Due to the pandemic and the suspension of in-person school classes, there was an interruption in the meals served to approximately 40 million students who benefited from the Brazilian National School Feeding Program (PNAE). This article describes two case studies, comparing the strategies adopted by two municipalities for maintaining school feeding during the Covid-19 pandemic in the northern region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and discuss possible impacts of these strategies on food and nutrition security. These municipalities (...) together cover about 81% of the population in the region. In July 2020, we conducted interviews with PNAE municipal managers, following a qualitative approach. We discuss the results in relation to existing Brazilian guidance on food and nutrition security. The municipalities have developed distinct strategies to overcome operational obstacles and maintain PNAE goals, such as distributing food kits and making cash transfers to students’ families. The main determinants of these strategies are financial availability, the relationship between municipal teams and school communities, and the pre-pandemic PNAE logistics and management. Depending on the strategy and duration of the pandemic, the impacts on food and nutrition security can be wide-ranging, affecting food quality and local farmers who sell products to PNAE. It is necessary to acknowledge that this is not a short-term pandemic and find ways to perform school feeding in accordance with PNAE criteria. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence has been adopted in a wide range of domains. This shows the imperative need to contribute to making citizens insightful actors in debates and decisions involving the adoption of AI mechanisms. Currently, existing approaches to the teaching of basic AI concepts through programming treat machine intelligence as an external element/module. After being trained, that external module is coupled to the main application. Combining block-based programming and WiSARD weightless artificial neural networks, this article presents the conceptualization and design of (...) a new methodology, AI from concrete to abstract, to endow general people with a minimum understanding of what AI means. The main strategy adopted was to include AI training and classification primitives as blocks that compose an otherwise conventional computer program. This way, the programmer can use these blocks as he/she uses other programming constructs. In order to achieve this purpose, we also propose BlockWiSARD, a block-based programming environment designed to promote the demystification of artificial intelligence via practical activities related to the development of learning machines, as well as through the observation of their learning process. As a beneficial side effect of BlockWiSARD, the difference between a program capable of learning from data and a conventional computer program becomes more evident. In addition, the simplicity of the WiSARD weightless artificial neural network model enables easy visualization and understanding of training and classification tasks internal realization. (shrink)

n the first part of the paper I will present Pritchard’s approach to Wittgenstein’s notion of hinge commitments, which is essential to his solution to the closure-based sceptical arguments. And, in the second par of the paper, I will raise some concerns that I have regarding Pritchard’s non-belief reading of the hinge commitments. In the third and final part, I make some concluding remarks regarding Pritchard’s overall strategy to solve the closure-based sceptical paradox.

Filipe Drapeau Vieira Contim,Pascal Ludwig | : La plupart des théoriciens de l’identité des types souscrivent à un physicalisme a posteriori à l’égard des propriétés phénoménales. Selon cette conception, les énoncés d’identité esprit/cerveau peuvent être justifiés par une inférence à la meilleure explication (IME) partant du fait empirique des corrélations esprit/cerveau. Nous soutenons que la théorie de l’identité ne peut pas s’appuyer sur cette méthodologie abductive. Nous montrons tout d’abord que l’on ne peut pas justifier les énoncés d’identité esprit/cerveau (...) au moyen d’une IME partant des corrélations esprit/cerveau car cette stratégie conduit à un dilemme : ou bien les corrélations ne sont pas des explananda, ou bien les identités esprit/cerveau doivent être admises comme des faits bruts au même titre que les lois dualistes. Nous montrons ensuite que ces énoncés d’identité peuvent être néanmoins justifiés par une IME partant du pouvoir causal des états phénoménaux. Cette seconde stratégie n’est toutefois d’aucune aide pour la forme a posteriori de théorie de l’identité ici discutée dans la mesure où elle débouche sur un physicalisme de type a priori. | : Most type identity theorists endorse a posteriori physicalism about phenomenal properties. On such a view, mind/brain identity statements can be justified by an inference to the best explanation (IBE) starting from the empirical premise of mind/brain correlations. We contend that Identity Theory cannot be based on such an abductive methodology. First, we argue that mind/brain identity statements cannot be justified by an IBE from correlations as it leads to the following dilemma : either correlations are trivial facts that cannot pretend to the status of explananda, or mind/brain identities must be admitted as brute facts, just like dualist laws. Second, we show that these identity statements can still be justified by an IBE starting from the premise of mental causation. However, this strategy is of no help for the a posteriori brand of Identity Theory here challenged since the same premise forces one to embrace a priori physicalism. (shrink)

