A theory of magnitudes involves criteria for their equivalence, comparison and addition. In this article we examine these aspects from an abstract viewpoint, by focusing on the so-called De Zolt’s postulate in the theory of equivalence of plane polygons (“If a polygon is divided into polygonal parts in any given way, then the union of all but one of these parts is not equivalent to the given polygon”). We formulate an abstract version of this postulate and derive it from some (...) selected principles for magnitudes. We also formulate and derive an abstract version of Euclid’s Common Notion 5 (“The whole is greater than the part”), and analyze its logical relation to the former proposition. These results prove to be relevant for the clarification of some key conceptual aspects of Hilbert’s proof of De Zolt’s postulate, in his classicalFoundations of Geometry(1899). Furthermore, our abstract treatment of this central proposition provides interesting insights for the development of a well-behaved theory ofcompatiblemagnitudes. (shrink)

This paper analyzes the theory of area developed by Euclid in the Elements and its modern reinterpretation in Hilbert’s influential monograph Foundations of Geometry. Particular attention is bestowed upon the role that two specific principles play in these theories, namely the famous common notion 5 and the geometrical proposition known as De Zolt’s postulate. On the one hand, we argue that an adequate elucidation of how these two principles are conceptually related in the theories of Euclid and Hilbert is highly (...) relevant for a better understanding of the respective geometrical practices. On the other hand, we claim that these conceptual relations unveil interesting issues between the two main contemporary approaches to the study of area of plane rectilinear figures, i.e., the geometrical approach consisting in the geometrical theory of equivalence and the metrical approach based on the notion of measure of area. Finally, in an appendix logical relations among equivalence, comparison and addition of magnitudes are examined schematically in an abstract setting. (shrink)

Many natural connections between Peirce and Whitehead have been appearing since Peirce’s manuscripts began to be published in Harvard’s Collected Papers edition. The resemblances are profound, based on speculative philosophies founded on interactions between science and philosophy, in turn erected over a wide understanding of mathematical thought. Some doctoral dissertations have explored the field, but a full monograph was still needed in order to clarify the panorama. Maria Regina Brioschi’s Creativity Between Experience and Cosmos. C.S. Peirce and A.N. Whitehead on (...) Novelty provides the sound, exact, and extremely... (shrink)

En un artículo anterior, titulado «Del Diálogo del Guerrero al Diálogo del Hogar: para una fenomenología de los celos» y en homenaje a Ricardo Sánchez Ortiz de Urbina, concluía que el amor y los celos forman el arranque mismo de la condición humana en su dimensión del exceso: no es la dualidad discreta Amor/Odio la expresión de la base y el fundamento de los afectos, sino la dualidad continua Amor/Celos. Las preguntas surgen de suyo: ¿con qué concepto quedaría vinculado por (...) continuidad y exceso el odio? ¿Y cuál es la posición que le corresponde al odio respecto del amor? A partir de un comentario de Maimónides —en el que vincula la enemistad con el odio y del que sólo el conocimiento de la verdad puede alejarnos—, argumentaré que el odio es generado por la crítica, por el saber crítico, que destruye la verdad absoluta. Y propondré un cuadro semiótico-topológico explicativo con ejemplos literarios e históricos. (shrink)

A theory of magnitudes involves criteria for their comparison, equivalence and addition. We examine these aspects from an abstract viewpoint, stressing independence and definability. These considerations are triggered by the so-called De Zolt’s principle in the theory of equivalence of plane polygons.

Aristotelian virtue is the source of the soul’s best actions and passions. It can compel us to do the best acts and doings, always in a better way. Aristotelian virtue helps us to act under the right reasoning, which is elected from an intellectual disposition called prudence, which is in charge of uniting knowledge and action. Aristotle says one can learn to be virtuous through exercising good habits, with formation, experience and time to do such an exercise. Besides, actions according (...) to virtue will be nice by themselves, if a virtuous man judges righteously. This is precisely the root of good living and good acting for Aristotle. The activities performed by a good man are, then and by themselves, good, nice and happy, and are also related to virtue and to the actions of a virtuous man. This paper aims at analyzing virtue as a pathway to happiness, the actions to achieve it and to describe some intellectual and moral virtues established within the moral philosophy of this thinker. (shrink)

