In this paper we study the connection between the use of evaluative language and the building of both personal and social identities, from the perspective of Dynamical System Theory. We primarily discuss two issues: 1) The use of evaluation ) as a means to the construction of both individual and group identities, thus exploring how the connection between linguistic choices and social identities is shaped by interactional needs for stancetaking. In order to illustrate this connection, we examine examples of the (...) use of evaluative language in a web social network, and we analyze some of the discourse elements showing ways of positioning that act as catalysts for the emergence of a multifactorial dynamic system of identities. 2) The consideration of Dynamical System Theory as a theoretical framework for the modeling of language and identity. Although originally a mathematical theory, DST has been adopted by cognitive science as a valid framework for the study of cognitive phenomena, on the grounds that natural cognition is a dynamical phenomenon. Within the realm of linguistics and pragmatics, this study is to a certain degree in line with some recent studies such as Gibbs, Geeraerts, Kristiansen and Peirsman, or Moreno Fernández. Thus, we herein focus on how linguistic evaluation intervenes in the intricate dynamical system of identity, and even though we do not engage in complex mathematical disquisition, we argue that the idea and philosophical foundation underlying DST can lead us towards the ‘integration’ of the complex equation of identity construction, and that consequently the field has great potential for further research. (shrink)

In this paper we study the connection between the use of evaluative language and the building of both personal and social identities, from the perspective of Dynamical System Theory . We primarily discuss two issues: 1) The use of evaluation (in the sense given to the term by Alba-Juez and Thompson (forthcoming)) as a means to the construction of both individual and group identities, thus exploring how the connection between linguistic choices and social identities is shaped by interactional (...) needs for stancetaking. In order to illustrate this connection, we examine examples of the use of evaluative language in a web social network, and we analyze some of the discourse elements showing ways of positioning that act as catalysts for the emergence of a multifactorial dynamic system of identities. 2) The consideration of Dynamical System Theory (DST) as a theoretical framework for the modeling of language and identity. Although originally a mathematical theory, DST has been adopted by cognitive science as a valid framework for the study of cognitive phenomena, on the grounds that natural cognition is a dynamical phenomenon. Within the realm of (socio) linguistics and pragmatics, this study is to a certain degree in line with some recent studies such as Gibbs (2010), Geeraerts, Kristiansen and Peirsman (2010), or Moreno Fernández (2012). Thus, we herein focus on how linguistic evaluation intervenes in the intricate dynamical system of identity, and even though we do not engage in complex mathematical disquisition, we argue that the idea and philosophical foundation underlying DST can lead us towards the ‘integration’ of the complex equation of identity construction, and that consequently the field has great potential for further research. (shrink)

In this paper we study the connection between the use of evaluative language and the building of both personal and social identities, from the perspective of Dynamical System Theory. We primarily discuss two issues: 1) The use of evaluation ) as a means to the construction of both individual and group identities, thus exploring how the connection between linguistic choices and social identities is shaped by interactional needs for stancetaking. In order to illustrate this connection, we examine examples of the (...) use of evaluative language in a web social network, and we analyze some of the discourse elements showing ways of positioning that act as catalysts for the emergence of a multifactorial dynamic system of identities. 2) The consideration of Dynamical System Theory as a theoretical framework for the modeling of language and identity. Although originally a mathematical theory, DST has been adopted by cognitive science as a valid framework for the study of cognitive phenomena, on the grounds that natural cognition is a dynamical phenomenon. Within the realm of linguistics and pragmatics, this study is to a certain degree in line with some recent studies such as Gibbs, Geeraerts, Kristiansen and Peirsman, or Moreno Fernández. Thus, we herein focus on how linguistic evaluation intervenes in the intricate dynamical system of identity, and even though we do not engage in complex mathematical disquisition, we argue that the idea and philosophical foundation underlying DST can lead us towards the ‘integration’ of the complex equation of identity construction, and that consequently the field has great potential for further research. (shrink)

