La tradición republicana y la tradición liberal no aportan un marco de entendimiento entre culturas diversas. El diseño ético y político de la sociedad plural, capaz de acomodar el "collage" de culturas en el que vivimos, tiene que ser creado. Las concepciones morales más preponderantes, en este sentido, son el relativismo, el universalismo y el fundamentalismo. Todas estas posiciones poseen límites y posibilidades diferentes. El autor opta por defender un "modus vivendi" entre culturas que no acabe en la indiferencia o (...) la condescendencia hacia el otro, el extranjero -inmigrante o refugiado-. El "modus vivendi" defendido debe superar la mera coexistencia entre culturas para adoptar un cosmopolitismo que exige sacrificios solidarios en beneficio de los que nos son culturalmente extraños. Este "modus vivendi" abierto a los otros puede favorecer un diálogo auténtico entre culturas a partir del reconocimiento de sus diversidades, no homologables o priorizables en diferente grado desde el "etnocentrismo" occidental. (shrink)

E l én f asi s e n l a visió n d e l a representació n polític a com o representació n libr e basada e n l a con f ianz a democrátic a h a dejad o e n l a penumbr a qu e l a representació n e s un a relación d e pode r . Aunqu e la s visione s d e l a representació n com o representació n e xistencia (...) l adolecen d e conse r v adurismo , posee n e l interé s metodológic o d e r e v ela r l a autorida d com o materia d e l a relació n entr e lo s electore s y lo s el e gidos . A tr a vé s de l pensamient o d e Ma x W ebe r , Mauric e Haurio u y Giusepp e Duso , s e elabor a u n concept o d e representació n polític a que contien e l a duració n y l a estabilida d de l acatamient o d e lo s electore s com o requisit o necesari o d e est a institució n política . Un a e xplicació n l e ga l d e l a representació n dej ó fuera lo s elemento s político s —e l carism a d e lo s representante s y l a pe r tenenci a a élites — que f acilita n un a visió n má s comprens iva d e est a entr e g a democrátic a d e pode r. (shrink)

La última publicación de Antonio Rivera, El dios de los tiranos, es un archivo filosófico completo de las tentaciones del Estado de alcanzar una soberanía absoluta entre la Edad Media y Contemporánea. Su análisis de las doctrinas políticas fundamentales pone de manifiesto tres pasiones históricas —absolutismo, contrarrevolución y totalitarismo— culminadas en el nacionalsocialismo y en la transfiguración teórica de Carl Schmitt. La parte polémica con esta aportación demanda explicar cómo la secularización de ciertos conceptos políticos —representación, demos, soberanía del pueblo, (...) división de poderes...— en las democracias modernas exige lealtad, confianza o algún credo para la democracia liberal como contrapunto necesario de los absolutismos de todos los tiempos. (shrink)

Este artículo estudia la conexión de Foucault con Charles Baudelaire, auténtica inspiración en los escritos de Foucault. Rara vez aparece, pero es muy influyente en su obra. Apenas es mencionado cuando se reflexiona sobre la relación entre literatura y locura. Sin embargo, Baudelaire aparece de forma magnífica en la interpretación norteamericana, realizada por Foucault, de “What is Enlightenment? de Kant. Allí, Baudelaire irrumpe para los límites del conocimiento de la Ilustración. Baudelaire se identifica más con la tradición del visionario Swedenborg (...) que con la reflexión de Kant, duro crítico del autor sueco. (shrink)

Republican and liberal traditions do not encourage a framework of understanding between different cultures. An ethical and political design of a plural society must be created whereby the maze of cultures we live among may be accommodated for. The most dominant moral conceptions in this sense are relativism, universalism and fundamentalism. All of these positions have different limitations and possibilities. The author chooses to defend a “modus vivendi” among cultures which does not bring forth indifference or contempt to others, namely (...) foreigners– immigrants or refugees. The “modus vivendi” defended must transcend simple coexistence among cultures and adopt a cosmopolitan view, calling for sacrifices in solidarity with those who do not share our culture. This open way of living can lead to real dialogue among cultures, starting with the acknowledgement of their diversities, which are neither homological nor can they be placed in order of priority from the “western ethnocentric” point of view. (shrink)

