En este trabajo sobre los pensadores novohispanos Alonso de la Veracruz y Tomás de Mercado se seguirá la argumentación de un tema escasamente explorado: el papel fundacional de la ley natural y su interpretabilidad a través de la ley humana. Se mostrará que ambos autores, basados en las tradiciones salamantinas del siglo XVI, introducen un método que afirmaría la validez de la ley natural y, al mismo tiempo, permitir aplicaciones diversas de los parámetros normativos de la ley humana. Esto es (...) posible, como lo sostiene Veracruz en su crítica al diezmo para los pueblos indígenas, cuando la ley natural tenga que reinterpretarse a partir de hechos sociales concretos o cuando, como en el caso de Mercado, la ley humana sea congruente con la ley natural y, no obstante, tenga que desacatarse para evitar perjuicios personales o públicos en el plano comercial. (shrink)

In his philosophical works, Aquinas spends some effort establishing why cognitive beings differ from those that are not able to have a cognitive, i.e., intentional, grasp of the exterior world. Prima facie, the matter is clear, since only those beings acquire knowledge that have the proper powers to do so. One remark, however, while discussing the nature of change in the process of visual perception, strikes the reader as particularly odd, since Aquinas states that “a ‘spiritual alteration’ occurs in virtue (...) of a species’ being received in a sense organ or in the medium in the manner of an intention.” Whereas it is not problematic to think that perceptions and thoughts are intentional, it seems peculiar to talk of the species in the medium as being received “in the manner of an intention.” While current interpretations propose that Aquinas’s account is either erroneous or in need of rectification, I would like to argue that the notion of mind-independent or non-cognitive intentions, which follows the Avicennian tradition, is rooted in a peculiar theory of sensible form. Given that the intentions in the medium make sense, it is, however, important to show that they differ from those intentions that are apprehended by cognitive powers. For this purpose, I will try to trace the underlying physics for cognitive change, showing that an account in terms of qualitative change leads one to posit a proper recipient of sensible forms, i.e., the sense powers. (shrink)

Según el criterio tradicional, la epistemología de Tomás de Aquino explica el conocimiento diferenciado e intencional de la realidad en términos de una doctrina del intelecto. En oposición a esta tendencia, se puede constatar la existencia de otro tipo de conocimiento complejo que se realiza a través de la actividad de los sentidos. Un análisis de la teoría tomasiana de los sensibles revelará una posición sorprendentemente cercana a la teoría moderna de la psicología del sentido común, es decir, una teoría (...) que describe la percepción y la conducta de los animales y los seres humanos de la experiencia cotidiana de objetos singulares. (shrink)

En este articulo se analizará la teoría del dominio de Domingo de Soto y su relación con los conceptos de libertad y esclavitud. El concepto de dominio indica que este autor ha alcanzado una noción de derechos subjetivos. Sin embargo, las implicaciones de este concepto en el ámbito de la Filosofía Política, sobre todo en relación con el concepto de la esclavitud, tanto natural como legal, llevan a la conclusión de que Soto con su noción de derechos subjetivos, no tuvo (...) en mente una idea moderna de derechos individuales. (shrink)

En varios tratados españoles del siglo XVI, la esclavitud como fenómeno social y comercial adquirió una importancia teórica cada vez mayor con respecto al estatus legal y moral de los seres humanos. El presente trabajo trata de esbozar algunos de los argumentos con respecto al comercio de esclavos y sus implicaciones morales y legales de acuerdo los autores Tomás de Mercado (1530-1576) y Bartolomé Frías de Albornoz (s. XVI), mostrando cómo la discusión se encaminó hacia la expresión de derechos individuales, (...) sin, no obstante, superar el tradicional apego al concepto de esclavitud legal. (shrink)

This article intends to argue that Francisco de Vitoria’s conception of the Spanish Conquest of America is based upon notions that stem from various sources of the 14th and 15th Century. One of his most important source is the Opus septipertitum de contractibus, written by the German theologian Conradus Summenhart, whom Vitoria quotes frequently. By comparing both thinkers it can be shown that Vitoria’s basic terminology concerning rights and dominion is in greatly indebted to Summenhart’s account.

