I am Professor of Philosophy at the University of Navarra (Spain), where I got my PhD in 1997, with a Dissertation on morality, reason and nature in Thomas Aquinas. I was a Fulbright Scholar in the Department of Philosophy at Harvard in 2002-3, where I worked on morality, nature and culture in Kant's practical philosophy.I have taught many courses on ethics and related subjects, as well as a course on Social Anthropology.Currently I teach Ethics to the Undergraduate Students of Philosophy at the University of Navarra Phone: +34 948 42 56 00. Ext 2909 Address: Departamento de Filosofía Universidad de Navarra Pamplona 31080 (Spain)
Este libro trata de la naturaleza ética de la vida social. Sostiene que la individualización de n... more Este libro trata de la naturaleza ética de la vida social. Sostiene que la individualización de nuestras sociedades no arroja como destino inexorable la conclusión extraída por algunos autores, según la cual ya no seríamos capaces de reconocer más deberes que los que tenemos para con nosotros mismos. Por el contrario, la autora se propone destacar una cuestión que adquiere especial relevancia en nuestro tiempo, ante el avance de formas tecnocráticas de organización: la naturaleza moral del vínculo social. Profundizando en el concepto de deber, en diálogo con los clásicos de la filosofía moral, argumenta que reconocernos en deuda los unos con los otros constituye un elemento inexcusable de la auténtica solidaridad. En efecto: el sentido primario del deber moral se nos revela en la misma estructura y dinamismo de las relaciones humanas: porque somos racionales, somos capaces de reconocer lo que nos debemos los unos a los otros; somos capaces de crear una comunidad política basada en la comunicación sobre lo justo y lo injusto. Es esa misma racionalidad la que nos permite advertir ocasionales discrepancias entre el orden político en el que de hecho vivimos y lo que consideramos una exigencia inmediata de la ley moral en nosotros. En parte es la experiencia de esta discrepancia lo que nos mueve a preguntarnos por un orden superior de legitimidad, sancionador de los deberes ordinarios y tribunal de apelación en caso de conflicto. A este tribunal se remite, implícitamente, todo aquel que alega motivos de conciencia para no obedecer una determinada ley civil. Reconocer este derecho, sin embargo, no equivale a convertir la conciencia en un peligroso reducto de irracionalidad. Desde esta perspectiva, profundizar en la naturaleza moral del vínculo social no es solo un antídoto necesario frente a la tecnocracia; es también una tarea inexcusable para clarificar la relación entre ética y religión, precisamente en un momento en el que, en amplios sectores de la opinión pública la religión se presenta sobre todo como una realidad peligrosa para la convivencia humana y civilizada. Precisamente en un contexto así, resulta más urgente que nunca examinar, a la luz de la razón, la naturaleza específica de los deberes religiosos, como un tipo particular de deberes éticos, y, al propio tiempo, dar razón de por qué los deberes éticos pueden recabar para sí una sanción religiosa.
While everyone recognizes the need for care, not everyone recognizes the multiple realities signi... more While everyone recognizes the need for care, not everyone recognizes the multiple realities signified by our use of the term. This volume presents an extended reflection on human dependency and the need for "care" from the perspective of diverse academic and professional disciplines. Our contributors presuppose that "care" is not just a particular kind of academic discourse - whether in the area of feminist ethics or social work - but is rather a developing profession with its own particular challenges. By exploring the different ways in which care is deployed in philosophical and practical contexts, this volume should help readers understand the practical challenges posed by the professionalization of care and the kind of policy approaches that will best promote the delivery of good "care".
