Even if it has not been so thoroughly investigated, the importance of Platonic philosophy in Benjamin’s work can hardly be argued. Numerous texts, notes and letters reveal the presence of Plato in Benjamin’s thought. But it is specially The origin of German Trauerspiel the place where Benjamin takes Plato’s philosophy most explicitly and extensively. In the “Epistemocritical Preface” –where he develops his theory of knowledge through a revindication and reinterpretation of the Platonic “doctrine of ideas”– as well as in other (...) sections of the book, Plato appears as a fundamental source. In this context, a dialogue stands out: the Symposium. This article aims at investigating Benjamin’s reading of that dialogue, a reading which articulates the figure of a Plato that develops his philosophy as a way to oppose myth, and that allows to elevate philosophy again as a form for the exposition of truth in language. (shrink)

Cuando Walter Benjamin desarrolla en el “Prólogo epistemocrítico” de _El origen del Trauerspiel_ alemán la más extensa de las presentaciones de su teoría del conocimiento (así como la única publicada en vida), lo hace a partir de una explícita reinterpretación de la filosofía platónica, en particular de su “doctrina de las ideas”. Este artículo se propone investigar las afinidades entre el prólogo de Benjamin y la filosofía platónica, poniendo especial énfasis en las relaciones entre los desarrollos metodológicos de ambos autores, (...) es decir entre la “forma de la exposición” de Benjamin y la dialéctica de Platón. A partir de explorar estas relaciones, se busca poner de relieve una visión de la filosofía que ambos autores comparten, y de la que se quiere señalar la originalidad, potencia y actualidad. (shrink)

Partiendo de una interpretación de la dialéctica platónica y de la lectura del artículo de Monique Dixsaut “Platon et le lógos de Parménide”, investigamos en este trabajo si acaso no podemos encontrar en el Poema de Parménides algunos elementos que luego resultarán fundamentales en la constitución de la dialéctica en los diálogos de Platón. El rechazo del nombre como medio y depositario del conocimiento, la necesidad de la mediación del lógos y la insistencia en lo importante que resulta conocer también (...) la naturaleza del engaño, son algunos de esos elementos que ya encontramos expuestos en Parménides y que resultarán fundamentales para el paulatino desarrollo del método propuesto por Platón. (shrink)

In this paper we investigate the history of relationalism and its present use in some interpretations of quantum mechanics. In the first part of this article we will provide a conceptual analysis of the relation between substantivalism, relationalism and relativism in the history of both physics and philosophy. In the second part, we will address some relational interpretations of quantum mechanics, namely, Bohr’s relational approach, the modal interpretation by Kochen, the perspectival modal version by Bene and Dieks and the relational (...) interpretation by Rovelli. We will argue that all these interpretations ground their understanding of relations in epistemological terms. By taking into account the analysis on the first part of our work, we intend to highlight the fact that there is a different possibility for understanding quantum mechanics in relational terms which has not been yet considered within the foundational literature. This possibility is to consider relations in ontological terms. We will argue that such an understanding might be capable of providing a novel approach to the problem of representing what quantum mechanics is really talking about. (shrink)

In this paper we address a deeply interesting debate that took place at the end of the last millennia between David Mermin, Adan Cabello and Michiel Seevinck, regarding the meaning of relationalism within quantum theory. In a series of papers, Mermin proposed an interpretation in which quantum correlations were considered as elements of physical reality. Unfortunately, the very young relational proposal by Mermin was too soon tackled by specially suited no-go theorems designed by Cabello and Seevinck. In this work we (...) attempt to reconsider Mermin's program from the viewpoint of the Logos Categorical Approach to QM. Following Mermin's original proposal, we will provide a redefinition of quantum relation which not only can be understood as a preexistent element of physical reality but is also capable to escape Cabello’s and Seevinck's no-go-theorems. In order to show explicitly that our notion of ontological quantum relation is safe from no-go theorems we will derive a non-contextuality theorem. We end the paper with a discussion regarding the physical meaning of quantum relationalism. (shrink)

