We propose the “microbiota‐inflammasome” hypothesis of major depressive disorder (MDD, a mental illness affecting the way a person feels and thinks, characterized by long‐lasting feelings of sadness). We hypothesize that pathological shifts in gut microbiota composition (dysbiosis) caused by stress and gut conditions result in the upregulation of pro‐inflammatory pathways mediated by the Nod‐like receptors family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome (an intracellular platform involved in the activation of inflammatory processes). This upregulation exacerbates depressive symptomatology and further compounds gut (...) dysbiosis. In this review we describe MDD/chronic stress‐induced changes in: 1) NLRP3 inflammasome; 2) gut microbiota; and 3) metabolic pathways; and how inflammasome signaling may affect depressive‐like behavior and gut microbiota composition. The implication is that novel therapeutic strategies could emerge for MDD and co‐morbid conditions. A number of testable predictions surface from this microbiota‐gut‐inflammasome‐brain hypothesis of MDD, using approaches that modulate gut microbiota composition via inflammasome modulation, fecal microbiota transplantation, psychobiotics supplementation, or dietary change. (shrink)

No es nuestro propósito relatar el trabajo de Hegel en sus Lecciones de la Historia universal, por el contrario, queremos aprehender el concepto de desarrollo de la historia a partir de la acción (tat) del espíritu, en tanto la historia -dice Hegel- es “la sustancia del espíritu”. Y esta temática la desarrolla tanto en la Enciclopedia, como en la Fenomenología del espíritu, así como en las Lecciones de filosofía de la religión (especialmente en 1828) y en su Filosofía del derecho. (...) Si no se concibe la historia sino por la acción del espíritu que deviene movimiento y deviene libertad y racionalidad. De tal modo, que puede decirse que la razón dirige la historia. Pero si califica la historia de divina es porque en ella la razón se historiza y pierde su condición abstracta. Pues en la historia, dice Hegel, el espíritu se encuentra en casa. Debe entenderse ese proceso de movimiento, como sustancia espiritual y el fin absoluto en el mundo, de ahí que no pueda hablarse de fin de la historia. El saber absoluto no implica un cierre al proceso infinito de un despliegue a través de las determinaciones finitas. Debe subrayarse la importancia de la eticidad y de la Filosofía del derecho, pues el Estado en cuanto sustancia ética no anula los derechos de los sujetos que devienen a través de la historia. Pudiendo considerarse a los mismos sujetos y los estados formas de objetivación del espíritu en su movimiento. No puede por ello entenderse el saber absoluto siquiera como un cierre de la historia ni como una superación de las figuras que en su movimiento produce. Más bien es lo que Hegel sostiene como Teodicea de la historia. Y en ella, la religión ya manifiesta la asunción de la negatividad y la superación de la muerte de Dios por el espíritu en la comunidad. Ahora bien, la comunidad alcanza su máxima expresión en el Estado, no es la pretensión de Hegel la exaltación del estado, sino que tiene muy en cuenta que los ciudadanos son sujetos de derecho dentro del Estado. (shrink)

Este artículo supone la edición electrónica del libro homónimo publicado en 2006 por la editorial La Xara, de Simat de Valldigna (Valencia). Para los autores principales (filósofo e historiador) el estudio de las migraciones humanas se enfoca mejor desde la idea de ruta, cuyo análisis más potente se deriva, a su vez, del uso de categorías histórico-fenomenológicas, frente a otras posibles de menor rendimiento (sociológicas, psicológicas o metafísicas). Nos sitúan así en el ámbito de la filosofía de la historia. La (...) ruta es definida como una trayectoria que permite «unir y separar colectivamente (por contacto o contigüidad) sociedades, pueblos, culturas... y transformar así las relaciones entre los hombres, sus conocimientos sobre el mundo y los vínculos con las identidades que aún no se han incorporado a las rutas» (p. 29). Y la ruta es resultado incesante de la dialéctica entre las rutas históricas —del interior, religiosa, de la moneda, del desplazamiento, político-militar y de la energía—. Tales trayectorias y sus complementarias lanzan a la humanidad por el camino de la globalización. (shrink)

