O presente artigo tem como pretensão oferecer um olhar outro acerca da depressão. Nossa análise sobre tal fenômeno encontra na filosofia, sobretudo, de Byung-Chul Han, uma possibilidade interessante de ir além das explicações psiquiátricas. Entretanto, são nelas que esse texto inicia sua discussão: a hipótese serotoninérgica da depressão é apresentada, mas também, problematizada, pois, muito embora a psiquiatria encontre nela ainda hoje a sua tese nuclear acerca do comportamento depressivo, é mostrado aqui que, além de ser uma teoria ausente de (...) comprovação científica, também carece de consistência para explicar o avanço da depressão ao redor do mundo. É diante da impossibilidade de pensar a depressão biologicamente que, no segundo momento deste artigo, há um esforço para analisar os modos de estruturação social contemporâneos, baseados na positivação da sociedade e na busca desenfreada por desempenho, e buscar nos mesmos, fatores desencadeantes do comportamento depressivo. A última parte do texto se concentra em apresentar um panorama filosófico centrado nas perspectivas de Han acerca da depressão. Através da exposição do mito de Eros e Psique, o artigo encerra sua análise mostrando a influência que o desaparecimento do Outro e a pressão por desempenho exerce na formação de uma sociedade de pessoas depressivas. (shrink)

Neste trabalho nos ocupamos centralmente em compreender a proposta ética de Hans Jonas e como ele apresenta o Princípio Responsabilidade como uma categoria ética a ser norteadora das ações humanas. Apresentamos um breve histórico do desenvolvimento da Filosofia da Tecnologia enquanto uma disciplina filosófica específica e, então, discutimos as principais considerações de Jonas sobre a necessidade de uma ética inteiramente nova que tome a técnica como objeto e a proposta que este apresente de uma ética do futuro pautada na responsabi (...) lidade enquanto princípio. (shrink)

There is no agreed-upon, unique concept of spirituality; its dimensions and characteristics depend on the approach used. Spirituality appears in management studies from three main perspectives: individual spirituality, spirituality in the workplace, and organizational spirituality. Spirituality can also be considered from a religious perspective. This article identifies a comprehensive concept of organizational spirituality based on the terms and concepts used in the literature. A systematic review of the literature was made using the Web of Science and Scopus databases; the articles (...) were then subjected to bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer software. The results included two clusters: organizational spirituality and workplace spirituality. Cluster analysis suggested that there is scope for research on workplace spirituality and a gap in organizational spirituality studies. The proposed concept for organizational spirituality is an organizational identity resulting from its values, practices, and discourse that is composed of workplace and individual spirituality guided by the leader and other members and influenced by the environment, organizational culture, and knowledge management. This spirituality generates value and social good that is visible in the organization’s image, mission, vision, and organizational values. This article contributes to the literature by the categorization and systematization of the existing literature and proposing a unified concept—a mental and linguistic representation of organizational spirituality—that represents its essence and confers the qualities and attributes inherent to this phenomenon. (shrink)

This paper presents a discussion about how the necessity and teleology are present in the theory of nature in Empedocles and Aristotle. For this task we go through the fragments relate to the thought of Empedocles in the Poem From Nature as a central reference to the work The presocratic philosophers of Kirk and Raven, and the work Physics I and II of Aristotle.

ENTREVISTA COM PROFISSIONAIS DA FILOSOFIA QUE ATUAM EM PROJETOS – BLOCO ICom: Lucas Dilacerda, Paulo Jorge Leandro, Paulo W. Lima, Raquel R. RochaPor: Antônio Alex Pereira de Sousa, Paulo Willame Araújo de Lima.

Este trabalho apresenta como os conceitos de virtude e sujeito moral se encontram caracterizados na ética das virtudes de Alasdair MacIntyre. Alasdair MacIntyre propõe a ética das virtudes como forma de devolver a inteligibilidade à pratica e teoria moral contemporânea, por meio da reapropriação de conceitos como virtude, tradição, telos e comunidade. Apresentamos, especificamente, como o autor elabora o conceito geral de virtude e como apresenta o sujeito moral tendo em vista a ética das virtudes.

Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Alasdair MacIntyre em sua filosofia moral propõe uma ética das virtudes que tem como um de seus fundamentos a condição de animalidade e dependência do homem, assim como a noção de florescimento, que implica o desenvolvimento do raciocínio prático independente. Neste trabalho buscamos identificar como MacIntyre apresenta o caráter de animalidade e vulnerabilidade do ser humano enquanto animal racional e o processo de florescimento que somente se (...) realiza pelo exercício das virtudes do reconhecimento da dependência e do raciocínio independente. Palavras-chave : Dependência. Florescimento. Raciocínio prático. (shrink)

Neste trabalho apresentamos uma discussão sobre o modo como a necessidade e a teleologia se encontram presentes na teoria da natureza em Empédocles e Aristóteles. Para realização desta tarefa percorremos os fragmentos referentes ao pensamento de Empédocles do poema Da natureza, tendo como referencia central a obra Os filósofos pré-socráticos, de Kirk e Raven, e a obra Física I e II de Aristóteles.: This paper presents a discussion about how the necessity and teleology are present in the theory of nature (...) in Empedocles and Aristotle. For this task we go through the fragments relate to the thought of Empedocles in the Poem From Nature as a central reference to the work The presocratic philosophers of Kirk and Raven, and the work Physics I and II of Aristotle. Keywords: Necessity. Teleology. Empedocles. Aristotle. (shrink)

Alasdair MacIntyre ao realizar uma série de críticas à moralidade e filosofia moral modernas e contemporâneas defende a tese de que o desacordo moral e a ausência de justificação racional para a moralidade é fruto do abandono do elemento teleológico da ética, especialmente do abandono da ética aristotélica, o que o leva a propor a retomada da ética teleológica de Aristóteles. Essa retomada é justificada com a teoria da racionalidade das tradições, por meio da afirmação de que o modo tradicional (...) de investigação é o melhor e que a tradição aristotélico-tomista corresponde a uma tradição moral superior às suas rivais. Com sua adesão a essa tradição MacIntyre vai apontar Tomás de Aquino como o teórico que conseguiu reunir todas as características do modo tradicional de investigação moral, integrando a tradição aristotélica e a agostiniana, o que fez com que o próprio MacIntyre se aproximasse e se apropriasse cada vez de elementos fundamentais do Tomismo. O Tomismo de MacIntyre, por sua vez, sofre uma série de críticas e objeções, especialmente em relação às tensões que se estabelecem no interior do pensamento do autor, que em After Virtue prometia um pensamento secular e pragmático. Este trabalho tratará dessa tensão e de algumas críticas direcionadas ao Tomismo de MacIntyre. (shrink)

Este artigo aborda a influência do republicanismo ciceroniano no pensamento de Nicolau Maquiavel e pretende demonstrar como este renova a tradição do pensamento político ocidental. Tendo como fio condutor a análise do regime misto e da virtude cívica como elemento comum aos dois autores, pretendemos estabelecer, ao final do texto, a inovação maquiaveliana do elogio dos conflitos frente à valorização da concórdia apregoada pelo republicanismo clássico.

This article examined the personal profiles of the Heads of Government of countries in South/North America and how they communicated with their audiences on institutional measures to contain COVID-19. Analyses were carried out on data collected from Twitter from November-2019 to November-2020. This study includes: i)quantitative analysis, measuring categories and emphases in the communication of tweets, retweets, likes, and comments on matters relevant to the pandemic; ii)qualitative analysis that allowed evaluating speeches to identify political interference and the effectiveness of communication (...) at critical moments of the pandemic. It was possible to infer that each president has his singularities and understanding about Social Media’s use as a more direct communication tool with his audience. It was also found that successful communication is not directly proportional to the volume of messages on Twitter, but to socio-political aspects and institutional leadership that can make a difference in Social Media in combating COVID-19. (shrink)

A compreensão piramidal do sistema capitalista em Marx, isto é, a concepção que estabelece a determinação da base econômica sobre a superestrutura foi uma formulação bastante difundida pela teoria athusseriana. Não obstante, essa compreensão piramidal do capitalismo negligencia o papel determinante do aparato jurídico-político sobre os processos econômicos. Dessa forma, pretende-se mostrar que na relação entre economia e Estado em Marx há co-determinação, e não uma determinação unidirecional da economia sobre o Estado.

