In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Historical Representation and the Nation-State in Romantic Belgium (1830–1850)Jo TollebeekThe transformation of the Ancien Régime society of estates into the modern state system as it exists in Europe today was concluded during the “long nineteenth century.” This process of transformation came about in two waves. In a first wave—during the decades preceding and following the French Revolution, roughly the years 1780-1848—the framework for the nation-state was created. It was (...) mainly the liberal bourgeoisie which stood at the forefront. After the Congress of Vienna, where the “ante bellum” situation had been restored, it led more or less successful national revolutions in Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Poland. In a second wave, starting with the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and ending with the First World War, the framework of the nation-state was filled in. In those years a growing number of social groups found accommodation in the liberal house, which they also managed thoroughly to rebuild. This period can be described as the phase of integrated nationalism.Together with the nation-state came the rise of modern national his-toriography. The most well-known exponents of this typically nineteenth-century genre were the monumental outlines of national pasts which started appearing from 1890 onward. Karl Lamprecht in Germany (Deutsche Geschichte, 1890–1909), Pieter Jan Blok in the Netherlands (Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Volk, 1892–1908), Henri Pirenne in Belgium (Histoire de Belgique, 1900–1932), and Ernest Lavisse and his collaborators in France (Histoire de France, 1901–11) all gave their respective countries’ pasts an impressive, scholarly design. The first phase of the emergence of the nation-state, however, was also ac-companied by a stream of national histories. Johannes von Müller in Switzerland (Geschichten Schweizerischer Eidgenossenschaft, 1786–1808), Simonde de [End Page 329] Sismondi in Italy (Histoire des Républiques italiennes du Moyen Age, 1807–18), Augustin Thierry in France (Lettres sur l’Histoire de France, 1820–27), and Willem Bilderdijk in the Netherlands (Geschiedenis des Vader-lands, posthumously 1833–53) all became authors of patriotic and romantically tinted surveys and studies of (fragments from) their own national history.The work of this second group of historians fits with the cultural nationalism which took root during the last decades of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries and which is sometimes considered to have been the heart of romantic nationalism. 1 The supporters of this nationalism were con-vinced that culture, lifestyle, and social institutions could only be understood as the expression of the “soul,” the “spirit,” or the “character” of a people or nation. They tried to deduce this individual character through the language, popular literature, art, and “national” (as opposed to Roman) law, as is demonstrated by the Gaelic revival in Ireland. 2 History, however, also attracted their interest; the nation and the people were after all considered to be dynamic entities which developed along the lines of a multiple causal process. In England, for example, where nationalism arose as a protest against excessive foreign—French—cultural influence, a group of historians, among them Catherine Macaulay and John Pinkerton, started publishing nationalistic histories during the early years of George III’s reign, paying special attention to the origin of the English people. 3 Such cultural nationalism could, however, easily take on political overtones, especially when it was the nationalism of a people who were either stateless or dispersed throughout different states, or whose state was still young.These earliest national histories were meant as a contribution to the formation, consolidation, and confirmation of a national identity. Their writers had to lend unity, specificity, and continuity to the national past. They had to, as Novalis observed in 1798, “organize historical essentials.” 4 Their work was less a matter of reconstruction than of construction. It not only required the exploration of a hitherto unknown field, but first and foremost the resolution of new problems of representation inherent in the writing of “national biographies.” In this essay, I shall discuss some of these problems in the light of Belgian national historical writing from 1830 through 1850. The year 1830 constitutes an important watershed in the history of national movements... (shrink)

BackgroundSuicide research aims to contribute to a better understanding of suicidal behaviour and its prevention. However, there are many ethical challenges in this research field, for example, regarding consent and potential risks to participants. While studies to-date have focused on the perspective of the researchers, this study aimed to investigate the views and experiences of members of Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) in dealing with suicide-related study applications.MethodsThis qualitative study entailed a thematic analysis using an inductive approach. We conducted semi-structured (...) interviews with a purposive sample (N = 15) of HREC Chairs or their delegates from Australian research-intensive universities. The interview guide included questions regarding the ethical concerns and challenges in suicide-related research raised by HREC members, how they dealt with those challenges and what advice they could give to researchers.ResultsThe analysis identified four main themes: (1) HREC members’ experiences of reviewing suicide-related study applications, (2) HREC members’ perceptions of suicide, suicide research, and study participants, (3) Complexity in HREC members’ decision-making processes, and (4) HREC members’ relationships with researchers.ConclusionsReliance on ethical guidelines and dialogue with researchers are crucial in the assessment of suicide-related study applications. Both researchers and HREC members may benefit from guidance and resources on how to conduct ethically sound suicide-related studies. Developing working relationships will be likely to help HRECs to facilitate high quality, ethical suicide-related research and researchers to conduct such research. (shrink)

This book is an anthology of some of the most influential research on basic income in the period of roughly 1960-2010.