RESUMEN La educación médica superior tiene la responsabilidad social de formar educandos autónomos, independientes y autorregulados. Por ello las estrategias de aprendizaje permiten la adquisición de información y el establecimiento de relaciones a partir del conocimiento previo; son procesos de toma de decisiones, consciente e intencional. Objetivo: Exponer las necesidades del desarrollo de estrategias de aprendizaje en los estudiantes de primer año de Estomatología. Método: Se realizó una investigación descriptiva transversal. El universo estuvo constituido por los estudiantes de 1er año (...) de la carrera de Estomatología, del que fueron seleccionados 120 educandos que conformaron la muestra y a los que se les aplicó la Escala de Estrategias de Aprendizaje ACRA-Abreviada para alumnos universitarios. Los datos fueron procesados utilizando la estadística descriptiva. Resultados: Las estrategias que más utilizan son las que los llevan a un aprendizaje memorístico y reproductivo, las estrategias de apoyo al aprendizaje son utilizadas por el 47.79% de los educandos y existen inadecuados hábitos de estudios. Discusión: El estudio permitió corroborar que las insuficiencias que presentan los estudiantes en cuanto al uso de estrategias de aprendizaje son similares a las descritas por los autores consultados. ABSTRACT The high medical education has the social responsibility of forming autonomous, independent and auto-regulated pupils. For it the learning strategies allow the acquisition of information and the relations establishment from the previous knowledge; there are processes of decision making, conscious and intentional. Objective: To exhibit the needs for the development of strategies of learning in the students of the first year of Stomatology. Method: A transverse descriptive investigation was carried out. The universe was constituted by the students of 1st year of the career of Dentistry, of which there were selected 120 pupils who shaped the sample and to whom there was applied the Scale of Strategies of Learning ACRA-Abbreviated for university pupils. The information was processed using the descriptive statistics. Results: The strategies that they use more are those which take them to memory and reproductive learning, the support strategies to learning are used by 47.79 % of the pupils and inadequate studies habits exist. Discussion: The study allowed to corroborate that the insufficiencies that the students present as for the use of strategies of learning are similar to the described ones by the consulted authors. (shrink)

" A l'aube de la relation éducative, l'adulte est saisi par le souci de son engagement et s'interroge sur la nature de son geste éducatif, sur ce qu'il serait mieux de faire, sur ce qu'il ne faudrait surtout pas faire, sur ce que l'on aimerait qu'il découvre, apprenne, comprenne, devienne... Et assez vite l'adulte prend conscience des tensions entre excès et insuffisance, mobilisé entre ses convictions et les tendances sociales. Il est pris dans une lutte entre le " trop " (...) et le " pas assez " dont nous pouvons comprendre l'intensité du sens dans le geste de tendresse qu'est la caresse à un nouveau-né, que chacun a pu éprouver une fois ou l'autre: cette tension particulière entre retenue du geste par crainte de blesser et pression du geste par attirance, entre respecte et désir. Si, souvent, l'adulte sait trouver l'attitude adéquate, un juste milieu, dans d'autres cas, son mouvement témoigne d'une inaptitude à éduquer et peut entraîner bien des souffrances pour l'enfant. C'est sur cette dimension particulièrement délicate du rapport éducatif que porte ici ma réflexion. Délicate parce qu'elle touche à l'intimité de l'éducateur et parce qu'elle révèle l'arbitraire de la relation entre adulte et enfant. Ce livre va donc traiter du risque d'emprise de l'éducateur sur l'enfant : de l'abus éducatif. " Roger Cevey. (shrink)

Tomando en cuenta las críticas más importantes a la teoría de los individuos transmundanos, así como algunos argumentos en relación con el esencialismo de origen, este artículo trata el problema de la identidad de aquellos individuos a través de mundos posibles. Proponemos la noción de mundo admisible como un tipo especial de modelo en Lógica Intensional, que, dentro de otro modelo, permite el mapeo de la historia e identidad de los individuos en diferentes mundos posibles. Esta propuesta sugiere una solución (...) plausible para determinar propiedades esenciales empíricamente relevantes ostentadas por los individuos transmundanos, un método eficaz para evaluar su identidad y, finalmente, una nueva perspectiva desde la cual reexaminar el clásico debate entre realismo y antirrealismo en la Filosofía del Lenguaje. (shrink)

