The literature on deep brain stimulation (DBS) and adaptive DBS (aDBS) raises concerns that these technologies may affect personality, mood, and behavior. We conducted semi-structured interviews with researchers (n = 23) involved in developing next-generation DBS systems, exploring their perspectives on ethics and policy topics including whether DBS/aDBS can cause such changes. The majority of researchers reported being aware of personality, mood, or behavioral (PMB) changes in recipients of DBS/aDBS. Researchers offered varying estimates of the frequency of PMB changes. A (...) smaller majority reported changes in personality specifically. Some expressed reservations about the scientific status of the term ‘personality,’ while others used it freely. Most researchers discussed negative PMB changes, but a majority said that DBS/aDBS can also result in positive changes. Several researchers viewed positive PMB changes as part of the therapeutic goal in psychiatric applications of DBS/aDBS. Finally, several discussed potential causes of PMB changes other than the device itself. (shrink)

Drawing on sixteenth-century Protestant discourse on marriage and sexuality, this essay examines the anxieties permeating Spenser’s two poetical celebrations of his courtship and wedding with Elizabeth Boyle. Though the Reformers’ departure from Rome included an embrace of clerical marriage and an advocacy for the virtues of companionate marriage, revulsion at the sinfulness of sex remained. Through the sonnets of the Amoretti and the stanzas of the Epithalamion, an idea of mutual love is disrupted by a Protestant-tinged sense of innate and (...) pervasive depravity. Special attention is given to sonnets #58 and #84, and to the Epithalamion passages on Maia and Alcema. (shrink)

In the last decades, proportionality has become increasingly influential in human rights adjudication. Even in the United States, a country with its own tradition of constitutional review, proporti...

David Estlund and Massimo Renzo argue that, given the right background conditions, combatants are obligated to obey orders to fight in unjust wars, a thesis they put forward even as they recognize that this involves committing serious moral wrongs. Their views, then, fall between traditionalism and revisionism in the theory of just war. We argue that both Estlund and Renzo fail to adequately distinguish between binding and nonbinding serious morally wrong orders, that their views are incompatible with their assumed fact‐relative (...) understanding of morality, and that they fail to establish that combatants are obligated to obey orders to fight in unjust wars. We conclude that just as untenable as these two middle‐ground positions is the traditionalist view. (shrink)

Introduction Currently, The nature and scope of Clinical Ethics Protocols in Madrid are not well understood.Objectives The main objective is to describe the features of ‘guideline/recommendation’ type CEPs that have been or are being developed by existing Clinical Ethics Committees in Madrid. Secondary objectives include characterisation of those CECs that have been the most prolific in reference to CEP creation and implementation and identification of any trends in future CEP development.Methods We collected CEPs produced and in process by CECs accredited (...) in the public hospitals in Madrid, Spain, from 1996 to 2008.Results CECs developed 30 CEPs, with 10 more in process. The most common topic is refusal of treatment . If CEPs addressing terminal illness, Do-Not-Resuscitate orders and advance directives are placed into a separate ‘ethical problems at the end of life’ category, this CEP subject emerges as the most common . There is a relationship between the age of the CEC and the development of CEPs . CECs now seem to be more likely to engage in CEP development.Conclusions The CECs in Madrid, Spain, have developed a significant number of CEPs and there is a trend towards continued development. The most frequent topics are ethical problems at the end of life and refusal of treatment by the patient. (shrink)

The expansion of research on deep brain stimulation (DBS) and adaptive DBS (aDBS) raises important neuroethics and policy questions related to data sharing. However, there has been little empirical research on the perspectives of experts developing these technologies. We conducted semi-structured, open-ended interviews with aDBS researchers regarding their data sharing practices and their perspectives on ethical and policy issues related to sharing. Researchers expressed support for and a commitment to sharing, with most saying that they were either sharing their data (...) or would share in the future and that doing so was important for advancing the field. However, those who are sharing reported a variety of sharing partners, suggesting heterogeneity in sharing practices and lack of the broad sharing that would reflect principles of open science. Researchers described several concerns and barriers related to sharing, including privacy and confidentiality, the usability of shared data by others, ownership and control of data (including potential commercialization), and limited resources for sharing. They also suggested potential solutions to these challenges, including additional safeguards to address privacy issues, standardization and transparency in analysis to address issues of data usability, professional norms and heightened cooperation to address issues of ownership and control, and streamlining of data transmission to address resource limitations. Researchers also offered a range of views on the sensitivity of neural activity data (NAD) and data related to mental health in the context of sharing. These findings are an important input to deliberations by researchers, policymakers, neuroethicists, and other stakeholders as they navigate ethics and policy questions related to aDBS research. (shrink)

