Concepts and Values

“It is therefore not the faultof the theory if it is of little practical use in such cases. The fault is that there is not enough theory. Yet it is easier to excuse an ignoramus who claims that theory is unnecessary and superfluous in his supposed practice than a would-be expert who admits the value of theory for teaching purposes, for example as a mental exercise, but at the same time maintains that it is quite different in practice, and that anyone leaving his studies to go out into the world will realize he has been pursuing empty ideals and philosopher’s dreams –in short, that whatever sounds good in theory has no practical validity. This maxim, so very common in our sententious, inactive times, does very great harm if applied to matters of morality, i. e. to moral or legal duty. For in such cases, the canon of reason is related to in such a way that the value of the practice depends entirely upon its appropriateness to the theory it is based on” (Kant, I. “On the Common Saying: ‘This May be True in Theory, but it does not Apply in Practice’”

In our view, all truly serious philosophical undertaking always ends in close dialogue with the Classics, and in the line of research in which we cooperate we have wanted to state it making ours the Leibnizian insignia “Theoria cum Praxi”. Kant himself put it well and explicitly in his 1793 opuscule on theory and practice, whose natural binding wants to illustrate our own logo (devised by Armando Menéndez): a bridge linking both of them. In the Research Line Concepts and Values, leaded by Concha Roldán, come to share the two of the Research Groups, which answer the acronyms TcP and JuriLog and coordinated respectively by Roberto R. Aramayo jointly with Concha Roldán, and Lorenzo Peña in collaboration with Txetxu Ausín. It is in their aim to analyze certain conceptual and axiological questions that hold a philosophical heritage and have its most prominent renown in nowadays problems at Social, Cultural, Juridical, Deontological, Moral and even Political fields. In order to achieve its goal, they take advantage of History of Moral Ideas, Critical Philosophy of History, Conceptual History, Hermeneutics and Argumentation Theory, as well as useful tools like Social Justice and Individual’s Ethics, in furtherance of innovating the cast-on of present conceptual problems. The researchers developing this RL bear in mind equally the Logic of Norms, the Juridical Approach and Gradualist Deontological Logic in its application at issues regarding Human Rights, Bioethics, Civilizations’ Encounters, Juridical Axiology and Worldwide Public Goods (in its cultural and artistic aspects as well as in its material ones, like in Environmental and Energetic Sources’ case). For over two decades the group sustaining the aforementioned RL has developed in addition various international, interdisciplinary and interinstitutional synergies, owing to its projects and activities in different research fields. Both Research Groups rely on several on-active Research Projects, namely: Una fundamentación de los Derechos Humanos desde la lógica del razonamiento jurídico. (HUM2006-03669/FISO)[A Human Rights’ Foundation based on the Logic of Juridical Reasoning] andFilosofía de la historia y valores en la Europa del Siglo XXI (FFI2008-04279/FISO) [Philosophy of History and Values in XXIst Century Europe]. The group also tries to bring about and participate in Permanent Seminars (as the Human Rights and C.L.A.S.I.C.O.S. –whose acronym means Colectivo de Lectura, Análisis, Sistematización e Interpretación de Clásicos con Orientación Social [Reading, Analysis, Systematization and Interpretation of Social Aimed Classics Group]; Book Collections as: Theoria cum Praxi, Moral, Ciencia y Sociedad , Clásicos europeos y EidÉtica; Journals as: Sorites, Dilemata and Isegoría, the Journal edited with collaboration of the entire Institut of Philosophy and founded in 1990 by Javier Muguerza. All the same, the both RG participate in the Interdisciplinary Program on Cultura de la Legalidad (TRUST-CM: S2007/HUM-0461) [Legality’s Culture] and the latter (TcP ValEurS21) counts as a member in the "Marie-Curie-Initial Training Network ENGLOBE Enlightenment and Global History" (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-1-1-ITN).