El presente artículo introduce la traducción del francés al español del estudio sobre la espacialidad en Gilles Deleuze realizado en 2010 por el profesor Guillaume Sibertin-Blanc: «Cartografía y territorios». Se presenta, para ello, una lectura culturalista de la filosofía occidental del espacio, destacando dos de sus rasgos, la hiperfecundidad y el temporalismo, que retoma el que es considerado aquí como el primer esbozo de tematización de las cartografías tacto-libidinales de lo vivo, a saber: la filosofía aristotélica del alma. Así, se (...) espera contextualizar y apreciar de mejor manera toda concepción de la espacialidad que rehabilite la hiperfecundidad del espacio y evacúe el temporalismo, permitiendo desactivar las concepciones tradicionales de subjetividad e identidad, tal como logra hacerlo la geofilosofía de Deleuze. (shrink)

Drawing on Husserl, Ingarden and Levinas’ works, this article explores Ibsen’s Rosmersholm from a phenomenological perspective, aiming to shed light both on this play and on the phenomenology of hunger and theatre, as well as on the larger meaning of alimentary enjoyment.

In this article, I explore the role of the body in Indian thought through the lens of Lilian Silburn’s works, focusing on the idea of carving the cosmos, namely of somatic performances that have cosmological relevance. First, I delve into her biography, to study, subsequently, her analysis of ancient Vedic philosophy, the Brāhmaṇa, the Upanişad, and Buddhism. In this manner, I touch upon a series of conceptual developments, trying to understand the constant tensions between the discontinuous and the continuous, the (...) non-arranged and the arranged, the multiple and the One, and finally between eternalism and nihilism. I conclude by examining the way Buddhism has of resolving these tensions in the non-substantial theory of Karman. (shrink)

The work of Emmanuel Levinas has been both abundantly recognized and criticized in moral philosophy. This Janus-faced attitude is also present in ecological theories, which find fertile ground in Levinas’ thought without being able to explain its apparent anthropocentrism. Opposing hermeneutical paths tend to focus either on otherness as an absolute alterity, implying a potentially unlimited responsibility for all alterities, or on otherness as a re-foundation of humanism, leading to the conclusion that responsibility is unlimited only among humans. Here I (...) seek to disentangle Levinas from these two extreme interpretations, first by reviewing ecological readings of his philosophy, in both the Francophone and Anglophone spheres, and second by analyzing specific Levinasian terms that might be particularly helpful for a non-anthropocentric or deep ecology. The main results of this investigation are a distinction between the ethics of responsibility and the ethics of vulnerability, an explanation of Levinasian compulsory or methodological humanism, and a schematic model of sensibility as enjoyment/vulnerability capable of supporting deep ecology without the traditional notions of free will, rights, or values. (shrink)

Intentando responder por el cambio que significa la filosofía contemporánea occidental respecto a su pasado, y a través del análisis de nociones tradicionales de movimiento y cuerpo, mostramos el lazo que une dirección, coreografía y las propias expectativas actorales del danzante, a ciertas concepciones muy particulares de verdad y fidelidad, arraigadas en ideas de tiempo y espacio que son desactivadas en la práctica de la danza, sobre todo en sus fases de investigación corporal, donde aparecen más bien danzas insignificantes y (...) espacios vividos, refractarios a las lógicas del espacio objetivo, el escenario y el espectador. (shrink)

