The article presents an agent-based model of scientific interaction aimed at examining how different degrees of connectedness of scientists impact their efficiency in knowledge acquisition. The model is built on the basis of Zollman’s ABM by changing some of its idealizing assumptions that concern the representation of the central notions underlying the model: epistemic success of the rivalling scientific theories, scientific interaction and the assessment in view of which scientists choose theories to work on. Our results suggest that whether and (...) to what extent the degree of connectedness of a scientific community impacts its efficiency is a highly context-dependent matter since different conditions deem strikingly different results. More generally, we argue that simplicity of ABMs may come at a price: the requirement to run extensive robustness analysis before we can specify the adequate target phenomenon of the model.1 1Introduction2Zollman's 2010 Model3Static versus Dynamic Epistemic Success 3.1Introducing the notion of dynamic epistemic success3.2Implementation and results for the basic setup4Critical Interaction 4.1Introducing critique4.2Implementation and results5Inertia of Inquiry 5.1Introducing rational inertia5.2Implementation and results6Threshold Below Which Theories Are Equally Promising 6.1An inquiry that is even more difficult6.2Implementation and results7Discussion8Conclusion. (shrink)

In this paper we examine the epistemic value of highly idealized agent-based models of social aspects of scientific inquiry. On the one hand, we argue that taking the results of such simulations as informative of actual scientific inquiry is unwarranted, at least for the class of models proposed in recent literature. Moreover, we argue that a weaker approach, which takes these models as providing only “how-possibly” explanations, does not help to improve their epistemic value. On the other hand, we suggest (...) that if ABMs of science underwent two types of robustness analysis, they could indeed have a clear epistemic function, namely by providing evidence for philosophical and historical hypotheses. In this sense, ABMs can obtain evidential and explanatory properties and thus be a useful tool for integrated history and philosophy of science. We illustrate our point with an example of a model—building on the work by Kevin Zollman—which we apply to a concrete historical case study. (shrink)

Building on the emotion-centered model of voluntary work behavior, this research tests the relations between leader narcissism, followers’ malicious and benign envy, and supervisor-targeted counterproductive work behavior. Results across five studies, two experimental studies, and two field surveys indicate that leader narcissism relates positively to followers’ negative emotions, which in turn mediates the positive relation between leader narcissism and supervisor-targeted CWB. Proposed negative relations between leader narcissism and positive emotions were only partly supported. Our findings advance the understanding of envy (...) and the detrimental impact of leader narcissism on organizational functioning. (shrink)

Recent studies of scientific interaction based on agent-based models suggest that a crucial factor conducive to efficient inquiry is what Zollman has dubbed ‘transient diversity’. It signifies a process in which a community engages in parallel exploration of rivaling theories lasting sufficiently long for the community to identify the best theory and to converge on it. But what exactly generates transient diversity? And is transient diversity a decisive factor when it comes to the efficiency of inquiry? In this paper we (...) examine the impact of different conditions on the efficiency of inquiry, as well as the relation between diversity and efficiency. This includes certain diversity-generating mechanisms previously proposed in the literature, as well as some factors that have so far been neglected. This study is obtained via an argumentation-based ABM. Our results suggest that cautious decision-making does not always have a significant impact on the efficiency of inquiry while different evaluations underlying theory-choice and different social networks do. Moreover, we find a correlation between diversity and a successful performance of agents only under specific conditions, which indicates that transient diversity is sometimes not the primary factor responsible for efficiency. Altogether, when comparing our results to those obtained by structurally different ABMs based on Zollman’s work, the impact of specific factors on efficiency of inquiry, as well as the role of transient diversity in achieving efficiency, appear to be highly dependent on the underlying model. (shrink)

Recent studies of scientific interaction based on agent-based models suggest that a crucial factor conducive to efficient inquiry is what Zollman has dubbed ‘transient diversity’. It signifies a process in which a community engages in parallel exploration of rivaling theories lasting sufficiently long for the community to identify the best theory and to converge on it. But what exactly generates transient diversity? And is transient diversity a decisive factor when it comes to the efficiency of inquiry? In this paper we (...) examine the impact of different conditions on the efficiency of inquiry, as well as the relation between diversity and efficiency. This includes certain diversity-generating mechanisms previously proposed in the literature, as well as some factors that have so far been neglected. This study is obtained via an argumentation-based ABM. Our results suggest that cautious decision-making does not always have a significant impact on the efficiency of inquiry while different evaluations underlying theory-choice and different social networks do. Moreover, we find a correlation between diversity and a successful performance of agents only under specific conditions, which indicates that transient diversity is sometimes not the primary factor responsible for efficiency. Altogether, when comparing our results to those obtained by structurally different ABMs based on Zollman’s work, the impact of specific factors on efficiency of inquiry, as well as the role of transient diversity in achieving efficiency, appear to be highly dependent on the underlying model. (shrink)

