Papers by Miguel Escribano Cabeza
THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 2021
RESUMEN: Este trabajo plantea desde una perspectiva histórico-filosófica una reflexión sobre la i... more RESUMEN: Este trabajo plantea desde una perspectiva histórico-filosófica una reflexión sobre la idea de epigénesis en la obra de W. Harvey Exercitationes de generatione animalium (1651). El objetivo es contribuir a esclarecer la singular concepción que el médico inglés tiene de esta idea, comúnmente vinculada a la tradición mecanicista. Harvey desarrolla su visión de la embriogénesis como un proceso que no puede ser comprendido desde las categorías del arte humano, como se desprende de las críticas a su maestro Fabricius. Tampoco es exacto decir que su posición sea animista. Una inmersión en esta última cuestión nos mostrará su concepción orgánica del alma, en continuación con la tradición aristotélico-galénica.
ABSTRACT: This paper takes an organicist perspective of W. Harvey’s conception of epigenesis in his work Exercitationes de generatione animalium (1651). In line with this reading, I provide a critical assessment of the different interpretations (mechanistic or vitalist) of Harvey’s idea of epigenesis. The English physician develops his conception of embryogenesis as a process that cannot be understood from the categories of human art, as is apparent in his criticisms towards his teacher, Fabricius. Nor is it accurate to say that his position is animistic. An immersion in this last question will show us his organic conception of the soul, as an extension of the Aristotelian-Galenic tradition.
HYLE – International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry. 27(1):5-23., 2021
In his work Leibniz provides different approaches to the idea of organism. In the present paper I... more In his work Leibniz provides different approaches to the idea of organism. In the present paper I would like to focus on two of them. On the one hand, we find a chemical approach that studies the organism as a composite body. On the other hand, from a biological perspective, the organism is the result of a natural generation, i.e. the development and transformation of organic structures. The thesis that I defend in this paper is that both perspectives are convergent in the same ontological project built around a certain understanding of the chemistry that Leibniz proposes in his latest works.
ÉNDOXA, n. 46, pp. 323-348, 2020
Resumen: Se plantea el problema de la influencia de Suárez en la concepción de la individualidad ... more Resumen: Se plantea el problema de la influencia de Suárez en la concepción de la individualidad por Leibniz. Para ello se analiza principalmente la Disputatio Metaphysica de principio individui de Leibniz. Se diferencian tres posturas: tomista, scotista y suareziana. Se confronta la idea de ‘forma’ de Leibniz con la de Aristóteles y la idea de
‘forma sustancial’ con la escolástica y Suárez. La comparación de Leibniz con Suárez se centra en la noción clave de “forma sustancial” y se analizan sus diversos significados. Se formula la coincidencia de ambos autores en torno a la tesis de que la individuación tiene lugar en virtud de la “entidad total”. Finalmente se analiza el significado exacto de esta expresión y se señalan las diferencias entre ambos autores, especialmente las que se producen en la evolución final de Leibniz. Ahí se introduce la concepción de la forma sustancial como principio vital que cohesiona los cuerpos.
Abstract: The problem arises from Suárez’s influence on Leibniz’s conception of individuality. For this purpose, Leibniz’s Disputatio Metaphysica de principio individui is mainly analyzed. There are three different positions: Thomist, Scotist, and Suarez. Leibniz’s idea of “form” is confronted with that of Aristotle and the idea of “substantial form” with scholasticism and Suárez. Leibniz’s comparison with Suárez focuses on the key notion of “substantial form” and its various meanings are analyzed. The agreement of both authors has formulated around the thesis that individuation takes place by virtue of the “total entity”. Finally, the exact meaning of this expression is analyzed and the differences between the two authors are pointed out, especially those that occur in
Leibniz’s final evolution. There the conception of the substantial form is introduced as a vital principle that unites bodies.
Foundations of Chemistry, 2020
Chemistry and dynamics are closely related in G.W. Leibniz's thinking, from the corpus-cularism o... more Chemistry and dynamics are closely related in G.W. Leibniz's thinking, from the corpus-cularism of his youth to the theory of conspiracy movements that he proposes in his later years. Despite the importance of chemistry and chemical thought in Leibniz's philosophy, interpreters have not paid enough attention to this subject, especially in the recent decades. This work aims to contribute to filling this gap in Leibnizian studies. In this first part of the work I will expose the theory of matter that the young Leibniz conceives under the influence of chemical corpuscularism. Leibniz uses R. Boyle's interpretation of the Aristo-telian idea of form in order to give an explanation of the unity and cohesion of bodies. As opposed to the Cartesians, Leibniz puts forth the idea of a dependence between the variables of extension, movement and figure, without losing analytical clarity and with the aim of extending the explanatory power of physics to natural phenomena difficult to approach by Cartesian mechanics.
