To recover the intrinsic relationship between the concepts of good, norm and virtue which constitute the truth and moral meaning of human action is the most important challenge of contemporary ethics. The aim of this paper is to compare, from this perspective, Cicero's concept of law in his dialogue De legibus with the concept of law as held by procedural ethics.

In this article an attempt is made to bring out the presuppositions of the first formulation of ethical realism held by Antonio Millán-Puelles in his recently published work, La libre afirmación de nuestro ser. Una fundamentacíon de la ética realista. These presuppositions show that the central problem in moral philosophy, known as the "Is-Ought" question, is dealt with in a very positive way by pointing out the intrinsic relation that there is between human nature and human freedom.

Este trabajo inicia su meditación teniendo como punto de partida la enseñanza de la Biblia sobre la naturaleza misma del hombre, su influjo sobre el enigma de la libertad y de la cual el pensamiento de Kierkegaard se hace eco: sólo un Dios omnipotente puede crear un ser libre. Prosigue el estudio con las reflexiones meta- físicas de san Agustín, san Anselmo, santo Tomás y Duns Scoto, interrogándose cuál son las raíces de esa libertad y cómo se relacionan con la (...) voluntad y la inteligencia, que permiten dirigirse y elegir: la libre elección del bien y del mal (libertas minor) y la libertad dentro del bien (libertas maior). (shrink)

Jane Austen normally avoids discussing appearance throughout her works. Persuasion constitutes the exception to the rule, as the story focuses on the premature aging experienced by her protagonist, Anne Elliot, seemingly due to disappointed love. Much has been written about Anne’s “loss of bloom,” but never from the perspective of psychoneuroimmunology, the field that researches the interrelation between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems. In this paper, we adopt a perspective of psychoneuroimmunology to argue that Austen established a (...) connection between psychological distress, specifically lovesickness, and the development of early senescence signs, and vice versa, since the recovery of love is associated with happiness and physical glow. From a gender perspective, we discuss how Austen brightly reflected these interrelationships through the story of Anne, when the latest psychoneuroimmunological research has actually shown that women age earlier than men as a consequence of psychological turmoil. (shrink)

ABSTRACTEmotion regulation substantially develops during the childhood years. This growth includes an increasing awareness that certain ER strategies are more appropriate in some contexts than...

Segundo o autor do presente artigo, Martin Heidegger oferece-nos uma nova interpretação de Kant. Usando o método fenomenológico, Heidegger busca os pressupostos implícitos no conhecimento finito na Crítica da razão pura de Kant. O pressuposto fundamental seria a temporalidade do sujeito. Desta forma, Heidegger encontra em Kant um apoio para a sua hermenêutica do Dasein, cujo ser é a temporalidade. O artigo defende que, segundo Heidegger, Kant deu passos importantes para uma reflexão radical sobre o tempo, mas não chegou propriamente (...) a fazê-la, pois permaneceu ligado à metafísica tradicional. Mas o artigo mostra também que tampouco Heidegger logrou articular suficientemente a temporalidade do Dasein, facto este que lhe terá fechado o passo para uma verdadeira compreensão do sentido do ser. /// Aim of the present article is to show Heidegger's new interpretation of Kant. Making use of the phenomenological method, Heidegger searches for the presuppositions implicit in finite knowledge such as it is presented in Kant's Kritik der reinen Vernunft, the main of which is the temporality of the subject. It is thus that Heidegger finds in Kant support for his hermeneutics of the Dasein, whose being is temporality. According to Heidegger, Kant made important steps towards a radical reflection on time, but did not achieve the goal of making it, rather remained prisoner of traditional metaphysics. The author of the article also defends that Heidegger himself did not explore sufficiently the temporality of the Dasein. This, after all, is the reason why, according to the article, Heidegger was also unable to reach an understanding of the meaning of being. (shrink)

La existencia de un principio absoluto de la realidad de experiencia sería imprescindible. Este principio transciende el conocimiento humano. De ahí la pluralidad de representaciones del mismo en las religiones, en la filosofía y en la teología. Al final hay que optar por una de ellas. En al presente artículo se considera más convincente la de un Dios personal, que da el ser por creación de la nada.

