Did people in early modern Europe have a concept of an inner self? Carla Mazzio and Douglas Trevor have brought together an outstanding group of literary, cultural, and history scholars to answer this intriguing question. Through a synthesis of historicism and psychoanalytic criticism, the contributors explore the complicated, nuanced, and often surprising union of history and subjectivity in Europe centuries before psychoanalytic theory. Addressing such topics as "fetishes and Renaissances," "the cartographic unconscious," and "the topographic imaginary," these essays move (...) beyond the strict boundaries of historicism and psychoanalysis to carve out new histories of interiority in early modern Europe. Contributors: Ann Rosalind Jones, Peter Stallybrass, James R. Siemon, John Guillory, Eric Wilson, Karen Newman, Tom Conley, Jeffrey Masten, Carla Mazzio, Katharine Eisaman Maus, Jonathan Goldberg, Douglas Trevor, Kathryn Schwarz, David Hillman, Marjorie Garber. (shrink)

An attempt is made to answer this question by first analyzing the structure of Darwinian inheritance as it is exemplified in the current biological theory of evolution. Based on this analysis a generalized framework for Darwinian inheritance containing conditions which must be met by all proper Darwinian evolutionary theories is developed. Subsequently this framework is employed to assess, in part, the adequacy of Toulmin's evolutionary epistemology. Although Toulmin asserts that Darwinian inheritance operates in conceptual development, the framework is used to (...) show that the structure of concepts which he presents is unable to support the requirements for this kind of inheritance. It is concluded that Toulmin's evolutionary theory is not truly Darwinian. (shrink)

This text analyses a scene from theatre play Still Out There by artist collective kainkollektiv, with special attention to the material-discursive entanglements of dancing body, table, and musical sound, exploring the performative construction of fictionalized places and imaginary spaces that challenge and transform catergories of ‘otherness’.

Nesse trabalho será analisado o tratamento teórico apresentado por Hannah Arendt sobre o tema da desobediência civil em sua obra Crises da República, traçando um paralelo com as práticas do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem-Terra no que tange à legitimidade dos seus atos de desobediência civil. Sob esse enfoque a luta pelo acesso a terra se apresenta como uma possibilidade de que seus integrantes integrem-se em comunidade fundando um espaço público e desenvolvendo sua capacidade de ação política, característica essencial da (...) vida humana. (shrink)

This article analyzes the evolution of Mersenne's views concerning the validity of Galileo's theory of acceleration. After publishing, in 1634, a treatise designed to present empirical evidence in favor of Galileo's odd-number law, Mersenne developed over the years the feeling that only the elaboration of a physical proof could provide sufficient confirmation of its validity. In the present article, I try to show that at the center of Mersenne's worries stood Galileo's assumption that a falling body had to pass in (...) its acceleration through infinite degrees of speed. His extensive discussions with, or his reading of, Descartes, Gassendi, Baliani, Fabri, Cazre, Deschamps, Le Tenneur, Huygens, and Torricelli led Mersenne to believe that the hypothesis of a passage through infinite degrees of speed was incompatible with any mechanistic explanation of free fall. (shrink)

The diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders is embedded in a matrix of biological, social and ethical processes, making it an important topic for crossdisciplinary social and ethical research. This article reviews different branches of research relevant to understanding how FASD is identified and defined and outlines a framework for future social and ethical research in this area. We outline the character of scientific research into FASD, epidemiological discrepancies between reported patterns of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the incidence (...) of FASD, and the social and ethical considerations that may impact on who is, and is not, diagnosed. We highlight what further research investigating FASD diagnostic processes, as well as the multi-generational impacts of FASD, is needed. Important research priorities are to: 1) enumerate the variety of stakeholders involved in seeking FASD diagnoses; 2) understand the experiences and perspectives of mothers from different backgrounds who have consumed alcohol during pregnancy and their affected children; and 3) collect health histories of maternal alcohol consumption in families to determine the effect of FASD at sub-cultural and cultural levels. (shrink)

Based on a non-cognitivist meta-ethical position and an anti-subjectivist concept of “reality”, Hägerström questioned the pretension of traditional legal theory, especially legal positivism, to be a science of law, because the entities to which it refers are not real. Olivecrona succeeded in pursuing such a thesis while he tempered it. Taking a socio-psychological approach, he offered a realistic theory of law which is able to emphasize psychical and linguistic phenomena lying at the root of our ideas of rights and duties, (...) which determine what functions they serve in society and how they affect our conduct. (shrink)

