This book consists of an edited collection of original essays of the highest academic quality by seasoned experts in their fields of cognitive science. The essays are interdisciplinary, drawing from many of the fields known collectively as “the cognitive sciences.” Topics discussed represent a significant cross-section of the most current and interesting issues in cognitive science. Specific topics include matters regarding machine learning and cognitive architecture, the nature of cognitive content, the relationship of information to cognition, the role of language (...) and communication in cognition, the nature of embodied cognition, selective topics in visual cognition, brain connectivity, computation and simulation, social and technological issues within the cognitive sciences, and significant issues in the history of neuroscience. This book will be of interest to both professional researchers and newer students and graduate students in the fields of cognitive science—including computer science, linguistics, philosophy, psychology and neuroscience. The essays are in English and are designed to be as free as possible of technical jargon and therefore accessible to young scholars and to scholars who are new to the cognitive neurosciences. In addition to several entries by single authors, the book contains several interesting roundtables where researchers contribute answers to a central question presented to those in the focus group on one of the core areas listed above. This exciting approach provides a variety of perspectives from across disciplines on topics of current concern in the cognitive sciences. (shrink)

O trabalho que aqui se propões tem por objetivo analisar as obras de Immanuel Kant buscando sintetizar suas contribuições para a compreensão da filosofia enquanto atitude filosófica, num diálogo com as pedagogias ativas, bem como refletir sobre os métodos para o seu ensino. A pesquisa partirá de um viés bibliográfico a fim de trazer os conceitos de autonomia e esclarecimento para uma reflexão sobre os métodos adequados para o despertar de uma consciência filosófica. Embora distante de sua finalidade, a educação (...) deve manter-se em constante busca por melhorias, pelo desenvolvimento da humanidade em todas as suas esferas. (shrink)

This paper addresses the problems of justifying and explaining beliefs about facts in the context of civil trials. The first section contains some remarks about the nature of adjudicative fact-finding and highlights the communicative features of deciding about facts in judicial context. In Sect. 2, some difficulties and the incompleteness presented by Bayesian and coherentist frameworks, which are taken as methods suitable to solve the above-mentioned problems, are pointed out. In the third section, the purely epistemic approach to the justification (...) and the explanation of beliefs about facts is abandoned and focus is given to the dialectical nature of civil procedure, where the parties and, particularly, the judge have to make their reasoning clear enough to allow a fruitful and efficient debate about facts. For this purpose, a communication/argumentation system is put forward, consisting of fourteen intertwined rules of discourse. The system embodies the fundamental epistemic principle according to which belief is updated given new evidence, is tailored for abductive inferences and is structured on fundamental concepts of civil procedural law. The fourth section presents an empirical application of the system to a real case. (shrink)

In classical logic, a contradiction allows one to derive every other sentence of the underlying language; paraconsistent logics came relatively recently to subvert this explosive principle, by allowing for the subsistence of contradictory yet non-trivial theories. Therefore our surprise to find Wittgenstein, already at the 1930s, in comments and lectures delivered on the foundations of mathematics, as well as in other writings, counseling a certain tolerance on what concerns the presence of contradictions in a mathematical system. ‘Contradiction. Why just this (...) spectre? This is really very suspicious.’ In the last decades, several authors have been digging into Wittgenstein’s rather non-standard standpoint on what concerns the interpretation and import of contradiction in logic and mathematics, and many other authors have been investigating the possibility of taking Wittgenstein seriously as one of the early forerunners of paraconsistency. While many advances have been made on the first front, the second set of investigations has led almost exclusively to negative results: no, no operational proposal about the construction of a logic in which contradictions are made inoffensive can be read from Wittgenstein’s philosophical work; in fact, it appears that the most one can find there is the exhortation for mathematicians to alter their attitude with respect to contradictions and to consistency proofs. The play is done, and one looks for a resume of the opera. This paper fills that blank, as a thorough investigation of the possible relations between Wittgenstein and paraconsistency. • DOI:10.5007/1808-1711.2010v14n1p135. (shrink)

This article analyzes the issue of organizational transparency through the lens of Thomas Aquinas’ ethics. It provides moral justification for current claims about corporate transparency and sheds light on the ethical values and virtues affecting information disclosure decisions. Transparency is conceptualized as an informational mechanism necessary for performing the virtues of truthfulness, justice, and prudence. This article extends the organizational transparency and corporate social responsibility literatures by providing an alternative moral justification grounded in virtue-based theory, which extends our understanding of (...) the information disclosure decisions made by management. (shrink)

Na era das tecnologias digitais, entender vieses algorítmicos por meio das teorias da verdade ajuda a fazer perguntas cujas respostas facilitam a filtragem da informação de forma mais eficaz. O ganho é a compreensão aprofundada da realidade.

