A segunda metade do século XIX foi um período de agitação econômica na vila de São Sebastião de Maraú pois, para surpresa de todos, descobriram nas margens do rio que de nome à vila vários tipos de minérios cobiçados pela indústria. Um grupo de brasileiros se dedicou a tais explorações, mas tiveram tal direito arrancado em nome dos interesses governamentais, que pendiam para o atendimento às ambições britânicas e por isso Edward Pellew Wilson conseguiu por decreto imperial ser o responsável (...) pela extração de tais riquezas. Anos depois transferiu ao seu conterrâneo John Cameron Grant tal benefício e este, através da John Grant & Companhia, construíram na fazenda João Branco daquela vila uma fábrica que produzia ácido sulfúrico, velas, sabão etc. Lá trabalhou o sertanejo Bernardino Moreira de Souza, homem sobre o qual a maior fonte de informações vem do processo instaurado por ocasião de sua morte que aconteceu quando tentou matar seus empregadores britânicos. Palavras-chave: Britânicos; Fábrica; Maraú; Sertanejo. (shrink)

No presente artigo pretendo apresentar a Autopoiesis, uma teoria formulada pelo biólogo chileno Humberto Maturana e pelo médico chileno Francisco Varela. Além de mostrar as similaridades entre o processo orgânico e o processo epistemológico, presentes nesta teoria, busco ressaltar a importância da Autopoiesis não somente no campo científico, como teoria epistemológica, mas também no campo ético e cultural, como uma teoria que ressalta desde a dinâmica interna do ser vivo, enquanto unidade, até a importância de sua interação com o mundo (...) em que vive. Assim, descrevo a formação do processo cognitivo através dos fundamentos autopoiéticos e de conceitos centrais, tais como: fronteira membranosa, metabolismo dinâmico, sistema operacionalmente fechado, acoplamento estrutural e deriva natural. A Autopoiesis demonstra que a experiência cognitiva do observador é intrínseca a sua estrutura biológica, ressaltando, assim, o papel do observador e questionando a validade de suas certezas sobre o que se propôs observar. A proposta deste trabalho será, portanto, trazer a discussão sobre a forma como conhecemos e sobre o processo de aprendizagem do homem e a influência de sua estrutura biológica e toda complexidade de fatores que estão envolvidos na extensa rede da vida que serão considerados aqui, fatores que são, antes de tudo, biológico-culturais. (shrink)

This study aimed to understand the expressions of fear in the journeys of health professionals who worked in the confrontation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), in the city of Manaus, in the Brazilian Western Amazon. This is an exploratory qualitative study that adopts interpretive description as a method to generate informed knowledge responsive to the needs of the practice. We included 56 participants, comprising 23 health managers and 33 health workers (middle and higher level) of different professional categories. The results (...) revealed three circles of experience: (1) knowledge and professional experience in dealing with the disease (unknown–known–experienced); (2) the growing proximity to death and loss (predicted–witnessed–suffered); and (3) the involvement and proximity to whatever affects the individual, their emotions, and personal transformations in the face of the threat (the collective, the neighbor, and oneself). Our results suggest that health professionals who worked during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Manaus experienced insecurity, dread, and fear, illustrating the complexity of developing their activities in the front line of care and management during the different phases of the pandemic. A contribution of the study is precisely that of capturing this complexity, which suggests the impossibility of analyzing fear only in its simple manifestation, or in each circle of experience. (shrink)

RESUMO A série Black Mirror, transmitida entre 2011 e 2023 pela Netflix, tornou-se um fenômeno de mídia e seus episódios mostraram formas de interação homem-máquina (terminologia também referida como humano-computador). O nome da série se refere ao fato de que, quando uma tela é desligada, ela se torna um espelho negro que reflete a imagem do usuário. Este artigo1 tem como objetivo analisar os efeitos da interação homem-máquina nas organizações produtivas apresentadas em Black Mirror. Esta pesquisa utilizou a análise do (...) discurso, principalmente a partir das contribuições de Mikhail Bakhtin. O método consistiu em três etapas que contaram com a colaboração de estudantes de graduação e pós-graduação em Engenharia de Produção, integrando ensino e pesquisa e desenvolvendo o senso crítico dos pesquisadores-iniciantes. Os resultados indicam que, nas organizações apresentadas na série Black Mirror, há uma transição do conceito de fatores humanos para fatores ciborgues, bem como o uso da interação homem-máquina para promover o controle social. (shrink)

