Talmy divided the world’s languages according to how they express movement. Spanish, a verb-framed language, purportedly constrains the use of motion verbs expressing the manner of movement (such as roll) to contexts in which no spatial boundary is crossed. Previous research suggests that this constraint sometimes does not apply. We report the first large-scale investigation of the constraint and its modulating factors (movement direction, verb type, entering/exiting, Ground size, the preposition used) across different Spanish-speaking communities. A task with open-ended description (...) of animated videos, a sentence interpretation task, and a rating task found that Spanish and Latin American speakers (n = 180 in total) often use manner verbs to describe boundary-crossing situations (especially entering a place), although this is modulated by the preposition following the verb (more with a than en). Better understanding of this constraint in verb-framed languages has applications in, for instance, L2 acquisition research. (shrink)

A model is proposed to explain how emotional and cognitive processes drive epistemic activities within individual scientists. In this account, emotion–cognition interactions produce cyclical phases of accommodative and assimilative epistemic activities, called thought experiments and empirical experiments, respectively. During thought experiments, scientists ruminate over troubling anomalies in order to generate the theoretical ingredients necessary for constructing new conjectures. During empirical experiments, scientists explore exciting conjectures in order to cover the empirical ground necessary to discover new anomalies. Critically, epistemic activities are (...) accompanied and sustained by positive and negative emotional moods. The main virtue of the model is its specification of a coupled feedback mechanism that explains the dynamics and the temporal dependencies between empirical and theoretical activities underlying scientific discovery. (shrink)

In recent decades, neurosciences have reached considerable goals in understanding mental processes and human behavior, overcoming the classic separations between mind and body, reason and passion, penetrating the maze of our cognitive and emotional life to explain their rootedness in the body and the their interactions with the environment. And if until not many years ago psychological and neuroscientific research neglected the study of emotional life to focus only on cognitive functions tout court, today there is even a dedicated sector (...) called affective Neuroscience. By broadly reconstructing the general panorama of neuroscience, and of the affective ones in particular, this essay focuses on the contribution that research on mirror neurons has made to understanding the mechanisms of intersubjectivity and above all that component of social cognition that is empathy. The goal is to understand how we recognize the emotions of others and to explain what the human ability to interpret the actions and intentions of others as if they were ours, to know better how we work and how we relate to others. Research on mirror neurons, within an embodied perspective, shows how the brain is an organ linked to a body that acts, moves and feels in its unceasing interaction with the world. Keywords: Neuroscience. Affective Neurosciences. Emotions. Empathy. Mirror neurons. Embodied cognition. (shrink)

The use of forward models is well established in cognitive and computational neuroscience. We compare and contrast two recent, but interestingly divergent, accounts of the place of forward models in the human cognitive architecture. On the Auxiliary Forward Model account, forward models are special-purpose prediction mechanisms implemented by additional circuitry distinct from core mechanisms of perception and action. On the Integral Forward Model account, forward models lie at the heart of all forms of perception and action. We compare these neighbouring (...) but importantly different visions and consider their implications for the cognitive sciences. We end by asking what kinds of empirical research might offer evidence favouring one or the other of these approaches. (shrink)

El vertiginoso desarrollo de la tecnología en los últimos años nos ha llevado a una serie de conocimientos inconmensurables en las diversas áreas del saber, de manera particular en las ciencias básicas como la biología, la genética, la física, la química y en áreas como la informática, que nos muestran desarrollos sorprendentes. Lo anterior nos lleva a pensar en una relación triádica entre ciencia, tecnología y sociedad que no podemos desconocer por el impacto que generan. De esta triada surgen connotaciones (...) de diferentes órdenes que nos llevan al campo de la ética y particularmente de la bioética. (shrink)

Há longo tempo considerado um dos sentidos menores e mais fracos nos animais humanos, o olfato na realidade assume na nossa modalidade de existência uma função bem menos marginal, antes central, nos comportamentos socio-emocionais, na evocação das memórias e na comunicação não verbal, e não último na nossa vida quotidiana, especialmente pelo seu papel na percepção do sabor dos alimentos. Graças aos progressos que a pesquisa alcançou nas últimas décadas, a ponto de justificar entre outras coisas o nascimento de uma (...) nova área científica chamada neurogastronomia, o olfato, e especialmente o olfato retronasal, se configura como uma das nossas habilidades mais espécie-específicas, à qual devemos, inclusive, uma das maiores alegrias da vida: o prazer consciente de saborear e de apreciar alimentos e bebidas. Partindo deste tema, o objetivo deste ensaio è, portanto, mostrar em que medida uma experiência radicada no corpo, como a percepção do sabor, remonte às características espécie-específicas desenvolvidas pelo olfato humano no curso da evolução, configurando-se como uma forma complexa de cognição encarnada, cujas possibilidades dependem tanto da estrutura biológica, quanto do uso efetivo que fazemos deste extraordinário dispositivo corpóreo. _Palavras-chave:_ odores, olfato retronasal, percep;ção do sabor, gosto, neurogastronomia, anosmia, ageusia. (shrink)