ABSTRACT In the 1960s, when Dr. Belding Scribner discovered how to accomplish the process of dialysis in a repeated way, he could not imagine that in solving such a problem others as or more difficult would appear. Given the technological progress and the impossibility of assisting all patients through the most modern methods, the medical doctor often finds himself faced with the moral dilemma of choosing which patient in the waiting list will receive the treatment. This same dilemma is amplified (...) in the case of organ transplants. Professionals, students, professors of the juridical and health fields, and the population in general, were interviewed as a means of documenting the moral concepts and opinions surrounding this problem. In the reality in which we find ourselves, it seems to us that deciding who lives, and the responsibility for all the events that culminate in such decisions, is still a subject left open to discussion. (shrink)

With the celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy indulgences have once again moved to the fore of Catholic imagination, with many pilgrims availing themselves of the opportunity to pass through a Door of Mercy or ‘Holy Door’ and thereby receive the jubilee indulgence. While the practice of indulgences has experienced something of a revival in popularity during recent papacies, the precise doctrine remains largely unrehearsed and unfamiliar, simultaneously evoking strong reactions of distaste and disquiet among many as memories of (...) medieval abuse linger on. This article sets out the precepts of the most recent authoritative teaching on indulgences, itself almost fifty years old, before exploring the theological interpretation offered by Karl Rahner and tracing its gradual and largely anonymous appropriation in papal teaching through the post-conciliar period. With Pope Francis promoting mercy as a central theme for his papacy and ecclesial vision, the paper closes by considering how he may be proposing a further re-appropriation of indulgences which shifts attention from their post-mortem efficacy to their capacity to establish a Franciscan reflexivity of mercy in the contemporary church. (shrink)

A presente comunicação é o resultado de uma pesquisa bibliográfica e das constatações do autor derivadas da sua experiência no processo de ensino e aprendizagem, mormente na disciplina de Didáctica de Física. Tomando como pressuposto de que a Didáctica de Física ou a Prática de Ensino de Física, ocupa um papel preponderante no currículo de Formação do corpo discente e docente na Universidade Pedagógica, o autor trás à tona uma discussão teórica com vários autores que de algum tempo à esta (...) parte se têm debruçado sobre o assunto. Nesta discussão, o autor se apegou no seguinte tripé: a) A dicotomia ensino e aprendizagem em Física; b) A prática de ensino de Física: realidades e desafios rumo à novos paradigmas didáctico – epistemológicos e c) Algumas reflexões pessoais do autor, arraigadas na sua experiência profissional e não só. O desdobramento deste tripé, serviu para cimentar a sua convicção, antes tida como premissa, segundo a qual, o ensino de Física, sobretudo em se tratando de cursos universitários, a actividade experimental precisa ter em conta à aspectos como a descrição das aulas, o modo como são organizadas, a valorização das actividades experimentais desenvolvidas em pequenos grupos, bem como a abordagem que focaliza a demonstração de conceitos e fenómenos discutidos teoricamente. E ainda, o direccionamento das actividades para favorecer elementos didácticos como o desenvolvimento de habilidades, observação e interpretação, entre outros. Para que estes pressupostos ganhem eco na nossa plataforma curricular, é necessário que a formação de professores de Física, dê maior importância aos contornos ecológicos, sociais e económicos que bordejam o espaço educacional. A percepção teórica que isso dá ao educador, aglutinado ao saber teórico-prático deste, da realidade que circunda a escola, é a que dá ao educador, premissas e ferramentas para poder equacionar e apropriar-se com eficácia dos ambientes sócio-culturais existentes neste espaço ecológico. (shrink)

In _Michael Polanyi and His Generation_, Mary Jo Nye investigates the role that Michael Polanyi and several of his contemporaries played in the emergence of the social turn in the philosophy of science. This turn involved seeing science as a socially based enterprise that does not rely on empiricism and reason alone but on social communities, behavioral norms, and personal commitments. Nye argues that the roots of the social turn are to be found in the scientific culture and political events (...) of Europe in the 1930s, when scientific intellectuals struggled to defend the universal status of scientific knowledge and to justify public support for science in an era of economic catastrophe, Stalinism and Fascism, and increased demands for applications of science to industry and social welfare. At the center of this struggle was Polanyi, who Nye contends was one of the first advocates of this new conception of science. Nye reconstructs Polanyi’s scientific and political milieus in Budapest, Berlin, and Manchester from the 1910s to the 1950s and explains how he and other natural scientists and social scientists of his generation—including J. D. Bernal, Ludwik Fleck, Karl Mannheim, and Robert K. Merton—and the next, such as Thomas Kuhn, forged a politically charged philosophy of science, one that newly emphasized the social construction of science. (shrink)

