On our planet only the American continent has had the privilege, or the unhappiness perhaps, of being subjected to a sort of accounting of “anniversaries” or, let us say, “centennials.” But this does not mean, for all that, that these anniversaries serve to commemorate its birth. Geologists tell us the continents were formed hundreds of millions of years ago, making the commemoration of the American continent relatively recent. Moreover, the origins of this custom are foreign to it and are imbued, (...) it must be said, with perspectives that are by all evidence “Eurocentric.” Curiously, no one took any notice of the first or the second centennial of the American continent. (shrink)

In this autobiographical essay, I contemplate upon my engagement with Nahuatl culture and philosophy, which spans several decades today.

Within the paradigm of political liberalism, Hobbes’s legal philosophy has the peculiarity that individual property rights are treated as conditional and derived from the State’s absolute property rights, and thus common, State and individual property are explicitly recognised as three different juridical realities. Through determining the place that Hobbes’s few references to common property hold within his legal philosophy, it is possible to turn the thought of this classic author into a very useful theoretical tool for thinking the possibilities and (...) limits of a political strategy betting for common property against State property. (shrink)

La epistemología histórico-filosófica de la "visión de los vencidos" suponía la existencia de una verdad, complementaria a la del vencedor. Sin embargo, esa perspectiva conduce, sin proponérselo, a un debilitamiento de la idea de verdad en relación con el continente americano. Eso abre la puerta a la desrealización de éste, evolucionando hacia la idea de que América es un juego de lenguaje dentro de otros juegos de lenguaje, sin remitir a una realidad o a una verdad epistemológico-filosófica. El análisis de (...) algunos aspectos de la obra de Miguel León Portilla, Peter Mason, Peter Sloterdijk y de la Jornada de Omagua de Dorado, escrita en 1561, sirven de apoyo para lo aquí planteado. The historical-philosophical epistemology of the vision of the vanquished supposed the existence of a true, complementary to the defeated's one, in all discourse on America. Nevertheless, that perspective leads, unwillingly, to a weakening of the idea of truth in relation to the continent. This opens the path to its derealisation and leads to the idea that America is a speech game within another speech games, and does not address a reality or a philosophical-epistemological truth. Our statements are supported by analysis of some aspects of the work of Peter Sloterdijk and Peter Mason and of the Journey of Omagua y Dorado, written in 1561. (shrink)

Los poetas en la época prehispánica nahua eran llamados cuicapicque que significa “creadores de cantos” o “forjadores de cantos”, se sabe que por poseer el don poético, eran admirados, respetados y su producción fue vasta. Miguel León Portilla rescató el nombre de veinte de ellos, incluida una mujer, Macuilxochitzin a quien trataremos de conocer a través del análisis y reflexión que se desprende del único canto que de ella se tiene. ¿Quién era? ¿Por qué solamente se tiene este (...) poema de la época prehispánica atribuido a una mujer? ¿Qué hay más allá del hecho histórico al que alude? Es lo que trataremos de responder a lo largo de este trabajo, insuficiente creemos para conocer el legado femenino de las forjadoras de cantos de aquella época pero que intentaremos al menos, rescatar su voz en una sociedad donde el valor de “lo femenino” y por ende, la importancia de la mujer, aún está por comprenderse. (shrink)

This article examines Gloria Anzaldúa’s critical appropriation of Mexican philosophical sources, especially in the writing of Borderlands/La Frontera. We argue that Anzaldúa effectively contributed to la filosofía de lo mexicano by developing an Inter-American Philosophy of Mexicanness. More specifically, we recover “La Mexicana en la Chicana” by paying careful attention to Anzaldúa’s Mexican sources, both those she explicitly cites and those we have discovered while conducting archival research using the Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa Papers at the Benson Latin American Collection at (...) the University of Texas at Austin. The eight Mexican philosophical sources we examine and discuss here are: José Vasconcelos (1882-1959), Miguel León-Portilla (1926-2019), Juana Armanda Alegría (1938- ), Octavio Paz (1914-1998), Samuel Ramos (1897-1959), Rosario Castellanos (1925-1974), Sor Juana Inés de La Cruz (1648-1695), and Jorge Carrión (1913-2005). (shrink)