Drawing on sixteenth-century Protestant discourse on marriage and sexuality, this essay examines the anxieties permeating Spenser’s two poetical celebrations of his courtship and wedding with Elizabeth Boyle. Though the Reformers’ departure from Rome included an embrace of clerical marriage and an advocacy for the virtues of companionate marriage, revulsion at the sinfulness of sex remained. Through the sonnets of the Amoretti and the stanzas of the Epithalamion, an idea of mutual love is disrupted by a Protestant-tinged sense of innate and (...) pervasive depravity. Special attention is given to sonnets #58 and #84, and to the Epithalamion passages on Maia and Alcema. (shrink)

We propose a mathematical model for a class of predator–prey systems more complex than the usual one, involving a commensalism effect consisting in an influence of the predator on the sustainability of the prey. This effect induces interesting new features, including bi-stability. The question of the possibility of reaching a certain attractor starting from initial conditions with a small population of predators, which presents an interest from the vewpoint of the onset of the predator in evolution, is addressed. We propose (...) two possibilities: the classical one involving adapted conditions in the far past and a new one using biodiversity, specifically the presence of another predator which operates as a starter, being displaced in the sequel. (shrink)

In the framework of population dynamics, we start from the logistic equation describing the evolution of one species with limited food supply. A split device allows us to consider the population as two sub-populations x and y evolving analogously. The dynamical system has a one-parameter family of equilibria which is structurally unstable. Then small perturbations of the system (describing functional or ethological differentiations between the sub-species) lead in general to a new system involving a fast and a slow dynamics with (...) a finite number of equilibria. In simple situations where the differentiation is clearly either an advantage or an inconvenience for one of the subspecies, the stable equilibrium amounts to extinction of the disadvantaged subspecies (elementary Darwinism). Oppositely more complex differentiations (involving both advantages and inconveniences) often lead to stable equilibria with well-defined non zero proportions of the sub-populations (preservation of the biodiversity). Other examples are concerned with symbiosis-like differentiations, leading to preservation, whereas the opposite case (mutual nuisances) has an unstable equilibrium and lead to extinction of one or the other subspecies according to the initial conditions. The case of a scission into three subspecies is more rich in consequences. In certain cases, predator-prey relations lead to auto-organization phenomena with stable diversity-preserving diversity. Cases of instability are also possible, leading to orbits tending towards a poly-cycle.This implies some kind of pseudo-extinction: this amounts to “pseudo-periodic-like” orbits with “pseudo-periods” larger and larger, tending to infinity; each pseudo-period contains parts where one of the sub-populations practically vanish. Other non-linear perturbations lead to stable orbits. (shrink)

This article is part of a For-Discussion-Section of Methods of Information in Medicine about the paper "Biomedical Informatics: We Are What We Publish", written by Peter L. Elkin, Steven H. Brown, and Graham Wright. It is introduced by an editorial. This article contains the combined commentaries invited to independently comment on the Elkin et al. paper. In subsequent issues the discussion can continue through letters to the editor.

El presente texto busca desarrollar una reflexión filosófica respecto de las posibles relaciones entre la noción de identidad y las formas de gobierno contemporáneas. A partir de un breve análisis sobre los principales desarrollos de la noción, se busca tensionar el campo de comprensión habitual y plantear un determinado modo en que esta puede pensarse como un engranaje epistemológico-ético respecto de los modos en que los individuos son llamados a nombrarse y reconocerse dentro de los límites impuestos por una cartografía (...) política. La tesis que sostiene este escrito dice relación con que la categoría de individuo moderno no es sostenible sin una adscripción a un orden de los nombres que tiende al autogobierno en base a la apelación de un ideal ético de correspondencia consigo mismo. (shrink)

This paper presents an axiomatic characterization of the Owen set of transportation games. In the characterization we use six properties including consistency (CONS2) and splitting and merging (SM) which are firstly proposed and defined for this setup in the present paper.

