences between Mouffe’s and Rawls’s conceptions of democracy and politics. To this end I (...) take Eamonn Callan’s Creating Citizens as an example of Rawlsian political education and focus on the role of conflict and disagreement in his account. I then address three areas in which political education would need to change if it were to accept Mouffe’s critiques of deliberative approaches to democracy and her proposal for an agonistic public sphere. The first area is the education of political emotions; the second is fostering an understanding of the difference between the moral and the political; the third is developing an awareness of the historical and contemporary political projects of the “left” and “right.” I propose that a radical democratic citizenship education would be an education of political adversaries. (shrink)

I. Foundations of semantics 1. Meaning in linguistics 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Introduction Truth Compositionality Context and discourse Meaning in contemporary ...

An increasing number of studies indicate that virtues affect brain structure. These studies might shed new light on some neuroethical perspectives suggesting that our brain network activity determines the acquisition and permanence of virtues. According to these perspectives, virtuous behavior could be interpreted as the product of a brain mechanism supervised by genes and environment and not as the result of free choice. In this respect, the neural correlates of virtues would confirm the deterministic theory. In contrast, I maintain that (...) these findings do not undermine the role of willpower and freedom while reinforcing an interactionist view of free will. If virtues affect our neural system, then the predictability of the virtuous behavior follows. The likelihood of our future actions is primarily virtue-dependent; therefore, the acquired naturality of virtuous behavior is a source of predictable behavioral patterns outlining expected actions, which I propose to call Hypotheses of Action. However, the predictability of an action indicates its likeliness and not its certainty or necessity. The neural traces of virtues can be interpreted as major indicators of HAs. It is always possible for the agents to depart from their more likely, virtue-induced actions, but their deviations from the virtuous behavioral pattern are rare, as it is rare for the vicious/non-virtuous person to behave well systematically. This implies a reaffirmation of the notions of veto and consent as they provide a universal practical power affecting the subject’s use of moral virtues. (shrink)

El llamado a un retorno a la normalidad se hizo escuchar durante la crisis del Covid-19, y con ello volvía a traer la sospecha -repitiendo el dictum benjaminiano- de que la norma es (y era) el estado de excepción. Como si esa interrupción hubiese mínimamente aflojado las fuerzas que nos sujetaban en la niebla de la globalización neoliberal, dejando entrever sus contornos mentirosos, su mala hechura o su hechura cortoplacista, también en ese movimiento afloró el carácter político del tiempo y (...) su capacidad para la interrupción mesiánica de esa catástrofe que seguimos llamando progreso. Una sensibilidad de freno de emergencia, una actitud lúdica con los dispositivos (darles una vuelta de tuerca, jugar a su distorsión): una lectura de Benjamin con Tiqqun, o con Deleuze o con Agamben, pone en juego su capacidad de errancia, de fuga, su tino (imprevisible aunque no desencantado) para la articulación política. (shrink)

Can the concept of myths, as developed by Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex, help us to better understand and sociologically examine social inequalities in heterosexual couple relationships? Beauvoir has shown how women are defined as the Other. Her conceptualization of myths plays an important role in the production of asymmetry between men and women. How can we translate these myths, to a sociological micro level to examine couple relationships? We illustrate the feasibility of this approach through the comparison (...) of two qualitative research projects from the 1990s and 2020s with dual-earner couples in transition to retirement. We try to find out how femininity and masculinity are defined in couple relationships, how they relate to each other, and whether asymmetry is at work. What has changed over time and are women (still) defined in a subordinate and derivative way from men? (shrink)

Gray zones, which develop wherever oppression is severe and lasting, are inhabited by victims of evil who become complicit in perpetrating on others the evils that threaten to engulf themselves. Women, who have inhabited many gray zones, present challenges for feminist theorists, who have long struggled with how resistance is possible under coercive institutions. Building on Primo Levi's reflections on the gray zone in Nazi death camps and ghettos, this essay argues that resistance is sometimes possible, although outsiders are rarely, (...) if ever, in a position to judge when. It also raises questions about the adequacy of ordinary moral concepts to mark the distinctions that would be helpful for thinking about how to respond in a gray zone. (shrink)

From the viewpoint of Political Theory, digital technology presents both risks and opportunities for the democratic public sphere. Public discourse is now more complex and fragmented than ever before. Against this background, this paper uses the metaphor of a “communicative universe” to analyze the latest structural change of the public sphere. It emphasizes the significance of achieving a balance between different actors and powers in contemporary political discourse. Patterns in media communication can not only be identified but also influenced and (...) constructed in ways that support the democratic functionality of political discourses. (shrink)