Drawing on phenomenological aesthetics and on the haptic aesthetics of eating as a form of everyday aesthetics, I examine the phenomenon of eating our own as meaningful in three dimensions: vital/natural, somatic/individual, and cross-cultural. Usually conceived as a concrete, rare, and foreign practice, I show how cannibalism is present in our daily lives, both symbolically and as a liminal possibility towards which – as Freud noticed in 1913 – we all tended as children. Cannibalism is present not only in cinematic, (...) literary, or visual art, and in anthropological research that situates it far from “us,” but through narratives and carnal dispositifs of differentiation/assimilation of the Same and the Other, fundamental for our subjective constitution. I conclude with a reflection on how the classical aesthetics of the sovereign subject develops towards alternative models like Pelluchon’s gourmet ego that re-establish the connexion and moral engagement lost by solipsism by means of alimentary metaphors, but also romanticizing them, failing to address the problem of voracity and overconsumption, both at a social and at an individual level. This is more suitably addressed by Viveiros de Castro’s idea of a cannibal cogito, but even better understood by Emmanuel Levinas’ enjoyment-contact model of subjectivity. (shrink)

There is a relationship between touch and language at the heart of which lies the philosophical problem of the secret. As Derrida points out, since Aristotle touch has been qualified as ἄδηλον: secret, nocturnal, barely apparent. After some brief etymological remarks, in this article, I explore the mystery that touch represents for language through Levinas’ concept of the secret, thematizing two levels: first, that of the contemporary critique of ocularcentrism, then the level of the tactile experiences that can hardly be (...) put into words. (shrink)

As touch remains commonly defined by the closeness it physically implies and it rhetorically evokes, the mere notion of distant touch and of distal haptic perception seems peculiar. But Aristotle’s perspective, which I wish to take as a point of departure, is firm: we perceive the objects of touch, the hot and the cold, the hard and the soft, the curved and the sharp, through other things: δι' ἑτέρων. In this article, I would like to explore this ἕτερος by showing (...) how the otherness of perception always implies an intermediary, a middle point (μέσος), i.e. an other not so other, an other that is able to translate the much more distant otherness of the perceived object. To explore these forgotten layers of alterity that fall into what we commonly conceive of as the impalpable emptiness of distance, I propose to study the idea of distant touch from the perspective of phenomenological aesthetics. In order to do so, I will first examine some aspects of the Husserlian account of perception and will then focus on the phenomenology of distant touch in Alejandra Costamagna’s novel El Sistema del Tacto [The System of Touch] (2018). (shrink)

Resumen: La construcción de una ciencia del Trabajo Social constituye un debate que ha adquirido intensidad disciplinar en la última década. Ello es resultado de los esfuerzos progresivos de vigilancia y depuración epistemológica que se ha venido produciendo allí dónde el Trabajo Social tiene presencia. Para contribuir a dicho proceso, este artículo propone un vértice analítico organizado en tres momentos. El primero de ellos se adentra en cuestiones epistémicas mostrando las construcciones internas que el Trabajo Social ha venido discutiendo con (...) relación a la naturaleza del conocimiento que produce. El segundo momento incide asuntos relativos al poder y en las relaciones asimétricas interdisciplinares que experimenta el Trabajo Social en las Ciencias Sociales. El tercero introduce la necesidad de atender la feminización del sujeto constructor de la disciplina como parte de su identidad epistémica secular. Se concluye que la autonomía como disciplina científica depende de las comunidades epistémicas que conviven en Trabajo Social puedan hacer explícitos sus debates que rescaten saberes ausentes, olvidados, postergados y subalternos en las jerarquías de la sociedad de conocimiento, tanto por cadenas internas como por condicionantes externos que limitan la consolidación del ethos disciplinar.: The aim of the article is to analyse a long-standing challenge in the field of social work related to its historical struggle to be taken seriously as a scientific discipline. The paper identifies a tripartite conceptual framework to guide the discussion of the science of social work. The first part describes debates in contemporary social work about the nature of knowledge, considering that social work has experienced researchers who bring critically important perspectives to bear in national and international venues. The second part focuses on the social work’s subordinate academic status within the social sciences and its historical positioning as an applied rather than research-oriented discipline and the impacts relating its power and interdisciplinary asymmetric relations experienced in social work. Finally, the article raises questions about the anonymity of women in the profession’s history. In that sense, expertise in care, social help and service to the other, are feminized components of the socio-professional identity of social work and a crucial issue to consider in understanding the discipline’s standing among other social sciences. The article argues there is evidence of a large variety of positions within the history of social work concerning issues of scientific production within the field. (shrink)

