This paper exploits the fact that the variability in the inter-spike intervals, in the spike train issuing from a neuron, carries substantial information regarding the input to the neuron. A framework for neuronal information processing is proposed which utilizes the above fact to distinguish phenomenal from non-phenomenal mental representation. In the process, an explanation is offered as to what is it, in the nature of conscious mental states, that imparts them a subjective feeling – there is something it is like (...) to be in those mental states. To give empirical support, it is shown how the proposed framework can neatly explain, the delay in eliciting conscious awareness as observed by Libet and the related backwards referral in time. (shrink)

Given the rise of populist parties in Germany and the charge that multiculturalism is dead, the present research examines how everyday Germans formulate an account of cultural diversity and multiculturalism. We employ a critical discursive psychological analysis and focus particularly on the arguments used to criticize cultural diversity and multiculturalism. Asynchronous online interviews were conducted with eighteen native-born German citizens. The data analysis shows that participants criticized cultural diversity and multiculturalism by deploying ‘Leitkultur-style’ nationalistic discourses and normalizing the hierarchical relations (...) between immigrants and Germans. Participants also questioned multiculturalism as an ideology and everyday practice and moved back and forth between diverging accounts. These discourses reinforce dominant ideologies that place immigrants’ responsibility to assimilate and adopt German cultural norms and values. Our findings suggest that there are critical, flexible, and contradictory social markers of multiculturalism that have significant ramifications for policy and to everyday people who face the real task of living with cultural diversity. (shrink)

Cooperative peer play emerges in the second year of life. How applicable is Preston & de Waal's (P&deW's) model to the empathic processes in cooperative play? Empathic responses during peer play are more general than they propose, and more dependent on mental state understanding. Moreover, peer play forces children to reason about others' feelings, possibly serving as a unique mechanism for empathy development.

In a recent opinion paper, it was argued that individuals with multiple retractions or a record of academic misconduct should not serve as editors, including as editors-in-chief, on the editorial boards of scholarly or academic journals. As a first step towards appreciating how such a policy could be applied in practice, the presence of 30 individuals listed on the Retraction Watch Leaderboard on editorial boards was screened. Six cases are highlighted to gain an appreciation of the potential reputational risks that (...) journals and publishers might incur by including individuals with a tainted academic record on editorial boards. Given the reputational, legal and other risks associated with this type of assessment and decision, more formal positioning and guidance are needed by global ethics policy-related bodies such as COPE, the ICMJE, and the CSE, even more so in journals that claim to follow these organizations’ ethical guidelines. (shrink)

Bottom of the Pyramid organizations are the ones that develop a set of capabilities that contribute to create short- and long-term sustainability values inside and outside the boundaries of BoP ecosystems. Capabilities have an important role in BoP organizations’ strategies that aim to solve BoP issues. Notwithstanding its developments, BoP research still lacks theoretical contributions for the analysis of organizations. We suggest special attention to the need of advancing knowledge on capabilities of BoP organizations because this field is scattered and (...) fragmented, misinterpreted, and still underdeveloped in the literature. We oriented our research formulating and seeking answers to our main question on what are the capabilities needed to enable organizations to create sustainability values in BoP ecosystems? We conducted an integrative review of BoP research for the period from 1998 to 2019, and we found 22 key capabilities of BoP organizations. We organized the capabilities into four major categories including BoP Responsible Consumption, BoP Responsible Business Model, BoP Responsible Management, and BoP Responsible Innovation. We advanced propositions and discussions regarding the capabilities and major categories’ popularity, interdependence and combination, short- and long-term temporal functions, sustainability roles, and effectiveness to address BoP issues. Our article organizes the field of capabilities of BoP organizations; advances contributions and implications for management, organizations, and policymaking; and opens fruitful avenues for future research. (shrink)

The purpose of the present paper is to consider the traditional interpretive problems of quantum mechanics from the viewpoint of a modal ontology of properties. In particular, we will try to delineate a quantum ontology that (i) is modal, because describes the structure of the realm of possibility, and (ii) lacks the ontological category of individual. The final goal is to supply an adequate account of quantum non-individuality on the basis of this ontology.

