Lejos de la interpretación de Leon Battista Alberti como prototipo del "hombre universal", GARIN ha reconocido el carácter contradictorio del pensamiento albertiano. En efecto, en la extensa y polifacética obra del humanista genovés coexisten dos visiones antagónicas del hombre y el mundo. A una le corresponde la confianza en la razón, a la otra la constatación del carácter absurdo de la existencia. Este Alberti "sombrío" se expresa en las páginas de Momus y las Intercenales. En ellas, la apelación a una (...) existencia simulada es abordada a través de una risa desacralizadora del ideal humano que alumbró el temprano Renacimiento italiano. Far from the interpretation of Leon Battista Alberti as a prototype of the "universal man", GARIN has analyzed the contradictory nature of Alberti's thought. In fact, in the extensive and versatile work of the Genoese humanist two opposite visions of man and the world coexist: one believes in the power of reason, the other acknowledges the absurdity of life. It is in Momus and the Intercenales that this "somber Alberti" is present. In these texts the appeal to a simulated life is addressed through a form of laughter that demystifies the human ideal of the early Italian Renaissance. (shrink)

La idea de que el cuerpo (σῶμα) es una tumba (σῆμα) donde el alma permanece encerrada cumpliendo un castigo por una antigua culpa es transmitida por Platón, quien la atribuye a los órficos. Filón de Alejandría utilizó en diversos pasajes de su obra esta metáfora de procedencia órfica. Nuestro interés consiste en analizar el sentido que Filón le asigna y el modo en que reelabora el significado que le fue asignado en la tradición órfica y en la interpretación platónica. Intentaremos (...) mostrar que Filón utiliza la metáfora de dos maneras distintas que manifiestan la fuerte ambivalencia existente en su pensamiento respecto de la valoración del cuerpo humano. The idea that the body (σῶμα) is a tomb (σῆμα) where the soul remains confined as a punishment for an ancient fault is transmitted by Plato, who attributes it to the orphics. Philo of Alexandria made use of this metaphor of orphic origin in various passages of his work. Our interest is to analyze the sense that Philo assigns to it and the way in which he reelaborates the meaning that was ascribed to it in orphic tradition and in the platonic interpretation. We will try to demonstrate that Philo uses the metaphor in two different ways that show the strong ambivalence existing in his thought with respect to the value of the human body. (shrink)

In this paper we propose an approach to multi-source belief revision where the trust or credibility assigned to informant agents can be revised. In our proposal, the credibility of each informant represented as a strict partial order among informant agents, will be maintained in a repository called credibility base. Upon arrival of new information concerning the credibility of its peers, an agent will be capable of revising this strict partial order, changing the trust assigned to its peers accordingly. Our goal (...) is to formalize a set of change operators over the credibility base: expansion, contraction, prioritized, and non-prioritized revision. These operators will provide the capability of dynamically modifying the credibility of informants considering the reliability of the information. This dynamics will reflect a new perception of trust assigned to the informant, or extend the set of informants by admitting the addition of new informant agents. (shrink)

An intelligent model of the incremental capacity curve of an automotive lithium-ferrophosphate battery is presented. The relative heights of the two major peaks of the IC curve can be acquired from high-current discharges, thus enabling the state of health estimation of the battery while the vehicle is being operated and in certain cases, aging mechanisms can be suggested. Our model has been validated using a large dataset representing different degradation scenarios, obtained from a recently available open-source database.

Luciano Floridi presents a book that will set the agenda for the philosophy of information. PI is the philosophical field concerned with the critical investigation of the conceptual nature and basic principles of information, including its dynamics, utilisation, and sciences, and the elaboration and application of information-theoretic and computational methodologies to philosophical problems. This book lays down, for the first time, the conceptual foundations for this new area of research. It does so systematically, by pursuing three goals. Its metatheoretical (...) goal is to describe what the philosophy of information is, its problems, approaches, and methods. Its introductory goal is to help the reader to gain a better grasp of the complex and multifarious nature of the various concepts and phenomena related to information. Its analytic goal is to answer several key theoretical questions of great philosophical interest, arising from the investigation of semantic information. (shrink)

