This article outlines a critical systems theory approach to the study of populism by arguing that populism is an avenue of contestation which assumes a distinct role and function in the existing constitution of the political system. Most notably, it is characterised by the re-entry of a popular sovereignty dimension within regular political procedures. By taking up a critical systems theory perspective, it becomes possible to more precisely distinguish populism from other forms of politics, such as oppositional politics, social movement (...) politics or procedural constitutional politics. Further, populism’s oscillation between democratic and authoritarian dynamics can be elucidated as an inversion which operates from within its political form. Finally, it is argued that the critical systems theory approach provides a more nuanced understanding of populism’s inherent problems and, consequently, moves beyond a blunt defence or rejection of populism as such. (shrink)

Uno de los propositos de Miro Quesada al escribir esta obra fue ofrecer "a todo aquel que se interese por la cultura latinoamericana en particular y sus manifestaciones filosoficas en particular -especialmente profesores y estudiantes- un libro que sirve para orientarlos en la produccion cada vez mas vasta y profusa de la filosofia latinoamericana.".

O presente volume reune quase uma trintena de artigos com temas culturais, de consagrados autores portugueses e brasileiros, que assim pretenderam homenagear o Professor. oordenada por Joaquim Gonçalves, a obra é estruturada em 4 partes. As três primeiras agrupam as intervenções, consagrando-se a quarta à vida e obra do homenageado.

Bart Streumer argues that it is not possible for us to believe the error theory, where by ‘error theory’ he means the claim that our normative beliefs are committed to the existence of normative properties even though such properties do not exist. In this paper, we argue that it is indeed possible to believe the error theory. First, we suggest a critical improvement to Streumer’s argument. As it stands, one crucial premise of that argument—that we cannot have a belief while (...) believing that there is no reason to have it—is implausibly strong. We argue that for his purposes, Streumer’s argument only requires a weaker premise, namely that we cannot rationally have a belief while believing that there is no reason to have it. Secondly, we go on to refute the improved argument. Even in its weaker form, Streumer’s argument is either invalid or the crucial premise should be rejected. (shrink)

Solidarität wird in Krisenzeiten sowie bei Ungerechtigkeit und Marginalisierung gefordert. Sie tritt dabei in unterschiedlichen Reichweiten und Akteurskonstellationen auf und basiert auf verschiedenen Motiven und Ausgangslagen. Julia Masurkewitz-Möller nimmt sich dieser Vielfalt an und erarbeitet eine Systematisierung der Solidarität, die Ordnung in den begrifflichen Dschungel des Konzepts bringt. Sie zeigt, dass verschiedene Solidaritätsformen trotz ihrer Unterschiede einen gemeinsamen Kern und eine Beziehung zueinander haben - und damit die Transformationen von Solidaritätsformen möglich machen.

We state and comment our recent results on the incompleteness of elementary real analysis and their relevance for the axiomatized sciences.

In 2003, Ruth Faden and eighteen other colleagues argued that a.

The study of conscious experience per se has not kept pace with the dramatic advances in PET, fMRI and other brain-scanning technologies. If anything, the standard approaches to examining the 'view from within' involve little more than cataloguing its readily accessible components. Thus the study of lived subjective experience is still at the level of Aristotelian science, leading to a widespread scepticism over the possibility of a truly scientific study of conscious experience. Drawing on a wide range of approaches -- (...) from phenomenology to meditation -- The View From Within examines the possibility of a disciplined approach to the study of subjective states. The focus is on the practical issues involved. (shrink)

ABSTRACT The Dutch case of Brongersma presents novel challenges to the definition and evaluation of voluntary euthanasia since it involved a doctor assisting the suicide of an individual who was (merely?) ‘tired of life’. Legal officials had called on the courts to ‘set a principled boundary’, excluding such cases from the scope of permissible voluntary euthanasia, but they arguably failed. This failure is explicable, however, since the case seems justifiable by reference to the two major principles in favour of that (...) practice, respect for autonomy and beneficence. Ultimately, it will be argued that those proponents of voluntary euthanasia who are wary of its use in such circumstances may need to draw upon ‘practical’ objections, in order to erect an otherwise arbitrary perimeter. Furthermore, it will be suggested that the issues raised by the case are not peculiarly Dutch in nature and that, therefore, there are lessons here for other jurisdictions too. (shrink)