In this work we discuss the widespread use and application of the notion of 'particle' within the standard understanding of quantum mechanics, trying to prove how it is not just an innocent and unproblematic “way of talking”, as it is often claimed, but the expression of an atomist metaphysics that represents rather a way of perceiving and thinking that inadvertently determines our understanding of the mathematical formalism and the experimental content of quantum mechanics. We show how the retention of atomist (...) concepts, especially due to Bohr’s work, appears not only as an epistemological obstacle but furthermore as an efficient factory of false problems and misleading intuitions that have concentrated the attention of researchers for some time. Revisiting again Heisenberg’s matrix mechanics, we discuss if it would be possible to advance beyond the substantialist account of QM going back to the operational-invariance of intensive quantities. (shrink)

Este texto tem como objetivo historicizar a preocupação de Freire em torno da "pedagogia da libertação." De que lugar decorre seu pensamento crítico, que discussões Freire recupera como intelectual de seu tempo. Para isso serão usadas como referências as contribuições da filosofia da libertação latino-americana, história da educação na Argentina e na América Latina e os desenvolvimentos do pensamento descolonial.

En el Nuevo Testamento griego, el término "kalós" (hermoso, bello) aparece 99 veces y el término "agathós" (bueno), 104. Casi con la misma frecuencia. Se ha traducido y se traduce "kalós" por bueno, lo cual no es exacto. Parece importante retener que Cristo hubiera utilizado tantas veces el concepto de belleza o hermosura, y que invitara al hombre a hacer obras hermosas, a realizar la belleza en su vida. Por eso, según el título de este libro (de 285 págs.), se (...) trata de la belleza no solo que corresponde a la persona de Cristo, sino también la que él comunica a las demás personas, la que se refiere a nosotros por ser obras suyas. Jesús habla de obras "kalá" (hermosas), de frutos "kaloùs" (hermosos) o de corazón "kalê kaì agathê" (hermoso y bueno). La Antigüedad griega también hablaba del hombre "kalòkagathós". Es verdad que todo lo bello es bueno, y viceversa, pero hay que matizar. El propio Jesús se autodenomina "kalós", hermoso, al hablar de sí mismo en el Evangelio diciendo que es el pastor bello. Una palabra clave del presente libro es “razonar”. Los Evangelios son muy escuetos, dicen solo lo imprescindible, fueron vertidos además en otro idioma distinto del que habló Jesús. Hay aspectos que no son comprendidos si no se tiene en cuenta lo razonable. Para comprender el Evangelio no basta con atender al estricto dato teológico contenido en sus textos, tan condensados, sino que es preciso hacer al mismo tiempo una sutil labor filosófica que permita descubrir lo que implícitamente se contiene en ellos. Esta necesaria tarea —liberada de todo fundamentalismo— muestra lo que es más razonable para saber quién y cómo es Cristo. Por ello el libro lleva como subtítulo "Una comprensión filosófica del Evangelio". Y lo hace sirviéndose principalmente de la filosofía de Marías y Ortega, lo cual —a pesar de ser el instrumento intelectual que mejor permite comprender el Cristianismo— no se había realizado todavía. Gracias a ese método, lo primero que se comprende es precisamente la extraordinaria belleza de Cristo y la que comunica a sus discípulos y a quien se hace su servidor, llamado por San Pablo "kalòs", hermoso. Circula la idea, incluso en algunos ambientes católicos, de que la razón y, por supuesto, la filosofía no son aptas para comprender el Evangelio. Este libro, más filosófico que teológico, reivindica el insoslayable papel de la razón, de la filosofía, de lo razonable, para comprender los Evangelios, y debe leerse como un "ensayo de Cristología según la razón vital". Sus consideraciones están hechas a la luz de la razón. No de la razón abstracta, propia del racionalismo, que poco o nada tiene que ver con ella, sino de la razón vital; de la razón sin más. De la razón que conduce a la fe; de la fe que conduce a la razón. El dato histórico, irrefragable, de los cuatro Evangelios postulaba que se estudiara iluminándolo con la razón, sin la cual la fe queda mutilada y coja, abstracta, sin luz propia. Pero la razón había sido frecuentemente vista en ámbitos clericales con malos ojos, con cierta sospecha, sin darse cuenta de que, si es auténtica —y no algo reduccionista—, ilumina, clarifica, disipa las tinieblas. Especialmente porque, en última instancia, la razón procede del Logos, Cristo, la Luz, la Razón por antonomasia, fuente y origen de ella. En el Prólogo de San Juan se unen la razón y la vida; se trata no de una razón abstracta, sino vital. El "Lógos" es entonces la Razón vital. Lejos de ser enemiga de la vida, como sostenían los irracionalistas, la razón es una función vital. Quien recibe al "Lógos" con fe fundada en el amor debe esforzarse por intentar entenderlo con la razón, por buscar su inteligencia. El "Lógos", Cristo, ilumina a quien lo recibe para que se produzca esa comprensión. Los griegos definían al hombre como "zôon lógon échon", el viviente que tiene logos, que tiene razón. Cristo se presenta como el Logos, la Vida ("Zoé") que ha creado a su imagen y semejanza a ese viviente que tiene logos. Luego la razón no se debe subestimar o despreciar, es algo divino; Dios, fuente y origen de toda razón, la Razón misma, desea ser comprendido mediante ella, depositada en cada hombre. «Si la Sabiduría es Dios, el verdadero filósofo es el que ama a Dios», escribe San Agustín. Porque el filósofo es el que ama la Sabiduría, Dios. Jesús dice que «la Sabiduría se ha justificado por sus obras», que «la Sabiduría se ha justificado por todos sus hijos». Los hijos de la Sabiduría, de Cristo, la aman, la justifican, la acreditan, la razonan porque son filósofos. Y la filosofía, el amor a la Sabiduría, es absolutamente necesaria e imprescindible para comprender a Cristo y su Evangelio, que siempre enseña lo razonable. (shrink)

