Address: Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Circuito Mario de la Cueva s/n
Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán
México, D.F. 04510
This article aims at raising awareness about the intersection of populism and bioethics. It argue... more This article aims at raising awareness about the intersection of populism and bioethics. It argues that illiberal forms of populism may have negative consequences on the evolution of bioethics as a discipline and on its practical objectives. It identifies at least seven potential negative effects: (1) The rise of populist leaders fosters "epistemological populism," devaluing the expert and scientific perspectives on which bioethics is usually based, potentially steering policies away from evidence-based foundations. (2) The impact of "moral populism" is evident in legislative prioritization of the "morality of common people," often solicited through popular consultations on issues like abortion, drug legalization, or LGBT issues. (3) Populist distrust in autonomous governmental agencies and advisory bodies, including national bioethics commissions, can compromise expert advice, challenging both their authority and decisions. (4) Populists may erode transparency by undermining institutions responsible for it, hindering access to vital information for bioethical research. (5) "Medical populism" creates adversarial dynamics, prompting politicians to make simplistic healthcare policy decisions based on political rather than informed criteria, adversely affecting vulnerable populations. (6) Radical-right populist parties' "welfare chauvinism" may shape healthcare policies, impacting service access and resource allocation, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups such as migrants, but indirectly affecting the rest of the population. (7) Nationalist sentiments associated with populism may obstruct international collaborations, posing challenges for global bioethics that seeks to address ethical concerns beyond national borders. In summary, these dynamics raise significant bioethical concerns encompassing evidence-based decision-making, transparency, healthcare equity, and global collaboration. How bioethicists may respond to these challenges is discussed.
Teoría moral. Enfoques contemporáneos, coordinado por Jorge Galindo y Maximiliano Martínez
Este texto analiza el concepto de estatus moral y hace un recorrido por la discusión filosófica e... more Este texto analiza el concepto de estatus moral y hace un recorrido por la discusión filosófica en torno al concepto. Examina quiénes tienen estatus moral y sobre qué bases se atribuye. Analiza la discusión sobre si hay un solo criterio o debe haber varios. Finalmente analiza el debate en torno a la utilidad del concepto.
Tourism, Heritage and Commodification of Non-human Animals, 2023
Some people have held that zoos should be seen as heritage tourist attractions. However, some oth... more Some people have held that zoos should be seen as heritage tourist attractions. However, some others wonder whether they are ethically justifiable. In this text I present the main arguments on which the discussion around zoos is based. These are five of the arguments used to defend the existence of zoos: 1) They are places of recreation. 2) They are heritage tourism attractions. 3) Zoos fulfill an educational function. 4) Zoos do research. Finally, 5) zoos do conservation work, that is, they protect and reintroduce wildlife species at risk of extinction. I review some of the central arguments both for and against each of these points. After taking stock of these arguments, we can conclude that there are strong reasons to take a skeptical position against the arguments that justify the existence of zoos. Finally, zoos were created, and still are justified, with a set of mind that sees animals as commodities, as mere resources we can use for our own purposes. I conclude that if we recognize that, on the same basis on which we attribute rights to humans, we can attribute rights to animals, then the answer to the question that motivates this chapter is negative: zoos are not ethically justifiable.
Bioethics should pay more attention to globalization and some of its consequences than it has don... more Bioethics should pay more attention to globalization and some of its consequences than it has done so far. The COVID-19 pandemic would not have been possible without globalization, which has also increased some of its negative consequences. Globalization has intensified wildlife trade in the world. One of the main hypotheses about the origin of this pandemic is that it originated in illegal forms of wildlife trade in China. In the last 30 or 40 years, there have been zoonotic outbreaks at a much frequent pace than before, many of those have been related to wildlife trade. Legal and illegal wildlife trade has grown in the shadow of globalization. Second, globalization has had a huge impact on the redistribution of wealth in the world. Since 1990 income inequality has increased in most high-and in many middle-and low-income countries. A country's level of pre-COVID income inequality is the best predictor of the COVID death rate. These two issues are not unrelated. People living in poverty in LMIC tend to suffer more from infectious diseases and tend to be marginalized from the health sector. Additionally, poverty tends to reproduce the conditions under which zoonotic diseases can more easily spread.
Several countries have implemented COVID-19 health passes or certificates to promote a safer retu... more Several countries have implemented COVID-19 health passes or certificates to promote a safer return to in-person social activities. These passes have been proposed as a way to prove that someone has been vaccinated, has recovered from the disease, or has negative results on a diagnostic test. However, many people have questioned their ethical justification. This article presents some practical and ethical problems to consider in the event of wishing to implement these passes. Among the former, it is questioned how accurate diagnostic tests are as a means of ensuring that a person is not contagious, whether vaccination guarantees immunity, the fact that health passes can be forged, whether they encourage vaccination, and the problem that there is no universally recognized health pass. Among the ethical issues, it is discussed whether health passes promote discrimination and inequality and whether they violate rights to privacy and freedom. It is concluded that health passes have enough ethical justification to be implemented.