Los poetas en la época prehispánica nahua eran llamados cuicapicque que significa “creadores de cantos” o “forjadores de cantos”, se sabe que por poseer el don poético, eran admirados, respetados y su producción fue vasta. Miguel León Portilla rescató el nombre de veinte de ellos, incluida una mujer, Macuilxochitzin a quien trataremos de conocer a través del análisis y reflexión que se desprende del único canto que de ella se tiene. ¿Quién era? ¿Por qué solamente se tiene este (...) poema de la época prehispánica atribuido a una mujer? ¿Qué hay más allá del hecho histórico al que alude? Es lo que trataremos de responder a lo largo de este trabajo, insuficiente creemos para conocer el legado femenino de las forjadoras de cantos de aquella época pero que intentaremos al menos, rescatar su voz en una sociedad donde el valor de “lo femenino” y por ende, la importancia de la mujer, aún está por comprenderse. (shrink)

Our paper examines Gloria Anzaldúa’s critical appropriation of Mexican philosophical sources, especially in the writing of Borderlands/La Frontera. We demonstrate how Anzaldúa developed a transnational Philosophy of Mexicanness, effectively contributing to what has been recently characterized as the “multi-generational project to pursue philosophy from and about Mexican circumstances” (Vargas). More specifically, we recover “La Mexicana en la Chicana” by paying careful attention to Anzaldúa’s Mexican sources, both those she explicitly cites and those we have discovered while conducting archival research using (...) the Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa Papers from the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin. The three sections of our paper: 1) define the terms Mexican and philosophy in conversation with Anzaldúa’s work, 2) examine the Mexican philosophical sources that Anzaldúa cites in Borderlands/La Frontera, and 3) present the other major Mexican philosophical influences on Anzaldúa that we have found in her archive. The eight Mexican philosophical sources we discuss here include: José Vasconcelos (1882-1959), Miguel León-Portilla (1926-2019), Juana Armanda Alegría (1938- ), Octavio Paz (1914-1998), Samuel Ramos (1897-1959), Rosario Castellanos (1925-1974), Sor Juana Inés de La Cruz (1648-1695), and Jorge Carrión (1913-2005). (shrink)

León-Portilla, M. El pensamiento prehispánico.--O'Gorman, E. América.--Gallegos Rocafull, J. M. La filosofía moderna en la Nueva España.--Villoro, L. Las corrientes ideológicas en la época de la Independencia.--Zea, L. El positivismo.--Salmerón, F. Los de filósofos mexicanos del siglo XX.--Villegas, A. El liberalismo mexicano.

The confinement that COVID-19 has brought about has had a negative influence on people’s psychological health. However, this impact is not widespread throughout the population, and men and women may be affected differently and it is not known what protective factors may exist. In this sense, physical activity has classically been shown to be a habit associated with psychological health. The study aimed to analyze the impact of confinement on psychological health, taking into account gender, and perceived changes in physical (...) activity. After the project was approved by the University’s Ethics Commission, the participants, after signing the informed consent, completed the online questionnaires during the days from 6 to 20 April, the time when, in Spain, confinement was in place and the highest peak of deaths and infections from COVID-19 occurred. A total of 457 Spanish participants were evaluated in psychological well-being, in its adaptation to Spanish, in coping, with the Spanish adaptation of the COPE Inventory, in daily habits and difficulties and the level of physical activity they had was recorded. Besides, the perceived change in physical activity due to confinement was recorded. The results showed that perceived emotions, difficulties for certain routines, psychological well-being, and coping differed according to sex. On the other hand, depending on the change in physical activity habits, it was observed that participants who increased their physical activity responded differently in the perception of emotions, and difficulties for routines and in psychological well-being. Finally, differences were also observed in most variables between sedentary, active, and federated participants. Results are discussed highlighting the importance of physical activity as a moderating factor of the impact of confinement. (shrink)