Foundations of Chemistry, 2020
Is Leibnizian dynamics the New Physics sought in his youth to provide a solution to the problem o... more Is Leibnizian dynamics the New Physics sought in his youth to provide a solution to the problem of body unity/composition? This question can only be answered tentatively. The thesis that I will develop in this second part is that chemical-combinatoria project is not complete without some ideas of dynamics. The idea of form, which since the early Leib-niz's philosophy is projected to give a foundation to the corpuscular theory, only reaches this objective with the theory of conspiring movements that Leibniz develops as the last phase of his dynamics. Within this general objective, this second part develops three secondary issues of importance: Leibniz's emergent and realistic position, his theory of compounds and the interpretation of the Combinatoria or Characteristica project as a science of forms.
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences , 2020
One of Leibniz’s most original ideas is his conception of the living individual as a hierarchical... more One of Leibniz’s most original ideas is his conception of the living individual as a hierarchical network of living beings whose relationships are essential to the proper functioning of its organic body. This idea is also valid to explain any existing order in nature that depends on the set of relationships of living beings that inhabit it. Both ideas are present in the conception of the natural world that Leibniz presents in his Monadology (§§ 63–70) through his idea of biological infinitism. According to this idea, nature consists of infinite theatres (some within others and some unfolding from others) where living beings unfold their vital functions. Through this idea Leibniz defines both the biological complexity of nature and the living individual, which is in turn a portion of nature that unfolds from an infinite set of inferior living beings. The thesis that I defend in this work is that this Leibnizian understanding of the living individual and the natural complexity that includes infinite hierarchical levels of individuality has a marked ecological sense, as we would say today. This Leibnizian metaphysics of individuality that we could call biological is also interesting in light of the recent studies in the philosophy of biology.
Front. Physiol. 11:530, 2020
The concept of identity is used both (i) to distinguish a system as a particular material entity ... more The concept of identity is used both (i) to distinguish a system as a particular material entity that is conserved as such in a given environment (token-identity: i.e., identity as permanence or endurance over time), and (ii) to relate a system with other members of a set (type-identity: i.e., identity as an equivalence relationship). Biological systems are characterized, in a minimal and universal sense, by a highly complex and dynamic, far-from-equilibrium organization of very diverse molecular components and transformation processes (i.e., 'genetically instructed cellular metabolisms') that maintain themselves in constant interaction with their corresponding environments, including other systems of similar nature. More precisely, all living entities depend on a deeply convoluted organization of molecules and processes (a naturalized von Neumann constructor architecture) that subsumes, in the form of current individuals (autonomous cells), a history of ecological and evolutionary interactions (across cell populations). So one can defend, on those grounds, that living beings have an identity of their own from both approximations: (i) and (ii). These transversal and trans-generational dimensions of biological phenomena, which unfold together with the actual process of biogenesis, must be carefully considered in order to understand the intricacies and metabolic robustness of the first living cells, their underlying uniformity (i.e., their common biochemical core) and the eradication of previous-or alternative-forms of complex natural phenomena. Therefore, a comprehensive approach to the origins of life requires conjugating the actual properties of the developing complex individuals (fusing and dividing protocells, at various stages) with other, population-level features, linked to their collective-evolutionary behavior, under much wider and longer-term parameters. On these lines, we will argue that life, in its most basic sense, here on Earth or anywhere else, demands crossing a high complexity threshold and that the concept of 'inter-identity' can help us realize the different aspects involved in the process. The article concludes by pointing out some of the challenges ahead if we are to integrate the corresponding explanatory frameworks, physiological and evolutionary, in the hope that a more general theory of biology is on its way.
Theoria. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 34(3), pp. 423-439, 2019
Desde una lectura organicista mostramos que la concepción de la ontogenia que desarrolla Jan Swam... more Desde una lectura organicista mostramos que la concepción de la ontogenia que desarrolla Jan Swammerdam a través de su idea de la metamorfosis nos permite revelar la existencia de una continuidad entre el epigenetismo de W. Harvey y el preformacionismo de G.W. Leibniz. La concepción moderna de la epigénesis (Harvey) y la preformación (Leibniz) no implica tanto un posicionamiento antagónico respecto al problema del origen del embrión cuanto un esfuerzo por desarrollar un mismo modelo de ontogenia frente a las alternativas mecanicistas o vitalistas. En línea con esta lectura, hacemos una valoración crítica de las diferentes interpretaciones preformacionistas de Swammerdam.
This paper takes an organicist perspective of Jan Swammerdam’s conception of metamorphis which allows us to identify a continuity betweem W. Harvey’s epigenetism and G.W. Leibniz’ preformationism – two historically opposed perspectives. In line with this reading, provide a critical assessment of the different preformationist interpretations of Swammerdam. The thesis that I defend in this paper is that the idea of preformation does not imply so much a theory about the origin of the embryo but a model of ontogenetic developmen that cannot be catalogued as mechanistic or as vitalist.