This paper substitutes a structural hermeneutics for the sequential approach to the Tractatus and its manuscript, which leaves the manuscript completely unexplained. All the pieces come together only if we recognise that Wittgenstein's book is a hierarchical object that was composed following a top-down strategy. Therefore, we realise that the “summary on scattered sheets” represents the perspicuous version of the manuscript, the correlations with the Notebooks become obvious and the “supplements” can be reconstructed. A correct dating of the composition allows (...) us to understand how it was possible, without digital technologies except from an ingenious application of the decimal system, to achieve this formal masterpiece. (shrink)

This work fulfills the need for a conceptual and technical framework to improve understanding of Information Quality (IQ) and Information Quality standards. The meaning and practical implementation of IQ are addressed, as it is relevant to any field where there is a need to handle data and issues such as accessibility, accuracy, completeness, currency, integrity, reliability, timeliness, usability, the role of metrics and so forth are all a part of Information Quality. -/- In order to support the cross-fertilization of theory (...) and practice, the latest research is presented in this book. The perspectives of experts from beyond the origins of IQ in computer science are included: library and information science practitioners and academics, philosophers of information, of engineering and technology, and of science are all contributors to this volume. -/- The chapters in this volume are based on the work of a collaborative research project involving the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Google and led by Professor Luciano Floridi, University of Oxford. -/- This work will be of interest to anyone handling data, including those from commercial, public, governmental and academic organizations. The expert editors’ contributions introduce issues of interest to scientists, database curators and philosophers, even though the issues may be disguised in the language and examples common to a different discipline. (shrink)

This study investigates the antecedents of human rights infringements by emerging market firms. We used fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to examine HRIs in 245 firms based in eight emerging markets, between 2003 and 2012. Our findings disclose three equifinal configurations of high levels of HRIs, all involving EFs that have expanded to a high number of foreign markets: large, old, low performing state-owned enterprises operating in high quality institutions’ home and host markets, small, young, over-performing EFs operating in low (...) quality institutions’ home and host markets, and finally large, old, high performing SOEs, operating in low quality institutions’ home and host markets. We contribute to the literature by examining a novel dataset on HRIs by EFs, and by building a configurational explanation of HRIs that bridges the arguments of the institutional theory and strain theory literatures on corporate wrongdoing. (shrink)

This study examines how multinational corporations (MNCs) from the retail sector deal with four challenges they face when adopting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies: the challenge of developing well-performing CSR projects and programs, building competitive advantages based on CSR, responding to local stakeholder issues in the host countries and learning from different CSR experiences on a worldwide basis. Based on in-depth case studies of two globally leading retail MNCs (with strong operations in Latin America), the concept of Transverse CSR Management (...) emerged. Transverse CSR Management is defined as a distinctive form of organizational configuration that crosses different functional areas, country operations, and the boundaries of the firm. In particular, this article makes three main contributions: (1) we identify four central challenges faced by MNC managers when developing their CSR strategies; (2) we propose the concept of Transverse CSR Management to face these central challenges (together, at the same time) and identify its key elements (top management, external stakeholders, functional areas, and country subsidiaries); and (3) we propose four mechanisms (hierarchical, relational, cultural, and collaborative) through which the concept of Transverse CSR Management can be implemented by practicing managers. This study provides valuable insights for MNC managers in headquarters and subsidiaries on the issues they need to address in order to successfully deal with the four CSR-related challenges. (shrink)

O uso de drogas é complexo e multicausal com impactos para as pessoas, famílias e sociedade. Este estudo investigou legislações, políticas públicas e estratégias, que possam diminuir vulnerabilidades e contribuir para os ODS. Foi realizado levantamento documental, em legislações e documentos, para análise da realidade social, a partir das experiências profissionais, e ainda levantamento bibliográfico, na BVS e LILACS, de 2016 a 2018. Observou-se que o Estado se mantém disciplinador e entre as políticas mais relevantes estão a Redução de Danos, (...) os CAPS e o Consultório de Rua, marcadas pelo empirismo, obstáculos e desafios em relação à universalidade e equidade. Estratégias intersetoriais, podem ser utilizadas para se obter melhores condições de saúde e bem-estar, saneamento e água, educação, trabalho. A promoção da saúde corrobora na redução das vulnerabilidades e equidade, com maior sensibilização e qualificação dos profissionais das redes de atenção social, para acolher a população com competência e dignidade. (shrink)