El nuevo siglo ha receptado acríticamente un conjunto de prejuicios antropológicos —bajo la apariencia de rigor científico— que fundamentan una visión fragmentaria y desajustada del hombre. En este contexto, el lúcido pensamiento de María Zambrano ofrece las premisas básicas para reintegrar la comprensión del misterio del hombre. Comenzando por la búsqueda y empleo de un uso de la razón que se adecúe convenientemente a la peculiaridad de lo humano: la razón poética; continuando por la recuperación de saberes olvidados, como la (...) metafísica, aplicada al estudio de la persona, y concluyendo en el énfasis de la omnipresencia de lo divino y la pasión humana por relacionarse con la divinidad, clave de reintegración de su pluridimensionalidad. Palabras clave: Antropología, flosofía, razón, metafísica, Zambrano. (shrink)

In this paper Marx’s concept of fetishism is used in order to analyze contemporary representations of technology in the science-fiction genre (concretely Terminator, The Jetsons and Dune will be used as examples) and discuss their correspondence to two major ideological perceptions of technology (the luddite and the productivist) and to one of the best attempts to grasp technology in a non-fetishized form (Marx’s analysis in Capital).

The aim of this paper was to analyze the relationship between attitudes toward physical activity and participation in water sports events and to recognize the main motives for involvement in these kinds of events. A written paper–pencil diagnostic survey was conducted among 394 participants in two traditional and two modern sports events on water held in Poland to ascertain whether innovative events are needed in society, and whether they cause an increase in interest in physical activity. The research results showed (...) that modern sports events on water did not have any more power to attract physically inactive people than traditional water events, did not produce a greater desire to lead an active lifestyle, and did not encourage people to more regularly practice water sports. Moreover, modern events, compared to traditional events, were only a one-time experience and the people who completed survey often wanted to return to traditional sports events which provided participants with greater positive emotions than a modern event. In the case of socio-demographical variables, there was no statistically significant relationship between gender and choice of modern or traditional event, but older people were more likely to choose a traditional event than younger people; modern water events were an attractive option primarily for young people under 30 years of age, furthermore, modern events more often attracted people who had completed higher education. However, it turned out that a modern event on water often attracted more people who had had no experience in this sport discipline rather than people who chose traditional water events. In a sense, modern events are therefore effective in promoting water sports in Polish society. We also distinguished five main groups of participants: healthy lifestyle managers, lovers of sports emotions, water sports malcontents, water sports enthusiasts, and neutrals to water sports. Additionally, we looked into gender-related motives for participation in modern and traditional water events: social and health-related motives proved to be more important for women and men who participated in modern water events. The research results presented in the article expand on the current state of knowledge about mass participation in sport, the impact of sporting events on the promotion of physical activity, and show the motivation behind participation in modern and traditional water sporting events. (shrink)

COVID-19 confinement has supposed a challenge to the whole wide world, especially in athletes that have frustrated their expectations about training programs and competitions. Specifically, competition cyclists during confinement had lot of difficulties to train due to the need to train outside their homes. However, the increase of online training sessions, or virtual training tools could help to overcome training difficulties due to confinement although there are not studies that analyse the effects of using these types of tools in cyclists. (...) This study aims to test how the use of online training tools in competition cyclists during confinement is related to training frequency and duration, and emotions. 329 cyclists filled an online questionnaire about feelings during confinement and the use of online training tools, before and during confinement. Results showed that the use of online training tools was associated with higher frequency and duration of trainings. Moreover, those who used these tools felt more positively about their future and preparation to compete, feeling more energy than those who did not used online tools. In addition, cyclists that started using these online tools (including virtual roller training) during confinement increased the frequency of training. In conclusion the use of online training tools for cycling could be appropriate to maintain training levels and energy and positive feelings about their future. (shrink)

This article describes research to build an embodied conversational agent as an interface to a question-and-answer system about a National Science Foundation program. We call this ECA the LifeLike Avatar, and it can interact with its users in spoken natural language to answer general as well as specific questions about specific topics. In an idealized case, the LifeLike Avatar could conceivably provide a user with a level of interaction such that he or she would not be certain as to whether (...) he or she is talking to the actual person via video teleconference. This could be considered a extended version of the seminal Turing test. Although passing such a test is still far off, our work moves the science in that direction. The Uncanny Valley notwithstanding, applications of such lifelike interfaces could include those where specific instructors/caregivers could be represented as stand-ins for the actual person in situations where personal representation is important. Possible areas that come to mind that might benefit from these lifelike ECAs include health-care support for elderly/disabled patients in extended home care, education/training, and knowledge preservation. Another more personal application would be to posthumously preserve elements of the persona of a loved one by family members. We apply this approach to a Q/a system for knowledge preservation and dissemination, where the specific individual who had this knowledge was to retire from the US National Science Foundation. The system is described in detail, and evaluations were performed to determine how well the system was perceived by users. (shrink)

