The concept of individuality in quantum mechanics shows radical differences from the concept of individuality in classical physics, as E. Schrödinger pointed out in the early steps of the theory. Regarding this fact, some authors suggested that quantum mechanics does not possess its own language, and therefore, quantum indistinguishability is not incorporated in the theory from the beginning. Nevertheless, it is possible to represent the idea of quantum indistinguishability with a first-order language using quasiset theory (Q). In this work, we (...) show that Q cannot capture one of the most important features of quantum non-individuality, which is the fact that there are quantum systems for which particle number is not well defined. An axiomatic variant of Q, in which quasicardinal is not a primitive concept (for a kind of quasisets called finite quasisets), is also given. This result encourages the searching of theories in which the quasicardinal, being a secondary concept, stands undefined for some quasisets, besides showing explicitly that in a set theory about collections of truly indistinguishable entities, the quasicardinal needs not necessarily be a primitive concept. (shrink)

Ramsey famously pronounced that discounting “future enjoyments” would be ethically indefensible. Suppes enunciated an equity criterion implying that all individuals’ welfare should be treated equally. By contrast, Arrow accepted, perhaps rather reluctantly, the logical force of Koopmans’ argument that no satisfactory preference ordering on a sufficiently unrestricted domain of infinite utility streams satisfies equal treatment. In this paper, we first derive an equitable utilitarian objective based on a version of the Vickrey–Harsanyi original position, extended to allow a variable and uncertain (...) population with no finite bound. Following the work of Chichilnisky and others on sustainability, slightly weakening the conditions of Koopmans and co-authors allows intergenerational equity to be satisfied. In fact, assuming that the expected total number of individuals who ever live is finite, and that each individual’s utility is bounded both above and below, there is a coherent equitable objective based on expected total utility. Moreover, it implies the “extinction discounting rule” advocated by, inter alia, the Stern Review on climate change. (shrink)

This article analyze Claude Lefort´s interpretation of the fundamental rupture that Machiavelli has inflicted upon political thinking. In opposition to classical views derived from ancient thought, Lefort discovered that Machiavelli opened an unexplored path which points to the fact that legitimate power does not lie in mere “measures”, but in the interaction of social forces that shapes the nature of a city. The above mentioned French philosopher paves the way to this interpretation through the “exemplary” reading material of Antonio Gramsci (...) and Leo Strauss. This paper aims at making a brief review of contemporary narratives whose internal contradictions would guide Lefort along the path that leads to what he defines as “Machiavelli´s new ontology“, according to which, conflict is at the basis of the construction of political order – therefore, in the nature of cities. (shrink)

Our aim in this paper is to take quite seriously Heinz Post’s claim that the non-individuality and the indiscernibility of quantum objects should be introduced right at the start, and not made a posteriori by introducing symmetry conditions. Using a different mathematical framework, namely, quasi-set theory, we avoid working within a label-tensor-product-vector-space-formalism, to use Redhead and Teller’s words, and get a more intuitive way of dealing with the formalism of quantum mechanics, although the underlying logic should be modified. We build (...) a vector space with inner product, the Q-space, using the non-classical part of quasi-set theory, to deal with indistinguishable elements. Vectors in Q-space refer only to occupation numbers and permutation operators act as the identity operator on them, reflecting in the formalism the fact of unobservability of permutations. Thus, this paper can be regarded as a tentative to follow and enlarge Heinsenberg’s suggestion that new phenomena require the formation of a new “closed” (that is, axiomatic) theory, coping also with the physical theory’s underlying logic and mathematics. (shrink)

