Name der Zeitschrift: Kant-Studien Jahrgang: 108 Heft: 3 Seiten: 401-426.

Derrida’s description of the aporia of decision-making is herein used to demonstrate how ethico-political concerns can already be found within the articulation of time and space as they are experienced by mortal beings, broadly understood.

Emmanuel Levinas’s work seemingly places a great emphasis on language leading some commentators towards a Kantian reading of him where moral consideration would be based on the moral patient’s capacity for reason with language functioning as a proxy for this. Although this reading is possible, a closer look at Levinas’s descriptions of language reveal that its defining characteristic is not reason but the capacity to express beyond any thematized contents we would give to the Other. This expressivity (which Levinas calls (...) face) would confront me with their singularity, infinity, and interiority tying me to them in a relation of responsibility. And the “content” of such an expression is a vulnerability and exposure tied to their mortality which continually entreats me though I cannot take it away. It is by means of this bare expression of an exposure to death as the core of language that it will become possible for non-human mortal beings to have what Levinas calls language. This possibility, although not explicitly addressed by Levinas, is at least left open by his account of Bobby the dog as well as his agnosticism over a snake’s face. (shrink)

El objetivo de este artículo es ofrecer una perspectiva histórico-filosófica del idealismo y el Romanticismo. La estrategia que emplearemos en esta investigación consiste en analizar dichas corrientes intelectuales a partir del problema, propio de la Modernidad filosófica, de incorporar la libertad dentro de la estructura de la subjetividad humana. El idealismo y el Romanticismo surgieron gracias a la influencia que ejerció el espíritu libre de la Revolución francesa. El espacio donde se desarrolló esta revolución cultural alemana fue el Círculode Jena, (...) un grupo que concentró a muchos de los intelectuales más influyentes en la historia de la filosofía y la literatura. Y fueron las ideas de Immanuel Kant —en específico, con los temas referentes a la apercepción (Yo pienso), la libertad y el genio— la influencia más determinante para los idealistas y losrománticos. (shrink)

En el esfuerzo por conciliar la tesis de que la oración, en tanto que culto interior y ritual de Dios, no es un deber religioso con el hecho de que Jesús ordenó y enseñó a rezar, Kant sostiene que el Padrenuestro es una oración que convierte en superflua toda oración, incluida ella misma. El análisis del sentido de esta afirmación, en apariencia parádojica, saca a la luz la tesis de Kant según la cual el Padrenuestro es una oración completamente moral (...) e invita a reconstruir, siguiendo las indicaciones del filósofo, el significado moral de las siete peticiones contenidas en la oratio Domini. El Padrenuestro así interpretado aparece como el compendio de lo que Kant entiende por religión dentro de los límites de la mera razón. (shrink)

This paper adds to the critical work on the relationship between Hans Jonas and Emmanuel Levinas by arguing that the experience of the face of the other can be made compatible with Jonas’s understanding of metabolism thus allowing for an extension of who counts as an other to include all organic life forms. Although this extension will allow for a broadening of ethical patients on one side, we will see that a corresponding broadening of ethical agents on the other side (...) will prove to be more difficult owing to the exceptionality of the human being that they both maintain and believe is expressed through the experience of responsibility. (shrink)

Venezuelan media present corruption as a major problem of the country and a research conducted by the author shows managers perceive it as business ethics' main issue. The corruption type addressed to in this article is the collusion between public officials and private managers for illegal or undue profits. Corruption in this form is related to the long-standing policy of State intervention and overregulation of the economy in order to industrialize the country. The issue analyzed is the perception of corruption (...) as a major political and social problem. Corruption is pervasive in many societies but it is not perceived as a central problem. The explanation for this perception in Venezuela is the increased impoverishment of people as a consequence of present economic crisis (the corrupt person is perceived as taking from my pocket) and the openness and pluralistic character of the political system. Moral indignation and scandal is the result of this new feature of Venezuelan society. Changes in the economic policies and the awareness of corruption seem to establish the basis to overcome the perception of corruption as the paramount problem it is now. (shrink)

