This essay discusses the main contentions of The Antinomies of Antonio Gramsci by Perry Anderson in a critical reading of both the positions of the British historian, and of his critics among ‘Togliattian Gramscianists’.

The paper investigates the distinctly Chinese intertwining of expertise and state & financial capital to enrich the current understanding of neoliberalism as a hegemonic governing rationale. Since the summer of 2015, China has been experiencing one of its most severe financial crises since the adoption of a ‘socialist market economy’ in 1978. However, globally circulating narratives have failed to look beyond a Western-centric corollary, rehashing a critique of the Chinese one-party system and its lack of a ‘genuine’ free market. By (...) exploring the specific genealogy of Chinese capitalism, and the distinctive Chinese financial-market structure, the article will show how the scientific authority of experts formulated amongst neoliberal thinkers never permeated the Chinese idea of knowledge. In the Chinese variety of financial capitalism, expertise is seen to lie not so much in the wisdom of individual experts as in their socio-political support, which legitimises their economic interventions. (shrink)

In recent years, companies receive pressure to release environmental, social, and governance disclosure, since these are perceived as critical issues by society. Despite this pressure, ESG disclosure practices considerably vary by firm. Prior academic literature investigated country- and firm-level factors determining such variation, alternatively adopting the institutional and legitimacy theory. By combining these theories in a unique framework, this study investigates the extent to which social structures and social legitimization influence ESG disclosure practices and each pillar. Results obtained using a (...) cross-country sample of 14,174 firm-year observations during 2005–2012 provide evidence that country-level characteristics such as a political system, labor system, and cultural system significantly affect firms’ ESG disclosure practices. However, their impact is heterogeneous in that they either reduce or enhance disclosure levels and may differ by pillar. Results for firm-level characteristics related to a firm’s visibility demonstrate a positive and homogeneous effect on ESG disclosure and each pillar. These results inform policy makers and regulators aiming to enhance ESG disclosure levels of the risk they incur when managing variables related to social structure and the benefits of exposing firms to higher visibility. (shrink)

In this introduction the coordinators of the First Congress of Postcolonial Studies (Buenos Aires, 5th, 6th, 7th December 2012) review some of the main questions and guidelines which characterized the workshops. Starting from a heated debate on the categories and the epistemological proposals developed by postcolonial studies and decolonial feminism, the Congress accepted the challenge of producing a South/South dialogue through the consolidation of a space of interdisciplinary discussion in the different theorical fields inquiring post-colonial experience.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:The Myth of Renaissance Atheism and the French Tradition of Free Thought PAUL OSKAR KRISTELLER WITHIN THE VAST AND COMPLEX area of Renaissance philosophy, the thought of Pietro Pomponazzi and of the entire Italian school of Aristotelianism of which he is the best known representative has not yet been studied in all its aspects? Apart from a number of recent studies, mostly Italian or American, there is an important (...) body of French studies on the subject that are distinguished by their ample documentation and by a general and consistent tendency of interpretation and that have exercised a predominant influence in this field of research. The fountainhead of this French scholarship on Renaissance Aristotelianism is E. Renan's book on Averroes and Averroism, a remarkable achievement for its time, and a classical study still worth reading after more than a hundred years have passed since it was first published. 2 It is generally recognized that Renan's conclusions about Averroes himself and about the Latin Averroism of the thirteenth century have been superseded by the later studies of P. Mandonnet and others? It is less well known that, for the This paper was read many years ago at the New England Conference on the Renaissance at Brown University, and at the Universit~ de Fribourg. It was published as "El Mito del Ateismo Renacentista y la Tradici6n Francesa del Librepensamiento" in Notas y Estudios de Filoso]la, ed. Prof. Juan Adolfo Vazquez, IV, 13 (Tucums Argentina, 1953), pp. 1-14. The present version has been only slightly revised, and I hope to return to the subject on a later occasion. Among recent studies, I should like to mention G. Spini, Ricerca dei l.,ibertini (Rome, 1950) and D. C. Allen Doubt's Boundless Sea (Baltimore, 1964), who follow on the whole the view criticized in this paper, and L. Febvre, Le problhme del lincroyance au XVI ~ si~cle (Paris, 1947) and R. H. Popkin, "Skepticism and the Counter-Reformation in France," Archiv ]iir Re]ormationsgeschichte LI (1960), 58-88, who seem to concur with my view. See also a paper by Popkin~"Skepticism, Theology and the Scientific Method in the 17th century," in Problem8 in the Phdosophy o] Science, ed. I. Lakatos and A. Musgrave (Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Co., 1968). 1See now B. Nardi, Saggi sull'Aristotelismo Padovano dal secolo XIV al XVI (Florence, 1958) and Studi su Pietro Pomponazzi (Florence, 1965); J. H. Randall, The School o] Padua and the Emergence o] Modern Science (Padua, 1961); P. Pomponazzi, De ]ato, de libero arbitrio et de praedestinatione, ed. R. Lemay (Lugano, 1957); Tractatus de immortalitate animae, ed. G. Morra (Bologna, 1954); Corsi inediLi dell'insegnamento padovano I, Super libello de substantia orbis et quaestiones quattuor, ed. A. Poppi (Padua, 1966); P. O. Kristeller, "A New Manuscript Source for Pomponazzi's Theory of the Soul from his Paduan Period," Revue Internationale de Philosophie, V: 2 (16, 1951), 144-157,and "Two Unpublished Questions on the Soul by Pietro Pomponazzi," Medievalia et Humanistica, IX (1955), 76-101,and X (1956), 151. See also: G. Di Napoli, L'immortalit~ dell'anima nel Rinascimento (Turin, 1963); E. GiN ~L,, 3 son, Autour de Pomponazzi, Archives d histoire doctrinale et litt~raire du Moyen Age, c,,,, LXIII (1961, pub. 1962), 163-279and Laffaire de limmortalit~ de ls ~ Venise au debut 9,, du XVI si~cle, in Umanesimo europeo e umanesimo veneziano, ed. V. Branca (Florence, 1963), 31-61. Relevant are also the unpublished Columbia dissertations by William F. Edwards (on Zabarella), Martin Pine (on Pomponazzi and his critics) and Edward Mahoney (on Agostino Nifo). Averro$s et l Averro~me (Paris, 1852). 8Siger de Brabant et l'averroisme latin au XIII ~ si$cle (2nd ed.; Paris, 1908-11); F. Van [233] 234 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY history of Italian Aristotelianism after the thirteenth century, this book by Renan has never been completely superseded, but still constitutes the general basis for a large part of the later literature on the subject. Recent studies have added numerous details, but have failed to correct numerous errors and misconceptions. The main thesis of Renan's book on which we shall focus our attention in this paper is the following: Paduan Averroism... (shrink)