Socially responsible human resource management (SR‐HRM) is becoming increasingly important for academics and managers. The interface between HRM and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the subject of analysis in this article. It adopts a contextual perspective to analyze whether the institutional context influences the implementation of socially responsible HRM (SR‐HRM). Considering the differences in the national institutional contexts across Europe, this study explores the different models of SR‐HRM in that region. The research is focused on a sample of 153 companies (...) headquartered in Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The findings evidence the influence exerted by the national institutional context on the implementation of SR‐HRM. Differences among country clusters suggest the existence of different models of SR‐HRM in Europe. However, these models do not correspond to the blocks on HRM or on CSR identified by the literature but instead provide a novel categorization. (shrink)

Este libro aborda la relación entre arquitectura y mentalidades educativas. Muestra cómo los imaginarios dominantes son materializados en los espacios arquitectónicos de los colegios oficiales de Bogotá, al captar los movimientos sociales y culturales que los impulsan. Se parte del hecho de que los espacios arquitectónicos nos rodean y nos en-vuelven, y están presentes en cada detalle de nuestras vidas; así, un espacio particular, un rincón, una esquina, un salón o una habitación, que por momentos son o fueron parte de (...) lo vivido, al evocarlos hacen recordar lo ocurrido en su interior, e ir más allá y soñar con lo que pudo haber sido, con lo que fue, con lo que es o con lo que será. Es aquí donde el\' orden imaginario desempeña un papel clave en la vivencia y percepción de los espacios ya que estos se inscriben como "una nueva antropología del deseo", que nos permite determinar las formas de actuación socialmente construidas. Se combinan, entonces, el frío y el calor; lo frío del objeto arquitectónico que adquiere sentido cuando se encuentra con el calor de la vida. Es así como se pueden determinar las condiciones de posibilidad de una institución, un con-cepto: despojándolas de las explicaciones tradicionales, para de esta manera re-conocer que el objeto arquitectónico llamado "escuela" no es solo una construcción física, sino que adquiere múltiples interpretaciones producto de su intención de uso y de las proyecciones ideológicas y saberes sobre la educación. Habitar un territorio es tomarlo, marcarlo con nuestras emociones, sentimientos e ilusiones; en otras palabras, es construirlo, y re-construirlo, de manera permanente, a partir de nuestros imaginarios. (shrink)

This essay offers a general interpretation of Benedetto Croce’s aesthetics as a theory of knowledge. It takes its title from Croce’s famous work in the 1931, Le Due Scienze Mondane; l’Estetica e l’Economica, in which Croce describes the process of development of modern aesthetics as the affirmation of a logica dei sensi ; a definition developed from the “poetic logic” in Vico’s Scienza Nuova. The essay starts with a comparison with Gilles Deleuze’s logic of sense, or thought of the surface, (...) to propose the argument that Croce can be acknowledged as one of the authors of the Nietzschean reversal of Platonism. This argument is supported by the anti-metaphysical character of Croce’s thought, who has always pursued the aim of overcoming cognitive dualism to give new dignity to the sense in all of its complexity and, by consequence, to the world. Aesthetics, in Croce’s solution, possesses two philosophical meanings: because its better epistemological definition – particularly in the connection between intuition and expression – provides advantages in other fields of philosophy; in addition, aesthetics is the initial form of spiritual life. (shrink)