Conceptual analysis has been typically recognized as a traditional methodology within analytic philosophy, but many philosophers have heavily criticized it. In contrast, the methodology of Carnapian explication has been undergoing a revival as a methodological alternative due to its revisionary aim. I will make explicit the shared structural properties and goals of Carnapian explication and the kind of conceptual analysis advanced by the advocates of the Canberra Plan. Also, I will argue that although their goal to make philosophy more scientific (...) is desirable, they cannot achieve their goal of clearly distinguishing philosophy from science. Moreover, since traditional conceptual analysis is an element of both revisionary methodologies, it is also unable to mark a clear distinction between them. The comparison throws some light on the relationship between traditional conceptual analysis and the two revisionary methodologies, their implicit theoretical commitments and deficiencies. (shrink)

Philosophers interested in conceptual engineering take it for granted that the same concept can unproblematically play diverse functions, but this view overlooks the fact that conceptual and functional change often impair concepts and even functions themselves. I demonstrate that while conceptual and functional engineering may improve concepts and functions, they can also produce detrimental effects. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully assess the potential benefits or problems before making any modifications. Frequently, we overlook the fact that, for instance, adding extra (...) functions to our concepts modifies them; this may increase, but also impair, their theoretical and practical efficacy. I analyze and clarify these possibilities through a general classificatory framework encompassing concepts, functions, and conceptual and functional change. The larger aim of this paper is to bring attention to these complex and under-researched relationships and pave the way for further research in this area. (shrink)

This paper examines ethical violations committed by Certified Public Accountants in Puerto Rico in the 2002–2010 period and the related disciplinary actions taken by the local regulatory bodies. The institutional settings for the accounting profession in PR are different from those of the United States. Ethical complaints are investigated by the PR Society of CPAs and evaluated based on the Code of Professional Conduct of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, although most CPAs in PR are not affiliated with (...) the AICPA. Our study is based on data provided by the PR Society of CPAs that is not publicly available. We examine the association between the occurrence of the ethical violations and certain variables such as gender, type of practice performed by the CPA, and whether the CPA participates in a peer review program. Results of a multiple correspondence analysis suggest that not being a member of the AICPA, practicing as a sole practitioner, and not participating in a peer review program seem to be more associated with the occurrences of ethical violations by CPAs. We compare our findings with prior research on ethical infractions committed by CPAs in the United States and find some differences attributable to the institutional settings in PR. Overall, our results suggest the importance of codes of conduct in the accounting profession and compliance with such ethical guidelines by practicing accountants. (shrink)

Tras la muerte de Ernesto “Che” Guevara (1967) y del giro antiintelectual impuesto por las autoridades políticas (1968), muchos intelectuales latinoamericanos le retiraron su apoyo a la Revolución Cubana. Julio Cortázar, en cambio, no sólo mantuvo su adhesión al proyecto socialista y reivindicó la libertad y la autonomía de los intelectuales, sino que, además, quiso ser el Guevara de las letras y propuso una poética para la política: el socialismo sólo podría ser —desde su perspectiva— si sabía ser poesía. Este (...) ensayo describe ese programa en base a una lectura crítica de su correspondencia y de su obra. (shrink)

By bringing the work of Arendt and Levinas together, this paper hopes to show a possible avenue for addressing the lack of a heteronomous object guiding the public realm in Arendt. This is first clarified with reference to the lack of a clear criterion for the deployment of violence as found in On Violence and proceeds to show how a criterion can be excavated from her comments elsewhere and clarified through a comparison with the thought of Levinas in which there (...) is a heteronomous factor guiding action—the Other. What is uncovered is a similar framework in which the preservation of the world, as the space of appearances, becomes that which justifies actions. Moreover, it is argued that the social can become an object of concern precisely because of the changed nature of this world owing to modern technology. (shrink)

