La relevancia de Vico en cuanto precursor de la noción de "comprensión" y adelantado de la rehabilitación de las "Ciencias del Espíritu" ha sido frecuentemente puesta de manifiesto. Ha sido mucho menos estudiada en España, sin embargo, la contribución seminal de Johann G. Herder, que, independientemente de Vico, desarrolla en el último tercio del siglo XVIII un interesante esbozo de teoría de la "comprensión".Vico's relevance as precursor of the concept of "comprehension" and pioneer of the rehabilitation of (...) the "Geisteswissenschaften" is well known. It's not been studied as much in Spain, however, the founding contribution of Johann G. Herder, who, independent of Vico, develops in the last third of the 18th century an interesting outline of theory of "comprehension". (shrink)

El trabajo plantea el paso de una ciencia de Dios a un conocimiento sobre el hombre, que con la Ciencia nueva de Vico se resuelve como historicismo.This work examines the passage from a science of God to a knowledge of man, that in Vico's New Science is solved by historicism.

Tres modelos de sensibilidad ecológico-social son visibles hoy en relación con la naturaleza. El primero, el más atávico, consiste en la indiferencia instintiva. El segundo, algo más elaborado, en su conservación utilitaria. Y el tercero, el más consistente, en el respeto esencial por ella. Y ahí, en el vértice de la jerarquía humana pensante; aislados, pocos, románticos e iluminados, encontramos a unos cuantos personajes que tratan, machaconamente, de expandir un «extraño» mensaje entre el amasijo tecnocientífico actual; el del ecologismo comprometido. (...) Su imperativo es inapelable: somos el único ser vivo del planeta dotado de suficiente autoconsciencia y, por eso mismo, de exigible responsabilidad. Sobre todo, en el caso de que existieran argumentos suficientes que enlacen nuestra estirpe con el resto de los seres vivos de la Tierra. Y ese es el objetivo de este artículo. Teilhard de Chardin, Arne Naess y el papa Francisco son tres de los mejores ejemplos de quienes han contribuido a la justificación científica y filosófica del respeto debido a la Naturaleza. En ellos, centraremos nuestro análisis. (shrink)

Se analiza aquí, si bien parcialmente, las concepciones viquianas acerca de las causas y fundamentos de la guerra, cotejándolas históricamente con las de los tratadistas que sobre ello versan, desde los clásicos al racionalismo de la Reforma, y poniendo de relieve sus respectivos acuerdos y disensos.PALABRAS CLAVE: Vico, guerra, derecho natural, derecho de gentes, Diritto Universale.Vichian conceptions of causes and reasons for war are here considered through a historical comparison with those of authors who wrote on that topic, from (...) classics until reformist rationalists, emphasising their respective agreements and discrepancies.KEYWORDs: Vico, war, natural right, ius gentium, Diritto Universale. (shrink)

Es éste un trabajo donde, partiendo de la dicotomía discurso lógico / discurso retórico, se infiere que nuestra representación del mundo e interacción con él -esencialmente metafórica y de índole retórica respectivamente- recaban la conjunción, como Vico pretendiera, de filosofía y filología.This is a paper that, putting aside the logic discourse / rhetorical discourse dichotomy, infers that our representation of the world and interaction with it -essentially metaphoric and of rhetorical nature, respectively- bring philosophy and philology together, as (...) class='Hi'>Vico intended. (shrink)

Croce is a heir of the best posrenacentist traditions. Maquiavelo and Galileo are presents in the rigor of his thought and the intention to apprehend the concreteness and the verifiableness. But also they are Hegel, and before Vico, in its unfolded universalist glance on the historical process. ..

Ante la consideración general de que el principio verum/factum es una fórmula de implicación revolucionaria sólo con Vico, se pretende examinar la tesis del Quod Nihil Scitur de F. Sánchez, con objeto de mostrar que, lejos de ser una idea marginal e incidental, el principio se encuentra en la base de la teoría epistemológica del filósofo ibérico. De hecho, el presente trabajo intenta demostrar la formulación viquiana como una respuesta a la crisis escéptica que surgía de la teoría del (...) concimiento de Sánchez. Aceptando la premisa básica del escepticismo, Vico puso fin a la crisis escéptica.As to the general view of the verum/factum principle as a revolutionary formula of implication embodied in Vico’s Philosophy, this paper aims to examine the main thesis of F. Sánchez’s Quod Nihil Scitur in order to show that the principle, far from being a casual or incidental idea, lies on the bottom of his epistemological theory. In fact, this paper intends to present the vichian formula as a response to the esceptical crisis which came out from Sánchez’s very own theory of knowledge. Once the basic assumption of scepticism has been retorted, Vico brought to an end the sceptical crisis. (shrink)

El artículo analiza la influencia del pensamiento de Francisco Suárez sobre el de Giambattista Vico, y se ocupa básicamente de analizar los conceptos de derecho natural y de gentes en el primero, que en el segundo se acaba convirtiendo en Derecho natural de gentes. La concepción de Suárez sobre el derecho natural se sustenta en afirmar la no inmutabilidad plena de éste y se combina con el derecho de gentes, en el que se comprenden las costumbres de los (...) distintos pueblos. La idea viquiana del derecho natural de gentes abre las puertas al historicismo y al culturalismo como la base en la que sustenta dicho derecho, lo que supone una visión claramente humanista y pluralista del orden normativo, frente al abstractismo racionalista ilustrado. (shrink)

In his small but priceless treatise entitled De dignitate et de augmentis scientiarum,1 Francis Bacon undertakes to point i (Of the Dignity and Advancement ...

