En este artículo presentamos un estudio piloto en que se explora la relación entre la conceptualización del espacio y el desarrollo cognitivo. Para ello se pidió a ocho sujetos de cuatro rangos etarios describir la ubicación espacial de los elementos de una fotografía, a fin de identificar los aspectos que diferencian las expresiones referentes a la ubicación espacial entre rangos etarios. Se observa que, en nuestra muestra, la conceptualización del espacio se complejiza conforme avanza la edad, con diferencias en cinco (...) parámetros: sistema de referencia, marco de referencia, punto de vista, multidimensionalidad y patrón de rastreo visual. In this article we report a pilot study which explored the relationship between spatial categorization and cognitive development. Eight participants from four age ranges were asked to describe the location of certain elements in a picture, in order to examine which aspects of the spatial location expressions showed differences across age ranges. Analysis showed that spatial categorization grows complex with age, with differences being observed in relation to five parameters: system of reference, reference frame, viewpoint, multidimensionality and visual tracking pattern. (shrink)

La metáfora conceptual es utilizada con frecuencia como estrategia divulgativa para acercar el conocimiento especializado a un público lego, pero su eficacia comunicativa para la transmisión de contenido especializado no se ha comprobado empíricamente. El objetivo de este trabajo es explorar la incidencia de las metáforas en la comprensión de textos escritos divulgativos del área de Biología. Se diseñó una prueba de comprensión lectora con 4 fragmentos de textos de divulgación con expresiones metafóricas y sin expresiones metafóricas, acompañados de 16 (...) preguntas de selección múltiple. La prueba se aplicó a 30 estudiantes de segundo año medio de un colegio chileno, y se complementó con una entrevista semiestructurada a tres de los estudiantes. Los resultados obtenidos demostraron que, a nivel local, las metáforas estructurales de una correspondencia y las de imagen posibilitan una mejor comprensión. Sin embargo, a nivel global, no se evidenció un mejor desempeño en la lectura de textos con presencia de expresiones metafóricas. Estos hallazgos permiten caracterizar el nivel de eficacia de la metáfora conceptual en el proceso de comprensión de contenido especializado, así como informar sobre el diseño de textos divulgativos con propósitos didácticos. (shrink)

Este artículo presenta un estudio sobre la terminología empleada para referirse al período histórico del Golpe y Dictadura Militar en los textos escolares de enseñanza media de historia de Chile. Los términos representan los conceptos especializados de una disciplina y reflejan la conceptualización particular de la realidad por parte de una determinada comunidad disciplinar en un contexto socio-temporal. Por ello, influyen en la manera en que el receptor accede al conocimiento. Este estudio tuvo por objetivo describir el punto de vista (...) sobre el Golpe y la Dictadura Militar transmitido a través de la terminología en los manuales de historia chilenos, y determinar si esta ha evolucionado con el paso de los años. Para ello, se analizaron las variantes terminológicas de los conceptos principales que configuran el periodo histórico en la unidad didáctica sobre el tema en textos escolares de 2º y 3º Medio, licitados por el Mineduc entre el 2002 y 2014. Luego, a partir del análisis de la información conceptual reflejada en cada variante y el nivel de abstracción de la categoría seleccionada, se interpretó si las variantes reflejaban un punto de vista negativo, neutro o positivo del concepto. Los resultados demostraron que las denominaciones son relativamente estables a lo largo de los años y transmiten puntos de vista mayormente neutros. Estos resultados contrastan con la perspectiva pluralista de los hechos que promulga el Mineduc en sus bases curriculares. (shrink)

The Patients’ Rights and Duties Act, promulgated in Chile in 2012, has made the informed consent process a critical step to respect the patient’s autonomy. It is then relevant to test health workers’ knowledge of the subject, especially in the surgery department. We carried out a quantitative study on 90 specialists from the surgery department in a public tertiary hospital, to whom a questionnaire was administered to test their knowledge of informed consent. We found that 76.6 % of the respondents (...) have a low level of knowledge, creating a setting in which patients’ rights can be violated. (shrink)