O artigo analisa a recente política de formação de professores no Brasil, via o Programa Nacional de Formação de Professores, tendo por base o conceito de semiformação (particularmente empregado por Theodor Adorno) e é fruto de uma pesquisa realizada junto a docentes de diferentes regiões do Estado do Pará que participaram enquanto discentes do referido Programa pelo curso de Pedagogia (UEPA).

Resumen: los trabajos de perspectiva sociológica que sobre los seminarios diocesanos se han llevado a cabo son muy escasos. Sin embargo el estudio de estas instituciones puede proporcionar al científico social datos de gran utilidad que, por una parte, completan los análisis de la religiosidad española hechos hasta el momento y, por otra, ayudan a comprender mejor el futuro de una Iglesia Católica inmersa en un profundo proceso secularizador. Para desarrollar esta propuesta haremos una reflexión sobre la “misión organizativa” que (...) los seminarios han tenido a lo largo de la historia.*****: The works of sociological perspective that have been carried out about diocesan seminaries are short. However the study of these institutions can provide the social scientific very useful information that, on the one hand, completes the analysis of Spanish religiousness made until the present day and, on the other hand, helps for a better understanding of the future of a Catholic Church immersed in a deep secularising process. In order to develop this proposal we will make a reflection on the “organisational mission” that seminaries have had throughout History. (shrink)