Ramsey famously condemned discounting “future enjoyments” as “ethically indefensible”. Suppes enunciated an equity criterion which, when social choice is utilitarian, implies giving equal weight to all individuals’ utilities. By contrast, Arrow accepted, perhaps reluctantly, what he called Koopmans’ :287–309, 1960) “strong argument” implying that no equitable preference ordering exists for a sufficiently unrestricted domain of infinite utility streams. Here we derive an equitable utilitarian objective for a finite population based on a version of the Vickrey–Harsanyi original position, where there is (...) an equal probability of becoming each person. For a potentially infinite population facing an exogenous stochastic process of extinction, an equitable extinction biased original position requires equal conditional probabilities, given that the individual’s generation survives the extinction process. Such a position is well-defined if and only if survival probabilities decline fast enough for the expected total number of individuals who can ever live to be finite. Then, provided that each individual’s utility is bounded both above and below, maximizing expected “extinction discounted” total utility—as advocated, inter alia, by the Stern Review on climate change—provides a coherent and dynamically consistent equitable objective, even when the population size of each generation can be chosen. (shrink)

In this paper we enrich the orthomodular structure by adding a modal operator, following a physical motivation. A logical system is developed, obtaining algebraic completeness and completeness with respect to a Kripkestyle semantic founded on Baer*-semigroups as in [22].

In this paper, I discuss the current thesis on the modern origin of the ad hominem-argument, by analysing the Aristotelian conception of it. In view of the recent accounts which consider it a relative argument, i.e., acceptable only by the particular respondent, I maintain that there are two Aristotelian versions of the ad hominem, that have identifiable characteristics, and both correspond to the standard variants distinguished in the contemporary treatments of the famous informal fallacy: the abusive and the circumstancial or (...) tu quoque types. I propose to reconstruct the two Aristotelian versions (see sections 1 and 2), which have been recognized again in the ninteenth century (sec. 3). Finally, I examine whether or not it was considered as a fallacious dialogue device by Aristotle and by A. Schopenhauer (sec. 4). (shrink)

Jonathan Haidt has exhibited in several publications a strong influence by Hume as his inspiration to build up his Intuitionist Social Model especially in reference to the emotional and intuitive roots of morals. So, this article aims to go deeper into that influence to analyze, review and compare their concepts and hypotheses in order to establish common features in both Philosophers´ programs. By demonstrating some similarities between both authors -both critical to rationalism, and compelled to investigate the roots of morals (...) in Psychology-, their proposals will be compared and analyzed; and taking these critics into account the intuitionist assumptions that both Philosophers assume or could assume will be revised. In order to focus on the motivation of moral statements as a priority in Haidt research, the core of this article is dedicated to that issue. I will also explore Hume’s difficulty to conciliate his Emotivism with the rightness of moral statements that he considered necessary. Finally, my conclusions are that both positions sustain normative consequences ruled by an Ethics of Virtue. (shrink)

While refutation is usually related to Plato's early, Socratic, dialogues, this paper is aimed at exploring the link between refutation and dialectic in some of his middle and late dialogues. First, it argues that refutation assumes a constructive role in the Phaedo, where the best logos is the least refutable, and also in the Republic, where the philosopher is invited to fight his way through all elenchoi. Then, it tries to show that the gymnasia of Prm. 130a ff. is aimed (...) at training young Socrates to come to the aid of the theory he embraces preventing it from being refuted. He should travel and explore all the paths, by assuming a hypothesis as well as the opposite one. This methodology paves the way on which Plato advances in the Sophist, where the antinomic structure of the gymnasia gives way to a “constructive” dialectic in which the aporia is solved and a thesis is established by refutation. The last section of this paper is devoted to analysing Sph. 251c-252e, where the positive and constructive function of the elenchus is especially clear. Plato argues for the symploke eidon by exploring all the hypotheses that are open to the search and refuting those that ultimately represent obstacles to his position. The symploke is the truth which remains when all the hypotheses that contradict it have been refuted. The conclusion is that the elenchus does not disappear but is put at the service of the truth, as an essential part of the method for attaining a positive doctrine. (shrink)