A number of experiences have demonstrated how digital solutions are effective in improving quality of life (QoL) and health outcomes for older adults. Smart Health Age-Friendly Environments (SHAFE) is a new concept introduced in Europe since 2017 that combines the concept of Age-Friendly Environments with Information Technologies, supported by health and community care to improve the health and disease management of older adults and during the life-course. This chapter aims to provide an initial overview of the experiences available not only (...) in Europe, based on the research work of the participants of the International Interdisciplinary Network on Health and Well-being in an Age-Friendly Digital World (NET4Age-Friendly), which could be of interest to preventive, health and social authorities. The chapter reports good practices, pain points, and bottlenecks that may require a collaborative, interdisciplinary research approach to facilitate the transformations towards smart, sustainable, health and age-friendly cities and communities. (shrink)

This paper proposes that we read a late work of Georg Lukács, The Ontology of Social Being, as an indispensable contribution to ontological investigation in general and particularly to the understanding of social reality. As the ontology of Lukács tends not to be familiar even to those who have foregrounded ontological issues in recent decades, it seems to be extremely fruitful to bring it into discussion. Comparing the analysis of Lukács with the ontology of critical realism, we argue that it (...) is not only possible to identify obvious convergences but also to shed light on many questions that still demand a proper treatment from an ontological perspective. (shrink)

In the fiercely competitive global business environment, the attainment of excellence is contingent upon the efficient management of human resources and their alignment with sustainable development goals. This study examines the interplay between labour practices, social sustainability and organizational performance, with a focus on the often-ignored perspectives of employees. Employees, often neglected as critical stakeholders, shape corporate values and strategy. The study uses a quantitative approach, having applied the partial least square method for the proposed research model. Questionnaire responses from (...) 574 Portuguese employees reveal that labour practices (employee development, employee participation and equal opportunity) positively influence perceived social sustainability. Perceived social sustainability positively influences perceived organizational performance. The examined labour practices only exhibit a positive influence on perceived organizational performance when perceived social sustainability acts as a mediator. Companies must place a high priority on the perceptions of their employees to achieve social sustainability. This involves incorporating inclusive, participative and proactive policies regarding human resources policies, thereby leveraging the mutual advantages derived from labour practices. This demonstrates the pivotal role of social sustainability in companies' decision-making processes, as it substantially contributes to enhancing organizational performance. This study emphasizes the importance of integrating social sustainability to maximize organizational performance, providing valuable insights for business leaders. The original model, social sustainability-driven organizational performance, which is based on employees' perceptions, identifies labour practices as antecedents of social sustainability, and the influence of social sustainability, both directly and as a mediator, on organizational performance, is presented. (shrink)