En este articulo se analiza la noción de circunstancia en la filosofía moral de Tomás de Aquino, para lo cual se presenta en primer lugar el marco teórico, introduciendo los conceptos de voluntad, objeto y fin. En un segundo paso se indaga acerca de la ontología de la circunstancia como accidente del acto, y en un tercer paso se analiza su poder explicativo con respecto a las acciones voluntarias. Se concluye primeramente que la ontología de las circunstancias contiene dificultades, en (...) tanto que pueden alterar la sustancia del acto, a pesar de ser accidentes. No obstante esta dificultad, se puede considerar que la teoría de las circunstancias constituye un intento valioso para analizar las acciones voluntarias en contextos concretos. (shrink)

Sin lugar a duda, reflexiones sobre lanaturaleza de la mente han preocupado apensadores a lo largo de los siglas. Hoy en dia, laFilosofia de la Mente enfoca e! fenómeno de lomental principalmente desde un punto de vistafisicalista. Esta quiere decir que todos losprocesos mentales de una u otra manera sondescriptibles en términos de lo que ocurre en e!cerebro a nivel neuronal. Parece que estaapreciación se aleja considerablemente deiconcepto de lo mental en la Edad Media. De estamanera pareceria que en Tomás (...) de Aquino lomental queda relegado a una descripción dualistaque afirma una diferencia esencial entre lo mentaly lo corporal. Quisiera entonces, en estacomunicación, presentar una imagen un tantodistinta, según la cual los procesos mentalessegún e! Aquinate no se limitan al intelecto. Setendrá que incluir la teoria de los sentidosinteriores, los que representan facultadascognitivas que llevan a los ser sensibles, ytambién a seres humanos, a reconocer su mundocircundante de una manera no trivial. Un análisísde esas capacidades mentales demostrará queson necesartos crtterios fisicalistas para poder asiradecuadamente lo mental en la teoria de Tomásde Aquino. (shrink)

El objetivo perseguido al aceptar coordinar este monográfico fue proporcionar un estado de la cuestión sobre las diferentes materias a las que habían podido contribuir los escritores que habitualmente se asocian a la Escuela de Salamanca en el período comprendido entre la llegada del dominico Francisco de Vitoria a Salamanca y el fallecimiento del jesuita Francisco Suárez. La misma existencia de la Escuela nos parecía que merecía una consideración por parte de los investigadores que colaboraran en el número que tan (...) generosamente el director de la revista _Araucaria_ nos había ofrecido publicar. Nos hubiera gustado incluir algún tema más, especialmente por lo que respecta a la ciencia, en su parte de teoría física y en la emparentada con la historia natural, que creemos que en buena parte está por hacer para el período de referencia. (shrink)

To what extent do aesthetic taste and our interest in the arts constitute who we are? In this paper, we present a series of empirical findings that suggest an Aesthetic Self Effect supporting the claim that our aesthetic engagements are a central component of our identity. Counterfactual changes in aesthetic preferences, for example, moving from liking classical music to liking pop, are perceived as altering us as a person. The Aesthetic Self Effect is as strong as the impact of moral (...) changes, such as altering political partisanship or religious orientation, and significantly stronger than for other categories of taste, such as food preferences. Using a multidimensional scaling technique to map perceived aesthetic similarities among musical genres, we determined that aesthetic distances between genres correlate highly with the perceived difference in identity. Further studies generalize the Aesthetic Self Effect beyond the musical domain: general changes in visual art preferences, for example from more traditional to abstract art, also elicited a strong Self Effect. Exploring the breadth of this effect we also found an Anaesthetic Self Effect. That is, hypothetical changes from aesthetic indifference to caring about music, art, or beauty are judged to have a significant impact on identity. This effect on identity is stronger for aesthetic fields compared to leisure activities, such as hiking or playing video games. Across our studies, the Anaesthetic Self Effect turns out to be stronger than the Aesthetic Self Effect. Taken together, we found evidence for a link between aesthetics and identity: we are aesthetic selves. When our tastes in music and the arts or our aesthetic interests change we take these to be transformative changes. (shrink)