Tradução de: Ciucu, C. (2010). Les penseurs du néant: Heidegger et la mystique juive du Moyen Âge. Yod, 5, 215-233, por Lucas de Lima Cavalcanti DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/YOD.676.

The purpose of the following text is to analyze the development of the understanding of God in the theological-biblical imaginery, as well as the formulations that allow us to understand the development of Transcendent identity in history and in the construction of the talk and about God. Starting from a brief synopsis of the biblical Old Testament design of elements present in the theological imagination of the identity of the God of Israel, from liberating perception present in the image of (...) God Revelation from Jesus Christ phenomenon, passing briefly to the understanding of God as Trinity and culminating with the perception of identity of God within the current context of liberation, it points out the development of the identity of a God who – far from remain static, immobile, inert – assumes an itinerant identity alongside your people. Thus, the present paper analyses aspects of revelation and maps an identity of God from these elements, pointing to the construction of the identity design of a God who, by walking along the humanity, is not free to be assimilated and perceived in different forms in the course of this Revelation route. (shrink)

Martin Heidegger postula a recuperação da potência criativa da palavra como sendo a tarefa fundamental da fenomenologia, identificando na poesia a conservação dessa forma privilegiada de relação com a linguagem. O presente trabalho trata da linguagem como via de acesso às esferas primordiais do ser através de uma interpretação das experiências místicas como ocasiões para o rompimento do automatismo linguístico que impede ver na palavra algo além de um mero instrumento para a transmissão de informações. A partir das reflexões sobre (...) o símbolo desenvolvidas por pensadores como Gaston Bachelard, Paul Ricoeur, Mircea Eliade e Gershom Scholem, propomos uma conceituação fenomenológica do símbolo como entidade de sentido aberto, cuja origem remete ao positivamente indeterminado que constitui o “objeto” das experiências místicas. Positivamente indeterminado é a nossa expressão para dizer o divino, interpretando-o como fonte de todo sentido que é, por isso mesmo, ausente de qualquer sentido determinado, não por uma falta, mas por um excesso de significação. O excesso de significação se apresenta, então, como a chave para uma forma de relacionamento com a palavra concebida como força de criação. (shrink)

Diante do contexto complexo da globalização, a formatação dogmática jurídica da modernidade, que legitimava o Estado-nação como detentor do monopólio de produção regulatória, já mais corresponde à necessidade de estruturação das relações sociais. Tem-se na Teoria dos Sistemas Sociais Autopoiéticos uma forma de compreensão da atual realidade contingente e complexa, que pode servir de balizamento para as relações entre o direito e as redes sociais, especialmente no âmbito da propaganda eleitoral nas redes sociais, como o Facebook e o Twitter.

O texto se refere a resenha de uma publicação cuja principal abordagem consiste na interação homem e máquina e nos aspectos que esta relação envolve - educacional, social, tecnológico, comunicacional, filosófico, etc, com a proposta de refletir a respeito das transformações que o homem sofreu a partir da invenção da internet e sobre como manter-se humano diante de tantas mudanças.

Introduction:Episodic memory is a cognitive process that allows the recall of experiences, learning, and the pursuit of future goals. During the aging process, episodic memory declines negatively, impacting social and psychological aspects in the elderly. Such intervention strategies as cognitive training are non-pharmacological ways of reducing these losses.ObjectiveWe systematically reviewed studies of the cognitive training of episodic memory in healthy elderly individuals and elderly individuals with clinical conditions.MethodWe systematically searched the PubMed, PsycNET, Web of Science, and SciELO databases using the (...) descriptors “Episodic Memory” AND “Training” AND “Elderly” OR “Aging” OR “Dementia” in English and translated into Portuguese.ResultsOf the 572 articles that were identified by the search, 23 were included in the final analysis. The main variables that comprised the intervention protocols were investigated, as well as the outcome variables, efficacy, and risk of bias. The main results indicated effectiveness with regard to different forms of the cognitive training of episodic memory.ConclusionEpisodic memory training among the elderly can mitigate the negative effects of cognitive decline in dementia and healthy subjects promoting impacts at social, psychological, and economic levels. Although it is a widely studied topic, further empirical studies on the utility of episodic memory training in healthy elderly individuals and elderly individuals with clinical conditions are still needed. (shrink)

