La publicación de los primeros Cuadernos negros invita a una relectura de la trayectoria de Heidegger en algunos aspectos fundamentales de su obra previa a 1931. En una primera parte del artículo nos centramos en aspectos fundamentales del recorrido vital y filosófico de Heidegger, muy especialmente en la amplitud y el significado de su ruptura con el catolicismo como elemento que condiciona su sentimiento de indigencia y la necesidad de un preguntar fundamental. En la segunda parte, centramos nuestra atención en (...) textos de los Cuadernos negros correspondientes a los años de 1931 a 1933 para comprobar en qué sentido Heidegger vive en momentos cruciales de su vida bajo la influencia de lo que él llama seísmos subterráneos. El sentimiento de soledad en incomprensión que vive Heidegger se muestra en el hecho que, según él, nadie ha entendido Ser y tiempo. (shrink)

El més gran dels pensadors i el més petit dels homes”; amb aquestes paraules va referir-se Gadamer d'una manera molt punyent a la desconcertant figura del seu mestre, Martin Heidegger. L’autor d’Ésser i temps ens ha deixat en herència no només una obra filosòfica capaç d’exercir una grandíssima influència, sinó també el repte d’interpretar la tensió entre vida i pensament. Hem de creure que cal una gran vida per tal que hi hagi un gran pensament? O hem d’admetre que no (...) hi ha cap relació entre una cosa i l’altra i, per tant, que un gran pensador pot adherir-se de forma entusiasta a un dels règims polítics més abjectes de la història d’Europa sense comprometre la qualitat de la seva producció filosòfica? Heidegger és segurament un exponent d'una Europa contradictòria i angoixant: no només un representant excepcional de la millor tradició filosòfica, sinó també de les grans bogeries i pors del segle XX. (shrink)

The starting premise of this paper is that business models can transform social reality—sometimes to an extreme. Then, building on the concept of “grand challenges,” we argue that such transformations can be either positive or negative in nature —even in the case of business models designed to improve value not only economically but environmentally and socially as well. To further our understanding of the negative aspects, we introduced two conceptual categories of business model: those for oppression or depletion and exclusionary (...) ones. We further argue that bringing the notion of grand challenges center-stage highlights four elements that can contribute to emerging research and inform practice on transformational business models. These elements are: participatory forms of architecture; multivocal inscriptions; scaffolding; and proximity. They are central components of what we name transformational business models. (shrink)

Social innovations are urgently needed as we confront complex social problems. As these social problems feature substantial interdependencies among multiple systems and actors, developing and implementing innovative solutions involve the re-negotiating of settled institutions or the building of new ones. In this introductory article, we introduce a stylized three-cycle model highlighting the institutional nature of social innovation efforts. The model conceptualizes social innovation processes as the product of agentic, relational, and situated dynamics in three interrelated cycles that operate at the (...) micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis. The five papers included in this special issue address one or more of these cycles. We draw on these papers and the model to stimulate and offer guidance to future conversations on social innovations from an institutional theory perspective. (shrink)

Este artículo presenta una reflexión sobre dos componentes de la Educación Inclusiva apoyada en la investigación a nivel internacional. En primer lugar, su condición sincrónica, aquí especificada como comunitaria, por la que la actividad de los centros educativos no se entiende como aislada, sino en complicidad con la comunidad en que se ubican. Se describen tanto las estrategias que favorecen la inclusión dentro del aula, de acuerdo con el currículo general, como la necesidad de establecer una red de apoyos con (...) los recursos disponibles en la comunidad. Se pone un énfasis especial en las situaciones de gran diversidad entre los niveles de aprendizaje del alumnado, argumentando que una visión progresiva del aprendizaje permite todos compartan contenidos y actividades, aunque varíen los objeticos. En segundo lugar, reflexionamos sobre la condición diacrónica de la inclusión, aquí especificada como longitudinal, por la que todo proceso inclusivo debe tender a la inclusión social, contemplando las diferentes etapas vitales. Se concluye detectando el incremento de barreras para la inclusión a medida que se avanza en dichas etapas, la necesidad que desde las primeras se tenga en cuenta esta perspectiva longitudinal y que se coordinen las políticas educativas y sociales para conseguir una plena inclusión. (shrink)

Morin argues that fully fledged ideography is hindered by a problem of standardization. In general, the argument makes a great deal of sense, but we find that it is easier to grasp if, unlike the author, we consider ideography a language – one whose symbols (graphs) are not as effortless to produce as those of spoken and sign languages (phones, gestures).

v. 1. L'estudiant. Vida oculta.--v. 2. Cicle apologètic i social. Cicle polític i filosófic.--v. 3. Documents balmesians.

