La obra recoge, desde una perspectiva interdisciplinar, las aportaciones de un grupo de investigadores españoles e italianos que han trabajado conjuntamente durante varios años en distintas cuestiones en torno a las posibilidades y riesgos de los avances biotecnológicos y su incidencia en el campo de los derechos humanos. Los estudios y debates se han realizado en el marco del programa de doctorado internacional sobre "Derechos humanos: Problemas actuales" encabezado por las Universidades de Valencia y Palermo. El Profesor Jesús Ballesteros, Catedrático (...) de Filosofía del Derecho en la Universidad de Valencia, ha sido el encargado de dirigir y coordinar este proyecto. (shrink)

Este artículo introduce un concepto nuevo con el que poder comprender el Quijote : el socratismo cristiano. Un elemento del ascetismo que impregnaba la España barroca de la Contrarreforma, y del que participaba Cervantes. El Quijote es una guerra entre Cervantes y don Quijote, o dicho de otra forma, entre el último capítulo y los restantes, entre el Barroco y el Renacimiento –y su continuación, la modernidad- expresión literaria de la guerra entre el Imperio español y Europa. Su carácter dialéctico (...) se refleja incluso en el enfrentamiento entre las dos corrientes interpretativas preponderantes. (shrink)

Estudio de los planos de realidad en el uso de redes sociales y servicios de mensajería instantánea, la identidad del usuario y algunos mecanismos discursivos fundamentales de la comunicación en la red. Análisis de la relación paralela entre la realidad física y los escenarios virtuales, la identidad estática y el escaparatismo de las redes sociales y el papel que juegan el monólogo, el contexto y los topoi en el ciber-discurso. El estudio de las herramientas de interacción de las redes sociales (...) y de los propósitos discursivos indican el desarrollo de dinámicas de participación o proyección, un trasvase de identidad y una masificación informativa en detrimento del conocimiento. Se observa la necesidad de una macro-gestión de datos debido a la realidad plural emergente, la posibilidad de crear una identidad digital inalterable y el uso de los escenarios virtuales como lanzaderas de comunicación, más que como medios de interacción. (shrink)

In this paper we study the inferential analysis of the use of fallacies as a source of absurd communication. Starting from a diachronic review of perpectives, criteria and classification of fallacies, we analyze the fallacious arguments used in absurd discourses which are meant to trigger humor as well as the dislocation of the communicative sense.

Jesús Fernández Santos (1926-1988) es un escritor que atiende al fenómeno religioso como determinante de la vida íntima de los individuos y de sus relaciones sociales. Este trabajo analiza una de sus novelas más significativas que tiene como referencia a un grupo cristiano evangelista, ajeno a la tradición católica española, del cual se relaciona su historia y la evolución de algunos personajes individualizados. Incluye el autor una parte de su experiencia personal y una mirada a la historia de España como (...) aspectos de una ficción que ofrece una visión problemática de la existencia humana. (shrink)

Reprinted in Oxford Readings in Philosophical Theology, Volume 1: Trinity, Incarnation, and Atonement, Oxford 2009, ed. Michael Rea. A popular argument for the divinity of Jesus goes like this. Jesus claimed to be divine, but if his claim was false, then either he was insane (mad) or lying (bad), both of which are very unlikely; so, he was divine. I present two objections to this argument. The first, the dwindling probabilities objection, contends that even if we make generous (...) probability assignments to the relevant pieces of evidence for Jesus’ divinity, the probability calculus tell us to suspend judgement on the matter. The second, and more telling objection in my opinion, the merely mistaken objection, contends that it is no less plausible to suppose that Jesus was neither mad nor bad but merely mistaken than that he was divine. (shrink)

This paper examines undergraduate business students' perception of corporate social responsibility in cases in which they have not attended any specific course either dealing with CSR or providing training in ethics. A survey was conducted of 535 Spanish business students as future managers. The results show that the stakeholders' perspective deserves a huge attention for those students considering what the keys of business success are. Significant differences in perception were nevertheless identified when a multifactorial analysis was undertaken. Female students are (...) more concerned about CSR issues. The maximization of value for shareholders is less valued by second- and third-year students than by first-year ones. The findings point to a number of important orientations for the future development of university curriculum. (shrink)