In this article, I explore the role of the body in Indian thought through the lens of Lilian Silburn’s works, focusing on the idea of carving the cosmos, namely of somatic performances that have cosmological relevance. First, I delve into her biography, to study, subsequently, her analysis of ancient Vedic philosophy, the Brāhmaṇa, the Upanişad, and Buddhism. In this manner, I touch upon a series of conceptual developments, trying to understand the constant tensions between the discontinuous and the continuous, the (...) non-arranged and the arranged, the multiple and the One, and finally between eternalism and nihilism. I conclude by examining the way Buddhism has of resolving these tensions in the non-substantial theory of Karman. (shrink)

Este artículo retoma la cuestión del espacio en Gilles Deleuze. Examinamos al respecto tres motivos: un concepto original de cartografía, una teoría de las geografías afectivas, y un análisis de los vectores «territorializantes» y «desterritorializantes» que determinan las transformaciones de las identidades colectivas. A través de estos tres momentos, la espacialidad deviene en los trabajos de Gilles Deleuze la piedra angular de una renovación de la vocación crítica de la filosofía. Dejando de ser un objeto de reflexión entre otros, la (...) espacialidad se vuelve un esquema de pensamiento, una manera de plantear problemas y de construir conceptos, donde ya no se trata de construir una filosofía de la geografía, sino una «geofilosofía». (shrink)

Reconciliation often becomes a superficial term when dealing with cases of violence against women. In several cultures in Indonesia, it is common for reconciliation to be reduced to a retributive process. It has not yet developed according to restorative justice based on women victims. To attain justice, the concept of reconciliation based on the Bible, secular law in Indonesia, and traditional customs need to be reconsidered. This article aims to conduct a critical analysis in cases of violence against women and (...) to offer reconciliation from the perspective of a feminist mission where women victims are the basis. Reconciliation as a mission is based on God’s mission, which invites the participation of the Church through its calling in the world where cases of violence are rampant. The research method used is qualitative research, including interviews as case studies. (shrink)

This paper characterizes José Celestino Mutis’ (1732–1808) appropriation of Newton in the Viceroyalty of New Granada. First, we examine critically traditional accounts of Mutis’ works highlighting, on the one hand, their inadequacy for directing their claims toward the nineteenth-century independence from Spain and, on the other, for not differentiating between Newtonianism and Enlightenment. Next, we portray Mutis’ complex Newtonianism from his own statements and from printed sources, including a variety of works and translations from British, Dutch, and French authors, in (...) addition to a wide range of Newton’s writings, unusual for an eighteenth-century reader in the Americas. Finally, we analyze a salient claim of Mutis’ Newtonianism in order to depict his appropriation and transformation of Newton’s ideas: the characterization of Newtonian experimental physics as a useful science. In so doing, Mutis further developed metaphysical and methodological positions not present in Newton’s works. (shrink)

ABSTRACT:A wide range of research uses patterns of genetic variation to infer genetic similarity between individuals, typically referred to as genetic ancestry. This research includes inference of human demographic history, understanding the genetic architecture of traits, and predicting disease risk. Researchers are not just structuring an intellectual inquiry when using genetic ancestry, they are also creating analytical frameworks with broader societal ramifications. This essay presents an ethics framework in the spirit of virtue ethics for these researchers: rather than focus on (...) rule following, the framework is designed to build researchers’ capacities to react to the ethical dimensions of their work. The authors identify one overarching principle of intellectual freedom and responsibility, noting that freedom in all its guises comes with responsibility, and they identify and define four principles that collectively uphold researchers’ intellectual responsibility: truthfulness, justice and fairness, anti-racism, and public beneficence. Researchers should bring their practices into alignment with these principles, and to aid this, the authors name three common ways research practices infringe these principles, suggest a step-by-step process for aligning research choices with the principles, provide rules of thumb for achieving alignment, and give a worked case. The essay concludes by identifying support needed by researchers to act in accord with the proposed framework. (shrink)