If we read the Tractatus logico-philosophicus according to the decimal numbering of its propositions, we may understand, finally, the section about the self and the limits of language and world. Proposition 5.64 follows 5.63 (not 5.634); 5.634 follows 5.633 (not 5.6331); and so on. Thus, it becomes clear that the picture of the visual field (TLP 5.6331) cannot be what scholars have always quoted and discussed, i.e. a draft of an eye inside its field of sight. Actually, Wittgenstein’s original drafts (...) depict (to criticise it) the ordinary way of representing the visual field. Following him, the field of vision is ‘without limits’; it does not have a form that implies the existence of an eye, as far as the phenomenological experience does not have a form that implies the existence of an ‘I’. As a result, the current reproductions of the 5.6331 image must be rectified, and all references to this similitude should be radically amended. (shrink)

Inducement prizes have been long used to stimulate individuals and groups to accomplish diverse goals. Lately, governments have become more and more interested in these prizes and sought to include this kind of incentives within the set of policy tools available to promote science, technology, and innovation. To date, however, there has been little empirically-based scientific knowledge on how to design, manage, and evaluate innovation prizes. This note discusses aspects of the prize phenomenon and the opportunities and challenges related with (...) the use of innovation prizes as a government policy instrument. Compared to other incentive mechanisms, prizes are likely to present advantages to, for example, accelerate the development and commercialization of technologies that are held back for diverse reasons and help to leverage public money with external ideas, collaborative efforts, and the participation of diverse individuals and organizations. Still, despite these advantages and other interesting features of prizes, there are key questions that policy-makers and scholars must address to better understand this kind of incentives and further improve prize designs and implementations before governments move forward to a more widespread use of innovation prizes in science and technology policies. (shrink)

O uso de insetos para consumo por vezes é defendido alegando-se que tais animais: (1) são menos capazes de sofrer; (2) são pouco prejudicados com a morte; ou (3) deveriam ter um status moral menor (isto é, que deveriam receber uma menor consideração diante de danos equivalentes). Neste artigo desafiarei essas três alegações. Defenderei também que, mesmo que essas alegações fizessem sentido, delas não se segue que a exploração sobre insetos é justificável. Por fim, discutirei sobre o grau de importância (...) que deveríamos dar à situação dos insetos (e outros invertebrados) em geral. (shrink)

We propose a formal framework for interpretable machine learning. Combining elements from statistical learning, causal interventionism, and decision theory, we design an idealised explanation game in which players collaborate to find the best explanation for a given algorithmic prediction. Through an iterative procedure of questions and answers, the players establish a three-dimensional Pareto frontier that describes the optimal trade-offs between explanatory accuracy, simplicity, and relevance. Multiple rounds are played at different levels of abstraction, allowing the players to explore overlapping causal (...) patterns of variable granularity and scope. We characterise the conditions under which such a game is almost surely guaranteed to converge on a optimal explanation surface in polynomial time, and highlight obstacles that will tend to prevent the players from advancing beyond certain explanatory thresholds. The game serves a descriptive and a normative function, establishing a conceptual space in which to analyse and compare existing proposals, as well as design new and improved solutions. (shrink)

The philosophy of information (PI) is a new area of research with its own field of investigation and methodology. This article, based on the Herbert A. Simon Lecture of Computing and Philosophy I gave at Carnegie Mellon University in 2001, analyses the eighteen principal open problems in PI. Section 1 introduces the analysis by outlining Herbert Simon's approach to PI. Section 2 discusses some methodological considerations about what counts as a good philosophical problem. The discussion centers on Hilbert's famous analysis (...) of the central problems in mathematics. The rest of the article is devoted to the eighteen problems. These are organized into five sections: problems in the analysis of the concept of information, in semantics, in the study of intelligence, in the relation between information and nature, and in the investigation of values. (shrink)

This article argues that an ethical framework will help to harness the potential of AI while keeping humans in control.