We cannot simply observe that Emile Durkheim, Claude Lévi-Strauss, and Pierre Bourdieu all received philosophical training and subsequently asserted, in surprisingly similar terms, that escaping from philosophy or breaking away from philosophical modes of thought was a necessary condition for any research in the human and social sciences, without considering whether there might be a direct relationship between the sociological ethos and a particular attitude towards philosophy. The "rupture" with philosophyis never complete: the sociologists' conception of sociology is, on the (...) contrary, heavily influenced by the negative image they have of philosophy, which they always invoke as something to be avoided or a specter that must be exorcised. The sociological perception of philosophy thus constitutes a system of oppositions, a set of likes and dislikes deeply ingrained in the minds of practitioners in the human and social sciences, and which, so to speak, form the very foundation of the discipline and its definition of its identity. By reconstructing it, this article proposes a sociological analysis of the genesis, structure, and function of the sociological unconscious. (shrink)

This paper explores that the topic of ethics dumping, its causes and potential remedies. In ED, the weaknesses or gaps in ethics policies and systems of lower income countries are intentionally exploited for intellectual or financial gains through research and publishing by higher income countries with a more stringent or complex ethical infrastructure in which such research and publishing practices would not be permitted. Several examples are provided. Possible ED needs to be evaluated before research takes place, and detected prior (...) to publication as an academic paper, because it might lead to a collaborative effort between a wealthier country with restrictive ethical policies and a less wealthy country with more permissive policies. Consequently, if that collaboration ultimately results in an academic paper, there are ethical ramifications of ED to scholarly communication. Institutional review board approval is central to avoid ED-based collaborations. Blind trust and goodwill alone cannot eliminate the exploitation of indigenous or “vulnerable” populations’ intellect and resources. Combining community-based participatory research using clear codes of research conduct and a simple but robust verification system in academic publishing may reduce the risks of ED-based research from being published. (shrink)

O artigo em questão se detém nas implicações epistemológicas da revolução copernicana de Immanuel Kant, cuja perspectiva, emergindo das fronteiras que inter-relacionam o racionalismo de Leibniz, o empirismo de Hume e a ciência positiva físico-matemática de Newton, instaura o horizonte do idealismo transcendental, estabelecendo a correlação fundamental envolvendo o sujeito e o objeto do conhecimento.

Detendo-se na investigação dos dois grandes modelos que caracterizam o pensamento político, a saber, o modelo clássico e o modelo jusnaturalista, o artigo em questão, distinguindo no âmbito daquele as teorias idealistas e realistas, empreende uma abordagem que nas fronteiras deste último sublinha desde a questão que envolve Como nasceu o Estado?, proposta pela perspectiva historicista, que traz como fundamento o homem como animal político, até a leitura racionalista, que acena com o problema Por que existe o Estado?, identificando o (...) homem como um ser naturalmente antissocial, salientando que se o bem comum determina a visão platônico-aristotélica, a leitura hobbesiana instaura uma lógica que emerge através do contrato social e assinala a tendência natural da autopreservação como fundamento da ação humana, consistindo, em suma, na transição da ordem mecânica da matéria à ordem final da vontade. (shrink)

Le recueil d'études Contempler l'infini invite le lecteur à étudier la fonction de l'acte contemplatif dans son rapport à l'espace et au temps, en s'interrogeant notamment sur la valeur et la portée épistémiques de cet acte (d'un point de vue mathématique, philosophique, phénoménologique, esthétique, artistique, linguistique et poétique) lorsqu'il se détermine en relation à une réalité représentée comme "infinie" (Dieu, âme, cosmos, etc.). Ce livre est conçu dans un contexte éminemment interdisciplinaire, l'objectif étant de comprendre comment cette articulation subtile des (...) deux concepts peut être abordée selon des méthodologies et des lexiques très différents mais bien souvent complémentaires sur le plan épistémologique. Le recueil regroupe les études et les réflexions des chercheurs français et hongrois de différentes spécialités (mathématiques, philosophie, esthétique. phénoménologie, théologie, linguistique et littérature). (shrink)