El artículo tiene como finalidad justificar por qué es importante incluir las pedagogías propias de los pueblos originarios en los programas de formación docente de educación básica a nivel nacional, como valores compartidos de su patrimonio cultural tangible e intangible. Este patrimonio cultural es el pilar histórico de México, que por supuesto no se encuentra sólo en los pueblos originarios, sino que responde a un proceso histórico social determinado de la nación y que, a pesar de la conquista europea, siguió (...) prevaleciendo en las pedagogías y valores propios de los pueblos originarios. Proponemos cristalizar estos patrimonios culturales de los pueblos originarios para ser considerados como pedagogías propias en los programas de formación docente y desde este campo de formación compartir los valores culturales a través de sus saberes, sabidurías y prácticas culturales que han prevalecido a lo largo de la historia y que den cuenta en los planes y programas de estudio con igualdad y equidad cultural en el Sistema Educativo Nacional. Asimismo, se exponen los procesos de contradicción que los pueblos originarios han vivido y han asumido a lo largo de las políticas educativas dirigidas a la educación indígena. Finalmente, se plantean algunas consideraciones para estos programas de formación docente. (shrink)

This article argues that evolutionary models based on selection validate, under appropriate conditions, the relevance of optimality as an explanatory mechanism in rational choice theory. The reason is that these frameworks share the mechanism that drives the results, namely, optimization, even if they situate it at different levels. The consequences of our argument are twofold. First, it resolves the tension between those predictions of rational choice theory that are accurate and the evidence showing that individuals seldom optimize. Second, it relativizes (...) the explanatory import of rationality without diminishing the role of optimization as a mechanism. (shrink)

This article states the contribution of phenomenology to a renovation of the human sciences, particularly in the field of literary studies in Latin America. First, it postulates the legitimacy of the Latin American scholar’s as -suming a thought that is situated, geocultural and histori cally l..

La comunicación utilitaria es sólo una función subsidiaria del lenguaje ; el ejercicio creador y la concepción espiritual del lenguaje -- Escombros de un pensar que no puede ser reconstruído : el símbolo y la literatura -- La creación estética es una vía profunda del conocimeinto : saimbolización : etapa metódica de una fenomenología literaria -- El arte es una actividad esotérica : mito y literatura -- Las grandes creaciones del arte son, sobre todo, creaciones espirituales : arquetipo, símbolo y (...) estructura : de la estructura al símbolo -- El símbolo sólo existe para alguien: quien lo comprende es centro del mundo : de exégesis bíblica a interpretación en textos literarios contemporáneos -- Llevar el signo hacia el símbolo, la fábula hacia el mito, la ratio hacia el logos : semiología y hermenéutica -- El simbolismo suramericano : el singular humanismo teándrico : el debate hermenéutico : en homenaje a Hans-Georg Gadamer -- El arte es presencial, pone en marcha uan energía salvífica : la estética metafísica : eje de la expresión literaria americana -- ¿Hemos llegado al fin de la historia? : el destino de América : notas desde un pensamiento situado. (shrink)

In this paper I try to shed light on platonic criticism of mathematicians for taking hypotheses as principles. The mathematician is forced to resort to hypotheses and go beyond the sensible, but he does, according to Plato, ignoring his own abilities. In this sense, his attitude is similar to that of the majority, lover of opinions, unaware that only thanks to the help of thought is it possible to identify what is offered to the senses. This interpretation fits the dream (...) metaphor, which Plato uses to describe both the attitude of the mathematician and that of the majority. (shrink)

O presente estudo acerca das atividades praticadas por rezadeiras no Brasil teve o intuito de identificar as identidades étnicas e as etnociências que compõem a pluralidade dos grupos sociais nos quais elas atuam e qual a sua importância para os meios. O objetivo, portanto foi identificar as diferentes identidades étnicas que influenciam as práticas das rezadeiras. Para isso, foi adotada a metodologia da pesquisa bibliográfica de cunho exploratório descritivo e qualitativa a fim de obter uma visão sistemática do assunto. O (...) estudo se justifica devido a importância em conhecer as identidades éticas bem como a etnociência existente nas práticas das rezadeiras, resgatando conhecimentos históricos e uma riqueza cultural fundamental para boa parte da população brasileira uma vez que estudos na área são escassos. Foram analisados 15 artigos que pautam sobre as práticas das rezadeiras, e os resultados obtidos apontaram que há muitas semelhanças entre as práticas de rezadeiras em diferentes regiões do Brasil e suas diferenças estão relacionadas, provavelmente, às origens que esses povos possuem. Portanto, conclui-se que vieram de matrizes africanas e indígenas principalmente e que possuem ainda mais semelhanças devido ao intercâmbio realizado entre algumas dessas culturas no território brasileiro. (shrink)