I argue for a theory that combines elements of reliabilism and evidentialism.

Ernest Sosa has argued that if someone knows that p, then his belief that p is “safe”. and Timothy Williamson has agreed. In this paper I argue that safety, as defined by Sosa, is not a necessary condition on knowledge – that we can have unsafe knowledge. I present Sosa’s definition of safety and a counterexample to it as a necessary condition on knowledge. I also argue that Sosa’s most recent refinements to the notion of safety don’t help him to (...) avoid the counterexample. I consider three replies on behalf of the defender of safety, and find them all wanting. Finally, I offer a tentative diagnosis of my counterexample. (shrink)

Among the many applications of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual assistants are one of the tools most likely to grow in the future. The development of these systems may play an increasingly important role in many facets of our lives. Therefore, given their potential importance and present and future weight, it is worthwhile to analyze what kind of challenges they entail. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of the ethical aspects of artificial virtual assistants. First, we provide a conceptual (...) clarification of the term ‘virtual assistant’, including different types of interfaces and recommender systems. Second, we address three ethical issues related to the deployment of these systems: their effects on human agency and autonomy and the subsequent cognitive dependence they would generate; the human obsolescence that may cause a generalized extension of the dependence problem; and the invasions of privacy that virtual assistants may cause. Finally, we outline the debates about the use of virtual assistants to improve human moral decisions and some areas in which these systems can be applied. (shrink)

Introduction. Dying to see -- The anthropomorphic image : negotiations of space between body and landscape -- The imperfect replica : departures and arrivals from Naples to Nagasaki -- The visionary image : the return of the image from Brazil to Rome -- The utopic image : unsettling circuits between Chile and Rome -- Epilogue : The proliferation of the body : Francis Xavier in Goa.