A World Health Organization (WHO) Ad Hoc Expert Group on the Next Steps for Covid19 Vaccine Evalu... more A World Health Organization (WHO) Ad Hoc Expert Group on the Next Steps for Covid19 Vaccine Evaluation recently recommended placebocontrolled trials (PCT) of Covid19 vaccines. PCTs are ethically acceptable when there is no proven effective and safe treatment for a certain condition. However, there are already some vaccines that have been approved and which have high levels of efficacy and safety. Any new vaccine under development must be tested against the most effective vaccines available. PCTs go against the participants' best interests, by putting them in a position of disadvantage while taking part in a trial, compared with people who are not in the trial and who could get vaccinated. Particularly in highincome countries, many people are getting vaccinated. This means that, following a recent trend in clinical trials, PCTs would have to be conducted in low and middleincome countries, where there a number of advantages for drug companies, but where fatality rates of Covid 19 are, in many cases, much higher. For this and other reasons having to do with equal rights, participants in control groups should be protected with the most effective vaccines available.
In April 2018, the Mexican Senate approved an initiative to modify the organ donation system. The... more In April 2018, the Mexican Senate approved an initiative to modify the organ donation system. The intention of this initiative was to pass from an opt-in or explicit consent model, in which someone who wishes to donate an organ has to register in the donor registry , to an opt-out system, in which all adults would be presumed donors, unless they expressed their refusal. However, the initiative was stopped in the Chamber of Deputies by the adverse reaction of specialists and part of the public opinion. Here I analyze some of the reasons that were given, and I criticize them in order to defend the implementation of the opt-out system in Mexico.
International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2020
Bioethical approaches to reproductive health have been of utmost importance for the last three de... more Bioethical approaches to reproductive health have been of utmost importance for the last three decades in Mexico. As Mexican laws regarding abortion, assisted reproduction, and conscientious objection have been modified, a number of social actors with an interest in these areas have realized that they have to educate the different agents who take part in these procedures in a bioethical approach to reproductive health and rights. This strategy was first used in Mexico by the Catholic Church and many Catholic universities. Advocates, scientists and feminist organizations, as well as some public universities, have also realized that grounding in bioethics could strengthen health providers comfort with abortion. Bioethics is also a good framework for supporting the legalization of abortion and for more liberal laws regarding assisted reproduction. So, for the last few years, one of the priorities of these two sides has been to train healthcare personnel, lawyers, and members of ethics committees and members of Congress in the application of their respective bioethical perspectives. Synopsis After Mexican Catholic institutions reframed their theological teachings, particularly on reproductive health, as "bioethics", a movement restoring secular bioethics now provides alternative sources of bioethics education.
Este artículo se cuestiona si la bioética normativa puede ser una ciencia. El artículo se propone... more Este artículo se cuestiona si la bioética normativa puede ser una ciencia. El artículo se propone abordar las condiciones de posibilidad para que la bioética sea considerada una ciencia, sin responder directamente la pregunta. El artículo se centra en dos condiciones que típicamente asociamos a nuestro concepto común de ciencia: verdad y conocimiento, por un lado, y naturalización, por el otro. La bioética tendría que ser capaz de darnos verdades morales y, por lo tanto, conocimiento moral para que pudiéramos hablar de ella como una ciencia. Por otro lado, el carácter normativo de la bioética motiva la pregunta de si es posible naturalizarla y hacerla compatible con una perspectiva científica. El artículo argumenta que para que la bioética normativa pudiera considerarse una ciencia, debería tomarse una postura cognoscitivista y naturalista en ética.
SUMARIO: 1. Pandemia y libre mercado. 2. El libre mercado como criterio de justicia distributiva.... more SUMARIO: 1. Pandemia y libre mercado. 2. El libre mercado como criterio de justicia distributiva. 3. La concepción de los derechos económicos y sociales. 4. Pandemia y seguros médicos. 5. Vacunas. 6. A modo de conclusiones. 7. Referencias
SUMARIO: 1. Una historia reciente. 2. Orígenes zoonóticos de la pandemia. 3. Medidas de salud púb... more SUMARIO: 1. Una historia reciente. 2. Orígenes zoonóticos de la pandemia. 3. Medidas de salud pública tomadas en respuesta a la pandemia. 4. Personas en situación de vulnerabilidad. 5. Priorización de recursos escasos y guías de asignación. 6. Morir durante una pandemia. 7. Obligaciones del personal sanitario y sus limitaciones. 8. Investigación durante una pandemia. 9. Vacunas. 10. Infodemia. 11. Gobernanza mundial, cooperación internacional. 12. Referencias.
Controversies in Latin-American Bioethics, edited by Eduardo Rivera López and Martín Hevia, Springer, 2019
In this paper, I begin by distinguishing between the moral evaluation of the law that criminalize... more In this paper, I begin by distinguishing between the moral evaluation of the law that criminalizes abortion and the moral evaluation of abortion itself. In the public debate on abortion, these are issues that we frequently find mixed up, and that must be analyzed separately. Regarding the moral evaluation of the law, there are at least two possible ways of assessing it: in terms of the consequences of the law and in terms of women’s rights. I argue that anti-abortion laws have negative consequences at different levels: for the women who are denied termination of their pregnancies when they do not want to go on with them, for unwanted children, and for society at large. These laws also infringe upon some of women’s most fundamental rights in a way no other law does, requiring them to sacrifice their freedom, autonomy, privacy, and future life, and putting their health and bodily integrity at risk. However, according to those with a conservative view on abortion, none of this justifies the intentional killing of an embryo, which they take as a person with a right to life. I argue that there are no good arguments in favor of considering an embryo to be a person since on all accounts, the ascription of personhood requires the presence of mental or psychological properties, which do not appear until the end of the second trimester of pregnancy.We cannot ascribe a right to life to the embryo, either. Therefore, there is no justification for all the negative consequences of anti-abortion laws and for the infringement of women’s rights.