Na primjeru Utopije morala Karla Alberta i Elenor Jain, autor pokazuje razliku između ontološke etike kao metafizičke etike i svih drugih prošlih i suvremenih etika kao nemetafizičkih. Središnja pretenzija ontološke etike kao aktualne etike primjerene vremenu ležiu tome da ona može nadmašiti specifičnosti pojedinačnih kultura i pokazati fundament etičkog mišljenja i djelovanja, koji prevladava razdvajajuće elemente tradiranih moralnih predodžaba ili religioznih normi te obraća pažnju na ono zajedničko što ljudi i narodi doživljavaju kao iskustvo bitka, u smislu ontološke misli, od (...) Parmenida i Platona do Heideggera i Lavellea. Nasuprot tom prenaglašavanju Platonove idealističke linije u europskoj praktičnoj filozofiji, autor ovoga rada ukazuje na druge smjerove europske filozofije, te posebno ističe Aristotelovu philosophia anthropina kao nemetafizičku praktičnu filozofiju u smislu jedinstva etike i politike, neovisno o metafizici. Dok Albert i Jain zagovaraju bliskost etike i estetike, te u smislu modernog globalizma povezuju europsku filozofiju s izvaneuropskom mitološkom i metafizičkom mudrošću, autor ovoga rada ukazuje na Gadamerovu interpretaciju odnosa phronesisa i sophiae u VI. knjizi Aristotelove Nikomahove etike i naHeideggerovu fundamentalnu ontologiju, ne kao metafiziku, nego kao hermeneutičku praktičnu filozofiju, da bi na tragu Finkove interpretacije VII. knjige Platonove Države pokazao mogućnost drukčijeg tumačenja odnosa dokse i episteme od onoga što ga pružaju Albert i Jain, kako kod samoga Platona tako i u transcendentalnoj fenomenologiji životnog svijeta kod kasnoga Husserla. Jer suvremenom globalnom svijetu više je potrebna nemetafizička praktična filozofija – kao povijesnom svijetu života primjereno mišljenje – negoli metafizička etika i mitologija.Am Beispiel von Die Utopie der Moral von Karl Albert und Elenor Jain zeigt der Verfasserden Unterschied zwischen einer ontologischen Ethik als einer metaphysischen Ethik und allenanderen vergangenen und gegenwärtigen Ethiken als nicht-metaphysischen Ethiken. Der Hauptanspruchder ontologischen Ethik als einer aktualen und der Zeit angemessenen Ethik liegtdarin,dass sie die Eigenartigkeiten der einzelnen Kulturenübergreifenund das Fundamentumdesethischen Denkens und Handelns aufweisen kann, das die trennendenElemente der tradiertenMoralvorstellungen oder religiösenNormen aufhebt und die Aufmerksamkeitauf dasGemeinsamelenkt, welches die Menschen und die Völker als Seinserfahrung erleben – im Sinnedesontologischen Gedankens von Parmenides und Platon bis Heidegger und Lavelle. Im Gegensatzzu dieser überbetonten idealistischen Linie Platons in der europäischenpraktischenPhilosophieweist der Verfasserdieser Arbeitauf die anderenStrömungen der europäischenPhilosophiehin und hebt insbesonderedie aristotelische philosophia anthropinaals nicht-metaphysischepraktische Philosophie im Sinne der Einheit von Ethik und Politik hervor,die vonderMetaphysik unabhängig ist. WährendAlbertund Jain die Nähe von Ethik und Ästhetik befürwortenund im Sinne des modernen Globalismus die europäischePhilosophie mit der außereuropäischenmythologischen und metaphysischen Weisheitverbinden, verweist der VerfasserdieserArbeitauf Gadamers Interpretationdes Verhältnissesvon phronesisund sophia im VI.Buchder NikomachischenEthik vonAristotelesund auf die Fundamentalontologie Heideggers–aufgefasst nicht als eine Metaphysik, sondern als hermeneutische praktische Philosophie. AufdenSpurender Fink’schenInterpretationdes VII. Buches von Platons Staat zeigt der Verfassersodannauf, dass eine andereMöglichkeit zur Deutung des Verhältnissesvon Doxe und Epistemebestehtals jene, die von Albertund Jain befürwortet wird,sowohl bei Platon selbst als auch inderTranszendentalphänomenologieder Lebenswelt beim späten Husserl. Denn die globale WeltderGegenwart braucht mehr eine nicht-metaphysische praktische Philosophie und ein der geschichtlichenLebenswelt angemessenes Denken als eine metaphysische Ethik und Mythologie. (shrink)