Más allá del debate acerca de las causas de la presente crisis económica, muchos se preguntan si,... more Más allá del debate acerca de las causas de la presente crisis económica, muchos se preguntan si, verdaderamente, la sociedad civil puede regularse a sí misma. En esta tarea, Hume constituye un punto de referencia inexcusable, pues en gran medida sus estudios sobre moral no persiguen otra cosa que mostrar la normatividad interna de un nuevo espacio de relaciones sociales, específicamente diverso de las relaciones familiares y políticas: el espacio de la sociedad civil. Según se desprende de los estudios recogidos en este volumen, la ciencia de la naturaleza humana, que Hume perseguía fundamentar en su Tratado, adopta la forma de una teoría de las instituciones, es decir, una teoría de la formación de espacios sociales diferenciados, cada uno con un propósito específico y definido mediante reglas igualmente específicas, cuya identificación y preservación tiene importancia no solo a la hora de proponer una teoría de la civilización, sino, más fundamentalmente, a la hora de garantizar el sentido humano del desarrollo social.
Este libro trata de la naturaleza ética de la vida social. Sostiene que la individualización de n... more Este libro trata de la naturaleza ética de la vida social. Sostiene que la individualización de nuestras sociedades no arroja como destino inexorable la conclusión extraída por algunos autores, según la cual ya no seríamos capaces de reconocer más deberes que los que tenemos para con nosotros mismos. Por el contrario, la autora se propone destacar una cuestión que adquiere especial relevancia en nuestro tiempo, ante el avance de formas tecnocráticas de organización: la naturaleza moral del vínculo social. Profundizando en el concepto de deber, en diálogo con los clásicos de la filosofía moral, argumenta que reconocernos en deuda los unos con los otros constituye un elemento inexcusable de la auténtica solidaridad. En efecto: el sentido primario del deber moral se nos revela en la misma estructura y dinamismo de las relaciones humanas: porque somos racionales, somos capaces de reconocer lo que nos debemos los unos a los otros; somos capaces de crear una comunidad política basada en la comunicación sobre lo justo y lo injusto. Es esa misma racionalidad la que nos permite advertir ocasionales discrepancias entre el orden político en el que de hecho vivimos y lo que consideramos una exigencia inmediata de la ley moral en nosotros. En parte es la experiencia de esta discrepancia lo que nos mueve a preguntarnos por un orden superior de legitimidad, sancionador de los deberes ordinarios y tribunal de apelación en caso de conflicto. A este tribunal se remite, implícitamente, todo aquel que alega motivos de conciencia para no obedecer una determinada ley civil. Reconocer este derecho, sin embargo, no equivale a convertir la conciencia en un peligroso reducto de irracionalidad. Desde esta perspectiva, profundizar en la naturaleza moral del vínculo social no es solo un antídoto necesario frente a la tecnocracia; es también una tarea inexcusable para clarificar la relación entre ética y religión, precisamente en un momento en el que, en amplios sectores de la opinión pública la religión se presenta sobre todo como una realidad peligrosa para la convivencia humana y civilizada. Precisamente en un contexto así, resulta más urgente que nunca examinar, a la luz de la razón, la naturaleza específica de los deberes religiosos, como un tipo particular de deberes éticos, y, al propio tiempo, dar razón de por qué los deberes éticos pueden recabar para sí una sanción religiosa.
While everyone recognizes the need for care, not everyone recognizes the multiple realities signi... more While everyone recognizes the need for care, not everyone recognizes the multiple realities signified by our use of the term. This volume presents an extended reflection on human dependency and the need for "care" from the perspective of diverse academic and professional disciplines. Our contributors presuppose that "care" is not just a particular kind of academic discourse - whether in the area of feminist ethics or social work - but is rather a developing profession with its own particular challenges. By exploring the different ways in which care is deployed in philosophical and practical contexts, this volume should help readers understand the practical challenges posed by the professionalization of care and the kind of policy approaches that will best promote the delivery of good "care".
Más allá del debate acerca de las causas de la presente crisis económica, muchos se preguntan si,... more Más allá del debate acerca de las causas de la presente crisis económica, muchos se preguntan si, verdaderamente, la sociedad civil puede regularse a sí misma. En esta tarea, Hume constituye un punto de referencia inexcusable, pues en gran medida sus estudios sobre moral no persiguen otra cosa que mostrar la normatividad interna de un nuevo espacio de relaciones sociales, específicamente diverso de las relaciones familiares y políticas: el espacio de la sociedad civil. Según se desprende de los estudios recogidos en este volumen, la ciencia de la naturaleza humana, que Hume perseguía fundamentar en su Tratado, adopta la forma de una teoría de las instituciones, es decir, una teoría de la formación de espacios sociales diferenciados, cada uno con un propósito específico y definido mediante reglas igualmente específicas, cuya identificación y preservación tiene importancia no solo a la hora de proponer una teoría de la civilización, sino, más fundamentalmente, a la hora de garantizar el sentido humano del desarrollo social.