Como é sabido, comida e eros são duas fontes de prazer, indissociavelmente ligadas. Não é uma coincidência que o termo ‘apetite’ denota tanto a sensação que acompanha a necessidade de se alimentar, como, em geral, a tendência natural para satisfazer os desejos físicos e especialmente sexuais. Os prazeres do paladar, bem como os sexuais, estão em grande parte relacionados com multissensorialidade que os perpassa. São, portanto, experiências totalizantes, prazeres difusos que satisfazem todos os nossos sentidos, contribuindo de modo nada trivial (...) à obtenção da vida feliz para a qual temos uma vocação inata. Os sentidos mais “carnais”, em especial o gosto – o sentido mais sinestésico – juntamente ao olfato, são os mais envolvidos na mesa assim como na cama. Funções essenciais para a sobrevivência dos indivíduos e para a preservação de todas as espécies animais, comer e se reproduzir foram transformadas pelo animal humano em duas atividades espécie-específicas: o erotismo e a gastronomia. E, portanto, em fontes de prazer longe de ser instintivo, no qual também a linguagem desempenha um papel considerável. As saborosas descrições de um prato são parte integrante da sua apreciação e do prazer que derivamos do seu consumo e da sua partilha, exatamente como o são as palavras sussurradas durante uma festa de amor. Cientes da dificuldade imposta por um tema sobre o qual se disse e se escreveu de tudo, neste artigo tentaremos descrever o papel dos sentidos “carnais”, e do gosto em particular, nas duas experiências mais sensuais e totalizantes que definem a “boa vida” para a qual estamos naturalmente inclinados. Palavras-chave: Gosto. Comida. Prazer. Eros. Multisensorialidade. (shrink)

Normal 0 14 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 SINTESI Un pregiudizo tramandato per secoli dalla cultura filosofico-scientifica dominante ha avvalorato una gerarchia dei sensi centrata sul primato cognitivo della vista e dell’udito, relegando il gusto al rango di senso ‘minore’, di senso carnale e distante dalla conoscenza. Ma portare qualcosa alla bocca e capirne il sapore è un’attività che per gli animali umani oltrepassa il bisogno fisiologico, configurandosi come un’esperienza multisensoriale ma anche cognitiva, emotiva, culturale, estetica e persino linguistica. Recuperare il (...) valore intellettuale e culturale del gusto vuol dire restituire dignità a una componente importante della nostra conoscenza sensibile, riconoscendo il contributo che ciascun dispositivo sensoriale sa apportare alla conoscenza della realtà con un accento suo proprio, pur entro un’ineliminabile ‘concertazione’ sinestetica. Espressione di un atto ‘estremo’ di conoscenza incarnata, il gusto è dopotutto l’unico senso a esigere l’introduzione di frammenti di mondo dentro di noi, l’unico che ci consente di assimilare totalmente l’oggetto esterno (la cosa gustata) fino a farlo diventare parte di noi. Un’esperienza così esclusiva e intima – in cui sia il soggetto gustante sia l’oggetto gustato risultano trasformati – non può pertanto non suscitare una riflessione sul gusto come intelligenza del corpo e come strumento per meglio comprendere quel complesso intreccio di mente e di corpo, di ragione e di passione, di vincoli biologici e di attrezzature culturali che è l’animale umano. Partendo da queste premesse proveremo a spiegare brevemente cosa vuol dire ‘saper gustare’ e in che senso quest’attività contribuisce a qualificare la nostra umanità. (shrink)

O objetivo deste ensaio é refletir sobre o significado da expressão “arte do paladar”, enfocando os aspectos da nossa história evolutiva – uma história contemporaneamente biológica e cultural – os quais fizeram de nós os únicos “macacos” capazes de cozinhar o alimento, de produzi-lo de modo sistemático, de escolhê-lo em meio a uma vasta gama de alimentos, com base em diferentes critérios, de atribuir-lhe um valor simbólico e de celebrálo através da linguagem; razões pelas quais o homem pode reivindicar plenamente (...) a invenção dos sabores. Resultado de um longo processo de elaboração da natureza, a arte do paladar é, portanto, o resultado de todos os processos pelos quais transformamos um dos atos mais naturais, isto é, o ato de comer, em um artificial, cultural e intelectual, aplicando um conhecimento, um saber prático, para conceber, imaginar e elaborar novos objetos alimentares, novas sensações para o paladar, novas possibilidades de interação social. Palavras-chave: Arte de alimentos. Sabor. Cozinhar. Culinária. Linguagem. (shrink)