Reasoning is generally seen as a means to improve knowledge and make better decisions. However, much evidence shows that reasoning often leads to epistemic distortions and poor decisions. This suggests that the function of reasoning should be rethought. Our hypothesis is that the function of reasoning is argumentative. It is to devise and evaluate arguments intended to persuade. Reasoning so conceived is adaptive given the exceptional dependence of humans on communication and their vulnerability to misinformation. A wide range of evidence (...) in the psychology of reasoning and decision making can be reinterpreted and better explained in the light of this hypothesis. Poor performance in standard reasoning tasks is explained by the lack of argumentative context. When the same problems are placed in a proper argumentative setting, people turn out to be skilled arguers. Skilled arguers, however, are not after the truth but after arguments supporting their views. This explains the notorious confirmation bias. This bias is apparent not only when people are actually arguing, but also when they are reasoning proactively from the perspective of having to defend their opinions. Reasoning so motivated can distort evaluations and attitudes and allow erroneous beliefs to persist. Proactively used reasoning also favors decisions that are easy to justify but not necessarily better. In all these instances traditionally described as failures or flaws, reasoning does exactly what can be expected of an argumentative device: Look for arguments that support a given conclusion, and, ceteris paribus, favor conclusions for which arguments can be found. (shrink)

Many philosophers think that, necessarily, any material objects have a fusion (let’s call that doctrine “Universalism”). In this paper I point out a couple of strange consequences of Universalism and related doctrines, and suggest that they are strange enough to constitute a powerful argument against those views.

There is considerable evidence that the experience of justice is associated with perceived legitimacy of authority, but there has been no research about this association when considering past rather than current fairness. Based on the fairness heuristic theory, we tested the hypothesis that interpersonal justice trajectories positively affect perceived legitimacy of the authority; we also tested whether social class moderated this effect. Community residents rated the authority's fairness on 16 consecutive weeks and rated perceived legitimacy on the 16th week. The (...) results of latent growth modeling showed that the trajectory of interpersonal justice scores leading up to the final week significantly predicted perceived legitimacy, regardless of the current experience of interpersonal fairness. Tests of moderation showed that the legitimacy perceptions of individuals of lower subjective social class were significantly affected by interpersonal justice trajectories, whereas this was not the case among individuals of higher subjective social class. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for research on perceived legitimacy and justice, as well as their implications for understanding social class. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that McDowell's brand of disjunctivism about perceptual knowledge is ill‐motivated. First, I present a reconstruction of one main motivation for disjunctivism, in the form of an argument that theories that posit a “highest common factor” between veridical and non‐veridical experiences must be wrong. Then I show that the argument owes its plausibility to a failure to distinguish between justification and warrant (where “warrant” is understood as whatever has to be added to true belief to yield (...) knowledge). (shrink)

We conduct an empirical study on the determinants of the psychological costs of tax evasion, also known as tax morale. As a preliminary step, we build a model of tax evasion including non-monetary considerations, show the relationship between tax compliance and tax morale. In the empirical analysis of tax morale we find, using a binomial logit model, that the justification of tax evasion can be explained by the presence of grievance in absolute terms (those who feel that taxes are too (...) high, those who feel that public funds are wasted, and those who accept underground economic activities); and grievances in relative terms (the suspected level of others’ tax evasion). The sense of duty and the level of solidarity are also relevant factors, but to a lesser extent. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that McDowell's brand of disjunctivism about perceptual knowledge is ill‐motivated. First, I present a reconstruction of one main motivation for disjunctivism, in the form of an argument that theories that posit a “highest common factor” between veridical and non‐veridical experiences must be wrong. Then I show that the argument owes its plausibility to a failure to distinguish between justification and warrant (where “warrant” is understood as whatever has to be added to true belief to yield (...) knowledge). (shrink)

Se plantea en este trabajo la distinción entre ciencia y filosofía, tanto desde un punto de vista metódico como desde otro temático. Frente a una posible fundamentación de la ciencia en la filosofía, se sugiere una posible conciliación de ambas, que mantenga su diferencia, en el conocimiento matemático.

The evident remoteness between the religious postulates and the secular activity has led us to spiritual disorder and the oblivion of the authentic needs and aspirations of the human being. The current mentality and practice, towards what is considered merely useful or verifiable, has led us to this antinomy of polarized extremes, either towards an anthropocentrism that survives in a paradoxical happiness, disproportionate in the search for the strictly tangible, or towards an economic or ecological discourse that forgets the ontological (...) idea, and the authentic value and meaning of the human being. From a positive and normative analysis, this study aims to emphasize the importance of the so-called 'Integral Training’, taught by some university centers, as a promoter of the psychological and spiritual well-being, as well as the attitudes of sustainable entrepreneurship, in an ethical way and responsible. (shrink)

