Could Greek philosophers-Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Proclus-be considered as guardians and schoolmasters that brought humanity to Christ in a way similar to the Law of the Old Testament according to Saint Paul (Gal. 3,24)??he philosophical project of Platonism had five fundamental tenets, namely monism, transcendence, participation, ethics of purification, and the relevant notion of evil as non-being. Dr. Dionysios Skliris is both theologian and philosopher, and he sees that all of these philosophical demands were realized in the theology of the Fathers (...) in the most radical way, yet "in another form" (Mark 16,12). After Christ, transcendence means that God is uncreated and creates a contingent world out of free love. Monism coexists with a Trinity of Persons since God is love in His own transcendent being and not only in relation to the world. On every page, Skliris shows us the true implications of purification: it leads to transformation and evil is non-being not as a "fading away" of light, but as a historical closedness to God that cannot survive in the eschaton. (shrink)

The advent of writing in the Greek polis administration resulted in the appointment of officials responsible for document management. These were known as grammateis (secretaries). The need for records connected to judicial proceedings led to the involvement of secretaries in the polis legal procedure. Although there remains little evidence of this, in Athens secretarial support was certainly connected with almost every use of writing in a judicial context. Secretaries appear to have received suits, published notifications of trials and recorded fines, (...) but their most well-attested duty is that of the reading of documents brought as evidence in the courtroom. The study of references to secretaries in a judicial context demonstrates that their duties were essential to the persons involved in the administration of justice. By keeping track of judicial documents secretaries helped the officials to keep accurate records for the sake of accountability, while the reading of legal texts enabled the Athenian citizen-judges to get to know verbatim the texts of the state laws and avoid manipulation by litigants who produced their own interpretations of a law. The purpose of this article is to present all the relevant cases of secretarial support in the justice system of Athens and to discuss the contribution made by the secretaries to the Athenian legal procedure. (shrink)

RESUMEN Largamente desatendida o malinterpretada, la noción de caos en la filosofía de Nietzsche es una pieza constitutiva de la particular concepción del ser que este autor habría dejado apenas esbozada. El artículo se propone elaborar este concepto en la obra nietzscheana, siguiendo algunas de las metáforas que lo iluminan. Desde allí se busca plantear los rasgos centrales de una ontologia del caos, de sesgo no metafísico, que, al afirmar el carácter acontecimental de la realidad, puede verse como precursora de (...) la ontología hermenéutica contemporánea. ABSTRACT The notion of chaos, which has long been neglected or misinterpreted, is a constitutive element of a peculiar conception of being that the philosopher only had time to outline. The objective of this article is to elaborate on this concept in Nietzschean philosophy, guided by some of the metaphors that shed light on it. This serves as the basis to set forth the main characteristics of a non-metaphysical ontology of chaos that asserts the eventful nature of reality and can thus be seen as a precursor of contemporary hermeneutic ontology. (shrink)

The existence of shoulder abduction (SA) and finger extension (FE) movement capacity shortly after stroke onset is an important prognostic factor, indicating favorable functional outcome for the hemiparetic upper limb. Here we asked whether variation in lesion topography affects these two movements in a similar or a distinct way, and whether lesion impact is similar or distinct for left and right hemisphere damage. SA and FE movements were examined in 77 chronic post-stroke patients using relevant items of the Fugl-Meyer test. (...) Lesion effects were analyzed separately for left and right hemispheric damage (LHD, RHD) patient groups using voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping. In the LHD group, SA and FE were affected only by damage to the cortico-spinal tract in its passage through the corona radiata. In contrast, following RHD, these two movements were affected not only by cortico-spinal tract damage but also by damage to white matter association tracts, the putamen and the insular cortex. In both groups, voxel clusters have been found where damage affected SA and also FE, along with voxels where damage affected only one of the two movements. The capacity to execute SA and FE movements following stroke is affected significantly by damage to shared and distinct voxels in the cortico-spinal tract in LHD patients and by damage to shared and distinct voxels in a larger array of cortical and subcortical regions in RHD patients. (shrink)