In semiotics, final causation can be related to the process of determination (PAPE, 1993). From Peirce’s point of view, determination is not a causal determinism, but a delimitation of a range of possibilities. One starts from objects towards interpretants, in a process mediated by the sign, in which the dynamic object works as a force that constrains interpretants to correspond to their objects. The correspondence between object and interpretant is important because it is through a generated interpretant that the object (...) of a sign can be known. Even though this process of determination coincides with the idea of final causation, there is a certain indeterminacy in it. For Peirce (EP 2:353, 1905), vagueness and generality are two types of indeterminacy. In the terms of the phenomenological categories, vagueness is an indeterminacy of the order of firstness, generality an indeterminacy of the order of thirdness, and both, to some extent, are opposed to that which is defined, which belongs to secondness. Each aspect of the sign may vary according to the three phenomenological categories. Consequently, degrees of imprecision are added to the semiotic process, which is a determination process. Peirce asserts that the perfect precision of thought is theoretically unattainable (SS 11, 1903). Every sign is vague or general at least to some degree. In this paper, we seek to perceive degrees of indetermination and causality from an analysis of the kinds of objects and interpretants proposed by Peirce in the system of 28 sign classes. (shrink)

In Metaphysics Γ, Aristotle argues against those who seem to accept contradictions. He distinguishes between the Sophists, who deny the principle of non-contradiction through arguments, and the Natural Philosophers, whose physical investigations lead to the acceptance of objective contradictions. Heraclitus’ name appears throughout the discussion. Usually, he is associated with the discussion against the Sophists. In this paper, I explore how the discussion with the Natural Philosophers may illuminate both the interpretation of Heraclitus by Aristotle and Heraclitus’ own worldview. To (...) refute the Natural Philosophers, Aristotle proposes a general reconstruction of their reasoning. Roughly, relying on sensory evidence (A1), they see that the same thing changes from one opposite to another (A2). Such a change appears to characterize a generation out of non-being, which a Natural Philosopher does not accept (A3). To solve the problem, despite their different worldviews, Natural Philosophers hint at a state in which opposites co-occur, characterizing an objective contradiction (C). Looking at the discussion in Metaphysics Γ and Heraclitus fragments, sections 1–3 show how assumptions A1, A2, and A3 easily apply to Heraclitus. The case of the conclusion is more challenging. In the case of the Pluralists, the co-existence of opposites characterizes a state in which there is no generation. Such a view does not fit Heraclitus’ mobilism. To argue that Aristotle’s argument is general enough to encompass dynamic views, I examine his problematization of accepting the change of change in Metaphysics K and Physics V. There, after re-stating several points that appear in Metaphysics Γ, Aristotle argues that accepting the becoming of another becoming leads to a state of contradiction in which the becoming is perishing. Heraclitus’ B8, cited in Nicomachean Ethics, gives evidence that, for Aristotle, Heraclitus puts a process at the origin of an opposite process. Moreover, after examining the expression ‘living the death/dying the life’ in B62, I argue that Heraclitus was aware that his worldview implied a dynamic objective contradiction. Finally, an analysis of elemental changes in B36 proves that accepting objective contradictions does not make Heraclitus’ worldview less attractive. (shrink)

In this paper, we focus on some misconceptions about Critical Pragmatics, what it is, what it assumes and what it proposes. Doubtless, some of these misconceptions are due to clumsy writing on our part; perhaps others are due to inattentive reading. And some may be due to an effort to shield us from the apparent implausibility of what we said—and in fact meant. It does not matter much. We focus on those misunderstandings that most matter to us, either because, by (...) repetition, they have ended up being annoying, even if they are not, perhaps, that important; or because they are substantial enough to represent a distortion of the basic picture of Critical Pragmatics and its theoretical foundations, namely, Critical Referentialism—also known as the Reflexive-referential Theory—and, more generally, Perry’s fundamental views on meaning and content(s). (shrink)