The recent evolution of human work seems to signal a change of epoch that presents a challenge fo... more The recent evolution of human work seems to signal a change of epoch that presents a challenge for theology. We urgently need a theological reflection that contributes, together with the other sciences, to addressing the challenges of contemporary work from a fully human perspective. This article justifies and presents a research project on recent theology of work which constitutes a starting point for the task mentioned. The article begins with a description of the present labor situation in the world and future prospects. Then, in the second part, it presents a preliminary review of recent theological literature in the fields of dogmatic, biblical, moral, and spiritual (practical) theology, pointing out possible avenues for further exploration. Some theological categories that can help respond to current challenges are suggested.
espanolEn este trabajo se persigue aclarar que clase de realidad tienen los vinculos, como se ori... more espanolEn este trabajo se persigue aclarar que clase de realidad tienen los vinculos, como se originan y por que tienen efectos de orden moral. Sin dejar de advertir el caracter metaforico de la palabra vinculo, adoptamos una perspectiva analitica, que toma pie de la experiencia social y moral recogida en esa palabra; profundizamos conceptualmente en su significado sirviendonos de la caracterizacion que Aristoteles, Hume, Kant y Hegel han hecho de los vinculos amistosos, sociales o politicos. Advertimos asi que, aunque los vinculos apuntan genericamente a la dimension relacional del ser humano, lo hacen proporcionando un marco estructural al ejercicio de esa relacionalidad, en el que se inscriben formas comunitarias especificas. Por otro lado, sin dejar de destacar la dimension moral de los vinculos humanos, llamamos la atencion sobre las condiciones ontologicas y psicologicas que hacen posible dicha dimension moral, y que apuntan en la direccion de lo que podriamos llamar una “vinc...
The fact that emotions unveil our values as well as our position in the larger social structure m... more The fact that emotions unveil our values as well as our position in the larger social structure makes them an important source of self-knowledge and also knowledge about the world. By producing emotional reactions, fiction may become a privileged site of self-knowledge, both for the artist and for the public, although in different ways. While fiction cannot be taken as a faithful representation of factual reality, it does register emotional reactions to the facts as they are actually conveyed. From this perspective, the kind of fiction created in a given society constitutes relevant material for the sociology of culture.
Populism’s Challenges to Political Reason can be seen as a consequence of social and cultural tre... more Populism’s Challenges to Political Reason can be seen as a consequence of social and cultural trends, the so called ‘emotional culture’, that have been accentuated in recent decades. By considering those trends, this article aims at shedding light on some distinctive marks of contemporary populism in order to argue for a reconfiguration of the public sphere that, without ignoring emotion, recovers argumentation and persuasion based on facts and reason.
En lo que sigue, nuestro objetivo específico es mostrar cómo el análisis que realiza Hume de la j... more En lo que sigue, nuestro objetivo específico es mostrar cómo el análisis que realiza Hume de la justicia proporciona la ocasión para introducir de manera gradual elementos clave para el desarrollo de una teoría psico-social de la acción, presupuesta en buena parte del pensamiento social posterior
Published in Ana Marta González (ed). Contemporary perspectives on natural law. Natural law as a ... more Published in Ana Marta González (ed). Contemporary perspectives on natural law. Natural law as a limiting concept, Ashgate, 2008,
Page 1. ~ A CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON NATURAL LAW Natural Law as a Limiting Concapi Edited by ... more Page 1. ~ A CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON NATURAL LAW Natural Law as a Limiting Concapi Edited by ANA MARTA GONZALEZ Page 2. Page 3. CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON NATURAL LAW This iiill 111 lllllllllllll 4ZU8-0DB-449G Page 4. Page 5. ...