Diversos países han implementado pases sanitarios o certificados de salud para COVID-19 para prom... more Diversos países han implementado pases sanitarios o certificados de salud para COVID-19 para promover un regreso más seguro a actividades sociales presenciales. Estos certificados se han propuesto como un modo de que la gente pueda probar que ha sido vacunada, que se han recuperado de la enfermedad o que tienen resultados negativos en una prueba diagnóstica. Sin embargo, mucha gente ha cuestionado su justificación ética. En este artículo se presentan algunos problemas prácticos y éticos a tomar en cuenta si se quieren implementar estos pases. Entre los primeros, se discute qué tan precisas son las pruebas diagnósticas para garantizar que una persona no es contagiosa; si la vacunación garantiza inmunidad; cuáles son los niveles de inmunidad tras la infección, la vacunación y la protección ante las variantes; el hecho de que los pases se puedan falsificar; si estos incentivan la vacunación y el problema de que no haya un certificado universalmente reconocido. Entre los problemas éticos se discute si los pases sanitarios promueven la discriminación y la desigualdad, y si vulneran el derecho a la privacidad y a la libertad. Se concluye que los pases sanitarios pueden justificarse éticamente como para ser implementados.
Since 2007, when Mexico City decriminalized abortion during the first trimester, a debate has bee... more Since 2007, when Mexico City decriminalized abortion during the first trimester, a debate has been taking place regarding abortion and the right to conscientious objection (CO). Many people argue that, since the provision of abortions (or “legal terminations of pregnancy” as they are called under Mexico City’s law) is now a statutory duty of healthcare personnel there can be no place for “conscientious objection.” Others claim that, even if such an objection were to be allowed, it should not be seen as a right, since talk about a right to CO may lead to a slippery slope where we may end up recognizing a right to disobey the law. In this paper, I argue that there is a right to CO and that this may be justified through the notions of autonomy and integrity, which a liberal democracy should respect. However, it cannot be an absolute right, and in the case of abortion, it conflicts with women’s reproductive rights. Therefore, CO should be carefully regulated so that it does not obstruct the exercise of women’s reproductive rights. Regulation should address questions about who is entitled to object, how such objection should take place, and what can legitimately be objected to.
In this paper I argue that the distinction between beliefs and desires in terms of their directio... more In this paper I argue that the distinction between beliefs and desires in terms of their direction of fit carries several epistemological and psychological commitments, resulting in a theoretically loaded distinction. A distinction as central as this one should be as neutral as possible, so that it can be used beyond the context of any particular theory. The notion of direction of fit seems to be committed to correspondentism, if we understand the idea of beliefs fitting the world as some form of correspondence. On the other hand, it is committed to some kind of Humean theory of motivation, and its use by alternative theories results in theoretical complications for these theories, such as the controversial states with double direction of fit or " besires. " Additionally, I shall argue that this distinction is not exhaustive: it is usually presented as a distinction between beliefs and desires in general, but it fails to fulfill this promise. Finally, I present an alternative way of distinguishing between beliefs and desires, one focused on the different norms that rule these two states: truth and the good.
El esteticismo y el moralismo son dos vicios de desmesura en los que se sobredimensionan los valo... more El esteticismo y el moralismo son dos vicios de desmesura en los que se sobredimensionan los valores estéticos o morales en situaciones en las que están en juego otros valores que también deberían tomarse en cuenta, pero se subvaloran. Carlos Pereda sostiene que son patologías del juicio y argumenta que la literatura ha sido víctima de distintas variantes de estos vicios. Para ello, distingue entre diferentes formas de esteticismo y de moralismo, y analiza cómo algunas de ellas tienen implicaciones a nivel semántico y de comunicación. Pereda propone un "modelo reflexivo" que contrarrestre el vértigo simplificador que representan estas patologías. En esta nota, examino críticamente la teoría de Pereda y propongo otros modos que puede tomar el análisis del esteticismo y del moralismo.
Abstract Aestheticism and moralism are two vices in which aesthetic or moral values are overrated in situations where other values are at stake and should also be taken into account, but are underrated. Carlos Pereda maintains that they are pathologies of judgment and argues that literature has been the victim of different variants of these vices. To do this, he distinguishes between different forms of aestheticism and moralism, and analyzes how some of them have implications at the semantic and communication levels. Pereda proposes a "reflective model" that counteracts the simplification that these pathologies represent. In this note, I critically examine Pereda's theory and propose other ways that the analysis of aestheticism and moralism can take.
La pandemia de COVID-19 tiene un origen zoonótico: fue transmitida de los animales a los humanos.... more La pandemia de COVID-19 tiene un origen zoonótico: fue transmitida de los animales a los humanos. Lo mismo ha sucedido con otras epidemias recientes (como las causadas por los virus SARS-CoV-1 y H7N9, entre otros). Estas epidemias surgieron en un contexto de explotación animal: el comercio de animales silvestres. Mucha gente ha pedido la prohibición total de la venta de animales silvestres en mercados. Sin embargo, la prohibición puede ser contraproducente y tener peores consecuencias tanto para los animales como para la salud pública. Este artículo argumenta en contra de una prohibición total y a favor de una regulación progresiva que tome en cuenta el bienestar de los animales, pero que tenga como finalidad última la desaparición del comercio de animales silvestres.
