Euclid proposed to trace pyramids as artifacts to facilitate the study of visual perception. The artifact assumes that the object seen delimits the base of a pyramid at the apex of which is the perceived eye. The artifact faces a serious difficulty when we notice that visual perception is carried out with two cooperating eyes. The article discusses two attempts to modify the Euclidean artifact to make it work without giving up the central assumptions. These attempts correspond to the classical (...) studies of Ptolemy’s binocular vision and Ewald Hering’s contributions in the 19th century. (shrink)

This paper examines the methodology used by Kepler to discover a quantitative law of refraction. The aim is to argue that this methodology follows a heuristic method based on the following two Pythagorean principles: (1) sameness is made known by sameness, and (2) harmony arises from establishing a limit to what is unlimited. We will analyse some of the author's proposed analogies to find the aforementioned law and argue that the investigation's heuristic pursues such principles.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Berkeley believed an anomaly pointed out by Isaac Barrow could be regarded as important evidence against the optical theories that had been established and standardized thanks to the works of Kepler and Newton. In this article, we want to show that Berkeley’s treatment of the Barrovian Case does not falsify these theories. We will contend that the strategy used by Berkeley to resolve the anomaly by alluding to a change of convention is a (...) strategy that the classical theorist could use as well. In other words, the classical theorist could also appeal to a change of convention to deal with the problem. (shrink)

Johannes Kepler dedicated much of his work to discover a law for the refraction of light. Unfortunately, he formulated an incorrect law. Nevertheless, it was useful for anticipating the behavior of light in some specific conditions. Some believe that Kepler did not have the elements to formulate the law that was later accepted by the scientific community, that is, the Snell–Descartes law. However, in this paper, we propose a model that agrees with Kepler’s heuristics and that is also successful in (...) anticipating the behavior of light when it passes through a surface that separates two media with different optical densities. This model adopts strategies that were recommended by Kepler in two types of analogies. The obstacles that led to the failure of the two types of analogies are presented in the article, and we argue that the model proposed here could overcome these specific obstacles. Finally, we show how the proposed model could be articulated with Kepler’s metaphysics of light. (shrink)

RESUMEN Este artículo explora si hay algún fundamento sólido para atribuir a Leonardo da Vinci prioridad en la formulación del símil que lleva a concebir el ojo como una cámara obscura. Aquí, se defiende una posición pesimista. No obstante, el artículo resalta algunos aportes del pintor renacentista que pueden considerarse contribuciones a la consolidación del símil. ABSTRACT The article explores whether there is any solid basis for attributing to Leonardo da Vinci the priority in formulating the simile that leads to (...) conceiving the eye as a camera obscura. Here, a pessimistic position is defended, however, the article highlights some of Leonardo's contributions to the consolidation of the simile. (shrink)

In the frame of the celebration of the century of the publication that gave way to the special theory of relativity, a semblance of the discussions generated from the philosophical implications that derive from the possibility of accepting non-euclidian frames for our space of representation. Poncaré’s argument is exposed in defense of geometrys principle of relativity and the criticism formulated by Hans Reichenbach is discussed.

Wittgenstein defiende que los problemas filosóficos son ilegítimos. Sin embargo, no resulta del todo claro qué se entiende en general por problema filosófico, cuál es, pues, su naturaleza. El presente artículo intenta elucidar la observación de Wittgenstein que sostiene que la forma de un problema filosófico se puede presentar con la expresión “Yo no sé salir del atolladero” (IF § 123). En el artículo se elige, a manera de ejemplo, el escándalo kantiano, que demanda que demostremos con el uso de (...) la razón que la proposición “hay objetos físicos” es verdadera. Sin renunciar al ejemplo, se explora en qué sentido la expresión de Wittgenstein caracteriza en buena medida la naturaleza misma de la dificultad filosófica. En el ejercicio se atienden recomendaciones formales del Tractatus, terapias desplegadas en Sobre la Certeza y el recurso de distinguir entre sentido primario y sentido secundario de una expresión insinuado en las Investigaciones Filosóficas. (shrink)

El artículo critica la naturaleza instantánea impuesta a las experienciaselementales en el sistema construccional propuesto por Carnap en Derlogische Aufbau der Welt. Inspirado en una idea seminal de Peirce, propongoalgunas modificaciones a los primeros niveles del sistema construccionalsin dejar de advertir que una adaptación más cuidadosa exige atender otrascríticas sustanciales.