ResumoEsse artigo propõe um contraponto entre a teoria mimética de René Girard, as considerações freudianas sobre sujeito e a obra de Oswald de Andrade. O sujeito mimético coincide com o sujeito antropofágico oswaldiano, pois idêntica divisa poderia defini-los, transformando o alheio em próprio, e transformá-lo a tal ponto que as fronteiras entre o eu e o outro se confundem. Cada um a seu modo, Oswald de Andrade e René Girard assimilaram criativamente a lição freudiana, especialmente a leitura de (...) Totem e Tabu (1913). O pensador e poeta brasileiro inverteu os termos da equação, descobrindo “a transformação permanente do Tabu em totem”.Palavras-chave: Teoria Mimética Girardiana. Sujeito Mimético. Antropofagia em Oswald de Andrade. Totem e Tabu. AbstractThis article proposes a comparison among René Girard’s mimetic theory, Freudian assumptions on the self and Oswald de Andrade’s work. The mimetic self coincides with the Oswaldian anthropophagic subject, since the identical division could define them, transforming the other in the self, and transform it in such a way that the limits between the self and the other can be confused. Each one in his own way, Oswald de Andrade and René Girard assimilated creatively Freud’s lesson, especially the reading of Totem and Taboo (1913). The thinker and Brazilian poet inverted the terms in the formula, descovering ‘the permanent transformation of the Taboo in totem.’Keywords: Girardian Mimetic Theory. Mimetic Self. Anthropophagy in Oswald de Andrade. Totem and Taboo. (shrink)

How can dispute records shed light on the study of dispute settlement processes and their social and political underpinnings? This volume addresses this question by investigating the interplay between record-making, disputing process, and the social and political contexts of conflicts. The authors make use of exceptionally rich charter materials from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and Scandinavia, including different types of texts directly and indirectly related to conflicts, in order to contribute to a comparative survey of early medieval dispute records and (...) to a better understanding of the interplay between judicial and other less formal modes of conflict resolution. Contributors are Isabel Alfonso, José M. Andrade, François Bougard, Warren C. Brown, Wendy Davies, Julio Escalona, Kim Esmark, Adam J. Kosto, Juan José Larrea, André Evangelista Marques, Josep M. Salrach, Igor Santos Salazar, and Francesca Tinti. (shrink)

Hablar de infinitud parecería conducirnos a dimensiones abstractas o lejanas; se trataría entonces de un discurso que pertenecería a lo meramente lógico o insustancial. En este estudio se pretende, por el contrario, hablar de la infinitud como realidad, como aquello en lo que estamos y que nos constituye. Pero no se trata solamente de la realidad divina, tardíamente considerada sin embargo como infinita, sino también de la realidad toda, que procede en definitiva de lo divino infinito como de su fuente (...) y sustento radical, y que debido a ello no puede coherentemente ser pensada sino como participando de algún modo de lo infinito originante. La amplia y sutil peripecia especulativa de la reflexión occidental, desde lo griegos hasta la actualidad, sobre la infinitud o no-limitación de la realidad es aquí objeto de atención y análisis sostenidos. (shrink)

The harms associated with wireless mobile devices (e.g. smartphones) are well documented. They have been linked to anxiety, depression, diminished attention span, sleep disturbance, and decreased relationship satisfaction. Perhaps what is most worrying from a moral perspective, however, is the effect these devices can have on our autonomy. In this article, we argue that there is an obligation to foster and safeguard autonomy in ourselves, and we suggest that wireless mobile devices pose a serious threat to our capacity to fulfill (...) this obligation. We defend the existence of an imperfect duty to be a ‘digital minimalist’. That is, we have a moral obligation to be intentional about how and to what extent we use these devices. The empirical findings already justify prudential reasons in favor of digital minimalism, but the moral duty is distinct from and independent of prudential considerations. (shrink)