Citizenship as status implies the acknowledgment of individual rights as well as social ones. This very acceptance requires the consideration of all citizens as equal despite any personal difference and it represents an aim that is mostly dependent on the mass-media social function. The formal acknowledgment of the citizenship would be scarcely important if identity stereotypes and prejudice-based discrimination occurred during citizen's vital happenings. Today, citizenship must include the communicative dimension as part of the social integration project. Societies are every (...) day more intercultural, and media play an essential role in representing the other. As part of a Grundtvig project on intercultural education, the author conducted an experience with journalistic ethics students of the Communication School at the University of Seville. From this experience, the author reflects on multiculturalism as a necessary tool in the training of future journalists. (shrink)

-- v. 3. Philologica, 2: Commentarii ad Divi Aurelii Augustini De civitate dei. Libri VI-XIII -- v. 4. Philologica, 3: Commentarii ad Divi Aurelii Augustini De civitate dei. Libri XIV-XVII.

In this full review paper, the recent emerging trends in Computing Structures, Software Science, and System Applications have been reviewed and explored to address the recent topics and contributions in the era of the Software and Computing fields. This includes a set of rigorously reviewed world-class manuscripts addressing and detailing state-of-the-art, framework, implemented approaches and techniques research projects in the areas of Software Technology & Automation, Networking, Systems, Computing Sciences and Software Engineering, Big Data and E-learning. Based on this systematic (...) review, we have put some recommendations and suggestions for researchers, practitioners and scholars to improve their research quality in this area. (shrink)

En este trabajo presento algunos argumentos para sostener que la creencia religiosa es un lenguaje distinto al de la ciencia. Para esto hago uso de los trabajos de Wittgenstein sobre ‘juegos de lenguaje’ y creencia religiosa. Sostengo que a pesar de que se haga un uso de términos sintácticamente idéntico, la dimensión pragmática de dichos términos es la que determina en qué juego de lenguaje se está. Concluyo mostrando un caso donde se hace un uso inadecuado del lenguaje de un (...) sistema y que se aplica a otro sistema. (shrink)

The hardest part of replicating a genome is the beginning. The first step of DNA replication (called “initiation”) mobilizes a large number of specialized proteins (“initiators”) that recognize specific sequences or structural motifs in the DNA, unwind the double helix, protect the exposed ssDNA, and recruit the enzymatic activities required for DNA synthesis, such as helicases, primases and polymerases. All of these components are orderly assembled before the first nucleotide can be incorporated. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of (...) the discovery of the DNA structure, we review our current knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that control initiation of DNA replication in eukaryotic cells, with particular emphasis on the recent identification of novel initiator proteins. We speculate how these initiators assemble molecular machines capable of performing specific biochemical tasks, such as loading a ring‐shaped helicase onto the DNA double helix. BioEssays 25:1158–1167, 2003. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

El panteísmo de Baruch de Spinoza se convirtió en el estandarte de la cosmovisión filosófica que el autor desarrolló, lo que ha hecho que, al tratarse de éste, se le asocie con su peculiar concepción de Dios y cómo ésta está relacionada con la felicidad del hombre. Es por dicha razón que busco retomar la importancia de una concepción panteísta/spinoziana adecuada a la realidad de nuestro contexto histórico. Si bien hay un abanico muy amplio de concepciones teológicas y cultos que (...) de éstas se siguen, considero que la visión que Baruch de Spinoza sostenía de Dios tiene una relevancia vigente si se la aborda por sus postulados principales después de considerar los cambios contextuales y adoptarlos dentro del contexto actual. (shrink)

En nuestros días se vuelve normal seguir observando comportamientos negativos y con recriminaciones hacia al sexo femenino, se sigue viviendo con una cierta desvalorización de la mujer en la sociedad actual, lo cual no debería ser así, esto por supuesto es un problema con el que se ha tenido que luchar por muchos años, desde Simone de Beauvoir y su visión feminista se ha logrado identificar cuáles han sido las principales bases en las que se ha basado el sistema patriarcal, (...) y en conjunto con ello se ha analizado para conocer de fondo cual o donde debería estar la solución para erradicar este problema, con esto se ha avanzado en gran medida para obtener una cierta libertad e independencia de la mujer. Es importante conocer las bases del feminismo, desde la primera ola y el giro que le dio la filósofa francesa de Beauvoir, pues además de integrar la lucha por los derechos y un estatus social que les permitiera participar activamente en sociedad que les pertenecía a todas las mujeres desde su nacimiento, se conoce y reflexiona como la mujer también ha tenido que dejar a un lado su miedo y el comportamiento indiferente o de resignación frente a todo lo que vivían cada una de ellas desde aspectos y clases sociales diferentes, es claro que las clases sociales también fueron y siguen siendo un aspecto que ha llevado a la mujer a la situación en la que se encuentra hoy en día, pues quienes han tenido un mayor acceso a la educación y conocer sobre el mismo feminismo las ha llevado a considerar su vida de otra forma y esto las ha ayudado a construirse y sobre todo a poner metas que las han conducido a pensar en una vida diferente, sin opresiones, desde su mismo sexo, hasta el sexo masculino. (shrink)