Emociones y moralidad, compilado por Francisco Serrano y Rocío Cázares (México: Ediciones Coyoacán), 2019
Martha Nussbaum nos dice que las emociones son juicios de valor cognitivo. Ella afirma que su teo... more Martha Nussbaum nos dice que las emociones son juicios de valor cognitivo. Ella afirma que su teoría, la teoría neoestoica de las emociones, puede manejar las objeciones tradicionales a las teorías cognitivas de las emociones. Sin embargo, en este texto sostengo que ella se aprovecha indebidamente la ambigüedad del término "cognición": se enfrenta a los problemas que surgen cuando el término "cognición" se usa en un sentido muy limitado (que afirma que las emociones son creencias), recurriendo a un sentido muy amplio bajo el cual cualquier proceso mental es cognitivo. Sostengo que este movimiento no resuelve los problemas de las teorías cognitivas tradicionales de las emociones. Para mostrar esto, distingo cuatro sentidos en los que el término "cognitivo" se usa en las teorías de las emociones, analizo las formas en que Nussbaum las usa y por qué este movimiento no resuelve las objeciones tradicionales.
This article aims at raising awareness about the intersection of populism and bioethics. It argue... more This article aims at raising awareness about the intersection of populism and bioethics. It argues that illiberal forms of populism may have negative consequences on the evolution of bioethics as a discipline and on its practical objectives. It identifies at least seven potential negative effects: (1) The rise of populist leaders fosters "epistemological populism," devaluing the expert and scientific perspectives on which bioethics is usually based, potentially steering policies away from evidence-based foundations. (2) The impact of "moral populism" is evident in legislative prioritization of the "morality of common people," often solicited through popular consultations on issues like abortion, drug legalization, or LGBT issues. (3) Populist distrust in autonomous governmental agencies and advisory bodies, including national bioethics commissions, can compromise expert advice, challenging both their authority and decisions. (4) Populists may erode transparency by undermining institutions responsible for it, hindering access to vital information for bioethical research. (5) "Medical populism" creates adversarial dynamics, prompting politicians to make simplistic healthcare policy decisions based on political rather than informed criteria, adversely affecting vulnerable populations. (6) Radical-right populist parties' "welfare chauvinism" may shape healthcare policies, impacting service access and resource allocation, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups such as migrants, but indirectly affecting the rest of the population. (7) Nationalist sentiments associated with populism may obstruct international collaborations, posing challenges for global bioethics that seeks to address ethical concerns beyond national borders. In summary, these dynamics raise significant bioethical concerns encompassing evidence-based decision-making, transparency, healthcare equity, and global collaboration. How bioethicists may respond to these challenges is discussed.
Teoría moral. Enfoques contemporáneos, coordinado por Jorge Galindo y Maximiliano Martínez
Este texto analiza el concepto de estatus moral y hace un recorrido por la discusión filosófica e... more Este texto analiza el concepto de estatus moral y hace un recorrido por la discusión filosófica en torno al concepto. Examina quiénes tienen estatus moral y sobre qué bases se atribuye. Analiza la discusión sobre si hay un solo criterio o debe haber varios. Finalmente analiza el debate en torno a la utilidad del concepto.
Tourism, Heritage and Commodification of Non-human Animals, 2023
Some people have held that zoos should be seen as heritage tourist attractions. However, some oth... more Some people have held that zoos should be seen as heritage tourist attractions. However, some others wonder whether they are ethically justifiable. In this text I present the main arguments on which the discussion around zoos is based. These are five of the arguments used to defend the existence of zoos: 1) They are places of recreation. 2) They are heritage tourism attractions. 3) Zoos fulfill an educational function. 4) Zoos do research. Finally, 5) zoos do conservation work, that is, they protect and reintroduce wildlife species at risk of extinction. I review some of the central arguments both for and against each of these points. After taking stock of these arguments, we can conclude that there are strong reasons to take a skeptical position against the arguments that justify the existence of zoos. Finally, zoos were created, and still are justified, with a set of mind that sees animals as commodities, as mere resources we can use for our own purposes. I conclude that if we recognize that, on the same basis on which we attribute rights to humans, we can attribute rights to animals, then the answer to the question that motivates this chapter is negative: zoos are not ethically justifiable.
Bioethics should pay more attention to globalization and some of its consequences than it has don... more Bioethics should pay more attention to globalization and some of its consequences than it has done so far. The COVID-19 pandemic would not have been possible without globalization, which has also increased some of its negative consequences. Globalization has intensified wildlife trade in the world. One of the main hypotheses about the origin of this pandemic is that it originated in illegal forms of wildlife trade in China. In the last 30 or 40 years, there have been zoonotic outbreaks at a much frequent pace than before, many of those have been related to wildlife trade. Legal and illegal wildlife trade has grown in the shadow of globalization. Second, globalization has had a huge impact on the redistribution of wealth in the world. Since 1990 income inequality has increased in most high-and in many middle-and low-income countries. A country's level of pre-COVID income inequality is the best predictor of the COVID death rate. These two issues are not unrelated. People living in poverty in LMIC tend to suffer more from infectious diseases and tend to be marginalized from the health sector. Additionally, poverty tends to reproduce the conditions under which zoonotic diseases can more easily spread.