Daimon Revista Internacional de Filosofía, 79, pp. 53-67,, 2020
Resumen
Este trabajo analiza la complicidad entre las ideas de metamorfosis, preformación y armo... more Resumen
Este trabajo analiza la complicidad entre las ideas de metamorfosis, preformación y armonía en el pensamiento de Leibniz. El preformacionismo le permite desarrollar su teoría de la armonía preestablecida en el plano de la filosofía natural. Además, las explicaciones ontogenéticas con base en la idea de metamorfosis le sitúan en la antesala de las teorías de la evolución. Esto se observa en el modo como explica la relación entre el viviente y su entorno, en la sustitución del hilemorfismo por la idea de desarrollo y en incluir la dimensión histórica en el estudio de la diversidad de las especies.
Palabras clave: Leibniz, preformacionismo, metamorfosis, armonía preestablecida
Abstract
The present paper analyses the complicity between the ideas of metamorphosis, preformation and harmony in the thought of Leibniz. The preformationism allows the philosopher to develop his theory of the preestablished harmony in the field of natural philosophy. In addition, the ontogenetic explanations that are based on the idea of metamorphosis situate him as a forerunner of the evolutionary theory. This can be noted in the way he explains the relation between the living and its environments, the substitution of hylomorphism with the idea of development, and the way he incorporates the historical dimension in the study on the diversity of species.
Keywords: Leibniz, preformationism, metamorphosis, preestablished harmony
Hipogrifo. Revista de literatura y cultura del Siglo de Oro, Vol. 6, Núm. 2 (2018), pp. 581-620., 2018
Resumen: el objetivo de este trabajo es reconstruir el pensamiento filosófico de Gracián a parti... more Resumen: el objetivo de este trabajo es reconstruir el pensamiento filosófico de Gracián a partir de su obra El Criticón. Para ello se parte de una análisis de la estructura y contenido de la obra, así como de una confrontación con los autores más representativos de la modernidad filosófica. De especial interés es la deconstrucción que encontramos en el pensamiento graciano del sujeto moderno (cartesiano y kantiano), así como de la idea de sentido común, dos de los principales pilares sobre los que se asienta la filosofía moderna. El pensamiento filosófico de Gracián atraviesa la modernidad de un modo transversal, abriendo sobre ella nuevas posibilidades que pueden ser desarrolladas en el presente. Una de estas posibilidades parte de su concepción del hombre: lejos del sujeto moderno, el hombre graciano es el hombre mundano, vulgar, que se enfrenta a la banalidad cotidiana que inunda las plazas de las grandes urbes. Gracián nos muestra cómo esta banalidad es el operador del hombre moderno, aquello desde lo que nace lo deforme pero también el prodigio. La manera como Gracián comprende y analiza en El Criticón esta realidad mundana está destinada a hacer del hombre, del lector, alguien juicioso y prudente, sin embargo, el pensador español no funda esta virtud en una moral concreta, sino que le da un desarrollo estético.
Palabras clave: Baltasar Gracián, El Criticón, filosofía moderna, sujeto moderno, banalidad
Summary: The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the philosophical thought of Gracián starting from his work El Criticón. To begin with, I analyse the structure and content of the work as well as the debate with the most representative authors of modern philosophy. Of special interest is the deconstruction of the modern subject (Cartesian and Kantian) in the Gracian thought as well as the idea of common-sense – two of the main pillars on which modern philosophy is grounded. The Gracian philosophical thought crosses modern age in a transversal way by opening new possibilities to develop in the present. One of these possibilities is based on his concept of man: far from the modern subject, the Gracian man is the mundane, vulgar man who is confronted with the daily banality which overflows the urban squares of the time. Gracián shows how this banality is the operator of the modern man, which deforms man since the moment of its birth and at the same time enhances its prodigy. The way in which Gracián understands and analyses the mundane reality in El Criticón is to make the reader sensible and cautious. However, the Spanish thinker does not link this virtue to a concrete moral thought, but renders it with aesthetic development.
Key words: Baltasar Gracián, El Criticón, modern philosophy, the modern subject, banality.
Revista de Filosofía de la Universidad de Costa Rica, 129-131, pp. 433-441, 2013
Resumen: Junto a la línea de interpretación logicista, la dinámica ha sido una de las más privile... more Resumen: Junto a la línea de interpretación logicista, la dinámica ha sido una de las más privilegiadas en la historia de la recepción de la obra de Leibniz. Ello es debido a que en torno a (en relación al) la evolución del campo semántico de la noción de fuerza vemos dis-ponerse muchos de los principales problemas que estimulan el desarrollo del pensamiento del filósofo en su dimensión ontológica. Tal línea de análisis, que toma como base el modelo abstrac-to de la fuerza, rebasa los límites de la dinámica, al menos tal y como hoy en día se encuentra compartimentada dentro de las ciencias físicas, y nos presenta en atención a la obra de Leibniz el juego de una multiplicidad de campos espe-culativos y la lógica interna de su ordenamiento disciplinar. No por ello el mismo Leibniz sitúa la dinámica en relación directa con la metafísica. Palabras clave: Fuerza. Individuo. Principio. Abstract: Along with the logicist line of interpretation, the dynamic one has been one of the most privileged in the history of the reception of Leibniz' work. This is due to the fact that related to the semantic field of the notion of force we find several of the main problems which stimulate the development of philosophical thinking in its ontological dimension. An analytical approach which takes as basis the abstract model of force reestablishes the limits of dynamics, at least as it is found nowadays in the science of physics, and emphasizes within Leibniz' work the interplay of a multitude of speculative fields as well as the internal logic of the discipline. It is Leibniz himself who situates the notion of dynamics in direct relationship with metaphysics.