Using the lens of positive organizational ethics, we theorized that empathy affects decisions in ethical dilemmas that concern the well-being of not only the organization but also other stakeholders. We hypothesized and found that empathetic managers were less likely to comply with requests by an authority figure to cut the wages of their employees than were non-empathetic managers. However, when an authority figure requested to hold wages constant, empathy did not affect wage cut decisions. These findings imply that empathy can (...) serve as a safeguard for ethical decision making in organizations during trying times without generally undermining organizational effectiveness. We conclude by discussing the implications of our research. (shrink)

An important part of friendships are the so-called special obligations generated by them. Friends owe things to each other that they do not owe to strangers. While such special obligations are an important part of our everyday practice, they raise several philosophical questions. These questions include the status of special obligations (are such obligations sui generis or is it possible to reduce them to general moral principles?), the source of such special obligations (what grounds special obligations of friendship?), and the (...) content of special obligations (what is the content of special obligations of friendship?). This chapter gives an overview of some of the most important positions in the literature with regard to these questions. (shrink)

The Colombian-born photographer and artist Guadalupe Ruiz has undertaken a project to document the social and economic inequity in her native city of Bogotá. She explores six houses from the city's six different taxation classes whose residents range from extremely affluent to impoverished. By taking photographs of apartments and streetscapes, whole interiors and single pieces of furniture, Ruiz creates a cohesive and multilayered portrait of the city as a whole. She also examines personal and decorative objects, such as family portraits (...) and Catholic icons found in both slums and luxurious villas, and highlights the differences and some surprising cultural parallels between socioeconomic classes. Guadalupe Ruiz— Bogotá D. C. is a subtle, thought-provoking examination of urban life and includes over a hundred stunning images arranged by neighborhood. A map of the neighborhoods and a complementary essay are included to provide context for Ruiz's impressive photographs. Text in English, French, Spanish, and German. (shrink)

This study intends to vindicate Thomas Aquinas' theory of perception as a key element which is systematically constituent for his theory of knowledge generally. The causal conditions for perception, the physical framework and the resulting perceptual knowledge are analysed.

Immigrants now compose approximately 12 of the population of the United States and a sizable proportion of the workforce. Yet in contrast to research on other traditionally under-represented groups (e.g., women, African Americans), there are relatively few studies on issues related to being an immigrant in the U.S. workforce. This study examined English-only workplace policies, focusing on reactions to business justifications – explanations that justify managerial decisions as business necessities – for these policies. We contrasted the reactions of individuals coming (...) from immigrant families, where at least one parent was an immigrant to the U.S., with those of persons from non-immigrant families. Results of an experiment indicated that business justifications were successful in influencing the attitudes of non-immigrants toward the English-only policies, but did not influence the attitudes of individuals from immigrant families. Probing the reasons for this effect, a thought-listing protocol suggested that non-immigrants mentioned more of the business benefits of the English-only policy than did individuals from immigrant families. Further, business justifications for the English-only policy led individuals from immigrant families, but not those from non-immigrant families, to view the organization as being less ethical and less concerned with the welfare of its workers. The implications of messages from management being understood differently by different demographic groups are discussed. (shrink)

This book provides both an introduction to the philosophy of scientific modeling and a contribution to the discussion and clarification of two recent philosophical conceptions of models: artifactualism and fictionalism. These can be viewed as different stances concerning the standard representationalist account of scientific models. By better understanding these two alternative views, readers will gain a deeper insight into what a model is as well as how models function in different sciences. Fictionalism has been a traditional epistemological stance related to (...) antirealist construals of laws and theories, such as instrumentalism and inferentialism. By contrast, the more recent fictional view of models holds that scientific models must be conceived of as the same kind of entities as literary characters and places. This approach is essentially an answer to the ontological question concerning the nature of models, which in principle is not incompatible with a representationalist account of the function of models. The artifactual view of models is an approach according to which scientific models are epistemic artifacts, whose main function is not to represent the phenomena but rather to provide epistemic access to them. It can be conceived of as a non-representationalist and pragmatic account of modeling, which does not intend to focus on the ontology of models but rather on the ways they are built and used for different purposes. The different essays address questions such as the artifactual view of idealization, the use of information theory to elucidate the concepts of abstraction and idealization, the deidealization of models, the nature of scientific fictions, the structural account of representation and the ontological status of structures, the role of surrogative reasoning with models, and the use of models for explaining and predicting physical phenomena. (shrink)

