There is much talk today about Fascism, anti-fascism (‘Antifa’) and whether Trump and the Republican party represent a slide of the United States towards this form of oppression.

I know a thing or two about Fascism because I grew up in a genuinely Fascist country: Spain under the dictatorship of general Franco. It lasted 40 years, from 1939 to 1978. I was born in 1957, so I lived for 20 years under it. My father was a Franco supporter and had high government positions as president of two state-run universities. He even had meetings with the Generalísimo himself. For me…

Preguntas

¿Cómo produce el cerebro la consciencia?

Definiría la consciencia como la propiedad de nuestra mente por la cual nos damos cuenta de nuestro entorno, de nuestras sensaciones corporales y de lo que estamos haciendo. La consciencia también nos dice que existimos como mentes que tienen pensamientos, recuerdos y emociones.

Según la visión científica del mundo, todo lo que sucede en nuestra mente es producto de la actividad de nuestro cerebro. Sin embargo, algunos filósofos como David Chalmers sostienen que hay algo misterioso e inefable en la consciencia que la ciencia nunca podrá explicar como actividad cerebral. ¿Puede ser esto un…

“Sentido” podría definirse como algo más grande que nosotros mismos que le da propósito y dirección a nuestras vidas. El que nuestra vida tenga sentido es uno de los ingredientes de la felicidad, porque para la mayoría de las personas una vida que valga la pena debe tener propósito.

Sentido y ética

El sentido también es importante como fundamento de la ética. Los sistemas de valores pueden reducirse a unas pocas premisas fundamentales a partir de las cuales un código de ética puede desarrollarse de forma racional. …

In my previous article about jealousy, I showed that most violence against women in Western societies is intimate partner violence (also called domestic violence), and presented evidence that it is caused by jealousy. I further argued that jealousy is driven by false beliefs of our monogamy culture. By questioning those beliefs in real life, polyamory can help people deprogram their jealousy and reduce violence in relationships.

One of these beliefs is that jealousy is natural, that is, driven by innate biological compulsions outside our control. …

El pasado mes de enero pasado, en mi cumpleaños, puse la canción de Los Beatles When I’m Sixty-Four. La he venido escuchando desde que tenía 14 años, preguntándome cómo sería yo cuando finalmente llegase a esa edad. Ahora, cincuenta años después, creo que sorprendería a mi antiguo yo si pudiera ver en lo que me he convertido. Todavía practico buceo libre, como lo hacía cuando era adolescente, aunque prefiero ir a lo seguro y bucear con botellas. Esquío en pistas negras. Me hago vías de escalada de primero. …

Violence against women and domestic violence

Much has been written about violence against women, also called gender-based violence. It takes many forms, some of which are particular to certain cultures. For example, female genital mutilation, honor killings, home confinement and forced marriage occur in some Islamic societies.

In Western countries, a large part of violence against women takes the form of domestic violence, also called intimate partner violence. Literally speaking, domestic violence refers to abuse occurring ‘inside the house’ (Domus in Latin), that is, in married or cohabiting couples. Intimate partner violence refers to abuse in intimate relationships, whether or not they live together, which applies…

“Toxic” is a word very much in fashion these days. In progressive circles, it is common to hear talk about toxic masculinity, toxic relationships or even toxic people. But calling people ‘toxic’ is confrontational and detrimental to their self-esteem.

Nobody considers whether some of the tactics of political movements may be also toxic. In particular, modern activists have weaponized destructive emotions like anger, fear, guilt and shame and use them indiscriminately. I argue in this article that this is counterproductive and, in some cases, unethical. …

Yesterday was the first session of the online meeting “Science & Wisdom of Emotions”, organized by the Mind & Life Institute (May 4–7, 2021). You can attend the meeting for free by following the link. Sessions can be watched for 48 hours after they are released.

This first day was chaired by Eve Ekman, PhD, a psychologist and daughter of renowned psychologist Paul Ekman. The six Ekman emotions (joy, sadness, anger, fear, disgust and surprise) were named after him and predicted by Charles Darwin. …