John F. Henry is an eminent economist who has made important contributions to heterodox economics drawing on Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, and John Maynard Keynes. His historical approach offers radical insights into the evolution of ideas (ideologies and theories) giving rise to and/or induced by the changes in capitalist society. Essays collected in this festschrift not only evaluate John Henry's contributions in connection to Marx's and Veblen's theories, but also apply them to the socio-economic issues in the 21st (...) century. In Part I leading heterodox economists in the traditions of Marxism, Post Keynesianism, and Institutionalism critically examine Marx's and Veblen's theoretical frameworks (and their connections to each other) that have become the foundations of heterodox economics. Chapters in Part II showcase alternative theoretical explanations inspired by Marx, Veblen, and Henry. Topics in this Part include financial crisis, financialization, capital accumulation, economics teaching, and the historical relationship between money and class society. Part III is devoted to John Henry's heterodox economics encapsulated in his "farewell" lecture, interview, and bibliography. Essays in this book, individually and collectively, make an important point that the history of economic thought (or historical analysis of economic theory and policy) is an integral part of developing heterodox economics as an alternative theoretical framework. Anyone who is troubled by the recurring failure of capitalism as well as mainstream economics will find this book well worth reading. (shrink)

Scholars in the field of social studies of science marked the year 2012 as the 50th anniversary of the publication of Thomas S. Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn’s book is routinely cited as the beginning of a new intellectual movement that jettisoned logical and empiricist accounts of scientific progress in favor of sociological and psychological explanations of scientific practice. In contrast, this essay argues that the roots of the social construction of science lie earlier, in the 1930s, in (...) the political milieu, scientific careers, and intellectual debates of a generation in which Michael Polanyi was a central figure. Crucial elements in the development of Polanyi’s philosophy of science are examined, with comparisons to J. D Bernal, Karl Mannheim and others of their generation, as well as to the younger Thomas Kuhn and to Karl Popper. (shrink)

O artigo interpreta o pensamento de Heidegger como transformação da filosofia transcendental que conduz à sua radicalização e, ultimamente, destruição. A este projecto contrapõe Apel a sua tentativa de estabelecer uma filosofia transcendental linguístico-pragmática que procura estabelecer um compromisso entre as temáticas da constituição antepredicativa do sentido e da exigência de validade intersubjectiva. /// L'article interprète la pensée de Heidegger comme transformation de la philosophie transcendantale qui conduit à sa radicalisation et, en dernier lieu, à sa destruction. A ce projet, (...) Apel oppose sa tentative d'établir une philosophie transcendantale linguistique pragmatique qui cherche à faire un compromis entre les thématiques de la constitution anteprédicative du sens et de l'exigence de validité intersubjective. /// The author interprets Heidegger's thought in terms of a transformation of transcendental philosophy, leading to its radicalization and finally its destruction. In the place of this project, the author proposes a transcendental philosophy of a linguistic and pragmatic kind, wich seeks to establish a compromise between the thematics of ante-predicative constitution of sense and the demand for intersubjective validity. (shrink)

Con la finalidad de responder positivamente a la pregunta planteada en eltítulo de este trabajo, el autor presenta y cuestiona, en primer Jugar, el supuesto filosófico tradicional, por el que se hace depender al lenguaje unilateralmente de la intenciones moralmente relevantes de los individuos. Expone luego las estaciones del fracaso de los intentos de fundamentación moral sobre la base del solipsismo metódico de la filosofía moderna antes del giro pragmático- lingüístico. Y defiende finalmente la posición de la fundamentación pragmático-trascendental última (...) frente a las interpretaciones relativistas del mencionado giro de la filosofía contemporánea. (shrink)