Realizar un estudio reflexivo del concepto de relato y cómo desde éste, podemos apreciar al ser humano en su diario vivir, el cual se ofrece en la posibilidad de crecimiento social y emocional al permitir ser reconocido y compartir nuestra vida con los demás; Sin embargo, la crítica de la filosofía posmoderna a los macrorelatos derivó en una proliferación de microrrelatos, afectando los procesos de verdad y de identidad personal. Por ello, busco analizar desde las aportaciones de Lyotard cómo, desde (...) el acto humano de sacrificarse, se rescata a la narrativa dentro de la multiplicidad de pequeños relatos, presupuesto que configura el reconocimiento de la persona en el otro, además de reconstruir los procesos de certezas y generando colectivos narrativos en los espacios empresariales y ciudadanos. (shrink)

La nueva era mediática en la que vivimos ha vuelto a una producción cultural compartida, sobre la base de una nueva supremacía del “medium” por encima de la conciencia individual.

Al llibre ¿Què ens fa humans? (2022), Salvador Macip explora la pregunta del títol a través d’un diàleg fructífer entre la ciència i la filosofia. Ara bé, Macip diu que no està interessat en tota la filosofia, sinó només en «la part de la filosofia que ha aplicat el mètode científic » (p. 159). A quina part de la filosofia fa referència exactament? Repassarem les idees principals del llibre de Macip fent especial esment dels filòsofs que es mencionen. Així, podrem (...) tenir una idea més precisa de quina mena de filosofia és la que interessa a Macip. També revisarem breument les referències artístiques incloses al llibre de Macip, ja que el mateix autor afirma que «ciència i art no s’haurien de veure com dues entitats separades (i gairebé antagòniques) […], sinó com components del mateix concepte, el de la cultura humana» (p. 35). (shrink)

El presente estudio hace referencia a los efectos emocionales ocasionados por el COVID-19. La humanidad vivió una situación sin igual en el año 2020, conllevándola a la concentración mundial y al despliegue de acciones que pudieran mitigar a todos los efectos sanitarios ocasionados por un virus de concentración mundial, como fue el llevar al confinamiento a la mayoría de la población humana, pero descuidándose los efectos emocionales del mismo, es por ello que adelantaremos un análisis sobre el concepto del miedo, (...) desde los postulados del pensador griego Aristóteles, como punto de partida para apreciar el actual entorno pandémico y su capacidad para generar situaciones de concentración y distractoras en relación a la verdad, teniendo en cuenta que el temor puede llegar a servir como un instrumento distractor de las certezas. (shrink)

Romantic Philosophy characterizes the way of being Catalan with two main words: seny, common sense, and rauxa, or rapture. Looking for the roots of this characterization, we find two Franciscan thinkers, blessed Ramon Llull and Brother Francesc Eiximenis, representing these tendencies. Through his life and writings, we try to collect what can be said about it.

El artículo pretende explorar la línea de la pasividad —o redundancia— de la culpabilidad en el hombre. La cuestión existencial es la posibilidad de superación de la culpa. Así pues, se recorren y analizan los diversos momentos antropológicos generados por la culpa: el sentimiento de culpa y el arrepentimiento humano. Existe una experiencia privilegiada para la superación de la culpa: el perdón humano. Afrontamos finalmente el acto antropológico del perdón: sus posibilidades, su verdad y sus límites.