Most of us are either philosophically naïve scientists or scientifically naïve philosophers, so we misjudged Schrödinger’s “very burlesque” portrait of Quantum Theory (QT) as a profound conundrum. The clear signs of a strawman argument were ignored. The Ontic Probability Interpretation (TOPI) is a metatheory: a theory about the meaning of QT. Ironically, equating Reality with Actuality cannot explain actual data, justifying the century-long philosophical struggle. The actual is real but not everything real is actual. The ontic character of the Probable (...) has been elusive for so long because it cannot be grasped directly from experiment; it can only be inferred from physical setups that do not morph it into the Actual. In this Part III, Born’s Rule and the quantum formalism for the microworld are intuitively surmised from instances in our macroworld. The posited reality of the quanton’s probable states and properties is probed and proved. After almost a century, TOPI aims at setting the record straight: the so-called ‘Basis’ and ‘Measurement’ problems are ill-advised. About the first, all bases are legitimate regardless of state and milieu. As for the second, its premise is false: there is no need for a physical ‘collapse’ process that would convert many states into a single state. Under TOPI, a more sensible variant of the ‘measurement problem’ can be reformulated in non-anthropic terms as a real problem. Yet, as such, it is not part of QT per se and will be tackled in future papers. As for the mythical cat, the ontic state of a radioactive nucleus is not pure, so its evolution is not governed by Schrödinger’s equation – let alone the rest of his “hellish machine”. Einstein was right: “The Lord is subtle but not malicious”. However, ‘The Lord’ turned out to be much subtler than what Einstein and Schrödinger could have ever accepted. Part IV introduces QR/TOPI: a new theory that solves the century-old problem of integrating Special Relativity with Quantum Theory [1]. (shrink)

Ignited by Einstein and Bohr a century ago, the philosophical struggle about Reality is yet unfinished, with no signs of a swift resolution. Despite vast technological progress fueled by the iconic Einstein/Podolsky/Rosen paper (EPR) [1] [2] [3], the intricate link between ontic and epistemic aspects of Quantum Theory (QT) has greatly hindered our grip on Reality and further progress in physical theory. Fallacies concealed by tortuous logical negations made EPR comprehension much harder than it could have been had Einstein written (...) it himself in German. EPR is plagued with preconceptions about what a physical property is, the 'Uncertainty Principle', and the Principle of Locality. Numerous interpretations of QT vis à vis Reality exist and are keenly disputed [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]. This is the first of a series of articles arguing for a novel physical interpretation I call ‘The Ontic Probability Interpretation’ (TOPI). A gradual explanation of TOPI is given intertwined with a meticulous logico-philosophical scrutiny of EPR, with Part I focusing on the meaning of Einstein’s ‘incompleteness’ claim for QT: a conceptual confusion, a preconception about Reality, and a flawed dichotomy are shown to be severe obstacles for the EPR argument to succeed. Part II completes the analysis, proving EPR claim of ‘incompleteness’ for QT is fallacious [12]. Part III further develops TOPI, while scrutinizing the mythical ‘Schrödinger’s Cat’, as well as the ‘Basis’ and ‘Measurement’ pseudo-problems [13]. Part IV introduces QR/TOPI: a new theory that solves the century-old problem of integrating Special Relativity with Quantum Theory [14]. (shrink)

After identifying in Part I [1] a conceptual confusion (TCC), a Reality preconception (TRP1), and a fallacious dichotomy (TFD), the famous EPR/EPRB [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] argument for correlated ‘particles’ is now studied in the light of the Ontic Probability Interpretation of Quantum Theory (QT/TOPI). Another Reality preconception (TRP2) is found, showing that EPR used and ignored QT predictions in a single paralogism. Employing TFD and TRP2, EPR unveiled a contradiction veiled in its premises. By removing nonlocality from QT’s (...) Ontology [1] by fiat, EPR preordained its incompleteness. The Petitio Principii fallacy was at work from the outset. Einstein surmised the proper solution to his incompleteness/nonlocality dilemma in 1949 [7], but never abandoned his philosophical stance [8]. It is concluded that there are no definitions of Reality: we have to accept that Reality may not conform to our prejudices and, if an otherwise successful theory predicts what we do not believe in, no gedankenexperiment will help because our biases may slither through. Only actual experiments could assist in solving Einstein’s dilemma, as has been proven in the last 50 years. Notwithstanding, EPR is one of the most influential papers in history and has immensely sparked both conceptual and technological progress. Part III of this series further develops QT/TOPI, while scrutinizing the mythical ‘Schrödinger’s Cat’, as well as the ‘Basis’ and ‘Measurement’ pseudo-problems [9]. Part IV introduces QR/TOPI: a new theory that solves the century-old problem of integrating Special Relativity with Quantum Theory [10]. (shrink)