IntroductionThis study aimed to evaluate, in adults with mild cognitive impairment, the brain atrophy that may distinguish between three AT biomarker-based profiles, and to determine its clinical value.MethodsStructural MRI was employed to evaluate the volume and cortical thickness differences in MCI patients with different AT profiles, namely, A−T−−: normal AD biomarkers; A+T−−: AD pathologic change; and A+T++: prodromal AD. Sensitivity and specificity of these changes were also estimated.ResultsAn initial atrophy in medial temporal lobe areas was found in the A+T−− and (...) A+T++ groups, spreading toward the parietal and frontal regions in A+T++ patients. These structural changes allowed distinguishing AT profiles within the AD continuum; however, the profiles and their pattern of neurodegeneration were unsuccessful to determine the current clinical status.ConclusionsMRI is useful in the determination of the specific brain structural changes of AT profiles along the AD continuum, allowing differentiation between MCI adults with or without pathological AD biomarkers. (shrink)

This study explores Big Data practices at Facebook through an investigation of the role of commensuration or ‘the transformation of different qualities into a common metric’ in the structuration of analysis and interaction with a major online social media platform. It proposes a conceptual framework and demonstrates the empirical potential of a pragmatic approach based on reading published materials and available documentation. Facebook’s Data Warehousing and Analytics Infrastructure serves as an illustrative example to begin tracing out and describe data assemblages (...) in more detail. In being attentive to the motivations, drivers and challenges engineers face when dealing with Big Data, it is argued that their solutions can enable and support but also constrain specific analytical and transactional capabilities or data flows between various devices and actors. The analysis thus moves beyond methodological critiques of the utility of Big Data that lack empirical support and specificity. It is further argued that analytics not just describe but also actively participate in the enactment of social worlds, thereby opening possibilities for new markets or market segments to arise. Online sociality accounts for a model of the social that makes it visible and measurable qua markets inviting data recontextualisation and the creation of value along multiple axes. Contra Facebook’s claim to make the web more ‘social’, an investigation of commensuration brings to the fore the question how the social is accounted for in the first place. (shrink)

Coloquio "Con Arreglo a Esta Opinión Trabajaremos. A 50 Años de la Revista Pensamiento Crítico" (Casa Cultural de ALBA, La Habana, 21 de febrero de 2017) -- La Rebeldia es la Adultez de la Cultura. Mesa Homenaje a Fernando Martínez Heredia (Centro de Investigación Cultural Juan Marinello, 22 de junio de 2017).

Since Seligman's 1971 statement that the vast majority of phobias are about objects essential to the survival of a species, a multitude of laboratory studies followed, supporting the finding that humans learn to fear and detect snakes (and other animals) faster than other stimuli. Most of these studies used schematic drawings, images, or pictures of snakes, and only a small amount of fieldwork in naturalistic environments was done. We address fear preparedness theories, and automatic fast detection data from mainstream laboratory (...) data and compares it with ethobehavioural information relative to snakes, predator-prey interaction, and snakes’ defensive kinematics strikes in order to analyse their potential matching. From this analysis four main findings arose, namely that: 1) Snakebites occur when people are very close to the snake and are unaware or unable to escape the bite; 2) Human visual detection and escape response is slow compared to the speed of snake strikes; 3) In natural environments, snake experts are often unable to see snakes existing nearby; 4) animate objects in general capture more attention over other stimuli and dangerous but recent objects in evolutionary terms are also able to be detected fast. The issues mentioned above pose several challenges to evolutionary psychology-based theories expecting to find special-purpose neural modules. The older selective habituation hypothesis (Schleidt, 1961), that prey animals start with a rather general predator image from which specific harmless cues are removed by habituation might deserve reconsideration. (shrink)

The problems of the contemporary state of social science and their elucidation on the pages of the journal Voprosy filosofii were the focal points of a readers' conference organized on May 23, 1986, by the Azerbaidzhan Section of the USSR Philosophical Society and the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaidzhan SSR. Representatives of Baku's philosophical community as well as the editor-in-chief of the journal, V. S. Semenov, participated in the conference.

On educational philosophy in Puranas, Hindu mythological classics.

Il n’y a de faits, de connaissance d’autrui et de soi-même, bref, il n’y a pas de monde sans interprétation. C’est la thèse que défend l’auteur de Langage, signes et interprétation. Il se propose de mettre en lumière les fondements interprétatifs de toutes formes de connaissances, de la communication, du rapport au monde et à l’action dans le monde vécu, la science, l’éthique, la logique et l’art. Dans la double mesure où toutes les sciences, tous les arts et toutes les (...) actions s’accomplissent dans des signes linguistiques et non linguistiques et où ils sont toujours, par suite, déjà rapportés aux processus d’interprétation, on peut faire appel, dans ces domaines, à l’approche de l’interprétation pour analyser les fondements et les rapports interdisciplinaires. (shrink)

