Exemplos, relatos e anedotas históricas são recorrentes nos Ensaios e revelam a maneira original de Montaigne se apropriar da história: como estudo do passado e das ocorrências particulares; como alimento moral; como referência fictícia ou real; através da relação da história com a retórica e a prova argumentativa; como história contemporânea e a crítica da mentalidade cultural; como história de vida. Em todas essas articulações da narrativa histórica, que podemos sintetizar ao modo de uma conversação com os homens do passado (...) e do presente, encontramos o alvo de Montaigne: ir das ações às intenções, do outro para o conhecimento de si, do diverso para o discernimento. A história, sobretudo aquela à maneira plutarquiana, constitui matéria prima indispensável para o exercício do julgamento de Montaigne. Examples, reports and historical anecdotes are not hard to find in Les Essais and reveal Montaigne's original way of approaching history: as a study of the past and particular events; as moral nourishment; as fictitious or real reference; by relating history to rhetoric and argumentative proof; as contemporary history and criticism of cultural mentality; as life story. In all these articulations of historical narrative, which we can synthesize as a conversation with men of the past and present time, we find Montaigne's target: to go from actions to intentions, from the other to the knowledge of oneself, from diversity to discernment. History, mainly the one that follows Plutarch's style, composes the raw material indispensable to Montaigne's exercise of judgment. (shrink)

La discussione generale sulla filosofia della scienza contemporanea è complicata dal numero e dall’eterogeneità delle scienze, mentre lo studio di temi specifici porta inevitabilmente a dissertazioni specialistiche che mancano nel dare ragione della trama di senso sottostante. Questo Piccolo trattato di epistemologia intende occupare uno spazio vuoto, proponendo alcuni temi chiave per la comprensione dei meccanismi alla base della conoscenza scientifica: i rapporti tra filosofia e scienze, siano esse naturali o umane; la complessa relazione tra fatti e valori; la distinzione (...) tra scoperta e giustificazione; la necessità di un discorso etico sulla ricerca, che chiami in causa categorie come fiducia, empatia, altruismo ed egoismo. Con un approccio chiaro e rigoroso, il volume intende rivolgersi a quell’ampia fascia di pubblico interessata alle tematiche centrali dell’epistemologia, della filosofia e delle scienze. (shrink)

En este trabajo analizo la concepción de Eugenio Bulygin respecto de aquellos enunciados jurídicos que afirman que una cierta acción es jurídicamente obligatoria, prohibida o permitida. Conforme a Bulygin, estos enunciados son ambiguos. Ellos pueden ser enunciados empíricos externos que afirman la existencia o validez de una norma, o pueden ser enunciados normativos internos que expresan una norma, o una actitud moral absoluta. En el trabajo sostengo que, para una concepción positivista, si el derecho es concebido como un conjunto de (...) normas, los enunciados bajo análisis no enuncian un hecho empírico, pero tampoco expresan una actitud moral absoluta. Ellos ciertamente enuncian un hecho normativo: la validez o existencia jurídica de una entidad normativa, que es relativa a un determinado tiempo y lugar. En mi opinión, la dificultad de Bulygin para admitir este tipo de enunciados se debe fundamentalmente a la presuposición de una falsa dicotomía entre dos modos en los que una entidad puede existir: uno empírico y otro normativo. Con el fin de criticar esta aparente dicotomía presento brevemente una concepción constructivista de la existencia de normas. Si mi razonamiento es correcto, esta concepción es adecuada para explicar, desde una perspectiva teórica positivista, aquellos enunciados que expresan el hecho normativo de la existencia o validez jurídica de una norma. In this paper I analyze Bulygin's conception of those legal statements asserting that a certain action is legally obligatory, prohibited or permitted. According to Bulygin, these statements are ambiguous. They can be external, empirical statements expressing the existence or validity of a legal norm, but they can also be internal, normative statements expressing a norm or an absolute, moral attitude. In the paper I attempt to defend that for a positivist theory, if law is conceived as a set of norms, this kind of statements do not report an empirical fact, but do not express an absolute moral attitude either. They surely assert a normative fact: the legal existence or validity of a normative entity, which is relative to a certain time and place. In my view, Bulygin's failure to see this point is fundamentally due to the assumption of a false dichotomy between two ways in which an entity can exist: one empirical, the other normative. In order to criticize this apparent dichotomy, I briefly sketch a constructivist conception in which we can say that legal norms exist. If my reasoning is correct, this conception is apt to explain those statements expressing the normative fact that a norm exists or is legally valid. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Nietzsche-Studien Jahrgang: 45 Heft: 1 Seiten: 222-222.