Despite recent progress in the identification of genes that regulate longevity, aging remains a mysterious process. One influential hypothesis is the idea that the potential for cell division and replacement are important factors in aging. In this work, we review and discuss this perspective in the context of interventions in mammals that appear to accelerate or retard aging. Rather than focus on molecular mechanisms, we interpret results from an integrative biology perspective of how gene products affect cellular functions, which in (...) turn impact on tissues and organisms. We review evidence suggesting that mutations that give rise to features resembling premature aging tend to be associated with cellular phenotypes such as increased apoptosis or premature replicative senescence. In contrast, many interventions in mice that extend lifespan and might delay aging, including caloric restriction, tend to either hinder apoptosis or result in smaller animals and thus may be the product of fewer cell divisions. Therefore, it appears plausible that changes in the number of times that cells, and particularly stem cells, divide during an organism's lifespan influence longevity and aging. We discuss possible mechanisms related to this hypothesis and propose experimental paradigms. BioEssays 30:567–578, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of highly skilled and less skilled volleyball players about the influences that parents, coaches, and peers had on their sport development and performance achievement. Highly skilled (n= 30) and less skilled (n= 30) volleyball players participated in semi-structured retrospective interviews to explain how parents, coaches and peers may have influenced their sport participation. Data was analyzed through a process of content analysis. Results indicated that parents, coaches, and peers had an (...) important influence in player's sport development but differing according to players' expertise level. Concerning to parental influences, tangible support during the early years of development was mentioned by all players. However, parents' level of involvement and parenting styles revealed interesting differences between highly skilled and less skilled players. Highly skilled players perceived a moderate parental involvement and an autonomy-supportive parenting style, while less skilled players referred a excessive parental involvement in players' sport participation. Coaches influences showed to have some similarities in the early years with all players mentioning coaches as caring and recognizing their value as an athlete. However, highly skilled players described a different training environment characterized by a demanding coach, individualized instruction, and specific goal setting. Regarding peers' influence, all players recognized that friends were not only one of the main reasons to start playing volleyball, but also an important source of support to remain engaged and staying motivated to do sport. Highly skilled players, however, mentioned the importance of teammates' positive push and critiques during practice for enhancing their motivation, team cohesion and friendship. They also highlighted the importance of friends outside of sport in the later years of their career by acting as an escape from all the pressure that emerged from volleyball training and competition demands. Overall, these findings highlight different social influences according to the players' expertise level suggesting the need to examine more extensively the nature of significant others' support on athlete and talent development. (shrink)

Como o adulto não indígena percebe a criança yanomami? O que nos propomos neste artigo é trazer elementos ao debate sobre a temática da criança indígena, desde uma análise comparativa das representações das crianças yanomami por meio de fotografias realizadas pelos religiosos na Missão Catrimani em 1993, onde indicava seu ambiente tradicional de educação familiar e suas diversas interações. Esse registro iconográfico, por meio de uma amostra de fotografias das crianças yanomami, comparadas ao registro autobiográfico de Davi Kopenawa, com suas (...) lembranças de infância, no final de 1950 e início de 1960, permitiu-nos uma abordagem do contexto ambiental em que essas crianças estão inseridas, ao mesmo tempo observar suas interações com os adultos e o ambiente, com ênfase nos aspectos simbólicos, culturais e emocionais. Trata-se de uma metodologia triangular, documental, fotográfica e bibliográfica. Como resultados apontados, observou-se que o contraste de duas narrativas baseadas em suportes diferentes: a narrativa visual, fotográfica, e a narrativa escrita, literária, demonstra a persistência, através da história de contato dos Yanomami, da mitologia oral na identidade cultural dessas pessoas, no final do século XX. (shrink)

Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar e discutir a sugestão de Fred Dretske para analisar o problema dos qualia. Tal problema, caro à Filosofia da Mente, ficou conhecido pela discussão desenvolvida por Thomas Nagel em seu clássico artigo What is it like to be a bat. Nesse artigo, Nagel postulou a impossibilidade de se conhecer, em perspectiva de terceira-pessoa, os aspectos da experiência humana. Ele considera que, mesmo após as descrições objetivas da experiência de um sujeito, escapariam ainda aspectos qualitativos, (...) fundamentais para se caracterizar os qualia. A partir de sua Tese Representacionista da mente, Dretske argumenta que seria possível dissolver esse problema se admitirmos que a mente é a face representacional do cérebro, a natureza dos qualia seria, assim, representacional. Nesse contexto, os fatos mentais relacionados às experiências seriam fatos representacionais: se conhecermos a natureza desses fatos representacionais conheceremos também a experiência do sistema que a representa. Diante de tal entendimento, discutimos em que medida a proposta dretskeana constitui uma alternativa ao problema dos qualia. (shrink)