Fundamento: El currículo de estudios, principalmente de posgrado, no puede considerarse como un plan al que hay que ajustarse de manera estricta, sino que debe ser más flexible, que dé salida a los objetivos propuestos según las situaciones del entorno. Objetivo: mostrar algunos resultados de la vinculación del residente de Higiene y Epidemiología a actividades epidemiológicas emergentes en la actualidad. Método: se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal en el Centro Provincial de Higiene, Epidemiología y Microbiología de Camagüey durante junio de (...) 2014. Se entrevistó a un universo de 32 profesionales. Las variables utilizadas fueron: utilidad de la vinculación extracurricular a programas y tareas de control epidemiológico, desarrollo práctico de los aspectos teóricos, vencimiento con calidad del diseño curricular de la residencia y si se consideró necesario o no interrumpir el plan de estudios ante eventos epidemiológicos de emergencia. Resultados: La mayoría de los especialistas consideró que la vinculación a actividades específicas le permitió vencer con calidad el plan de estudios, mientras que el mayor porcentaje de los residentes no lo estimó así. Ningún residente entrevistado estuvo de acuerdo con la interrupción del plan de estudios ante situaciones emergentes. Conclusiones: la vinculación del residente a actividades prácticas emergentes puede servir de incentivo para la graduación de un especialista con mayor competencia profesional, sin abandonar el diseño curricular establecido. Fundament: The study curriculum, especially of post grade, cannot be considered as a plan to which one has to be adjusted in a strict way, but to be more flexible, offering a way out to the proposed objectives according to the situations of the environment. Objective: to offer some results of the linking of the medical resident of Hygiene and Epidemiology to emergent epidemiological activities at the present time. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study at the Provincial Center of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology during June 2014 was carried out. A universe of 32 professionals was interviewed. The variables used were: usefulness of the extracurricular linking to programs and tasks of epidemiological control, practical development of theoretical aspects, quality achievement of the curricular design of the medical residency, and if it was necessary or not to interrupt the study plan in emergent epidemiological events. Results: Most of the specialists considered the linking to emergent epidemiological activities allowed to finish with quality its study plan, while that the biggest percentage of the residents did not estimate it in the same way. None of the interviewed resident agreed with the interruption of the study plan in front of emergent situations. Conclusions: the linking of the medical resident to practical emergent activities can serve as incentive for the graduation of the specialists with better professional competence without abandoning the established curricular design. (shrink)

In a 1793 essay, J. Ch. Schwab claimed that Kant's distinction between analytic and synthetic judgments was already known to the Megarian philosopher Stilpo. Schwab's essay was criticised as early as 1794 by J. F. Ch. Gräffe. In a 1789 essay, J. A. Eberhard had also denied the originality of Kant's division of judgments and made certain indications suggesting that Aristotle was aware of the distinction. In this paper, I propose a fresh examination of why Schwab is wrong to attribute (...) knowledge of Kant's division of judgments to Stilpo – a second look which, however, does not disregard Gräffe's contributions to the discussion. Second, I argue that, in a precise sense, Kant's division of judgments is indeed original, but that the analytic – synthetic distinction was nevertheless in a sense known to Aristotle. The assessment of these alleged precedents sheds light no only on the novelty of Kant's philosophical project but also on what may be called the "the paradox of the discovery of an evident philosophical distinction". (shrink)

Es sorprendente que, en la clasificación de todos los principios materiales de la moralidad propuesta por Kant en la Crítica de la Razón Práctica, no figure el célebre principio aristotélico de la mesótes. Esta omisión, que los estudiosos e historiadores de la ética no han explicado suficientemente, se basa en el rechazo radical de Kant a este principio, que expone de pasada en la Metafísica de las Costumbres y en las lecciones de ética. Según la crítica de Kant, el principio (...) de la μεσότης es o inútil o una mera tautología o una regla pragmática, y no moral. Pero, en verdad, las objeciones de Kant se fundan en una idea equivocada respecto de lo que realmente sostuvo Aristóteles. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to expose the intimate relationship between deep disagreements and skepticism. Philosophers have explored how deep disagreements lead to skepticism about their resolution at the metalevel (about whether one knows that P), but they have paid little attention to how they also lead to first- or object-level skepticism (about whether P is the case) and how skepticism also produces deep disagreements. I show how engaging in a discussion about any topic against a radical skeptic position (...) always leads to deep disagreement. Furthermore, the disagreement engendered by radical skepticism is a kind of deep disagreement at the level of epistemic evaluation of propositions that covaries with deep disagreements at the object level. Deep disagreement and radical skepticism are intimately linked. (shrink)

