In this theoretical paper, I analyze business groups’ corporate social responsibility. Building on economic thinking, I propose that the level and diversity of CSR investments of business groups evolve with the development of the country, as a result of the interaction of two drivers: the level of infrastructure deficiencies and the cost of negative externalities. I argue that in underdeveloped countries, business groups have high levels and low diversity of CSR investments, focusing on the social arena to compensate for infrastructure (...) deficiencies. As countries implement pro-market reforms and become emerging economies, the level of CSR investments diminishes as business groups can rely on external providers and the government for supporting infrastructure, but CSR diversity increases to address the growing costs of negative externalities in the environmental and economic arenas. As countries further develop to become advanced economies, business groups’ level and diversity of CSR investments increase to prevent the high costs of negative externalities in the social, environmental, and economic arenas proactively. (shrink)

We present a pragmatic analysis of the different meanings assigned to the term “local realism” in the context of the empirical violations of Bell-type inequalities since its inception in the late 1970s. We point out that most of them are inappropriate and arise from a deeply ingrained prejudice that originated in the celebrated 1935 paper by Einstein-Podolski-Rosen. We highlight the correct connotation that arises once we discard unnecessary metaphysics.

Counterfactual definiteness is supposed to underlie the Bell theorem. An old controversy exists among those who reject the theorem implications by rejecting counterfactual definiteness and those who claim that, since it is a direct consequence of locality, it cannot be independently rejected. We propose a different approach for solving this contentious issue by realizing that counterfactual definiteness is an unnecessary and inconsistent assumption. Counterfactual definiteness is not equivalent to realism or determinism neither it follows from locality. It merely reduces to (...) an incongruent application of counterfactual reasoning. Being incompatible with falsifiability, it constitutes an unjustified assumption that goes against the scientific method rigor. Correct formulations of the Bell theorem’s bases show it is absent either as a fundamental hypothesis or as a consequence of something else. Most importantly, we present a coherent Bell inequality derivation carefully devised to show explicitly and convincingly the absence of incompatible experiments or counterfactual reasoning. Thus, even admitting that counterfactual definiteness could be a consistent assumption, the necessary conclusion is that it is irrelevant for the inequality formulation and can be safely ignored when discussing Bell’s inequality philosophical and physical implications. (shrink)

Journal of Social Philosophy, Volume 53, Issue 1, Page 38-58, Spring 2022.

Entrevista con María del Carmen Rovira Gaspar.

RESUMENPese a su relevancia en el horizonte del exilio español de 1939, la obra filosófica de Eduardo Nicol (1907-2007) no ha sido estudiada aún con el detenimiento que merece. A lo largo de más de una docena de libros planteó toda una reforma de la razón filosófica, sensible a preocupaciones medulares de nuestro tiempo. Entre otras, la metafísica, cuya crisis contemporánea asumió; la ética, a la que imprimió un sentido dialógico y comunicativo; los límites y prejuicios de la ciencia; o (...) la reflexión hispanista.PALABRAS CLAVEFILOSOFÍA HISPÁNICA, METAFÍSICA, ÉTICA, CIENCIAABSTRACTIn spite of their relevance in the horizon of the Spanish exile of 1939, the philosophical work of Eduardo Nicol (1907-2007) has not still been studied with the thoroughness that deserves. Along more than a dozen of books it outlined an entire reformation of the philosophical reason, sensitive to medullary concerns of our time. Among other, the metaphysics, whose contemporary crisis assumed; the ethics, to which endued a dialogical and communicative sense; the limits and prejudices of the science; or the hispanist reflection.KEY WORDSSPANISH PHILOSOPHY, METAPHYSICS, ETHICS, SCIENCE. (shrink)

A common mistake present in the derivation of the usually known as the CHSH form of Bell’s inequalities is pointed out. References and comments to the correct approach are given. This error does not alter the final result and only affects the logical consistency of the derivation, but since it seems to be a widespread misconception regarding the roll and interpretation of the of use of hidden variables in Bell’s theorem it is considered to be of general interest.

This essay confronts Ray Brassier’s vindication of nihilism with other two important but frequently underexamined philosophical attempts to overcome nihilism: Hans Jonas’ and Keiji Nishitani’s. By putting these different takes on nihilism into dialogue, it explores some blind spots in Brassier’s position, as well as some of the practical consequences, for our current planetary situation, of undertaking a radical divorce between the normative and the natural that results from his radical nihilism. The article opts for a more moderate acceptance and (...) eventual self-overcoming of nihilism, according to which, even if natural entities are indifferent to human reasons and meanings, this does not entail that nature is bereft of a human-independent normative dimension. In other words, the essay argues that care must be taken not to confuse criticisms of an anthropocentric conception of reasons and meanings with the belief that meaning is completely absent from the natural world. Thus, the central contention of the article is that, given our current climate and ecological catastrophe, one of the most pressing tasks of contemporary philosophy is to understand normativity in non-anthropocentric ways, so that humans are no longer considered as the only entities that respond to normativity. Such an attitude conceives humans as estranged normative creatures amidst a meaningless, indifferent natural world, toward which they would have no ethical responsibilities. The essay finishes by suggesting ways in which to develop an account that does not fall into this ethical vacuum. (shrink)

In a recent article https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-020-09666-0) Marek Czachor claims that the Bell inequality cannot be proved because variables of complementary measurements cannot be added or multiplied. Even though he has correctly identified the problems existing with the orthodox interpretation of the Bell inequality and dealt with them in an original way, the interpretation he addresses do not pertain to the original formulation given by John Stewart Bell.