Dissertatio. Revista de Filosofia, 3, pp. 150-171, 2016
RESUMEN: Este trabajo pretende analizar la cuestión del perspectivismo leibniziano en clave bioló... more RESUMEN: Este trabajo pretende analizar la cuestión del perspectivismo leibniziano en clave biológica. Siguiendo esta idea, la actividad de la sustancia corpórea se interpretaría a partir de la relación individuo-entorno. En estos términos, el análisis de la operatividad del organismo nos lleva a la caracterización de lo que denominaremos vitalismo transcendental. A cada ser vivo, en función de su pertenencia a una u otra especie biológica, le corresponderá entonces un peculiar esquematismo a partir del cual el individuo comprende el entorno físico como mundo de percepción. Una ventaja de esta interpretación es aportar una mayor comprensión a la idea de la armonía preestablecida. Nos centraremos fundamentalmente en textos de madurez del filósofo. ABSTRACT: The present work aims to analyze Leibniz' perspectivism in a biological note. Following this idea, the activity of the bodily substance will be interpreted as based on the relationship between the individual and the environment. Against this background, the analysis of the organism's functionality leads us to a characterisation which we have dubbed transcendental vitalism. Each living organism belonging to any biological species comprehends the physical environment as a world-of-perception. One of the advantages of such an interpretation is that it contributes to a better understanding of the idea of the pre-established harmony. To this end, we will focus primarily on those texts of the mature Leibniz.
Cultura. Revista de História e Teoria das Ideias, 32, pp. 211 - 239, 2014
Book Reviews by Miguel Escribano Cabeza
Diálogo Filosófico, n. 101, 2018, pp. 267-281.
John Locke, La razonabilidad del cristianismo, Madrid: Tecnos, Clásicos del Pensamiento, 2017, 23... more John Locke, La razonabilidad del cristianismo, Madrid: Tecnos, Clásicos del Pensamiento, 2017, 235 págs. Estudio introductorio de Leopoldo José Prieto López. Traducción y anotación crítica de Leonardo Rodríguez Duplá y Leopoldo José Prieto López.
Studia Leibnitiana (forthcomming)
Araucaria. Revista Iberoamericana de Filosofía, Política y Humanidades, mayo , 2016
Resumen
El objetivo de esta obra es triple: i) presentar al lector las traducciones al castellan... more Resumen
El objetivo de esta obra es triple: i) presentar al lector las traducciones al castellano de los textos más relevantes de las distintas teorías de la verdad desarrolladas en el siglo XX y principios del siglo XXI; ii) exponerlas de manera organizada en siete grupos bien definidos: teorías de la correspondencia, pro-oracionales, fenomenológicas, hermenéuticas, coherenciales, pragmatistas e intersubjetivas; iii) poner de relieve mediante dicha división la idea de que la verdad es un concepto multifacético y que, por tanto, una adecuada aproximación a su problemática ha de incluir las diversas perspectivas que comprende.
Palabras clave: correspondentismo, pro-oracionalismo, fenomenología, hermenéutica, pragmatismo, intersubjetivismo.
Abstract
The aim of this work is threefold: i) to present translations to Castilian of the most important texts of the various theories of truth developed in the twentieth century and early twenty-first century; ii) to expose all of these thoeries in an organized manner in seven distinct groups: theories of correspondence, pro-sentential theories, phenomenological theories, hermeneutical theories, coherentist theories, pragmatist theories, and inter-subjectivist theories; and iii) to highlight that what such a division shows is that truth is a kaleidoscopic concept that forces us to include diverse perspectives in order to reach an appropriate approach to its problems.
Keywords: correspondentism, pro-sententialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, pragmatism, inter-subjetivism.
