The statistical properties of a single quantum object and an ensemble of independent such objects are considered in detail for two-level systems. Computer simulations of dynamic zero-point quantum fluctuations for a single quantum object are reported and compared with analytic solutions for the ensemble case.

Notas para una fundamentación de lo que denominaremos conceptualmente: intervención "estético-pedagógica", comprendida desde el posible campo de una "estética aplicada". Nos remitiremos al contexto de producción áulico-curricular marcado por el vacío meta-institucional que se genera con la alteración del rol del estado históricamente constituido, al atravesar la actual coyuntura global en la época "post-nacional", tomando en consideración las demandas de nuevas formas de subjetividad emergentes y la necesidad de constituir "marcos institucionales" alternativos frente a la aparición y necesidades de nuevos (...) "actores sociales". (shrink)

Peter Abelard (1079–1142 ce) was the most wide‐ranging philosopher of the twelfth century. He quickly established himself as a leading teacher of logic in and near Paris shortly after 1100. After his affair with Heloise, and his subsequent castration, Abelard became a monk, but he returned to teaching in the Paris schools until 1140, when his work was condemned by a Church Council at Sens. His logical writings were based around discussion of the “Old Logic”: Porphyry's Isagoge, aristotle'S Categories and (...) On Interpretation and boethius'S textbook on topical inference. They comprise a freestanding Dialectica (“Logic”; probably c.1116), a set of commentaries (known as the Logica [Ingredientibus], c. 1119) and a later (c. 1125) commentary on the Isagoge (Logica Nostrorum Petititoni Sociorum or Glossulae). In a work Abelard called his Theologia, issued in three main versions (between 1120 and c.1134), he attempted a logical analysis of trinitarian relations and explored the philosophical problems surrounding God's claims to omnipotence and omniscience. The Collationes (“Debates,” also known as “Dialogue between a Christian, a Philosopher and a Jew”; probably c.1130) present a rational investigation into the nature of the highest good, in which the Christian and the Philosopher (who seems to be modeled on a philosopher of pagan antiquity) are remarkably in agreement. The unfinished Scito teipsum (“Know thyself,” also known as the “Ethics”; c.1138) analyses moral action. (shrink)

Contrario a lo que algunos lectores opinan, el autor sostiene que El Punto de Vista es un texto tan importante y autoritario como todos los demás escritos de Kierkegaard y que es de especial interés analizar la llave interpretativa que ahí se ofrece para los textos seudónimos cara a los Discursos de 1843. Se analiza aquí la sensualidad, lo estético y lo poético como posible modo de existencia descartado por el cristianismo para concluir con la postura kierkegaardiana de que la (...) vida poética o estética es una vida no sólo de desesperación, sino imposible. El genio erótico-sensual, representado por Don Juan, aparece como una figura que sólo puede expresarse en la música, como hizo Mozart, y esto no puede existir realmente. Se analizan las posturas griegas de lo sensual frente a la felicidad en Aristóteles, con el argumento del érgon, y en Platón, leyendo el Protágoras con su visión jerárquica de las capacidades y actividades humanas, para culminar con el argumento de Kierkegaard: la vida estética es imposible porque es el esfuerzo por llevar conscientemente una vida inconsciente, es forzar la mente a ser a-mente. (shrink)

Originally published: Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1989. With new pref.

The foundations of law. The digest title, De diversis regulis iuris antiqui, and the general principles of law, by P. Stein. Equity in Chinese customary law, by W. Y. Tsao. Prolegomena to the theory and history of Jewish law, by H. Cohn. Juridical evolution and equity, by J.P. Brutau. Reflections on the sources of the law, by P. Lepaulle. The true nature and province of jurisprudence from the viewpoint of Indian philosophy, by M.J. Sethna. On the functions and aims of (...) the state, by G. Del Veccchio.--Concepts of jurisprudence. Legal language and reality, by K. Olivecrona. The logic of the reasonable as differentiated from the logic of the rational (human reason in the making and the interpretation of the law) by L. Recaséns-Siches. Some refections on status and freedom, by W.G. Friedmann. Law and power and their correlation, by M. Reale. The notion of canonical auctoritas with respect to statute, custom and usage, by B.F. Brown. Two theories of "the institution," by J. Stone. (shrink)