En el vórtice del tiempo -- La digestión del conocimiento -- De la noble virtud -- Retrodicción del futuro -- Taki Onqoy -- Guernica -- Máximas e interludios -- De retorno al crepúsculo -- Bitácora.

Nos hemos acostumbrado a considerar como normales una serie de situaciones de injusticia extrema que son fuente de miseria y esterilización de las posibilidades humanas de vastos sectores de la población mundial. El presente artículo trata de mostrar que tales situaciones no resultan de la violación de principios éticos fundamentales por parte de algunos individuos u organizaciones aisladas, sino, justamente, de la aplicación de los criterios éticos que prevalecen hoy en la práctica económica y política. La vigencia de éstos se (...) debe a que convienen a los intereses de los países y grupos económicos que dominan el escenario global, quienes los aprovechan de manera ideológica para mantener su poder, al margen del perjuicio que causan al desarrollo de las sociedades menos avanzadas económicamente. El texto concluye haciendo énfasis en la necesidad de replantear los criterios éticos que sirven para sustentar las decisiones económicas en el marco de la globalización actual. (shrink)

The intuitive distinction between natural and unnatural properties (e.g., green vs. grue) informs our theorizing not only in fundamental physics, but also in non-fundamental domains. This paper develops a reductive account of this broad notion of naturalness that covers non-fundamental properties: for a property to be natural, I propose, is for it to figure in a law of nature. After motivating the account, I defend it from a potential circularity charge. I argue that a suitably broad notion of lawhood can (...) be defined independently of naturalness, if we help ourselves to the notion of a fundamental physical property. I end by showing how the notions of naturalness and lawhood that my account delivers help illuminate a number of other important philosophical notions, like causation, reference/meaning, and rational induction. (shrink)

Previous research has shown positive relationships between fitness level and different cognitive abilities and academic performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between logical–mathematical intelligence and mathematical competence with physical fitness in a group of pre-adolescents. Sixty-three children from Castro del Río, aged between 11 and 12 years, participated in this research. The Superior Logical Intelligence Test and the EVAMAT 1.0–5 battery were used. Physical fitness was evaluated by the horizontal jump test, the 4×10 meter speed–agility (...) test, and the Course Navette test. The analyses showed positive relationships between physical fitness with logical–mathematical intelligence and mathematical competence. Specifically, linear regression analyzes indicated that the 4×10 speed–agility test significantly predicted mathematical competence and the horizontal jump test significantly predicted logical–mathematical intelligence. These results are in agreement with previous research, highlighting the importance of improving physical fitness from an early age due to its benefits for intellectual and academic development. (shrink)

O período medieval é longo e de grande efervescência. Nele o saber foi se desenvolvendo e organizando aos poucos, acentuando-se sempre mais a importância da natureza. A partir do século XII, organizam-se escolas, no século XIII, as universidades. Nas "Siete Partidas" o rei Alfonso X idealiza e define o que seria o studi.um generale.

Se plantea una aproximación a las interpretaciones del fascismo de Ortega y Gasset y María Zambrano, tan divergentes como sus respectivas concepciones del liberalismo y, en definitiva, de la política. En el caso de Ortega, el fascismo sería una concreción de la rebelión de las masas, agresiva hacia la cultura y las instituciones liberales. En el caso de Zambrano, se identificaría con el nihilismo y la regresión al mito, como desenlace de un proceso arraigado en el corazón de la Modernidad (...) e incluso el logos occidental. Ambas interpretaciones se disciernen además sobre el complejo trasfondo de las relaciones de continuidad y, al mismo tiempo, ruptura, propias del saber compartido por maestros y discípulos. (shrink)

El presente artículo se basa en la teoría de la creatividad artística de Jon Elster para tratar de ofrecer un esbozo de definición del concepto de arte, así como las bases para una teoría del valor artístico. Se sostiene que una obra de arte es una creación humana realizada con la intención de provocar una experiencia estética, así como que el principal valor de una obra de arte radica en su capacidad para producir emociones estéticas y no estéticas. Dicha concepción (...) pone en dificultades a algunas importantes formas de arte contemporáneo, como el arte conceptual. (shrink)