El trabajo hace un breve desarrollo del problema del mal y se aproxima a las dos concepciones que se tienen sobre él: el mal amplio y el mal estricto. Se enmarca tanto dentro de la tradición del pensamiento de Arendtiano como de su idea de la banalidad del mal. Retoma y considera a distintos pensadores que muestran una serie de argumentos para probar la existencia del mal. Asimismo, encontramos un punto importante donde se observa que la resistencia armada, como ejemplo (...) del mal, es necesaria en la lucha contra el enemigo. Lo mismo ocurre con los desplazados de la tierra, que muestran una forma de violencia radical del mal. En el artículo se intentará llegar a la conclusión que el mal estricto debe ser estudiado con mayor detalle, ya que es a partir de su banalización que se observa un aumento en la violencia entre todos; con ello se busca demostrar que el problema del mal es una situación con aristas y parámetros muy peculiares, y que todos somos susceptibles y estamos expuestos a él. (shrink)

En este trabajo lo que se buscará es hacer ver en qué consiste el sufrimiento en Schopenhauer, así como sus repercusiones en la comprensión del dolor en el mundo contemporáneo. Para esto lo primero que veremos está ligado tanto a la representación como a la voluntad en Schopenhauer, siguiendo con una explicación, un poco más detallada, del sufrimiento que causa la voluntad en el hombre, concluyendo con unas cuantas preguntas que surgen de este pensamiento, a las que intentaremos dar respuesta.

En este artículo retomo el diálogo abierto entre los desarrollos schutzianos sobre fenomenología del poder propuestos por Jochen Dreher y el enfoque socio-antropológico sobre habitus y poder simbólico de Pierre Bourdieu. Dreher señala que es posible encontrar en la perspectiva de Bourdieu “puntos de partida claves” para una fenomenología del poder. Sin embargo, al criticar el carácter estático de la noción de habitus, opta por la teoría de las relevancias de Schutz, la cual, a diferencia de la propuesta bourdeana, da (...) lugar central a la perspectiva subjetiva del actor individual. En este trabajo mostraré las limitaciones de esta crítica al cotejarla con los desarrollos de Bourdieu sobre habitus desgarrados/escindidos, reflexividad/socioanálisis y contradiestramiento del cuerpo. Como contribución a una fenomenología del poder, propondré una lectura alternativa de la noción bourdeana de habitus, basada en Merleau-Ponty, puesta a prueba en una investigación empírica sobre colegios de clases altas. (shrink)

Big data has brought about opportunities for landscape architecture, changing the design thinking of layout optimization simulation, expanding the platform for public participation in layout optimization simulation design, reflecting social and humanistic care, and promoting the integration of discipline cooperation and data. At the same time, it also brings about challenges. The proposal of data theory, the acquisition and analysis of data, and the protection of privacy are all issues that we need to face and solve. First, build a layout (...) optimization simulation program under the background of big data. Follow the procedures of conventional layout optimization simulation, add big data analysis technology to the preliminary analysis, layout optimization simulation design, and later evaluation management, introduce new data processing methods, and build a theoretical framework of landscape optimization simulation methods that integrate new and traditional data. Second, studying the evolution of the landscape image layout of the three-dimensional pastoral complex is different: the overall landscape image layout of the three-dimensional pastoral complex shows a trend of fragmentation and heterogeneity. Among them, the arable land is gradually fragmented, the wetland and water area are simplified in form, the woodland and grassland patches are gradually distributed, the fragmentation is reduced by 76.19%, and the connectivity index is gradually increased. From a spatial perspective, the edge area outside the Fourth Ring Road becomes the most obvious area of fragmentation tendency. Finally, by introducing big data into the landscape layout optimization simulation, a layout optimization simulation method based on big data is constructed and used in the layout optimization simulation of the landscape image layout of the three-dimensional pastoral complex to guide the participatory layout optimization simulation. (shrink)