This paper discusses the possibility of an absolute vacuum - a space without any substance. The motivation of this study is the contrast between most philosophers, up to Descartes, who stated that a vacuum was impossible, and the 17th century change of outlook, when the possibility and effective existence of the vacuum was accepted after the experiments of Torricelli and Pascal. This article attempts to show that, contrary to the received opinion, the acceptance of an ether is preferable to the (...) acceptance of a vacuum for several reasons. First: it is impossible to provide an empirical proof of the non-existence of the ether; second, an absolute vacuum is unthinkable; third, the ether concept is useful for the understanding of physical phaenomena; and fourth, the hypothesis of an ether in apparently void spaces is useful for the future development of science. The paper also endeavours to show that no recent advance of science changed those conclusions and that no future development can change them. (shrink)

The attention economy — the market where consumers’ attention is exchanged for goods and services — poses a variety of threats to individuals’ autonomy, which, at minimum, involves the ability to set and pursue ends for oneself. It has been argued that the threat wireless mobile devices pose to autonomy gives rise to a duty to oneself to be a digital minimalist, one whose interactions with digital technologies are intentional such that they do not conflict with their ends. In this (...) paper, we argue that there is a corresponding duty to others to be an attention ecologist, one who promotes digital minimalism in others. Although the moral reasons for being an attention ecologist are similar to those that motivate the duty to oneself, the arguments diverge in important ways. We explore the application of this duty in various domains where we have special obligations to promote autonomy in virtue of the different roles we play in the lives of others, such as parents and teachers. We also discuss the consequences of our arguments for employers, software developers, and policy makers. (shrink)

Dans cet article nous étudions le Trattato della sfera de Galilée, écrit avant 1600. C’est un traité d’astronomie géocentrique qui suit la structure du Tractatus de sphæra de Johannes de Sacrobosco. Nous analysons quelques particularités du traité, en le comparant à d’autres travaux astronomiques du xvie siècle, et nous discutons ses sources probables. Nous soutenons que l’influence du commentaire de Christoph Clavius sur la Sphæra de Sacrobosco ne peut pas être considérée comme son influence unique ou principale. Le traité de (...) Galilée était probablement inspiré par la Sfera del mondo de Piccolomini, un travail qui anticipait plusieurs particularités du Trattato della sfera. Cette influence est établie par de nombreuses annotations de Galilée trouvées dans un exemplaire du livre de Piccolomini. (shrink)

Mindreading capacity has been widely understood as the human ability to gain knowledge about the inner processes and states of others that bring about the behavior of these agents. This paper argues against this epistemic view of mindreading on the basis of different empirical studies in linguistics and social and developmental psychology: we are systematically biased in attributing mental states, and many everyday uses of mental ascription sentences do not reflect an epistemic function in our social interactions. We introduce an (...) alternative view of mental ascriptions, the social cover view, which is consistent with the evidence. The social cover view holds that the main function of mental ascriptions is to cover the social status and reputation of an agent rather than to gain knowledge about her inner processes and states. Finally, we discuss two possible objections to our proposal. (shrink)

This article discusses the preponderance of aesthetic aspects within the sport experience, especially as these are reflected in the dialogue between sport and cinema and in relations established via the use of images and the emergence of new ideas of the body at the beginning of the twentieth century. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part identifies points of connection between sport and cinema. The remaining parts interpret the meaning of these connections. The paper concludes that it (...) is important to recognize that sport is not only a theme for art but also a language that establishes inter-semiotic dialogues, something that is deeply characteristic of sport and a source also of its aesthetic meaning. (shrink)

Esse artigo apresenta parte do debate sobre Juventude no Brasil e em Portugal analisadas na pesquisa de doutoramento realizada na Universidade Federal da Bahia-Faculdade de Educação (UFBA) e na Universidade de Lisboa- Instituto de Ciências Sociais (ICS) entre os anos de 2013 e 2017 (MORAES, 2017). Problematiza as relações entre juventude negra, políticas públicas e educação em comunidades de Salvador e Lisboa tomando como referencial estudos da Sociologia da Juventude. Através de pesquisa qualitativa com inspiração etnográfica, o estudo de caso (...) contrasta narrativas de gestores de políticas de juventude, educadores sociais, assim como de jovens negros brasileiros, portugueses e cabo-verdianos participantes de projetos de educação social. Intenta ainda dar visibilidade a retomada de políticas públicas para juventudes negras no Brasil como estratégia de enfrentamento do Estado ao genocídio da população negra brasileira. Palavras-chave: juventude negra, políticas públicas e educação social. (shrink)

