The most challenging period for a company is the first three years following its inception, a period often referred to as the "valley of death." This article examines the factors contributing to the high mortality rate of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the town of Melipilla, Chile, and presents potential strategies for reducing or preventing this mortality. The study employs an exploratory-descriptive approach, utilizing a qualitative methodology and a cross-sectional sample size collected through convenience sampling and semi-structured interviews. Upon (...) analysis of the aforementioned data, it becomes evident that contemporary SMEs have more convenient access to capital, technology, information, and financing. These resources, which were once considered distinctive and crucial for competitive advantage, are no longer as pivotal in generating value. Conversely, the findings highlight the pivotal role of human resources and their strategic management in developing distinctive competencies, which are essential for SMEs to create value and ensure long-term sustainability. (shrink)

Argumentamos en contra de dos intentos contemporáneos por rehabilitar el pirronismo debido a su incapacidad para resolver la clásica objeción de inmoralidad. Proponemos dos diferentes lecturas de la objeción: una débil, según la cual los pirrónicos son inmorales dado que sus actos mismos lo son —lo que constituye un cargo empírico—, y otra fuerte, donde la inmoralidad del pirrónico proviene del hecho de que, por diseño, no puede exhibir ningún tipo de competencia moral, lo que constituye un cargo conceptual. Concluyo (...) que ambos intentos fracasan debido a que se atienen el sentido débil de la objeción, pero no el fuerte. (shrink)

The current assessment of behaviors in the inventories to diagnose autism spectrum disorders (ASD) focus on observation and discrete categorizations. Behaviors require movements, yet measurements of physical movements are seldom included. Their inclusion however, could provide an objective characterization of behavior to help unveil interactions between the peripheral and the central nervous systems. Such interactions are critical for the development and maintenance of spontaneous autonomy, self-regulation and voluntary control. At present, current approaches cannot deal with the heterogeneous, dynamic and stochastic (...) nature of development. Accordingly, they leave no avenues for real-time or longitudinal assessments of change in a coping system continuously adapting and developing compensatory mechanisms. We offer a new unifying statistical framework to reveal re-afferent kinesthetic features of the individual with ASD. The new methodology is based on the non-stationary stochastic patterns of minute fluctuations (micro-movements) inherent to our natural actions. Such patterns of behavioral variability provide re-entrant sensory feedback contributing to the autonomous regulation and coordination of the motor output. From an early age, this feedback supports centrally driven volitional control and fluid, flexible transitions between intentional and spontaneous behaviors. We show that in ASD there is a disruption in the maturation of this form of proprioception. Despite this disturbance, each individual has unique adaptive compensatory capabilities that we can unveil and exploit to evoke faster and more accurate decisions. Measuring the kinesthetic re-afference in tandem with stimuli variations we can detect changes in their micro-movements indicative of a more predictive and reliable kinesthetic percept. Our methods address the heterogeneity of ASD with a personalized approach grounded in the inherent sensory-motor abilities that the individual has already developed. (shrink)

This article examines Aristotle's views concerning the possibility of friendship between human beings and nonhuman animals. The suggestion that he denies this possibility is rejected. I reassess the textual evidence adduced by scholars in support of this reading, while adding new material for discussion. Central to the traditional reading is the assumption that animals, in Aristotle's view, cannot be friends in virtue of their cognitive limitations. I argue that Aristotle's account of animal cognition is perfectly consistent with the possibility of (...) friendship between human beings and nonhuman animals. (shrink)

El movimiento hermenéutico ha sido uno de los más determinantes y prolíficos en la historia del pensamiento contemporáneo. Como una filosofía de la comprensión, la hermenéutica de Gadamer ha sido capaz de desenvolverse en torno a grandes problemas de la metafísica haciendo manifiesta una conexión medular entre la hermenéutica, la metafísica y la fenomenología. La máxima gadameriana que reza «el ser que puede ser comprendido es lenguaje» ilumina esta relación abordando el problema del ser estrictamente desde la dimensión lingüística de (...) la vivencia. En el presente estudio indagaremos en esta profundidad metafísica del pensamiento gadameriano al mostrar, en primer lugar, las raíces heideggerianas de estas preocupaciones y, en segundo lugar, las diversas líneas de lectura que se han abierto desde ese famoso adagio de Verdad y Método I. Finalmente, se sostendrá la interpretación de la obra de Gadamer que da cuenta de una determinada ontología hermenéutica. (shrink)