Paul Ricœur and Jan Patočka are considered among the most important phenomenologists of the 20 th century. As with Ricœur, Patočka ’s philosophy is shaped by an enduring critical confrontation with Husserl’s phenomenology and Heidegger’s phenomenological analyses of Dasein. The present paper aims at analyzing Ricœur ’s and Patočka ’s convergences and mutual inspirations in their perspectives on the topic of history. More precisely, I will take up the question of the meaning of history in Ricœur and Patočka as profoundly (...) influenced by their readings of Husserl’s Krisis. Then, the attention will be turned to Ricœur ’s concept of historicity and Patočka ’s notion of care of the soul as concerns involved in the search for meaning in history as an open-ended mediation. In this context, I will discuss Ricœur ’s and Patočka ’s critical examination of Heidegger’s conception of thrownness and projection, that is, Dasein’s already-being-in-the-world and its disclosedness, as necessary concepts for understanding their own philosophical approaches to history. (shrink)

Discute-se a capacidade humana de estabelecer novos começos no mundo. A pergunta que orienta a discussão refere-se à possibilidade da dignidade da política em tempos sombrios e em tempos de crise da democracia e do estado de direito. Parte-se do pressuposto de que a garantia da liberdade compõe o fundamento do Estado Democrático de Direitos, portanto a liberdade deve ser assegurada. No intuito de compreender a liberdade como pressuposto da democracia, objetiva-se elucidar a capacidade humana de trazer a novidade ao (...) mundo, de começar, de iniciar. Para tal utiliza-se como fundamentação teórica os estudos de Hannah Arendt acerca da atividade da ação – onde se faz imprescindível o discurso – e da capacidade de começar; a partir disso busca-se compreender a liberdade. Aponta-se que a dignidade da política encontra resposta na liberdade como o sentido da fundação das comunidades políticas e na possibilidade humana do estabelecimento de novos começos. (shrink)

In Davidson’s opinion, the model of triangulation, which is a situation where two or more sufficiently similar interacting creatures respond to one another within a shared external environment, can give explanation to how concepts and mental contents are acquired and also clarify their very nature. In this paper, I will explore the model of triangulation, its various levels, and its specific role in concept acquisition. I will then assess the plausibility of Davidson’s account and suggest a few possible amendments to (...) the model of triangulation, in order to make it effective in explaining the process of concept acquisition. Finally, I will argue that the model of triangulation cannot be disconnected from holism and will briefly sketch some consequences of this claim. (shrink)

Nella pratica scientifica ci sono molte questioni di tipo concettuale che possono trarre vantaggio da uno specifico sguardo filosofico. Per esempio, qual è la differenza tra scienza e pseudoscienza? Le teorie scientifiche sono in grado di fornire una descrizione vera del mondo? In cosa consiste la spiegazione scientifica? In che misura l’impresa scientifica è influenzata da valori etici, politici, economici o religiosi? Prediligendo un approccio tematico, il volume introduce alla comprensione dei principali problemi teorici della filosofia della scienza attraverso l’analisi (...) di venti parole o concetti chiave, così da permettere la lettura dei singoli capitoli in modo indipendente, pur in una fitta rete di importanti rimandi. (shrink)

Introduction to the book symposium “THE BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL OF HEALTH AND DISEASE: NEW PHILOSOPHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS BY DEREK BOLTON AND GRANT GILLETT”.

According to the minimal version of the traditional analysis of knowledge, there are (at least) three necessary components to knowledge, that is, truth, belief and justification. In this paper we will argue that even in a global sceptical scenario, all three conditions minimally necessary for knowledge can be satisfied. In particular, we will focus on the justification requirement and analyse two “traditional” theories of justification, i.e., coherentism and foundationalism, as well as a more “innovative” one, i.e., reliabilism. Then, we will (...) conclude that if we want to continue to claim that, in a global sceptical scenario, a cognitive subject does not know (almost) anything, we should recognise that she may still have justified true beliefs, and we should, therefore, look elsewhere for the reasons why she lacks knowledge. (shrink)

The present article traces the changes that took place within the Genevan church between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. These changes resulted from a number of different factors, but especially from the evolution in theological and other, broader intellectual parameters. The analysis focuses on the spirited debates that surrounded the Consensus Helveticus, a formula which was adopted in Geneva in 1679 and to which all pastors were required to subscribe. When the Genevan church decided in 1706 no longer (...) to require subscription, it did so – among others – for the freedom of conscience on articles not necessary to salvation, and thus embarked on a long road of theological reflection which led it eventually to abandon, within the space of only several decades, the orthodox theology that had dominated the seventeenth century. As result of this evolution, the eighteenth century saw a slow but definite change in the image the church of Geneva held for the rest of European Calvinism. ☆ This article is an uptated English translation of «De l’exemplarité au soupçon: l’Eglise genevoise entre la fin du XVIIe siècle et le début du XVIIIe» in W. Kaiser, C. Sieber-Lehmann et C. Windler (éd.), Eidgenössische «Grenzfälle»: Mülhausen und Genf/en marge de la Confédération: Mulhouse et Genève (Basler Beiträge zur Geschichtswissenschaft 172), Bâle, Schwabe et Co, 2001, 273–92. I thank Keith Tribe for his translation and Albert Gootjes for his suggestions for updating. (shrink)

La question de la légitimité et de la faisabilité de l’examen religieux – l’un des sujets principaux de la controverse confessionnelle en France au XVIIe siècle – traverse l’ensemble du corpus baylien. Étroitement lié à des questions cruciales comme celle de la nature des vérités divines, des dispositions éthiques du croyant et du statut de la Bible, l’examen religieux est en réalité pour Bayle un oxymore, qui tente de concilier ce qui est antithétique, à savoir l’examen philosophique et la croyance.