Claudia Nadeau-Morissette | : En théorie littéraire comme dans tout domaine scientifique, certaines catégories font fortune au point de ne plus être remises en question par les chercheurs. Ce fut le cas de l’idéalisme et du réalisme dans l’interprétation de l’oeuvre romanesque de Premchand. De concepts théoriques, ces catégories sont devenues les échafauds sur lesquels s’est construit un schéma idéologique en trois phases de l’oeuvre et de la pensée de cet écrivain, le faisant passer du stade de l’idéalisme au (...) réalisme. Le présent article examine comment s’est opéré ce glissement chez les critiques de Premchand et les conséquences qu’il a eues dans l’analyse de la dimension religieuse de son oeuvre. | : In the theory of literature, like in any scientific domain, some categories become so popular that they are left unquestioned by the scholars. This is the case of idealism and realism when it comes to the interpretation of the fiction works of Premchand. These categories, from theoretical concepts, become the base on which an ideological schema of this writer’s work and thought is constructed in three steps, evolving from the stage of the idealism to that of the realism. The present article looks at how this shift finds its way with the critics of Premchand and the consequences they have on the analysis of the religious dimension of his work. (shrink)

The importance of economic freedom for economic development can no longer be denied. What is often denied, however, is respect for individuals’ rights and personal choices. The role of individual choice is often dismissed or set aside by the development community. In this essay, I argue that inherent to economic freedom’s economic success is the promotion and acceptance of individual choice. Development theory should include recognition of and respect for personal choices, a theory I call “Catfish Man of the Woods” (...) theory of development. (shrink)

Feminist thinkers have appropriated the central concepts of the early Frankfurt School thinker Theodor W. Adorno, such as his concept of the non-identical, and pointed at his problematic depictions of the feminine. However, despite the growing literature on the latter, there is so far no scholarship that shows how the feminine interacts with class in Adorno’s works. Working-class women appear in the Dialectic of Enlightenment and his later works in the three figurations of the phallic, castrating, and castrated woman. I (...) draw on the theoretical framework of the French psychoanalytic thinker Jacques Lacan to grasp the deeper desires and fears that implicate Adorno in the very same instrumental rationality he aims to counter with his critical theory. (shrink)

The phenomenon of consciousness has received through the centuries a profusion of interpretations, engaging researchers across many disciplines. Nevertheless, consensus still floats at large. The aim of the present work is therefore twofold. Through the review of a selected number of existing proposals, it will first be considered the extents of their reciprocal compatibility, tentatively shaping an integrated, theoretical profile of consciousness. A new theory, the Endogenous Feedback Network will consequently be introduced which, besides being able to accommodate the main (...) tenets of the reviewed theories, appears able to compensate for the explanatory gaps they leave behind. The EFN proposes consciousness as the phenomenon emerging from a distinct neural network broadcasting the changes associated to mental activations across the brain. It additionally argues for the need to include a 5th element to Ned Block’s taxonomy that is, non-cognitive consciousness. (shrink)

This paper highlights a number of ethical dilemmas encountered in a pilot study with a hard-to-reach group of research participants with harmful childhood histories. Drawing on a project exploring black teenage mothers' understandings of their own childhood experiences of abuse, it is argued that in asking young mothers to talk about such an emotionally sensitive topic as their own harmful childhood, a number of challenges are posed about how to deal with number of key ethical principles. The paper begins by (...) outlining the context of the pilot study, including the research literature on this subject. It then discusses three key ethical principles that were considered during the process of the research: issues of gaining consent; and when the principle of confidentiality ought to be breached when a duty of care prerogative emerges. The paper explores these tensions in operationalising these principles when dealing with the competing needs and rights of gatekeepers, the young women and their carers, using occasional extracts from research findings to illustrate these tensions. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ethical challenges in accessing marginal voices in social research. (shrink)

Galen’s elemental mixture of fire, air, water and earth (and of the corresponding primary qualities, hot, cold, dry and wet) is primarily a physical process, in which primary elements mix and give rise to all compounded physical bodies, inanimate and animate. As such, the concrete, physical process of mixture is an essential basis for a thorough understanding of Galen’s physical system. In this article I pursued a twofold aim. First, I showed Galen’s syncretic approach while expounding his theory of mixture (...) (insofar as he attributes that theory equally to ‘Hippocrates’, Aristotle and the Stoics) and illustrated the reasons behind this approach. Second, and more importantly, I addressed Galen’s epistemological position concerning mixture’s constituents and answered the question of whether, according to Galen, are the qualities alone, conceived more Aristotelico as conceptually distinct from the body itself, to mix or if Galen viewed mixture, as the Stoics did, as a coextension of bodies. As we argue, Galen assigns the epistemological status of πιθανόν to the Aristotelian and Peripatetic doctrines. This indicates that, to a certain extent, he joins this historical debate and is more closely aligned with Aristotle and the Peripatetics than with the Stoics. By resorting to what is πιθανόν Galen obtains two results: (1) does not expose himself to accusations of dogmatism but, at the same time and in his method, enters the ongoing controversy about qualities and bodies without taking a definitive position, and (2) he preserves his syncretic theoretical structure which finds its linchpin in the defence of a medical-cum-philosophical continuism. (shrink)