Early Chinese thought enjoys a wide appeal, in the scholarly world as much as elsewhere, as people are keen on learning about the ideas of Confucius, Mencius, and other thinkers whose views have shaped traditional Chinese culture. In the study of early Chinese thought, emphasis has long been on what thinkers said, not on how they proffered their views. Even studies that do consider the how, tend to focus on logic and argumentation, rather than rhetoric. Fortunately, in the past few (...) decades growing attention has been paid to Chinese rhetoric which has led to an impressive number of publications. This work briefly outlines rhetoric in the West and in China. (shrink)

This paper presents a belief revision operator that considers time intervals for modelling norm change in the law. This approach relates techniques from belief revision formalisms and time intervals with temporalised rules for legal systems. Our goal is to formalise a temporalised belief base and corresponding timed derivation, together with a proper revision operator. This operator may remove rules when needed or adapt intervals of time when contradictory norms are added in the system. For the operator, both constructive definition and (...) an axiomatic characterisation by representation theorems are given. (shrink)

This paper introduces and studies a declarative framework for updating views over indefinite databases. An indefinite database is a database with null values that are represented, following the standard database approach, by a single null constant. Typically a database is represented by a single set of facts |$D$| that model what is known to be true. This paper proposes a model of an indefinite extensional database that is more expressive with respect to the closed-world assumption (CWA) adapted for the setting (...) of indefinite databases (Libkin, 1995, A semantics-based approach to design of query languages for partial information. In Semantics in Databases, vol. 1358 of LNCS, pp. 170–208. Springer; der Meyden, 1998, Logical approaches to incomplete information: a survey. In Logics for Databases and Information Systems, pp. 307–356. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA, USA). More specifically, in our model, databases are determined by two sets of facts: |$D$| representing, as usual, all facts that are true in the database, and |$E$| that is meant to represent exceptions to the ‘unknown range’, i.e. facts that cannot be unknown. Intuitively, unless they are explicitly implied to be true by the first set, the facts specified as exceptions are assumed false. The semantics is given by means of a two-level CWA tailored to the case of indefinite information. The paper characterizes the semantics of indefinite databases in terms of their possible worlds that are obtained by instantiating occurrences of null values by concrete constants and defines several classes of database repairs that realize view-update requests. Most notable is the class of constrained repairs. Constrained repairs change the database ‘minimally’and avoid making arbitrary commitments. They narrow down the space of alternative ways to fulfill the view-update request to those that are grounded, in a certain strong sense, in the database, the view and the view-update request. (shrink)

From Prototractatus to Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. The author aims to show that in the notebook in which Wittgenstein composed his Tractatus there is no discontinuity between the part published as ‘Prototractatus’ and the last few pages, not published because quite indistinguishable from the final work. The process by which the propositions are combined is homogeneous, following a rigorously top-down strategy: from the six main propositions on the first page to further levels of commentary and, finally, to the more detailed remarks of (...) the last stages. The puzzling chaos of the manuscript derives from his chronological recording of coherent interventions relating to the most different branches of the logic tree. In the first as in the final stage, these interventions were possible thanks to a ‘twin’ text, possibly organized on separate sheets of paper. Therefore, if we read the Tractatus by progressive levels of commentary, rather than sequentially, we then find the same progression of thought developed by Wittgenstein himself during the three years of compiling his manuscript. (shrink)

El presente trabajo propone un acercamiento a la identificación de las adscripciones de clase de los integrantes del movimiento por los derechos humanos en Argentina. Luego de constatar una integración policlasista del movimiento social, se centra en el predominio en su dirigencia y composición de integrantes de las clases medias y en ocasiones más específicamente de las clases de servicio. Primero se desarrollan algunas dimensiones subyacentes al concepto de “clase social”, para luego esbozar mediante diversos relevamientos la composición de distintos (...) organismos de derechos humanos. Finalmente, se concluye que si bien la adscripción de clase no fue determinante para la composición del movimiento, sí sentó las bases para una cultura política compartida y para la adopción de repertorios discursivos y de acción. (shrink)

En este ensayo se evidencia cómo la categoría de lo “apolineo” elaborada por Nietzsche es heredera de la visión tradicional de la Grecia serena dibujada por Winckelmann. De lo histórico del arte dedujo este carácter privilegiando la técnica escultórica como interpretación de la esencia de aquella cultura, mientras que Nietzsche la dedujo sobre todo de la mùsica. Sin embargo Apolo, así como Dionisos, producía un estado de posesión y se caracterizaba por su esencia violenta y a menudo mortífera. Con la (...) variante de una forma de adorcismo producido por diferentes ritmos e instrumentos, y que determinaba formas diferentes de sabiduría, esencialmente epistémica la de Apolo, sensitiva la de Dionisos. (shrink)

