O presente texto discute, em âmbito teórico, a relação entre acontecimento e narrativa midiática. Através de Louis Quéré, situa-se o acontecimento na dialética da experiência, originária da interação entre sujeitos e acontecimentos. Pensa-se a narrativa como um lugar de manifestação e representação das culturas e das ações dos sujeitos sobre o mundo. Volta-se para a narrativa por meio da tríplice mimese de Paul Ricoeur. No âmbito analítico, o texto realiza incursões e interpretações acerca da derrota da seleção brasileira de futebol (...) para a seleção alemã por sete gols a um na semifinal da Copa do Mundo de Futebol de 2014 e busca compreender como as capas de alguns jornais brasileiros produzem uma ressignificação do revés do Brasil na Copa de 1950, conhecido como Maracanaço. (shrink)

Una forma determinante en la actualidad de fijar y difundir la memoria ocurre a través de las representaciones mediáticas. Las representaciones son formaciones culturales sintéticas, abstracciones complejas que actúan bajo opciones determinadas. La recogida y selección de objetos y sus imágenes, habitualmente desechados a lo que se considera la memoria, establecen los mecanismos desde los cuales se elabora la concreción de las representaciones. Por detrás del lastre sobre el cual reposa lo efímero de aquellas producciones culturales abarcadas por el neologismo (...) cada día más reiterado de "mediáticas", pervive algo que les allana en un sustrato de larga duración común a varias épocas. El artículo reflexiona acerca de los presupuestos por los cuales las representaciones mediáticas obran por fijar la memoria y traerla a nuestra presencia bajo soportes tecnológicos.Media representations are presently a determinant form in fixing and promoting memory in modern times. These representations are synthetic cultural formations, complex abstractions which function under pre-determined options. The search for and selection of objects and their images, usually forgotten by memory, establish the mechanisms from which the fixation of representations is undertaken. Behind the garbage on which ephemeral aspects of cultural productions are undertaken by neologisms which are more reiterated in the media, something survives that places them in a long duration substratum common to many moments. This article reflects on the presuppositions under which media representations work to fix themselves in the memory and revive them in the present by use of technological support. (shrink)

Media representations are presently a determinant form in fixing and promoting memory in modern times. These representations are synthetic cultural formations, complex abstractions which function under pre-determined options. The search for and selection of objects and their images, usually fo..

Este texto es un estudio profundo sobre lo poético en la obra de Jorge Luis Borges, rastreado no solo en sus poemas sino en su narrativa: ensayo y cuento. Lo que permite sostener que la cualidad principal de su escritura se encarna en la figura del poeta. El eje central del estudio se refiere a la particularidad de su adjetivación en la cual puede reconocerse el vínculo entre literatura y filosofía puesto que en la escritura de Borges el adjetivo no (...) es un mero adorno sino una manera de vincular pensamiento y poesía y hacer posible que en la lectura de sus textos el lector experimente el efecto que las ideas tienen sobre la vida. (shrink)

Este relato apresenta recorte da experiência de estágio supervisionado de História no Colégio de Aplicação da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), em 2018, na turma 2B do ensino médio. De modo específico, trata da metodologia utilizada nas aulas para debater sobre o período da Primeira República no Brasil (1889-1930). Tal metodologia foi centrada no trabalho com diferentes fontes: o samba enredo da escola Imperatriz Leopoldinense, Liberdade! Liberdade! Abra as asas sobre nós (1989); o Hino da Proclamação da República e (...) a pintura (1890), A Redenção de Cam (1895). Essas obras foram utilizadas para compreender determinado contexto histórico, do auge do pensamento racialista na esfera pública e representativo de um projeto de nação que se pretendia branca. A experiência de interpretar as referidas fontes permitiu compreender o contexto de transição entre o império e a república e questionar ideias internalizadas que se apresentam como naturais em relação a cultura afro-brasileira na história do Brasil. (shrink)