Tra il gusto, il cibo e il piacere esiste un legame complesso che oltrepassa le necessità legate alla sopravvivenza, contribuendo al raggiungimento di quella felicità che è il fine ultimo cui tende l’uomo. Fonte di nutrimento, per il corpo come per la mente, e nel contempo di godimento, l’atto di gustare il cibo soddisfa tutti i sensi, accende la nostra vita emotiva, stimola la nostra mente, promuove la socialità, gratifica il nostro senso estetico e sinestetico, sollecita la conversazione, crea talvolta (...) godibili dipendenze, arricchendosi di significati diversi. Partendo da queste premesse, questo saggio, attingendo da fonti diverse, si propone di restituire al poliedrico piacere di gustare il suo vero valore, esplorandone le molteplici declinazioni, gli innumerevoli modi che ci siamo inventati per prolungare questo piacere, alla ricerca di gratificazioni del palato alternative a quelle offerte dalla natura. Un tema filosoficamente e antropologicamente interessante, specialmente per chi intende praticare una filosofia incarnata, fondata cioè sul corpo vivente e sensiente. Parole chiave: Piacere del gusto. Passione. Gustare. Emozioni. Avanguardia culinaria. Spettacolarizzazione del cibo. Food porn. (shrink)

Lo que viene ocurriendo en la ciudad de Trujillo (Perú), es un notorio cambio en variabilidad climática que se presenta sobre todo a partir de la década de 90, atribuible a la transformación de lo que fue un ecosistema costero desértico por una impresionante cubierta de vegetales (proyecto de irrigación Chavimochic). La metodología responde a un estudio descriptivo que consistió en la recopilación de información secundaria sobre variables como temperatura, humedad, y precipitación. Las conclusiones corroboraron la hipótesis de que la (...) transformación del ecosistema desértico costero por vegetación artificial aporta a la variabilidad climática en la ciudad de Trujillo. (shrink)

A partir del siglo XX se ha dado un cambio de paradigma en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje con el apoyo de las nuevas tecnologías se añade a la creación de empresa la denominación de Spin Off que permite explotar la investigación y el conocimiento –práctico de los estudiantes. Su creación se basa en el proceso de constitución deSociedades por Acciones Simplificadas (SAS) y un modelo paralelista de doble entrada (conocimiento/práctica) para el desarrollo académico de Contabilidad financieraavanzada. Los estudiantes responden a (...) esta iniciativa con empoderamiento de lasobligaciones asignadas tanto a nivel operativo, de aplicación contable y fiscal. (shrink)

O presente artigo tem por escopo examinar a tensão entre regulamentação e liberdade de mercado na União Europeia, por meio do estudo do Acórdão do TJUE no caso “Champagner Sorbet”, que aborda o mercado interno europeu, sustentáculo instrumental de integração da União, com enfoque na política adotada pelos mercados agrícolas e questões relacionadas às Denominações de origem protegida. O enfoque singe-se à participação ativa no projeto de integração europeia do pensamento ordoliberal e o importante papel do TJUE na salvaguarda da (...) independência da organização do mercado comum. (shrink)

The evaluation of study habits as determinant factors in academic performance is a concern for educational agents because they determine the academic opportunities of students. However, a problem encountered is the accessibility of valid and reliable instruments to evaluate study habits from the students' point of view. In this sense, this paper analyzes the internal structure, reliability, and rating of the study habits perception questionnaire. The results and the practical contribution to the educational community in guiding intervention to improve students' (...) academic opportunities are discussed. (shrink)

It has been suggested that external and/or internal limitations paradoxically may lead to superior learning, that is, the concepts of starting small and less is more (Elman, ; Newport, ). In this paper, we explore the type of incremental ordering during training that might help learning, and what mechanism explains this facilitation. We report four artificial grammar learning experiments with human participants. In Experiments 1a and 1b we found a beneficial effect of starting small using two types of simple recursive (...) grammars: right‐branching and center‐embedding, with recursive embedded clauses in fixed positions and fixed length. This effect was replicated in Experiment 2 (N = 100). In Experiment 3 and 4, we used a more complex center‐embedded grammar with recursive loops in variable positions, producing strings of variable length. When participants were presented an incremental ordering of training stimuli, as in natural language, they were better able to generalize their knowledge of simple units to more complex units when the training input “grew” according to structural complexity, compared to when it “grew” according to string length. Overall, the results suggest that starting small confers an advantage for learning complex center‐embedded structures when the input is organized according to structural complexity. (shrink)

