Coping with assessment tests are known to generate anxiety frequently in the students who face them. In academic circumstances with the continued presence of emotional disturbance, high demand, and stress, emotional and physical fatigue, typical of burnout syndrome, and can be detected. Anxiety and burnout are related to each other and even more closely in high-stakes tests. One of these tests is the examination imposed in Spain for access to the university. The objective of this work is to analyze the (...) presence of anxiety and burnout and the relationship between them in students who face these tests, both during the confinement situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and during the pandemic after the lockdown. For this purpose, we used a sample of 1,021 students with a mean age of 17.89. Of these, 866 were students who were taking the test, while the rest were university students who had passed it recently. Our results show high levels of anxiety and burnout in students who face the evaluation test during the COVID-19 pandemic, sustained over time and especially in comparison with students who had already taken the exam. The association between higher levels of anxiety and higher levels of burnout in the students who take these exams was also verified. These results link the relationship between these two variables more solidly and suggest the need to include address anxiety to reduce burnout levels in these students. The results are discussed with regard to prior evidence and their applications. (shrink)

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, several changes have been forcibly made and observed in various fields and areas of society, one of which include the field of education; the foundation of the formation of intellect and knowledge. After two years of studying indoors and private educational institutions holding virtual classes, the time has finally come for students to be re- adjusted once more to the blended mode of learning; a combination of virtual and in-person classes. Thus, this study aimed to (...) investigate the development of students’ study habits and how these habits could potentially affect the students’ academic achievement or performance. The study utilized a descriptivecorrelational design to examine the impact of study habits to the academic performance of 137 senior high school students. The study made use of the Palsane and Sharma’s Study Habits Inventory, or also known as PSSHI, and using this instrument, the study has been able to procure sufficient results that will answer the present study’s problems. Using linear regression analysis, the present study found that there was a significance between the study habits and academic performance of the senior high school students, thus the study’s null hypothesis was eventually rejected. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to show that any process of benefit sharing that does not guarantee the representation and participation of women in the decision-making process, as well as in the distribution of benefits, contravenes a central demand of social justice. It is argued that women, particularly in developing countries, can be excluded from benefits derived from genetic research because of existing social structures that promote and maintain discrimination. The paper describes how the structural problem of gender-based inequity (...) can impact on benefit sharing processes. At the same time, examples are given of poor women’s ability to organise themselves and to achieve social benefits for entire communities. Relevant international guidelines (e.g. the Convention on Biodiversity) recognise the importance of women’s contributions to the protection of biodiversity and thereby, implicitly, their right to a share of the benefits, but no mechanism is outlined on how to bring this about. The authors make a clear recommendation to ensure women’s participation in benefit sharing negotiations by demanding seats at the negotiation table. (shrink)

todas las esferas de la sociedad cubana, en tal sentido, la presente investigación ofrece una metodología para promover un accionar más activo y transformador de las instituciones sociales en la Educación Comunitaria desde el trabajo comunitario integrado que vincula los intereses y necesidades de la población en las tareas del desarrollo social. The existence of indifference behaviors to principles reveals the need for strengthening the educative work in all spheres of the Cuban society. In that sense, the present research provides (...) a methodology in order to promote a more active and transforming work of social institutions in the community education from the integrated community work connecting the interests and needs of the people on duties of social development. (shrink)

Analizaremos algunos rasgos del proceso de transformación económica y social que tuvo lugar en al-Andalus entre los siglos X y XII, en el marco de la «revolución económica» de la Europa plenomedieval, tomando como caso de estudio la región oriental de la península ibérica. El proceso debió de arrancar con un despegue demográfico y con el aumento de la productividad agrícola, en este caso derivado de los progresos técnicos asociados a la llamada «revolución verde» islámica de los siglos VIII al (...) X. El incremento creciente de los beneficios derivados del campo y el interés por aprovecharlos seguramente impulsó la coacción de las élites urbanas sobre las comunidades campesinas para arrebatarles las tierras más rentables. También pudo ocasionar la colonización de áreas rurales menos favorecidas, que hasta ese momento habían permanecido incultas, por parte de esos grupos acomodados que buscaban expandir los cultivos comerciales, así como por familias de campesinos desposeídos de las mejores tierras. Los cambios en el mundo rural influyeron en el crecimiento de las ciudades debido a la inmigración de la población del campo, presionada y desplazada, que se incorporaba como proletariado urbano ante el incremento en la demanda de manufacturas y bienes de consumo por parte de los terratenientes enriquecidos que habitaban esas ciudades. (shrink)