González, A. M. 2022 "Solidarity and Social Bonds: A Kantian perspective", in Jose Maria Torralba& Alejandro N. García & Patricio Fernández (eds), Ways of Being Bound. Perspectives from Transcendental Philosophy and Realist Sociology, Springer, pp. 119-135. ISBN: 978-3-031-11468-7, 2022
This chapter explores Kant’s potential contribution to the clarification of some problems that ha... more This chapter explores Kant’s potential contribution to the clarification of some problems that have haunted the concept of solidarity since it was first invoked in the context of the French third Republic, as a way to confront the challenge of social integration. Some of those problems revolve around the naturalistic fallacy (does solidarity merely refer to the fact of human interdependence or does it involve a duty?), while others concern the nature of that duty, its relation to justice and beneficence, and the tension between institutionalized solidarity and solidarity as a personal virtue. While Kant never spoke directly of “solidarity”, the author argues that his moral philosophy provides us with the conceptual elements necessary to refine that notion, shedding light on the above mentioned paradoxes. In order to do so, she starts by focusing on Kant’s approach to community in terms of “reciprocal interaction,” to highlight the nature of moral communities and the structure of moral reciprocity, in which the distinction between obligatory and meritorious duties plays a decisive role. González argues that the reciprocity of moral bonds constitutes the building block of Kantian moral communities; that reciprocity, however, is grounded on a normative notion of humanity: on the one hand, human beings are rational beings, able to legislate, and as such worthy of respect; on the other, they are also animals endowed with reason, hence able to set ends for themselves, and endorse the ends of others –which makes them both the object and subject of love. This dual notion of humanity, as well as the duty of humanity, presents itself as the obvious reference point for any attempt to offer a Kantian perspective on solidarity. This perspective, however, would be incomplete were we not to expand our view beyond the realm of individual interactions and consider humanity as a whole: Kant speaks of the duty to promote the highest good in a moral community as a duty “sui generis, not of human beings toward human beings but of the human race toward itself.”
"Participación y gobierno. La teoría angélica de la acción", en E. Alarcón&A.Echavarría&M.García-Valdecasas&R.Pereda (eds), Opere et Veritate. Homenaje al profesor Angel Luis González, Eunsa, Pamplona, 2018, pp. 355-368. ISBN: 9788431332488, 2018
Resumen: el objeto de este artículo es reconstruir una una visión comprehensiva de la teoría tomi... more Resumen: el objeto de este artículo es reconstruir una una visión comprehensiva de la teoría tomista de la ley natural, vinculando la aproximación metafísico-cosmológica implícita en su exposición de la ley natural como “participación” en la ley eterna, y la aproximación antropológico-práctica, que considera la ley natural como ley de la razón práctica. Persiguiendo la conexión entre ambas aproximaciones, emerge un cuadro grandioso, en el que el plan providencial de Dios para con toda la creación es participado activamente en diversos grados por distintas criaturas, desde los ángeles hasta los hombres, desde el gobierno de toda la creación al autogobierno y gobierno de los asuntos humanos. Especialmente reseñable en esta visión es la analogía que cabe encontrar entre la exposición tomista de las jerarquías y los órdenes angélicos y la estructura de la acción humana.
[Publicado en: González, A. M. 2018. "Perspectivas cristianas sobre el trabajo, antes y después de Marx: una aproximación filosófica", en Pensando il lavoro. Contributi a carattere prevalentemente filosofico, a cura di Giorgio Faro, Roma: Edusc, pp. 49-73], 2018
El trabajo es una realidad que reclama una aproximación multidisciplinar (Budd 2011). En mi caso,... more El trabajo es una realidad que reclama una aproximación multidisciplinar (Budd 2011). En mi caso, la aproximación será filosófica, pero atípica, pues me voy a servir de las reflexiones de tres autores muy distintos, dos de los cuales nunca pretendieron hacer aportaciones significativas al pensamiento filosófico. Desde luego, no fue esa la intención de Lutero, iniciador de la Reforma protestante; ni tampoco la de san Josemaría, cuyo único propósito fue proclamar la llamada universal a la santidad. Ambos tienen en común el haber ofrecido una perspectiva cristiana sobre la cuestión del trabajo. Entre ellos se sitúa la figura de Karl Marx, quien, alejado de toda preocupación religiosa, puede considerarse uno de los principales teóricos del trabajo en la edad moderna (Frayne 2016). Bosquejar un panorama general dentro del cual cobre sentido el tratar autores tan heterogéneos me ocupará en la primera parte de esta intervención.