Der Band nimmt gewisse, mit dem Begriff Theurgie assoziierte Wandlungen innerhalb des spätantiken Neuplatonismus in den Blick. Theurgie wird vor allem als Suche nach immanenten Medien zur Verkörperung göttlicher Kräfte verstanden. Entgegen dem häufig kolportierten Bild vom weltflüchtigen Platonismus zielt die von Iamblichos und seinen Nachfolgern verfochtene Philosophie, so die Grundthese, auf Integration der körperlich-materiellen Wirklichkeitsebenen ab und das Endziel der Philosophie wird stärker unter dem Gesichtspunkt einer positiven Teilhabe am demiurgisch-kosmogonischen Werk begriffen. Diese Aufwertung von Körperlichkeit wird anhand verschiedener (...) Aspekte – z. B. dem Symbolbegriff, der „göttlichen Materie", aber auch des feinstofflichen Ochema-Pneuma-Konzepts – in ihrer Relevanz für das spirituelle Gesamtprofil der theurgischen Neuplatoniker erstmals umfassender untersucht. Abgerundet wird die Studie durch einen Vergleich mit ähnlichen Tendenzen im nicht-dualistischen Śivaismus von Kaschmir. (shrink)

This paper attempts to answer whether the property of “efficacy” can be attributed to constitutive rules. In particular, according to Di Lucia, I will point out some problems that the “semantic conception of efficacy” has concerning constitutive and regulative rules. Then, the main goal of the paper will be to reflect on the possibility of the efficacy of constitutive rules by means of a complex case that the semantic conception seems to disregard: The case of the cheater. Does the action (...) of the cheater show the inefficacy of constitutive rules? Does she play the game while breaking the rule? Can the semantic conception of efficacy explain this situation, or do we need a more flexible concept of efficacy that takes nomotropism into account? These are some of the questions I will try to answer. (shrink)

Las fake news se suelen caracterizar como contenidos, de modo que prevalece el planteamiento semántico. Aquí se propone un enfoque pragmático, donde son actos comunicativos intencionales. Esto permite entender las fake news desde los actos locucionarios, ilocucionarios y perlocucionarios. Esta triple versión de intencionalidad comunicativa permite una mejor intelección de la mala información (misinformation) y de la desinformación (disinformation), que se refleja con claridad en el caso económico.Para mitigar o neutralizar los daños causados por las fake news en el tejido (...) social, se suele recomendar la contrastación de hechos (fact checking). La contribución de la Economía Experimental —y, en concreto, la aportación de Alvin Roth (Premio Nobel de Economía 2012)— puede ser especialmente relevante en dos direcciones: (a) la actividad económica y (b) la Economía como actividad entrelazada con otras. Esto supone el contrastar hechos partiendo de la intencionalidad en la actividad económica, en cuanto tal y en su nexo con otras actividades humanas. A este respecto, las fake news convergen con la toma de decisiones económicas, en cuanto que ambas están surcadas por la intencionalidad y, además, tienen lugar en un contexto donde adquieren un perfil orientado a fines. (shrink)

In this paper, I explore the experience of shame and its connections to recognition and love as manifested in Shakespeare's King Lear. My main focus in this paper is the ethical relevance of shame. I start from Sartre's account of shame in Being and Nothingness, and I consider Webber's attempt to reformulate it in terms of bad faith. I reject this and propose a way to rethink shame through a study of the workings of recognition in King Lear, following Stanley (...) Cavell's reading of this tragedy. I claim that the experience of shame has a relational structure, which makes it a crucial part of our ethical sensibility. My analysis of King Lear brings out this structure and underlines the ethical significance of shame at this structural level, by highlighting its connection to recognition and love. (shrink)

During the last decades the question of defining life has gained increased interest but, at the same time, the difficulty in reaching consensus on a possible answer has led many to skeptical positions. This, in turn, has raised a wider debate about why defining life is so hard and controversial. Such a debate introduces additional aspects to be considered, like the role and nature of a definition of life itself. In this paper, we will focus on those aspects, arguing that (...) progress can be made if we conceive definitions of life as open heuristic tools that contribute to develop specific research strategies in the biological sciences and, more generally, to increase our understanding of life’s complexity. In contrast with pragmatic or operationalist approaches, we will defend that definitions of life comprise a set of ontological assumptions, together with an inherent unifying vocation, so they should be subject to comparison and critical assessment, closely related to the success or failure of the corresponding research programs, but also to the success or failure in establishing well-grounded interconnections among the latter. We consider that the search for a more coherent, integrated and generalized theory of biology cannot be pursued without keeping an empirical standpoint, and the exercise of defining life should not be taken as an obstacle but as a valuable instrument to achieve that goal. (shrink)

Ample attention is being paid in the higher education literature to promoting active learning among students. However, critical examination of educational purposes and ends is largely lacki...

