Este trabajo de reflexión e investigación va a la fuente misma del pensamiento político kantiano, para mostrar cómo su concepción republicana se funda en lo que él llama el uso reflexionante de la razón. Para ello, se ha dividido en tres partes: en la primera se señala cómo el pensamiento político kantiano no se funda en el uso teórico ni práctico de la razón, sino en su uso reflexionante, al mismo tiempo que se señalan sus características. En la segunda se (...) desarrolla el pensamiento filosófico político kantiano, teniendo como eje articulador su idea de republicanismo de un pueblo de demonios. Y, finalmente, en la tercera, se muestra cómo, a partir de su concepción reflexionante, puede ser pensada una acción política en el mundo contemporáneo, insinuando su oposición a todo pensamiento revolucionario, dogmático tradicionalista o moralista, que no considere los límites “estructurales” propios de la capacidad moral particular de los seres humanos. (shrink)

This study examines whether character strengths predict resilience (operationalized as stable or higher mental health and subjective well-being despite an adverse event) over a period of approximately one month during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Spain. Using a longitudinal design, participants (N = 348 adults) completed online measures of sociodemographic data, information regarding their situation in relation to the COVID-19, character strengths, general mental health, life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect. All variables were measured at Time 1 and Time (...) 2, except for sociodemographic and most COVID-related information (Time 1 only). Time 1 data collection was conducted between March 21, 2020 and April 2, 2020, i.e., approximately the second week of lockdown in Spain. Time 2 data collection was conducted between April 24, 2020 and May 18, 2020, after the Spanish government announced ita intention to progressively release the lockdown. A principal component analysis of character strengths was conducted. Five character strength factors were extracted: fortitude, goodness, intellectual, interpersonal, and restraint. Factor structures at Times 1 and 2 were highly consistent. All character strength factors at Time 1 correlated positively with life satisfaction and positive affect, and negatively with negative affect and mental health at T2 (higher scores in the mental health measure indicate poorer mental health). Fortitude strengths showed the highest correlations. We conducted a series of regression analyses with strength factors at Time 1 as predictors, and mental health, life satisfaction, and positive and negative affect as dependent variables, controlling for their baseline levels. To test the directionality of the relationship between strengths and the dependent variables, all analyses were reversed. All character strength factors predicted an increase in mental health. They also predicted positive affect, with the exception of strengths of restraint. Fortitude, intellectual and interpersonal strengths predicted an increase in life satisfaction. Finally, fortitude strengths, interpersonal strengths, and strengths of restraint, predicted a decrease in negative affect. None of the reversed analyses yielded significant effects. Limitations, implications, and possible character strengths-based interventions aimed at promoting mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed. (shrink)

Partiendo del reconocimiento de la alteridad y heterogeneidad como parte constitutiva de la sociedad, se encuentra en la educación inclusiva una manera de construir condiciones para hacer posible la integración de lo diverso. El aprendizaje de la filosofía no escapa a este gran reto, adquiriendo relevancia la pregunta por sus sentidos y dinámicas en un caso con una persona con una deficiencia cognitiva como el Alzheimer, en el que se toma el contexto familiar como un espacio pedagógico desde el que (...) se proponen estrategias que respondan a las necesidades de inclusión. Se utiliza entonces la fotografía como estrategia hermenéutica para comprender la perspectiva del “otro” e interpretarla por medio de la creación de obra. Este proceso de apropiación lleva a una reflexividad y autocomprensión que termina por transformar, tanto la relación cuidadora-adulto mayor, como los conceptos de los sujetos implicados, volviendo, efectivamente, toda esta experiencia en general, una oportunidad de aprendizaje filosófico. (shrink)

The Los Angeles radio personality and bicognitive science founder outlines training steps for developing "worthiness-consciousness" and overcoming self-sabotaging beliefs to transform one's health and relationships.