O estudo analisa a compatibilidade das relações especiais de sujeição com os direitos fundamentais, examinando, em especial, o alcance da restrição à liberdade de expressão dos agentes públicos militares prevista no artigo 166 do Código Penal Militar. Defender-se-á que tal limitação justifica-se apenas quando efetivamente prevalentes interesses institucionais ou públicos, reforçando, assim, o sistema hierárquico e disciplinar com vistas à salvaguarda da própria sociedade. Para tanto, invoca-se a necessidade de utilização das técnicas da proporcionalidade e ponderação na análise casuística. Utiliza-se, (...) como substrato, o método hipotético-dedutivo e como fontes precípuas a revisão bibliográfica e as normas jurídicas afetas ao tema. (shrink)

A gênese histórica da paróquia e seu desenvolvimento estrutural em relação à história da Igreja é a problemática central à qual este texto está subordinado. Por esta razão, o texto parte da etimologia do termo paróquia à compreensão de suas origens e matrizes dentro da concepção do cristianismo nascente e em suas raízes bíblicas, sem a pretensão de apresentar críticas e reformulações da estrutura paroquial. O respectivo trabalho toma como alicerce os decorrentes períodos e fatos históricos da Igreja para caracterizar (...) e contextualizar o desenvolvimento da paróquia que, desde os primórdios, está subordinada a estruturas de autoridades eclesiais. O seguinte texto vale-se de documentos importantes que contextualizam a visão, função e organização da paróquia como parte fundamentalmente integrante do corpo eclesial, bem como conceituam juridicamente esta comunidade de fé, célula da Igreja Particular. Após um apanhado geral da genealogia eclesiástica, com o desenvolvimento paroquial no seu interior, o presente trabalho atem-se a contextualizar a visão que a paróquia assumiu dentro da eclesiologia do XXI Concílio Ecumênico da Igreja Católica, o Concílio Vaticano II e do Código do Direito Canônico de 1983 em comparação com o Código Pio-beneditino. Com isso, o presente texto intui proporcionar fundamentos a futuros estudos e questionar a efemeridade. (shrink)

This article aims to make a parallel between the act of Christ, Son of God who is led by the Holy Spirit to face the devil and his temptations in the dry environment of the desert, and the act of the Christian families, who should have the same enthusiasm to let be led by the Spirit that will take them to dense and problematic realities in order to overcome evil. It is also related to the thinking of the evangelist through (...) an exegetical-semantic analysis with the Pope Francis message, present in his two apostolic exhortations: Evangelii Gaudium and Amoris Laetitia in which he emphasizes that the vitality of the Christians, along with their families, must have the effort to evangelize those who are more distant, facing tribulation realities. (shrink)

This schedule, provided as a companion to my “Teaching Firefly” article, was used for a sophomore level philosophy course that was populated mostly by non-majors. The original idea for the course was to develop a popular culture philosophy course that would attract students from all over campus, which was meant to both introduce them to multiple philosophical ideas and theories and hopefully convince some of them to major or minor in philosophy. The course was quite successful at drawing Whedon fans (...) from across the university (after a certain amount of advertising through posters and social media). Students were very engaged with both discussions of episodes and the readings. (shrink)

I review recent work on Phenomenal Conservatism, the position introduced by Michael Huemer according to which if it seems that P to a subject S, in the absence of defeaters S has thereby some degree of justification for believing P.

BIOGRAFIAS NÃO AUTORIZADAS: UMA DISCUSSÃO INÓCUA NO BRASIL?

