Volume 25, Issue 1, January 2025, Page W8-W10.

Volume 25, Issue 1, January 2025, Page W1-W2.

Presentamos aquí la traducción al español de la correspondencia que mantuvieron Hélène Metzger Bruhl y Otto Neurath entre 1936 y 1939, junto con un breve estudio introductorio en el que se analizan tres factores: en qué consistía la filosofía científica, cómo llegó la obra del Círculo de Viena a Francia y por qué Metzger Bruhl se ganó la atención de Neurath. Estos tres ejes permiten contextualizar la correspondencia y plantear algunos de los temas que ella retoma de forma más detallada.

Aunque se inspira en Locke para formular su propia teoría de la propiedad, Nozick exige una y no tres condiciones (o estipulaciones) para la validez de las adquisiciones originarias. Esta diferencia invita a preguntarse si acaso la interpretación de Nozick de las estipulaciones de Locke es correcta o si, en cambio, el filósofo inglés no habrá multiplicado innecesariamente las estipulaciones. El presente trabajo examina ese problema por medio de la aplicación de las respectivas estipulaciones a diferentes situaciones hipotéticas. Sostendremos que (...) la estipulación de Nozick es casi tan eficaz como las tres estipulaciones de Locke para preservar los derechos u oportunidades de terceros. No obstante, sostendremos también que la estipulación de Nozick es incapaz de hacer frente a ciertas dificultades que plantea la explotación de recursos naturales, dificultades que, sin embargo, sí pueden enfrentarse por medio de la estipulación de Locke de no desperdicio. (shrink)

El objetivo de este artículo es intentar establecer una línea de continuidad entre Montaigne y Leibniz respecto del tema de las pasiones y la vida feliz, entendiendo como parte de ésta una adecuada gestión de las pasiones. Se sostiene que hay puntos de contacto entre Montaigne y Leibniz, que a menudo pasan por la intermediación de Descartes. Tras comparar las propuestas de estos tres autores por lo que respecta a las pasiones y la vida feliz, se concluye que el tratamiento (...) moderno de las pasiones tiene su antecedente en Montaigne, y que llega hasta Leibniz por una consideración cada vez más “racionalista”. Se sugiere además que en los tres autores es posible considerar su filosofía como una forma de vida, y que más allá de que cada uno parta de posiciones metafísicas diferentes sus propuestas de vida feliz son similares. (shrink)

Antes incluso de la distinción schmittiana entre «amigo» y «enemigo» en _El concepto de lo político_ (1927), la idea del antagonismo, de un enemigo al que combatir, subyacía ya en muchos de los planteamientos realizados en torno a la Revolución francesa. Así las cosas, el objetivo del presente artículo, a través de un enfoque de filosofía de la historia, es sacar a la luz dicha concepción de antagonismo y retratar una panorámica de cómo éste se encontraba presente no sólo durante (...) el periodo revolucionario, sino también previamente a finales de la Ilustración, en pensadores como Kant y Fichte, y más tarde en la época imperial, reflejado en el enfrentamiento entre el establecido y más tarde derrocado Imperio napoleónico y el emergente liberalismo guiado por Benjamin Constant. (shrink)

A diferencia del grueso de los escritores de su tiempo, René Descartes no se ocupó de la política más que de manera marginal. En este artículo se ensayan dos vías de reconstrucción teológico-política de la filosofía política cartesiana a partir de lo expuesto por Carl Schmitt en sus trabajos sobre teología política. De ellos se pueden derivar dos modos distintos de pensar la teología política. Procediendo a partir del primero de estos modos, expuesto en 1922, Descartes acaba situado entre los (...) defensores del absolutismo, apareciendo su eventual pensamiento político muy próximo al desplegado por Thomas Hobbes; en cambio, las matizaciones de las tesis de 1922 sobre teología política que el jurista lleva a cabo pasadas casi cinco décadas invitan a pensar una política cartesiana que restringe el poder absoluto del rey. (shrink)

Conforme a una tesis de R. Torretti, el presente artículo intenta mostrar cómo la reflexión filosófica contribuye a detectar y desechar conceptos innecesarios en la ciencia. Para ello, se ha escogido exponer el caso de la filosofía teórica de Kant. Esta exposición exige una descripción tanto de los problemas que suscitan la hipótesis del éter, como de las consideraciones que motivan su reemplazo por un postulado trascendental. Con el fin de evitar las posibles consecuencias atomistas del formalismo trascendental, esta sustitución (...) busca reformar el concepto de _experiencia_, instalando una creciente dinmización en la comprensión kantiana de la materia. Finalmente, podrá comprobarse que, para Kant, ha sido una reflexión filosófica sobre la experiencia lo que puso término a sus especulaciones acerca de un éter físico. (shrink)