El presente estudio busca analizar la potencial influencia de variables sociodemográficas tradicionales (sexo, edad y procedencia geográfica), y del curso e itinerario curricular (Ciencias / Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales) de un grupo de estudiantes españoles de Educación Secundaria (n = 124) en sus creencias epistemológicas y metodológicas sobre la Historia y, en particular, en el lugar otorgado a la experiencia social de las mujeres en la historia enseñada. Se emplea una metodología cuantitativa de corte prospectivo transversal mediante análisis estadísticos descriptivos (...) e inferenciales. Los resultados informan de la inexistencia de diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre el sexo, la edad, el curso y la especialidad y las creencias de los y las estudiantes, y de su evidencia entre la procedencia geográfica del alumnado y sus concepciones sobre la construcción del conocimiento histórico, y la responsabilidad de la Historia en la visibilización de personas y grupos sociales e históricos tradicionalmente invisibles. (shrink)

Este artículo investiga el sentido actual de la ironía como categoría estética, tras su fracaso como estrategia en las narrativas posmodernas. Se analiza su relación con la capacidad de extrañamiento, a fin de mostrar las dificultades de ambos, ironía y extrañamiento, para ejercer su fuerza crítica en una realidad como la actual, estandarizada y coreografiada hasta en sus más mínimos detalles. El ejemplo de los e-games se presenta como prueba del poco interés por el misterio en los nuevos escenarios lúdicos, (...) donde todo parece indicar que la atracción de lo desconocido ha sido sustituida por el deseo de permanecer en la uniformidad de lo «ya sentido». (shrink)

El objetivo de este artículo es reflexionar acerca de las razones por las que M. Foucault decide, en el curso de 1984, centrarse en el estudio del cinismo antiguo. La hipótesis que se plantea en este artículo es que el estoicismo, a cuyo análisis se dedica el curso de 1982, es insuficiente para articular una ética de la resistencia basada en el nexo indisoluble entre verdad y alteridad, entre otras razones, por la negación absoluta de las pasiones que caracteriza al (...) estoicismo. Sin embargo, el cinismo, tal y como es analizado por M. Foucault, implica una transvaloración del ideal estoico de la verdadera vida, a través de un procedimiento de dramatización, que apunta a un uso teatral de determinadas pasiones, por el que la verdadera vida es transformada en una vida radicalmente otra. (shrink)

The author interprets the dialogues belonging to Plato’s first Tetralogy, i. e. Euthyphro, Apology, Crito and Phaedo, as a coherent whole, in which the concept of ‘gratuitousness’ plays the leading role. The expression ‘gratuitous’ does not mean here, however, ‘arbitrary’ or ‘as someone likes’ but rather ‘free’, ‘gratis’, ‘for nothing’. Based on such an interpretation the author discusses then the important similarities existing between – on the one hand – Plato’s metaphysics of ‘gratuitousness’ and – on the other hand – (...) Meister Eckhart’s ‘mystics’ and Schelling’s Philosophy of Identity. These three thinkers are all interested in the world as it is not merely for us or for something else – that is not in the world as it merely appears to someone under particular given conditions –, but in the world as it is in itself. However, this distinction between ‘appearances’ and ‘things-in-themselves’ is not to be thought as an epistemological but rather as an ethical or existential one, which is not related to the way how we ‘can know’ the world but rather to the way how we ‘should live’ in it. (shrink)

Master Eckhart’s metaphysics is an idealistic one: Being is not what there is, but only and exclusively what is truthful, i. e. the normativity which reason sets. Further: What is truthful comes about by negation of what there is, because this is itself nothing, pure negation as such. What is truthful is therefore the negation of negation. This is an idealistic thesis which cannot be described as being thomistic, but rather which corresponds to the metaphysics of German Idealism, especially of (...) Fichte. This essay shows that the thesis that Eckhart was thomistic until his Parisian idealistic turn at the beginning of the 14th century is not correct. It argues that Eckhart’s metaphysics is unambiguously idealistic, i. e. non-thomistic, and that this is also the case in works which he certainly wrote before the Parisian Questions. This applies especially to the Rede der underscheidunge und the Tractatus super oratione dominica. (shrink)