El impacto de los movimientos emancipatorios en las sociedades contemporáneas es incuestionable; alcanza incluso al ámbito académico, donde se busca comprender las experiencias que los motivan y se llega a tomar partido por sus causas. Sin embargo, estos movimientos están orientados a la consecución de derechos para identidades concretas, como las personas no binarias, de forma que se consiga paliar o incluso eliminar la situación de desigualdad que las oprime. Así, podría parecer que las causas de los grupos oprimidos resultan (...) «ajenas» para los grupos dominantes, los cuales no tienen que luchar por sus derechos, pues ya disfrutan de ellos, lo que confinaría el discurso acerca de las reivindicaciones y las experiencias que las motivan exclusivamente a los colectivos oprimidos. Abordaremos la polémica cuestión de hablar de una causa ajena desde la epistemología feminista del punto de vista y las literaturas sobre opresión e injusticia epistémica. A grandes rasgos, siguiendo la línea iniciada por Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (1988), quien se distancia de autores como Michel Foucault o Gilles Deleuze, a quienes acusa de rechazar el hablar por otros asumiendo falsamente que las personas oprimidas pueden representar de manera transparente sus propios intereses, entenderemos el hablar de una causa ajena como un hablar con. Frente a la oposición escuchar versus hablar por, apostaremos por un informado hablar con que no participe de la esencialización de los oprimidos como sujetos no ideológicamente construidos. (shrink)

Legal philosophy is a general and systematic reflection about fundamental questions regarding law. The fact that despite the efforts of contemporary jurists terms like ‘legal philosophy’, ‘legal theory’ and ‘jurisprudence’ do not have established meanings is one of the reasons behind the dispute regarding the function and validity of legal philosophy; a second issue worth considering is the transformations of law due to diverse influences such as globalization or theories on human rights. This article intends to establish common ground for (...) the discussion surrounding this issue by revisiting some of the differences between the two main western traditions, the article then proceeds to describe the general perception and evolution of jurisprudence.Resumen:La filosofía del derecho es una reflexión general y sistemática sobre las cuestiones fundamentales del derecho. El hecho de que términos como “filosofía del derecho”, “teoría del derecho” y “jurisprudencia” no tengan significados delimitados e indisputables, a pesar de los esfuerzos de los juristas contemporáneos, es una de las razones que junto con las transformaciones del derecho en virtud de la globalización y las teorías sobre derechos humanos han dado lugar a diversas disputas sobre la función y validez de la filosofía del derecho. En este artículo se pretende establecer una base común para la discusión en torno a estos problemas mediante la revisión de algunas de las diferencias que las dos principales tradiciones occidentales para después describir la precepción general y evolución de la filosofía del derecho. (shrink)

Students in introductory philosophy courses bring with them varied preconceptions about philosophy and its place in their education and their lives. Rather than assuming we all agree on what it is we are doing when we do philosophy, it can be effective to problematize the discussion from the start. Plato’s Apology of Socrates is a useful tool for this. While interpreted by some philosophers as not particularly philosophical, recent approaches by Sellars and Peterson suggest that the Apology is rich with (...) philosophy. Here Plato’s Socrates reveals much about himself and his own understanding of the love of wisdom. By engaging in a process of mutual disclosure and active discovery of what matters to Socrates, we give students an excellent opportunity to find philosophy for themselves. As a result, students not only retain an understanding of key themes from Plato but also develop skills and attitudes well-suited to life-long philosophical engagement. (shrink)

It is critically important for emerging professionals in education to be sensitised to the ethical and moral responsibilities of their practice throughout their training and beyond. There is a wide disparity in contemporary practice in this regard, which points to a need for greater clarity and consistency in our thinking about ethics within education. Ethics in Education attempts to meet this need, and will be a valuable resource for students, teachers and researchers in education, health and social sciences. Most significantly, (...) the increasing awareness of the importance of ethics, diversity and social pedagogy in the teacher education curriculum will ensure that this book becomes essential reading or recommended reading for initial teacher education and CPD courses in education. The Editors have gathered together an exciting and dynamic group of contributors across many fields of English education, and asked them to help rethink the role of ethics in education in the 21st century. The types of questions that we address include: Do we have a shared view of ethical practice? What are the values that underpin ethical practice? What are our ethical responsibilities as pedagogues? (shrink)

Background Ethical decision making in intensive care is a demanding task. The need to proceed to ethical decision is considered to be a stress factor that may lead to burnout. The aim of this study is to explore the ethical problems that may increase burnout levels among physicians and nurses working in Portuguese intensive care units . A quantitative, multicentre, correlational study was conducted among 300 professionals.Results The most crucial ethical decisions made by professionals working in ICU were related to (...) communication, withholding or withdrawing treatments and terminal sedation. A positive relation was found between ethical decision making and burnout in nurses, namely, between burnout and the need to withdraw treatments , to withhold treatments and to proceed to terminal sedation . This did not apply to physicians. Emotional exhaustion was the burnout subdimension most affected by the ethical decision. The nurses' lack of involvement in ethical decision making was identified as a risk factor. Nevertheless, in comparison with nurses , it was the physicians who more keenly felt the need to proceed to ethical decisions in ICU.Conclusions Ethical problems were reported at different levels by physicians and nurses. The type of ethical decisions made by nurses working in Portuguese ICUs had an impact on burnout levels. This did not apply to physicians. This study highlights the need for education in the field of ethics in ICUs and the need to foster inter-disciplinary discussion so as to encourage ethical team deliberation in order to prevent burnout. (shrink)