Una de las características de la transmisión manuscrita de los _Tractatus _ _de Pedro Hispano es el hecho de que el tratado sobre las _Categorías _no siempre ocupa el mismo lugar al interior de la obra. En algunos manuscritos se encuentra en tercer lugar, después del tratado acerca de la _Isagoge _de Porfirio, siguiendo el orden tradicional de la _logica vetus. _Pero en algunos otros, se encuentra en quinto lugar, después del tratado sobre los _Tópicos _y antes del tratado sobre (...) la suposición. En los dos casos, el lugar de las _Categorías _de Aristóteles en la lógica es definido por la noción de “término”. El propósito de este artículo es entender por qué ocurre esta variación, ya que no es teóricamente neutral. Por tanto, para atender al problema del orden de aparición del tratado sobre las _Categorías _dentro de la lógica, se presentarán tres de los más destacados comentaristas de los _Tractatus_: Juan Buridan, Juan Versor y Pedro Tartaret. Este ejercicio proporcionará algunas conclusiones sobre la relación entre las categorías y la teoría de la suposición, y también sobre la _vexata quaestio _acerca del sujeto de las categorías. (shrink)

In this paper, I intend to dispute Marc Hauser’s thesis, sustained in Wild Minds. What Animals Really Think, that we must abandon the question of whether animals have a feeling of themselves, replacing it for an objective and scientific analysis capable of disclosing the extraordinary similitude between different mental procedures animals undergo when they face common challenges.

In this article, we analyse the symbolic meaning of the Thomas Mann's novel, The Magic Mountain. We try to see the scope of the interpretations that consider the metaphors of death, time and culture as the main subject of the novel. Finally, we sustain the idea that Thomas Mann wants to tell us that beauty and perfection are the reverse of death and suffering.

O texto parte das considerações que Schopenhauer faz acerca do princípio de razão suficiente do agir na sua dissertação Sobre a quadrúplice raiz do princípio de razão suficiente e da negação da Vontade de vida nos §68-70 de O mundo como vontade e como representação; e como a conduta relacionada a este conceito pode ser observada ao longo da história, seja no cristianismo ou nas religiões indianas, mostrando como é possível chegar à tal conhecimento. Em seguida, aliado ao texto kantiano (...) sobre as grandezas negativas, mostro a inversão que Schopenhauer faz dos sinais do que é considerado positivo ou negativo, ou seja, ser e nada, devido a uma troca de perspectiva em consequência da chamada “viragem da vontade”. (shrink)

American Trypanosomiasis, known as Chagas disease, was discovered in 1909 under peculiar circumstances: its discoverer, Carlos Chagas, was sent to a small village of Central Brazil to carry out an anti-malaria campaign when he came across a blood sucking insect—the vector for the parasite infection. He had been alerted to the coincidence of peculiar symptoms and the presence of this insect in the wood and earth dwellings of the region. He was deeply involved in theoretical controversies in international protozoology; he (...) was engaged in the consolidation of a scientific role and corresponding institutional conditions in Brazil, and equally immersed in the nationalist sanitary struggles of his days. In these contexts, Chagas assembled a remarkable discovery discourse, regarding the biology of the parasite, its life cycle and mode of transmission. Furthermore, he provided the clinical description of a new disease. Despite immediate international recognition, however, the unstable institutional arrangements surrounding his work damaged its local legitimacy for decades. His authority was widely recognized abroad, but rejected at home. (shrink)

Arguing for the theoretical importance of the concept of “subject” or “self” on behalf of the “psychiatric/psycho-pathological thinking” is justified in so far as, as Costa, Bezerra Jr., and Gama say, “this is still an indispensable concept for understanding the conditions for the gestation and functioning of psychological life.” In what sense are these concepts “indispensable?”All the hints suggest them as necessary complements for neurobiological investigations to become useful for clinical employment. So, if we consider that it is possible to (...) approach mental phenomena connecting in some way their two sides to favor clinical use, the neurobiological and the psychological, we might as well suppose that any... (shrink)

Resumo: Nosso trabalho aborda um pensamento não raro, especialmente entre aqueles mais engajados na “vida ativa”, seja nos laboratórios da academia ou nos quefazeres mundanos, a “inutilidade da abordagem filosófica”, onde se considera imperativo e imediato “fazer” ou “agir”. Por se tratar o tema proposto filosoficamente, corre-se o risco de “inutilidade” de nossa abordagem do próprio tema. Todavia, diante do progresso irrefreável da técnica, e sua dominação por sobre todas as expressões da vida humana, aí incluída a própria filosofia, entendemos (...) - com Martin Heidegger - que é precisamente nesta condição que a filosofia encontra o seu "fim", não no sentido de um esgotamento de suas possibilidades, mas como "lugar", "finalidade", "abertura" para a busca-de-si. Para levar a cabo esta empreitada, discutimos uma interpretação muito própria da abordagem filosófica e sua qualificação tendo como contraponto o pensar científico. Na parte final, refletimos sobre os conceitos de inutilidade e circularidade enquanto condição para a abertura do pensar filosófico e, por conseguinte, para uma retomada autêntica da busca-de-si. (shrink)