The paper aims to analyze three discussions pertaining to the artificial intelligence project that took place on both sides of the “Iron Curtain” since the 1960s: 1) E.V. Ilyenkov – D.I. Dubrovsky (USSR), 2) H. Dreyfus – computer scientists (USA), 3) H. Dreyfus – H. Collins (USA – UK). The authors observe the originality of the arguments of Soviet philosophers in comparison with the discussions in the US and UK. The basis for a comparative analysis of these discussions is the (...) typology of social intercourse paradigms, which assumes the existence of three fundamentally different views of humans as social beings: the information-instrumental, the existential-phenomenological, and the social-institutional paradigms. These views correlate with the ideas about humans within different theoretical structures examining artificial intelligence. The information-instrumental paradigm poses the problem of social intercourse regarding communication, material, and informational exchange (D.I. Dubrovsky, computer scientists). The social-institutional paradigm considers social intercourse as personification, actualization, and implementation of the structural characteristics of social relations (E.V. Ilyenkov). The existential-phenomenological paradigm characterizes social intercourse as the realization of the internal potency of a self-conscious individual (H. Dreyfus). The paper exposes that the theoretical and methodological foundations of the discussions under consideration are similar to the paradigmatic foundations of the analysis of social intercourse in social philosophy and social sciences. There are “two and a half floors” in the research of problems associated with the entry of artificial intelligence technologies into the everyday life of society: 1) philosophy, computer and cognitive sciences; 2) social sciences; 3) interdisciplinary research. A particular paradigmatic structure and a unique research problem characterize each of them. In conclusion, “new old questions” are highlighted that structure the field of contemporary social analytics for studying artificial intelligence and artificial sociality. (shrink)

_This article delves into the dynamic nature of ethical frameworks, arguing that moral paradigms are not static but rather evolve in response to societal shifts, technological advancements, and evolving understandings of ourselves and the world around us. Through a historical lens, we examine major transitions in ethical thought, highlighting how societal changes such as the rise of democracy, the Industrial Revolution, and globalization have reshaped our understanding of right and wrong. We then explore the impact of emerging technologies, such as (...) artificial intelligence and bioengineering, on ethical landscapes, prompting us to re-evaluate traditional principles and grapple with novel dilemmas. Ultimately, this article calls for an embrace of ethical dynamism, advocating for an ongoing process of critical reflection, dialogue, and adaptation to navigate the complex moral landscape of a constantly changing world._. (shrink)

The literature on the natural-resource-based view of firms has mostly focused on the positive relationship between financial performance and environmental innovation. The present study extends this research by addressing recent calls to identify the specific managerial approaches that affect a firm’s ability to financially benefit from an innovative environmental strategy. In particular, the focus is on how the selected international scope of patented environmental innovations affects a firms’ financial performance. The sample used included a 5-year data panel of 3,087 environmental (...) patent applications by the 79 Information and Communication Technology firms in the Financial Times Global 500 firms list. The findings indicate that the geographical scope of the exploitation of environmental patents increases the positive relationship between patented environmental innovation and financial performance whereas the geographical scope of knowledge sourcing of environmental patents does reduce this performance. (shrink)