ABSTRACT : On many accounts, Rule IV appears to be composed of two distinct texts, and this should be justified by the difference between the mathesis universalis and the Cartesian method. This article runs counter to the usual interpretation by showing that the discussion on mathematics in Rule IV has enabled the introduction of method constraining scientific research to operate on grounds of order and measurement. The mathesis universalis is not so much a science of higher mathematics as a universal (...) method by the means of which one can find truth. (shrink)

The theme of nihilism has been the object of interpreters’ reflections since Nietzsche’s works were first published, and recent work has placed nihilism at the center of Nietzsche’s philosophical project. João Constâncio’s Arte e niilismo. Nietzsche e o Enigma do Mundo sheds new light on the problem of nihilism by relating it to many key concepts and themes in Nietzsche’s thought. The author starts from the Schopenhauerian perspective according to which what really matters to philosophy is giving an answer to (...) the “riddle of the... (shrink)

This paper discusses the potential of the notions of reification and consensualization as developed by the theory of social representations as analytical tools for addressing the communication between the lay and scientific spheres. Social Representations Theory started by offering an over-sharp distinction between the reified and the consensual universes of which science and common sense, respectively, were presented as paradigmatic. This paper, however, suggests that the notions of consensual and reified can be considered as describing two distinct communicative formats: reification (...) implying the use of arguments which establish prescriptions for representations and action, and consensualization relying on arguments which recognize the heterogeneity of representation and action. We illustrate this proposal through the analysis of a case in which the expert and the lay spheres of a Lisbon neighborhood opposed each other regarding the new laws of public participation in community matters. This analysis showed how reification and consensualization can be used as discursive formats by both spheres. The implications of the use of reification and consensualization and how they may depend on several power resources and have different impacts on social change are discussed. (shrink)

We analyze the pointwise convergence of a sequence of computable elements of L1 in terms of algorithmic randomness. We consider two ways of expressing the dominated convergence theorem and show that, over the base theory RCA0, each is equivalent to the assertion that every Gδ subset of Cantor space with positive measure has an element. This last statement is, in turn, equivalent to weak weak Königʼs lemma relativized to the Turing jump of any set. It is also equivalent to the (...) conjunction of the statement asserting the existence of a 2-random relative to any given set and the principle of Σ2 collection. (shrink)

Heidegger tries to explain our emotional life applying three schemes: causal explanation, mental internalisation of emotions and metaphorical expression. None of the three schemes explains emotion though. Either because the causal nexus does not always occur or because objects and people in the external world are carriers of emotional agents or because language is already on a metaphorical level. Moreover, how is it possible that there are presently emotions constituting our life without our being aware of their existence? From the (...) analysis of boredom in its three varieties (“bored by X”, “get oneself bored”, and “it is boring”) we will get to the depth where emotions lie, trying to rouse them and to keep them awake. Although it surfaces with the force and energy of the present, every emotion has its past and future constitution. How can we understand the future of a present emotion along with its past? (shrink)

O foco deste artigo é realçar as contribuições de Deleuze e Guattari sobre a linguagem, e como se articula com o legado de Canetti e as noções de palavras de ordem, discurso indireto – além dos conceitos mais conhecidos de agenciamento, imanência e a formação de saber. Além disso, explica-se a relação entre o discurso e o poder, tal como é compreendida por Fairclough e a conexão que o poder tem com as estruturas sociais. A aproximação entre a linguagem e (...) o poder foi contemplada por esses autores a partir de uma perspectiva diferente, enquanto Deleuze e Guattari voltavam-se para o poder imanente da linguagem, Fairclough focou no poder existente a partir da relação entre o discurso e a estrutura social. (shrink)

