1. A filosofia hebraico-portuguesa -- 2. A patrologia lusitana -- 3. A filosofia arábigo-portuguesa.

In this paper I distinguish two ways of raising a sceptical problem of others' minds: via a problem concerning the possibility of error or via a problem concerning sources of knowledge. I give some reason to think that the second problem raises a more interesting problem in accounting for our knowledge of others’ minds and consider proposed solutions to the problem.

Why is gauge symmetry so important in modern physics, given that one must eliminate it when interpreting what the theory represents? In this paper we discuss the sense in which gauge symmetry can be fruitfully applied to constrain the space of possible dynamical models in such a way that forces and charges are appropriately coupled. We review the most well-known application of this kind, known as the 'gauge argument' or 'gauge principle', discuss its difficulties, and then reconstruct the gauge argument (...) as a valid theorem in quantum theory. We then present what we take to be a better and more general gauge argument, based on Noether's second theorem in classical Lagrangian field theory, and argue that this provides a more appropriate framework for understanding how gauge symmetry helps to constrain the dynamics of physical theories. (shrink)

Phenomenal particularism is the view that particular external objects are sometimes part of the phenomenal character of perceptual experience. It is a central part of naïve realist or relational views of perception. We consider a series of recent objections to phenomenal particularism and argue that naïve realism has the resources to block them. In particular, we show that these objections rest on assumptions about the nature of phenomenal character that the naïve realist will reject, and that they ignore the full (...) resources that naïve realism has to offer in explaining phenomenal character. (shrink)

Internalism and externalism disagree about whether agents who are internally the same can differ in their mental states. But what is it for two agents to be internally the same? Standard formulations take agents to be internally the same in virtue of some metaphysical fact, for example, that they share intrinsic physical properties. Our aim in this chapter is to argue that such formulations should be rejected. We provide the outlines of an alternative formulation on which agents are internally the (...) same in virtue of facts about their epistemic capacities. The resulting formulation is one on which internalism and externalism are views about the extent to which an agent’s mental states can vary independently of the capacity for introspective discrimination. We suggest that this epistemic formulation of internalism and externalism picks out a substantive disagreement in philosophical theorizing about the nature of the mind. (shrink)

For Kant, the human cognitive faculty has two sub-faculties: sensibility and the understanding. Each has pure forms which are necessary to us as humans: space and time for sensibility; the categories for the understanding. But Kant is careful to leave open the possibility of there being creatures like us, with both sensibility and understanding, who nevertheless have different pure forms of sensibility. They would be finite rational beings and discursive cognizers. But they would not be human. And this raises a (...) question about the pure forms of the understanding. Does Kant leave open the possibility of discursive cognizers who have different categories? Even if other discursive cognizers might not sense like us, must they at least think like us? We argue that textual and systematic considerations do not determine the answers to these questions and examine whether Kant thinks that the issue cannot be decided. Consideration of his wider views on the nature and limits of our knowledge of mind shows that Kant could indeed remain neutral on the issue but that the exact form his neutrality can take is subject to unexpected constraints. The result would be an important difference between what Kant says about discursive cognizers with other forms of sensibility and what he is in a position to say about discursive cognizers with other forms of understanding. Kantian humility here takes on a distinctive character. (shrink)

Tomando como pretexto el concepto de libertad como no-dominación acuñado por Philip Pettit en su celebre Republicanismo, este breve artículo discurre mostrando el proyecto walzeriano de una sociedad libre de dominación, en la cual hombres y mujeres no se sientan subyugados bajo ningún poder y en ..

The eliminative view of gauge degrees of freedom—the view that they arise solely from descriptive redundancy and are therefore eliminable from the theory—is a lively topic of debate in the philosophy of physics. Recent work attempts to leverage properties of the QCD $$\theta _{\text {YM}}$$ θ YM -term to provide a novel argument against the eliminative view. The argument is based on the claim that the QCD $$\theta _{\text {YM}}$$ θ YM -term changes under “large” gauge transformations. Here we review (...) geometrical propositions about fiber bundles that unequivocally falsify these claims: the $$\theta _{\text {YM}}$$ θ YM -term encodes topological features of the fiber bundle used to represent gauge degrees of freedom, but it is fully gauge-invariant. Nonetheless, within the essentially classical viewpoint pursued here, the physical role of the $$\theta _{\text {YM}}$$ θ YM -term shows the physical importance of bundle topology (or superpositions thereof) and thus counts against (a naive) eliminativism. (shrink)