Communicative interactions across different species have so far received relatively little attention from cognitive or behavioral scientists. Most research in this area views the process of communication as the adaptive interaction of manipulative signalers and information-assessing receivers. This paper discusses some shortcomings of the information/influence model of communication, particularly in the empirical study of interspecific communicative interactions. It then presents an alternative theoretical model, based on recent contributions in psycholinguistics and semiotics. The semiotic alignment model views communication as a dynamic (...) process of joint semiosis resulting in the alignment of the interactants’ own-worlds (Umwelten). It is argued that this model can improve our understanding of communicative interactions between heterospecifics and provide the basis for future work in the empirical study of interspecific communication. (shrink)

While research on question–answer sequences has yielded important insights into the structures of responses and the actions they implement, the advising literature has illuminated how advice-giving may be resisted or avoided in certain institutional contexts. In this study, we examine the audio-recorded Q&A sections of applicant webinars delivered by a major philanthropic foundation in the United States, with a particular focus on the foundation representatives’ complex responses to audience members’ yes–no questions that seek specificity. Within a conversation analytic framework, we (...) show how the practice of going general is engaged to manage the demands of being helpful to the individual questioner without appearing to guarantee a particular outcome while foregrounding the foundation’s principles and priorities for the broader audience. Findings of this study may be useful for formulating recommendations for foundation representatives tasked with communicating effectively with potential grantees. (shrink)

The origin of Modernity is a problem often neglected in current debate, and several landmarks are often suggested, such as the new science, the Renaissance, Descartes philosophical approach or the Illustration. In this paper it is suggested that the roots of Modernity could pre-date those conventional landmarks, and could be found in the great political and cultural conflicts that occurred in Europe in the Low Middle Age.

Theoretical and empirical contributions to the understanding of communicative interactions between heterospecifics are scarce and tend to apply a monological model of communication that focuses on the transfer of information from signallers to receivers. This study relies on an alternative model of communication, semiotic alignment, which sees communicative interaction as a dialogical process of joint semiosis resulting in the alignment of the interactants’ own-worlds. We conducted an experiment where dyads composed of an elephant instruction-giver and a human instruction-receiver needed to (...) engage in dynamic and interactive communication in order to solve a cooperative object-choice task. Our results showed that dyads were able to solve the task well above chance levels. Moreover, cross-recurrence analysis revealed that interactants were synchronizing referential indexical gestures throughout the experiment. However, we were not able to confirm a direct correlation between joint deixis and experimental outcomes, presumably because these outcomes are dependent on other forms of joint semiosis not analysed in this study. (shrink)

Communicative interactions across different species have so far received relatively little attention from cognitive or behavioral scientists. Most research in this area views the process of communication as the adaptive interaction of manipulative signalers and information-assessing receivers. This paper discusses some shortcomings of the information/influence model of communication, particularly in the empirical study of interspecific communicative interactions. It then presents an alternative theoretical model, based on recent contributions in psycholinguistics and semiotics. The semiotic alignment model views communication as a dynamic (...) process of joint semiosis resulting in the alignment of the interactants’ own-worlds (Umwelten). It is argued that this model can improve our understanding of communicative interactions between heterospecifics and provide the basis for future work in the empirical study of interspecific communication. (shrink)

The “language-communication-society” triangle defies traditional scientific approaches. Rather, it is a phenomenon that calls for an integration of complex, transdisciplinary perspectives, if we are to make any progress in understanding how it works. The highly diverse agents in play are not merely cognitive and/or cultural, but also emotional and behavioural in their specificity. Indeed, the effort may require building a theoretical and methodological body of knowledge that can effectively convey the characteristic properties of phenomena in human terms. New complexity approaches (...) allow us to rethink our limited and mechanistic images of human societies and create more appropriate emo-cognitive dynamic and holistic models. We have to enter into dialogue with the complexity views coming out of other more ‘material’ sciences, but we also need to take steps in the linguistic and psycho-sociological fields towards creating perspectives and concepts better fitted to human characteristics. Our understanding of complexity is different – but not opposed – to the one that is more commonly found in texts written by people working in physics or computer science, for example. The goal of this book is to extend the knowledge of these other more ‘human’ or socially oriented perspectives on complexity, taking account of the language and communication singularities of human agents in society. (shrink)