As part of a continuous process to explore the factors that might weaken or corrupt traditional peer review, in this paper, we query the ethics, fairness and validity of the request, by editors, of authors to suggest peer reviewers during the submission process. One of the reasons for the current crisis in science pertains to a loss in trust as a result of a flawed peer review which is by nature biased unless it is open peer review. As we indicate, (...) the fact that some editors and journals rely on authors’ suggestions in terms of who should peer review their paper already instills a potential way to abuse the trust of the submission and publishing system. An author-suggested peer reviewer choice might also tempt authors to seek reviewers who might be more receptive or sympathetic to the authors’ message or results, and thus favor the outcome of that paper. Authors should thus not be placed in such a potentially ethically compromising situation, especially as a mandatory condition for submission. However, the fact that they do not have an opt-out choice during the submission process—especially when using an online submission system that makes such a suggestion compulsory—may constitute a violation of authors’ rights. (shrink)

Objectives Older adults are considered one of the most vulnerable groups to COVID-19. However, previous studies on emotion and aging have found that older adults report better well-being than younger adults in global survey and daily report. To better understand older adults’ well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak, we examined age differences in daily affective experiences in this study. Method Two hundred and thirty-one participants from mainland China aged 18 to 85 were recruited to participate in the 14-day daily diary study, (...) after a pretest. Their trait affect and demographic information were measured in the pretest. Their daily affect and stress levels were measured in the daily assessments. Results We found that older adults reported lower perceived stress related to COVID-19 in daily life, compared to younger adults. The negative relationship between daily perceived stress and high arousal positive affect and the positive relationship between daily perceived stress and high arousal negative affect was weaker in older than younger adults. Discussion These results provide initial evidence of daily affective well-being across different age groups in adulthood during the COVID-19 outbreak. Such information is important for developing interventions to promote better well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak. (shrink)

Retractions of COVID-19 literature in both preprints and the peer-reviewed literature serve as a reminder that there are still challenging issues underlying the integrity of the biomedical literature. The risks to academia become larger when such retractions take place in high-ranking biomedical journals. In some cases, retractions result from unreliable or nonexistent data, an issue that could easily be avoided by having open data policies, but there have also been retractions due to oversight in peer review and editorial verification. As (...) COVID-19 continues to affect academics and societies around the world, failures in peer review might also constitute a public health risk. The effectiveness by which COVID-19 literature is corrected, including through retractions, depends on the stringency of measures in place to detect errors and to correct erroneous literature. It also relies on the stringent implementation of open data policies. (shrink)

Da Costa and French explore the consequences of adopting a 'pragmatic' notion of truth in the philosophy of science. Their framework sheds new light on issues to do with belief, theory acceptance, and the realism-antirealism debate, as well as the nature of scientific models and their heuristic development.

Sobrepondo uma concepção crítica envolvendo os fundamentos do saber às ontologias dogmáticas que se impõem ao trabalho que implica a apreensão das questões filosóficas, o projeto kantiano propõe o fim da filosofia como construção metafísica e a necessidade de se lhe atribuir uma tarefa teórica de caráter essencialmente genealógico e crítico, no sentido que encerra a legitimação do conhecimento racional através da análise das faculdades que se lhe estão atreladas, conforme assinala o artigo, que se detém nos direitos da razão (...) cuja legitimidade a lógica da verdade reconhece e cuja ilegitimidade a lógica da aparência denuncia, convergindo para as fronteiras que encerram a possibilidade da construção do conhecimento científico, à medida que, tornando o entendimento o legislador universal da natureza e circunscrevendo a utilização das categorias aos limites da experiência possível, propõe as condições necessárias para fundá-lo sobre os juízos sintéticos a priori. (shrink)