My objective in this paper is to demonstrate how conceptual analysis, with a little help from empirical evidence, can help us to coordinate the efforts of the two chief schools of anthropological thought, evolutionary anthropology and sociocultural anthropology, to understand human nature. The marked differences between these two branches of anthropology (especially in their sophisticated forms) tend to block cooperation, impede the consideration of each other’s arguments, and stall the progress of anthropological science. Conceptual analysis is a basic philosophical tool (...) that can help us resolve the differences between the two anthropological paradigms. Coordinating these branches of anthropology would facilitate a deeper understanding of human nature. In doing so, it can also help us resolve some of the theoretical and practical problems that anthropological science faces. (shrink)

Fernando García de la Vega fue uno de los profesionales que pusieron en marcha la televisión de nuestro país. Aquellos profesionales eran auténticos pioneros, que inventaban formatos, imaginaban contenidos a la vez que aprendían a utilizar la novedosa tecnología televisiva, y experimentaban con el nuevo lenguaje audiovisual. García de la Vega empezó haciendo todo tipo de programas, especializándose en concursos y musicales. Es uno de los primeros y grandes maestros de la televisión española. El presente trabajo se detiene en algunos (...) de los más emblemáticos programas que creó, guionizó, dirigió y realizó. (shrink)

En las siguientes páginas exponemos que la Nueva Atlántida de Bacon introduce el programa social de la ciencia moderna y no es una obra de carácter meramente literario o ficcional. Consideramos que esta obra es un programa de conocimiento-dominio de la naturaleza en el que se hace patente la dirección, destacadamente social y práctica, que la ciencia debía tomar a partir de las nuevas rutas del saber.

En este artículo se analiza cómo se manifiestan el post-humanismo y el trans-humanismo en la obra de Borges. Se postula aquí que en la narrativa breve de Borges no sólo se manifiesta una reacción post-humanista contra el antropocentrismo imperante en la modernidad. También aparecen destellos poderosos de un trans-humanismo en virtud del cual se piensa en la inmortalidad y en la ampliación de las facultades cognitivas y espirituales de los seres humanos de un modo sumamente original porque excluye la necesidad (...) de los avances tecnológicos más sorprendentes. (shrink)

Fundamento: La investigación científica y la divulgación de los resultados obtenidos es uno de los puntales del desarrollo científico del país. Objetivo: Considerar la productividad científica de los especialistas de Higiene y Epidemiología de su Centro Provincial en Camagüey, a partir del número de publicaciones en los últimos cinco años. Método: Se diseñó un estudio transversal desde abril de 2008 hasta abril de 2013, a través de un cuestionario estructurado, de carácter anónimo y con el consentimiento informado de los mismos, (...) donde se recogieron las variables tiempo de graduado, publicaciones en los últimos cinco años, categoría docente e investigativa, conocimientos de técnicas estadísticas, motivación, participación en eventos científicos, dificultades para publicar y dominio del idioma inglés para consultar las bases de datos EBSCO y PUBMED. Resultados: Se mostró una escasa productividad científica independientemente del tiempo de graduado; el número de categorías investigativas por especialista es muy pobre y si bien la mayoría de los mismos reconoce que la especialidad le confiere los conocimientos y motivación necesarias durante su formación, al final expresan tener dificultades para publicar y en el manejo del idioma inglés para estos fines. Conclusiones: La formación del especialista de Higiene y Epidemiología no da salida, al menos de la manera deseada, a uno de sus perfiles básicos como es la investigación. Basis: Scientific research and promotion of the obtained results is one of the objectives of the scientific development of the country, mainly when a specialty is involved, in which this task is included in different versions of the study plans. Objectives: to consider starting from the number of publications in the last five years, the scientific productivity of the specialists of Hygiene and Epidemiology of the Provincial Center of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology of Camagüey. Method: To carry out this task a cross sectional study was designed by authors through a small, anonymous structured questionary and with the informed consent of all of them, in which the following variables were analyzed: graduation date, publications in the last five years, teaching or scientific category, knowledge of statistical techniques, motivation, participation in scientific events, difficulties for publishing and knowledge of the English language to consult de databases EBSCO and PUBMED. Results: Poor scientific performance is observed, apart from graduation experience, the number of scientific categories by specialists is very low and even though most of them accept that the specialty promotes knowledge and necessary motivations during their postgraduate studies, finally they confirm there are difficulties for publishing and to manage English language for this purpose. Conclusions: The teaching curriculum of Hygiene and Epidemiology specialist does not promote research, one of its basic fields. (shrink)