Atendendo ao chamado de Heidegger por “outro início”, desde o pensamento originário grego, são reconsideradas as noções de paideia e de arete. À paideia exaustivamente investigada por Werner Jaeger é imposta a interpretação do próprio Heidegger e de Danielle Montet. Enquanto a arete é reexaminada através de uma nova luz lançada pela obra de António Caeiro. Enfim, devidamente preparado pelo pensamento inusual destes pensadores sobre paideia e arete, se reabre o debate sobre a possibilidade ou não da virtude ser ensinada. (...) Concluímos com Sócrates que definitivamente ela não pode ser ensinada, não ao modo pretendido dos sofistas e dos “modernos” pensadores e educadores, mas que sim há certamente possibilidade de uma “paideia da arete”. (shrink)

Neste artigo, buscaremos refletir sobre como Hannah Arendt concebe um certo tipo de educação ao mesmo tempo _conservadora_ e _revolucionária_. Este será, assim como a indicação de que pensar sobre a questão educacional das crianças e jovens diz respeito a uma crise mais geral na modernidade, um ponto de tensionamento rumo à hipótese segundo a qual é possível refletir sobre como inserir os imigrantes, refugiados ou apátridas em um local ao qual se dirigiram e que lhes é estranho. Para tanto, (...) o fio condutor desta argumentação será o conceito de natalidade, pois consideramos ser a partir dele que Arendt evoca a radicalidade da qual todos os seres humanos são portadores, isto é, a potencialidade de começar algo novo. Assim, articulam-se os tensionamentos entre conservar um mundo que é precedente aos que lhe são recém-chegados, tanto as crianças como os migrantes, ao mesmo tempo em que estes adicionam algo de si mesmo neste mundo para os que ainda estão por vir. (shrink)

O que professa uma profissão? Resumo: Professar uma profissão é algo que ainda merece ser pensado. Seja em termos do sentido, se ainda algum, de professar uma profissão. Seja em termos da investigação daquilo que professa uma profissão. Seja em termos do como professar uma profissão. Certamente, não quanto a técnicas, práticas, atitudes e comportamentos, mas sim quanto ao ser-capaz, alcançado por uma paideia aquiescida por qualquer profissão aberta à vocação própria que a chama a professar. Assim, estendemos nossa reflexão (...) sobre a vocação, desenvolvida em outro artigo, até o professar uma profissão, enquanto professar um aí-se-é que a vocação apela a propriamente ser. Palavras-chave: profissão, paideia, educação, vocação, Heidegger, virtude ¿ Qué professa una profesión? Resumen: Profesar una profesión es algo que todavía merece ser pensado. Sea en términos del sentido, si aún alguno, de profesar una profesión. Sea en términos de la investigación de lo que profesa una profesión. Sea en términos de cómo profesar una profesión. Ciertamente, no en cuanto a técnicas, prácticas, actitudes y comportamientos, sino en cuanto al ser-capaz, alcanzado por una paideia aquiescida por cualquier profesión abierta a la vocación propia que la llama a profesar. Así, extendemos nuestra reflexión sobre la vocación, desarrollada en otro artículo, hasta el profesar una profesión, mientras profesar un ahí-es que la vocación apela a propiamente ser. Palabras clave: profesión, paideia, educación, vocación, Heidegger, virtude What profess a profession?: Profess a profession is something that still deserves to be thought. Be it in terms of meaning, if any, of professing a profession. Be it in terms of an investigation of what is professed by a profession. Be it in terms of how to profess a profession. Of course not about techniques, practices, attitudes and behaviours, but about the being-able realized by a paideia acquiesced by any profession open to its own vocation that calls it to profess. So we extend our meditation about vocation developed in another article, up to profess a profession, understood as to profess a there-self-being that a vocation calls to authentically Being. Keywords: profession, paideia, education, vocation, Heidegger, virtue Data de registro: 13/06/2019 Data de aceite: 22/07/2020. (shrink)