Throughout most of the 20th century, analytical and reductionist approaches have dominated in biological, social, and humanistic sciences, including linguistics and communication. We generally believed we could account for fundamental phenomena in invoking basic elemental units. Although the amount of knowledge generated was certainly impressive, we have also seen limitations of this approach. Discovering the sound formants of human languages, for example, has allowed us to know vital aspects of the ‘material’ plane of verbal codes, but it tells us little (...) about significant aspects of their social functions. I firmly believe, therefore, that alongside a linguistics that looks ‘inward’ there should also be a linguistics that looks ‘outward’, or one even that is constructed ‘from the outside’, a linguistics that I refer to elsewhere as ‘holistic’ though it could be identified by a different name. My current vision is to promote simultaneously the perspective that goes from the part to the whole and that which goes from the whole to the parts, i.e., both from the top down and from the bottom up. This goal is shared with other disciplines which recognize that many phenomena related to life are interwoven, self-organising, emergent and processual. Thus, we need to re-examine how we have conceived of reality, both the way we have looked at it and the images we have used to talk about it. Several approaches now grouped under the label of complexity have been elaborated towards this objective of finding new concepts and ways of thinking that better fit the complex organisation of facts and events. (shrink)

This book offers insights on the study of natural language as a complex adaptive system. It discusses a new way to tackle the problem of language modeling, and provides clues on how the close relation between natural language and some biological structures can be very fruitful for science. The book examines the theoretical framework and then applies its main principles to various areas of linguistics. It discusses applications in language contact, language change, diachronic linguistics, and the potential enhancement of classical (...) approaches to historical linguistics by means of new methodologies used in physics, biology, and agent systems theory. It shows how studying language evolution and change using computational simulations enables to integrate social structures in the evolution of language, and how this can give rise to a new way to approach sociolinguistics. Finally, it explores applications for discourse analysis, semantics and cognition. (shrink)

Qualsevol que es llegeixi aquest llibre s'adonarà que molts d'aquests mites amb els quals ens han promès la felicitat no són ni tan sòlids, ni tan certs, ni tan "progres" com sembla. Amb lúcida ironia, Ignasi Riera reflexiona sobre algunes de les qüestions que actualment saturen els mitjans de comunicació i que, com a polític i periodista, l'han preocupat al llarg de la seva vida: la idealització del món rural, l'obsessió per la salut, però també el maniqueisme de certes (...) actituds pseudodemocràtiques, les paradoxes de la societat del benestar o el fals esquerrisme. La crítica de fons és doblement interessant: marcada pel to satíric i desenfadat que el caracteritza, Riera ens proposa la deconstrucció d'un concepte viciat com és el de la felicitat, enganyós, mercantil i utilitari, i d'aquestes formes de pensament dirigit que, segons ens diuen alguns, són el camí per arribar-hi. La conclusió és clara: els que pretenem lluitar contra la felicitat, hem de canviar de sentit tota la nostra vida així com el conjunt de les nostres creences: tirar al foc moltes de les que semblen veritats eternes.IGNASI RIERA, escriptor, articulista, comentarista radiofònic i polític, ha conreat tots els gèneres literaris. Ha estat guardonat amb els premis Octubre, Ramon Llull i Pere Quart d'Humor i Sàtira. És autor de llibres de narrativa breu, de novel·les, de pamflets, dels llibres de no ficció: El meu oncle Pere Quart, Un patriota exemplar, Els catalans de Franco, Viatgers de Barcelona, Jordi Pujol. Llums i ombres ; de la biografia, Lluís Llach: companys no és això i de Llibre d'hores del ben menjar. A Edicions 62 ha publicat: Pàries, sindicalistes, demagogs, Diccionari de la Cuina Catalana i Un català a Madrid. (shrink)

Three approximations to the understanding of nonhuman animals are discussed. Ethologists and philosophers of mind, guided by an objectifying model of cognition, have not enquired about the being-in-the-world of animals and their meaning. The continental tradition has been asking the right questions, but has not given adequate answers, as ontological discourse remains tied up with logocentrism. Kafka’s animal fictions are presented as an example of how the human logos can be attentive to the worlds of other animals and allow them (...) to manifest themselves in their own being, an attitude defined as imaginary attentiveness. (shrink)