The purpose of professional education programs is to prepare aspiring professionals for the challenges of practice within a particular profession. These programs typically seek to ensure the acquisition of necessary knowledge and skills, as well as providing opportunities for their application. While not denying the importance of knowledge and skills, this paper reconfigures professional education as a process of becoming. Learning to become a professional involves not only what we know and can do, but also who we are (becoming). It (...) involves integration of knowing, acting, and being in the form of professional ways of being that unfold over time. When a professional education program focuses on the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills, it falls short of facilitating their integration into professional ways of being. In addition, through such a focus on epistemology (or theory of knowing), ontology (or theory of being) is overlooked. This paper explores what it means to develop professional ways of being where the focus is becoming, not simply knowing as an end in itself. (shrink)

Emotions are an integral part of human cognition and they guide not only our understanding of the world but also our actions within it. As such, whether we soothe or flame an emotion is not inconsequential. Recent work in conversational AI has focused on responding empathetically to users, validating and soothing their emotions without a real basis. This AI-aided emotional regulation can have negative consequences for users and society, tending towards a one-noted happiness defined as only the absence of "negative" (...) emotions. We argue that we must carefully consider whether and how to respond to users' emotions. (shrink)

Physical forces regulate numerous biological processes during development, physiology, and pathology. Forces between the external environment and intracellular actin cytoskeleton are primarily transmitted through integrin‐containing focal adhesions and cadherin‐containing adherens junctions. Crosstalk between these complexes is well established and modulates the mechanical landscape of the cell. However, integrins and cadherins constitute large families of adhesion receptors and form multiple complexes by interacting with different ligands, adaptor proteins, and cytoskeletal filaments. Recent findings indicate that integrin‐containing hemidesmosomes oppose force transduction and traction (...) force generation by focal adhesions. The cytolinker plectin mediates this crosstalk by coupling intermediate filaments to the actin cytoskeleton. Similarly, cadherins in desmosomes might modulate force generation by adherens junctions. Moreover, mechanotransduction can be influenced by podosomes, clathrin lattices, and tetraspanin‐enriched microdomains. This review discusses mechanotransduction by multiple integrin‐ and cadherin‐based cell adhesion complexes, which together with the associated cytoskeleton form an integrated network that allows cells to sense, process, and respond to their physical environment. (shrink)

In higher education, the conventional design of educational programs emphasises imparting knowledge and skills, in line with traditional Western epistemology. This emphasis is particularly evident in the design and implementation of many undergraduate programs in which bodies of knowledge and skills are decontextualised from the practices to which they belong. In contrast, the notion of knowledge as foundational and absolute has been extensively challenged. A transformation and pluralisation has occurred: knowledge has come to be seen as situated and localized into (...) various 'knowledges', and the status of the body has taken on renewed significance in epistemological debates. Rather than thinking of knowledge as transcending the body, the embodiment of knowledge has become a key factor in understanding the nature of knowledge and what it means to know. In this paper, we adopt a phenomenological perspective in exploring the notion of embodied knowing as it relates to higher education programs and, more specifically, the ways in which information and communication technologies (ICTs) are used in these programs. (shrink)

En el presente trabajo abordamos el papel desempeñado por el exilio padecido por Hilario de Poitiers y su relación con los obispos homeusianos en su comprensión de la realidad teológica del episcopado oriental. Su toma de contacto con las corrientes doctrinales con las que se familiariza durante su estancia en Oriente y la relación que traba con los obispos en los sínodos a los que asiste le llevan a constatar la existencia de más puntos en común que divergencias. Centrándose en (...) la explicación ofrecida a sus colegas galos en De synodis de que el credo del concilio de Ancira de 358 y el homoioúsios no difieren sustancialmente de la comprensión que tienen los partidarios del homooúsios de la relación entre Padre e Hijo aboga por un entendimiento conjunto contra el enemigo común. (shrink)