In order to demonstrate the great importance of Philosophy in the elaboration of current scientific theories, a parallel was drawn between concepts of pre-Socratic Philosophy and current modern theories. Thus, throughout this essay, the convergences between some elaborations developed by philosophers and their reinterpretation from a scientific point of view, supported by the scientific method and the present technological apparatuses, were exposed. In this sense, having as its core the reflection about the atomic theory of Leucippus and Democritus, we investigate (...) the way in which atomism dialogues with the modern Atomic Theory to the Quantum Theory, through concepts of Kosmos and Cosmology. In a second moment, origin of life theories were revisited from the pre-Socratic concepts of Psykhe. Finally, Philosophy and Science are brought together as possible and complementary tools for the restoration of the amplification of thought and investigative processes. (shrink)

O presente trabalho objetiva demonstrar a experiência como professora voluntária da disciplina de Filosofia no programa de Extensão da Universidade estadual do Ceará- UECE (Projeto Pré-Vestibular do Programa de Formação para Travestis e Pessoas Transgêneras – Transpassando). Assim, será feita uma análise sistemática acerca dos desafios referentes à prática de atividades no ensino presencial e remoto. Isso porque, desde 2020, vivenciamos uma Pandemia causada pela COVID-19, que ceifou mais de 600 mil vidas. Dos vários objetivos do trabalho voluntário, a citar (...) a importância imprescindível de estar consciente do lugar do outro, faz-se urgente proporcionar caminhos eficientes que tragam equidade para as pessoas que se encontram em situação de vulnerabilidade social. Faz-se também urgente planejar projetos que corroborem para incentivar os estudantes a estarem envolvidos em atividades dentro das escolas desde os primeiros semestres dos cursos de licenciatura. Ora, é de imensurável importância o desenvolvimento e aprendizagem da prática docente. Para tanto, a observação e prática da vivência dentro da sala de aula é imprescindível. Conclui-se que, além da pesquisa filosófica, histórica e literária, é imprescindível planejar trabalhos que incentivem os graduandos aos Seminários de pesquisa de campo e da importância de estar em sala de aula (presencial ou remota) pensando caminhos para uma formação com maior qualidade. Isso trará um novo olhar para a importância do aprender ensinando e da arte do saber educar com alegria e amor. Portanto, além do incentivo à vivência de novas modalidades de ensino-aprendizagem através da prática do ensino presencial e remoto nas escolas pautadas em uma educação criativa-crítica, ética, potente e plural, faz-se necessário pensar políticas públicas que tenham como alvo central o compromisso com aqueles que estão em vulnerabilidade social. É preciso também combater todas as formas de preconceito, a citar a transfobia. (shrink)

A partir da psicanálise existencial sartriana, descrita na obra Saint Genet: Ator e Mártir, analisaremos os caminhos tortuosos que a subjetividade percorre na tentativa de se plenificar como objeto. Nosso propósito é demonstrar que Genet buscou identificar-se com seu ego para se colocar como um objeto de desprezo para a sociedade, porém, sua busca fracassa, pois, segundo Sartre, o homem jamais será completamente objetividade alienada no mundo. Nesse intuito, descreveremos brevemente os principais momentos da vida de Genet. Em sua infância, (...) teve seu ego-visto (ser-para-outro) constituído pelo olhar de outrem; a partir de então, realizou diversos esforços para se identificar com essa imagem alienada, entretanto - enquanto liberdade -, permaneceu frente a todas as suas tentativas de fixar um ego maldito com o qual se identificasse; e, por fim, encontrou apenas a sua própria subjetividade, exercendo sua liberdade no ofício de escritor. Concluiremos, portanto, que a subjetividade permanece livre e responsável, mesmo frente à construção do seu ego. (shrink)

One of the effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic is that low-income countries were pushed further into extreme poverty, exacerbating social inequalities and increasing susceptibility to drug use/abuse in people of all ages. The risks of drug abuse may not be fully understood by all members of society, partly because of the taboo nature of the subject, and partly because of the considerable gap between scientific production/understanding and communication of such knowledge to the public at large. Drug use is a (...) major challenge to social development and a leading cause of school dropout rates worldwide. Some public policies adopted in several countries in recent decades failed to prevent drug use, especially because they focused on imposing combative or coercive measures, investing little or nothing in education and prevention. Here we highlight the role of neuroscience education as a valid approach in drug use education and prevention. We propose building a bridge between schools and scientists by promoting information, student engagement and honest dialogue, and show evidence that public policy regulators should be persuaded to support such science-based education programs in their efforts to effect important positive changes in society. (shrink)