Previous research indicates positive effects of a person’s attractiveness on evaluations of opposite-sex persons, but less positive or even negative effects of attractiveness on same-sex evaluations. These biases are consistent with social motives linked to mate search and intrasexual rivalry. In line with the hypothesis that such motives should not become operative until after puberty, 6- to 12-year-old participants (i.e., children) displayed no evidence for biased social evaluations based on other people’s attractiveness. In contrast, 13- to 19-year-old participants (i.e., adolescents) (...) displayed positive and negative attractiveness biases toward opposite- and same-sex targets, respectively. Moreover, these biases increased with the age—and thus the reproductive relevance—of the targets being evaluated. Findings corroborate the relevance of mating-related motives for social judgment and illustrate how such biases can grow during human development. At a broader conceptual level, this research demonstrates the utility of investigating proximate social judgment processes through the lens of adaptationist thinking. (shrink)

Nesta entrevista, conduzida por Gonçalo Marcelo e Maria Luísa Portocarrero, Daniel Frey, professor de filosofia da religião na Universidade de Estrasburgo e Presidente do Conselho Científico do Fonds Ricoeur, apresenta alguns aspetos centrais da sua investigação filosófica, do seu desenvolvimento intelectual e das atividades desenvolvidas no Fonds Ricoeur. Daniel Frey expõe a sua teoria hermenêutica da leitura, influenciada por Gadamer e Ricoeur, mostrando a especificidade da abordagem hermenêutica da leitura. Na entrevista, o autor também explora a importância da filosofia do (...) jovem Ricoeur dos anos 1950‑1960, e a evolução da relação entre filosofia e religião em Ricoeur. Fazendo uma breve descrição do estatuto das obras que se tornam “clássicas” e dos projetos recentes do Fonds Ricoeur, como a digitalização dos arquivos de Ricoeur, esta entrevista de Daniel Frey mostra‑nos até que ponto o trabalho de Ricoeur se encontra hoje aberto a novas leituras e interpretações. (shrink)

Attention to the Bible, though not central, is constant in Paul Ricœur’s work, which features a succession of several approaches. In Symbolique du mal (1960), Ricœur attempts to think on the basis of biblical symbols with a clear philosophical intent that, however, uses a theological scheme (“believe to understand”). In subsequent essays on biblical hermeneutics, such as Herméneutique de l’idée de révélation (1977), Ricœur chooses to distance himself from theological reading in order to enable his philosophical reading to grasp the (...) Bible’s strangeness. Later on, his quasi-private meditations on death and its imaginary ( Vivant jusqu’à la mort , 2007) will lead him to explore anew crossroads of philosophical reading and theological reading of the Bible, so as to offer an astonishing and stimulating critique of biblical resurrection accounts. (shrink)

Tão fecunda quanto paradoxal, a noção de clássico implica uma referência de excelência que só é reconhecida retrospectivamente, uma inserção histórica tanto quanto um valor intemporal, a autoridade de uma tradição bem como a liberdade criadora de uma apropriação actual, o elitismo da recepção aliado à popularidade do acesso. Após uma sinopse etimológica e lexicográfica, este artigo explora a noção de “clássico” na hermenêutica de Paul Ricœur. De facto, é todo o espectro da teoria da interpretação, mas também da tradução (...) e da leitura, que pode ser mobilizado para tratar desta noção, ambivalente na própria utilização que dela faz o autor de Temps et Récit. A hermenêutica começa a ser a “arte de compreender os clássicos” no sentido lato do termo: textos sagrados e profanos na encruzilhada de horizontes geográficos e históricos. Explicação e compreensão, crítica e pertença, afastamento e desdistanciamento, são tantas dicotomias metodológicas através das quais se desenvolve a ideia do carácter plural e activo da recepção dos clássicos. Tanto quanto a sua teoria, é também a prática ricoeuriana que evidencia a sua concepção dos “clássicos”. Paul Ricœur é um leitor-pensador que mediatiza as tensões tanto quanto articula as oposições entre os autores canónicos a partir dos quais elabora o seu próprio pensamento. Estes são alguns dos desafios da impensabilidade e da indispensabilidade dos "clássicos" e da própria noção de "clássico". (shrink)

Dans Du texte à l’action, Paul Ricœur avait caractérisé de façon précise son ancrage dans la tradition philosophique en le situant « dans la ligne d’une philosophie réflexive […] », et plus particulièrement dans la mouvance de la phénoménologie husserlienne » dont sa propre philosophie constituait à ses yeux une « variante herméneutique ». Le rapport à la phénoménologie de Husserl remonte aux origines même de son œuvre, puisque Le Volontaire et l’Involontaire – sa thèse de doctorat soutenue e...

