I use a theorem from machine learning, called the “No Free Lunch” theorem to support the claim that non-epistemic values are essential to theory choice. I argue that NFL entails that predictive accuracy is insufficient to favor a given theory over others, and that NFL challenges our ability to give a purely epistemic justification for using other traditional epistemic virtues in theory choice. In addition, I argue that the natural way to overcome NFL’s challenge is to use non-epistemic values. If (...) my argument holds, non-epistemic values are entangled in theory choice regardless of human limitations and regardless of the subject matter. Thereby, my argument overcomes objections to the main lines of argument revealing the role of values in theory choice. At the end of the paper, I argue that, contrary to common conception, the epistemic challenge arising from NFL is distinct from Hume’s problem of induction and other forms of underdetermination. (shrink)

This article tackles Giorgio Agamben's critique of Michel Foucault's genealogy of governmentality in two ways: first, by presenting an alternative model of the relations between pastoral and theological economy and, second, by conducting a genealogy of the former as revealed in the state of exception, when canon law is suspended. Following the author's genealogy of oikonomia in the state of exception, he argues that politics and economy are distinct from one another by virtue of the fact that the primary relation (...) of the latter is one of inclusion while that of the former is one of exclusion. Finally, the author traces three of oikonomia's prolific qualities in the operation of governmentality in civil society and of market economy: its inclusiveness; the constant representation of the irreconcilability of law and authority; and its operation by accommodating to the ways of the governed. (shrink)

The article reviews the uses of the term ‘oikonomia’ in Greek-speaking antiquity and illustrates how the term was used in all spheres of human existence and in various arts and sciences, usually denoting the prudent dispensation of the field resources. In this era the arts and sciences also received their own economies, and the term oikonomia, designating in most cases the prudent management of resources, appears in political theory, military strategy, law, finance, medicine, literary criticism, architecture, music, history and rhetoric. (...) Among all the spheres, arts and sciences that were economized, the story of oikonomia in the field of rhetoric is at the center of this article’s attention. As shown, the concept of oikonomia took an intermediate form between the realm of thought – that is, the domain of philosophy – and the realm of public speech – the domain of politics. (shrink)

Reading numbers aloud involves visual processes that analyze the digit string and verbal processes that produce the number words. Cognitive models of number reading assume that information flows from the visual input to the verbal production processes—a feed‐forward processing mode in which the verbal production depends on the visual input but not vice versa. Here, I show that information flows also in the opposite direction, from verbal production to the visual input processes. Participants read aloud briefly presented multi‐digit strings in (...) Hebrew, in which the order of words is congruent with the order of digits (21 = twenty‐and‐one), and in Arabic, in which the ones word precedes the tens word (one‐and‐twenty). The error‐by‐digit‐position curve was affected by language: relative to Hebrew, in Arabic the error rate was slightly lower for the unit digit and slightly higher for the decade digit, indicating that in Arabic the unit digit was processed earlier and the decade digit later, in accord with the Arabic word order. This language‐dependent processing order originated in the visual level and was not a verbal confound, because it persisted even when I controlled for the serial position of the decade/unit word in the verbal number by using numbers with 0 (two hundred three/two hundred thirty). I conclude that the visual analyzer's digit scanning order, decade‐first or unit‐first, is not fixed but affected by the language in which the number is produced—a top‐down, verbal‐to‐visual information flow. (shrink)

Lawyering for the Rule of Law introduces a new model of government lawyering in which government lawyers function as an ancillary mechanism that enables the court to expand its influence on policy-making within the political branches by forming out-of-court settlements. It discusses the centrality of government lawyers with regard to judicial mobilization and the enforcement of social reforms through adjudication, and sheds light on particular functions of government lawyers as adjudicators and facilitators of institutional arrangements. It also discusses the ethical (...) and professional dilemmas of government lawyers in judicial review and the relationship between lawyers' professional morality and outcomes in litigation. (shrink)

The present article addresses the logic of the sphere, or the Sphere Model of Consciousness developed by Patrizio Paoletti over three decades of research. M.E.D. Ed., 2002; Flussi, territori, luogo II. M.E.D. Ed., 2002; Fare il punto nave. M.E.D. Ed., 2005; In: Proceedings conference at Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center. Bar Ilan University. Faculty of Neuroscience, Israel, 2007; Osservazione—Quaderni di Pedagogia per il Terzo Millennio, Ed. 3P, 2011; Mediazione—Quaderni di Pedagogia per il Terzo Millennio, Ed. 3P, 2011). (...) The SMC model has been experimentally applied in the educational field and lies at the base of neuroscientific and psychoeducational research conducted by the Paoletti Foundation. In recent years, it has been studied by several researchers in the field of neuroscience. Following a logical-mathematical introduction regarding the properties of the spherical shape, we illustrate for the first time the structuring of the model and its neural foundations. We emphasize the central space of the sphere, defined by the geometric model and highlight its descriptive and heuristic properties in relation to the study of consciousness. Finally, we present educational applications of the model, particularly with respect to the center of the sphere, defined in the current context as the “place of pre-existence.”. (shrink)