A corpus of 60 articles published in Spanish, English, and Portuguese was analyzed to account for the integrative literature review on the concept of vulnerability from bioethics, identifying the following thematic trends: risk, susceptibility, autonomy, and culture in people and communities. The methodological approach has been mainly qualitative. We found that the disciplines that most addressed the concept belong to the human and social sciences. The authors recommend conducting studies of the concept from people’s perspectives and that ethics committees review (...) the informed consent and information guides according to these results. The categories give way to the concept of vulnerability, which must be analyzed beyond principlism in bioethics. (shrink)

La influencia de la obra y doctrina de Francisco Suárez en la conformación del pensamiento moderno ha sido ampliamente estudiada en áreas como la filosofía política y del derecho, la metafísica o la epistemología. Sin embargo, la filosofía moral de Suárez, en concreto aquella que, como él mismo explica, habrá de servir de base a sus tratados de teología moral, está todavía por analizar. El objetivo de este trabajo es traer a luz algunos aspectos de la teoría suareciana sobre la (...) causalidad final en los agentes libres, confrontando su doctrina sobre la causalidad del fin en dos comentarios, escritos en distintos períodos, a las cuestiones I-IIae de la Suma de Teología de Tomás de Aquino: el manuscrito inédito De beatitudine y el tratado De ultimo fine hominis, publicado por Baltasar Álvares. La cuestión aquí analizada —qué significa actuar por un fin— se asume como un instrumento heurístico para dar a conocer sea estas dos fuentes estudiadas, sea el interés filosófico de las doctrinas de Suárez a respecto de la causalidad final. Las conclusiones apuntan a los siguientes aspectos: i) la proximidad, aun con dudas, de Suárez a la doctrina tomista de la causalidad del fin, en el comentario de 1579; ii) la asunción parcial de la doctrina tomista en cuanto a la función del intelecto en el actuar libre, y la afirmación de que el locus finis es la voluntad, en el comentario de 1628. Trabajando con estos matices hemos querido establecer algunos puntales de encuentro que permitan hacer visibles los puentes que emergen entre una tradición escolástica que enfrenta una nueva imagen del hombre, y la filosofía moral inmediatamente posterior que despojando aquella de su fundamento teológico, avanza con paso firme hacia la modernidad. (shrink)

Uno de los principales problemas de la filosofía de la psicopatología contemporánea consiste en definir qué tipo de estados mentales son aquellos que denominamos delirantes. A esto se le ha denominado el “problema tipológico de los delirios”. El principal objetivo de este artículo es examinar las principales alternativas filosóficas contemporáneas a este problema: el doxasticismo—de acuerdo con el cuál los deli-rios deben ser caracterizados como creencias—y al anti-doxasticismo—el cuál niega el estatuto doxásticos de los delirios y ofrece una caracterización alternativa. (...) Para examinar el debate, el artículo presentará las principales características de ambas posiciones y sus fundamentos. Después, examinaremos los principales argumentos esgrimidos contra el doxasticismo y las respuestas y contraargumentos por parte de las alternativas doxásticas. Finalmente, expondremos algunas cuestiones conceptua-les y desafíos abiertos relacionados con el debate y que, a nuestro juicio, deberían de marcar la hoja de ruta de los filósofos de la mente interesados en los delirios en los próximos años. (shrink)

Uno de los principales problemas de la filosofía de la psicopatología contemporánea consiste en definir qué tipo de estados mentales son aquellos que denominamos delirantes. A esto se le ha denominado el “problema tipológico de los delirios”. El principal objetivo de este artículo es examinar las principales alternativas filosóficas contemporáneas a este problema: el doxasticismo—de acuerdo con el cuál los delirios deben ser caracterizados como creencias—y al anti-doxasticismo—el cuál niega el estatuto doxásticos de los delirios y ofrece una caracterización alternativa. (...) Para examinar el debate, el artículo presentará las principales características de ambas posiciones y sus fundamentos. Después, examinaremos los principales argumentos esgrimidos contra el doxasticismo y las respuestas y contraargumentos por parte de las alternativas doxásticas. Finalmente, expondremos algunas cuestiones conceptuales y desafíos abiertos relacionados con el debate y que, a nuestro juicio, deberían de marcar la hoja de ruta de los filósofos de la mente interesados en los delirios en los próximos años. (shrink)