El artículo busca revelar como resultado el papel de la comunicación de la innovación social en el comportamiento del usuario, si este modifica su intención de consumir un producto o servicio, cuando conoce que la empresa que oferta el bien o servicio tiene una práctica de innovación social implementada. Para responder al objetivo se formularon dos hipótesis que fueron testeadas mediante la aplicación de una encuesta basada en una muestra de conveniencia, que recolectó 300 respuestas en toda América Latina. Los (...) resultados obtenidos permiten suponer que el consumidor en Latinoamérica, en general, no solo quiere tener más información disponible y accesible (tanto en términos de accesibilidad de medios como de lenguaje), sino que quiere involucrarse, ser escuchado y poder intervenir en la comunidad; ya sea por iniciativa propia o alentado por las marcas y empresas en general. (shrink)

Este es el primer número de la revista tras la jubilación del profesor Nicolás López Calera. Él ha sido su director durante más de cuarenta años, concretamente desde que en 1967 se incorporase a la Universidad de Granada como catedrático de Derecho Natural y Filosofía del Derecho. Hasta ahora, en que ha querido retirarse también de esa página de inicio que da cuenta de las responsabilidades oficiales de su confección. Valgan estas líneas como testimonio de reconocimiento y agradecimiento por parte (...) de los que actualmente nos hacemos cargo de ella, anteriormente colaboradores suyos, y que ahora hemos asumido la responsabilidad de mantener su continuidad con la intención de avanzar por el camino que él abrió en su momento. (shrink)

En el presente trabajo se analizan tres piezas de Rodolfo Usigli bajo la perspectiva del chantaje que impulsa la confrontación de dos fuerzas axiológicas que son la verdad y la mentira; sin embargo, no se trata sólo de dos antagonismos que determinan la temática de su teatro, sino además son dos términos cuya confrontación construye la estructura de la mayor parte de sus dramas. Esta confrontación entre verdad y mentira Rodolfo Usigli la maneja desde distintas aristas, como es la desinformación, (...) la obediencia a la autoridad y la gubernamentalidad. (shrink)

Fue Baudelaire quien advirtió que, en el juguete, podemos encontrar materia de reflexión. En un texto publicado en el Monde Littéraire del 17 de abril de 1853 con el título de “Moral del juguete”, cuenta la visita hecha siendo niño a casa de Mme. Panckoucke: Me tomó de la mano y cruzamos así juntos varias habitaciones; después abrió la puerta de una estancia que me ofreció un espectáculo extraordinario y verdaderamente fabuloso. Los muros no eran yavisibles hasta tal punto estaban (...) recubiertos de juguetes. El desván desaparecía bajo una floritura de juguetes que colgaban como estalactitas maravillosas. El piso dejaba apenas un pequeño paso sobre el que posar los pies… Es a causa de esta aventura si no puedo detenerme delante de una tienda de juguetes y recorrer con la mirada la inextricable muchedumbre de sus formas extrañas y de sus colores dispares, sin pensar en la señora vestida de terciopelo y de pieles, que se me a apareció como el Hada del juguete. (shrink)

Una gran parte de las arquitecturas de la posmodernidad, se presenta como expresiones indecisas y de nomenclatura ambigua. El ejercicio que realizan estos arquitectos, a través de sus edificaciones, refleja con nitidez el cambio provocado por el auge del sector informático y la expansión de la economía global, dos fenómenos entrelazados de manera inextricable, han contribuido a generar una nueva geografía de la centralidad y la marginalidad (Sassen), por eso, el proyecto que reflejan los dibujos de estas arquitecturas, puede ser (...) alterado en su imagen mediante toda suerte de yuxtaposiciones, analogías, contrastes, adulteraciones formales y distorsiones espaciales, porque todo es intercambiable en la nueva realidad espacio‐temporal de la telemática; materiales,texturas y formas aleatorias, la imagen pública tiende a excluir el espacio público. (shrink)