Sets are central to mathematics and its foundations, but what are they? In this book Luca Incurvati provides a detailed examination of all the major conceptions of set and discusses their virtues and shortcomings, as well as introducing the fundamentals of the alternative set theories with which these conceptions are associated. He shows that the conceptual landscape includes not only the naïve and iterative conceptions but also the limitation of size conception, the definite conception, the stratified conception and the graph (...) conception. In addition, he presents a novel, minimalist account of the iterative conception which does not require the existence of a relation of metaphysical dependence between a set and its members. His book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in logic and the philosophy of mathematics. (shrink)

In this paper we focus on transmission and failure of transmission of warrant. We identify three individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions for transmission of warrant, and we show that their satisfaction grounds a number of interesting epistemic phenomena that have not been sufficiently appreciated in the literature. We then scrutinise Wright’s analysis of transmission failure and improve on extant readings of it. Nonetheless, we present a Bayesian counterexample that shows that Wright’s analysis is partially incoherent with our analysis of (...) warrant transmission and prima facie defective. We conclude exploring three alternative lines of reply: developing a more satisfactory account of transmission failure, which we outline; dismissing the Bayesian counterexample by rejecting some of its assumptions; reinterpreting Wright’s analysis to make it immune to the counterexample. (shrink)

In view of the posthumous Nietzschean writings, written between the years 1872 and 73, the scope of this paper is to investigate the place and function of philosopher in culture. We will analyze to what extent Nietzsche thought the nature of philosophical framework and the complex relation that philosophy establishes with science and with art. Regarding its edifying purposes, philosophy departs from the aims of science, which is the production of pure knowledge, and goes towards the uplifting goal of art.

Phenomenal conservatism (PC) is the internalist view that non-inferential justification rests on appearances. PC’s advocates have recently argued that seemings are also required to explain inferential justification. The most general and developed view to this effect is Huemer (2016)’s theory of inferential seemings (ToIS). Moretti (2018) has shown that PC is affected by the problem of reflective awareness, which makes PC open to sceptical challenges. In this paper I argue that ToIS is afflicted by a version of the same problem (...) and it is thus hostage to inferential scepticism. I also suggest a possible response on behalf of ToIS’s advocates. (shrink)

Translation of passages of Aristotle's De Anima into Portuguese. The passages are these: I.1, I.4 (the 'Rylean passage'); II.1-6; III.1-8. The translation is preliminary.

Crispin Wright maintains that the architecture of perceptual justification is such that we can acquire justification for our perceptual beliefs only if we have antecedent justification for ruling out any sceptical alternative. Wright contends that this principle doesn’t elicit scepticism, for we are non-evidentially entitled to accept the negation of any sceptical alternative. Sebastiano Moruzzi has challenged Wright’s contention by arguing that since our non-evidential entitlements don’t remove the epistemic risk of our perceptual beliefs, they don’t actually enable us to (...) acquire justification for these beliefs. In this paper I show that Wright’s responses to Moruzzi are ineffective and that Moruzzi’s argument is validated by probabilistic reasoning. I also suggest that Wright cannot answer Moruzzi’s challenge without weakening the support available for his conception of the architecture of perceptual justification. (shrink)

Translation of Aristotle's Posterior Analytics I into Portuguese, with a few notes, experimental glossary and introduction. The translation, which was made at 2003/4, was preliminary and its publication was intended to provide a didactic tool for courses as well as a provisional resource in research seminars. It needs some revision. I am currently working (slowly...) on the revision of the translation and a new revised one will surely appear at some point.

Crispin Wright’s entitlement theory holds that we have non-evidential justification for accepting propositions of a general type––which Wright calls “cornerstones”––that enables us to acquire justification for believing other propositions––those that we take to be true on the grounds of ordinary evidence. Entitlement theory is meant by Wright to deliver a forceful response to the sceptic who argues that we cannot justify ordinary beliefs. I initially focus on strategic entitlement, which is one of the types of entitlement that Wright has described (...) in more detail. I suggest that it is dubious that we are strategically entitled to accept cornerstones. After this, I focus on entitlement in general. I contend that, in important cases, non-evidential justification for accepting cornerstones cannot secure evidential justification for believing ordinary propositions. My argument rests on a probabilistic regimentation of the so-called “leaching problem”. (shrink)

In Posterior Analytics 71b9 12, we find Aristotle’s definition of scientific knowledge. The definiens is taken to have only two informative parts: scientific knowledge must be knowledge of the cause and its object must be necessary. However, there is also a contrast between the definiendum and a sophistic way of knowing, which is marked by the expression “kata sumbebekos”. Not much attention has been paid to this contrast. In this paper, I discuss Aristotle’s definition paying due attention to this contrast (...) and to the way it interacts with the two conditions presented in the definiens. I claim that the “necessity” condition ammounts to explanatory appropriateness of the cause. (shrink)