BackgroundFor a long time, in sports, researchers have tried to understand an expert by comparing them with novices, raising the doubts if the visual search characteristics distinguish experts from novices. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to review and conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the differences in visual search behavior between experts and novices in team sports athletes.MethodsThis systematic review with meta-analysis followed the PRISMA 2020 and Cochrane's guidelines. Healthy team athletes were included, which engaged in regular practice, (...) from any sex or competitive level, specifically classified a priori as expert or novice in the original research. We considered only research published in peer-reviewed journals, with no limitations regarding date or language. It was considered healthy team sport athletes engaged in regular practice. The scenarios could be in situ or film-based. The databases of EBSCO, PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science were used to perform the searches. The risk of bias was calculated through the RoBANS tool.ResultsFrom a total of 6,257 records, of which 985 were duplicates, titles and abstracts of 5,272 were screened, and 45 required full-text analysis. Of those, 23 were excluded due to not fulfilling the eligibility criteria regarding participants. In the end, 22 studies were selected, however, as two studies were part of the same trial and were analyzed conjointly.DiscussionExperts showed to be older and with more years of practice. The ability to distinguish experts from novices was not so clear regarding the variables analyzed. This could be due to the strategies chosen in each study, which were specific to each scenario, and when grouping all together, it was lost information within non-representative averages. The distinction between experts and novices was not clear, showing a lot of heterogeneity in the included studies. The expert classification itself may have been the conditioning aspect for these results, retaining the doubt and the need for more studies in the field.Systematic review registrationThe protocol was pre-registered in OSF. (shrink)

The aim of the research was to know the perception of high-level volleyball players of the changes produced in the efficiency of the training process, after a match analysis intervention program based on the Constraint-led Approach. The sample consisted of 11 players from a women's volleyball team. The protocol of the intervention program consisted of providing objective, contextualised and systematic information to the coach that would allow understanding the different real game contexts. We used semi-structured interviews to assess players' perceptions. (...) The athletes perceived changes in training, both in their preparation and development, specifically in greater involvement and organisation in preparing the training; in an increase in the specificity and suitability of training tasks according to individual needs; in the representativeness of the restrictions of the game; in a more tactical approach; in the variability of task and in the accountability to achieve the objective proposed. In addition, in the preparation and development for competition, the players detected more game planning; a deeper analysis of the opponents; an objective selection of the most relevant data, an increase in the depth of match analysis and the inclusion of the weekly meeting with the use of video compared to the previous season. These results expose the benefits of coaches incorporate programmes to obtain objective information about the game in their training process. (shrink)

The following paper argues that issues in paradigmatic proposals for solving the new demarcation problem stem from absolutist assumptions about judgments of value legitimacy. Both the problem of uninformativeness (Larroulet Philippi 2020; Fernandez-Pinto 2014, 2015) and the problem of ambiguous judgments of cases (Hicks 2014; Intemann 2017) are explained by an absolutist pretension contained in one of the main aims of these proposals: providing criteria for differentiating legitimate from illegitimate uses of values, without qualification. After presenting the problems and showing (...) how they stem from that common source, we will sketch a way forward, inspired mainly by Joseph Rouse’s Beyond Epistemic Sovereignty (1996), advancing routes that can allow philosophers of science to evade these pitfalls and engage with scientific practice in a more salutary manner. (shrink)

Es, quiza, la coleccion mas abierta que existe en cuestiones de etica, aunque se ha ocupado tambien de antropologia, estetica, ontologia, teoria del conocimiento e historia de la filosofia. El primer titulo que se publico en la coleccion fue la gran Historia de la filosofia y de la ciencia en tres volumenes de Ludovico Geymonat. A este le han seguido obras de A. J. Ayer, A. MacIntyre, Ernst Tugendhat, Antoni Domenech, Anna Estany, Agnes Heller, F. Fernandez Buey, Carlos Paris, Emilio (...) Lledo, Manuel Sacristan, John Rawls o Ludwig Wittgenstein. Victoria Camps ha dirigido, ademas, una gran Historia de la etica, en tres volumenes, en la que han colaborado los mejores especialistas espanoles. (shrink)

Este trabajo indaga las resemantizaciones del mito de Venus en tres poetas latinoamericanos: Julián del Casal, Rubén Darío y José Lezama Lima teniendo en cuenta la intertextualidad y las poéticas correspondientes. This paper analyses the Venus myth appropiation into the poetry of Julián del Casal, Rubén Darío and José Lezama Lima considering their poetry and intertextuality.