The present paper is about the author’s current research on children’s education in urban contexts. It departs from the rising offer of programmes for school children in out-of-school contexts (e.g. museums, libraries, science centres). It asks what makes these practices educational (and not just interesting, entertaining and/or audience building). Based on Biesta ( 2006a , 2010 ) theory of education, the author frames and analyses the educational characteristics of, and possibilities of articulating, in and out-of-school educational practices. This paper aims (...) at understanding if the occasional outing from primary school premises promotes interruptions in the humanist foundations of school. In order to analyse relations between different institutions and professionals (to be) engaged in educational activities and programmes, Nóvoa ( 2002 , 2009 ) essays will be brought to the discussion, namely his conception of the ‘Public Space of Education’—as a space where culture, education, arts, sports and leisure are shared responsibilities, and where diverse institutions are networked aiming towards societal pluralism. I argue for the possibility of using cities’ public spaces as contexts with a worldly quality to complexify children’s education. Nevertheless, I draw attention to the unbearable educational lightness that these practices may carry if they do not go beyond the praise of chance; as well as to their unsustainable weight if they perpetually repeat school’s normal orders and add up rational discourses. (shrink)

Naturalistic accounts of culture share the assumption that culture is nothing more than information in people minds/brains and the environment. They do not provide, however, neither a definition nor a theory of information. I address this lacuna adopting a theory of information called “Situation Theory” (Barwise and Perry, 1983). I argue that the notions of constraint and attunement allow to account for cultural information, and, furthermore, that culture is, at a fundamental level, constituted by a set of constraints. Constraints are (...) necessary for information to flow, and attunement to constraints is necessary for an organism to exploit such cultural information. Keywords: Situations, situation theory, naturalistic theories of culture, cultural groups, constraints, conventions. (shrink)

The title of this presentation encompasses three issues: (1) an enigmatic theme (the play of signs and signs of play); (2) a model of doing something, such as unraveling a puzzle; and (3) a methodology dealing with a probable case. Considering that the order of analysis runs in the opposite direction to the order of experience, my first task is to reverse the title. Then, its three parts become: (1) an eidetic and empirical conjunction that implies a taste for evidence; (...) (2) a rigorous model of analysis that implies a relationship between ontology (what I know) and epistemology (how I know); and (3) a case that brings an enigmatic theme. My title, based in the theme of our 42nd Annual Meeting, provided an experience peculiar to a non-native English speaker: how to interpret and use the word “play”. I really felt like I was a living exemplar of one of Professor Lanigan’s favorite examples: what dictionaries and encyclopedias say or do not say. Lanigan said that “dictionaries tell you how to use the words (forms, ideas) but not what word to use” and “encyclopedias tell you what facts to use (structure, experience), but not how to use them” (1992: 208–209). That was my situation with the word “play”. Webster’s dictionary gave me around fifty different meanings for the word “play”. Which one should I choose? I am sure that I made the best choice, as I will demonstrate throughout this presentation, organized around these three ideas that in an inverse order would be theory, method, and case. (shrink)

In the essays which make up The Sovereignty of Good, Iris Murdoch gives us a picture of moral life in which ‘the metaphor of vision [is] almost irresistibly suggested’. This chapter aims to clarify the role played by the metaphor of vision in Murdoch’s philosophical thinking. I’ll examine two different things which might be meant by the term ‘moral vision’: vision of moral things or vision which is itself moral. The suggestion will be that whilst both capture something important about (...) Murdoch’s work, each may mislead about what is distinctive in her views. For Murdoch, I shall suggest, there is no distinctively moral vision. There is only vision: a loving gaze directed upon the reality of others. (shrink)

PRINCÍPIO DA COMPLEMENTARIDADE RECURSAL APÓS DECISÃO DOS EMBARGOS DE DECLARAÇÃO: GARANTIA DO CONTRADITÓRIO EM OPOSIÇÃO À PRECLUSÃO CONSUMATIVA.

En El sentido de la filosofía, Antonio Zirión se propone analizar, entre otras cosas, el papel y la función que cumple la fenomenología en la obra y el pensamiento de José Gaos. En mi comentario abordo, en primer lugar, el contraste entre los conceptos de fenomenología y método fenomenológico de Husserl y Gaos. En segundo lugar, recupero la discusión acerca de los límites entre fenomenología y metafísica al interior del pensamiento de Gaos, lo que desemboca en un concepto más amplio (...) de fenomenología, vinculado a la idea de una filosofía científica. En tercer lugar, propongo otro acercamiento posible a los motivos fenomenológicos en Gaos. (shrink)

O ensaio propõe a leitura de duas estórias de Guimarães Rosa, “A terceira margemdo rio”, de Primeiras estórias, e “Desenredo”, de Tutameia, as quais, em algum momento, serãocotejadas com Bartleby, o escrivão, de Melville. Partindo dos títulos rosianos, deduzir-se-ãoduas potências, uma neutralizadora que abdica de tudo, a outra, também neutralizadora, quequer tudo, propondo, por fim, uma ideia de leitura que se encerra nas estórias.