Esta introdução descreve os mais importantes dados biográficos da vida e da obra do físico teórico austríaco Ludwig Boltzmann (1844-1906). As principais contribuições científicas de Boltzmann situam-se nos domínios da teoria cinética dos gases e mecânica estatística, da qual ele foi um dos fundadores. A tese de que as teorias científicas são representações dos fenômenos naturais é encontrada em todos os artigos de Boltzmann. No verbete "modelo", ela é apresentada de modo mais organizado, o que o torna uma peça fundamental (...) para a compreensão do pensamento filosófico do físico austríaco. O verbete, publicado na famosa enciclopédia Britannica, foi escrito para o público em geral. Ainda assim, Boltzmann não se eximiu de tomar partido em favor do uso de modelos. Estes últimos não apenas seriam inevitáveis, mas necessários, uma vez que tornavam possível o aperfeiçoamento contínuo da ciência. This introduction describes the most important biographical details of the life and work of the Austrian theoretical physicist Ludwig Boltzmann (1844-1906). The main scientific contributions of Boltzmann can be found in areas such as the kinetic theory of gases and statistical mechanics, of which he was one of the co-founders. The thesis that scientific theories are representations of natural phenomena is found in all philosophical articles by Boltzmann. In the entry "model", published in the celebrated Encyclopedia Britannica, the thesis is presented in a more organized way, making it the keystone to understand the philosophical thought of the Austrian physicist. Although the entry was written for the general public, in it Boltzmann did not refrain from taking sides as far as the use of models is concerned. According to him, the latter would not only be inevitable, but in fact necessary, since they would made possible the continuous improvement of science. (shrink)

Con el presente artículo se propone continuar el diálogo entre la tradición hermenéutica y el psicoanálisis, reconociendo en ellas dos de las corrientes de pensamiento más influyentes en la época contemporánea. Con este acercamiento se pretende aportar a la reflexión, siempre fecunda, sobre el abordaje de textos literarios a partir del acto interpretativo.

Le rejet actuel de la psychanalyse dans les traitements d’enfants autistes s’explique en partie par une erreur de considération clinique au sujet de la place des parents. Dans ce contexte, les auteurs, impliqués dans un dispositif thérapeutique de soin et d’éducation au Brésil, proposent une discussion quant aux repères théoriques qui sous-tendent le fonctionnement de Lugar de Vida. Dans ladite Educação Terapêutica (éducation à visée thérapeutique), le rôle des parents est complètement reformulé. Il ne s’agit plus d’interpréter leur culpabilité dans (...) l’éclosion de l’autisme de leurs enfants, ni de les conseiller techniquement pour en faire des assistants dans des programmes comportementaux, mais de relancer le dialogue inhérent à l’espace transitionnel entre parents et enfant à même de produire des effets aussi bien thérapeutiques qu’éducatifs. (shrink)

In the first edition of the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin apologized for not correctly referencing all the works cited in his magnum opus. More than 150 years later we have catalogued these citations and analyzed the resultant data. Looking for a complete selection of collaborators, a flexible interpretation of the term citation was necessary; we define it as any reference made to a third party, independently of its form or function. Following the same idea, the sixth edition of the (...) Origin, originally published in 1872 and reprinted with minor additions and corrections in 1876, was chosen for the research because it represents the end of a long debate between Darwin and his peers. It naturally is the edition with the greatest number of citations and collaborators. Through a diverse theoretical analysis, we aim to present a new perspective for the study of the Origin of Species: a bibliographic approach that provides the tools needed to understand the history of the book as a physical and cultural object. Bibliometrics provides a theory of citations as well as a quantitative analysis; science studies highlights the profound social aspects of science in the making. The analysis resulted in 639 citations to 298 collaborators and provided a new perspective of the rhetorical structure of the Origin, even though these results are only the tip of the iceberg of the potential of all the data gathered in this study. (shrink)

Trata-se do capítulo “Overdetermined Oedipus: Mommy, Daddy, and Me as Desiring-Machine” in: BUCHANAN, Ian. (Org). A Deleuzian Century?. Durham: Duke University Press, 1999. (N.T.).