Several countries have implemented COVID-19 health passes or certificates to promote a safer retu... more Several countries have implemented COVID-19 health passes or certificates to promote a safer return to in-person social activities. These passes have been proposed as a way to prove that someone has been vaccinated, has recovered from the disease, or has negative results on a diagnostic test. However, many people have questioned their ethical justification. This article presents some practical and ethical problems to consider in the event of wishing to implement these passes. Among the former, it is questioned how accurate diagnostic tests are as a means of ensuring that a person is not contagious, whether vaccination guarantees immunity, the fact that health passes can be forged, whether they encourage vaccination, and the problem that there is no universally recognized health pass. Among the ethical issues, it is discussed whether health passes promote discrimination and inequality and whether they violate rights to privacy and freedom. It is concluded that health passes have enough ethical justification to be implemented.
A World Health Organization (WHO) Ad Hoc Expert Group on the Next Steps for Covid19 Vaccine Evalu... more A World Health Organization (WHO) Ad Hoc Expert Group on the Next Steps for Covid19 Vaccine Evaluation recently recommended placebocontrolled trials (PCT) of Covid19 vaccines. PCTs are ethically acceptable when there is no proven effective and safe treatment for a certain condition. However, there are already some vaccines that have been approved and which have high levels of efficacy and safety. Any new vaccine under development must be tested against the most effective vaccines available. PCTs go against the participants' best interests, by putting them in a position of disadvantage while taking part in a trial, compared with people who are not in the trial and who could get vaccinated. Particularly in highincome countries, many people are getting vaccinated. This means that, following a recent trend in clinical trials, PCTs would have to be conducted in low and middleincome countries, where there a number of advantages for drug companies, but where fatality rates of Covid 19 are, in many cases, much higher. For this and other reasons having to do with equal rights, participants in control groups should be protected with the most effective vaccines available.
In April 2018, the Mexican Senate approved an initiative to modify the organ donation system. The... more In April 2018, the Mexican Senate approved an initiative to modify the organ donation system. The intention of this initiative was to pass from an opt-in or explicit consent model, in which someone who wishes to donate an organ has to register in the donor registry , to an opt-out system, in which all adults would be presumed donors, unless they expressed their refusal. However, the initiative was stopped in the Chamber of Deputies by the adverse reaction of specialists and part of the public opinion. Here I analyze some of the reasons that were given, and I criticize them in order to defend the implementation of the opt-out system in Mexico.
International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2020
Bioethical approaches to reproductive health have been of utmost importance for the last three de... more Bioethical approaches to reproductive health have been of utmost importance for the last three decades in Mexico. As Mexican laws regarding abortion, assisted reproduction, and conscientious objection have been modified, a number of social actors with an interest in these areas have realized that they have to educate the different agents who take part in these procedures in a bioethical approach to reproductive health and rights. This strategy was first used in Mexico by the Catholic Church and many Catholic universities. Advocates, scientists and feminist organizations, as well as some public universities, have also realized that grounding in bioethics could strengthen health providers comfort with abortion. Bioethics is also a good framework for supporting the legalization of abortion and for more liberal laws regarding assisted reproduction. So, for the last few years, one of the priorities of these two sides has been to train healthcare personnel, lawyers, and members of ethics committees and members of Congress in the application of their respective bioethical perspectives. Synopsis After Mexican Catholic institutions reframed their theological teachings, particularly on reproductive health, as "bioethics", a movement restoring secular bioethics now provides alternative sources of bioethics education.
Este artículo se cuestiona si la bioética normativa puede ser una ciencia. El artículo se propone... more Este artículo se cuestiona si la bioética normativa puede ser una ciencia. El artículo se propone abordar las condiciones de posibilidad para que la bioética sea considerada una ciencia, sin responder directamente la pregunta. El artículo se centra en dos condiciones que típicamente asociamos a nuestro concepto común de ciencia: verdad y conocimiento, por un lado, y naturalización, por el otro. La bioética tendría que ser capaz de darnos verdades morales y, por lo tanto, conocimiento moral para que pudiéramos hablar de ella como una ciencia. Por otro lado, el carácter normativo de la bioética motiva la pregunta de si es posible naturalizarla y hacerla compatible con una perspectiva científica. El artículo argumenta que para que la bioética normativa pudiera considerarse una ciencia, debería tomarse una postura cognoscitivista y naturalista en ética.
SUMARIO: 1. Pandemia y libre mercado. 2. El libre mercado como criterio de justicia distributiva.... more SUMARIO: 1. Pandemia y libre mercado. 2. El libre mercado como criterio de justicia distributiva. 3. La concepción de los derechos económicos y sociales. 4. Pandemia y seguros médicos. 5. Vacunas. 6. A modo de conclusiones. 7. Referencias
SUMARIO: 1. Una historia reciente. 2. Orígenes zoonóticos de la pandemia. 3. Medidas de salud púb... more SUMARIO: 1. Una historia reciente. 2. Orígenes zoonóticos de la pandemia. 3. Medidas de salud pública tomadas en respuesta a la pandemia. 4. Personas en situación de vulnerabilidad. 5. Priorización de recursos escasos y guías de asignación. 6. Morir durante una pandemia. 7. Obligaciones del personal sanitario y sus limitaciones. 8. Investigación durante una pandemia. 9. Vacunas. 10. Infodemia. 11. Gobernanza mundial, cooperación internacional. 12. Referencias.
