Threatened aboriginal cultures provide valuable criteria for fruitful criticism of the dominant Western cultural paradigm and perceptual model, which many take for granted as the inevitable path for humankind to follow. However, this Western model has proven itself to be imprecise and limiting. It obscures fundamental aspects of human nature, such as the mythical, religious dimension, and communication with the Cosmos. Modern technology, high-speed communication and mass media affect our ability to perceive reality and respond to it. Non-Western worldviews could (...) help us to regain meaningful communication with Nature and to learn new ways of perceiving our world. (shrink)

Research with human–animal chimera raises a number of ethical concerns, especially when neural stem cells are transplanted into the brains of non-human primates . Besides animal welfare concerns and ethical issues associated with the use of embryonic stem cells, the research is also regarded as controversial from the standpoint of NHPs developing cognitive or behavioural capabilities that are regarded as “unique” to humans. However, scientists are urging to test new therapeutic approaches for neurological diseases in primate models as they better (...) mimic human physiology than all current animal models. As a response, various countries have issued reports on the topic. Our paper summarizes the ethical issues raised by research with human–animal brain chimeras and compares the relevant regulatory instruments and different recommendations issued in national reports from three important European research nations: Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. We assess and discuss the focus and priorities set by the different reports, review various reasons for and perspectives on the importance of the brain in chimera research, and identify critical points in the reports that warrant further specification and debate. (shrink)

Stoicism deserves everything that Broic$ are doing to its movement. This is because Stoics stuff the value of everything into their own heads, thus denying that external things are good and that other people have intrinsic value. Stoics are psychopathic narcissists and axiological solipsists. And this makes Stoicism easy to coopt into bro-y, shallow, self-help-y garbage.

El objetivo de este texto es determinar las formas como se ha constituido el campo de la educación en Colombia, en el plano epistemológico. A partir de la identificación de sus principales discontinuidades y rupturas en una perspectiva que privilegia el análisis historiográfico, reflexiono sobre las definiciones que ofrece la categoría de campo, las tendencias investigativas a nivel local y los diversos desdoblamientos epistemológicos que han delineado su devenir como campo de estudio en el contexto nacional. De este modo, propongo (...) la construcción de una suerte de topografía del campo educativo que de luces sobre sus nuevos horizontes de sentido. (shrink)

A partir del reconocimiento de problemas curriculares y pedagógicos que presentan instituciones educativas observadas en la ciudad de Bogotá, se da a conocer la justificación y la trascendencia de la educación intercultural y su correspondiente pedagogía diferenciada para abordar problemas de calidad, integración, participación, pertinencia y democratización de dichas escuelas.

This paper aims to establish the importance of mathematical thinking in the work of Vilém Flusser. For this purpose highlights the concept of escalation of abstraction with which the Czech German philosopher finishes by reversing the top of the traditional pyramid of knowledge, we know from Plato and Aristotle. It also assumes the implicit cultural revolution in the refinement of the numerical element in a process of gradual abandonment of purely alphabetic code, highlights the new key code, together with the (...) technological and telematic culture and uses the concepts of game theory, of probability theory and computing to analize the society and culture. Of particular importance is the affirmation of a new kind of imagination, a projective one, ranging from the model to the world. Today's society and culture can´t be understood without resorting to the concepts and results coined and made ​​in the course of developing a type of thinking entirely dominated by the mathematics. The limits and boundaries of scientific disciplines overlap under number development, requiring reflection and rethinking traditional concepts of social and natural sciences. (shrink)

El presente trabajo se centrará en localizar las relaciones intertextuales entre dos obras de la literatura mexicana: El vendedor de silencio, la última novela publicada por Enrique Serna, y A ocho columnas, una obra de teatro escrita por Salvador Novo. Se tratará de demostrar cómo la obra de teatro influye en la configuración narrativa de la novela. Asimismo, la novela de Serna propone la hipótesis de que los personajes principales de A ocho columnas son Carlos Denegri y su jefe, don (...) Rodrigo de Llano. Por medio de un recorrido literario e histórico, se verán dos puntos de vista distintos —el narrativo y el dramático— desde los que se aborda la influencia de la política y los intereses económicos en los modos de escribir periodismo en el México de mediados del siglo XX. (shrink)