In both scientific and popular circles it is often said that we are in the midst of a sixth mass extinction. Although the urgency of our present environmental crises is not in doubt, such claims of a present mass extinction are highly controversial scientifically. Our aims are, first, to get to the bottom of this scientific debate by shedding philosophical light on the many conceptual and methodological challenges involved in answering this scientific question, and, second, to offer new philosophical perspectives (...) on what the value of asking this question has been — and whether that value persists today. We show that the conceptual challenges in defining ‘mass extinction’, uncertainties in past and present diversity assessments, and data incommensurabilities undermine a straightforward answer to the question of whether we are in, or entering, a sixth mass extinction today. More broadly we argue that an excessive focus on the mass extinction framing can be misleading for present conservation efforts and may lead us to miss out on the many other valuable insights that Earth’s deep time can offer in guiding our future. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper aims to unravel the ideological strategy that rises from the well-celebrated epistemic rigor of neoclassical economic thought. From the Economics Nobel Price Paul Krugman’s popularized connotation naming to "freshwater" economists as those fervent followers of the most orthodox academic creed, we will expose the logical inconsistency and empirical implausibility of such thought’s underlying assumptions: perfect competence and equilibrium’s approaching. From a critical analysis that will be conducted from each of those mentioned assumptions, we will argued (...) that the neoclassical thought is an ideological strategy subverting reality’s principles, overcoming "artificially" those relevant deficiencies and limitations of its theoretical approach. A lo largo de este trabajo se intenta desvelar la estrategia ideológica que emana del celebrado rigorismo epistémico del pensamiento neoclásico de economía. Desde la connotación popularizada por el Nobel Paul Krugman a los economistas de "agua dulce" como aquellos fervientes seguidores del credo académico más ortodoxo, expondremos la incoherencia lógica e imposibilidad empírica de los supuestos fundamentales de su pensamiento: competencia perfecta y aproximación al equilibrio. Desde un examen crítico que irá conduciéndose por cada uno de tales supuestos, resolveremos cómo el marco neoclásico no es más que una estrategia ideológica que subvirtiendo los principios de lo real consigue superar solo "artificialmente" las importantes deficiencias y limitaciones de su marco teórico. (shrink)

Atoms and molecules are particular kinds of restricted n-body systems, which generally behave as quasi-separable, unlike other n-body systems, e.g., Newtonian ones. The Coulomb repulsion and the Pauli exclusion principle in atoms and molecules are responsible for that separability. Additionally, chemical bonds, especially covalent bonds, enhance the separability of molecules. Independent particle models do not describe atoms and molecules since first-order energy corrections are high. However, these corrections obtained by the first-order perturbation or mean-field strongly converge, implying a one-electron effective (...) potential description. Consequently, stable states of atoms and molecules can be reasonably described by one-electron effective potentials, which strongly differ from other n-body problems. We discuss the peculiarities of the correlation motion of generic systems in the context of the four fundamental forces. In particular, we have shown that the two components (attraction and repulsion) of the electromagnetic force confer a relatively low correlation motion to atoms and molecules. We discuss the physical and chemical nature of atoms and molecules, comparing the degrees of separability between different systems. For example, the separability of Newtonian systems is generally possible in particular classes of restricted systems due to relative mass differences. However, for atoms and molecules, the separability is much broader. (shrink)

How well can institutional guidelines help ensure the dignity, rights, safety and well being of research participants in an underdeveloped country? In this paper I describe the limits of informed consent as an instrument for the protection of participants in the context of the Philippines. I bring to this paper my experiences as an advocate of rights, a member of an ethics review board, a researcher on the ethics of research and as an observer of the dynamics of clinical practice (...) in an academic public teaching hospital of the University of the Philippines where I am professor. (shrink)