En el presente trabajo se publica la traducción de _La ciencia perspectiva_ (1684-1686), de G.W. Leibniz. Entre 1679 y 1686, el pensador alemán escribe una serie de textos dedicados a la ciencia perspectiva. Esos escritos son los siguientes: _La construcción y el uso de escalas en la perspectiva_; _Las asistencias del cálculo_; _El fundamento de la perspectiva_; _El origen de la regla del arte de la perspectiva_; _La relación de los puntos con el plano del espectador_; _La ciencia perspectiva_. El (...) último de ellos, que es también el más acabado formal y argumentativamente, es el que se traduce en este trabajo. En _La ciencia perspectiva_, Leibniz define la disciplina, presenta una metodología y descubre la regla de dicha ciencia. La ciencia perspectiva es, de acuerdo con él, el arte de exhibir en la Tabula la apariencia del objetivo y, en dicho arte, el análisis geométrico de la intersección resulta central para el descubrimiento de la regla universal de la representación. Antes de presentar la traducción, se puede encontrar un estudio introductorio del texto, cuyo objetivo es facilitar la comprensión del lector en relación con lo defendido por Leibniz en _La ciencia perspectiva_. (shrink)

Edición de 14 documentos desconocidos (artículos, entrevistas, reseñas, etc.) relacionados con María Zambrano y Alfonso Rodríguez Aldave en ocasión de su estancia en Chile entre 1936 y 1937. Descripción y contextualización de los documentos. Censo de las publicaciones de María Zambrano en Chile.

En este trabajo analizaremos la concepción de Leibniz acerca de la aplicación de la matemática a la física entre los años 1677 y 1690. Reconstruiremos esta concepción fundamentalmente a partir de algunos conceptos relacionados, como son los de “atributos” o “cualidades acompañantes”. Veremos que, por aplicación de la matemática a la física, Leibniz entendió específicamente la posibilidad de dar explicaciones mecánicas que dan cuenta de la causa inmediata e inteligible por la cual tienen lugar las cualidades confusas, en un sentido (...) que debe ser dilucidado. Estas explicaciones revelan, por lo tanto, la estructura _a parte rei_ a partir de la que tienen lugar las sensaciones. (shrink)

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo ofrecer una puesta en diálogo de algunos de los textos más representativos de la _Frühromantik _con los escritos de Kierkegaard que, confrontados entre sí en virtud de un mismo eje temático, nos permitirán revisar cómo ambas propuestas fueron críticas con respecto al pensamiento moderno. Será así que, centrándonos en la cuestión de la ironía, trataremos de poner de manifiesto la voluntad de los autores de resistir al dominio del Sistema filosófico especulativo, a lo que (...) ellos mismos contrapusieron la necesidad de llevar a cabo la tarea de la interioridad, en virtud de la cual la subjetividad se desarrollaría plenamente. No obstante, partimos de una perspectiva kierkegaardiana desde la cual reconocemos el fracaso del primer Romanticismo en la realización de tal tarea ética y, en efecto, a lo largo de la investigación se estudiarán las diferencias de pensamiento que encontramos al respecto entra el movimiento alemán y la concepción del danés. (shrink)

El presente trabajo se inscribe en el contexto de una investigación doctoral y tiene como base una hipótesis denominada _onto-gnoseológica_. Dicha hipótesis sostiene que las dualidades al interior del sistema spinoziano (expresadas en las duplas_ infinito-finito_, _eternidad-duración_, _esencia-existencia_, _sustancia-modos_), lejos de referir a distinciones ontológicas, deben entenderse como distinciones gnoseológicas. En el marco de esta hipótesis, busco probar en este artículo que las nociones de _sustancia_ y _modos finitos_, tradicionalmente entendidas como fuertemente ontológicas, son asociadas consistentemente por Spinoza a las (...) distintas maneras de conocer humanas. Esto es, son presentadas como las notas con las que los hombres conciben lo real a partir de los distintos géneros de conocimiento. La defensa de esta hipótesis interpretativa tiene como corolario no sólo la supresión de toda objeción dualista al sistema unívoco spinoziano, sino, también, una comprensión más profunda de la teoría del conocimiento de Spinoza. (shrink)

La presente contribución tiene por objeto examinar el problema de la relación entre las esencias y Dios en la metafísica de Leibniz, fundamentalmente a la luz de la oposición y evolución de dos modelos que dan cuenta de una transición significativa en su metafísica de las esencias, a saber, un modelo teo-mereológico según el cual las esencias constituyen la naturaleza ontológica de Dios y, en el límite, se identifican a él (1668 – 1676) y un modelo representacional que hace de (...) las esencias objetos intencionales del entendimiento de Dios, sin que ellas constituyan propiamente, ni puedan identificarse a Dios ni a su entendimiento (1680 en adelante). Por medio de un análisis de diversos manuscritos de Leibniz, así como una remisión a algunos estudios relativos a la ontología leibniziana de las esencias, nuestro propósito consiste, particularmente, en mostrar de qué manera y por qué el modelo teo-mereológico adoptado por el joven Leibniz es superado por un modelo representacional. (shrink)

