In the social sciences and in everyday speech we often talk about groups as if they behaved in the same way as individuals, thinking and acting as a singular being. We say for example that "Google intends to develop an automated car", "the U.S. Government believes that Syria has used chemical weapons on its people", or that "the NRA wants to protect the rights of gun owners". We also often ascribe legal and moral responsibility to groups. But could groups literally (...) intend things? Is there such a thing as a collective mind? If so, should groups be held morally responsible? Such questions are of vital importance to our understanding of the social world. In this lively, engaging introduction Deborah Tollefsen offers a careful survey of contemporary philosophers? answers to these questions, and argues for the unorthodox view that certain groups should, indeed, be treated as agents and deserve to be held morally accountable. Tollefsen explores the nature of belief, action and intention, and shows the reader how a belief in group agency can be reconciled with our understanding of individual agency and accountability. _Groups as Agents_ will be a vital resource for scholars as well as for students of philosophy and the social sciences encountering the topic for the first time. (shrink)

The seventeenth century was a period of extraordinary invention, discovery and revolutions in scientific, social and political orders. It was a time of expansive automation, biological discovery, rapid advances in medical knowledge, of animal trials and a questioning of the boundaries between species, human and non-human, between social classes, and of the assumed naturalness of political inequality. This book gives a tour through those objects, ordinary and extraordinary, which captivated the philosophical imagination of the single most important French philosopher of (...) this period, Rene Descartes. Deborah J. Brown and Calvin G. Normore document Descartes' attempt to make sense of the complex, composite objects of human and divine invention, consistent with the fundamental tenets of his metaphysical system. Their central argument is that, far from reducing all the categories of ordinary experience to the two basic categories of substance, mind and body, Descartes' philosophy recognises irreducible composites that resist reduction, and require their own distinctive modes of explanation. (shrink)

Resumen. La presente investigación busca diseñar un modelo estratégico de formación de servidores públicos que propicie el crecimiento personal y profesional, encaminado al servicio civil de carrera. Apoyándose en criterios, conceptos y estrategias propios de Administración del Capital Humano, y Aprendizaje Organizacional aplicándolas al contexto de la Administración Pública Estatal. Para alcanzar este propósito se realizó un diagnóstico con beneficios claros, que dan la oportunidad de pensar y dialogar sobre la estrategia, los objetivos, las personas y el futuro de la (...) Administración Pública Estatal Sinaloense desde una perspectiva del conocimiento. El trabajo de campo se realizó con personal que presta sus servicios en entidades y dependencias administrativas públicas pertenecientes al Poder Ejecutivo del Gobierno del Estado de Sinaloa. A través de un cuestionario, con una muestra de 400 individuos. Se han obtenido 29 indicadores cuyos valores reflejan donde reside el valor del Capital Humano. Así como una puntuación total alcanzada de 104 puntos, advirtiéndose que en el área de gestión del conocimiento, es necesario hacer “algo” para que esta administración, sea considerada como una organización que aprende en toda regla y que realiza una gestión del conocimiento de forma óptima y eficaz. Palabras claves. Administración pública, servidor público, competencias laborales. The present research pretends to design a strategic model to train public servants to help to develop both professional and personal growth, headed to civil service as a profession. Based on criteria, concepts and strategies from Human Capital Administration and Organizational Learning, applying these to the State Public Administration’s context. To achieve this goal, a diagnose took place with clear benefits, that give, to us all, the chance to think and discuss about strategies, objectives, people and future of the Sinaloa State Public Administration from a knowledge perspective. Fieldworkwas done by personnel that serve in administrative public entities and organizations that are part of the Executive Power of the Sinaloa State Government. Through a questionnaire, with a sample of 400 individuals, there was a result of 29 indicators, and its values reflect where the importance of the Executive Power of the Sinaloa State Government lies, as well as a reached total score of 104 points. Noting that in the knowledge promotion area it is necessary to do something so this administration would be considered an organization that learns with every rule and performs a knowledge management in an optimum and efficient way. Keywords. Public administration, civil servant, labor competitions. (shrink)

This text provides a critique of the subjective Bayesian view of statistical inference, and proposes the author's own error-statistical approach as an alternative framework for the epistemology of experiment. It seeks to address the needs of researchers who work with statistical analysis.