In this paper, we develop an impure somatic theory of emotion, according to which emotions are constituted by the integration of bodily perceptions with representations of external objects, events, or states of affairs. We put forward our theory by contrasting it with Prinz's pure somatic theory, according to which emotions are entirely constituted by bodily perceptions. After illustrating Prinz's theory and discussing the evidence in its favor, we show that it is beset by serious problems—i.e., it gets the neural correlates (...) of emotion wrong, it isn't able to distinguish emotions from bodily perceptions that aren't emotions, it cannot account for emotions being directed towards particular objects, and it mischaracterizes emotion phenomenology. We argue that our theory accounts for the empirical evidence considered by Prinz and solves the problems faced by his theory. In particular, we maintain that our theory gives a unified and principled account of the relation between emotions and bodily perceptions, the intentionality of emotions, and emotion phenomenology. (shrink)

ATIVIDADE CURRICULAR EM COMUNIDADE E SOCIEDADE E OS POVOS TRADICIONAIS: EXPERIÊNCIA DE CAMPO DO CURSO DE DIREITO DA UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DA BAHIA.

La siempre fascínate escritura rulfiana continúa dialogando con el mundo. El así conocido “escritor de las letras mexicanas”, nos sigue ofreciendo un mar de posibilidades de acercamiento a otras áreas humanísticas entre las cuáles incluimos a la filosofía. Coincidentes en la época y en la geografía mexicana, Juan Rulfo y María Zambrano se encontraron en 1939. Exponentes ejemplares y creadores de nuevos caminos en la escritura literaria y filosófica, los exponemos como paralelos a través de dos piezas claves de sus (...) obras: Pedro Páramo y Los sueños y el tiempo. La antropología zambraniana viene propuesta como uno de estos senderos creativos y creadores de la búsqueda del propio ser y del sentido mismo del existir. Dicho pronunciamiento antropológico lo exponemos como perspectiva de lectura del viaje no sólo de Juan preciado, ansioso buscador de su padre, sino de todos los lectores de Rulfo que hemos tejido con sus letras —extractoras de sueños y productoras de anhelos— la frágil cuerda que sostiene la aventura del descubrir nuestro lugar en el oscuro pozo del mundo. Realismo mágico y Razón poética en armonía propositiva que revela el origen de ambos proveniente de la misma semilla del ser. Rulfo y Zambrano nos enseñan que hay encuentros más profundos y reales que aquellos sólo históricos. (shrink)

Philosophers unknowingly subscribe to two competing conceptions of philosophy. On the inclusive conception, teaching philosophy provides a valuable social good that should be distributed as much as possible. On the traditionalist conception, certain materials and techniques constitute the way philosophy should be taught, which must be conserved. Unfortunately, the traditionalist conception clings to methods that have repeatedly produced an elitist, hierarchal version of philosophy that inhibits diverse engagement. Given the value of philosophy, philosophers have a duty to distribute philosophy to (...) a greater number of people, which requires embracing the inclusive conception. Acting towards this duty can be done by working beyond the classroom, spreading philosophy through service, and improving our teaching both to reach a more diverse audience and to follow pedagogical research, such as with experiential learning techniques. Philosophers should also ensure that the duty’s burden falls more on privileged philosophers who can take on the necessary sacrifices. (shrink)

I discuss what Aristotle means when he say that scientific demonstration must proceed from necessary principles. I argue that, for Aristotle, scientific demonstration should not be reduced to sound deduction with necessary premises. Scientific demonstration ultimately depends on the fully appropriate explanatory factor for a given explanandum. This explanatory factor is what makes the explanandum what it is. Consequently, this factor is also unique. When Aristotle says that demonstration must proceed from necessary principles, he means that each demonstration requires the (...) principle that is the necessary one for the fully appropriate explanation of its explanandum. This picture also provides a key to understand Aristotle's thesis that scientific explanation depends on essences: it is the essence of the attribute to be explained that should be stated as the fully appropriate explanatory factor. (shrink)