Logos. Anales del seminario de Metafísica, 41, pp. 353 - 358, 2009
Pongamos por caso que, durante el transcurso de la escritura de esta reseña, el reseñante se hubi... more Pongamos por caso que, durante el transcurso de la escritura de esta reseña, el reseñante se hubiera encontrado ante una pequeña e imposible arruga sobre la superficie del papel. Un doblez, o un pliegue, que hiciera posible por un momento distinguir entre dos niveles que antes corrían paralelamente sin ser consciente a su atención distraída. Por un lado, observaría las palabras que se van desplegando mientras son escritas; por el otro, el sentido que acontece en su cabeza y que se desprende de aquellas. A su vez, el acto de escribir va despejando una pequeña zona de claridad en un pensamiento: allí donde antes la idea de escribir una reseña era algo oscuro y confuso, una inquietud, una picazón abierta en el alma tras un encar-go, se va actualizando una pequeña luz que integra la atención de la conciencia, descartando otras pequeñas inquietudes que son dejadas al margen, en una zona muy cercana a ese lado oscuro donde todo se deshace en un caos de " impresiones " y quedamos desnudos como idiotas. Por un lado, se materializan las palabras sobre el papel a la carrera; por el otro, se encadena sobre ellas, y paralelamente, un pensamiento en una conciencia. El hecho que va a centrar la atención es la existencia de una armonía perfecta entre ambos lados, aunque parezca que las palabras actúan con independencia, como si no existiera quien las escribe o lee, por mera relación de unas con otras y parezca
Logos. Anales del Seminario de Metafísica, 46, pp. 410 - 415, 2013
entre ellas, sino que -afirma de manera muy gráfica-simplemente las ha vivido como las dos manos:... more entre ellas, sino que -afirma de manera muy gráfica-simplemente las ha vivido como las dos manos: "Una es la derecha y otra la izquierda pero las dos se ayudan mutuamente sin confundirse". Se complementan proporcionándose recíprocamente temas, instrumentos o métodos, sin que la aceptación de ninguna de ellas suponga una merma en la libertad de la otra; sino que más bien están abiertas o referidas entre sí. Por esto no encuentra dificultades para el cultivo de una filosofía cristiana. Ésta -repite enfáticamente-no equivale a la pertenencia a una sola escuela filosófica, sino que está abierta a toda la filosofía, aunque haya ciertos límites naturales. Una vez más, el énfasis en la libertad, condición de posibilidad del pensamiento.
Dissertatio. Revista de Filosofia, Dossiê Leibniz, Volume Suplementar 3, pp. 461 - 468, 2016
Book Chapter by Miguel Escribano Cabeza
Guía Comares de Leibniz (Monadología), Granada: Comares (forthcoming, 2021)
Comares. Fecha prevista 2020-2021.
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Papers by Miguel Escribano Cabeza
ABSTRACT: This paper takes an organicist perspective of W. Harvey’s conception of epigenesis in his work Exercitationes de generatione animalium (1651). In line with this reading, I provide a critical assessment of the different interpretations (mechanistic or vitalist) of Harvey’s idea of epigenesis. The English physician develops his conception of embryogenesis as a process that cannot be understood from the categories of human art, as is apparent in his criticisms towards his teacher, Fabricius. Nor is it accurate to say that his position is animistic. An immersion in this last question will show us his organic conception of the soul, as an extension of the Aristotelian-Galenic tradition.
‘forma sustancial’ con la escolástica y Suárez. La comparación de Leibniz con Suárez se centra en la noción clave de “forma sustancial” y se analizan sus diversos significados. Se formula la coincidencia de ambos autores en torno a la tesis de que la individuación tiene lugar en virtud de la “entidad total”. Finalmente se analiza el significado exacto de esta expresión y se señalan las diferencias entre ambos autores, especialmente las que se producen en la evolución final de Leibniz. Ahí se introduce la concepción de la forma sustancial como principio vital que cohesiona los cuerpos.
Abstract: The problem arises from Suárez’s influence on Leibniz’s conception of individuality. For this purpose, Leibniz’s Disputatio Metaphysica de principio individui is mainly analyzed. There are three different positions: Thomist, Scotist, and Suarez. Leibniz’s idea of “form” is confronted with that of Aristotle and the idea of “substantial form” with scholasticism and Suárez. Leibniz’s comparison with Suárez focuses on the key notion of “substantial form” and its various meanings are analyzed. The agreement of both authors has formulated around the thesis that individuation takes place by virtue of the “total entity”. Finally, the exact meaning of this expression is analyzed and the differences between the two authors are pointed out, especially those that occur in
Leibniz’s final evolution. There the conception of the substantial form is introduced as a vital principle that unites bodies.
This paper takes an organicist perspective of Jan Swammerdam’s conception of metamorphis which allows us to identify a continuity betweem W. Harvey’s epigenetism and G.W. Leibniz’ preformationism – two historically opposed perspectives. In line with this reading, provide a critical assessment of the different preformationist interpretations of Swammerdam. The thesis that I defend in this paper is that the idea of preformation does not imply so much a theory about the origin of the embryo but a model of ontogenetic developmen that cannot be catalogued as mechanistic or as vitalist.
Este trabajo analiza la complicidad entre las ideas de metamorfosis, preformación y armonía en el pensamiento de Leibniz. El preformacionismo le permite desarrollar su teoría de la armonía preestablecida en el plano de la filosofía natural. Además, las explicaciones ontogenéticas con base en la idea de metamorfosis le sitúan en la antesala de las teorías de la evolución. Esto se observa en el modo como explica la relación entre el viviente y su entorno, en la sustitución del hilemorfismo por la idea de desarrollo y en incluir la dimensión histórica en el estudio de la diversidad de las especies.