Ensayos-homenaje en el primer centenario del nacimiento del fil sofo espa ol, que abordan diversos aspectos de la obra de Ortega. Los cuatro trabajos dibujan con rigor algunos de los horizontes planteados por el maestro y respetan la debida modernidad conceptual. la compilaci n estuvo a cargo de Fernando Salmer n, Alejandro Rossi, Luis Villoro y Ram n Xirau.

This paper delves into the deconstruction of the notion of responsibility, drawing a correlation with the process of decomposition of the concept of sovereignty as discussed by Derrida in his last research works. We explore Derrida’s consideration of absolute responsibility as no longer passing through the figure of the sovereign. Derrida’s thought takes its distance from the philosophical and hegemonic determination of the notion of responsibility, for the conceptual system of its axiomatic defines responsibility based on the sovereign individual’s freedom (...) and makes responsibility the effect of his power. Yet, this definition condemns ethics to failure, since it does not account for the other supposed in the idea of response. Derrida incorporates absolute singularity, and consequently secrecy, into the structure of responsibility, enabling thought to encounter the absolute other. The text outlines the influence of Nietzsche and Celan in Derrida’s thought and develops an approach that sees in his work the effort to create a poetic revolution in the history of philosophy and knowledge by opening thought to radical alterity. (shrink)

It is not yet clear which response behavior requires self-regulatory effort in the moral dilemma task. Previous research has proposed that utilitarian responses require cognitive control, but subsequent studies have found inconsistencies with the empirical predictions of that hypothesis. In this paper we treat participants’ sensitivity to utilitarian gradients as a measure of performance. We confronted participants (N = 82) with a set of five dilemmas evoking a gradient of mean utilitarian responses in a 4-point scale and collected data on (...) heart rate variability and on utilitarian responses. We found positive correlations between tonic and phasic HRV and sensitivity to the utilitarian gradient in the high tonic group, but not in the low tonic group. Moreover, the low tonic group misplaced a scenario with a selfish incentive at the high end of the gradient. Results suggest that performance is represented by sensitivity correlated with HRV and accompanied with a reasonable placement of individual scenarios within the gradient. (shrink)

In this essay I revise, based on the notion of the ‘enlightened ruler’ or mingzhu and his critique of the literati of his time, the common belief that Han Fei was an amoralist and an advocate of tyranny. Instead, I will argue that his writings are dedicated to advising those who ought to rule in order to achieve the goal of a peaceful and stable society framed by laws in accordance with the dao.

Civic Humanism is one de most relevant theories in present day political philosophy. Its main characteristics are the rejection of radical individualism, the emphasis on the social and political responsibility of citizens, and the consideration that the realisation of a mature personality is only possible through communities on pre-political and pre-economical levels. The author of this paper maintains that there is a continuity from the start of Civic Humanism in Renaissance until its revival in XX Century. He defends as well (...) that the philosophical roots of Civic Humanism can be found in the aristotelian practical philosophy, especially in the notions of good citizen, good life, common good and teleological praxis. (shrink)

En su intervención en el debate alemán de finales del siglo XVIII sobre el significado de la ilustración, Moses Mendelssohn asigna a la ilustración (Auflkärung) y a la cultura (Kultur), componentes teórico y práctico respectivamente de la formación (Bildung) de un pueblo, una función de profilaxis recíproca. El desarrollo de cada una constituye el mejor medio para prevenir la corrupción que produce el mal uso de la otra. Dado que la “manera de destruir” de cada una se contrapone a la (...) de la otra, la felicidad de una nación depende de su avance equilibrado. La intención de este artículo es determinar la posición de Mendelssohn respecto a los límites de la ilustración así como clarificar el vínculo profiláctico entre ilustración y cultura. (shrink)