Se aborda la historia reciente de Ecuador centrando la mirada en la figura del expresidente León Febres-Cordero, a partir de dos proyectos realizados con las y los estudiantes de la Escuela de Cine de la Universidad de las Artes del Ecuador. En Delirar el archivo se parte de la fórmula deleuziana «escribir es una forma de delirar» con el fin de releer las imágenes del pasado guayaquileño. En Remontar la historia, igualmente, se utiliza una metodología crítico-creativa para resignificar los archivos (...) visuales del diario El Telégrafo por medio de recontextualizaciones en el espacio público. El análisis de estas piezas audiovisuales permitió la configuración de una tipología de imágenes (imagen-borramiento, imagen-mimética, imagen-entreverada, imagen-arquitectura e imagen-escultura) y una serie de principios sobre el uso de los archivos: de apertura, de intertextualidad, de multiplicidad, de reflexividad y de memoria. (shrink)

A reflection on the philosophical traditions at the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon and in the city of Monterrey.

El pentecostalismo chileno construye representaciones distintas de la masculinidad hipersexuada y violenta. El mundo masculino se divide en “hombres mundano” y “hombres pentecostales”, produciéndose así una redención de la masculinidad tradicional con fronteras claras que permiten la domesticación y femenización del hombre. En una perspectiva más actualizada, como el neopentecostalismo, el ser hombre es representado a través de dos metáforas: “buscadores de oro” y “corazón de león” aludiendo a una ruptura, con el conformismo de la masculinidad anterior, frente al éxito (...) a que son empujado los hombres evangélicos actuales, concebidos como hidalgos de la fe que luchan por la teodicea de la felicidad. (shrink)

Zusammenfassung In der Debatte um die Integrität der Religionswissenschaft verteidigen einige Autoren angesichts der Dominanz metatheoretischer Reflexionen und diskursanalytischer Genealogien des Religionsbegriffs die außereuropäische Religionsgeschichte als Kerngeschäft der Disziplin. Statt die Bedeutung der Religionsgeschichte für die Theoriebildung hervorzuheben, stellt der Artikel die umgekehrte Frage: Welchen Nutzen haben neuere theoretische Ansätze wie Postkolonialismus, Diskurstheorie und Religionsästhetik für die konkrete religionshistorische Arbeit? Der aus diesen Ansätzen resultierende Perspektivwechsel wird am Beispiel aztekischer Göttervorstellungen diskutiert, konkret an León-Portillas dominanter Rekonstruktion eines aztekischen philosophischen Monotheismus. (...) Seine Interpretation wird postkolonial und diskursiv dekonstruiert und eine religionsästhetisch inspirierte Neuinterpretation eines Teilaspekts, dem Göttertitel Yohualli Ehecatl, vorgeschlagen. (shrink)