Banking firms are becoming increasingly aware that their clients’ management of environmental and social risks may in term threaten their own business as lenders and investors. In addition, stakeholders are requiring banks to improve their social performance. As a result, some banks are developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and management systems to reduce potential risks and improve their performance. In the Spanish financial system, half of the banking firms are savings banks, most of which have always used some Corporate (...) Social Responsibility (CSR) criteria in their management. Private Banks have only recently started to integrate social aspects in their performance. However, no formal analysis has been carried out on the impact of CSR strategies. Various initiatives have been launched nationally and internationally to include the social dimension in management systems. The purpose of this research is to analyse the social performance of the main Spanish financial companies through public data such as social or sustainability reports and media sources. In order to do this, we need to determine which CSR criteria most greatly affect banking firms and to choose the most accurate quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure social performance. (shrink)

In this short paper I try to present William James’s connection with the Argentinian writer Macedonio Fernández (1874-1952), who was in some sense a mentor of Borges and might be considered the missing link between Borges and James.

The paradox of 'the One and the Many' might, more generally, be understood as the paradox of relationship. In order for there to be relationship there must be at least two parties in relation. The relation must, at once, hold the parties apart (otherwise they would collapse into unity) while holding them together (otherwise relationship itself would cease). It must do so, further, without itself becoming a third party which would then, itself, need to be related. This paper considers this (...) paradox as we find it manifest in the theories of quantum physics, the Socratic pursuit of universals, and, finally, at the very heart of human personhood - where we discover it at the core of interpersonal relationships, existential anxiety, and social distress. It is suggested, in the end, that though reason cannot resolve the terms of this paradox, there is a potential solution to the existential problems that spring from it, a solution lying in what Jesus calls, simply, 'faith.'. (shrink)

We use Bayesian tools to assess Law’s skeptical argument against the historicity of Jesus. We clarify and endorse his sub-argument for the conclusion that there is good reason to be skeptical about the miracle claims of the New Testament. However, we dispute Law’s contamination principle that he claims entails that we should be skeptical about the existence of Jesus. There are problems with Law’s defense of his principle, and we show, more importantly, that it is not supported by (...) Bayesian considerations. Finally, we show that Law’s principle is false in the specific case of Jesus and thereby show, contrary to the main conclusion of Law’s argument, that biblical historians are entitled to remain confident that Jesus existed. (shrink)

This study analyses a Christic vision perceived by a woman during a radiotherapy session for her cervical cancer. A detailed description of the vision is presented based on a photographic documentation of the radiotherapy room, a painting of the vision made by the visionary herself and narratives retold two weeks after the vision, and again, one year later. Perceptual, social, and psychodynamic psychological theories are used to analyze the psychological prerequisites of the vision. It is shown that the vision is, (...) in psychological terms, an illusion rather than a hallucination. Different possible origin mechanisms to the vision are discussed as well as why the vision is attributed to Jesus. The psychological function of the vision is analyzed with regard to the visionary’s religious behaviour and the role of this experience in coping with the cancer disease. It is argued that the visionary’s religious commitment is being strengthened and that the vision functions as a catalyst for previously-formed religious coping mechanisms. It also initiates at least one new kind of religious coping mechanism in the visionary’s coping system. A critical discussion of research methods concerning narratives of religious experiences is presented in the light of the results of the analyses undertaken in this paper where some problems with in-depth interviews conducted at one point in time are is highlighted. This kind of data collection appears more fragile when attempting to explain a phenomenon in terms of cause and events than when trying to understand a phenomenon. (shrink)

Este estudo visa a perceber que a hermenêutica da Paixão de Jesus no Evangelho de Marcos, em uma perspectiva latinoamericana, enriquece ainda mais a teologia bíblica acerca do evangelho marcano. Este evangelho vem sendo muito lido nos últimos dois séculos. À luz de sua leitura, somos despertados a pensar nossa fé, compreendendo a Paixão de Jesus, em sentido da compaixão para com tantos os seres humanos que sofrem as agruras da maldade do mundo. No intercâmbio de experiências entre (...) o leitor e o texto e a vida de incontáveis pobres, é possível imaginar que a Paixão de Jesus vai, paulatinamente, sendo recontada e revivida no mundo de hoje, numa refiguração hermenêutica. Algumas questões buscam delinear esta reflexão teológica, a partir do prisma da cruz de Jesus, em sua Paixão, narrada por Marcos, em consonância com os “crucificados” de hoje. A Paixão de Jesus Cristo nos afeta, em sua profundidade, pois é memória atualizada; daí a Paixão de Jesus, em sua pragmática, leva-nos ao não esquecimento de Jesus e de seu extraordinário evangelho – Boa-Nova do Reino de Deus. Portanto, o leitor do Evangelho, sobremaneira, da Paixão, é despertado a pensar “como descer os pobres da cruz hoje?”, haja vista que vivemos em um mundo repleto de “povos crucificados”. (shrink)

