En la medida en la que Spinoza no nombra explícitamente el mecanismo de la identificación éste suele ser confundido con la imitación de los afectos. Mientras que la imitación de los afectos, definida en la tercera parte de la Ética, es un mecanismo por el que los hombres sientes los afectos de los demás, sin por ello alienarse, la identificación es una forma de alienación voluntaria que consiste en apropiarse de las costumbres ajenas en detrimento de las propias. Este artículo (...) se propone delimitar el mecanismo de la identificación frente a la imitación y definir su funcionamiento. (shrink)

As a narrative-imaginary dispositive, the miracle creates a new configuration of power by restoring a polarization between sovereign desire to dominate and a certain voluntary desire for submission. The critique of miracles, on the theoretical level, does not prevent Spinozism from developing, on the practical level, an imaginary reconstruction of power based on the analogy between theology and politics, as can be seen in Spinoza’s analysis of the Hebrew State. Based on the two explanations Spinoza gives regarding the formation of (...) the Hebrew State, this article sets out to show how the effectiveness of the miracle, disjointed on the theoretical level, is maintained on the practical level, along with the validity of a theological imaginary whose political dimension remains active. (shrink)

Reseña del libro de Corine Pelluchon. Pour comprendre Levinas. Un philosophe pour notre temps. Paris: Seuil, 2020.

Louis de La Forge, partiendo de las sugestiones de Descartes, esboza una teoría de la imitación de las pasiones en sus Anotaciones al Tratado del Hombre que contrasta con los elementos que él mismo propone en su Tratado del Espíritu del Hombre. El análisis de estas dos obras permite la reconstrucción de dos tipos de inclinaciones miméticas sobre las cuales se asientan las bases de lo que en el milieu cartesiano va a ser considerado como un contagio pasional o afectivo.

The current COVID-19 crisis may have an impact on the mental health of professionals working on the frontline, especially healthcare workers due to the increase of occupational psychosocial risks, such as emotional exhaustion and secondary traumatic stress. This study explored job demands and resources during the COVID-19 crisis in predicting emotional exhaustion and STS among health professionals. The present study is a descriptive and correlational cross-sectional design, conducted in different hospitals and health centers in Spain. The sample consisted of 221 (...) health professionals with direct involvement in treating COVID-19. An online survey was created and distributed nationwide from March 20 to April 15 which assessed: sociodemographic and occupational data, fear of contagion, contact with death/suffering, lack of material and human protection resources, challenge, emotional exhaustion, and STS. Descriptive findings show high levels of workload, contact with death/suffering, lack of MHPR and challenge, and are moderately high for fear of contagion, emotional exhaustion, and STS. We found an indirect significant effect of lack of MHPR on predicting emotional exhaustion through the workload and on STS through fear of contagion, contact with death/suffering, and workload. To conclude, this study examines the immediate consequences of the crisis on health professionals' well-being in Spain, emphasizing the job demands related to COVID-19 that health professionals are facing, and the resources available in these health contexts. These findings may boost follow-up of this crisis among health professionals to prevent them from long-term consequences. (shrink)

There are two possible realist defense strategies against the pessimistic meta-induction and Laudan’s meta-modus tollens: the selective strategy, claiming that discarded theories are partially true, and the discontinuity strategy, denying that pessimism about past theories can be extended to current ones. A radical version of discontinuity realism is proposed by Gerald Doppelt: rather than discriminating between true and false components within theories, he holds that superseded theories cannot be shown to be even partially true, while present best theories are demonstrably (...) completely true. I argue that this position, running counter both the cumulativity of science and fallibilism, is untenable; it cannot account for the success of past theories, nor for the failures of current theories, and rather than shutting the door to the pessimistic historical objections it opens it wide. The best strategy, instead, joins the selective idea there was both some truth and some falsity in discarded theories, like in current ones, with the moderate discontinuity idea that the truth rate in present best theories is much greater than in past ones. (shrink)

Dehumanization by algorithms raises important issues for business and society. Yet, these issues remain poorly understood due to the fragmented nature of the evolving dehumanization literature across disciplines, originating from colonialism, industrialization, post-colonialism studies, contemporary ethics, and technology studies. This article systematically reviews the literature on algorithms and dehumanization (n = 180 articles) and maps existing knowledge across several clusters that reveal its underlying characteristics. Based on the review, we find that algorithmic dehumanization is particularly problematic for human resource management (...) and the future of work, managerial decision-making, consumer ethics, hard- and soft-law regulation, and basic values, including privacy and consumer rights. From the literature synthesis, we also derive the following definition of algorithmic dehumanization: the act of using algorithms and data in a way that results in the intentional or unintentional treatment of individuals and/or groups as less than fully human, thereby violating human rights, including liberty, equality, and dignity. Ultimately, we present a dehumanization avoidance model that serves as a structured research agenda and practical guide to address the challenges raised by algorithmic dehumanization. Thus, the model indicates promising pathways for future research at the intersection of AI and society and facilitates reflection on organizational processes that support improving corporate capabilities and managerial decision-making to avoid algorithmic dehumanization. (shrink)

A powerful critique of nudge theory and the paternalist policies of behavioral economics, and an argument for a more inclusive form of rationality.

THE TWEET OF THE UNIVERSE. GRAVITATIONAL WAVES BETWEEN THEORY, EFFORTS AND MISTAKES The recent discovery of gravitational waves fills a substantial gap in the theory of general relativity, since these waves were the only phenomenon predicted by Einstein’s theory that had not yet been directly observed. This was mainly due to the fact that the passage of waves is an elusive phenomenon, almost imperceptible, up to the point that even Einstein thought that it was almost impossible to detect it using (...) “traditional” tools. This paper will explore the efforts made over the years to detect the passage of these waves, the mistakes made, and the recent results obtained through the use of the twin optical interferometers LIGO and VIRGO. This extraordinary discovery shows one more time that the history of science is full of trials, errors and sudden steps forward maybe due to the use of new technology. (shrink)

For a, b > 0, we consider a temporally homogeneous, one-dimensional diffusion process X(t) defined over I = (-b, a), with infinitesimal parameters depending on the sign of X(t). We suppose that, when X(t) reaches the position 0, it is reflected rightward to δ with probability p > 0 and leftward to -δ with probability 1 - p, where δ > 0. Closed analytical expressions are found for the mean exit time from the interval (-b, a), and for the probability (...) of exit through the right end a, in the limit δ → 0+, generalizing the results of Lefebvre, holding for asymmetric Wiener process. Moreover, in alternative to the heavy analytical calculations, a numerical method is presented to estimate approximately the quantities above. Furthermore, on the analogy of skew Brownian motion, the notion of skew diffusion process is introduced. Some examples and numerical results are also reported. (shrink)