El conjunto de tratados de agricultura que se elaboró en al-Andalus ha sido hasta ahora explotado como fuente para aspectos relacionados con la botánica y la historia de las técnicas agrícolas; sin embargo, se ha empleado poco para la obtención de información histórica, aspecto que hemos tratado de enfatizar en este trabajo. Con este objetivo, hemos intentado situar la eclosión de los libros de agricultura en su contexto histórico: el de la revolución económica y demográfica plenomedieval, uno de cuyos aspectos (...) más significativos fue la expansión agrícola impulsada por un estamento de terratenientes, muchos de ellos residentes en las ciudades, que puso en marcha una producción orientada básicamente al mercado. A este grupo social es al que creemos estaban destinados principalmente los libros geopónicos, pues tenía la necesidad y los recursos económicos e intelectuales para aprovecharlos, a diferencia de los pequeños propietarios y las comunidades gentilicias de campesinos que practicaban una agricultura destinada esencialmente al autoabastecimiento. Una vez que reconocemos los libros de agricultura como auténticos manuales de aquellos hacendados, se puede recuperar esa literatura como fuente histórica de primer orden con el fin de conocer el funcionamiento y la organización de ese tipo de propiedad fundiaria en esta fase de la historia de al-Andalus. (shrink)

Since the 1980s, there has been a significant increase in the number of studies concerning Andalusian rural settlements linked to irrigated agriculture, both related to large suburban green belts and to small hydraulic systems. In the vast areas where water is scarce, the settlement apparently would have been concentrated in cities and fortified towns, leaving without population most of the dry lands between them. However, thanks to the intensive survey of one of these regions, La Mancha’s Southeastern area, we are (...) recording a dense rural settlement corresponding to a pattern unknown until now. It consists basically of small villages in plain, devoid of community defense elements, which must have been inhabited by humble peasants, judging by the modesty of the architecture and domestic goods. Surely they make use of the scanty natural resources, which have traditionally oriented the economy of the region towards livestock and rainfed agriculture. In particular, the studied settlement would be related to the demand of wool for the export oriented textile production of the region, within the framework of the commercial expansion of that period. Apparently, most of those villages could have appeared in the eleventh century, disappearing in the middle of the thirteenth century because of the Christian conquest. Their existence would be associated with a general context of population growth that pushed the competition between urban elites and peasants pursuing the privileged agricultural areas, as well as the colonization of less favorable production areas. (shrink)

Resumen: La imposibilidad del desarrollo para conciliar normativamente imparcialidad con pluralidad responde a un sesgo de carácter ontológico. Esta ruptura, que constituye la esencia misma de los estudios del desarrollo, supone aceptar que cualquier teoría del desarrollo que se precie se encuentra sustancialmente inacabada. De tal imposibilidad emerge, sin embargo, un perfeccionamiento que transcurre dialécticamente en términos de doble negación hegeliana por el cual las distintas teorías van perfeccionándose a partir de un mayor grado de concienciación normativa. Este perfeccionamiento alcanza (...) analíticamente un estado absoluto de desarrollo definido como libertad. Un concepto que perfecciona el presentado por Amartya Sen, facultado para reconciliar analíticamente el sesgo originario.: The impossibility of development to gather normatively impartiality and plurality makes itself to be ontologically incomplete. Nevertheless, the analytical that emerges in the very essence of development discipline implies to accept that any development theory is and will always be unfulfilled. Nevertheless, and beyond that substantive impossibility, an improvement occurs dialectically in terms of Hegelian double negation by which each theory is overcome by a higher grade of normative awareness by the following one. This improvement reaches analytically an absolute dimension of development as freedom. A concept that goes beyond such introduced by Amartya Sen, which it is well able of including all human determinations that ultimately allow to meet analytically those edges of the gap. (shrink)

There is no other published work in English devoted to analyzing the political and intellectual dimensions of black Cuban women’s thought across the island’s history. This text is essential reading for students of Afro-Latin American studies, Caribbean history, or courses focussing on black women in the Atlantic region.

El sistema de Cooperación Internacional al Desarrollo es epistemológica y operativamente ajeno a la complejidad reinante en su mundo de actuación. Su tradición académica ha venido históricamente determinada por dos reacciones antitéticas. Porun lado, restringe la realidad a un principio universalista donde el desarrollo es interpretado apriorísticamente. Por el otro, se somete a un empirismo extremo donde superando el carácter especulativo del anterior, se incapacita para forjar una teoría sobre lo que realmente funciona. En uno y en otro, el fetichismo (...) de la ayuda terminasiendo el precio que recurrentemente se paga ante la incapacidad para reconciliar ambas posiciones. Se probará cómo una alternativa epistémica, capaz de aunar lo positivo de ambas posturas, minimizaría el impacto negativo de la cooperación, favoreciendoun marco de acción tan eficaz como sostenible. (shrink)

_Confines of Democracy_ is a collection of critical assessments and interpretations of Richard J. Bernstein’s extensive and illuminating work on pragmatism, epistemology, hermeneutics, and social and political theory, including Bernstein’s replies to the contributors.