In the passage of time from the 1960s to the 1970s, the Brazilian artist Waldemar Cordeiro developed his first works in computer art by applying the mathematical concept of “derivative function.” Around the same time, he organized and took part in exhibitions, and composed a series of essays envisaging that the use of digital resources would become an inevitable process for the future of information reception and artistic communication. A closer look at Waldemar Cordeiro's production, both artistic and theoretical, after (...) almost 50 years of his first forays into the field of art and technology, is an excellent opportunity not only to revisit his trajectory, but to rewrite the history of digital art and our conception of it, locating Brazil and Latin America as situated centrally, not peripherally, in relation to the European and North American narratives. Drawing from theorists in the field of informational esthetics as well as scholars in the field of media such as Arlindo Machado and Vilém Flusser, this article seeks to demonstrate, through the analysis of Waldemar Cordeiro's theoretical–artistic productions, the relationship between his work, the field of cybernetics, and his utopian and social vision of artistic production. (shrink)

Journal Name: Semiotica - Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies / Revue de l'Association Internationale de Sémiotique Volume: 2013 Issue: 196 Pages: 163-184.

Michel Foucault (1926-1984) ao analisar o diálogo Apologia de Sócrates de Platão afirma que Sócrates não se vale da retórica para defender-se das acusações recebidas no tribunal ateniense. Ele não faz uso de um discurso que visa a adulação do júri pela comoção e piedade. De acordo com Foucault (2009), o filósofo faz uso da fala franca (parresía) e procura examinar as acusações recebidas em busca da verdade e da promoção da justiça. Sócrates segue o conselho de seu daímon que (...) o orienta a não preparar um discurso de defesa e pratica o exame das acusações no tribunal. Sócrates age na contramão do que até então era praticado naquele espaço, colocando-se em risco de vida e sendo, posteriormente, sentenciado a pena de morte por envenenamento. (shrink)

Os signos e as classes dos signos estão entre os tópicos mais importantes do sistema filosófico de Charles S. Peirce. As 10, 28, e 66 classes de signos são classificações desenvolvidas especialmente a partir de 1903 e representam um grande refinamento da divisão fundamental de signos – ícone, índice, símbolo. Nossa abordagem aqui define uma estratégia de visualização das classificações dos signos, com especial atenção para as 10 e 66 classes de signos. O livro está dividido em duas partes: (i) (...) bases teóricas, (ii) diagramas para as classes de signos. Na Parte I (bases teóricas), são apresentadas introdutoriamente as noções fundamentais das categorias fenomenológicas, classes de signos, as tricotomias e diagramas, assim como implicações gerais de nossa abordagem, metodologia e aplicações. Na Parte II (diagramas para as classes de signos), são apresentados e discutidos os modelos das classes, propostos por Peirce e seus comentadores, incluindo uma introdução detalhadamente documental de nossos modelos, 10cubes e 3N3, diagramas dinâmicos para as classes de signos. (shrink)

Criado por homens de natureza poética e, portanto, obra por excelência da imaginação, o mundo civil dos primeiros tempos poderia ser conhecido, segundo Giambattista Vico, mediante a elaboração e a adoção de um aparato metodológico-científico que estabelece os princípios dos desenvolvimentos humanos. Tal aparato consistiria na própria Ciência Nova, obra viquiana que pretende conferir legitimidade ao conhecimento histórico, tão desprestigiado pela tradição cartesiana, mesmo de tempos remotos nos quais a faculdade imaginativa excedera à razão. Trata-se, então, neste artigo, de compreender (...) o conceito de imaginação na teoria do conhecimento de Vico e as rupturas e continuidades que o filósofo estabelece com o legado cartesiano proveniente do século anterior. (shrink)

