There is a shared feeling among those familiar with pragmatism that, if applied in practice, the teachings of Peirce, James, Dewey, and their heirs could prove extraordinarily helpful in our current uncertain times—times of persistent moral disagreements and almost irreparable social conflicts. But to what extent is this feeling justified? What is the nature of these infelicitous circumstances? And, what makes pragmatism such a suitable approach? In this article, I claim that the main reason behind the ineffectiveness with which we (...) have traditionally addressed our differences is the uncritical acceptance and enactment of a pernicious dichotomy between objectivism and subjectivism. As I argue, it is pragmatist philosophers who most clearly understood the urgency to find an alternative to these extreme positions and who most successfully accomplished this task; it is to them, I claim, we must now turn if we are to more effectively address our disagreements and conflicts. (shrink)

This paper is concerned with moral experimentalism, which I describe as the stance according to which moral inquiry is grounded not in objective foundations nor in our subjective inclinations but in our active encounter with things and events and in our communicative interactions with others. The notion of moral inquiry as grounded in objective foundations and that as based on subjective inclinations have traditionally been conceived of not as two independent possibilities but as the two poles of a dramatic Either/Or (...) that has profoundly conditioned, and still does, our perception of and approach to disagreements and conflicts. When the pragmatists, particularly Dewey, advanced the idea of an experimental approach to moral issues, they put it forward as an alternative to these extreme positions and, therefore, as a way out of what they perceived, I think correctly, as a false and pernicious dichotomy. The paper is divided into three parts: In the first section, I set the theoretical foundation of experimentalism as conceived of by the American pragmatists, in particular Peirce and Dewey. In the second part, and drawing mainly on Dewey’s Logic, I explore the procedural implications derived from the application of experimentalism to practice. In the third section, I consider the particularities of the application of experimentalism to the realm of ethics. As I argue, experimentalism is not only a promising approach to moral problems but perhaps the only effective remedy for the increasingly irrational attitudes with which they are today addressed. (shrink)

Jürgen Habermas’s discourse ethics is a method of intersubjective argumentation conceived to test the validity of moral norms on the basis of their universalizability. As some scholars have argued, Habermas’s proposal is problematic in that the process of argumentation is always affected by the circumstances of inequality and unfairness that pervade communal life and, therefore, it cannot be as inclusive and egalitarian as it needs to be in order to function effectively. In this paper, I argue that the solutions proposed (...) by these scholars, namely, the improvement of social conditions and the pluralization of the process of argumentation, cannot by themselves resolve the practical limitation Habermas’s method presents. As an alternative, I adopt Philip Kitcher’s approach to ethics according to which the establishment of moral norms is oriented not to the resolution of disagreements but to the restitution of healthy relationships among individuals. On the basis of this alternative conception, I propose the addition to Habermas’s principle of universalization of a supplemental criterion of moral justification—one that makes the validity of norms dependent upon their potential to foster altruism. (shrink)

The fact that Dewey was born the same year in which Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published is one of the historical coincidences most commonly mentioned by those interested in American philosophy. Such lack of originality—mine included—is perfectly justified by the fact that pragmatism would not exist, at least not as we know it, without Darwin. The intersection between philosophy and evolutionary theories has been amply explored. In this book, Beth L. Eddy offers us an additional examination, focused, (...) this time, on the contribution of Darwinism and pragmatism to ethics.Eddy begins by examining the context in which Darwinism emerged and the two contrasting ethical standpoints derived from it, namely... (shrink)

Transhumanism is a challenging movement that invites us to rethink what defines humanity, including what we value and regret the most about our existence. Vulnerability is a key concept that require thorough philosophical scrutiny concerning transhumanist proposals. Vulnerability can refer to a universal condition of human life or, rather, to the specific exposure to certain harms due to particular situations. Even if we are all vulnerable in the first sense, there are also different sources and levels of vulnerability depending on (...) concrete social circumstances. Recently, Michael Hauskeller argued about a fundamental incompatibility between transhumanism and vulnerability. He understands vulnerability as an existential category, linked to woundability and mortality. This idea is akin to ontological vulnerability, but it does not notice some important features of social vulnerability. On the other side, transhumanism is a complex and non-homogeneous movement. Here we distinguish between a strong and a weak version of transhumanism. We will propose that the salience of vulnerability is only diminished in the radical one, while a moderate version can reconcile vulnerability with human enhancement. Thus, vulnerability, a concept that has recently gained much importance as an anthropological category in contemporary ethics, is not necessarily at odds with any transhumanist project. (shrink)

The subject of this paper is to deep in the way that Guzmán planned to make effective social participation in an authoritarian context like Pinochet's Chile (1973-1990). We will see how Guzmán considered civil participation as an essential requirement in order to get a modern democracy which would be opened in Chile after the military dictatorship. He supported this idea through the concepts of subsidiarity State and liberal economy policy.