Palabras clave: Leibniz, preformacionismo, metamorfosis, armonía preestablecida
Abstract
The present paper analyses the complicity between the ideas of metamorphosis, preformation and harmony in the thought of Leibniz. The preformationism allows the philosopher to develop his theory of the preestablished harmony in the field of natural philosophy. In addition, the ontogenetic explanations that are based on the idea of metamorphosis situate him as a forerunner of the evolutionary theory. This can be noted in the way he explains the relation between the living and its environments, the substitution of hylomorphism with the idea of development, and the way he incorporates the historical dimension in the study on the diversity of species.
Keywords: Leibniz, preformationism, metamorphosis, preestablished harmony
Palabras clave: Baltasar Gracián, El Criticón, filosofía moderna, sujeto moderno, banalidad
Summary: The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the philosophical thought of Gracián starting from his work El Criticón. To begin with, I analyse the structure and content of the work as well as the debate with the most representative authors of modern philosophy. Of special interest is the deconstruction of the modern subject (Cartesian and Kantian) in the Gracian thought as well as the idea of common-sense – two of the main pillars on which modern philosophy is grounded. The Gracian philosophical thought crosses modern age in a transversal way by opening new possibilities to develop in the present. One of these possibilities is based on his concept of man: far from the modern subject, the Gracian man is the mundane, vulgar man who is confronted with the daily banality which overflows the urban squares of the time. Gracián shows how this banality is the operator of the modern man, which deforms man since the moment of its birth and at the same time enhances its prodigy. The way in which Gracián understands and analyses the mundane reality in El Criticón is to make the reader sensible and cautious. However, the Spanish thinker does not link this virtue to a concrete moral thought, but renders it with aesthetic development.
Key words: Baltasar Gracián, El Criticón, modern philosophy, the modern subject, banality.
Book Reviews by Miguel Escribano Cabeza
El objetivo de esta obra es triple: i) presentar al lector las traducciones al castellano de los textos más relevantes de las distintas teorías de la verdad desarrolladas en el siglo XX y principios del siglo XXI; ii) exponerlas de manera organizada en siete grupos bien definidos: teorías de la correspondencia, pro-oracionales, fenomenológicas, hermenéuticas, coherenciales, pragmatistas e intersubjetivas; iii) poner de relieve mediante dicha división la idea de que la verdad es un concepto multifacético y que, por tanto, una adecuada aproximación a su problemática ha de incluir las diversas perspectivas que comprende.
Palabras clave: correspondentismo, pro-oracionalismo, fenomenología, hermenéutica, pragmatismo, intersubjetivismo.
Abstract
The aim of this work is threefold: i) to present translations to Castilian of the most important texts of the various theories of truth developed in the twentieth century and early twenty-first century; ii) to expose all of these thoeries in an organized manner in seven distinct groups: theories of correspondence, pro-sentential theories, phenomenological theories, hermeneutical theories, coherentist theories, pragmatist theories, and inter-subjectivist theories; and iii) to highlight that what such a division shows is that truth is a kaleidoscopic concept that forces us to include diverse perspectives in order to reach an appropriate approach to its problems.
Keywords: correspondentism, pro-sententialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, pragmatism, inter-subjetivism.
Book Chapter by Miguel Escribano Cabeza
ABSTRACT: This paper takes an organicist perspective of W. Harvey’s conception of epigenesis in his work Exercitationes de generatione animalium (1651). In line with this reading, I provide a critical assessment of the different interpretations (mechanistic or vitalist) of Harvey’s idea of epigenesis. The English physician develops his conception of embryogenesis as a process that cannot be understood from the categories of human art, as is apparent in his criticisms towards his teacher, Fabricius. Nor is it accurate to say that his position is animistic. An immersion in this last question will show us his organic conception of the soul, as an extension of the Aristotelian-Galenic tradition.
‘forma sustancial’ con la escolástica y Suárez. La comparación de Leibniz con Suárez se centra en la noción clave de “forma sustancial” y se analizan sus diversos significados. Se formula la coincidencia de ambos autores en torno a la tesis de que la individuación tiene lugar en virtud de la “entidad total”. Finalmente se analiza el significado exacto de esta expresión y se señalan las diferencias entre ambos autores, especialmente las que se producen en la evolución final de Leibniz. Ahí se introduce la concepción de la forma sustancial como principio vital que cohesiona los cuerpos.
Abstract: The problem arises from Suárez’s influence on Leibniz’s conception of individuality. For this purpose, Leibniz’s Disputatio Metaphysica de principio individui is mainly analyzed. There are three different positions: Thomist, Scotist, and Suarez. Leibniz’s idea of “form” is confronted with that of Aristotle and the idea of “substantial form” with scholasticism and Suárez. Leibniz’s comparison with Suárez focuses on the key notion of “substantial form” and its various meanings are analyzed. The agreement of both authors has formulated around the thesis that individuation takes place by virtue of the “total entity”. Finally, the exact meaning of this expression is analyzed and the differences between the two authors are pointed out, especially those that occur in
Leibniz’s final evolution. There the conception of the substantial form is introduced as a vital principle that unites bodies.