Se argumenta que el inmoralismo que confronta Platón en _República _I y II, lejos de presentar un solo desafío, tiene en realidad cuatro niveles de exigencia progresiva. Esta estructura escalonada del desafío inmoralista pone de manifiesto el hecho de que el desafío oficial, formulado por Adamanto en _República _II, corresponde a una _peculiar interpretación _que Platón hace del inmoralismo. Esto se debe a que los dos primeros niveles del desafío no introducen la novedosa posibilidad de suplantación de la realidad moral (...) por la reputación moral, característica de la interpretación platónica. Se argumenta también que la interpretación platónica acarrea ciertos problemas, y para los cuales se ofrecen soluciones tentativas. Entre estos problemas destaca la famosa objeción según la cual la noción de justicia como armonía síquica que Platón propone como respuesta, en _República _IV, parece cambiar de tema. Se argumenta, finalmente, que la estructura escalonada del desafío inmoralista permite hacer frente a esta objeción, pues sus últimos dos niveles ya determinan la forma que deberá tomar la respuesta ofrecida en _República _IV. (shrink)

El artículo explora vasos comunicantes entre el _Tractatus Logico Philosophicus_ de Ludwig Wittgenstein y el _Analysis situs_ de Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Se muestra que las caracterizaciones de objetos en el _Tractatus_ y de puntos en el _Analysis situs_ siguen patrones similares. También se exploran las similitudes y diferencias entre el pretender que «la proposición puede representar la realidad entera» (_TLP_, § 4.12) o «todas [las proposiciones] están unidas por una trama infinitamente fina al gran espejo» (_TLP_, § 5.511) y el (...) hecho de que «cada sustancia simple [tiene] relaciones que expresan a todas las demás, y [por consiguiente] es un espejo vivo y perpetuo del universo» (_Monadología_, § 56). (shrink)

Este artículo elabora la posición de Kierkegaard ante la muerte, tal como ella comparece en un escrito exhortativo inscrito en su colección de _Discursos Edificantes_. Se defiende la tesis que la posición original elaborada en este escrito a la vez (_i_) se inspira en el célebre argumento de Epicuro contra el temor a la muerte y (_ii_) refuta ese argumento mediante consideraciones que no invalidan su estructura deductiva, pero ponen de manifiesto su insuficiencia fenomenológica. El elemento central de esa refutación (...) consiste en habilitar un modo de referencia al morir por medio del cual dicho acontecimiento se vuelve coextensivo a la existencia como un todo y abandona su locación temporal hipotética o remota. Dicha referencia es lo que Kierkegaard designa como “serio pensamiento de la muerte”, que logra sustraer el límite de la existencia a su doble condición periférica y anónima. Para Epicuro, la muerte es _periférica_ en cuanto circunscribe la existencia sin formar parte de ella; y la muerte es _anónima_ en cuanto sobreviene a la especie, o al individuo solamente en cuanto adscrito a ella. El antídoto de Kierkegaard contra Epicuro personaliza el morir y lo convierte en una inminencia contemporánea a cada instante. (shrink)

In Indian logic, Nigrahasthāna (fault) generally refers to the occasion of defeat in debates. The fundamental theme of Vādanyāya is to discuss the issue of fault in debates. Based on the standpoint of Buddhist logic, Dharmakīrti in Vādanyāya, starting from the argumentative structure and rules of Buddhism, creatively developed the theory of fault in his debate logic, which can also be seen as a revision of the theory of fault in the Nyāya school. Delving into the logic and culture of (...) the Nyāya school, he critically analyzed and accepted various types of faults in the Nyāyan list of faults. Dharmakīrti’s thoughts about fault can be explored from four aspects: first, establishing the logical rationality of debate; second, innovating the classification criteria of faults; third, criticizing the theory of fault in the Nyāya school; and fourth, accepting the reasonable types of faults in the Nyāya school. (shrink)

Both Plato and Confucius were deeply concerned with moral cultivation and political leadership, topics that were inherently gendered in ancient patriarchal societies. I show that both thinkers focused their discussions on concepts that were associated with male aristocratic ideals of gentlemanliness. Yet while Confucian texts emphasize moral behavior and ritual to beautify the male body (shen 身), Plato focuses on the cultivation of a non-physical soul, which women also possess. Various theories have been proposed to explain this difference in their (...) understandings of the self, but when we bear the gendered nature of their inquiry in mind, an important difference takes center stage: for Socrates, the male body is an object of sexual desire. This paper highlights the influence of homoerotic desire in Plato’s unique approach to gentlemanliness, offering a new perspective for comparing these philosophers' views on gender, cultivation, and leadership. (shrink)