Con este ensayo el autor propone una crítica al actual principio de la necesidad de “raíces” para el ser humano. Esta expresión, que tendría que haber un carácter exclusivamente simbólico, en la cultura alemana romántica y post romántica, se hizo concreta. El hombre fue considerado un árbol, una planta y sus valores más elevados fueron expresados a través el peligroso binomio “Blut und Boden” (tierra y sangre). Por consecuencia se produjo una condena hacia el libre burgués, el ciudadano de la (...) nueva realidad urbana, y específcamente el Hebreo.Esto no quiere decir que el hombre no debe tener raíces ni pasado o tradiciones, pero que, consciente de esto, tiene que saberse liberar de su peso para proceder en sentido espacial como temporal. Al fn de moverse en el mundo, como un nómada como siempre fue, para crear cultura, que es decir dar al paisaje su propia imagen y sus valores. (shrink)

Mientras Spengler cree en un sistema cíclico que regula la historia de las culturas humanas y por lo tanto considera inevitable la destrucción de la civilización occidental, que dejará sus poderes (la técnica) a otras culturas que no los sabrán utilizar, Jünger, en cuanto a la Modernidad, ve la interrupción de la regularidad cíclica por la increíble aceleración de su tiempo, y por lo tanto considera posible una regeneración. Sin embargo, ambos, aunque expresen con fuerza el valor negativo de la (...) civilización actual, que encuentra su fiel expresión en la metrópolis, por su alejamiento de las raíces naturales, sienten el deber y tal vez el “privilegio” de ser parte de esta realidad para poder vivir heroicamente su destino. (shrink)

É possível afirmar que a filosofia da liberdade de Sartre contenha as bases de uma Ética? Algo corrente de sua biografia é que ele, como sequência de sua obra magna pretendia escrever uma Moral; mas essa pretensão acabou se resumindo a simples anotações de trabalho publicadas postumamente. Algo similar ocorre quando ele publica sua segunda grande obra, que também teria seu volume prático, jamais levado a termo. Considerando que toda a filosofia de Sartre está pautada no princípio da liberdade humana (...) absoluta e irrestrita, essa não seria a razão de tal malogro? No intuito de introduzir essa questão escrevemos esse artigo. (shrink)

With the beginning of the XXth century in Germany prevailed a common ideology based on the reject of Western rationalism. It was seen an ineffective instrument to understand ancient civilizations and traditional or “primitive” civilizations. Therefore, one felt the need of a different form of understanding based on intuitive abilities, on an emotional involvement. However, in order to apply positively this view and to gain an effective awareness of the other, one realized that it was necessary “to be” the other, (...) to get into him, to be grabbed by his world and abdicate the central role of the self, Western or maybe human. (shrink)

The Hippias minor is one of Plato’s shortest dialogues. Its location within the corpus as a whole is a source of controversy among specialists. Although the authenticity of the dialogue was proven by a mention of Aristotle in Metaphysics V, 1025 a 6, there have been those who have absolutely dismissed its philosophical value. Far from this extreme position, there are those who have pointed out the propaedeutic sense that dialogue would have with respect to some recurrent themes in Plato’s (...) later work. Likewise, in recent years, readings have been proposed that attempt to show the tensions that the Hippias would present in relation to texts by other socratics. In the present work we will try a vindication of the dialogue according to its intrinsic value, considering that Plato offers in it a subtle distinction of two different conceptual frameworks, on the same terminological basis. If the argumentation goes in the right direction, we will see that Plato’s philosophical gesture in this dialogue consists of operating with a series of critical terms for the Athenian conscience at the end of the 5th century BC, to inscribe in them two possible meanings, thus restoring their problematic nature. (shrink)

Since Kant interprets the logical form of judgment as a subordination of concepts' extensions, how should we understand their relationship to an unknown = x? Against traditional interpretations, elaborated from the background either of analytic philosophy or of Port-Royal Logic, one recovers the specificity of Kant’s notion of extension. It is necessary to distinguish: (1) the predicative relationship between the superior concept P and the inferior concept S, (2) the non-predicative relationship between the intuition of something individual = x and (...) the universals S and P. As a result, one finds out both the reflective and the determinative character of the relationship among universal, particular and singular in judgment. (shrink)