This paper seeks to consider the similarities between Kierkegaard’s life stages and Lacan’s orders to demonstrate that we can understand each description in a structurally similar way to the other. Accordingly, a reading of Kierkegaard is developed that uses his life stages to describe a metapsychology, and a reading of Lacan is developed that shows how his orders can be conceived of progressively. All this leads to a further analysis of the different ways in which each stage relates to repetition (...) and a culmination in which the achievement of faith in Kierkegaard is thought together with the analytic cure in Lacan. (shrink)

This paper has three aims. First, to show Kant’s originality in using the celebrated example of the hundred thalers as a criticism of the ontological proof, despite being inspired by a 1780 booklet by Johann Bering. Second, to assess Bering’s and Kant’s different reasons for supporting the truth meant to be illustrated by the case of the thalers. Third, to point out that the debate on the example demands a discussion of the problem of universals. Indeed, the value and scope (...) of Kant’s (and Bering’s) critique of the ontological argument is decisively determined by his position on this problem. (shrink)

I argue that knowing and having points of view are fundamentally different epistemic states if we assume that having justified true beliefs is necessary for knowledge. Knowers necessarily possess justified true beliefs, but persons holding points of view may, for example, lack justification, have false beliefs, or both. I examine these differences and expose other crucial differentiating patterns between the structure of knowledge and points of view that make the latter more likely to lead to disagreements. I hypothesize that these (...) patterns remain invariant in alternative views of knowledge like contextualism as long as we preserve the classical structure. Yet there is much research to be done on the multiple and contrasting properties that emerge if we consider non‐classical analyses of knowledge and points of view. (shrink)

It is fundamental that, in philosophy, we make sure that we are not mistaking merely verbal disputes, or “conceptual” disputes, for substantive ones. This essay presents a tripartite framework that is useful for clarifying cases where it is difficult to tell whether we are engaged in substantive or non-substantive disputes. For this purpose, the essay offers some combinatorial possibilities between the following levels: verbal, conceptual, and objectual. We need to distinguish whether we are arguing about the world, concepts, or words (...) to avoid talking at cross-purposes and to recognize when our disputes are not worth the time. Distinguishing between these three levels can also throw light and guide research on conceptual engineering, metalinguistic negotiations, metaontology, and so on. (shrink)

Conceptual analysis has been a traditional methodology within analytic philosophy, but it also has been the target of numerous attacks. On the other hand, explication has been undergoing a revival as a methodological alternative due to the revisionary element associated with it. This allows for a scientific reconstruction of our ordinary notions, which would share virtues associated with scientific concepts. However, there is now a popular variant of conceptual analysis which resembles closely the explicative methodology: the two-step methodology advanced by (...) the advocates of the Canberra Plan. Although explication is a wider and more ambitious program, I will argue that both methodologies can be regarded as attempts to bring philosophical methodology and its products closer to scientific ones. However, I will also point out that, although the goal is advantageous, there still remain some theoretical problems. (shrink)