A conjunção, na Inglaterra medieval, de uma monarquia precocemente centralizada e de um Parlamento feudal deu origem ao protótipo institucional de um contrapeso à centralização do poder monárquico, portanto ao princípio da limitação recíproca dos poderes que constitui uma precondição histórica do liberalismo inglês. O senso comum liberal considera que as instituições de tipo parlamentar tendem a garantir as liberdades e o poder central a ameaçá-las. A Polônia mostrou que pode também ocorrer o contrário. A força combinada dos grandes senhores (...) feudais e da hierarquia católica reduziu o rei à função de delegado eleito pela nobreza, impotente para tomar decisões de interesse nacional que contrariassem a sólida aliança da espada e do turíbulo. Palavras-chave: Liberalismo. Parlamento feudal. Hierarquia católica. (shrink)

We live in the Digital Era, where national frontiers are vanishing. In light of cultural globalization and digital identity, a contemporary re-interpretation of classical notions like citizenship is imperative. What does it mean to be a citizen in the Digital Era? To whom can we assign digital citizenship status? In order to discuss these questions we introduce the notion of hybrid beings. Our hypothesis is that the dynamical feedback relation between the physical and digital individual’s experience promotes the embodiment of (...) a hybrid identity from which the hybrid being emerges. It is important to stress that the hybrid identities of hybrid beings are not just alter egos or avatars created in the digital world, but that they express a new dynamic around the impossibility of distinguishing between “physical” and “digital” sides of an individuals’ actions. It is precisely because of a hybrid being’s participation in a merged physical/digital world that we believe the notion of hybrid beings is the most suitable paradigm to exemplify the role of the digital citizen and digital citizenship. (shrink)

In this paper, we intend to discuss if and in what sense semiosis (meaning process, cf. C. S. Peirce) can be regarded as an "emergent" process in semiotic systems. It is not our problem here to answer when or how semiosis emerged in nature. As a prerequisite for the very formulation of these problems, we are rather interested in discussing the conditions which should be fulfilled for semiosis to be characterized as an emergent process. The first step in this work (...) is to summarize a systematic analysis of the variety of emergence theories and concepts, elaborated by Achim Stephan. Along the summary of this analysis, we pose fundamental questions that have to be answered in order to ascribe a precise meaning to the term "emergence" in the context of an understanding of semiosis. After discussing a model for explaining emergence based on Salthe's hierarchical structuralism, which considers three levels at a time in a semiotic system, we present some tentative answers to those questions. (shrink)

: In this paper, we intend to discuss if and in what sense semiosis (meaning process, cf. C. S. Peirce) can be regarded as an "emergent" process in semiotic systems. It is not our problem here to answer when or how semiosis emerged in nature. As a prerequisite for the very formulation of these problems, we are rather interested in discussing the conditions which should be fulfilled for semiosis to be characterized as an emergent process. The first step in this (...) work is to summarize a systematic analysis of the variety of emergence theories and concepts, elaborated by Achim Stephan. Along the summary of this analysis, we pose fundamental questions that have to be answered in order to ascribe a precise meaning to the term "emergence" in the context of an understanding of semiosis. After discussing a model for explaining emergence based on Salthe's hierarchical structuralism, which considers three levels at a time in a semiotic system, we present some tentative answers to those questions. (shrink)

(1997). Alienation as epistemological source: Reflexivity and social background after Mannheim and Bourdieu. Social Epistemology: Vol. 11, New Directions in the Sociology of Knowledge, pp. 141-164.

Zones of social abandonment are emerging everywhere in Brazil’s big cities—places like Vita, where the unwanted, the mentally ill, the sick, and the homeless are left to die. This haunting, unforgettable story centers on a young woman named Catarina, increasingly paralyzed and said to be mad, living out her time at Vita. Anthropologist João Biehl leads a detective-like journey to know Catarina; to unravel the cryptic, poetic words that are part of the “dictionary” she is compiling; and to trace the (...) complex network of family, medicine, state, and economy in which her abandonment and pathology took form. An instant classic, _Vita_ has been widely acclaimed for its bold fieldwork, theoretical innovation, and literary force. Reflecting on how Catarina’s life story continues, this updated edition offers the reader a powerful new afterword and gripping new photographs following Biehl and Eskerod’s return to Vita. Anthropology at its finest, _Vita_ is essential reading for anyone who is grappling with how to understand the conditions of life, thought, and ethics in the contemporary world. (shrink)