Resumen En el presente artículo estudio la asociación entre los conceptos de “materialismo” y “ateísmo” en The True Intellectual System of the Universe de Ralph Cudworth y las consecuencias metafísicas que el inglés encuentra en esas corrientes. El inglés ofrece una clasificación exhaustiva de los posibles ateísmos para mostrar sus errores y participar en la gestación de categorías que a la larga se considerarán historiográficas. En un segundo momento, presento el concepto de “naturaleza plástica” y el orden ontológico que (...) Cudworth ofrece como el correcto, en el cual se aprecia la influencia platónica y la subordinación de lo material a lo inmaterial. Así, en su metafísica, Cudworth sostiene un dualismo porque no rechaza la existencia de la materia, sino la utilización errónea que hacen de ella los ateos.In this paper I examine the association between the concepts of “materialism” and “atheism” in Ralph Cudworth’s The True Intellectual System of the Universe, and the metaphysical consequences that the Englishman establishes for those trends. Cudworth offers an exhaustive classification of possible atheisms in order to show their mistakes, and in this way he participates in the origination of categories which eventually will be considered as historiographical. I present then the concept of “Plastic Nature” and the ontological order that Cudworth thinks to be the correct one, and which exhibits the Platonic influence and the subordination of the material to the immaterial. Thus, in his metaphysics Cudworth maintains a dualism insofar as he does not reject the existence of matter but the wrong use that atheists make of it. (shrink)

En el presente trabajo se estudia el lugar que ocupa Ralph Cudworth en la historia de la filosofía. El objetivo es mostrar que este autor no es parte del canon de la filosofía del siglo XVII y que, sin embargo, es un representante del período moderno en las primeras historias de la filosofía. Para ello, primero se introduce al autor y luego se expone la presentación que se realiza del inglés en las obras de Jacob Brucker, Wilhelm Tennemann, Taddä (...) Rixner y Joseph Marie Degérando, para terminar en las Lecciones sobre historia de la filosofía de Georg Hegel. En un segundo momento se exponen algunas reflexiones en torno a Cudworth, que se originan a partir de la lectura de la bibliografía actualizada sobre dicho autor. Las conclusiones muestran la importancia de estudiar este tipo de pensadores, que no forman parte del canon de la filosofía pero son parte de la conformación del mismo. (shrink)

Este trabajo reconstruye el sentido de hipótesis en la filosofía de Ralph Cudworth a través del análisis de sus bases platónicas, específicamente, la estipulación de los estratos del conocimiento expuestos en la Alegoría de la línea del libro VI de República y la distinción entre objetos y disciplinas del conocimiento establecidos en Timeo de Platón. De ese modo, considero que se pueden comprender dos sentidos de ‘hipótesis’ en Cudworth a partir de la delimitación de sus funciones como 1) tipo (...) de explicación en razón de su estatuto onto-epistemológico y 2) estrategia metodológica de indagación sobre el funcionamiento del mundo natural, sentidos que pueden colegirse de la influencia de lo que se denomina en este trabajo ‘conjetura verosímil’ para Platón, que además permite apreciar la relación existente entre la metafísica, la nueva ciencia y la moral en el siglo XVII. (shrink)

La actual pandemia de SARS-CoV-2 pone de relieve una vez más el modelo fallido con el nos enfrentamos a las crisis que afectan a nuestro mundo, desde el cambio climático y las recientes situaciones de emergencia de los refugiados, hasta la ascensión de los extremismos políticos en las sociedades occidentales. Como argumentan la filósofa feminista Donna Haraway y el sociólogo y filósofo Bruno Latour, se hace necesario un cambio de paradigma y una redefinición de la subjetividad para enfrentarnos al Antropoceno. (...) La Bienal de Venecia 2019, “May You Live in Interesting Times”, comisariada por Ralph Rugoff, propuso un modelo experimental de pensamiento artístico (que denominaré “tentacular” haciendo uso de la teoría desarrollada por Haraway) que cuestionaba los paradigmas heredados de la Ilustración, y también, en cierto grado, de la postmodernidad. Por su calado filosófico, la muestra es comparable a “Les Immatériaux” (1985), la histórica exposición comisariada por el filósofo Jean-François Lyotard, quien asimismo conceptualizó la postmodernidad y la experiencia de lo “sublime postmoderno”, concepto que sirve para establecer un contraste con lo “sublime tentacular”, la experiencia contemporánea que aportó la reciente la bienal. (shrink)

En el presente artículo se analiza el lugar de la percepción sensible en la propuesta gnoseológica de Ralph Cudworth (1617-1688), principalmente en su Tratado sobre la eterna e inmutable moralidad. Si bien aquella no es considerada conocimiento verdadero, mostraré que aporta algún tipo de información sobre el mundo natural que nos rodea, por lo cual sostengo que produce algún tipo de “sabiduría” práctica para desenvolverse correctamente en el mundo en un nivel físico. Para esto presentaré de modo general su (...) metafísica dualista en The true intellectual system, y distinguiré las características propias de la sensación, por una parte, y del conocimiento intelectual, por otra, en el Tratado. (shrink)