RESUMENEn este artículo trata de dos explicaciones de la asimetría del tiempo. En primer lugar, resumo el problema de explicar tal asimetría en términos de procesos termodinámicos, discuto dos intentos de solucionar este problema, y defiendo que, no obstante, no todos los procesos irreversibles han de ser considerados termodinámicos. En segundo lugar, rechazo que la asimetría del tiempo sea simple producto de nuestra condición de agentes intencionales. Finalmente concluyo que la explicación de la asimetría del tiempo que se basa en (...) la multitud y diversidad de los procesos naturales irreversibles sigue siendo una buena explicación.PALABRAS CLAVEPROCESOS IRREVERSIBLES, ENTROPÍA, FLECHAS DEL TIEMPO, CAUSALIDADABSTRACTIn the present work I deal with two accounts of the asymmetry of time. Firstly, I summarize the problem of explaining this asymmetry in terms of thermodynamic processes, discuss two approaches proposed to solve this problem, and defend that, nevertheless, not all irreversible processes have to be conceived as thermodynamic ones. Secondly, I reject the notion that the asymmetry of time is a mere product of our condition as intentional agents in the world. Finally, I conclude that the explanation for the asymmetry of time based on the existence of many and diverse irreversible natural processes is still a good explanation.KEY WORDSIRREVERSIBLE PROCESSES, ENTROPY, TIME ARROWS, CAUSALITY. (shrink)

En los diversos ensayos que Borges dedica a asuntos filosóficos son frecuentes los que se refieren a la filosofía del tiempo. Aunque el acercamiento de Borges a la filosofía responde por lo general a un interés literario, al tratar del tiempo defiende opiniones interesantes, presentes en el actual debate sobre esta materia. En este artículo he recogido textos dispersos de Borges sobre el tiempo y los he articulado en torno a tres temas: la crítica del tiempo circular y del tiempo (...) rectilíneo; la metáfora del río del tiempo; y los conceptos de pasado, presente y futuro. Es interesante destacar en estos textos la crítica de Borges a la confusión entre idealización y realidad; su idea del tiempo como sucesión de hechos; su cercanía a una concepción relacional, no sustantiva, del tiempo; y sus advertencias sobre los peligros de identificar al tiempo como una cuarta dimensión del espacio. (shrink)

Mechanical stimulation has a critical role in the development and maintenance of the skeleton. This function requires the perception of extracellular stimuli as well as their conversion into intracellular biochemical responses. This process is called mechanotransduction and is mediated by a plethora of molecular events that regulate bone metabolism. Indeed, mechanoreceptors, such as integrins, G protein‐coupled receptors, receptor protein tyrosine kinases, and stretch‐activated Ca2+ channels, together with their downstream effectors coordinate the transmission of load‐induced signals to the nucleus and the (...) expression of bone‐related genes. During the past decade, scientists have gained increasing insight into the molecular networks implicated in bone mechanotransduction. In the present paper, we consider the major signaling cascades and transcription factors that control bone and cartilage mechanobiology and discuss the influence of the mechanical microenvironment on the determination of skeletal morphology. (shrink)

The paper examines the status of ambiguity in the thought of Plotinus (c. 204/205-270). Even though ambiguity should be regarded as the enemy of the philosopher and as pertaining rather to the rhetorical tradition and not the philosophical one as it was especially established by Plato and Aristotle, one can argue that the particularly Neoplatonist philosophical project permitted an important place to it due to some fundamental inherent aspects that it contained. Most importantly, the ambiguity in the generation of the (...) Intellect from the One is examined in this paper as related to the dialectic between existence and being. In such a perspective, ambiguity is initiated by the fact that being is both one in order to exist and not one in order to be a being. Thus, it can be explained only in dialectic with an ontological reality beyond it, namely an absolute One. This means that, in turn, its generation as Intellect from the latter is necessarily a two-fold movement: Both a distribution of existence by procession and a reverting contemplative act for acquisition of substantial definition. This dialectic does not only concern the highest ontological level of the relation of the Being to the One, but is a permanent ontological vacillation in the system of Plotinus. The paper observes this valorization of ambiguity as an original and dynamic feature of Plotinian ontology that arguably paved the way for Modernity. (shrink)

In this paper we offer a critical account of Aristotelian theory of time. After a brief presentation of the main views of Aristotle on the infinite, we focus the attention to the status of points with respect to the potentiality-actuality distinction. Then we address Aristotle’s views on time on the basis of the Aristotelian notion of continuity. We construe the “nows” as potentialities awaiting to be actualized. We show that it is the intervention of an agent, who, through finitely many (...) unitary mental acts of noticing or perceiving, guarantees the actualization of particular “nows”, constructs or brings into existence time intervals and through their comparison measures them, so producing what Aristotle calls time. (shrink)

This collection of original papers by an international group of distinguished philosophers of science impressively demonstrates the links among the philosophic points of view, areas of focus, and methods of treatment used in examining the many facets of scientific inquiry. It will be an indispensable collection for philosophers of science and scientists of various disciplines, including physicists, neuroscientists, and psychologists.

In the last decades, it has been argued extensively about the possibilities and merits of Social Work to apply at the recognition of its disciplinary character, which -in mind of his defenders- it would overcame the technological and ideological arguments. At the same time, it has been in play h..