El artículo tiene como objetivo fundamental presentar el concepto de repetición bajo tres aspectos. El primero es su ubicación en el contexto de la existencia individual; el segundo, su carácter de exigencia de búsqueda de la libertad; y, finalmente, la consideración de la repetición como acontecimiento de la existencia. El recorrido del artículo revela así el tránsito que se emprende desde la importancia de la figura del lector en su profunda soledad; lector de la vida, de la prueba, de la (...) circunstancia, de lo ineludible; hasta la revelación de la existencia revestida en un acto mimético. Este recorrido aparece evidenciado porque se pone de relieve la preocupación humana no sólo por la existencia, sino por el sentido que ella adquiere frente a la posibilidad del mal desde lo particular, desde lo individual. En este orden de ideas, tras un seguimiento del concepto de repetición se pretende hacer evidente un interés que puede llamarse interés existencial y por ello filosófico: volver la cara hacia el individuo. (shrink)

Resumo: Este artigo visa a investigar as críticas que o sociólogo francês Alfred Fouillé faz a Nietzsche acerca de suas concepções morais. Apoiado nos textos de seu enteado, Jean-Marie Guyau, Fouillée contrapõe uma moral do altruísmo ao que entende ser uma moral nietzschiana: individualismo, egoísmo e violência. O texto indica os equívocos da leitura de Fouillée a partir dos próprios comentários de Nietzsche ao sociólogo francês e faz algumas aproximações entre Nietzsche e Guyau.: This article intends to investigate the criticism (...) raised by the French sociologist Alfred Fouillé to Nietzsche related to his moral conceptions. Supported by his stepson´s text, Jean-Marie Guyau, Fouillé opposes an altruism morality to what he understands to be a Nietzschian morality: individualism, selfishness and violence. The text points to errors in Fouillé´s readings based on the very Nietzsche´s comments to the French sociologist and do some approximations between Nietzsche and Guyau. (shrink)

Although Nietzsche never formulated an actual political theory, his critique of modernity and his search for alternative solutions to raise the 'human type' are certainly part of a “große Politik” project, which, however, belongs more to the realm of philosophy and culture than to that of a science of government. In opposition to homologating organisations - political, economic, moral - that have robbed man of his most peculiar energies, Nietzsche works for the promotion of a strong individuality that alone can (...) promise lasting constructions. Originality and the ability to incorporate discordant elements are, for Nietzsche, symptoms of a superior culture: the 'good European' of the future will therefore be the one who, beyond narrow personal and national boundaries, will be able to open up to fruitful hybridisation. Nietzsche - Politics - Individual - Democracy - Tocqueville. (shrink)

RESUMEN. La cuestión del mal ocupa un lugar central en el pensamiento de Hannah Arendt al constituir un concepto transversal que recorre todos sus trenes de pensamiento. Se somete a análisis la “naturaleza del mal” a través del estudio de su obra y de su propia experiencia vital, especialmente al cubrir el juicio de Eichmann en Jerusalén, donde ella afirmaría que éste representaba “la banalidad del mal”. Se trata de averiguar si en su particular concepción del mal influyó Voltaire, por (...) qué surge el mal, por qué se manifiesta de forma permanente en la historia y si puede ser destruido ABSTRACT. The topic of evil has a central place in Hannah Arendt’s thinking as it lies at the core of all her trains of thought. We analyze the “nature of evil” in Hannah Arendt’s philosophy through the study of her work and of her life experience, especially when she covered the trial of Eichmann in Jerusalem where she pointed out that Eichmann represented “the banality of evil”. Our goal in this contribution is to understand whether the philosophy of Voltaire could have influenced Arendt’s conception of evil, why it arises, why it persists throughout history, and whether it can be destroyed. (shrink)

O artigo apresenta reflexões acerca das afinidades eletivas entre os Estudos Sociais da Ciência e a Bibliometria, a Cientometria, campos de estudo voltados, respectivamente, para a análise das práticas e dinâmicas das comunidades científicas e da avaliação da produção científica e tecnológica produzidas pelos cientistas no interior das áreas de conhecimento.

Reproducción del artículo de Juan Carlos Torre, “Una nueva oposición social”, originalmente publicado en la revista Los Libros. Un mes de publicaciones en América Latina, n° 21, agosto 1971.