A recent article in this journal describes certain mathematical and philosophical controversies which occurred in Prussia during the middle decades of the 18th century. The article pays particular attention to the position of Christian Wolff and to the views of some of his followers. Both Wolff and the Wolffians are shown to have supported some of Leibniz's doctrines against those of the Newtonian camp. As a result, or perhaps in part as a premise, there is a strong tendency throughout the (...) article to identify Wolff himself with Leibniz. The reader will naturally conclude that Wolff (and, in turn, the Wolffians) must have been a faithful student and expositor of his master, Leibniz. My purpose in the present investigation is to contribute to an examination of the accuracy of this portrayal. (shrink)

Virtually everyone agrees that there is a strong moral presumption against the use of coercion. There is, however, considerably less agreement about the nature of coercion. For example, each of the following claims has been the subject of considerable controversy: 1. coercion is an essentially normative concept whose ‘conditions of application contain an ineliminable reference to moral rightness or wrongness’; 2. it is possible to coerce someone by means of an especially enticing offer as well as by means of a (...) threat; 3. coercion sometimes consists in nothing more than the direct application of physical force; and 4. exploitation is a form of coercion. In this essay I shall propose and defend an explication of the concept of coercion which will entail the falsity of each of these claims. Such an analysis, although it will naturally start from and be guided by our intuitions about the subject, will not be bound rigidly by them. My primary objective will be to provide a reasonably precise and systematic way of describing a category of human behavior only the paradigm examples of which are clearly circumscribed by ordinary usage. (shrink)

Anistia e as Ambivalências do Cinismo- A ADPF 153 e Micropolíticas da Memória consiste em uma primeira aproximação da pesquisa dos problemas contemporâneos suscitados por um tema cujo aparente anacronismo revela progressivamente sua extemporânea atualidade- o da anistia no Brasil, suas consequências éticas e políticas na transição do Estado brasileiro, e de suas instituições à democracia. Estes estudos foram escritos na atmosfera do debate público suscitado por ocasião do julgamento da ADPF 153 - sob todos os aspectos - sua propositura, (...) pelo Conselho Federal da OAB, consistiu em um gesto simbólico com o potencial de reabrir internamente o debate jurídico, ético e político sobre os temas da anistia e da responsabilização de agentes de Estado, civis e militares, violadores de direitos humanos no Brasil. Decantados nos anos seguintes, os textos que apresentamos ao leitor foram revistos e ampliados à luz de alguns encontros e oportunidades para debater o tema em espaços de pesquisa e de divulgação acadêmica privilegiados. (shrink)