Alexis de Tocqueville shares a typical organicism with the founding fathers of classical sociology. His view of society as a body with organs was accompanied by a vision of sociology as social medicine. Such a natural idea of sociology should be able to cure the worst social ills with the skill and accuracy of the surgeon. Here, and unsurprisingly, Tocqueville follows his contemporary social scientists. What distinguishes him from the theoretical environment of his contemporaries is however a pioneering methodological individualism (...) in line with the later sociology of Max Weber. Tocqueville’s two Memoirs on Pauperism tried to fit the figures of the indigent and miserable worker into a system of political control. Securing “citizenship” to certain sectors of the population was compatible with generating more and more social poverty. Although a bourgeois political strategy underpinned these ends, it did not undermine Tocqueville’s methodological greatness as a classic of sociology. (shrink)

El terrorismo contemporáneo no es un fenómeno ancestral, irracional y oriental. Tampoco es una reacción fanática de las religiones que reivindican una sociedad atrasada frente a las sociedades desarrolladas del primer mundo. El terrorismo actual es un fenómeno plenamente moderno: uno de los peores engendros de la sociedad moderna, dotado de una planificación racional de objetivos. Una interpretación capciosa de la religión islámica dota al terrorismo de una proyección universal entre la numerosa audiencia de descontentos con el poderío de esa (...) potencia difusa que conocemos como el Occidente desarrollado. Al Qaeda no duda en presentar su guerra con Occidente como una «guerra sin cuartel» hasta eliminar a los cristianos infieles y someter al mundo al Islam. Mientras tanto, en similar sentido conflictual, la campaña teórica de Samuel Huntington por todo el planeta, responde con un paradigma postguerra fría capaz de inflamar el conflicto internacional en un sentido no menos beligerante con anti-Occidente que el empleado por los imanes radicales. Como ha señalado Amartya Sen, al priorizar de esta forma la identidad religiosa, la respuesta de Occidente al terrorismo internacional como «terrorismo islámico» es muy torpe pues se magnifica la importancia de las autoridades religiosas en detrimento de los cauces gubernativos en la resolución de los problemas. (shrink)

Esta sección monográfica de Isegoria sobre «Revolución y secularización» surge de la perplejidad que, durante el siglo XIX y el inicio del siglo XX, algunos clásicos de la teoría política contemporánea mostraron ante las revoluciones burguesas y la supuesta consecución del mundo moderno exento de elementos mágicos y religiosos. El tema de reflexión se propone bajo la suposición de la pervivencia plurisecular de estos elementos irracionales más allá de todas las revoluciones científicas y materializaciones ilustradas. Cabe que la especialización y (...) mecanización del mundo moderno no hayan supuesto, como en un principio temieron de MaxWeber a Theodor Adorno y Max Horkheimer, la desaparición de todos los elementos arcanos, mágicos e inexplicables. En los últimos años, se produjo otra revisión de los presupuestos modernos de las dos grandes revoluciones a partir de autores clásicos que repensaron la revolución moderna. No sólo el pensamiento conservador representado por Carl Schmitt, o el reaccionario personificado por Joseph de Maistre y Louis-Ambroise de Bonald, sino también autores identificados con la modernidad, como Hans Blumenberg o Jacob Taubes, han planteado qué supone de continuidad o de ruptura la Modernidad respecto del Antiguo Régimen. (shrink)

Este estudio rebate las tesis de Carl Schmitt que conciben al catolicismo, y al jesuitismo en particular, como una gran complexio oppositorum que reúne tanto al conservadurismo como al izquierdismo bajo una misma unidad absoluta representada por las formas del Papa. El “ethos” de obediencia postulado por la Compañía de Jesús contribuyó decisivamente a la formación de una Administración que rebasa el marco de la burocracia eclesiástica. Sustituyó la educación renacentista por una educación de cuño tomista, decisiva en la formación (...) del “ethos” disciplinado del funcionario que actúa sine ira et studio. Pero fracasó en la pretensión de remplazar la vitalidad, el naturalismo y la confrontación de opiniones del liberalismo bajo la mencionada complexio oppositorum. (shrink)

Sauquillo González, Julián. La reforma constitucional. Sujetos y límites del poder constituyente. Tecnos, Madrid, 2018, 406 páginas.

In a revolutionary new book, a theoretical physicist attacks the foundations of modern scientific theory, including the notion of time, as he shares evidence of ...