In this article we present a new kind of computing device that uses biochemical reactions networks as building blocks to implement logic gates. The architecture of a computing machine relies on these generic and composable building blocks, computation units, that can be used in multiple instances to perform complex boolean functions. Standard logical operations are implemented by biochemical networks, encapsulated and insulated within synthetic vesicles called protocells. These protocells are capable of exchanging energy and information with each other through transmembrane (...) electron transfer. In the paradigm of computation we propose, protoputing, a machine can solve only one problem and therefore has to be built specifically. Thus, the programming phase in the standard computing paradigm is represented in our approach by the set of assembly instructions that directs the wiring of the protocells that constitute the machine itself. To demonstrate the computing power of protocellular machines, we apply it to solve a NP-complete problem, known to be very demanding in computing power, the 3-SAT problem. We show how to program the assembly of a machine that can verify the satisfiability of a given boolean formula. Then we show how to use the massive parallelism of these machines to verify in less than 20 min all the valuations of the input variables and output a fluorescent signal when the formula is satisfiable or no signal at all otherwise. (shrink)

Actualmente, la discusión sobre los problemas éticos de las nuevas tecnologías suele enfocarse en los dilemas que, de manera concreta y generalmente aislada, supone el uso de unas y otras tecnologías; frente a ello, lo que se propone en este artículo es considerar la problematicidad de nuestro entramado tecnológico, dentro de lo que podemos denominar “nuestra tecnosfera”, para, de ese modo, discutir nuestro presente como un horizonte problemático, en que se redefine el sentido ético de la realidad antropológica. De este (...) modo, y contando como referente teórico la reflexión sobre la técnica de Zubiri y de Ellacuría, proponemos la idea de “hacerse verdaderamente cargo del mundo” como medio para repensar éticamente las nuevas tecnologías (nuestras). (shrink)

In many areas of philosophy, it is becoming more and more mainstream to appeal or at least refer to social science research. For example, in moral psychology, the empirically informed approach is well established in the literature on moral judgment, moral emotions, and moral responsibility (Greene, 2013; Nichols, 2004; Prinz, 2007; Kelly, 2011; Doris, 2016; Roskies, 2006; Vargas, 2013). Does work in the social sciences have any bearing on philosophical questions about practical reason or reasoning? While there has been some (...) excellent work that explores this question (e.g., Stein, 1996 ; Bishop and Trout, 2004 ), the growing empirical wave is less noticeable here. But this may not be because empirical research is irrelevant to the philosophical questions in the area. In this chapter, we will consider three questions about practical reason or reasoning that might be illuminated by attention to research in the social sciences. First, we’ll consider whether research on the role of sentiments on moral judgment is relevant to the philosophical debate between moral rationalism and moral sentimentalism. Second, we’ll consider whether research on the unconscious causes of action undermines philosophical views about the relationship between reasons and actions. Third, we’ll consider whether research on implicit bias is relevant to the normative question of how we can reason better. Along the way, we’ll see that when philosophical arguments and theories about practical reason make empirical assumptions – which they often do – empirical research can help to test these assumptions. We’ll also see that philosophical theories don’t always make the assumptions they are accused of making by their critics. Finally, we’ll see that we can make better prescriptions for how to reason better if we have a better sense of what we’re doing wrong. (shrink)

The papers collected in this volume vividly reflect the strikingly wide range of interests characterizing current research in phenomenology inspired by Roman Ingarden. One of Husserls closest and most devoted students, and at the same time one of his earliest and sharpest critics, Ingarden himself explored numerous fields of philosophy in considerable depth. While he remains best known for his groundbreaking work in aesthetics, ontology, and metaphysics, he also dealt extensively in ethics, epistemology, philosophical anthropology, and cognitive science, and his (...) work was characterized throughout by a deep and abiding interest in the sciences and an unwavering respect for painstakingly thorough logical investigation. Issues from all of these areas of study provide the topics dealt with by the authors contributing to this volume. Several authors focus explicitly on historical matters, often casting surprising new light on the development of early phenomenology in general and of Ingardens own realist phenomenology in particular. Other authors have concentrated instead on specific areas or particular topics of long-standing interest, such as the aesthetic experience, the philosophy of music, and artistic creation, while others have explored the relevance of Ingarden's ontological and anthropological analyses to current research into everything from the interpretation of texts to the study of technological posthumanization. With contributions from both established experts and young scholars, this collection brings together three generations of researchers who share the same basic philosophical goals and methodology, yet exhibit noticeably distinct styles, making this collection not only accessible and topical but also unusually lively. (shrink)