Este artículo plantea una relectura de John Dewey con la intención de analizar y dar algunas respuestas a la actual crisis de la democracia representativa o liberal. Esta crisis guarda relación con procesos globalizadores contradictorios que, de un lado, alimentan una utopía futurista confiada en el progreso tecnológico, y de otro, el regreso “retrotópico”, nostálgico y emocional, a lo tribal. Esta relectura se centra en obras fundamentales de Dewey, pero especialmente Democracia y Educación y otros textos de carácter pedagógico. El (...) artículo desarrolla una serie de argumentos que concluyen en torno a la idea de “democracia creativa”, que Dewey planteó en su madurez, como referencia para una deseable reactivación de la democracia entendida como ideal ético. (shrink)

According to some technology enthusiasts our technological developments appear to be accelerating at an exponential rate. A common vision of such enthusiasts is that the accelerating pace of science and technology development will enable us to transform the world in more profound and significant ways than at any other time in our history. More importantly, some of these technology enthusiasts have gone beyond having technological-driven visions about the future to be actively engaged in a diverse set of activities aimed at (...) shaping the future they envision. These are not just people with visions about the future, they are visioneers. (shrink)

Whereas Aristotle defended the appropriateness of slavery and Seneca derided only its cruelty, Dio Chrysostom vehemently opposed any argument in favor of keeping slaves. And he did it in the 1st Century CE Greco-Roman world, a society comfortable with slavery. This paper analyzes Dio’s dialogue _The Tenth Discourse: Diogenes or on Servants_ to try to understand how Cynics addressed the wrongs of slavery when so many other philosophers did not. The paper argues that Cynic commitments to self-sufficiency, freedom, and nature (...) helped them to recognize the immorality and injustice of owning slaves. And Dio’s work, which derided injustices that most others defended, shows that philosophers should resist excusing thinkers as mere products of their time, especially canonical figures such as Aristotle and Seneca. Not only were Aristotle and Seneca wrong, but so are contemporary philosophers if they do not hold such historical figures to account by acknowledging and discussing their limitations and faults as thinkers in relation to the historical circumstances they faced. (shrink)

Este escrito trata de explicar algunas cuestiones acerca del papel de la poesía en la hermenéutica de Gadamer. Poesía significa, en primer lugar, no solamente un tipo de expresión artística, sino, en general, el hacer creativo por medio de palabras. La poesía es, además, el modelo explicativo de las distintas funciones del lenguaje. A través de la noción gadameriana de poesía pueden ser iluminadas determinadas claves de la hermenéutica filosófica: el carácter especulativo del lenguaje, la idea de verdad, la mimesis, (...) el mito y el carácter derivado de toda subjetividad. (shrink)

This is an existential-phenomenological reading of Max Weber's "Class, Status, Party" that seeks a fuller understanding of meaning accomplishment in a stratified World. I appropriate stratification as a single meaning structure ontically defined by domination, intersubjectivity, and life-chances and ontologically determined by the power-to-be, There-being-with-others, and potentiality. I then discuss the significance of these structures in finite transcendence and describe ways they factually unfold in World achievement. I conclude with logotherapeutic reflections concerning meaning accomplishment in a stratified World and a (...) summary of key questions facing existential-phenomenology in light of the likelihood that There-being must embrace, indeed, live, the inherent equality of Being among Daseins to accomplish its authenticity. (shrink)

This paper does two things. First, it interprets the work of W. E. B. Du Bois to reveal that the meanings of race terms are grounded by both a historical and an aspirational component. Race terms refer to a backward-looking component that traces the history of the group to its present time, as well as a forward-looking component that sets out values and goals for the group. Race terms thus refer to a complex cluster of concepts that involve biological, sociological, (...) historical, moral, and political properties. Second, the paper defends W. E. B. Du Bois’s conservationist thesis about races, which holds that we should maintain race talk and racial distinctions. But instead of offering philosophical evidence, this paper defends the plausibility of the conservationist thesis with evidence from contemporary biology and psychology. It argues that, instead of eliminating race terms or concepts, we should conserve and revise them. (shrink)