Resumo: Os escritos estéticos de Lukács durante a emigração na URSS constituem uma súmula de seu posicionamento contra o despotismo stalinista e a ortodoxia soviética. A despeito das “autocríticas protocolares”, os textos expressam a crítica interdita pelo dogmatismo e o sectarismo característicos do período e irão repercutir a preocupação do autor de que a Estética e Para uma Ontologia do Ser Social, fossem consideradas como sua contribuição à urgência da construção de um projeto de renovação e renascimento do marxismo.

The pandemic has exposed the costs of job and income losses. Emergency cash transfers can mitigate the worst immediate effects on people who lack access to safety nets. This research note provides estimates for a potential Temporary Basic Income for poor and near-poor people across 132 developing countries, as well as the minimum cost of income support sufficient to mitigate the pandemic-induced poverty increase. The total monthly cost of the TBI ranges 0.27–0.63% of developing countries’ combined GDP, depending on the (...) choice: top-ups on each country’s average incomes up to a vulnerability threshold; transfers based on each country’s median standard of living; or uniform transfers. This note argues that some form of TBI is within reach and can inform a larger conversation about how to build comprehensive social protection systems that make the poor and near-poor more resilient to economic downturns in the future. (shrink)

Alumnos con discapacidad: modelo de inclusión de la Universidad Federal de San Carlos Resumen: El objetivo fue describir cómo funciona el programa de inclusión para alumnos con discapacidad en la Universidad Federal de San Carlos, en Brasil. Es una investigación cualitativa con análisis del discurso de cuatro entrevistas semiestructuradas con alumnos con discapacidad, investigadores especialistas y gestores. Los principales resultados muestran que no es suficiente trabajar sobre los ejes de atención a estos estudiantes sino se analizan y evalúan las funciones (...) de los actores involucrados en el proceso de inclusión. Es necesaria una estructura que promueva cambios culturales en la comunidad universitaria, de otro modo, las barreras actitudinales siguen siendo uno de los principales límites para estos alumnos. Palabras clave: Educación Superior; Discapacidad; Educación Especial; Educación Inclusiva. Alunos com deficiência: modelo de inclusão na Universidade Federal de São Carlos Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa foi descrever o funcionamento do programa de inclusão para alunos com deficiência na Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Brasil. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa com base na análise do discurso de quatro entrevistas semiestruturadas com alunos com deficiência, pesquisadores especializados e gestores. Os resultados centrais mostram que não é suficiente trabalhar sobre os eixos principais de atenção a estes alunos, que deve-se analisar e avaliar as funções dos atores envolvidos no processo de inclusão, e é preciso uma estrutura que motive uma mudança cultural na comunidade universitária, caso contrário, as barreiras atitudinais continuam sendo limites principais para estes alunos. Palavras-chave: Ensino Superior; Deficiência; Educação Especial; Educação Inclusiva. Students with disabilities: inclusion model of Federal University of São Carlos Abstract: The objective of the study is to describe the inclusion program for students with disability in the Federal University of São Carlos, in Brazil. A qualitative study based on discourse analysis of four semi-structured interviews with students with disability, specialist researchers, and managers. The main results shows that is not enough to focus on the principal subjects of inclusive education, instead, it’s necessary to analyze responsibilities of every actor involved in the inclusion process, motivation based structure is needed towards a cultural change. Otherwise, attitudinal barriers of the university community continue to be one of the principal limits for these students. Key words: Higher Education; Disability; Especial Education; Inclusive Education. Data de registro: 04/03/2020 Data de aceite: 28/08/2020. (shrink)

Argues that the central cognitive component of ethical virtue for Aristotle is awareness of the value of particulars.