The Lviv Union in 1946 became one of culmination episodes of the process of the abolishment of UGCC but it couldn't provide definite turn of the Greek-Catholic clergy and the faithful to Orthodox religion. The attempts to give church-canonic legacy failed. In the work you can see rupture of the union and the process of "reunion" with Russian Orthodox Church, repressive mechanisms of the state influence on hierarchy, priests and the faithful of UGCC, sacrificial readiness of the Greek-Catholic clergy of (...) Galychyna and Transcarpathia to stand for their belief in spite of official policy of the Soviet regime. (shrink)

ResumenEl presente artículo busca describir y analizar, desde un enfoque multimodal (Kress y van Leeuwen, 2001; Kress, 2005, 2009; Jewitt, 2009), las relaciones entre los marcadores del discurso (Martín Zorraquino y Portolés, 1999) y los memes (Knobel y Lankshear, 2005; Varis y Blommaert, 2015), a partir de una selección de memes que fueron compartidos en dos grupos de Whatsapp de estudiantes de dos escuelas secundarias de Buenos Aires. Para ilustrar esta relación, nos detendremos en el marcador ahre, marcador de gran (...) frecuencia de uso en el habla de los estudiantes, con el fin de, en primer lugar, describir las funciones comunicativas que mantiene en los memes, y, en segundo lugar, indagar en qué medida este marcador desempeña solo una función discursiva verbal dentro del meme, o si se configura de manera autónoma como marcador-meme. Esta categoría novedosa y aporte de esta investigación nos permitirá evidenciar cómo un marcador oral puede constituirse en meme y, simultáneamente, cómo un meme puede funcionar como marcador en los intercambios en línea. Por último, discutiremos los resultados en torno al modal ontinuum (Tannen, 1982), y cómo los marcadores conversacionales en géneros digitales se inscriben como un recurso dentro del repertorio lingüístico de los estudiantes. (shrink)

The full text of the introduction can be read on the publisher's website.

This work tries to demonstrate, in first place, that the “gnoseological” approach to the question for the science defended by Gustavo Bueno in fact only fits in the gnoseological materialism, the theory proposed by Bueno, while adequationism, theoreticism and descriptionsm would be theories of the science that genuinely would adopt the “epistemological” approach. In second place, we sustain that the epistemological and gnoseological approaches are generated in the soul/body alternative outlined by Cartesian dualism, because while the first one conceives the (...) subject that makes the sciences as a mere mind that operates with propositions or concepts “about the things”, the second one understands it as a (soulless) mechanical body that builds the sciences operating “with the things themselves”. Since in Descartes the soul is the instance that knows, the option for the body of the gnoseological materialism explains its (self) positioning regardless of the question of knowledge. Lastly, we examine some problems that this Cartesian notion of subject implicates for the gnoseological materialism’s conception of “human and ethological sciences”. (shrink)

Logic of proofs LP was introduced by S. Artemov in. It describes properties of the proof predicate “t is a proof of F” formalized by the formula ⟦t⟧ F. Proofs are represented by terms constructed by three elementary recursive operations on proofs. In this paper we extend the language of the logic of proofs by the additional storage predicate x ∋ F with the intended interpretation “x is a label for F”. The storage predicate can play the role of syntax (...) encoding, so it is useful for specification of operations on proofs, especially those that require formula arguments. We give a definition of a specification of an operation on proofs and introduce logics that describe such operations. For a large class of operations we prove the completeness of these logics with respect to the intended semantics. We also study the logic describing the operation of substitution. (shrink)

Reseña de Villada Gil, María Isabel (2022). ¡Nuestras Manos son Memoria! Participación en Procesos de Memoria de la Comunidad Sorda: Una Mirada al Proyecto Artístico y Formativo de la Rueda Flotante de la Ciudad de Medellín entre los años 2016-2018. Tesis para optar por el grado de Magister en Historia y Memoria.