This is a critical assessment of today presentations of Jesus of Nazareth’ Kingdom of God in so-called historical-exegetical books. Three of them are selected for a minute criticism. It follows a brief exegesis of all then important Gospel texts about the Kingdom of God as a «future event» or as «present» and «already come» in Jesus ministry. After a close scrutiny, only one Gospel passage (Luke 17:20-21) can be used with some doubts for sustaining that Jesus has (...) proclaimed a Kingdom of God already present. The article concludes with a brief exposition of the conceptions of the historical Jesus view about the Kingdom, and some consequences for the modern transpositions of his view. (shrink)

The relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth is defined by most New Testament scholars and historians of Christianity in terms such as “contrast”, “radical difference” or “parting of the ways”. This article aims at reviewing in a detailed way the many phenomenological parallels that the sources permit to establish between these Palestinian preachers of the first half of the 1st century c.e. (a task which has virtually not been made before). i will also reconsider some supposed (...) differences which, according to most scholars, imply the existence of a contrast between them, and i will argue that these differences do not exist or are not important enough to build a contrastive image. in this way, i aim at showing that the idea of a sharp opposition between John and Jesus is an untenable view and the result of a distortion of the available data due to ideological (more specifically, theological) prejudices. (shrink)

Se presenta una sistematización de las diez respuestas que, desperdigadas, podemos encontrar en la obra de Ortega y Gasset a la pregunta ¿por qué filosofa el hombre?: por naturaleza, amor, asombro, curiosidad, placer, felicidad, para estar en lo cierto, para jugar, para evadirse y para orientarse. Si todas estas pueden integrarse y adquieren una nueva significación en función de la última respuesta, correspondiente a las reflexiones de su tercer periodo que concibe la filosofía como orientación, esta será, además, la primera (...) tesis de su sistema filosófico, la realidad radical. De este modo, su filosofía quedará justificada; obligación que todo filósofo tiene para con su obra, a juicio de Ortega. ENGLISH: The article provides a systematization of the ten answers that can be found in the work of Ortega y Gasset to the question of why human beings philosophize: by nature, out of love, astonishment, curiosity, pleasure, or happiness, to be right, to play, to evade oneself, and to obtain guidance. If all of these can be integrated and acquire a new meaning with respect to the last response, which corresponds to Ortega's reflections during his third period, in which philosophy is understood as guidance, this will also be the first thesis of his philosophical system, radical reality. In this way, his philosophy would be justified, an obligation that according to Ortega, applies to all philosophers. (shrink)

Exceptionally preserved fossils are the product of complex interplays of biological and geological processes including burial, autolysis and microbial decay, authigenic mineralization, diagenesis, metamorphism, and finally weathering and exhumation. Determining which tissues are preserved and how biases affect their preservation pathways is important for interpreting fossils in phylogenetic, ecological, and evolutionary frameworks. Although laboratory decay experiments reveal important aspects of fossilization, applying the results directly to the interpretation of exceptionally preserved fossils may overlook the impact of other key processes that (...) remove or preserve morphological information. Investigations of fossils preserving non-biomineralized tissues suggest that certain structures that are decay resistant are rarely preserved, and decay-prone structures can fossilize, albeit rarely. As we review here, decay resistance is an imperfect indicator of fossilization potential, and a suite of biological and geological processes account for the features preserved in exceptional fossils. Organisms decayed experimentally in seawater have been used as direct analogs for soft-bodied fossil taxa, with fossils representing a snapshot of a particular stage of decay. We argue that numerous geological and biological processes account for fossilization and that all of these should be considered when reconstructing extinct organisms. (shrink)

The current article aims to study the circumstantial e historical character of Ortega y Gasset’s Philosophy, organising the multiple dispersed data in his works. Philosophical literature has thought over the term vital reason a lot. However, it can be disappointingly observed that the most important issue hardly appears in its explanations. With it, Ortega meant, above all, that even in his there is no definitive philosophy. Consequently, the reason, the philosophy is alive, which does not mean that we are always (...) the same, since Philosophy is more and more experienced: there is progress, complexity increases. (shrink)