Ezzence is the first smartphone-controlled olfactometer designed for both day and night conditions. We discuss the design and technical implementation of Ezzence and report on a study to evaluate the feasibility of using the device in home-based sleep environments. The study results show that participants were satisfied with the device and found it easy to use. Furthermore, participants reported a significant improvement in sleep quality when using the device with scent in comparison to the control condition, as well as better (...) mood the following morning and shorter time to sleep onset. The device is integrated with a wearable EEG and real-time sleep staging algorithm to release scent during specific sleep stages, which is important for certain use cases. Ezzence can be used for several applications, including those that require scent triggered day and night. They include targeted memory reactivation, longitudinal health treatments, therapy, and mental or physical exercises. Finally, this article proposes an interaction framework to understand relationships between scents and environments based on proxemic dimensions and passive or active interactions during sleep. (shrink)

_Current Controversies in Philosophy of Science_ asks twelve philosophers to debate six questions that are driving contemporary work in this area of philosophy. But each question also leads readers back to more general issues and shows how these general issues play out in contemporary debates. The result is a book that’s perfect for the advanced student, building up her knowledge of the foundations of the field while also engaging with its cutting-edge questions. Preliminary descriptions of each chapter, annotated bibliographies for (...) each controversy, study questions, and a supplemental guide to further controversies in philosophy of science help provide clearer and richer snapshots of active controversies for all readers. (shrink)

The present article addresses the logic of the sphere, or the Sphere Model of Consciousness developed by Patrizio Paoletti over three decades of research. M.E.D. Ed., 2002; Flussi, territori, luogo II. M.E.D. Ed., 2002; Fare il punto nave. M.E.D. Ed., 2005; In: Proceedings conference at Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center. Bar Ilan University. Faculty of Neuroscience, Israel, 2007; Osservazione—Quaderni di Pedagogia per il Terzo Millennio, Ed. 3P, 2011; Mediazione—Quaderni di Pedagogia per il Terzo Millennio, Ed. 3P, 2011). (...) The SMC model has been experimentally applied in the educational field and lies at the base of neuroscientific and psychoeducational research conducted by the Paoletti Foundation. In recent years, it has been studied by several researchers in the field of neuroscience. Following a logical-mathematical introduction regarding the properties of the spherical shape, we illustrate for the first time the structuring of the model and its neural foundations. We emphasize the central space of the sphere, defined by the geometric model and highlight its descriptive and heuristic properties in relation to the study of consciousness. Finally, we present educational applications of the model, particularly with respect to the center of the sphere, defined in the current context as the “place of pre-existence.”. (shrink)

Ravit Dotan argues that a No Free Lunch theorem from machine learning shows epistemic values are insufficient for deciding the truth of scientific hypotheses. She argues that NFL shows that the best case accuracy of scientific hypotheses is no more than chance. Since accuracy underpins every epistemic value, non-epistemic values are needed to assess the truth of scientific hypotheses. However, NFL cannot be coherently applied to the problem of theory choice. The NFL theorem Dotan’s argument relies upon is (...) a member of a family of theorems in search, optimization, and machine learning. They all claim to show that if no assumptions are made about a search or optimization problem or learning situation, then the best case performance of an algorithm is that of random search or random guessing. A closer inspection shows that these theorems all rely upon assigning uniform probabilities over problems or learning situations, which is just the Principle of Indifference. A counterexample can be crafted that shows that NFL cannot be coherently applied across different descriptions of the same learning situation. To avoid this counterexample, Dotan needs to privilege some description of the learning situation faced by scientists. However, this means that NFL cannot be applied since an important assumption about the problem is being made. So Dotan faces a dilemma: either NFL leads to incoherent best-case partial beliefs or it is inapplicable to the problem of theory choice. This negative result has implications for the larger debate over theory choice. (shrink)

Los objetos sensibles y el hombre, que constituyen el mundo sometido a alteración o cambios, poseen una estructura, organización y dinámicas propias por las cuales se intuye la presencia de causas o principios que dotan a ambos de tales atributos. De aquí que el límite y la medida representen condiciones de orden establecidas por el mundo ideal, un orden que actúa como causa de la armonía y la proporción que conforman todo el mundo visible. El orden ontológico y cósmico (...) que aquí se plantea proyecta también disposiciones éticas en el plano antropológico, disposiciones que obedecen a un intento explicativo de la realidad en su totalidad y que en el presente texto se intentan dilucidar. (shrink)

El presente escrito explora algunas ideas marxianas sobre la subjetivación a partir de sus críticas a la filosofía hegeliana y posthegeliana, de Feuerbach y Stirner fundamentalmente, y presenta su humanismo materialista y crítico como un nuevo modo de subjetivación que se sitúa en la estela del materialismo sensualista ilustrado, retomado por Feuerbach, que combina con la idea del hombre trabajador, el homo faber, utilizador de instrumentos, de la tradición de la economía política inglesa, al que dotan de la capacidad (...) revolucionaria retomada de los primeros románticos y de la tradición de los comunistas y socialistas utópicos. (shrink)