This article provides a comprehensive review of the rather intricate relationship between contemporary environmental ethics, understood as a philosophical branch, and ancient philosophy. While its primary focus is on Western philosophy, it also includes some brief yet crucial considerations about the influence of Eastern traditions of thought on environmental ethics. Aside from the introduction in the first section, the discussion is organised into three main sections. In the Reception: Ancient philosophy in environmental ethics section, I review the initial reception of (...) ancient philosophy in contemporary environmental ethics. Next, in the Reaction: Environmental ethics in ancient philosophy scholarship section, I examine how the scholarship in AP responded to this early reception. I conclude, in the final section, with some constructive suggestions for future research. (shrink)

El objetivo de este artículo es explicar las características básicas de la concepción aristotélica de la continuidad sostenida a lo largo de su Física. Tal como intentaré mostrar, es imposible comprender realmente qué entiende Aristóteles por “continuidad” si no se comienza por dilucidar la particular posición que tiene la continuidad junto a otros términos, dentro del marco de su teoría física, tales como “sucesión”, contigüidad” y “contacto”. En este punto, mostraré cómo una correcta aproximación a la noción de “continuidad” exige (...) especificar la relación, así como también la diferencia, entre “continuidad” y “contigüidad”, ya que no es del todo claro cómo debemos entender esta diferencia terminológica al interior de la física aristotélica. Luego, y finalmente, mi análisis se concentrará en examinar qué afirma Aristóteles en relación a la “continuidad” propiamente tal. Éste análisis, a su vez, aborda los conceptos más importantes de la teoría aristotélica de la continuidad y aborda, a su vez, el llamado carácter operativo de la concepción aristotélica del continuum.The aim of this paper is to explain the basic characteristics of Aristotle’s theory of continuity in his treatise on Physics. As I shall try to show, it is impossible to really understand what Aristotle means by the term ‘continuity’ unless we place it context with other significant terms he uses in developing the framework of his physical theory, for example: ‘succession’, ‘contiguity’ and ‘contact’. In addition, I will explain the importance of specifying particularly both the relation and difference between the terms ‘continuity’ and ‘contiguity’, since other commentators have placed a variety of interpretations on this terminological difference. Then, and finally, my analysis will concentrate on examining what Aristotle deduces from his theory of continuity. In conclusion, this analysis goes further than any other in detailing and explaining the most important concepts of Aristotle’s theory of continuity. (shrink)

Within the current economic situation, poverty indexes in developed countries are becoming more and more alarming. This makes the role of food banks very relevant, and in addition contributes towards reducing the problem of food waste. Motivated by the social importance of these non-profit organizations, this paper analyzes the impact of food banks on the supply chains to which they belong. Differences in the functioning of these supply chains are highlighted attending to the relations induced by the food banks. First, (...) the international research background for this topic is summarized; then, the results of an empirical study in Spain are presented. Data were collected through surveys and analyzed using cluster methodology. Two different types of food bank were identified. These are described, characterized, and compared in terms of efficacy and efficiency. (shrink)

This research is part of the project "Corporate Social Responsibility in Ecuadorian savings and credit cooperatives. A multi-case analysis and proposal for the development of a cooperative education program" and examines the synergy between cooperative principles, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the dimensions proposed for a Cooperative Social Responsibility (CSR) measurement model in Ecuador. It explores how these dimensions converge to promote ethical, sustainable and socially responsible practices, aligned with current regulatory compliance. CSR has become increasingly important in cooperatives, (...) becoming a fundamental practice that encompasses cooperative governance, economic, social, environmental, ethical and technological dimensions. This study describes the methodological process for the validation of a CSR instrument in cooperatives, reviewed and validated by experts from Spain, Ecuador, Guatemala, Argentina and Cuba, using the Delphi method to reach a consensus on the relevance and clarity of the questionnaire items. This process ensures that the instrument is suitable for assessing CSR practices in credit unions, providing a reliable tool for the continuous improvement of their operations. (shrink)