A causalidade diz respeito à ligação entre dois eventos em que um causa o outro. Essa ligação deve ser necessária e permanente, ou seja, o primeiro evento causa o segundo sempre e irrevogavelmente. Suspeitas quanto à validade do princípio de causalidade são recorrentes em filosofia, parecendo estar nas investigações de David Hume sua melhor crítica. Contudo a causalidade se põe como essencial e inevitável na formulação de inúmeras leis científicas. Por sua vez, essas leis, desde as críticas da epistemologia do (...) século XX, são tidas por contingentes ou revisáveis. Nossa questão é: como compatibilizar a contingencialidade das leis científicas com a necessidade da causalidade kantiana? Para tanto faremos o seguinte: 1) Analisaremos a vinculação entre tempo e a relação de causa e efeito para a compreensão de Kant da causalidade; 2) mostraremos como se dá a diferença e relação de dependência entre a causalidade kantiana e as leis causais físicas; 3) finalmente nos encontraremos com o sentido kantiano da necessidade e revisibilidade das leis físicas. (shrink)

Este artigo suscita uma reflexão sobre a condição que muitas mulheres negras ainda vivem na sociedade brasileira. Nesta breve análise examinamos as memórias coletivas dos grupos dominantes e dominados desde o contexto da escravidão brasileira até a sociedade atual tomando como base a teoria da memória de Maurice Halbwachs e Michael Pollak, recorremos também aos estudos de algumas feministas negras, a exemplo de Grada Kilomba, Bell Hooks, Sueli Carneiro e Chimamanda Adichie e também da feminista Heleieth Saffioti, que abordam o (...) viés da interseccionalidade e escancara as desigualdades, opressões e violências enfrentadas pelas mulheres negras. Assim, a partir de uma análise qualitativa, podemos afirmar que: i) a memória coletiva de grupos da elite branca é memória oficial e reflete o modelo de relações raciais do Brasil; ii) a memória e o esquecimento marcam a trajetória do povo negro; iii) o projeto colonial se apresenta com novas roupagens do racismo. (shrink)

Esse artigo investiga um possível contraponto à primeira analogia kantiana: as reações químicas. Para tanto se define lei de conservação em geral de acordo com o entendimento da ciência. Essas leis tem uma forma definida constante para todas elas e conteúdos que as diferenciam. Explica-se a primeira analogia da experiência ou doutrina da substância de Kant mostrando que qualquer mudança que notamos em nossas percepções num dado evento, só é possível se algo nesse mesmo evento não sofrer mutação. O elo (...) de ligação da doutrina da substância com as equações químicas é feito a partir do exemplo da queima da lenha na CRP de Kant. Para descobrir qual seja a substância de qualquer evento (inclusive reações químicas) aborda-se a diferença entre pesquisa transcendental (filosófica) e pesquisa empírica (científica). A pesquisa empírica é entendida como subordinada à pesquisa transcendental, dessa maneira prova-se que a química é compatível com a doutrina da substância de Kant. (shrink)

Cet article propose un itinéraire de réflexion sur les fondements de l’éthique théologique en articulant trois contributions de Karl Barth à ce domaine : la définition de l’éthique comme l’impératif de l’indicatif qu’est la dogmatique, voire l’inséparabilité entre éthique et dogmatique qui place l’éthique à l’écoute de la révélation ; l’articulation d’un nexus christologique entre les catégories d’obéissance et de liberté comme « autodétermination déterminée » ; le débat sur l’Évangile et la Loi, comme révélation de l’histoire de la grâce (...) à partir de laquelle se déploie la grammaire d’une existence chrétienne. Cet itinéraire est entrecoupé par trois passages bibliques qui sont alignés sur les contributions de Barth : la vocation d’Abraham ; l’agonie de Jésus à Gethsémani ; la question posée à Jésus sur le bien qu’il faut faire pour entrer dans la vie éternelle. Nous suggérons que cet itinéraire biblique et barthien souligne qu’une éthique théologiquement construite conflue vers la christologie. (shrink)