Controversies in Latin-American Bioethics, edited by Eduardo Rivera López and Martín Hevia, Springer, 2019
In this paper, I begin by distinguishing between the moral evaluation of the law that criminalize... more In this paper, I begin by distinguishing between the moral evaluation of the law that criminalizes abortion and the moral evaluation of abortion itself. In the public debate on abortion, these are issues that we frequently find mixed up, and that must be analyzed separately. Regarding the moral evaluation of the law, there are at least two possible ways of assessing it: in terms of the consequences of the law and in terms of women’s rights. I argue that anti-abortion laws have negative consequences at different levels: for the women who are denied termination of their pregnancies when they do not want to go on with them, for unwanted children, and for society at large. These laws also infringe upon some of women’s most fundamental rights in a way no other law does, requiring them to sacrifice their freedom, autonomy, privacy, and future life, and putting their health and bodily integrity at risk. However, according to those with a conservative view on abortion, none of this justifies the intentional killing of an embryo, which they take as a person with a right to life. I argue that there are no good arguments in favor of considering an embryo to be a person since on all accounts, the ascription of personhood requires the presence of mental or psychological properties, which do not appear until the end of the second trimester of pregnancy.We cannot ascribe a right to life to the embryo, either. Therefore, there is no justification for all the negative consequences of anti-abortion laws and for the infringement of women’s rights.
Diversos países han implementado pases sanitarios o certificados de salud para COVID-19 para prom... more Diversos países han implementado pases sanitarios o certificados de salud para COVID-19 para promover un regreso más seguro a actividades sociales presenciales. Estos certificados se han propuesto como un modo de que la gente pueda probar que ha sido vacunada, que se han recuperado de la enfermedad o que tienen resultados negativos en una prueba diagnóstica. Sin embargo, mucha gente ha cuestionado su justificación ética. En este artículo se presentan algunos problemas prácticos y éticos a tomar en cuenta si se quieren implementar estos pases. Entre los primeros, se discute qué tan precisas son las pruebas diagnósticas para garantizar que una persona no es contagiosa; si la vacunación garantiza inmunidad; cuáles son los niveles de inmunidad tras la infección, la vacunación y la protección ante las variantes; el hecho de que los pases se puedan falsificar; si estos incentivan la vacunación y el problema de que no haya un certificado universalmente reconocido. Entre los problemas éticos se discute si los pases sanitarios promueven la discriminación y la desigualdad, y si vulneran el derecho a la privacidad y a la libertad. Se concluye que los pases sanitarios pueden justificarse éticamente como para ser implementados.
Since 2007, when Mexico City decriminalized abortion during the first trimester, a debate has bee... more Since 2007, when Mexico City decriminalized abortion during the first trimester, a debate has been taking place regarding abortion and the right to conscientious objection (CO). Many people argue that, since the provision of abortions (or “legal terminations of pregnancy” as they are called under Mexico City’s law) is now a statutory duty of healthcare personnel there can be no place for “conscientious objection.” Others claim that, even if such an objection were to be allowed, it should not be seen as a right, since talk about a right to CO may lead to a slippery slope where we may end up recognizing a right to disobey the law. In this paper, I argue that there is a right to CO and that this may be justified through the notions of autonomy and integrity, which a liberal democracy should respect. However, it cannot be an absolute right, and in the case of abortion, it conflicts with women’s reproductive rights. Therefore, CO should be carefully regulated so that it does not obstruct the exercise of women’s reproductive rights. Regulation should address questions about who is entitled to object, how such objection should take place, and what can legitimately be objected to.
In this paper I argue that the distinction between beliefs and desires in terms of their directio... more In this paper I argue that the distinction between beliefs and desires in terms of their direction of fit carries several epistemological and psychological commitments, resulting in a theoretically loaded distinction. A distinction as central as this one should be as neutral as possible, so that it can be used beyond the context of any particular theory. The notion of direction of fit seems to be committed to correspondentism, if we understand the idea of beliefs fitting the world as some form of correspondence. On the other hand, it is committed to some kind of Humean theory of motivation, and its use by alternative theories results in theoretical complications for these theories, such as the controversial states with double direction of fit or " besires. " Additionally, I shall argue that this distinction is not exhaustive: it is usually presented as a distinction between beliefs and desires in general, but it fails to fulfill this promise. Finally, I present an alternative way of distinguishing between beliefs and desires, one focused on the different norms that rule these two states: truth and the good.
El esteticismo y el moralismo son dos vicios de desmesura en los que se sobredimensionan los valo... more El esteticismo y el moralismo son dos vicios de desmesura en los que se sobredimensionan los valores estéticos o morales en situaciones en las que están en juego otros valores que también deberían tomarse en cuenta, pero se subvaloran. Carlos Pereda sostiene que son patologías del juicio y argumenta que la literatura ha sido víctima de distintas variantes de estos vicios. Para ello, distingue entre diferentes formas de esteticismo y de moralismo, y analiza cómo algunas de ellas tienen implicaciones a nivel semántico y de comunicación. Pereda propone un "modelo reflexivo" que contrarrestre el vértigo simplificador que representan estas patologías. En esta nota, examino críticamente la teoría de Pereda y propongo otros modos que puede tomar el análisis del esteticismo y del moralismo.
Abstract Aestheticism and moralism are two vices in which aesthetic or moral values are overrated in situations where other values are at stake and should also be taken into account, but are underrated. Carlos Pereda maintains that they are pathologies of judgment and argues that literature has been the victim of different variants of these vices. To do this, he distinguishes between different forms of aestheticism and moralism, and analyzes how some of them have implications at the semantic and communication levels. Pereda proposes a "reflective model" that counteracts the simplification that these pathologies represent. In this note, I critically examine Pereda's theory and propose other ways that the analysis of aestheticism and moralism can take.