Jehuda ben Isaak Abrabanel, znany jako Leone Ebreo, XVI-wieczny sefardyjski intelektualista, definiuje tytułowe pojęcie w swoim dziele _Dialogi o miłości_ (_Dialoghi d’amore)_. Ten traktat filozoficzny z neoplatońskimi podtekstami, łączący wszystko, co wcześniejsi myśliciele napisali o tym szlachetnym uczuciu, był niezwykle popularny i stał się wzorem dla współczesnych mu pisarzy. Został przetłumaczony na język hiszpański m.in. przez Inkę Garcilaso de la Vega, a Miguel de Cervantes wspomina o nim w prologu do pierwszej części _Don Kichota_, sugerując, że opisana w nim (...) miłość daleka jest od rzeczywistości. Wizja wyidealizowanej miłości, którą kochanek Filon czuje do czystej Zofii, znajduje swoje odbicie w stworzonym przez Sefardyjczyka Eliasa Canettiego portrecie doktora Sonne, jednego z bohaterów _Gry oczu._ Przejawem mistycznej miłości jest miłość do boskiego intelektu, a tę osiągnąć można jedynie przez intelektualny wysiłek włożony w dialog filozoficzny. Leone Ebreo urodził się na Półwyspie Iberyjskim, wyemigrował do Włoch po 1492 r. i najprawdopodobniej (nie ma co do tego pewności) wybrał język nowej ojczyzny dla swojej ekspresji. Elias Canetti, Sefardyjczyk urodzony w Bułgarii (podówczas okupowanej przez Imperium Osmańskie), przed I wojną światową pisał po niemiecku. Postaci te, odległe od siebie w czasie i przestrzeni, łączy pochodzenie judeohiszpańskie i związany z nim bagaż hebrajskiej tradycji egzegetycznej, który prowadzi obu do bardzo podobnej pochwały intelektualnej miłości. Artykuł przedstawia pokrewieństwo myśli obu pisarzy ‒ których można uznać za Hiszpanów ze względu na ich sefardyjskie pochodzenie ‒ w odniesieniu do intelektualnego mistycyzmu wyrażonego poprzez miłość do Intelektu pisanego wielką literą. (shrink)

Jehuda ben Isaak Abrabanel, znany jako Leone Ebreo, XVI-wieczny sefardyjski intelektualista, definiuje tytułowe pojęcie w swoim dziele _Dialogi o miłości_ (_Dialoghi d’amore)_. Ten traktat filozoficzny z neoplatońskimi podtekstami, łączący wszystko, co wcześniejsi myśliciele napisali o tym szlachetnym uczuciu, był niezwykle popularny i stał się wzorem dla współczesnych mu pisarzy. Został przetłumaczony na język hiszpański m.in. przez Inkę Garcilaso de la Vega, a Miguel de Cervantes wspomina o nim w prologu do pierwszej części _Don Kichota_, sugerując, że opisana w nim (...) miłość daleka jest od rzeczywistości. Wizja wyidealizowanej miłości, którą kochanek Filon czuje do czystej Zofii, znajduje swoje odbicie w stworzonym przez Sefardyjczyka Eliasa Canettiego portrecie doktora Sonne, jednego z bohaterów _Gry oczu._ Przejawem mistycznej miłości jest miłość do boskiego intelektu, a tę osiągnąć można jedynie przez intelektualny wysiłek włożony w dialog filozoficzny. Leone Ebreo urodził się na Półwyspie Iberyjskim, wyemigrował do Włoch po 1492 r. i najprawdopodobniej (nie ma co do tego pewności) wybrał język nowej ojczyzny dla swojej ekspresji. Elias Canetti, Sefardyjczyk urodzony w Bułgarii (podówczas okupowanej przez Imperium Osmańskie), przed I wojną światową pisał po niemiecku. Postaci te, odległe od siebie w czasie i przestrzeni, łączy pochodzenie judeohiszpańskie i związany z nim bagaż hebrajskiej tradycji egzegetycznej, który prowadzi obu do bardzo podobnej pochwały intelektualnej miłości. Artykuł przedstawia pokrewieństwo myśli obu pisarzy ‒ których można uznać za Hiszpanów ze względu na ich sefardyjskie pochodzenie ‒ w odniesieniu do intelektualnego mistycyzmu wyrażonego poprzez miłość do Intelektu pisanego wielką literą. (shrink)

Philosophers of mathematics commonly distinguish between explanatory and non-explanatory proofs. An important subclass of mathematical proofs are proofs by induction. Are they explanatory? This paper addresses the question, based on general principles about explanation. First, a recent argument for a negative answer is discussed and rebutted. Second, a case is made for a qualified positive take on the issue.