IntroductionMother–child interactions during the first years of life have a significant impact on the emotional and cognitive development of the child. In this work, we study how a prenatal diagnosis of malformation may affect maternal representations and the quality of these early interactions. To this end, we conducted a longitudinal observational study of mother–child interactions from the gestational stage until the baby completed 12 months of age.Participants and MethodsWe recruited 250 pregnant women from a local university hospital. Among them, 50 (...) mother–infant dyads participated in all stages of the study. The study group consisted of 25 pregnant women with fetuses with some structural alteration and the control group consisted of 25 pregnant women with fetuses without structural anomalies. We collected obstetric and socio demographic data and pregnancy outcomes. Anxiety and depressive state data were collected using the COVI and Raskin Scales. We video-recorded the mother–infant interactions during several stages, including when the child was a newborn and when the child was 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months of age. The quality of the mother infant interactions were measured using the Coding Interactive Behavior. The interactive moments recorded on video was composed of three different activities, each one lasting appoximately 3 min, which included Free Interaction, where the mother was instructed to interact “as usual” without any toy, Toy Interaction, where the mother and baby played with a puppv, and Song Interaction, where the mother and baby interacted while the mother sang the “Happy Birthday” song.ResultsIn the gestational phase, there was a significant difference between the groups with respect to anxiety and depression scores, which were significantly higher for the study group. In the postnatal phase, we found significant differences between the groups with respect to CIB scales after the child completed 6 months of age: the study group presented significantly higher values of Maternal Sensitivity at 6 months of age, of Baby Involvement at 9 and 12 months of age, and of Dyadic Reciprocity at 6, 9, and 12 months of age, while the control group presented significantly higher values of Withdrawal of the Baby at 6 months of age, and of Dyadic Negative States at 6 and 9 months of age.ConclusionThe support offered by the study favored the mother–infant bond and had a positive effect on the quality of interaction during the first year of life, despite the presence of prenatal diagnosis. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to investigate and discuss the notions of difference and representation in Emmanuel Levinas and Gilles Deleuze, articulating such notions through the example of a university extension project involving the formation of a musical ensemble composed of autistic children. Our research involved a review of four major philosophical works—Emmanuel Levinas’ Totality and Infinity; Among Us: Essays On Alterity; and “The Concept Of Difference In Bergson”; and Gilles Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition--in addition to secondary references. The (...) main articulations of the investigation carried out in the project consist of aspects such as: taking responsibility for the autistic child through cultivating asymmetrical relationships, a process that takes place through sensibility, below any representation; and not totalizing the alterity involved while maintaining, at the same time, its radical difference. In addition, there is an emphasis in the work on the difference of each child, beyond his or her diagnostic identity, understanding that all participants are undergoing unique processes of differentiation, and that some differences are not more privileged than others, in that that such hierarchies are determined by power relations. Another contribution of this research is the emphasis on the intensive affective flows of children, and the construction of relationships of mutual affection, which increases the circulation of vital energy in each one. Finally, the results of the project are offered as guidelines for clinical practice, and for the cultivation of a politics of difference, as an alternative to hegemonic practices in autism studies in contemporary times. (shrink)

O objetivo foi descrever a ocorrência da violência sofrida por profissionais de saúde na Urgência e Emergência de um hospital do norte do país. Identificar a violência no setor de urgência e emergência possibilita gerar informações sobre a realidade de hospitais, o que colabora em sanar tais problemas que ocorram nos mesmos. A metodologia foi de abordagem quantitativa, com a aplicação de questionário com questões sobre violência sofrida e praticada no trabalho e sobre dados das vítimas e dos agressores, junto (...) aos profissionais do centro de urgência e emergência do hospital pesquisado. Os resultados da pesquisa apontaram a conclusão de que o principal autor de violência laboral é o paciente de 31 a 40 anos e as maiores vítimas são as mulheres que trabalham no turno da noite, recebem entre R$ 1.000 e 2.999 e não contam com pós-graduação. Portanto, são necessárias estratégias saneadoras para o problema da violência entre profissionais de saúde. (shrink)

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-021-09640-x.