This paper takes an organicist perspective of Jan Swammerdam’s conception of metamorphis which allows us to identify a continuity betweem W. Harvey’s epigenetism and G.W. Leibniz’ preformationism – two historically opposed perspectives. In line with this reading, provide a critical assessment of the different preformationist interpretations of Swammerdam. The thesis that I defend in this paper is that the idea of preformation does not imply so much a theory about the origin of the embryo but a model of ontogenetic developmen that cannot be catalogued as mechanistic or as vitalist.
Este trabajo analiza la complicidad entre las ideas de metamorfosis, preformación y armonía en el pensamiento de Leibniz. El preformacionismo le permite desarrollar su teoría de la armonía preestablecida en el plano de la filosofía natural. Además, las explicaciones ontogenéticas con base en la idea de metamorfosis le sitúan en la antesala de las teorías de la evolución. Esto se observa en el modo como explica la relación entre el viviente y su entorno, en la sustitución del hilemorfismo por la idea de desarrollo y en incluir la dimensión histórica en el estudio de la diversidad de las especies.
Palabras clave: Leibniz, preformacionismo, metamorfosis, armonía preestablecida
Abstract
The present paper analyses the complicity between the ideas of metamorphosis, preformation and harmony in the thought of Leibniz. The preformationism allows the philosopher to develop his theory of the preestablished harmony in the field of natural philosophy. In addition, the ontogenetic explanations that are based on the idea of metamorphosis situate him as a forerunner of the evolutionary theory. This can be noted in the way he explains the relation between the living and its environments, the substitution of hylomorphism with the idea of development, and the way he incorporates the historical dimension in the study on the diversity of species.
Keywords: Leibniz, preformationism, metamorphosis, preestablished harmony
Palabras clave: Baltasar Gracián, El Criticón, filosofía moderna, sujeto moderno, banalidad
Summary: The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the philosophical thought of Gracián starting from his work El Criticón. To begin with, I analyse the structure and content of the work as well as the debate with the most representative authors of modern philosophy. Of special interest is the deconstruction of the modern subject (Cartesian and Kantian) in the Gracian thought as well as the idea of common-sense – two of the main pillars on which modern philosophy is grounded. The Gracian philosophical thought crosses modern age in a transversal way by opening new possibilities to develop in the present. One of these possibilities is based on his concept of man: far from the modern subject, the Gracian man is the mundane, vulgar man who is confronted with the daily banality which overflows the urban squares of the time. Gracián shows how this banality is the operator of the modern man, which deforms man since the moment of its birth and at the same time enhances its prodigy. The way in which Gracián understands and analyses the mundane reality in El Criticón is to make the reader sensible and cautious. However, the Spanish thinker does not link this virtue to a concrete moral thought, but renders it with aesthetic development.
Key words: Baltasar Gracián, El Criticón, modern philosophy, the modern subject, banality.
El objetivo de esta obra es triple: i) presentar al lector las traducciones al castellano de los textos más relevantes de las distintas teorías de la verdad desarrolladas en el siglo XX y principios del siglo XXI; ii) exponerlas de manera organizada en siete grupos bien definidos: teorías de la correspondencia, pro-oracionales, fenomenológicas, hermenéuticas, coherenciales, pragmatistas e intersubjetivas; iii) poner de relieve mediante dicha división la idea de que la verdad es un concepto multifacético y que, por tanto, una adecuada aproximación a su problemática ha de incluir las diversas perspectivas que comprende.
Palabras clave: correspondentismo, pro-oracionalismo, fenomenología, hermenéutica, pragmatismo, intersubjetivismo.
Abstract
The aim of this work is threefold: i) to present translations to Castilian of the most important texts of the various theories of truth developed in the twentieth century and early twenty-first century; ii) to expose all of these thoeries in an organized manner in seven distinct groups: theories of correspondence, pro-sentential theories, phenomenological theories, hermeneutical theories, coherentist theories, pragmatist theories, and inter-subjectivist theories; and iii) to highlight that what such a division shows is that truth is a kaleidoscopic concept that forces us to include diverse perspectives in order to reach an appropriate approach to its problems.
Keywords: correspondentism, pro-sententialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, pragmatism, inter-subjetivism.
El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar qué entiende G.W. Leibniz por organismo y si es posible que con esta idea pensara una tercera vía al conflicto entre mecanicismo y vitalismo en la línea de la corriente organicista del s. XX. En este contexto, las tesis a contrastar son: 1) en la controversia con el vitalismo de G.E. Stahl, Leibniz defiende una comprensión del cuerpo orgánico que incluye la unidad y la coordinación de sus partes (sin ningún recurso al alma); 2) esta comprensión de la unidad del cuerpo orgánico no es mecanicista.