This study tested the direct effects of Dark Tetrad traits on organizational and interpersonal counterproductive work behaviors. We also examined the moderating effects of the three dimensions of organizational justice – distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice – on the Dark Tetrad-CWBs relationships. Based on the data from 613 employees across different occupations, the results revealed that only psychopathy and sadism had significant effects on CWBs targeted at the organization. The results also supported the direct effect of sadism on (...) interpersonal CWBs. The findings confirmed the moderating role of interactional justice but differentially, depending on the dark trait and the target of workplace deviance. Whereas low and medium levels of interactional justice moderated the relationship between Machiavellianism and CWBs directed to the organization, it did not play any role in narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism. Regarding CWBs aimed at other people, interactional justice emerged as a significant moderator in Machiavellianism and sadism. But, whereas sadistic employees performed more harmful behaviors toward other individuals whatever their level of interactional justice, if people high in Machiavellianism perceived a high fair interpersonal treatment, they did not show deviant behaviors directed at other employees. The paper concludes with some suggestions and recommendations about the relevance of organizational justice in the influence of dark personality traits on CWBs. (shrink)

Rodrigo Castro Orellana La première partie de l’article analyse certains des aspects fondamentaux du débat sur la théologie politique, principalement à partir des recherches de Carl Schmitt. Ensuite, il étudie la mise à jour de cette controverse par Giorgio Agamben en identifiant ses principaux enjeux théoriques et politiques. Enfin, dans la troisième section, l’article étudie le contraste entre le concept de pouvoir pastoral de Michel Foucault et la version spécifique de la sécularisation proposée par le paradigme théologico-historique.

Knowledge of diverse sexual motivations can have profound implications for our comprehension of the causes, correlations, and consequences of sexual behavior. This study had two objectives: on the one hand, to determine the different motives why young Spanish university students have sex and their relationship with different sociodemographic and psychosexual variables and sexual behavior; on the other hand, to review and improve the psychometric properties of the Sexual Motivations Scale and validate it in Spanish. Participants were 805 university students of (...) both sexes, aged between 18 and 26 years, who completed a battery of online questionnaires. Significant associations were found between young people's sexual motives, especially the motives of coping, peer pressure, and enhancement, the sociodemographic variables, sexual behavior, and psychosexual variables. Also, a new structure of the Sexual Motivations Scale was proposed, with the elimination of the factor of Self-Affirmation. The discussion highlights the relevance of the results obtained due to their implications in the promotion of sexual health, in addition to achieving the first instrument validated in Spanish for the evaluation of sexual motivations. (shrink)

"Organização" é um conceito amplamente empregado nos romances filosóficos de Sade. O sentido do termo, contudo, parece mudar conforme a teoria do personagem. Tal polissemia não é uma invenção de Sade, pois pode-se discernir, em obras filosóficas dos séculos XVII e XVIII, pelo menos cinco significados diferentes para a palavra: um sinônimo de máquina cartesiana, uma disposição específica da matéria que possibilita a vida, a forma com que a matéria viva se dispõe num todo contínuo, um mero arranjo geométrico de (...) partículas, uma propriedade da matéria. O objetivo deste artigo é esclarecer problemas de interpretação do romance sadiano referentes ao uso do conceito de organização pelos personagens. Para isso, será preciso, primeiro, examinar os principais sentidos do conceito nos séculos XVII e XVIII para aplicar, em seguida, os diferentes significados aos discursos dos libertinos. Trata-se de analisar como a plurivocidade do conceito na Idade Moderna se estende ao romance sadiano e de que maneira um sentido específico de organização modifica teorias acerca de um mesmo objeto ou acorda discursos sobre assuntos diferentes. (shrink)

Resumen: El artículo estudia los aspectos fundamentales de la crítica de Dussel al modelo formal de hegemonía desarrollado por Laclau. En este contexto, se presenta la propuesta de una hegemonía popular ligada a la centralidad de la reproducción de la vida como criterio normativo de la política y se denuncia el decisionismo abstracto de la teoría populista laclauniana. Pero también en este texto se ofrece, siguiendo la lectura de Castro-Gómez, una crítica de las tesis de Dussel desde un punto (...) de vista postfundacionalista, lo que supone cuestionar la idea misma de un universal incondicionado. Finalmente, concluimos exponiendo una crítica a algunas de las coordenadas teóricas compartidas por ambos autores, identificando las limitaciones del concepto mismo de hegemonía.: This article studies the fundamental aspects of Dussel’s critique of the formal model of hegemony developed by Laclau. In this context, a concept of popular hegemony tied to the centrality of the reproduction of life as a normative criterion in politics is proposed, as well as an argument against the abstract decisionism of the populist theory of Laclau. The text also offers -as suggested by Castro-Gomez’s reading- a critique of Dussel’s ideas from a post-foundationalist perspective, which leads to questioning the very idea of an unconditional universal. Finally, we conclude by positing a critique of some of the theoretical viewpoints shared by both authors, identifying the limitations of the very concept of hegemony. (shrink)