A Amazônia é detentora de inúmeras grandezas. Vastos territórios, variedades de espécies animais e vegetais, e complexidades culturais. A Igreja tem se envolvido e assumido a reflexão sobre a Amazônia propondo uma consciência abrangente entre a criação natural e cultural, portanto, que inclua a pessoa humana e suas expressões sócio culturais. Essa breve pesquisa é apresentada a partir do olhar sobre três diversidades presentes na região: naturais, culturais, eclesiais. Contempla dois aspectos das ações eclesiais locais e aponta três elementos relevantes (...) na articulação da teologia amazônica. Nesse vasto e complexo mundo de possibilidade conclui que a presença divina nesse paraíso humano é plural. Por isso a reflexão teológica exige considerar o ardor eclesial peculiar que harmonize os aspectos teórico e prático, religioso e social, oficial e alternativo, eterno e temporal. (shrink)

This book is an investigation into cultural variations in experiences of depression. With the aid of empirical data, and with a phenomenological outlook, the analyses presented aim to give a comparative account of the significance of culture in shaping cross-cultural variations, as seen in Iran and the UK. Through analysis of elements of Iranian culture such as literature and folk theories, and important pillars of current social make-up of the country like experience of Iran-Iraq war, the Islamic revolution and its (...) dominant religious discourse, variations in conceptions, experiences and narratives of depression are accounted for. Some of the themes explored include discussions of particular symptoms of depression such as guilt, hopelessness, loss of meaning and somatic symptoms; social stigmas and help-seeking behaviours; changes in relations with others; and metaphors used to convey experiences of depression. The findings of the empirical data examined challenge the universalist approach to psychiatry as science and practice, as well as theoretical notions like idioms of distress that aim to account for cross-cultural variations of mental illness. Instead, it is claimed that a better understanding of the workings of mental illness is achieved by situating individuals and their experience in a meaning-making sociocultural context. (shrink)

A Igreja Católica, ao propagar a fé cristã e a conversão das populações indígenas e ribeirinhas da região amazônica, produziu suas ideologias na forma de escritos, as quais também estão presentes nas narrativas orais. Neste artigo, cujo aporte teórico está vinculado aos estudos Pós-coloniais e ao pensamento Decolonial, a partir da articulação das diferenças entre o real e o imaginário, salvação e pecado, deseja-se responder a seguinte questão: a que formação ideológica e formas de educar estaria ligado o “Mito da (...) Capela de Ouro”, na região do médio amazonas paraense? Para tanto, nesta pesquisa baseada em fontes bibliográficas e documentais, foram investigados diários de viagens de missionários à região Amazônica, especialmente à região do rio Trombetas, impressos e manuscritos publicados por igrejas e pelo Conselho Nacional de Proteção ao índio, no século XX. Os dados apontam que o “Mito da Capela de Ouro” decorre de uma tentativa de colonização do imaginário das populações nativas da região, tendo em vista que o mundo sobrenatural cristão era inteiramente oposto ao mundo sobrenatural indígena e ribeirinho, relacionado naquele contexto à demonização. (shrink)

The feast is a constitutive element of the human dimensions referring mainly to its symbolic level. It involves all the dimensions, harmonizing the cyclical and linear understanding of time. All people and cultures live the dimension of the feasty as a permanent and new fact repeated every time, but always as a new achievement. It changes and renews the daily rhythm overcoming the danger of routine. In the Christian tradition, the party has as central event the Paschal Mystery of Christ, (...) focused on all liturgical celebrations updating the historical event of life, death, resurrection of Jesus and inserting the believer in thet same Mystery. The communities along the tiny rivers of the Diocese of Coari, in the Amazonas state, to which this text talks about, are inserted in this dynamic process, performing every year the feast of their patron saints as the greatest expression of his evangelising vitality in its three dimensions: religious, social and cultural. These festivals reveal the presence and experience of the Gospel accepted in this culture environment while pointing to risks and opportunities in the renewal of the process of evangelization, through expressions of faith, hosting, communion and community prayers. The communities feast update the Paschal Mystery of Christ and renew its vitality. (shrink)