Academic philosophy's lack of diversity is of concern because it results in a discipline that does not adequately reflect or address the experiences, concerns, and perspectives of many people outside of the dominant demographic. In this article, I examine some of the practical and psychological challenges of entering into dialogue with thinkers whose background knowledge, culture, life experiences, and/or methodologies generate philosophical thought that is radically different from one's own. I contend that in order to build a discipline that is (...) more genuinely dialogical, academic philosophers should embrace this challenging tension between incommensurable worlds of sense. Specifically, I consider how the philosophical practice of translating foreign concepts into terms that have meaning for us might be carried out in a way that preserves radical friction. I warn of the risk of projecting our ideas onto those whose worldviews are incompatible with our own, and I offer strategies for navigating this risk. (shrink)

Addressing the study of human action from Mises’s perspective of the praxeological method is in itself highly controversial. Particularly, if it attempts to identify the ultimate basis of human development, it will face unmanageable problems in analytical and normative terms. The incapability to withdraw from the socalled self-evident judgments comes together with the refusal of the elements that address its operability. Dependent of a soft well-being concept, it is unable to establish interpersonal comparisons, and this in turn frustrates any kind (...) of attempt to design a convincing social justice theory. A Hegelian perspective brings order to and improves both the moral and the operability dimension of the praxeological interpretation of economics. (shrink)

El propósito de este trabajo se enmarca en la necesidad de esclarecer la naturaleza última del capitalismo que cristaliza ideológicamente desde las bases fecundas de la modernidad. Desde el examen crítico de los trabajos de S. Žižek realizaremos una introspección analítica que nos permita arrojar luz no solo a cómo el capitalismo configura la realidad de esta época sino al modo en que gestiona sus límites y fija su devenir. Se concluirá que el capitalismo lejos de ser el resultado político (...) de un proceso socio-económico caprichoso resulta ser la materialización de un instante de la conciencia moral que destinada a emanciparse se encuentra todavía en su comienzo. (shrink)

RESUMEN El sistema de Cooperación Internacional al Desarrollo es epistemológica y operativamente ajeno a la complejidad reinante en su mundo de actuación. Su tradición académica ha venido históricamente determinada por dos reacciones antitéticas. Por un lado, restringe la realidad a un principio universalista donde el desarrollo es interpretado apriorísticamente. Por el otro, se somete a un empirismo extremo donde superando el carácter especulativo del anterior, se incapacita para forjar una teoría sobre lo que realmente funciona. En uno y en otro, (...) el fetichismo de la ayuda termina siendo el precio que recurrentemente se paga ante la incapacidad para reconciliar ambas posiciones. Se probará cómo una alternativa epistémica, capaz de aunar lo positivo de ambas posturas, minimizaría el impacto negativo de la cooperación, favoreciendo un marco de acción tan eficaz como sostenible. ABSTRACT The International Cooperation for Development system is epistemologically and operationally disconnected from the complexity that characterizes its field of action. Its academic tradition has been historically determined by two antithetical reactions. One is to restrict reality to a universalist principle that interprets development in an a priori manner. The other, contrary to the former's speculative nature, conforms to an extreme empiricism that renders it incapable of formulating a theory about what really works. In both cases, the fetishism of aid ends up being the price paid for the inability to reconcile the two positions. The article demonstrates how an epistemic alternative, capable of combining the positive aspects of both positions, would minimize the negative impact of cooperation and foster an effective and sustainable framework for action. (shrink)

There is a vast literature on the meanings of legal penalties. However, we lack a theory that explains them according to the formation of the modern state. Oakeshott's theory can help explain this phenomenon, leading to an attempt of the individual to take over as many powers of the state as possible. Thus, Kant's and Smith's retributivism is the most consistent of all those theories. Nevertheless, the preventive and resocializing theory of Bentham succeeded eventually. But is this a liberal theory? (...) We contrast the explanations of H.L.A. Hart and Frederick Rosen in order to lay the groundwork for a liberal theory of the meaning of legal sanctions. (shrink)