Three approximations to the understanding of nonhuman animals are discussed. Ethologists and philosophers of mind, guided by an objectifying model of cognition, have not enquired about the being-in-the-world of animals and their meaning. The continental tradition has been asking the right questions, but has not given adequate answers, as ontological discourse remains tied up with logocentrism. Kafka’s animal fictions are presented as an example of how the human logos can be attentive to the worlds of other animals and allow them (...) to manifest themselves in their own being, an attitude defined as imaginary attentiveness. (shrink)

Social robotics has a high disruptive potential, for it expands the field of application of intelligent technology to practical contexts of a relational nature. Due to their capacity to “intersubjectively” interact with people, social robots can take over new roles in our daily activities, multiplying the ethical implications of intelligent robotics. In this paper, we offer some preliminary considerations for the ethical reflection on social robotics, so that to clarify how to correctly orient the critical-normative thinking in this arduous task. (...) We defend the ‘being perspective’ and its linked categories of ‘teleology’ and ‘interest’ as the ones from which to articulate the reflection. We argue that attending primarily to the ‘being’, before the ‘doing’, of robots allow us to correctly approach the core phenomenon of all ethical concerns on social robotics, avoiding the reductionisms in the ethical gaze to which the latter may lead. (shrink)

‘Complexics’ denotes the meta-transdisciplinary field specifically concerned with giving us suitable cognitive tools to understand the world’s complexity. Additionally, the use of the adjective ‘complexical’ would avoid the common confusion caused by the adjective ‘complex’, which belongs to everyday usage and already has its own connotations of complication and confusion. Thus, ‘complexical’ thinking and ‘complexical’ perspective would provide clearer terms, be freer of confusion, and refer more precisely to epistemic elements in contrast to the ‘complexity’ typical of many phenomena of (...) reality. In short, the world would be ‘complex’, but our way of looking at the world would be ‘complexical’. As a meta-transdiscipline, ‘complexics’ would carry on the perspective of cybernetics: “Cybernetics deals with all forms of behaviour insofar as they are regular, or determinate, or reproducible. The materiality is irrelevant… The truths of cybernetics are not conditional on their being derived from some other branch of science. Cybernetics has its own foundations” (Ashby, 1956:1). Thus, it has a distinctly transdisciplinary mission to provide concepts, schema and possibilities of thinking and representation able to express the multidimensional and systemic interwovenness and interdependence of the many, highly significant phenomena of reality that have these characteristics. On the level of theory, complexics needs to provide a set of principles, concepts and conceptual landscapes that can be applied transversally to distinct areas of knowledge and phenomena of reality, enabling us to gain a much firmer grasp of the complex aspects of their existence than we currently have. For this reason, our aim needs to be, as Morin says, not “to reduce complexity to simplicity, [but] to translate complexity into theory” (1994:315). (shrink)

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents. People who have this disorder are characterized by presenting difficulties in the processes of sustained attention, being very active, and having poor control of their impulses. Despite the high prevalence of this disorder and the existence of various tests used for its diagnosis, few data are available regarding the usefulness and diagnostic validity of these tools. Given the difficulties that these subjects present in executive functions, (...) the aim of this study was to evaluate whether the Neuropsychological Assessment of Executive Functions battery for Children allows to establish specific profiles of executive performance for people with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The sample was made up of 197 participants of both sexes, aged between 6 and 12 years age. A nonexperimental design was followed, using a comparative descriptive study method. The results indicated that the scales of phonological fluency, color path, rings, and interference are the most associated with the diagnosis of ADHD, providing data on inhibition, mental flexibility, sustained and selective attention, planning, verbal fluency, and working memory, among others. The practical implication of these results is in line with providing support in the clinical diagnosis that is carried out in children’s mental health units. In addition, the ENFEN tool can be valued as a suitable psychometric instrument in the psychoeducational field, helping professionals in a school environment to be more aware of the areas of cognitive development in which a student diagnosed with ADHD will have more difficulties and, in doing so, providing more adjusted and effective psychopedagogical measures when it comes to supporting students in their adaptation to the school environment. (shrink)