González, A. M. 2019. “Mosquitos y camellos. Crítica de la razón irrelevante”, en Lourdes Flamarique (ed), La posverdad o el dominio de lo trivial, Madrid: Ediciones Encuentro, pp.110-126. ISBN: 978-84-1339-006-2, 2019
La demanda de verdad que hoy advertimos en la sociedad nos ha pillado por sorpresa a los filósofo... more La demanda de verdad que hoy advertimos en la sociedad nos ha pillado por sorpresa a los filósofos, que por oficio, deberíamos ser los más preparados para sintonizar con ella. Es la calle –si podemos hablar así— la que está reclamando lo que nosotros hemos dejado de lado, embebidos en nuestros propios debates. Entretanto, las muchas voces que atizan la opinión pública –políticos, periodistas… – han incorporado la palabra “pos-verdad” a sus discursos, con la misma naturalidad con la que incorporan cualquier otra cosa: un caso más de reflexividad social, que, tras el primer impacto, amenaza con ahogar bajo la forma de un nuevo tópico aquel deseo primordial de la razón, el cual, como un dinamismo que le es intrínsecamente constitutivo, se nos impone por sí mismo, con anterioridad a toda reflexión y discurso.
González, A. M. 2020. "Christianity and the Principle of Solidarity", in Rafael Domingo & John Witte (eds), Christianity and Global Law: an introduction, London&New York: Routledge, pp. 287-302. ISBN: 978-0-367-85816-2, 2020
The term “solidarity” evokes a fraternal ethos which resonates well in Christian minds. However, ... more The term “solidarity” evokes a fraternal ethos which resonates well in Christian minds. However, it was first articulated in modern times as a secular response to the negative social consequences of the industrial revolution. In that context, “solidarity” came to designate both the fact of human interdependence and the ethical requirements derived from it, an ambivalence which has always haunted the concept. Similarly, the practice of solidarity has always oscillated between institutional and relational considerations. Both tensions are present in the history of this concept, and explain the different ways it has been worked out within socialism, solidarism, and Christianity. While both socialism and solidarism came to frame solidarity mostly in political and sociological terms, Christianity has mainly approached it from a theological and practical perspective. This chapter explores the substantive contributions of all these perspectives to the discussion on solidarity and concludes with a consideration of the above mentioned tensions.