Entrepreneurs are the persons who offer new products, services and technologies. They can bring the changes through innovation to maximize the social good. Knowledge is the key element of the innovation systems and the institutions which have an important role in its development can be stated as: Universities and academic institutions, Government organizations, and Innovative enterprises. Entrepreneurship is linked to economic growth as its main activity lies on transforming ideas into economic opportunities. Entrepreneurship serves as an important vehicle for economic (...) and social prosperity by improving productivity and economic competitiveness and for this reason the participants’ cooperation and links between each other is essential to acquire and diffuse knowledge for the knowledge-based economies. Universities role in the socio-economic development is important as they improve and diffuse scholarly knowledge. (shrink)

En este artículo, abordo la disputa entre normativismo y descriptivismo centrándome en el problema del arbitraje. Para esto, propongo acercar a esta disputa la discusión sobre el problema del colapso que se ha dado recientemente en el marco de la filosofía de la lógica. Mi propuesta sostiene, por un lado, que el razonamiento humano, en cuanto práctica social, es una actividad esencialmente normada y, por otro lado, que los sistemas formales que se toman de referencia en la psicología del razonamiento (...) son el resultado de diversos procesos de equilibrio reflexivo. Esto permite defender el rol normativo de los sistemas formales como estándar para el razonamiento humano. Además, sostengo que la adecuación de un sistema formal está signada por los contextos específicos de razonamiento. Así, defiendo un pluralismo normativo respecto de los sistemas formales de inferencia en el marco de los estudios empíricos sobre el razonamiento humano. (shrink)

This paper advocates for the normative role of logic in reasoning. I offer a response, anchored in an externalist perspective, to two fronts of attack against the normativity thesis, namely Harman’s sceptical challenge and the accusation of naturalistic fallacy. On the one hand, I rework dialogical bridge principles and show that such principles satisfy adequacy criteria to deal with Harman’s challenge. On the other hand, I argue that it is possible to derive normative consequences from logical facts. This is because (...) argumentative interactions among agents involve the acceptance of constitutive rules that entail obligations. Hence, since logical rules can be seen as constitutive of the social practice of reasoning, they create prescriptions for reasoning. Bridge principles make those obligations and prohibitions explicit. (shrink)

El vocabulario en los niños con Trastorno del Desarrollo del Lenguaje (TDL) o con Retraso del Lenguaje (RL) es más pobre que en los niños con un desarrollo típico del lenguaje, por lo que se pretende conocer qué diferencias existen entre ellos. Han participado 66 infantes entre 3 y 5 años; se ha valorado que vocabulario conocen, se ha determinado que tienen menos vocabulario (52%) que sus homónimos (69%), a excepción de la categoría de transportes, en la que tienen los (...) mismos resultados. Finalmente, se determina el listado de categorías que más necesitan trabajar los niños con RL o TDL. (shrink)

La investigación presentada explora el método Painting Dialogues, llevado a cabo en la Universidad de Cádiz, durante la estancia postdoctoral de su creadora, Małgorzata Karczmarzyk, con estudiantes de Educación Infantil.A partir de la experiencia de creación compartida y del análisis y reflexión conjunta de la huella gráfica originada a modo de cartografía, el diálogo pictórico se presenta como proceso clave de aprendizaje. Esta forma de comunicación ayuda a comprender e interiorizar el conocimiento, potenciando la expresividad, la sensorialidad, la intuición, la (...) confianza y la escucha hacia uno mismo y hacia el otro. (shrink)

Alba María Laredo Delgado y Darío Méndez Salcedo Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Granada, España La comunicación entre dos personas … Read More →.