Decades before the environmental movement emerged in the 1960s, Adorno condemned our destructive and self-destructive relationship to the natural world, warning of the catastrophe that may result if we continue to treat nature as an object that exists exclusively for our own benefit. "Adorno on Nature" presents the first detailed examination of the pivotal role of the idea of natural history in Adorno's work. A comparison of Adorno's concerns with those of key ecological theorists - social ecologist Murray Bookchin, ecofeminist (...) Carolyn Merchant, and deep ecologist Arne Naess - reveals how Adorno speaks directly to many of today's most pressing environmental issues. Ending with a discussion of the philosophical conundrum of unity in diversity, "Adorno on Nature" also explores how social solidarity can be promoted as a necessary means of confronting environmental problems. (shrink)

Spinoza distinguishes two orders of knowledge: an order conceived by the intellect, that is, the necessary order of nature and another order conceived by the imagination, that is, the common order of nature in which the contingent and the possible dwell. However, the common order is not only a deprivation of knowledge, but also a reality for the finite mode. Because we cannot exclude the existence of the common order, this paper attempts to understand how we can reconcile it with (...) the necessary order. Spinoza’s critique of imagination is that it introduces fragmentation and discontinuity into nature, since it is a kind of knowledge that does not realize the basis of this continuity: the necessary order. Through an analysis of time as a product of imagination, we will try to show how it introduces the idea of contingency and consequently that of possible. Just as time, the common order can be grasped by reason as an outer frame, it will no longer be an obstacle to the necessary chain of things in the necessary order. It is through the necessary order that we can realize the necessity that underlies the production of time, possible, and contingency as the corruptibility of all particular things. (shrink)

Este trabajo comienza ofreciendo, a modo de «status quaestionis», una panorámica de la atención que se ha prestado a la obra ensayística de Sánchez Ferlosio, desde las lecturas propuestas en los años noventa del siglo pasado por autores del círculo de nuestro autor hasta los estudios y artículos aparecidos tras su muerte, en 2019. A continuación, se presentan algunas aportaciones relevantes de Ferlosio al pensamiento contemporáneo. Concretamente, se analiza el «aprecio por lo perecedero» como uno de estas aportaciones y, además, (...) se explica cómo este aprecio surge en el marco de una «actitud reflexiva ante el lenguaje». Por último, se procede a un balance crítico de las posiciones de Sánchez Ferlosio con respecto a los asuntos mencionados. (shrink)

Economists and other social scientists in this century have often supported economic arguments by referring to positions taken by philosophers of science. This important new book looks at the reliability of this practice and, in the process, provides economists, social scientists, and historians with the necessary background to discuss methodological matters with authority. Redman first presents an accurate, critical, yet neutral survey of the modern philosophy of science from the Vienna Circle to the present, focusing particularly on logical positivism, sociological (...) explanations of science (Polanyi, Fleck, Kuhn), the Popper family, and the history of science. She then deals with economic methodology in the twentieth century, looking at a wide range of methodological positions, especially those supported by positions from the philosophy of science. She considers the myth of the feasibility of falsification in economics and, within the context of its significance for economics, discusses the interpretation of Kuhn's philosophy of science as consensus and the danger such a view represents to science. Appendices review the history of the is-ought dispute and list economists whose first works deal with methodological topics. Comprehensive, readable, and accessible to those with little background knowledge, Redman's book will appeal to a wide range of social scientists and philosophers of science. (shrink)