The recent economic crisis as well as other disasters such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the nuclear disaster in Japan has fanned calls for leaders who do not deny responsibility, hide information, and deceive others, but rather lead with authenticity and integrity. In this article, we empirically investigate the concept of authentic leadership. Specifically, we examine the antecedents and individual as well as group-level outcomes of authentic leadership in business (Study 1; n = 306) as (...) well as research organizations (Study 2; n = 105). Findings reveal leader self-knowledge and self-consistency as antecedents of authentic leadership and followers’ satisfaction with supervisor, organizational commitment, and extra-effort as well as perceived team effectiveness as outcomes. The relations between authentic leadership and followers’ work-related attitudes as well as perceived team effectiveness are mediated by perceived predictability of the leader, a particular facet of trust. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice and provide suggestions for advancing theory and research on authentic leadership in the future. (shrink)

Aun cuando se plantea que Arendt y Benjamin sostienen posiciones filosófico políticas irreconciliables, nosotros consideramos que existen líneas de confluencia que parten de una crítica a la Modernidad y los llevan a explorar temas como la narración, la narratividad, la autoridad y la legitimidad. En este trabajo me centraré en la visión que cada uno de ellos tiene sobre el Marxismo, sus apropiaciones, así como las derivaciones a las que llegan. Intentaré mostrar que, mientras en Arendt sobresale una crítica al (...) marxismo como parte de la tradición de pensamiento Occidental, en Benjamin derivará en un giro al idealismo y la teología que pasará a ser redención. (shrink)

Drawing on examples by Gottfried Keller, Gottfried Semper, Walter Benjamin, Paul Scheerbart and Bruno Taut, the paper pursues the subcutaneous impacts of Goethe’s Faust II in modern aesthetics. Recurring to morphology and the theory of colour, these aesthetics connect Faust with the categories of color and volubility, thus establishing an alternative relation be- tween tradition and modernity.

Im alltagssprachlichen Gebrauch beziehen wir den Begriff der Gerechtigkeit sowohl auf Verteilungen von Gütern als auch auf die Verfahren, durch die eine entsprechende Verteilung zustande gekommen ist. Rawls’ Konzeption von Gerechtigkeit als Fairness (Rawls 1999) bezieht sich auf die Verteilung von Gütern und Rechten und ist somit eine Konzeption substantieller Gerechtigkeit. Zugleich ist die Begründung seiner Gerechtigkeitsprinzipien prozedural: durch die Konstruktion des Urzustandes, in dem Parteien hinter dem Schleier des Nichtwissens Prinzipien auswählen, wird die Auswahl ebendieser Prinzipien determiniert.

In this comment on Cristina Lafont’s new book Democracy without Shortcuts, I apply some of her ideas to the Brexit case in order to show that her identification of problematic shortcuts has significant analytical potential when it comes to understanding contemporary challenges to democracy. I argue that the push for Brexit can be viewed as a response to ‘expertocratic’ shortcuts in European Union decision-making, while David Cameron’s attempt to resolve the conflict once and for all by referendum constituted a ‘proceduralist’ (...) shortcut. I conclude by asking whether Lafont’s suggestion to ‘constitutionalize’ discourses and decisions could also imply seeking a meta-deliberative assessment of democratic institutions. (shrink)

La problemática anterioridad que Kant le atribuye a los _juicios de percepción_ respecto a los _juicios de experiencia_ en los _Prolegómenos_, puede explicarse por una suerte de solapamiento conceptual con los _juicios provisionales_ que Kant distingue de los _juicios determinantes_ en la _Lógica_ y en el _Legado póstumo_. El análisis del ejemplo de los planetas en el §13 de los _Prolegómenos_, interpretado a la luz de la _segunda analogía de la experiencia_ y del estudio evolutivo del concepto de _apparentia_, mostrará: (...) 1) En su traslape con los _juicios provisionales_, los _juicios de percepción_ cumplirían en los _Prolegómenos_, entre otras, la función de explicar la posibilidad del error empírico; 2) Una instancia de reflexión previa a la determinación del conocimiento objetivo empírico, preventiva del error, que es propia de los _juicios provisionales_. (shrink)

Este trabajo indaga la presencia de la obra de Filón de Alejandría en el Colloquium Heptaplomeres de Jean Bodin, que como otros coloquios de sabios renacentistas apunta a descubrir la “verdadera religión”, pero sin ser conclusivo. A través del personaje del sabio hebreo - su posible portavoz- Bodin recupera la visión del alejandrino de la sabiduría como develadora de armonía universal, la exégesis alegórica como “filosofar con símbolos” y el papel de la Ley, que en ambos autores articula lo divino (...) y lo humano. Proponemos que esta adopción se basa en la afinidad de intención política entre el sincretismo filoniano y el irenismo humanista. (shrink)