This paper aims at presenting a horizontal approach to the design of communication for joint action in human-robot interaction. According to this approach, social robotics must focus on different parameters of the whole joint action including context, the embedded situation and human psychological profile during the design and test process. Such an approach aims at complementing the standard building-block model that represents the state-of-the-art in robotic communication. Moreover, we provide some general ideas of how the model can facilitate the use (...) of available communicative strategies for creating more efficient culturally sustainable robots in contexts of joint action. (shrink)

En este artículo me gustaría concentrarme en al forma de tratar el problema de Benacerraf respecto de la inaccesibilidad de los objetos abstractos. Este es el principio (llamado FBP por Balaguer) que caracteriza a los objetos por axiomas de una teoría de la existencia consistente. Analizo los argume..

This introduction to the Common Knowledge symposium titled “Comparative Relativism” outlines a variety of intellectual contexts where placing the unlikely companion terms comparison and relativism in conjunction offers analytical purchase. If comparison, in the most general sense, involves the investigation of discrete contexts in order to elucidate their similarities and differences, then relativism, as a tendency, stance, or working method, usually involves the assumption that contexts exhibit, or may exhibit, radically different, incomparable, or incommensurable traits. Comparative studies are required to (...) treat their objects as alike, at least in some crucial respects; relativism indicates the limits of this practice. Jensen argues that this seeming paradox is productive, as he moves across contexts, from Lévi-Strauss's analysis of comparison as an anthropological method to Peter Galison's history of physics, and on to the anthropological, philosophical, and historical examples offered in symposium contributions by Barbara Herrnstein Smith, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Marilyn Strathern, and Isabelle Stengers. Comparative relativism is understood by some to imply that relativism comes in various kinds and that these have multiple uses, functions, and effects, varying widely in different personal, historical, and institutional contexts that can be compared and contrasted. Comparative relativism is taken by others to encourage a “comparison of comparisons,” in order to relativize what different peoples—say, Western academics and Amerindian shamans—compare things “for.” Jensen concludes that what is compared and relativized in this symposium are the methods of comparison and relativization themselves. He ventures that the contributors all hope that treating these terms in juxtaposition may allow for new configurations of inquiry. (shrink)

Introducción : la translocalización discursiva de "Latinoamérica" en tiempos de la globalización / Eduardo Mendieta, Santiago Castro-Gómez / - Posoccidentalismo : el argumento desde América Latina / Walter D. Mignolo / - Fragmentos globales : latinoamericanismo de segundo orden / Alberto Moreiras / - Hegemonía y dominio : subalternidad, un significado flotante / Ileana Rodríguez / - Más allá del accidentalismo : hacia categorías neohistóricas no imperialistas / Fernando Coronil / - Modernidad, posmodernidad y poscolonialidad : una búsqueda esperanzadora (...) del tiempo / Eduardo Mendieta / - Latinoamericanismo, modernidad, globalización. Prolegómenos a una crítica poscolonial de la razón / Santiago Castro-Gómez / - Realismo mágico y poscolonialismo : construcciones del otro desde la otredad / Erna von der Walde. (shrink)

A selection of papers presented at the III South Cone Meeting of Philosophy and History of Science. Papers are in Portuguese and Spanish.

De manera inmediata y tradicional pensamos que hablar sobre política exige forzosamente ligarla a la idea de conflicto. Si bien es cierto que el carácter político marca ciertos modos de habitar el mundo, también es relevante aclarar que, a partir del concepto que tengamos de política, podremos darnos cuenta de si la idea de conflicto es inherente a esta o si la política puede ser pensada desde otro horizonte. Hans-Georg Gadamer nos ofrece una serie de reflexiones hermenéuticas en torno al (...) lenguaje y al diálogo; a partir de allí, intentamos atisbar un concepto de política no solo inherente al conflicto, sino también a su parte medular como lo es el diálogo prudente. Pensar en una política dentro del marco de un horizonte dialógico nos permite arrojar luz a problemas particulares que nos aquejan hoy, los cuales nos interpelan a pensar y repensarlos para comprender por qué hemos llegado a ser lo que somos. (shrink)

Entrevista a Edgardo Castro realizada por Harold Dupuis, el 14 de noviembre de 2022.