Research on linguistic interaction suggests that two or more individuals can sometimes form adaptive and cohesive systems. We describe an “alignment system” as a loosely interconnected set of cognitive processes that facilitate social interactions. As a dynamic, multi-component system, it is responsive to higher-level cognitive states such as shared beliefs and intentions (those involving collective intentionality) but can also give rise to such shared cognitive states via bottom-up processes. As an example of putative group cognition we turn to transactive memory (...) and suggest how further research on alignment in these cases might reveal how such systems can be genuinely described as cognitive. Finally, we address a prominent critique of collective cognitive systems, arguing that there is much empirical and explanatory benefit to be gained from considering the possibility of group cognitive systems, especially in the context of small-group human interaction. (shrink)

Despite the widespread use of key concepts of the Neyman–Pearson (N–P) statistical paradigm—type I and II errors, significance levels, power, confidence levels—they have been the subject of philosophical controversy and debate for over 60 years. Both current and long-standing problems of N–P tests stem from unclarity and confusion, even among N–P adherents, as to how a test's (pre-data) error probabilities are to be used for (post-data) inductive inference as opposed to inductive behavior. We argue that the relevance of error probabilities (...) is to ensure that only statistical hypotheses that have passed severe or probative tests are inferred from the data. The severity criterion supplies a meta-statistical principle for evaluating proposed statistical inferences, avoiding classic fallacies from tests that are overly sensitive, as well as those not sensitive enough to particular errors and discrepancies. Introduction and overview 1.1 Behavioristic and inferential rationales for Neyman–Pearson (N–P) tests 1.2 Severity rationale: induction as severe testing 1.3 Severity as a meta-statistical concept: three required restrictions on the N–P paradigm Error statistical tests from the severity perspective 2.1 N–P test T(): type I, II error probabilities and power 2.2 Specifying test T() using p-values Neyman's post-data use of power 3.1 Neyman: does failure to reject H warrant confirming H? Severe testing as a basic concept for an adequate post-data inference 4.1 The severity interpretation of acceptance (SIA) for test T() 4.2 The fallacy of acceptance (i.e., an insignificant difference): Ms Rosy 4.3 Severity and power Fallacy of rejection: statistical vs. substantive significance 5.1 Taking a rejection of H0 as evidence for a substantive claim or theory 5.2 A statistically significant difference from H0 may fail to indicate a substantively important magnitude 5.3 Principle for the severity interpretation of a rejection (SIR) 5.4 Comparing significant results with different sample sizes in T(): large n problem 5.5 General testing rules for T(), using the severe testing concept The severe testing concept and confidence intervals 6.1 Dualities between one and two-sided intervals and tests 6.2 Avoiding shortcomings of confidence intervals Beyond the N–P paradigm: pure significance, and misspecification tests Concluding comments: have we shown severity to be a basic concept in a N–P philosophy of induction? (shrink)

Autism is one of the most compelling, controversial, and heartbreaking cognitive disorders. It presents unique philosophical challenges as well, raising intriguing questions in philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and philosophy of language that need to be explored if the autistic population is to be responsibly served. Starting from the "theory of mind" thesis that a fundamental deficit in autism is the inability to recognize that other persons have minds, Deborah R. Barnbaum considers its implications for the nature of consciousness, (...) our understanding of the consciousness of others, meaning theories in philosophy of language, and the modality of mind. This discussion lays the groundwork for consideration of the value of an autistic life, as well as the moral theories available to persons with autism. The book also explores questions about genetic decision making, research into the nature of autism, and the controversial quest for a cure. This is a timely and wide-ranging book on a disorder that commends itself to serious ethical examination. (shrink)

This paper examines how unethical behavior in the workplace occurs when management places inordinately strong emphasis on goalattainment without a corresponding emphasis on following legitimate procedures. Robert Merton's theory of sodal structure and anomie provides a foundation to discuss this argument. Key factors affecting ethical climates in work organizations are also addressed. Based on this analysis, the paper proposes strategies for developing and changing aspects of organizational culture to reduce anomie, thereby creating work climates which discourage unethical practices and provide (...) employees with mechanisms to resolve ethical conflicts in a constructive way. (shrink)