_Review of: Consani, Cristina Foroni; Klein, Joel T.; Nour Sckell, Soraya, _Cosmopolitanism: From the Kantian Legacy to Contemporary Approaches_, Berlin, Duncker & Humblot, 2021, pp. 327. ISBN 978-3-428-58460-4._.

La libertad es una de las realizaciones humanas que más se valoran, pero que a la vez es más fácil de perder, la gran mayoría de las veces de forma voluntaria. Los lamentos más usuales son: hemos perdido la libertad, o nuestra libertad está en peligro; pocas veces se dice: hemos entregado la libertad, o, sólo sabemos vivir encadenados. Pero además, se asume la libertad como algo dado, sin más, y no se toma en cuenta que es un estado o (...) condición que hay que preservar, si se tiene, y luchar por incrementarlo. De hecho, la vida es una lucha constante por aumentar la libertad. Otros aspectos incorporados a este ensayo son la fundamentación del sistema de libertades en la libertad individual –siguiendo muy de cerca a Mill-, las características de ese sistema de libertades y el cuestionamiento a las doctrina del “interés nacional” o del “interés general”, como formas veladas de colectivismo, muy estimadas en América Latina. (shrink)

The functional role of mirror neurons has been assessed in many different ways. They have been regarded, inter alia, as the core mechanism of mind reading, the mechanism of language understanding, the mechanism of imitation. In this paper we will discuss the thesis according to which MNs are a conceptual mechanism. This hypothesis is attractive since it could accommodate in an apparently simple way all the above-mentioned interpretations. We shall take into consideration some reasons suggesting the conceptualist characterization of MNs, (...) as well as some possible replies. We shall figure out how an argument for the conceptualist hypothesis could be deployed, focusing on the notion of off-line processes, which turns out to be the crucial property necessary to ascribe concept possession. Our conclusion will be that, despite of there being some evidence for the conceptualist account, the issue cannot be definitely settled, because there are both experimental shortages and conceptual difficulties. In particular, there are three distinct senses in which MNs can be regarded as a conceptual mechanism, but we shall argue that only one of these interpretations can be defended. (shrink)

No cinema brasileiro recente, o diálogo entre o documentário e a ficção tem merecido destaque, com produções de baixo orçamento e ideias originais. É o caso de Santiago (João Moreira Salles, 2007) e Viajo Porque Preciso, Volto Porque Te Amo (Marcelo Gomes, Karim Aïnouz, 2009), filmes que trabalham esse diálogo de forma sutil e diegética, ressignificando imagens de um arquivo próprio, pessoal.

After Plato's Forms, and Aristotle's substances, the Stoics posited the fundamental reality of lekta - the meanings of sentences, distinct from the sentences themselves. This volume analyses the resulting unique, complex, and consistent cosmic view in which lekta are the keystones of the structure of reality: they are all there is to say.

Inicialmente, proponho a discussão sobre as justificativas que são fornecidas para o ensino de humanidades. Analiso, em seguida, algumas dessas justificativas a partir de suas raízes filosóficas que julgo remontarem a Aristóteles e a Hegel. Identifico na estratégia enciclopédica desse último, o tipo de argumento mais usual para legitimar o ensino de humanidades ainda hoje. Indico, na seqüência, os motivos pelos quais nenhuma dessas justificativas possui, nos nossos dias, poder de convencimento. Finalmente, utilizando o diagnóstico de Lyotard sobre o mundo (...) contemporâneo, indico uma maneira alternativa de tornar o ensino de humanidades necessário sem fazer referência ao humanismo. (shrink)

O problema da especificidade do trabalho filosófico na América Latina é discutido em termos do ambiente cultural do Século XXI. Assim, não se reivindica nesse artigo nenhum gesto de independência com relação à filosofia de matriz europeia. Embora isso seja legítimo, trata-se sempre de um tipo frágil de argumentação, uma crítica externa de pouca capacidade de convencimento. Aqui preferimos defender a necessidade de um ajuste do trabalho filosófico em função da falência dos procedimentos filosóficos tradicionais pela pós-modernidade. Essa nova situação (...) nos impulsiona a tematizar o ambiente cultural imediatamente disponível: a América Latina. (shrink)