"El amor en su singularidad erótica es tratado en esta obra desde el auspicio de la poesía y la filosofía, las cuales nos llevan de la mano a los desolados parajes del mundo biológico-psíquico para retener aquello de lo que "no se puede decir nada". Aun así, no es éste un intento de explicar fenomenológicamente el amor, sino una modesta evocación de los momentos y comportamientos humanos en su tránsito hacia el Eros y la experiencia que de ellos se ha (...) obtenido."-- Cubierta trasera. (shrink)

Work—family policy strategies reflect gendered assumptions about the roles of men and women within families and therefore may lead to significantly different outcomes, particularly for families headed by single mothers. The authors argue that welfare states have adopted strategies based on different assumptions about women's and men's roles in society, which then affect women's chances of living in poverty cross-nationally. The authors examine how various strategies are associated with poverty rates across groups of women and also examine more directly the (...) effects of specific work—family policies on poverty rates. They find that while family benefits and child care for young children unequivocally lower poverty rates, particularly for families headed by a single mother, long parental leaves have more ambivalent effects. The findings suggest that it is critical to examine the gendered assumptions underlying work—family policies rather than viewing all work—family policies as the same. (shrink)

José Otero Espasandín (1900-1987) was an important science popularizer in Argentina during the 1940´s, who belonged to the Misiones Pedagógicas (Educational Missions) group in Spain. This paper presents his biography and his work as a science and technology popularizer. It focused on his features, value and significance for that period.

Medical stem cell research is currently the cause of much moral controversy. Those who would confer the same moral status to embryos as we do to humans consider that harvesting such embryonic cells entails sacrificing embryos. In this paper, the author analyses critically the arguments given for such a perspective. Finally, a theory of moral status is outlined that coherently and plausibly supports the use of embryonic stem cells in therapeutic research.

Sobre el libro: El presente libro recoge las ponencias presentadas en la reunión anual del Seminario Spinoza que tuvo lugar en la Facultad de Filosofía de la UNED los días 13 y 14 de marzo de 2009, así como la presentación del cuadro de Espinosa pintado por Sorolla procedente de la Donación Simarro y perteneciente al fondo artístico de la Universidad Complutense, que tuvo lugar en El Escorial en el verano de 2008. Los trabajos se articulan en cuatro apartados: la (...) política, la ciencia, la proyección de Espinosa en la Ilustración y la iconografía de Espinosa, y sitúan a Espinosa en su siglo, destacando su carácter anómalo en relación con el resto de autores de su entorno. Espinosa no se adaptó a la crisis, sino que se esforzó por comprenderla sin ceder en sus ideales, lo que permitió que las ilusiones renacentistas se desarrollaran en la ilustración, superando el hiato de la crisis barroca. (shrink)

Œuvre de maturité de François Suarez (1548-1617), Des lois et du Dieu législateur a été publié en latin en 1612. Parmi les dix livres que comprend cet ouvrage, nous avons choisi de présenter pour la première fois les deux premiers en langue française. À partir de l'héritage retravaillé de la philosophie politique antique et médiévale, Suarez élabore une théorie originale de la loi et de la communauté en renouvelant leur rapport à l'éthique et à la jurisprudence. Dans une période marquée (...) notamment par la controverse de Valladolid (1550) et la Contre-Réforme, l'auteur redéfinit le contenu et la finalité des concepts fondamentaux de la théorie politique (l'état de nature, le droit naturel, le droit subjectif, la loi naturelle, le pacte social, la souveraineté, l'État et le droit des gens) en les articulant à une compréhension historique de l'homme conçu comme être libre, raisonnable et fini. Suarez instaure ainsi les conditions d'un basculement du théologico-politique dans la modernité dont les effets se feront sentir, entre autres, chez Grotius et l'École du droit naturel. Les conséquences de ce mouvement seront perceptibles jusqu'au XVIIIe siècle avec Wolf. Des lois et du Dieu législateur permet précisément d'apprécier à sa juste mesure la place privilégiée qu'il convient de redonner à la théorie suarézienne de la loi dans l'histoire de la pensée politique. (shrink)

Pt. 1. Conceputal issues -- pt. 2. Qualitative research -- pt. 3. Quantitative approaches.