El propósito de este artículo es analizar debates sobre la educación sexual en la Argentina entre 1910 y 1945, desde una perspectiva de género y enfocados en niños y niñas en procesos de escolarización. Se presentan tres ejes interrelacionados. El primero se centra en el sistema educativo y analiza principios, prescripciones y ponderaciones que se elaboraron en torno a la educación sexual. Para tal fin se analiza la revista La Higiene Escolar, publicación suplementaria del Monitor de Educación Común, y el (...) libro de texto obligatorio Higiene, publicado en 1927 y en circulación hasta la década de 1950.El segundo eje versa sobre la producción impresa de la Liga Argentina de Profilaxis Social, fundada en Buenos Aires en 1921 por un conjunto de médicos y profesores, con el objetivo de divulgar conocimientos sobre enfermedades venéreas y crear una conciencia sanitaria popular, que incluía la educación sexual de niños, niñas y adolescentes.El tercer eje analiza los vínculos entre los integrantes de la Liga con la Asociación Americana de Higiene Social, la Liga Nacional Francesa Contra el Peligro Venéreo y la Oficina Sanitaria de Berlín, que abonaron un discurso común sobre la educación sexual sustentado en el higienismo, la profilaxis y el eugenismo social. (shrink)

Resumen: Chile, a pesar de su historia migratoria, no ha generado programas educativos sustentados por políticas gubernamentales que propicien la adquisición de la variedad lingüística de la comunidad de acogida, por parte de la inmigración no hispanoparlante, integrando los referentes culturales de ambos colectivos. Se propone una alternativa a este olvido histórico y nos planteamos lo siguiente: ¿Qué elementos debiesen integrar un programa de adquisición de la variedad lingüística de la comunidad de acogida dirigido a inmigrantes haitianos propiciando el conocimiento (...) cultural? Se presenta el diseño e implementación de un programa que adopta la Hipótesis de Interdependencia Lingüística, en un aula dinámica donde se trabaja de forma colaborativa y situada. Se concluye que es posible educar en una segunda lengua a partir de la incorporación de elementos que propicien la interrelación de los aprendices en igualdad de conocimientos, y el uso de los códigos lingüísticos de los participantes como manifestación de respeto e interés por lo que cada uno pueda aportar a partir de su L1, develando su cultura de origen.: Chile, despite having a migration history, has not generated educational programs supported by government policies that encourage the acquisition of the linguistic variety of the host society, by non-Spanish-speaking immigration community, integrating the cultural referents of both collectives. It is suggested an option to this historical oblivion and we consider the following: What elements should be integrated into a program for acquiring the linguistic variety of the host society focused to Haitian immigrants fostering the cultural recognition? It is presented the design and implementation of a program that adopts the Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis in a dynamic classroom working in a collaborative and situated way. As a conclusion, it is possible to educate in a second language from a program that incorporates elements that promote the interrelation of all participants in equality of knowledge, as well as the use of participants’ linguistic codes as a manifestation of respect and interest for what each participant can contribute from his/her L1, revealing their culture of origin. (shrink)

Behavioral interventions have shown promising neuroprotective effects, but the cascade of molecular, brain and behavioral changes involved in these benefits remains poorly understood. Projecte Moviment is a 12-week multi-domain, single-blind, proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial examining the cognitive effect and underlying mechanisms of an aerobic exercise, computerized cognitive training and a combined groups compared to a waitlist control group. Adherence was > 80% for 82/109 participants recruited. In this study we report intervention-related changes in plasma biomarkers and structural-MRI and how they (...) related to changes in physical activity and individual variables and their potential role as mediators in the cognitive changes. Our results show that although there were no significant changes in molecular biomarker concentrations in any intervention group, changes in ICAM-1 and SDF1-α were negatively associated with changes in physical activity outcomes in AE and COMB groups. Brain volume changes were found in the CCT showing a significant increase in precuneus volume. Sex moderated the brain volume change in the AE and COMB groups, suggesting that men may benefit more than women. Changes in molecular biomarkers and brain volumes did not significantly mediate the cognitive-related benefits found previously for any group. This study shows crucial initial molecular and brain volume changes related to lifestyle interventions at early stages and highlights the value of examining activity parameters, individual difference characteristics and using a multi-level analysis approach to address these questions. (shrink)

The recruitment of respondents belonging to ethnic minorities poses important challenges in social and health research. This paper reflects on the enablers and barriers to recruitment that we encountered in our research work with persons belonging to ethnic minorities. Additionally, we applied the Matching Model of Recruitment, a theoretical framework concerning minority recruitment, to guide our reflection. We also explored its applicability as a research design tool. In assessing our research experience, we learned that minority recruitment in social and health (...) research is influenced by the social context of all key players involved in the research. Also, there are enablers and barriers within that social context facilitating or delaying the recruitment process. The main enablers to recruit respondents belonging to ethnic minorities include working with community agencies and gatekeepers who share a common vision with researchers and the latter’s ability to gain the trust of potential respondents. The main barriers include demanding too much from these same community agencies and gatekeepers and ignoring factors that could delay the completion of the research. Although we found the Matching Model of Recruitment to be an effective tool in assessing the processes of recruiting respondents belonging to ethnic minorities, further empirical research is needed to explore its usefulness during the research planning phase. (shrink)