Research on grammatical gender processing has generally assumed that grammatical gender can be treated as a uniform construct, resulting in a body of literature in which different gender classes are collapsed into single analyses. The present work reviews linguistic, psycholinguistic, and neurolinguistic research on grammatical gender from different methodologies and across different profiles of Spanish speakers. Specifically, we examine distributional asymmetries between masculine and feminine grammatical gender, the resulting biases in gender assignment, and the consequences of these assignment strategies on (...) gender expectancy and processing. We discuss the implications of the findings for the design of future gender processing studies and, more broadly, for our understanding of the potential differences in the processing reflexes of grammatical gender classes within and across languages. (shrink)

This paper presents two formation tracking control strategies for a combined set of single and double integrator agents with an arbitrary undirected communication topology. The first approach is based on the design of distance-based potential functions with interagent collision avoidance using local information about the distance and orientation between agents and the desired trajectory. The second approach adds signed area constraints to the desired formation specification and a control strategy that uses distance as well as area terms is designed to (...) achieve tracking convergence. Numerical simulations show the performance from both control laws. (shrink)

Traditionally, psychologists have utilized rather large-grain, macro units to clarify and measure cognition. Favored units include psychometric factors (e.g., IQ,verbal ability, quantitative ability) and categories of cognition (e.g., inductive reasoning, inference, mental rotation). In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that specific language concepts can complement psychometric factors and cognitive categories as distinguishable units of human intelligence. We found that productive use of specific language in persuasive essays predicted cognitive ability scores on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). A simple sum (...) of specific words used (ranging from 0 to 7) correlated with cognitive factors almost as highly as the ability tests intercorrelated. The proposed model speculates that, as semiotic signs, discrete language concepts compose in part the cultural heritage passed on with modification from generation to the next. Moreover, in contrast to other units of analysis, cognitive tools in the form of specific language are teachable in a direct and deliberate manner as one function of education. (shrink)

This study explores the efficacy of a specific tool – the articulation of the ideal self – in job engagement, psychological well-being, and organizational citizenship behavior. We hypothesized that employees who can visualize their jobs as part of their ideal self – in particular how it helps in its development and realization – would feel higher levels of engagement and fulfillment in their lives, as well as engage in greater amounts of helping and voice OCB. A total of 239 full (...) time employees from five companies in Costa Rica filled out the ideal self questionnaire, the job engagement, and psychological well-being surveys, and were evaluated by their peers on task behavior and helping and voice OCB. Results of the SEM model showed that the ideal self was positively related to job engagement, psychological well-being and helping and voice. These findings contribute to the research on the impact and importance for organizations to help employees find meaningfulness in their work. (shrink)

Marta Suria writes *Ella soy yo* as part of her response to the irruption of the memories of the sexual aggressions she had suffered since childhood. She is convinced that the way she narrates her experience will transform and liberate her. How is it at all possible that a certain kind of narrative may transform and li- berate us? In this paper, we will first describe the conception of the relationship between language and experience that lies behind this perplexity and, (...) secondly, we will sketch an alternative conception that will hopefully allow us to account for the transformative power of certain kinds of narratives. This alternative conception will hinge on the idea of expression and on the concept of aspect perception. For this purpose, we will firstly argue that language can be used not only to describe or evaluate our experience, but also to express it; we will, then, defend the view that linguistic or gestural expressions of our experiences not only announce or manifest them, but contribute to shaping and modulating them; finally, we will highlight the transformative, humanizing power of certain expressive uses of language. (shrink)

Background: The field of voice and speech analysis has become increasingly popular over the last 10 years, and articles on its use in detecting neurodegenerative diseases have proliferated. Many studies have identified characteristic speech features that can be used to draw an accurate distinction between healthy aging among older people and those with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Speech analysis has been singled out as a cost-effective and reliable method for detecting the presence of both conditions. In this research, (...) a systematic review was conducted to determine these features and their diagnostic accuracy.Methods: Peer-reviewed literature was located across multiple databases, involving studies that apply new procedures of automatic speech analysis to collect behavioral evidence of linguistic impairments along with their diagnostic accuracy on Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment. The risk of bias was assessed by using JBI and QUADAS-2 checklists.Results: Thirty-five papers met the inclusion criteria; of these, 11 were descriptive studies that either identified voice features or explored their cognitive correlates, and the rest were diagnostic studies. Overall, the studies were of good quality and presented solid evidence of the usefulness of this technique. The distinctive acoustic and rhythmic features found are gathered. Most studies record a diagnostic accuracy over 88% for Alzheimer's and 80% for mild cognitive impairment.Conclusion: Automatic speech analysis is a promising tool for diagnosing mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. The reported features seem to be indicators of the cognitive changes in older people. The specific features and the cognitive changes involved could be the subject of further research. (shrink)