La crisis de representatividad de los partidos políticos de centro izquierda cuestiona la calidad de la democracia chilena y la proyección de los mismos. No obstante, constituyen referentes sociohistóricos con capacidad de adaptación a los cambios sociales y tendencias de época. Nos interesó conocer cual es el potencial de la generación de relevo de los partidos políticos de adaptarse a los cambios sociales y de representar a la nueva sociedad civil a partir del estudio de su condición generacional dentro de (...) campo político partidista. Los resultados indican que la condición intergeneracional, la visión heterocrítica frente a las formas de reproducción del poder político y la necesidad de legitimidad social favorecen la comprensión de formas distintas de hacer política que lo acercan a la nueva sociedad civil. Las prácticas políticas distintivas identificadas se asocian a la democracia de audiencia, la transversalidad de las alianzas y del territorio. (shrink)

Most of this work is devoted to presenting aspects of proof theory that have developed out of Gentzen's work. Thus the them is "cut elimination" and transfinite induction over constructive ordinals. Smullyan's tableau systems will be used for the formalisms and some of the basic logical results as presented in Smullyan [1] will be assumed to be known (essentially only the classical completeness and consistency proofs for propositional and first order logic).

The impact of stroke on motor functioning is analyzed at different levels. ‘Impairment’ denotes the loss of basic characteristics of voluntary movement. ‘Activity limitation’ denotes the loss of normal capacity for independent execution of daily activities. Recovery from impairment is accomplished by ‘restitution’ and recovery from activity limitation is accomplished by the combined effect of ‘restitution’ and ‘compensation.’ We aimed to unravel the long-term effects of variation in lesion topography on motor impairment of the hemiparetic lower limb (HLL), and gait (...) capacity as a measure of related activity limitation. Gait was assessed by the 3 m walk test (3MWT) in 67 first-event chronic stroke patients, at their homes. Enduring impairment of the HLL was assessed by the Fugl–Meyer Lower Extremity (FMA-LE) test. The impact of variation in lesion topography on HLL impairment and on walking was analyzed separately for left and right hemispheric damage (LHD, RHD) by voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM). In the LHD group, HLL impairment tended to be affected by damage to the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC). Walking capacity tended to be affected by a larger array of structures: PLIC and corona radiata, external capsule and caudate nucleus. In the RHD group, both HLL impairment and walking capacity were sensitive to damage in a much larger number of brain voxels. HLL impairment was affected by damage to the corona radiata, superior longitudinal fasciculus and insula. Walking was affected by damage to the same areas, plus the internal and external capsules, putamen, thalamus and parts of the perisylvian cortex. In both groups, voxel clusters have been found where damage affected FMA-LE and also 3MWT, along with voxels where damage affected only one of the measures (mainly 3MWT). In stroke, enduring ‘activity limitation’ is affected by damage to a much larger array of brain structures and voxels within specific structures, compared to enduring ‘impairment.’ Differences between the effects of left and right hemisphere damage are likely to reflect variation in motor-network organization and post-stroke re-organization related to hemispheric dominance. Further studies with larger sample size are required for the validation of these results. (shrink)

O Argumento dos Zumbis proposto por Chalmers, ao contrário de defender o dualismo, bane as qualia para um “mundo” onde elas não podem influenciar o julgamento que fazemos sobre nós mesmos. Por este motivo, pelo próprio argumento, podemos ser um zumbi e não saber. A isso Chalmers chamou de The Paradox of Phenomenal Judgment. O problema é que ele aceita tal paradoxo como parte de sua própria teoria. No entanto, este movimento filosófico não é aceitável e este paradoxo mina a (...) teoria de Chalmers por dentro mostrando que o argumento dos zumbis é, na verdade, um argumento contra o dualismo. Chalmers tenta resolver este problema com uma série de argumentos que tem como base o fato de que a consciência é um bruto explanandum indubitável. No entanto, tal tentativa fracassa por uma série de razões que mostram que mesmo se ele estivesse correto, ainda poderíamos ser um zumbi e não saber. (shrink)

The aim of the current article is to analyze the concept of tragic cases and its different implications based on Manuel Atienza, one of the jurists who specially addressed the issue, and on Robert Alexy, whose work is one of the main references in contemporary Legal Philosophy. According to parameters exposed by Alexy (correctness, rationality, legal argumentation, human rights), some of Atienza’s central assertions about tragic cases (lack of correct answer, legal rationality limitation, option for the lesser evil) are herein (...) demonstrated as inadmissible. Based on Alexy’s work, it is possible to justify the opposite conclusion about tragic cases, i.e., cases where there is more than one correct answer and these answers are opposed to each other. (shrink)