As figurational sociologists and sociolinguists, we need to know that we currently find support from other fields in our efforts to construct a sociocultural science focused on interdependencies and processes, creating a multidimensional picture of human beings, one in which the brain and its mental and emotional processes are properly recognized. The paradigmatic revolutions in 20th-century physics, the contributions made by biology to our understanding of living beings, the conceptual constructions built around the theories of systems, self-organization and complexity, all (...) these implore that we reflect on social sciences paradigms in the light of the great changes in these other disciplines. The application of metaphors or theoretical images of complexity and figurational sociology in understanding language and socio-communication phenomena is of great use, since language is not an ‘object’, but a ‘complex’; it exists simultaneously in and among different domains. ‘Languaging’ and interaction are co-phenomena. The former exists within the latter, and the latter within the former. By visualizing, for instance, the different levels of linguistic structure not as separate entities but rather as united and integrated within the same theoretical frame, by seeing their functional interdependencies, by situating them in a greater multidimensionality that includes what for a long time was considered ‘external’ – the individual and his or her mind-brain, the sociocultural system, the physical world, etc. – and expanding in this way our classical view, we should be able to make important, if not essential, theoretical and practical advances. (shrink)

Transdisciplinary analogies and metaphors are potential useful tools for thinking and creativity. The exploration of other conceptual philosophies and fields can be rewarding and can contribute to produce new useful ideas to be applied on different problems and parts of reality. The development of the so-called 'sustainability' approach allows us to explore the possibility of translate and adapt some of its main ideas to the organisation of human language diversity. The concept of 'sustainability' clearly comes from the tradition of thinking (...) that criticises the perspective of economic development that overlooks almost totally the natural environment -the precise context where this development takes place -and which thus leads it to a final end devoid of resources and clearly harmful for the life of human beings. Against this economicist view, which is blind to its very important side effects, some academic and activist enclaves have proposed the perspective of 'sustainable development' or 'lasting development'. In other words, they have theorised, constructed, and begun to practice an economic and urbanistic development respectful of, integrated into, and in keeping with the dynamics of nature. Such perspective provides a way of improving the material aspects of human life while at the same time not damaging other environmental aspects still more necessary and fundamental for the quality —and even for the simple possibility- of human existence. In fact, the view is a synthesis of possible opposed patterns. It does not renounce material and economic improvement, but nor does it exclude a fully healthy environment that is appropriate for the continuation of the species. If we now try to transfer and to apply this way of thinking to the linguodiversity reality, are there useful analogies and metaphors to be made? We believe there are, and ones that can be used to good advantage, and linked, moreover, to the traditions of thought that have always been present but perhaps even more so these last years with the drive to develop the thinking we are calling ‘eco-linguistic’. From the outset, we would underscore the will to connect apparent ‘opposites’ in an integrative conceptualisation, such as the very syntagm ‘sustainable development’. On the sociolinguistic plane, our debate should probably be about our ‘opposites’, which could be on the one hand the expansion of the dominant languages and, on the other hand, the maintenance and development of human linguistic diversity. (shrink)

Historical processes exert an influence on the current state and evolution of situations of language contact, brought to bear from different domains, the economic and the political, the ideological and group identities, geo-demographics, and the habits of inter-group use. Clearly, this kind of phenomenon requires study from a complexical and holistic perspective in order to accommodate the variety of factors that belong to different levels and that interrelate with one another in the evolving dynamic of human languaging. Therefore, there is (...) a need for the restricted and general complexity approaches to come to a meeting of the minds, and take steps toward a mutual integration based on the acceptance of the shortcomings of each approach, achieving progress through a non-contradictory complementarity of perspectives. It must be conceded that the practical and methodological applications of basic complexical ideas need to be developed much farther in order to apply them to specific research. At the same time, the limits of complex adaptive systems as computational strategies must be accepted in the pursuit of a better understanding of the dynamic and evolutionary processes typical of human beings. New tools for the conception, apprehension and treatment of the data will need to be devised to complement existing ones and to enable us to make headway toward practices that better fit complexical perspectives. It seems obvious that human complexics must be seen as multi-methodological, insofar as necessary combining quantitative-computation methodologies and more qualitative methodologies aimed at understanding the historical mental and emotional world of people. (shrink)