This article is the first one to offer an investigation, from a biological perspective, of “natural philia” or “kin-based” philia in Aristotle’s practical philosophy. After some preliminary considerations about its place in Aristotle’s ethical treatises, the discussion focuses on Aristotle’s biology. Here we learn that natural philia, couched in terms of a biological praxis rather than a trait of character, is widespread in the animal kingdom, although in different ways and to varying degrees. To account for such differences, Aristotle establishes (...) a Scala Philiae in two different biological texts—Historia Animalium and Generation of Animals—where natural bonds in animals are classified in view of their strength and duration. Each level of Aristotle’s Scala is examined. Finally, the argument returns to Aristotle’s ethical and political texts, drawing greater attention to the biological mechanisms that underlie natural philia in human beings. I conclude that natural philia provides one fundamental biological building-block of Aristotle’s ethics and politics. (shrink)

This paper provides a new interpretation of Plato’s account of justice as psychic health in Republic IV. It argues that what has traditionally been considered to be one single analogy is actually a more complex line of reasoning that contains various medical analogies. These medical analogies are not only different in number but also in kind. I discuss each of them separately, while providing a response to various objections.

Reseña del libro de Jean Grondin, La belleza de la metafísica, traducción de María Pons Irazazábal, Herder, Barcelona, 2021, 181 pp.

I argue for the view that the scientific model which Plato consistently had in mind when sharpening his main ethical theory was medicine. Moreover, I ascribe to Plato a “medical model of ethics”. A careful examination of this model reveals how Plato appropriates several medical concepts and ideas by employing two central methodological devices in his thought: dialectical transposition and analogical characterisation. In discussing them, I identify different kinds of medical references in the dialogues –not all medical references in Plato (...) have the same methodological status– and draw greater attention to the most recurrent medical analogies in them. More generally, the paper is also meant to provide a case study of the complex relationship between medicine and philosophy in Antiquity by examining in a new light the various ways in which the former served as an epistemological and ethical model for the latter. (shrink)

La filosofía de Jámblico ha supuesto todo un reto hermenéutico para sus lectores. En concreto, su concepción del _logos_ y su epistemología se clausuran si no las atendemos desde ópticas respetuosas con las prácticas y pensamientos propios de la época y de la tradición de la que nacen. Algunos autores han invalidado precisamente la propuesta jambliqueana al sostener que es una suerte de invitación al irracionalismo. Frente a tal lectura, autoras como C. V. Liefferinge se han apoyado en tesis presentes (...) en la filosofía de P. Hadot para defender que es posible abrirnos a la concepción de filosofía de Jámblico a través de su defensa del ritual y del símbolo. Por ello, en el presente estudio indagaremos en esta idea a fin de iluminar los núcleos de sentido ocultos de la hermenéutica de la racionalidad que emanan de la obra de Jámblico. Para ello sostendremos que su filosofía es, ante todo, una defensa de una forma de vida racional que se puede rastrear en sus raíces platónicas. (shrink)

Plato’s ideas on the value of nature and humankind are reconsidered. The traditional suggestion that his thought is ethically anthropocentric is rejected. Instead “Ethical Ratiocentrism” (ER) is the environmental worldview found in the dialogues. According to ER, human life is not intrinsically valuable, but only rational life is. ER is consistent with Plato’s holistic axiological outlook but incompatible with ethical anthropocentrism.

La mística como categoría ha generado, históricamente, grandes problemas hermenéuticos que han permitido analizar dicha experiencia desde diversas perspectivas. El neoplatonismo como culmen de la filosofía antigua y, en especial, la filosofía de Plotino invita a una vivencia que, a menudo, ha sido considerada como mística. A través de diferentes estudios, profundizaremos en los aspectos ontoló-gicos y epistemológicos de la experiencia mencionada. Apoyándonos en las Enéadas, haremos ver que, para Plotino, esta experiencia mística supone más una hermenéutica de la racionalidad (...) que una invitación al irracionalismo. (shrink)

We consider several game versions of the cardinal invariants \, \ and \. We show that the standard proof that parametrized diamond principles prove that the cardinal invariants are small actually shows that their game counterparts are small. On the other hand we show that \ and \ are both relatively consistent with ZFC, where \ and \ are the principal game versions of \ and \, respectively. The corresponding question for \ remains open.