Resumo: A Kehre (viragem) no pensamento de Heidegger foi amplamente discutida e debatida. A introdução da noção de metontologia (Metontologie), em 1927, informou proveitosamente esse debate, uma vez que implica uma preocupação com o domínio ôntico, por parte de Heidegger, que não está presente em trabalhos anteriores. O fato de essa noção desaparecer logo após ser introduzida, porém, desafia sua contribuição para esse debate. Neste artigo, mostra-se que o desaparecimento da metontologia não significa o desaparecimento da preocupação de Heidegger com (...) o ôntico, mas o contrário. Começa-se apresentando a visão de Freeman de uma tensão entre o ôntico e o ontológico, no pensamento de Heidegger, em meados da década de 1920, que resulta na introdução da metontologia, em 1927. Mais tarde, evidencia-se que a explicação de McNeill para o desaparecimento da metontologia, como consequência da visão de Heidegger, de meados dos anos 30, de que a projeção a priori do ser é uma retirada do ser (Entzug des Seins), permite dizer que esse desaparecimento não acarreta uma repentina falta de preocupação de Heidegger com o ôntico. Ao considerar a análise de Heidegger de “o matemático”, em Die Frage nach dem Ding, finalmente, argumenta-se que a metontologia desaparece do pensamento de Heidegger, porque sua dependência da ontologia a impede de explicar sua crescente preocupação com o ôntico, de maneira adequada. (shrink)

On examinera la théorie stoïcienne des lekta en suivant les critiques formulées contre elle provenant de trois perspectives différentes : celle des Péripatéticiens, de Sextus Empiricus et celle formulée au sein même de l’école par Sénèque. Ces critiques se concentrent sur des questions relatives à une théorie du langage, mais une lecture minutieuse révèle que le cœur du problème réside dans un rejet profond de l’ontologie stoïcienne, constituée en partie, par les lekta. Les réactions des critiques tendent toutes à confirmer (...) leurs propres positions, soit en rejetant la possibilité de présence réelle des lekta, soit en considérant cette présence comme négligeable. Ces confirmations de la validité de ses propres convictions se font par le biais de déformations ou de raccourcis faits à la théorie stoïcienne. En dévoilant ces mécanismes d’escamotage, c’est pourtant bien l’importance de la théorie des lekta qui est percée à jour, et les sérieux défis qu’elle pose aux théories rivales, en remettant en question le contrôle supposé de l’homme sur ses pratiques linguistiques, et en complexifiant la relation de la logique à l’éthique. (shrink)

The Lewisean counterpart theorist– despite not defending a genuinely essentialist view of what is possible, de re, of individuals – generally has a way to make essentialist claims come out as true, in those contexts in which they are endorsed by a committed essentialist. In this paper, I am going to show that the normal system that the Lewisean adopts when she wants to make the essentialist a truth-teller does not work with Kit Fine: his essentialist beliefs, which support his (...) counterexamples to the modal account of essentialism, cannot come out as true, in any contexts whatsoever, under the Lewisean view. After arguing that this represents a genuine problem for Lewis’s theory, I will propose a solution. I will indeed show that the Lewisean has a principled way to account for Fine’s essentialist beliefs, consistently with her own counterpart-theorist reading of them. (shrink)

In The Grammar of Society, first published in 2006, Cristina Bicchieri examines social norms, such as fairness, cooperation, and reciprocity, in an effort to understand their nature and dynamics, the expectations that they generate, and how they evolve and change. Drawing on several intellectual traditions and methods, including those of social psychology, experimental economics and evolutionary game theory, Bicchieri provides an integrated account of how social norms emerge, why and when we follow them, and the situations where we are (...) most likely to focus on relevant norms. Examining the existence and survival of inefficient norms, she demonstrates how norms evolve in ways that depend upon the psychological dispositions of the individual and how such dispositions may impair social efficiency. By contrast, she also shows how certain psychological propensities may naturally lead individuals to evolve fairness norms that closely resemble those we follow in most modern societies. (shrink)