Los críticos que han interpretado el pensamiento de Feyerabend como un relativismo radical no hacen justicia a su intencionalidad, y se muestran incapaces de comprender la unidad de su obra, en particular, su abandono posterior de los ideales relativistas. Se busca distinguir las diversas posiciones de Feyerabend frente al relativismo y exponer su reducción al absurdo de las nociones de la ciencia propias del positivismo lógico y del racionalismo crítico. Así mismo, se plantea cómo Feyerabend, ante la ausencia de un (...) criterio para discernir la tarea científica, postula un relativismo, pero, al final de su vida, busca elaborar una metafísica de la abundancia que supere las coordenadas de aquel. Critics who have interpreted Feyerabend's work as radical relativism do not do justice to his intentions and do not understand the unity of his work, in particular, his later abandonment of relativist ideals. This article seeks to distinguish the diverse Feyerabend's positions regarding relativism and exposes his reduction to absurdity of the ideas of science belonging to logical positivism and critical rationalism. It also addresses the way in which Feyerabend postulated relativism when faced with the absence of criteria to discern the scientific task. It argues, however, that at the end of his life Feyerabend seeked to construct a metaphysics of abundance in order to surpass relativism. (shrink)

Straipsnyje svarstoma ðiuolaikinës normatyviosios etikos paieðkos galimybë, pasitelkiant Karlo Otto Apeliotokio bandymo pavyzdá ir suprieðinant já su Jürgeno Habermaso diskurso etika bei Maxo Weberio irKarlo Raimundo Popperio politinës moralës projektais. Autorë pripaþásta, kad Apelio pastangos suteiktiðiuolaikinei etikai vieningà normatyviná pagrindà iðkrenta ið bendros á vertybiø pliuralizmà linkstanèiosðiuolaikinës etikos perspektyvos. Kita vertus, jos manymu, siekiant iðsaugoti Kanto etikos formaliuosiusaspektus, jo transcendentalines intencijas, galima nepastebëti svarbiø Kanto etikos turinio aspektø.Mûsø galva, formalus procedûriðkumas ar normatyvumas neiðsemia Kanto etikos galimybiø.Pagrindiniai þodþiai: Apelis, Weberis, Popperis, (...) ðiuolaikinë normatyvioji etika, moralë ir politika. (shrink)

Os tempos contemporâneos evidenciamu ma a s s i n c r o n i a e n t r e a s c u l t u r a spart i cul ares e a nova const i t ui ção deestado global que se instaurou com as oci edade do conheci ment o. Quant omai or a e xpans ão de pos s i bi l i dade stécnico-científicas, menor a influênciaque as concepções morais dos gruposparticulares desempenham no (...) cenáriog l o b a l . To da s a s i nt ui ç õ e s na t ur a i sdo homo f aber são afetadas pel o fazertecnológico que responde muito maisrápida e satisfatoriamente aos anseiose necessi dades dos i ndi ví duos, t ant obi ol ógi c a quant o s oc i al ment e. Des t emodo, a atenção ao fator tecnol ógi coparece suplantar mandamentos moraisque desde outros tempos guiavam a açãoe a convivência social das pessoasContemporary ages showed an asynchronybe t we e n par t i c ul ar c ul t ur e s and t henew constitution of the global state thathas t aken pl ace wi t hi n t he soci et y ofknowledge. The more is the expansion oftechnical and scientific possibilities theless is the influence that moral conceptionsof particular groups play in the globalscene. All natural intuitions of homo faberare affected by technological making thatanswers most rapidly and satisfactorily tothe desires and needs of individuals, bothbiologically and sociologically. Thus, theattention to the technological feature seemsto supplant the moral commandments thatsince ancient times oriented the action andthe social life of persons. (shrink)

Nosso artigo visa um estudo sobre os cadernos intitulados como “Manuscritos econômico-filosóficos” de Karl Marx, do ano de 1844, tendo em vista a posição privilegiada que o texto ocupa no desenvolvimento do pensamento do autor. Do mesmo modo, os manuscritos guardam os primeiros estudos teóricos da economia política de um jovem Marx e seu pensamento precoce – anterior àquele de “O capital” –, ao mesmo tempo que também representou o aprimoramento das “armas da crítica” pela “crítica das armas” contra os (...) jovens hegelianos do grupo de Berlim (principalmente Bauer e Stirner) e o pensamento e herança deixada por Hegel. Tais estudos possivelmente também foram importantes para a edificação da amizade que ele também começaria poucos meses após os manuscritos serem “concluídos” – conclusão que só seria realizada com a publicação mas que nunca ocorreu durante a vida de Karl Marx, senão, ocorreria apenas em 1932 (integralmente) com a redescoberta dos mesmos alguns anos antes com o impulso da revolução bolchevique na Rússia. Por fim, buscaremos apontar em que medida as concepções e o pensamento do jovem autor se conservam ou se transformam – parcial ou completamente – nos anos imediatamente posteriores. (shrink)

Se muestran las relaciones de incompatibilidad entre capitalismo y vida que, en sentido perspectivo, Marx pone de manifiesto. Es esa la razón más profunda por la cual el pensador alemán concluye que no puede ser el capitalismo el modelo de sociedad que habite indefinidamente el ser humano.