En el artículo se examina la controversia entre extramisionismo e intramisionismo a propósito de la percepción visual. Se defiende que la evaluación del cierre de la controversia depende del explanandum que rastrea el filósofo/historiador en la reconstrucción que persigue. Si enfatizamos en los mecanismos causales, la controversia se cerró en favor del intramisionismo. Si enfatizamos en aspectos asociados con la intencionalidad o con la forma como ciertas afecciones mentales refieren a objetos externos, la controversia conduce a una conciliación entre intramisionismo (...) causal y extramisionismo mental. Finalmente, si ponemos en duda la necesidad de una distinción entre interno/externo, la controversia se disuelve por carecer de sentido. (shrink)

El artículo examina tres propuestas de explicación del fenómeno de refracción de la luz formuladas por los pensadores medievales Roger Bacon, John Pecham y Erazmus Ciolek Witelo. Se muestra, en el caso de Bacon, que la explicación estaba soportada en una metafísica de la propagación de los poderes causales y anidaba un conflicto insalvable. En el caso de Pecham se muestra un mayor compromiso con la necesidad de una ley cuantitativa que, desafortunadamente, conduce a una explicación frustrada. Finalmente, se valora (...) el deseo de Witelo por introducir elementos cosmológicos en su explicación. (shrink)

Dentro del recorrido histórico que estamos haciendo de la cultura universal me llama la atención el castigo, pero tengo necesidad de advertir que la exigencia que me inspira a realizar este ensayo es más conceptual que histórica, pues el objetivo es examinar a grandes rasgos lo que ha significado el vocablo castigo en las diferentes épocas de la historia, es decir, tratar de establecer más su origen jurídico que el histórico, ya que con el primero se busca la fuente de (...) un derecho, mientras con el estudio del origen histórico se indaga un hecho. Lo anterior no obsta para que logremos ubicar algunos hechos, cosa que es muy propia de la historia. (shrink)

The article discusses the following question: why has the traditional philosophy of science been reluctant to seriously deal with scientific controversies? An answer is offered and an alternative is suggested. This alternative gives a leading role to the study of controversies within the framework of the philosophy of science. This proposal is supported, firstly, by a brief review of the research methodology employed by Johannes Kepler and, secondly, by the study of the emergence of quantum mechanics by Mara Beller. The (...) defense of the study of controversies is based on the recognition of the other one as the founding point of scientific objectivity and in the proposal of a kind of triangulation. (shrink)

En el Aufbau Carnap mencionó la posibilidad de adelantar una construcción lógica de las emociones en forma completamente análoga a la construcción lógica de las cualidades sensoriales. Esta tarea, sin embargo, nunca se llevó a cabo. Me propongo mostrar que la construcción lógica sugerida por Carnap exige modificaciones importantes a los protocolos de construcción exhibidos en el Aufbau. En particular, modificaciones que permitan reconocer la duración genuina de las emociones. También sugiero protocolos de reconocimiento para la dirección y la manifestación (...) de emociones. (shrink)

En el artículo se ofrece un análisis de los argumentos que condujeron a Kepler a la defensa y demostración del teorema fundamental de la óptica. Según este teorema, un haz homocéntrico de luz que se ve obligado a atravesar una esfera transparente, siempre que la amplitud del haz no sea mayor, se concentra de nuevo en un punto al otro lado de la esfera. La demostración de Kepler se compara con la ofrecida por Malebranche años más tarde. Este teorema fue (...) determinante para la consolidación de la óptica moderna. (shrink)