Materialismo dialético, luta de classes e insights filosóficos sobre a educação a partir de Slavoj Žižek Resumo: O artigo aborda a concepção de luta de classes no atual cenário histórico, político e social. O dogma das democracias ocidentais sugere que vivemos numa era pós-ideológica. Isso implica que não há mais espaço para a ideia de luta de classes. Contudo, segundo Žižek, é esse discurso que deve ser enquadrado no campo ideológico. Žižek retoma o conceito de materialismo dialético a fim de (...) demonstrar a contradição interna ao campo ideológico de nossa sociedade dita pós-ideológica. Nesse momento, o conceito de luta de classes retorna à cena. A luta de classes não consiste num antagonismo entre dois polos num espaço comum, mas na fissura inerente ao próprio espaço. Para desenvolver o tema, cabe, antes, abordar o conceito de materialismo teológico de Walter Benjamin, que fundamenta, substancialmente, o conceito de materialismo dialético de Žižek. Importante, igualmente, retomar uma reflexão sobre o conceito de pulsão de morte em Freud, já que tal conceito exprime exatamente a fissura interna à realidade que condiciona a luta de classes. Convém, ademais, compreender como a ideia de educação pode ser pensada a partir da contradição que mobiliza a luta de classes.Palavras-chaves: Materialismo dialético. Luta de classes. Ideologia. Educação. Dialetic materialism, class struggle and philosophical insights on education from Slavoj Žižek: The article discusses the concept of class struggle in the current historical, political and social scenario. The dogma of Western democracies suggests that we live in a post-ideological era. This implies that there is no longer any room for the idea of ​​class struggle. However, according to Žižek, it is this discourse that must be framed in the ideological domain. Žižek takes up the concept of dialectical materialism in order to demonstrate the internal contradiction to the ideological field of our so-called post-ideological society. At this point, the concept of class struggle returns to the scene. The class struggle does not consist of an antagonism between two poles in a common space, but in the fissure inherent in the space itself. To develop the theme, it is first necessary to approach Walter Benjamin's concept of theological materialism, which substantially supports Žižek's concept of dialectical materialism. It is also important to resume a reflection on the concept of the death instinct in Freud, because this concept expresses exactly the internal fissure in reality which conditions the class struggle. In addition, it is important to understand how the idea of ​​education can be thought of from the contradiction that mobilizes the class struggle.Keywords: Dialectical materialism. Class struggle. Ideology. Education. Matérialisme dialetique, lutte de classe et insights philosophiques sur l'éducation de Slavoj Zižek Résumé: L'article aborde le concept de lutte des classes dans le scénario historique, politique et social actuel. Le dogme des démocraties Occidentales sugère que nous vivons à une époque post-idéologique. Cela implique qu'il n'y a plus de place pour l'idée de lutte de classe. Cependant, selon Žižek, c'est ce discours qui doit être cadré dans le domaine idéologique. Žižek reprend le concept de matérialisme dialectique afin de démontrer la contradiction interne au champ idéologique de notre soi-disant société post-idéologique. À ce moment, le concept de lutte des classes revient sur la scène. La lutte des classes ne consiste pas en un antagonisme entre deux pôles dans un espace commun, mais dans la fissure inhérente à l'espace lui-même. Pour développer le thème, il est d'abord nécessaire d'approcher le concept de matérialisme théologique de Walter Benjamin, qui étaye substantiellement le concept de matérialisme dialectique de Žižek. Il est également important de reprendre une réflexion sur le concept d'instinct de mort chez Freud, car ce concept exprime exactement la fissure interne à la réalité qui conditionne la lutte des classes. En outre, il est important de comprendre comment l'idée de l'éducation peut être pensée à partir de la contradiction qui mobilise la lutte des classes.Mots-clés: Matérialisme dialectique. Lutte des classes. Idéologie. Éducation. Data de registro: 09/02/2020Data de aceite: 28/08/2020. (shrink)

Hegels Auffassung vom Subjekt und von dessen Verhältnis zur Sprache ergibt eine gegenüber allen seinen Vordenkern neue Konzeption der Philosophie und der Aufgabe des Denkens überhaupt. Die Frage gilt nicht mehr der Erkenntnis der Prinzipien, die unserem Denken als das "Vorausseyende" zugrunde liegen, sondern in der Wissenschaft der Logik geht es um die Aufdeckung der Weise, in der sich das Vorgefundene im begreifenden Denken als das Wirkliche manifestiert. Die Vorstellungen machen sowohl für Kant als auch für Hegel den Stoff aus, (...) den das Denken zu verarbeiten hat. Der bei Kant noch vage und ambivalente Begriff von Vorstellung wird aber bei Hegel erheblich präziser: Als die Mitte zwischen der Anschauung und dem Denken ist die Vorstellung auf Versprachlichung angelegt und als Sprache aufzufassen: Die Produkte der Vorstellung (d.i. die Zeichen) haben als anschauliche Gebilde gegenständliche Existenz und Wirklichkeit. Auf diesem wirklichen Charakter der Produkte des Vorstellens basiert bei Hegel die schließliche Gleichsetzung des Wirklichen und des Denkens: "Das was ist zu begreifen, ist die Aufgabe der Philosophie, denn das was ist, ist die Vernunft". (shrink)