Ecology is a major international issue of the present moment because the earth is threatened by forces beyond our control that have potential devastating consequences. This essay looks at the problem through the eyes of the Zen master Dðgen and selected postmodern philosophers. The difference between them is evident by Dðgen’s planful statement about eating a painting of a rice cake. Postmodernists perceives nature as a social construct connected to a representational mode of thinking that conflicts with the postmodern emphasis (...) on difference, simulation, planes without depth and lack of unity. These postmodern tendencies of thinking are contrary to the philosophy of Dðgen, whose image of a painting of a rice cake can satisfy intellectual hunger and serves as a serious way to save the ecological system and overcome the representational mode of thinking. (shrink)

This study explores the influence of informal institutions (including its dark side) on multinational enterprises (MNEs) in promoting sustainable development goals (SDGs) in a developing nation. Using qualitative interviews, we find that informal institutions, including “crime” and “corruption,” increase telecommunication MNEs' support of SDGs. Our findings underscore the critical role of understanding and harnessing informal institutions, showcasing their significant impact on shaping the actions and contributions of MNEs. This research not only contributes to institutional theory but also provides empirical evidence (...) of MNEs positively influencing local communities for sustainable development including socially embedded projects, knowledge externalities, and rural infrastructure. The study advocates for a collaborative approach involving government, local communities, and MNEs to ensure the effective implementation of SDGs. Consequently, the study offers valuable insights for policymakers, academics, and practitioners navigating the complex dynamics of MNEs' involvement in SDGs within developing countries. (shrink)

There has been considerable research on confusion and frustration that has treated them as two unitary constructs, distinct from each other. In this article, we argue that there is instead a constellation of different types of confusion and frustration, with different antecedents, manifestations, and impacts, and that the commonalities between many types of confusion and frustration justify thinking of them as part of the same constellation of affect, distinct from other prominent affective categories. We discuss how these types of affect (...) have been considered historically and in key models. We then discuss unusual manifestations of each form of affect that have been documented in the literature, and what light they shed on the broader constructs. We conclude with a discussion of a new theoretical framing that treats confusion and frustration as a confrustion constellation, and the opportunities and open questions that this perspective presents. (shrink)

People tend to show greater liking for expressions of sadness when these expressions are described as art. Why does this effect arise? One obvious hypothesis would be that describing something as art makes people more likely to regard it as fictional, and people prefer expressions of sadness that are not real. We contrast this obvious hypothesis with a hypothesis derived from the philosophical literature. In this alternative hypothesis, describing something as art makes people more inclined to appropriate it, that is, (...) to see it as an expression of their own sadness. Study 1 found that describing the exact same sad text as art (e.g., a monologue) as opposed to not-art (e.g., a diary entry) led to increased liking for the work. Study 2 showed that this effect is not mediated by fictionality. Study 3 showed that the effect is mediated by appropriation. Study 4 looked at the impact of a manipulation of fictionality. Describing a work as fictional did lead to increased liking, but this effect was completely mediated by appropriation. These results provide at least some initial support for the appropriation hypothesis. (shrink)

This essay by René Arcilla examines Jean-Luc Nancy's understanding of the “spirit of 1968.” It argues that Nancy's concept can guide a humanist approach to educating citizens for participation in democratic self-government, one that responds to the political challenges facing us today. In particular, it develops a critique of factionalizing identity politics and seeks to renew what it means to address, and be addressed by, “we the people.” The essay proposes an idea of what democracy seeks to affirm: our social (...) being. (shrink)

This paper aims to clarify the nature of understanding in medicine. The first part describes in more detail what it means to understand something and links a type of understanding (i.e., objectual understanding) to explanations. The second part proceeds to investigate what objectual understanding of a disease (i.e., biomedical understanding) requires by considering the case of scurvy from the history of medicine. The main hypothesis is that grasping a mechanistic explanation of a condition is necessary for a biomedical understanding of (...) that condition. The third part of the paper argues that biomedical understanding is necessary, but not sufficient for understanding in a clinical context (i.e., clinical understanding). The hypothesis is that clinical understanding combines biomedical understanding of a _disease_ or pathological condition with understanding _illness,_ which involves some degree of personal understanding of the patient. It is argued that, in many cases, clinical understanding necessitates adopting a particular second-personal stance and using cognitive resources _in addition_ to those involved in biomedical understanding. (shrink)

While much has been written regarding the harms of Digital Blackface, within this paper I argue that Digital Blackface is harmful on an argumentative level, as opposed to merely socio-political. My position is that the usage of Black GIFs/memes should be curtailed by non-Black and non-users of African American Argumentation (AAA). Rather than offering socio-political reasons members of these groups ought not to use Digital Blackface, I utilize the Pragma-Dialectical model of argumentation. My argument hinges on Black GIFs/memes utilized by (...) non-Blacks and non-AAA users violating two Pragma-Dialectical rules: 1 – the starting point rule and 2 – the usage rule. (shrink)