O presente ensaio tem como objetivo fazer uma reflexão acerca da educação e os desafios da ciência e da produção de conhecimento na busca de emancipação. Como trama de fundo, trazemos uma breve discussão sobre a produção de conhecimento na atualidade para além daquilo que Santos chama de “pensamento abissal”. Assim, num primeiro momento, pretende-se pensar a condição da educação na atualidade, isto é, discutir seus rumos em tempos de regressões políticas e econômicas. Em seguida, objetiva-se indicar a necessidade de (...) superação do pensamento abissal, refletindo até que ponto a educação funciona como recurso fundamental para a emancipação e até onde vão seus limites. As aproximações com as temáticas problematizadas ocorrem por meio da perspectiva teórico-metodológico-dialética do fenômeno analisado. Espera-se, com essas aproximações, contribuir com uma proposta inclusiva e emancipatória de valorização dos saberes das experiências, dando visibilidade aos valores e às representações estéticas dos diversos grupos, cujas vozes, muitas vezes, são excluídas e/ou silenciadas nos sistemas educativos, colocando em diálogo com a ciência e reconhecendo as culturas que foram excluídas ao longo dos séculos. Além disso, é preciso contrapor-se ao poder cego de todos os coletivos, fortalecendo a resistência diante dos mesmos por meio do esclarecimento do problema. A busca por uma racionalidade crítica, na produção de conhecimento, passa por tensões e fraturas da própria condição humana no capitalismo contemporâneo, mas isso não quer dizer, necessariamente, que se tenha que abandonar a própria razão, para dispor de uma condição adequada da vida humana para além do pensamento abissal. Palavras-chave: Educação. Emancipação. Produção de conhecimento. Pensamento abissal. (shrink)

Este breve ensaio busca, por meio da análise estruturalista e distanciada indicada por Lévi-Strauss, aproximar o conjunto de funções literárias das relações presentes entre os personagens principais do mito de Orphéus e Eurydíkē, fundadores dos mistérios órficos da Antiguidade Clássica, e de Lot e sua esposa, apresentados no Livro de Gênesis. Os pontos correlacionados são: o ponto de partida da jornada de ambos os casais, a figura mítico-mágica que anuncia a saída, o olhar para trás da figura feminina e a (...) punição sobre elas exercida. (shrink)

A partir de uma investigação no campo da história cultural, o artigo analisa as representações construídas na imprensa local em torno da visita da Miss Brasil, Jussara Marquez, a uma cidade do interior mineiro, em 1950. Os métodos empregados foram a análise documental em fontes primárias e a narrativa histórica. Constatamos que a devoção dedicada pelos jornais à figura de Jussara estava ligada à necessidade de as elites locais obterem distinção social a partir da apropriação de sua imagem. Contudo, o (...) papel que esperavam dela era de uma cinderela, e não de uma cidadã. Quando a Miss Brasil se desviou da função social que lhe havia sido designada, essas mesmas elites trataram de hostilizá-la e reconduzi-la ao papel que lhe cabia naquela ordem social. (shrink)

Este trabalho discute a proposição lacaniana segundo a qual “o inconsciente é estruturado como uma linguagem” e sua fundamentação a partir da Antropologia de Lévi-Strauss. Em vista disso, discute o estatuto do significante como ser concreto e como representação vazia ou indeterminada, destituída de conteúdo ou significado e o da imagem fundante do mesmo, a qual se impõe como seu pressuposto essencial. Enfim, considera os limites e as contradições do significante para a tematização e a compreensão do inconsciente.

This paper investigates the cultural significance of black holes and suns as metaphors in continental European literature and art, drawing on theoretical insights from French continental authors such as Jean-François Lyotard and Ray Brassier. Lyotard suggests that black holes signify the ultimate form of the sublime, representing the displacement of humanity and our unease with our place in the cosmos. On the other hand, Brassier views black holes as a consequence of the entropic dissolution of matter, reflecting physical reality's indifference (...) to subjective or teleological significance. The study also presents a curated collection of literary works and artworks that employ black holes and suns as metaphors, examining the emergence of these metaphorical objects and identifying discursive and epistemological shifts in society. Furthermore, this collaborative research project, involving the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo and the Federal Fluminense University in Brazil, and the Charles University in Prague in the Czech Republic, aims to provide a valuable resource for further academic inquiry. (shrink)