"Il Mondo Davanti a Noi: L' Orizzonte pratico dell'essere umano", en Juan José Pérez-Soba&alberto Frigerio (eds) Ricostruire il soggetto morale cristiano. Una sfida a 25 anni da Veritatis Splendor, Siena: Edizioni Cantagalli, 2019, pp. 87-104, 2019
El tema general de este coloquio-la reconstrucción del sujeto moral cristiano-sugiere muchas cosa... more El tema general de este coloquio-la reconstrucción del sujeto moral cristiano-sugiere muchas cosas de una sola vez. El empleo de la palabra "reconstrucción", parece indicar que algo-el sujeto moral cristiano-se ha derruido y es preciso recomponerlo. ¿Pero qué se quiere decir exactamente con ello? ¿Quién es ese "sujeto moral cristiano" que, supuestamente, se ha derrumbado? ¿En qué consiste su desmoronamiento y por qué ha tenido lugar? Cabría aventurar que más que de un derrumbe nos encontramos ante una desarticulación de los tres elementos mentados en el título; una desarticulación según la cual la dimensión moral y la identidad cristiana no confluirían ya de forma armónica y determinante en el mismo sujeto; como si el saberse cristiano no afectara la propia conciencia moral1, e incluso como si la dimensión moral no afectara de forma determinante la propia subjetividad-como si la subjetividad misma hubiera devenido amoral. Ahora bien: antes de explorar esta interpretación, deberíamos preguntarnos por la perspectiva en la que nos situamos nosotros para realizar un diagnóstico de esta naturaleza: ¿desde dónde hablamos cuando advertimos la desarticulación de subjetividad, moralidad y fe cristiana? 1. Una cuestión de método 1 1 Sobre esta disociación ya alertó la Veritatis Splendor hace 25 años, cuando en su número 4 hacía notar lo difundido de "la opinión que pone en duda el nexo intrínseco e indivisible entre fe y moral, como si sólo en relación con la fe se debieran decidir la pertenencia a la Iglesia y su unidad interna, mientras que se podría tolerar en el ámbito moral un pluralismo de opiniones y de comportamientos, dejados al juicio de la conciencia subjetiva individual o a la diversidad de condiciones sociales y culturales" (VS, n.4)
Proceedings of the 2019 Plenary Session Nation, State, Nation-State 1-3 May 2019 V. Hösle (editor) Acta 22, Vatican City, 2019. ISBN 978-88-86726-34-4, 2019
My contribution here aims to explain the elements at the origin of Catalonia’s independence proce... more My contribution here aims to explain the elements at the origin of Catalonia’s independence process. It is a real challenge to talk about current realities on which events and people make a different mark everyday. I thus attempt to distance myself from this immediacy in order to examine how we have arrived at this point, and to analyze the reasons behind certain claims that could be the subject of reasonable political dialogue, but that, from the beginning, seem to have lost importance and gotten stuck in an emotional whirlwind whose end point we still cannot make out. In preparation for this task, I have spent the last year conducting an extensive literature review and have had many conversations with professors of history, law, economics, sociology, and with journalists who work in Catalonia. Their valuable contributions have specified and balanced my philosophical perspective. I begin by framing this question with three important distinctions as follows: a) First, not all nationalism is pro-independence. b) Not all supporters of independence rely on nationalist theses. c) A third sector of the population has joined the independence movement for mostly emotional reasons. Beyond the complexity of the positions involved, a not-at-all-new secular problem underlines the current Catalan conflict that just began to be addressed in the 1978 Constitution, but that since then seems to have reached a dead end. Some have called it the "Catalan problem," although, from the other point of view, one could also speak of the "Spanish problem," alluding to the center-periphery tensions that characterize the development of the Spanish nation from the early modern age.
The fact that emotions unveil our values as well as our position into the social structure makes ... more The fact that emotions unveil our values as well as our position into the social structure makes them important sources of self-knowledge and of knowledge of the world. By producing emotional reactions, fiction may also become a privileged site of self-knowledge, both for the artist and for the public, although in different ways. While fiction needs not, and cannot be taken as a faithful representation of factual reality, it does register the emotional reactions to the facts as they are actually conveyed. From this perspective, the kind of fiction produced and consumed in a given society constitutes a relevant material for the sociology of culture. In this chapter, we propose an overview of some of the sociocultural developments that has resulted in what we can name the “emotional culture” of contemporary societies. Through the description of that set of cultural meanings and operational codes, by which people manage, deploy and understand their own emotions and actions, we will show that this particular emotional regime is significantly shaped by the media.
Reflexion, Gefühl, Identität im Anschluß an Kant, 2019
In what follows, my purpose has been to analyze to what extent Korsgaard’s account of humanity as... more In what follows, my purpose has been to analyze to what extent Korsgaard’s account of humanity as an essential form of practical identity can claim support in Kant’s own moral philosophy. In spite of appearances to the contrary, there is reason to think that this is the case. In order to appreciate this, we should note that Korsgaard’s approach to human identity as a form of practical identity is governed by practical reason right from the start. In other words: she is not claiming that human identity is coherent apart from the work of practical reason; rather, she is arguing that any coherence we can find in our lives depends on the work of practical reason, which brings unity to the manifold incentives derived from our animal nature under the principles of reason. Now, there is reason to think that this was also Kant’s own position to the extent that he thought of the human being as a belonging to two different reigns, the reign of nature and the reign of freedom, governed by equally different laws, and yet held the human being responsible for developing human nature according to the moral law, so as to realize humanity’s moral vocation.