Em busca da relação profícua entre Psicanálise e História, procura-se, neste artigo avaliar como Carlo Ginzburg, em sua trajetória intelectual e acadêmica, discutiu Freud e a Psicanálise à luz da Micro-História. Para tanto, a obra de Ginzburg Mitos, emblemas, sinais: morfologia e história tornou-se um manancial para esta busca. Nos capítulos Sinais: raízes de um paradigma indiciário e, principalmente, Freud, o homem dos lobos e os lobisomens, Ginzburg discute criticamente as interpretações de Freud sobre o seu caso clínico mais importante, (...) um paciente russo de nome Serguei Constantinovitch Pankejeff, conhecido como O Homem dos Lobos. Ginzburg não deixa de reconhecer a magnitude da obra de Freud, mas aponta suas limitações como não considerar suficientemente a formação cultural de seu paciente e dar um enfoque maior a individuação. Ginzburg permitiu, ainda, demonstrar em sua obra a importância da Psicanálise na elaboração do conceito fundamental à MicroHistória, o paradigma indiciário. (shrink)

Tomando en cuenta las críticas más importantes a la teoría de los individuos transmundanos así como algunos argumentos en relación con el esencialismo de origen, este artículo trata con el problema de la identidad de aquellos individuos a través de mundos posibles. Proponemos la noción de mundo admisible como un tipo especial de modelo en Lógica Intensional, que, dentro de otro modelo, permite el mapeo de la historia e identidad de los individuos en diferentes mundos posibles. Esta propuesta sugiere una (...) solución plausible para determinar propiedades esenciales empíricamente relevantes ostentadas por los individuos transmundanos, un método eficaz para evaluar su identidad, y, finalmente, una nueva perspectiva desde la cual reexaminar el clásico debate entre realismo y anti realismo en la Filosofía del Lenguaje. (shrink)

Tomando en cuenta las críticas más importantes a la teoría de los individuostransmundanos, así como algunos argumentos en relación con el esencialismo deorigen, este artículo trata el problema de la identidad de aquellos individuos a travésde mundos posibles. Proponemos la noción de mundo admisible como un tipo especial de modelo en Lógica Intensional, que, dentro de otro modelo, permite el mapeo de la historia e identidad de los individuos en diferentes mundos posibles. Esta propuesta sugiere una solución plausible para determinar (...) propiedades esenciales empíricamente relevantes ostentadas por los individuos transmundanos, un método eficaz para evaluar su identidad y, finalmente, una nueva perspectiva desde la cual reexaminar el clásico debate entre realismo y antirrealismo en la Filosofía del Lenguaje. Considering the most important criticisms to the theory of transworld individuals aswell as some problems related to origin essentialism, this article addresses the issue of the identity of those individuals across possible worlds. We propose the notion of admissible world as a special type of model in Intensional Logic, which, within another model, allows mapping the history and identity of individuals in different possible worlds. This view suggests a plausible solution for determining the empirically relevant essential properties of transworld individuals, a useful method to assess their identity, and, finally, a new way of reexamining the classical debate between realism and anti-realism in the Philosophy of Language. (shrink)

Pascal Engel a publié un article intitulé « Le droit de ne pas croire ». Il y défend la thèse que les croyances religieuses sont incapables de satisfaire la norme épistémique de preuve ou de raison suffisante. Dès lors, elles seraient irrationnelles. Ne peut-on pas mettre en question une telle norme? Les croyances religieuses ne sont certes pas légitimes si elles sont fausses. Mais elles n’ont pas besoin d’être justifiées pour être rationnelles. Ma réponse à Pascal Engel suppose une épistémologie (...) différente de celle qu’il défend. Pascal Engel se situe dans un cadre déontologique, alors que je défends une conception arétique en épistémologie. À travers la question de la légitimité des croyances religieuses, c’est aussi ce que peut être l’épistémologie qui est examiné. (shrink)