Feminist reflections on the sexual division of labour have given rise to a body of knowledge on the ethics of care from different disciplines, including philosophy, in which outstanding contributions to the topic have been formulated. This approach is applicable to the analysis of any phenomenon and particularly that of disasters. As various investigations have highlighted, the consequences on the population throughout all of a disaster’s phases (prevention, emergency, and reconstruction) require an analysis of differentiated vulnerabilities based on gender and (...) other identity categories, such as social class, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual identity, etc. The interrelation between all these variables gives rise to differentiated impacts that cannot be ignored in catastrophic contexts, where survival and sustaining life are at stake, so care becomes a central issue. Research on the topic has also identified that, along with the analysis of social vulnerability, we must consider the capacity for agency, both individual and collective, where care is once again of vital importance. Considering the gender approach and its multiple intersections is thus a fundamental theoretical-practical proposal for the study of disasters from philosophy, as it implies an unavoidable epistemic, ontological, and ethical reflection in the face of risk reduction. (shrink)

En la psicología genético-dialéctica de H. Wallon se encuentra una manera de abordar el estudio científico del ser humano y su educación que responde a preocupaciones muy actuales; estamos convencidos que contiene unas potencialidades educativas realmente importantes y originales. En este estudio, se parte de sus concepciones psicológicas para llegar a sus derivaciones e implicaciones educativas. No porque consideremos que la pedagogía científica se puede derivar solamente de la psicología ya sea de una manera mecánica o dialéctica, pues su caudal (...) epistemológico es mucho más amplio. (shrink)

We propose a characterization of mathematical experiments in terms of a setup, a process with an outcome, and an interpretation. Using a broad notion of process, this allows us to consider arithmetic calculations and geometric constructions as components of mathematical experiments. Moreover, we argue that mathematical experiments should be considered within a broader context of an experimental research project. Finally, we present a particular case study of the genesis of a geometric construction to illustrate the experimental use of hand drawings (...) and computers in mathematical practice. (shrink)

Although the skeptical crisis at the dawn of modern philosophy can be properly labelled Pyrrhonian specific features of the academic school of skepticism played an important role in this crisis. Academic skepticism becomes even more influential in post-Cartesian skepticism from Foucher to Hume.

O texto de Hans-Georg Gadamer que apresentamos traduzido para o português compõe um esforço mais amplo que investiga uma Hermenêutica da Música no contexto das Obras Completas do hermeneuta. Segue de um ponto de vista fundamental, as questões levantadas a respeito dos fenômenos da compreensão e da interpretação apresentados em Verdade e Método, principalmente no que diz respeito à experiência da arte na primeira parte da Obra. Busca-se apresentar a experiência da música a partir dos diversos textos sobre música que (...) podem ser encontrados no todo da Obra e que ainda não se encontram traduzidos para o português. Dessa forma, ao considerarmos o êxito contemporâneo da Hermenêutica no contexto do debate das ciências, contra as pretensões metodológicas objetificadoras e, a consequente crítica à epistemologia, o recurso gadameriano à música desdobra-se nas trilhas da crítica ontológica sobre o modo de ser do estético. O escrito “Goethe e Mozart – o problema Ópera ” compõe o nono Tomo das Obras Completas com o título Ästhetik und Poetik II: Hermeneutik im Vollzug. (shrink)

Música, filosofia e formação cultural - ensaios reúne as contribuições de renomados intelectuais interessados no estudo do significado e da aplicação da música nos processos formativos. Desloca o foco epistemológico da filosofia orientada pelo olhar para uma perspectiva que ressalta o ouvir. Discute as bases éticas e estéticas da educação, com destaque para o conceito de formação cultural, e analisa os múltiplos modos de compreender a experiência formativa da música, desde o clássico até o popular. É um livro que, além (...) de indicar as referências básicas para uma crítica da cultura do nosso tempo, também pode ser usado como material didático na formação de professores em diversas áreas do conhecimento, tais como a arte, a filosofia, a história, a sociologia e a pedagogia. (shrink)