New Waves in Philosophy, a book collection that stands out for giving a snapshot of research in all areas of philosophy is a successful editorial project addressed by Vincent F. Hendricks and Duncan Pritchard. New Waves in Philosophy of Action is one of its last titles, edited by Jesús H. Aguilar, Andrei A. Buckareff and Keith Frankish. -/- The book is aimed at the researchers of all fields and readers in general interested in this sub-discipline of philosophy very difficult to (...) localize (is it part of a sub-discipline such as metaphysics or maybe part of the philosophy of mind?). What is and how can we know the nature of intentions and its role in action? (shrink)

From the convocation of the Gospel, proclaimed by Jesus Christ in Palestine in the 1st century, the outskirts of the Roman Empire, to Pope Francis proposal in announcing it to the existential and geographical peripheries. How to understand the convocation of Jesus Christ to his church? How to understand Pope Francis ecclesiology: Church that goes forth? To dynamize and proclaim the wonders of the Kingdom of God, Christ Jesus built his Church over the Apostles, having Peter as (...) the one responsible for its unit. The Pope has not been saying anything new, but has presented the eternal words of Christ Jesus as something new. The Pontiff brings dynamism and joy to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (shrink)

Esse artigo pretende discutir, em um primeiro momento, o sentido, para a psicologia de Nietzsche, da figura de Jesus n’_O Anticristo_. Mais precisamente, esse artigo parte de uma problematização dessa tipologia de Jesus, para, em seguida, fazer convergir essa estratégia psicológica com uma semiótica, isto é, uma análise do uso dos signos pelo tipo Jesus. Depois de contextualizar a discussão sobre o tipo Jesus como “simbolista” e “antirrealista”, mostramos como Nietzsche, estrategicamente, elabora em suas últimas obras (...) uma efetiva confrontação simbólica entre o tipo Jesus e Dioniso, e a partir disso buscamos indicar algumas conclusões. (shrink)

This article identifies and examines the arguments put forward in the last decades by the proponents of a «non eschatological / non apocalyptic Jesus», in order to assess their explanatory value. It concludes that not one of them withstands critical examination because they are all built on arbitrary grounds and are refuted by extant literary evidence and/or by sound reasoning. Furthermore, the fact that this kind of untenable arguments reappears time and time again in the history of research powerfully (...) suggests that they are the result of an immunisation strategy, contrived by scholars who are embarrassed by the implications of an apocalyptic Jesus. (shrink)

When people use the phrase “personal relationship with Jesus,” how does one explain its significance? Normally attributed to evangelical Protestant Christians, use of the phrase “personal relationship with Jesus” is a complicated phenomenon, and an explanation of it requires drawing upon resources from across multiple disciplines rather than a single discipline only. Attempts to explain exactly what the phrase “personal relationship with Jesus” means frequently can be mystifying, on the one hand, or dismissive and simplistic, on the (...) other hand. This article moves potentially toward a better context for understanding use of the phrase “personal relationship with Jesus” by drawing upon insights from multiple disciplines, including rhetorical and cultural-historical studies, evolutionary and cognitive psychology, and biological/behavioral and social/anthropological studies in order to set forth some basic lines of explanation for use of the phrase “personal relationship with Jesus.” The article concludes with some possible testable statements for future empirical studies. (shrink)

The identity of the historical Jesus has been object of a constant study and investigation. Throughout history new discoveries and statements have been made, some to cooperate and assist with the Christian faith, which profess Jesus as Lord and Savior; others, however, in order to extricate the Christ of faith presented by the Gospels, from the historical Jesus. This issue is so old that takes theologians and scholars to deeply dig in search for information, having as one (...) of the references, the Apostle Paul, author of many letters compiled to the New Testament. The apostle is notorious, being recognized, among other things, through his writings, as one of the most outstanding works on the interpretation of Jesus' life; but they are scarce about mentioning the Historical Jesus. This fact is explained by some theologians by the foreknowledge that Pauline recipients had about Jesus. So Paul is not interested in explore this question, since there were already other works making references on the subject, as the gospels, and their goals are different, although some elements are highlighted in Paul, as the passion, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. This article briefly discusses the problem of the Historical Jesus and highlights the elements that make reference to this matter, through the Apostle Paul, highlighting the second letter to the Corinthians. (shrink)