Explores the social ramifications of Kant's concept of radical evil.

Healthcare robots enable practices that seemed far-fetched in the past. Robots might be the solution to bridge the loneliness that the elderly often experience; they may help wheelchair users walk again, or may help navigate the blind. European Institutions, however, acknowledge that human contact is an essential aspect of personal care and that the insertion of robots could dehumanize caring practices. Such instances of human–robot interactions raise the question to what extent the use and development of robots for healthcare applications (...) can challenge the dignity of users. In this article, therefore, we explore how different robot applications in the healthcare domain support individuals in achieving ‘dignity’ or pressure it. We argue that since healthcare robot applications are novel, their associated risks and impacts may be unprecedented and unknown, thus triggering the need for a conceptual instrument that is binding and remains flexible at the same time. In this respect, as safety rules and data protection are often criticized to lack flexibility, and technology ethics to lack enforceability, we suggest human dignity as the overarching governance instrument for robotics, which is the inviolable value upon which all fundamental rights are grounded. (shrink)

This book offers a reassessment of Foucault’s critical work in the context of the modern economy of subjectivation.

This research explores the marginal stakeholder engagement and propensity to value cocreation in the fast-fashion industry by taking Generation Z consumers (GZCs) as observation unit and social networking sites (SNSs) as context of investigation. By undertaking 24 in-depth interviews with US and Italian GZCs, the study uncovers the main elements that influence their engagement generation on SNSs and highlights that at least four main paradoxes (PXs) exist in this scenario. Specifically, the interviewees reported that they do not trust those brands (...) that make them feel as marginal consumers (PX1) and that they are likely to be extremely loyal to those brands that actively take them into consideration in their activities on SNSs (PX2). In addition, although GZCs concerned about the environment, in most cases, they will buy repeatedly from fast-fashion brands for convenience reasons (PX3). Finally, social dimension of GZCs engagement appears to be influenced by their peers' preferences (PX4). This research is the first that explored GZCs by considering them under the lenses of stakeholder engagement and offering novel insights about common believes on this generation of consumers. Therefore, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed to advance current knowledge on GZCs and to help the development of new strategies to engage them on SNSs. (shrink)

A lesion to the brain is not necessary for a successful neural transplantation. Embryonic Purkinje cells placed on the surface of an uninjured adult cerebellum can develop and migrate into the host molecular layer. Both the Purkinje cells that migrated into the host cerebellum and those that remained in the graft were innervated by collateral sprouting of adult intact climbing fibers.

The use of assistance systems aimed at reducing road fatalities is spreading, especially for car drivers, but less effort has been devoted to developing and testing similar systems for powered two-wheelers. Considering that over speeding represents one of the main causal factors in road crashes and that riders are more vulnerable than drivers, in the present study we investigated the effectiveness of an assistance system which signaled speed limit violations during a simulated moped-driving task, in optimal and poor visibility conditions. (...) Participants performed four conditions of simulated riding: one baseline condition without Feedback, one Fog condition in which visual feedback was provided so as to indicate to the participants when a speed limit was exceeded, and two post-Feedback conditions with and without Fog, respectively, in which no feedback was delivered. Results showed that participants make fewer speeding violations when the feedback is not provided, after 1 month, and regardless of the visibility condition. Finally, the feedback has been proven effective in reducing speed violations in participants with an aggressive riding style, as measured in the baseline session. (shrink)

Se examinan los argumentos expuestos por Thomas Hobbes contra el "necio" en su obra Leviatán relacionándolos con la dicotomía entre repúblicas por institución y repúblicas por adquisición establecida por este mismo autor. Sostenemos que la refutación del escéptico es una crítica a la concepción política desarrollada por Nicolás Maquiavelo en El príncipe e ilustrada por la noción de virtù. Aquellos argumentos revelan los límites normativos que el propio Hobbes impone al realismo usualmente atribuido a su teoría y su noción del (...) estado muestra así un carácter prescriptivo antes que descriptivo. The article discusses the arguments put forward by Thomas Hobbes against the "foole" in his book Leviathan relating them with the dichotomy between Commonwealths by institution and Commonwealths by acquisition established by that same author. We hold that the refutation of the skeptic is a criticism of the political conception developed by Niccolò Machiavelli in The Prince and illustrated by the notion of virtù. Hobbesian arguments reveal the normative limits that Hobbes himself imposes on the realism usually attributed to his theory and his notion of the state seems to be prescriptive rather than descriptive. (shrink)

Analizamos el discurso rectoral de Heidegger con el objetivo de comprender el sentido del término "nación alemana" en él. Sostenemos que el tratamiento que allí hace Heidegger de esta cuestión está profundamente relacionado con su lectura de la obra de Ernst Jünger, El Trabajador. Heidegger acepta en líneas generales el diagnóstico de Jünger sobre el mundo moderno, pero se diferencia de él precisamente en el sentido que atribuye a la nación alemana en esa situación. Analizamos el significado de la "misión (...) espiritual" que Heidegger atribuye a la nación alemana como fuerza capaz de contener el despliegue nihilista de la voluntad de poder a través de la técnica. Queremos demostrar que esa atribución intenta otorgar un nuevo significado a la nación en el horizonte histórico transformado por la "muerte de Dios" anunciada por Nietzsche y que explica el sentido de la posición política de Heidegger en 1933 y en los años inmediatamente posteriores. (shrink)