Una gran parte de las arquitecturas de la posmodernidad, se presenta como expresiones indecisas y de nomenclatura ambigua. El ejercicio que realizan estos arquitectos, a través de sus edificaciones, refleja con nitidez el cambio provocado por el auge del sector informático y la expansión de la economía global, dos fenómenos entrelazados de manera inextricable, han contribuido a generar una nueva geografía de la centralidad y la marginalidad (Sassen), por eso, el proyecto que reflejan los dibujos de estas arquitecturas, puede ser (...) alterado en su imagen mediante toda suerte de yuxtaposiciones, analogías, contrastes, adulteraciones formales y distorsiones espaciales, porque todo es intercambiable en la nueva realidad espacio‐temporal de la telemática; materiales,texturas y formas aleatorias, la imagen pública tiende a excluir el espacio público. (shrink)

El estado de crisis en que se encuentra la ciencia jurídica es descrito como un efecto estructural más de la crisis de la sociedad capitalista. La necesidad de legitimación y reproducción del sistema capitalista exige un modelo de ciencia neutral y descriptiva, pese al descrédito del cientificismo y de las metodologías positivistas. En el caso de la ciencia jurídica, la ciencia del derecho sigue anclada en un paradigma formalista que aboga por una descripción simple del contenido de las normas y (...) que, sin embargo, es una forma de hacer política, pues contribuye a legitimar y no desvelar las dimensiones políticas del tráfico y las relaciones jurídicas. Las conclusiones de la filosofía de la ciencia general y los cambios que el Estado social ha supuesto para el derecho obligan a tomar en serio que el derecho es un fenómeno social y un producto histórico que tiene una razón de ser que excede del mero dato de su existencia impuesta por la fuerza del Estado. Abogan también por revisar la separación entre filosofía del derecho y ciencia del derecho y por un modelo de ciencia explicativa y crítica del derecho, que dé cuenta de su sentido y sus transformaciones y asuma una función crítica inmanente al derecho, objetiva, dialéctica —porque recurre a la totalidad social como elemento mediador de los análisis científico-jurídicos—, jurídica —porque tiene por objeto normas—, política —porque afecta a las relaciones de poder. (shrink)

Los documentos del Concilio Vaticano II tienen profundas consecuencias sociales para la misión evangelizadora de la Iglesia. En el posconcilio, la revista Vida Nueva, especializada en la información social y religiosa, acoge el mensaje conciliar e intenta aplicarlo a las circunstancias de la Iglesia y sociedad de aquel momento. Este estudio analiza los contenidos de los editoriales publicados por Vida Nueva de 1968 a 1975. Los resultados muestran la repercusión del Concilio en el enfoque editorial de una revista que, comprometida (...) con el orden temporal, analiza la actualidad política; fomenta el ejercicio de las libertades; defiende los derechos humanos; presta una atención preferencial a las personas más vulnerables; promueve la libertad y veracidad informativa; apuesta por una actividad económica puesta al servicio de los ciudadanos; aborda temas relativos a la moral de la persona discutidos en el seno de la Iglesia; mantiene una postura dialogante con la cultura, la ciencia y la tecnología; y propone cambios en los derechos, metodología y contenidos del sector educativo. (shrink)