The concept of deliberation in the Ukrainian philosophical discourse is both underestimated and overestimated. Underestimated — as a self-sufficient category that is not reducible to another con- cept, even if it is the concept of consensus or the concept of democracy. Deliberation appears pri- marily as a careful weighing and selection of arguments when making an important decision. Collegiality may or may not be present here, as well as openness. Therefore, the concept of deliber- ation is somewhat overestimated as something (...) that necessarily improves the quality of democratic procedures, and therefore, supposedly, deliberation itself is something democratic in nature. American political philosopher Joshua Cohen drew attention to the fact that deliberation can be of at least three types: individual deliberation, jury deliberation, and oligarch deliberation. The article analyzes these three types of deliberation and found that the closest to the democratic type of government is individual deliberation, or rather, joint deliberation of responsible citizens. While the deliberation of the jury is mostly closed, it is naturally limited access to the extent of the necessary competence of its possible participants. The deliberation of the oligarchs is even more closed and often even secret. However, the article states that it is more appropriate to replace the name «oligarchs» with the term «captains of business»: then the deliberation of the oligarchs ceases to be a cartel conspiracy, and turns into a coordinated protection of the interests of the national economy. However, for this, de- liberation itself is not enough, so not procedural, but other, namely, value factors of decision-making are needed. Democracy benefits from deliberation when the latter is complemented by the liberal and patriotic values of the participants in the deliberation. Already John Locke convincingly argues the importance of citizens achieving a common conscious agreement in state matters. However, for Locke, the very fact of having property was important, while in practice, achieving an effective agreement requires mechanisms for reconciling the positions of owners with very different amounts of property. To some extent, this problem can be solved by John Rawls` concept of justice. (shrink)

The Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) provides that “an individual who has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead.” We show that the UDDA contains two conflicting interpretations of the phrase “cessation of functions.” By one interpretation, what matters for the determination of death is the cessation of spontaneous functions only, regardless of their generation by artificial means. By the (...) other, what matters is the cessation of both spontaneous and artificially supported functions. Because each UDDA criterion uses a different interpretation, the law is conceptually inconsistent. A single consistent interpretation would lead to the conclusion that conscious individuals whose respiratory and circulatory functions are artificially supported are actually dead, or that individuals whose brain is entirely and irreversibly destroyed may be alive. We explore solutions to mitigate the inconsistency. (shrink)

Background: Several countries have recently changed their model of consent for organ donation from opt-in to opt-out. We undertook a systematic review to determine public knowledge and attitudes towards these models in Europe. Methods: Six databases were explored between 1 January 2008 and 15 December 2017. We selected empirical studies addressing either knowledge or attitudes towards the systems of consent for deceased organ donation by lay people in Europe, including students. Study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment were conducted by (...) two or more reviewers independently. Findings: Awareness of the consent model was lower in opt-out countries than in opt-in countries. A majority of the public agrees with opt-in, regardless of the law in their own country. There are ambivalent attitudes regarding the opt-out system. The public tend to prefer opt-in and mandatory choice over opt-out when several options are offered. Interpretation: The assumption that people in opt-out countries are aware of the legal requirements to be excluded from the pool of potential donors is not supported by the results of this review. This is a concern, since ignorance hinders people's autonomy regarding organ donation decision-making. Higher awareness of consent model in opt-in countries may reflect greater efforts to inform the public through campaigns to motivate donation. Legal moves towards opt-out are at odds with people's expressed preferences. Main limitations of this review are the lack of data from some countries, study population heterogeneity, and methodological shortcomings. (shrink)

For Theory aims to open a discussion on the weakening of the production of theory in left-wing thought since the 1970s, based on Louis Althusser's ideas of overdetermination, plural temporality, conjuncture, and theoretical practice.