To Fix or to Heal: Patient Care, Public Health, and the Limits of Biomedicine, 2016
Almost since its introduction, the World Health Organization’s definition of health as “a state o... more Almost since its introduction, the World Health Organization’s definition of health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being” became a matter of controversy, because it implied a strong connection between health and general happiness (...) Such a broad definition might have heralded a movement toward a more humane medicine, but its primary effect has been to accelerate the naturalization of ethics (i.e., the substitution of “the healthy” for “the good” as the starting point of ethical discourse). This happened not so much because “the number of life-problems that are defined as medical has increased enormously” but because the biological model of medicine, for which disease is a purely organic event, remains by far the dominant one. (...) In what follows, I want first to introduce the distinction between the good and the healthy as it has been conceptualized in the ethical tradition. Against this background, I will point out certain developments in nineteenth-century philosophy that, along with the scientific developments of that century, help us to understand the process of the naturalization of the good, which has resulted in our contemporary conflation of the
The fact that emotions unveil our values as well as our position in the larger social structure m... more The fact that emotions unveil our values as well as our position in the larger social structure makes them an important source of self-knowledge and also knowledge about the world. By producing emotional reactions, fiction may become a privileged site of self-knowledge, both for the artist and for the public, although in different ways. While fiction cannot be taken as a faithful representation of factual reality, it does register emotional reactions to the facts as they are actually conveyed. From this perspective, the kind of fiction created in a given society constitutes relevant material for the sociology of culture.
In his 1996 book, The Myth of Social Action, Colin Campbell wrote that contemporary social theory... more In his 1996 book, The Myth of Social Action, Colin Campbell wrote that contemporary social theory is lacking “a theory of action which is not in the first instance a theory of social action (that is to say, a theory of communicative action or interaction), and yet which both fully embodies the principle of voluntarism and recognises the reality and significance of intra-subjective processes –without, however, being so completely intellectualist as to regard its subject-matter as composed entirely of decision-making processes (or indeed of ‘meaning-making’ processes)” .
By stressing the need for a theory of action that goes beyond contemporary theories of social action, Campbell was actually pointing a bit further to the need for recovering a stronger notion of subjectivity that is not diluted in social interaction . At the roots of this situation, according to Campbell, is a basic misinterpretation of Weber’s account of social action as a subcategory of action, and the enthroning of social action as the prevalent category instead. Campbell identifies the roots of this misinterpretation in the influential theories of Schutz and C. Wright Mills , and in certain developments in the philosophy of action derived from a linguistic turn that obscured the relevance of subjective motives distinct from end-reasons or intentions.
It is on this latter aspect that I will focus in this chapter.
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Books by Ana Marta González
Es esa misma racionalidad la que nos permite advertir ocasionales discrepancias entre el orden político en el que de hecho vivimos y lo que consideramos una exigencia inmediata de la ley moral en nosotros. En parte es la experiencia de esta discrepancia lo que nos mueve a preguntarnos por un orden superior de legitimidad, sancionador de los deberes ordinarios y tribunal de apelación en caso de conflicto. A este tribunal se remite, implícitamente, todo aquel que alega motivos de conciencia para no obedecer una determinada ley civil. Reconocer este derecho, sin embargo, no equivale a convertir la conciencia en un peligroso reducto de irracionalidad. Desde esta perspectiva, profundizar en la naturaleza moral del vínculo social no es solo un antídoto necesario frente a la tecnocracia; es también una tarea inexcusable para clarificar la relación entre ética y religión, precisamente en un momento en el que, en amplios sectores de la opinión pública la religión se presenta sobre todo como una realidad peligrosa para la convivencia humana y civilizada. Precisamente en un contexto así, resulta más urgente que nunca examinar, a la luz de la razón, la naturaleza específica de los deberes religiosos, como un tipo particular de deberes éticos, y, al propio tiempo, dar razón de por qué los deberes éticos pueden recabar para sí una sanción religiosa.
