Homo Sapiens, Homo Curans

Caring as a bridge between biology and morality

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34024/prometeica.2025.32.19648

Keywords:

caring, ethics, sociogenesis, naturalism

Abstract

In this article, I aim to show how the act of caring is essentially intertwined with biological, psychological, social, and moral meanings. This makes it a theoretical core upon which it is possible to develop a moderately naturalistic approach, one that is philosophically relevant and meaningful. To this end, I will proceed as follows. First, I will analyze the common tendency in philosophical discourse to oscillate between extreme positions, an epistemic flaw that creates a dilemma between stubborn reductionisms and intransigent anti-reductionisms. Next, I will show how this opposition has manifested in ethics through a broad movement of naturalization — which incorporates the perspective of the natural sciences into philosophical analysis — to which much of philosophy has responded by retreating into itself, accentuating its methodological exclusivism. Finally, I will focus on the act of caring as an example to explore the relationships of continuity, novelty, and rupture between human biology and the moral dimension.

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Author Biography

  • Mariano Asla, Universidad Austral

    Profesor titular e investigador a tiempo completo de la Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas de la Universidad Austral Argentina.


    Los últimos años sus investigaciones giran en torno a la filosof´´ía de la medicina, cuestión del dolor; el tema del biomejoramiento y las narrativas transhumanistas, y el problema general del naturalismo ético.

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Prometeica v.32

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Published

2025-03-01

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Vol. 32 (2025): Prometeica - v 32 (03/2025 - 12/2025)

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Articles - Dossier 1

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How to Cite

Asla, M. (2025). Homo Sapiens, Homo Curans: Caring as a bridge between biology and morality. Prometeica - Journal of Philosophy and Science, 32, e19648 (1-16). https://doi.org/10.34024/prometeica.2025.32.19648
Received 2024-10-28
Accepted 2024-12-26
Published 2025-03-01