Traditionally, psychologists have utilized rather large-grain, macro units to clarify and measure cognition. Favored units include psychometric factors (e.g., IQ,verbal ability, quantitative ability) and categories of cognition (e.g., inductive reasoning, inference, mental rotation). In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that specific language concepts can complement psychometric factors and cognitive categories as distinguishable units of human intelligence. We found that productive use of specific language in persuasive essays predicted cognitive ability scores on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). A simple sum (...) of specific words used (ranging from 0 to 7) correlated with cognitive factors almost as highly as the ability tests intercorrelated. The proposed model speculates that, as semiotic signs, discrete language concepts compose in part the cultural heritage passed on with modification from generation to the next. Moreover, in contrast to other units of analysis, cognitive tools in the form of specific language are teachable in a direct and deliberate manner as one function of education. (shrink)

The biocognitive theory presented in this paper offers an alternative to the attribution of cause perpetuated by the life sciences in our western culture. Historically, biology has based its epistemology on physics to understand life, whereas cognitive science has grounded its ontology in a convergence of biology, physics, and philosophy to provide models of self that range from a passive acceptance of an outside world to the active creation of an inner world. While Newtonian physics has served us well in (...) the physical sciences, the life sciences continue to embrace the limitations of its reductionism without advancing to the more inclusive concepts offered by complexity and quantum theories. As long as the biological and cognitive sciences remain married to Newtonian physics and Cartesian philosophy, mind will be relegated to an epiphenomenon of biology that will continue to separate cognitive processes from biological functions. Rather than choosing between upward causality that explains cause from the simplest level of the organism and downward causality that explains it from the most complex to the simplest, biocognitive theory offers contextual coemergence where the simultaneous resonance between fields of bioinformation is the genesis of cause. In this model of coemergent causality, cognition, biology, and cultural history are viewed as biocognitions that communicate within a bioinformational field that has both linear processes in Euclidian geometry and non-linear processes in fractal geometry. Because of the simultaneous and reciprocal nature of mind and body communication, it is argued that biology creates thought and thought creates biology. Just as mind and body cannot be separated, to attempt a separation of mind and world would create an artificial split between observer and observation that assumes we can “step out” of the world we are attempting to observe. (shrink)

Neuropsychologist Mario Martinez is a pioneer in the science of the mindbody--his term for that essential oneness of cognition and biology--and a passionate advocate for its power to reshape our lives, if we work with it consciously. In The MindBody Self, he builds on the foundation he laid in... MindBody Code to explore the cultural conditions that coauthor our reality and shape every aspect of our lives, from health and longevity to relationships and self-esteem. Then he offers practical tools (...) we can use to shed outworn patterns and create sustainable change. You'll read about: How our cultural beliefs affect the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease; The difference between growing older (which we all do) and "aging" by our culture's standards (which we can learn not to do); What happens when we move "beyond the pale" of our tribe's expectations; How to navigate adversity using uncertainty as a guide; Biocognitive tools for a healthy life. (shrink)

This paper introduces a novel perspective on Agentive Cognitive Construction Grammar (AgCCxG) by examining the intricate interplay between mind and language through the lens of both Active Inference and Peircean semiotics. AgCCxG emphasizes the impact of intention and purpose on linguistic choices as a cognitive imperative to balance the symbolic Self (Intelligent Agent) with the dynamics of the environment. Among other things, the paper posits that linguistic constructions, particularly Constructional Attachment Patterns (CAPs), like argument structure constructions, embody experienced interactions with (...) the world through reenactment routines via the integration of multisensory channels. Unlike traditional usage-based approaches (e.g., construction grammars), AgCCxG embraces a robust theory of signs that reveals human representation as a continuous process of semiotic hybridization for the creative prediction of uncertain scenarios. Importantly, the paper challenges the notion of the mind as a unified, rational, uncertainty-reducing machine by asserting that physical processes governing open biological systems profoundly influence the linguistic sign system. Intelligent agents’ adaptability in expressing incongruous realities thus highlights the role of semiotic hybridization in preserving an agent’s autonomy and semiotic boundary. (shrink)