In the series of lectures he delivered during the two years he spent in China, John Dewey provided the most complete version of his theory of social conflict and struggle. The two textual sources from this time we have at our disposal – the doubly translated lectures published in Honolulu2 and Dewey’s original notes recently published under the name of Lectures in Social and Political Philosophy 3 – outline an original understanding of social conflict as taking place between groups with (...) different interests, aims and powers. After formulating a programmatic account of the nature and the tasks of social philosophy, Dewey devoted one of his lectures to the exploration of society’s tendencies to generate... (shrink)

A discussion of Nieuwenhuizen’s description for the hidden variables of the detectors in the derivation of Bell’s theorem is presented. This description prevents Bell’s inequalities from being effected. However it will be argued, on mathematical and physical bases, that the flaws attributed by Nieuwenhuizen to Bell’s probability distribution function are unjustified.

In the last three decades, ongoing debates on the epistemic features of democratic decision making have influenced the way we conceive the basic terms of democratic theory, such as inclusion, participation, public reason, and collective autonomy.1 Within these debates, attention has been given to the role played by mobilized collectives in the generation of the knowledge necessary for the enhancement of the epistemic quality of those processes. However, little attention has been given to a further epistemic function of mobilizations: the (...) innovations they have brought about in the very practices within which new knowledge and perspectives are generated. Using... (shrink)

ABSTRACTAs the Spanish Civil War came to an end, hundreds of thousands of Spaniards who had opposed the military rebellion which initiated the war and remained loyal to the democratically elected government were forced into exile. Amongst them was the philosopher María Zambrano. While little known to an English-speaking readership, she represents a unique voice engaging with some of the fundamental problems of our times. Her life was marked, like that of her contemporaries Benjamin, Husserl, Arendt, Patočka, Adorno, Lacan, Derrida (...) and Blumenberg by the crisis of modernity culminating in the two World Wars. Her work is part of the same philosophical debates, currents and problems facing the Europe of her time. The aim of the volume María Zambrano amongst the philosophers, introduced in this article, is to focus on the links between Zambrano’s thought and a wide range of themes and ideas associated with these other European thinkers. A summary of Zambrano’s main philosophical concepts and preoccupations is also offered to help the reader situate the translated anthology of texts by the philosopher included in the volume. (shrink)

A rational approach to the Fermi-Walker transport equation is proposed by deriving it from a condition of “non-rotation”. First, the condition is applied to a tetrad basis and then generalized to an arbitrary space-time four-vector. The method is conceptually simple and apart from the use of tetrad bases in four-dimensional space-time, does not require the effort of visualizing abstract geometrical constructs in spaces of more than three dimensions. The argument develops in the context of the flat space-time of special relativity (...) theory but the final result can be immediately extended to curved space-time. (shrink)

Ciencia y religión.--Biología del alma.--Crítica a la ideología de las democracias cristianas--Algunos conceptos sobre educación.--El suplicio de los avaros.

This article argues that populism, both in its left-wing and right-wing versions, is a social pathology in the sense contemporary critical theorists give to it. As such, it suffers from a disconnect between first order political practices and the reflexive grasp of the meaning of those practices. This disconnect is due to populists’ ideal of freedom, which they understand as authentic self-expression of ‘the People’, rejecting the need for mediating instances such as parties, parliaments or epistemic actors. When enacted in (...) political practices and institutions, this ideal creates the conditions for undermining different forms of political freedom, including populist’s own ideal of collective self-expression, which they erode by fostering expressive domination. This all makes populism a self-defeating political ideology and bad candidate for advancing democracy in times of crisis. The article ends with a consideration of the advantages of this view compared to existing approaches to populism. (shrink)

Recently, much attention has been given to Buddhism as a precursor to contemporary holistic theories, and more specifically to the Huayan school’s radical holistic metaphysics (often given the metaphorical name of The Net of Indra), as well as to Huayan’s most elaborate theoretician, Fazang. Nevertheless, contemporary interpretations of Fazang have been weighted by either too strict an adherence to atomistic logic or by unfortunate translations. In this paper, I present new translations of the key passages of Fazang’s The Rafter Dialogue, (...) as well as a philosophical commentary that his departure from atomism. I then proceed to argue that the six characteristics Fazang attributes to a whole that cannot be reduced to its parts are both sufficient and necessary for holism. (shrink)

Contra Jackendoff, we argue that within the parallel architecture framework, the generality of language does not require a rich conceptual structure. To show this, we put forward a delegation model of specialization. We find Jackendoff's alternative, the subdivision model, insufficiently supported. In particular, the computational consequences of his representational notion of modularity need to be clarified.

