Casgevy, the world’s first approved CRISPR-based cell therapy, has been priced at $2.2 million per patient. Although this hefty price tag was widely anticipated, the extremely high cost of this and other cell and gene therapies poses a major ethical issue in terms of equitable access and global health. In this Perspective, we argue that lowering the prices of future CRISPR therapies is an urgent ethical imperative. Although we focus on Casgevy as a case study, much of our analysis can (...) be extrapolated to the controversies over affordable access to other gene and cell therapies. First, we explain why this first-of-its-kind CRISPR therapy might be so expensive. We then analyze the ethical issues of equity and global health of early CRISPR treatments. Next, we discuss potential solutions to lower the prices of CRISPR gene therapies. We conclude that the approval of CRISPR transforms our obligations of justice and compels us to bring future gene therapies to the maximum possible number of patients with serious genetic diseases at affordable prices. (shrink)

A simple complete axiomatic system is presented for the many-valued propositional logic based on the conjunction interpreted as product, the coresponding implication (Goguen's implication) and the corresponding negation (Gödel's negation). Algebraic proof methods are used. The meaning for fuzzy logic (in the narrow sense) is shortly discussed.

2Un grup d'experts, majoritàriament membres de l'Institut d'Estudis Catalans, coordinat per Pere Lluís Font, es proposa en aquest llibre fer un balanç del que ha estat la contribució catalana en el camp de la filosofia i de les divers.

Es bien conocida la primera filosofía de Ortega y Gasset en torno al "raciovitalismo" y al liberalismo. En cambio, su segunda navegación, en expresión suya, no ha alcanzado aún perfiles precisos ante el público interesado. Nada mejor para ello que revisitar la obra póstuma que mejor representa tal vez la tarea filosófica del último Ortega: "La idea de principio en Leibniz y la evolución de la teoría deductiva". En este libro, por un lado se examinan las raíces alemanas con especial (...) atención a Fichte y a Heidegger y la teoría del conocimiento que Ortega va diseñando. Por otro, se analiza la estructura textual del libro mientras se profundiza en algunos de los logros más generales de la "segunda navegación" de Ortega, como el tema de "ideas y creencias", el constructivismo cognitivo y la teoría de la historia. En una tercera parte, se incide en diversas consecuencias de la obra de Ortega, en la hermenéutica y en el pensamiento cívico sobre España, así como en la crítica filosófica. (shrink)

Podríamos definir el autoconcepto como el proceso a través del cual se va adquiriendo una imagen que acaba condicionando nuestra conducta. Las prostitutas inmigrantes viven en una situación de especial vulnerabilidad, este aspecto puede inferir en la configuración de su autoconcepto dificultando su bienestar social.//////////We could define self concept as the process through which we acquire our self image that ends up conditioning our conduct. Immigrant prostitutes live in a situation of special vulnerability, this aspect can interfere in the process (...) of building their self concept, making their social well-being difficult. (shrink)

ABSTRACT The term fuzzy logic has two different meanings -broad and narrow. In Zadeh's opinion, fuzzy logic is an extension of many- valued logic but having a different agenda—as generalized modus ponens, max-min inference, linguistic quantifiers etc. The question we address in this paper is whether there is something in Zadeh's specific agenda which cannot be grasped by “classiceli”, “traditional” mathematical logic. We show that much of fuzzy logic can be understood as classical deduction in a many-sorted many-valued Pavelka- Lukasiewicz (...) style rational quantification logic. This means that, besides the linguistic or approximation aspects, the logical aspect is present too and can be made explicit. (shrink)

Reviewing the last fifty years of interaction between religion and science in Catholicism in Southern Europe, common traits are clearly evident: a late awareness of the importance of this interaction and a theological reluctance to address science or to account for its progress. Early signs of the engagement between religion and science appear as a consequence of the work of the French anthropologist and theologian Teilhard de Chardin. In Italy and Spain in the last fifteen years, we see a substantive (...) growth in the rise of research centers and academic activities devoted to exploring the common ground between science, philosophy, and theology. However, despite all these efforts and the many positive signs, there remains a long way to go for theology to consider science as a true challenge and an inspiration and to integrate it into the theological curriculum. (shrink)

Fundamental Theology has undergone a slow evolution, as many other theological disciplines, since its inception in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. The lapsed time invites us to reflect about the current situation in this field and to what extent that theological section is pursuing its main objectives, especially for its teaching at different levels. After examining several issues that could have influenced that development, some suggestions for advancing the field and its teaching will also be given. Indeed, both (...) the internal and external contexts have changed quite a lot in the last 60 years, and this probably will influence a treaty that should be more contextually sensitive and very bound to developments in religious education. (shrink)

In view of the decline of apologetics as a theological genre and Benedict XVI's repeated invitation to a deeper engagement in a dialogue of faith and reason, we claim a return to this style in fundamental theology, starting from a review of the historical process leading to its abandonment, then its relevance for other theological areas, to those tasks that should not be disregarded. We suggest methods and directions for renewing its style and content, also in the academic curriculum. The (...) purpose is to give life to a model of fundamental theology that is capable of sustaining the objections and stimuli of its socio-cultural context and to prepare a more interdisciplinary method. (shrink)

Theology and other human sciences present concerns against artificial intelligence (AI) that are often limited to ethical issues, as they appear as the most pressing problems and challenges derived from these new technologies. However, by reviewing the published literature, the article shows that theologians have ventured into broader areas, with a specific focus on the anthropological consequences of current technological advances. New developments and achievements in AI invite further exploration from a theological perspective, and they offer some opportunities and useful (...) applications for theologians. The article moves from the ethical territory toward the more neutral but highly engaging dialogue between science, technology, and religion, their interactions and mutual enrichment. Within this transdisciplinary area, new insights are gained about the role a more committed theology can play in issues like designing the best approaches between religious faith and intelligent systems to achieve a sustainable and equitable future. (shrink)

“Meaning” and “religion” appear as deeply interlinked concepts in modern thought. Theology has often discovered religious faith as a “source of meaning” against a background of “meaninglessness”, as the XX century existentialist philosophies would remark. Beyond such an apologetic stance, some philosophies of religion have tried to better describe such a link: hermeneutics, phenomenology and even systems theory, may be accounted as main attempts to tackle this very complex framework, and to show how religion provides meaning, or is built trough (...) structures of meaning, or is a form of “meaning-construction”. Cognitive approach may add new perspectives to better explain this implication. Recent attempts combine scientific methods and philosophical analysis to show how meaning is built and works, and how religion provides a specific sort of meaning, distinct from other forms in which meaning displays itself: moral, aesthetic, or affective. Describing religion in terms of “meaning management” helps to better understand its specific role and function in the human mind, beyond the most reductivist programs, and offers a more balanced view on its cognitive dimensions. Different attempts to connect religion and meaning are reviewed in this paper in order to offer an alternative model to the new scientific study of religion. (shrink)