It has been shown that counterintuitive ideas from mythological and religious texts are more acceptable than other world knowledge violations. In the present experiment we explored whether this relates to the way they are interpreted. Participants were presented with verification questions that referred to either the literal or a metaphorical meaning of the sentence previously read, in a block-wise design. Both behavioral and electrophysiological results converged. At variance to the literal interpretation of the sentences, the induced metaphorical interpretation specifically facilitated (...) the integration of religious counterintuitions, whereas the semantic processing of non-religious counterintuitions was not affected by the interpretation mode. We suggest that religious ideas tend to operate like other instances of figurative language, such as metaphors, facilitating their acceptability despite their counterintuitive nature. (shrink)

Social robotics attempts to build robots able to interact with humans and other robots. Philosophical and scientific research in social cognition can provide social robotics research with models of social cognition to implement those models in mechanic agents. The aim of this paper is twofold: firstly, I present and defend a framework in social cognition known as mindshaping. According to it, human beings are biologically predisposed to learn and teach cultural and rational norms and complex cultural patterns of behavior that (...) enhance social cognition. Secondly, I will highlight how this framework can open new research perspectives in the area of social robotics. (shrink)

Platão, em seus diálogos de juventude, apresenta Sócrates recorrendo a uma prática de perguntas e respostas direcionada aos seus interlocutores que visa o teste das pretensões de conhecimento e de sabedoria dos membros da pólis. Essa prática é a refutação socrática, frequentemente associada ao termo grego élenkhos e seus cognatos. Embora se utilize dessa prática de forma frequente, nenhum diálogo a trata como elemento central. Entretanto, podemos encontrar comentários de Platão ao longo de sua obra que nos remetem essa reflexão (...) de cunho mais metodológico. Por conta disso, comentamos reflexões que Platão apresenta em um sentido metadialético acerca do élenkhos e refletimos sobre a refutação socrática a partir desses comentários. Palavras-chave: refutação socrática; élenkhos; Platão. (shrink)

In this paper we claim that pragmatist philosophical practice is incompatible with scientistic philosophy. The kind of pragmatism used for making this case follows the spirit and method of philosophical pragmatists such as William James, John Dewey, Richard Rorty, and a related pragmatic tradition, Confucian Philosophy. Pragmatism starts from immediate experience, and refuses to cleave off the reality and salience of what is found in such experience in the process of thinking. Pragmatism also concerns itself with social problems, broadly conceived. (...) In contrast to this focus on immediate experience, the influence of science in much philosophizing involves a kind of scientism through which the relevance, value, and even reality of experience is brought into question. It also concerns itself with a narrowly defined set of so-called philosophical problems. In this regard, pragmatist philosophical practice is fundamentally opposed to scientistic philosophical practice. We will start by modelling the kind of philosophical practice that stems from pragmatism, and the role of immediate experience in it. Subsequently, we will introduce two modes of philosophizing that diminish if not negate the role of experience. One is bald naturalist philosophizing, and the other is a priori scientific philosophizing. In the last section, we will show how main commitments of both of these traditions are incompatible with a pragmatist philosophy that remains committed to the original impulse of pragmatism. (shrink)

The main objective of the article is to understand the notion of power in Foucault as an action on action in a relationship of forces. In principle, the power of sovereignty and biopower in classical times are investigated. Where it is perceived that the former has negative and repressive connotations, while this one has positive and productive connotations of facts, happenings. Then, an analysis of Foucault's power is analyzed, where it is possible to verify that there is no construction of (...) a Theory of Power in Foucault, but only an ascending analysis of power, thus departing from specificity for general aspects. Finally, we will analyze the power relationship, seen as an action over action, in this action-reaction movement, there is its need, its becoming, its truth, which is the exercise of power, functioning. Thus, from the molecular to the complex composition, from the invisible to the visible, from the body to the population, power is understood, that is, power relations in the Foucaultian web. (shrink)