Castro-Gómez argues that in the colonial periphery of the Spanish Americas, Enlightenment constituted not only the position of epistemic distance separating science from all other knowledges, but also the position of ethnic distance separating the criollos from the ‘castes’. Epistemic violence—and not only physical violence—is thereby found at the very origin of Colombian nationality.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:"Even now, now, very now"Mimesis's and Imitation's TemporalitiesJoão Cezar de Castro Rocha (bio)Had we but world enough and time.—Andrew Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress"THE EMPIRE OF NOWNESSIn the contemporary world our lives seem to become ever more Girardian, and to such an extent that even everyday language speaks of this circumstance. I think especially of a tool that is omnipresent in our societies: One just has to listen (...) carefully to the concepts employed daily by billions of users of the digital universal, and more particularly pay attention to the naturalization of an extremely aggressive behavior by the users of social networks.Is it not true that we all want our posts and tweets and photos to go viral? Haven't we all have lost some precious time looking at an infinity of memes scrolling down mechanically screen after screen? In political science, there is even a new approach, memetic, specialized in the study of the production [End Page 47] of memes and above all in understanding the overwhelming impact of their reception—notably in the political arena. Among so many possible examples, the Italian movement Cinque Stelle, the election of both Donald Trump in the United States (2016) and Jair Messias Bolsonaro in Brazil (2018), and the outcome of the Brexit plebiscite (2016) are events intrinsically (although not exclusively) related to a sort of mass production of memes and other gadgets typical of social networks.And that is not all: The word contagion is commonly employed by users in almost a technical Girardian sense. The paroxysm of a world for which social relations are dominated by aggravated internal mediation also deepens the mimetic drive underlying the digital universe. What is one to say of a new "profession" that is flourishing nowadays? I am referring to the digital influencer, whose only possible parallel is given by the uncontrollable multiplication of coaches for every single aspect of life. The reader of René Girard's fundamental work cannot but close her eyes and anticipate the next step. Digital influencers and coaches are only successful if they present themselves as an authentic skandalon to billions of users around the globe, for their lifestyle, although seemingly inaccessible or precisely because of it, becomes the explicit object of desire of their followers. Girardian concepts come naturally to mind: Metaphysical desire defines the profile of such followers—they want to be exactly like the coaches and influencers they admire. The double-bind nature of this predicament is a perfect recipe for the escalation of symbolic violence and abusive language that permeates the digital universe. Influencers and coaches are, so to speak, active nonreaders of Gregory Bateson's work, urging their followers to adopt them as undisputable models, but at the same time, because they are the coaches and the influencers, they are making it clear that the followers will not be able to achieve what nonetheless they are led to covet because of the same influencers and coaches. Otherwise, if every follower became a coach, the "profession" would at once reach its apogee and its destruction!(You understand that redundancy imposes itself here because it is a powerful mimetic machine.)In Bateson's words, the double bind is "a situation in which no matter what a person does, he 'can't win.' It is hypothesized that a person caught in the double bind may develop schizophrenic symptoms."1 This paradoxical structure evokes the classic situation of the fable, in which the character who desires everything [End Page 48] gains nothing; finding himself midway between two treasures, he is unable to settle on one for fear of losing the other. This is a conflictive situation provoked by the digital universe on a daily basis and on a planetary scale in an unprecedented manner.The "best" is yet to come: This troubling escalation of mimetic rivalry and therefore mimetic violence, although entangled in embarrassingly trite matters, has a shocking outcome: the obsessive repetition of the mimetic resolution offered by the so-called "virtual lynching," and the omnipresence of the "cancel or call-out culture," an obvious variation of the scapegoat mechanism, widely employed and rendered properly epidemic due to an... (shrink)

ISSN:1909-9711 (En línea) Misión La Revista Acta Colombiana de Psicología publica hallazgos originales de las investigaciones en Psicología y de esta disciplina en diálogo con otras, con el propósito de divulgarlas a la comunidad universitaria y a todas las personas interesadas en conocer sus nuevos avances y aplicaciones a distintos campos y necesidades de la sociedad contemporánea.