El presente artículo trata de hacer ver que el desencuentro entre la modernidad ilustrada y la religión católica, fue debido a una serie de factores y circunstancias desgraciadas, y no a una incompatibilidad inevitable. Es más, a pesar de los malentendidos y desencuentros, no son pocos los ideales de la modernidad ilustrada que, si profundizamos en ellos, descubriremos su inspiración y raíces cristianas. Es más, guste o no a algunos, el patrimonio espiritual y moral que ha ido configurando la identidad (...) europea ha tenido una de sus más importantes fuentes de inspiración en la tradición judeo-cristiana, sin menoscabar, por supuesto, la herencia griega, el derecho romano, la tradición liberal-ilustrada, y la revolución científica. Especialmente, hemos hecho hincapié en la autoridad moral del sufrimiento de la tradición judeocristiana, como una baza fundamental de cara la defensa de la dignidad humana. Para profundizar en esta compleja problemática hemos tenido en cuenta, entre otros, los análisis de Karl Löwith, Hans Blumenberg, J. Habermas, Benedicto XVI y J.B. Metz. Nuestra conclusión es que no tiene razón el actual secularismo-laicismo excluyente al pretender minusvalorar, o borrar simplemente del mapa, las raíces cristianas de Europa, como portadoras de valores y actitudes, que son tan necesarias ante el relativismo, el nihilismo postmoderno, y la crisis de valores de una sociedad, cada vez más deshumanizada. Frente al euroescepticismo que hoy sobrevuela amenazante, hay que reivindicar el “humanismo socrático-cristiano” como una seña de identidad irrenunciable. Otra cosa es el integrismo religioso, que no acaba de admitir la autonomía de la sociedad civil y del Estado, como presupuesto fundamental de una sana secularidad. Es precisamente en el seno de la sociedad civil donde la institución religiosa tiene derecho a dejar oír su voz, en diálogo respetuoso con las otras voces que en ella se ubican, de cara a consensuar soluciones frente a los graves problemas que nos acucian. Y sólo desde una identidad europea bien asentada, podremos enfrentarnos con el reto de la multiculturalidad al que Europa se ve inevitablemente abocada, en el contexto de la globalización.This article attempts to show, that the disagreement between enlightened modernity and Catholic religion, was due to a number of factors and unfortunate circumstances and not to an unavoidable incompatibility. There is more, despite misunderstandings and disagreements, there are many ideals of enlightened modernity that when we go deeper into them, we discover their Christian inspiration and roots. Even more, like it or not some people, spiritual and moral heritage, which has configured European identity, had Judeo- Christian tradition as one of its sources of inspiration, without underestimating, of course, Greek heritage, Roman law, liberal enlightenment tradition and scientific revolution. We have emphasized, especially, the moral authority of suffering of Judeo-Christian tradition as something basic to defend human dignity. To go deeper into this complex problem, we took into account, among others, the analyses of Karl Löwith, Hans Blumemberg, J. Habermas, Benedit XVI, and J:B: Metz. Our conclusion is that the current exclusive secularism is not right trying to underestimate or eliminate the Christian roots in Europe as carriers of values and attitudes, so necessary against relativism, postmodern nihilism and the crisis of values in a society increasingly dehumanized. Against an Euroscepticism which overflies threatening, we must claim a Socratic-Christian humanism as a sign of indispensable identity. Religious secularismis something different, it does not admit the authority of a civil society and state, as a fundamental prerequisite for a healthy secularity. It is precisely within a civil society where a religious institution has the right to be heard in a respectful dialogue with others voices that are located in there to agree on solutions against the problems we are facing and, only from a well established European identity, we will be able to face the challenge of multiculturalism to which Europe is inevitably doomed in a context of Globalization. (shrink)

Los críticos que han interpretado el pensamiento de Feyerabend como un relativismo radical no hacen justicia a su intencionalidad, y se muestran incapaces de comprender la unidad de su obra, en particular, su abandono posterior de los ideales relativis-tas. Se busca distinguir las diversas posiciones de Feyerabend frente al relativismo y exponer su reducción al absurdo de las nociones de la ciencia propias del positivis-mo lógico y del racionalismo crítico. Así mismo, se plantea cómo Feyerabend, ante la ausencia de un (...) criterio para discernir la tarea científica, postula un relativismo, pero, al final de su vida, busca elaborar una metafísica de la abundancia que supere las coordenadas de aquel. (shrink)