The ultimate source of explanation in biology is the principle of natural selection. Natural selection means differential reproduction of genes and gene combinations. It is a mechanistic process which accounts for the existence in living organisms of end-directed structures and processes. It is argued that teleological explanations in biology are not only acceptable but indeed indispensable. There are at least three categories of biological phenomena where teleological explanations are appropriate.

It is an intimate experience for us to think, to understand and to perceive things as being identical to themselves, and to suppose, consequently, that things are truly “what” they are. Something is always conceived as itself. The given is given full of itself in all its modifications. For instance, I can think or perceive partially some lips, I can see them almost in their whole or in some of their aspects, or just see them disappear. But it does not (...) seem to be possible to think or to perceive a given as almost itself, as an aspect or as part of itself. It is the aim of this work to study the assumptions and conditions for the original position of sameness in experience, just as it occurs in the synthesis of the datum singular and distinct. The polarization of single tone (einstimmig) intentional rays in an αvτó already contains the aporiae peculiar to the experience of the identical, whose revelation shall lead us, on the one hand, to one of the nuclei of the analysis of passive synthesis, and, on the other hand, to point up how critical revision of the numerical or extensional model of self-identity is for the unity of meaning. Then, it will be a question of pointing out the reasons why in a phenomenology of identity, the renunciation of the phenomenological legitimacy of the αvτó as a guarantee for the different positions of identity must be observed. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-011-3464-4_13 . (shrink)

This book is the first translation from Latin into English of the juridical writings of one of the greatest minds of the Enlightenment and one of the greatest figures in Italian philosophy. The complete text is fully annotated, supplied with an extensive introduction, completed by historical and biographical documents, and graced with evocative illustrations. Legal scholars, philosophers, historians, and political scientists throughout the world may now discover a classic by one of the world’s great jurists.

O presente volume reune quase uma trintena de artigos com temas culturais, de consagrados autores portugueses e brasileiros, que assim pretenderam homenagear o Professor. oordenada por Joaquim Gonçalves, a obra é estruturada em 4 partes. As três primeiras agrupam as intervenções, consagrando-se a quarta à vida e obra do homenageado.

The question whether ethical behavior is biologically determined may refer either to thecapacity for ethics (e.i., the proclivity to judge human actions as either right or wrong), or to the moralnorms accepted by human beings for guiding their actions. My theses are: (1) that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature; and (2) that moral norms are products of cultural evolution, not of biological evolution.Humans exhibits ethical behavior by nature because their biological makeup determines the presence (...) of the three necessary, and jointly sufficient, conditions for ethical behavior: (i) the ability to anticipate the consequences of one's own actions; (ii) the ability to make value judgements; and (iii) the ability to choose between alternative courses of action. Ethical behavior came about in evolution not because it is adaptive in itself, but as a necessary consequece of man's eminent intellectual abilities, which are an attribute directly promoted by natural selection. (shrink)

The question whether ethical behavior is biologically determined may refer either to the capacity for ethics (i.e., the proclivity to judge human actions as either right or wrong), or to the moral norms accepted by human beings for guiding their actions. I herein propose: (1) that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature; and (2) that moral norms are products of cultural evolution, not of biological evolution. Humans exhibit ethical behavior by nature because their biological makeup (...) determines the presence of three necessary conditions for ethical behavior: (i) the ability to anticipate the consequences of one’s own actions; (ii) the ability to make value judgments; and (iii) the ability to choose between alternative courses of action. Ethical behavior came about in evolution not because it is adaptive in itself, but as a necessary consequence of man’s eminent intellectual abilities, which are an attribute directly promoted by natural selection. That is, morally evolved as an exaptation, not as an adaptation. Since Darwin’s time there have been evolutionists proposing that the norms of morality are derived from biological evolution. Sociobiologists represent the most recent and most subtle version of that proposal. The sociobiologists' argument is that human ethical norms are sociocultural correlates of behaviors fostered by biological evolution. I argue that such proposals are misguided and do not escape the naturalistic fallacy. The isomorphism between the behaviors promoted by natural selection and those sanctioned by moral norms exist only with respect to the consequences of the behaviors; the underlying causations are completely disparate. (shrink)

José Otero Espasandín (1900-1987) was an important science popularizer in Argentina during the 1940´s, who belonged to the Misiones Pedagógicas (Educational Missions) group in Spain. This paper presents his biography and his work as a science and technology popularizer. It focused on his features, value and significance for that period.