The dichotomy between the qualitative and the quantitative has been a classic throughout the history of science. As will be seen, this dichotomy permeates all ontological levels of reality. In this work, phenomenological examples potentially related to semiosis are presented at the different levels established by Mario Bunge and Josep Ferrater Mora, contrasting the qualitative categorizations with the quantifiable physical reality. Likewise, the need to continue in the quantification of the biosemiotic and linguistic studies will be presented, while, in contrast, (...) the need to establish a qualitative framework in the little-addressed study of technosemiotics will be raised, of potential interest given the notable advances that are expected in communication systems for inert artifacts in the next years. In short, in the thesis defended here the qualitative precedes the quantitative in the defining path of science. (shrink)

Phenomenology has been adapted for use in qualitative health research, where it’s often used as a method for conducting interviews and analyzing interview data. But how can phenomenologists study subjects who cannot accurately reflect upon or report their own experiences, for instance, because of a psychiatric or neurological disorder? For conditions like these, qualitative researchers may gain more insight by conducting observational studies in lieu of, or in conjunction with, interviews. In this article, we introduce a phenomenological approach to conducting (...) this kind of observational research. The approach relies on conceptual grounding to focus a study on specific aspects of the participants’ experiences. Moreover, the approach maintains the openness to novel discoveries that qualitative research requires while also providing a structured framework for data collection and analysis. To illustrate its practical application, we use examples of hemispatial neglect—a neurologic disorder in which patients characteristically lack awareness of their own illness and bodily capacities. However, the approach that we describe can be applied more broadly to the study of complex illness experiences and other experiential alterations. (shrink)

¿Es posible ser nacionalista y cristiano a la vez? ¿Hasta qué punto se han influido y se influyen de forma mutua nacionalismo y Cristianismo, especialmente en España? ¿Debe el Cristianismo orientar acerca del nacionalismo? ¿Acaso no tiene la competencia o los suficientes recursos para hacerlo? Las respuestas a esas preguntas suelen tratarse, en general, con bastante torpeza, sin el requerido conocimiento histórico; hay muchos intereses creados a los que no interesa la verdad. Los lectores de este libro (de 292 págs.) (...) encontrarán datos históricos apenas conocidos, esenciales para una reflexión liberal, necesaria a la hora de comprender tanto el Cristianismo y el nacionalismo, por un lado, como para darse cuenta de hasta qué punto son incompatibles, por otro. "La verdad os hará libres". En Europa, todo nacionalismo tiene su origen en el absolutismo decimonónico, surgido como reacción violenta contra el liberalismo, lo cual no interesa que se conozca a los nacionalistas, profundamente descontentos de su propia historia a la que, mintiendo, quieren ocultar o inventarse otra en su lugar. Índice: Prólogo de Jaime Mayor Oreja- Introducción- I. La inmoralidad del nacionalismo- II. Cristianismo, Humanismo, liberalismo- III. Nacionalismo y Cristianismo- IV. Católicos liberales- V. Nacionalismo y clericalismo- VI. Política nacionalista y política cristiana- VII. Los españoles, amigos- Epílogo de Josep Tarradellas, Presidente de la Generalitat de Catalunya (de una carta suya al autor de este libro, fechada en Barcelona, en el Palau de la Generalitat, el 28 de noviembre de 1977). (shrink)

Philosophers of science typically focus on the epistemic performance of scientific models when evaluating them. Analysing the effects that models may have on the world has typically been the purview of sociologists of science. We argue that the reactive (or “performative”) effects of models should also figure in model evaluations by philosophers of science. We provide a detailed analysis of how models in financial economics created the impetus for the growing importance of the phenomenon of “passive investing” in financial markets. (...) Considering this case motivates the position that we call contextualism about model evaluation, or _model contextualism_ for short. Model contextualism encompasses standard analyses of the epistemic performance of the model, but also includes their reactive aspects. It entails identifying the _epistemic and contextual import of the model_, the ways in which a model can engender change in the world (which we call the _channels of transmission_), and the _interactions between the epistemic and reactive import of a model_. (shrink)

One of the world's most important philosophers of religion reveals the unity of cosmic Mystery in this distillation of the wisdom of the East and West, North and South.