Se defiende que el conflicto que advierte Panofsky entre la proposición 8 de la Óptica de Euclides y la Perspectiva Lineal carece de fundamento. Se mostrará que las reglas de construcción perspectiva sugeridas por Piero della Francesca usan las definiciones de Euclides y armonizan sin dificultad la proyección perspectiva y la proposición 8. Si el surgimiento del espacio moderno exige una ruptura con el espacio psicofisiológico, como advierte Panofsky, esta ruptura se debe defender con argumentos distintos al de esgrimir el (...) conflicto aludido. (shrink)

The objective of the present review on the evolution of Green Chemistry, since its emergence until 2016, aimed an integrated vision of its progress along the three phases of its development: emergence, divulgation and consolidation. The methodology involved the analysis of a selection of bibliography on the evolution of GC collected from issues of the ACS symposia series; editorials in specialized GC journals; and commemorative birthday papers/editorials of these journals and of the GC itself. The analysis allowed to identify and (...) discuss the characteristics and conceptions of GC agents about fundamental concepts and procedures, in order to visualize and better understand the state of knowledge and the subject areas that make up the field. The main alterations identified in the evolution of GC were: it acquired a better defined identity, with more participation of academy and increased scope; was progressively framed in sustainability; has been aspiring to a holistic frame and to a change on the nature of the innovation for its implementation, from incremental to transformative. The analysis suggests that for supporting expansion and consolidation of GC the following aspects deserve attention: full validation of chemical greenness by metrics; better characterization of the frontiers of GC research areas/themes; increased integration between academy and industry; and penetration in chemistry curricula. Its basic philosophy being the practice of a chemistry more focused on the environment preservation, GC means a new stage in nature and in the history of Chemistry. (shrink)

En el presente artículo se muestra que en la cosmología cartesiana no resulta claro cómo se puede hablar o referir a cuerpos individuales en el marco de un universo absolutamente compacto. Se defiende que el concepto de cuerpo individual en el interior de dicha cosmología se puede construir como una ficción del espíritu. Un cuerpo individual se puede construir como la extensión que se encuentra encerrada en una superficie maximal cuyas subdivisiones carecen de movimiento relativo entre sí. Se muestra, también, (...) que la cosmología cartesiana puede presentarse como un modelo trivial de la Teoría M. (shrink)

Las metodologías docentes han ido adaptándose a los cambios de la sociedad, partiendo de un aprendizaje en el que el alumno tiene un papel más pasivo y se limita a escuchar una clase magistral, hasta aprendizajes más activos, utilizando metodologías como active learning, flipped learning, learning by teaching, rol play, entre otras.Esta investigación analiza la percepción de los estudiantes sobre el aprendizaje obtenido con la utilización de la metodología Learning by Teaching, para ello se trabaja con una muestra de 196 (...) alumnos de Grados en Administración y Dirección de Empresas, Marketing y negocios digitales. (shrink)

This study discusses the relationship between Green Chemistry and Environmental Sustainability as expressed in textbooks and articles on Green Chemistry authored by their promoters. It was found that although the Brundtland concept of Sustainable Development/Sustainability has been mentioned often by green chemists, a full analysis of that relationship was almost never attempted. In particular, green chemists have paid scarce attention to the importance of The Second Law of thermodynamics on Environmental Sustainability and the consequences of the limitations it imposes on (...) Green Chemistry, which are discussed in this paper. (shrink)