In Norms in the Wild, distinguished philosopher Cristina Bicchieri argues that when it comes to human behavior, social scientists place too much stress on rational deliberation. In fact, she says, many choices occur without much deliberation at all. Two people passing in a corridor automatically negotiate their shared space; cars at an intersection obey traffic signals; we choose clothing based on our instincts for what is considered appropriate. Bicchieri's theory of social norms accounts for these automatic components of coordination, (...) where individuals react automatically to cues that focus their attention on what the norm is in that situation. Social norms thus act as rules for making choices in a social world where people expect others -- often unconsciously -- to follow the same rule. Some norms enable seamless social co-operation, while others are less beneficial to human flourishing.Bicchieri is famous for her interdisciplinary work on game theory and most recently her work on social norms, and Norms in the Wild represents her latest challenge to many of the fundamental assumptions of the social sciences. Bicchieri's work has broad implications not only for understanding human behavior, but for changing it for better outcomes. People have a strongly conditioned preference for following social norms, but that also means that manipulating their expectations can cause major behavioral changes. Bicchieri has been working recently with UNICEF and other NGO's to explore the applicability of her views to issues of human rights around the world. Is it possible to change social expectations around forced marriage, genital mutilations, and public health practices like vaccinations and sanitation? If so, how? What tools might we use? This short book explores how social norms work, and how changing them - changing preferences, beliefs, and especially social expectations - can potentially improve lives all around the world. It will appeal to an unusually broad range of readers including philosophers, psychologists and others in behavioral sciences, and anyone involved in public policy or at NGOs. (shrink)

Perhaps because groupishness comes so easily to humans, clear operational definitions of the phenomena and justifications for the claim that it is deep‐seated are lacking in much of the literature. Furthermore, the assertion of human groupishness glosses over several important questions including which behaviors, which social boundaries, and which evolutionary processes make us groupish. In this paper I use an evolutionary lens, and cross‐species and cross‐cultural comparative examples to clarify the bases on which such a claim of particular human groupishness (...) can be made. Specifically, if humans are particularly groupish, it is because we produce culturally‐structured social landscapes. This means the cognitive science of groupishness must incorporate the social science of the cultural evolution of group boundaries. (shrink)

Although it is commonly believed that the concept of brain death was developed to benefit organ transplants, it evolved independently. Transplantation owed its development to advances in surgery and immunosuppressive treatment; BD owed its origin to the development of intensive care. The first autotransplant was achieved in the early 1900s, when studies of increased intracranial pressure causing respiratory arrest with preserved heartbeat were reported. Between 1902 and 1950, the BD concept was supported by the discovery of EEG, Crile’s definition of (...) death, the use of EEG to demonstrate abolition of brain potentials after ischaemia, and Crafoord’s statement that death was due to cessation of blood flow. Transplantation saw the first xenotransplant in humans and the first unsuccessful kidney transplant from a cadaver. In the 1950s, circulatory arrest in coma was identified by angiography, and the death of the nervous system and coma dépassé were described. Murray performed the first successful kidney transplant. In the 1960s, the BD concept and organ transplants were instantly linked when the first kidney transplant using a brain-dead donor was performed; Schwab proposed to use EEG in BD; the Harvard Committee report and the Sydney Declaration appeared; the first successful kidney, lung and pancreas transplants using cadaveric donors were achieved; Barnard performed the first human heart transplant. This historical review demonstrates that the BD concept and organ transplantation arose separately and advanced in parallel, and only began to progress together in the late 1960s. Therefore, the BD concept did not evolve to benefit transplantation. (shrink)

This article provides a brief overview of the efforts to develop and refine the Critical thinking Assessment Test and its potential for improving the design of classroom assessments. The CAT instrument was designed to help faculty understand their students’ strengths and weaknesses using a short answer essay format. The instrument assesses a broad collection of critical thinking skills that transcend most disciplines. The questions were deliberately designed around real-world scenarios that did not require specialized knowledge from any particular discipline. Various (...) faculty who collaborated in the national dissemination of the CAT instrument found that it was a helpful model for designing better course assessments to grade student work. Classroom assessments modeled on the CAT emphasize more critical thinking within the discipline and less rote retention of factual information. We describe the ongoing work to help faculty successfully adapt the CAT to applications that can be used in each discipline’s courses to evaluate and encourage students’ critical thinking. (shrink)