Resumen Debido a la polisemia que la complejidad exhibe, se pretenden exponer las distintas posturas, definiciones, descripciones y debates acerca de esta, a la luz de lo descrito por Carlos Maldonado, Edgar Morin, Ilya Progogine, Murray Gell-Mann, Leonardo Rodríguez y Julio Aguirre, quienes comportan un principio dialógico y translúcido, que integraría la lógica clásica teniendo en cuenta sus límites de facto y de jure, que además llevaría en sí el principio de la Unitas Multiplex, que escapa a la unidad abstracta (...) por lo alto y por lo bajo. Luego de la presentación de las posturas de los autores mencionados se pasa a describir los encuentros y desencuentros que de estos aparecen sobre este concepto; y finalizar al proponer una definición y caracterización personal de la complejidad.Due to the polysemy of Complexity, it is intended to expose different postures, definitions, descriptions and debates about It, in the light of what was described by Carlos Maldonado, Edgar Morin, Ilya Prigogine, Murray Gell-Mann, Leonardo Rodríguez and Julio Aguirre. For them it implies a dialogical and translucent principle that would integrate classical logic considering its de facto and de jure limits, and that in addition would take in himself the principle of Unitas Multiplex that escapes to the abstract unity by the high and by the low. After the presentation of the positions of the mentioned authors the paper goes on to describe encounters and disagreements about this concept finally proposing a definition and characterization of complexity. (shrink)

The present article reassesses Aristotle's views on the relationship between ethical character and the natural environment. The standard reading, to the effect that Aristotle endorsed environmental determinism, is rejected. The discussion invites a more careful examination of Aristotelian texts commonly adduced to support the orthodox reading, while also providing a clear account of what environmental determinism is. I argue that the textual evidence presented by defenders of the standard reading does not match that account. All in all, I conclude, we (...) are not authorized to invoke Aristotle's views on the relationship between natural environment and human beings in order to discredit his ethical and political project. (shrink)

La hermenéutica de Dilthey ha legado a la historia de la filosofía una profunda tematización del problema de la vivencia humana. En ella, se lleva a cabo un análisis de la experiencia desde el juego dado entre la totalidad de la vida histórica y la vivencia concreta y particular. Tomando estas ideas como base, la filosofía de la vivencia elaborada por dicha tradición se orienta hacia la dilucidación de una ontología de la vida, cuya pretensión es la de indagar en (...) la naturaleza fáctica de la propia experiencia. Esta herencia es apreciable en la hermenéutica de la facticidad explicitada por Heidegger y en la ontología hermenéutica planteada por Gadamer. El objetivo del presente ensayo será el de recuperar la reflexión diltheyana que da cuenta de un modo de comprensión específico de la experiencia. Ello nos permitirá desvelar las dinámicas propias de la comprensión y la vivencia, distinguiendo este análisis frente al modelo fenomenológico. (shrink)

This paper reconsiders some controversial aspects of Plato’s characterization of justice as psychic health. It rejects three prevailing interpretations of Plato’s ‘medicalization of justice’, while providing a new reading that exonerates Plato from the charges raised by his critics. I argue that Plato’s account articulates an unprecedented theory of mental health in the history of Western philosophy and medicine. This account is put forward as an alternative to the bio-medical model of mental health developed by Hippocratic doctors. Finally, I discuss (...) the practical implications of Plato’s account of justice for his ethical and political theory. (shrink)

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is a popular method for examining real-life decision-making. Research has shown gender related differences in performance, in that men consistently outperform women. It has been suggested that these performance differences are related to decreased emotional control in women compared to men. Given the likely role of emotion in these gender differences, in the present study we examine the effect of a humor induction on IGT performance and whether the effect of humor is moderated by gender. (...) IGT performance and parameters from the Expectancy Valence Model were measured in 68 university students (34 men; mean age 22.02, SD = 4.3 and 34 women; mean age 22.3, SD = 4.1) during a 100 trial-IGT task. Participants were exposed to a brief video before each of the IGT decisions available; one half of the sample (17 men and 17 women) was exposed to 100 humor videos, while the other half was exposed to 100 non-humor videos during the task. We observed a significant interaction between gender and humor, such that under humor, women’s performance during the last block (trials 80-100) improved (compared to women under non-humor), whereas men’s performance during the last block was worse (compared to men under non-humor). Consistent with previous work, under non-humor, men outperformed women in the last block. Lastly, our EVM results show that humor impacts the learning mechanisms of decision-making differently in men and women. Humor impaired men’s ability to acquire knowledge about the payoff structure of the decks, and as a consequence they were stuck in suboptimal performance. On the other hand, humor facilitated women’s ability to explore and to learn from experience, improving performance. These findings deepen our understanding of the mechanisms underlying IGT decision-making and differential effects of humor in men and women. (shrink)