Pascal Engel a publié un article intitulé « Le droit de ne pas croire ». Il y défend la thèse que les croyances religieuses sont incapables de satisfaire la norme épistémique de preuve ou de raison suffisante. Dès lors, elles seraient irrationnelles. Ne peut-on pas mettre en question une telle norme? Les croyances religieuses ne sont certes pas légitimes si elles sont fausses. Mais elles n’ont pas besoin d’être justifiées pour être rationnelles. Ma réponse à Pascal Engel suppose une épistémologie (...) différente de celle qu’il défend. Pascal Engel se situe dans un cadre déontologique, alors que je défends une conception arétique en épistémologie. À travers la question de la légitimité des croyances religieuses, c’est aussi ce que peut être l’épistémologie qui est examiné. (shrink)

Trenger vi en nanoetikk? Spørsmålet undersøkes ofte gjennom analyser av hva som er spesifikt nytt med nanoteknologi som skulle rettferdiggjøre etableringen av et eget nanoetikkfelt. Artikkelen knytter ikke det nye til teknologiens produkter som sådan, men til det at nanoteknologien oppstår som et nytt og ekspansivt satsningsfelt i en tid med enighet om at etikkrefleksjonen må komme inn på et tidlig tidspunkt. Nanoetikken synliggjør generelle utfordringer for den profesjonaliserte anvendte etikk ettersom nanoetikken etterspørres forut for at feltet kan sies å (...) være etablert. Nanoetikken fordrer en positiv etikk, mens den profesjonaliserte etikk har vært innstilt på en negativ etikk. Utfordringene nanoetikken reiser, er analysert som et problem som har både intellektuell og institusjonell karakter. (shrink)

We study the projective posets and their properties as forcing notions. We also define Martin's axiom restricted to projective sets, MA, and show that this axiom is weaker than full Martin's axiom by proving the consistency of ZFC + ¬lCH + MA with “there exists a Suslin tree”, “there exists a non-strong gap”, “there exists an entangled set of reals” and “there exists κ < 20 such that 20 < 2k”.

J’ai rencontré Margaret Maruani dans un colloque organisé par l’Union nationale des étudiantes de Suisse au bord du lac Léman en novembre 1997. Françoise Thébaud avait soufflé mon nom aux organisatrices, n’étant elle-même pas disponible pour communiquer sur l’état des savoirs dans les études de genre. Margaret a pris la parole après ma présentation. Sa communication, « La variable sexe fait-elle mauvais genre? La place des femmes dans la sociologie du travail en France », a agi sur moi comme...