While virtually everyone recognizes the moral permissibility of whistleblowing under certain circumstances, most theorists offer relatively conservative accounts of when it is allowed, and are reluctant to offer a full recommendation of the practice as an important tool towards addressing ethical failures in the workplace. We think that accounts such as these tend to overestimate the importance of professional or personal obligations, and underestimate the moral obligation to shine light on severe professional malfeasance. Of course, a whistleblower, even an anonymous (...) one, often faces serious threats of retaliation and harm to their professional livelihoods and well-being. To address these challenges we argue in favor of a practice that we will call Preemptive Anonymous Whistleblowing (PAW). Such whistleblowing is preemptive in that a whistleblower provides information about malfeasance to a party in a position to do something about it without first raising the worry to one’s immediate superiors. At first blush, such preemption may seem unsettling, and PAW admittedly raises a number of worrisome issues. We defend PAW, however, as part of a larger argument that whistleblowing is morally required more often than is commonly thought. The availability of PAW as an option provides a method for allaying the concern that whistleblowing can be overly burdensome due to the risks of job and career. Insofar as that concern can be allayed, it is feasible for there to be substantial moral requirements to engage in whistleblowing in cases where severe harms can be prevented. With high enough stakes, there is a moral requirement for whistleblowing. (shrink)

Experiences like pains, pleasures, and emotions have affective phenomenal character: they feel pleasant or unpleasant. Imperativism proposes to explain affective phenomenal character by appeal to imperative content, a kind of intentional content that directs rather than describes. We argue that imperativism is on the right track, but has been developed in the wrong way. There are two varieties of imperativism on the market: first-order and higher-order. We show that neither is successful, and offer in their place a new theory: reflexive (...) imperativism. Our proposal is that an experience P feels pleasant in virtue of being constituted by a Command with reflexive imperative content, while an experience U feels unpleasant in virtue of being constituted by a Command with reflexive imperative content : More of P!Less of U! If you need a slogan: experiences have affective phenomenal character in virtue of commanding us Get more of me! Get less of me! (shrink)

I examine Aristotle’s definition of scientific knowledge in Posterior Analytics 71b 9-12 and try to understand how it relates to the sophistical way of knowing and to "kata sumbebekos knowledge". I claim that scientific knowledge of p requires knowing p by its appropriate cause, and that this appropriate cause is a universal (katholou) in the restricted sense Aristotle proposes in 73b 26-27 ff., i.e., an attribute coextensive with the subject (an extensional feature) and predicated of the subject in itself (an (...) intensional feature). Kata sumbebekos knowledge, on the other hand, can occur even when the predicate of a conclusion is coextensive with its subject and is proved by a convertible meson which is not the most appropriate from an explanatory standpoint. (shrink)

Aristotle contrasts episteme and doxa through the key notions of universal and necessary. These notions have played a central role in Aristotle’s characterization of scientific knowledge in the previous chapters of APo. They are not spelled out in APo I.33, but work as a sort of reminder that packs an adequate characterization of scientific knowledge and thereby gives a highly specified context for Aristotle’s contrast between episteme and doxa. I will try to show that this context introduces a contrast in (...) terms of explanatory claims: on the one hand, episteme covers those claims which capture explanatory connections that are universal and necessary and thereby deliver scientific understanding; on the other hand, doxa covers the explanatory attempts that fail at doing so. (shrink)

I focus on a key argument for global external world scepticism resting on the underdetermination thesis: the argument according to which we cannot know any proposition about our physical environment because sense evidence for it equally justifies some sceptical alternative (e.g. the Cartesian demon conjecture). I contend that the underdetermination argument can go through only if the controversial thesis that conceivability is per se a source of evidence for metaphysical possibility is true. I also suggest a reason to doubt that (...) conceivability is per se a source of evidence for metaphysical possibility, and thus to doubt the underdetermination argument. (shrink)

I discuss the exact meaning of the thesis according to which the object of scientific knowledge is necessary. The thesis is expressed by Aristotle in the Posterior Analytics, in his definition of scientific knowledge. The traditional interpretation understands this definition as depending on two parallel and independent requirements, the causality requirement and the necessity requirement. Against this interpretation, I try to show, through the examination of several passages that refer to the definition of scientific knowledge, that the necessity requirement specifies (...) more exactly the causality requirement: what cannot be otherwise is the explanatory relation between the explanandum and the cause by which it is what it is. (shrink)