The COVID-19 outbreak has ravaged all societal domains, including education. Home confinement, school closures, and distance learning impacted students, teachers, and parents’ lives worldwide. In this study, we aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19-related restrictions on Italian and Portuguese students’ academic motivation as well as investigate the possible buffering role of extracurricular activities. Following a retrospective pretest–posttest design, 567 parents reported on their children’s academic motivation and participation in extracurricular activities. We used a multi-group latent change score model to (...) compare Italian and Portuguese students’: pre-COVID mean motivation scores; rate of change in motivation; individual variation in the rate of change in motivation; and dependence of the rate of change on initial motivation scores. Estimates of latent change score models showed a decrease in students’ motivation both in Italy and in Portugal, although more pronounced in Italian students. Results also indicated that the decrease in students’ participation in extracurricular activities was associated with changes in academic motivation. Furthermore, students’ age was significantly associated with changes in motivation. No significant associations were found for students’ gender nor for parents’ education. This study provides an important contribution to the study of students’ academic motivation during home confinement, school closures, and distance learning as restrictive measures adopted to contain a worldwide health emergency. We contend that teachers need to adopt motivation-enhancing practices as means to prevent the decline in academic motivation during exceptional situations. (shrink)

Early in animal development, gradients of secreted morphogenic molecules, such as Sonic hedgehog (Shh), Wnt and TGFβ/Bmp family members, regulate cell proliferation and determine the fate and phenotype of the target cells by activating well‐characterized signalling pathways, which ultimately control gene transcription. Shh, Wnt and TGFβ/Bmp signalling also play an important and evolutionary conserved role in neural circuit assembly. They regulate neuronal polarization, axon and dendrite development and synaptogenesis, processes that require rapid and local changes in cytoskeletal organization and plasma (...) membrane components. A key question then is whether morphogen signalling at the growth cone uses similar mechanisms and intracellular pathway components to those described for morphogen‐mediated cell specification. This review discusses recent advances towards the understanding of this problem, showing how Shh, Wnt and TGFβ/Bmp have adapted their ‘classical’ signalling pathways or adopted alternative and novel molecular mechanisms to influence different aspects of neuronal circuit formation. (shrink)

Understanding the causes of maize landrace loss in farmers’ field is essential to design effective conservation strategies. These strategies are necessary to ensure that genetic resources are available in the future. Previous studies have shown that this loss is caused by multiple factors. In this longitudinal study, we used a collection of 93 maize landrace accessions from Morelos, Mexico, and stored at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center Maize Germplasm Bank, to trace back to the original 66 donor families (...) after 50 years and explore the causes for why they abandoned or conserved their seed lots. We used an actor-centered approach, based on interviews and focus group discussions. We adopt a Multi-Level Perspective framework to examine loss as a process, accommodating multiple causes and the interactions among them. We found that the importance of maize landrace cultivation had diminished over the last 50 years in the study area. By 2017, 13 families had conserved a total of 14 seed lots directly descended from the 1967 collection. Focus group participants identified 60 accessions that could still be found in the surrounding municipalities. Our findings showed that multiple interconnected changes in maize cultivation technologies, as well as in maize markets, other crop markets, agricultural and land policies, cultural preferences, urbanization and climate change, have created an unfavorable environment for the conservation of maize landraces. Many of these processes were location- and landrace-specific, and often led to landrace abandonment during the shift from one farmer generation to the next. (shrink)

Dynamic Theodicy (DT) is a broad concept we bring up to designate some modern Philosophical Theology attempts to reconcile the necessary and perfect existence of God with the contingent characteristics of human life. In this paper we analyze such approaches and discuss how they have become incomprehensible because the metaphysical assumptions implicit in these explanations have lost their intrinsic relation to the natural human desire for salvation. In the first part we show Charles Hartshorne's DT-model, arising from the modal logic (...) of perfection, and the modern rational problems of this position in making infinite-necessary Being (God) and finite-contingent being (human) compatible. We note that at the heart of the contradictions in this DT account is a dialectical mode of thinking that makes it difficult to find a correct solution to this dichotomy, and to assume a human desire that could be considered related to lifelong goals. In the second part, supported by the proposal of Hans Urs von Balthasar's DT, we develop the concepts of bodily vulnerability, corporeal intentionality, and natural desire for salvation, which come from an Aristotelian-Thomistic thought. This theory is established in order to build an argument, following Alasdair MacIntyre’s ethical framework, on how to make possible the recovery of a metaphysical and anthropological desire that transcends natural aging and goes beyond death. We conclude that both human dependence and the virtues that arise naturally when human beings decide to seek the good of their transcendent condition, make it possible to recover the natural desire for salvation through divine and human love. (shrink)