La noción de mímesis es una de las más complejas de la filosofía platónica. Para Platón, esta noción implica de manera integral distintas dimensiones del alma humana y las vincula a una actividad reflectiva que se da entre dichas dimensiones y aquello en lo que se proyectan, a fin de reproducirlo. La problemática de la mímesis gana, de este modo, una importancia mayúscula en los terrenos artístico y moral, si bien también goza de un peso importante en la ontología y (...) psicología. Bajo esta noción, nuestro autor dibuja una suerte de ontología de la imagen que colorea su relación con la teoría de las formas. Así pues, en este análisis reflexionaremos sobre los distintos tipos de mímesis y en concreto sobre el sentido de la mímesis eikástica, lo que nos permitirá valorar su función terapéutica, aspecto que a menudo ha pasado desapercibido bajo las críticas a la concepción platónica de la actividad mimética. Todo ello apuntará, a su vez, a perfilar una concepción hermenéutica de la filosofía donde la función catártica de la comprensión quedará en primer lugar. (shrink)

El objetivo fue analizar la adquisición de vocabulario en idioma inglés de estudiantes de bachillerato a partir de la implementación de actividades de resolución de problemas. Se empleó un diseño cuasiexperimental de pre y post test, con grupo experimental y control. Los resultados sugieren que las actividades de resolución de problemas son estrategias didácticas efectivas para la enseñanza del inglés.

El objetivo de este trabajo es proponer un modelo eficiente e integrado para la selección de habilidades personales, con la idea de inducir su adquisición entre los estudiantes de la universidad. Definidas las competencias de amplio espectro a mejorar, se sugieren herramientas y procesos para su consecución. En concreto, como trabajo aplicado, se ofrece el uso del Trabajo de Fin de Grado como guía para realizarlo. El método consiste en permitir al docente implicado en la tutorización del TFG la elección (...) de competencias que aseguren el aprendizaje transversal del alumno así como la motivación del estudiante en la realización del proyecto. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que es posible a través de programas aplicados como el aquí descrito lograr mejoras en la habilidad de los estudiantes, a la vez que se podrían mejorar los resultados académicos finales. (shrink)

The following discussion with philosopher and political scientist Wendy Brown seeks to apply her provocative and indispensable ideas to recent political events and problems, in particular focusing on her work in Undoing the Demos (2015) and returning briefly to consider Politics Out of History (2001) in today’s context. The questions were collectively authored and the interview itself was conducted by Sebastian Raza via Skype on 23 May 2017. We would like to thank Wendy Brown for the generous contribution of her (...) time and for answering the questions so directly and clearly. (shrink)

Experimental high-energy and nuclear physics was created in Spain thanks to Joaquín Catalá de Alemany, who founded the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC) at the University of Valencia in 1950. The physics of photographic emulsions, cheap and easy to manipulate, were well adapted to the depressed situation in Spain following the Civil War. This essay describes how, using these techniques, Catalá de Alemany created a group, established links with international laboratories, and fostered a tradition that continues today.

La presente contribución recoge el diálogo mantenido entre distintos filósofos del Derecho a propósito de la última obra del Profesor Massimo La Torre “Il diritto contro se stesso. Saggio sul positivismo giuridico e la sua crisi”. Al hilo del trabajo del citado autor, los participantes reflexionan sobre preguntas centrales para la teoría y filosofía del Derecho contemporánea: ¿cuál es la naturaleza del Derecho? ¿es el razonamiento jurídico eminentemente moral? ¿qué lugar debe ocupar la práctica jurídica en su conceptualización? ¿qué lugar (...) ocupa la fuerza en el Derecho? (shrink)

Call ‘a substance’ a person who is at home in a relatively stable and unified sense-making framework: a social structure that to some degree specifies which categories are important for interpreting reality, which goals are worth pursing, which character traits are admirable, etc. Call ‘an accident’ a person who is not at home in one such framework. It is tempting to think that being a substance is preferable, but I present some considerations for thinking otherwise. Mexican philosophers Emilio Uranga and (...) Jorge Portilla, I argue, present notions of accidentality as decolonial tools. Uranga’s account enables Mexicans to have positive valuation of their being independently of the approving gaze of the colonizers and their standards of value. Portilla’s thought distinguishes between pernicious accidentality resulting from the disintegration of sense-making frameworks and authentic accidentality as a condition for freedom, self-creation, and ultimately for individual and communal liberation. (shrink)