This paper explores and expands upon Jorge Gracia's reasons for the apparent lack of Hispanics in US philosophy. The point is to explain the underrepresentation of Hispanics in philosophy, with a focus on a specific subgroup of Hispanics, namely, "homegrown" US Hispanics. This group wasentirely missing from the "established" ranks in Gracia's census. I propose a phenomenological explanation for this lack, rooted in my experience as ahomegrown US Hispanic. This experience gives rise to a sense of identity described as "post-immigrant." (...) Those of us in the American philosophical establishment who share this identity, or who feel its pull, desire but hesitate to fully and authentically engage philosophy and the philosophical life, where thisrequires an uncompromising insertion of our cultural and historical identity into what we write and teach. The reason for the absence of homegrown Hispanicphilosophers who are willing to engage issues related to their circumstance as Hispanics is what I call, "the post-immigrant fear.". (shrink)

First in-depth analysis of this important Mexican philosopher’s work.

This paper traces the concept and phenomenon of generosity from Aristotle to Emannuel Levinas and beyond. The question motivating this investigation is: must the generous act be restricted by a rational calculation of correct, or prudent, giving? Answers to this question vary. Aristotle and Kant would answer in the affirmative, while Emerson and Levinas would not. The bulk of this paper is dedicated to Levinas's characterization of excessive generosity as a condition for the fundamental ethical relation, namely, the generous welcome (...) of the Other. I end by considering the phenomenon of generosity from the point of view of the mid‐20th century Mexican philosopher, Emilio Uranga. (shrink)

In his new book, Carlos Alberto Torres, an internationally renowned critical theorist of education, explores the early writings of Paulo Freire whose ideas have had a tremendous and long-lasting impact on the world of pedagogy and politics. Torres analyzes Freire's works, from the 1960s and 1970s, before Freire gained worldwide recognition for his Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Offering an in-depth look into the formative thinking of Freire, Torres identifies how his ideas produced frameworks for educating global citizens, building (...) community and mutual respect, creating social responsibility, instilling an appreciation for diversity, promoting multiple literacies, and social justice education. This volume is the result of more than 3 decades of research with access to Freire's personal library and the archives of the Paulo Freire Institute, as well as the author's extensive conversations with Paulo Freire over two decades--Dr. Torres was Freire's adviser during his tenure as Secretary of Education in the Municipality of São Paulo, Brazil, 1989-1991. (shrink)

In a journal entry from 1906, Husserl complains of lacking “internal stability” and of his desire to “achieve” it. My claim in this paper is that the “phenomenological method,” which he made public in his 1907 lectures Die Idee der Phänomenologie was, and is, a means to achieve the inner harmony that Husserl longed for. I do not provide an analysis of why Husserl might have felt the way he did; my aim is to show what internal stability might be (...) and how one might achieve it. I conclude that the phenomenological method is the means, the “how,” to internal stability, which I characterize as “clarity” and “harmony” regarding our beliefs and, and ultimately, our authentic comportment. (shrink)

In a journal entry from 1906, Husserl complains of lacking "internal stability" and of his desire to "achieve" it. My claim in this paper is that the "phenomenological method," which he made public in his 1907 lectures "Die Idee der Phänomenologie" was, and is, a means to achieve the inner harmony that Husserl longed for. I do not provide an analysis of why Husserl might have felt the way he did; my aim is to show what internal stability might be (...) and how one might achieve it. I conclude that the phenomenological method is the means, the "how," to internal stability, which I characterize as "clarity" and "harmony" regarding our beliefs and, and ultimately, our authentic comportment. (shrink)

The Disintegration of Community analyzes the social and cultural writings of Jorge Portilla (1919−1963) and demonstrates the continued relevance of his thought to contemporary debates on the politics of social and cultural identity, the nature of community, and the political role of affect and moods. Sánchez and Gallegos address questions as timely today as they were for Portilla: What drives the impulse toward political nationalism? What sustains the myths that organize our political lives? Under what conditions do communities disintegrate? An (...) appendix offers original English translations of three of Portilla's fascinating and hitherto untranslated essays, including Portilla's 1952 essay, "The Spiritual Crisis of the United States.". (shrink)