Resumo: pretendemos mostrar, a partir daquilo que José Chasin chamou de análise imanente, o modo pelo qual Karl Marx, em seu Teorias do mais-valor, analisou o trabalho produtivo ao ter em conta o desenvolvimento da burguesia e o surgimento de camadas intermediárias entre o proletariado, a burguesia e o processo imediato de produção. Em um primeiro momento, com Smith e a crítica diante da sociabilidade feudal, haveria um elogio do trabalho produtivo e uma crítica à improdutividade do trabalho de comerciantes, (...) juristas, funcionários públicos, entre outros. Depois, porém, a classe burguesa teria adotado a mesma postura que criticara na nobreza. E, assim, desenvolve-se uma concepção apologética no que toca o sentido da categoria trabalho produtivo. Os juristas, antes vistos com desconfiança, vêm a ser vistos de modo acrítico em um processo em que, ao mesmo tempo, tem-se um capitalismo senil e possibilidades abertas à superação deste. (shrink)

This passage was attributed to Menander Protector by Bernhardy, who, influenced apparently by Men. Prot. fr. 43 , suggested that here the name disguised the of Menander. This explanation, besides interfering with the text without due cause, ignores altogether the name . In fact, the incident occurs a century earlier, in the period A.D. 467–70. Anagastes is then found in Roman service in Thrace during the reign of Leo . Moreover, the name of Anagastes is linked with an easily recognized (...) variant of in Jo. Ant., fr. 205. (shrink)

How to improve clinical practice and, in particular, that of physical therapy? Currently, several strategies are used which all fit the label scientification. These scientific strategies have to make physical therapy''s clinical practice more homogeneous. Sometimes this homogenization is thought to be necessary for other strategies of innovation including effectiveness research. But it has also been suggested that more homogeneity in the clinic is already itself an improvement. In this article we comment on these strategies. More specifically, we direct our (...) attention at attempts in physical therapy to establish a uniform, generally adopted scientific language. We argue that these attempts fail to appreciate the specificity of therapeutic work. The effectiveness research that follows is therefore liable to take irrelevant variables into account. We illustrate this argument with examples taken from analyses of diverging therapies for stroke patients. (shrink)

One of the founders of modern hermeneutics, German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) confronted the question of how modern, postmetaphysical human beings can cope with the ambivalence, contingency, and finitude that fundamentally characterize their lives. This book offers a reevaluation and fresh analysis of Dilthey's hermeneutics of life against the background of the development of philosophy during the past two centuries. Jos de Mul relates Dilthey's work to other philosophers who influenced or were influenced by him, including Kant, Schleiermacher, Hegel, Comte, (...) Mill, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Gadamer, and Derrida. Weaving together systematic analysis and historical investigation, de Mul begins the book with an account of the horizon on which Dilthey developed his unfinished masterwork, Critique of Historical Reason. The author then elaborates a systematic reconstruction of Dilthey's ontology of life, relates the ontology to the work of other twentieth-century philosophers, and positions Dilthey's thought within current philosophical debate. (shrink)

It has been a longstanding problem to show how the irreversible behaviour of macroscopic systems can be reconciled with the time-reversal invariance of these same systems when considered from a microscopic point of view. A result by Lanford shows that, under certain conditions, the famous Boltzmann equation, describing the irreversible behaviour of a dilute gas, can be obtained from the time-reversal invariant Hamiltonian equations of motion for the hard spheres model. Here, we examine how and in what sense Lanford’s theorem (...) succeeds in deriving this remarkable result. Many authors have expressed different views on the question which of the ingredients in Lanford’s theorem is responsible for the emergence of irreversibility. We claim that these interpretations miss the target. In fact, we argue that there is no time-asymmetric ingredient at all. (shrink)

The article focuses in a particular way on two Jesuits of the XVII Century, Philips van Winghe e Jean l'Heureux . It describes their active participation in the scientific life of their time, as well as their own contributions to science.

This paper investigates what the source of time-asymmetry is in thermodynamics, and comments on the question whether a time-symmetric formulation of the Second Law is possible.