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:In Memoriam:John W. Yolton 1921-2005G.A.J. RogersJohn Yolton died a few days short of his eighty-fourth birthday. He was one of the most distinguished historians of philosophy of his generation. Early in his studies he had found Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding a challenging book that raised as many puzzles as it answered and it was his engagement with that work that dominated his intellectual enquires from his MA studies (...) until his latest book, published last year, The Two Intellectual Worlds of John Locke. Man, Person, and Spirits in the "Essay." It was his fifteenth authored book. His first book was his Oxford D. Phil. Thesis, John Locke and the Way of Ideas, published nearly fifty years ago in 1956. If Locke and Ideas were to dominate his writings, they were not exclusive of other interests. His second book was The Philosophy of A.S. Eddington. Others, not Locke-centered, were to follow. In later years he has focussed especially on the problem for all readers of Locke and other early modern philosophers including Descartes, Berkeley and Hume, as to the nature of their commitment to ideas. Did they really hold that ideas are objects that intervene between the perceiving mind and the outside world, or is the standard reification of ideas simply a mistaken reading of their argument? Yolton, since at least the early 1980s, has argued that to reify ideas in the standard way is based on a false reading of the texts. His reading has not always been accepted by historians of philosophy but there are signs that that might be changing and some books and articles published in the last five years or so reveal distinct signs of a Yolton influence.John Yolton was not only a prolific writer he was also a highly regarded editor, not only of Locke texts but also of important collections of papers such as John Locke: Problems and Perspectives (1969) and The Blackwell Companion to the Enlightenment (1992) to which he contributed [End Page 419] a prodigious number of entries. But perhaps as important as his writing was Yolton's teaching. Nobody who sat in on one of his classes could not but be impressed with the way in which he was able to hold a class's attention to a text of Descartes, Locke or Hume and engage first year or graduate students in a scrutiny of the text, perhaps only a paragraph or even a sentence long, teasing out its ambiguities and its place in an argument, to the obvious enlightenment of students who until then had found early modern philosophical prose dull and uncaptivating. It is no surprise to find that he supervised a large number of scholars of the early modern period who have gone on to make important contributions to the history of philosophy and intellectual history.John Yolton was always enormously generous with his time. His graduate students became extensions of the Yolton family. So also did younger scholars. Any book or paper sent him was always to receive careful attention and detailed comment, always fair but never patronising. He was also very active as a member of many editorial boards, including the Journal of the History of Ideas and the Clarendon Locke Board. John was appointed to the Board of Consulting Editors of the JHI in 1977. At the beginning of 1987 he was elected to the Board of Editors and he was still a member of that Board at the time of his death. During his membership on both boards he provided an enormous amount of editorial help, evaluating scores of submitted papers. He was especially active during the years that the Journal's editorial office was located at Rutgers University. In 1991 John was elected vice president of the Board of Directors, the governing body of the JHI. He served as vice president until the summer of 1998. He was chairman of the Clarendon Locke Board for nine years as well as, at the same time, being its general editor.John Yolton and his wife, Jean, a Locke scholar in her own right, were regular participants at conferences, but in recent years their travelling... (shrink)

Este breve artigo esboça a opinião de um lógico sobre algumas ideias básicas que deveriam ser apresentadas nos primeiros dias de qualquer curso de lógica. Ele trata da natureza e dos objetivos da lógica. Ele discute o que um estudante pode esperar alcançar com o estudo da lógica e também alerta sobre os problemas e obstáculos que um estudante deverá superar ou com os quais deverá aprender a conviver. O artigo também introduz vários termos-chave que um estudante encontrará na lógica.Uma (...) proposição é ou verdadeira ou falsa per se – e não “para esta ou aquela pessoa”. Um argumento é ou válido ou inválido per se – e não “para esta ou aquela pessoa”. Uma argumentação é ou concludente ou inconcludente – não per se, mas sim para uma pessoa.No entanto, que uma dada argumentação seja concludente para uma certa pessoa é sem dúvida uma questão indissociável dos pensamentos subjetivos de tal pessoa, mas apenas em certos aspectos: se uma determinada argumentação é concludente para uma pessoa, mas não para outra, a primeira sabe de algo que a segunda não sabe. Além disso, nem toda argumentação que alguém pensa ser concludente para certa pessoa é de fato concludente para tal pessoa. O caráter concludente de uma argumentação envolve outros elementos além da subjetividade.Algumas leituras são sugeridas ao longo do texto em citações entre parênteses e listadas nas referências bibliográficas no final do artigo. (shrink)

Roger Sansom and Robert N. Brandon (eds.): Integrating Evolution and Development: From Theory to Practice Content Type Journal Article Pages 81-86 DOI 10.1007/s10441-010-9121-x Authors Thomas A. C. Reydon, Institute of Philosophy & Center for Philosophy and Ethics of Science (ZEWW), Leibniz Universität Hannover, Im Moore 21, 30167 Hannover, Germany Journal Acta Biotheoretica Online ISSN 1572-8358 Print ISSN 0001-5342 Journal Volume Volume 59 Journal Issue Volume 59, Number 1.

En este libro el profesor Soler Gil nos brinda una interesante y actualizada filosofía de la cosmología, a modo de manual breve y enjundioso. Partiendo de los datos que nos proporcionan las distintas ciencias relacionadas con la cosmología, tenemos ante nosotros un cuadro complexivo de los problemas más acuciantes de la cosmología.

There is a bookshop in Cambridge, England, which only sells books published by the Cambridge University Press. It is a common experience for browsers to pull a book off the shelf, attracted by the...