This study explores the role of community initiatives in fostering peaceful coexistence within UAE society through the lens of philosophical and religious perspectives. By employing a descriptive and analytical approach, the study examines how these initiatives contribute to the promotion of tolerance, social harmony, and interreligious dialogue in a diverse society. Data were drawn from official reports, statements from the UAE Ministry of Tolerance, and prior scholarly work. The findings indicate that community initiatives in the UAE have been instrumental in (...) cultivating a culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence, transcending cultural and religious differences. These initiatives are distinguished by their inclusive nature, engaging various societal groups, and offering a range of diverse activities that promote mutual understanding and respect. The study concludes that the UAE has established a unique model for religious and cultural harmony through its community initiatives, which draws on both philosophical values and religious teachings. It recommends strengthening institutional cooperation and expanding public engagement in these initiatives to ensure their continued success. Furthermore, the integration of tolerance and peaceful coexistence into educational curricula is advised, fostering these values from an early age to instill them across generations. (shrink)

Seamus Heaney's exploration of identity politics has long been a subject of debate among scholars. While some view him as a creator of his own ethnic identity, others critique him as a fabricator of myths and idealized origins. However, the truth of Heaney’s engagement with ethnic identity is far more nuanced. His journey, evolving from a focus on communal attachment to active alienation, and ultimately to the deconstruction of binary oppositions, marks a significant shift from essentialism to pluralism. This transformation (...) is deeply intertwined with Heaney's evolving aesthetic and philosophical reflections on key identity-related themes—such as place and displacement, nationalist claims and political martyrdom, center and emptiness, and border and transcendence. Through this process, Heaney engages in a continual negotiation of personal and collective anxieties, producing poetry that is marked by ongoing revision and renewal. His reflections on identity and their poetic revisions provide profound insights into the ethical dimensions of his work, which not only enhances our understanding of his intellectual development but also positions him within the broader context of Western intellectual traditions. In light of contemporary global conflicts, Heaney’s poetic engagement with themes of identity, place, border, and transcendence offers valuable perspectives on the relationship between self and other, as well as between in-group and out-group dynamics. This essay considers how Heaney's reflections can inform contemporary philosophical discussions on identity and the ethical implications of belonging in a divided world. (shrink)

A family of arguments for black hole evaporation relies on conservation laws, defined through symmetries represented by Killing vector fields which exist globally or asymptotically. However, these symmetries often rely on the idealizations of stationarity and asymptotic flatness, respectively. In non-stationary or non-asymptotically-flat spacetimes where realistic black holes evaporate, the requisite Killing fields typically do not exist. Can we 'de-idealize' these idealizations, and subsequently the associated arguments for black hole evaporation? Here, I critically examine the strategy of using 'approximately Killing' (...) fields to de-idealize black hole spacetimes and approximately extend conservation laws to non-idealized cases. I argue that this approach encounters significant challenges, undermining the use of these idealizations to justify the evaporation of realistic -- rather than idealized -- black holes, and raising questions about the justified use of such idealizations. -/- . (shrink)

There is a growing focus on public health initiatives that prioritise well-being. The main question of our study is whether this, in its current form, can really represent a new response to the challenges of previous strategies, or whether there is a greater chance that it will essentially reproduce the problems associated with the paradoxical situation of public health. Based on a review, analysis and evaluation of the literature on well-being in public health, we outlined the foundations of a new (...) meta-theory of well-being and a possibility for its social application. In our view, well-being is seen as a social representation of a combination of positive and negative freedom of choice concerning the quality of everyday life, used in a positioning process involving both individual and collective aspects. Health is a particular aspect of the social representation and positioning of well-being, which encompasses aspects of the physical, psychological, social and spiritual functioning of individuals. The well-being meta-theory also opens up the possibility for more effective solutions to the social challenges related to well-being and salutogenetic health. It underscores the importance of the need for a dedicated social subsystem where the goals and organizational culture of the organizations involved are focused on well-being and health promotion. In our study, we consider this to be the Public Well-being System (PWS). (shrink)

Empathy is a major aspect of the interplay between filmmaking and reception. Philosophers and neuroscientists have asserted how film’s technical and conceptual devices seemingly simulate the streamings of consciousness by rendering through images the very processes of thought. More recently, in a noteworthy collaborative work between neuroscience and film theory, Vittorio Gallese and Michele Guerra (2020) have observed how the process of “embodied simulation” is at the basis of empathy, making possible intense and diversified experiences of space, objects and other (...) individuals, and offering an important contribution to the study of how films are experienced and co-created by viewers. Drawing on these arguments from neuroscience, philosophy and film theory, in this paper I explore a renewed relationship between empathy and film aesthetics. (shrink)