The current study aimed to investigate the extent to which familial history of reading and math difficulties have an impact on children’s academic outcomes within a 3-year longitudinal study, which evaluated their core reading and math skills after first and second grades, as well as performance on complex academic tasks after second and third grades. At baseline, parents were asked to complete the Adult Reading History Questionnaire and its adaption, Adult Math History Questionnaire, to index familial history of reading and (...) math difficulties, respectively. Preliminary findings established the psychometric properties of the AMHQ, suggesting that it is a reliable and valid scale. Correlation analyses indicated that the ARHQ was negatively associated with children’s reading skills, whereas the AMHQ was negatively related to math outcomes. Path results revealed that the ARHQ predicted children’s performance on complex reading tasks indirectly via their core reading skills, and the AMHQ was linked to complex math outcomes indirectly via core math abilities. The ARHQ was also found to be negatively correlated with measures of children’s math performance, with path findings suggesting that these relations were indirectly explained by differences in their core reading skills. These results suggest that assessing familial risk for academic difficulties may be crucial to understanding comorbid etiological and developmental associations between reading and math differences. (shrink)

Renal replacement therapy is the indicated treatment for individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) to survive. However, not all sick people have access to the same treatment. This study compares renal care in two developing countries with different health systems. Specifically, it explores hemodialysis treatment from the perspective of low‐income individuals. A qualitative, comparative study was performed in Brazil and Mexico. Using purposive sampling, the research was based on open‐ended interviews with nineteen participants with kidney failure undergoing hemodialysis treatment in (...) public hospitals and ten relatives. According to our results, Brazilian participants perceived hemodialysis care as satisfactory because of health personnel courtesy as well as free access to dialysis treatment, prescription drugs, hospitalization and transportation. However, they reported deficiencies in the care they were receiving due to shortages of specialists, prescription drugs, laboratory tests and transportation. Mexican participants, in contrast, highlighted the catastrophic costs of medical care because they had no free access to renal therapy, nor adequate financial resources. Our findings suggest that low‐income Brazilian CKD sufferers experience renal care differently, as they are more satisfied and face less obstacles with hemodialysis compared with those of Mexico. More studies on the topic are needed. (shrink)

La bifacialidad de la hipóstasis nodal (noûs, psyché) en el régimen de emanación neoplatónico, recabada en clave antropológica, impregna el pensamiento occidental como expresión de la doble faceta de la razón: facies cognoscitiva/ad infra e idealizadora/ad supra. El noúmeno se erige en límite ideal de conocimiento para la progresión de la razón hacia lo incondicionado, con valor, entonces, no cognoscitivo sino regulativo. Sobre esa tesis kantiana versal, la irrealidad de lo cognoscible en su comisión objetiva (la objetualidad de lo sólo (...) óntico transluce su ontologización como irreal - fenomenológico) y la transfenomenalidad del en sí agostado en la apariencia (despliegue del ser en el espectro completo de manifestaciones ante conciencia que detrae la realidad al noúmeno, relegado a mera ficción), el libro ensaya patrones de lectura del hiato objeto - sujeto, procurando cauces a la metafísica e imponiendo barreras indelebles a la ciencia, en un recorrido que arranca en el mythos y en la anáfora filogenética del enigma de Edipo. La topología freudiana del aparato psíquico servirá de base para una división de las edades del espíritu que reelabora la propuesta de Comte, asociando el super - yo a la era teocrática de prominencia de la faz acognitiva (vivencia del noúmeno como realidad metafísica significativa en sí misma, no puro ideal, con la jerarquía y envolturas del mundo medio como consecuencia sociológica y el supra - egocidium místico, implosión del superyo decisiva para el renacer -teorema de Thomas-), el yo a la era crítica (inflación utópico - normativa del noúmeno y restrictiva adhesión epistemológica a lo fenoménico en una época que conserva la ilusión transcendental), ambas, etapas de bipolaridad con quiásmica descompensación facial, y el ello, en fin, al orden positivista unifacial surgente con la revolución industrial y el vitalismo que, en sus directrices primarias, sanciona el estatuto canónico del noúmeno, abonándose al fenómeno y abrazando la inmanencia como única solución de fe. (shrink)