Este artigo apresenta um pouco dos estudos de Roger Bacon sobre Alquimia. Filósofo medieval, Bacon deu sequência à tradição de estudos herméticos. Como parte de uma das ciências especiais, assim como ele a compreendia, a Alquimia teve destaque como elemento importante no seu projeto filosófico-científico. A fim de apresentar um pouco o lugar da Alquimia no corpus baconiano, o texto parte de uma breve exposição da possível origem dessa arte entre os povos da antiguidade oriental e, posteriormente, sua chegada (...) à Europa medieval. Passa-se então a apresentar os ensinamentos alquímicos transmitidos por Bacon; sua compreensão de Alquimia não como magia, mas como ciência positiva, cujos métodos e resultados podiam ser corroborados pela Ciência Experimental; a elaboração de uma breve chave de leitura dos termos alquímicos enviados ao Papa Clemente IV, juntamente com a defesa de que a Alquimia é uma arte hermética e precisa ser preservada da ignorância do homem comum, sendo revelada a quem a mereça em corpo e alma. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:News and ViewsMark Gonnerman Click for larger view View full resolutionWhen I think of Roger Corless, I think of the bristlecone pine trees in the White Mountains of east-central California, about an hour's drive from Bishop up White Mountain Road. These trees (Pinus longaeva) are the world's oldest living beings. The senior member of the stand in Patriarch Grove, named Methuselah, is more than 4,700 years old.It is (...) not because Roger lived an especially long life—he was granted only sixty-nine-and-a-half years of calendar time—that he and these trees fuse in my mind. While Roger was an old soul from an older world, this association arises from Roger's adherence to the kind of "become who you are" eccentricity celebrated by Henry David Thoreau and other sages who remind each of us to "step to the music" of "a different drummer."When visiting the bristlecones, one is impressed by the various odd poses struck by each tree. Of course no two are alike; each holds a unique gnarly stance that says, "You are among a community of nonconformists." These trees remind us that each being is a unique expression of Nature and ought to be honored as such.Thoreau does not use the word "eccentric" in Walden, but writes of extravagance instead:I fear chiefly lest my expression not be extra- vagant enough, may not wander far enough beyond the narrow limits of my daily experience, so as to be adequate to the truth of which I have been convinced. Extra vagance! [End Page 155] it depends on how you are yarded.... I desire to speak somewhat without bounds; like a man in a waking moment, to men in their waking moments.A lover of words, as was Roger, Thoreau splits extravagance in two to highlight its root meaning: "to wander" (vagari) "outside" (extra). To learn the truth of matters requires the courage to follow one's own path, even when—especially when—it takes one beyond the pale. Only then might wanderers become convinced of those truths they know, for they have been encountered firsthand and tested, experimentally, in the realm of personal experience.When one sets about the challenging work of claiming a natural right to eccentricity, one discovers self-authenticating feedback loops that encourage further steps along an always unfolding, yet untrammeled path. It takes courage to stay in motion, for the way is often rough. People get lost—and found. One's own authentic way leads to wakefulness. This in turn enables recognition and enjoyment of other liberated beings and compassion for those who have yet to hear chanticleer crow (to stay with Thoreau) or the lion's roar (as Buddhists might say).As Mas Kodani, a Jodoshinshu minister in South-Central Los Angeles has observed, "One does not stand still looking for a path. One walks; and as one walks a path comes into being." This walk requires a balance of both confident perseverance and an ability to respond to ever-changing conditions. Lives of both the bristlecones and Roger demonstrate perseverance in spite of hostile habitats: the pines, rooted in sandstone and dolomite, hang on in a cold and dry climate at 11,200 feet; Roger made his way with difficulty in spite of challenges he faced as a gay, Buddhist-and-Christian intellectual in Durham County, North Carolina. When, after thirty years, Roger became an emeritus professor at Duke and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, he found himself in a much more hospitable setting.It may seem strange to draw out this comparison of Roger and those ancient White Mountain pines, but when I first met those trees in the summer of 1998, they set a standard for authenticity that came to mind whenever Roger and I interacted. His extravagant accomplishments as a teacher, scholar, and person who lived a life of genuine service to others were attained through the real work of daily spiritual practice, critical reflection, and adherence to the truths—always plural for Roger—of which he had been convinced. I'll always be grateful for his inspiring example of a human life well lived. It... (shrink)

Teresa Bejan’s Mere Civility is a scholarly, thoughtful, provocative, witty and well-written book with intellectual biographies of Roger Williams, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke to illustrate differ...