Within a broadly Thomistic frame, this paper shows how simple apophaticism in the theology of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite is the more fitting mode of knowing the triune God, beyond the use of all divine names. Specifically, we will proceed using the work of Father Bernard Lonergan, SJ on theological fittingness. After setting forth Father Lonergan's understanding of fittingness, the paper will proceed through Dionysius's cataphatic names, apophatic names, and apophatic silence. The cataphatic and apophatic names, while true, useful, and fittingly (...) said of God, will be shown to be imperfectly applied to God. As such, their fittingness pales in comparison to the simple silence of the intellect orientated towards God, despite such pure apophaticism's dissimilarity to normal human intellectual operations. (shrink)

This paper delves into the realm of hermeneutical medicine, focusing on the physician-patient relationship through the lens of Gadamer’s hermeneutics. It argues that in this approach, true dialogue between patients and physicians does not silence or dominate one another, but rather allows for the discovery of new insights from shared experiences, including those of a negative nature. Gadamer rehabilitates prejudices in medical encounters. Through genuine conversation, both physicians and patients gain a better understanding of themselves, each other, and the illness (...) at hand. Gadamer suggests that fruitful and meaningful conversation does not necessitate complete agreement but instead aims to expand individual horizons and foster the fusion of perspectives. This process represents a form of self-correction, and personal growth. Within this hermeneutical context, even as authorities, physicians acknowledge their limitations and willingly open themselves up to truly listen to patients, creating an environment where patients’ voices are heard and respected. (shrink)

The dominant conceptual approach in Anglo-American corporate law literature is to represent the company as a series of voluntary bilateral arrangements. Under such a contractarian approach, the role for company law is to facilitate private bargaining and transactions. This representation is far from uncontroversial, and is frequently challenged on both descriptive grounds (that it does not accurately describe company law) and normative grounds (that its claims as to what the law should be are unfounded). Yet it remains the primary analytical (...) paradigm within corporate law. It presents as an internally coherent representation, which can adequately defend itself from external challenges. The purpose of this article is to explore tensions within the internal argumentation structure of certain claims of this representation. Specifically, this article identifies and unpacks tensions of logical coherence within two key moves advanced within this representation. First, hasty generalisations are provided, extrapolating from unrepresentative samples. Second, there is a circularity in normative claims as to the allocation of corporate rights: the fact that rights are currently provided is frequently used as a reason to justify such rights being initially allocated. This commits the logical fallacy of ‘begging the question’. These two main weaknesses of contractarianism undermine its claim to be an inevitable result of logic. Instead, it is best seen as a series of rhetorical moves: they arise as a result of pre-existing value judgments, and therefore cannot be utilised to justify such value judgments. (shrink)

In this digital age with its global challenges and opportunities, the need for a new, sustainable policy framework is becoming more obvious. For this reason, the necessity for institutions to fully commit to justice and security in the digital landscape is increasing. This will ensure constant peace and stability, and improve human rights throughout the world. The study concentrates on the importance and need for initiatives to promote the world and the exaltation of sustainable development around the world. The creation (...) of an exclusive and safe environment is strengthening legal norms and compliance. The desire is for the world of justice and fair progress as the main goals for international society among complex geopolitical landscapes and multifaceted sociosemiotic dynamics. A multifaceted approach is therefore employed to examine the sustainable development with the element and principles of the rule of law and human rights in stimulating global transformations to a fair and equal world. The study emphasizes the high influence of global initiatives, demonstrating challenges and its fastest solution to promote peace in the world, human rights and inclusive justice, with strategic interaction, partnership with exchange experience thereby driving sustainable development. (shrink)

For a long time, Roman history, taken in its social and legal aspects, was written as a history of males, before Women's Studies and very recently Gender Studies tried to re-established a kind of balance, even if this last field is still little explored by law historians. The hierarchical structure of Roman society—reputed to have been highly macho—was not necessarily based on a simple sex relationship but on a gender relationship in which the individual's biological sex was not enough to (...) fix his or her identity. Actually, many criteria relating to bodily attitudes in the broad sense (body language, clothing, hygiene, morality, personality etc.) were ultimately more important in assessing an individual's sexual identity. In this complex social game, the Romans could consider the existence of a _tertium genus hominum_ between man and woman. In line with a detailed social analysis and the idea that law is an extension of social culture according to many anthropologists, we have to consider that interpretation of legal texts would require the use of a specific reading grid to assess their gendered issue. The conception of this grid is a major part of the work made by the team operating the ANR HLJP gender project initiated in 2022, for which we developed a specific working method for law history in general that is still being tested for law sources presenting a gendered aspect. Through the exegesis of some roman legal texts relating to public and private spheres organization, we will illustrate how a gender-specific reading grid could possibly refine our knowledge of Roman law. (shrink)

