In “On Referring” Peter Strawson pointed out that incomplete descriptions pose a problem for Russell’s analysis of definite descriptions. Howard Wettstein and Michael Devitt appealed to incomplete descriptions to argue, first, that Russell’s analysis of definite descriptions fails, and second, that Donnellan’s referential/attributive distinction has semantic bite. Stephen Neale has defended Russell’s analysis of definite descriptions against Wettstein’s and Devitt’s objections. In this paper, my aim is twofold. First, I rebut Neale’s objections to Wettstein’s and Devitt’s argument and argue that (...) Neale’s attempt to provide an account of referential descriptions within a Russellian framework fails. Second, contra Devitt and Wettstein, I argue that the problem posed by incomplete descriptions shows that Donnellan was right in believing that referential descriptions refer even if the definite description fits nothing. (shrink)

We review from a historical and a didactic point of view the Equivalence Principle, which was considered by Einstein as the corner stone of his new theory of Gravitation: the General Relativity. Before and after the enormous success of his theory, this principle was the subject of studies and discussions. Still today, after more than one century, the debate about its interpretation, application and generalization is very fertile. Einstein soon understood the revolutionary significance of his idea and defined it as (...) “the happiest thought of my life”. (shrink)

In bargaining and negotiations, should one make the first offer or wait for the opponent to do so? Practitioners support the idea that moving first in bargaining is a mistake, while researchers find strong evidence that first-movers benefit from an anchoring effect. This paper addresses these issues from a theoretical perspective for the first time in the literature. It is found that first-movers benefit from a strategic advantage, while second-movers benefit from an information advantage. Therefore, the existence of first- and (...) second-mover advantages depends crucially on the relative strength of these two effects. In line with the experimental literature, first-mover advantages are more prevalent, but second-mover advantages appear in very reasonable and realistic bargaining situations. Among other results, it is found that second-mover advantages require the existence of high-types and differences in individuals’ preferences. The results also suggest a systematic first-mover advantage in contexts of great ambiguity, in which the anchoring effect of the first offer becomes the driving force. (shrink)

On raconte qu'après la désignation comme Premier consul, Napoléon montra à des invités La Science de la législation de Gaetano Filangieri, le "jeune homme qui est notre maître à tous". Presque au même moment, ces volumes se trouvaient aussi sur le bureau de Benjamin Constant. La fortune et la circulation de cette oeuvre au sein de l'Europe des Lumières et du XIXe siècle sont l'objet de cet ouvrage, qui décrit les débats qu'elle a alimentés afin de comprendre pourquoi les hommes (...) de lettres et les politiques continuèrent à s'intéresser à ce classique de la pensée républicaine du XVIIIe siècle pour se fondre dans la nouvelle Europe du XIXe siècle."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

The paper considers the "GR-desideratum", that is, the way general relativity implements general covariance, diffeomorphism invariance, and background independence. Two cases are discussed where 5-dimensional generalizations of general relativity run into interpretational troubles when the GR-desideratum is forced upon them. It is shown how the conceptual problems dissolve when such a desideratum is relaxed. In the end, it is suggested that a similar strategy might mitigate some major issues such as the problem of time or the embedding of quantum non-locality (...) into relativistic spacetimes. (shrink)

This article serves as an introduction to the collection of papers in this monographic issue on "What the European tradition can teach about Corporate Social Responsibility" and presents the rationale and the main hypotheses of the project. We maintain that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an ethical concept, that the demands for socially responsible actions have been around since before the Industrial Revolution and that companies have responded to them, especially in Europe, and that the content of CSR has evolved (...) over time, depending on historical, cultural, political, and socio-economic drivers and particular conditions in different countries and also at different points in time. Therefore, there is not — and probably cannot be — a unique, precise definition of CSR: one global standard for CSR is unlikely. (shrink)

In this essential rereading of Spinoza's (1632-1677) philosophical and political writings, Negri positions this thinker within the historical context of the development of the modern state and its attendant political economy.

Corruption is a serious economic, social, political, and moral blight, especially in many emerging countries. It is a problem that affects companies in particular, especially in international commerce, finance, and technology transfer. And it is becoming an international phenomenon in scope, substance, and consequences. That is why, in recent years, there has been a proliferation of international efforts to tackle the problem of corruption. One such international cooperative initiative is the United Nations Convention against Corruption, signed in 2003, which came (...) into force in December 2005. This is the first truly global instrument to prevent and combat corruption, built on a broad international consensus. The purpose of this article is to explain the origin and content of the Convention, what it adds to existing international instruments for combating corruption, and its strengths and weaknesses, mainly from the point of view of companies. (shrink)

The contemporary state is not only the main force behind environmental change, but the reactions to environmental problems have played a crucial role in the modernisation of the state apparatus, especially because of its mediatory role. The Political Ecology of the State is the first book to critically assess the philosophical basis of environmental statehood and regulation, addressing the emergence and evolution of environmental regulation from the early 20th Century to the more recent phase of ecological modernisation and the neoliberalisation (...) of nature. The state is understood as the result of permanent socionatural interactions and multiple forms of contestation, from a critical politico-ecological approach. This book examines the tension between pro- and anti-commons tendencies that have permeated the organisation and failures of the environmental responses put forward by the state. It provides a reinterpretation of the achievements and failures of mainstream environmental policies and regulation and offers a review of the mains philosophical influences behind different periods of environmental statehood and regulation. It sets out an agenda for going beyond conventional state regulation and grassroots dealings with the state, and as such redefines the environmental apparatus of the state. (shrink)

Una larga tradición en la enseñanza, que se remonta al periodo dictatorial, pero que sustantivamente en sus formas no ha cambiado con las administraciones democráticas, es que todo debe estar regulado, produciéndose lo que Habermas ha llamado una "juridificación" de ámbitos que pertenecen al ejercicio de la misma profesionalidad o al "mundo de la vida". De este modo, la complejidad de problemas educativos que requeriría el necesario juicio profesional, se reduce a aplicar lo que indica la Administración o sus supervisores (...) en cada momento, por lo demás cambiante. (shrink)

El trabajo explora diferentes posibilidades a la hora de mantener una posición compatibilista de la libertad, en un sentido fuerte, con el determinismo. La noción de determinismo es analizada con especial detalle. Se defiende una concepción general de la libertad como cierto tipo de causación mental en un marco no fatalista. Y se argumenta que dentro de esta concepción de la libertad seguirían existiendo varias posibilidades compatibilistas, unas más radicales que otras.

La finalidad de este artículo es explicar, mediante algunos testimonios significativos, de qué manera penetra en España el aristotelismo y cómo esta penetración del nuevo pensamiento aristotélico en Europa pone de manifiesto un permanente conflicto entre Edad Media y Renacimiento, fundamentalmente en España, donde el redescubrimiento y uso de las autoridades antiguas constituye a menudo un importante problema teórico. El autor muestra alguna de estas dificultades en varios dominios (filosofía, ciencia, literatura).

Luis Jiménez Moreno murió en octubre de 2007 a los 77 años de edad. Durante los últimos 30 años perteneció a la Universidad Complutense, de la que llegó a ser catedrático. Había estudiado en Salamanca, Roma, Valencia y Munich. Su tesis doctoral sobre el pensamiento antropológico de Nietzsche fue dirigida por Aranguren. Fue catedrático de instituto en Andújar, Ávila y Badalona, y profesor de universidad en Barcelona y Madrid. El presente artículo recoge los datos fundamentales de su vida, así como (...) toda su obra dividida en libros, artículos, ensayos, conferencias, ponencias y comunicaciones en congresos, seminarios, simposios, reuniones científicas, etc. (shrink)