Es esa misma racionalidad la que nos permite advertir ocasionales discrepancias entre el orden político en el que de hecho vivimos y lo que consideramos una exigencia inmediata de la ley moral en nosotros. En parte es la experiencia de esta discrepancia lo que nos mueve a preguntarnos por un orden superior de legitimidad, sancionador de los deberes ordinarios y tribunal de apelación en caso de conflicto. A este tribunal se remite, implícitamente, todo aquel que alega motivos de conciencia para no obedecer una determinada ley civil. Reconocer este derecho, sin embargo, no equivale a convertir la conciencia en un peligroso reducto de irracionalidad. Desde esta perspectiva, profundizar en la naturaleza moral del vínculo social no es solo un antídoto necesario frente a la tecnocracia; es también una tarea inexcusable para clarificar la relación entre ética y religión, precisamente en un momento en el que, en amplios sectores de la opinión pública la religión se presenta sobre todo como una realidad peligrosa para la convivencia humana y civilizada. Precisamente en un contexto así, resulta más urgente que nunca examinar, a la luz de la razón, la naturaleza específica de los deberes religiosos, como un tipo particular de deberes éticos, y, al propio tiempo, dar razón de por qué los deberes éticos pueden recabar para sí una sanción religiosa.
In preparation for this task, I have spent the last year conducting an extensive literature review and have had many conversations with professors of history, law, economics, sociology, and with journalists who work in Catalonia. Their valuable contributions have specified and balanced my philosophical perspective.
I begin by framing this question with three important distinctions as follows:
a) First, not all nationalism is pro-independence.
b) Not all supporters of independence rely on nationalist theses.
c) A third sector of the population has joined the independence movement for mostly emotional reasons.
Beyond the complexity of the positions involved, a not-at-all-new secular problem underlines the current Catalan conflict that just began to be addressed in the 1978 Constitution, but that since then seems to have reached a dead end. Some have called it the "Catalan problem," although, from the other point of view, one could also speak of the "Spanish problem," alluding to the center-periphery tensions that characterize the development of the Spanish nation from the early modern age.
In this chapter, we propose an overview of some of the sociocultural developments that has resulted in what we can name the “emotional culture” of contemporary societies. Through the description of that set of cultural meanings and operational codes, by which people manage, deploy and understand their own emotions and actions, we will show that this particular emotional regime is significantly shaped by the media.
that human identity is coherent apart from the work of practical reason; rather, she is arguing that any coherence we can find in our lives depends on the work of practical reason, which brings unity to the manifold incentives derived from our animal nature under the principles of reason. Now, there is reason to think that this was also Kant’s own position to the extent that he thought of the human being as a belonging to two different reigns, the reign of nature and the reign of freedom, governed by equally different laws, and yet held the human being
responsible for developing human nature according to the moral law, so as to realize humanity’s moral vocation.
(...) In what follows, I want first to introduce the distinction between the good and the healthy as it has been conceptualized in the ethical tradition. Against this background, I will point out certain developments in nineteenth-century philosophy that, along with the scientific developments of that century, help us to understand the process of the naturalization of the good, which has resulted in our contemporary conflation of the
By stressing the need for a theory of action that goes beyond contemporary theories of social action, Campbell was actually pointing a bit further to the need for recovering a stronger notion of subjectivity that is not diluted in social interaction . At the roots of this situation, according to Campbell, is a basic misinterpretation of Weber’s account of social action as a subcategory of action, and the enthroning of social action as the prevalent category instead. Campbell identifies the roots of this misinterpretation in the influential theories of Schutz and C. Wright Mills , and in certain developments in the philosophy of action derived from a linguistic turn that obscured the relevance of subjective motives distinct from end-reasons or intentions.
It is on this latter aspect that I will focus in this chapter.