Zones of social abandonment are emerging everywhere in Brazil’s big cities—places like Vita, where the unwanted, the mentally ill, the sick, and the homeless are left to die. This haunting, unforgettable story centers on a young woman named Catarina, increasingly paralyzed and said to be mad, living out her time at Vita. Anthropologist João Biehl leads a detective-like journey to know Catarina; to unravel the cryptic, poetic words that are part of the “dictionary” she is compiling; and to trace the (...) complex network of family, medicine, state, and economy in which her abandonment and pathology took form. As Biehl painstakingly relates Catarina’s words to a vanished world and elucidates her condition, we learn of subjectivities unmade and remade under economic pressures, pharmaceuticals as moral technologies, a public common sense that lets the unsound and unproductive die, and anthropology’s unique power to work through these juxtaposed fields. _Vita’s_ methodological innovations, bold fieldwork, and rigorous social theory make it an essential reading for anyone who is grappling with how to understand the conditions of life, thought and ethics in the contemporary world. (shrink)

O artigo tem por objeto o exame de três registros de gritantes e distintos paradoxos na Doutrina do Direito de Kant. Registros feitos em tempos e contextos históricos diferentes por Friedrich Bouterwek, Marcus Willaschek e Balthazar Barbosa Filho. Bouterwek atribuiu a Kant a mais paradoxal das proposições jamais enunciadas por qualquer autor, a de que a mera ideia de soberania deve obrigar-nos a obedecer como a nosso inquestionável senhor a quem quer que se haja estabelecido como tal, sem que caiba (...) indagar quem lhe deu o direito de comandar-nos. Willaschek aponta a incompatibilidade de duas teses centrais da doutrina kantiana: a do caráter externo dos vínculos jurídicos e a da incondicionalidade obrigacional do direito positivo, pois não é possível entender como é possível termo-nos como obrigados por imperativos jurídicos e, ao mesmo, vermo-nos internamente isentados do dever de obedecê-los. O ponto crítico de Balthazar é alegar que não pode haver na filosofia kantiana uma crítica da razão político e jurídica, simplesmente porque o conceito de imputação, base da normatividade própria dessas esferas, pressupõe uma pluralidade de agentes livres que, justamente, só pode ser uma pressuposição, pois nosso acesso à normatividade prática só pode ter lugar em primeira pessoa. No exame a que o artigo submete essas alegações, o artigo argumenta, em objeção à tese de Balthazar, que o caráter universal e categórico da força que vincula o sujeito quando confrontado com a lei moral em primeira pessoa necessariamente se desvaneceria se, ao mesmo tempo, ele não fosse tomado pela evidência de que a realidade objetiva dos princípios morais é não só instanciável, mas assegurada pela múltipla instanciação. Com relação às dificuldades levantadas por Willaschek e Bouterwek, o artigo argumenta que o princípio exeundum e statu naturali, enquanto norma metapositiva, anterior à divisão do domínio prático entre doutrina do direito e doutrina da virtude, permite ao mesmo tempo compreender a exigência de obediência ao poder constituído e a restrição das obrigações jurídico-políticas exclusivamente ao foro externo.AbstractThe object of the article is to examine three claims about three distinct and allegedly blatant paradoxes in Kant's Doctrine of Right. These three critical points had been made in distinct times and contexts by Friedrich Bouterwek, Marcus Willaschek e Balthazar Barbosa Filho. Bouterwek attributed to Kant the most paradoxical of all paradoxical propositions, the statement that by the mere idea of sovereignty we are obliged to obey as our lord who has imposed himself upon us, without questioning from where he got such right. Willaschek points out the incompatibility of two main theses of Kantian doctrine of right: the claims that the legal bounds are of external character and that they are the source of unconditional obligations, since it seems impossible to understand how it would be possible to be obliged by juridical norms and decisions and at the same time to be exempted of the internal duty of compliance. The radical objection of Professor Balthazar is the claim that in the context of Kantian Philosophy it is impossible to admit a critique of the juridical and political reason because the concept of imputation, ground of the normativity in these domains, requires not only the presupposition of free agents, but a true and secure epistemic access to them, which is, according to him, impossible considering that the moral law and the other practical principles are accessible for us only in the first person. In the course of the appraisal of such claims, the article contest that objection arguing that the universal and categorical force of the normative bound experienced by the subject when confronted with the moral law in the first person would ineluctably vanish if, at the same time, he had not been taken by the evidence that the objective reality of the moral principles is secured by multiple instancing. Regarding the difficulties raised by Willaschek and Bouterwek, the article argues that the principle exeundum e statu naturali, as a norm of meta-positive character, prior to the division of practical domains between the doctrine of right and the doctrine of virtue, is the cue both to the understanding of the requirement of unquestioning obedience to the constituted power and to the restriction of the validity of this requirement only in foro externo. (shrink)