In his 1903 Syllabus, Charles S. Peirce makes a distinction between icons and iconic signs, or hypoicons, and briefly introduces a division of the latter into images, diagrams, and metaphors. Peirce scholars have tried to make better sense of those concepts by understanding iconic signs in the context of the ten classes of signs described in the same Syllabus. We will argue, however, that the three kinds of hypoicons can better be understood in the context of Peirce's sixty-six classes of (...) signs. We analyze examples of hypoicons taken from the field of information design, describing them in the framework of the sixty-six classes, and discuss the consequences of those descriptions to the debate about the order of determination of the 10 trichotomies that form those classes. (shrink)

Por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica e imagens de obras de arte, o artigo discute aspectos da história da Estética e da sociedade atual. Apresenta reflexões marxianas sobre a sociedade capitalista e o processo de embrutecimento dos sentidos humanos para, a seguir, abordar as relações estabelecidas entre a Indústria Cultural e a sociedade de consumo com o intento de debater o processo de estetização da sociedade. Finaliza ao apontar a obra de arte e o efeito catártico proporcionado por ela como modos (...) de estabelecer novas relações com a realidade e com as diferentes manifestações que buscam retratá-la. (shrink)

Singular terms without referents are called empty or vacuous terms. But not all of them are equally empty. In particular, not all proper names that fail to name an existing object fail in the same way: although they are all empty, they are not all equally vacuous. “Vulcan,” “Jacob Horn,” “Odysseus,” and “Sherlock Holmes,” for instance, are all empty. They have no referents. But they are not entirely vacuous or useless. Sometimes they are used in statements that are true or (...) false. We are basically referentialists about proper names. The ordinary semantic function of a proper name is to refer to an object, and to do it directly, that is, without semantically providing any identifying condition that the object should meet to be the referent. To put it differently, we agree that statements containing proper names express singular propositions, i.e., that their truth-conditions involve the referent of the proper name, if it exists, and not any identifying condition of it. Now, since empty names lack a referent, and therefore would not express such a singular proposition, how do we explain that many, if not all, statements containing them have a truth-value? Answering this question for the case of fictional names, in particular, is the aim of this paper. (shrink)

Trata-se de uma contextualização filosófica que perpassa os limites e as fronteiras do pensamento reducionista: que fragmenta e exclui a subjetividade humana em nome da objetividade racionalista. Volta-se ao pressuposto de que tanto a subjetividade quanto a objetividade são legítimas fontes do pensar e do agir humanos e, por isto mesmo, fontes primárias da religação ética entre o eu e o outro. Debruçar-se sobre o conceito de amorosidade, em Paulo Freire, remete à discussão acerca da ética como campo ontológico das (...) relações entre humanos e humanos, e entre humanos e não humanos. A proposta que tangencia o estudo tem por objetivo principal compreender o conceito de amorosidade e seus desdobramentos dentro e fora da pedagogia freireana, sobretudo incorporada ao ethos e à racionalidade prática, nesta contemporaneidade. Almeja-se, com isto, oferecer algumas reflexões sobre o sentido e o sentir da amorosidade como modo de acolhimento do outro no eu, uma possibilidade de reconhecimento de um eu no outro. Palavras-chave: Paulo Freire. Amorosidade. Ética. Formação humana. (shrink)

Journal Name: Semiotica Issue: Ahead of print.

As cidades brasileiras contemporâneas possuem espaços que ora privilegiam a realização de negócios e ora a construção de cidadania. Para compreender como são ocupados destes modos se faz necessário analisar as cidades; desde sua definição, passando pelo contexto político e econômico, para então compreender seu aspecto social. Assim, este artigo busca compreender se e em que medida as características dos espaços públicos impactam no processo de construção de cidadania. Analisando por meio de observação flutuante dois espaços públicos que são duas (...) praças urbanas centrais, localizadas em duas cidades no mesmo contexto metropolitanos. Perpassa-se pelo debate regional com o intuito de evidenciar que os conflitos são equivalentes nas diversas escalas; contudo a demonstração do contexto da Região Metropolitana do Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte/SP, objetiva tornar evidente que as estruturas físicas locais, dos espaços públicos urbanos centrais não direcionam as relações sociais e suas disputas, mas são um meio e resultado dessas. (shrink)