La pandemia de COVID-19 tiene un origen zoonótico: fue transmitida de los animales a los humanos.... more La pandemia de COVID-19 tiene un origen zoonótico: fue transmitida de los animales a los humanos. Lo mismo ha sucedido con otras epidemias recientes (como las causadas por los virus SARS-CoV-1 y H7N9, entre otros). Estas epidemias surgieron en un contexto de explotación animal: el comercio de animales silvestres. Mucha gente ha pedido la prohibición total de la venta de animales silvestres en mercados. Sin embargo, la prohibición puede ser contraproducente y tener peores consecuencias tanto para los animales como para la salud pública. Este artículo argumenta en contra de una prohibición total y a favor de una regulación progresiva que tome en cuenta el bienestar de los animales, pero que tenga como finalidad última la desaparición del comercio de animales silvestres.
Emociones y moralidad, compilado por Francisco Serrano y Rocío Cázares (México: Ediciones Coyoacán), 2019
Martha Nussbaum nos dice que las emociones son juicios de valor cognitivo. Ella afirma que su teo... more Martha Nussbaum nos dice que las emociones son juicios de valor cognitivo. Ella afirma que su teoría, la teoría neoestoica de las emociones, puede manejar las objeciones tradicionales a las teorías cognitivas de las emociones. Sin embargo, en este texto sostengo que ella se aprovecha indebidamente la ambigüedad del término "cognición": se enfrenta a los problemas que surgen cuando el término "cognición" se usa en un sentido muy limitado (que afirma que las emociones son creencias), recurriendo a un sentido muy amplio bajo el cual cualquier proceso mental es cognitivo. Sostengo que este movimiento no resuelve los problemas de las teorías cognitivas tradicionales de las emociones. Para mostrar esto, distingo cuatro sentidos en los que el término "cognitivo" se usa en las teorías de las emociones, analizo las formas en que Nussbaum las usa y por qué este movimiento no resuelve las objeciones tradicionales.
La pandemia de COVID-19 constituye uno de los desafíos más importantes a los que se enfrenta el m... more La pandemia de COVID-19 constituye uno de los desafíos más importantes a los que se enfrenta el mundo actual. También constituye un desafío para la bioética, dado que se nos han presentado conflictos éticos que requieren ser analizados desde esta perspectiva: ¿cómo llegar a un balance entre derechos individuales y bienestar colectivo al adoptar medidas de salud pública? ¿Cómo proteger a gente que está en situación de vulnerabilidad? ¿Qué principios de justicia distributiva usar para asignar recursos escasos de medicina crítica? ¿Hay límites a las obligaciones del personal sanitario al combatir la enfermedad? ¿Es moralmente permisible que la gente se infecte intencionalmente para desarrollar vacunas? ¿Qué hacer con la proliferación de información falsa? Éstas son, entre muchas otras, cuestiones que nos exigen un profundo análisis ético que nos ayude a tomar decisiones. En este libro, reconocidos especialistas de muy diversas disciplinas escriben sobre estas cuestiones tanto en el contexto mexicano como en el internacional. Muchos expertos nos han advertido que vendrán más pandemias en el futuro y será necesario que estemos preparados. La bioética nos puede ayudar en esta labor. El libro está disponible en libre acceso en https://biblio.juridicas.unam.mx/bjv/detalle-libro/6503-covid-19-y-bioetica
This is a collection of papers honoring Mark Platts. It includes papers written by Barry Stroud, ... more This is a collection of papers honoring Mark Platts. It includes papers written by Barry Stroud, Ralph Water, James Griffin, Rodolfo Vázquez, Juan Antonio Cruz Parcero, Larry Laudan, Paul F. Snowdon, Jim Hopkins and Gustavo Ortiz Millán.
El clásico libro en que Tom Regan argumenta a favor de los derechos de los animales está disponib... more El clásico libro en que Tom Regan argumenta a favor de los derechos de los animales está disponible en español, después de más de treinta años. Traducción de Ana Tamarit, revisión técnica de Gustavo Ortiz Millán. El libro está a la venta en: https://www.fondodeculturaeconomica.com/DetalleEd.aspx?ctit=004397R
Un libro que recoge diversas entrevistas con personajes clave en el proceso que condujo a la desp... more Un libro que recoge diversas entrevistas con personajes clave en el proceso que condujo a la despenalización del aborto en la Ciudad de México, así como las consecuencias que ha tenido. Además de un capítulo sobre este proceso, el libro incluye entrevistas con Marta Lamas, María Consuelo Mejía, Raffaela Schiavon, Verónica Cruz Sánchez, Ana Amuchástegui, Margarita Valdés y Pedro Morales.