The commons and care are two topics that have gained presence in public and political discourses in recent years and seem to have a special affinity to one another. In this article, I propose that there are two different approaches to the relationship between the commons and care, arguing in favor of one of them: care in common or community care. In this way, I claim that care can be defined as what is done to maintain certain commons, forging the (...) bonds that shape communities according to ethical standards. These standards can be established in accordance with the ethics of care and in continuity with the political tradition of the commons. (shrink)

La Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas aprobó la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos el 10 de diciembre de 1948, su artículo 26 reconocía el derecho a la educación de todas las personas, la gratuidad y obligatoriedad en los niveles elementales. La igualdad de oportunidades en el acceso a los estudios superiores, el derecho de los padres a escoger el tipo de educación de sus hijos y concretaba el objetivo de la misma como el pleno desarrollo de la personalidad (...) humana y el fortalecimiento del respeto a los derechos humanos y a las libertades fundamentales. Esta Declaración fue el punto de partida de la Comisión constitucional del Congreso de los Diputados encargada de elaborar la Constitución de 1978, para desarrollar el artículo sobre el derecho a la educación. (shrink)

Research on salesperson creativity remains as one of the most under-researched topics in the sales literature despite the evidence that encouraging creativity in the sales domain is a source of competitive advantage. This paper aims to fill this research gap by exploring the influence of perceived ethical climate on salesperson creative performance, paying special attention to the role that emotions play in this process. Data provided by 176 supervisor–salesperson dyads confirm that the trust/responsibility dimension of an ethical climate is positively (...) related to salesperson creative selling by increasing salespeople's organizational pride. Similarly, the perception of unethical selling practices negatively affects salesperson organizational pride, reducing the expression of creative behaviors. Moreover, the negative effect of unethical selling practices on creative performance is stronger (more negative) when salespeople's identification with an organization increases. Managerial implications and future research directions are also addressed. (shrink)

En cada época y en cada civilización existen problemas socialmente importantes que son objeto de especial atención. Son hechos que, por su ámbito de extensión o por su gravedad, tienen una gran resonancia. Es lo que en las últimas décadas ocurre con las adicciones, que constituyen uno de los trastornos emblemáticos de nuestra sociedad.

En este artículo pretendemos dar cuenta del desenvolvimiento que tuvo la filosofía moderno-contemporánea y el llamado pensamiento postmetafísico, a partir de Edmund Husserl. Alrededor las categorías fenomenológicas de método y de sentido enunciamos un gesto de apertura a la filosofía contemporánea la cual asume distintos matices que pretenden que la actividad filosófica vaya más allá de sí misma.

Este artículo pretende abrir una línea de trabajo en la que confluye el área de la restauración y la didáctica. Se muestra un proceso de restauración basado en la mínima intervención, en cuanto a pérdidas de policromía se refiere, pero se ofrece como una herramienta medio para la enseñanza. El proyecto posibilita que la tabla se exhiba como pieza modelo en una sala del Museo Arte Sacro de Teruel, que el público visualice y conozca el mecanismo técnico de creación de (...) una tabla del siglo XV y que, mediante la recreación virtual y la utilización de imágenes de la misma temática de otras obras de relevancia, se proponga cómo pudo ser la tabla de Olalla en origen. En definitiva, se plantea realizar una prueba piloto que pueda servir para otras obras con circunstancias similares. Palabras clave: pintura gótica, Aragón, siglo XV, restauración y conservación, nuevas tecnologías, educación patrimonial, didáctica de la pintura, musealización.. This project aims to be a new line of work where restoration and didactics fields converge. It shows a process of restoration based on the minimum intervention in terms of loss of polychromy. However, it is offered as a tool for teaching. In this specific case, this table is shown as a model piece through its exhibition in a room at Sacred Art Museum of Teruel. Following this project, it will be possible to visualize and learn the technical mechanism of creation of a 15th century panel reinforced with a virtual recreation using digital media to show how it could have been in origin, as well as using images of the same subject matter of other relevant works. The main focus of this project is to serve as a pilot test for other works with similar circumstances. Key words: gothic painting, Aragon, 15th century, restauration and conservation, new technologies, heritage education, painting education, musealization. (shrink)