Roger Penrose formuló en 1989 un argumento contra la IA. Dicho argumento concluye que la explicación científico-matemática de la realidad es más amplia que la meramente computacional, porque existen ciertos aspectos de la realidad no-computables. Este artículo analiza dicho argumento y la discusión al respecto, para concluir que el tipo de argumento que quiere desarrollar Penrose está viciado de raíz, lo que impide llegar a las conclusiones deseadas. A la vez se sostiene la validez filosófica de sus conclusiones y (...) se apunta a la idea de no-localidad como consistente al hablar sobre la conciencia. (shrink)

Winner of the Wolf Prize for his contribution to our understanding of the universe, Penrose takes on the question of whether artificial intelligence will ever ...

Featuring contributions from the world’s leading experts on the subject and based partly on several detailed case studies, this volume is the first comprehensive analysis of the scientific notion of robustness as well as of the general ...

Perspectives on Quine, now available in paperback, is a collection of twenty-one new essays dealing with the thought of America's most distinguished living philosopher, Willard Van Orman Quine. After the editors' brief introduction to Quine's thought, the volume opens with an important new essay by Quine entitled Three Indeterminacies. The essays that follow, written by leading philosophers, are rich with insights into a wide variety of Quine's concerns ranging from logic and set theory to natural language, truth, evidence, natural kinds, (...) naturalized epistemology, and much more. Each essay concludes with a summary and response from Quine himself. (shrink)

This paper is a plea for hedonism to be taken more seriously. It begins by charting hedonism's decline, and suggests that this is a result of two major objections: the claim that hedonism is the ‘philosophy of swine’, reducing all value to a single common denominator, and Nozick's ‘experience machine’ objection. There follows some elucidation of the nature of hedonism, and of enjoyment in particular. Two types of theory of enjoyment are outlined–internalism, according to which enjoyment has some special ‘feeling (...) tone’, and externalism, according to which enjoyment is any kind of experience to which we take some special attitude, such as that of desire. Internalism–the traditional view–is defended against current externalist orthodoxy. The paper ends with responses to the philosophy of swine and the experience machine objections. (shrink)

The volume is a collection of essays devoted to the analysis of scientific change and stability. It explores the balance and tension that exist between commensurability and continuity on the one hand, and incommensurability and discontinuity on the other. Moreover, it discusses some central epistemological consequences regarding the nature of scientific progress, rationality and realism. In relation to these topics, it investigates a number of new avenues, and revisits some familiar issues, with a focus on the history and philosophy of (...) physics, and an emphasis on developments in cognitive sciences as well as on the claims of “new experimentalists”. The book constitutes fully revised versions of papers which were originally presented at the international colloquium held at the University of Nancy, France, in June 2004. (shrink)

critical analyses of the arguments and attitudes favoring the various popular datings of the inception of a human being's life.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Available for the first time in English, Roger's masterwork of intellectual history situates the life sciences within the larger context of French Enlightenment thought and the history of institutions.

W. V. Quine was quite simply the most distinguished analytic philosopher of the later half of the twentieth century. His celebrated attack on the analytic/synthetic tradition heralded a major shift away from the views of language descended from logical positivism. His most important book, Word and Object, introduced the concept of indeterminacy of radical translation, a bleak view of the nature of the language with which we ascribe thoughts and beliefs to ourselves and others. Quine is also famous for the (...) view that epistemology should be naturalized, that is conducted in a scientific spirit with the object of investigating the relationship between the inputs of experience and the outputs of belief. The eleven essays in this volume cover all the central topics of Quine's philosophy: the underdetermination of physical theory, analycity, naturalism, propositional attitudes, behaviorism, reference and ontology, positivism, holism and logic. (shrink)