Retrato moral.--Enfermedades sociales.--Epicuro.--Libertades.--Moral cristiana.--Raza anglosajona.--Virtudes y defectos.--Expresión y lenguaje.--Bibliografía (p. [57]-61).

En este trabajo se plantea lo que un no-físico debería saber sobre la estructura de la materia, su origen y el desarrollo del Universo, para, sobre esa base científica, plantear una reflexión sobre cómo se inició nuestro Universo y en qué medida o no pudo participar en ese inicio un Dios creador. El trabajo se estructura en seis capítulos y una reflexión final. En el primero se aborda el estudio de las partículas más elementales que componen la materia; en el (...) segundo las fuerzas que las unen; en el tercero las teorías del mundo subatómico; en el cuarto el Big Bang y las primeras etapas de desarrollo del Universo; en el quinto la formación de los primeros atisbos de materia y en el sexto la teoría de un Universo infinito, como una solución a la no necesidad de que nuestro Universo se hubiera tenido que iniciar en un momento determinado. En la reflexión final se plantea la racionalidad de la posible existencia de un Dios creador, a la luz de los actuales conocimientos científicos sobre el origen de nuestro Universo. (shrink)

An unquestionably important biological question is whether human beings are the product of chance or of purpose in the evolutionary process. Charles Darwin did not accept purpose in biological evolution, a view not shared by his colleague Alfred Russel Wallace. The controversy has remained ever since, and while many experts argue against purpose in biological evolution, many others defend it. This paper reflects on this biological and ethical problem, relating it to the possible existence of a plan that governs and (...) shapes the evolution of living beings and that is ultimately responsible for the development of Homo sapiens. (shrink)

Whether or not conscious recollection in autobiographical memory is affected in schizophrenia is unknown. The aim of this study was to address this issue using an experiential approach. An autobiographical memory enquiry was used in combination with the Remember/Know procedure. Twenty-two patients with schizophrenia and 22 normal subjects were asked to recall specific autobiographical memories from four lifetime periods and to indicate the subjective states of awareness associated with the recall of what happened, when and where. They gave Remember, Know (...) or Guess responses according to whether they recalled these aspects of the event on the basis of conscious recollection, simply knowing, or guessing. Results showed that the frequency and consistency of Remember responses was significantly lower in patients than in comparison subjects. In contrast, the frequency of Know responses was not significantly different, whereas the frequency of patients’ Guess responses was significantly enhanced. It is concluded that the frequency and consistency of conscious recollection in autobiographical memory is reduced in patients with schizophrenia. (shrink)

Le suivi psychologique d’une femme dans la cinquantaine est l’occasion de saisir les effets du corps malade et vieillissant sur la vie psychique. Suite à une atteinte somatique bénigne mais surchargée d’enjeux du féminin et du maternel, Toni apprend une infidélité de son mari et elle s’effondre. Les auteures interrogent comment le psychologue d’orientation psychanalytique peut entendre la souffrance contemporaine du corps et l’actualité du désamour et leurs déterminations inconscientes. Les faits somatiques et de la scène conjugale sont une porte (...) d’entrée pour revisiter des événements passés, leur charge affective et pour dénouer un contrat narcissique conjugal autour de la performance et de la réussite. (shrink)

La Reflexión de Leningrado, desde su publicación en 1986, ha llamado la atención principalmente por la introducción de la apercepción cosmológica, cuya función en el sistema kantiano no es del todo clara. Usualmente, la interpretación del concepto ha sido condicionada por la lectura de la Reflexión como una modificación de la Refutación del Idealismo, de lo que es buen ejemplo el trabajo de Claudia Jáuregui. En este ensayo, argumento que esta lectura no puede dar cuenta de todas las innovaciones a (...) las que Kant parece estar apuntando en este texto y que, por el contrario, relacionarlo con ciertos avances en el Opus Postumum con respecto a la auto-afección lleva no sólo a una comprensión más rica de la apercepción cosmológica, sino también a un argumento innovador frente al idealismo. (shrink)

Based on published works and unpublished materials, this article analyses how cybernetics was received by two Spanish thinkers exiled in Mexico: José Gaos (1900–1969) and Eduardo Nicol (1907–1990). This reception is particularly intriguing especially when considering the substantial presence and social impact that Norbert Wiener had in Mexican society because of his friendship with Arturo Rosenblueth. Gaos and Nicol are the first philosophers to develop a complex and original diagnosis of cybernetics in Mexico. It will be shown how the exiled (...) thinkers take on the philosophical implications of this science in the light of their respective theoretical projects, and finally, it will be defended how the critical perspective they develop is particularly significant for Mexico’s political and academic context since it illuminates some negative aspects of cybernetics that Wiener did not foresee and that had not been reported there until then. (shrink)