Explanations are supposed to provide us with understanding. It is common to make a distinction between genuine, scientific understanding, and the phenomenological, or ‘aha’ notion of understanding, where the former is considered epistemically relevant, the latter irrelevant. I argue that there is a variety of phenomenological understanding that does play a positive epistemic role. This phenomenological understanding involves a similarity between bodily sensations that is used as evidence for mechanistic hypotheses. As a case study, I will consider 17th and 18th (...) century research into the mechanism behind the electric eel’s power to shock. Se supone que las explicaciones nos dotan de comprensión. Es habitual hacer una distinción entre compresión cientifica, genuina, y la noción fenomenológica, o ‘ahá’, de comprensión, donde la primera se considera epistemológicamente relevante y esta última irrelevante. Argumento que hay un tipo de compresión fenomenológica que sí juega un papel positivo epistémico. Esta comprensión epistemológica conlleva cierta semejanza con las sensaciones corporales que se usan como evidencia de algunas hipótesis mecanicistas. Como caso de estudio, consideraré la investigación en los siglos xvii y xviii del mecanismo tras la capacidad de la anguila eléctrica para provocar un shock. (shrink)

En este texto se realizará un análisis filosófico de la poesía de Humberto Díaz- Casanueva. Nuestro propósito general consiste en descubrir sus motivos esenciales, aquellos que la dotan de una forma única dentro del panorama de las letras chilenas. Siguiendo una indicación del propio autor, diremos que su poesía es “órfica”, y esto implica una relación directa con la muerte. Nuestra propuesta consiste en discernir dos momentos en este orfismo: danza y tartamudeo, y en desarrollar la idea de cómo (...) esta poesía alcanza su forma definitiva en el segundo de estos momentos. (shrink)

Hablar de las herencias del pensamiento moderno y referirse a Kant resulta una obviedad. Pero cuando Putnam asevera que Kant fue �el primer realista interno� parece de suyo tomarlo en consideración. Centrándonos tan sólo en la fase de este realismo interno putnamiano �y en particular tal como se expresa en Razón, verdad e historia�, este trabajo se propone detectar algunos de los lugares textuales de la Crítica de la razón pura que avalan esa afirmación y la dotan de sentido. (...) Qué entienden ambos textos por racionalidad y por verdad nos guiará a la hora situar dónde ambos pensadores, más allá de la distancia teórica e histórica, vienen a encontrase. (shrink)

El artículo considera el aspecto socio-psicológico y epistemológico de las utopías, y se plantea conectar utopía con la emoción. Revisa las condiciones de modernización económica y democratización que han derivado en el descreimiento de las utopías, y los valores que dotan de identidad a los sujetos que las adoptan. Se pone el acento en la necesidad de reformular la concepción del fenómeno del poder y de sus prácticas, y en la trascendencia que la tarea educativa tiene de re-encantar de (...) utopías a las nuevas generaciones. (shrink)

La noción y la experiencia de la crisis son consustanciales a la modernidad, a su diagnóstico y su autocomprensión no sólo como crisis económica y política, sino, de modo más fundamental y abarcador, como crisis de la comunidad, de la transmisión y la tradición y, finalmente, como crisis de la modernidad misma. La obra de Walter Benjamin, en la medida en que constituye un esfuerzo de articulación filosófica de una serie de experiencias políticas, estéticas y metafísicas moldeadas por crisis, se (...) revela de gran utilidad no sólo para comprender el contexto filosófico y político en el que se formó, sino también los usos actuales del concepto. Sostendré que es posible aislar en los textos benjaminianos tres variantes semánticas diferentes, aunque no excluyentes entre sí, de crisis e intentaré mostrar que sus reflexiones sobre el concepto de crisis en el contexto de las transformaciones modernas dotan a éste de un matiz semántico novedoso que lo diferencia de las concepciones antigua y moderna. En esta nueva acepción de crisis reside también el potencial crítico del concepto. (shrink)

Instituciones políticas como la Comisión Europea y el Gobierno de España han manifestadosu interés y predisposición para sentar las bases de una gobernanza ética de la Inteligencia Artificial (IA). En particular, han planteado el impulso de una Inteligencia Artificial confiable a través de unconjunto de directrices y estrategias. A pesar del beneficio que reportan estas iniciativas políticas, no es posible apreciar en su conjunto una estrategia educativa específica que contribuya a la generación de un ecosistema ético de IA fundamentado en (...) la confianza. En ese sentido, el objetivo principal de este trabajo consiste en explicar que la enseñanza de la ética aplicada en los estudios de ingeniería constituye una apuesta para el fortalecimiento profesional, la gobernanza ética yuna investigación e innovación responsables. Para alcanzar este objetivo, en primer lugar, serándetallados algunos de los aspectos esenciales que dotan de un valor significativo a la enseñanza de la ética aplicada, subrayando la responsabilidad social que presentan las universidades en este terreno. En segundo lugar, se mostrará una clasificación de las asignaturas de ética relacionadas con la ingeniería en el entorno de las universidades públicas españolas. Y, en tercer lugar, se ofrecerá un marco teórico enraizado en la ética discursiva, promoviendo una mirada cívica en el contexto educativo de las profesiones. (shrink)