El autor realiza una lectura en clave perspectivista de la neurofenomenología, enfoque transdisciplinar y metodológico iniciado a mediados de los 90 por el neurobiólogo Francisco J. Varela desde el ámbito experimental de las ciencias de la mente. La originalidad del artículo reside en que estudia comparativamente el problemático entrecruce de la neurofenomenología de Varela con el perspectivismo científico de Ronald N. Giere, mostrándonos que la neurofenomenología no sólo lo antecedió cronológicamente, sino que fue mucho más radical al tener en cuenta (...) la la dimensión fenomenológica y trascendental de la experiencia vivida humana y al aplicarla en los protocolos de las neurociencias cognitivas. // The author makes a perspectivist reading of neurophenomenology, a transdisciplinary and methodological approach pioneered in the 90’s by the neurobiologist Francisco J. Varela, who worked in the experimental field of the science of mind. The originality of the article consists in studying with a comparative method the problematic intertwine of Varela’s neurophenomenology and the scientific perspectivism recently defended by Ronald N. Giere. In this way, the autor shows how neurophenomenology notonly came before Giere’s proposal but also how it was more radical in considering the phenomenological and transcendental human dimension and in trying an implementation in cognitive neuroscience protocols. (shrink)

Análisis de las experiencias filosóficas centrales de la civilización de la India clásica. ¿Cómo han «experienciado» el sentido de la vida, de la existencia, o de la realidad, los siglos creadores de aquella cultura? ¿Qué experiencias originarias han dado lugar a la cultura sánscrita? En la respuesta a estas preguntas encontramos la invitación de Panikkar a emprender la más urgente tarea de nuestra época: un cambio radical de civilización o, más aún, antropológico.

My purpose in this essay is to clarify the notion of explanation by computer simulation in artificial intelligence and cognitive science. My contention is that computer simulation may be understood as providing two different kinds of explanation, which makes the notion of explanation by computer simulation ambiguous. In order to show this, I shall draw a distinction between two possible ways of understanding the notion of simulation, depending on how one views the relation in which a computing system that performs (...) a cognitive task stands to the program that the system runs while performing that task. Next, I shall suggest that the kind of explanation that results from simulation is radically different in each case. In order to illustrate the difference, I will point out some prima facie methodological difficulties that need to be addressed in order to ensure that simulation plays a legitimate explanatory role in cognitive science, and I shall emphasize how those difficulties are very different depending on the notion of explanation involved. (shrink)

Kant is not typically considered a major figure in the just war tradition's canon, although his work has informed recent discussions about international justice and just war theory. More specifically, philosophers have suggested that Kant's work may provide a coherent, normatively practical just war theory, basing this claim, in the main, on his views on the goal of peace and its purpose of establishing a cosmopolitan civil society.1 Such discussions are mostly concerned with jus ad bellum and jus in bello (...) constraints on nations and how Kant's writings can guide deliberation and, perhaps, the considered policy and practices of governments. Yet, the fact remains that it is embodied men and women and not the metaphysical ?nation? who actually conduct war. Hence, this paper seeks to determine the extent to which Kant's thought might contribute to the moral deliberation of those individuals who a fortiori will be bound to jus in bello constraints. To this end, the idea of moral learning will be explored, emphasizing the Kantian idea of autonomy. The ultimate goal of this paper is to demonstrate how some aspects of Kant's thought would contribute to ethics education in a military academy. (shrink)

Interview with Pierre Rosanvallon, conducted by Javier Fernández Sebastián, in Madrid, September 28, 2006.