The absence of a universally recognized definition of national minority is perceived as problematic by legal scholars on the international level as well as in domestic jurisdictions [Kymlicka, Will. 2015. Solidarity in diverse societies: Beyond neoliberal multiculturalism and welfare chauvinism. _Comparative Migration Studies_. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-015-0017-4, Ringelheim, Julie. 2010. Minority Rights in a Time of Multiculturalism-The Evolving Scope of the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities. _Human rights law review_. https://doi.org/10.1093/hrlr/ngp038, Velázquez, Elisa Ortega. 2017. Minority rights for immigrants: From Multiculturalism (...) to Civic Participation. _Mexican Law Review_, no. 1., Dimitras, Panayote Elias. 2004. _Recognition of minorities in Europe: Protecting rights and dignity_. London: Minority Rights Group International]. National minority under Czech law is defined by the Act on National Minorities, and the definition combines the objective and subjective criteria of Capotorti’s [Capotorti, Francesco. 1977. _Study on the Rights of Persons belonging to Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities_, UN Document E/CN.4/Sub.2/384/Add.1–7. p. 96] and Deschênes’ [Deschênes, Jules. 1985. _Proposal Concerning a Definition of the Term Minority_. UN Document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1985/31. paragraph 181] definitions. However, the Czech Minority Act makes a distinction between ‘minorities that have traditionally and for a long time resided in the territory of the Czech Republic’ (§§ 8–12) and other minority groups, while there is no explicit criterion for differentiating among these groups objectively. Such absence of clearcut criteria is often relevant when certain minority groups claim unfavourable treatment due to the authorities’ perception of such national groups as being ‘immigrant’ as opposed to ‘autochthonous’. Additionally, recent case-law has shown that the most ‘traditional’ groups residing in the Czech territory, such as Moravians or Silesians, can equally lack state support, while it is typically argued by Courts that such groups lack ‘distinct features’, be it ethnic, linguistic and cultural, from the majority population and thus do not fall under the legal definition of national minorities (Verdict of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic, Ref No 7 As 324/2020-42, of 17 August 2021; Verdict of the Regional Court in Brno, Ref No 62 A 35/2020 − 186, of 8 October 2020). This paper combines doctrinal legal analysis with a socio-legal approach. The language of legislative acts and court verdicts is assessed with the methodology of critical discourse analysis, specifically the discourse-historical approach [Reisigl, Martin, and Ruth Wodak. 2015. The Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA). In _Methods of Critical Discourse Studies_, 3rd edition, eds. Ruth Wodak and Michael Meyer, 23–61. London: Sage]. I focus on nomination, predication and argumentation strategies [Wodak, Ruth. 2009. The semiotics of racism: A critical discourse-historical analysis. In _Discourse, of Course: An overview of Research in Discourse studies_, ed. Jan Renkema. 311–326. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company] used by the judges in court verdicts and on the role of perceived ‘tradition’ of certain groups’ residence in the territory of the Czech Republic on their access to state support or, on the contrary, their marginalization. It is concluded that the current state of the Czech law does not allow for the spatial dynamics of minority groups, which are mostly apprehended as fixed categories based on the 19th century idea of nation states and on the 1920s perception of the Czechoslovak nation after the breakdown of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Such approach does not allow for accommodating the rights for more up-to-date categories or for critical revisiting of the catalogue of minority groups as it was defined in the early 20th century. (shrink)

Lying is the deliberate act of conveying false information to deceive others using language. Examining the linguistic and content features of this act has been a point of interest for forensic linguists due to its potential significance in examining various legal contexts such as criminal investigations, accusations, eyewitness testimonies, allegations, and police interrogations. This article aimed to examine the content features of lying in Jordanian Colloquial Arabic and their social constraints. The study draws on the Reality Monitoring (RM) approach, a (...) forensic tool that has proven its effectiveness in lying detection. To achieve this aim, a corpus of 288 narratives, 144 lying and 144 truthful, was collected through face-to-face interviews with 48 speakers stratified by gender, age, and educational attainment. The findings of this study did not conform to the RM criteria. The study revealed that truthful accounts contain more cognitive details while lying accounts contain more spatial, temporal, affective, and perceptual details. (shrink)

The essay attempts to shed light on some examples of the relationship between prescriptive and descriptive, norms and facts in comparative law. In particular, it examines: the methodological choices (in the alternative between normative paradigms and open pluralism), the ontology of the law (in the alternative between abstract dogmatism and experiential realism), the act of dividing the global spatiality into different units of legal meaning (in the alternative between neutral observation and constructive projectuality). Capturing the tension between doubt, displacement, rupture (...) (on the one side) and recovery, revision, creative renewal (on the other side) that has marked the genealogy of an “undisciplined discipline”, the Author proposes to assign it for the future a space of _inter-esse_, an interstitial threshold in which every binary opposition can be dynamically resolved. (shrink)