Background No studies have been conducted in Mexico to ascertain what ethical problems doctors working at hospitals deal with. This article aims to describe the ethical conflicts most commonly identified by Mexican internists and the importance they attribute to each of these conflicts. Methods Voluntary survey to the members of the Internal Medicine Association of Mexico. Results Responses were submitted by 347 internists. Half of those face ethical conflicts almost always or frequently. The most commonplace and relevant conflicts are those (...) resulting from the clinical relationship (communication, confidentiality, informed consent, assessment of mental capacity, decisions involving incapacitated patients, and conflicts with family members), and secondly those problems related with the end of life (palliative care, withholding or withdrawing treatment, and “No CPR orders”). To resolve conflicts they seek support through protocols, Institutional Ethics Committees (IECs), and consultations with colleagues and, occasionally, with bioethics experts. Protocols and IECs are the tools most in demand among them. Conclusions 1) the most frequent and relevant conflicts are those caused by the clinical relationship, above all those due to doctor–patient communication, and secondly those due to problems which arise at the end of life; 2) though nearly all of them have doubts about how to resolve conflicts, the vast majority are satisfied with the way in which they do so; 3) to deal with conflicts, they seek support mainly in protocols, IECs, and consultation with colleagues; and 4) in order to resolve them better, what they most demand are protocols and IECs, but also bioethics consultants. (shrink)

Joint activities are ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, but they differ substantially in their underlying psychological states. Humans attribute and share mental states with others in the so‐called shared intentionality. Our hypothesis is that our closest nonhuman living relatives also attribute some psychological mechanisms such as perceptions and goals to others, but, unlike humans, they are not necessarily intrinsically motivated to share those psychological states. Furthermore, it is postulated that shared intentionality is responsible for the appearance of a suite of (...) behaviors, including joint attention, declarative communication, imitative learning, and teaching, that are the basis of cultural learning and the social norms and traditions present in every human culture. (shrink)

Chimpanzees follow the gaze of conspecifics and humans — follow it past distractors and behind barriers, ‘check back’ with humans when gaze following does not yield interesting sights, use gestures appropriately depending on the visual access of their recipient, and select different pieces of food depending on whether their competitor has visual access to them. Taken together, these findings make a strong case for the hypothesis that chimpanzees have some understanding of what other individuals can and cannot see. However, chimpanzees (...) do not seem nearly so skillful in the Gesture Choice and Object Choice experimental paradigms. Neither behavioral conditioning nor theory of mind explanations can account for these results satisfactorily. Instead this chapter proposes the idea that chimpanzees have the cognitive skills to recall, represent, categorize, and reason about the behavior and perception of others, but not their intentional or mental states, because they do not know that others have such states since they cannot make a link to their own. Human beings began their own evolutionary trajectory with these same skills, but then at some point in their evolution (probably quite recently) they began to understand that their own experience could serve as some kind of model for that of other persons. This allowed for even better prediction and control of the behavior of others and better communication and cooperation with them as well, and so it was an adaptation with immediate adaptive consequences that ensured its survival. (shrink)

Neuroimaging and psychophysiological techniques have proved to be useful in comprehending the extent to which the visual modality is pervasive in mental imagery, and in comprehending the specificity of images generated through other sensory modalities. Although further research is needed to understand the nature of mental images, data attained by means of these techniques suggest that mental imagery requires at least two distinct processing components.

The problem of identity is central to epistemic transference. However, relative identity appears to be the only way to work out an epistemic useful notion of identity. Relative identity, on its part, is either parasitic on strict identity or not identity at all. If, on the contrary, we ought for a strict concept of identity capable of satisfying its requirements, we end up with a tautologic and epistemic worthless category. The paper provides an answer to this problem, which, while working (...) with a strict notion, shows how it might still serve epistemic purposes. In doing so, it shows how a formal reconstruction of our objectual world and the identities we refer to poses a workable model upon which our messy epistemic one acquires stability. The paper focuses primarily on the Geach-Quine discussion on identity. (shrink)