Using a fair allocation approach, this paper identifies and examines important concerns arising from the Philippines’ COVID‐19 response while focusing on difficulties encountered by various sectors in gaining fair access to needed societal resources. The effectiveness of different response measures is anchored on addressing inequities that have permeated Philippine society for a long time. Since most measures that are in place as part of the COVID‐19 response are meant to be temporary, these are unable to resolve the inequities that have (...) led to the magnitude of morbidity and mortality associated with the pandemic. These cannot improve the country’s readiness to deal with pandemics and other emergencies in the future.Transition to a new normal recognizes the possibility that other infectious diseases could come and endanger our health security. Our pandemic experiences are proving that having an egalitarian society will serve the interests not only of disadvantaged sectors but also of everybody else, including the privileged. Response measures should thus take the opportunity to promote equity by giving importance to the concerns of the underprivileged and vulnerable while giving preference to initiatives that can be sustained beyond the period of the current pandemic. (shrink)

Tesis doctoral presentada en el departament de Lògica Història i Filosofia de la Ciencia de la Universitat de Barcelona per optar al títol de Doctor en Filosofia.

Deception has recently received a significant amount of attention. One of main reasons is that it lies at the intersection of various areas of research, such as the evolution of cooperation, animal communication, ethics or epistemology. This essay focuses on the biological approach to deception and argues that standard definitions put forward by most biologists and philosophers are inadequate. We provide a functional account of deception which solves the problems of extant accounts in virtue of two characteristics: deceptive states have (...) the function of causing a misinformative states and they do not necessarily provide direct benefits to the deceivers and losses to the targets. (shrink)

There is an argument by M. Dummett about the relative priority of language as a social phenomenon. The first step is to explain how the speaker and the hearer have to know the same language, ceteris paribus. The second step is to show how the speaker's idiosyncratic beliefs depend on his knowledge of common language; the last step is to appeal to Quine's principle of translation between languages in order to have a language at all.

This paper introduces freely improvised joint actions, a class of joint actions characterized by highly unspecific goals and the unavailability of shared plans. For example, walking together just for the sake of walking together with no specific destination or path in mind provides an ordinary example of FIJAs, along with examples in the arts, e.g., collective free improvisation in music, improv theater, or contact improvisation in dance. We argue that classic philosophical accounts of joint action such as Bratman’s rule them (...) out because the latter require a capacity for planning that is idle in the case of FIJAs. This argument is structurally similar to arguments for minimalist accounts of joint action, and this invites a parallel minimalist account, which we provide in terms of a specific kind of shared intentions that do not require plan states. We further argue that the resulting minimalist account is different in kind from the sort of minimalism suggested by developmental considerations and conclude in favor of a pluralistic minimalism, according to which there are several ways for an account of joint action to be minimal. (shrink)

Después de una visión general del Gorgias de Platón, se hace una presentación del realismodel personaje Calicles y la respuesta de Sócrates, así como de las tesis centrales sobre la justicia en el texto. Posteriormente se sintetizan algunas de los elementos nucleares de la ética de la investigación que compete a los comités de regulación de los estudios clínicos, poniendo énfasis en los vacíos que dejan ver desde la perspectiva filosófica, a la luz del propio texto platónico, y los aportes (...) que este último podría ofrecer, sobre todo desde perspectiva de la prudencia y la equidad griegas.After an overview of Plato’s Gorgias a presentation of Callicles’ realism and the response of Socrates is made, as well as the main theses on justice in the text. Then some of the main elements of research ethics concerning regulation committees of clinical studies is synthesized, pointing out the gaps that appear there from a philosophical perspective, in the light of the platonic text and the contributions that this text can make, in particular from the perspective of Greek prudence and equity. (shrink)

This dissertation studies the relationship between divine providence and human freedom in Hegel's thought. The view taken in this study is that an understanding of this relationship in the philosophy of Hegel hopefully will shed significant light on the contemporary dialogue that considers religious faith not as an alienating human experience, but rather, as fundamental for full human liberation and self-realization. ;The underlying hypothesis of this study is that the Absolute Spirit in Hegel's philosophy, not only is the providential trinitarian (...) God of the Christian religion; but it is also thereby what constitutes precisely the ultimate foundation and necessary condition of possibility for authentic human freedom. ;In line with this, for Hegel, on the one hand, authentic human freedom necessarily entails man's creative commitment to the revolutionary progressive process of human liberation from oppression that is taking place in man's history under divine providence; and on the other hand, the nature of divine providence coincides with the internal logic of the reconciling love of the trinitarian God. Hence, our study attempts to show that, according to Hegel, world history is constituted by a progressive process of liberating reconciliation among men, that takes place in the very process wherein men reconcile themselves with the trinitarian love of God. This reconciliation of man with the trinitarian love of God specifically entails man's "paschal" elevation to the eternal death and resurrection of God that takes place in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. ;While our study concentrates especially on Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion and on the Introduction to his Lectures on the Philosophy of History, its main ideas are elucidated by taking into consideration also the works of Hegel's mature system since and including the Phenomenology of Spirit. (shrink)