This paper reports on the investigation of the effects of neuronal shape, at both individual cell and network level, on the behavior of neuronal systems. More specifically, two-dimensional biologically realistic neuronal networks are obtained that take explicity into account the position and morphology of neuronal cells, with the respective behavior for associative recall being simulated through a diluted version of Hopfield's model. While a specific probability density function is used for the placement of the cell bodies, images of real neuronal (...) cells (namely alpha and beta ganglion cells from the cat retina) are used to obtain biologically realistic models. Several morphological measures – including fractal dimension, the excluded volume, and integral geometry functionals–are estimated for the considered cells, and their values are correlated with the potential of the network for associative recall, which is quantified in terms of the overlap between distorted version of the trained patterns and their original version. Such an approach allows the quantitative and objective characterization of the relationship between neuronal shape and function, an important issue in neuroscience. The obtained results substantiate interesting relationships between the neural morphology and function as determined by the performance of the network. (shrink)

Neste trabalho buscamos apresentar argumentos a favor da reavaliação da significância moral dos danos naturais para a ética. Em outras palavras, objetivamos problematizar e refutar a visão idílica sobre a situação dos animais silvestres e os processos envolvidos, de modo a demonstrar que o sofrimento vivenciado por esses seres deve ser levado em considerações em nossas avaliações morais. Para tanto, realizaremos uma análise conceitual aprofundada de alguns dos termos centrais empregados nessa discussão. Em seguida, apresentaremos alguns exemplos do que realmente (...) ocorre na natureza em termos de sofrimento diário contínuo. Por último, abordaremos os deveres relativos à intervenção no meio natural. (shrink)

SÍNTESE - O artigo tematiza as chamadas provas da existência de Deus na filosofia de René Descartes. A primeira, propriamente cartesiana, parte da idéia de infinito, presente no eu, para a existência do Ser infinito; a segunda, versão cartesiana do argumento da contingentia mundi, parte da existência do eu contingente que possui a idéia para a existência de Deus; a terceira é uma reedição do argumento ontológico de Santo Anselmo.

‘It is not possible to settle on a method of classifying manuscripts in the abstract; the lost works whose content is being reconstructed can be dated more or less precisely and the classification only acquires significance if it is accompanied by the history of the text. Then many apparent anomalies of tradition automatically disappear […]. In several of his articles Paul Maas has helped to clarify the notion of Byzantine conjecture; it would have been nice if he had placed greater (...) emphasis in his summary on the importance of a critical history.’. (shrink)

Deductive inference is usually regarded as being “tautological” or “analytical”: the information conveyed by the conclusion is contained in the information conveyed by the premises. This idea, however, clashes with the undecidability of first-order logic and with the (likely) intractability of Boolean logic. In this article, we address the problem both from the semantic and the proof-theoretical point of view. We propose a hierarchy of propositional logics that are all tractable (i.e. decidable in polynomial time), although by means of growing (...) computational resources, and converge towards classical propositional logic. The underlying claim is that this hierarchy can be used to represent increasing levels of “depth” or “informativeness” of Boolean reasoning. Special attention is paid to the most basic logic in this hierarchy, the pure “intelim logic”, which satisfies all the requirements of a natural deduction system (allowing both introduction and elimination rules for each logical operator) while admitting of a feasible (quadratic) decision procedure. We argue that this logic is “analytic” in a particularly strict sense, in that it rules out any use of “virtual information”, which is chiefly responsible for the combinatorial explosion of standard classical systems. As a result, analyticity and tractability are reconciled and growing degrees of computational complexity are associated with the depth at which the use of virtual information is allowed. (shrink)

The article attempts to trace the origins and to assess the extent ofparty-system change in Italy in the 1990s. It also examines some hypotheses on the possible causes of such changes. Building on research on anti-party sentiment and on changes in party organization the paper begins with an analysis of the evolution of the party system in the last 30 years which identifies organizational adaptation as a delaying factor in party system change. This is followed by a description of the (...) party system after the 1994 elections based on generally accepted party system characteristics and indicators. The assessment is made difficult by the, perhaps temporary, coexistence of two party-systems, respectively relevant for electoral and inter-election competition. The evidence however, suggests, that party-system transformation is under way, while it might still be inappropriate to talk about structural change. Degeneration of parties and a deep institutional crisis appear to be the factors leading to the explosion of pent-up alienation and antiparty sentiments, and to demands for institutional and constitutional change that preceded and appeared to be the immediate causes of party system transformation. (shrink)