ABSTRACT The Dutch case of Brongersma presents novel challenges to the definition and evaluation of voluntary euthanasia since it involved a doctor assisting the suicide of an individual who was (merely?) ‘tired of life’. Legal officials had called on the courts to ‘set a principled boundary’, excluding such cases from the scope of permissible voluntary euthanasia, but they arguably failed. This failure is explicable, however, since the case seems justifiable by reference to the two major principles in favour of that (...) practice, respect for autonomy and beneficence. Ultimately, it will be argued that those proponents of voluntary euthanasia who are wary of its use in such circumstances may need to draw upon ‘practical’ objections, in order to erect an otherwise arbitrary perimeter. Furthermore, it will be suggested that the issues raised by the case are not peculiarly Dutch in nature and that, therefore, there are lessons here for other jurisdictions too. (shrink)

Polygamy, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, punishing women for being raped, differential access for men and women to health care and education, unequal rights of ownership, assembly, and political participation, unequal vulnerability to violence. These practices and conditions are standard in some parts of the world. Do demands for multiculturalism — and certain minority group rights in particular — make them more likely to continue and to spread to liberal democracies? Are there fundamental conflicts between our commitment to gender equity (...) and our increasing desire to respect the customs of minority cultures or religions? In this book, the eminent feminist Susan Moller Okin and fifteen of the world’s leading thinkers about feminism and multiculturalism explore these unsettling questions in a provocative, passionate, and illuminating debate. Okin opens by arguing that some group rights can, in fact, endanger women. She points, for example, to the French government’s giving thousands of male immigrants special permission to bring multiple wives into the country, despite French laws against polygamy and the wives’ own bitter opposition to the practice. Okin argues that if we agree that women should not be disadvantaged because of their sex, we should not accept group rights that permit oppressive practices on the grounds that they are fundamental to minority cultures whose existence may otherwise be threatened. In reply, some respondents reject Okin’s position outright, contending that her views are rooted in a moral universalism that is blind to cultural difference. Others quarrel with Okin’s focus on gender, or argue that we should be careful about which group rights we permit, but not reject the category of group rights altogether. Okin concludes with a rebuttal, clarifying, adjusting, and extending her original position. These incisive and accessible essays — expanded from their original publication in Boston Review and including four new contributions — are indispensable reading for anyone interested in one of the most contentious social and political issues today. The diverse contributors, in addition to Okin, are Azizah al-Hibri, Abdullahi An-Na’im, Homi Bhabha, Sander Gilman, Janet Halley, Bonnie Honig, Will Kymlicka, Martha Nussbaum, Bhikhu Parekh, Katha Pollitt, Robert Post, Joseph Raz, Saskia Sassen, Cass Sunstein, and Yael Tamir. (shrink)

Según algunos intérpretes, el proceso que A. J Ayer y otros filósofos analíticos instruyeron a las pretensiones cognoscitivas de la ética no hubieran tenido lugar, al menos razonablemente, sí esos pensadores hubieran comprendido adecuadamente Ética a Nicómaco VI, 2, 1139 a 21-31, único texto en el que Aristóteles define la verdad práctica. La presente comunicación es un análisis de este texto aristotélico fundamental, del cual se desprende la existencia, no sólo de un conocimiento moral propiamente dicho, diferente del puramente teórico, (...) sino también de la verdad que le corresponde, la cual consiste en una conformidad no entre el dictum y el factum sino entre el juicio del intelecto práctico y el impulso del deseo correcto. Hay, pues, un conocimiento moral vivido, que se identifica con la deliberación sobre los medios por el fin de la acción, y una verdad práctica correspondiente, que consiste en la conformidad entre el juicio del intelecto práctico, perfeccionado por la phrónêsis, y el deseo correcto, propio del carácter perfeccionado por las virtudes morales. También hay un conocimiento moral pensado que, pese a las limitaciones de su objeto, es un conocimiento propiamente dicho. Aristóteles ha intentado superar estas limitaciones mediante una prolongada y asidua práctica del método. (shrink)

Quisiera asumir el título de este panel -"Pluralismo y éticas de la vida buena"- no como un tema, sino como un problema. ¿Son, o al menos pueden ser pluralistas las éticas de la vida buena (EVB)? Se trata, con toda evidencia, del pluralismo ético, que, en nuestra época, sigue -y a veces acompaña- al pluralismo político, el cual, por su parte, tiene sus más lejanos antecedentes en el pluralismo físico-ontológico de los presocráticos e implica siempre algún tipo de pluralismo epistemológico. (...) El ético intenta integrar una diversidad de intereses, dentro y fuera del sujeto moral. Dentro, atendiendo a las múltiples capacidades, tendencias y actitudes de dicho sujeto. Fuera, volviendo compatibles e incluso complementarios, no sólo los intereses de los sujetos individual y social, sino también los de los múltiples sujetos sociales, con sus diversas concepciones y tendencias en torno a lo que es bueno y correcto. [Fragmento]. (shrink)