Descartes is often accused of having fragmented the human being into two independent substances, mind and body, with no clear strategy for explaining the apparent unity of human experience. Deborah Brown argues that, contrary to this view, Descartes did in fact have a conception of a single, integrated human being, and that in his view this conception is crucial to the success of human beings as rational and moral agents and as practitioners of science. The passions are pivotal in (...) this, and in a rich and wide-ranging discussion she examines Descartes' place in the tradition of thought about the passions, the metaphysics of actions and passions, sensory representation, and Descartes' account of self-mastery and virtue. Her study is an important and original reading not only of Descartes' account of mind-body unity but also of his theory of mind. (shrink)

This paper examines how unethical behavior in the workplace occurs when management places inordinately strong emphasis on goalattainment without a corresponding emphasis on following legitimate procedures. Robert Merton's theory of sodal structure and anomie provides a foundation to discuss this argument. Key factors affecting ethical climates in work organizations are also addressed. Based on this analysis, the paper proposes strategies for developing and changing aspects of organizational culture to reduce anomie, thereby creating work climates which discourage unethical practices and provide (...) employees with mechanisms to resolve ethical conflicts in a constructive way. (shrink)

Essays cover historical, sociological, psychological and anthropological approaches, ethics and politics, and the policy implications of the real and perceived differences between the sexes.

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar o conteúdo das Cartas 34, 35 e 36 da Correspondência de Espinosa a Hudde. Nele podemos perceber o esforço e engenhosidade do filósofo em conduzir o seu interlocutor a assentir à primeira definição da Ética, a definição de causa sui. Hudde, matemático de formação, se esforça em compreender como o filósofo pode demonstrar que a unicidade de Deus possa ser deduzida exclusivamente do fato de que sua natureza ou essência envolve existência necessária. É através (...) do estatuto causal da definição verdadeira que Espinosa poderá conduzi-lo, e evitar, assim, que caia nos paradoxos do uno e do múltiplo, da distinção real e da numérica. Dada a incapacidade do matemático em assentir à definição genética de Deus, o filósofo o conduzirá a assentir indiretamente à definição através do procedimento de demonstração negativa ou por redução ao absurdo. Esse movimento intelectual explicitará os propria de Deus: a eternidade, a simplicidade, a infinitude, a indivisibilidade, a perfeição e a unicidade. (shrink)

O objetivo desse artigo é explicitar, na medida do possível, as críticas formuladas por Espinosa em relação a Descartes, notadamente em sua doutrina do livre-arbítrio. As críticas são fundamentadas nas proposições 48 e 49 da parte II da Ética, além das objeções que a complementam. Essa análise se deterá especialmente na identificação que Espinosa realiza entre ideia e volição, sendo a ideia concebida como um ato de afirmação ou negação, de modo que a volição é constitutiva da ideia. Com essa (...) análise, tentaremos evidenciar que a identidade entre ideia e volição não elimina o caráter voluntário da ação cognitiva do homem na filosofia espinosana. A crítica de Espinosa em relação ao conceito de vontade, entendida como uma faculdade abstrata, isto é um universal abstrato, visa a romper com a ideia de que a vontade é absolutamente livre. A vontade deixa de ser a faculdade que afirma a liberdade entre contrários e torna-se a afirmação da livre necessidade. É essa concepção de uma faculdade universal e abstrata que acarretará ilusão do livre-arbítrio. (shrink)

While the complexities of interpreting in constrained legal contexts such as trials may gradually be getting better understood by legal professionals, the particular difficulties of interpreting for the Deaf remain largely overlooked, and the recent involvement of citizen judges in Japan’s justice system makes it even more important to raise awareness about this aspect of language disadvantage. This paper focuses on a key feature of Japanese Sign Language: the non-manual markers produced by facial and body movements that accompany hand and (...) finger signs. Research shows such markers to be poorly understood by non-Deaf observers and indeed even sign language interpreters sometimes conflate them with gestures used by hearing people. (shrink)