Why in theCritique of Practical Reasonis moral religion presented as a doctrine of the postulates of pure practical reason, of which Christian morality, considered as a philosophical doctrine, is an illustration, whereas in theReligion Within the Boundaries of Mere Reasonmoral religion is ultimately identified with a particular moral interpretation of the religious dogmas of Christianity? In this essay, I propose to answer this question by examining a thesis of Kant’s that has scarcely been considered. This is the thesis that, as (...) with other philosophical disciplines, moral religion consists of a pure part and an applied part. The reasons for the bipartite division of moral religion—confirmed also by the findings of Kant’s third Critique—not only provide a direct, explicit, and maybe sufficient answer to the question posed, but also shed light on the role of Christianity in Kant’s conception of religion. (shrink)

In the work of Emmanuel Levinas, the emphasis on the human is what allowed him to maintain a concept of fraternity limited to only one set of beings, thus allowing for an appropriable exteriority to form that could sustain this set of beings. In a worldview in which the set of beings of moral concern is opened up to include nonhumans in a non-determinate way, there is no consistently defined appropriable exteriority posited. This is the point at which the question (...) of justifying the appropriation of other "persons" presents itself since, in such a context, there can be no appropriation which is not potentially that of another "person" since "persons" are not defined in a stable way in... (shrink)

In this paper, I explain how anthropocentrism expresses itself in the work of Emmanuel Levinas and show how it also leaves openings for ecological concerns to seep in. This is done by analyzing Levinas's concept of the Other and its relation to the third to show that the Other is understood as not only the one to whom I am responsible but also a responsible being in their own right who can question me. This establishes the Other as one who (...) must have the capacity for responsibility, a capacity given only to humans by Levinas. This constriction is problematized, however, by the fact that the “human,” for Levinas, is not necessarily coextensive with biological humans thus opening the door for applying the term “human” to other beings that could display a capacity for responsibility thereby expanding the realm of ethics beyond biological humans. (shrink)

Kant divide la filosofía práctica en tres disciplinas: la crítica de la razón práctica, la metafísica de las costumbres y la antropología práctica o moral. La primera equivale a todo el sistema de la crítica de la razón práctica ; las dos últimas constituyen el sistema de la ciencia práctica . El objetivo de esta comunicación es distinguir las disciplinas mencionadas, atendiendo, primero, a su diverso objeto de conocimiento; en segundo lugar, al uso de la razón del que surge cada (...) una de ellas y, finalmente, al origen de sus respectivos juicios.Kant divides practical philosophy into three disciplines: the critique of practical reason, the metaphysics of moralsandthe practical or moral anthropology. The first one is equivalent to the whole sistem of the critique of practical reason ; the two last-named constitutethe sistem of the practical science . The aim of thispaper is to distinguish the three mentioned disciplines attending, firstly, to their diverse object of knowledge; secondly, to the use of reason from each of them are originated; and, finally, to the origin of their respective judgments. (shrink)

In his Critique of Pure Reason and in his letter to Johann Schultz, November 25, 1788, Kant proposes at least six arguments in order to prove that arithmetical judgements are synthetic. In this paper these arguments are systematically expounded and critically discussed.

The aim of this paper is to show that Kant’s objections against the Aristotelian catalogue of categories are unfounded. Kant’s criticisms are unfamiliar with basic distinctions of Aristotle’s philosophy, or rest on mere equivoques, or are built on principles radically opposed to those of the Aristotelian realism.

Pierre Duhem’s philosophy of science has influenced many philosophers in the twentieth century, and even today. Many of the subjects he addressed are still highly discussed today, especially the distinction between science and metaphysics. My aim in this paper will be to motivate a naturalistic approach where the difference between physics and metaphysics is only a matter of degree. I focus on whether it would be possible to articulate this gradual distinction from a duhemian point of view. Although Duhem thought (...) that metaphysics is an entirely different and more excellent activity than physics, I believe that Duhem’s philosophy of science also supports a naturalistic distinction in terms of degrees. I offer three reasons to justify this conclusion: Duhem’s notion of common sense; Duhem’s holism and his views on the generality of our theories, and Duhem’s notion of natural classification. At the end of the paper I will argue that a naturalistic approach accomplishes must of what Duhem wanted to achieve with his distinction. (shrink)

The American Society for Bioethics and Humanities is to be congratulated on its updating of competency standards for ethics consultations (Tarzian and ASBH Core Competencies Update Task Force 2013)...