The nanotechnologies and nanomaterials sector is a huge and growing industry. The amount of legislation already in place and still to be produced in order to regulate it will be very substantial. What process is used to produce such regulation? The answer is that very diverse regulatory approaches are and will be used. The approach taken by the European Commission diverges from the one taken by the European Parliament. Moreover, at national level, Member States add their own contribution to the (...) process. This article attempts to describe the landscape and various regulatory actions that have been undertaken by all these actors in the European Union. It first describes the role played by the European Commission and Parliament. It then looks at specific regulatory initiatives from a more sectoral perspective: Cosmetics, Food information, Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Biocides. The third part of the paper describes some major national initiatives, in particular those concerning the establishment of reporting systems for nanomaterials, mixtures, articles and consumer products containing them, as an example of how to improve the current governance in the EU and to prevent the risks to human health and the environment. The fourth part gives the perspective of the European Trade Union Confederation. Finally it presents some conclusions and policy recommendations, taking into consideration the diversity of regulatory approaches. (shrink)

In this paper I take Rorty’s self-description as a “hedgehog” as the starting point for a portrait of his intellectual temperament. I re-examine in the first instance Isaiah Berlin’s contrast between hedgehogs and foxes as inspired by the proverb of Archilocus. I then analyze, in philosophical terms, some differences between foxes and hedgehogs. I distinguish different types of hedgehogs in order to make clear exactly what kind of hedgehog Rorty was. In spite of his multiple interests and conversations, I argue, (...) Rorty portrayed himself as a hedgehog with only one important idea: the need to overcome notions such as Truth and Reason and to promote a less cruel and more anti-authoritarian way of living. I claim that this single idea is better understood when we pay special attention as to why Rorty gave priority to literature over philosophy, why he made distinctions between different types of writers, and why one of his favorite writers, Nabokov, was only apparently a fox. (shrink)

One of the protagonists of the darwinist controversy in the Canary Islands (Spain), during the Nineteenth Century, was the advocate and teacher Rafael Lorenzo y García. In this paper, I show his original thought, until now unknown, against the classical darwinism and next to the fixism.Moreover I analyse the philosophical and natural constants in his Estudios filosóficos (1876 y 1877).

La instauración del sistema penal acusatorio en varios países de Latinoamérica ha enfrentado el reto, entre muchos, de configurar nuevos estándares para la actuación judicial. Este artículo se centra en el reto que representa para los juzgadores valorar la confiabilidad de la prueba científica, dado que su naturaleza excede el conocimiento de la mayoría de ellos. Evaluar la confiabilidad y corrección de la prueba científica para asignarle un peso específico en el acervo probatorio es una labor para la que el (...) juez requiere de un análisis multidisciplinario. A manera de guía para el juzgador y como una herramienta innovadora en el ambiente judicial latinoamericano, se proponen lineamientos generales y específicos a seguir en la valoración de la confiabilidad de la prueba en tres áreas forenses. (shrink)

La sociedad griega fue una sociedad oral. La palabra fue el medio de la educación y de la convivencia política de los griegos. Desde Homero y Pitágoras hasta Empédocles, Gorgias y Sócrates, la palabra se convierte en el fármaco de las enfermedades de la ciudad y del alma. Por ello, puede constatarse que la filosofía es entendida en la Grecia antigua como medicina y que ésta es la metáfora más elocuente del poder y la eficacia de la palabra del filósofo.

El autor ofrece un análisis de la obra escultórica de quien conocemos principalmente como poeta, Ernesto Cardenal, presentándolo como un escultor representativo, que ha desarrollado las temáticas de la religiosidad, y la fauna y flora de América, permitiendo que confluyan en él las culturas primitivas y el arte moderno. Afirma Valle-Castillo que el trabajo de Cardenal ha llevado la escultura a una expresión de lo esencial, a partir de la contemplación, de la conciencia, y de un estudio largo y (...) profundo de los modelos. (shrink)