The 2008 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides a landmark articulation of the universality of human rights. It affirms in strong terms that all human beings have a claim to full inclusion and equal participation in society, something denied to many because of disability. The CRPD is an ambitious document with far-reaching and fundamental implications. This interdisciplinary collection of essays takes up pressing philosophical, legal, and practical issues raised by the CRPD and the ongoing process (...) of its implementation. Combining clear legal and philosophical overviews with ground-breaking conceptual analyses, the collection aims to advance the academic debate about human rights and disability and to serve as a useful resource for policymakers, ethicists, disability activists, jurists, and all those interested in the human rights of persons with disabilities. With contributions by Jackie Leach Scully, Marcus Düwell, Jenny Goldschmidt, Sigrid Graumann, Caroline Harnacke, Jan Vorstenbosch, Esther van Weele, Joel Anderson, Jos Philips. (shrink)

In this paper we examine some proposals to disprove the hypothesis that the interaction between mind and matter causes the collapse of the wave function, showing that such proposals are fundamentally flawed. We then describe a general experimental setup retaining the key features of the ones examined, and show that even a more general case is inadequate to disprove the mind-matter collapse hypothesis. Finally, we use our setup provided to argue that, under some reasonable assumptions about consciousness, such hypothesis is (...) unfalsifiable. (shrink)

Quantum mechanics is generally regarded as the physical theory that is our best candidate for a fundamental and universal description of the physical world. The conceptual framework employed by this theory differs drastically from that of classical physics. Indeed, the transition from classical to quantum physics marks a genuine revolution in our understanding of the physical world.

Helmuth Plessner’s Levels of Organic Life and the Human [Die Stufen des Organischen und der Mensch, 1928] is one of the founding texts of twentieth century philosophical anthropology. It is argued that Plessner’s work demonstrates the fundamental indispensability of the qualitative humanities vis-à-vis the natural-scientific study of man. Plessner’s non-reductionist, emergentist naturalism allots complementary roles to the causal and functional investigations of the life sciences and the phenomenological and hermeneutic interpretation of the phenomenon of life in its successive levels and (...) stages. Within this context, human agency can be understood as a higher-order property of organic life, which act by the selective activation of lower-level psychophysical powers. Plessner’s three ‘anthropological laws’ are used to situate the notion of practical self-understanding in between two extremes: deterministic views that deny human freedom and responsibility and views that ascribe an unrealistic amount of autonomy to human beings. (shrink)

The starting point of the present paper is Bell’s notion of local causality and his own sharpening of it so as to provide for mathematical formalisation. Starting with Norsen’s analysis of this formalisation, it is subjected to a critique that reveals two crucial aspects that have so far not been properly taken into account. These are the correct understanding of the notions of sufficiency, completeness and redundancy involved; and the fact that the apparatus settings and measurement outcomes have very different (...) theoretical roles in the candidate theories under study. Both aspects are not adequately incorporated in the standard formalisation, and we will therefore do so. The upshot of our analysis is a more detailed, sharp and clean mathematical expression of the condition of local causality. A preliminary analysis of the repercussions of our proposal shows that it is able to locate exactly where and how the notions of locality and causality are involved in formalising Bell’s condition of local causality. (shrink)

al-kitāb 1. Fi kayfiyat nushūʼ al-umam wa-taʻrīf al-ummah.

BackgroundOver the past decade, the exponential growth of the literature devoted to personalized medicine has been paralleled by an ever louder chorus of epistemic and ethical criticisms. Their differences notwithstanding, both advocates and critics share an outdated philosophical understanding of the concept of personhood and hence tend to assume too simplistic an understanding of personalization in health care.MethodsIn this article, we question this philosophical understanding of personhood and personalization, as these concepts shape the field of personalized medicine. We establish a (...) dialogue with phenomenology and hermeneutics (especially with E. Husserl, M. Merleau-Ponty and P. Ricoeur) in order to achieve a more sophisticated understanding of the meaning of these concepts We particularly focus on the relationship between personal subjectivity and objective data.ResultsWe first explore the gap between the ideal of personalized healthcare and the reality of today’s personalized medicine. We show that the nearly exclusive focus of personalized medicine on the objective part of personhood leads to a flawed ethical debate that needs to be reframed. Second, we seek to contribute to this reframing by drawing on the phenomenological-hermeneutical movement in philosophy. Third, we show that these admittedly theoretical analyses open up new conceptual possibilities to tackle the very practical ethical challenges that personalized medicine faces.ConclusionFinally, we propose a reversal: if personalization is a continuous process by which the person reappropriates all manner of objective data, giving them meaning and thereby shaping his or her own way of being human, then personalized medicine, rather than being personalized itself, can facilitate personalization of those it serves through the data it provides. (shrink)