The fascination with the process inherent to understanding has always been something that has disturbed Philosophy with its question: what makes understanding possible? On the contrary, little attention has been paid to the use we make of this term. This took it out of its context and investigated it as related to a mental process, situated in the subject. This approach generated some questions, among them: if understanding and the processes involved in it take place in the mind, how can (...) one have access to them? How do you know what’s on the other’s mind? This text intends to present the role played, both by the verb meinen (to mean), in its disconnection with mental processes, in terms of its grammar, and by the expression lebensform (form of life), in Philosophical Investigations, as a condition in which, both the meinen has its most authentic use, as well as the background that makes it possible to understand the Investigations as a whole. (shrink)

In the post-broadcast era, public service media (PSM) organizations have to innovate, stay up-to-date with new ways of consuming content, and experiment with the manifold opportunities that interactivity offers for audience engagement. At the same time, they are still obligated to achieve their public service remit and guarantee that services comply with values such as universality, diversity, creativity, and innovation. This article analyzes the innovation policies and strategies of PSM to understand if these are shifting from a technology-centric to a (...) user-centric approach. It evaluates what areas of innovation are prioritized by both policy-makers and public broadcasters and whether these areas correspond with the innovation goals entrusted to PSM organizations by scholars. To this end, we adopted a multi-case study approach. The focus is on three public broadcasters of varying size and situated in different political, cultural, and economic backgrounds: RTVE (Spain), RTÉ (Ireland), and VRT (Belgium). Based on a qualitative document analysis, we conclude that innovation remains largely technology-centric. Strategies are oriented to the implementation of new technologies, the digital distribution of the content, and the collaboration with external partners. However, these public broadcasters have not yet promoted concrete actions to encourage the participation of their audiences. (shrink)

Previously, the author tried to show that some arguments in one of the two versions of Nicholas of Autrecourt’s Quaestio de intensione visionis are taken almost verbatim from the anonymous Tractatus de sex inconvenientibus. This paper concentrates on the arguments themselves in order to consider two main issues: the ‘translatability’ of limit decision problems, manifest in Autrecourt’s juxtaposition of questions de maximo et minimo, de primo et ultimo instanti, and the intension and remission of forms; the importance of Parisian discussions (...) of limit decision problems prior to the adoption of the new analytical languages developed at Oxford. Thus, the paper is divided in two sections, the first concerning some arguments of Autrecourt’s question, the second focusing on the link between one of Autrecourt’s arguments and the medieval tradition of commentaries on Aristotle’s De caelo, in which it is possible to find some antecedents of the analytical approach that later Parisian scholars would apply to these problems. (shrink)

Resumen:El artículo propone una lectura de las Cartas para la educación estética de la humanidad desde la sociabilidad, concepto con el que el autor, en la última de las cartas, señala el terreno en el que se abriría la vía estética hacia libertad. Se muestra la propagación del concepto de sociabilidad a través de la antropología kantiana y la sociología simmeliana. Se postula la afinidad de este enfoque con los planteamienos contemporáneos del acontecimiento.Palabras clave: Schiller; Kant; Simmel; sociabilidad; políticas emancipatorias; (...) comensalidad; acontecimiento. (shrink)

Kant is not typically considered a major figure in the just war tradition's canon, although his work has informed recent discussions about international justice and just war theory. More specifically, philosophers have suggested that Kant's work may provide a coherent, normatively practical just war theory, basing this claim, in the main, on his views on the goal of peace and its purpose of establishing a cosmopolitan civil society.1 Such discussions are mostly concerned with jus ad bellum and jus in bello (...) constraints on nations and how Kant's writings can guide deliberation and, perhaps, the considered policy and practices of governments. Yet, the fact remains that it is embodied men and women and not the metaphysical ?nation? who actually conduct war. Hence, this paper seeks to determine the extent to which Kant's thought might contribute to the moral deliberation of those individuals who a fortiori will be bound to jus in bello constraints. To this end, the idea of moral learning will be explored, emphasizing the Kantian idea of autonomy. The ultimate goal of this paper is to demonstrate how some aspects of Kant's thought would contribute to ethics education in a military academy. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Semiotica - Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies / Revue de l'Association Internationale de Sémiotique Jahrgang: 2013 Heft: 197 Seiten: 203-231.