Compilación de ensayos en honor a Mark Platts. En agosto de 2012, el Instituto de Investigaciones... more Compilación de ensayos en honor a Mark Platts. En agosto de 2012, el Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas llevó a cabo un homenaje a Mark Platts, en reconocimiento a su trayectoria académica como profesor e investigador, la cual abarca ya más de cuarenta años, treinta de ellos en la UNAM y por lo menos otros diez, antes, en otras prestigiosas universidades de Inglaterra. Mark Platts ha contribuido de manera decisiva a la reflexión filosófica en México, en áreas fundamentales para la filosofía del último siglo —la filosofía del lenguaje, la filosofía de la mente y la ética—, y a la recepción de la filosofía analítica en México. En el marco de ese homenaje, los participantes se reunieron con el objetivo primordial de discutir las ideas filosóficas de Platts. Este libro presenta los textos de varios de los participantes en ese coloquio, junto con las respuestas de Mark Platts a cada uno de ellos. Carlos Bonfil, Alejandro Brito, Arnoldo Kraus, Luisa Rossi y Samuel Ponce de León abordan problemas y situaciones que atañen a la moralidad y la enfermedad, la bioética y la ética médica. James Griffin se centra en el tema de la ética y la igualdad. Juan Antonio Cruz Parcero, Rodolfo Vázquez y Larry Laudan se ocupan de derechos humanos; Jorge L. Gardea y Ralph Walker tratan de cuestiones de ética teórica; Guillermo Hurtado, Paul Snowdon y Barry Stroud se enfocan en la filosofía analítica y la filosofía del lenguaje; y Olbeth Hansberg, Gustavo Ortiz Millán, Carlos Pereda y Jim Hopkins abordan cuestiones relacionadas con la filosofía de la mente y la ciencia. El libro incluye también los comentarios finales de Platts sobre el significado una vida filosófica y la importancia de la verdad, así como una entrevista con los compiladores.
Reseña de The Women are up to Something. How Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley, and... more Reseña de The Women are up to Something. How Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley, and Iris Murdoch Revolutionized Ethics, de Benjamin J.B. Lipscomb
Reseña de Dignidad: perspectivas y aportaciones de la filosofía moral y la filosofía política, ed... more Reseña de Dignidad: perspectivas y aportaciones de la filosofía moral y la filosofía política, editado por Carmen Trueba y Sergio Pérez Cortés. Anthropos; UAM-Iztapalapa, 2018.
Reseña del libro Itzel Mayans Hermida, La controversia sobre el aborto desde la perspectiva de la... more Reseña del libro Itzel Mayans Hermida, La controversia sobre el aborto desde la perspectiva de la razón pública, México: Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México-Instituto Mora, 2019.
Una de las ideas centrales en el pensamiento de Ramón Xirau es que la poesía es una forma de cono... more Una de las ideas centrales en el pensamiento de Ramón Xirau es que la poesía es una forma de conocimiento: “la poesía como conocimiento”, es el lema de su libro Poesía y conocimiento. No obstante, esta idea no ha recibido la atención que merece. Muchas veces escuchamos a gente que repite estas ideas de Xirau, pero sin dar mayor argumentación, como si la idea de que la poesía da conocimiento fuera tan obvia. Pero no lo es. En este texto la analizo y presento objeciones a la idea. Este texto será incluido en una compilación hecha por María Teresa Padilla y Antonio Zirión en homenaje a Ramón Xirau y publicada por la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 2024
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Abstract Aestheticism and moralism are two vices in which aesthetic or moral values are overrated in situations where other values are at stake and should also be taken into account, but are underrated. Carlos Pereda maintains that they are pathologies of judgment and argues that literature has been the victim of different variants of these vices. To do this, he distinguishes between different forms of aestheticism and moralism, and analyzes how some of them have implications at the semantic and communication levels. Pereda proposes a "reflective model" that counteracts the simplification that these pathologies represent. In this note, I critically examine Pereda's theory and propose other ways that the analysis of aestheticism and moralism can take.
Abstract Aestheticism and moralism are two vices in which aesthetic or moral values are overrated in situations where other values are at stake and should also be taken into account, but are underrated. Carlos Pereda maintains that they are pathologies of judgment and argues that literature has been the victim of different variants of these vices. To do this, he distinguishes between different forms of aestheticism and moralism, and analyzes how some of them have implications at the semantic and communication levels. Pereda proposes a "reflective model" that counteracts the simplification that these pathologies represent. In this note, I critically examine Pereda's theory and propose other ways that the analysis of aestheticism and moralism can take.
El libro está disponible en libre acceso en https://biblio.juridicas.unam.mx/bjv/detalle-libro/6503-covid-19-y-bioetica
En el marco de ese homenaje, los participantes se reunieron con el objetivo primordial de discutir las ideas filosóficas de Platts. Este libro presenta los textos de varios de los participantes en ese coloquio, junto con las respuestas de Mark Platts a cada uno de ellos. Carlos Bonfil, Alejandro Brito, Arnoldo Kraus, Luisa Rossi y Samuel Ponce de León abordan problemas y situaciones que atañen a la moralidad y la enfermedad, la bioética y la ética médica. James Griffin se centra en el tema de la ética y la igualdad. Juan Antonio Cruz Parcero, Rodolfo Vázquez y Larry Laudan se ocupan de derechos humanos; Jorge L. Gardea y Ralph Walker tratan de cuestiones de ética teórica; Guillermo Hurtado, Paul Snowdon y Barry Stroud se enfocan en la filosofía analítica y la filosofía del lenguaje; y Olbeth Hansberg, Gustavo Ortiz Millán, Carlos Pereda y Jim Hopkins abordan cuestiones relacionadas con la filosofía de la mente y la ciencia. El libro incluye también los comentarios finales de Platts sobre el significado una vida filosófica y la importancia de la verdad, así como una entrevista con los compiladores.
Este texto será incluido en una compilación hecha por María Teresa Padilla y Antonio Zirión en homenaje a Ramón Xirau y publicada por la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 2024