The use of wireless sensor networks and the Internet of things to detect forest fire outbreaks may help to reduce the response time and avoid natural disasters. This work proposes the deployment of WSN to enhance the real-time monitoring of dynamic variables such as polluting gases, temperature or the presence of fire flames by infrared. In addition, the activation of forest fire alerts if environmental status may involve evidence of a recent fire outbreak. A fuzzy-based controller is implemented to manage (...) the uncertainty related to estimating forest fire occurrence and dynamic update of fuzzy sets is developed to distinguish usual and unusual environmental conditions of every monitored forest area. Merkle trees, AES and hash functions are considered to protect the integrity of environmental data. (shrink)

Se realizó una propuesta metodológica en el Hospital Militar Clínico Quirúrgico Docente Doctor Octavio de la Concepción y la Pedraja de Camagüey durante el año 2014 con el objetivo de argumentar el valor ético que tiene para el estudiante de Medicina ser insertado al sistema de garantía de la calidad hospitalaria. Se emplearon métodos de nivel teórico como análisis y síntesis, histórico-lógico, inducción-deducción. La vinculación del estudiante universitario al sistema de garantía de calidad en un centro asistencial docente permite elevar (...) la utilización correcta del método clínico y provee al discente de conocimiento para que al egresar desempeñe un servicio de excelencia y alcance a reducir los errores e insatisfacciones de la población y con ello los costos innecesarios. In order to increase the ethical value integrating medical students into a hospital quality guarantee system has, a methodological proposal was put forward in the Doctor Octavio de la Concepcion y la Pedraja Teaching Clinical-Surgical Military Hospital of Camaguey during 2014. Theoretical methods such as analysis and synthesis, historical-logical methods and induction-deduction were used. Linking college students to the quality guarantee system allows increasing the proper use of the clinician and it provides the learner with the knowledge he needs to carry out an excellent service and to reduce errors making and people dissatisfactions, therefore cutting on unnecessary costs. (shrink)

While fundamental individual rights are unquestionably taken as subjective rights, the same does not happen with fundamental social rights (health, education, work and housing – all of them guided by the idea of human dignity). If they are subjective rights, they are justiciable. The main argument in favor of this understanding is based on liberty. The main argument against is the so called formal argument. In relation to the pro argument, liberty can be juridical or factual. Juridical liberty has no (...) value without factual liberty, because the right to liberty is only put into practice if one has the factual preconditions for its exercise. The argument against is that their justiciability displaces the competence of the elaboration of public politics from Legislative and Executive to Judiciary Power, what violates the principles of separation of powers and democracy. In fact, they are subjective rights, but special ones: they are prima facie subjective rights, so that their rules present exceeding content and the determination of the definitive right is only possible in the concrete case. There is only one subjective right that is a priori considered definitive: the right to Existenzminimum. Its content is not settled, but it is quite unequivocal that the rights to simple housing, fundamental education and minimum level of medical assistance are part of it. So Existenzminimum represents what is essential to assure human dignity. It is then related to the minimum necessary for factual liberty. Against the justiciability of fundamental social rights, besides the arguments referred above, the following ones have also arisen: (a) Juridification of politics; (b) Legal permission of administrative discretion; (c) Possible reserve clause. These are the counter-arguments: (a) Legislative and Executive Powers have the original competence, but Judiciary has the exceptional one; (b) It is not enough to state economical incapability of the State. It is necessary to prove it objectively; (c) Powers have discretion, but State’s will is not allowed; (d) Public administration is under the principles of legality and of non-obviation of Judiciary jurisdiction; (e) The Existenzminimun guarantee is untouchable, prevailing over any opposite allegation. (shrink)

Este artículo propone un análisis de la revista Légitime Défense, creada en 1932 por un grupo de estudiantes de Martinica en París. El medio surge de la afectación que este grupo manifiesta hacia los debates surrealistas y marxistas, en tanto potencializadores de la crítica anticolonial y moduladores de nuevas sensibilidades estéticas y políticas. Creada en un contexto de “internacionalismo negro” y de debate in loco con estas vanguardias europeas, Légitime Défense inaugura a la vez el surrealismo negro y antillano, al (...) producir un discurso anticolonialista a partir del caso martinicano que está en el origen de los primeros debates identitarios en esta isla caribeña. (shrink)

Les migrations se font maintenant plutôt vers les pays du Sud, refuges de 80 % des demandeurs d’asile. 4 % des Brésiliens sont étrangers, ce qui est faible du fait d’une législation défavorable élaborée pendant la dictature. Les immigrants viennent de Colombie et du Congo, après être venus d’Angola. Ces derniers se sont établis dans le quartier le plus pauvre de Rio. Malgré leur pauvreté, les étrangers participent par leur désir de changement à la nouvelle multitude locale.