As a sort of intellectual provocation and as a lateral thinking strategy for creativity, this chapter seeks to determine what the study of the dynamics of biodiversity can offer linguists. In recent years, the analogical equation "language = biological species" has become more widespread as a metaphorical source for conceptual renovation, and, at the same time, as a justification for the defense of language diversity. Language diversity would be protected in a way similar to the mobilization that has taken place (...) to protect endangered species. Nevertheless, one must be careful when uncritically transferring conceptualizations and theoretical frameworks from one field to another, since obviously, these two phenomena are quite different in the real world. The dialogue with bioecologists starts by asking about the formation of diversity, i.e., about specialization. Here, one can observe the similarity between the processes of linguistic and genetic fragmentation, in the sense that both phenomena have a (socio)geographical basis for dispersion and consequently, for the loss of their original compact nature and their intercommunication. The self-organizing and creative properties of human beings favor the development of specific varieties for each subset, varieties that continue to evolve constantly, through the unceasing "languaging" of humanity. Regarding the continuity of species or languages, one can also observe the decisive role of intragroup relations. The staying power of linguistic varieties will increase in direct proportion to the intensity of the relationship among the components of the subset. On the other hand, if exotic elements are introduced, especially if these elements are aggressive in nature, the alteration of the ecological niche may turn out to be fatal for the continuity of the previously existing forms. This suggests to us the need to make an in-depth study of what the minimal contextual conditions would be so that a set linguistic group could be assured a sustainable continuity within a framework of linguistic contact. What type of minimum (socio-)ecological niche would a language have to have if we wished to ensure its habitual reproduction? A proposal is made here to explore the ideas of "exclusive functions" and "non-hierarchical functional distribution" for codes in situations where there is high contact and a danger of disuse. As regards change, this phenomenon is seen as an inherent element in the tendency of life to create new developments, which may or not be accompanied by an adaptation to changing environmental conditions. It is pointed out that, similar to what happens in biology, much of linguistic innovation stems from a systemically reorganized mixture of solutions from different codes. An important research question would be, however, to determine why some of these innovations disappear and others survive and extend throughout the community. The big question mark, as Mufwene points out, is, then how to manage to understand how "the evolution of language proceeds by naturally selecting from among the competing alternatives available through the idiolects of individual speakers". Extinction, whether it be of languages or of species, is caused in most cases "by a combination of demographic processes and environmental changes", as Brown points out. Thus, the environment plays a fundamental role in the direction of evolution, since the "the survival of the fittest is, in actuality, the survival of those who fit into the context (Allen and Hoekstra)". This allows us to see the great degree of importance of political-economic contexts in the case of languages. In the same way, migratory movements are also one of the major variables determining the extinction of biodiversity and language diversity. Species and habitat form the basic unit of existence, and this is the major point of departure for understanding the problem of the preservation and recovery of species or languages. Given the increase in the degree of linguistic contact, the continuity of language diversity depends on determining, as exactly as possible, as Prigogine, the physicist, would say, what precise conditions of imbalance may prove to be stable. The great challenge is not so much avoiding contact but managing it. And "restorative ecology" can also be of help to us here. Being able to reach sustainable solutions for language diversity implies a profound knowledge of the dynamics for determining the ways in which language is used in contact situations. The general conclusion is that linguistics is still terminologically and conceptually ill prepared to deal with the dynamic character of human languages. The world and our objects must be conceived of as elements in a state of flux, as changing systems in an unstable equilibrium. With respect to language policy, it would be necessary to make an effort to manage to establish some general principles regarding the linguistic organization of the human species that would make it possible for local linguistic diversity and communication on a planetary scale, which must necessarily take place, to be compatible with each other. To succeed, it will be necessary to continue promoting an autonomous socio-ecological perspective devoted to the comprehension of language phenomena. Such a perspective would be based on a paradigm of complexity, and would, at the same time, place human beings at the center of its theoretical underpinnings. (shrink)