El Ser natural o salvaje que se resiste a ser capturado por las operaciones activas del yo implica el reconocimiento de una realidad opaca e inaprensible a la conciencia reflexiva, o más precisamente, el reconocimiento de “una conciencia arcaica o primordial”, una “arqueología” o “un contenido latente”. En virtud de ello, nos proponemos, en primer lugar, mostrar que la dimensión arqueológica puede ser elucidada desde dentro de la fenomenología, en la medida en que la perspectiva genética ya está presente en (...) los análisis realizados por Husserl acerca de la pasividad. Por su parte, continuando en la línea de estos análisis, Merleau-Ponty intentará capturar en “el ser primordial” aquello que desde un comienzo resiste a la reflexión, lo cual implica detenerse en la manera en que el fenomenólogo francés interpreta la reducción. Esto nos conduce al segundo punto, en el cual analizaremos la resistencia a la reflexión considerando, en primer lugar, el anonimato natural como es descrito en la Fenomenología de la percepción y el “ser natural” tratado en los últimos escritos. La elucidación acerca del ser natural nos permitirá explicitar algunos análisis sobre la pasividad y, en particular, la interpretación del inconsciente. (shrink)

In what way do the corporatist and authoritarian legacies that modelled some Latin American labor institutions influence the opportunities for and restrictions on organizing workers in a new context? To what extent did institutional designs, together with other economic and political factors, influence the characteristics that currently distinguish the union organizations in the countries of the region? Taking into consideration the existence of a broader debate about the consequences of globalization and political democratization for unions, the contribution of historical institutionalism (...) and previous research, in this Article I compare the institutional and organizational dynamics of unions in four countries with authoritarian legacies and corporatist traditions. The Article argues that in spite of these shared traditions, the differences in the institutional designs — which have scarcely been considered in the specialized literature — have historically imposed distinctive features on the associational power of workers and unions. These features not only persist to the present day, but also translate into dissimilar trajectories of the labor movement and opportunities for organizing workers in the last decade. (shrink)

En Fenicias resultan dignos de destacar los cambios substanciales que Eurípides introdujo al tratamiento del mito en sus versiones tradicionales. De modo particular, en el análisis filológico-literario de prólogo y párodos se pone de manifiesto una evidente integración de espacios y tiempos teatrales y el ensamble de los dos ámbitos trágicos estructurales significa una expresión clara de los límites entre "lo propio" y "lo ajeno". Nos proponemos demostrar que el diseño espacio-temporal de prólogo y párodos construye una suerte de agón (...) en el nivel espacial que se evidencia en el trazado de los personajes de Yocasta, Antígona y el Pedagogo en el prólogo y de las mujeres fenicias en la párodos. De modo que también resulte agonal la confrontación entre propio y ajeno, ya mencionada, como característica de la composición teatral euripidea, acorde con las realidades comunicativas de la época de representación de la tragedia y con la propuesta poética del autor. In 'Phoenician Women' it is interesting to point out the substantial changes that Euripides introduced to the treatment of the myth in his traditional versions. In a singular manner, in the literary-philological analysis of the prologue and párodos it does depict an evident integration of theatrical times and spaces and the assembly of the limits between ´the foreign´ and ´the self´. We will try to show that the temporal-space design of the prologues and párodos builds a chance of agón at the spatial level that gives evidence to the outline of the characters in Yocasta, Antigone and in the Pedagogue in the prologue and the Phoenician women in the párodos. Furthermore, the confrontation between the foreign and the self is also agonistic, already mentioned, is a characteristic of the theatrical Euripidean composition, according to communicative realities of the time of the representation of the tragedy and the poetic proposal of its author. (shrink)

