José Antonio Santos

Contemporary societies are regulated by a complex system, which tends to be exhaustive, supported by growing social and technical interdependence. This system is composed of subsystems: global economic production, liberal political institutions and a social organization based on labour. As a whole, these three dimensions – political, economical, social – tend to compress contemporary life forms into a single way of life, primarily structured by systemic functionality. Although it admits variations of degree (or even, to some extent, qualitative differences), the functional codes (of systems) guide actions daily and impose severe limitations on lifestyles, which are particularly noticeable when the struggle for survival, both economically and socially, mobilizes all of one’s time and energy. The means obliterate the ends, functioning obliterates meaning, survival obliterates the proper human “life”. At the political level, liberal thought masks the “malaise of modern civilization” resulting from these limitations by evacuating the question on forms of life to the private sphere, concurrently with the insistence on an abstract political ethic of the “just”, ultimately determining the form and functioning of the institutions, which overrides any and all ethics of “good”.

El presente artículo discute algunos aspectos del nuevo paradigma del derecho de resistencia en diversas constituciones contemporáneas de Europa y América Latina. En primer lugar, abordamos el concepto y la regulación constitucional del derecho de resistencia en diferentes países. En segundo lugar, examinamos su carácter jurídico, esto es, si se trata de un derecho moral o un derecho propiamente jurídico. Para determinados autores, resulta plausible considerar el derecho a la resistencia como un derecho estrictamente jurídico, pero pensamos que ese argumento es erróneo. Desde una perspectiva más amplia, nos pregun- tamos sobre el deber de resistir contra el Estado de derecho, incluso en el caso de que los poderes aparezcan como formalmente respetuosos de las reglas creadas por las institucio- nes democráticas. Se trata esencialmente de un problema acerca de la concepción de los derechos en las democracias consolidadas y no consolidadas. En este sentido, proponemos una perspectiva compatible con el Estado de derecho que distinga entre desobediencia civil y derecho de resistencia, evitando postular teorías sobre los derechos desde la f ilosofía política. En este contexto, nuestra tesis es más desobediencia civil y menos derecho de resistencia. Por último, la parte cuarta indica algunas conclusiones.

The article aims to define and analyze from a hermeneutical perspective the concept of memory and human dignity in the post-metaphysical era. The section I presents a brief introduction to the topic. The section II provides a concise overview of the concept of memory understood as historical consciousness, which is analyzed from a conception characterized by the fact that the present decisions have your foundations in the past. It is understood from a reasonable past in line with the political equality of all human beings. The section III offers an understanding of human rights, which consists of a rethinking of the present historical consciousness. The concept of historical consciousness allows us to understand the importance of spatial-temporal changes and future prospects. In the section IV, a conception of human nature in relationship with human dignity has been more extensively analyzed, establishing that humanity is past, present and future. Finally, the last section draws some conclusions.

Este artículo reflexiona sobre la idea de una ética del débil que muestra su desconfianza frente al auge del individualismo capitalista exacerbado que alimenta un perfeccionismo tecnológico. La modernidad ampliada, como proyecto inacabado, sirve de contexto para mostrar la fuerte disociación entre humanidad y naturaleza. Ambos conceptos puestos en relación con el perfeccionismo de los seres humanos acaban por devaluar e incluso negar una naturaleza humana más o menos permanente. Por ello, apremia retomar un concepto de naturaleza humana entendido como aquel programa de perfeccionamiento de un ser libre, que incluya una serie de elementos comunes debido a rasgos genotípicos y fenotípicos, a la vez que un concepto ontológico de dignidad humana que parta de la igualdad política de todos los seres humanos. El tiempo histórico debe repensarse para que las decisiones éticas, médicas, jurídicas en el ámbito tecnológico se tomen con prudencia y responsabilidad, teniendo en cuenta que lamentablemente los procesos llevados a cabo son irreversibles.

Agreement technologies refer to a novel paradigm for the construction of distributed intelligent systems, where autonomous software agents negotiate to reach agreements on behalf of their human users. Smart Cities are a key application domain for agreement technologies. While several proofs of concept and prototypes exist, such systems are still far from ready for being deployed in the real-world. In this paper we focus on a novel method for managing elements of smart road infrastructures of the future, namely the case of auction-based road intersections. We show that, even though the key technological elements for such methods are already available, there are multiple non-technical issues that need to be tackled before they can be applied in practice. For this purpose, we analyse legal and ethical implications of auction-based road intersections in the context of international regulations and from the standpoint of the Spanish legislation. From this exercise, we extract a set of required modifications, of both technical and legal nature, which need to be addressed so as to pave the way for the potential real-world deployment of such systems in a future that may not be too far away.

This paper discusses two of the main theories regarding the right to resistance: first, that the right to resistance is that of resistance against injustice; and secondly, that the right to resistance is the original, or most basic of all rights. The analysis provides a characterization of the nature of the right to resistance, that is, whether it is a moral right or a properly legal right. On the other hand, we raise the question as to whether the right to resistance can even be considered a fundamental and/or original right. We also look at the role of this right in a lawless state as opposed to a state governed by the rule of law. Thus, the paper concludes with an examination of the conception of resistance in a state governed by the rule of law, by means of a small-coin right of resistance.

Este artículo reflexiona sobre la idea de una ética del débil que muestra su desconfianza frente al auge del individualismo capitalista exacerbado que alimenta un perfeccionismo tecnológico. La modernidad ampliada, como proyecto inacabado, sirve de contexto para mostrar la fuerte disociación entre humanidad y naturaleza. Ambos conceptos puestos en relación con el perfeccionismo de los seres humanos acaban por devaluar e incluso negar una naturaleza humana más o menos permanente. Por ello, apremia retomar un concepto de naturaleza humana entendido como aquel programa de perfeccionamiento de un ser libre, que incluya una serie de elementos comunes debido a rasgos genotípicos y fenotípicos, a la vez que un concepto ontológico de dignidad humana que parta de la igualdad política de todos los seres humanos. El tiempo histórico debe repensarse para que las decisiones éticas, médicas, jurídicas en el ámbito tecnológico se tomen con prudencia y responsabilidad, teniendo en cuenta que lamentablemente los procesos llevados a cabo son irreversibles.