This essay provides an overview of the working mechanisms of abductive reasoning and discusses the possible applications of this logic tool in comparative law research. Indeed, abductive reasoning pertains to the role of explanatory reasoning in formulating hypotheses and, as commonly utilised in contemporary literature of social sciences, in verifying those ideas. Comparative thinking is a logic process of the human mind that employs a particular set of logic and epistemic tools to manage and process data. Arguing that comparative law (...) has not conceptualised a precise and consistent method but only a set of practical guidelines to guide the research process of scholars, this study claims that observation of socio-legal phenomena and theory formation are not only inherently linked in comparative law research but also already theory-driven through an abductive logic process. In this sense, the scholar of comparative law does not rely exclusively on the logic instruments of the traditional legal practitioner but can deepen the potentialities of an abductive logic of discovery and justification already scrutinised by the other human and social sciences. While it is not desirable for the science of comparative law to adopt a single rigid method for research but to maintain a methodological flexibility open to interdisciplinarity, it must question the logic of discovery and justification of its results in a manner similar to that of the other social sciences of which it is a full member. Accordingly, it is assumed that the logic set of tools of comparative law can be enriched by developing the potentialities of the structure of abductive reasoning. (shrink)

Legal rules are often understood in terms of exclusionary reasons, and exclusionary reasons are normally understood as reasons for action according to R az. In this paper, I engage with the literature on the _metaphysics of reasons for action_ and explain how exclusionary reasons can be used in different conceptions of what reasons for action _are_ (and not only by the one defended by J oseph R az ). To do that, I proceed as follows: In the first part, and (...) after differentiating between _factual_ and _psychological_ conceptions of what reasons for action are, I engage with different approaches to reasons for action as facts (such as those claiming that reasons are explanation or evidence of “oughts”, primitive facts, and value-based instrumental and non-instrumental facts) to defend that exclusionary reasons can be accommodated inside all of those _factual_ conceptions of reasons for action. In the second part, I engage with those claiming that reasons for action are grounded in mental states (such as will, desires, beliefs, and intentions) to explore whether exclusionary reasons can work inside those _psychological_ conceptions of what reasons for action are. As a result, by showing how exclusionary reasons can be accommodated inside different factual and psychological conceptions of what reasons for action are, I defend that exclusionary reasons are an open concept that is not conceptually linked to R az’s conception of what reasons for action are. (shrink)

This review presents a critical reading of Calboli's and Montagnani's _Handbook of Intellectual Property Research_ from the perspective of Applied Legal Linguistics (ALL). It first identifies the lack of discussion from the perspective of applied legal linguistics (ALL), legal semiotics, and discourse analysis, and points out the strong connection between intellectual property (IP) law and language. I seek to convey my insight how legal linguistics is not merely auxiliary but is, in fact, very much intertwined with real-world legal outcomes in (...) IP law. The review focuses on both internal and external questions in IP law, and particularly engages with the question of how language use in various legal contexts shapes the application of IP law. The article presents the four parts of the handbook, each of which examines the intersections of IP law with other areas of inquiry. It is found that the way the handbook’s contents are structurally arranged is likely to help readers maneuver successfully between quite different legal, humanistic, social science, and pluralistic perspectives on IP law. This allows for both a broad overview and targeted research depending on readers’ focus or interest. Part I discusses interactions between IP law and other legal areas, such as international law, comparative law, contract law, tort law, and criminal law, inter alia, and points towards the methodological diversity and the interconnectedness of these areas of legal study. Part II then explores the relationship between IP and the humanities, including but not limited to cultural heritage, history, and philosophy. Part III then shifts focus to empirical social sciences and covers, inter alia, economics, ethnography, and technological analysis. It is shown that data-driven research can deepen one’s understanding of IP law. Finally, Part IV focuses on pluralism, which, amongst other things, includes sustainable development, human rights, and critical theories, such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) and feminist legal theory, which link the role of IP to the notions of social justice and other critical concerns. (shrink)

Tout ce qui n’est pas reconnu par le droit comme norme juridique est traité par lui comme un fait—normes sociales, connaissances scientifiques, mœurs, événements, etc. Le droit, système autoréférentiel, institue les compétences et les procédures par lesquelles une assertion quelconque, portant sur des faits, devient une norme juridique. Le présent texte analyse les différents lieux de passage par lesquels des faits peuvent ainsi être reconnus par le droit comme normes juridiques. Il analyse d’abord la réception et la construction des faits (...) à considérer comme pertinents au regard de la norme applicable. Il introduit ensuite le concept de notions juridiques indéterminées, dont le sens ne peut être concrétisé que par référence à des faits de toute nature, ce qui requiert une argumentation propre à justifier cette référence. Les faits sont donc construits avant qu’une autorité instituée par le droit décide de leur donner la forme abstraite d’une norme juridique. Cette construction va être structurée comme un récit, dont la cohérence doit être assurée par référence à des schémas tirés de l’expérience sociale, de telle manière qu’elle puisse être acceptée comme raisonnable par la collectivité. Le juge comme le législateur apparaissent alors sous la double face d’une fonction juridique et d’un individu plongé dans la société, ce qui les met en mesure faire du droit avec des faits en les comprenant l’un et les autres. (shrink)