Contrasting brain states when subjects are aware compared to unaware of a presented stimulus has allowed researchers to isolate candidate neural correlates of consciousness. Here we propose that an important next step in this research program is to investigate, perhaps paradoxically, brain states that covary with reports of absences of awareness. Specifically, we propose that in order to distinguish content-specific and content-invariant neural correlates of consciousness, a distinction needs to be made between the neural correlates of awareness of stimulus absence, (...) and the neural correlates of absence of awareness. We ground this distinction in higher-order computational models of consciousness, where the state of higher-order nodes is invariant to the specific contents of awareness. To map the different levels of these models to neurophysiological correlates, we suggest two empirical approaches – inverted designs and two-dimensional awareness reports – in which reports about awareness and stimulus presence can be dissociated. (shrink)

This book probes the sources and nature of the 'discontents of modernity'. It proposes a new approach to the philosophic-critical discourse on modernity. The Enlightenment is widely understood to be the foundational moment of modernity. Yet despite its appeal to reason as the ultimate ground of its authority and legitimacy, the Enlightenment has had multiple historical manifestations and, therefore, can hardly be said to be a homogenous phenomenon. The present work seeks to identify a unitive element that allows us to (...) speak of the Enlightenment. To do so, it enjoins the concept of 'ethos' and its relation to the 'discontents of modernity'. This book proposes a new theoretical framework for the examination of the interrelationships between 'critical thought' and 'modernity', based on a fundamental distinction between criticism and negation. It will appeal to scholars and students of critical theory, the history of ideas, philosophy, the sociology of knowledge, and political science. (shrink)

A target question for the scientific study of consciousness is how dimensions of consciousness, such as the ability to feel pain and pleasure or reflect on one’s own experience, vary in different states and animal species. Considering the tight link between consciousness and moral status, answers to these questions have implications for law and ethics. Here we point out that given this link, the scientific community studying consciousness may face implicit pressure to carry out certain research programs or interpret results (...) in ways that justify current norms rather than challenge them. We show that because consciousness largely determines moral status, the use of nonhuman animals in the scientific study of consciousness introduces a direct conflict between scientific relevance and ethics—the more scientifically valuable an animal model is for studying consciousness, the more difficult it becomes to ethically justify compromises to its well-being for consciousness research. Finally, in light of these considerations, we call for a discussion of the immediate ethical corollaries of the body of knowledge that has accumulated and for a more explicit consideration of the role of ideology and ethics in the scientific study of consciousness. (shrink)

This research critically analyses the Israeli housing block (‘shikun’) discourse, as presented in cultural representations during 1948–1961, and its contribution to the evolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The study argues that the discursive exclusion of the shikun from Israel's socio-political history of planning and development is a central part of Israel's ethnocracy and has an essential role in exacerbating the conflict. It maintains that the shikun's exclusion is a reduction of its consequences, namely the Mizrahi population's dispersion through the shikun, (...) which stands as one of the main foundations of the Israeli ethnocratic regime. Subsequently, I identify the shikun anew as the ‘ethnocratic shikun’, and suggest that it can be a better conceptualisation to reveal how ethnic oppression, by discursive and architectural means, affects national land regimes, and thereby exacerbating regional violent conflicts. This research has two main goals. First, achieving a better understanding of Israeli society and politics by delving into a crucial component of human existence – housing, and analysing its ‘disappearance’ from public debates regarding the Middle-Eastern geopolitics. Second, the research aspires to make a methodological contribution that goes beyond Israeli housing discourse, by adding another novel layer to the Cultural Approach to Critical Discourse Analysis. (shrink)

While unnecessarily killing or injuring an insect is arguably wrong, euthanasia of an accidentally injured insect raises anew issues of whether insects can experience pain. The question takes renewed significance due to increasing insect farming for food and feed and concerns over farmed insect welfare. For euthanasia of a damaged insect to be justifiable, the damage must be sensed as a noxious stimulus (nociception) that the insect consciously experiences as pain. This pain must then lead to suffering or frustrated desire, (...) with the possibility of the animal preferring death to continued existence. A failure at any of these points would deem euthanasia moot. The neurological, behavioral, and evolutionary evidence so far suggests the concept of euthanasia does not apply to insects. (shrink)