Traditionally, in Spain bullfighting represents an ancient and well-respected tradition and a combined brand of sport, art and national identity. However, bullfighting has received considerable criticism from various segments of society, with the concomitant rise of the animal rights movement. The paper reports a survey of the Spanish citizens using a face-to-face survey during January 2016 with a total sample of 2522 citizens. The survey asked about degree of liking and approving; culture, art and national identity; socio-economic aspects; emotional perception (...) and animal welfare. The hypothesis proposed that the perception of bullfights may be affected by gender, age, occupation, origin and nationality of the persons surveyed. The hypothesis was confirmed. The majority of citizens surveyed do not like bullfights and great majorities do not attend or watch such events. Two extreme clusters were described: one representing favorable attitude towards bullfighting and other against bullfighting. The proportion of indifferent persons was important. Women and young people showed a more favorable attitude towards animal welfare issues associated with these events. Rural people were more accepting bullfights than urban people. Students were more anti-bullfight than those in other occupations. Additionally, technical economic factors made people favor more bullfights. The growth of claim against bullfights establishes an element of a far more multifaceted phenomenon that animal cruelty per se and support of a new paradigm called social change in countries as Spain. (shrink)

Nanotechnology has in various ways been regarded as a technology that promises both innovations and risks and that has the potential to profoundly change the world. Yet for many people there are still two questions that remain unanswered: just what is nanotechnology, and why does it matter? What is nanotechnology and why does it matter?: from science to ethics, by a nanoscientist and two philosophers, aims to give the reader a balanced and informed understanding of this important technology. The book (...) not only focuses on providing the reader with normative reasons around why nanotechnology matters, such as its social impact and ethics, but also offers an accurate and generally accessible analysis of the science involved, highlighting what nanotechnology actually is and why it matters in terms of the applications and features that make it relevant.The book serves as a useful introduction to nanotechnology for those who know little about the subject but wish to learn about the impact this .. (shrink)

Defendemos la postura de la necesidad de un desarrollo y de una lectura de Zubiri en clave metafísica para ello mostramos como se han dado las interpretaciones de zubiri, luego lo que ha sido la sedimentación de la interpretación exclusivamente noológica, para en un tercer momento mostrar su carencia y por lo tanto el deber de realizar una reflexión metafísica con las herramientas de la filosofía zubiriana.

RESUMEN En el marco del Proyecto FONDECYT Nº 1100600, surge el interés por indagar acerca de la producción escrita en estudiantes chilenos con el fin de obtener una visión de la calidad de dicha producción. Motivados también por los resultados que los estudiantes obtuvieron en Comprensión Lectora, según el Sistema de Medición de la Calidad de la Educación (SIMCE), específicamente, porque estos no han sido muy alentadores, es razonable esperar que esta habilidad tenga una fuerte influencia en el desarrollo de (...) la composición por escrito. El presente estudio se enfoca en la calidad de escritos producidos por 137 estudiantes chilenos, considerando una secuencia narrativa y una explicativa (Adam, 2001), y el tipo de plantel educacional. Los participantes cursaban cuarto (n = 69) y octavo (n = 68) de enseñanza básica. La calidad de la escritura se midió con el instrumento Perfil del Escritor (Spalding & Cummins, 1998), cuyos descriptores derivan en tres niveles de calidad: alta, media y baja. Los resultados revelan una mayor calidad en la secuencia narrativa. Escasas secuencias narrativas se calificaron como de calidad alta. Los participantes calificados con el criterio más alto asistían al establecimiento de tipo particular subvencionado. En todos los establecimientos se observan secuencias de calidad baja. (shrink)

This book explores policy innovation for same-sex couples throughout the Americas and includes same-sex marriage legislation, civil unions, and other new developments for same-sex couples throughout the Americas at both national and sub-national levels. This scholarship is innovative because though much has been written regarding developments in North America, there is very little work dealing with recent developments in the rest of the Americas.