Harmful but culturally cherished practices often endure in spite of the damages they cause. Meat consumption is increasingly becoming one of such cases and may provide an opportunity from which to observe these phenomena. Growing evidence indicates that current and projected production and consumption patterns are important contributors to significant environmental problems, public health degradation, and animal suffering. Our aim is to contribute to a further understanding of the psychological factors that may hinder or promote personal disposition to change food (...) habits to benefit each of these domains. Drawing from previous evidence, this study explores the proposition that some consumers are motivated to resort to moral disengagement strategies when called upon to consider the impacts of their food habits. Data were collected from six semi-structured focus groups with a sample of 40 participants. Although affirming personal duties towards preserving the environment, promoting public health, and safeguarding animal welfare, participants did not show personal disposition to change their meat consumption habits. Several patterns of response that resonate with the principles of moral disengagement theory were observed while discussing impacts and the possibility of change. Results seem to support the proposition that the process of moral disengagement may play a role in hindering openness to change food habits for the benefit of the environment, public health, and animals, and point towards the relevance of further exploring this approach. (shrink)

Wittgenstein procura mostrar que a teoria dos tipos de Russell está condenada auma autodissolução. Ela só pode ser exposta na medida em que a exposição incorre emviolações sistemáticas das regras que a teoria tenta impor a toda a linguagem. Por outrolado, se for encarada enquanto mero sistema de regras para o uso de sinais, ela se tornacompletamente arbitrária. A teoria dos tipos apresenta na forma de uma invenção aquiloque, do ponto de vista do Tractatus, só poderia ser o resultado de (...) uma descoberta: a estruturaessencial da realidade que a linguagem deve decalcar. É daí que surge, no Tractatus, asolução intermediária de uma "essência inefável". O problema se complica quando o Tractatusse revela uma alternativa inviável, e a idéia de uma estrutura essencial da realidade ficacomprometida. Tento fazer, no final do artigo, uma reflexão de tipo wittgensteiniano natentativa de determinar o que resta da noção de necessidade quando abandonamos a idéiade que a realidade possua uma estrutura essencial que a linguagem limita-se a decalcar. (shrink)

Resumo: A percepção envolve muitos enigmas, nem sempre parecendo estar assegurada a unidade entre seu conteúdo e sua forma. Exemplificam tais enigmas as ilusões óticas, o célebre problema de Molyneux e também, como aqui nos interessa, o problema da expressão das cores em modelos cromáticos, que expressam incompatibilidades lógicas, mas se referem ao próprio território da experiência com cores e pigmentos. Neste nosso texto, distinguiremos dois usos do Farbenoktaeder por Wittgenstein, registrando a diferença, que julgamos relevante, entre a incompatibilidade ampla (...) e a incompatibilidade restrita entre cores. (shrink)

This innovative volume is an extended intellectual conversation about the ways personal lives are being undone and remade today. Examining the ethnography of the modern subject, this preeminent group of scholars probes the continuity and diversity of modes of personhood across a range of Western and non-Western societies. Contributors consider what happens to individual subjectivity when stable or imagined environments such as nations and communities are transformed or displaced by free trade economics, terrorism, and war; how new information and medical (...) technologies reshape the relation one has to oneself; and which forms of subjectivity and life possibilities are produced against a world in pieces. The transdisciplinary conversation includes anthropologists, historians of science, psychologists, a literary critic, a philosopher, physicians, and an economist. The authors touch on how we think and write about contingency, human agency, and ethics today. (shrink)