En el escenario de la Generación del Ochenta, surgen temáticas y polémicas que muestran la movilidad ideológica de la época. En el entrecruzamiento que se produce entre esquemas antiguos y nuevas propuestas, aparecen intentos rupturales que abren rumbos no siempre conocidos. El pensamiento y la obra del Dr. Serafín Álvarez sobre reforma social y jurídica y mediación fiscal constituyen un universo de ideas innovadoras y visionarias que merecen su inclusión en el ámbito de la Historia de las Ideas en la (...) Argentina.With «The 80's Generation» as the stage, there arise topics and controversies that show the ideological mobility of the time. In the crossing between the old schemes and the new proposals there appear rupturing attempts that open up roads that are not always well-known. Serafin Alvarez's thought and works on social and judicial reform and fiscal mediation constitute a universe of innovative and visionary ideas that deserve to be included in the realm of the History of Ideas in Argentina. (shrink)

Los trabajos de Pierre Bourdieu han llegado a ocupar en los últimos tiempos un lugar considerable en los ámbitos académicos de las ciencias sociales, al punto de que muchos consideran a Bourdieu uno de los más importantes teóricos de la sociología actual. Los aspectos de su obra que aquí nos interesan son la discusión acerca del concepto de clase social y la crítica al enfoque marxista de las clases, inspirados uno y otro en su teoría de los campos sociales. La (...) pregunta a la que intentaremos dar respuesta es ¿constituyen crítica y propuesta formulaciones realmente originales?Pierre Bourdieu's works have managed to occupy in the last times a considerable place in the academic areas of the social sciences, to the point of which many consider Bourdieu to be one of the most important theoretical of the current sociology. The aspects of his work in that here we are interested are the discussion it brings over from the concept of social class and the critique to the Marxist approach of the classes, inspired one and other one in his theory of the social fields. The question to which we will try to give response is: do they constitute critique and offer really original formulations? (shrink)

Encouraging VSED (voluntarily stopping eating and drinking) to hasten a patient’s death is immoral. The practice results in an obvious conflict between the autonomy of the patient and the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence that must guide the physician and other health care workers. Because VSED is an act of passive euthanasia, it harms the patient and thus compromises the integrity of the physician–patient relationship. Health care providers must avoid any involvement in VSED, whether by providing information about the practice (...) or by administering palliative care while a patient is voluntarily starving and dehydrating himself to death. Instead of cooperating in the evil of euthanasia, health care providers need to advocate for the patient by refusing to do any harm and by addressing the reasons why the patient is requesting a hastened death. (shrink)

Este breve artículo se propone -dentro de sus limitados alcances- señalar algunos temas axiales en el pensamiento de Rodolfo Kusch (Argentina, 1920-1979) y dejar indicado ese rumbo como vía de un filosofar latinoamericano. Con referencias a la fenomenología, y en particular a Martin Heidegger, Max S..

One’s understanding of compassionate care and one’s response to suffering depend on one’s bioethical framework. This paper contrasts the principlist bioethical model with the personalist bioethical model. These emphasize different principles, definitions, and understandings of concepts such as autonomy, compassion, suffering, harm, and help. The principlist model regards euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide as acts of autonomy and compassion that eradicate suffering. This perspective fails to keep in mind that autonomous patients do not always act for their own good. Conversely, the (...) personalist perspective emphasizes the integral good of the person, not just his or her autonomous choice, which is important but not unlimited. Since support for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide often is motivated by a fear of suffering, being a burden, or depending on others, addressing the underlying factors that drive people to contemplate a hastened death is a more genuinely compassionate response than merely respecting people’s autonomous choice for a hastened death. (shrink)

Philosophical feminism is the only coherent philosophy with universal implications that provides a theoretical alternative to patriarchal thought and sociopolitical structures. I distinguish between a patriarchal logic of power and a feminist logic of pleasure that leads to an enlightened ethical hedonism, a pleasure-centered, feminist ethical framework based on a cooperative rather than authoritarian model of social relations.