This study assesses the retractions of scientific articles in engineering journals indexed on the Web of Science from 1945 to 2015. The data set was built based on documents containing the keywords retracted, retraction, withdrawal, or redress. We used database exploration techniques, including Structured Query Language and analysis of variance, for data analysis. We analyzed 238 retractions published by 117 journals. The most common reason for retraction was unethical research, and higher impact factors journals tended to publish more retractions. In (...) conclusion, most of the analyzed retractions were the result of unethical research and were retracted by editors. (shrink)

Pretendo debater, neste trabalho, três pressupostos que subjazem o desenvolvimento argumentativo do ensaio: I) a ideia presente no Tratado de que os homens se guiam pelos seus afetos ou, grosso modo, que a sociabilidade é permeada por paixões que se chocam, todo o tempo, com a vontade e interesse alheios (Hume também entende, como parece ter sido o caso de Maquiavel e Shaftesbury, que a sociedade, como um corpo, expressa um humor espelhado e forjado no jogo e conflito dos afetos (...) humanos); II) a compreensão de que o onflito, as disputas, o dissenso são constitutivos do mundo político, não devendo ser encarados como males a ser extirpados; III) a tese de que a estabilidade dos governos não requer a negação e supressão das disputas, mas antes se constituinum fino equilíbrio entre polos conflitantes, equilíbrio esse que é resultante de certos artifícios humanos (a saber, da invenção, instituição e controle das leis, de um sistema jurídico capaz de mediar as disputas políticas e sociais). (shrink)

This article presents some results of a research on computational strategies for the visualization of sign classification structures and sign processes. The focus of this research is the various classifications of signs described by Peirce. Two models are presented. One of them concerns specifically the 10-fold classification as described in the 1903 Syllabus (MS 540, EP 2: 289–299), while the other deals with the deep structure of Peirce’s various trichotomic classifications. The first is 10cubes, an interactive 3-D model of Peirce’s (...) 10-fold classification, as described in the Syllabus. The second is 3N3, a computer program that builds equivalent diagrams for any n-trichotomic classification of signs. We are specially interested in how a graphic design methodology, associated with computer graphic resources and techniques, can contribute to the construction of interactive models that serve as tools for the investigation of C. S. Peirce’s theory of signs. (shrink)

This article explores the afterlives of the photographic production by Ruy Duarte de Carvalho (1941-2010), a Portuguese-born Angolan anthropologist who amidst the country's long-lasting civil war (1975-2002) engaged with the Ovakuvale trans-humant shepherds dwelling in the semi-arid region of southern Angola. Through the 1990s, Carvalho used analogue photographic cameras to document his field-work among the Ovakuvale, and afterwards engaged in various experiments with the medium for ethnographic purposes. Departing from the current assemblage of Carvalho's personal archive that remains after he (...) passed away, I explore distinct photographic relations connected to public usages of his Ovakuvale images during his lifetime, to discuss the ways in which he articulated them through diverse expressive modes and ventures - such as watercolours, illustrated publications, temporary exhibitions and a theatre play. Offering the opportunity to surrender to a broad experimental practice that makes his overall Ovakuvale ethnography particularly revealing, I project through the current archival assemblage a comparative approach to the rationales guiding the presentation of his Ovakuvale field images, to discuss salient temporal relationships between his method to produce and later reuse these images in postcolonial times. (shrink)

The objective of this study is to compare the quantity of citations that retracted and nonretracted articles received in engineering based on articles indexed in the Web of Science database and published between 1945 and 2015. For data analysis, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used along with the Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Mann–Whitney, Tukey–Kramer tests and descriptive statistics. The data set included 238 retracted and 236 nonretracted articles, with the retracted articles cited 2,348 times and nonretracted articles cited 2,957 times. (...) The results highlight that retraction does not end citation, thus threatening scientific credibility. (shrink)