En este artículo me propongo mostrar que en el universo armónico que propone Ralph Cudworth, destacado miembro del grupo de los Platónicos de Cambridge del siglo XVII, la sustancia inmaterial cumple un rol fundamental. Ella no se halla separada de la sustancia material y recibe distintos nombres de acuerdo a las funciones que desarrolla, en tanto es la única fuerza vital en la creación, fundada en la naturaleza divina. Es decir, la naturaleza plástica y las almas no son más (...) que distintos nombres para esa única sustancia inmaterial en el universo creado. Esto refleja una concepción dualista diferente al dualismo cartesiano, que tendrá consecuencias a nivel físico. Por eso, en primer lugar, presentaré la metafísica de Cudworth, para luego detenerme en la sustancia inmaterial. Para esto utilizaré su obra principal The True Intellectual System of the Universe y sus dos escritos de publicación póstuma: Treatise concerning eternal and immutable Morality y Treatise on Freewill. (shrink)

En este artículo, el autor se propone analizar la evolución en la filosofía moral de Mariano Iberico que habría ocurrido entre dos de sus publicaciones en la década de los años veinte. En la primera publicación, Iberico defiende una moral de tinte dualista, forjando un ideal en base a la superación del yo existencial junto a sus intereses, necesidades y urgencias. Una moral de corte metafísico habría sido el resultado de tal propuesta. Seis años después, en cambio, se constata una (...) moral más comprensiva con la contradicción humana, que ya no exige la superación del yo como ideal moral sino que, más bien, reconoce el valor de lo individual. La hipótesis de trabajo propone que dicha evolución enel pensamiento de Iberico se habría originado a partir de las lecturas de William James y de otros autores más a quienes Iberico denominó “románticos”. En una última sección, además, el autor muestra que tal interpretación de la moral en James se aproxima mucho a las lecturas hechas por Ralph B. Perry y, recientemente, por Ramón del Castillo. (shrink)

Many philosophres have attempted to argue from the "Humean Theory of Motivation" (HTM) and the "Internalism Requirement" (IR) to the "Humean Theory of Practical Reason" (HTPR). This argument is familiar, but it has rarely been stated with sufficient precision. In this paper, I shall give a precise statement of this argument. I shall then rely on this statement to show two things. First, the HTPR is false: it is incompatible with some extremely plausible assumptions about weakness of will or akrasia. (...) Second, this argument for the HTPR is invalid: even if the HTM and the IR are true, they do not provide any support whatsoever to the HTPR. (shrink)

If beliefs are subject to a basic norm of correctness—roughly, to the principle that a belief is correct only if the proposition believed is true—how can this norm guide believers in forming their beliefs? Answer: this norm guides believers indirectly: believers are directly guided by requirements of rationality—which are themselves explained by this norm of correctness. The fundamental connection between rationality and correctness is probabilistic. Incorrectness comes in degrees; for beliefs, these degrees of incorrectness are measured by quadratic scoring rules, (...) such as the so-called Brier score. This account is defended against objections; and its implications for suspension of judgement are explored. (shrink)

Let us take an example that Bernard Williams (1981: 102) made famous. Suppose that you want a gin and tonic, and you believe that the stuff in front of you is gin. In fact, however, the stuff is not gin but petrol. So if you drink the stuff (even mixed with tonic), it will be decidedly unpleasant, to say the least. Should you choose to drink the stuff or not?

Philosophers have long distinguished between practical and theoretical rationality. The first section of this chapter begins by discussing the ways in which this distinction was drawn by Aristotle and Kant; then it sketches what seems to be the general consensus today about how, at least roughly, the distinction should be drawn. The rest of this chapter explores what practical and theoretical rationality have in common: in the second section, several parallels between practical and theoretical rationality are outlined, and it is (...) argued that these parallels make it plausible that a unifying account of rationality can be given. Finally, in the third section, a number of such unifying accounts of practical and theoretical rationality are surveyed. These include accounts that are inspired in various ways by Hume and by the results of formal decision theory, as well as views that appeal to reasons and to the distinctive value of correct or appropriate attitudes. (shrink)

Studies on why small and medium enterprises engage in pro-environmental behavior suggest that managers’ environmental responsibility plays a relatively greater role than competitiveness and legitimacy-seeking. These categories of drivers are mostly considered independent of each other. Using survey data and comparative case studies of wine firms in South Africa, this study finds that managers’ environmental responsibility is indeed the key driver in a context where state regulation hardly plays any role in regulating dispersed, rural firms. However, especially proactive firms are (...) also characterized by expectations of competitiveness gains. The authors thus emphasize the role of institutional context and potential interaction effects between these drivers in explaining the reasons why SMEs engage in pro-environmental behavior in developing countries. (shrink)