This paper considers the nature of Heidegger’s Eurocentrism in regard to philosophy. Focusing primarily on “A Dialogue on Language,” I argue, first, that Heidegger recognizes the limits of the Eurocentric idea of philosophy and proposes its overcoming. Secondly, I suggest that the proposal to overcome philosophy is made in an attempt to protect philosophy from the encroachment of an otherness that challenges its very identity. This leads me to the view, thirdly, that Heidegger’s Eurocentrism about philosophy is compromising insofar as (...) he is willing, to a certain degree, to let go of philosophy’s European origin. This “thinning” out of Heidegger’s Eurocentrism, finally, opens the door to a consideration of the possibility for a non-Western, namely, a Latin American, or Mexican “philosophy.”. (shrink)

This paper considers the nature of Heidegger’s Eurocentrism in regard to philosophy. Focusing primarily on “A Dialogue on Language,” I argue, first, that Heidegger recognizes the limits of the Eurocentric idea of philosophy and proposes its overcoming. Secondly, I suggest that the proposal to overcome philosophy is made in an attempt to protect philosophy from the encroachment of an otherness that challenges its very identity. This leads me to the view, thirdly, that Heidegger’s Eurocentrism about philosophy is compromising insofar as (...) he is willing, to a certain degree, to let go of philosophy’s European origin. This “thinning” out of Heidegger’s Eurocentrism, finally, opens the door to a consideration of the possibility for a non-Western, namely, a Latin American, or Mexican “philosophy.”. (shrink)

This book introduces readers to central concepts and ideas in Mexican philosophy. Couched in stories and anecdotes from the author's life, the book offers these concepts and ideas as orientations, recommendations, or exhortation for navigating today's world. The structure and the style of the book aims at making these accessible to both specialists and non-specialist or anyone who may have had some experience with contemporary forms of marginalization, alienation, objectification, or any of the various forms of dread and accidentality familiar (...) to modern life. This, the author thinks, is most of us. Narrowing down the scope of the tradition, the author draws from the history of Mexican philosophy in the 20th century, as it is at this time that Mexican philosophy comes into its own. The book begins with two short introductions, one is an introduction philosophy in Mexico, the other to Mexican philosophy. Here, readers are introduced to Alfonso de la Veracruz, who offered the first philosophy course in the Americas in 1540 in the monastery of a small town in Michoacán, Mexico. From there, it presents four main themes from Mexican philosophy that recur in the philosophical literature. The remainder of the book serves as a "guide" for living a better, more fulfilling life. The main characters in what the author considers an uncontroversial retelling of Mexican philosophy are Antonio Caso, Samuel Ramos, Emilio Uranga, Leopoldo Zea, Jorge Portilla, Rosario Castellanos, Elsa Cecilia Frost, and, of course, persons in the author's own life. (shrink)

This chapter draws parallels between Leopoldo Zea and Stanley Cavell's thought. It forms the basis of this argument in their thought on circumstantialism. Cavell and Zea both reflect on the American circumstance, a circumstance conditioned by the discovery, colonizations, and nationalization of Americas, together with the American people's heroic desire to connect, continuously and urgently, with themselves and their destiny as Americans.

_First in-depth analysis of this important Mexican philosopher’s work._.

In this paper I consider the notion of “moral ecology” in relation to the social/cultural construction known as “narco-culture.” My claim is that the moral ecology of narco-culture is one that is both destructive and prohibitive of human flourishing. The general idea of a “moral ecology” is that the moral space of human conviviality is not unlike an ecological, or environmental, space—both are constituted by various interdependent relations which, when working harmoniously and in optimal capacity, maintain the overall well-being of (...) its inhabitants. Within non-human ecosystems, the quality or health of rivers, trees, earth, air, predator-prey relationships, etc., define what Allen Hertzke calls the system’s “carrying capacity.” The carrying capacity refers to what the system can handle while staying balanced and healthy and also indicates the point beyond which the system, if overburdened or degraded, begins to fall apart. In a social setting, the ecology is constituted by moral rules and behaviors, the degradation of which can cause the degradation of the entire system. (shrink)