In this study we examined whether parents’ perceptions of students’ anxiety as well as perceived support from both teachers and classmates were predictive of changes in students’ academic motivation during the first wave of COVID-19. To this end, we used a retrospective pretest-posttest design together with a latent change score model to analyze our data. From April to May of 2020, 394 Portuguese parents of students in grades 1–9 participated in this study. Our results showed that students’ anxiety and teachers’ (...) social support, as perceived by parents, were highly significant predictors of academic motivation changes. Specifically, we found a negative effect of anxiety and a positive effect of teachers’ social support on students’ academic motivation. Our results did not show, however, a significant predictive role of classmates’ social support. This study provides an important contribution to further understand the intrapersonal and interpersonal factors that are associated with the decline of students’ academic motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pivotal role of teachers in sustaining students’ academic motivation and other relevant educational implications for the ongoing pandemic are discussed. (shrink)

The Central Dogma of molecular biology, which holds that DNA makes protein and not the other way around, is as influential as it is controversial. Some believe the Dogma has outlived its usefulness, either because it fails to fully capture the ins-and-outs of protein synthesis (Griffiths and Stotz, 2013; Stotz, 2006), because it turns on a confused notion of information (Sarkar, 2004), or because it problematically assumes the unidirectional flow of information from DNA to protein (Gottlieb, 2001). This paper evaluates (...) an underexplored defense of the Dogma, which relies on the assumption that the Dogma and the Inheritance of Acquired Traits, a principle which dates as far back as Jean Baptiste-Lamarck, are incompatible principles (Smith, 1993; Judson, 1979; Dawkins, 1970; Cobb, 2017; Wilkins, 2002; Graur, 2018). By appealing to empirical evidence in molecular science, I argue that this apparent incompatibility is indeed merely apparent. I conclude by briefly demonstrating how these considerations bear on the topic of conceptual pluralism in the philosophy of science (Stencel and Proszewska, 2018; Lu and Bourrat, 2018). (shrink)

Despite the increase in the research field of ethics in artificial intelligence, most efforts have focused on the debate about principles and guidelines for responsible AI, but not enough attention has been given to the “how” of applied ethics. This paper aims to advance the research exploring the gap between practice and principles in AI ethics by identifying how companies are applying those guidelines and principles in practice. Through a qualitative methodology based on 22 semi-structured interviews and two focus groups, (...) the goal of the current study is to understand how companies approach ethical issues related to AI systems. A structured analysis of the transcripts brought out many actual practices and findings, which are presented around the following main research topics: ethics and principles, privacy, explainability, and fairness. The interviewees also raised issues of accountability and governance. Finally, some recommendations are suggested such as developing specific sector regulations, fostering a data-driven organisational culture, considering the algorithm’s complete life cycle, developing and using a specific code of ethics, and providing specific training on ethical issues. Despite some obvious limitations, such as the type and number of companies interviewed, this work identifies real examples and direct priorities to advance the research exploring the gap between practice and principles in AI ethics, with a specific focus on Spanish companies. (shrink)

There is no denying the Central Dogma’s impact on the biological sciences. Since the Dogma’s formulation by Francis Crick in 1958, however, many have debated the Dogma’s empirical adequacy. My aim is to move beyond these discussions, and instead consider the Central Dogma’s significance to contemporary biological practice. To do this, I consider four distinct approaches for determining the non-descriptive methodological significance of a scientific principle. I argue that these approaches fail to vindicate the Central Dogma, and that, under many (...) of these approaches, the Dogma amounts to a triviality. (shrink)