This chapter is concerned with the distinction that most contemporary epistemologists express by distinguishing between “propositional” and “doxastic” justification. The goal is to develop an account of this distinction that applies, not just to full or outright beliefs, but also to partial credences—and indeed, in principle, to attitudes of all kinds. The standard way of explaining this distinction, in terms of the “basing relation”, is criticized, and an alternative account—the “virtue manifestation” account—is proposed in its place. This account has a (...) certain kinship with the epistemological approach that is known as “reliabilism”, but it also has certain key differences—above all, it is compatible with an internalist view of rationality. (shrink)

This article is about François Jullien and a controversy that arose over the publication of a pamphlet by Jean François Billeter entitled Against François Jullien, replied by Jullien in a volume subtitled Reply to *** and followed by collections of essays by French intellectuals—one of them entitled For Jullien. The controversy assumed a weight that went beyond Jullien and the French debate to the heart of sinology and also of philosophy. The question, what and where China is philosophically speaking, is (...) discussed with regard to the role of context, the notion of heterotopy, and the political side of talk about China. (shrink)

Non-reductive moral realism is the view that there are moral properties which cannot be reduced to natural properties. If moral properties exist, it is plausible that they strongly supervene on non-moral properties- more specifically, on mental, social, and biological properties. There may also be good reasons for thinking that moral properties are irreducible. However, strong supervenience and irreducibility seem incompatible. Strong supervenience entails that there is an enormous number of modal truths (specifically, truths about exactly which non-moral properties necessitate which (...) moral properties); and all these modal truths must be explained. If these modal truths can all be explained, then it must be a fundamental truth about the essence of each moral property that the moral property is necessarily equivalent to some property that can be specified purely in mental, social and biological terms; and this fundamental truth appears to be a reduction of the moral property in question. The best way to resist this argument is by resorting to the claim that mental and social properties are not, strictly speaking, natural properties, but are instead properties that can only be analysed in partly normative terms. Acceptance of that claim is the price of non-reductive moral realism. (shrink)

The contemporary debate on the metaphysical side of metaethics is dominated by two paradigms—reductive naturalism and primitivist non- naturalism. It is argued here that these are both extreme views. In principle, it should be possible for there to be a host of intermediate views between these two extremes. In fact, most of the views that were taken on these metaphysical questions by philosophers of ancient and medieval times differed from both reductive naturalism and primitivist non-naturalism. However, the metaphysical views of (...) these past philosophers cannot easily be endorsed today. This is because our conception of the natural world has changed from that of these premodern thinkers, because of the development of modern natural science. Nonetheless, it is still possible to make sense of intermediate positions, lying between the two extremes of reductive naturalism and primitivist non- naturalism. These intermediate positions are prima facie promising, and deserve careful consideration from contemporary metaethicists. (shrink)

Se ha tratado de desprestigiar al postmodernismo y no se ha valorado su gran contribución a la cultura universal. El postmodernismo empieza a desarrollarse cuando el ser humano se da cuenta que no tan solo sus órganos de los sentidos pueden engañarlo, sino que también su intelecto, razón y sus facultades superiores más preciadas. Las caídas del positivismo y del racionalismo le abrieron la puerta, apoyado por la insuficiencia de la ciencia y la filosofía para entender el universo. La nomología (...) (legalidad) ha tenido que resignarse frente a la ideografía (procesos irrepetibles e irreversibles) para entender el desarrollo universal. La antinomia del mentiroso, el teorema de Gödel, los procesos caóticos, la impredecibilidad, la incertidumbre, son parte de sus elementos sustantivos. El postmodernismo ha condenado a los ideologismos nomológicos o raciales que terminaron en las masacres de la Revolución Francesa, el Nazismo y las dos Guerras Mundiales, entre otros. (shrink)

Background -- Continental drift : a threat to the establishment -- Evolution and creationism : science vs religion -- Dietary fat : nutritional politics -- Climate change : environmental politics -- Vaccination : exploitation of fear -- Gmo foods : fear of a frankenstein -- Science under attack.

I. El hombre y la epoca.--II. Las doctrinas.--III. Notas. Apendices. Bibliografía.

Most words are like small vessels with constantly changing contents. Life does not wait for adjustments in language, but seeks to give an immediate solution to its most imperative needs and interests. It builds up and sometimes destroys. It is a panorama in flux.