El trabajo desarrollado en este artículo muestra una experiencia docente basada en la Metodología Activa del Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos en la asignatura de Instalaciones II de la titulación del Grado en Arquitectura Técnica de la Universidad de Burgos. Para alcanzar la excelencia del proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje, se ha diseñado una metodología de trabajo basada en el desarrollo progresivo de un Proyecto de Ejecución mediante subproyectos, con el objetivo de conseguir mejores resultados en el proceso de aprendizaje mediante (...) el desempeño personal, la retroalimentación de procesos y el trabajo cooperativo, todo ello orientado a la excelencia académica y profesional de los estudiantes. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el ABP es una excelente metodología para el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la asignatura de Instalaciones II y para el futuro desempeño profesional de los estudiantes. (shrink)

With size, voting discipline, and technical resources superior to those of most Brazilian parties, in the last two decades, the support of the Agrarian Caucus has become crucial for the realization of presidents’ legislative agenda. In a country where 87 percent of the population is urban, how have representatives of the agrarian elites become key players in bargaining on nonagrarian issues? This article argues that Brazilian agrarian elites have been so successful because they have devised an electoral strategy that maximizes (...) their leverage in a fragmented party system with ideologically weak right-wing parties. Empirically, I show how agrarian elites in Brazil finance legislative campaigns, mobilize voters, and subsidize the legislative work of politicians from their ranks, independently of their partisan affiliation. Theoretically, I discuss the advantages of a candidate-centered electoral strategy: self-representation and multipartisanship. While self-representation has granted agrarian elites direct access to agenda-setting positions within Congress, having members in many parties has increased the number of agenda-setting positions they can control and guaranteed their presence in the legislative coalition of right- and left-wing presidents alike. (shrink)

Para algunos la empatía es “el centro del universo moral”, mientras que para otros juega un papel secundario o, en todo caso, éticamente poco fiable. Acudiendo tanto a sus precursores filosóficos –como Hume y Smith–, como a sus investigadores contemporáneos en el campo de la psicología – como Hoffman y Batson–, este artículo elabora una defensa ponderada del papel de la empatía en la motivación, el desarrollo y el juicio morales, reconociendo sus limitaciones.

This study investigates the effects on organization’s financial performances of, first, the extent to which the organizations are involved in controversial business activities, and second, their level of social performance. These companies can be considered non-socially responsible given the harmful nature of the activities they are involved in. Managers of these companies may still have incentives to pursue socially responsible actions if they believe that engaging on those actions will help them to achieve legitimacy and improve investors’ perception about them. (...) We develop a comprehensive methodology to investigate these corporate social performance (CSP)-related effects in a complex but specific setting. To this end, we analyze a sample of 202 US firms for the period 2005–2008 using a novel method in this area: partial least squares. Our results indicate that, contrary to the general findings in prior literature, companies involved in controversial business activities which engage in CSP do not directly reduce the negative perception that stakeholders have about them. Instead, we found evidence of a positive mediation effect of CSP on financial market-based performance through innovation. (shrink)

RESUMENEl tratamiento que el arte más vanguardista ha dado a la relación con lo cotidiano, rompiendo las fronteras entre arte y vida, ha tenido una influencia palpable en nuestros comportamientos actuales a la luz de los medios, especialmente televisión e internet. Hoy, nuestra relación con lo cotidiano en gran medida se teje en el mundo internet, que constituye un espacio de socialización y configuración de la identidad. Los valores presentes en la forma de relacionarnos con lo cotidiano han ido experimentando (...) cambios que hoy se dirían ambivalentes: gesto vital-artístico y parte del dispositivo neoliberal de la transparencia. El recorrido por esta relación, poniendo en un mismo escenario voces de procedencias diversas, nos conduce hasta el planteamiento no exento de controversias de nuestra identidad y nuestra vida como una creación artística.PALABRAS CLAVESOCIALIZACIÓN, MEDIOS, ARTISTAS DE LA VIDA, AUTODETERMINACIÓN, BÚSQUEDA-CONTROLABSTRACTThe way in which the most vanguardist art has approached the relation with everyday life, breaking the barriers between art and life, has had a tangible influence on our current behaviour in lights of Mass Media, especially television and Internet. Nowadays, our relationship with day-to-day life develops, to a great extent, in the Internet world, which constitutes a space for socialization and profiling our identity. The values that accompany the way in which we establish the link with everyday life have been undergoing changes that nowadays could be considered as ambivalent: vital artistic gesture and a part of neoliberal mechanism of transparency. The overview of this relation, including voices from various sources, leads us to a conclusion, not at all devoid of controversies, regarding our identity and our life as an artistic creationKEYWORDSSOCIALIZATION, MEDIA, ARTISTS OF LIFE, SELF-DETERNINATION, A SEARCH-CONTROL. (shrink)