In 1985, Marcel Gauchet published his book Le désenchantement du monde. Une histoire politique de la religion, which came to fill a gap in terms of great synthesis in the studies of sociology of religion. His analysis of religion shows that, far from being reduced to a superstructure, the religious has actively modeled collective reality and its political forms. Mobilized by the study of this book, more than twenty years ago, I published the article Para ler Gauchet, in the journal (...) Religion and Society. In this article, I return to the reading of Désenchantement du Monde and my own text to think critically the thesis of Gauchet from three lines of intersection within the current production of the social sciences of religion. The first is referred to the criticism of Thomas Csordas from the point o view of fenomenology. In the second, I discuss the subordinate place that religion occupies in Gauchet's thinking and propose the urgency of overcoming the dichotomy between the secular and the religious. The third line presents a critique of Western thinking from the postcolonial. (shrink)

O pensamento filosófico hispânico na segunda metade do séc. XX, potenciou um processo de emancipação cultural e filosófica mais profundas, que destacaram o sentido e o alcance de uma utêntica filosofia, no continente sul-americano. Com tomada de consciência da circunstância americana o que está em causa, é a procura e busca de uma autenticidade da razão latino-americana, a qual na análise que desenvolvo, só terá sentido se integrada numa dinâmica de integração cultural. Esta deverá sempre partir das circunstâncias próprias, e (...) desenvolvida a partir do respeito por um ethos vivencial comum. O presente estudo foi inspirado na obra de Carlos Beorlegui, intitulada Historia del pensamiento filosófico latinoamericano (2004), obra esta que nos apresenta uma visão geral da Filosofia latino-americana desde as cosmovisões pré-colombianas até às correntes filosóficas mais actuais, como é o caso da FL (Filosofia da Libertação), e a da pós-Modernidade ou pós-Colonialidade, comummente conhecida como interculturalismo. (shrink)

Uma das questões que desafia educadores e educador@s [1], inserid@s no campo da relação que envolve os processos de ensino e de aprendizagem, consiste no papel da educação do ponto de vista da vida em sociedade. E uma resposta aceita de forma genérica aponta para a dimensão da humanização. Questiona-se: até que ponto a relação educativa possui a capacidade e potencialidade de humanizar? Como relacionar a construção do conhecimento à perspectiva de valoração que promova a sociabilidade humana? A partir destes (...) questionamentos abordamos duas dimensões fundamentais: a ética e a moral, campos que estão na base da cultura, do mito, das relações de poder e, portanto, da política. Assim, esse texto objetiva refletir sobre os impactos da ética e da moral nas relações de poder e no processo de humanização, apontando para uma relação dialógica, na perspectiva da alteridade, como uma das saídas viáveis para a humanidade. E para tanto, utilizamos Martin Buber (1974, 1987) e Paulo Freire (1979, 1983) como principais referências teóricas, pensando o papel da educação no enfrentamento deste problema. A partir das leituras, compreendemos o conceito de alteridade, que aponta para o caminho da desmitologização da realidade por meio desta mesma dimensão, que pode ser compreendida no campo da educação. Concluímos que, somente na perspectiva da ética, esta relação pode ser dialógica. E, somente na relação dialógica este processo pode ser transformador e libertador. Esse procedimento educativo potencializa relações de solidariedade e, consequentemente, humaniza em seu significado mais pleno de ser com @ outr@. [1] Utilizamos o símbolo “@” para referenciar de modo simultâneo os gêneros feminino e masculino. Trata-se de um posicionamento político-cultural que vem de encontro às normas gramaticais postas. (shrink)