Medical stem cell research is currently the cause of much moral controversy. Those who would confer the same moral status to embryos as we do to humans consider that harvesting such embryonic cells entails sacrificing embryos. In this paper, the author analyses critically the arguments given for such a perspective. Finally, a theory of moral status is outlined that coherently and plausibly supports the use of embryonic stem cells in therapeutic research.

Sobre el libro: El presente libro recoge las ponencias presentadas en la reunión anual del Seminario Spinoza que tuvo lugar en la Facultad de Filosofía de la UNED los días 13 y 14 de marzo de 2009, así como la presentación del cuadro de Espinosa pintado por Sorolla procedente de la Donación Simarro y perteneciente al fondo artístico de la Universidad Complutense, que tuvo lugar en El Escorial en el verano de 2008. Los trabajos se articulan en cuatro apartados: la (...) política, la ciencia, la proyección de Espinosa en la Ilustración y la iconografía de Espinosa, y sitúan a Espinosa en su siglo, destacando su carácter anómalo en relación con el resto de autores de su entorno. Espinosa no se adaptó a la crisis, sino que se esforzó por comprenderla sin ceder en sus ideales, lo que permitió que las ilusiones renacentistas se desarrollaran en la ilustración, superando el hiato de la crisis barroca. (shrink)

Œuvre de maturité de François Suarez (1548-1617), Des lois et du Dieu législateur a été publié en latin en 1612. Parmi les dix livres que comprend cet ouvrage, nous avons choisi de présenter pour la première fois les deux premiers en langue française. À partir de l'héritage retravaillé de la philosophie politique antique et médiévale, Suarez élabore une théorie originale de la loi et de la communauté en renouvelant leur rapport à l'éthique et à la jurisprudence. Dans une période marquée (...) notamment par la controverse de Valladolid (1550) et la Contre-Réforme, l'auteur redéfinit le contenu et la finalité des concepts fondamentaux de la théorie politique (l'état de nature, le droit naturel, le droit subjectif, la loi naturelle, le pacte social, la souveraineté, l'État et le droit des gens) en les articulant à une compréhension historique de l'homme conçu comme être libre, raisonnable et fini. Suarez instaure ainsi les conditions d'un basculement du théologico-politique dans la modernité dont les effets se feront sentir, entre autres, chez Grotius et l'École du droit naturel. Les conséquences de ce mouvement seront perceptibles jusqu'au XVIIIe siècle avec Wolf. Des lois et du Dieu législateur permet précisément d'apprécier à sa juste mesure la place privilégiée qu'il convient de redonner à la théorie suarézienne de la loi dans l'histoire de la pensée politique. (shrink)

"El amor en su singularidad erótica es tratado en esta obra desde el auspicio de la poesía y la filosofía, las cuales nos llevan de la mano a los desolados parajes del mundo biológico-psíquico para retener aquello de lo que "no se puede decir nada". Aun así, no es éste un intento de explicar fenomenológicamente el amor, sino una modesta evocación de los momentos y comportamientos humanos en su tránsito hacia el Eros y la experiencia que de ellos se ha (...) obtenido."-- Cubierta trasera. (shrink)

As it is well known, in the forties of the past century, Curry proved that in any logic S closed under Modus Ponens, uniform substitution of propositional variables and the Contraction Law, the naïve Comprehension axiom trivializes S in the sense that all propositions are derivable in S plus CA. Not less known is the fact that, ever since Curry published his proof, theses and rules weaker than W have been shown to cause the same effect as W causes. Among (...) these, the Contraction rule or the Modus Ponens axiom, for example, are to be noted. But, moreover, as Brady has proved, even the Generalized Modus Ponens axiom or the Generalized Contraction rule give rise to “Curry’s Paradox” under the same circumstances as W does. In some previous work by us, “weak relevant model structures” are defined on “weak relevant matrices” by generalizing Brady’s model structure MCL built upon Meyer’s Crystal matrix CL. We have proved that wr-ms only verify logics with the “depth relevance condition”. The aim of this paper is to show how to falsify gMPa and gRW in certain wr-ms. In particular, it will be shown that gMPa is falisfied in any wr-ms and gRW in any wr-ms verifying Routley and Meyer’s basic positive logic B+. (shrink)

Increased concern for the environment has increased the number of investment opportunities in mutual funds specialized in promoting responsible environmental attitudes. This article examines the performance and risk sensitivities of US green mutual funds vis-à-vis their conventional peers. We also analyze and compare this performance relative to other socially responsible investing (SRI) mutual funds. In order to implement this analysis, we apply a CAPM-based methodology and find that in the 1987–2009 period, environ- mental funds had lower performance than conventional funds (...) with similar characteristics. However, if we focus on a more recent period (2001–2009), green funds achieved adjusted returns not significantly different from the rest of SRI and conventional mutual funds. (shrink)

Should the philosophy of biology deal with organismic, or with molecular aspects , or with both ? We are, of course, not the first to appreciate the ...