The rise of mathematical developments in the theories of consciousness has led to new measures to detect consciousness in a system. The Integrated Information Theory is one of the best mathematical rooted attempts to quantify the level of consciousness in a system with Φ as the effective information generated in a system above its parts. Recently, the IIT has inspired the Perturbational Complexity Index to detect conscious states in patients with disorders of consciousness, and it has shown to have almost (...) perfect classification accuracy. In this study, we explore the statistical correspondence between the theoretical Φ and the experimental PCI through a neurocomputational model of coupled oscillators that can be artificially perturbed, which mainly focuses on the dynamics of collective synchronization between subsets of brain areas. Our results reveal that both measures are statistically related but, in principle, this relationship is far to be perfect. These results are discussed in the context of the model of coupled oscillators, which mainly focuses on the dynamics of collective synchronization between subsets of brain areas. (shrink)

The paper examines Villarán’s definition of conflicts of interest to improve it. Some clarifications are necessary but also some amendments. The basic difference consists of first distinguishing between interest and moral grounds, and, second, by emphasizing the voluntary nature of the commitment of the person facing a conflict of interest. Such a commitment arises within a work-related or professional context. It must be explicit with regard to individuals, public institutions, private organizations, whether for profit or nonprofit, or professional associations. To (...) support this concept, a method is used that is similar to the recent tradition of the English-speaking world expressed by Rawls, instead of the search for universal or essentialist concepts of the Platonic tradition. The result is not a true definition of conflicts of interest, but a necessary one given our historical-social context. (shrink)

El presente artículo versa sobre el lugar que el cuerpo propio desempeña en la configuración de la identidad personal según Gabriel Marcel. Se intenta plantear el tema de la identidad y el lugar que en ella ocupa la polémica relación entre yo y mi cuerpo, teniendo en cuenta la situación actual de este debate y mostrando con ello las señas de identidad de una sociedad que vive con vehemencia el proyecto de ser uno mismo y la relación entre el ser (...) y el cuerpo. (shrink)

La novela ha sido consagrada como una de las “técnicas de experiencia vicaria” fundamentales, que adiestran nuestra habilidad para ponernos en la piel de otras personas. No han sido pocos los que han visto un claro efecto moral en esa permanente exploración de la alteridad. El artículo repasa los argumentos de los entusiastas de esa idea, los que creen que leer novelas nos hace más empáticos y solidarios; de los moderados, quienes consideran que ayuda ante todo a ejercitar nuestro juicio (...) moral, y de los escépticos, que apenas encuentran ningún fin moral en ese hábito. Revisa a continuación algunas complejidades del desarrollo moral, que hacen improbable una fácil conexión, y termina distinguiendo los modos en que la lectura de novelas sí puede contribuir a cultivar la humanidad que hay en nosotros y a ahondar en el humanitarismo. (shrink)

Según Emmanuel Levinas, el sentido de la ética consistiría en una orientación pre-ontológica que hace que, en lugar de meros seres que están-conlos- otros, seamos seres que son-para-losotros, de modo que en la proximidad del cara-a-cara, el rostro del otro despierta en nosotros una responsabilidad para con él (y para con todos los otros que aparecen ya en él). Sin embargo, para cumplir con la llamada del rostro a menudo es necesaria alguna forma de mediación (de pensamiento, cálculo, generalización, despersonalización), (...) alguna forma de “saber” que supone distancia y corre, por tanto, el permanente peligro de olvidar su sentido. De ahí las aporías y las dificultades inherentes a la proximidad sobre las que reflexiona la segunda parte de este artículo. (shrink)

Evolution by natural selection has been extended to several supraorganismic levels, but whether it can apply to ecosystems remains controversial on two main counts. First, local ecosystems are loosely individuated, so that it is unclear how they manifest heredity and fitness. Second, even if they did, the meta-ecosystem formed by this population of local ecosystems will also suffer from a very low degree of cohesion, which will jeopardize any ENS. We suggest a way to overcome both issues, focusing on ecosystem (...) properties rather than on ecosystemic individuals. First, we follow recent theoretical developments which deny the centrality of reproduction in ENS. This leads us to merge heredity and fitness in a single process, in which a local ecosystem causally influences its neighbors, in a way responsible for their phenotypic similarity. Second, we suggest that the resulting meta-ecosystem need not meet the criteria of individuality. Instead, the evolving meta-ecosystem is best understood as a homeostatic property cluster, i.e., a set of phenotypes that together evolve by ENS at the ecosystem level. We illustrate this conceptual framework with a hypothetical example of local ecosystems that vary in terms of stability, productivity, diversity, and complementarity between species. Finally, we stress that our property-based account of ecosystemic ENS can help understand evolution at other biological levels, such as early life evolution and holobionts. (shrink)