Gardens on Fire. Fahrenheit 451 Revisited Resumen: En este trabajo proponemos una reconsideración de una de las historias distópicas más populares y discutidas desde mediados del siglo XX, Fahrenheit 451, del escritor y ensayista estadounidense Ray Bradbury. Aunque esta historia ha atraído desde su publicación la atención del pensamiento político y social, creemos que ha sido ampliamente simplificada. A diferencia de ciertos críticos, no creemos que la fábula política de Bradbury fomente, como muchas otras distopías, una falta de perspectiva histórica (...) o una insuficiente comprensión del presente. Si la visión política y cultural de Bradbury es criticable no lo es por su evasión de la historia, sino más bien por una visión histórica demasiado optimista. También queremos mostrar que Bradbury no fue un humanista enemigo de la cultura de masas, ni de la tecnología. El examen en profundidad de su novela y de numeroso material complementario permitirá explicar porqué su historia sobre el sombrío futuro de la sociedad industrial también contenía elementos para imaginar un futuro alternativo. Gracias a ese examen, finalmente, concluiremos que en el caso de Bradbury la ciencia-ficción no solo sirve para imaginar un futuro indeseable, sino, sobre todo, para mantener vivas y transformar tradiciones con las que fabricar un futuro deseable.: In this paper we propose a reconsideration of one of the most popular and discussed dystopian stories since the mid-20th century, Fahrenheit 451, by the American writer and essayist Ray Bradbury. Although this novel attracted the attention of political and social thought since its publication, we think that it has been largely simplified. Unlike some critics, we do not consider that Bradbury's political fable, like many other dystopias, fosters a lack of historical perspective or an insufficient understanding of the present. If Bradbury's political and cultural vision is open to criticism, it is not only for his evasion of history, but rather for an overly optimistic historical vision. We also make clear that Bradbury was not a humanist enemy of mass culture and technology. A close reading of his novel and numerous supplementary material make us to elucidate why his story about the bleak future of industrial society also contains elements to envisage an alternative future. Thanks to this examination we will conclude that, in the case of Bradbury, science-fiction does not serve just to foretell an undesirable future, but it significantly helps to keep alive and to transform traditions with which to manufacture a desirable future. Palabras clave: distopía, tecnologías, libros, memoria, Bradbury. Keywords: dystopia, technologies, books, memory, Bradbury. (shrink)

El empleo de herramientas digitales está transformando los procesos de producción científica y sus impactos. En este trabajo evaluamos en qué medida la digitalización en ciencia ha alcanzado a la actividad científica en América Latina y cuáles han sido sus efectos. Para eso, utilizamos datos bibliométricos de tres países latinoamericanos de tamaño medio, Argentina, Chile y Colombia, que tienen una trayectoria científica importante y el análisis lo hemos centrado en cuatro disciplinas: ciencias biológicas y agrícolas, ciencias de la tierra y (...) planetarias, ciencias ambientales y ciencias decisionales. Encontramos que la digitalización ha ido creciendo durante los últimos 25 años, pero la brecha con los países líderes sólo se ha reducido levemente. Asimismo, la incidencia de la digitalización varía por disciplina. En términos de beneficios asociados a la digitalización, nuestros resultados muestran que los artículos que utilizan prácticas o herramientas de ciencia digital tienen mayor impacto académico, más colaboración y más internacionalización. Es decir, en estas disciplinas y en estos países, la digitalización ha logrado aumentar la visibilidad de la investigación, potencialmente su calidad y, así, los retornos sociales de los recursos invertidos. También se han ampliado las redes, propiciando de esta forma un mejor aprovechamiento de la inteligencia colectiva y la integración de los problemas de investigación locales a una agenda global, aumentando potencialmente los recursos que se destinan a la investigación en estos países. (shrink)

El presente ensayo reconsidera las críticas de John Dewey a Walter Lippmann tomando como eje los argumentos esgrimidos en las sucesivas reseñas que Dewey fue haciendo de las obras de Lippmann. Se sostiene que las críticas que Dewey lanzó en estas reseñas, así como luego en The Public and its Problems (1927) ya apuntaban en una dirección que quedó más explícita en los años treinta, cuando Dewey respondió con lenguaje socialista a un Lippmann que apelaba a algo más que a (...) la autoridad de expertos para contrarrestar las derivas de la democracia. En el debate que mantuvieron, no solo se pusieron en juego dos visiones de la relación entre democracia y voluntad popular, sino dos concepciones discrepantes sobre las bases económicas de una sociedad abierta y las condiciones necesarias para el ejercicio de la libertad. (shrink)

Some proponents of moral bioenhancement propose that people should utilize biomedical practices to enhance the faculties and traits that are associated with moral agency, such as empathy and a sense of justice. The hope is that doing so will improve our ability to meet the moral challenges that have emerged in our contemporary, globalized world. In this paper, we caution against this view by arguing that biomedically inducing more empathy may, in fact, diminish moral agency. We argue that this type (...) of increase in empathy would not be effective for addressing empathy’s vulnerability to the biases that can undermine moral judgment. Furthermore, doing so may undermine the important capacity to regulate empathy. We determine that if the moral enhancement project is to be a serious one, it must address these challenges. (shrink)