This article offers a philosophical-empirical account of embodied skilful performance in the practice of plant biotechnology. Drawing on the work of Merleau-Ponty and others, we elaborate how skilful performance emerges from and through reciprocal relations encompassing the body-in-the-world and the world-in-the-body. The contribution of this article lies in offering an account of skilful performance that is attentive to a perceiving, motile, feeling body entwined with world. In genetically modifying plants, scientists direct their senses of touch and vision to manipulating plant (...) materials and matter, ‘reading’ subtle changes in tissue cultures, plantlets and so on. In rhythmic movements, they extend their bodies through skilful use of complex equipment, while calling on ‘intuition’ to guide their work. Skilful performance, then, relies on our lived body that is not merely a physical object among other objects, nor a passive instrument for the mind, but dynamic and inescapably entwined with people and things in a world in flux. Bringing to the fore how perceiving, motile, feeling bodies are implicated in skilful performance has significant implications for education and workplace training. (shrink)

There is a peak in peer victimization during middle childhood, with multiple negative consequences. Parental use of corporal punishment and child aggression are the most widely studied predictors of this phenomenon. The aim of the present study was to analyze whether parental use of corporal punishment affects peer victimization through child aggression. This mediation model was explored for both mothers and fathers and for both physical and relational forms of aggression and peer victimization. Furthermore, we also analyzed whether the mediation (...) models were moderated by the sex of the child. Participants were 234 third graders. Child aggression and victimization were measured by peers using the Mini Direct Indirect Aggression Inventory. Independent measures of mother’s and father’s use of corporal punishment were obtained from a PCA of items from the Parental Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. Conditional process modeling was carried out using a macro for SPSS developed by Hayes. Results indicated that aggression mediated the relation of parental corporal punishment to peer victimization. Some interesting moderating effects of sex in this mediation model were found; specifically, physical, and relational aggression mediated the relation of maternal corporal punishment to peer victimization only in boys. Few studies to date have addressed the connection between aggressive behavior and peer victimization as outcomes of corporal punishment, taking into consideration the role of parent’s and child’s sex, and both physical and relational forms of aggression and victimization during childhood. (shrink)

En 1993 y 2012 la poeta irlandesa Mary O’Malley publicó Valparaiso y Where the Rocks Float que edificó alrededor de la figura del mar y de la zona costera irlandesa donde nació. En ambas colecciones, la figura del mar se transforma en un potente agente activo que denuncia el rol de la mujer en la sociedad irlandesa y la explotación de los espacios azules con fines de consumo. Utilizando el análisis de Donna Haraway en Manifiesto cíborg (1985), este artículo analizará (...) una selección de textos de ambos poemarios para estudiar el vínculo entre mujer y mar como agentes activos contra la opresión patriarcal y la explotación capitalista. (shrink)

Resumen: El artículo a través de un esfuerzo teórico-epistémico e histórico, busca dar cuenta de la relevancia del género documental audiovisual, como referente en la construcción de realidad y memoria social, abocándonos específicamente al desarrollo del documental en Chile. Para ello, se argumenta sobre las problemáticas que acarrea la identificación de este tipo de realizaciones audiovisuales y, una vez zanjada dicha cuestión, se alude a la fuerza revitalizadora que alcanza como reflejo de una sociedad, su reconstrucción del pasado, su valorización (...) del presente y su proyección con visión de futuro. Es decir, el documental como posibilidad de intervenir en lo que percibimos como real, siendo necesario profundizar algunas nociones como verdad; objetividad y subjetividad; realidad y memoria social, entre otras cuestiones de importancia. Todo este recorrido histórico y epistemológico es apoyado en la fenomenología y la hermenéutica, en virtud de indagar en el género documental desde la experiencia chilena.: The article, through a theoretical-epistemic and historical effort, seeks to account for the relevance of the audio-visual documentary genre, as a reference in the construction of reality and social memory, focusing specifically on the development of documentary in Chile. For this, it is argued about the problems that the identification of this type of audio-visual realizations entails, and once this question is settled, it is alluded to the revitalizing force that it achieves as a reflection of a society, its reconstruction of the past, its valorisation of the present and its projection with vision of the future. That is, the documentary as a possibility to intervene in what we perceive as real, being necessary to deepen some notions as truth; objectivity and subjectivity; reality and social memory, among other important issues. All this historical and epistemological journey is supported in phenomenology and hermeneutics, by virtue of investigating the documentary genre from the Chilean experience. (shrink)

Surveys were conducted at two metta meditation retreats in order to examine the psychological effects of metta meditation. Participants were invited to complete the survey at the beginning of the retreat, at the end of the retreat, and two weeks after the end of the retreat. Participants completed the same scales at each time phase, which included measures of happiness, compassionate love, revenge and avoidance motivation, gratitude, and a depression, anxiety and stress scale. Significant increases were found in happiness and (...) compassionate love, reductions in avoidance and revenge, and reductions on the depression, anxiety and stress subscales. (shrink)