In his book The future of human nature, Jürgen Habermas argues against a scenario of liberal eugenics, in which parents are free to prenatally manipulate their children’s genetic constitution via germline interventions. In this paper, I draw attention to the fact that his species‐ethical line of argument is pervaded by a substantial ambiguity between an argument from actual intervention (AAI) and an argument from mere controllability (AMC). Whereas the first argument focuses on threats for the autonomy and equality of prenatally (...) modified persons, the second argument takes all human beings, whether they have been modified or not, into account. Hence, when invoking Habermas in these debates, bioethicists need to consider carefully which argument they are referring to. (shrink)

Phenomenology in medicine’s main contribution is to present a first-person narrative of illness, in an effort to aid medicine in reaching an accurate disease diagnosis and establishing a personal relationship with patients whose lived experience changes dramatically when severe disease and disabling condition is confirmed. Once disease is diagnosed, the lived experience of illness is reconstructed into a living-with-disease narrative that medicine’s biological approach has widely neglected. Key concepts like health, sickness, illness, disease and the clinical encounter are being diversely (...) and ambiguously used, leading to distortions in socio-medical practices such as medicalization, pharmaceuticalization, emphasis on surveillance medicine. Current definitions of these concepts as employed in phenomenology of medicine are revised, concluding that more stringent semantics ought to reinforce an empirical phenomenological or postphenomenological approach. (shrink)

This essay proposes a new reading of Cohen’s polemical text, Germanism and Judaism. It argues that the development of Cohen’s late philosophy reveals him not as a helpless philosopher overwhelmed by the maelstrom of a world war, but as an “engaged” thinker who carries forward what he takes to be philosophy’s duty to struggle against war by going to “war” in the space of theory and culture. Cohen’s text needs to be placed in the context of his other wartime writings (...) which, on the one hand, assigned a new and more radical function to messianic Judaism within his ethics, and simultaneously transplanted his neo-Kantianism into the more “realistic” political philosophies of Plato and of Spinoza, respectively. This essay argues that the thought of the later Cohen does not break with his previous commitments to cosmopolitanism and social democracy, as much as it tries to confront the harsh realities of European nationalist and anti-Semitic politics by articulating the roles of philosophy and of Judaism in modernity no longer through a strictly idealistic and cosmopolitan optic. (shrink)

El trabajo explora ciertos lazos entre el pensamiento kantiano y la propuesta de los intelectuales argentinos durante el período posrevolucionario en lo referido a las herramientas para “salir de la revolución” y construir una nación. Se analizan algunas de las coincidencias entre ambos pensamientos en dos planos: en el de los diagnósticos de la realidad posrevolucionaria y de las dificultades que hay que afrontar para llevarla a buen término y en el de los proyectos diseñados para lograrlo. Se tratan ciertos (...) “tópicos” de la “generación del ‘37" y se destaca su relación (que se reconoce como mediada pero se rescata como genuina y significativa) con el pensamiento kantiano sobre la historia y la política. This paper explores certain bonds between Kantian thinking and the Argentinean intellectuals’ proposal outlined during the post-revolution period, in relation to the means to “get out of the revolution” and build a new nation. Certain coincidences between these two schools of thought are analyzed from two perspectives: one in relation to the diagnoses of the post-revolutionary reality and the difficulties to be overcome in order to succeed; the other, in reference to the projects designed to achieve such goal. Topics relevant to the “‘37 generation” are also discussed, especially in relation to Kantian’s thinking about History and Politics. Such relationship is admittedly mediated but recognized as genuine and significant. (shrink)

La teoría de la lógica mental no acepta una regla correcta en el cálculo proposicional estándar: la regla de introducción de la disyunción (esto es, la regla que permite inferir, por ejemplo, p o q de p). Esto es un problema porque esa misma teoría admite otro esquema en el que la regla está realmente implicada. Es cierto que, como ha mostrado López-Astorga, la teoría de la lógica mental puede ser actualizada de acuerdo con resultados empíricos recientes y que tal (...) actualización puede ayudar a la teoría a resolver algunas de sus dificultades. No obstante, la actualización de López-Astorga no afronta los desafíos directamente planteados por la regla de introducción de la disyunción y este trabajo pretende proceder en esa dirección. En concreto, mi tesis aquí es que todas las dificultades de la mencionada regla pueden desaparecer si no es considerada un Esquema Núcleo de la sintaxis del pensamiento humano, sino un Esquema Alimentador de la misma. (shrink)