Provides new insights on the lasting impact of famed philosopher and educator Paulo Freire 50 years after the publication of his masterpiece, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, this book brings new perspectives on rethinking and reinventing Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire. Written by the most premier exponents and experts of Freirean scholarship, it explores the currency of Freire's contribution to social theory, educational reform, and democratic education. It also analyzes the intersections of Freire’s theories with other crucial social theorists such (...) as Gramsci, Gandhi, Habermas, Dewey, Sen, etc. The Wiley Handbook of Paulo Freire studies the history and context of the man as a global public intellectual, moving from Brazil to the rest of the world and back. Each section offers insides on the epistemology of the global south initiated by Freire with his work in Latin America; the connections between class, gender, race, religion, the state and eco-pedagogy in the work of Freire; and the contributions he made to democratic education and educational reform. Presents original theory and analysis of Freire’s life and work Offers unique and comprehensive analysis of the reception and application of Paulo Freire in international education on all continents Provides a complete historical study of Freire’s contributions to education Systematically analyzes the impact of Freire in teachers training, higher education, and lifelong learning The Wiley Handbook of Paulo Freire is an ideal book for courses on international and comparative education, pedagogy, education policy, international development, and Latin America studies. (shrink)

"God wants to marry us" (p. 14, 97, 122), es decir, Dios quiere casarse con nosotros, es el tema central del presente libro, y según otros autores, es también el sentido real de la Biblia. La Biblia no es un libro que nos enseña cómo encontrar a Dios, sino el libro que nos revela cómo Dios nos busca incansablemente y nos relata las innumerables veces y maneras en las que Dios trata de hacerse el encontradizo para que el ser humano (...) lo acoja en su corazón. Pues bien, este es el principal argumento del autor de este libro. La obra de Christopher West es a todas luces teológica, y nos deja ver, con sencillas palabras, la profundidad de la teología del cuerpo propuesta por el Papa Juan Pablo II. Aquí encontraremos que el significado de la vida del ser humano está impreso en su propio cuerpo, en su sexualidad. Cabe anotar que se requiere algún mínimo de conocimiento teológico para leer este libro con facilidad, y da por sentado un cierto conocimiento de la Sagrada Escritura, la cual es citada 213 veces, además de las veces que hace referencia al capítulo quinto de la carta de San Pablo a los Efesios. De todas maneras, el estilo fluido y cercano del autor, así como la mención a algunos ejemplos de la vida cotidiana, permite que el contenido del libro se vaya asimilando poco a poco. (shrink)

ABSTRACT This work proposes reflections on possible meanings constructed in the circulation of discourses that refer to the meaning of the term ‘competence,’ present in official documents that regulate the performance of Tilsp (Tradutores e Intérpretes de Libras e Português [Translators and Interpreters of Libras and Portuguese]). We start from the assumption that the meanings of a word are not completely static, but shift depending on the concrete situation and the interlocutors who use it. As a methodology, excerpts from official (...) documents that regulate Tilsp’s activities were analyzed. By surveying possible interlocutors brought into the documents, we were able to verify that the meaning of ‘competence’ slowly shifts as the documents are produced in their respective times. Firstly, the use of the term points to a hierarchy, later, this meaning undergoes another shift towards the construction and delimitation of Tilsp’s professional work field. Finally, ‘competence’ moves to the labor market in the relationship between supplier and customer. (shrink)

Offers the first comprehensive survey of Mexican existentialism to appear in English. This book examines the emergence of existentialism in Mexico in the 1940s and the quest for a genuine Mexican philosophy that followed it. It focuses on the pivotal moments and key figures of the Hyperion group, including Emilio Uranga, Luis Villoro, Leopoldo Zea, and Jorge Portilla, who explored questions of interpretation, marginality, identity, and the role of philosophy. Carlos Alberto Sánchez was the first to introduce and (...) emphasize the philosophical significance of the Hyperion group to readers of English in The Suspension of Seriousness, and in the present volume he examines its legacy and relevancy for the twenty-first century. Sánchez argues that there are lessons to be learned from Hyperion’s project not only for Latino/a life in the United States but also for the lives of those on the fringes of contemporary, postmodern or postcolonial, economic, political, and cultural power. (shrink)