Brain organoid research raises ethical challenges not seen in other forms of stem cell research. Given that brain organoids partially recapitulate the development of the human brain, it is plausible that brain organoids could one day attain consciousness and perhaps even higher cognitive abilities. Brain organoid research therefore raises difficult questions about these organoids' moral status – questions that currently fall outside the scope of existing regulations and guidelines. This paper shows how these gaps can be addressed. We outline a (...) moral framework for brain organoid research that can address the relevant ethical concerns without unduly impeding this important area of research. (shrink)

Advocates of paid living kidney donation frequently argue that kidney sellers would benefit from paid donation under a properly regulated kidney market. The poor outcomes experienced by participants in existing markets are often entirely attributed to harmful black-market practices. This article reviews the medical and anthropological literature on the physical, psychological, social, and financial harms experienced by vendors under Iran's regulated system of donor compensation and black markets throughout the world and argues that this body of research not only documents (...) significant harms to vendors, but also provides reasons to believe that such harms would persist under a regulated system. This does not settle the question of whether or not a regulated market should be introduced, but it does strengthen the case against markets in kidneys while suggesting that those advocating such a system cannot appeal to the purported benefits to vendors to support their case. (shrink)

It may soon be possible to generate human organs inside of human-pig chimeras via a process called interspecies blastocyst complementation. This paper discusses what arguably the central ethical concern is raised by this potential source of transplantable organs: that farming human-pig chimeras for their organs risks perpetrating a serious moral wrong because the moral status of human-pig chimeras is uncertain, and potentially significant. Those who raise this concern usually take it to be unique to the creation of chimeric animals with (...) ‘humanised’ brains. In this paper, we show how that the same style of argument can be used to critique current uses of non-chimeric pigs in agriculture. This reveals an important tension between two common moral views: that farming human-pig chimeras for their organs is ethically concerning, and that farming non-chimeric pigs for food or research is ethically benign. At least one of these views stands in need of revision. (shrink)

The precautionary principle aims to influence decision‐making in contexts where some activity poses uncertain but potentially grave threats. This perfectly describes the controversy surrounding germline gene editing. This article considers whether the precautionary principle should influence how we weigh the risks and benefits of human germline interventions, focusing especially on the possible threats to the health of future generations. We distinguish between several existing forms of the precautionary principle, assess their plausibility and consider their implications for the ethics of germline (...) modification. We also offer a novel form of the precautionary principle: the sufficientarian precautionary principle. Some plausible versions of the precautionary principle recommend placing somewhat greater weight on avoiding threats to future generations than on achieving short‐term benefits. However, no plausible versions of the precautionary principle entail that we should outright reject the use germline gene editing in human reproduction and some, such as the sufficientarian version, might endorse its use. (shrink)

Human‐animal chimeras—creatures composed of a mix of animal and human cells—have come to play an important role in biomedical research, and they raise ethical questions. This article focuses on one particularly difficult set of questions—those related to the moral status of human‐animal chimeras with brains that are partly or wholly composed of human cells. Given the uncertain effects of human‐animal chimera research on chimeric animals’ cognition, it would be prudent to ensure we do not overlook or underestimate their moral status. (...) However, to assess moral status, we first need to determine what kinds of capacities are morally relevant. The standard view holds that it matters, morally, if chimeric animals develop uniquely human cognitive capacities. I argue that this view is mistaken, highlighting three problems with it: that we can think of examples of uniquely human cognitive capacities that are not morally significant, that we can think of examples of morally significant cognitive capacities that are not uniquely human, and that evidence that some cognitive capacity is shared with nonhuman animals does not undermine claims that this capacity is morally significant. We need a better framework for thinking about the moral status of part‐human beings. (shrink)

Mary Shelley’sFrankensteinhas captured the public imagination ever since it was first published over 200 years ago. While the narrative reflected 19th-century anxieties about the emerging scientific revolution, it also suggested some clear moral lessons that remain relevant today. In a sense,Frankensteinwas a work of bioethics written a century and a half before the discipline came to exist. This paper revisits the lessons ofFrankensteinregarding the creation and manipulation of life in the light of recent developments in stem cell and neurobiological research. (...) It argues that these lessons are becoming more relevant than ever. (shrink)