In this article, we develop a new approach to integrating philosophical phenomenology with qualitative research. The approach uses phenomenology’s concepts, namely existentials, rather than methods such as the epoché or reductions. We here introduce the approach to both philosophers and qualitative researchers, as we believe that these studies are best conducted through interdisciplinary collaboration. In section 1, we review the debate over phenomenology’s role in qualitative research and argue that qualitative theorists have not taken full advantage of what philosophical phenomenology (...) has to offer, thus motivating the need for new approaches. In section 2, we introduce our alternative approach, which we call Phenomenologically Grounded Qualitative Research (PGQR). Drawing parallels with phenomenology’s applications in the cognitive sciences, we explain how phenomenological grounding can be used to conceptually front-load a qualitative study, establishing an explicit focus on one or more structures of human existence, or of our being in the world. In section 3, we illustrate this approach with an example of a qualitative study carried out by one of the authors: a study of the existential impact of early parental bereavement. In section 4, we clarify the kind of knowledge that phenomenologically grounded studies generate and how it may be integrated with existing approaches. (shrink)

According to an orthodox account of the relationship between propositional and doxastic justification, basing one’s belief in P on one’s source of propositional justification to believe P suffices for having a doxastically justified belief. But in an increasingly recognized work Turri argues that this thesis fails and proposes a new view according to which having propositional justification depends on having the ability to acquire doxastic justification. Turri’s novel position has surprisingly far-reaching epistemological consequences, ruling out some common epistemological positions that (...) afford one propositional justification in the absence of an ability to acquire doxastic justification. In what follows I show Turri’s novel position to be problematic and go on to suggest a more modest revision to orthodoxy. The first section presents the orthodox view of the relationship between propositional and doxastic justification and Turri’s counterexample to it. The second section introduces Turri’s novel view of that relationship and draws out some of its epistemological implications. The third section gives counterexamples to Turri’s proposal. The fourth section defends a modest revision to orthodoxy. (shrink)

El autor realiza una lectura en clave perspectivista de la neurofenomenología, enfoque transdisciplinar y metodológico iniciado a mediados de los 90 por el neurobiólogo Francisco J. Varela desde el ámbito experimental de las ciencias de la mente. La originalidad del artículo reside en que estudia comparativamente el problemático entrecruce de la neurofenomenología de Varela con el perspectivismo científico de Ronald N. Giere, mostrándonos que la neurofenomenología no sólo lo antecedió cronológicamente, sino que fue mucho más radical al tener en cuenta (...) la la dimensión fenomenológica y trascendental de la experiencia vivida humana y al aplicarla en los protocolos de las neurociencias cognitivas. // The author makes a perspectivist reading of neurophenomenology, a transdisciplinary and methodological approach pioneered in the 90’s by the neurobiologist Francisco J. Varela, who worked in the experimental field of the science of mind. The originality of the article consists in studying with a comparative method the problematic intertwine of Varela’s neurophenomenology and the scientific perspectivism recently defended by Ronald N. Giere. In this way, the autor shows how neurophenomenology notonly came before Giere’s proposal but also how it was more radical in considering the phenomenological and transcendental human dimension and in trying an implementation in cognitive neuroscience protocols. (shrink)

A justificativa para um trabalho de análise epistemológica das pesquisas-ações deve-se ao caráter desse método de pesquisa, ciência emergente que possui base dupla, uma ancorada no senso comum e a outra na justificação pela comunidade cientifica. O objetivo da pesquisa é estudar um conjunto específico de pesquisas selecionadas, identificando e analisando suas apropriações ou ressignificações e indicar as tendências e as potencialidades que se apresentam à área de educação frente a esse tipo de pesquisa. Os resultados da análise dos trabalhos (...) indicam que os problemas apontados e suas soluções expressas em intervenções são realizados sem uma recuperação histórica da dinâmica do local de estudo. (shrink)

The Modern concept of truth, which subjects truth to certainty, broke the harmonious relation between reality and truth, that prevailed in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy. Hans-Georg Gadamer thinks that the main task of contemporary Philosophy is to recover the original harmony of being and knowledge. To shed light on the nature of this problem, we expound the metaphysical-theological foundation of truth, which is at the roots of Aristotelian and Thomistic Philosophies. Specifically, we analyze here the relation between being, truth and (...) logos in the Aristotelian treatise Perì Hermeneías, and in its Thomistic commentary. (shrink)