Health has an important role in the achievement of a good quality of life. Many public policies intended to enhance individual and population health. Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach (CA) offers a framework to assess well-being, as well as interventions seeking to increase it. There are, however, important practical challenges that must be faced before applying CA to concrete situations, such as health. One of these challenges is defining whether it is functioning or a capability that is the feature to be (...) assessed. Moreover, some aspects of freedom that are relevant for CA are frequently neglected, such as agency. These aspects must be considered when performing a health assessment using the CA as a framework. A health assessment using the CA as a framework should include indicators based on the achieved dimension (health functioning), resources and conversion factors (health capability), and freedom to achieve (agency). (shrink)

Basic proteins and nucleic acids are assembled into complexes in a reaction that must be facilitated by nuclear chaperones in order to prevent protein aggregation and formation of non‐specific nucleoprotein complexes. The nucleophosmin/nucleoplasmin (NPM) family of chaperones [NPM1 (nucleophosmin), NPM2 (nucleoplasmin) and NPM3] have diverse functions in the cell and are ubiquitously represented throughout the animal kingdom. The importance of this family in cellular processes such as chromatin remodeling, genome stability, ribosome biogenesis, DNA duplication and transcriptional regulation has led to (...) the rapid growth of information available on their structure and function. The present review covers different aspects related to the structure, evolution and function of the NPM family. Emphasis is placed on the long‐term evolutionary mechanisms leading to the functional diversification of the family members, their role as chaperones (particularly as it pertains to their ability to aid in the reprogramming of chromatin), and the importance of NPM2 as an essential component of the amphibian chromatin remodeling machinery during fertilization and early embryonic development. BioEssays 29: 49–59, 2007. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Este artículo analiza la función de la imaginación moral en la enunciación de problemas morales que permitan el reconocimiento de la alteridad. El elemento transversal es la necesidad de promover la actitud fenomenológica de examinar las verdades sobre las que se erige la vida cotidiana para evitar la repetición de las violencias implícitas de lo aparentemente sobreentendido. La tesis central sostiene que la educación de la sensibilidad imaginativa establece las condiciones necesarias para permitir el florecimiento [eudaimonía] de la vida del (...) otro y en ello hay una apuesta por una ética de la otredad. El texto se estructura en tres apartados: I. La violencia subyacente en la normalidad, II. La actitud fenomenológica como acontecimiento de alteridad y III. La sensibilidad imaginativa como pauta ética. (shrink)

Como resultado de búsqueda y recuperación de información registrada en documentos de archivos, libros, revistas y otras fuentes, se confeccionó una obra de referencia, donde se registran pequeñas biografías de 19 camagüeyanos que se desempeñaron como médicos cirujanos, médicos y cirujanos romancistas en los siglos XVIII y XIX. Se dan a conocer los antecedentes que sirvieron de motivación a la realización del estudio y se explica el radio de acción, en el aspecto asistencial, de los que ostentaban estas categorías profesionales. (...) Los datos obtenidos a partir de las fuentes consultadas, fueron el punto de partida para la confección de un material que informa el quehacer de los profesionales de la salud de la región camagüeyana en esa época y que se espera sea de interés y utilidad a los interesados en el tema As a result of the search and collection of information registered in documents, books, magazines and other sources, a reference paper that presents the biographies of 19 Camagüeyan medical surgeons, doctors and surgeons that lived in the XVIII and XIX centuries was made. The antecedents that served as motivation to the realization of the study are made known and the action radius is explained, taking into account their role in medical assistance. This comprises all those that had the above-mentioned professional categories. The data obtained from the sources consulted, constituted the starting point for the making of a material that informs about Camagüeyan health professionals of that time. It is also expected that this scientific paper is of interest and utility for those interested in this topic. (shrink)

En su encierro durante la II Guerra Mundial, Althusser, según declaró, solamente tuvo al alcance un libro: los Pensées de Pascal, un clásico que, tras la reflexión religiosa, también planteó problemas epistemológicos, históricos y sociológicos de tal manera que en él se pueden encontrar rasgos “profundamente materialistas”. [1] La influencia de Pascal es expresa, cuando Althusser recoge la parábola de la conversión religiosa para explicar (insuficientemente) el fenómeno de la interpelación ideológica. Pero los textos de Pascal contienen intuiciones que sobrepasan (...) los límites de la teoría althusseriana y que se pueden rastrear a la luz de la teoría psicoanalítica de la ideología tal como ésta es elaborada por los autores de la escuela eslovena. [1] L. Althusser: Filosofía y marxismo. Entrevista por Fernanda Navarro , Madrid, Siglo XXI, 1988, pp. 46-47. (shrink)