AI researchers have developed sophisticated language models capable of generating paragraphs of 'synthetic text' on topics specified by the user. While AI text generation has legitimate benefits, it could also be misused, potentially to grave effect. For example, AI text generators could be used to automate the production of convincing fake news, or to inundate social media platforms with machine-generated disinformation. This paper argues that AI text generators should be conceptualised as a dual-use technology, outlines some relevant lessons from earlier (...) debates on dual-use life sciences research, and calls for closer collaboration between ethicists and the machine learning community to address AI language models’ dual-use implications. (shrink)

In the wake of ChatGPT’s release, academics and journal editors have begun making important decisions about whether and how to integrate generative artificial intelligence (AI) into academic publishing. Some argue that AI outputs in scholarly works constitute plagiarism, and so should be disallowed by academic journals. Others suggest that it is acceptable to integrate AI output into academic papers, provided that its contributions are transparently disclosed. By drawing on Taylor’s work on academic norms, this paper argues against both views. Unlike (...) “traditional” forms of plagiarism, use of generative AI can be consistent with the norms that should underlie academic research. In these cases, its use should neither be prohibited nor required to be disclosed. However, some careless uses of generative AI do threaten to undermine the quality of academic research by mischaracterizing existing literature. This, not “AI plagiarism,” is the real concern raised by ChatGPT and related technologies. (shrink)

DNA databases have significant commercial value. Direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies have built databanks using samples and information voluntarily provided by customers. As the price of genetic analysis falls, there is growing interest in building such databases by paying individuals for their DNA and personal data. This paper maps the ethical issues associated with private companies paying for DNA. We outline the benefits of building better genomic databases and describe possible concerns about crowding out, undue inducement, exploitation, and commodification. While certain (...) objections deserve more empirical and philosophical investigation, we argue that none currently provide decisive reasons against using financial incentives to secure DNA samples. (shrink)

We do not always benefit from the expansion of our choice sets. This is because some options change the context in which we must make decisions in ways that render us worse off than we would have been otherwise. One promising argument against paid living kidney donation holds that having the option of selling a ‘spare’ kidney would impact people facing financial pressures in precisely this way. I defend this argument from two related criticisms: first, that having the option to (...) sell one’s kidney would only be harmful if one is pressured or coerced to take this specific course of action; and second, that such forms of pressure are unlikely to feature in a legal market. (shrink)

A common strategy in bioethics is to posit a prima facie case in favour of one policy, and to then claim that the burden of proof falls on those with opposing views. If the burden of proof is not met, it is claimed, then the policy in question should be accepted. This article illustrates, and critically evaluates, examples of this strategy in debates about the sale of organs by living donors, human enhancement, and the precautionary principle. We highlight general problems (...) with this style of argument, and particular problems with its use in specific cases. We conclude that the burden ultimately falls on decision-makers to choose the policy supported by the best reasons. (shrink)

In Markets Without Limits and a series of related papers, Jason Brennan and Peter Jaworski argue that it is morally permissible to buy and sell anything that it is morally permissible to possess and exchange outside of the market. Accordingly, we should open markets in “contested commodities” including blood, gametes, surrogacy services, and transplantable organs. This paper clarifies some important aspects of the case for market boundaries and in so doing shows why there are in fact moral limits to the (...) market. I argue that the case for restricting the scope of the market does not turn on the idea that some things are constitutively non-market goods; it turns instead on the idea that treating some things according to market norms would threaten the realization of particular kinds of human interests. (shrink)

Genomic research can reveal ‘unsolicited’ or ‘incidental’ findings that are of potential health or reproductive significance to participants. It is widely thought that researchers have a moral obligation, grounded in the duty of easy rescue, to return certain kinds of unsolicited findings to research participants. It is less widely thought that researchers have a moral obligation to actively look for health-related findings. This paper examines whether there is a moral obligation, grounded in the duty of easy rescue, to actively hunt (...) for genomic secondary findings. We begin by showing how the duty to disclose individual research findings can be grounded in the duty of easy rescue. Next, we describe a parallel moral duty, also grounded in the duty of easy rescue, to actively hunt for such information. We then consider six possible objections to our argument, each of which we find unsuccessful. Some of these objections provide reason to limit the scope of the duty to look for secondary findings, but none provide reason to reject this duty outright. We argue that under a certain range of circumstances, researchers are morally required to hunt for these kinds of secondary findings. Although these circumstances may not currently obtain, genomic researchers will likely acquire an obligation to hunt for secondary findings as the field of genomics continues to evolve. (shrink)