"À la suite du philosophe, on a coutume d’affirmer que dans son œuvre, Paul Ricœur a toujours séparé l’argumentation philosophique et les convictions religieuses. Remontant aux origines de sa philosophie et analysant la place de la religion dans ses grands ouvrages, la présente étude (première dans son genre en français) y discerne en réalité une laïcisation progressive, parfois ambiguë, de ses convictions religieuses, aboutissant in fine à une philosophie sans absolu, susceptible – à l’occasion de la question du mal notamment (...) – de penser à partir de la religion, ou plus précisément de la « foi biblique ». En marge de cette « laïcité d’abstention » qui a fini par s’imposer à lui, le philosophe a également livré des études plus engagées, au nom d’une autre modalité de la laïcité, dite « de confrontation ». Attentive au nouage complexe entre philosophie et religion mis en œuvre par Ricœur, la présente enquête philosophique met en évidence un paradoxe : étonnamment, l’approche ricœurienne du religieux laisse impensé le problème de la vérité revendiquée par les textes bibliques, alors même qu’elle a tenté de vérifier systématiquement leur portée « révélante » (selon son expression) vis-à-vis de la condition humaine."--Page 4 de la couverture. (shrink)

Yasuhiko Sugimura’s review of my book La Religion dans la philosophie (Hermann, 2021) for the present issue of Études Ricœuriennes / Ricoeur Studies affords me an opportunity to return to my intention in this work. I verify the heuristic hypothesis that the complex relationship that Ricoeur’s philosophy established with religion can be explained by a process of secularization [laïcisation] of Ricoeur’s religious convictions. In dialogue with the aforementioned review, I propose to reconsider certain aspects of my criticism of Ricoeur on (...) the question of truth. (shrink)

Nicht erst durch sein antibürgerliches Engagement verdient sich Brecht den Namen eines politischen Schriftstellers, sondern vor allem dadurch, dass die höchst kommunikative Sprache seiner Dichtung aktiv ins Bewusstsein eingreift. Im vorliegenden Buch wird gezeigt, wie die semantische Wirkung der sich im Gestischen festbeissenden Brechtschen Bilder durch strukturalistische und sprachwissenschaftliche Forschungsmethoden voll erfasst werden kann. Sich auf ein Drittes beziehend, bewirken Metaphern und Symbole im aktionsfördernden Kontext, verallgemeinernd und anschaulich zugleich, tiefgründig politische Klärung.

Recension: Jean Grondin, _Paul Ricœur_, 127 pp.

The recent economic crisis as well as other disasters such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the nuclear disaster in Japan has fanned calls for leaders who do not deny responsibility, hide information, and deceive others, but rather lead with authenticity and integrity. In this article, we empirically investigate the concept of authentic leadership. Specifically, we examine the antecedents and individual as well as group-level outcomes of authentic leadership in business (Study 1; n = 306) as (...) well as research organizations (Study 2; n = 105). Findings reveal leader self-knowledge and self-consistency as antecedents of authentic leadership and followers’ satisfaction with supervisor, organizational commitment, and extra-effort as well as perceived team effectiveness as outcomes. The relations between authentic leadership and followers’ work-related attitudes as well as perceived team effectiveness are mediated by perceived predictability of the leader, a particular facet of trust. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice and provide suggestions for advancing theory and research on authentic leadership in the future. (shrink)

The Puritan ethic is conventionally interpreted as a set of individualistic values that encourage a degree of self-interest inimical to the good of organizations and society. A closer reading of original Puritan moralists reveals a different ethic. Puritan moralists simultaneously legitimated economic individualism while urging individuals to work for the common good. They contrasted self-interest and the common good, which they understood to be the sinful and moral ends, respectively, of economic individualism. This polarity can be found in all the (...) details of their moral system, including the Puritan understanding of vocation, economic virtues, property rights, contracts, wealth and poverty, market prices and interest, and the proper economic role of government. The efforts of contemporary ethics to confront the problem of self-interest in business organizations and society would be enriched by a rediscovery of the Puritan understanding of self as a fundamental problem for any individualistic value system. (shrink)

Recension: Jean Grondin, Paul Ricœur (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, Que sais-je? n° 3952, 2013), 127 pp.