“Exiled” Spanish philosopher José Gaos was the first to translate, in its entirety, Martin Heidegger’s Sein und Zeit . Emilio Uranga, a student of Gaos in Mexico City (exiled since 1938), appropriates Heidegger’s ontological hermeneutics in an effort to expose the historico-existential structures making up “ lo mexicano, ” or Mexicanness. Uranga’s Análisis del ser del mexicano (1952) freely and creatively employs the methods of existential analysis, suggesting that the being-there of the Mexican being is ontologically “insufficient” and “accidental”—modes of (...) being reflected in existential expressions of sentimentality, indifference, and angst particular to this form of life . As a work indebted to Heidegger’s Sein und Zeit, Analysis of the Being of the Mexican fails to be faithful to this method. This, however, is the source of its value. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: one, to introduce the Anglo–American philosophical readership to Uranga’s existential phenomenology; and, two, to disentangle the lines of thought that make up Uranga’s Análisis and in the process defend Uranga from the possible charge that he ignorantly misappropriates Heidegger’s method. (shrink)

Sanchez and Sanchez have selected, edited, translated, and introduced some of the most influential texts in Mexican philosophy, which constitute a unique and robust tradition that will challenge and complicate traditional conceptions of philosophy. The texts collected here are organized chronologically and represent a period of Mexican thought and culture that emerged from the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and which culminated in la filosofia de lo mexicano (the philosophy of Mexicanness). Though the selections reflect on a variety of philosophical questions, (...) collectively they represent a growing tendency to take seriously the question of Mexican national identity as a philosophical question--especially given the complexities of Mexico's indigenous and European ancestries, a history of colonialism, and a growing dependency on foreign money and culture. More than an attempt to describe the national character, however, the texts gathered here represent an optimistic period in Mexican philosophy that aimed to affirm Mexican culture and philosophy as a valuable, if not urgent, contribution to universal culture. (shrink)

Jorge Gracia’s foundational role in the history of Latino philosophy is unquestionable. The present collection, 'Debating Race, Ethnicity, Nationality', excellently coordinated by Iván Jaksić, reaffirms Gracia’s status by treating readers to some of those contributions to the field that have elicited the most fervor, the most criticism, and the most philosophy. The collection offers Gracia the opportunity to respond to his critics, and in the process, becomes more than a defense of his position, but an opportunity for clarification as well (...) as an invitation for further thinking. (shrink)

A decomposition model of Net Final Values (NFV), named Systemic Value Added (SVA), is proposed for decision-making purposes, based on a systemic approach introduced in Magni [Magni, C. A. (2003), Bulletin of Economic Research 55(2), 149–176; Magni, C. A. (2004) Economic Modelling 21, 595–617]. The model translates the notion of excess profit giving formal expression to a counterfactual alternative available to the decision maker. Relations with other decomposition models are studied, among which Stewart’s [Stewart, G.B. (1991), The Quest for Value: (...) The EVA™ Management Guide, Harper Collins, Publishers Inc]. The index here introduced differs from Stewart’s Economic Value Added (EVA) in that it rests on a different interpretation of the notion of excess profit and is formally connected with the EVA model by means of a shadow project. The SVA is formally and conceptually threefold, in that it is economic, financial, accounting-flavoured. Some results are offered, providing sufficient and necessary conditions for decomposing NFV. Relations between a project’s SVA and its shadow project’s EVA are shown, all results of Pressacco and Stucchi [Pressacco, F. and Stucchi, P. (1997), Rivista di Matematica per le Scienze Economiche e Sociali 20, 165–185] are proved by making use of the systemic approach and the shadow counterparts of those results are also shown. (shrink)