Critical aspects in the field of education are currently related to low levels of socioemotional competences and high rates of school dropouts. However, there are no standard practices or guidelines for helping countries to assess and train social and emotional competences. To overcome this limitation, the project Learning to be (L2B) aims to propose a comprehensive model of the assessment and development of social and emotional competences that bring together policymakers, researchers, teachers, school authorities and learners from different participating countries: (...) Finland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain. The project attempts to create an international framework for regulating activities and supporting teachers working on the social and emotional competences of the students and to provide tools which can be used across countries. The aim of the paper is to describe how L2B has been developed in Spain by analyzing the contributions of the international framework and extracting the specific needs in the Spanish context. Specifically, we describe two products of the project: a) the process for creating a toolkit, a tool focused on creating activities and materials for helping teachers develop social and emotional competences of students and b) the results of an exploratory study in Spain in which social and emotional competences are assessed and compared to the international framework. First, we explain the definition of social and emotional competences used for creating the toolkit. Second, we analyze responses of Spanish students to questionnaires administered before applying the toolkit in the schools. The paper describes social and emotional competences in Spain and evaluates the overlap between relevant variables in Spain and those used for developing the toolkit, the international tool. Specific needs in Spain are discussed, as well as the contribution of the project for promoting the improved development of students’ social and emotional competences, improving learning outcomes and stronger social cohesion in schools and local communities, as well as the utility of the results for creating new educational policies. (shrink)

Este artículo constata la generatividad de la fenomenología en nuestro siglo y la atribuye a su “movimiento”. Explicita la doble concepción del mismo y, tras discutir ciertos aspectos de la generatividad, describe algunos campos de acción de la fenomenología generativa como la intersubjetividad, el interculturalismo y la generatividad artística (poiesis). El artículo introduce, además, el cuerpo vivido, como núcleo de la generatividad humana y de las investigaciones de la fenomenología feminista sobre los problemas de la generatividad a los que ya (...) se refirió Husserl: “el problema de los sexos”, nacimiento y muerte. Esta contribución añade la relación entre temporalización y envejecimiento que, además de poner de relieve el tiempo intersubjetivo e intergeneracional, ejemplifica la fertilidad de la “fenomenología comparada”. (shrink)

ABSTRACTSustainable Development Goals will guide the global development agenda for the coming years. Under this premise, this article explores the role which higher education has been assigned in contributing to sustainable human development, and concludes that the vision of HE offered is too narrow and unable to capture the essence and full meaning of sustainable human development. Moving away from problematic indicators and thresholds that understand HE as a producer of human capital, the article proposes placing the concept of human (...) development at the centre of HE. Particularly, the article argues that its main elements can provide a valuable and sound footing for a more transformative institution. (shrink)

I propose in this paper a reflection, a self-analysis, about my extensive teaching experience, not from a formal point of view of the specificity of the program and the subjects of my courses, but about the singularity of the teaching activities. The commitment with the students, with the topic taught and with the Institution in which I have the honor to work, constitute the fundamental motive that leads and conducts my profession as teacher. My explanation displays ten items. Each of (...) them presents a speculation about one of the ideal elements of the good teacher all of us aim to be. For that reason this essay is not a positivist description of the teaching reality, but it expects to reconstruct the critical demarcation between the ideality which all of us try to achieve and the empirical reality that constantly pull us in the opposite direction. The coercion without coercions of the exemplariness pushes us to maintain alive the faith in the appropriation of the nature and soul of the ideal teacher. (shrink)

Bajo la forma de la retórica, la persuasión estuvo presente ya en la antigüedad como un ámbito significativo de la reflexión filosófica. Estamos hablando de un asunto de largos antecedentes y con una rica biografía, que tiene un momento privilegiado en la Atenas de Pericles con la participación ..

IntroductionCognitive impairment is a highly prevalent non-motor feature of Parkinson’s disease. A better understanding of the underlying pathophysiology may help in identifying therapeutic targets to prevent or treat dementia. This study sought to identify metabolic alterations in the prefrontal cortex, a key region for cognitive functioning that has been implicated in cognitive dysfunction in PD.MethodsProton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy was used to investigate metabolic changes in the PFC of a cohort of cognitively normal individuals without PD, as well as PD participants (...) with either normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia. Ratios to Creatine resonance were obtained for glutamate, glutamine and glutamate combined, N-acetylaspartate, myoinositol, and total choline, and correlated with cognitive scores across multiple domains administered to the PD participants only.ResultsWhen individuals retain cognitive capabilities, the presence of Parkinson’s disease does not create metabolic disturbances in the PFC. However, when cognitive symptoms are present, PFC Glu/Cre ratios decrease with significant differences between the PD-NC and PPD groups. In addition, Glu/Cre ratios and memory scores were marginally associated, but not after Bonferroni correction.ConclusionThese preliminary findings indicate that fluctuations in prefrontal glutamate may constitute a biomarker for the progression of cognitive impairments in PD. We caution for larger MRS investigations of carefully defined PD groups. (shrink)