En el marco del pensamiento leibniziano, la idea de organismo puede ser atrapada dentro de su delimitación entre tres ejes diferenciales que la distinguen de: 1) el reduccionismo mecanicista, 2) el intrusismo vitalista y 3) los cuerpos no-orgánicos. Esta delimitación de la idea de organismo es fundamental si queremos entender la comprensión leibniziana del ser vivo como una unidad psicosomática cuya actividad es percepción y apetito.
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to analyze Leibniz’ understanding of the organism and if based on this idea he developed a third way to scape the conflict between mechanicism and vitalism in line with the Organicism of the twentieth century. The theses that will be contrasted here are: 1) In the controversy with the vitalism of G.E. Stahl, Leibniz defends an understanding of the organic body that includes the unity and coordination of its parts (without involving the soul); 2) This understanding of the unity of the organic body is not mechanistic.
Within the framework of Leibnizian thought, the idea of an organism can be trapped within its delimitation between three differential axes that distinguish it from: 1) Mechanistic reductionism, 2) Vitalist intrusion and 3) Non-organic bodies. This delimitation of the idea of organism is fundamental if we want to understand the Leibnizian understanding of the living being as a psychosomatic unit whose activity is perception and appetite.
2. Ediciones de la Monadología. Interpretaciones histórico-críticas de la génesis de la obra
3. Traducciones y ediciones de la Monadología al castellano
4. Relación de las ediciones, traducciones y principales estudios histórico-críticos que se ha publicado de la Monadología
2. Impulse and Resistance in the Early Heidegger’s Hermeneutical Phenomenology
2.1. Transcendence and Impulse (Drang) in Heidegger’s Interpretation of Leibniz
2.2. Objective Presence (Vorhandenheit) and Resistance (Widerständigkeit)
3. Impulse and Resistance in Leibniz: Force as the Principle of Effective Reality
3.1. Force (vis activa) and Impulse (Drang): The Intrinsic Principle of the Substance and the Perceptive Transcendence of the Human Monad
3.2 Force (vis pasiva) and Resistance (Widerständigkeit): From a Negative to a Positive Determination
4. Conclusion
Heidegger’s work about Leibniz. For this purpose, we list two types of
sources. On the one hand, there is a section concerning texts by Heidegger
containing specific discussions of or references to Leibniz. And on the
other, we include a list of references of available texts concerning the
relationship between Heidegger’s and Leibniz’s philosophy.
II. Zusammenfassung der Untersuchung
III. Leibniz' Arbeitsbibliothek
IV. Sekundärliteratur Leibniz-Aristoteles
[English below]
En septiembre de 1714, G.W. Leibniz escribió en Viena en francés el primer borrador de un opúsculo que a partir de la edición de H. Köhler se conocería como "Monadología". Con motivo del cumplimiento del 300 aniversario de la redacción de esta obra se celebró en Granada del 3 al 5 de abril de 2014 el II Congreso Iberoamericano Leibniz.
Se presentaron alrededor de 200 ponencias procedentes de 16 países diferentes. Este volumen recoge una selección de las contribuciones presentadas, organizadas en cuatro grupos temáticos: (1) racionalidad lógico-matemática, (2) epistemología, ciencia y principios, (3) psicología, lenguaje y antropología y (4) Teodicea y el problema del mal.
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In September 1714, during his stay in Vienna, Leibniz wrote in French a first draft of a brief untitled treatise, that later became known as "Monadology". This name appeared by the first time in the German publication made of it in 1720 by H. Köhler. In commemoration of the 300 anniversary of the composition of this work, it took place in Granada, from April 3th to 5th 2015, the II Congreso Iberoamericano Leibniz.
It were submitted about 200 papers an in it participated the best international specialists from 16 countries. This volume includes a selection of those contributions, and are organized into four thematic-groups: (1) Logic-Mathematical Rationality, (2) Epistemology, Science and Principles, (3) Psychology, Language and Anthropology and (4) Theodicy and the problem of evil.
Las investigaciones leibnizianas en relación a la complejidad y la dinámica de los cuerpos evolucionaron siguiendo un proceso sinuoso de ilustración en el que el filósofo se fue nutriendo de múltiples fuentes, desde la tradición hermética al mecanicismo, el experimentalismo inglés y las observaciones de los microscopistas. Esta evolución de la metafísica leibniziana, en sus complicidades con la física, la epistemología y la biología, puede explicarse articulando en la idea de esquematismo la visión que sobre la complejidad y la dinámica de la materia mantuvo Leibniz a lo largo de su vida. El análisis de tales esquematismos, preestablecidos en los entes naturales (entidades materiales, sujetos y seres vivos), permite explicar cómo la armonía leibniziana se diferencia en, y opera entre, diferentes niveles: como movimientos conspirantes entre los sistemas corpusculares, como unidad de la representación en el sujeto y como unidad orgánica (dependencia entre la especie biológica y su mundo de percepción).