A novel social interaction is a dynamic process, in which participants adapt to, react to and engage with their social partners. To facilitate such interactions, people gather information relating to the social context and structure of the situation. The current study aimed to deepen the understanding of the psychological determinants of behavior in a novel social interaction. Three social robots and the participant interacted non-verbally according to a pre-programmed “relationship matrix” that dictated who favored whom. Participants' gaze was tracked during (...) the interaction and, using Bayesian inference models, resulted in a measure of participants' social information-gathering behaviors. Our results reveal the dynamics in a novel environment, wherein information-gathering behavior is initially predicted by psychological inflexibility and then, toward the end of the interaction, predicted by curiosity. These results highlight the utility of using social robots in behavioral experiments. (shrink)

In 1951, entomologist Jay Traver published in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington her personal experiences with a mite infestation of her scalp that resisted all treatment and was undetectable to anyone other than herself. Traver is recognized as having suffered from Delusory Parasitosis: her paper shows her to be a textbook case of the condition. The Traver paper is unique in the scientific literature in that its conclusions may be based on data that was unconsciously fabricated by (...) the author’s mind. The paper may merit retraction on the grounds of error or even scientific misconduct “by reason of insanity,” but such a retraction raises the issue of discrimination against the mentally ill. This article asks what responsibilities journals have when faced with delusions disguised as science, what right editors have to question the sanity of an author, and what should be done about the Traver paper itself. By placing higher emphasis on article content than author identity, scientific integrity is maintained and a balance is struck between avoiding discrimination against the mentally ill and not preventing patients from seeking needed treatment. (shrink)

Atran proposes that humans have a unique, innate, domain-specific tendency to create taxonomies of biological kinds. We show that: (1) in ontogenesis, children develop a notion Atran claims to be innate; (2) what Atran claims is unique to biological kinds may be found in artifact kinds; and (3) although Atran proposes a domain-specific mental construct for biological rank, it can be explained in domain- general terms.

This book addresses Foucault’s characterizations of the Enlightenment, asking whether the developmental history of the modern conception of knowledge--from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment--warrants the conclusion he draws. From the perspective of a critical evaluation of Foucault's thesis on "the crisis of modernity," the book examines whether Foucault, the philosophical and social critic, truly belongs to those intellectual trends known as a "deconstruction" and "post-modernism" that advocate a wholesale rejection of the project of modernity, demonstrating how a classification of this (...) kind contributes to an impoverishment of our understanding of Foucault's thought. (shrink)

I Philosophers and Prophets The tradition of the Falasifa tends to refute Plato's ideal of the “philosopher-king”, in which the philosopher is distinguished as the highest human type. In contrast to the philosopher, whose knowledge is incomplete and indirect, the prophet, through revelation, attains profound knowledge and truth. According to the Falasifa version of Platonic politics, the prophet, who represents the highest form of human wisdom conditioned by divine providence, is a founder of political community and a lawgiver.

Purpose Children are becoming heavy users of communication and information technologies from an early age. These technologies carry risks to which children may be exposed. In collaboration with the Israel Ministry of Education, the authors launched a week-long safe online awareness program for school children in 257 elementary and middle schools in Israel. Each class independently composed a safe and ethical code of online behavior following two classroom debate sessions. The purpose of this study was to analyze these codes and (...) learn how school children perceive and understand the proper use of the network using thematic analysis. Design/methodology/approach A total of 8,181 students between the ages of 8 and 14 years in 303 classes from 257 schools participated in the program. These classes composed 303 ethical codes, which were decomposed into 2,201 elements. Using mixed-methods research combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the elements of the ethical codes were analyzed, interpreted, and classified to identify the dominant themes and discourses used by the students when addressing issues related to safe online use. Findings Findings indicate that Israeli students are aware of the dangers and risks of the internet, and these concerns are reflected in their own ethical codes. The students discouraged online self-exposure and encouraged precautions and wariness towards members of out-groups. The themes included sentences which asked for responsible, appropriate, and lawful use, expressed concern about privacy issues, and stated the need for adult involvement. Most of them reflected an “us against them ” perspective. Originality/value The current study presents an innovative “bottom-up” program based on wisdom of the crowd approach, that can be implemented in schools internationally in order to encourage reflexivity and teach children the necessary skills for safe online experiences. In addition, this study analyses the school children’s own views of the dangers of social media and learn about their perspective and understanding of internet use. (shrink)

La infamia constituye el modelo ideal de castigo actual, ya que marca el cuerpo real y simbólico de ciertos sujetos, sin ninguna mediación institucional: los individuos y los grupos sociales se arrogan el derecho a imputar, juzgar y castigar. De manera que existen instituciones formales y, además, ciertos colectivos informales que neutralizan, excluyen, matan y encierran real y simbólicamente, ejerciendo un poder para-judicial y para-penal. En palabras más precisas, hay una penalidad que no pasa necesariamente por el poder judicial ni (...) el proceso legal, sino por el tribunal social y psicológico efectuado por algunos agentes de control social informal. La realidad evidencia la absorción progresiva del proceso judicial en el juicio colectivo, sin ninguna garantía ni código distinto a la mirada, el murmullo social y el juicio instantáneo. La sociedad se transforma así en un tribunal permanente que odia, etiqueta y castiga, y cuya inmediatez, espontaneidad y anonimato reaviva la infamia de los viejos sistemas de la penalidad medieval, así como la devastadora marcación totalitaria. (shrink)