Authors endure considerable hardship carrying out biomedical research, from generating ideas to completing their manuscripts and submitting their findings and data (as is increasingly required) to a journal. When researchers submit to journals, they entrust their findings and ideas to editors and peer reviewers who are expected to respect the confidentiality of peer review. Inherent trust in peer review is built on the ethical conduct of authors, editors and reviewers, and on the respect of this confidentiality. If such confidentiality is (...) breached by unethical reviewers who might steal or plagiarize the authors’ ideas, researchers will lose trust in peer review and may resist submitting their findings to that journal. Science loses as a result, scientific and medical advances slow down, knowledge may become scarce, and it is unlikely that increasing bias in the literature will be detected or eliminated. In such a climate, society will ultimately be deprived from scientific and medical advances. Despite a rise in documented cases of abused peer review, there is still a relative lack of qualitative and quantitative studies on reviewer-related misconduct, most likely because evidence is difficult to come by. Our paper presents an assessment of editors’ and reviewers’ responsibilities in preserving the confidentiality of manuscripts during the peer review process, in response to a 2016 case of intellectual property theft by a reviewer. Our main objectives are to propose additional measures that would offer protection of authors’ intellectual ideas from predatory reviewers, and increase researchers’ awareness of the responsible reviewing of journal articles and reporting of biomedical research. (shrink)

A predominância dos temas literários e fenomenológicos nos textos sartrianos dos anos 1930 já chamou atenção de vários especialistas e comentadores da obra do autor. É notável, entretanto, como os exames dos textos dessa época contentam-se, no mais das vezes, em apontar o paralelismo ou a contemporaneidade entre fenomenologia e literatura ali presente, sem realçar a fundamentação que uma parece conferir à outra e que constitui uma das questões mais interessantes que a filosofia sartriana levanta. Há que se incluir, na (...) verdade, a estética literária de Sartre na compreensão de suas teses fenomenológicas; teses estas que, por outro lado, fornecem o solo filosófico da literatura sartriana, em termos tanto de autoria quanto de crítica. O propósito deste artigo é demonstrar, assim, uma dependência ou, se quisermos, implicação mútua entre literatura e fenomenologia não apenas central em relação àquele período da produção de Sartre como, também, determinante para seus projetos teóricos e ficcionais ulteriores. (shrink)

The article is about the freedom in Rousseau splitting of two basic ideas. The first is that the freedom existed markedly in the natural man and the second is this man came to lose it along his history, when by far historical processes constituted in society. The text proposes a discussion – from the reading of two works of Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men and The Social Contract – of the possibility of a return (...) to freedom in civil society, where perceives the opportunity of this rescue. For Rousseau, the man in the state of nature lived happy and in peace, whereas in the state of society there is a predominance of the inequality between the men: the moral inequality. The social pact is guarantee of the life in society and of the convergence of interests of his members. A pact by the freedom of the individual and by the democratic society. (shrink)

This article seeks to correlate some topics from Hobbes (especially the sovereignty problem) to reconstruct, in Foucault, the resistance problem. To this end, working with the state of nature example and with several commentators from both authors, an analysis will be carried out whose intersection point is the command­obedience pair, more specifically concerning the voice issue, such as referenced by Veyne. Merging two theoretical approaches, as far as Hobbes is concerned, a structural perspective was chosen, respecting the author's geometric methodology; (...) regarding Foucault, it is operated from a heuristic aspect, aiming to approach his experimentalism. (shrink)

This “essay” aims to think with Klossowski and Foucault the notions of “parody” and “fiction” based on the elegiac gesture presented by Veyne. From this, the “relational” possibility, and the “authors” quotation (notions reframed in the course of the text) will think and open up new possibilities for how to make philosophical historiography. Thus, postulated the death of God and the author's death, how would it break the Identity relations, leading to the end of the A = A relationship between (...) the textually constructed persons and the extra-textual historical ones? This is the question operated as the guideline for the mentioned notions mapping, aiming to deepen the gray area created by the elegiac fiction used here. (shrink)