In this paper, we offer the spanish translation with notes of three treatises of Ramon Llull : Artificium electionis personarum, the chapter XXIV of book II from Llibre d’Evast, d’Aloma e de Blaquerna named «En qual manera Natana fo eleta a abadessa» and De arte electionis. These three texts show a new election technique supported on the Ars magna methods. The translations are preceded by a short introduction explaining the place that such texts occupy in the whole lullian opus and (...) the advances of recents investigations. (shrink)

In this research I propose to bring to light the meaning of "Venus" in the invocation of Lucretius´s De rerum natura. This paper is divided into six parts. In the first, I give an account of the various interpretations of the invocation and I systematize them. In the second I analyze and discuss three incategorizable investigations. In the third and fourth parts I expose the epicurean concepts of pleasure and divinity respectively. In the fifth I look for the terms, by (...) way of epithets, that the poet uses to refer to the goddess, bringing to light the nuances that light up them alternately in various instances of the invocation. In the sixth, finally, I give mine interpretation of vv 44-49 explaining why they should be included in the invocation. (shrink)

An innovative program recently initiated at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center allows people to donate a kidney in exchange for a voucher that a loved one can redeem for a kidney if and when needed. As a relatively new practice, the ethical implications of advanced kidney donation have not yet been widely discussed. This paper reflects on some of the bioethical issues at stake in this new donation program, as well as some broader philosophical issues related to (...) the meaning and moral salience of commodification. I first consider whether the literature on commercial markets in organs––a longstanding topic of bioethical debate––can meaningfully inform ethical analysis of kidney voucher programs. Specifically, I consider whether and to what extent common objections to the exchange of kidneys for cash also apply to the exchange of kidneys for “kidney vouchers.” Second, I argue that the contrast between the ethical issues raised by these two practices highlights the need to understand commodification as existing on a continuum, with different degrees of commodification giving rise to different ethical issues. Doing so can help sharpen our understanding of commodification as a moral concept, as well as its relevance to broader debates about the moral limits of markets. (shrink)

One common objection to establishing regulated live donor organ markets is that such markets would be exploitative. Perhaps surprisingly, exploitation arguments against organ markets have been widely rejected in the philosophical literature on the subject. It is often argued that concerns about exploitation should be addressed by increasing the price paid to organ sellers, not by banning the trade outright. I argue that this analysis rests on a particular conception of exploitation, and outline two additional ways that the charge of (...) exploitation can be understood. I argue that while increasing payments to organ sellers may mitigate or eliminate fair benefits exploitation, such measures will not necessarily address fair process exploitation or complicity in injustice. I further argue that each of these three forms of wrongdoing is relevant to the ethics of paid living organ donation, as well as the design of public policy more generally. (shrink)

Genomic sequencing technologies (GS) pose novel challenges not seen in older genetic technologies, making traditional standards for fully informed consent difficult or impossible to meet. This is due to factors including the complexity of the test and the broad range of results it may identify. Meaningful informed consent is even more challenging to secure in contexts involving significant time constraints and emotional distress, such as when rapid genomic testing (RGS) is performed in neonatal intensive care units. In this article, we (...) propose that informed consent matters not for its own sake, but because obtaining it furthers a range of morally important goals, such as promoting autonomy, well‐being, and trust in medicine. These goals form the basis of a new framework [PROmoting Morally Important Consent Ends (PROMICE)] for assessing the ethical appropriateness of various informed consent models. We illustrate this framework with two examples: (a) a tiered and layered consent model for obtaining consent for GS, and (b) consent for RGS in critically ill newborns. We conclude that appropriately—rather than fully—informed consent provides the correct standard for genomic medicine and research. (shrink)

Luke Semrau argues that the documented harms of existing organ markets do not undermine the case for establishing regulated systems of paid kidney donation. He offers two arguments in support of this conclusion. First, Semrau argues that the harms of kidney selling are straightforwardly amenable to regulatory solution. Second, Semrau argues that even in existing black markets, sellers would likely have experienced greater harm if the option of selling a kidney were not available. This commentary challenges both of Semrau’s claims. (...) I argue that there is no reason to believe that kidney sellers benefit from the current black market trade in organs, and highlight a number of potential issues regarding the effectiveness and feasibility of Semrau’s proposed market regulations. (shrink)

Greely’s target article outlines six categories of ethical issues associated with human brain surrogate research. Some of these issues are familiar from other research contexts; others, less...