Don Handelman's groundbreaking work in anthropology is showcased in this collection of his most powerful essays, edited by Matan Shapiro and Jackie Feldman. The book looks at the intellectual and spiritual roots of Handelman's initiation into anthropology; his work on ritual and on "bureaucratic logic"; analyses of cosmology; and innovative essays on Anthropology and Deleuzian thinking. Handelman reconsiders his theory of the forming of form and how this relates to a new theory of the dynamics of time. This will be (...) the definitive collection of articles by one of the most important anthropologists of the late 20th Century. (shrink)

¿Qué entendemos cuando hablamos de eutanasia? Etimológicamente, el término procede de las raíces griegas eu (bueno, buena) y thanatos (muerte). Sin embargo, una definición etimológica parece insuficiente, ya que la noción que se tiene de tal concepto ha variado a través de la historia, así como su misma práctica.Para comprender el por qué no se ha podido establecer un consenso acerca de lo que se entiende por eutanasia, podría ser útil mencionar algunas culturas y sus prácticas del “buen morir”. Ciertas (...) culturas nómadas, por ejemplo, dejaban atrás a enfermos y ancianos. Los espartanos abandonaban en la corriente de un río a los recién nacidos en caso de que éstos tuviesen alguna deformidad o poca probabilidad de seguir viviendo. En el mismo caso, los romanos los dejaban morir en la intemperie. Entre los battaki, es una práctica común que el padre de familia, ya viejo, suba a un árbol, y simbolizando un fruto maduro, se deje caer; posteriormente, sus familiares lo matan y se lo comen.Ahora bien, ¿cuál es la intuición que parecen tener estas culturas acerca de una muerte causada pero no mal intencionada? En principio, podríanse juzgar tales prácticas como inmorales e inhumanas, pero eso sería cometer imprecisiones contextuales acerca del carácter histórico y moral de tales actividades. La correspondencia más clara entre tales culturas y su concepción del final de la vida se muestra en pos de un respeto y aceptación de la muerte, es decir, una conciencia de la inevitabilidad de la muerte y nuestro artículo versa sobre todo ello. (shrink)

Some people think that various acts of terrorism are always related to Islam as it is a doctrine which is identical to war with all its derivative forms. It will appear to be incompatible if we trace the example of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, written in Ṣahīh Bukhāri’s ḥadīths. This research aimed to uncover the meaning of Jiḥād in Islam as stated in the ḥadīths of the Prophet Muhammad in the book Ṣahīh Bukhāri, the work of the distinguished ḥadīth scholar (...) named Muhammad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin al-Mugirah al-Bukhāri. This interpretation is expected to be a guide for Muslims in the Jiḥād itself, and it could provide accurate information for researchers about Islam, making it possible for scientists to change the stigmatic perspective of terrorism related to Islam. The researchers used a descriptive method by discussing the philosophical meaning of Matan of ḥadīth contained in the book Ṣahīh Bukhāri about Jiḥād. It was concluded in this research that the term Jiḥād does not mean war. It means the effort in the path of Allah, doing Jiḥād against lust, serving the parents, reconciling the parties in conflict, keeping of the promise, supporting old widows, supporting neglected children and the poor, doing hajj Mabrur, and so forth. Jiḥād could also be defined in the context of social welfare, such as in education and economics, which support the framework of bringing about prosperity on earth.Contribution: The number of terrorism cases in the name of Jiḥād lately is very detrimental to Muslims. Because of a lack of understanding of Jiḥād’s meaning, it is a broad sense apart from the war against infidels. This article calls on the importance of understanding Jiḥād, both for Muslims themselves and for people other than Islam. This article provides theological reasons for Jiḥād that can contribute to making peace in the world. (shrink)

[Ḥeleḳ rishon] Or Torah, ʻavodat ha-tefilah, darkhe ha-Ḥasidut, ḥinukh ha-banim, maśa u-matan be-emunah, midot ṭovot -- Ḥeleḳ sheni. Miḳṿeh meṭaher, ʻavodat ha-tefilah, hanhagat ha-shulḥan, or Torah.