Entende-se que os experimentos mentais são dispositivos da imaginação que podem nos fornecer crenças que constituem conhecimento. John D. Norton apresentou uma abordagem que se tornou influente para explicar como os experimentos mentais científicos podem produzir novos conhecimentos so- bre o mundo. Ele afirma que não há nada distintivo nos experimentos men- tais, uma vez que sustenta que eles funcionam exatamente como argumen- tos. Neste artigo, contestamos sua abordagem. Examinamos aspectos essen- ciais de sua abordagem, que envolvem as noções de (...) “argumento” e “inferên- cia” para mostrar que um sujeito que chega a saber algo através da execução ou condução de um experimento mental dificilmente será considerado como tendo efetivamente executado um argumento ou um processo de raciocínio inferencial. (shrink)

Resumo: Intento, neste breve estudo interpretativo, abordar uma certa imagem da solidão na filosofia de Friedrich Nietzsche como tema e como experiência atrelada à figura conceitual do espírito livre. Para dar efetividade a esta interpretação, escolhi efetuar esse tracejo em dois momentos complementares: no volume 1 da obra Humano, demasiado Humano; e depois em seu segundo volume composto por duas obras: Miscelânea de Opiniões e Sentenças e o Andarilho e sua Sombra. Em ambas, a solidão é vista como morada e (...) campo gestor desse espírito livre que deseja tornar-se si mesmo. Palavras-chave: Solidão; Humano; Demasiado Humano; Friedrich Nietzsche Loneliness too human Abstract: In this brief interpretative study, I intend to approach a certain image of solitude in Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy as a theme and as an experience linked to the conceptual figure of the free spirit. To give effectiveness to this interpretation, I chose to do this trace in two complementary moments: in volume 1 of the work Human, Too Human; and then in his second volume composed of two works: Miscellany of Opinions and Sentences and The Wanderer and his Shadow. In both, solitude is seen as the dwelling and managing field of this free spirit that wishes to become itself. Keywords: Loneliness; Human; Too Human; Friedrich Nietzsche Soledad demasiado humana Resumen: En este breve estudio interpretativo, pretendo acercarme a una determinada imagen de la soledad en la filosofía de Friedrich Nietzsche como tema y como experiencia vinculada a la figura conceptual del espíritu libre. Para dar efectividad a esta interpretación, elegí hacer este rastreo en dos momentos complementarios: en el volumen 1 de la obra Humano, demasiado humano; y luego en su segundo volumen compuesto por dos obras: Miscelánea de opiniones y sentencias y El caminante y su sombra. En ambos, la soledad es vista como la morada y el campo de gestión de este espíritu libre que desea llegar a ser él mismo. Palabras clave: Soledad; Humano; Demasiado Humano; Friedrich NietzscheData de registro: 17/06/2022 Data de aceite: 13/12/2022. (shrink)

The physician of fifty years ago is barely recognizable today. Rural, autonomous, and isolated, he did everything from mending broken bones to pronouncing people dead. He was responsible for a well-circumscribed community, who came to him for all their medical needs, regardless of the hour.

This book offers a powerful, comprehensive and compelling rereading of Hobbes's theory of representation, by reinstating it in a wider pattern of Hobbes’s theorizing about human thought and action in relation to images, roles and fictions of various types.

The article intends to analyze Nietzsches concept of conscience (Gewissen), in order to show its connection to the will to power. This relation inscribes in its interior, as derived from it, the bad conscience (schlechtes Gewissen), and thus opens a phenomenological horizon of interpretation of the will to power.

Thomas Hobbes combines true representation and representation by fiction in the making of the modern representative state. This chapter examines how this is done and to what effect. Hobbes's adoption, in the English Leviathan, of a broad and elastic concept of person as an agent capable of speech and action marks a departure from his earlier works. Words and actions are the “outward appearances” that make up the Hobbesian person. As the distinction between true representation and representation by fiction shows, (...) at the core of Hobbes's theory of representation lie the notions of authorization and attributed action. According to Hobbes, representation by fiction is the only form of representation available to people, things or abstractions who “cannot be Authors, nor therefore give Authority to their Actors”. Representation was equally necessary, understood as the representation of the commonwealth itself as a formidable image of unity that transcended the mere sum of its authorizing parts. (shrink)