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has created ethical challenges for intensive care unit professionals, potentially causing moral distress. This study explored the levels and causes of moral distress and the ethical climate in Dutch ICUs during COVID-19.MethodsAn extended version of the Measurement of Moral Distress for Healthcare Professionals and Ethical Decision Making Climate Questionnaire were online distributed among all 84 ICUs. Moral distress scores in nurses and intensivists were compared with the historical control group one year before COVID-19. ResultsThree hundred forty-five nurses, (...) 40 intensivists, and 103 supporting staff completed the survey. Moral distress levels were higher for nurses than supporting staff. Moral distress levels in intensivists did not differ significantly from those of nurses and supporting staff. “Inadequate emotional support for patients and their families” was the highest-ranked cause of moral distress for all groups of professionals. Of all factors, all professions rated the ethical climate most positively regarding the culture of mutual respect, ethical awareness and support. “Culture of not avoiding end-of-life-decisions” and “Self-reflective and empowering leadership” received the lowest mean scores. Moral distress scores during COVID-19 were significantly lower for ICU nurses and intensivists compared to one year prior.ConclusionLevels and causes of moral distress vary between ICU professionals and differ from the historical control group. Targeted interventions that address moral distress during a crisis are desirable to improve the mental health and retention of ICU professionals and the quality of patient care. (shrink)

Reichenbachian approaches to indexicality contend that indexicals are "token-reflexives": semantic rules associated with any given indexical-type determine the truth-conditional import of properly produced tokens of that type relative to certain relational properties of those tokens. Such a view may be understood as sharing the main tenets of Kaplan's well-known theory regarding content, or truth-conditions, but differs from it regarding the nature of the linguistic meaning of indexicals and also regarding the bearers of truth-conditional import and truth-conditions. Kaplan has criticized these (...) approaches on different counts, the most damaging of which is that they make impossible a "logic of demonstratives". The reason for this is that the token-reflexive approach entails that not two tokens of the same sentential type including indexicals are guaranteed to have the same truth-conditions. In this paper I rebut this and other criticisms of the Reichenbachian approach. Additionally, I point out that Kaplan's original theory of "true demonstratives" is empirically inadequate, and claim that any modification capable of accurately handling the linguistic data would have similar problems to those attributed to the Reichenbachian approach. This is intended to show that the difficulties, no matter how real, are not caused by idiosincracies of the "token-reflexive" view, but by deep facts about indexicality. (shrink)

G. E. Moore famously observed that to assert ‘I went to the pictures last Tuesday but I do not believe that I did’ would be ‘absurd’. Moore calls it a ‘paradox’ that this absurdity persists despite the fact that what I say about myself might be true. Krista Lawlor and John Perry have proposed an explanation of the absurdity that confines itself to semantic notions while eschewing pragmatic ones. We argue that this explanation faces four objections. We give a better (...) explanation of the absurdity both in assertion and in belief that avoids our four objections. (shrink)

Many psychological studies of categorization and reasoning use undergraduates to make claims about human conceptualization. Generalizability of findings to other populations is often assumed but rarely tested. Even when comparative studies are conducted, it may be challenging to interpret differences. As a partial remedy, in the present studies we adopt a 'triangulation strategy' to evaluate the ways expertise and culturally different belief systems can lead to different ways of conceptualizing the biological world. We use three groups (US bird experts, US (...) undergraduates, and ordinary Itza' Maya) and two sets of birds (North American and Central American). Categorization tasks show considerable similarity among the three groups' taxonomic sorts, but also systematic differences. Notably, US expert categorization is more similar to Itza' than to US novice categorization. The differences are magnified on inductive reasoning tasks where only undergraduates show patterns of judgment that are largely consistent with current models of category-based taxonomic inference. The Maya commonly employ causal and ecological reasoning rather than taxonomic reasoning. Experts use a mixture of strategies (including causal and ecological reasoning), only some of which current models explain. US and Itza' informants differed markedly when reasoning about passerines (songbirds), reflecting the somewhat different role that songbirds play in the two cultures. The results call into question the importance of similarity-based notions of typicality and central tendency in natural categorization and reasoning. These findings also show that relative expertise leads to a convergence of thought that transcends cultural boundaries and shared experiences. (shrink)