SummaryFrom 1996 to 2006, Nepal experienced a substantial fertility decline, with the total fertility rate dropping from 4.6 to 3.1 births per woman. This study examines the associations between progress towards universal primary and secondary schooling and fertility decline in rural Nepal. Several hypotheses regarding mechanisms through which education affects current fertility behaviour are tested, including: the school environment during women's childhood; current availability of schools; knowledge of educational costs; and women's own educational attainment. Data for the analysis come from (...) the 2003–04 Nepal Living Standards Survey, a nationally representative random sample of households, which includes detailed data on fertility, household expenditure, educational attainment, demographic characteristics and the use of social services. Census and administrative data are also used to construct district-level gross enrolment ratios for primary and secondary schools during the women's childhood. Discrete dependent variable modelling techniques are used to estimate the effects of the following variables on the probability of women giving birth in a given year: district-level gross enrolment ratios for primary and secondary schools during women's childhood; having had a child previously in school; women's own educational level; current school availability; and other covariates. Separate models are estimated for the overall sample of rural women of reproductive age, and for parity-specific sub-samples. The results suggest that district-level gross enrolment ratios for secondary schools and, in some instances, having had a previous child enrolled in school are significant determinants of fertility in rural areas. These results are highly independent of women's own educational levels. Overall, the results suggest that, in the rural Nepal context, mass schooling influences the fertility transition through both community- and household-level pathways. (shrink)

[Significantly updated in Chapter 6 of Awareness and the Substructure of Knowledge] In order for a reason to justify an action or attitude it must be one that is possessed by an agent. Knowledge-centric views of possession ground our possession of reasons, at least partially, either in our knowledge of them or in our being in a position to know them. On virtually all accounts, knowing P is some kind of non-accidental true belief that P. This entails that knowing P (...) is a kind of non-accidental true representation that P. I outline a novel theory of the epistemic requirement on possession in terms of this more general state of non-accidental true representation. It is just as well placed to explain the motivations behind knowledge-centric views of possession, and it is also better placed to explain the extent of the reasons we possess in certain cases of deductive belief-updates and cases involving environmental luck. I conclude with three reflections. First, I indicate how my arguments generate a dilemma for Errol Lord’s view that possessing reasons is just a matter of being in a position to manifest one’s knowledge how to use them. Second, I explain how my view can simultaneously manage cases of environmental luck without falling prey to lottery cases. Finally, I sketch the direction for a further range of counterexamples to knowledge-centric theories of possession. (shrink)

Interview with Pierre Rosanvallon, conducted by Javier Fernández Sebastián, in Madrid, September 28, 2006.

Según Julián Marías, fue Ortega, en 1914, quien hizo el primer uso filosófico de la palabra griega _alétheia_ con el significado de descubrimiento o iluminación: se trata de una innovación significativa porque Ortega introdujo una acepción nueva, sirviéndose de esa palabra, para superar la idea, que le parecía inaceptable, de que la verdad tenga que ser adecuación. Después de Ortega, los demás filósofos, a partir de 1927 con Heidegger, no saben de dónde procede la interpretación etimológica que ellos dan como (...) obvia para sus reflexiones filosóficas sobre la verdad. En realidad no hay textos griegos claros que interpreten el concepto de _alétheia_ ni etimológica ni filosóficamente. Julián Marías descubrió la más antigua discusión etimológica en el lingüista y filósofo Teichmüller (1879), de la cual se sirvió Ortega en fecha tan temprana como 1914 para hacer la primera interpretación filosófica de esa palabra. A pesar de ello, se ha hecho general la creencia de que fue Heidegger el primero que trató sobre la verdad como _alétheia_ en contraposición a lo que denomina _concepto tradicional de la verdad._. (shrink)

The dichotomy between the qualitative and the quantitative has been a classic throughout the history of science. As will be seen, this dichotomy permeates all ontological levels of reality. In this work, phenomenological examples potentially related to semiosis are presented at the different levels established by Mario Bunge and Josep Ferrater Mora, contrasting the qualitative categorizations with the quantifiable physical reality. Likewise, the need to continue in the quantification of the biosemiotic and linguistic studies will be presented, while, in contrast, (...) the need to establish a qualitative framework in the little-addressed study of technosemiotics will be raised, of potential interest given the notable advances that are expected in communication systems for inert artifacts in the next years. In short, in the thesis defended here the qualitative precedes the quantitative in the defining path of science. (shrink)